We are a few hours away from the beginning of a new year. Usually we receive comments and notes wishing us good luck and health and all the best for the year to come, and while I send you all my best wishes as well, I would like to take a minute and reflect on the year that’s about to be gone.
I like to reflect on the great things that happened, work and personal accomplishments, but I especially like to focus on the wonderful people I’ve met. And this way meeting you on steve’s blog was a very fortunate event.
This blog has helped me improve my writing skills and ability to express myself but has also opened the door for friendships all over the world. Our little group of friends keeps on growing every day.
So, in a nutshell: HAPPY NEW YEAR, it was fantastic to make your acquaintance last year!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
get juiced
from Vogue, January 2007“Juice may keep us from losing our minds,” says Liz Applegate, Ph.D., nutritionist to Olympians and professional athletes.
New research from Vanderbilt University reveals that people who drink at least three glasses of juice a week are 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Why juice? Polyphenols— plant chemicals in the skins of fruits and vegetables—seem to shield brain cells from age-related decay.
To keep your wits intact, Applegate recommends this ultimate daily tonic: a half-cup each of apple, pomegranate, and cranberry juice.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Big hope for small markets
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Akron, as well as New York, star of Federated holidayTo an important degree, the sales performance of Federated Department Stores this Christmas depends on how well it does in Akron.
It is in the dozens of markets such as this one, where Macy's is a new and welcome brand, that Federated has much to gain after converting some 400 May Co. stores in September, analysts and industry veterans say. Sure, shoppers in Chicago are grabbing headlines with complaints about losing the Marshall Field's brand, but in smaller markets - like Akron, Tulsa, Okla., and Rochester, N.Y., - shoppers are waiting, credit cards poised, for Macy's to lift their mediocre shopping experience.
And Federated has a high target: It recently raised its same-store sale projections for December to 5 to 8 percent, from 3 to 5 percent.
The problem? It's the original Macy's locations, known as the legacy stores, that have been driving those sales. The former May Co. locations have been "disappointing," Federated said, without providing specifics. (Federated will not break out figures of its May stores operations until February, after it has owned the company for one fiscal year.)
"They put extraordinary attention to making the transition easier in the cities where there was an emotional connection," said Candace Corlett, a principal at WSL Strategic Retail in New York. "(But) we underplayed the number of cities that are getting a Macy's."
What wasn't underplayed was the relaunch of Macy's as a national brand. Federated's ambitious advertising campaign, featuring Susan Sarandon and other stars, might have contributed to the overall strength of the department store sector this shopping season. In November, the same-store sales index of department stores rose 3.8 percent, compared with 1 percent at department stores, according to Bloomberg.
"The Federated stores are doing extremely well. They're benefiting from the advertising," said retail consultant Walter Loeb. "The May stores still have to gain an identity."
Federated has, for instance, ended the aggressive sales promotions that May customers have grown accustomed to at Christmas, Loeb said. Many shoppers are still holding out, expecting coupons and deep discounts. Meanwhile, in markets such as Cleveland, Federated underestimated the spending power of its May shoppers, said analyst Jeff Stein with KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Regardless, Wall Street is more or less forgiving Federated for May's flavorless sales. (Shares closed Dec. 20 at $38.51, up about 18 percent from one year ago.) Timing is part of the reason: Federated began swapping merchandise at May stores in September, replacing the old labels with the Macy's lineup. Some missteps were expected.
"To expect them to turn 400 stores with new merchandise, new nameplates, the same store personnel and with a reduced level of couponing -- to expect all of that to happen and not have the customers blink once or twice -- I would think is unrealistic," Stein said.
Federated spokesman Jim Sluzewski said the retailer gauged market needs by pairing converted May stores with Macy's stores in similar settings. A store in suburban Cincinnati, for instance, would serve as a starting point to determine what labels to stock in a similarly sized store in suburban Akron. The retailer also asked customers what they wanted to keep at the May stores and what they wanted to lose.
"We continue to learn as we go along," Sluzewski said. "It is simply taking a little longer than we had initially thought."
Among the unexpected trip-ups: the home department, where lead times can be three times longer than those of apparel. It can take more than a year to get certain household items on the floor.
As for markets where beloved brands were eliminated, such as in Chicago where Marshall Field's was transformed into Macy's, observers said the backlash is petering out.
"I've been to a couple of the Macy's that have been converted from Marshall Field's, and they seem just as crowded," said Morningstar Inc. analyst Joseph Beaulieu.
Corlett, for one, said she has seen an improvement in service at Macy's stores in the New York and New Jersey markets. "I think they had gotten in touch with how bad they were and they're really working on fixing it," she said.
"What shoppers expect from their favorite store is respect. Stop putting bimbos out there."
And that would apply to Akron, too.
It is in the dozens of markets such as this one, where Macy's is a new and welcome brand, that Federated has much to gain after converting some 400 May Co. stores in September, analysts and industry veterans say. Sure, shoppers in Chicago are grabbing headlines with complaints about losing the Marshall Field's brand, but in smaller markets - like Akron, Tulsa, Okla., and Rochester, N.Y., - shoppers are waiting, credit cards poised, for Macy's to lift their mediocre shopping experience.
And Federated has a high target: It recently raised its same-store sale projections for December to 5 to 8 percent, from 3 to 5 percent.
The problem? It's the original Macy's locations, known as the legacy stores, that have been driving those sales. The former May Co. locations have been "disappointing," Federated said, without providing specifics. (Federated will not break out figures of its May stores operations until February, after it has owned the company for one fiscal year.)
"They put extraordinary attention to making the transition easier in the cities where there was an emotional connection," said Candace Corlett, a principal at WSL Strategic Retail in New York. "(But) we underplayed the number of cities that are getting a Macy's."
