Spectrum Group International Inc. (OTC:ESCL)
Industry: Services
Escala Group Inc., formerly Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (GMAI), is a global collectibles merchant and auction house network with operations in North America, Europe and Asia and on the Internet. In September 2003, the Company and Auctentia, S.L. (Auctentia), integrated their auction businesses, creating a global collectibles auction network. Auctentia is the wholly owned subsidiary of Afinsa Bienes Tangibles, S.A. (Afinsa), the Company's major customer. Afinsa and Auctentia collectively own approximately 69% of the Company's outstanding common stock. In North America, the Company is a traditional and e-commerce-Internet, interactive telephone, and Internet and live simulcast-auctioneer and merchant/dealer of collectibles, including rare stamps, stamp collections and stocks, coins, sports trading cards and memorabilia, and fine art. The Company acquired H.R. Harmer in July 2004. H.R. Harmer conducts high-end philatelic auctions of rare single stamps and collections. Collectibles Auctioneer The Company conducts primarily traditional live auctions featuring full electronic capabilities. Certain of its subsidiaries offer mail-only auctions (with electronic capability) and telephonic/Internet-only auctions. Traditional auctions are live, in-person auctions conducted by a licensed auctioneer. The Company holds approximately 25 traditional auctions each year in a variety of venues, including strategically located hotels, and at major trade conferences and conventions. All traditional auctions are augmented by electronic catalogs and most are augmented by one or more forms of electronic bidding. The Company's traditional auctions are based on a full-service auction model in which the Company takes physical possession of all items offered for sale in its auctions, inspects and describes all offerings, receives all sums due, remits sale proceeds to the seller, and professionally packs and ships items sold to the buyer. The Company operates Internet auctions through its Teletrade subsidiary. Internet auctions are auctions wherein there is no live, natural-person auctioneer and no bidders in a single physical location orally making bids as in a traditional auction. All bids are made electronically via the Internet or telephone, and a computer system processes the bids and determines the highest bidder. The technology operating the Company's Internet/telephone auctions conducted on the Company's www.teletrade.com Web site is known as Interphonic(TM), a Company-owned and Company-developed technology, which permits bidders to participate in electronic auctions either by touch-tone telephone or via the Internet. Among the Company's primary competitors Matthew Bennett, Inc., Charles Shreve Galleries, Inc. and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. In the sports trading card auction business, the Company's primary competitors are Mastro Fine Sports Auctions, Sports Trading Cards Plus, LLC and Sales OnLine Direct, Inc. (d/b/a Rotman Auctions). The Company's principal coin auction competitors are Heritage Rare Coin Galleries, Inc. and Stacks Rare Coins. Merchant/Dealer In order to complement and enhance its auction business, the Company buys collectibles in its own name and resells them as a merchant/dealer. For a variety of reasons, some collectors require the immediate liquidation of their collections and cannot wait for an appropriate auction. Other collectors do not wish to sell by auction and prefer a negotiated, fixed-price sale. In these instances, the Company uses its knowledge of the markets and product to make what it calls opportunistic purchases. In most instances, collectibles purchased in this manner are resold within 180 days either in one of the Company's auctions or in a private treaty transaction. In other instances, either because the markets are not yet ripe or because the collection purchased is so large, it is most profitably sold over a period of time, the collectibles purchased are held in the Company's inventory and resold after 180 days. In a private sale, GMAI contacts known collector
As Of: 10/07 00:00 ET
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