Shasin Hamal's Blog

Walmart and American Express have a new prepaid card, the Bluebird, which will be available in the US next week.  Not requiring any minimum balance requirements, monthly or annual fees, or deposit fees, it is an excellent choice for customers.

Walking in Walmart with the Bluebird will be the same as going to a bank.  The cashiers will now be able to do transactions as a teller would in a bank.  The card can be used in more than 4,000 Walmarts in the US, and in any ATMs in the MoneyPass  network without any charges.  However, charges of $2 per transaction apply in other ATMs.

Walmart and American Express both benefit from the partnership.  American Express is now approachable by low income customers rather than rich ones only, and Walmart will receive customers for American Express.  Also, the “Always Low Prices” of Walmart’s is a perfectly fit motto for such a card which targets low income people.  Green Dot Corporation, a provider of prepaid cards, has their shares already drop 20% from the introduction of the Bluebird.  I won’t be surprised if customers from Target’s stores start their purchase at Walmart, and prepaid customers of MasterCard and Visa have the Bluebird in their wallets.  Hopefully, the Bluebird “flies” to Canada soon.  The difference is on!

External Links and Resources:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/08/us-walmart-amex-idUSBRE8970H520121008

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Mart+Amex+take+banks+with+priced+debit+card/7359935/story.html

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http://abcnews.go.com/images/Business/ht_bluebird_card_jp_121008_wblog.jpg

Future Shop? Yes, one store that we all think of when it comes to electronics. Laptops, desktops, home theater systems, PS3 games, etc. You name it…it’s all there.  When it comes to buying something new, everyone gets all excited.  I sure was when I bought my first iPod touch back in 2008.  While purchasing the iPod, the sales associate  offered me warranty which he made sound totally worth my $60. The warranty would replace my iPod on the spot, at the counter,  if it had any glitches , battery life problems, or if for some reason it was not working. Wow…what a deal! Being quite the new product back then, and having heard some stories about its battery life, I bought it.

6 months in of the 2 year warranty, my iPod’s volume button stopped working.  So as per the salesman’s advice, I went to Future Shop and took it for a replacement. I definitely did not get the “warranty coverage” he had told me of. Instead, the iPod would have to be sent to the Future Shop factory first, which would take 4-6 weeks to get it fixed. No one told me this when I bought the warranty!

The sales associate who lied, and sold me the warranty and iPod surely made his commission.  But made one VERY ANGRY customer.  If you’re planning on buying an iPod with warranty, the Apple store would be your best bet.

Target bought 220 Zellers stores and is now expanding into Canada.  Target is the second largest discount retailer behind Walmart in USA.  Target sells clothes, food, furniture, drugs, sporting goods, electronics, and almost everything you can imagine of for low prices.  Reports made by Barclays Capital have assessed that Target’s arrival in Canada could impact retailer stores such as Walmart, Canadian Tire, Sears, Old Navy, etc.   Many retailers sell nearly the same products as Target, but those retailers, for example Canadian Tire does not sell the same products as Target.  Also, Target sells their products at a cheaper price, which attracts many more customers.  It would be smart for Target to open stores near areas where families have low to average incomes instead of opening stores near North Vancouver.   For example, in Canada 42% of Old Navy stores will be within 1 km of Target, which will threaten Old Navy’s sales because clothes are also sold in Target.

Having wiped out much of Zellers already, Walmart will be Target’s main competitor because of the similar variety of products and pricing that both offer.  Establishing stores in the steady Canadian economy opens up many possibilities for Target to gain profits. Their lower prices and adequate products are something I certainly won’t want to miss.

External Resources:

Which Canadian retailers are most at-risk with Target’s Canadian debut?    

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Having a degree in business will help you land an average job in the business world but it won’t make you the ‘rich business monster’ that most wish to be.  However, it may help you climb the corporate ladder.  Take a look at Sir Richard Branson  .  He’s a high school drop out at the age of 16 and has managed to place #255 in the Forbes List of Billionaires   as an entrepreneur having a net worth of $4.2 billion through hard work.

Furthermore, Gurbaksh Chahal     not as world renowned, but a successful entrepreneur nonetheless, dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to enter the online advertising market.  At the age of 18 he sold his first company, ClickAgents for $40 million, and at 25 years of age, he sold his second company, BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million.

What’s their secret?  It’s the motivation they have to succeed, willingness to work hard, and having passion for what they do.  One cannot work simply for money to succeed but must recognize the long term goal of creating great value.   Then money will soon follow.  A business degree may help you earn cash but does not teach values or work ethics of a successful entrepreneur.  A degree in business does not hurt but is it really worth the investment?

External Links and Resources:

Richard Branson biography – http://www.biography.com/people/richard-branson-9224520

Gurbaksh Chahal- http://about.me/gchahal

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