Mattel Toy Company CEO Robert Eckert must face questions from House and Senate panels about procedures for alerting federal regulators about hazardous toys which pose a threat to children in a timely manner.
Mattel has had 3 product recalls of toys made in China this year.
According to reports, the company been penalized on two separate occasions for not passing reports of safety defects to the government in a timely manner with Eckert at the helm.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the consumer protection subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is due to hear from Mattel CEO Robert Eckert on Sept. 19. Read.
Remember the little Crutchfield consumer electronics catalog that used to keep showing up in your mailbox back in the day? You know the one where you could order a Kenwood tape deck or a set of Pioneer speakers or an Amp for you car? If you’re too young to remember just ask your parents.
Well that simple idea of bringing the world mail order electronics at the turn of a page turned out to be quite a tremendous business opportunity for Founder and CEO Bill Crutchfield.
Take a ride through any city neighborhood and you’ll hear trunks rattling and doors shaking from the thunderous bass of the music being played by teenagers and twenty-somethings alike from Tokyo to the dirty south.
The phenomenon all started because of Bill Crutchfield who made it as easy as picking up the phone to get must have electronics equipment shipped to your doorstep. This was before there was a Best Buy or Circuit City on every corner. Make no mistake…Crutchfield was ahead of the game. The company was founded in 1974.
And now the man who was way ahead of his time is finally being recognized for his contributions to electronics and gadget aficionados the world over.
Founder and CEO William Crutchfield has been voted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) created the CE Hall of Fame in 2000 to recognize the pioneers of the Consumer Electronics industry and has honored more then 110 industry leaders including inventors, engineers, business executives, retailers and journalists. Read.
From massive retail sales expectations to high-profile soccer sponsorships CEO Herbert Hainer of Adidas said 2008 will be a “super year” for the company. Hainer says that he expects $4 billion in company-wide sales this year in North America and even better results in 2008.
Adidas second-quarter net profit rose 27% as it began to realize gains from its takeover of Reebok, even though sales at the American unit were on the decline. Despite spending $3.8 billion to acquire Reebok in 2006, the CEO says he remains committed to investing more in Reebok and expanding North American sales.
In addition Adidas is sponsoring the European soccer championship again extending its contract with German national soccer association DFB. Analysts say this move should also increase sales and lift the company’s share price. “I think we will be well-represented with our teams, most of all with the German team, but also with others”, Hainer told DPA news agency in an interview.
The extension runs until the end of 2018, meaning it will supply all tournament, training and casual wear for the DFB soccer teams until that time. ‘We expect to have five or six teams’ qualify for the championship, Hainer said. This would give the three stripped one major brand exposure.
Someone made Container Store CEO Kip Tindell a bumper sticker that reads GOT WAKE? Tindell keeps it with him all the time. He has a theory that as a leader, your wake, just like a boat’s, is much bigger than you realize. Everything you do - and what you don’t do - impacts the people around you a lot more than you think.
This is just one of the management philosophies Kip Tindell uses to manage his company’s 39-store chain which offers over 10,000 products designed to hold everything from prescription pills to wrapping paper. Read.
Acer announced on Monday it plans to purchase Gateway Computer for $710 million in a deal that would overtake rival Lenovo and make them the #3 computer manufacturer behind only Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
The deal however has faced mounting criticism as of late, moving Acer Chairman and CEO JT Wang to make a vow that he will step down if the merger does not succeed.
“The merger will definitely succeed. If it doesn’t … I will resign,” the Chinese-language newspaper, Economic Daily News, quoted Acer CEO J.T. Wang as saying in an interview published Wednesday.
Many are calling the $710 million purchase too expensive, saying Acer should have foregone the deal and continued to grow its U.S. business from the ground up.
Acer is a Taiwanese multinational electronics manufacturer and owns the largest franchised computer retail chain in Taiwan, Acerland. Acer’s product lineup includes desktop and mobile PCs (laptops),as well as PDAs, servers and storage, displays, peripherals, and e-business solutions for business, government, education, and home users.
“The premium paid to Gateway may be too high, and the execution risk of multiple-brand strategy is clearly the key here,” said Vincent Chen, PC industry analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Taipei.
Russell Simmons has stepped down as CEO of Phat Fashions, the company he founded in 1992, that launched the popular Phat Farm brand of clothing.
Simmons sold Phat Fashions to Kellwood for $140 million in January of 2004, but stayed on as CEO, managing the day-to-day operations of the company, including the marketing of the Phat Farm and Baby Phat lines of clothing and the company’s various other brands.
“I have enjoyed my association with Kellwood over the last three years,” Simmons said in a statement. “We have accomplished much during this short period of time — and I leave the division and the brand in great hands. There are so many things I want to achieve, and this is the appropriate moment for me to move on to my next business venture.”
“Russell Simmons is one of the true pioneers of the urban lifestyle fashion business,” said Robert C. Skinner, Jr., Kellwood chairman, president, and chief executive officer. “He leaves an outstanding creative legacy at Phat Fashions, and we will continue to build on that heritage as Phat Fashions continues to break through boundaries and set the standard for innovative design and high quality sportswear.” Read.
