On the top and center of the "Ben and Jerry's" infamous pint of ice scream is a debatable little phrase; it says "all natural." The only problem is that, in my opinion, this is misleading because natural verses beneficial for the body are two different things. Another potential loophole for Ben and Jerry's is that "the Food and Drug Administration has no formal definition for natural." I believe that this is a very difficult term to define, and also the fact that Ben and Jerry's was trying to still use it is not ethical. After so many years of nutritional advancements, we can finally see the side effects of all of this lying.
If a company does lie, or imply one thing because it means another it is wrong. "Ben and Jerry's" claimed they were using all natural to remind the consumer that there are "no added color, additional flavors, or synthetic substances." However, if Ben and Jerry's meant this, then I feel they could have just put that on the label, instead of the misleading all natural.
I feel as though this will negatively affect "Ben and Jerry's" but also negatively affect the ice cream industry. FIrst off, if the ice cream is no longer natural, than why would a consumer feel the additional obligation to purchase it? This will probably affect the ice cream industry, because "Ben and Jerry's" is such a large part of the industry, that consumers will feel lied to, and betrayed and not able to get ice cream from any source. However, if the consumer is someone as in love with ice cream as myself, the would be able to eat it, knowing that it does in fact go straight to one's hips, and enjoy the flavors while they last.
Tuesday September 28, 2010 Edition of the Wall Street Journal
Article "Ice Scream Maker to Drop 'All Natural' From Labels"
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
"A Day Without a Mexican"
In 2004 the movie A Day Without a Mexican proposed the question, what if one day we woke up and all of the Mexican illegal immigrants had disappeared from California, meaning no cooks, maids, or nannies. The film, although through extreme hyperbole, still makes the point that without these illegal immigrants the economy would suffer and basically making the point that the jobs once filled by illegal workers would now belong to legal workers and cost the employers much more.
Sarah Kershaw, of the New York Times, asks "what if the restaurant industry — one of the largest employers of immigrants, a good number of whom, it is no secret, are undocumented — had to do it all above board?" She proposes a valid question as, according to a survey in 2008, 20% of this country's chefs, head cooks, cooks and around 28% of dishwashers are illegal immigrants. Additionally, as the Obama Administration begins to scrutinize those employers who hire an undocumented workers, restaurants should be wary of who they are hiring now cause it could cost them more in the future.
Interestingly enough, it appears as though the consumer would be the one to pay if restaurants were to only hire legal workers as they would see the price of their meals shoot up drastically. This issue could be seen as an ethical one as the employers are knowingly hiring these workers, yet those people need the jobs to stay in the country. Also it asks the question to customers whether or not they would still go to eat at a certain restaurant if they knew some of the employees were illegal immigrants. I personally I am not sure where I stand on the issue of immigration but I do believe that it's important for the country to examine its values in order to pursue this issue.
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/what-if-restaurants-stopped-hiring-illegal-immigrants/?scp=3&sq=restaurants&st=cse
Sarah Kershaw, of the New York Times, asks "what if the restaurant industry — one of the largest employers of immigrants, a good number of whom, it is no secret, are undocumented — had to do it all above board?" She proposes a valid question as, according to a survey in 2008, 20% of this country's chefs, head cooks, cooks and around 28% of dishwashers are illegal immigrants. Additionally, as the Obama Administration begins to scrutinize those employers who hire an undocumented workers, restaurants should be wary of who they are hiring now cause it could cost them more in the future.
Interestingly enough, it appears as though the consumer would be the one to pay if restaurants were to only hire legal workers as they would see the price of their meals shoot up drastically. This issue could be seen as an ethical one as the employers are knowingly hiring these workers, yet those people need the jobs to stay in the country. Also it asks the question to customers whether or not they would still go to eat at a certain restaurant if they knew some of the employees were illegal immigrants. I personally I am not sure where I stand on the issue of immigration but I do believe that it's important for the country to examine its values in order to pursue this issue.
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/what-if-restaurants-stopped-hiring-illegal-immigrants/?scp=3&sq=restaurants&st=cse
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Restaurants To Create New Tipping Laws
The article I posted on ethics was about lawsuits formed based on workers being deprived of their wages and tips. A recent Wall Street Journal Article explains that recommendations for the state of New York for worker's tips and pay have been created over a year ago, and have yet been acted on. These recommendations could decrease the lawsuits filed against restaurant owners drastically.
Restaurant owners have expected the proposals for months now, but they are still waiting. The new laws are expected to consider everything from minimum wage to tipped employees to how tips are to be handed out. (Reddy) One of the recommendations was raising the wage of tipped employees to $5 rather than $4.65. Also, restaurants are required to give between $4 and $9 every week to workers who are required to wear a specific uniform. It was recommended that this rule be taken away.
