The combined size of the seven Indian members in the league of Global Fortune 500 is less than 60 per cent of the turnover of the numero-uno Wal-Mart.

As per the latest global rankings released today by the US business magazine Fortune, which is based on the companies' annual revenue, there are now seven Indian companies in this league, up from six last year.

Together these seven companies -- Indian Oil Corp, Reliance Industries, BPCL, HPCL, Tata Steel, ONGC and SBI -- have a turnover of $221.07 billion.

In comparison, Wal-Mart has retained its top position in the list with an annual turnover $378.8 billion.

Excluding IOC, ranked at top among Indian companies, the six other Indian companies have a turnover of less than one-tenth of that of Wal-Mart.

Including Wal-Mart, as many as five companies globally have a higher revenue than the combined turnover of seven Indian firms.

These firms include ExxonMobil, ranked second after Wal-Mart with a revenue of $372.8 billion, Royal Dutch Shell (3rd with $355.7 billion), BP (4th with $291.4 billion) and Toyota Motors (5th with $230.20 billion).

Besides Wal-Mart, the second-ranked ExxonMobil also has a size more than ten times of all the Fortune 500 companies from India except for IOC.

IOC has been ranked 116th with a turnover of $57.4 billion and is followed by RIL at 206th ($35.9 billion), Bharat Petroleum at 287th ($27.8 billion), Hindustan Petroleum at 290th ($27.8 billion), Tata Steel at 315th ($25.6 billion), ONGC at 335th ($24 billion) and SBI at 380th ($22.4 billion).

Riding high on the fastest revenue growth among the world's 500 biggest companies, Ratan Tata-led Indian steel major has debuted on the list at 315th position.

Last year, SBI had debuted in the list, taking the total Indian strength to six companies.

In the latest list, the US has retained its position as the country with maximum number of Fortune 500 companies. There are 153 companies from the US on this year's list, although it is down from 169 last year.

China also has a bigger presence on the list as compared to India with 29 companies. However, the Indian presence is bigger than the two other BRIC countries, Russia and Brazil that have five companies each on the list.

There are 64 firms from Japan, 39 from France, 37 from Germany, 35 from the UK, 14 from Canada and eight from Australia among other countries.

• Dirk Seimeke: Quote... A very nice quote about the Wide Wide World of Web. That's all I'm saying, so you have to go to Dirk's blog to see what the quote is.
• Travis Watkins: Ubuntu in Best Buy. Worst Buy now sells (one of) the best, free open-source operating systems in the world. Great for people who don't want to, or can't, download the disk image and burn it to a blank CD. Elizabeth Bevilacqua has some details, including pictures.
• Asa Raskin: Protecting Your Email Address with CSS. A great way to hide your email addy on your website. Unfortunately this won't work on blogs and forums you don't run, but if you have your own site it can be a great way to post your email addy without the spambots munching on it.
• Christer Edwards: Improve Application Startup Times with Preload. It won't help with speeding up boot times, but you can get apps you run often to load faster. Too bad it won't help with restarting Firefox 3, which seemingly thanks to an extension update takes bloody forever to launch and close now. I need to figure out what the hell is going on with it since I haven't found a good substitute for Fx3 yet.

I also want to post a follow up to something on Monday's links post. I was talking about how good the coffee at Java Jo's is, but I couldn't say what kind of coffee it was because for the life of me I couldn't remember what kind of coffee it was. I was in there today and saw a sign that helped me remember it. Rao's Coffee Roasting Company is the source for the delightful nectar of the gods at Java Jo's. And now you know, too.

WSJ: Who is the Gap's core customer now, and how has that changed, if at all?

Ms. Hansen: Our stake in the ground is ages 25 to 35, and that's the customer we want. Twenty-five to 35 covers you from kind of postcollege to getting married to maybe having the first child. This puts you from the Gap itself into the babyGap and GapMaternity, but it's not trying to be everything to everyone.

