August 1, 2019

For many years, shoppers flocked to destinations like Madison Avenue in Manhattan and Chicago’s Magnificent Mile to experience the best that American retail had to offer. Home to flagship locations from Macy’s, Barneys and many others, these enormous stores acted as potent marketing tools as much as places to buy products. The rise of online shopping changed all that, however, causing multi-floor department stores to lose their appeal. 

As a result, many top retailers are closing the doors on Continue reading

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July 25, 2019

Since 2009 the website Genius has provided music lovers with a reliable source for lyrics to countless songs. A few years ago, though, the company noticed that someone else was exploring the site along with its usual batch of curious fans. The situation started when Genius published the lyrics to the hit song “Panda” by Desiigner with help from the artist himself. Since the company received assistance directly from the source, their lyrics served as the only accurate transcription of Continue reading

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July 19, 2019

According to a press release from Amazon, this year’s Prime Day was the “largest shopping event in Amazon history.” Although the company didn’t release sales figures for the two-day bonanza, it claims to have sold more than 175 million items across 18 countries. Along with selling more Amazon devices than ever before, the e-commerce giant said this year’s Prime Day earned more than the past Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. 

During the course of all this widespread discounting, Continue reading

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July 12, 2019

In recent years consumers have started to lose interest in high-end fashion shows from major houses like Victoria’s Secret and Calvin Klein. In fact, the latter recently closed its luxury collection in order to focus on casualwear. Many designers have responded to industry changes by creating styles for all shapes and sizes to wear, not just thin models. This video looks at the designers who are answering the call from consumers for greater inclusivity in fashion. 

Questions:

 

  1. What Continue reading
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In the years before the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) and heightened security measures, airports opened their doors to pretty much anybody who wanted to come in. Of course, most of the non-travelers who spent time in terminals were people waiting for passengers to disembark. After all, 20th century airports didn’t have much else besides a few newsstands and small restaurants. 

Nowadays, though, many airport concourses are starting to look more like resorts than travel hubs. For instance, Tampa International Continue reading

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June 27, 2019

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department intervened in a class-action lawsuit against some of the nation’s largest poultry producers. The plaintiffs in the case claim that companies like Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, and Pilgrim’s Pride conspired together to fix the price of chicken. Given that these allegations involve some of the top firms in a huge industry, the federal government decided to take over legal proceedings for the rest of the year. “The Justice Department wants to make sure they Continue reading

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June 14, 2019

In 2013 the photo sharing app Ever launched with the slogan “Make memories” as it invited people to store their pictures on the startup’s cloud-based platform. Millions of users took the company up on its offer and shared their “best moments” on Ever over the years. According to a recent report from NBC News, however, Ever’s sentimental marketing doesn’t mention a key part of its business plan. All photos stored on the app are used by the company to Continue reading

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June 11, 2019

On Sunday night CBS aired the 73rd Annual Tony Awards, one of the most important evenings in American theater. But while this prestigious ceremony has been compared to Broadway’s version of the Oscars, the Tonys don’t attract nearly as large of an audience as Hollywood’s big night. For instance, 30 million people watched the Academy Awards in February compared to just 6 million viewers for Sunday’s show. Although Broadway continues to enjoy strong box office sales, many theaters have had Continue reading

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For more than a decade, the British chef Jamie Oliver has been world famous for his global empire of restaurants and campaigns against junk food. But while he remains committed to using his platform to promote healthy eating, his name doesn’t appear to hold the same branding power as it once did. A few weeks ago, the celebrity chef announced that 22 of his 25 U.K. eateries would close after the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group filed for bankruptcy protection. Although Continue reading

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In the 1980s Coca-Cola was losing market share to its rival Pepsi at an alarming rate. Blind taste tests performed by Coke even showed that consumers seemed to prefer Pepsi’s sweeter flavor. So in 1985 the Atlanta-based company scrapped its classic formula in favor of a sugary but smooth cola that came to be known as “New Coke.” The change shocked soda lovers across the country, prompting boycotts and letter-writing campaigns that did significant damage to Coke’s brand image. After Continue reading

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