• Depending On How You Look At It, Verizon Holds It Own
    Numbers may not lie, but it's all a matter of perspective, isn't it? Amol Sharma's glass-half-full lede in the Journal: "Revenue in Verizon's wireless unit rose 12% from a year ago and operating margins improved as the company continued to sign up new customers and encouraged users to spend on data services like text messaging, email and Internet access." Financial Times' Paul Taylor, meanwhile, ledes with the glass-half-empty angle that revenue from Verizon's corporate business dropped as companies delayed purchases and wireless subscriber growth slowed. To be sure, both stories double back and cover all the …
  • Journalist, Raconteur James Brady Dies At 80
    When I was an editor at Adweek back in the Eighties, the first thing I'd do after figuring out who beat whom on what story every Monday morning was turn to Jim Brady's "Brady's Bunch" column. His personality came through in every bold-faced item; it was as if you were leaning on the bar next to him in Elaine's. Brady made his name at Women's Wear Daily, where he eventually rose to publisher. He wrote the "Intelligencer" column for Clay Felker's New York (and eventually succeeded him as editor), and is credited with creating the Page Six column for …
  • What Will Marketing Look Like in 2015?
    A new report created by the American Marketing Association in conjunction with Decision Strategies International presents four possible scenarios that marketers will likely face.
  • Starbucks To End Continuous Decaf Brewing After Noon
  • Consumers Get Frugal, So Retailers Get Creative
  • Unilever Buys Tigi Hair Products For $411.5 Million
    Unilever is adding the Bed Head, Catwalk and S-Factor lines to its portfolio of hair care products after paying $411.5 million to brothers Bruno, Guy and Anthony Mascolo for Dallas-based TIGI, owner of the Toni & Guy hair products empire. It had sales of $250 million last year, according to the Dallas Morning News, and the brothers will stay on as consultants. The deal does not include the world-famous Toni & Guy hairdressing salons or the Toni & Guy brand. The acquisition is the first big move by Paul Polman since he became CEO of Unilever at …
  • Closures, Consolidation Loom For Many Auto Dealerships
    Auditing firm Grant Thornton LLP's Detroit office predicts that 3,800 the 20,000 dealerships in the U.S. would need to close to maintain sales per dealer at last year's level, Richard Gibson reports. General Motors alone expects to trim at least 1,700 dealers -- about 25% of its current level -- by 2012. Marisa Bradley, a Ford spokeswoman, says the company has been voluntarily consolidating dealers in major metropolitan markets to improve their profitability, but adds that "we anticipate that current economic and market conditions will accelerate normal attrition levels" among its dealers. Some dealers' attorneys are urging clients …
  • Same-Store Sales Up 5% At McDonald's
    McDonald's credits its breakfast, chicken, value and beverage items for a 5% boost in same-store sales in the U.S. during the fourth quarter (and 4% for the year), Emily Bryson York reports in Ad Age. In reporting that sales rose 7.8% in Europe and 13.2% across its Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa division, Sydney Morning Herald's Frank Ahrens writes: "So much for McDonald's representing What the Rest of the World Hates About America." McDonald's is now selling McCafe espresso-based beverages in about 7,000 U.S. locations, approximately half its total locations, and says it will have coffee bars in most …
  • Netflix: Streaming Video Attracts Customers, Lifts Profits
    Movies-by-mail service Netflix says it added 718,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter -- far more than analysts had expected -- and attributes the surge to the popularity of its online video streaming service. "It's very clear that streaming is energizing our growth," says CEO Reed Hastings. Subscribers can use Netflix's "Watch Instantly" service to stream any of about 12,000 television shows and movies without waiting for the DVD to arrive by mail. Hastings expresses confidence that Netflix can thrive, Dawn C. Chmielewski writes, even as online services such as Hulu rely on advertising to provide TV shows and movies …
  • Chrysler-Fiat Deal May Yield 7 New Vehicles
    The leadership teams of Chrysler and Fiat SpA held an informal meeting in Auburn Hills, Mich., over the weekend, Jewel Gopwani reports, and discussed the possibility of introducing seven vehicles to the North American market. Four cars would carry the Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge badges, and three would be Fiats or Alfa Romeos, according to a person familiar with the deal. The vehicles would be based on four Fiat platforms, ranging from the smallest -- the so-called A or microcar platform -- to the midsize D-segment. Spokespeople for Fiat and Chrysler said any reports are speculation. Fiat's small-vehicle platforms …
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