When I got here, I think the team was more focused on 18 to 24 and really going after that kind of younger demographic that is where American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch play. I don't think that is right for us.

WSJ: What would you say is the Gap aesthetic now and how has it changed, if at all?

Ms. Hansen: There is a bit of a move in our product strategy to some of the things that we believe we invented, like color: doing tank tops in 12 colors, making these things something you can pick up two, three or four of. That is something that is our heritage. It's rooted in classics but made modern or current.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121557005759338205.html?mod=PageOne_1

With slumping retail sales due to the economy, will Gap and other fashion brands be able to rely on word of mouth? Where can a digital presence help boost their new product strategy while other marketing dollars are being slashed?

- Posted by Terri

Futuramedia

Mediapixel proposait la plus importante offre de digital signage publicitaire dans les centres commerciaux français. Elle comptait à son lancement 1 000 écrans sur 71 malls et avait, depuis, très peu évolué.

Futuramedia opère à présent, un total de plus de 3500 écrans, avec dans le détail:

- Futurapharma, son réseau de communication en officine comptant plus de 2000 écrans

-  l´ancien réseau de Mediapixel qui compte à présent 1500 écrans sur 75 centres commerciaux (le groupe a, en effet, depuis décembre dernier, installé près de 500 écrans sur 4 nouveaux malls).

Il poursuit, par ailleurs, sa diversification au sein de centres d´optique et d´agences de voyage.

The company, which operates 275 stores in rthe country, has been unable to raise money from investors to allow it to continue in business.

Keeping the clothing affordable made it harder for the retailer to raise its profit margins.

Sears Holding Corp. is reportedly interested in buying the business.

From the MarketWatch story:

A filing by Steve & Barry's would deal another blow to economy-battered shopping-mall owners that had paid hundreds of millions of dollars to lure the chain into empty spaces as large as 100,000 square feet, the Journal said.

Many, if not all, of Steve & Barry's 275 stores could close, affecting as many as 17,000 jobs, the Journal reported, without identifying where it obtained the information. Some suppliers have stopped shipping to the retailer in anticipation of a filing, the paper said.

Steve & Barry's found itself in a financial pinch after it defaulted on a loan made in March by General Electric Co's Commercial-lending unit, and failed to secure other financing, The New York Times reported, citing people close to the situation.

The company, which claimed annual sales of about $1.1 billion with 20% gains in sales at stores open at least a year, was hurt by its strategy of running on razor-thin profit margins and of opening stores in distressed locations with special payments from landlords, the Times reported. The strategy became unsustainable recently as the economy weakened, the Times reported.

Childhood friends Steve Shore and Barry Prevor got theidea for a cheap-clothing chain after they sold screen-printed T-shirts for $1 at flea markets across Long Island and New Jersey.

For the new startup bloggies you can read more about it here, here and here.

So now check out these photos below (Focus on the right hand side of the shop front):

A simple rotating shoe stand which attracts the eye. This turns an average ubiquitous retailer in a random mall from wall paper to something which will stop you in your tracks.

Simple stuff, worth noticing.

What makes people stop to notice your startup?

Oh yeah, the days that you have to work overnight reallllly stink. Because usually, for me anyway, I get off at 7am and that day is supposed to be my day off. Then I have to go back to work the next day. I really wish I didn't work retail. But right now, I don't know what else I could do that would pay the bills as well as this does.

Dewasa ini persaingan di dunia retail sangat ketat, terutama dengan masuknya pemain asing ke Indonesia.

Untuk bisa memenangkan persaingan ini diperlukan strategi yang tepat dan cepat dalam pelayanan kepada masyarakat.

Salah satu solusi adalah dengan otomatisasi dan komputerisasi proses retail sehingga pelayanan kepada konsumen lebih cepat dan maksimal. Dari sisi bisnis, proses perhitungan dan keakuratan data menjadi terjamin.
Apa itu Integrated Retail System

Integrated Retail System adalah suatu aplikasi perangkat lunak yang terintegrasi yang digunakan untuk mengelola data dan memberikan informasi mengenai hal-hal yang berhubungan dengan Pembelian, Penerimaan, Retur, Barang Masuk dan Barang Keluar, Stock Opname, Pemusnahan, Pembuatan Label, Hutang Dagang, Pembayaran Hutang yang terintegrasi satu dengan yang lainnya.

