Retail
Precious Mettle
Steven Goldfarb is a man on a mission. The 47-year-old president of Alvin Goldfarb Jewelers-and son of Alvin himself-wants to give you the best jewelry shopping experience you’ve ever had. But he’s not doing it just to please you. He’s doing it because he has to. In the last decade, brick-and-mortar jewelers like Goldfarb have…
The Egg Girl
When Diane Irvine was in grade school, her father left his Chicago-area cement company job and moved his family to Harvard, Ill., to start a farm. “I think about what a risk he took,” says Irvine, now 50. “He had a wife and five kids, and he went into a business that was completely subject…
Better Nordstrom Sales May Signal Improving Economy
Nordstrom has raised its earnings outlook for this quarter, signalling a better than expected Christmas season. “We are not out of the woods yet,” Blake Norstrom, president of the retail giant told the Wall Street Journal, “But we are encouraged that the trends are improving.” Nordstrom, which posted revenue gains in November from the year…
Shoppers Take Their Pick (of Low-Hanging Fruit)
Deep discounts and early sales attracted hordes of shoppers over the Thanksgiving weekend, but holiday sales were tepid and traffic was lighter that hoped, according to several national reports. Steep discounts drew shoppers but they were “heat-seeking missiles,” according to one analyst. Shoppers stuck to their lists, purchasing items on deep discount rather than splurging,…
Buon Appetito!
Among American pizzerias, Seattle’s Tutta Bella stands out with a rare advantage: It is among the few dozen pizzerias in the country to offer authentic Neapolitan-style pizza. Joe Fugere, the owner of Tutta Bella and a former Starbucks executive, studied pizza making in its birthplace of Naples, Italy, and is a certified pizzaiolo. He opened…
Grinchless in Seattle
Washington’s retailers, like those around the country, are dreaming of a green Christmas this year. They hope a 2009 year-end shopping spree will erase memories of last year’s disastrous and snowy holiday season. Their wish is that tightfisted consumers will open their wallets more freely, allowing retailers to rescue what has been a rocky year….
Gates Foundation invests big in education
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced today that it will invest a total of $335 million in promoting effective teaching and raising student achievement in four communities across the United States. Though Washington state schooles were not among the list of grantees, foundation co-chair Melinda French Gates says she hopes the four communities chosen…
Warren Buffett Buys Burlington Northern
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has announced it will buy the 77.4 percent of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. that it does not already own. Priced at $100 per share, or about $44 billion, including the assumption of about $10 billion in debt, it would be the largest deal in Berkshire Hathaway’s history. Berkshire Hathaway is…
Saving Jones Soda
In his quirky online corporate profile, CEO Stephen Jones says he joined soft-drink company Jones Soda because it is the real deal, … not some corporate giant that hires a kid with a piercing and tattoo to be held out as a badge of cool. As a former executive with Coca-Cola, Jones (who has no…
The Regional Advantage
Retailing is a tough business for regional chains in the best of times, having to compete against giant national companies with purchasing power and marketing budgets to match their coast-to-coast networks of stores. With consumers tapped out and finding even window shopping too spendy, these are definitely not the best of times. So how is…
Amazon acquires online shoe retailer Zappos for $850 million
In an effort to boost the company’s online shoe sales, Amazon.com has acquired online shoe and merchandise retailer Zappos for about $850 million in stock (which rose to above $900 million by the time the day was over). Amazon.com currently sells shoes through its main e-commerce site Endless.com, which was launched in 2007. Zappos appears…
Amazon’s Cloud Evangelist
Werner Vogels left a postat Cornell University to come work as Amazon.coms chief technologist, givingthe online retailer a competitive edge in cloud computing. On a cool spring afternoon in New York City, Werner Vogels ascends the stage in a packed ballroom at the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison Avenue. Hundreds of business and technology executives have…
Big News for Tiny Bubbles
Evan Wallace, founder of Perlage Systems, remembers the exact moment–12:01 a.m., New Year’s Day, 1993when he first realized his love for champagne and also what sparked his newfound interest: a vintage Krug Rose. “It was like the nectar of the gods,” Wallace recalls. Determined to augment his palate, Wallace set out to taste as many…