Marc Jacobs Gets Sued

Fashion designer Marc Jacob's company was slapped with a $1 million fine for bribing the head of the Lexington Ave. Marc Jacobs International paid the superintendent, James Jackson, more than $35,000 in cash and goods for access to the armory, a highly desirable location because it is one of the few spaces in the city that can hold thousands of people with unobstructed views. This arrangement was made for fashion week. Mr. Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced in State Supreme Court in Manhattan next month and could face 5 to 15 years in prison. This is surprising to me that this kind of stuff goes on in the fashion world. I wonder if this kind of thing happens on a regular basis in the fashion industry and how many people actually get caught. This comes as shocking news to me, especially coming from Marc Jacobs. The label makes a lot of money, so you would think that they would be able to pay out right for the expenses legitimately. It is a good thing that Mr. Jackson got put into jail for what her did, and shows the tolerance level for an act like this. It is not clear how he was caught in the act, and I am curious to know.

Target and Wal-Mart Battle it out against the Economy

Wal-Mart has been out doing Target in sales recently because of the state of the economy. Wal-Mart has replaced their logo of "always low prices" with the "save money, live better."This has influenced the customers in a positive way, and draws them in even more right now becuase everyone is looking to save as much money as possible.
Target is now following the same trend with hopes of increasing sales and surpassing Wal'Mart once again. They too have replaced their saying; "expect more, pay less" with "get more for less." Even their prices have dropped and things are offered at a lesser value. Target is even incorporating this new philosophy in with their products. For example, a new Target spot, set to a Dolly Parton song, shows a woman with her dog and Beneful dog foodmpanied by the words, "more dinner, less dollar." This strategy will hopefully increase sales since all of the advertisements to come will have some form of the saviing money aspect incorported into it.
Target however will not get away from the stylish view that it has over Wal-Mart. The products will still be designer looking products; they are just going to be offered at a much lower price. The concern I have is that I wonder if quality of the products will be sacraficed. Lets hope that Target will not loose the image it has or cheapen the brand.