Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Wal-Mart to Pay $1.60 Per Share for Adidas Copies
Bloomberg.com: Exclusive: Adidas Poised to Win $1.60/Share on Wal-Mart Copycats
Of course, $326 million is just a couple of days worth of revenue for the mega-giant corporation. But I would imagine shareholders are pretty damned pissed off about it nonetheless.
The fact that this is the third go-around where Wal-Mart's copied Adidas' design is a pretty good indicator of the mentality of the company and that they should pay a rather large sum in penalty.
I'm sure the Wal-Mart knockoffs just looked like Adidas and were made of crappy bottom end materials by sweatshop labor overseas, most likely in China. Heck, the shoes should probably be tested for lead.
Great news for Adidas, their brand security and future. Bad news for Wal-Mart's knock-off business model.
Friday, June 13, 2008
West Dundee, Illinois Residents Fight Against Wal-Mart
The world's second-biggest sporting-goods maker may collect at least $326 million in damages, the equivalent of $1.60 a share, if a jury agrees Wal-Mart copied Adidas's three-stripe sneakers by selling shoes with two- and four-stripe motifs as Payless did.[Note: Payless had to pay Adidas $304 million in May for infringement.]Never let a little thing like copyright infringement stand in the way of profit taking, eh, Wal-Mart? Say goodbye to those profits.
Of course, $326 million is just a couple of days worth of revenue for the mega-giant corporation. But I would imagine shareholders are pretty damned pissed off about it nonetheless.
The fact that this is the third go-around where Wal-Mart's copied Adidas' design is a pretty good indicator of the mentality of the company and that they should pay a rather large sum in penalty.
I'm sure the Wal-Mart knockoffs just looked like Adidas and were made of crappy bottom end materials by sweatshop labor overseas, most likely in China. Heck, the shoes should probably be tested for lead.
Great news for Adidas, their brand security and future. Bad news for Wal-Mart's knock-off business model.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Del.icio.us It
Digg It!West Dundee, Illinois Residents Fight Against Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Supercenter opposed in West Dundee
Sunday, June 01, 2008
The Wal-Mart Effect
Citing concerns about traffic, noise pollution and around-the-clock deliveries, West Dundee homeowners rallied Monday night against plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter slated for an undeveloped 31-acre site near Spring Hill Mall.Why let a little thing like being unwelcome stop the retail monster that is Wal-Mart from imposing itself anywhere they choose to? Answer, they don't let it stop them, Wal-Mart doesn't care what the residents think or want. They'll keep doing what they feel is best for their stockholders.
"It's not fair, it's not right, and I do not know a single redeeming value that Wal-Mart is going to bring to our village," resident David Stokes, 59, said at the meeting.About 100 people jammed into a fire station, where the Village Board moved the meeting in anticipation of the large crowd. The seven-member board decided Monday that it will vote on the plan next week.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
The Wal-Mart Effect
Are Wal-Mart’s Products Normal?
Quoting from Emek Basker in the article.
"Given Basker’s estimates, it is probably no surprise that the current slowdown is good news for Wal-Mart, but bad news for Target."
One of the commenters notes that there really aren't substantial differences in price between a Target and Wal-Mart and that one of the reasons people do go to Wal-Mart when the stores are filthy is because they perceive it is a cheaper place to shop and the prices will be lower. When the reality is that its just a filthy store with disgruntled, underpaid and overexploited employees.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, Target, elasticity, recession
Quoting from Emek Basker in the article.
In this note, I estimate the income elasticity of revenue for Wal-Mart and Target over the last ten years. Because some consumers are likely to view each discounter’s products as normal while others view them as inferior, the aggregate relationship could go either way and depends on the size of the two groups as well as on the magnitude of their elasticities of demand (positive and negative).
I find that demand for Wal-Mart’s products exhibits a negative income elasticity and Target’s demand exhibits a positive income elasticity … For the average consumer, then, it appears that shopping at Target is perfectly normal, but shopping at Wal-Mart is not.
"Given Basker’s estimates, it is probably no surprise that the current slowdown is good news for Wal-Mart, but bad news for Target."
One of the commenters notes that there really aren't substantial differences in price between a Target and Wal-Mart and that one of the reasons people do go to Wal-Mart when the stores are filthy is because they perceive it is a cheaper place to shop and the prices will be lower. When the reality is that its just a filthy store with disgruntled, underpaid and overexploited employees.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, Target, elasticity, recession
Labels: income elasticity, normal