Coming soon

Today is the 125th anniversary of Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (May 18, 1883 – July 5, 1969) Gropius was a German architect and founder of Bauhaus. Along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, he is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of “modern” architecture.

When I was in school I was originally in architecture. I loved his work but my taste is so varied…I love Gaudi’s work as well…the two extremes?

Even this McDonald’s has Bauhaus design! A classic.

Coming Soon.

I find Apple’s approach to business fascinating and I believe it is a result of their, as Steve Jobs likes to put it, West Coast mindset. Over the past five plus years Apple has undergone tremendous changes internally and have also been lucky enough to change the way people get their music.

Internally they have changed to the “just in time” inventory virtually copying the process that made Dell a success…this has saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars that they have continued to put back into R&D. The R&D is fueling the successful new products that are leading to record profits…In Japan Mac sales and periphery items sales are up over 30%.

I also determined from my friend who was CFO with Apple Asia Pacific for the past 5 years that Apple has virtually no debt and as an investor I think that would be a very convincing stat if I were determining whether to invest in the company. Of course Apple has other key issues to face.

The most dramatic change is the decision by Jobs to put the Intel processor in the newest Macs…industry experts also believe that this move signals a change that could lead to more changes including a move to have closer ties to Windows operating systems.

While as a user I am excited the following note in the 10K report is of concern because it points out that the switch could adversely affect the “in time” inventory that was so positive and that support from third party suppliers of software could be lost on the company’s non-Intel products. It also illuminates the fact that people may not purchase Mac products until the launch of the new product…I was one of those consumers.

Note:
The Company’s ’s transition from PowerPC microprocessors used by Macintosh computers to microprocessors built by Intel is subject to numerous risks.

In June 2 2005, the Company announced its intention to transition from the use of PowerPC micro processors to the use of Intel microprocessors in all of its Macintosh computers by the end of calendar year 2007.

This transition is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including the Company’s ability to timely develop and deliver new products using Intel microprocessors, the timely innovation and delivery of related hardware and software products, including the Company’s applications, to support Intel micro processors, market acceptance of Intel-based Macintosh computers, the development and availability on acceptable terms of components and services essential to enable able the Company to timely deliver Intel-based Macintosh computers, and the effective management of inventory levels in line with anticipated product demand for both PowerPC and Intel-base based Macintosh computers.

In addition the Company is dependent on third-party software developers such as Microsoft and Adobe be continuing to support current applications that run on PowerPC-based computers and timely developing versions of current and future applications that run on Intel and PowerPC-based Macintosh computers.

The Company’s inability to timely deliver new Intel-based products or obtain developer commitment both to continue supporting applications that run on PowerPC microprocessors and timely transition of their applications to run natively on Intel-based products may have an adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations.

The Company’s announcement of its intention to transition to Intel microprocessors may negatively impact sales of current and future Macintosh products containing PowerPC micro processors, as customers may elect to delay purchases until the Intel-based products are available.

Additionally, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to maintain its historical gross margin percentages on its products, including Intel-based Macintosh computers, which may adversely impact the Company’s results of operations.

I retrieved most of this information from the web…the citation is below. Wal-Mart became my client in 2001 because I was working with Saison the parent company of Seiyu Wal-Mart’s partner in Japan.

Wal-Mart is trying very hard to become successful in Japan but I believe when they entered the market they were a bit naïve about the obstacles that they would eventually face. Real estate prices and cramped space make it tough to build the giant super stores we are all used to in the USA.

The “everyday low price” strategy is not catching on with shoppers accustomed to equating discounts and low prices with poor quality and old produce.

Retailers go through layers upon layers of middlemen instead of buying directly from suppliers. Japan has a complex and expensive distribution system; retailers have equally complex and long-term relationships with wholesalers and transport companies. Under these ties, suppliers will sell only to certain wholesalers, who sell to other wholesalers and so on. A product might go through three or more hands before reaching a retailer.

The traditional suppliers that Wal-Mart has pressured to give them rock bottom prices based on the quantity of their orders are often not a factor in Japan.

And last but not least Japanese will shop with brands that they feel comfortable with and those Japanese retailers are quick to adopt some of Wal-Mart’s strategies including cutting prices and building giant super stores.