What wasn't underplayed was the relaunch of Macy's as a national brand. Federated's ambitious advertising campaign, featuring Susan Sarandon and other stars, might have contributed to the overall strength of the department store sector this shopping season. In November, the same-store sales index of department stores rose 3.8 percent, compared with 1 percent at department stores, according to Bloomberg.
"The Federated stores are doing extremely well. They're benefiting from the advertising," said retail consultant Walter Loeb. "The May stores still have to gain an identity."
Federated has, for instance, ended the aggressive sales promotions that May customers have grown accustomed to at Christmas, Loeb said. Many shoppers are still holding out, expecting coupons and deep discounts. Meanwhile, in markets such as Cleveland, Federated underestimated the spending power of its May shoppers, said analyst Jeff Stein with KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Regardless, Wall Street is more or less forgiving Federated for May's flavorless sales. (Shares closed Dec. 20 at $38.51, up about 18 percent from one year ago.) Timing is part of the reason: Federated began swapping merchandise at May stores in September, replacing the old labels with the Macy's lineup. Some missteps were expected.
"To expect them to turn 400 stores with new merchandise, new nameplates, the same store personnel and with a reduced level of couponing -- to expect all of that to happen and not have the customers blink once or twice -- I would think is unrealistic," Stein said.
Federated spokesman Jim Sluzewski said the retailer gauged market needs by pairing converted May stores with Macy's stores in similar settings. A store in suburban Cincinnati, for instance, would serve as a starting point to determine what labels to stock in a similarly sized store in suburban Akron. The retailer also asked customers what they wanted to keep at the May stores and what they wanted to lose.
"We continue to learn as we go along," Sluzewski said. "It is simply taking a little longer than we had initially thought."
Among the unexpected trip-ups: the home department, where lead times can be three times longer than those of apparel. It can take more than a year to get certain household items on the floor.
As for markets where beloved brands were eliminated, such as in Chicago where Marshall Field's was transformed into Macy's, observers said the backlash is petering out.
"I've been to a couple of the Macy's that have been converted from Marshall Field's, and they seem just as crowded," said Morningstar Inc. analyst Joseph Beaulieu.
Corlett, for one, said she has seen an improvement in service at Macy's stores in the New York and New Jersey markets. "I think they had gotten in touch with how bad they were and they're really working on fixing it," she said.
"What shoppers expect from their favorite store is respect. Stop putting bimbos out there."
And that would apply to Akron, too.
Monday, December 25, 2006
James Brown Dead at 73
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured "Godfather of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a founder of rap, funk and disco as well, died early Monday, his agent said. He was 73.Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Longtime friend Charles Bobbit was by his side, he said.
Copsidas said Brown's family was being notified of his death and that the cause was still uncertain. "We really don't know at this point what he died of," he said.
Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him.
His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as David Bowie's "Fame," Prince's "Kiss," George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
this year's christmas tree
Well, this is this year’s Christmas tree. I don’t know what I think of it yet.In terms of detail, it’s a little less interesting than years past. I got sick with a cold and had a bunch of classes at Big Green (I know I said I finished my tax classes a while ago, but these were customer service training classes that met during the week after work) right in the middle of decorating. Mom finished the tree and didn’t put the really big, opulent stuff (that my trees are known for) on, though she did put the gold cherubs on that I bought earlier in the season (to tie the tree together with a unifying design element)
Not that you can see them with the lights on…
I tried some bigger lights (they’re like little globes, similar to C7s, but brighter) mixed with my standard mini-lights this year. The tree literally glows when the lights are on, as you can see. With the lights on, you don’t miss the big ornaments. In fact, when I saw how powerful the lights were, I resisted the urge to add more ornaments, though I had a really strong desire to get some silk poinsettias and stick them into the bare-looking spots on the tree. That didn’t happen, because I never got a chance to go to the craft store, and I vowed to stay out of Wal-Mart after getting trapped in there on Christmas Eve (I told Jamie the story recently)
The new camera (Sony DSC-H5) has a number of preset modes that take a lot of the guesswork out of taking pictures in certain situations. I tried out several different camera effects before I came up with these shots. The room shot is spectacular, I think. In all the years I’ve photographed my tree; it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to a professional-looking picture. The detail shot below is the one I’m most proud of. It’s still not perfect, but it seems almost surreal to think I did that on my own tree. It looks like postcard, and it also shows off my giant lights that created the glowing effect you see.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Walgreens Adds Apparel
Chain Store AgeDeerfield, Ill. - December 18 - Walgreens is going after Target and Wal-Mart shoppers by introducing apparel and other lifestyle merchandise, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
The report said Walgreen Co. wants to differentiate itself from Rite-Aid, CVS and other drug store competitors. The chain began selling apparel inside stores last year. By next year, the chain says all stores will feature new merchandise.
“We’ve always been a strong destination for health and beauty, and now we’re layering on the fashion, jewelry, accessories and appeal angle to even further meet shoppers’ lifestyle needs,” a Walgreen spokeswoman told Women’s Wear Daily.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
A B C Tag
By the Letters - Thanks to DeWitte
A- Available or Single? Both
B- Best Friend: Kevin (boy), Angie (girl)
C- Cake or Pie: Cake
D- Drink of Choice: Blenheim Ginger Ale
E- Essential Item used everyday; Computer, Soap
F- Favorite Color: Red or Green
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms
H- Hometown: Middle-of-Nowhere, Va.
I- Indulgence: Shoes
J- January or February? January
K- Kids and names: None
L- Life is incomplete without: inner peace
M- Marriage Date: None
N- Number of Siblings: 1
O- Oranges or apples: Both
P- Phobias/Fears: You name it!
