The More You Buy, The More You Save!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27893462/
I hear a lot of advertisements that promote sales where “The more you buy, the more you save.” I hate those ads...however, this mindset is especially true this holiday season. The article, from MSNBC, is about the discounts many retailers are being forced to offer. Sales were forecasted to be low for these months, so retailers cut back on orders. However, even their modest forecasts have been too high, forcing retailers to take on hard-to-sell inventory. This has put all the power on the buyer. The buyers are able to negotiate for lower prices to compensate for the current financial crisis. The article seems to focus on the bigger ticket items while still stating that apparel will also be discounted. Items like baseball tickets, luxury hotel rooms, cars, HDTV’s, and overseas flights. Electronics are doing the same thing now that the iPhone and PS3 had to do earlier and that is cut price. With the iPhone and most electronics, consumers are more hesitant to by once it gets past the $400 barrier. However, once below that number, consumers let down their guard. Much like the way $1.99 sounds more attractive and seems like a better deal than $2.00, electronics experience the same phenomenon. With the rise of smaller manufacturers of HDTV’s and other electronic devices, we may see price points in the range that hasn’t been seen before.

The Pasta of Italy

I was just sitting here when some Barilla pasta commercial came popping into my head. I remember the ad saying “Barilla…the pasta of Italy.” That brought back memories of this summer when I actually went to Italy to study abroad. I remembered going to the grocery store and buying noodles, and it’s true: Barilla is the only brand name pasta I can remember seeing. That being said, I still did not see that much Barilla. Instead, I saw box after box of private label brands and generic noodles. So, when Barilla says they are the pasta of Italy, they are technically not lying. It’s just that brand names don’t always have the same power overseas. There are no Meuller’s or even a large private label like Spartan, but rather a bunch of different private brands.

Real Mexican Food

A couple of weeks ago I had an assignment in another class (MGT 355 - Diversity) to go somewhere I would be the minority. Somewhere like a African-American church or go to the mall in a wheelchair. Well, as evidenced by the title of this blog, I chose Mexican food. This does not mean Qdoba, Adobe, or Taco Bell. Instead it was a place that I could not pronounce or even remember the spelling. There was no ethnic memorabilia, no caricatures of what Mexican life is like on the walls, and no crunch wrap supremes. Instead, the menu was in Spanish and it was almost empty except for two paying customers sitting together and the four daughters of the owner. The man was the waiter and the wife cooked in the back. I would probably not see 4 children of a Taco Bell employee encouraged to jump around, playing with coloring books and watching movies right with the customers. It was a very different atmosphere than I was used to. All the people in the restaurant (total of 9, until the two paying customers left 5 minutes after I arrived) were speaking Spanish for the most part, but they could switch back and forth to English seamlessly. The radio was also on a Spanish station. I ended up having a great, inexpensive meal and had a fun time talking to the owner who explained the menu. Granted, his attention paid to me could be attributed to me being the only paying customer for at least an hour, but either way it was completely new experience that may just bring me back there soon. I wish I could tell you where I was so you could go there, but all I know is that it is somewhere down Division on the east side of the road…Taqueira something….

Jude's Barbershop

In the past 2 years, I’ve had my hair cut twice. Before that, I used to go every 3-4 weeks to get my hair cut. I went to a barber shop as a kid with my Grandpa for the first 16 years of my life. After 16 years of having my hair butchered, I would go to some salon where I felt uncomfortable the whole time I was there. The walls were pink, it smelled of hair products or nail polish, and there was not one masculine thing about the place… not even me, it felt. Obviously, I wasn’t in their target market, so they didn’t cater to my needs. After a couple years of this torture, I ended up having a friend cut my hair, and then she got a job at another very feminine salon so I was back to being uncomfortable. I painted this sad, pathetic picture to show you how much I now love Jude’s barbershop. I already consider myself a loyal customer after one visit. The atmosphere is not barbershop and not salon, but a hybrid of the two. People were having conversations like any other barbershop and lots of other ambient noises were going on, but I didn’t see or smell any nail polish, not one inch of the wall was left bare, and the hairdressers’ kits are Craftsmen toolboxes. All of this helped me feel a little more secure about getting suckered into buying a massage and a shampoo. Even though I lost my $2 off coupon (because I was a first-time customer) I’ll be going back to Jude’s when I get my haircut next year…

