World Briefing: Jun 23, 2003

A "Female Phone"--For Asia Only

You've come a long way, baby--and that's affecting your choice of cell phones. Consider the Samsung SGH-T500, introduced earlier this year in Asian markets and selling for the equivalent of $500. Samsung bills it as "a female-centric mobile phone." Why? It's so pretty, for one thing, available in four colors, including Sapphire Blue and Topaz Gold, and featuring a ring of synthetic diamonds around the exterior display. It also offers "multiple female features," including a biorhythm calculator, a calorie counter, and a calendar that tracks the owner's menstrual cycles. Samsung says the T500 "completes communication for all the descendants of Eve." Except the American ones, apparently. The company says it has no plans to release the phone in the U.S. But visit samsung.com.sg to buy one through sales locations in Singapore. --By Bill Barol

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Beware the Clio

Remember that ad? The one with the expensive car winding down a scenic road in some exotic location? Terrific imagery, stunning visuals. It might even have won an award. But it's a waste, writes Mark Stevens, president of MSCO, a consultancy based in Purchase, N.Y., and author of Your Marketing Sucks, which hits stores in July. "Find me one single human being who bought a car as a result of one of those ads," he implores in the book's first chapter. Stevens knocks the Clio awards and praises the effectiveness of tacky infomercials and "extreme marketing" like personalized birthday discounts, which he believes lead directly to profits. The author's metaphors suck: Stevens tells marketers to be "bulldogs," not "golden retrievers." But the book provides clear, sensible suggestions for making money through marketing.

Babes in Toyland

Johnny may soon clutch Mom's leg, begging to be taken to Saks. No, he's crying not for the Bruno Magli shoes or credit-card points toward a Disney vacation but for fancy train sets and the latest Legos. In May, Saks--the Birmingham, Ala.--based owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, Parisian and other regional department stores--bought a $5 million stake in upscale toy retailer FAO. Saks plans to add an FAO boutique to 22 of its stores by September and FAO displays in 245 of its locations for the holidays. "FAO should have done this long ago," says Jeffrey Van Sinderen, a specialty retail analyst for B. Riley & Co. Leveraging another chain's infrastructure, he says, could have reduced the high costs that helped drive the retailer into the bankruptcy from which it emerged in April. And the partnership could yield new customers--moms as well as kids--for Saks.

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