The state Labor Department has said that the new wage order will be posted within a couple of weeks. Following that, there will be a 45 day period for people to comment on their thoughts. Once all comments are considered and edited, the wage order can be put to use.
President of the New York State Restaurants Association has said that there is so much confusion because the laws are not clear enough. People are hiring attorneys just to tell them what the law means. (Reddy) Hopefully, the order will be presented soon enough to clear up problems that could have been solved a long time ago.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703.html?KEYWORDS=restaurant+industry
Restaurant owners have expected the proposals for months now, but they are still waiting. The new laws are expected to consider everything from minimum wage to tipped employees to how tips are to be handed out. (Reddy) One of the recommendations was raising the wage of tipped employees to $5 rather than $4.65. Also, restaurants are required to give between $4 and $9 every week to workers who are required to wear a specific uniform. It was recommended that this rule be taken away.
The state Labor Department has said that the new wage order will be posted within a couple of weeks. Following that, there will be a 45 day period for people to comment on their thoughts. Once all comments are considered and edited, the wage order can be put to use.
President of the New York State Restaurants Association has said that there is so much confusion because the laws are not clear enough. People are hiring attorneys just to tell them what the law means. (Reddy) Hopefully, the order will be presented soon enough to clear up problems that could have been solved a long time ago.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703.html?KEYWORDS=restaurant+industry
Hotels Make Slight Comeback
As of last week, room rates in North America have risen 2%. (Plank) The increase in room rates is due to the increase in business travel.
They are more willing to spend money on hotel reservations then in the past. Omni Hotels and Resorts reported that the number of meetings booked at his company is now the same as they were in 2007 and early 2008. 75% to 80% of its business has come from corporate travel.
Editor of Travelocity has reported that hotel bookings through the sight for this past summer remained constant with that of last summers. However, there has been a 3.5% in bookings this fall compared to last. Although there is improvement, bookings are still 12% lower than in 2008, before the recession. (Plank)
Apple Core Hotels has also seen a 25% in RevPAR since 2009. When compared to 2008, revenue is still down about 20%. It is clear that the hotel industry is making improvement, but business travel must increase to keep hotel revenue increasing.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703.html
They are more willing to spend money on hotel reservations then in the past. Omni Hotels and Resorts reported that the number of meetings booked at his company is now the same as they were in 2007 and early 2008. 75% to 80% of its business has come from corporate travel.
Editor of Travelocity has reported that hotel bookings through the sight for this past summer remained constant with that of last summers. However, there has been a 3.5% in bookings this fall compared to last. Although there is improvement, bookings are still 12% lower than in 2008, before the recession. (Plank)
Apple Core Hotels has also seen a 25% in RevPAR since 2009. When compared to 2008, revenue is still down about 20%. It is clear that the hotel industry is making improvement, but business travel must increase to keep hotel revenue increasing.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703.html
Trump Entertainment Resorts Hires New CEO
In an article posted today in Businessweek, the popular Trump Entertainment Resorts is replacing its current CEO, Mark Juliani, with Robert Griffin, who is the president and CEO of MTR Gaming Group Inc. He is also the president of the Casino Association of New Jersey. Robert Griffin has already been praised by Trump's board chairman, even though Mr. Griffin will not begin working as CEO until late October or early November.
Mr. Griffin's company MTR has casinos in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. He has many well-regarded casinos in Columbus, Ohio. Furthermore, he was also involved in Trump Entertainment years back. He was a senior manager at Trump Marina from 1992-1998.
Mr. Trump, who currently owns 10% of Trump Entertainment, said "Mark (the current CEO) was a wonderful guy, and we think the new CEO will do a fine job as well. They (the board) just felt it was time to do something new." The article also states that Mr. Juliano's exit marks a near-complete change of top management in the company.
I believe that every certain number of years, a company should change its CEO. Even though that may be difficult, I believe having a new boss with new ideas will benefit the company more in the long run than not. Also, I find it incredible that Mr. Griffin has 30 years experience in the Hospitality industry. He is only 51. He has seen the industry during its best and worst times and has seen how far the industry has come over 3 decades. I believe his experience will help Trump Entertainment Resorts in the future. I think it's important that Mr. Griffin was a part of Trump at one point. Even though he was involved in it years back, he has at least a basic background about how things are operated within the Company.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9IH4TUG0.htm
Mr. Griffin's company MTR has casinos in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. He has many well-regarded casinos in Columbus, Ohio. Furthermore, he was also involved in Trump Entertainment years back. He was a senior manager at Trump Marina from 1992-1998.