Keuntungan Memakai Software Integrated Retail System
Keuntungan memakai Sotware Integrated Retail System adalah Setiap transaksi sudah terintegrasi dengan Inventory dan Hutang Dagang (AP) sehingga dapat langsung melihat poisi Inventory, Hutang dan keuangan tanpa harus menginput Lagi. Misalnya pada saat ada Receiving (Penerimaan) Barang maka System akan langsung Menambah Quantity barang di Inventory, dan akan otomatis Membentuk Hutang Dagang dan Selanjutnya dilakukan proses pembayaran. Begitu juga dengan Module-module Lain.

Modul Integrated Retail System

• Pembelian (Purchase Order)

• Penerimaan (Receiving)

• Retur

• Barang Masuk/Keluar (Transfer IN dan Transfer OUT)

• Stock Opname

• Pemusnahan

• Labelling

• Hutang Dagang (Account Payable)

• Pembayaran

• Sales

• POS

• Laporan-Laporan

Spesifikasi System

Software Retail System ini dibuat dengan menggunakan teknologi terkini dengan memakai Database Oracle 10g Express Edition ( Free RDMBS), dan dapat berjalan pada platform Windows dan Linux. Dirancang khusus untuk dapat digunakan pada :
1. Komputer Stand-alone ( sebuah computer tanpa jaringan)
2. Jaringan Local Computer ( Local Area network, beberapa computer dalam jaringan)

Spesikasi System yang diperlukan adalah :
Database : Oracle 10g Express Edition ( Free RDMBS)
Development Tools : Oracle Form dan Jsp (java server pages)
Operating System : Server : Window NT, 2000, XP, Linux
Workstation : Window 95,98,2000,XP, Linux
Deployment (Install) : Stand Alone, Client Server

Spesifikasi Hardware

Integrated Retail System dibuat dengan menggunakan platform PC Base, karena platform ini masih banyak digunakan secara pribadi maupun institusi, selain kemampuan aksesnya saat ini semakin bagus, harga relatif murah. Spesifikasi yang dibutuhkan adalah :

Processor :

• Min. Pentium II Untuk Client ( Workstation)
• Min. Pentium III Untuk Server

Memory :

• Min 64 Untuk Client ( Worksation)
• Min 256 Untuk Server

Harddisk :

• Min 5GB Untuk Server
• Min 500MB Untuk Client

Printer : Dotmatrik, Laserjet
]]> http://idealresidence.wordpress.com/?p=2368 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:28:30 +0000 idealresidence http://idealresidence.wordpress.com/?p=2368 Super-prime Orchard mall rents hit record $54.40 psf

5.3% increase qoq is highest of all retail micro markets tracked by CBRE

 

CHANEL, Gucci, Louis Vuitton are big brands that scream 'high fashion' on Orchard Road.

 

But lately, the screams are more likely to be the painful result of rising rents.

 

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said that super prime retail space - defined as space facing Orchard Road or in atriums - hit a record $54.40 per square foot (psf) per month in the second quarter of this year.

 

This was an increase of 5.3 per cent quarter on quarter (qoq) - the highest of all retail micro markets tracked by CBRE.

 

For the whole Orchard Road area, rents rose 1.1 per cent qoq in the second quarter to average $36.80 psf per month - also a record.

 

The 'uncertain global business climate and imminent supply coming on stream' now has retailers making more prudent decisions on space, said CBRE. But 'there remains an appetite for expansion and retailers are still keen to bring new brands into the market'.

 

An estimated 6.9 million sq ft of retail space will be completed between the third quarter this year and 2012, with 48 per cent of this coming on stream in 2009.

