Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY, 25 • THE MAROON TIGER • PAGE 3
CNJA^IOCNyUL C\£E<WS
Sign of Times
By James O'Neal
In looking at the past four years of my college career, I have noticed
large companies and business people, who I thought were immortal,
crumble.
For instance, the early 1980s empire of Donald Trump is no longer
what it used to be. And the multi-millionaire Atlantan real-estate
developer, John C. Portman, is still negotiating payments with his
creditors.
The late 1980s and early 1990s brought on crippling blows to GM and
Macy's.Mind you,there have been some people to benefit from this
overwhelming chaos, but the masses have seen wages cut, working
hours shortened, loss of jobs, and bankruptcies becoming so numerous
that law firms openly commercialize processing services.
Now, what does all of this turmoil have to do with you the college
student?
Plenty.
Pretty soon, you will graduate from school to go to work in a
globalized, overly-unemployed job market. The fact that the job mar
ket is already globalized makes getting a job extremely competitive
since there are people in other countries who are just as assessable,
skilled, and capable as you. The college student not only has to worry
about foreign workers as competitiorr, but also the domestic workers
who have been laid off from their jobs. These people will probably
have more knowledge through practical experience and a more intense
desire to work because of their offspring needing to be fed.
There is still hope under this cloud of insolvency. Everyone can do
well in owning a business no matter what academic discipline you are
studying. If you know how to add and subtract numbers, write, talk,
and remain current accompanied with organization, then the only thing
preventing you from succeeding in business is you.
Although some formal business knowledge can only benefit you in
your quest for financial security, it is not mandatory. After all, the best
teacher in anything is experience. If the business owner (entrepreneur)
develops his ideas (to make sure there is a market for the product) and
develops a sound business plan (to guide the company through both
"good and bad times”), then the business owner(s) may find themselves
sitting on a Fortune 500 company in the future.
368 words
Mo' Money,
Mo' Money
by Janies O'Neal
There is good news for college students and native Atlantans in the
job market.
It appears that Atlanta has become the number one city interms of
growth in the United States.
Dr. Donald Ratajczak, a Georgia State University economist, said
"Atlanta is the leader in the United States, with significant job growth
last year."
Atlanta is expected to triple the 10,200 jobs it added last year to the
job market. Dr. Ratajczak anticipates that Georgia as a whole will add
43,200 to the market. Dr. Ratajczak mentions that this job increase will
out-perform the nation by 1 to 2 percent.
It is worth noting that as jobs were being added to the Atlanta market,
so was competition. The state gained some 128,000 people last year,
with 70,000 moving to Atlanta. This growth helped sustain the unem
ployment rate at a high of 6 to 7 percent.
So, keep your resume' sharpened and "don't put your feet up on the
desk," because "times" are no where near to being "as good as it gets!"
Staying Profitable in The 90's: Mass Merchan
disers Move Toward Specialty Store Concepts
By Marcus Warr
What do Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports (sporting-goods
chain), Afterthoughts Accessories (a women's chain offering jewelry and
other accessories), and Northern Reflections (a cold-weather outerwear
chain) all have in common?
All are specialty stores owned and operated by Woolworth.
‘ That's right, Woolworth--the 113 year-old retailing giant—is the parent
company of some of your favorite specialty stores. In order to maintain its
level of profitability, Woolworth-like many other companies-has been
forced to adapt to constantly changing consumer trends. An example of a
successful evolution, Woolworth has grown tremendously in the past decade
by introducing new chains of specialty stores in shopping malls.
According to the New York Times, "Woolworth has undergone one of the
most sweeping transformations in American retailing these past nine years."
In 1983, general merchandise stores accounted for 71 percent of sales and
59 percent of operating profits.
According to Harold E. Sells, Woolworth's chairman and chief executive
officer, "We have one underlying strategy: heavier and heavier involvement
in specialty stores. Specialty stores that perform satisfactorily, provide
Woolworth twice the operating profit margin of variety stores.
An example of Woolworths zealousness towards building new specialty
chains exists in Freehold, N.J. where they recently opened the first of what
will be a chain of huge athletic footwear stores.
The new store, called World Foot Locker, comprises "10,000 square feet of
retail theater," with big video screens showing merchandise in action and
striking displays for Nike and Reebok.
The more spacious and potentially more profitable World Foot Locker
stores will gradually replace the existing 18 year-old Foot Locker chain
outlets.
Many of the ideas for Woolworth's specialty chains originate from within
the organization. According to Harold Sells, "We have a bottom-up philoso
phy of developing ideas. We tell our operating divisions:. You are in the
malls. You must see a void. Some sort of business that is going well. Tell us
about it. If we like‘the idea, we'll give you some seed money for a few
stores...."
Opportunities for entrepreneurship should stimulate the many money
making-minded men of Morehouse College, because it is a strategy that
really makes sense. According to Bruce M. Misset, a senior retail analyst for
Morgan Stanley & Co., "Woolworth acts like an investment banker in giving
seed money to 'entrepreneurial ideas from within."
So look for the new World Foot Locker at a mall near you, and start banking
on some of those entrepreneurial ideas of your own!