Mr. Trump, who currently owns 10% of Trump Entertainment, said "Mark (the current CEO) was a wonderful guy, and we think the new CEO will do a fine job as well. They (the board) just felt it was time to do something new." The article also states that Mr. Juliano's exit marks a near-complete change of top management in the company.
I believe that every certain number of years, a company should change its CEO. Even though that may be difficult, I believe having a new boss with new ideas will benefit the company more in the long run than not. Also, I find it incredible that Mr. Griffin has 30 years experience in the Hospitality industry. He is only 51. He has seen the industry during its best and worst times and has seen how far the industry has come over 3 decades. I believe his experience will help Trump Entertainment Resorts in the future. I think it's important that Mr. Griffin was a part of Trump at one point. Even though he was involved in it years back, he has at least a basic background about how things are operated within the Company.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9IH4TUG0.htm
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
First Look at the Italian Eately
On August 31st, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich opened an Italian food and wine marketplace in the Flatiron District. Although it appears to be a giant food court, Batali swears that " this isn’t a selection of restaurants under one roof. This is a retail store where we peddle the greatest of Italian gastronomy to people who want to eat it and know how to appreciate it." The ideology in the market comes down to the goal of providing New Yorkers with a home-cooked meal outside of the house.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "the interiors have a Whole Foods-meets-Bloomingdale’s-via-Tuscany feel". So far 300 the restaurant employees 300 people. Eataly mainly uses Italian products with few exceptions and serves such food as handmade mozzarella and oysters as well as plenty of wine and a future rooftop beer garden.
I believe that this marketplace will mark a new movement in the restaurant industry. Customers are drawn to the concept of a home-cooked style meal thats already ready to eat. As Batali said, "you ask any Italian and all of the smart Americans where the best meal they ever had in the last ten years was, and it was never in someone’s restaurant. It was always in the house. And with these products, and this ideology, we’re hoping that’s what we’re going to bring to New Yorkers.". This new endeavor could mean the appearance of other eateries like the Eately as the owners find it is a successful venture.
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/08/25/first-look-at-mario-batalis-monster-italian-marketplace/
According to the Wall Street Journal, "the interiors have a Whole Foods-meets-Bloomingdale’s-via-Tuscany feel". So far 300 the restaurant employees 300 people. Eataly mainly uses Italian products with few exceptions and serves such food as handmade mozzarella and oysters as well as plenty of wine and a future rooftop beer garden.
I believe that this marketplace will mark a new movement in the restaurant industry. Customers are drawn to the concept of a home-cooked style meal thats already ready to eat. As Batali said, "you ask any Italian and all of the smart Americans where the best meal they ever had in the last ten years was, and it was never in someone’s restaurant. It was always in the house. And with these products, and this ideology, we’re hoping that’s what we’re going to bring to New Yorkers.". This new endeavor could mean the appearance of other eateries like the Eately as the owners find it is a successful venture.
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/08/25/first-look-at-mario-batalis-monster-italian-marketplace/
Darden Restaurants 1Q Profit Up 20%; Red Lobster Struggles
Darden Restaurants Inc.'s first-quarter earnings increased 20% as the casual-dining giant's same-store sales rose at Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse (Ziobro). Shares of Darden dropped approximately 2.2% to $43.07 as investors became cautious over Red Lobster's sales. "The seafood chain's sales fell 1.7% in the quarter, resulting in Darden's overall sales missing estimates, though profits beat expectations as labor costs were held in check. Darden also backed its outlook for the year" (Ziobro).
Darden sees the recovery as a difficult journey especially as consumers are still worried over the stability of the recovery and the slow pace of new job creation. By the end of the quarter on August 29, the company posted a profit of $113.1 million, or 80 cents a share from a year earlier. "Revenue increased 4.2% to $1.81 billion, as combined same-restaurant sales at its three main chains grew 1.1%" (Ziobro).
Red Lobster's store sales have recently declined 7.9% in the past year. This decline is most certainly due to the new competition of other sea-food restaurants opening in areas near Red Lobster. "Darden said Red Lobster's sales were hurt after it started its popular Endless Shrimp promotion two weeks later this year than a year earlier" (Ziobro). This new promotion played a major role in the downward trend of the Red Lobster store sales in the past year. "Some analysts were hoping that another promotion, Crabfest, which offered a selection of meals featuring crab, would have provided a stronger boost" (Ziobro).
During the recession, Darden generally has avoided discounts and has instead he offers short-term promotions that highlight some of the unique attributes of its brands (Ziobro). This plan by Darden has helped protect companies profits, while other chains have focused on price-driven deals. In conclusion, the competitive landscape changed during the recession due to the fact that promotions for these restaurants have been causing sales to decline in the past few years.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100921-713280.html
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