Q- Favorite Quote: "If someone shows you who they are, believe them"
R- Reason to Smile: All my blog fans :-)
S- Season: Autumn
T- Tag three people: Heather, Ken, Carrie
U- Unknown Fact about Me: What do I have left to tell?
V- Vegetable you don't like: Tomatoes
W- Worst habit: Procrastination
X- X-Rays you've had: Neck
Y- Your favorite food: Chicken, popcorn, pancakes
Z- Zodiac: Virgo
A- Available or Single? Both
B- Best Friend: Kevin (boy), Angie (girl)
C- Cake or Pie: Cake
D- Drink of Choice: Blenheim Ginger Ale
E- Essential Item used everyday; Computer, Soap
F- Favorite Color: Red or Green
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms
H- Hometown: Middle-of-Nowhere, Va.
I- Indulgence: Shoes
J- January or February? January
K- Kids and names: None
L- Life is incomplete without: inner peace
M- Marriage Date: None
N- Number of Siblings: 1
O- Oranges or apples: Both
P- Phobias/Fears: You name it!
Q- Favorite Quote: "If someone shows you who they are, believe them"
R- Reason to Smile: All my blog fans :-)
S- Season: Autumn
T- Tag three people: Heather, Ken, Carrie
U- Unknown Fact about Me: What do I have left to tell?
V- Vegetable you don't like: Tomatoes
W- Worst habit: Procrastination
X- X-Rays you've had: Neck
Y- Your favorite food: Chicken, popcorn, pancakes
Z- Zodiac: Virgo
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Saks' Logo Gets a Makeover
By Sandra O'LoughlinNEW YORK -- Saks Fifth Avenue in January will unveil a new logo that will appear in advertising, shopping bags, merchandise and marketing materials. Pentagram Design developed the logo, which was incorporates Saks Fifth Avenue's classic script logotypes and the geometry of the perfect square, a shape that has become central to the identity of the retailer, from its catalogs to its employee pins.
The move is the latest initiative in a revitalization strategy under Stephen Sadove, who in January became CEO of parent company Saks Inc.
Under Sadove's predecessor, Brad Martin, the upscale department store tried to become more edgy in an effort to appeal to a younger consumer, a strategy that did not work. Sadove is on a mission to repair the store's image by ensuring stores stock merchandise for its core 48-year-old customers and at the right inventory levels, re-instituting its private label brands and bringing back petite sizes. Several of the stores have been remodeled.
A branding program and signature visual created by splitting the logo into 64 square pieces and then re-sizing, rotating and recombining them will appear on stationery, storefronts, charge cards and more. Designers including Diane von Furstenberg, Christian Louboutin, Albert Kriemler of Akris, George Sharp of Ellen Tracy and the design team of Moncler are collaborating with Saks to develop exclusive items incorporating the new visuals.
"Graphic, bold and sophisticated, the new branding initiative is not only a redesigned logo but a new visual language," said Terron Schaefer, group SVP, creative and marketing, in a statement. Schaefer anticipates the logo will become an enduring icon like that of Burberry's Nova Check and the Louis Vuitton LV.
Saks operates 54 full-line stores in 25 states as well as 50 Off 5th Outlet stores and saks.com.
Blogging the MALL
By Mike Janssen
The malls of our youth have changed irrevocably over the years. Some have even closed their doors for good. But, some nostalgic shoppers are now enshrining cherished mall-hopping memories with an up-to-the-minute technology — the blog.
Over the past few years, devotees of mall lore and history have launched online troves of photos, postcards, floor plans and old newspaper ads with blogs. Labelscar, Malls of America and BIGMallrat's Malls in Northern California and Reno are just a few. And though shopping is often seen as a woman's favorite pastime, many of these mall bloggers are men — an oddity they're at a loss to explain.
The sites have attracted hundreds of readers daily, eager to relive their own mall memories. A community has sprung up that uses LiveJournal, a popular personal blogging tool, and a Remembering Retail forum on Yahoo! boasts 430 members.
Malls of America (mallsofamerica.blogspot.com), one of the most popular and frequently updated mall blogs, features new pictures of vintage malls nearly every day, along with awestruck commentaries free of even a hint of irony.
“If that ain't Heaven, I'd sure like to know what is,” wrote proprietor Keith Milford of a '60s-era photo of Westland Center in Westland, Mich., in which the promenade is lined with bizarre, towering structures that resemble mutant dandelions.
A vintage picture of kids at a shopping-mall fountain sent Milford into a reverie — “the relaxing sound of the gurgling fountains, the shimmering ripples on the surface, the glistening coins blinking up at you from the fountain's tiled bottom, all mixed with the murmuring din of busy shoppers and lulling Muzak echoing throughout the mall in the background.”
Milford, 40, is among the older mall bloggers, but shares an idyllic view of the malls he visited as a kid with fellow fanatics. They also rue the ways in which malls have changed over time, shedding their aesthetic frills of yesteryear: murals, sculptures, birdcages and huge fountains and courtyards. To these bloggers, today's malls seem more homogenized and, sadly, less central to the social life and shopping routines of today's suburbanites.
“They're a huge part of our landscape in this country,” says Labelscar's Jason Damas, 26. “And yet, not many people are shedding a tear over it.”
Damas, whose Web site Labelscar receives 400 unique visits per day, has not received any comments from mall managers, developers or owners.
Damas's passion for malls is rooted in his youth in Newport, R.I., where the nearest mall with any stores worth patronizing, the Rhode Island Mall in Warwick, was a 45-minute drive away.
At Rhode Island Mall, Damas relished the freedom to wander off from his parents for a little while to play video games, eat junk food and buy alternative rock albums. Going there was an “event,” he says.
