Talk:Learning Express Toys

Hi Wikipedia community, I have created this page to discuss Learning Express, Inc. In full disclosure, I am an employee of the company, but I have done my absolute best to keep the content factual and unbiased as per Wikipedia guidelines. I would appreciate your feedback on how to make it better and continue to improve Wikipedia content. Please contact me if you think it needs to read from a more neutral point of view. Thanks. Derse (talk) 21:51, 12 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Contested deletion[edit]

This page should not be speedy deleted as an unambiguous copyright infringement, because...

I have updated the text
The content is derived from the provided source.
While the content is similar, no sentence is directly copied.
I am happy to edit to make the content more different if that is required.

My content reads:

Sharon DiMinico was chair of the Board of Directors at the Groton Community School, a private nursery school based in Groton, Massachusetts in 1987. She wanted to raise funds for the school her two children attended and also to prevent tuition increases, so she proposed that the school open a specialty toy store called "Learning Express" that was based on a business plan she had developed over the previous three years. Sharon felt that the school would both make money and support the educational development of its students.

Shortly thereafter, an article about franchising in Inc. Magazine inspired Sharon to structure Learning Express on a franchise business model. Groton Community School opened the first Learning Express toy store in Acton, Massachusetts in the spring of 1987, [2] and, six months later, Sharon opened the first store owned by Learning Express, Inc. in Needham, Massachusetts. Three years later, in 1990, Learning Express opened its first franchise location in Andover, Massachusetts.

The content in question from the web site reads:

In 1987, Sharon DiMinico chaired the Board of Directors at the Groton Community School, a private nursery school her children attended. Sharon was determined to raise school revenue without increasing tuition. A school board meeting was scheduled and she presented her business plan to the assembly. In it she proposed that the Groton Community School open a Learning Express store to supplement their revenue.

The Learning Express concept evolved further when Sharon read a piece in Inc. Magazine and decided to structure the company on the franchise business model highlighted in the article. The Groton Community School opened the first store in Acton, Massachusetts in 1987. Six months later, Sharon opened her first corporate store in Needham, Massachusetts. The first franchise opened in Andover, Massachusetts in 1990. Today, Learning Express is the nation’s largest franchisor of specialty toy stores in the United States with over 130 stores nationwide and new locations opening yearly.

--Derse (talk) 22:34, 12 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have declined the copyvio deletion nomination, but replaced with with a deletion nomination based on an apparent lack of notability (see WP:CORP for inclusion criteria) and the fact that this article seems unambiguously promotional. Editors with a conflict of interest need to be using the WP:AFC process rather than trying to create articles directly in main article space. ~Amatulić (talk) 23:12, 12 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Contested deletion[edit]

This page should not be speedily deleted because...

WP:CORP states that "an organization is generally considered notable if it has been the subject of significant coverage in reliable, independent secondary sources." Per your suggestion, I have added an additional 7 independent sources, ranging from Google Finance to well-known retail publications to local newsletter organizations. I believe this should satisfy CSD A7. Please let me know if not, and I can find additional resources.

The comments also state that the page is exclusively promotional. However, the CSD G11 guideline also states "Note: An article about a company or a product which describes its subject from a neutral point of view does not qualify for this criterion." I believe the article to be written from a neutral point of view.

In addition, the comment states that "the mere fact that a company, organization, or product is an article's subject does not, on its own, qualify that article for deletion under this criterion. Nor does this criterion apply where substantial encyclopedic content would remain after removing the promotional material; in this case please remove the promotional material yourself, or add the

tag to alert others to do so." In response to that comment, I would request that the person suggesting deletion to please mark the article with the

tag so that I may remove the offending material.

The comment also states that the article should be written using the WP:AFC process. I would respectfully contend that the article adds valuable information to the Wikipedia community about a notable organization and is written from a neutral point of view. With the article now started, it may be easier for others to contribute so that it does not become exclusively my content. Also, with the editors' continued support and feedback, I may make the article better fit the Wikipedia community guidelines. Thank you for your consideration.

--Derse (talk) 00:53, 13 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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