 

But still, said CBRE: 'We continued to see new entrants and openings in Q2.'

 

It noted that Wisma Atria houses Jayson Brunsdon, Trois + Inch and Levis Lady.

 

Thai fashion label Greyhound and Playhound is now available at Tangs Orchard.

 

And Toshin will introduce eight new stores totalling 15,000 sq ft at Takashimaya.

 

Of course, as new shops open, others close.

 

Wing Tai Retail will close two Topshop and Topman outlets in the Orchard/Scotts Road area because the leases have expired.

 

The 12,000 sq ft Wisma Atria outlet will close this month and the 2,500 sq ft outlet at Isetan Scotts will close at the end of August.

 

Wing Tai will open a new store of more than 4,000 sq ft at an undisclosed Orchard Road location later this year and expects to open a 12,000 sq ft flagship store at ION Orchard when the mall is ready.

 

WingTai Retail executive director Helen Khoo said: 'We have been looking for a suitable location for our new Topshop and Topman flagship store in the Orchard Road area, and are preparing for opportunities arising from a new retail landscape.'

 

Rents were not cited as a reason for the relocation. But rents at ION Orchard have been reported to range between $20 and $60 psf per month.

 

Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) executive director Lau Chuen Wei believed that high rents are 'putting a dent in retailers' bottom lines'.

 

'Retailers have to work out their sums very carefully and make location decisions depending on affordability as well as what market segments they want to attract,' she said.

 

'Several new developments are coming on stream, but there is no lowering of rents in sight,' she added.

 

Ms Lau said that properties offering the new space have 'clear ideas' of their positioning and what kinds of retailers they want within their properties.

 

Likewise, there are retailers who are very clear about where they want to be. 'It's a matter of negotiation - and who wants who more,' she said.

 

Knight Frank also suggested that retail rents may not suffer from future over-supply.

 

In a research brief, it said that Singapore had 7.4 sq ft of available retail space per person (capita) at end-2007, compared with Hong Kong's 16.2 sq ft per capita.

 

Based on current population growth, Knight Frank reckoned that the Singapore retail sector may have the capacity to grow by four million sq ft in the next three years to get close to the 2004 level of 7.97 sq ft per capita.

 

It reckoned that a rise in retail sales over the next three years, from $650.60 psf in 2007, will outpace the increase in retail space to sustain growth in space productivity at close to $700 psf in 2010.

 

Source: Business Times

]]> http://fashionsensei.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/solestruck/ Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:27:45 +0000 Fashion Sensei http://fashionsensei.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/solestruck/ I recently stumbled upon a noteworthy shoe site that I think you should know about.  solestruck.com, although geared to the "Junior" market, solestruck offers such a wide variety of shoes, one could find shoes that appeal to everyone from teens to grandmas.  Not just the trendy types either, they have shoes to satisfy personalities ranging from granola goddess to glam girl.

Brand names include Roxy to Delman for the trendy types and Keds to Campers for those seeking comfort.

While I struck out when it came to finding a wide variety in my size (10.5), I was fortunate to find a pair of much needed workout sneakers by New Balance that I have on order. 

Now, because the majority of the world is not a big foot like me, I did some pre-shopping for you to get an idea of what shoe candy awaits you.

(Click on the image for links to each shoe.)

 

Here are four things that you should know about solestruck.com:

1. Shipping is FREE
2. Return shipping is free too! Now you don't have to worry if the shoe fits.  If it doesn't, you can return it and get the right size without paying to have them sent back to you. Fantastic!
3. You have 12 months from the date of purchase to return your shoes.  Can you believe that?  But please don't try to send back a pair that you already wore out on your hot date.  Wear them around the house first to make sure they fit.
4. Finally, best of all, Fashion Sensei couldn't forget her girls, so enter discount code FTGH88F2F for a 20% discount on your TOTAL purchase.  That even includes sale items!  This deal ends 7/16/08 so don't wait.  Your shoes might not be there when you go back.  I got the last pair of New Balance in my size. 

