Description: Etsy, the well known marketing site for vendors of various handmade and artistic items, is facing a one-week boycott from some of its suppliers. The boycotts are fueled by vendors who are upset that Etsy has raised its commission from 5% to 6.5%. Etsy counters that the additional funds will allow it to provide… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Marketing & Strategy
Rogers-Shaw Deal Approved
Description: Rogers Communications has received approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for its $26 billion plan to purchase Shaw Communications. As part of the approval, Rogers must provide over $27 million to support specific initiatives, including support for local news. Rogers must secure separate approval from the Competition Bureau and Innovation, Science… Read more »
5G for less than $1G
Description: Apple’s product announcement on Tuesday brought some nice price news to consumers with the release of the latest SE version of the iPhone. This scaled-down iPhone SE is to be priced at $429 when it hits stores on March 18. Though this version of the SE has a faster processor than the previous version,… Read more »
Those $68 Mittens!
Description: Some Canadians are more than a bit shocked at the $68 sticker price on Lululemon’s Canadian Olympic Team winter mittens. Long gone are the $10 mittens offered to souvenir seekers by Hudsons Bay Company at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. But defenders of this year’s Olympic gear say Lululemon is offering a higher quality… Read more »
Will the Subsidies End?
Description: Have you ever wondered how an Uber ride can be so much cheaper than a taxi? Or how Netflix has fostered a creative war that seems like a boon for binge-watching? Or why Amazon really doesn’t make all that much money despite its massive footprint in our lives? These companies, and others such as… Read more »
Netflix Rising
Description: If you’re a Netfllix subscriber, get prepared to dig a bit deeper into your pocketbook. The monthly rate for the two-stream plans in Canada are heading to $16.49 from the current price of $14.99. Netflix asserts that the increase will help the company provide a “better experience” in a market that seems to be… Read more »
Good Year for Vinyl
Description: In the music business, 2021 was a good year for Adele; and for vinyl records. Though vinyl accounts for only 2% of U.S. music sales, for the first time since 1991, vinyl outsold CDs as the primary physical medium. Of course, streaming outstrips these older technologies by a huge order of magnitude. Date: January… Read more »
Right to Repair
Description: After sustained pressure from the so-called right to repair movement, Apple has agreed to make certain spare parts available to consumers who want to fix their own iPhones and laptops. Apple had previously resisted the notion of consumers repairing their own devices, though a couple of years ago, it opened its parts and tool… Read more »
An $8.5 Billion Drop
Description: Peleton, the exercise equipment manufacturer that benefited greatly from a pandemic-fueled rise in home exercise, has suffered a loss of $8.5 billion in market valuation after decreasing its sales forecasts for 2022. Net income will also be impacted by a price-cut on Peleton’s flagship bike as well as rising shipping costs. A loss of… Read more »
Clothing our Olympians
Description: Lululemon has won the right to be the exclusive clothing outfitter for our Canadian Olympic teams through to 2028. Bruce Winder, a Toronto based analyst, termed this move as a “game-changer” for Lululemon. The costs of the deal have not been disclosed, though Lululemon has pledged a proportion of associated sales will help fund… Read more »