McDonald’s Announces a New CEO
Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s restaurant in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. The current McDonald’s Corporation was founded in 1955 when Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois. Today, there are more than 31,000 McDonald’s restaurants in 119 countries serving 58 million customers each day. The 31,000 restaurants employ more than 1.5 million people.
Jim Skinner, the current CEO of McDonald’s Corporation, announced today that he will be retiring at the end of June after 41 years with the company. Skinner is credited with turning the company around after a bit of upheaval in the company’s executive offices. Skinner took the position of CEO in November 2004 and succeeded in quadrupling stock prices, which had been steadily declining in the six years prior to 2004. McDonald’s stock was the best performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2011 with a 31 percent increase, although the stock has slipped 4 percent in 2012. Don Thompson, currently the company’s president, will succeed Skinner as CEO, making him one of a small group of African-American CEOs at large companies.
UPS Expands Presences Overseas
United Parcel Service, more widely known as UPS, was founded in 1907 as American Message Company in Seattle, Washington. The company was started with just $100 in seed money, but with careful management and skillful mergers and acquisitions throughout the years, UPS is still one of the top delivery services in the country. UPS offers next day services as well as standard ground services both internationally as well as domestically, as well as LTL and TL freight services. After acquiring Mail Boxes Etc. in 2001, the company opened a series of UPS Stores, which offer shipping services and mailbox rentals.
The company uses a hub and spoke model for its deliveries, which entail sending packages to hubs located in key cities throughout the world. In these hubs, packages are directed to other hubs closer to their final destinations or loaded onto UPS delivery trucks to be delivered to their final destinations if there are no closer hubs. UPS delivery vehicles are all painted a uniform brown, known as Pullman Brown, and feature gold lettering to solidify the company’s branding.
Although the company does provide delivery services overseas, their latest acquisition, announced earlier this week, is going to significantly increase the company’s presence in the Asian and European markets. UPS will pay $6.8 billion to purchase its competitor, TNT Express. This purchase price is more than 50 percent higher than the original price discussed when negotiations began in February. A representative from UPS, which is based in Atlanta, stated that the purchase of the Dutch company will grow their business in Europe, Asia and Latin America by as much as 10 percent.
While this purchase eliminates at least one competing company, UPS still has many competitors both within the U.S. and worldwide. In the U.S., the company’s main competitors are FedEx and the U.S. postal service.
Scholastic Stock Rises in Anticipation of The Hunger Games
Book publisher Scholastic Corp. experienced a spike in its stock prices as advertising ramps up for the film version of The Hunger Games book. The movie, due out next week, is based on the book of the same name by Suzanne Collins, which is published by Scholastic. The company’s quarterly report shows a 22 percent increase in revenue from this same period last year, which means an additional $467 million that is largely credited to sales of The Hunger Games trilogy.
Scholastic also publishes the Harry Potter books, another series made into a series of eight incredibly successful films, along with the popular Goosebump series. CEO Richard Robinson relates the The Hunger Games trilogy to the Harry Potter series as both series were aimed at children or young adults, but were quickly picked up by adults as well. As a result of this spike in stock prices, Scholastic has adjusted its earnings projections for 2012 from about $1.93 to approximately $2.75 per share.
BBH Labs Launches Homeless Hotspots
BBH Labs, a division of the BBH marketing agency, made waves at this year’s South by Southwest technology conference by hiring some ofAustin’s homeless people to serve as Wi-Fi hotspots. The company found 13 volunteers from area homeless shelters and outfitted them with mobile Wi-Fi devices, business cards and t-shirts that stated their names and the fact that they were 4G hotspots. These human hotspots offered wireless 4G access to conference goers in exchange for donations. Volunteers were paid $20 per day while acting as hotspots and were also allowed to keep the donation money they received.
The project received quite a bit of criticism at the conference as well as online. A blogger for Wired described the project as “completely problematic.” By the last day of the project, BBH Labs was still fighting the media backlash. The director of innovation at BBH Labs, Saneel Radia, stated that the project was not meant to degrade homeless people, nor were they taking advantage of them. He stated that the project was modeled after the newspapers homeless people sometimes sell for a dollar. He also pointed out the company’s success with other such project, including equipping homeless New Yorkers with cell phones and Twitter accounts to call attention to their situations.