A special thanks to Danielle at solestruck for the terrific discount for the Fashion Sensei readers!  This will officially be my last post for awhile, so I want to thank everyone for their well wishes and I hope to put up at least one post to note my progress in a couple of weeks.

Bye!

-F.S.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to SUBSCRIBE via RSS or EMAIL now so you don't miss a thing!

 

]]> http://raquelhirai.wordpress.com/?p=7 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:03:34 +0000 raquelhirai http://raquelhirai.wordpress.com/?p=7 Two points that were discussed last class especially got my attention. The first concerned the negative effects of networks and the second was Chris Anderson’s comparison between bricks and mortar and online retailers.

I was surprised by the shock of some class members when someone brought up the example of online suicides as a negative network effect. It has already happened in Brazil, not only in Japan. Two years ago a 16-year old boy committed online suicide in Porto Alegre, the city where I used to live. He used a method called “barbecue”, asphyxiating himself with the inhalation of carbon monoxide. He told his parents he was going to have a barbecue with his friends, asked them to leave the apartment, and fired the charcoal in the bathroom. He asked for instructions online, posted a picture of the bathroom, and left a letter for his parents. A retired American fireman in Chicago gave him instructions to pass out, because the boy complained that it was too hot in the bathroom in an online forum about suicide. A Canadian virtual friend of his became extremely worried when she saw the posts and called the police in Porto Alegre from Toronto. It was too late.

I was also interested in a question asked by one of my classmates concerning Anderson’s comparison between bricks and mortar and online retailers. In the beginning of chapter nine in The Long Tail (page 147), Anderson explains that less than 10% of American retail volume is online. I believe that he wrote about the traditional retailers because this business still retains an ample majority of sales volume even though it only offers the “head” of the curve. Anderson should have clarified this point in the beginning of the book because consumers accustomed to buy online (and perhaps MCDM students) tend to believe it is common.

]]> http://slwtf.wordpress.com/?p=471 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:47:04 +0000 Garth Goode http://slwtf.wordpress.com/?p=471  

Sure, some landowners use bots to make their land look busier than it is. It makes us feel deceived, and a little bit used.

But what about the poor bots? Stuck inside a plain room hundreds of meters in the air without even a dance ball to entertain them. Wearing the same plain t-shirt and jeans day after day after day. And what about lone female bot in this region? There are 36 male bots and her in this box. They must be flooding her with horny IMs. I know I look just like the other bots, but really, I'm different. I hope she knows how to use the mute button.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Twickenham/22/16/496



And if you think that's bad, here are 71 female bots made to sit with a box on their head. I didn't even know a region could support 71 avatars. At least these girls get to be in the open air... oh, except for that suffocating box, of course. I mean, I know Ruth is unattractive, but please, show some respect for the lady.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Quark/216/122/650



Meanwhile, a poor group of 53 grey ladies are forced to stare into the distance from inside their invisible box. Go, fly, be free! If I can break in, surely you can break out!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/7%20Sins/130/13/601

]]> http://spacedoutli.wordpress.com/?p=360 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:24:05 +0000 David Winzelberg http://spacedoutli.wordpress.com/?p=360 Specialty foods provider Iavarone Bros. Foods has signed a lease for a new, 6,000 square-foot store in Woodbury.

IBF’s newest market, located in the Woodbury Village Center at South Woods Road and Jericho Turnpike replaces the firm’s smaller Huntington store. The Woodbury outlet, scheduled to open next spring, will be the second largest of Iavarone’s four Long Island stores.

Design work is in progress on the new store with an estimated build-out cost between $250 and $300 per square foot.  Seems like a lot of cabbage to hang some salamis, but chief executive Pat Iavarone said the energy-efficient store will feature the latest customer-friendly conveniences.