The Costs and Benefits of Being Proactive - IKEA

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/25/news/companies/gunther_ikea.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008112609
I recently read an article about Ikea’s sustainability efforts. I had known for awhile that they operated in a socially responsible manner, but I did not know just how proactive they have been. I have never shopped at IKEA, so I know very little about the store other than it’s a Swedish company that sells affordable and modern furniture. What I did not know was that IKEA has always been selling products in boxes and required assembly done completely by the customer. This saves money not only in terms of extra labor, but also in transportation. By only “flat-packing” their products they can cut down on the number of shipments and the amount of wasted space. As IKEA's president and CEO Anders Dalhvig says, "We must stop transporting air." They have recently stepped up sustainability efforts by pledging to purchase more and more of their wood from “sustainably managed forests” as well as using fewer raw materials. Other efforts include the use of solar panels at some stores, the non-use of plastic bags in the US, and substituting wood veneer products that are just as attractive and functional as solid wood. IKEA had been using 70 million plastic bags in the US and eliminating the bags cut both waste and emissions.
One area in which IKEA is acting as the leader in sustainability is the company’s efforts to change the lumber industry. IKEA has been buying some of their wood from forests that are certifiable by the independent Forest Stewardship Council. In the future, IKEA wants to use all FSC-certified lumber in its products, but it currently sits at 5% due to pressures to keep costs down by buying from low-cost producers in Russia, eastern Europe and Asia. Acting with the World Wildlife Fund to help owners of timber land in those countries (Russia, China, etc) improve their practices and achieve certification.
One quote that typifies the market today is from Dalhvig, saying he no longer has to persuade them (employees) to work to make the company sustainable, adding “Today, the pressure is from underneath. They want us to do more.” IKEA has been proactive in their sustainability efforts, building up their reputation in the market and building brand loyalty and awareness.

Foot Locker vs. Finish Line

When it comes to footwear, I have two choices: Foot Locker or Finish Line. When I was younger, I almost always went to Foot Locker. Now, I seem to have graduated to Finish Line.
They have a much larger selection and a broader category of shoe types. I’ve also noticed Finish Line has more sales associates floating around in each department whereas I’ve seen 1 or 2 associates at the most at a Foot Locker.
Finish Line Foot Locker has become a casual shoe store with a small selection of running and basketball shoes. There apparel is limited and the stores are generally smaller than a Finish Line. I’ve also noticed the colors in the store are different; Finish Line has many different colors (white and blue especially) while Foot Locker really took black and white to new extremes. Almost every shoe is black, white or a mixture of both; rarely any other colors make it out on display.

Finish Line caters to more groups and offers a wider selection of both shoes and apparel. The ambience is a little different as well. Foot Locker is brightly lit while Finish Line is dulled and Foot Locker plays more rap and Finish Line more pop music. Judging by the traffic I generally saw at Crossroads Mall in Kalamazoo, I’m not the only one who prefers the Finish Line way of selling shoes.

Forget Fannie Mae, I'd be more worried about the value menu

All this talk about removing the dollar/value menus from fast-food places has me worried. I almost exclusively order off these menus, rarely venturing out. My favorite value menu has to be Wendy’s. They’ve had the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger for awhile, they added a crispy chicken sandwich to compete with McDonald’s McChicken, and recently added the Double Stack match up with other double cheeseburgers. These, along with the best chicken nuggets in the industry, keep me coming to Wendy’s, not the Baconator. As costs of commodities such as beef and chicken rise, fast-food chains are waiting for McDonald’s to “blink” before raising their own prices. According to the article here, http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/08/25/story11.html, while dollar menu items may only account for 14% of profits, they may also make up 30% of transactions. Wendy’s has been here before: The company moved away from 99-cent prices in the second half of 2005 and sales suffered until its Super Value Menu returned in 2006.
As for myself, I stopped by the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and essentially stopped going to Wendy’s until their value menu improved. Of all the fast food chains, the author says, Taco Bell is most suited to keep prices down as rice and beans are considerably less expensive than beef and chicken.

Closing time, you don't have to go home...

