Word: discounter
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...Nova, started by CEO Nozomu Sahashi in 1981, grew into a publicly listed chain with over 900 locations at its peak, dominating Japan's $1.7 billion foreign-language-education industry through discount lesson offers and a sassy, ubiquitous ad campaign. In 2006, as many as two-thirds of Japan's foreign-language students were enrolled at Nova. But things started to unravel for the company in April, after the Supreme Court ruled that its prepaid tuition scheme, under which students bought thousands of dollars in lessons up front and received only partial refunds in the event of cancellations, was illegal...
...prevented any real dominance. At halftime a single score divided the two teams. One score. Against a 1-6 squad. Assigning blame is tough. The defense did everything it could to extend Lions drives, with personal fouls, facemasks, holding, pass interference, you name it. But don’t discount the offense. False starts and illegal shifts routinely saddled Harvard with third-and-long. With special teams fouls thrown in, the squad tallied 14 penalties for a loss of 98 yards on the day. Some may say all that will show in the standings is that...
...very un-Wal-Mart-like area that features low, wood-veneer (actually recycled plastic) side counters where towels are displayed. You can actually see over the department, and the sight makes you want to linger; you're not hemmed in by the usual 8-ft.-high (2.5 m) discount-store shelving crammed with merchandise. The assortment--the colors and styles--is broad and deep, even attractive. The prices are killer, natch, but it's the look of the department that is designed to stop traffic and perhaps get a shopper to take a glimpse at that $200 Dyson vacuum cleaner...
...hourlies have a lot to say. They want more flexibility--at least half are students, retirees or second-job holders--more opportunity and more attention paid. And, of course, they want more pay. The company raised wages in 1,200 stores last year and expanded its 10% employee discount on nonfoods to include produce. Long-term employees asked for an extra week's pay instead of an extra week's vacation. (They got it.) Workers with less experience asked for quarterly, not annual, bonuses if their store met targets. (They got it.) Wal-Mart, in turn, wanted help available...
...rivals.”Weinberger envisions a different future, albeit perhaps a more distant one. “There will be a time when we will get the hardware and software right to pretty much replace paper,” he says. While he doesn’t discount the merit of the traditional book format, he expounds on the opportunities digitized reading could provide.“When books are usefully online, we readers will be online with them,” he says. “Reading won’t only be a private activity...