The biggest move to copy Wal-Mart been the move by Japanese retailers to coax manufacturers to sell directly.

Getting a step ahead of Wal-Mart, Aeon has already moved aggressively to squeeze out middlemen. It spent six months in 2001 persuading snack-food maker Calbee Co. to sell products to it directly, rather than going through wholesalers. Since then, 21 more domestic companies have agreed, and Aeon plans to add another 20 by year’s end.

The result of the Wal-Mart invasion has been a retail upheaval in Japan, where discount stores are still fairly new and long-protected mom-and-pop stores make up 58% of all retailers.

The lower prices and broader selection are good news for Japanese consumers, who have suffered through a decade-long downturn while still paying some of the highest prices in the world. But the competition could also end up making it tougher for Wal-Mart to be successful in Japan, as Wal-Mart’s advantages evaporate. Carrefour is closing shop already.

Wal-Mart used the same strategy here that they used in Germany. They bought a 37% share in an aging Japanese retailer named Seiyu whose parent company had fallen on tough financial times. The plan is to upgrade and remodel the aging premises and gradually re-brand some of Seibu’s products as Wal-Mart. This strategy may work, as they have not come in and forced their brand on the consumer like Carrefour had done.

In Germany, Wal-Mart rushed to overhaul the two chains it bought, lowering prices before its computerized inventory-monitoring systems were in place. Operations there are still posting losses six years later.

The results in Japan have been disappointing. From March 2003 to December 2003 Seiyu projected an $83 million loss. 2004 and 2005 results were not much better.

Zimmerman, Ann, Fackler, Martin.
http://cba.fiu.edu/mgmt/gomezc/mana6608/notes/walmartjapan.htm

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I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

Interesting way to show your picture album.

When video games are two-a-penny and your category hasn’t been invented yet, how do you launch a new, multimedia, conspiracy-based game to jaded teens and “twenty-some-things”?

EA took a three-pronged approach, involving influencers, experiential marketing and PR.

Taking cues from the best spy thrillers, key influencers within the 18-24 game-playing target were clandestinely invited to join the Majestic Alliance, and to recruit a friend.

Meanwhile, in four core cities—LA, San Francisco, DC and New York—street teams seeded intriguing clues to the game, from 35mm slides marked ‘Top Secret’ scattered on the street, in bars, coffee houses and bookstores.

Scrawling “Everything You Know Is a Lie’ in lipstick on washroom mirrors.

Tagging cars, meters, gas pumps and traffic signs with magnets touting intriguing messages from the game. The effort spread to the streets to garner mass awareness and PR. EA deployed teams of hundreds of “secret agents” strategically placed at commuter arteries holding signs that questioned fact and fiction and handing out a new CD release from a fictitious band called ‘Conspiracy’ which contained a message within the song asking consumers to go online and learn more.

Finally, flatbed trucks ambled down major city streets towing charred cars spray-painted with apocalyptic taglines from the game. All of the outreach efforts included a subtle call to action via a trackable URL, majesticthegame.com.

The results?

More than 12 million consumers touched. Site registration increased 50% in targeted markets. Local and national TV and press coverage provided more than one million publicity impressions.

Highest ROI of all marketing vehicles employed by EA for this project. Watch the video in my video file…sorry could not load it here .

you are always learning and you are never too old to learn something new…keep an open mind…if you do you will meet great people and experience exciting things almost every week…the world is fascinating

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

I know this is a sticky subject and there are dozens of horror stories from those against public health care, Michael Moore stories and opposing ones too, but here is one story for public health care.

My client was visiting me in Japan this week and slipped while jogging and dislocated his finger…painful for sure…I took him to the ER in Tokyo…although he was a foreign visitor of course they treated him immediately.

We gave his name and a local contact number and away he went, no paperwork…two sets of X-Rays before and after treatment, injection, splint and bandages, his prescription for pain medication was filled on the spot The grand total US$250.

Had he been a citizen he simply would present his health card and all would be handled swiftly and for free. I know not every procedure is this simple and there will be those who say they want a choice of doctors etc…usually in the ER you have no choice anyway.

A visit to ER is traumatic enough but it would be great if those visits did not have the added stress of the bill…what do you think?