Topic: Consumer Durables and Apparel Sector

Leadership Lessons from... Classic Toys

Associated Press staffer Mae Anderson wrote a very interesting article for TIME about the value of old-school toys in these tough economic days. In Hard Times, Nostalgic Toys Strike a Chord By AP / MAE ANDERSON (NEW YORK) — ...READ»

Ivy Ross Is Not Playing Around

For years, Mattel has worked to grow beyond Barbie. One strategy was growth through acquisition. Ivy Ross's strategy is to inspire innovation -- to reinvent how the world's number-one toy company designs its toys.READ»

Toy Story

What will prove this year's Tickle Me Elmo? Here's how three companies are taking on the notoriously fickle holiday toy market--and what their prospects are.READ»

Patagonia Politics II

Luke's entry this weekend about the politics of Patagonia -- and FC Now reader John Moore's response -- reminded me of another company that infuses its sales and marketing, if not its retail environment, with political messaging: ...READ»

The Safety Issues with Children’s Toys

Of all the things in this world that you would think should be safe for your children, you would think toys would be.READ»

Is This the Kindle Killer?

Plastic Logic was in the news just yesterday for its partnership with Barnes and Noble, but today it's also revealed a tie-up with AT&T that directly pitches it against Amazon's Kindle. And, just possibly, for much more than ...READ»

Bread and Circuits

At lunch today, I passed by an Au Bon Pain. In the window, there was an advertisement for a new turkey with cranberry chutney on ciabatta bread sandwich--their Thanksgiving special, I assume. What caught my eye was the slogan above ...READ»

Barbie Gets Life

No, I'm not talking about Martha Stewart. One of the most difficult marketing challenges is keeping a long standing product relevant with its target audience, especially when the target is children whose attention span at best can ...READ»

Microsoft Bets Big On Halo 3

Microsoft hopes its strategic partnerships sell not only the final installment of its Halo franchise but the Xbox 360 as well.READ»

• Halo 3's Octopus Marketing Strategy

Rick Hind

Legislative Director, Greenpeace Toxics CampaignREAD»

Hands-On Design

OXO International's handiwork: a wall of gloves.READ»

Hands-On Design

OXO International's handiwork: a wall of gloves.READ»

JVC Releases Monster 10MP Projector

JVC [NYSE:MC] first showed off its 10-megapixel projector about a year ago, and it's just now getting around to making them available. The DLA-SH4K is about the size of a computer CPU, and sports a model name that could rival Sony ...READ»

JCPenney is Losing its Shirt

-- Literally -- Today JCPenney announced the largest private brand launch in the company's history, a 2007 release of a private label Lingerie line called Ambrielle. Capitalizing on what many say is an underserved market, ...READ»

High Definition Headache

With several announcements at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas this week, the high-definition landscape has become a quagmire. The hi-def war was once a simple battle between Sony's Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD-DVD--each format ...READ»

Patent Leader

PatentCafe recently released its list of the top 200 companies, ranked in terms of how many patents they received. Here are the top 10: International Business Machines Corporation 3,254 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. - ...READ»

Sony, For the Win?

Despite the criticism they have faced, the analysts at Datamonitor believe Sony will regain their position as leader in the video game industry, with 75 million units sold worldwide by 2010. As I stated in a previous article, Sony's ...READ»

The Mensch of Malden Mills

I'm sure you've seen or heard about this, but in case you haven't - I thought I would share this story with you, from 60 Minutes: (CBS) For years now, we've been hearing about corporate executives who made fortunes for themselves ...READ»

Barnes & Noble's Plastic Logic E-Reader to Rival Amazon's

Barnes and Noble just revealed that it's upcoming e-reader is the one from Plastic Logic that we've long heard about. Which means the Kindle may have a decent competitor on the scene.After all, Plastic Logic's e-reader is the most ...READ»

No Longer under the Radar

Forget Peyton Manning's 365 yards and three TDs for the undefeated Colts last week. Forget Reggie Bush's 500-plus yards against Fresno State. The top performer of the week was Under Armour, the sports apparel company we profiled back ...READ»

Motorola's Do-Or-Die Phone Leaked

It's well known within the wireless industry that Motorola [NYSE:MOT] is perhaps on its last leg; with an abysmal balance sheet and few consumer successes of late, company board has given themsevles an ultimatum. If their next big ...READ»

When Globalization Works, Well...

Salon's Andrew Leonard suggests that the "Made in China" label is an indicator of how globalization works well. How so? Despite concerns about offshoring-caused job loss and brain drain, China's consumer electronics industry draws ...READ»

Fast Talk: The Independent Tester

Sue DeRagon, 49, runs toy testing for Connecticut-based STR, one of the industry's leading third-party labs. "Our phones have literally been ringing off the hook. The Mattel recalls opened people's eyes. Current clients are ...READ»

Netflix Chooses Blu-Ray

Internet video service Netflix announced that it is supporting Blu-ray, since "the industry has stated its clear preference for Blu-ray" -- according to the press release. The company will no longer purchase HD-DVDs and ...READ»

The New Fabric of Success

Grupo M, the largest private employer in the Dominican Republic, makes clothes for Abercrombie Fitch, Hugo Boss, and Tommy Hilfiger. But this is no Third World sweatshop. Instead, it's stitching together a sophisticated pattern of growth.READ»