I’ve been let down by McDonald’s. I’ve grown accustomed to getting it whenever I want. I am conveniently located a half dozen city blocks away from a McDonald’s, but this isn’t any other McDonalds…it closes. I’m not sure of the exact hours and on which days, but I know I’ve been disappointed a few times already this year. Sometime the dining room closes at 10 or 11, and the drive-through at 12, and its different from weekday to weekend. This goes against everything McDonald’s stands for. The only restaurant nearby that is open late is Vito’s, and sometimes I just want a double cheeseburger, not a whole pizza for myself. I also don’t feel like driving to Standale or Michigan Street just for a McChicken. I guess I’ll have to familiarize myself with their closing schedule.

Switching Costs

I’m always considering switching my cell phone coverage; not because I don’t get service everywhere or because I’m paying way too much, but I always think that I can do better. I’m currently with Centennial and have been for over three years. I’ve gone through four phones; one was just old, one was stolen (from me, not by me), and one was broken. They’ve always been able to offer me a new phone well below cost. The only stipulation would be a renewed 2-year contract. I’m also on a customized plan that fits me perfectly; I get free nights and weekends (when I use it most) free incoming texts, free long distance, and 300 anytime minutes not covered by the previous parts of the plan. This is why I can’t switch: the switching costs are too high and the benefit of switching isn’t all that great. I get service nearly everywhere I go, I don’t have a problem with dropped calls and I’m only paying for a thirty dollar plan. Any switch would force me to buy a new plan, which comes with an activation fee, and who’s to say the coverage will be any better. Essentially, Centennial could offer me much less than they do now, and I’d still prefer to stick with them rather than go to Verizon or other carriers.

So I like pianos, big deal

I’m a pretty low-key guy, and the bar scene just isn’t always for me. Sure, sometimes I like to go out with friends and not hear what their saying and just drink, which makes me less of a low-key guy, but I’m never truly excited to go to a bar, I just do it. I just turned 21 over the summer and I’ve just moved to Grand Rapids, so there are more choices than the depressing small-town bars patronized by the constantly drunk. Every bar needs a couple things (aside from a good location): alcohol and entertainment. Drinking, for me, is not entertainment. Playing loud music is good and all, but I can do that anywhere. Having TV’s to watch games are good, too. All that being said, I like one bar above all others: Mojo’s. The one thing that sets them apart from other bars is the entertainment, more specifically, the piano. I’m a sucker for the pianos (yet I cannot play one), and I hope I’m not the only one. I never get tired of yelling Hail to the Victors or watching drunk college students attempt to sing along…never.

Tipping at a buffet?

One of my favorite types of cuisine is Chinese food. Back home, we had two Chinese restaurants and both of them were horrible and one was in danger of being shut down…That’s right, not going out of business, but shut down due to repeated health code violations. This is why I’m beginning to love Grand Rapids; if I don’t like a restaurant, there are others who have similar offerings. I used to eat at a certain Chinese buffet just because it was close to downtown and cheap (about 5-6 dollars), but that only goes so far. I now go all the way to the Beltline to eat at Ming Ten because the food is always fresh, the selection is much greater, and I don’t get food poisoning. My only problem was the issue of a tip – it’s a buffet, what do I need to tip for. When you come in, you are seating and they get you a beverage and check back if you need a refill, but the fountain pop is about 10 feet away from the buffet line, so why can’t I just get it? I always end up leaving a buck on an eight dollar check, but that’s just because I feel obligated to since there’s a line labeled “tip” or “gratuity,” not because of extraordinary service levels. Basically, I’m cheap, but just having that “tip” line on the receipt compels me to spend another dollar.

Harding's Market

Recently, I was pleasantly surprised with the level of customer service I received at a grocery store. I had just walked in to Harding’s Market in when the lady is the pizza shop saw me and yelled out “Hey Chris!” I walked a little farther and some more people smiled and waved, and it felt good. Everywhere I went in the store, I ran into people genuinely interested in how I was doing, from the stockers to the cashiers, and finally, to the managers.
This is one of the few places I actually go out of my way to patronize with what little money I have to patronize with. The people there wanted to know how my life was going, what I was doing, and everyone was ridiculously friendly to me, something I’d never get at a Meijer or a Wal-Mart.
Granted, I was back in my hometown for the weekend and I was visiting my first-ever employer of three years, but I’d like to think the people there are just as friendly to anyone who walks through those automatic doors. Some employees forget that the customer is their job, not an interruption of their job, so they are not as attentive to customers. However, when people are genuinely happy to see you at their establishment, whether you used to work there or not, you’re more likely to keep coming back.