]]> http://uclsstc.wordpress.com/?p=97 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:39:16 +0000 mukih http://uclsstc.wordpress.com/?p=97 An interesting radio documentary 'File on 4' programme was dedicated to the problems that developers are facing in retail-led regeneration. The programme details are on BBC Radio 4 website, but it is valuable to notice some of the citations that are included in it:

"There's far more capacity out there than ever before and demand is relatively flat," says retail sector analyst Richard Hyman of Deloitte, a consultancy, warning that retail-led urban regeneration may be over for good.

The programme argues that the number of projects that are focusing on retail and are in trouble is now in two digits.

As we are starting to see in the detailed case studies and also in the general cases that we are looking at in this research, it is not only the retail that influence how town centres operate and survive. The multiplicity of activities - from light industry to local magistrate court are the things that make these places alive. Maybe the downturn in retail and the oversupply of retail space will help to wake up all those involved to a broader view of these places?

]]> http://olliandlime.wordpress.com/?p=135 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:15:57 +0000 andy http://olliandlime.wordpress.com/?p=135

We've decided our wallpaper looks just as nice in the packaging, so we thought we'd share it with you. Ooh, and our products were uploaded to fawn & forest today, woo-hoo! :-)

]]> http://futurethink.wordpress.com/?p=248 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:06:10 +0000 Josh Kutticherry http://futurethink.wordpress.com/?p=248



A redesigned milk jug has been the surprising target of much press attention over the past few weeks. The new jugs; which is slowly being rolled out in U.S. retailers such as Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, and Costco; is taller, rectangular, and has no real spout. The jug was essentially designed with one goal in mind: reduce the environmental impact of milk.

To that end, the new design allows for jugs to be stacked (they're flat on top), and eliminates the need for plastic milk crates since the stackable design allows for cardboard dividers and shrink wrap to be used. This translates to reduced packing time, faster delivery to stores (which means fresher milk), and fewer wasted resources along the distribution chain. More milk can fit in each delivery truck and in the grocer's cooler; and empty trucks don't need to travel back and forth to collect milk crates.

The most surprising benefit of all this, in my opinion, is the reduction in water usage. According a recent New York Times article on the new design, one major dairy used to use about 100,000 gallons of water each day just to clean milk crates! The new design eliminates the crate, and has reduced water usage by 60-70%.

Consumers, however, aren't all that pleased with the new design. Because of the jug's lack of a proper spout, many complain of excessive spills and the fact that children find it hard to pour. Sam's Club stores have resorted to in-store demonstrations to educate consumers on the proper pouring technique (tilt the jug without picking it up).  At the end of the day, consumers are simply going to have to adjust. The new milk jug is just one of many changes that we're likely to see in the upcoming years. As the New York Times pointed out:

The redesign of the gallon milk jug, experts say, is an example of the changes likely to play out in the American economy over the next two decades. In an era of soaring global demand and higher costs for energy and materials, virtually every aspect of the economy needs to be re-examined, they say, and many products must be redesigned for greater efficiency.

Whether or not consumers are ready to make eco-friendly choices, rising energy costs are going to force companies to make the choice on their behalf.

It turns out that this may be the silver lining—at least in terms of innovation. The current economic crisis (recession, anyone?) in the U.S. is pushing organizations—entire industries,even—to reevaluate the fundamentals. If they're not doing it a matter of environmental responsibility (which, when it doesn't translate into profit, can only take a company so far), organizations are now readdressing some of the core aspects of their businesses in order to uncover opportunities to cut inefficiencies and make things better.

It's amazing how many possibilities open up when we begin to question some of the most basic principles of how we do business. In the dairy industry, the 1-gallon milk jug had been the same for decades. Prior to this most recent economic downturn, no one had thought to redesign the container. Suddenly, there's an economic reason to do so, and we have a new, more efficient design. Consumers benefit, too. They're saving an estimated $0.20 to $0.40 per gallon.

I'm not saying that the new design is optimal by any means—ideally, it would be easy to use and really efficient to produce, distribute, and store—but let's be hopeful that this is a "beta" release and that a newer, better version is around the corner.

