Word: low-cost
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...Renault, the 106-year-old French automaker that a decade ago was heavily indebted and still majority owned by the state. It has moved to become more international, and now sells more autos outside Europe than it does in France. Its latest model - the ?5,000 Logan, built in low-cost Romania - is aimed at the aspiring middle classes across the globe. Renault recently announced its earnings for 2004: record net income, operating profits up 72% and profit margins at almost 6% of sales - more than double Ford...
...beyond the airlines' control. The carriers are livid. The Association of European Airlines insists the rules could add €400 million to the annual costs of its 30 members, denting margins. Damages for cancellation or denied boarding could be five times the average one-way fare offered by many low-cost flyers, insists Jan Skeels, secretary-general of the European Low Fares Airline Association. Trade groups have lodged complaints with the European Court of Justice, which is expected to rule before the year is out. Until then, airlines will have to, well, wait. I Want My TV Auf Deutsch Forget...
...little more than a toaster that also does long division, and its decision to get out of the business spotlighted Fiorina's opposite bet. Under her command, HP in 2002 spent $19 billion buying Compaq, largely to expand its position in PCs and fight off Dell, the market's low-cost leader. Though the merger had produced cost savings--and wrenching layoffs--profits remained hard to come by. In 2003, despite Fiorina's promises that operating margins would reach 3%, the company's PC division earned a meager 0.1% on $21.2 billion in sales. And last August, the company...
Those odds got a lot sharper during her burnt-earth campaign to acquire Compaq in 2002. To Fiorina, combining the two plodding PC businesses was the only way to improve profitability and take on the low-cost, direct-sales monster called Dell. To critics, merging two lousy operations had limited appeal. Director Walter Hewlett, a Stanford music professor and son of the co-founder, led a public proxy fight against the deal. Although Fiorina prevailed, the cost was high. Within months, Compaq CEO Michael Capellas, who was supposed to run the computer division, was out the door. Others followed...
STONECIPHER: Air travel is back nearly at record levels, but big airlines aren't making money because labor costs at legacy carriers are twice what they are at low-cost carriers. The low-fare guys are eating their lunch. The airplane business is really tough--but it's definitely not as tough as the airline business...