Spirit Airlines to Charge $100 For Carry-On Bag

Spirit Airlines will soon impose an unbelievable new fee on its customers.

Beginning November 6, when you fly with Spirit, you will be charged $100 to haul your own suitcase through the airport all the way to your boarding gate, where you then get to lug it down the jetway and through the narrow aisle on the plane, so that you can nearly herniate yourself trying to cram it into the undersized overhead compartment by your seat. 

On the upside, Spirit says if your bag fits under your seat, it's free. Sweet!

(For me - no way in Hell I would fly Spirit Airlines, but if I had to, I would travel with only what would fit under the seat. I'd rather spend $100 buying new clothes when I reached my destination than donate that money to the airlines.)

Toys-R-Us, Stand Tall and Don't Back Down

The "Just Married" Issue

Dear Toys-R-Us,

I applaud and support the continuing sale of the "Just Married" issue of the Archie comic book in your stores.

Because this edition of the series involves the wedding of a gay regular character to his male partner, the bigoted watchdog group "One Million Moms" has launched an online campaign asking that you remove this comic book from your shelves. In light of this action, I implore you to be brave and hold your ground.

Certainly, the idea of "One Million Moms" speaking out against a toy store sounds intimidating, but it's much less so when you pause to consider the facts. 

1. "One Million Moms" isn't really one million moms. According to the group's own website, they are "searching for one million moms" to join their fight against perceived "filth", but in reality, even on Facebook they only have 45,000 "Likes." This is a small group of moralists trying to impose their views on others.
2. You're taking the high road. You have customers, employees, and shareholders who are gay, or who have gay friends and family. There are kids shopping in your store everyday who will grow up to be gay (with or without the "Just Married" Archie comic). By not discriminating, you help all of us feel more proud and more respected. 
3. This is not about indecency. Rest assured, you are not selling something pornographic, or obscene. Keep it real. This is about a comic book with a wedding on the cover.
4. Fighting intolerance is ultimately good business. Facing down discrimination takes guts and leadership, and those attributes are ultimately rewarded in the marketplace. Those who refuse to evolve with the changing world will be left behind by it.

The "One Million Moms" organization challenged JCPenney's choice of Ellen Degeneres as a spokeswoman, and when JCPenney refused to reverse their decision, the company enjoyed an enormous groundswell of support and appreciation from regular folks, some of whom were already JCPenney loyalists, and many of whom vowed to become new customers.

Unlike the American Family Association's "One Million Moms" project, I don't falsely claim to represent one million of anything. But let me say that on behalf of reasonably intelligent, tolerant, ordinary people everywhere (all of whom have to buy toys for their kids, nieces, nephews, and others) - thank you. Keep up the good work. Stand tall, and don't back down.

Jeff McKown
San Carlos, CA

Turn of Phrase - The Irrelevance of Bookstores

"Treating authors like shit, when authors are essential to the process, is bad business.

Treating readers like shit, when readers are essential to the process, is bad business.

Bookstores and publishers and distributors are NOT essential to the process. You should have evolved."

- From author Joe Konrath, in a recent blog post about the book industry ("Amazon Will Destroy You"). In his "open letter," Konrath declares that bookstores, publishers, and distributors have no one to blame but themselves for their own irrelevance in the future of bookselling.

As a longtime bookseller and wannabe published novelist, I am intrigued by differing opinions on the evolution of the book industry. Konrath, whose work has been published in both traditional and electronic formats, is a huge advocate for digital publishing, largely because of the more equitable treatment (and payment) authors receive from Amazon. He also argues that Amazon owns the future of bookselling for two simple reasons: they listen and they innovate.

In the full blog post (linked here), Konrath pulls no punches, as he rightfully reminds the traditional book industry that no one likes a whiny loser, and that victors have always gotten the spoils.

20 Spectacular Bookstores of Your Dreams

Libreria El Ateneo Grand Splendid - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Amazon can't touch these incredibly inspired literary spaces. These retail stores manage to restore a suitable majesty to the idea of what a bookstore should be. The grandeur of some and the simplicity of others appropriately represents the vast wisdom and intimate knowledge they house.

The booklover in me finds the settings and architecture to be breathtaking, while the operator in me wonders how many of them actually turn a profit.

Has anyone ever visited any of these places?

Retail Christmas Wasn't Boom or Bust

Photo: Reuters / John Gress

According to data from two dozen major companies, retail sales in December were up about 4% over the prior year's results, giving Wall Street the rosy perception that the season was essentially a successful one. As usual, marketers found ways to motivate consumers to shell out a few more bucks than they did last year, a result which typically signifies a healthy holiday season.

What is less talked about than the top line sales results, and far less encouraging, is the hidden "cost" of these added sales. In most cases, December sales gains were driven largely by deep discounts (several mall retailers ran "40% Off Everything" deals in the week before Christmas), as well as gimmicky promotions and extended store hours, all of which take a hefty toll on product margins and operating profitability. We won't understand the complete picture of the 2011 Christmas retail season until we see quarterly profit & loss statements from these companies.

With improved sales but potentially compromised profits, Christmas results are ultimately a mixed bag for retailers. Strong and moderately healthy companies will forge ahead, and a few companies who started the season from a considerably weaker position, and who then sold their souls just to get customers to cross their lease-lines, may not live to see the end of 2012. There is one macro upside though - the increased spending is a good sign that consumer confidence is on the rise, and when you add to that the steady improvements we are seeing in the job market, there is hope for continued slow but steady economic recovery.



Related Stories: December Retail Sales Are Sluggish, Black Friday Results and Holiday Trends

December Retail Sales Are Sluggish

I predicted the sharp drop in December retail sales and the resulting corporate panic here almost three weeks ago.

It's good news for consumers as we're already seeing steep discounts, and "Super Saturday" bargains (12/17). It's bad news for retailers who must scramble for business in the last week before Christmas, and who now see that their Black Friday extravaganzas served mostly to shift consumer traffic peaks and cost them precious margin dollars.

Black Friday Results and Holiday Sales Trends

Shoppers waiting in line at Best Buy.

Two weeks ago I wrote a blog post encouraging consumers to avoid the newly created Thanksgiving Day retail super sales, in the hopes of reminding people about the dual impact of patronizing big box stores on a major holiday. When you show up to purchase your crazily discounted X-Box on Thanksgiving, you send a message of encouragement that tells retailers you don't mind shopping on an important holiday, which by default means you are comfortable asking others to enjoy their turkey feast in a break room instead of at home with their families.

Well, the overnight stampedes are over and the pepper spray has been dispersed. Black Friday retail sales results have been reported, and the expert conclusion is that those mega-discount events were indeed successful in driving customer traffic - BUT they have likely only shifted the finite spending consumers planned for the holiday to happen earlier in the season. I suppose if you're Target, Best Buy, or Toys-R-Us this may still be good news because at least you know "you got yours" this holiday season, but at what cost?

Beyond the diminishing respect levels between big corporations and their employees (which sadly is of no concern to most companies), there is also the issue of compromised profitability. Doorbuster sale items are typically sold below the retailers' costs, and if aggressive marketing doesn't somehow convince shoppers to purchase several regular priced add-on items, then the doorbusters simply erode profit margins.