It was there he discovered a compilation of British indie rock bands that spawned an abiding passion for music. “It was not a planned purchase — it was hanging out at the mall that brought it on,” says Damas who blogs under the name Caldor in homage to the defunct department store chain.
That warm fuzzy feeling
Scott Parsons, who covers California malls as BIGMallrat (bigmallrat.blogspot.com), says malls remind him of outings with his mother and grandmother, who would often visit three malls in a day.
“It's like comfort food in some respects,” he says. “They provided so much for us when we were growing up. We'd look at the birds in the cages, play in the water fountains, all these things you can't do anymore.”
“Looking back, you get warm fuzzy feelings,” Parsons says.
Milford also enjoyed his childhood shopping trips but joined the ranks of mall fanatics after seeing the 1979 horror film Dawn of the Dead, in which the protagonists, seeking refuge from zombies, hole up inside Monroeville Mall, just outside Pittsburgh.
In the early 1980s Milford became “utterly obsessed” with the film and Monroeville Mall. He asked the mall for brochures and floor plans and even built a digital recreation of the center in a 3-D computer modeling program, which allowed him to put himself inside a vintage reconstruction of the mall.
Milford's obsession later grew to include vintage malls in general. (He also maintains blogs devoted to pop culture depictions of Satan, Halloween and Santa Claus, as well as one highlighting YouTube videos of busty, scantily clad women.)
“One of my biggest fantasies has always been to somehow have a huge deserted shopping mall all to myself at night — not so much for all the ‘stuff’ there, but more so I can freely explore the place and run around in it to my heart's content,” Milford says. “I'll be the first to admit that my own enjoyment of malls actually comes from a slightly weird and very personal place.”
The rise of blogging offered Milford and other mall fans a home for their stores of memorabilia and historical research. Milford launched Malls of America in June 2005 because no other Web site catered to his appetite for “lots and lots of groovy photos!”
Parsons, 37, was early to the Web with his Guide to Northern California Malls, which he started in 1998. But, it was not until December that he started its companion blog, when he discovered two boxes of mall-related materials stowed away in his attic — industry magazines, newspaper clippings and hundreds of directories from malls in the western United States and Canada that he has hoarded since the 1970s.
Milford and Parsons, as well as many other of the writers, run their sites using Blogger, a Web-based service that furnishes free site hosting through its Blogspot service.
The mall bloggers buttress their collections of mall materials by scouring eBay, searching other Web sites and visiting libraries, flea markets and estate and garage sales. Their posts often link to related online resources such as mall Web sites, Wikipedia entries and aerial images of malls found via Google Maps.
Damas and co-blogger Ross Schendel take a more encyclopedic approach to mall history on Labelscar (labelscar.com), named after the mark that remains on a building's façade long after a sign has been removed. The bloggers met on America Online in the late '90s and discovered a mutual love for malls and road trips.
Damas and Schendel met in person at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and made pilgrimages to many malls of the Midwest. Damas estimates that together and individually they have visited two-thirds of the country's enclosed malls. He often extends business trips to give himself an extra day or two for visiting malls, then details his travels in lengthy posts illustrated with many photos of the properties.
Their professions suit their unusual hobby. Schendel, a grad student, studies the geographic information systems that are sometimes used to plan retail developments. Damas works in search-engine optimization and brings a marketer's eye to his analyses of malls and their financial fortunes.
Competitive spirit
Labelscar and other mall blogs attract loyal visitors who contribute reminiscences and submit selections from their own caches of old ads and photos. The bloggers also read each other's sites, commenting on posts and collaborating on the creation of a collective store of knowledge.
Damas acknowledges that a competitive spirit fuels his blogging. “You always want to be the first one to get the story,” he says.
As a whole, the blogs embody their authors' dreams of paying tribute to what may be a fading piece of Americana.
“I hope it serves to not only remind people of all the aesthetic design, beauty and character we've lost from our classic malls at this point,” Milford says, “but, also that there's a need to consciously appreciate and celebrate those places, as well as the people who designed and built them.”
Their efforts are time-consuming. Parsons estimates he puts in 10 to 40 hours a week on his mall guide and its accompanying blog, often starting after getting home at 5 p.m. from his job as a technical writer — “I have to cut myself off, really.”
Milford too spends at least a few hours a day on Malls of America, including weekends, which inspires awe among his fellow bloggers. Damas calls the blog a “must see.” Parsons is similarly impressed.
“It would be interesting to talk to him in real life,” he says. “Wow, this person is more of a mall geek than I am. What kind of person is that?”
Mall Blog Roll
Retail Traffic Magazine
BIGMALLRAT'S MALLS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND RENO BLOG
bigmallrat.blogspot.com
Companion to a website launched in 1998, this blog offers contemporary news about NoCal malldom as well as memories and memorabilia from decades past.
GEORGIA RETAIL MEMORIES
georgiaretailmemories.blogspot.com
This infrequently updated site covers the history of malls and other retail outlets in Georgia and the South, with many photos.
LABELSCAR
labelscar.com
Mall enthusiasts Jason Damas and Ross Schendel write detailed chronologies and commentaries on malls all over the country and in Canada that are living, dying or somewhere in between. Numerous photos accompany their posts.
MALL HALL OF FAME
mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com
A relative newcomer to the mall blog scene, inspired by Malls of America (see below).
MALLS OF AMERICA
mallsofamerica.blogspot.com
Keith Milford indulges his love of vintage mall design and paraphernalia with frequent posts highlighting photos, postcards, videos and more. Readers contribute their own memories.
THAT MALL'S SICK AND THAT STORE'S DEAD!
sickmalls.blogspot.com
Anita Rose, an assistant editor at deadmalls.com, focuses mainly on the fates of two malls in Hampton, Va.: Newmarket Fair and Coliseum Mall.