Radia and his team conferred with Mitchell Gibbs, director of development for Front Steps, the shelter where BBH Labs enlisted its volunteers, to find out how best to structure the project. Gibbs was shocked to hear about all the negative attention the project was attracting and stated that it had inspired an “entrepreneurial spirit” in the 13 volunteers.
The homeless participants in the project were volunteers and were under no obligation to participate. Clarence Jones, one of the human hotspots, was happy to have an honest day’s work, accompanied by an honest day’s pay. Jones has been homeless since Hurricane Katrina, and enjoyed the opportunity to talk to conference attendees and earn a living.
Fender Announces IPO
Fender, the top seller of acoustic, bass and electronic guitars and amplifiers in the U.S., filed for an IPO today. The company plans to offer up to $200 million worth of shares to the public. Fender’s sales for 2011 were $700 million, which is up more than $80,000 from 2010. Net income for 2011 was $19 million after taking a $1.7 million loss in 2010. The company will use part of the money raised by the IPO to repay part of a loan. If approved by the SEC, Fender will trade under the symbol FNDR.
Although electric guitars have been produced since the 1920s, Fender was the first company to be successful selling them. Founded in California in 1946 by Clarence Leonidas Fender, the company is known for its quality instruments, including the Stratocaster and the Precision Bass. Fender is the guitar brand of choice for many famous musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen and Keith Richards.
Duncan Phyfe Furniture
America’s most well known cabinetmaker, Duncan Phyfe, produced a wide range of furnishings in the early 1800s. He is one of the most prominent American furniture makers of the nineteenth century and his pieces are sought after today by many avid collectors. Phyfe started his cabinetmaking business in New York City in 1795. His shop was located on Partition Street, which is know called Fulton Street in Manhattan.
Although the first piece of furniture credited to the Phyfe furniture company was not created until 1807, Phyfe hardly ever signed his pieces, so it’s entirely possible that he created additional furnishings between 1795 and 1807 that were never officially linked to him. In his early years, Phyfe created furnishings in the English Regency style of Thomas Sheraton, along with Grecian style pieces reminiscent of the French Restoration and the antique style of the 1820s.
Phyfe used mainly mahogany for crafting his furnishings, although some of his pieces were carved from satinwood. He stained his furnishings in rich colors and finished them off with a high-polish sheen to increase consumer appeal. His designs were often quite simple, yet elegant and refined, which is why his furnishings were coveted by the elite of the time. Phyfe liked to incorprate details and adornments on his pieces, including lyre shapes carved into seatbacks and the small intricate carvings that adorned many of his pieces. There’s even a 30-foot-high statue of one of Duncan Phyfe’s lyre-backed dining chairs in Thomasville, North Carolina, the current furniture capital of the U.S.
Phyfe’s two sons, James and William, joined the business in 1837 and the company name was changed to D. Phyfe & Sons. When William left the company in 1840, the name was changed to D. Phyfe & Son. The shop was closed seven years later when Phyfe retired at the age of 79. His estate was valued at more than $300,000 when he died in 1854.
Time Warner Cable Offers Usage-Based Plan
Time Warner Cable, headquartered in New York City, offers cable and telecommunications services in 28 states, including California, Texas, New York and New Jersey. The company also owns several local news and sports channels. Time Warner Cable formed in 1989 with the merger of American Television and Communications Corp. and Warner Cable.
The company is offering a new broadband Internet plan aimed at users who do not consume much bandwidth. Subscribers who select this usage plan will save $5 on their bill each month and they will be limited to five gigabytes of data each month, which roughly equates to streaming two full-length high-definition movies.
Time Warner Cable is seeking alternate ways of keeping revenues up as more users begin to watch television programming online. The company believes that some consumers will eventually cancel their television subscriptions completely and wants to come up with new ways of pulling in revenue without upsetting current broadband subscribers. Offering a lower cost option for those who do not use the Internet that much could attract new customers to Time Warner Cable and provide the additional revenue they need.
