WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS – Ran across this ad in an old Life magazine, and it made me immediately think of how much the auto market today might never understand the motorcar brand Plymouth. Pictured here, a drawing of a Plymouth in front of The Greenbrier, the West Virginia resort. Plymouth, a ChryslerMORE HERE
Connecticut Presbyterian minister, writer and investor C.R. Wiley is a thought leader in the area of old style rural conservatism. While reading his other great stuff on the website The Imaginative Conservative, I saw a great piece of his about his favorite New England brands. A recommendation for a brand is evenMORE HERE
Occasionally it is fun to look at a disappeared brand that was prominent on shelves. Such was the pain pill Vanquish. It is still made by Bayer, and competes with Excedrin, Anacin and Goody’s as an aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine constructed pain reliever. It’s quite a competitive and genericized categoryMORE HERE
DETROIT – Don’t sell the meat department of the family grocery store to keep the business afloat. There is a horrible thought floating about General Motors. GM would depart from manufacturing in Europe, sell off Opel to a neighbor like Peugeot, and perhaps grab Jeep and shut down the rest of the non-glamorous,MORE HERE
NEW YORK – One of the many niche defunct brands in men’s accessories was His Lordship. Back in the day when many men regularly wore cuff links, studs and tie tacks, smaller companies like His Lordship sold custom crafted jewelry. In the case of His Lordship, it was mostly nautically themed items, mostlyMORE HERE
SAN ANTONIO – Sears has opened a new spin-off concept, the Die Hard Auto Center. Of course, Die Hard is a strong Sears brand, and this news is just coming off Sears’ sale of Craftsman for an astounding $775 million to Black & Decker. Currently, Sears Holdings is on trackMORE HERE
There is a large amount of room in the marketplace for small, regional, handcrafted fashion and craft brands. One of the many surviving leather companies is J.W. Hulme of St. Paul, Minnesota. They make excellent leather goods, including bags, briefcases and wallets; it’s a luxury approach with a simpler, less fashionMORE HERE
BELIZE CITY – British Honduras, now Belize, became independent in 1981. Today, the Commonwealth country Belize has been one of the most successful post colonial countries. It has not only managed to preserve its institutions, but create a welcoming climate for locals and tourists, preserving its nature, farms, Mayan ruinsMORE HERE
That Arby’s CEO Paul Brown has joined the board of JCPenney. That raises the question. After JCPenney brought back appliances, why not bring reintroduce food? Part of the old joy of going to department stores was the element of surprise, and options for repeat visits. One way to do that is aMORE HERE
Uniforms are the original way to rebrand an institution. From Roman soldiers to Olympic athletes, clothes make the man. And the woman. And the institution. Alitalia figured this out in a stylish rebranding. Late this spring, the national airline of Italy unveiled a new branding campaign with its central identity createdMORE HERE