BIGMALLRAT'S MALLS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND RENO BLOG
bigmallrat.blogspot.com
Companion to a website launched in 1998, this blog offers contemporary news about NoCal malldom as well as memories and memorabilia from decades past.
GEORGIA RETAIL MEMORIES
georgiaretailmemories.blogspot.com
This infrequently updated site covers the history of malls and other retail outlets in Georgia and the South, with many photos.
LABELSCAR
labelscar.com
Mall enthusiasts Jason Damas and Ross Schendel write detailed chronologies and commentaries on malls all over the country and in Canada that are living, dying or somewhere in between. Numerous photos accompany their posts.
MALL HALL OF FAME
mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com
A relative newcomer to the mall blog scene, inspired by Malls of America (see below).
MALLS OF AMERICA
mallsofamerica.blogspot.com
Keith Milford indulges his love of vintage mall design and paraphernalia with frequent posts highlighting photos, postcards, videos and more. Readers contribute their own memories.
THAT MALL'S SICK AND THAT STORE'S DEAD!
sickmalls.blogspot.com
Anita Rose, an assistant editor at deadmalls.com, focuses mainly on the fates of two malls in Hampton, Va.: Newmarket Fair and Coliseum Mall.
Monday, December 11, 2006
someday i'm coming back
and it won't be long.
Sorry to up and disappear on you guys (and additionally for including anything from the The Bodyguard soundtrack here).
I feel bad about it, but I haven't had any free time as of late. This week's not looking too good either.
I've got so much to tell you guys, but really, the good stuff evaporates before it reaches the keys. It's a new kind of writers' block, patent pending. Everyone's gonna want it next spring.
Anyway, as I sadly close without inspiration, I implore you: tell me your stories here. It'll give me something to bounce off of in my time at the keys
Sorry to up and disappear on you guys (and additionally for including anything from the The Bodyguard soundtrack here).
I feel bad about it, but I haven't had any free time as of late. This week's not looking too good either.
I've got so much to tell you guys, but really, the good stuff evaporates before it reaches the keys. It's a new kind of writers' block, patent pending. Everyone's gonna want it next spring.
Anyway, as I sadly close without inspiration, I implore you: tell me your stories here. It'll give me something to bounce off of in my time at the keys
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Christmas at Ivey's
J. B. Ivey & Company, Charlotte, North Carolina. Exterior Christmas display at the Uptown store, 1968. (Pat Richardson)
J. B. Ivey & Company, Charlotte, North Carolina. Shoppers on the main floor at Christmas at the Uptown store, 1957. (Pat Richardson)Find more Ivey's memories like this in The Ivey's Archive
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Belk, Eastland Mall, to close by mid-February
According to unnamed sources, Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk, Inc. intends to close its underperforming Eastland Mall store, also located in Charlotte, by mid-February of next year.The two-level, 160,000 square foot store opened in 1975 as one of Eastland Mall's original anchors.
Though Belk has denied rumors in the past that they planned to close their Eastland store, even after plans for a larger store in a more affluent neighborhood were announced in 2005, they have made no secret of their displeasure with the demographic changes at the struggling mall and have slowly reduced the breadth and quality of the merchandise lines at the store over the past several years, recently closing the lower level men's department and consolidating its merchandise on the upper level.
Further information on the closing will be proviuded as it becomes available.
Previously on LiveMalls
Belk, Eastland Mall
Monday, November 20, 2006
Foot Locker Denies Buyout Rumors, Details New Concepts
Chain Store AgeNEW YORK - Foot Locker denied on Friday that it was exploring a potential sale of the company, according to a Reuters report.
Speculation was heightened by the company's hiring of an advisory firm in August and by Foot Locker's refusal to comment on any buyout interest. On Friday, CEO Matthew Serra dispelled the rumors on a conference call with analysts.
On the same call, Serra discussed plans for a new concept, called "Footquarters," that will be focused on inexpensive footwear for the entire family. Approximately 60% of merchandise will be athletic shoes. Dress and casual shoes, which carry higher profit margins than athletic footwear, will comprise the rest.
“We feel that our buying power in the athletic segment will give us enhanced margins vs. our competition, so I personally believe it could be a very large division,” Serra said.
The company plans to open up to 70 Footquarters stores in 2007, with the first group to open in April or May and the second in the fall.
In addition, Foot Locker is opening a chain of athletic hat stores, called “Champs Sports Just Hats.” The stores will try to take market share from Genesco’s Hat World chain.
Retailers grumbling over Web sites that offer sneak peeks at day-after-Thanksgiving deals
Amy BaldwinThe Charlotte Observer
Can't wait a few more days to see what deals stores will offer the day after Thanksgiving? You don't have to.
A number of Web sites offer sneak peaks at what they say are ads retailers will run in newspapers on Thursday for Black Friday -- traditionally the first day of the year that many retailers make a profit or run in the black.
Retailers say the ads might not be legitimate, and complain they undermine their competitiveness. Some stores, including Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe's Companies Inc., are fighting the sites, which started in 2004 but really started getting noticed last year.
For example, Toys R Us Inc. will have a DVD player with 20 DVD movies for $29.99, while Target Corp. will offer a programmable coffee maker for $19, according to BlackFriday.info. The stores did not return calls for comment.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will have a 20-inch flat screen TV for $68.97, while Sears will offer a one-carat diamond bracelet for $99, according to Black Friday Ads, found at bfads.net. Store officials could not be reached for comment. Jon Vincent, founder of BlackFriday.info, said employees at newspaper distribution facilities and third-party printers take photos of the ads and send them to his site. Newspapers, including the Observer, have policies forbidding employees from taking or leaking advertisements from facilities.
