Business

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has introduced sleep rooms operated by Minute Sleeps. The rooms are compact (2.13m x 2.44m) and come equipped with a daybed sofa, pillows, blankets, a noise reduction system which reduces outside noise, desk, phone, office chair and wifi.  The rooms are on Concourse B. So far the people who have used […]

According to a study published in the Personality & Social Psychology Bulleti, better decisions come from teams that include a “socially distinct newcomer” – which is psychology-speak for someone who is different enough to bump other team members out of their confort zones. OK I know this is going to sound like justification for including […]

I know stores like Wal-mart prides itself on being a one stop shop for all your needs. I also know that “cradle to grave” customer retention strategies gained popularity in the 90’s and are now pretty much commonplace.  However I still find it a little perverse that Wal-mart are now selling coffins.  They’re only available […]

Versace are withdrawing from the Japanese market with the closure of its last three stores in Tokyo, Osaka & Chiba and liquidation of the Japanese business by the end of the year.  This isn’t a permanent move however, its more because the Versace boutiques no longer represent the brand image and they feel its better […]

This campaign from 2004 created a bit of a fuss, particularly the canoe ad.  The Advertising Standards Bureau issued a complaint based on ” “Because it is a bit ‘dangerous’.” “Some crazy person would get out there and do it just like that.”.  The agency basically responded with a polite and politically correct version of […]

Tabatha Coffey’s successful first series of Tabatha’s Salon Takeover is due to launch in Australia on Sept 16 on Arena TV. Its a formula made famous by programmes like Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares and the Australian media has been quick to draw comparisons between Coffey & Ramsey for both being harsh, dramatic and swearing a lot.  […]

The much awaited 46 storey, 400 room Trump SOHO is due to open somewhere around the end of the year. There is no “official date” though they are accepting bookings from Feb 2010 with prices starting at USD389.  They’ve also launched their countdown marketing campaign being led by Ivanka Trump and her twitter account (@IvankaTrump)- […]

Whilst Qantas now is considered the business airline, it really wasn’t always that way in Australia.  Ansett was more orientated toward the business market, perhaps because it was one territory they could get inroads into against the national carrier. In the 90s they launched a series of intiatives aimed at increasing their share of this […]

With the new Barcelona Airport T1 due to open in matter of days, I thought it worthwhile taking a look at what it will contain. Firstly to put some context on this, the terminal is designed to cater to 25 million passengers. To begin with, Star Alliance flights will move to the terminal, One World […]

Ever wondered why time flies when you’re having fun, and from a business perspective what does it matter? Trying to avoid the psychobabble (and if you’re into that aspect then see this article), here’s a potted rundown: Time is subjective. Sure there is objective time but the point is that there is ample evidence that […]

TechCrunch has release the prototype of their CrunchPad web tablet which is 18mm thick and is super lightweight. Currently plans are to sell these for around US200. Think this is only good news for Tech Geeks, think again. A cheap, lightweight tablet pc has lots of business applications. Think about market researchers – intercept & […]

A few months ago, Oakland Mall in Michegan announced they would be offering small startups & minipreneurs access to low cost/no cost kiosks as a way of creating a sense of excitement in the mall. The 12 72ft square kiosks are provided for the tenant and include display cases, counters & shelves. All the tenant […]

People are eagerly awaiting the new Barcelona Airport T1 in another week or two and the retailers are busily getting ready. The commercial space at T1 is 28,612m2 of which 9,812m2 is to be occupied by a Business centre, VIP lounges and other customer services. This leaves 18,796m2 in retail & F&B, with almost 2/3rds […]

The European Union Transport Committee has drafted a regulation which will ensure airlines don’t lose unused slots at airports because of the recession. Air carriers will be entitled to the same series of slots in summer 2010 as were allocated to them during summer 2009 regardless of their use in between. This certainly makes it […]

Nobody can dispute that degree to which India has undergone political & economic reform. A question remains though as to whether these will translate into true economic growth, productivity improvements and innovation. When the economy was liberalised in the 1990s, India did away with the License Raj, an onerous & corrupt licensure system which mandated […]

