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| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1989/12/13/blues-alley-goes-global-with-japanese-deal/c23372a0-886f-45fa-ae35-bba63fd6a630/ | BLUES ALLEY GOES GLOBAL WITH JAPANESE DEAL | 1989-12-13 | By Kara Swisher | Business | It may be a jazz world, but it looks like it's going to be a Blues Alley universe -- Blues Alley clubs everywhere, Blues Alley CDs and videos, a Blues Alley clothing collection, and even a Blues Alley crystal decanter. Washington's well-known jazz club -- which attracts legendary jazz performers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Byrd and Wynton Marsalis -- has signed a $57 million licensing agreement with a group of Japanese investors to open three clubs next year in Japan, according to Blues Alley owner John T. Bunyan. And other deals with investors in the United States, Germany and Spain are in the works to capitalize on the popular supper club's name and knack for booking jazz greats, said Bunyan, who is lining up investors for a $3.5 million Blues Alley Investment Limited Partnership. The investment group seems to be following the grace notes of another successful music club franchise, the Hard Rock Cafe, which is set to open a branch here tomorrow, by emphasizing franchises and a popular line of logoed retail goods. The 18-year-old Hard Rock, founded in London and a specialist in American food and rock-and-roll, now has 16 cafes. It makes more than 40 percent of its current revenues from retail sales, and has sold 22 million T-shirts. Blues Alley's Washington club, which features two or three shows into the night, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its founding by clarinetist Tommy Gwaltney. Bunyan bought Blues Alley in 1973, and its popularity has grown so much in the intervening years that Gillespie once proclaimed, "Now THIS is a jazz club!" Even the alley in Georgetown where it is located is named after the club. Bunyan also runs a club in Baltimore, a production/recording company, two music groups and the Blues Alley Music Society, a nonprofit organization that matches young musicians with headliners. Bunyan's deal with Naritaka Mouri, a Japanese businessman and real estate investor who owns the Tokuyama Country Club in Japan, calls for opening clubs in Tokyo in June, in Yokohama in September and Kyoto in December. The newly incorporated company, Blues Alley Japan, is hoping that each club there will gross $15 million annually and net $3 million from Japan's jazz-loving public. "There are hundreds of thousands of die-hard jazz fans in Japan and they've got lots to spend on entertainment," said Bunyan, who owns 50 percent of the Japanese partnership. "And we're happy to export what they want ... for a change." The deal was born of a Japanese television ad for All Nippon Airways, which filmed Washington landmarks for a commercial shown in Japan about its Tokyo-to-Washington flights. Pictured along with the Washington Monument was Blues Alley, which is well-known among Japanese tourists; Bunyan estimated that 10 percent to 15 percent of the 75,000 patrons yearly at the small club here are Japanese. The Japanese clubs will have 250 seats, almost double the size of Washington's cozy club, and state-of-the-art electronic equipment. "There are high expenses in setting up in Japan," said Bunyan, "but we wanted to do this right." The Japanese owners also have rights to open clubs throughout the Pacific Rim in Hawaii, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, and clubs are expected there in 1991. All will carry the Blues Alley name and logo. Jazz music booking and programming -- and later rock, pop, bluegrass and country -- will be directed from Washington, and under another $1 million deal with the Japanese, Bunyan will produce CDs and videos, called "Live at Blues Alley," for distribution in Japan and worldwide. Thirty-nine shows are planned, to be taped at the Baltimore club, which is used as a video studio. Also in the works are instructional videos featuring jazzmen like Marsalis and drummer Louis Belson. The Japanese-American investment group also will manufacture and market a line of denim wear, T-shirts, jackets and other items such as glass decanters that could be lucrative if Blues Alley attains worldwide recognition. In another venture, Bunyan is seeking about 70 limited partners to pony up $50,000 each for the Blues Alley Investment Limited Partnership, which will have an interest in the Washington club and clubs scheduled to open in New Orleans and Chicago in 1990, and licensing rights to the Blues Alley concept and business plan throughout the world, except for parts of the Pacific involved in the Japanese deal. Bunyan said he is talking with a German law firm that wants to open clubs in Hamburg, Munich and Berlin, and a Spanish department store that wants them in Barcelona, Malaga and Majorca. "We're even thinking of Moscow and Leningrad, considering the current climate there and their well-known love of jazz," Bunyan said. "You have to make sure your concept is firm or it's suicide," said Robert Earl, president of America's Hard Rock Cafe Inc., based in Orlando, Fla., about the chances for Blues Alley to make a worldwide splash. "People have to love you and want you near them." Bunyan is not worried. "Blues Alley is upscale and quality entertainment all the way," he said, noting his entire staff will travel from here to Japan for two weeks in January to advise and counsel. "Besides, this deal is strong," he said. "The Japanese pay in advance." | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1989/12/25/tapping-a-medicare-data-mine/0f0de58a-a8fa-4674-9b3c-3015b44f1935/ | TAPPING A MEDICARE DATA MINE | 1989-12-25 | Kara Swisher | Business | BALTIMORE -- It would be hard for most people to see gold in the floor-to-ceiling stacks of paper that line the walls of Health Care Investment Analysts Inc.'s warren of offices here. But it's there, said George Pillari, a 27-year-old entrepreneur who is extracting valuable nuggets from pages filled with confusing and disorganized information from the federal government. Mining the Medicare data filed by the nation's 5,500 hospitals, the four-year-old HCIA distills the figures, creating a clearer picture of this branch of the health industry for those with a stake in it -- including bankers, accountants, consultants, hospital administrators and management groups, insurance companies and even the federal government. "There is a deep and wide void for centralized, consistent, systematically collected information about the hospital industry's financial and operating status," Pillari said. "You'd be surprised how little people know about hospitals." Along with his 34-year-old partner, Steven Renn, Pillari is working on the premise that a lot of information can go a long way if properly packaged. Based on an idea they and a former partner, Carl Schram, had while at Johns Hopkins University (Renn was on the faculty, Pillari was his student), HCIA is one of the many niche companies that recycle data -- collecting, processing and regurgitating it in a usable form. "We look at hospitals as businesses," said Renn, "and anybody involved in the industry getting this {data} can make clear, fact-based decisions." Considering the size of the hospital industry -- it accounts for 4 percent of the U.S. gross national product -- little is known about it, because close to 84 percent of U.S. hospitals are nonprofit and are not required to release their financial data to the public. But most hospitals get about 60 percent of their revenue from the public coffers, and that's where HCIA steps in, collecting Medicare and Medicaid cost reports filed all over the United States. The raw statistics cost HCIA $500,000 a year to obtain. HCIA then breaks down the data into 230 elements, including net income, admissions, markup ratios and plant operation, for its base of 225 clients. But anyone can get reports for as little as $65. "Having