Word: stores
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Many in Peoria are preparing for the worst. Pierre Serafin, co-owner of UFS, a discount store here, says customer foot traffic has remained steady, although average sales are down 10% from a year ago. Because fewer people are buying homes, there's less of a need for appliances. The handful of folks buying refrigerators are trading down from stainless steel to the less expensive "stainless mist," which, Serafin says, "looks almost like stainless steel...
...massive information-storage capacity. One of the marvelous little wrinkles of the quantum world is a condition known as superposition, in which a particle can occupy two states at the same time. (Don't ask; it just can.) For this reason, a quantum bit, or qubit, can store two numbers at once. Each qubit added to a quantum computer doubles the size of the system, so if you want to know the capacity of a computer that contains 300 qubits, take the number 2 and multiply it by itself 300 times. "That's more than the number of particles...
...line, the world's largest toy company is not only adding some edge to Barbie's nonthreatening image, it is pitching Barbie-branded merchandise to a wider customer base - adults - and ramping up its overseas sales efforts, starting with the potentially vast China market, by opening dedicated Barbie concept stores (think Nike Store, but exceedingly pink). (See pictures of China's wild side...
...demonically - louder. After registering for a Barbie passport, visitors can get their hair and nails done at a spa and shop for makeup, accessories and even couture. Vera Wang is on board; she designed a $15,000 human-sized Barbie wedding dress to be sold exclusively at the Shanghai store. In a sleek design center, girls can use computers to sketch out their own Barbie fashions, and on another floor they can model them by walking a runway in Barbie clothing. At night, one of the store's two restaurants becomes a hip bar, complete with karaoke...
...With adult clothing, pricey collector's dolls and a pickup bar, the store sends a clear signal that Mattel intends to seduce an older demographic. This isn't as crazy as it may seem. In Asia, the Barbie brand is not deeply entrenched, so grown-ups are less likely to automatically dismiss it as kids' stuff. Besides, Asians don't necessarily put away childish things as they age. Collecting toys such as Hello Kitty merchandise well into adulthood is common. "Asian culture loves cute," says Richard Dickson, general manager of the Barbie brand. "They're much more comfortable with character...