News
Last-Minute Shopping? Amazon, Starbucks, REI Rank Among Best for Gift Card Value
Several Seattle-area retailers top 2024 list
If you’re last-minute gift-shopping — and chances are you are — you’re probably considering a gift card. The National Retail Federation says 157 million people plan to shop on Super Saturday — the last Saturday before Christmas. An estimated 26% of shoppers have already bought gift cards. “As with last year, over half of consumers…
Kraken Founding Owner David Bonderman Dies
Bonderman worked as a security guard at the Space Needle while attending college at UW
It was only my fourth day on the job in a new city, and I found myself sitting across a table from David Bonderman. This was back in 2003. I was the newly minted editor of the Portland Business Journal, and Bonderman’s private investment group — Texas Pacific Group, known as TPG — had just…
Judges Block Kroger-Albertsons Merger
Decision effectively ends plans that effect more than 300 grocery stores across Washington state
A woman named Kerry (she asked that her last name not be used) was perusing the canned goods section at the Magnolia QFC when she was asked if she had heard that a federal judge in Oregon had blocked parent company Kroger’s proposed merger with Albertsons. (About an hour later, a King County Superior Court…
Last-Minute Shopping? Amazon, Starbucks, REI Rank Among Best for Gift Card Value
Several Seattle-area retailers top 2024 list
If you’re last-minute gift-shopping — and chances are you are — you’re probably considering a gift card. The National Retail Federation says 157 million people plan to shop on Super Saturday — the last Saturday before Christmas. An estimated 26% of shoppers have already bought gift cards. “As with last year, over half of consumers…
Kraken Founding Owner David Bonderman Dies
Bonderman worked as a security guard at the Space Needle while attending college at UW
It was only my fourth day on the job in a new city, and I found myself sitting across a table from David Bonderman. This was back in 2003. I was the newly minted editor of the Portland Business Journal, and Bonderman’s private investment group — Texas Pacific Group, known as TPG — had just…
Judges Block Kroger-Albertsons Merger
Decision effectively ends plans that effect more than 300 grocery stores across Washington state
A woman named Kerry (she asked that her last name not be used) was perusing the canned goods section at the Magnolia QFC when she was asked if she had heard that a federal judge in Oregon had blocked parent company Kroger’s proposed merger with Albertsons. (About an hour later, a King County Superior Court…
Tacoma Mall Goes Upscale
It joins several other properties in recreating the mall experience
Many malls across the United States are struggling. So, why is Tacoma Mall investing tens of millions of dollars in a massive renovation? Mall owner Simon Property Group — best known locally as the redeveloper of Northgate Mall, now known as Northgate Station — has launched plans for a multi-million-dollar revitalization of the mall, which…
Stronger Together: Seattle U. and Cornish Announce Deal to Join Forces
Combined institution could boost Seattle’s flourishing creative economy
A few months ago, the president of Seattle University approached his counterpart at Cornish College of the Arts with a proposal: Let’s join forces. Today, the two Seattle educational powerhouses announced a plan that would create a unique entity combining the Jesuit tradition of education with a strong emphasis on arts and design. The boards…
Starbucks Dubbed a ‘Loser’ for Recent Performance
Problems are ‘deep-seated and multi-faceted’
Restaurant Dive (one of the many Dive verticals) cited an unfocused menu, a brand identity crisis, and political perceptions related to the war in Gaza and unionization efforts as reasons for a 10% drop in foot traffic and a 6% plunge in sales…
Microsoft To Grant $50,000 to 50 Nonprofits For Its 50th Birthday
50 for 50 program seeks ‘community champions’
Microsoft turns 50 next April, and the software giant wants to celebrate. The company will make 50 grants of 50,000 apiece to 50 local “changemakers” across the Puget Sound region “who are making a difference in the lives of their neighbors.” In a letter titled “Thank you, Puget Sound,” Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad…