So ask David Sarno and Tiffany Hsu this morning, pointing out that the device has been "plagued by misfortunes -- including a suicide, two lost prototypes and a shaky debut." (Not to mention record sales, but let's not let that stand in the way of an entertaining yarn.) In a cautionary note to other serial marketers, numerologists tell the reporters it may have to do with the unlucky number "4." Lydia Chen, associate director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard, says she doesn't personally subscribe to the theory (although she grew up knowing that the numeral …

Elissa Elan reports that Cinnabon, the 25-year-old chain known for its cinnamon rolls, intends to transform itself into a full-fledged bakery-café. It's testing egg sandwiches in the morning and espresso-based beverages and panini-type sandwiches for lunch this summer as part of a strategy to increase the brand's customer base and attract new users outside of the mall. "What's happening specifically in the malls is traffic is going down and we need to increase the amount of customers who stop in front of our stores," Cinnabon president Gary Bales tells Elan. "We need to do that by reinventing the brand …

Andrew Benett, CEO of Arnold Worldwide and chief strategy officer of Havas Worldwide, and Ann O'Reilly, content director of the Euro RSCG Worldwide Knowledge Exchange, write that our communal vision of what it means to be "rich" is changing -- not only in this brief column but also in a new book titled Consumed: Rethinking Business in the Era of Mindful Spending. How so? Well, we're not measuring wealth by our account balances (or what's left of them) as much as before. We're into "softer values" such as happiness, friendship and belonging. And you betcha this has implications …

The 144-unit Cosi fast-casual chain is breaking from its longtime strategy built chiefly on local-store marketing, says CEO James Hyatt, with an integrated-marketing campaign that includes its first TV ads.