Retail
Howard Schultz’s master plan extends well beyond the bean
Starbucks fortunes were fading six years ago when Howard Schultz, who years earlier had stepped away from day-to-day operations, took back the reins as CEO and engineered a dramatic turnaround. Now, Schultz is using the companys global coffee empire as a launching pad to push into a broad range of new product areas, from health…
Jane Parks winning strategy at Julep
If Jane Park were to describe her fashion sense in one word, it would be bombshell. At least thats how the customizable style profiles at her beauty companys website have her pegged. It might also apply to her business sense. As founder and CEO of Julep, Parks exuberant personality helped her build an explosive presence…
Crowd sourcing with Makerhaus
Startup Weekend, the Seattle-based nonprofit that runs 54-hour entrepreneurial brainstorming sessions all over the world (see page 20), recognized the importance of design last summer when it launched Startup Weekend Maker Edition, the first of its events focused exclusively on building physical products. It was held at Makerhaus, a Fremont design workshop, and brought together…
The Power of Design
We have deep roots in engineering through Boeing and in computer science and software through Microsoft. We have a rich culture of art and craft and an appreciation of things well made. Add to that a more demanding global customer, a more vibrant design community and you have the fuel for a potential explosion of…
Bright Idea: Out to Launch
Amid the proliferation of new approaches to launching startups, you can add this one from Seattle-based Be Labs. While venture capital firms might screen a hundred startups before choosing one to support, Be Labs turns the process on its head, studying social trends to identify business opportunities and then creating companies to address them. Take…
Blu Tigres improves on the single-serve idea
For many, few things are more important than that daily cup of coffee. So when a new technology gives us a better way to obtain that caffeine jolt, were quick to latch onto it. Thats the story of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which has made a fortune selling single-serve Keurig machines and the little plastic…
Planning a Marijuana Trip?
In June, Seattle officials publicly voiced their support for pot tourism. Its too soon to tell whether the city will become the next Amsterdam, attracting THC-seeking tourists throughout the region and beyond. But Mike Momany, 61, has high hopes. His vision: to start cannabis clubs that host private, bring-your-own-bud events for paying members. What sort…
Marijuana entrepreneurs are lining up to cash in
Jim Willett has never smoked pot. His teenage sons think hes a square. A former Navy pilot, Willett spent a year flying drug interdiction patrols along the Washington coast, checking for ships carrying bales of marijuana. For the graying retiree, voting against the states legalization of recreational weed last fall was pretty much a given….
Website and new visitor center embrace the LGBT tourist.
All travelers want to visit places where theyll be greeted warmly and hospitably. Travel Gay Seattle, a program of the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), is working to make Seattle such a place by offering listings of hotels, shops, golf courses, gyms and other businesses that have identified themselves as friendly to lesbian, gay, bisexual…
Is AmazonFresh a Trojan horse for same day deliveries of all products?
Amazon will begin delivering groceries to New Yorkers from a 560,000-square-foot location in New Jersey, reports Business Insider. The report notes that Amazon has begun advertising for staff and suggests the company will begin service in New York in 2014. Meanwhile, a cover story in the most recent issure of Fast Company argues that AmazonFresh…
Blucora to acquire e-retailer Monoprice for $180 million
Blucora announced today it has agreed to purchase electronics e-retailer Monoprice for $180 million. The company also announced its revenue in the second quarter climbed 16 percent from the year before to $117 million. Monoprice is a rapidly growing online provider of self-branded electronics and accessories, with a product catalog exceeding 5,000 items across multiple…
The economic impact of port activity
The seaports of Seattle and Tacoma generate tens of thousands of jobs directly and indirectly from handling import and export cargos. If they can stay competitive and get the money needed for improved and expanded facilities, they will add thousands more to the count. Or at least thats what the studies, the ports elected commissioners…
Should Seattle and Tacoma consolidate into one container port?
Competition from ports just up and down the road and on both coasts. A squeeze from competing land uses and developers with an eye on its property. Traffic snarls on the roads leading to and from its container-handling terminals. The Port of Seattle doesnt lack for threats and challenges to its future. In fact, those…