The Chronic Consumer

I just read that Abercrombie & Fitch posted a fourth quarter earnings drop of 31% a few days ago as consumers continue to eschew the company’s high-priced fashions in favor of similar offerings from stores like Aeropostale and American Eagle.

I used to shop at Abercrombie back when I was in college, but I’m in my mid-30’s now, so there’s no reason for me ever to go back to that store. My younger cousins used to like the place, but recently they’ve been asking for Aeropostale gift cards too. I guess that’s the best way to figure out how well a clothing store is doing — by whether or not current high schoolers want to shop there!

I just read that an Australia man who bought an early copy of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, hacked the game, and then uploaded it on the Internet was fined $1 million for his actions. James Burt, 24, also has to pay Nintendo’s legal fees, which fall somewhere in the $100,000 range.

It sounds like the illegal uploader is just a regular guy, so I don’t know that he’ll actually be able to pay back those fines, but Nintendo is probably more concerned with the message at this point. Video game companies, just like movie studios and musicians, are seeing their bottom line damaged by illegal downloads of game titles. By showing that they’ll file suit and go after 7-figure judgments, Nintendo is probably deterring at least a couple of folks from uploading games.

McDonald’s posted a 23% gain in fourth quarter profits, which was higher than Wall St. analysts expected. This came as a relief to investors and franchisees alike — especially because same-store sales rose 1% during that time frame as well. Could this be a signal that McDonald’s is at least somewhat immune to concerns that unemployment and “competitive discounting” would derail profits yet again? Let’s hope so!

When I was in junior high school, I absolutely loved Domino’s Pizza. Back then (the late 1980’s) a small pizza only cost a little more than $5 and was delivered right to my door in 30 minutes or less. Toss in a couple cans of Coke, and my brother and I had an awesome lunch for about $6 plus whatever we could scrounge up as a tip for the driver. That was even cheaper than getting value meals at McDonald’s!!

My pizza habit persists to this day — probably the main reason I’m always checking out diets for quick weight loss — but I haven’t had Domino’s since college. Recently, however, I’ve been intrigued by those commercials in which they basically admit that their pizza has sucked and that they redid the recipe from the ground up. It takes guts to admit that your product was faulty, so kudos to Domino’s for that. I haven’t tried the “new & improved” version yet, but I definitely intend to. I’m actually not very discriminating in terms what kind of pizza I eat, so I’m sure I’ll like it!

I have to say that I miss Eddie Bauer! This used to be one of my favorite stores, as I absolutely loved their outdoor gear. Ever since high school, all of my winter jackets and boots came from there. I also liked their sweaters and a few of their gadgets. All in all, it was a fun place to shop. It’s too bad they filed for bankruptcy last year. Couldn’t they have brought in an army of business plan consultants to try to fix things up first? Bummer.

There used to be an Eddie Bauer at the mall near my house, but now the site is empty because no other retailers are expanding these days. In fact, I have a feeling the whole mall might be doomed soon, as there are more vacancies in there now than I can remember from any time before. I hate seeing businesses struggle like this and hope that the economy turns around very soon.

We’ve all seen infomercials for products that are supposed to do amazing things. Back when I was a kid, that commercial for Ginsu knives was all the rage. I can still remember the key selling point being that the knife could slice right through an aluminum can as if it was made of butter! But I never learned if the commercial’s claims were true or not.

Anyway, I just came across an interesting article from Consumer Reports that tests the claims of current infomercial products and tells you whether or not the item is worth buying. Some of the tested products include Snuggie, ShamWow, Ab Circle Pro, Slap Chop, PedEgg, and Magic Jack. This is a fun read even if you’re not considering buying any of the products, so check it out!

It’s hard to believe but another Black Friday is looming. In just over a week, there will be a mad rush to all the malls and big box discount stores for massive discounts on everything from plasma televisions and computers to appliances, clothes, and truck accessories.

Personally, I have never shopped on Black Friday, and I probably never will. I simply can’t imagine enduring the mad crush of people in the stores or the traffic and parking headaches outside. I’m getting a bit sweaty-palmed just thinking about that type of situation!

Much better to wait for Cyber Monday, when all the online deals kick in.

Well, it doesn’t look like I’ll be heading to Iceland anytime soon! I read the other day that McDonald’s is pulling out of Reykjavik, where it opened its first restaurant in 1993, due to the collapse of the Icelandic economy. According to franchise agreements, the three McDonald’s restaurants operating in the capital city have to import their raw ingredients from Germany — an expensive proposition these days. Continue doing so would require the franchisees to raise the price of a Big Mac to $6.36, making it the most expensive in the world.

I love my McDonald’s, even when traveling (insert “stereotypical American” joke here), so I guess I’ll just go ahead and cross Iceland off my list now. Only kidding… like Iceland would ever be on my list in the first place!