augustabound

I was turned off of WalMart when I found out about "WalMart quality". Huggies diapers have 12 less in a pack, toilet paper rolls are smaller etc. and they're the same price as everyone else. I mean, I understand about cost savings, but WalMart is to the extreme sometimes. Of course, it also means they don't price match other stores when they're on sale, since they're not the identical products with regards to size. I always assumed a national brand item was identical everywhere, until I saw a blog post about the difference in size of a roll of toilet paper at a WalMart versus a competitor (come to think of it, I think the comp was Target). Now I read labels more carefully, thanks to WalMart.

I worked for HBC for 15 years and all I can say, this is a looooooooooong time coming. All of our money went into the Bay (actually, Queen St, Bloor Street and Yorkdale Mall locations all in Toronto got the bulk of it) and Zellers was all but forgotten years ago. Empty shelves, miserable staff and a tired brand makes for a sorry company. As a Canadian who hasn't been to a Target, what can they bring to Canada? Is it just a red WalMart? FWIW, when Lowes came to Canada 3 years ago, I converted almost immediately. Fresh, clean, bright stores with happy helpful staff and the shelves always full made me a former Home Depot shopper, both as a home owner and contractor.

I read that these cards aren't accepted for hotels or rental cars since it's not really acceptable as a security deposit.

Remember Uncle Warren also said years ago, if Charlie, Ajit and Warren were in a sinking boat, save Ajit. :)

I guess there's no hint as to when this comment was made, or if the company is public?

Pages are loading great here in Toronto. :)

After realizing the target reader wasn't the individual investor, that's what I'm hoping to get out of it. So far (about 100 pages in) so good. Either way it's a good read. That's where I got the idea to read the book. ;) Paul Sonkin is like Walter Schloss, I wish there was more information on him. But then again, Schloss only has one creed, "we buy cheap stocks". I think I even read in an interview that he was asked if he could expand on that. He said "no, we buy cheap stocks."

I'm about 50 pages in and have realized the book isn't intended for investors, but for more for execs. Still seems worth the read though.

To those who have read Hidden Champions of the 21st Century. Has anyone else found that some of these companies are private that the writer mentions? (I understand also that the book is years old). I'm not trying to take his advice or writings blindly, but when I look most of these companies up, they're private and can't find any info on them ever being public.

Funny, I read an interview this morning with Paul Sonkin. (It's years old, but I keep anything I can find on him and re-read it all). He recommended reading, "Hidden Champions".