I was shopping at Rosebys the other day – I go there for their excellent bargains in bedding, if you must know – and was surprised to see them still open weeks after holding a closing down sale.

Rosebys was just another in a long list of recession closures that the press are so quick to jump on for a cheap news item. What wonderful news then that a buyer was found for over 40 per cent of the stores, securing hundreds of jobs and with a promise to open eight new stores in the next couple of months. Where did I read that? I didn’t. I asked a member of the store staff why they were still open and with an enormous smile on his face he told me the fantastic news. Nothing in the press though.

Asda is opening new stores and creating up to 2,000 new jobs – did you hear about that one? No, probably not. I heard it on a small radio slot and, you know what, the list goes on. All we seem to hear among other stories is the fact that Woolworths has closed all its stores. Hello?! They have been closing their stores for the last five years after burning all their assets – media, media, media please don’t add it as kindling on the ‘recession fire’.

In the DM and data world, we hear a lot about how bad things are too – the same sort of doom and gloom preaching, plus complaints about decreasing marketing budgets.

Well, I’m seeing as many, if not more, opportunities out there as marketers are spending wisely and looking at longer-term data solutions. We are certainly pitching for more long-term contracts than ever. If people want to listen, bow their heads and wait for better times, be my guest – I’m happy to keep pitching and take the new business. And I’m sure I’m not the only one…