Consumerist
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airlines
US Airways Shrinks
US Airways has announced it plans to lay off a thousand employees, about 3% of its workforce, and will cut flights and focus mostly on four hubs: Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, DC. More » -
window shopping
IKEA In Beijing Is More Like A Giant Public Living Room
On our last visit to IKEA earlier this summer, we noted with sadness how there was a certain GAP-like feeling about a lot of the merchandise, by which we mean it seemed dull and forgettable. But maybe we've been approaching shopping at IKEA the wrong way. More » -
fast food
Mickey D's Profits Rise 4.3% Thanks To "Fancier" Items
McDonald's sales rose 4.3% on the tongues of customers clamoring for a taste of the good life for cheap. McCafe coffees, which offer a proxy of brews found in places like Starbucks, and Angus burgers drove sales. [Bloomberg] (Photo: andinarvaez) -
credit cards
AmEx, Discover Ditch Overlimit Fees
American Express and Discover will no longer bill customers who exceed their credit limits, according to company spokespeople. The creditors aren't eliminating the fees because they care about their customers. No, they're providing what American Banker calls "the first concrete examples of how a new law will restrict issuers' abilities to turn a profit." The new CARD Act that Congress passed in May requires consumers to opt-in before they can exceed their credit limits. Since overlimit fees, which can reach $39, aren't very profitable for creditors, they decided to ditch the fees altogether. More » -
toys
Mattel Profits Increase After Cost Cuts
Mattel's revenues are down by 19%. Toy sales from summer movies and flagship product Barbie and Hot Wheels are down. However, the company reported today that profits are way up. So what explains the profits? Blame a visit from Price Hike Barbie. More » -
customer service
Did Bad Customer Service Doom Circuit City?
Best-practices guru Joel Spolsky thinks Circuit City imploded because of their terrible customer service, not any "recession" or "macroeconomic conditions" nonsense. To prove his point, he looks at thriving New York electronics retailer B&H, which succeeds because they understand that stellar service leads to healthy profit margins. More » -
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Airlines Have Bumped 343,000 Passengers This Year
Over a quarter-million passengers were bumped from flights in the past eight months, a number that is set to grow as airlines try to boost anemic profits by slashing fleets. The Department of Transportation requires airlines to compensate bumped passengers with cash or vouchers, but savvy passengers can leverage their situation to negotiate heftier payments... More » -
profits
Exxon Posts The Highest Profit Ever By Any U.S. Company In Any Industry, But It's Not Enough
Exxon made $11.68 billion in the second quarter, says the AP, which is "the biggest profit from operations ever by any U.S. corporation," but that wasn't quite enough to please investors, who were disappointed. More » -
You Starbucks haters out there can rejoice, because the company just posted its first quarterly loss EVAR "of $6.7 million, or 1 cent per share, compared with a year-earlier net profit of $158.3 million, or 21 cents per share." Store closures and restructuring are to blame, as well as the fact that nobody can afford anything anymore. [Reuters]
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Colgate-Palmolive has reported a 19% increase in quarterly profits, and says it's partially due to price increases (but also greater volume sales and a weak dollar). [Reuters]
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fads
The Crocs Fad Is Over?! Profits Down, Will Close 1 Factory
Like Zubaz pants before them, Crocs seem to be well on their way to assuming their rightful place of honor in the bad fad hall of fame as the company slashed its sales forecast and announced that it would be closing a plant in Quebec due to decreased traffic in its US stores. More » -
For the retail managers lurking here: an analysis of data from a "US specialty retailer" shows that not reducing staff during lean times leads to an increase in profit margins. [The Times South Africa]
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wholesale
Costco Is On Fire, Profit Up 31%
Costco has announced that their 2nd quarter profits are up 31%! That's a lot! More » -
banking
U.S. Banking Profits Plunge To Lowest Levels In 16 Years
Banks just aren't making the same profits they used to says the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission. More » -
losses
Sears Expects To Lose 60% Profit This Quarter. Good.
Sears Holding Company, a conjoining of two defective retail companies, Sears and Kmart, expects to lose 60% this quarter. "Come see the poorer side of Sears." Lack of price competition, Abysmal customer service, warranty repair services contracted out to incompetent skeezebags, oh, and let's not forget two bollixed attempts at getting jiggy with the internets only to violate customer's privacy (exhibit A, exhibit B)... what's there to like? That shiner looks good on you, baby, you deserve it.
Sears Expects 60% Drop in Profit for Quarter [NYT]
(Photo: meghannmarco) -
High fuel prices won't help gas station owners retire anytime soon. According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, station owners make less than one penny for every gallon pumped. [YumaSun]
profits
New York, 9:02 PM
Sat Nov 21
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