Vincent said he doesn't verify the purloined ads with the stores but looks to make sure they appear real and that prices seem reasonable.
Impatient -- or, perhaps smart -- shoppers can try to leverage these ads to get a retailer or a competitor to match the price now, said Dayana Yochim, personal finance guru at The Motley Fool and co-adviser for its GreenLight newsletter. Or, consumers could use the advance info to map out the Black Friday shopping strategy with the biggest savings.
"The whole concept of Black Friday is kind of spread out over weeks and weeks as opposed to just that one critical selling day," said Yochim, noting some of Black Friday ads were getting posted as early as two weeks before Halloween.
Yochim contends that some retailers, though she couldn't name any, leak their ads.
Vincent said that a few retailers, including CVS Corp., have asked him to post their ads. CVS could not immediately be reached for comment.
But most retailers prefer to keep ads under wraps until Thursday, said Ellen Davis, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. Black Friday is a big deal, she said. It isn't the biggest shopping day of the year -- that honor goes to the Saturday before Christmas -- but it is the start to the holiday shopping season, which typically accounts for at least 20 percent of a retailer's annual sales.
"As a retailer, if you spent millions of dollars on advertising ... why would you want someone else to tell your story?" Davis said.
Vincent said that so far this year, three retailers -- Lowe's, Best Buy Co. Inc. and Linens N Things, asked BlackFriday.info to remove their ads from the site. The retailers cited trademark and copyright infringement. His site, which makes money from online advertisers and does not pay people for submitting sale ads, complied in all three cases.
Best Buy, however, said it didn't request its ad be pulled. Doing that for every site would take too much time, spokesman Brian Lucas said.
"It is not our policy to go after the Web sites that post rumors. Our main concern with the rumor sites is we can't verify their accuracy," Lucas said. "Customer disappointment is our biggest concern."
Last week, BlackFriday.info removed the Lowe's ad, which touted $700 cash-back on certain Frigidaire appliances.
"We don't want competitors to have time to create a better deal before shoppers have a chance to shop Lowe's," said spokeswoman Chris Ahearn.
Vincent said he doesn't believe advancing the ads is illegal or unethical.
"It's just sale prices and sales prices aren't copyrightable," he said. But "we definitely can't take on someone like Lowe's or Best Buy in court."
Wal-Mart is striking back in a different way. The world's largest retailer has said it will respond to its Black Friday ads having been leaked by announcing more deals on Thanksgiving Day, and only on its Web site (www.walmart.com).
A number of Web sites offer sneak peaks at what they say are ads retailers will run in newspapers on Thursday for Black Friday -- traditionally the first day of the year that many retailers make a profit or run in the black.
Retailers say the ads might not be legitimate, and complain they undermine their competitiveness. Some stores, including Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe's Companies Inc., are fighting the sites, which started in 2004 but really started getting noticed last year.
For example, Toys R Us Inc. will have a DVD player with 20 DVD movies for $29.99, while Target Corp. will offer a programmable coffee maker for $19, according to BlackFriday.info. The stores did not return calls for comment.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will have a 20-inch flat screen TV for $68.97, while Sears will offer a one-carat diamond bracelet for $99, according to Black Friday Ads, found at bfads.net. Store officials could not be reached for comment. Jon Vincent, founder of BlackFriday.info, said employees at newspaper distribution facilities and third-party printers take photos of the ads and send them to his site. Newspapers, including the Observer, have policies forbidding employees from taking or leaking advertisements from facilities.
Vincent said he doesn't verify the purloined ads with the stores but looks to make sure they appear real and that prices seem reasonable.
Impatient -- or, perhaps smart -- shoppers can try to leverage these ads to get a retailer or a competitor to match the price now, said Dayana Yochim, personal finance guru at The Motley Fool and co-adviser for its GreenLight newsletter. Or, consumers could use the advance info to map out the Black Friday shopping strategy with the biggest savings.
"The whole concept of Black Friday is kind of spread out over weeks and weeks as opposed to just that one critical selling day," said Yochim, noting some of Black Friday ads were getting posted as early as two weeks before Halloween.
Yochim contends that some retailers, though she couldn't name any, leak their ads.
Vincent said that a few retailers, including CVS Corp., have asked him to post their ads. CVS could not immediately be reached for comment.
But most retailers prefer to keep ads under wraps until Thursday, said Ellen Davis, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. Black Friday is a big deal, she said. It isn't the biggest shopping day of the year -- that honor goes to the Saturday before Christmas -- but it is the start to the holiday shopping season, which typically accounts for at least 20 percent of a retailer's annual sales.
"As a retailer, if you spent millions of dollars on advertising ... why would you want someone else to tell your story?" Davis said.
Vincent said that so far this year, three retailers -- Lowe's, Best Buy Co. Inc. and Linens N Things, asked BlackFriday.info to remove their ads from the site. The retailers cited trademark and copyright infringement. His site, which makes money from online advertisers and does not pay people for submitting sale ads, complied in all three cases.
Best Buy, however, said it didn't request its ad be pulled. Doing that for every site would take too much time, spokesman Brian Lucas said.
"It is not our policy to go after the Web sites that post rumors. Our main concern with the rumor sites is we can't verify their accuracy," Lucas said. "Customer disappointment is our biggest concern."
Last week, BlackFriday.info removed the Lowe's ad, which touted $700 cash-back on certain Frigidaire appliances.
"We don't want competitors to have time to create a better deal before shoppers have a chance to shop Lowe's," said spokeswoman Chris Ahearn.
Vincent said he doesn't believe advancing the ads is illegal or unethical.