Dell Shifts Focus Away From PCs
As a pre-med freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, Michael Dell began selling personal computers and upgrade kits out of his dorm room. He received a vendor license so he could bit on state contracts in Texas and won many because he did not have as much overhead as his competitors. The Dell Computer Corporation was officially launched in 1984 and sold directly to consumers rather than through stores.
By cutting out the middleman, Dell was able to sell computers at a lower cost than those found at electronics stores. This business model catapulted Dell computers into the spotlight and made Michael Dell the youngest CEO to have a company make the Fortune 500 in 1992. By 1996, the company was reporting about $1 million in daily sales on their Web site, Dell.com.
Although the personal computer industry has been inundated by brands with a wide variety of price ranges making it difficult for one company to maintain a stronghold, Dell Computer Corporation is still going strong. The company has shifted its focus away from the personal computing industry and is focusing instead on selling product and services to corporations, a market Dell says is worth $3 trillion. The enterprise business end of Dell Computer Corporation has doubled its business in the last six years and now accounts for half of Dell’s profits.
Dell believes this is a smart move as IT budgets continue to shrink or IT departments disappear altogether in some companies. Dell recently launched a line of PowerEdge servers to support businesses with remote computer access needs and has been purchasing additional technology companies, such as Compellent Technologies and Force 10 Networks, to increase the availability of enterprise products and services. While the company’s desktop PC sales dropped 4 percent last year, their networking and storage revenue increased by 10 percent.
Coldwater Ranch
A tranquil private retreat situated ninety minutes north of Amarillo, Texas, Coldwater Ranch provides guests with an Old West-style experience unlike any other. Owned and run by the same family for generations, Coldwater Ranch is presently managed by Joe Batson, a proud Texan and lifelong denizen of Amarillo. Licensed as a pilot by the Federal Aviation Administration since his teenage years, Mr. Batson spent his youth herding cattle and flying small planes on the ranch, serving in numerous capacities prior to undertaking his current duties as President. Mr. Joe Batson and his kin take great pride in their relationship with the land and their ties to the region’s rich history, honoring the memory of their pioneer ancestors with a promise to preserve the locale’s majestic natural surroundings.
Coldwater Ranch’s origins date back to the late 1800s, a time when the town of Coldwater boasted the only post office in Sherman County. In this era, the outpost was home to a group of 15 cowboys, all of who worked for the Coldwater Cattle Company at the William B. Slaughter Ranch. Big changes started brewing in Coldwater leading up to the turn of the century. A courthouse, jail, hotel, and mercantile shop had been built by 1891. Sherman County’s first newspaper, the Sherman County Banner, published its first edition in July 1893. A windmill and well-drilling business further bolstered Coldwater’s economy. Despite the town’s quick growth, the boom was short-lived. With no railway access, businesses closed and residents decamped to greener pastures. By 1940, the old brick courthouse was all that remained of Coldwater.
Today, visitors to Coldwater Ranch can enjoy a wide range of activities, including horseback riding and jeep tours as well as power-boating, waterskiing, or wakeboarding on a private lake. The ranch’s staff prepares hearty home-cooked meals each day. High-speed Internet and telephone services keep guests connected to the outside world, and the ranch is easily accessible by plane or helicopter thanks to a grass airstrip and heliport.
(Source: about.me)
Sears Selling Off Stores
After posting the largest quarterly loss in more than nine years, Sears Holdings Corp. has decided to sell 11 store sites and separate some of its smaller businesses. The company hopes to raise up to $770 million. Sears plans to separate several divisions includeing their Hometown outlet stores as well as some of their hardware stores. The separation of these divisions should raise between $400 and $500 million, while the sale of the 11 sites is expected to generate about $270 million.
Sears Roebuck and Co. got its start as a mail order catalog in the 1880s. Their first retail store openedin 1925 in Chicago. Sears held the title of the largest retailer in the U.S. until the 1980s. Sears Holdings Corp. is a retail conglomeration that was formed in 2005 when Sears, Roebuck and Co. merged with Kmart Holdings Corp. The conglomerate runs 4,000 retails stores under a variety of names, including Sears, Sears Grand, Kmart, Big Kmart and Lands’ End. The company’s headquarters are located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
