- Mark Levin Signs Multi-year Deal with ABC, Expands Show to 3 Hours
- Consumerist.com Adopted by Old-School Consumers Union, Stops Selling Ads
- For Auto Industry, 2009 Holds Even Tighter Ad Budgets
- User-Generated Magazine Publisher 8020 Media Shuts Doors
- Out-of-Home, Fueled by Digital, to Weather Recession Well
- Clear Channel Swaps Cincy Stations for Five in Green Bay
- Consumers Swarm to Discounters for Grocery Items, Don’t Switch Back
- Wikimedia Raises $6.2M to Keep Wikipedia Afloat
- Conde Nast’s Jan. Ad Pages Slip More than Most
- Aegis Faces Possible Sale or Spin-off of Non-core Businesses
- Top US Cities for Charitable Givers, by Category
- Online Fitness, Video Game Spending Outperforms Brick-And-Mortar
- RIM Must Fix Glitches, Boost Satisfaction To Hold Off iPhone
- LCD TV Revenue to Fall YoY for First Time Ever
- Top 10 Broadcast Media Websites - November 2008
- Top 10 Entertainment Online Advertisers by Image-Based Impressions - November 2008
- Top 10 Sports Websites - November 2008
- Eight in 10 Online Holiday Shoppers Read Web Reviews
- Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index: Merry Outlook for Some, but Not Others
- Firefox Share Tops 20% in November
Restaurants & Coffee
Retailers Beware: Worst Is Yet to Come, but Hope on Horizon
Retailers that survived the 2008 holiday season shouldn’t pin their hopes on the new year, as retail sales will remain weak throughout 2009 and won’t rebound until 2010, TNS Retail Forward forecasts.
For 2009, sales growth for the year (excluding automobiles and gasoline) is forecast to approach 2% compared with the 2.3% average growth for 2008 through November, based on data reported by the US...
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Dairy Queen Videogame, Kids’ Website Keep Brand Fresh
The iconic ice cream brand Dairy Queen is giving Americans a chance to “run and own” a DQ franchise—with their videogame controller.
So many Americans have grown up with the DQ brand experience, undoubtedly many would be interested in (virtually) running their own, chief brand officer Michael Keller told the New York Times.
The game, called DQ Tycoon, plots the user against time, racing against...
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Dunkin’ Appoints New CEO, Nigel Travis, in Succession-Planning Move
Nigel Travis has been appointed chief executive officer of Dunkin’ Brands, parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, and effective January 6, 2009, will assume the role from Jon Luther, who will remain executive chairman of the board.
Luther, 65, joined Dunkin’ Brands in January 2003 as CEO and added the role of Chairman in 2006. He has been working closely with Dunkin’ Brands’ board...
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No Sign of Relief for Starbucks in ‘09
Starbucks is predicting that same-store sales will continue to fall off in fiscal 2009, BusinessWeek reports, citing an annual report released Monday.
The grim sales outlook is caused by the “very difficult environment” in Starbucks’s biggest markets, including the US, Canada, and the UK, the company said.
And though its store closures and staff cuts in the US and Australia are expected to...
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McDonald’s Global Sales Comps Up 8.2%
McDonald’s posted healthy growth in all of its global markets, with same-store sales - defined as sales at locations open at least 13 months - up 8.2% in October.
Europe and APMEA (Asia, Africa and the Middle East) performed well, with sales growing 9.8% and 11.5%, respectively. Demand in the UK, France, and Russia was particularly strong, but results were positive in nearly all European...
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McDonald’s Still Growing, Sales Up 7% Globally
McDonald’s had strong sales growth in the third-quarter (ended Sept. 30), reporting a 7.1% increase in global comparable sales* and 20% growth in consolidated operating income (15% in constant currencies).
Total revenue, including sales from company-owned and franchised/affiliated restaurants, was up 6% from the same period last year, to nearly $6.3 billion.
Europe was a particularly strong...
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Egg Buyers to Suppliers: Stop Fixing Prices
Egg prices have jumped more than 50% in the past two years, prompting those most affected by the increase to take action against the country’s egg giants - which provide 98% of America’s eggs, reports BusinessWeek.
Restaurants, grocers, and other direct buyers of eggs have brought a lawsuit against United Egg Producers (UEP) - the industry’s trade group - and 13 of the biggest egg producers in...
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Five in Ten Say ‘Economy Poor’ - and ‘Getting Worse,’ Say Seven in Ten
The Discover US Spending Monitor dipped 2.2 points to 86.5 in September, as consumers grew increasingly concerned about the US economy and worked hard to hold the line on future spending plans, Discover Financial Services said.
More than 55% of the nation’s adults rated the economy as poor, and nearly 70% said it is getting worse. Both measures were 5 points higher than the previous month and...
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Starbucks Sued for Late Rent, Broken Leases
Starbucks is the target of at least seven lawsuits claiming that it has not paid rent for a particular store or defaulted on a lease it entered for a future store, writes VMSD.
The property owners and developers bringing the suits claim that Starbucks is trying to get out of its high-rent leases for the 600 underperforming stores that it plans to shutter by early 2009.
But Starbucks says it is...
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Gift Card Sales to Decline to $25 Billion
Consumers will not only spend less on gift cards during this holiday season but also shift gift-card spending toward necessities such as groceries and gas or small indulgences such as dining out, according to Archstone Consulting’s 2008 Holiday Gift Card Survey.
Archstone Consulting “expects gift card sales to dip 5%, to $25 billion in Holiday 2008 as consumers continue to manage the challenges...
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