The Chronic Consumer

Burger King has apparently upgraded their french fries in the hopes of winning over more customers. According to a few news articles I’ve read today, BK franchises are now offering thicker fries that are also lower in sodium and come with a special coating to keep them hotter and crispier for a longer time.

This move is a response to competition from Wendy’s, which added “Natural Cut” fries last year, as well as independent chains like Five Guys and In ‘N’ Out.

Since most Burger Kings are independently run franchises, I wonder how the different owners deal with these widespread changes. Do they have to pay for all the new packaging and equipment on their own? What if they can’t afford it at the time? Does Burger King HQ bail them out or do they have to take out a merchant cash advance to be able to comply with the changes.

Inquiring minds want to know!

With Christmas coming up, millions of parents are beginning to shop for toys for their kids. Before buying anything, however, be sure to read through this list of the Worst Kids Toys of 2011. The list was compiled by a consumer organization and is based on toys that are deemed unsafe. The full article can be found on Shine, but here’s a quick copy and paste of the top offenders:

A wooden Twist n’ Sort toy for toddlers
Power Rangers Samurai Mega Blade sword
Fold & Go miniature portable trampoline
Pulling Animal Duck
Schylling toy school bus
Z-Curve Bow
Stepper “Low Rise” Stilts
Sword Fighting Jack Sparrow action figure
The Incredible Shrinky Dinks Maker oven
“Gigan” Godzilla Creature 12-inch action figure

Forbes has come up with a list of the worst car flops (in terms of sales) of 2011. I have barely even heard of some of the models on this list, so I guess that shows that some were indeed flops. I’m surprised to see the VW Jetta on here, though. It might not be up to snuff compared to past model years, but it’s still selling well, isn’t it?

• Smart Fortwo
• VW Jetta
• Honda Civic
• Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
• Acura ZDX
• Lincoln MKT
• Nissan Titan
• Dodge Nitro (pictured)
• Chevy Aveo

With the economy continuing to suck, it’s no wonder that companies once viewed as pretty stable are having a tough go of it these days. I recently read an article on Yahoo Finance (the stories always get pulled after a while, so I’m not going to bother linking) that said these eight companies are in dire straits and might not make it much longer. That means employees working at these places might want to start sending out resumes and being more cautious about spending their money. For example, forget about getting that rv insurance quote or booking tickets to Paris because you’re not going to want to shell out a ton of cash for a motorhome or an overseas vacation if your job isn’t going to be there much longer!

1. Best Buy
2. Research in Motion (makers of Blackberry)
3. Talbots
4. Hewlett-Packard
5. U.S. Postal Service
6. Nintendo (really??? I have a hard time believing this.)
7. Cisco
8. Eastman-Kodak

I just read an interesting article on Yahoo (I would link to it, but Yahoo routinely removes their links after a few months and I hate having dead links on my site) about 10 American industries that are still hanging on despite globalization and the trend towards moving factories overseas. Interested in buying stuff that’s Made in America? Then spend your dollars on these products:

• Bowling balls (Ebonite International)
• Sparklers (Diamond Sparkler)
• Compact discs (Sony DADC)
• Pianos (Mason & Hamlin, Steinway)
• Socks (various companies in Fort Payne, Alabama)
• Ironing boards (HPI Seymour)
• Pencils (General Pencil, Sanford)
• Sneakers (New Balance)
• Electrical relays (Struthers-Dunn)
• Chopsticks (Georgia Chopsticks)

This image has been making the rounds on various news and shopping sites. Old Navy apparently teamed up with a bunch of colleges and pro sports team for apparel for their new “Fan Shop,” and one of the items for sale is this t-shirt. Notice there’s no apostrophe in the “Lets Go” part… hmmm, big mistake there. Also, some perfectionists have been complaining about the use of two exclamation points. That doesn’t bother me as much because I do that all the time and think it’s just fine for something like a t-shirt. But the “let’s” typo? Total fail!

I just read an article that said Hewlett-Packard is giving up on its mobile products and is considering selling off its PC division, too. This makes me a tiny bit sad because my first-ever computer was a Compaq (now owned by HP) laptop and my second-ever was an HP laptop. Hard to believe that in less than 15 years, a giant like HP could be out of the marketplace entirely. How quickly things change!!

You don’t have to be a fashion maven to know that shoes with red soles are most likely by upscale designer Christian Louboutin. But that might not always be the case anymore. Louboutin has lost a lawsuit against Yves Saint Laurent for the exclusive right to use that red color on the bottom of footwear. The court battle took place in NY, where a judge ruled that it would not be copyright infringement for YSL and other brands to use the same red. The ruling mentioned something about color being vital to “robust competition” in the fashion industry.

That makes sense to me. If each design house were allowed to trademark or copyright colors, then where would that leave consumers? Then again, doesn’t Tiffany own exclusive right to their particular shade of blue? I wonder why that is. Maybe the jewelry industry is different from the fashion industry in that regard!

At any rate, the next time you see red soles on someone’s shoes, don’t automatically assume they’re from Louboutin!