information readily disseminated is great for everyone," said Pillari. He cited an HMO in Michigan that wanted information on hospital costs in the region. "They can then negotiate a better deal. Say they look at 100 hospitals and find out one hospital is overcharging them on a per-patient basis. Then they can know the hospital is not accurate and can stop the gouging." Pillari said there are benefits for hospitals, 200 of which have closed across the United States in the past five years. "For the most part," Pillari said, "they are in the patient care business and have trouble with the financial side." Knowing the competition is an example, he said. "We can show Hospital A that Hospital B down the road has a low debt balance and hoards of cash. That might mean that Hospital B might be thinking of expanding and it would damage Hospital A's market share." HCIA can also pinpoint a hospital's profitability by specialty area, showing what is making or losing money compared with other hospitals in the market, region or country. "It helps their judgment. If they are 10 percent above average, they say, 'We can't do that,' " said Pillari. "It can be used to their advantage. If they are losing money hand over fist in some needed area, they can prove they need government support or a type of tax and the public will be much more sympathetic to hard facts." Pillari and Renn also are moving to expand services by interpreting and analyzing the information they gather. "We're not going to be like the big accounting firms, who would formulate a strategic plan," said Pillari. "It's more likely we would provide a dozen comparative tables, the basis for a strategic plan. We're a technical partner." To stake this claim, HCIA has published "The Sourcebook: The Comparative Performance of U.S. Hospitals" with Deloitte Haskins & Sells. For traders and investment analysts studying the $50 billion secondary market in hospital bonds, the company provides the Index of Predictive Creditworthiness, an alternative rating system. HCIA is branching out in other directions. It's gearing up to offer information on the growing nursing home industry -- there are more than 10,000 mostly investor-owned operations nationwide, making up 2 percent of the GNP. HCIA is also thinking of combing through vast data files on public utilities. It undertakes special studies for clients, such as one comparing investor-owned versus nonprofit hospitals, and provides local and national census data to wrap around other information. And it offers the data in a variety of forms. "We try to deliver data in any way we can -- on line, hard copy -- any way possible," said Renn. To ensure that there is someone to deliver the data to, the company has hired four sales representatives. . "Before, it was catcher's mitt sales," said Pillari. "Whatever came in we caught on the fly." The company's entire staff has grown this year to 22 from 11 and is likely to reach 30 by late 1990. The success has been noticed. Last year, HCIA was bought by AMBAC Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Citicorp. Another subsidiary, AMBAC Indemnity, an insurer of hospital bonds, was a big user of the service. Pillari and Renn still run the company and have a contract with undisclosed terms that links their fortunes to HCIA's growth. They think it will grow to a $25 million to $50 million business before long -- projected revenue for next year is $2.5 million, up from this year's $1.5 million. So why doesn't anybody else get in on this paper mine? "We can deliver it a lot easier than other businesses," said Pillari. "If people want to compete, we are now recognized in marketplace. There's a time constraint too, as it takes some years to accumulate data and develop a system, and that cannot be so easily replicated." | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/01/01/centrals-hangover/6bd9381a-2f31-491a-b3a5-fc2ca75344b2/ | CENTRAL'S HANGOVER | 1990-01-01 | Kara Swisher | Business | The winter winds blew cold last week through the perpetually swinging doors of Central Liquor on Ninth Street NW as patrons came in and out, stocking up for New Year's celebrations. The store looked ready enough for any kind of holiday drinker, evidenced by the wide range of champagne displayed on one wall of shelves: Andre for $3.99 a bottle and Asti Spumante at $5.99 for those who just wanted something fizzy to raise their glasses with; Piper Heidsieck for $22.99 and Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin at $29.99 for the more upscale. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/01/15/the-bailout-bonanza/4df363c8-1db5-475f-8433-49a02ca403ea/ | THE BAILOUT BONANZA | 1990-01-15 | Kara Swisher | Business | For undertakers, there are no recessions. And none, too, for those in Washington who are jockeying to be part of the multibillion-dollar cleanup of the nation's battered savings and loan industry. "When you look at a brand new agency with billions of dollars to spend and huge amounts of power right here in Washington, it doesn't take a genius to see everyone in town thinking that there's got to be something in that for me," said George Lesser, publisher of Bank Bailout Litigation News, a new $500-a-year newsletter created to cash in on the thrift debacle. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/01/30/lawyers-coordinate-myriad-suits-against-exxon/ac4f795a-58d0-4966-bbc8-c19147d82e2b/ | LAWYERS COORDINATE MYRIAD SUITS AGAINST EXXON | 1990-01-30 | Kara Swisher | Business | Last spring, after the Exxon Valdez supertanker ran into a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history, locals reportedly joked that the only thing worse than the 11 million gallons of raw crude washing up on the pristine shores was the legions of lawyers that would arrive in its wake. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/03/31/in-dc-audiences-go-for-art-films/53ba44aa-bd37-481f-bf51-c18fa92f89f0/ | IN D.C., AUDIENCES GO FOR ART FILMS | 1990-03-31 | By Kara Swisher | Business | Although "Henry V" didn't nab the big Oscars Monday for best actor and best director, weep not for those who produced it. Even before the awards ceremony in Los Angeles, this latest celluloid version of Shakespeare's tale of stirring warfare and an ambitious young king's political intrigue had established itself as something of a box office smash for small films, with ticket sales of $6.5 million so far from showings on only 131 screens. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/04/05/backing-away-from-controversy/54e0413b-7796-4757-9cfc-b1adb759db8f/ | BACKING AWAY FROM CONTROVERSY | 1990-04-05 | Kara Swisher | Business | Politicians aren't the only ones feeling the heat from the abortion debate. More and more corporate executives are sweating through that touchy issue -- and many others like it, such as gay rights and gun control. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/04/16/retailers-rearrange-the-future-of-furniture/0d3aeb69-58d0-41d0-8efa-82ef310894b4/ | RETAILERS REARRANGE THE FUTURE OF FURNITURE | 1990-04-16 | Kara Swisher | Business | As Lou Glickfield sees it, furniture's future lies in talking mattresses. "The environment of shopping for furniture is very sterile, so you have to do something to make customers come in," said Glickfield, owner of Marlo Furniture, explaining the purpose of Peter Posturepedic, a babbling box spring displayed in his new store in Laurel and programmed to promote the virtues of comfort zones to customers who meander by. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/04/25/for-fisher-price-no-joy-in-toyland/4691ead0-a53a-45ac-8651-b9885591bf51/ | FOR FISHER-PRICE, NO JOY IN TOYLAND | 1990-04-25 | Kara Swisher | Business | Toddlers nationwide have pretended to cut acres of grass with its bubble mower. Its colorful boats have been floated in countless bathtubs. And its highchair is so ubiquitous that even the yuppies on "thirtysomething" use it to feed their children. But Fisher-Price, best known for simple and durable toys, is being put up for financial adoption by its corporate parent, Quaker Oats Co. The Chicago-based food products giant said yesterday it decided to spin off the toymaker it has owned for two decades in light of the subsidiary's declining profits and eroding market share. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/04/27/ames-chain-files-for-bankruptcy/878809d8-31a3-4450-97fd-b7fca5f33a6d/ | AMES CHAIN FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY | 1990-04-27 | Kara Swisher | Business | Ames Department Stores Inc., whose discount deals on everything from soda to motor oil to jeans weren't enough to keep an expensive takeover deal afloat, sought protection from creditors under bankruptcy law late Wednesday. The bankruptcy filing will allow the discount chain, including its 15 stores in the Washington area, to continue operating while the company works with creditors on a plan to pay its debts. Ames said it sought court protection to "restructure its business and finances and to restore the confidence of its vendors and suppliers." | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/05/10/w-bell-puts-itself-up-for-sale/1206ce7c-cb52-4b23-bf5c-45d826da0417/ | W. BELL PUTS ITSELF UP FOR SALE | 1990-05-10 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/05/21/w-bell-rings-in-changes/de7d39f2-1d2a-4920-9d1d-9e36c081246a/ | W. BELL RINGS IN CHANGES | 1990-05-21 | Kara Swisher | Business | On a drizzly weekday morning last week, customers waited patiently in line outside the locked doors of W. Bell & Co. in Rockville. After the retailer opened, the small crowd of people fanned out across the spacious store, browsing among the wide range of products. But before long, many of the customers were in line again, waiting this time to order the products they wanted from Bell's thick catalogue. Finally, they fell into their third line of the morning, as they waited to pay. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/05/24/georgetown-copes-with-changing-image/c5bab493-4bfd-409b-92ab-b3403fc26063/ | GEORGETOWN COPES WITH CHANGING IMAGE | 1990-05-24 | Kara Swisher | Business | The timing couldn't have been worse for Georgetown. Just as the Business and Professional Association of Georgetown was gearing up its newest initiative -- to attract better stores to all parts of the longtime retail and entertainment mecca, the bad news was all over the media about a spate of recent teenage gang attacks on its crowded weekend sidewalks. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/05/31/the-fun-is-just-beginning-for-merry-go-round/45d0c51e-da8e-47cd-be2b-855adba5b859/ | THE FUN IS JUST BEGINNING FOR MERRY-GO-ROUND | 1990-05-31 | Kara Swisher | Business | At a time when much of the retail world is groaning about soft sales and squeezed profits, Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc. can't seem to stop catching the brass ring -- and everything else in sight. Consider the tip-top bottom line for the 20-year-old Maryland-based retailer of young men's and women's apparel, whose profits, revenue, size, sales per store and stock price have been shooting upward since 1987: | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/06/04/giant-safeway-still-dominate-regions-food-shopping/16677c4e-859f-4447-9ba2-3cadcd6483a5/ | GIANT, SAFEWAY STILL DOMINATE REGION'S FOOD SHOPPING | 1990-06-04 | Kara Swisher | Business | It's not news really for anyone who knows the supermarket game in Washington. According to the annual local market share survey of the retail grocery business released today, the big are even bigger and the small are getting smaller. As expected, the huge Giant and Safeway chains continue to dominate the Washington region, with consumers spending close to 80 cents of every grocery dollar at one of the food giants, according to Food World, a Columbia, Md.-based monthly publication that tracks the supermarket industry in the Washington area. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/06/18/gay-spending-power-draws-more-attention/297c9e43-8f32-4249-a87e-0df214ffdb22/ | GAY SPENDING POWER DRAWS MORE ATTENTION | 1990-06-18 | Kara Swisher | After the story appeared in a gay-oriented newspaper earlier this year, Woodward & Lothrop started receiving piles of returned credit cards and merchandise from gay customers. The 17-store local department store chain was then in the midst of a fracas with D.C.'s gay community over the refusal of Woodies's management to give employee discount privileges to the live-in partner of a gay salesman at its Chevy Chase store. The policy then was to only give the special 20 percent discount to employees and their legal spouses and dependents. | ||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/07/09/raleighs-looks-back-to-conservative-roots-in-planning-future/35d441e0-670f-480c-9854-ad2c1c6dd6ae/ | RALEIGHS LOOKS BACK TO CONSERVATIVE ROOTS IN PLANNING FUTURE | 1990-07-09 | By Kara Swisher | Business | The calls to Raleighs's Harvey Brown started immediately after Garfinckel's declared bankruptcy last month. Customers of the old and elegant department store chain wanted to know what was going to happen to Raleighs. For Brown, who serves as senior general manager for the 12-store local specialty chain, the connection Washingtonians still make between the down-and-out Garfinckel's and Raleighs is exasperating. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/09/01/shoppers-brace-for-mega-mall-expansion/9e25e3d1-f1f2-4af7-ae06-631728ab5a05/ | SHOPPERS BRACE FOR MEGA-MALL EXPANSION | 1990-09-01 | Kara Swisher | Business | Even from Interstate 95 South in Virginia you can sense the unavoidable pull of Potomac Mills, like some enormous vacuum cleaner sucking up shoppers into the 115-acre complex of off-price retailers and discount outlets. Nearing exit 52 at Dale City, the traffic inevitably clots at the sight of the massive sign hanging over the highway for the 1.2 million-square-foot shopping mecca. By 11 a.m., the parking lots look like a prairie of glass and metal as customers hike across the asphalt to one of the many entrances. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/09/25/dart-settles-dispute-over-pension-plan/f835d29a-9d80-4fd9-9db5-9467ee64fe6e/ | DART SETTLES DISPUTE OVER PENSION PLAN | 1990-09-25 | Kara Swisher | Business | The Dart Group Corp., controlled by Washington's Haft family, will pay $2.7 million into a profit-sharing plan for 1,200 employees of Dart Drug Stores Inc., in a settlement announced yesterday that resolves a Labor Department complaint involving the Hafts' sale of the drug chain in 1984. The government contended that the Dart Group "failed to monitor" the fate of the drugstore chain's $3.5 million profit-sharing plan when it sold the chain for $187 million to a management-led buyout group and turned the fund over to the new owners. A similar claim was made against the former trustees of the Dart Group plan. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/10/09/area-retailers-pay-price-of-uncertainty/e7a75e44-6fdc-4901-b838-690b8151e96d/ | AREA RETAILERS PAY PRICE OF UNCERTAINTY | 1990-10-09 | Kara Swisher | Business | Local retailers had a hard time discovering customers willing to open their wallets on Columbus Day yesterday, with fears about the federal budget impasse overshadowing the federal holiday and widespread markdowns across the area. "The uncertainty is pretty scary," said Leslie Street, manager of the White Flint Mall branch of Compagnie Generale Aeropostale, a specialty clothing chain. "And that makes people more conservative in their purchases." | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/10/24/bankruptcy-looms-for-southland/c42ea75c-3eaf-4fe4-9bcb-4509e8df0a76/ | BANKRUPTCY LOOMS FOR SOUTHLAND | 1990-10-24 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/11/08/polishing-up-a-cosmetics-firm/8e955d06-7575-4274-9fb2-d7c3dfd736b3/ | POLISHING UP A COSMETICS FIRM | 1990-11-08 | By Kara Swisher | Business | Lipstick and lettuce just don't mix. While that determination may not seem earthshaking, the decision six months ago by Giant Foods Inc. that it would no longer sell cosmetics in its supermarkets is helping to breathe new life into another local firm, Cosmetic & Fragrance Concepts Inc. of Savage, Md. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/11/10/legendary-owners-leaving-wagshals-deli/b9329584-2e81-4e26-843b-03735eb22863/ | LEGENDARY OWNERS LEAVING WAGSHAL'S DELI | 1990-11-10 | By Kara Swisher | Business | One time at a fancy embassy party, someone came up to Ben Wagshal and said: "I didn't know you without the counter in front of you." For the last half century, the 78-year-old Wagshal and his wife, Lillian, 76, have been the folks behind the counter. Delimeisters to presidents and the Northwest gentry, they are retiring after selling truckloads of corned beef and buckets of baklava from their Spring Valley location. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/11/12/hechinger-mall-ii-the-struggle/754ef078-1dff-44ee-9d7b-757c7b381f13/ | HECHINGER MALL II THE STRUGGLE | 1990-11-12 | Kara Swisher | Business | The sun setting low in the western sky gives the red-brick mass of Hechinger Mall an inner glow, like some out-in-space meteor that has landed at the eastern end of H Street NE. Its daunting architectural presence isn't the only thing that makes the 10-year-old, 250,000-square-foot center impressive. As Washington's only inner-city shopping plaza, Hechinger Mall has become a retail Goliath of the neighborhood, generating tens of millions of dollars in sales annually and employing hundreds of area workers. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/11/23/area-shoppers-making-a-night-of-it/82c6d9c7-cad6-4f25-b103-9994e7cf5b02/ | AREA SHOPPERS MAKING A NIGHT OF IT | 1990-11-23 | Kara Swisher | Business | Shopping by day in the Washington area -- from Tysons Corner to Rockville Pike to College Park to downtown D.C. -- is like dealing with a particularly rambunctious child, all tantrums of traffic, shrieking congestion and shoving enough to give you fits. But late at night while the region sleeps like an angel, it's another retail story altogether. Throughout the area, an increasing variety of stores -- ranging from record, book and toy stores to pharmacies and supermarkets -- offer late-night shoppers more than just Twinkies, Slurpees and microwaved burritos. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/12/08/the-sharper-image-shifts-sales-focus/890472ef-b920-4e9e-a043-64e82e6889b1/ | THE SHARPER IMAGE SHIFTS SALES FOCUS | 1990-12-08 | Kara Swisher | Business | "The Sharper Image is over," declared Richard J. Thalheimer. During the 1980s, Thalheimer, president and chief executive of the San Franciso-based catalogue and retail company, built a fortune catering to the indulgent desires of the newly rich. But with the gimme-one-in-every-color '80s at his back and nervous-nellie '90s ahead, Thalheimer is rethinking the merchandising strategy that turned his small business into a nationwide retailer with annual sales of more than $200 million. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1990/12/23/the-marketplace-menagerie/69ad993f-3a70-4452-a221-f0edb1bc465c/ | THE MARKETPLACE MENAGERIE | 1990-12-23 | By Kara Swisher | Business | This time, the Grinch actually is stealing Christmas. Or to put it more precisely this holiday buying season, loads of grinches: fat grinches, tall grinches, grinches with Mercedes and grinches on foot, all grinchily grinching around the retail scene this Christmas. They don't like to shop. They browse with belligerence. They don't want to spend on anything costing more than the price of the shopping bag they take it home in. And they are making retailers nearly homicidal. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/01/05/best-products-seeks-bankruptcy-protection/560ff3c8-06e4-4336-9da4-a62d7653dce2/ | BEST PRODUCTS SEEKS BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION | 1991-01-05 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/01/25/waves-of-war-hit-area-businesses-some-helped-some-hurt/f923a835-6db6-4041-9b60-d4d2d42dc61c/ | WAVES OF WAR HIT AREA BUSINESSES SOME HELPED, SOME HURT | 1991-01-25 | By Kara Swisher | Business | Takeout pizza sales are up, while restaurant sales are down. Escapist movies like "Home Alone" and "Green Card" are booming at the box office, as seats at war and horror films go empty. Night-time shoppers at department stores have virtually vanished with customers rushing home to watch the latest news on television. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/02/07/reliable-files-for-bankruptcy/3856a271-fa5f-4a9e-ac20-7fc5a69d057a/ | RELIABLE FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY | 1991-02-07 | Kara Swisher | Business | Reliable Home Appliances, the no-frills, cash-and-carry retailer that sold many Washingtonians their first discount electronic goods, has gone to federal bankruptcy court to seek protection from its creditors. The current recession, rising rents and competition from a new generation of discount stores over the past few years combined to hurt Reliable, which opened more than 40 years ago in a basement store on 11th Street NW in Washington's old downtown retail district. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/02/21/tuesday-morning-with-discounts-almost-daily/6d286dc9-6e31-47a3-a220-72ded74e09f6/ | TUESDAY MORNING, WITH DISCOUNTS ALMOST DAILY | 1991-02-21 | Kara Swisher | Business | Lounging in front of a fireplace in the comfortable living room of his elegant Middleburg farmhouse last week, Lloyd Ross looked like a man sitting pretty. But the business he founded nearly two decades ago -- Tuesday Morning Inc. -- seems to be even more perfectly placed these days. Since 1980, the Dallas-based discount retailer of upscale giftware -- such as Wedgewood china and Waterford crystal at deep bargains -- has quadrupled in size and had sales and profits grow at least sevenfold. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/02/23/sutton-place-changes-business-recipe/fa08fac2-2059-47b5-b34d-058ac9323418/ | SUTTON PLACE CHANGES BUSINESS RECIPE | 1991-02-23 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/03/18/health-clubs-head-for-the-fast-track/09692a92-e048-4bbb-88cb-2155903b3988/ | HEALTH CLUBS HEAD FOR THE FAST TRACK | 1991-03-18 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/04/04/a-black-and-white-report-for-a-black-and-blue-year/9685cbbf-10e1-4eb8-9d81-10c817327349/ | A BLACK-AND-WHITE REPORT FOR A BLACK-AND-BLUE YEAR | 1991-04-04 | Kara Swisher | Business | You can judge a book by its cover -- at least if you're looking at Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s 1990 annual report. Released recently to shareholders, the sedate-looking report is as plain as it gets, using only austere blue, black and white lettering and nothing else. No jazzy pictures of frolicking customers and employees, no fancy graphics, no pat-on-the-back pronouncements, not even a hint of happy colors. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/05/11/the-spy-who-came-in-from-the-mall/a59ea35c-8d45-4f20-bcfc-cc0e5332e1d3/ | THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE MALL | 1991-05-11 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/05/20/a-pioneer-is-caught-behind-the-times/8e721a7e-c4c9-43f8-885a-a753eafd4175/ | A PIONEER IS CAUGHT BEHIND THE TIMES | 1991-05-20 | Kara Swisher | Business | Seven Corners Shopping Center was designed for a "world on wheels" -- and as the first major mall in the Washington area was eagerly anticipated by suburbanites, tax-beloved by politicians and heavily praised by newspapers as the "biggest," "bestest" and "mostest" when it opened in 1956. The silk-stocking mall prospered in the midst of an increasingly affluent community at a nexus of some of Northern Virginia's most important roads, including Arlington Boulevard, Leesburg Pike and Wilson Boulevard. It was a retail pioneer others followed. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/06/17/discoverys-long-hard-road/04abd9ed-38fc-4fab-bb41-f736d119610c/ | DISCOVERY'S LONG, HARD ROAD | 1991-06-17 | Kara Swisher | Business | John S. Hendricks is a millionaire now, but in 1986, the company he had mortgaged his house to start was near bankruptcy. The Discovery Channel, which first aired six years ago, was the offspring of a company that the former University of Maryland fund-raiser and freelance educational consultant started in 1982. While helping a client try to market a documentary, he found most documentaries were forsaken by the major TV networks and languishing on shelves with no venue except the Public Broadcasting System. Still, a little research revealed that PBS's top-rated shows were nearly all documentaries. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/06/30/a-mall-for-america/ace8807b-a6c3-4706-8ee9-3b2f349333ff/ | A MALL FOR AMERICA? | 1991-06-30 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/07/15/hechinger-home-depot-square-off/dd815175-c27b-44de-8c6a-b18113bdb507/ | HECHINGER, HOME DEPOT SQUARE OFF | 1991-07-15 | Kara Swisher | Business | The face-off would make a great card on the pro wrestling circuit -- the tag team of Hechinger's yuppiesque Harry and Harriet Homeowner vs. good-old-boy Homer of Home Depot. While that titanic clash of do-it-yourselfer mascots isn't likely to make it into the ring, such a retail battle is now brewing in Glen Burnie, Md., where the national hardware powerhouse Home Depot Inc. of Atlanta has invaded the home turf of Landover-based Hechinger Co. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/07/22/when-the-office-is-a-stage/5fc66b74-04ce-41b1-a5c9-5423321e0527/ | WHEN THE OFFICE IS A STAGE | 1991-07-22 | Kara Swisher | Business | 'Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams With my cowboy boots and my old six string | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/08/12/potomac-mills-developer-in-court-battle/faa4a895-ae21-44ec-8f04-f09288fade06/ | POTOMAC MILLS DEVELOPER IN COURT BATTLE | 1991-08-12 | Kara Swisher, David S. Hilzenrath | Business | The rain came down so hard on the grand opening of Western Development Corp.'s Gurnee Mills near Chicago last Thursday that all the carefully planned hoopla -- ribbon-cutting, balloons, congratulatory speeches -- had to be moved inside the new mall. But the downpour drenching the festivities was nothing compared to the menacing storm brewing in Washington for the locally based development company that made its reputation with its famous outlet malls, such as Northern Virginia's Potomac Mills, and other distinctive projects, including Georgetown's Washington Harbour and Georgetown Park mall. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/10/07/when-a-diamond-education-comes-the-hard-way/72e3843f-25f6-4d1b-a952-3481800d6ee8/ | WHEN A 'DIAMOND EDUCATION' COMES THE HARD WAY | 1991-10-07 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/10/14/montgomery-mall-updates-image-with-makeover-expansion/615b4594-9054-43a0-b2ef-54f9d8ebe488/ | MONTGOMERY MALL UPDATES IMAGE WITH MAKEOVER, EXPANSION | 1991-10-14 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/11/29/retailers-leapfrog-into-holiday-season/b4480f13-f514-46d4-907b-38d73afa17e3/ | RETAILERS LEAPFROG INTO HOLIDAY SEASON | 1991-11-29 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/12/06/big-crowds-fair-sales-as-season-starts/3e6420ea-959c-415a-9a1f-7923edeafe81/ | BIG CROWDS, FAIR SALES AS SEASON STARTS | 1991-12-06 | Kara Swisher | Business | Recession plus holiday shopping equals stress -- so customers snapped up all kinds of massagers at Brookstone stores last weekend. That's why the New Hampshire-based gadget retailer will make sure there are plenty more of these basic products for sale from now until Christmas, shoving slower-moving items right off the shelves to make room. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/12/17/outlet-malls-no-longer-outcasts/5dedbc0a-5192-4e10-bdf7-065fe7289d5f/ | OUTLET MALLS: NO LONGER OUTCASTS | 1991-12-17 | Kara Swisher, Liz Spayd | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/01/08/hudson-trail-hits-a-rocky-patch/6648db29-573a-4e74-b5a5-7b5f10df6491/ | HUDSON TRAIL HITS A ROCKY PATCH | 1992-01-08 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/01/14/macys-is-on-their-minds-as-retail-executives-meet/df5d5146-0126-4671-87ae-32337fb0b8ab/ | MACY'S IS ON THEIR MINDS AS RETAIL EXECUTIVES MEET | 1992-01-14 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/01/15/robinson-seeks-bankruptcy-protection-for-jewelry-chains/f04f5e6e-9d19-4322-9843-85baae99fb1e/ | ROBINSON SEEKS BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION FOR JEWELRY CHAINS | 1992-01-15 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/01/28/macy-and-creditors-expected-to-battle-over-assets/331710d1-ec84-4255-80a0-34bba0daaba4/ | MACY AND CREDITORS EXPECTED TO BATTLE OVER ASSETS | 1992-01-28 | Brett D. Fromson, Kara Swisher | The bankruptcy filing by R.H. Macy & Co. yesterday is likely to be followed by asset sales, store closings and a fierce battle between the department store chain and its creditors, according to Wall Street and retail industry sources. The Macy bankruptcy is the latest in a series of major retail failures that have occurred as the heavy debt taken on in the go-go 1980s became intolerable in the more cautious '90s. The lethal combination of overleveraged balance sheets and anemic retail sales finally forced the retailer to seek bankruptcy, according to Macy's executives, competitors and other retail experts. | ||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/02/02/giving-customers-what-they-want/72bbe120-9dda-41bf-8e25-a30645bf2cca/ | GIVING CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY WANT | 1992-02-02 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/03/02/at-hartmarx-bidding-to-remake-a-staid-of-the-art-raleighs/0700417f-29aa-49fd-9176-1499804936b1/ | AT HARTMARX, BIDDING TO REMAKE A STAID-OF-THE-ART RALEIGHS | 1992-03-02 | Kara Swisher | Business | At the end of a long interview, Elbert O. Hand blurted out a daring idea: What if Hartmarx Corp. took its three dozen different specialty apparel chains, including the 81-year-old Raleighs in Washington, and gave them all one exciting new name? The name switch is only a fanciful what-if, the kind of drastic move that isn't what you'd expect from the conservative Chicago-based apparel manufacturer and retailer. But it is a symbol of the kinds of changes Hartmarx is considering these days as the nation's largest maker of men's suits continues to grope for ways to jump-start its stalled retail operations. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/03/24/md-based-schwartz-brothers-submits-bankruptcy-filing/a7e9392d-38ef-4147-b31d-3db0eaa7a855/ | MD.-BASED SCHWARTZ BROTHERS SUBMITS BANKRUPTCY FILING | 1992-03-24 | Kara Swisher | Business | Schwartz Brothers Inc., a once-dominant force in the East Coast music and video distribution business and a company that has operated for almost a half-century in the Washington area, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday with the intention of closing down. The company began laying off its more than 200 employees earlier this month, and the 70 remaining employees also are expected to lose their jobs. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/04/16/companies-unveil-scanfone-shopping-service/fdc5bad4-3892-486b-84a0-7c3c7b3b537f/ | COMPANIES UNVEIL 'SCANFONE' SHOPPING SERVICE | 1992-04-16 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/04/21/kitchen-bazaar-reportedly-talking-with-potential-buyer/49879184-874f-4a9a-826d-c837659e74ec/ | KITCHEN BAZAAR REPORTEDLY TALKING WITH POTENTIAL BUYER | 1992-04-21 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/04/23/seagram-markets-new-low-alcohol-spritzer-drink/f6f28260-59a5-4b1c-ac6f-829f0fe8f114/ | SEAGRAM MARKETS NEW LOW-ALCOHOL SPRITZER DRINK | 1992-04-23 | Kara Swisher | Business | Spritzer may look and even taste like a typical bottle of flavored water, but its manufacturer says it wants to make sure consumers know it's actually alcoholic. Today, Seagram Beverage Co. will unveil its Spritzer, a clear, low-alcohol malt beverage and hopes to roll it out in 15 states within a month. In doing so, the New York-based company, a unit of Seagram Co. Ltd., is taking steps to head off a growing movement by federal officials and consumer groups seeking controls on the way new alcoholic beverages are marketed. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/04/24/nordstrom-tackles-delicate-issues/fd32f9f5-de0b-470d-a692-70406b114f88/ | NORDSTROM TACKLES DELICATE ISSUES | 1992-04-24 | Kara Swisher | Business | It was only last fall that the 3,000 employees of Nordstrom in the Washington area were invited by the company to watch "Boyz N the Hood" and hear a speech by the head of Concerned Black Men about the troubles facing young black men in America today. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/04/28/macys-chief-announces-retirement/a854fe9c-9c15-4204-8db0-39d3c6e3775c/ | MACY'S CHIEF ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT | 1992-04-28 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/06/22/giant-takes-on-the-discounters/eff549e6-e5c0-4e10-be45-b2279da569d6/ | GIANT TAKES ON THE DISCOUNTERS | 1992-06-22 | By Kara Swisher | Business | It is a test. It is only a test. But out on the Eastern Shore, three hours from Washington, Giant Food Inc. executives are carefully watching the results at their new Super G Deep Discount Drug Store, the supermarket chain's first foray into the deep-discount drugstore business. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/06/27/b-gordons-falls-victim-to-tofu-tussle/9a2826cd-f78c-4a8e-a79f-e3c1037eada2/ | B. GORDON'S FALLS VICTIM TO TOFU TUSSLE | 1992-06-27 | Kara Swisher | Business | Rockville Pike's battle of the bulgur took a turn for the worse this week. B. Gordon's, the Washington area's first natural foods supermarket, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week -- a victim of the weak economy, a lack of cash and a poor location. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/07/20/the-warthogs-tale-of-woe/b48a5ca9-9eb2-47ef-bd88-4a893f7e54a5/ | THE WARTHOG'S TALE OF WOE | 1992-07-20 | Kara Swisher | Business | They can't stop talking about Britches of Georgetowne -- those still there, those now gone. About how great the clothing chain with the warthog mascot once was. About its magical mystique and family feel. About its charismatic pair of founders. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/10/16/kitchen-bazaar-seeks-bankruptcy-protection/dd386456-1c09-46ad-8ddb-5208c480010d/ | KITCHEN BAZAAR SEEKS BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION | 1992-10-16 | Kara Swisher | Business | Kitchen Bazaar Inc., the money-losing kitchenware chain that helped pioneer gourmet cooking in Washington, filed for bankruptcy court protection late Wednesday. For years, the Rockville company has been whipsawed by a wide range of setbacks, including increasing competition, recession, ill-considered expansion, changing demographics and shifting consumer tastes. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/10/26/battling-the-fear-factor/dc8c0fc1-e0f7-4d4f-95e1-d1064e478882/ | BATTLING THE FEAR FACTOR | 1992-10-26 | Kara Swisher | Business | The customers didn't come to the Two Quail restaurant on Capitol Hill one Saturday night last month. They didn't bother to cancel. They didn't call to explain. But much of the "middle seating" -- mostly made up of suburbanites who drive in for a romantic dinner at the intimate town house -- just didn't arrive. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/11/16/cvs-struggles-to-prosper-with-peoples/73b58ab3-2b96-4992-9d1a-9f29c29e3751/ | CVS STRUGGLES TO PROSPER WITH PEOPLES | 1992-11-16 | By Kara Swisher | Business | WOONSOCKET, R.I. -- Peoples Drug Stores Inc. is a $330 million hockey stick. At least that's how officials at CVS headquarters these days describe the shape that they expected to see on their financial charts after they bought the 87-year-old Washington-based drugstore chain about two years ago. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/11/30/a-shoppers-nightmare/2e758134-1566-4762-ac6d-646dfaa2ce9f/ | A SHOPPER'S NIGHTMARE | 1992-11-30 | By Kara Swisher | Business | You know who you are. The Brooder. True Detective. Mister Brain Dead. Monsieur Just-What's-Out and Madame Out-of-That. The "It's-Over-There" Finger Pointer. Chatty Kathy. The "May-I-Help-You" Maniac. The Toady. It's Christmastime, and that means it's also time for the Sales Clerks From Hell. They have haunted shoppers' retail nightmares, sent consumers skittering out of stores with shopping bags over their heads, made a simple purchase of socks as complicated as Ross Perot's tax return. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/12/01/holiday-shopping-gets-off-to-fast-start/06fc8bfa-50f3-4478-a6a3-c837ca65e2e8/ | HOLIDAY SHOPPING GETS OFF TO FAST START | 1992-12-01 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/12/15/in-stores-visions-of-holidays-past/eeb3f1d5-5905-4312-b9f6-d54ef30102cd/ | IN STORES, VISIONS OF HOLIDAYS PAST | 1992-12-15 | Kara Swisher | Business | It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas -- actually, more like last Christmas. What's hot in housewares? Juicers and bread-making machines, which were retail phenomena a year ago. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1992/12/21/the-lowest-price-is-right/de4be2a2-2e45-4047-8ca2-e084c333988c/ | THE (LOWEST) PRICE IS RIGHT | 1992-12-21 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/01/27/searss-district-employees-shoppers-mourn-stores-fate/d6239b21-109b-4406-8b20-85fa9879be48/ | SEARS'S DISTRICT EMPLOYEES, SHOPPERS MOURN STORE'S FATE | 1993-01-27 | Kara Swisher | Business | The skinny red Sears sign hung for so long on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Albemarle Street NW that you didn't always notice it when driving by. At the top of a rise in the road, it was a comforting and steady District landmark for as long as most people in the neighborhood can remember. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/01/28/giant-plans-1st-expansion-outside-local-sales-region/c24b0bd1-83b9-4ca4-953a-af887d342a19/ | GIANT PLANS 1ST EXPANSION OUTSIDE LOCAL SALES REGION | 1993-01-28 | Kara Swisher | Business | Giant Food Inc., expanding beyond the Washington-Baltimore market for the first time, said yesterday it will open a store in Delaware in the spring of 1994. The Landover-based grocery chain, the largest in this area, also said it will move ahead with long-planned construction of three new stores here, the remodeling of four others and the opening of two that are nearly complete. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/02/10/sears-reports-it-lost-39-billion-last-year/3941ba0c-7825-4af0-bc0b-03941b029b31/ | SEARS REPORTS IT LOST $3.9 BILLION LAST YEAR | 1993-02-10 | Kara Swisher | Business | Sears, Roebuck and Co. yesterday reported that it lost $3.9 billion last year, as the bills came due to fix its struggling stores, pay off insurance claims after a devastating hurricane and deal with complaints about fraudulent practices at its auto repair business. While the loss is the largest ever posted by a U.S. retailer, it was expected after the Chicago-based merchant announced a massive restructuring of its struggling stores last month. Sears said then it would discontinue parts of its well-known catalogue operation, lay off 50,000 workers and close more than 110 stores, including the one on Wisconsin Avenue NW, its last outlet in the District. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/03/29/hardware-wars-hechinger-strikes-back/11cb244e-d2da-4703-bcf1-9f6cd5a5d226/ | HARDWARE WARS: HECHINGER STRIKES BACK | 1993-03-29 | By Kara Swisher | Business | The "revolution" started with a retreat. For four days in the fall of 1989, 25 top Hechinger Co. executives gathered in a small room at a Virginia countryside resort, formed circles and with much emotion swapped their visions of the future for the 125-store, do-it-yourself home improvement retailer. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/03/29/home-depots-aggressive-entrance/e6356633-b72b-43cc-aa57-9306972f522c/ | HOME DEPOT'S AGGRESSIVE ENTRANCE | 1993-03-29 | Kara Swisher | ATLANTA -- You think a lot of things to yourself listening to Bernard Marcus as he builds up a head of steam talking effusively about his vision of retailing. You think: even a really big dose of tranquilizers would not slow this guy down. | ||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/04/03/philip-morris-cuts-price-on-marlboro/a6fe0e73-94b3-4863-b16c-f1bdd3543cb2/ | PHILIP MORRIS CUTS PRICE ON MARLBORO | 1993-04-03 | By Kara Swisher | Business | The Marlboro man declared war -- a price war -- as the nation's largest cigarette maker yesterday took aim at market-lassoing discount manufacturers. Philip Morris Inc., attempting to round up herds of smokers who have strayed to the cheaper deep-discount generic brands, said it would reduce prices by about 40 cents a pack for the world's top cigarette brand. The company said Marlboro now sells for about $2.15 a pack nationally, and costs about $1 more per pack than many discount cigarettes. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/04/25/targeting-the-gay-market/439a211e-ddf4-4a8e-8dac-85af9ac3ffe5/ | TARGETING THE GAY MARKET | 1993-04-25 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/04/26/street-in-a-state-of-flux/f1756d66-38b6-44ae-9753-1469cf7ce6cf/ | STREET IN A STATE OF FLUX | 1993-04-26 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/05/24/safeway-battles-competitors-and-hard-to-kill-rumors/3ffc21d0-8362-44a5-85ba-9c855ef00bdc/ | SAFEWAY BATTLES COMPETITORS AND HARD-TO-KILL RUMORS | 1993-05-24 | By Kara Swisher | Business | Those pesky, pesky rumors. Bill McDown swats them down here and they buzz over there. He denies them once, twice, three times, and then another item appears in trade publications, newspapers and analysis offered by Wall Street observers. But Safeway Inc.'s 143-store Eastern division, with headquarters in Lanham and made up largely of more than 100 stores in the Washington area, is not on the selling block, he said. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/06/05/battle-lines-drawn-in-haft-family-rift/79523ebb-ae13-464f-b83b-29f3eadcca60/ | BATTLE LINES DRAWN IN HAFT FAMILY RIFT | 1993-06-05 | Kara Swisher | The father-son battle over who will lead the local Haft business empire heated up yesterday when family patriarch Herbert H. Haft sent a powerful warning to his wife and children about who was in charge. Haft, 72, one of the area's most prominent businessmen, issued a press release announcing that "there may be significant changes" in the boards of directors of three major companies in the family-controlled retail and real estate organization. | ||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/06/07/taking-a-bite-out-of-the-food-business/f84b2135-3ec1-4334-b4fa-7aab9d6a2073/ | TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE FOOD BUSINESS | 1993-06-07 | By Kara Swisher | Business | So many new competitors have begun nibbling away at the business of supermarket chains that the trade publication that tracks the local industry has changed the way it measures the market. Food World, a trade newspaper based in Columbia, has rejiggered its 15th annual market study, released today, to reflect the "new landscape." | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/06/10/district-shifts-its-stance-on-garfinckels-building/a9842a6c-8de8-4c3f-a100-13762a115ee2/ | DISTRICT SHIFTS ITS STANCE ON GARFINCKEL'S BUILDING | 1993-06-10 | Kara Swisher | A District agency will recommend today that the owners of the vacant Garfinckel's building downtown be allowed to convert it to the "best possible retail use," rather than require that it be a department store. If the proposal clears bureaucratic and political hurdles, it will mean that the D.C. government has given up its long attempt to attract a major department store to the site, at the corner of 14th and F streets NW. | ||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/06/14/all-thats-gold-doesnt-always-glitter/0d1d5f9e-a1ee-4ffc-89bc-7cef70d57f49/ | ALL THAT'S GOLD DOESN'T ALWAYS GLITTER | 1993-06-14 | Albert B. Crenshaw and Kara Swisher and Maryann Haggerty | Business | Roughly 1,000 residents of the Washington-Baltimore area recently got a first-hand demonstration of the old saw that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. But thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, this lesson will not be terribly expensive. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/06/15/the-last-of-latts-another-dc-clothier-hangs-it-up/ea278a9c-4f97-4c88-b0e2-d5aaba3b04e9/ | THE LAST OF LATT'S: ANOTHER D.C. CLOTHIER HANGS IT UP | 1993-06-15 | By Kara Swisher | Business | When Latt's closes sometime this summer after 80 years in operation, it will be the death of another of Washington's old-time men's clothiers and a continuation of a trend that has taken down such local institutions as Raleighs and Arthur A. Adler & Son. "Raleighs beat us to the end," joked Alan Latt about his longtime competitor, which declared it was closing last summer. Latt's, a son-to-son business started by Alan Latt's grandfather in 1910, followed down that sad path this year. Alan Latt is president of Latt's and his father, Milton, is chairman. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/08/10/the-rift-in-the-house-of-haft-keeps-widening/ba3d2dc0-d117-4d8c-8506-edc3cb143153/ | THE RIFT IN THE HOUSE OF HAFT KEEPS WIDENING | 1993-08-10 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/09/28/from-woodies-to-wanamaker-an-afrocentric-experiment/6009b842-f52e-4fbd-9866-cb85d4da3371/ | FROM WOODIES TO WANAMAKER, AN AFROCENTRIC EXPERIMENT | 1993-09-28 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/10/13/wal-mart-loses-suit-over-pricing/98fef031-51aa-4371-8c09-9f8f2e083309/ | WAL-MART LOSES SUIT OVER PRICING | 1993-10-13 | Kara Swisher | |||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/11/15/heeeeres-ronnie-hes-no-longer-on-the-sidelines-but-is-ronald-haft-up-to-leading-an-empire/91453783-5d45-47f4-8333-1005027ce185/ | HEEEERE'S RONNIE! HE'S NO LONGER ON THE SIDELINES, BUT IS RONALD HAFT UP TO LEADING AN EMPIRE? | 1993-11-15 | Kara Swisher | "Ronnie has the fire, enthusiasm and dream to get the job done." -- Ronald Haft's father, Herbert | ||
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/01/03/on-a-roll-bagel-chain-bets-it-can-grow-bigger/112f716e-1539-47f7-85aa-7133824ccaf0/ | ON A ROLL, BAGEL CHAIN BETS IT CAN GROW BIGGER | 1994-01-03 | Kara Swisher | Business | Button-down Washington, D.C., and bagels? From early on, Michael Robinson knew what it would take to beat the bagel bias in a city only an Amtrak ride away from the bagel capital of the universe -- New York. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/01/21/having-a-ball-at-the-mall/122ffd71-a3ef-4434-9483-bf3c09cb4b98/ | HAVING A BALL AT THE MALL | 1994-01-21 | Kara Swisher | Business | Touring the District's main shopping areas yesterday -- Georgetown, downtown, Capitol Hill -- it seemed like some weird 1970s sci-fi movie where all human life disappears mysteriously. Darkened storefronts instead of the usual warm glow, lonely chairs stacked on restaurant tables, ice-crusted sidewalks without shoppers, no delivery trucks blocking the street. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/01/22/k-b-closes-theaters-looks-to-sell-chain/6e2ed272-0a09-4e85-9a24-2f006b10afd1/ | K-B CLOSES THEATERS, LOOKS TO SELL CHAIN | 1994-01-22 | Michelle Singletary and Kara Swisher | Business | FIRM DOWN TO 6 LOCATIONS, HAS UNPAID BILLS K-B Cinemas, the Washington area's last locally owned first-run movie chain, said yesterday that it has closed its theaters and is negotiating to sell the chain. At one time the dominant theater chain here, K-B has run into financial problems, according to sources close to the company and in the movie business. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/01/31/court-appointed-mediator-to-tackle-the-haft-family-feud/db170c5d-0756-4460-94df-8ce0870c9956/ | COURT-APPOINTED MEDIATOR TO TACKLE THE HAFT FAMILY FEUD | 1994-01-31 | Kara Swisher | Business | He has negotiated with Fidel Castro, has been a rifle platoon leader in the Korean War, has argued many times before the Supreme Court -- and now John E. Nolan Jr. is going to try to make peace among the members of the feuding Haft family. Nolan, 66, a prominent senior partner at Washington's Steptoe & Johnson law firm, has been appointed by two D.C. Superior court judges to "conduct mediation designed to achieve a global settlement" in the complex and interlocking lawsuits the five members of the wealthy retail and real estate clan are waging against each other. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/03/07/work-around-the-clock/0f963a1e-9615-4393-9dc9-8629741db0e2/ | WORK AROUND THE CLOCK | 1994-03-07 | Kara Swisher | Business | We'll call Helen Mills a New Age Workaholic. Mills, of Arlington, works seven days a week, has a phone in the car and a shower at the office. She owns two companies: a health and beauty aids retailer (the D.C. franchise of the Body Shop), and an employee benefits and insurance consulting firm (the Mills Group). She plays a key role in two major socially active business groups (the Social Venture Network and Business for Social Responsibility). And she is launching a company (Shirt- works) to create jobs for homeless women, who would make T-shirts. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/03/18/medical-school-researcher-settle-sex-bias-lawsuit/cd193fce-b9f2-4eeb-867f-d078144fb77e/ | MEDICAL SCHOOL, RESEARCHER SETTLE SEX BIAS LAWSUIT | Company | 1994-03-18 | Kara Swisher | Business | A New York medical school and hospital have agreed to pay a female researcher nearly $1 million to settle a long-running sex discrimination lawsuit. Legal experts believe it is one of the largest known settlements in a sex discrimination case in the science field. Many legal experts said that the size of the settlement -- $900,000 -- announced yesterday between Heidi Weissmann, a researcher in nuclear medicine and former associate professor of radiology, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx is likely to shine a bright light on the status of women in the medical field. They said it could result in many more cases being filed. |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/03/25/her-mustache-or-her-job/b86f3639-1ad3-4fc3-9750-b4cebd689445/ | HER MUSTACHE OR HER JOB | 1994-03-25 | Kara Swisher | Business | Licia Joy Galinsky is a woman with a mustache. And she alleges that her facial hair is the reason she was fired last month from her job as an audio-visual technician at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Tysons Corner. So Galinsky, 30, and her former supervisor Roy A. Peterson, who said he was fired for defending her, filed a federal sexual discrimination complaint yesterday at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It is against both the Ritz-Carlton and the pair's employer, an audio-visual services company that has a contract with the hotel. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/03/30/woman-offered-job-back-in-dispute-over-mustache/c8f92b4e-4703-48f1-a19c-8af726b45e5a/ | WOMAN OFFERED JOB BACK IN DISPUTE OVER MUSTACHE | Company | 1994-03-30 | Kara Swisher | Business | The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Tysons Corner and its audio-visual contracting firm yesterday publicly offered to rehire a woman who contended that she lost her job with the firm because of her mustache. Hotel officials said she could return despite new employee grooming rules that bar women with facial hair. The "unconditional" offer came in a news conference in an elegant reception room after a barrage of national and international media attention, including calls from television talk shows such as those hosted by Sally Jesse Raphael and Phil Donahue. |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/04/08/the-dreams-that-work-is-made-of/776acafb-494b-48ed-95cd-133c3082d10c/ | THE DREAMS THAT WORK IS MADE OF | 1994-04-08 | Kara Swisher | Business | NEW STUDY FINDS OFFICE FANTASIZING COMMON, HARMLESS I am 6' 7", 240 pounds, a forward for the L.A. Lakers. Mmmm: I'm playing in the NBA finals where I kick Michael Jordan's skinny, overcommercialized butt. Mmmm: Then I send copies of my paycheck to all my exes. And, finally, I show up at my former office in my uniform and ask the boss if he wants my autograph. Mmmm: I don't give it to him. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/04/23/disney-goes-in-pursuit-of-the-perky/21463cbe-262c-44e3-b6df-f1684395fd4c/ | DISNEY GOES IN PURSUIT OF THE PERKY | Company | 1994-04-23 | Kara Swisher | Business | Whistle while you work? Actually, no. Because if you are whistling, you probably can't cheerfully and immediately hear and answer the questions of the "guests" -- Walt Disney Co.'s preferred term for customers. |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/04/30/dart-group-posts-loss-of-67-million-for-year/2d9dd51d-a5e0-4357-bd4b-2923c1effcb9/ | DART GROUP POSTS LOSS OF $6.7 MILLION FOR YEAR | 1994-04-30 | Kara Swisher | Business | A whopping $8 million legal bill -- resulting in part from the bitter feud within the Haft family -- contributed to a hefty loss at the clan's Dart Group Corp. last year. The heavy legal expenses, along with a new round of multimillion-dollar restructuring costs designed to improve future performance, were the principal reasons given by company officials yesterday for the net loss of $6.7 million that it reported for its fiscal year ended Jan. 31. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/05/23/the-tale-of-a-house-divided/2e34226d-d8f3-4add-bde6-a5c423b31606/ | THE TALE OF A HOUSE DIVIDED | 1994-05-23 | Kara Swisher | Business | In the end -- long after it became nearly impossible to keep track of the bitter recriminations, harsh allegations, business battles and hopelessly intertwined squabbles -- it was a stranger who played the deciding role in settling the Haft family feud. One of the few things the feuding members of the retail-real estate clan can agree on was the key role played in the settlement by D.C. Superior Court Judge Rufus King III. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/07/24/odd-jobs/1fb4d389-acc8-423d-9b99-e63e361b1e21/ | ODD JOBS | 1994-07-24 | Kara Swisher | Business | An employer's bark might not be enough, according to a recent move -- or, more precisely, a non-move -- by the Supreme Court. With sexual harassment claims still rising nationwide and companies struggling to find ways to deal with them, businesses should take note that written policies and procedures to deal with sexual harassment complaints may not be enough to protect senior management. | |
| https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/09/26/paying-for-the-show-to-go-on/534e6c52-0986-4424-b2cc-81abb6425212/ | PAYING FOR THE SHOW TO GO ON | 1994-09-26 | Kara Swisher | Business | The winding country road that once rolled past the Olney Theatre's old white frame building is gone -- ripped apart to make way for four whiz-by lanes that will serve the homes and businesses that have flooded north to fill up this once-rural pocket of Montgomery County. The Olney, long considered a quiet and remote summer stock venue, also has begun to remake itself. In an expensive and ambitious effort to transform the 48-year-old theater, officials there are building a multimillion-dollar, year-round arts center to tap the pockets of an affluent Montgomery County and beyond. |
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