In the mean time, it might be worth taking a step back and reevaluating the fundamentals of your business to see how you can do it better. You're sure to find something.

For more on the new milk jug, click over to the New York Times (be sure to check out their narrated slideshow on how the new design came about).

]]> http://windsorpark.wordpress.com/?p=89 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:05:15 +0000 leonard213 http://windsorpark.wordpress.com/?p=89 The NC Research Campus continues to be developed in Kannapolis. Once completed, the NC will be a massive employment center. This is good news for the whole region.

Windsor Park is bound to benefit from this growth. Centrally located and well connected to transportation corridors, Windsor Park is just 22 miles from the NC Research Campus. Google Maps estimats that's just a 28 minute commute. Check out the route for yourself. This means that families living and working in different places in the Charlotte region will find that WIndsor Park is a good middle point and mutually convenient.

More from the Charlotte Business Journal:

The N.C. Research Campus is spinning off its next wave of development — apartments built to support the expected influx of workers to Kannapolis.

A Greensboro-area developer is the first to target research workers with a $23 million luxury apartment complex in Salisbury, 15 miles north of the bioscience center, which is expected to employ 5,000 workers by 2013.

McClain Barr & Associates is developing The Grand on Julian, which will contain 240 units off Interstate 85.

Scott Neely, president of Multifamily Associates, worked with McClain Barr on the project, finding the site and securing financing.

Neely is putting together a similar apartment project for Kannapolis that will target research campus workers. It’s called The Grand in Kannapolis.

Neely says he revived earlier plans for the Salisbury apartments after the research campus was announced. The first buildings in the campus, which is being financed largely by California billionaire David Murdock, will open this summer. The research there, headed by several members of the UNC system and Duke University, will bring a range of research operations to the former site of the Pillowtex Corp.

Also expected to flood the area: researchers and support workers in need of a place to live.

“Now it’s a historic community with positive growth,” Neely says.

Meeting the housing needs for the research campus workers has become a growing concern of developers.

Murdock’s Castle & Cooke North Carolina is developing several residential projects, including a 700-home golf course community called the Club at Irish Creek and a subdivision of less-expensive homes called Grants Creek in Rowan County.

Homes, condos and townhouses are also planned on the N.C. Research Campus property itself.

McClain Barr is overseeing development of The Grand on Julian and will lease and manage the complex on Julian Boulevard.

Rents, which will reach up to $1,100 for a three-bedroom unit, is “well above” the average for the Salisbury area, says Charles Dalton of Real Data, which tracks the multifamily market across the region.

“That may enable them to compete with Charlotte” for N.C. Research Campus workers looking for high-end units, he says. “Instead of going south to Charlotte, they will go north to Salisbury.”

Amenities at The Grand on Julian are designed to compete with anything in the market, Neely says. Those amenities include garages, granite countertops, an indoor basketball court and a 20-seat theater.

“It’s really for the working professional,” he says.

The 17.5-acre Salisbury project, financed by Capmark Financial Group, will be available for tenants in December, Neely says.

Concrete foundations have been poured at the site, with plans to begin vertical construction later this month, he says.

EST General Contractors of Dunn is the general contractor for The Grand on Julian project. Designer is PDI Architecture of Anderson, S.C.

]]> http://daughtercartographer.wordpress.com/?p=34 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:49:33 +0000 daughtercartographer http://daughtercartographer.wordpress.com/?p=34 Still no luck.

A myriad of interviews saying, "You're great you're perfect! But you don't have experience. Sorry".

No experience? I've delivered news papers, I've delivered prescriptions, I've filled balloons with hot air on hot days and delivered them to birthday parties with kids that run up to you and wipe sticky all over you.

Don't all the places I did deliveries for show I can be on time? That I can deal with the unexpected - you never know who is going to be behind that door. That I am patient - waiting while old women show me albums of their late husbands and cats because they no longer have other visitors that can look at these things. Didn't it mean I had common sense to read a map and figure out how to get places when there were detours on roads I never heard of before?