Customers are fed up with long queues in stores and retailers are losing business because of it, according to a recent survey. The Australian Queuing Behavior Survey by MasterCard Worldwide has revealed that over two-thirds (67 per cent) of consumers abandon their purchase all together if it means standing in line, while 75 per cent […]

V Australia’s strategy of attracting passengers by boasting the widest seats of any carrier flying from Australia to LA seems to be working. In an interesting approach from what many saw to be a “foreign” airline in the beginning, V Australia have also presented themselves as contemporarily Australia – challenging Qantas’ positioning as the Spirit […]

Monocle Magazine have released their top 20 retail oulets in the world (reproduced in PSFK ).  Flicking through the links its hard not to agree that these are truely outstanding examples of what good retail can be: Demasié in Barcelona for beautifully packaged confectionery and great interiors. Roden Gray in Vancouver for its rough interiors […]

Still more luxury vending machines! U*tiques have come to Segal’s Studio. The U*tique offers an selection of luxury and personal care items – gadgets, makeup, skincare and hair-care items by high-end and niche labels. The creator of the Ut*tique was 29 year old Mara Segal who said “I wanted to bring luxury personal-care products to […]

Federated Media today launched the beta of ExecTweets, a new service to allow people to find and follow business execs on Twitter. Their model is essentially a lens on Twitter that’s further organized by specific industry, like tech, media, healthcare, etc.

Still more luxury vending machines! U*tiques have come to Segal’s Studio. The U*tique offers an selection of luxury and personal care items – gadgets, makeup, skincare and hair-care items by high-end and niche labels. The creator of the Ut*tique was 29 year old Mara Segal who said “I wanted to bring luxury personal-care products to […]

Whilst slankets have been around since 1998, they’re now becoming all the rage – no I’m not kidding here. In blogs around the world recently, they’re being touted as everything from the ultimate hotel ammenity (to replace the bathrobe) to being the perfect inflight accessory for international flights. Now I’m not too sure about their […]

Airports are fascinating places which can be a part of some of the better experiences in our lives and some of the worst. You get people who are going on that eagerly awaited and much needed holiday, people going off on their hopefully once in a lifetime honeymoon, and families finally getting a chance to […]

Most airports aren’t that kid friendly, with the possible exception of Changi. Certainly in the US they’re not know for providing children with much. JetBlue’s T5 is certainly not orientated toward kids but it does deal with the fairly well. Firstly there’s good climbing things like the grandstand seating. OK I know it wasn’t designed […]

Aside from the extraordinary range of F&B, T5 also distinguishes itself with an innovative retail mix consisting of: Blue Sky Traders  — Newsstand, sundries, “Read & Return” books and Press Express, a grab-and-go newspaper dispenser. Borders — Full-size bookstore offering 7,000 titles as well as CDs and DVDs. Brighton — Creative accessories you can mix […]

Friday, 7 November 2008 Colin Benjamin From Smart Company Futurist Blog Anyone thinking it’s more of the same now Obama has been elected is in for a shock. The new Obama team is essentially is from the Chicago finance and legal networks rather than from the Washinton political and administration brigade. The key drive will […]

The term “Made in China” has been considered by many to be a liability to brands, and certainly the 2007 Interbrand survey of 569 marketing & business professionals confirmed this. It found that 69% of respondents said “made in China” damages a brand. However, some Chinese manufacturers are breaking this image and appear to have […]

Hotel Points Programs Offer More Than a Free Room By Deidre Woollard on travelReblogged from Luxist With airline miles the rewards are pretty clear, more miles generally equals free trips or the highly desirable first class upgrades, but what do you get for hotel reward points? The answer is more complex than you might think. […]

Tiffany and Co. is still waiting for a verdict in its lawsuit against eBay after a weeklong bench trial in which Tiffany’s lawyers argued that eBay is a distribution network that allows counterfeit Tiffany items to be bought and sold, according to a report in The New York Times. The case, heard by U.S. District […]

By Darren Osborne November 29, 2007 11:07amArticle from: AAP INTERNET search leader Google has unveiled new mobile phone technology that will show the location of the user, even if the phone is not equipped with a GPS receiver. The new tracking feature, named My Location, has been launched in more than 20 countries, including the […]