Brenton Chin's Blog

Look closely at the shopping carts in the picture that you see above and look at the tiny logo. Yes, you’ve probably seen it somewhere; it’s because you have. However, you’ve only seen this logo down south in America. Well, this could all be a thing of the past because Target has plans of rolling out Target stores (200 strong) in CANADA!

Target is a major competitor of Wal-mart, and is trying to dig their way into international markets and has chosen Canada as one of the lucky regions that Target Co. would like to expand into. Target is the second-largest “mass market” merchant (after Wal-Mart) and is known for its wide wide range of products and also inexpensive prices.

Above is some data comparing Wal Mart and Target, and as you can see, Wal-mart is more profitable and operates on a lesser operating cost. However, Target has a huge market share in America, and will probably steal a hefty portion of Canadian market share as well! However… to crush some of you, Target plans to create stores primarily in Greater Toronto first (sigh..), however, if success ensues.. be sure to see them here in Vancouver!

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/news/Target+eyeing+stores+Canada/3625978/story.html

Was reading the Financial Post and came upon this article.

Does the man above look scary to you? Well, you’re looking at a Facebook SPAMMER who has been ordered by the Quebec court to pay a fine for his spamming ways/ This Quebec man is not just an ordinary spammer, because he spammed to such an extent that he must pay Facebook US$1,068,928,721.46 in fines. That over a BILLION dollars in fines. Hefty fine eh?

This man apparently sent 4,366,386 spam emails to Facebook users in 2008. That is a LOT…  In these emails, he promoted medication to treat erectile dysfunction and other diseases

The man did not contest the charges, and offered no defence. He appealed the ruling to Quebec because his lawyers believed the damage claim was “disproportionate.” (whatever that means).  The judge has also banned the man  from having a Facebook account or being involved in any way with the social-networking site.

But heck, that was the least of his troubles, huh! Just thought this article was interesting!

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/news/Quebec+spammer+must+Facebook/3627938/story.html#ixzz11e3NshQW

Well, with so many new cool cell phones on the market, the iPhone is having a run for its money. With the evermost sleek and advanced smartphones being introduced to the public, such as Google`s Nexus One, any Android phone and Research in Motion`s Blackberry Torch, the unthinkable has happened: and the dominance of Apple`s iPhone is slipping.

The iPhone had once claimed a huge portion of all smartphone purchases, but now its share in the market is diminishing. This seems as though it would cause alarm to Apple executive and Apple shareholders, but the opposite is true. This is the case as though Apple`s sales may be slipping, they still hold the highest share of PROFIT MARGIN than any other smartphone company

In my opinion, I feel Apple is a marketing genius. When I think of Apple products, I think “quality”, because all their products are made to be functional and user-friendly. I feel this way because that is the way Apple has positioned their products, and have successfully achieved this through the exceptional marketing of every single one of their products.  Although Apple products are more expensive than other competitors, I feel the perceived quality of their products is what drives consumers to purchase Apple products, which has raised their profitability to such an extent.

So Apple has a smart business strategy: even though they arent selling as many units as other cell phone companies, Apple retains, by FAR, the most profit. Are you guys as congratulatory of Apple as I am?

http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/iphone-news/ios-may-be-slipping-but-apple%E2%80%99s-profit-margin-is-excellent

Did you know 44 million Americans live in poverty? That’s quite a bit.. As an article in the Financial Post describes, inequality in the country is getting more extreme every single day. The richest 1% of the country owns a third of the country’s assets and the poorer 50% owns less than 2.5%. A shocking statistic, I must say.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart, yes, that huge corporate giant grossed over 400 million dollars in just the last year.. 400 million!!!

We all know about sexism has been deemed a common workplace issue, but how about in the football world, where males dominate the “workplace” spectrum? Well according to this article, there was an incident regarding sexism in New York this week. The incident did not occur on the football field, but occured in the locker rooms of the New York Jets football team. What occured raises an ethical issue that questions whether or not female reporters should be allowed into the male football players’ locker rooms that would allow them to preform the same duties that male reporters do. The ethicallity of this issue is based on the premise that women should be able preform the same duties that men do. Post-game interviews, that are conducted primarily in the lockerrooms, generally grant women permission to enter the room that are deemed men-only. When head coach Rex Ryan complained to authorities about allowing TV Azteca’s Ines Sainz, a female reporter, into the men’s lockerroom, he was eventually forced to apologize after protests from NFL officials. Ryan had complained about the female reporter being dressed too scantily and having too much of a flirtatious manner. This raises a question of ethics: should female reporters be allowed into men’s locker rooms? I think its okay, as long as the woman stays professional and does not veer too far off from how the male reporters conduct themselves. What do you guys think?

For extra reading, try: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2010-09-14-ines-sainz-nfl_N.htm