"It's just sale prices and sales prices aren't copyrightable," he said. But "we definitely can't take on someone like Lowe's or Best Buy in court."
Wal-Mart is striking back in a different way. The world's largest retailer has said it will respond to its Black Friday ads having been leaked by announcing more deals on Thanksgiving Day, and only on its Web site (www.walmart.com).
the return of the (sometimes) king
We have to get together more often. :-)
My class is finally over! As reported earlier, I had to take the full tax course in order to work at Big Green again this coming tax season…all twelve weeks of it, and all six hours of the exam (it was supposed to be four, but all the students kept getting the wrong refund amount and our teacher kept making us correct our exams to make sure we got our fair share of points.)
But that’s excruciating water under the bridge. The good news is that I get my weekends back through the holidays and hopefully I can clean up the large pile of email and unread magazines I have lying around. You never realize how many magazines you read until you have a stack of them sitting near you that you’ve barely read. Somehow I think I need to cut down, but something tells me I won’t.
This week is a short one at work, so I’m hoping it’ll pass by quickly. I’m not placing bets on this. It’ll probably be balls to the wall insanity as usual.
Then of course there’s Turkey Day…God, I’m so bored with Thanksgiving. Nothing’s open, nothing’s on and the day’s main joy is gorging one’s self with starches and triptophans and listening to overbearing relatives pick fights with each other. The Pilgrims and Native Americans weren’t aiming for this, I’m sure.
Immediately following Thanksgiving…and I mean this literally, is Black Friday., the day that people get up at 5:00 AM to get the same shit they can get at 11:00 AM for the same price. I’m not going to disparage this further, since I’m scheduled to go to Four Seasons Town Centre to Rockin’ Shoppin’ Eve at 1:00 AM Friday and to New York less than 24 hours later. The difference is that I’m just doing it because I like to shop, not because I’m trying to get all my Christmas shopping done or because I’m trying to get a deal.
Then again, if you’re a regular here, you know this already.
There’s so much to comment on in the news that I could be here for a while commenting on it, so I’ll leave it alone. Hope everyone is well out there in Steveland, and if you aren’t I hope whatever’s eating you will get eaten by something bigger before it consumes you.
Music Extra: Cause I Feel Like It
Here are some songs that have been on my mind lately.
Sweetest Somebody I Know - Stevie Wonder Listen
Simply goregeous sentiment and music, previously discussed at the Vox site
Kick, Push - Lupe Fiasco Listen
The backing track kicks butt.
What You Won't Do For Love (20th Anniversary version) - Bobby Caldwell Listen
It's not the original version, but it's the original singer... simply the best interpreter of this classic.
Shine (with Esthero) - Boney James Listen
Dsepite its "morning show" brightness, it's a great track. Who'd have thought Esthero could be this sunny?
Secrets Of Love - Al Jarreau Listen
Everything seems to work on this song.
My class is finally over! As reported earlier, I had to take the full tax course in order to work at Big Green again this coming tax season…all twelve weeks of it, and all six hours of the exam (it was supposed to be four, but all the students kept getting the wrong refund amount and our teacher kept making us correct our exams to make sure we got our fair share of points.)
But that’s excruciating water under the bridge. The good news is that I get my weekends back through the holidays and hopefully I can clean up the large pile of email and unread magazines I have lying around. You never realize how many magazines you read until you have a stack of them sitting near you that you’ve barely read. Somehow I think I need to cut down, but something tells me I won’t.
This week is a short one at work, so I’m hoping it’ll pass by quickly. I’m not placing bets on this. It’ll probably be balls to the wall insanity as usual.
Then of course there’s Turkey Day…God, I’m so bored with Thanksgiving. Nothing’s open, nothing’s on and the day’s main joy is gorging one’s self with starches and triptophans and listening to overbearing relatives pick fights with each other. The Pilgrims and Native Americans weren’t aiming for this, I’m sure.
Immediately following Thanksgiving…and I mean this literally, is Black Friday., the day that people get up at 5:00 AM to get the same shit they can get at 11:00 AM for the same price. I’m not going to disparage this further, since I’m scheduled to go to Four Seasons Town Centre to Rockin’ Shoppin’ Eve at 1:00 AM Friday and to New York less than 24 hours later. The difference is that I’m just doing it because I like to shop, not because I’m trying to get all my Christmas shopping done or because I’m trying to get a deal.
Then again, if you’re a regular here, you know this already.
There’s so much to comment on in the news that I could be here for a while commenting on it, so I’ll leave it alone. Hope everyone is well out there in Steveland, and if you aren’t I hope whatever’s eating you will get eaten by something bigger before it consumes you.
Music Extra: Cause I Feel Like It
Here are some songs that have been on my mind lately.
Sweetest Somebody I Know - Stevie Wonder Listen
Simply goregeous sentiment and music, previously discussed at the Vox site
Kick, Push - Lupe Fiasco Listen
The backing track kicks butt.
What You Won't Do For Love (20th Anniversary version) - Bobby Caldwell Listen
It's not the original version, but it's the original singer... simply the best interpreter of this classic.
Shine (with Esthero) - Boney James Listen
Dsepite its "morning show" brightness, it's a great track. Who'd have thought Esthero could be this sunny?
Secrets Of Love - Al Jarreau Listen
Everything seems to work on this song.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Protesters Storm Wal-Mart in Mexico City
Chain Store Age
MEXICO CITY - About 250 protestors stormed a Wal-Mart on the outskirts of Mexico City on Tuesday, accusing the retailer of selling low-cost goods at the expense of workers, farmers and public markets, according to the Associated Press.
Protesters chanted "Out! Out!" in front of Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters in Mexico before entering the adjacent store, where they blocked aisles for about 30 minutes before leaving. There were no immediate reports of arrests, injuries or damage, the report said.