I've worked in many offices as well. Pharmacy, Library, College Resource Buildings and more. I had to answer phones, explain insurance clauses, give directions, file paperwork, reorganize books in a 26 story library, take messages, be aware of cat prescriptions, learn a filing cabinet worth of privacy policies, and do all those low-life "copy-girl" tasks that everyone else was too busy to do.

Didn't those jobs prove that I was organized?

I've done the retail scene. Wrapping gifts that were shaped oddly - too big for boxes - for people with OCD. I've helped countless people pick out hallmark cards for every event, Bat Mitzvah, wedding, divorce, death, first lost tooth, gall bladder removal, cards with braille, cards with extra big print, cards that were funny, cards that made you cry. I've given men advice on what to do the day after their wives's birthday's that they forgot. And 80 years old grandparents advice of what was cool to get their grandchildren. I have the smile. The smile that says, "Of course! You're absolutely right - we can do that for you" when the customer is just plane crazy.

Retail really shows how well you can work with people.

I've worked Lotto. Although I found it more like being a drug dealer.

I have done the supermarket scene. Checking out groceries, stocking shelves, cleaning up isles, and constantly being aware of what fruits were in season and how you were supposed to tell if they were ripe and how to cut them.

That was sort of like being a fashion consltant and the seamstress all in one.

I have worked with children on various levels. There was the time I was a nanny for a woman who didn't belive in disapline. I was a camp counselor. I was a baby-sitter. I was an assistant art instructor. I taught children English in Japan, even though my language skills were minimal. I was an RA in college - it was like being a mom to 40 children who hated each other and were going through that awkward phase where everything you did as a parent was uncool and wrong. But none the less I used my retail smile (which was now dubbed reslife smile) and taught them how to do laundry. How to take the bus. How to talk to their roommates. How to take classes. How to transfer. I knew more resources than the RA resource guide had listed. I was woken up for emergencies. The time my resident didn't know what to do when her boyfriend was pressuring her for sex. The time her roommate came pounding on my door at 2 am because she was out of condoms. The time they found a boy dead in his room - the night seemed endless. There was crying for weeks after. The mental heath resources I knew came in handy. The next month of knocks on my door with "emergencies" at 2 am and 6 am seemed like nothing.

People skills. Teaching skills. Presentation skills.

I have been a volunteer. Girl Scouts, recycling centers, charity dinner set ups, serving thanksgiving dinner to battered women, making baskets for soldiers, even dressed up as scooby doo on one of those hot summer days to walk 5 miles for charity.

Compassion. Dedication.

I painted signs for local businesses. A man with a jewelry shop. Every college group that wanted advertising.

I was a maid.

I organized my boyfriend's room countless times.

I packed up an entire house by myself at 17 and did repairs - because my mother was lazy and ran out of state.

I've done research analysis for a professor - making surveys , revising surveys, processing data, writing estimations, writing predictions, writing outcomes.

I've received a B.A. degree in Communication a minor in Japanese.

And, I've gotten nowhere.

All jobs that I "qualify" for are paying the same pay that I received while working in high school - which was the same pay I received while working in college. Which is not going to pay the rent and which are not going to satisfy myself intellectually or artistically.

]]> http://prudz.wordpress.com/?p=144 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:11:48 +0000 prudz http://prudz.wordpress.com/?p=144 While browsing around the internet, I've come across an article from Violent Acres. After reading her article about the two phrases that destroyed american culture, I was in immediate agreement with her statement. Her article deals with two phrases that appear in society, but more specifically, in the retail business. The two phrases that she brings up into question are "The Customer is Always Right," and "I don't give respect freely, you have to EARN my respect."

Well, that is the basics of the article, give the article a read and see if you can relate to what she is saying. Me personally can find different instances where I've experienced what she is talking about, but don't have the power to do anything for fear of losing my job. Check it out ---->  Two Phrases that Destroyed American Culture.

~Prudz

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