They say that before you can be in a truly happy relationship you have to be happy with yourself. This apparently applies to retail, too: Target executives say the company isn’t trying to compete with Amazon to get customers in the door, instead the retailer is just tying to be the best version of itself for customers. [More]
competition
Apple’s iPhone X Likely To Make Billions Of Dollars… For Samsung
By 10.2.17
Here’s a funny thing about your modern technology landscape: The competition isn’t quite what it seems. Although Korean tech giant Samsung and iTitan Apple both sling out new high-end, flagship smartphones every year to entice the gadget-loving consumer, under the hood it’s a bit of a “heads I win, tails you lose” situation for Samsung, which stands to win big if Apple does — because it supplies a number of the key parts that make your iPhone go. [More]
Now Amazon Wants To Sell You Meal Kits
By 7.18.17
It’s not enough that meal kit services are advertising on every screen you see and every podcast you hear: Now even the Everything Store wants to sell them to you, too, through its Amazon Fresh grocery service. [More]
Google Ordered To Pay Record $2.7 Billion Antitrust Fine Over Shopping Search Results
By 6.27.17
Nearly a year after rumors began swirling that Google could face a record-breaking fine in order to put a six-year long European antitrust investigation related to its search behind it. European regulators are ordering the tech giant to pay up, to the tune of $2.7 billion. [More]
Comcast & Charter May Make Sprint Their Third Musketeer In Quest For Wireless Offering
By 6.27.17
Comcast and Charter have agreed to work together to explore ways to get into the wireless market, but it sounds like they’re casting around for a third musketeer to join their new venture. And that final member of the trio might be Sprint. [More]
Will Any Other Big Companies Make A Bid For Whole Foods?
By 6.22.17
Although Amazon announced last week that it would be buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, it’s far from a done deal. And in the time it takes to complete such a large merger, there could be a few other players who decide to belly up to the table and make a bid for the grocery chain. [More]
Qatar Airways Wants To Buy 10% Stake In American Airlines
By 6.22.17
While it may be flattering to receive an unexpected romantic overture, such moves are not always greeted with excitement. That could be the case for American Airlines, which revealed that it has received an “unsolicited notice” from Qatar Airways indicating the carrier’s interest in buying a large slice of American. Considering American’s past criticisms of the Gulf airline’s rapid growth, this attention may not be welcome. [More]
You Still Hate Your Cable Company As Much As Ever, But Think Your Mobile Carrier’s All Right
By 5.23.17
Every year, a major customer satisfaction survey comes out with an updated look at how the country’s cable, phone, and pay-TV companies are doing. And every year, it turns out the answer is still: really badly. But while many cable companies continue to suck, one trend is clear — the more competition there is, the higher the satisfaction scores tend to be. [More]
Home Depot Helping To Speed Up Sears’ Death Spiral
By 5.18.17 — Updated: 5.19.17
Sears has been closing stores and selling off real estate to stave off its oft-predicted demise, but these closures and other financial decisions may also be hastening Sears’ end by turning annoyed shoppers into Home Depot customers. [More]
Comcast And Charter Decide To Team Up On New Wireless Plans
By 5.8.17
While Comcast and Charter each dominate their various major markets for cable and internet service, neither has the national footprint that would help them sell wireless plans to the coming generation that doesn’t want to be tied to a cable or fiber line. So the nation’s two largest broadband providers have agreed to work together on ways they can help each other out in the mobile world. [More]
Comcast ‘Introduces’ Gigabit Fiber To City That’s Already Had It For 7 Years
By 4.11.17
Chattanooga, TN, has a gigabit fiber network that is basically the nation’s poster child for successful public broadband investment. Former FCC chair Tom Wheeler literally held it up as the example of how super-speedy, reliable broadband could transform a community, and should be expanded. So residents are understandably perplexed that Comcast is purporting to have “introduced” gigabit service to the area recently. [More]
Walmart Launches Price War With Aldi, Demands Price Cuts From Suppliers
By 2.27.17
Grocery sales comprise over half of Walmart’s receipts, so it makes sense that the mega-retailer wants to keep its prices competitive. In at least 1,200 of its stores, though, the chain is reportedly slashing prices in an effort to give customers a reason to shop at Walmart instead of discount grocer Aldi and other supermarkets. [More]
$105M Lawsuit Accuses Heineken Of Bullying Its Way Into Bars & Stores
By 2.24.17
When you think of Greece, you probably think of toasting friends with ouzo or sipping a nice wine, and not putting back a few bottles of Heineken. However, one Greek brewer claims the Dutch company has nevertheless bullied its way into staying on top of the country’s beer market and stymied competition over the last few decades in the process. [More]
Lawsuit: Carl’s Jr. Blocked Managers From Accepting Jobs With Other Franchisees
By 2.9.17 — Updated: 3.22.17
Do Carl’s Jr. restaurants prevent managers from moving between locations owned by different franchisees to keep wages artificially low and to prevent restaurants from competing against each other for the best employees? That’s what one current and one former employee allege in a lawsuit against the fast food chain, calling the policy unfair to those managers. [More]
With One Week Left, Walgreens-Rite Aid Merger May Be In Trouble
By 1.20.17
The proposed merger of mega-drugstore chains Walgreens and Rite Aid seems like a good idea to the companies, but the Federal Trade Commission remains skeptical. With a week left before the purchase agreement expires, the companies need the antitrust watchdog to sign off, and it looks like they may not get it. [More]
AT&T CEO: Letting Us Buy Time Warner Will “Disrupt” TV, Be “Good For Consumers”
By 12.7.16
When AT&T announced in October that it would spend $85 billion to acquire Time Warner, the plan was met with strong headwinds right out of the gate. A surprisingly broad array of lawmakers, from both sides of the political aisle, immediately voiced concerns. Among the concerned parties? The Senate Judiciary Committee, which today held a hearing examining the impact on competition, and potential antitrust concerns, the merger could raise. [More]
Golden Corral Taking Over At Least 8 Former Old Country, HomeTown, And Ryan’s Buffets
By 9.6.16
Fans of all-you-can-eat classic American food may have a tentative reason to rejoice: Golden Corral will be taking over empty restaurants that were closed, sometimes abruptly, by the company that operates buffet brands Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Fire Mountain, and Ryan’s. The competing buffet chain is taking the opportunity to move into some markets where it has never had restaurants before. [More]
Comcast Still Not Quite Sure If Its $70 Gigabit Offer In Chicago Actually Exists
By 8.24.16
One city at a time, Comcast is upgrading its cable internet networks to a fast new high-speed standard, called DOCSIS 3.1. In Chicago, the launch of the tech itself seems to be fine… but finding out how much it costs, if you can sign up for it at all, has proven much harder for consumers. [More]