Protestors said the company’s low prices take business away from the country's traditional public markets and depress wages for workers and farmers.
MEXICO CITY - About 250 protestors stormed a Wal-Mart on the outskirts of Mexico City on Tuesday, accusing the retailer of selling low-cost goods at the expense of workers, farmers and public markets, according to the Associated Press.
Protesters chanted "Out! Out!" in front of Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters in Mexico before entering the adjacent store, where they blocked aisles for about 30 minutes before leaving. There were no immediate reports of arrests, injuries or damage, the report said.
Protestors said the company’s low prices take business away from the country's traditional public markets and depress wages for workers and farmers.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
A King memorial for 'eternal truths'
By Richard CloughChicago Tribune
WASHINGTON -- Only a select number of Americans have been honored with individual monuments on the National Mall in Washington. There are no memorials to historic African-Americans. And few, if any, of those enshrined there were ever jailed.
But that's all about to change.
Nearly 40 years after the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., construction began Monday on a National Mall memorial honoring the civil rights icon.
King's enduring legacy brought out presidents past and present, celebrities and a slew of supporters on a cool, gray day for a groundbreaking ceremony, where praise for the civil rights leader was in no short supply.
"Dr. King was on this Earth just 39 years, but the ideas that guided his work and his life are eternal," President Bush said at the ceremony. "Here in this place, we will raise a lasting memorial to those eternal truths. Honoring Dr. King's legacy requires more than building a monument, it requires the ongoing commitment of every American."
The King monument will be built near the Lincoln Memorial, where in 1963 the civil rights leader delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech.
Some 43 years later, Bush said that the new monument would stand as a testament to the ideals King espoused on that August day.
"An assassin's bullet could not shatter the dream," the president said. "Dr. King's message of justice and brotherhood took hold in the hearts of men and women across the great land of ours. It continues to inspire millions across the world."
In good company
Just steps from the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and the Washington Monument, King's memorial places the civil rights leader in the pantheon of renowned American leaders. The National Mall has for years been an exclusive club for memorials, and King can soon be added to a list that includes just four presidents and a Civil War hero—engineer John Ericsson, designer of the iron-plated USS Monitor—with individual memorials.
President Bill Clinton signed legislation in 1996 approving construction of the monument, 12 years after members of the national black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha began calling for a King memorial.
The $100 million memorial will feature flowing water, stones and trees that designers say will represent themes of democracy, justice and hope. The stones will be inscribed with text from King's speeches.
Project organizers have raised $65.5 million for construction of the memorial, mostly from corporate donors, and completion is planned for the spring of 2008.
On Monday, Clinton testified to King's ideals, saying his messages resonate in today's world.
"When the real battlefield is the human heart, civil disobedience works better than suicide bombing," Clinton said. "Fighting your opponents with respect and reason works better than aspersion and attack.
'A source of inspiration'
Clinton said the King memorial, standing among monuments to other great Americans, would serve as a reminder that the civil rights leader fought to advance the ideal of equality set in motion by his predecessors.
"Here there will be a memorial to Martin Luther King, the voice and spirit of the movement to lift the last legal racial barriers to our more perfect union," Clinton said.
In a letter read by ABC's Diane Sawyer, former South African President Nelson Mandela said King provided inspiration for civil rights movements across the globe.
"Dr. King's legacy is timeless and generations will continue to look back on his work as a source of inspiration and hope," Mandela said in his letter. "Dr. King had the nobility of spirit to stand in the path of tyranny and injustice without seeking selfish gain."
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey said she does not take her success for granted, and she is grateful for King's achievements in elevating the black community.
"I live in a state of perpetual gratitude because I know that I didn't get to be who I am, where I am, alone," she said. "Because he was the seed of the free—Dr. King—I get to be the blossom and live the dream that he dreamed for his children."
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams echoed that sentiment when he said King "opened the doors of opportunity for each and every one of us."
On the guest list
Among the notables attending the ceremony were members of King's family, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, writer Maya Angelou and Jesse Jackson.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) represents for many the strides African-Americans have made in politics.
Obama invoked King's "I have a dream" speech as he spoke of his two daughters, saying that the civil rights leader's struggles allowed Obama's children to "live today with the freedom God intended, their citizenship unquestioned, their dreams unbounded.
"The man we honor today did what God required," Obama said. "In the end, that is what I will tell my daughters."
Monday, November 13, 2006
Survey: Wal-Mart Top Holiday Destination
Chain Store Age
CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores is expected to be the top-shopping destination, according to a survey conducted for Reuters.
The first in a series of polls by America’s Research Group found that a surprisingly high 89% of respondents planned to shop at Wal-Mart this year, suggesting that the chain’s aggressive price cuts will succeed in attracting more customers.
Brit Beemer, head of America’s Research Group, said he was “a little flabbergasted” by the high number of people who said they planned to shop at Wal-Mart, adding that he had expected the figure to be closer to 70%. The survey found that some 72% respondents planned to shop for electronics at the chain.
“As they’ve added more name brands, it gives them credibility for electronics,” Beemer said.
CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores is expected to be the top-shopping destination, according to a survey conducted for Reuters.
The first in a series of polls by America’s Research Group found that a surprisingly high 89% of respondents planned to shop at Wal-Mart this year, suggesting that the chain’s aggressive price cuts will succeed in attracting more customers.
Brit Beemer, head of America’s Research Group, said he was “a little flabbergasted” by the high number of people who said they planned to shop at Wal-Mart, adding that he had expected the figure to be closer to 70%. The survey found that some 72% respondents planned to shop for electronics at the chain.
“As they’ve added more name brands, it gives them credibility for electronics,” Beemer said.
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