Automotive News
Johann de Nysschen, Cadillac's new chief, sees ultra-premium cars in the General Motors luxury brand's future. He said the brand could roll out quarter-million dollar cars by 2029. "It is too early today for a $250,000 Cadillac," said de Nysschen in an interview on Wednesday at the Los Angeles Auto Show. "Fifteen years from now, it won't be." Cadillac's current flagship car, the XTS sedan, tops out at around $70,000, far less than the top end of BMW and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz.
USA Today
Church's Chicken has never messed with its biscuit recipe. Now, the fast food chain will try Oreo Biscuit Bites, mini-biscuits with Oreos crumbled into the biscuit dough and topped with vanilla icing. Mark Snyder, global CMO, said the new offering is a big deal for the company. Biscuits, he said, "are core and central to the DNA of Church's. The biscuit is so popular, we thought we could extend the equity."
NYSportsJournalism.com
Manny Pacquiao, in a welterweight title fight this weekend, is one of the athletes in a Foot Locker campaign. Touting the "Week of Greatness" promotion, the push includes an ad where Pacquiao thinks a conversation in the gym about the "Week of Greatness" actually means the retailer has arranged for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to finally fight him.
USA Today
A USA Today/Bank of America Better Money Habits poll of Millennials finds that while they say they have good financial habits, most still worry. They say they're good at living within their means, but many are living paycheck to paycheck. They also say reducing their debt is a priority, but they can't save for emergencies. It doesn't help that, in spite of improved market, wages haven't improved. Nor do rising student loan debt and rent prices help.
San Francisco Chronicle
Lowe's third-quarter earnings rose 17%, on track with the home improvement sector's rebound from a slow start this year, and a recent recovery in the housing market. The company also raised its full-year forecast a day after Home Depot reported a 14% jump in third-quarter earnings. Bad weather, rising mortgage rates, and a tight housing supply that chilled sales, hurt the sector early in the year.
Fortune
Melody Lee, director of Cadillac's brand and reputation strategy is in new digs in SoHo, Cadillac's new home. Capabilities aside, she's the ideal demo for the job: 30-something, and full of - ahem - unusual ideas about cars, ideas that would make sense to Millennials, who are probably more about semiotics than sales pitches. "We want to be a global luxury brand that happens to sell cars. We don't want to be an automotive brand." Okaaayyyyy.
BetaBoston
Rhode Island-based CVS Health, which operates the second-biggest drugstore chain, will open a technology development center in Boston this winter. The CVS Health Digital Innovation Lab, with a staff of 100, will be focused on "building customer-centric experiences in health care," per Brian Tilzer, chief digital officer at the company. He says CVS has tripled its digital and multichannel e-commerce investments.
Consumerist
It had to happen. JetBlue's wonderful no-fee policy for the first checked bag is history, and so is its industry-leading legroom. Both are sacrifices to Ploutos of Wall Street: the company readily admits the jettisoned benefits are part of an effort to drive shareholder value. The cheapest fare now requires an extra fee to check a bag, and the airline is adding seats to plane cabins, meaning less legroom.
Fast Company
Airbnb's new magazine, Pineapple is meant to bring the brand offline. The magazine is the company's web site and also it will be delivered to hosts around the world (there are 18,000 free copies available). The company has also forged a deal with Zazzle to create Airbnb-branded merchandise. The inaugural issue is 128 pages, and ad-free, with each issue focused on three cities.
Detroit Bureau
New car sales will continue to roll in 2015 with nearly 17 million vehicles expected to pass through dealer lots, according to the National Auto Dealers Association. The organization expects the industry will sell 16.94 million new vehicles next year -- which would be up from the expected 16.4 million this year -- due to rising employment and wages, continued low interest rates and lower gasoline prices.