Month: October 2010

In an attempt to brighten up its image, Gap, a San Francisco-based American clothing and accessories retailer, has changed its logo in the initial week of October.

The logo on the left is the new one while the original is on the right.

Customers are irate upon seeing the new logo’s debut. Expressions of dissatisfaction pervade social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Comments like “If this logo is brought into the clothing [store] I will no long[er] be shopping with the Gap. Really a bummer because 90% of my clothing has been purchased there in the last 15+ years” have prompted Gap to ask for better ideas on its Facebook page. Just as disappointing are the company’s share price, which at $18.25 is down 13 percent year-to-date, and its sales, which fell 2 percent in September. A parallel can be drawn to Coca-Cola’s New Coke/Classic Coke marketing ploy. Coca-Cola presented an atrocious and unappealing logo to get as much free media hype as they can, then revealed that due to customer feedback they are reverting to their original logo. Gap could be replicating a similar business strategy.  “It’s all part of the plan” – Joker (The Dark Knight)

http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/08/news/companies/gap_logo/index.htm

A new phenomenon has emerged in Canada’s labour market. Workers 55 years of age or older are getting employed at an increasing rate. Why?

1. Employers prefer job experience, which older workers possess. Mentoring younger employees, possessing an institutional memory, and saving the company money it could have used for training its employees attest older workers are assets
2. More members of the older population are actively seeking employment than in decades past.
3. Older workers are willing to settle for lower wages. As indicated in the article, “some clients take a pay cut of as much as 30 per cent, while others are opting for shorter-term contracts.”

Many people are staying in the workforce due to the cost of living pressures or a strong desire to continue working. The benefits an older worker offers overshadow the attributes a younger worker possesses. According to Statistics Canada, job growth has escalated in the past year among men and women 55 and older in the past year, rising 7.7 percent and 5.9 percent respectively, whereas the job creation has remained flat among middle-aged women and youth and grown slightly for men aged 25 to 54. Evidently, it is not always better to hire younger employees; older employees not only provide maturity to the workplace but also diversity, which is essential in today’s business environment.

 http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article1750528.html

A brief summation of what to expect from the National Hockey League (NHL) in the upcoming years can be expressed in one simple word: Growth. From increasing its presence overseas, to improving its online image, to signing new broadcast TV deals, the NHL is determined to render its content, news, updates readily accessible to all avid hockey fans around the globe. Its plans for expansion are based on its rising popularity. With annual revenue of about $2.8 billion U.S., the league had a 66 percent growth in its advertisement and sponsorship revenue and a 4.2 percent upsurge in its season-ticket renewals from last year. NHL’s first step is to emulate its more popular fellow North American sports league, the National Football League (NFL). Like the NFL, the NHL has emphasized the league as a whole more than its teams. In other words, the NHL wants its fans to watch and enjoy its games no matter who is playing. Furthermore, the league has its own reality show on HBO allowing viewers to fathom the trials and tribulations players undergo while preparing for the 2011 game, much similar to what the NFL has done. To boost the league’s popularity, the NHL has redesigned its website (http://www.nhl.com) making it more appealing and user-friendly. Meanwhile, the league has also signed and extended deals with several companies to broadcast its riveting games, which include Comcast’s Versus, General Electric Co’s NBC, and Finland’s Elisa Corp. With the aforementioned tactics implemented, NHL’s strategy for expansion proves to be promising.

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2010/10/8/NHL-pushes-for-growth.aspx