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Miscellaneous

It’s September – who’s ready for CHRISTMAS!?!

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Retailers have holiday plans of their own… and that is to hire as many workers as humanly possible. The Gap plans to hire 65,000 seasonal workers, Target will try to snag 120,000 workers, and Macy’s is looking for 80,000. And to deliver your Christmas presents, UPS will be hiring 100,000 workers and FedEx 55,000 workers.

 

That should be easy… NOT. Unemployment is already under 4%, and wages are climbing fast. Oh, and since most people already have jobs, this holiday season is poised to be HUGE because everyone has money to blow. It is estimated that retail sales will hit $720 billion this year, up 4% compared to last year.

 

Here’s the job outlook… 6.9 million jobs were open in July, and the number of unfilled retail positions were up by 100,000 compared to last year. Kohl’s started hiring for Christmas this past JUNE and JCPenney began in JULY. So those other companies looking to recruit an army of season workers better get on it and fast. We heard Gap is giving a generous 50% discount on full-priced Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy clothing – any takers?

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Miscellaneous

Yusaku Maezawa is the most interesting man in the world…

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The Japanese billionaire… goes by Yusaku Maezawa and is a rock star turned fashion entrepreneur. Now, not only is Maezawa a fashion mogul, but he is set to become the first-ever “moon tourist.” SpaceX just announced that Maezawa has a seat aboard the Big Falcon Rocket to take a trip around the moon as soon as 2023.

 

How he got so effing rich… Maezawa decided to skip college (because who needs it?) and follow his then-girlfriend to the United States. In the US, Maezawa started collecting CDs and vinyl records and eventually, went into the business of selling CDs and vinyls by mail from Japan after returning in 1995. In 1998, Maezawa launched Start Today; a mail-order music business. Eventually, Start Today started selling clothing, and it was such a hit, the fashion arm of the company was spun off into Zozotown.

 

Zozotown was so good… that Vogue even dubbed it ‘a cross between Net-a-Porter and Amazon.’ And unlike other CEO billionaires in Japan, Maezawa doesn’t wear suits and likes to have fun – he even delivered his company’s yearly results dressed as a mushroom. And nowadays, this guy runs a company, collects art, and apparently, flies around the moon. I think we all need to be a little more like Yusaku Maezawa.

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Blue Chip

Visa, Mastercard flush $6.2 billion down the toilet

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Don’t violate antitrust laws… because it could cost you $6.2 billion and 13 years of your life. That number, a billion with a capital ‘B’ is what Visa and Mastercard were required to pay as a settlement for, well, violating antitrust laws. The lawsuit was settled back in 2012 but rejected by major retailers as ‘unfair’ and eventually overturned on an appeal.

 

Okay, so this settlement… represents a $900 million increase from the original one and still must be approved by the court. However, as you can imagine, both companies are excited to put this behind them and move forward. As for the retailers…they’re excited the extra cash.

 

The biggest retailers… opted out of the settlement and that includes Walmart, Target, and Kroger. These stores represent the top 1% of merchants and were able to negotiate better deals on their own. However, the other 99% saw justice served, and it was a victory for the little guys. So, what did we learn today?

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Blue Chip

Your new car could have Google’s Android in it

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Google is partnering with… cars produced by Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi to start putting Android in their cars. The alliance of these three automobiles accounts for 10.6 million vehicles sold last year. Now you will be able to see and use Android whether or not you have the phone.

 

Here’s what this entails… Google Maps, Google Play Store, and Google Assistant. However, don’t expect to see this soon because the technology won’t be installed in these cars until 2021. This move by Google is exciting news nevertheless because car companies have been known to develop their own tech to use in vehicles.

 

The automakers are excited… and said in a statement that the deal gives customers “one of the most intelligent infotainment systems in the market.” And now (or in 2021) you won’t have to worry about using your personal device to navigate, listen to music, or do whatever else it is you do with your phone on the road.

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