Word: low-cost
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Even in the auto industry, with its notoriously high labor costs, a U.S. manufacturer can stay competitive with this combination of flexible operations based close to its customers. "It isn't just about low-cost labor," says Denise Zutz, spokeswoman for Johnson Controls, based in Milwaukee, Wis., and the world's biggest maker of auto parts, with 2003 sales of $23 billion. "It's also about quality of processes and purchasing leverage. You've got to have the attitude that every cost is variable." That attitude has allowed Johnson Controls to weather 15% increases in health-care costs and keep...
...should pay attention to New Hampshire over the next few weeks--and not just because there's a presidential primary coming up. The Republican Governor there has just brought the whole low-cost Canadian drug issue to a head by announcing that his state is going to start buying cut-rate prescription drugs for prison inmates and Medicare patients from Canadian Internet companies, perhaps as early as this week. A lot of Americans get their drugs this way, and some U.S. mayors have started doing the same for their municipal workers. But New Hampshire would be the first state...
Should Geoffrey catch on, it would bolster the conviction of Toys "R" Us CEO John Eyler that it's still possible to combat the low-cost threat posed by Wal-Mart and Target. Geoffrey "is potentially a $1.5 billion business," he says. "The Geoffrey stores are flat-out fun--and it's not clear if going to Wal-Mart or Target is fun." So far, the concept seems to be working. Since Geoffrey opened 14 months ago, Wisconsinites appear to have embraced it, showing up in large numbers and steadily boosting sales, the firm says. Maintenance technician Lonnie Roeder...
...West! Establishing itself as Poland's first low-cost airline, Air Polonia announced plans to launch domestic and international flights later this month, beginning with round-trip services to London priced from...
...about people overhyping things," he says, "so let me tell you what it doesn't do." Kamen's caution is understandable. He invented the overpublicized, under-performing superscooter known as the Segway--and was responsible for some of that hype. So when it comes to his latest invention, a low-cost, low-power water purifier designed for the Third World, he wants to be clear: he has no idea how to market it or get it to the people who need it. He just knows it works...