MoviePass, the startup that lets subscribers go to a movie a day, recently dropped its monthly rate to $10, resulting in a flood of sign-ups for the plan. While the slashed price might have drawn a lot more attention to MoviePass, it could also be an albatross around the company’s neck. [More]
business models
Kohl’s & Macy’s Looking For Roommates To Help Pay The Rent
By 2.24.17
The department store business model isn’t quite working in our current retail environment, so two of the country’s larger chains are thinking about taking on some roommates to help pay the bills. Both Kohl’s and Macy’s plan to do business in a smaller part of their existing stores if someone will rent them. [More]
Investors Want McDonald’s To Spin $20 Billion In Property Off Into Real Estate Investment Trust
By 8.25.15
While McDonald’s doesn’t own the majority of its restaurants, it does own tens of billions of dollars’ worth of the real estate where those restaurants operate, leasing them to franchisees. That’s a valuable asset, and the company is facing pressure from some investors to spin off its land and buildings into a separate, publicly traded McDonaldland. I mean, real estate investment trust. Which they should name McDonaldland. [More]
Epson’s New Printer Line Doesn’t Require Ink Cartridges Every 5 Minutes
By 8.4.15
The manufacturers of home inkjet printers have to make a profit somehow, and most companies choose the classic model of selling printers for a low price that gobble ink cartridges, which happen to also be sold by the manufacturer. Now Epson is introducing a new line of printers in the United States that costs more, but comes with refillable cartridges and enough ink to last for three years. Will American consumers be interested? [More]
How "Free" Really Works Online
By 9.29.11
On this poster, “Facebook” should really be a fill-in-the blank option. I can think of several other instances where this is true. If you’re not paying for a service online, then you’re what’s being sold to advertisers and marketers, either in the form of ads being served, your data being sold, or both. So, in the case of the Facebook redesign backlash, that was the pig complaining about the barn getting a paint job and a new rope swing. [More]
Garden On The Go Brings Veggies To Indiana's Food Deserts
By 9.27.11
Food trucks aren’t just for cleverly named cupcakes. Indiana University has launched “Garden On The Go,” an initiative to send trucks full of fruits and vegetables for sale to Indiana’s “food deserts.” These are places where people are poor and markets with fresh veggies are frequently more than a mile away. Normally, these folks often have to get their food from gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants. [More]
