In spring 1997 Levi formed another task force -- simply to study on-line sales.
In the first two weeks, on-line sales exceeded the volume at one of the company's flagship Levi's-only stores.
By January he had sold Levi's brass on a test of on-line sales in Canada, and in 60 days the virtual store was open for business.
What has investors running for the exits is Chairman Michael Levy's expansion into Europe and on-line sales of sporting goods--just the sort of aggressive brand-building they lavishly cheered a few months ago.
They floundered, despite identifying very good solutions for pretty impressive market needs, largely because management chose to spend almost all its attention, and resources, defending and extending its on-line ad sales created around search.
By 2007, the traditional retailers, as well nontraditional ones such as Dell Computer were collecting sales tax on-line and half of online purchases were subject to sales tax.
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Although Super Blue Stuff is sold in 365 small independent stores and through a 200-person direct-sales force, a majority of its sales come over the toll-free line McClung broadcasts on his infomercials.
The company was in-line on profits, and beat on sales.
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"Under Unreformed CAFE, the cost burdens and compliance difficulties have been imposed primarily on the full-line manufacturers who have large sales volumes at the larger and heavier end of the light-truck fleet, " the proposal reads.
Hugely discounted goods at retail competed with free shipping and no sales tax from many on-line merchants.
At the moment, only a small fraction of car buyers who bypass showrooms use the Internet: Chrysler reckons that about 1.5% of its sales last year were on-line, but it forecasts the proportion will rise to 25% within four years.
Like-for-like sales increased 2% and gross margins were described as "in line" year-on-year.
Despite recent setbacks, the company that Phebe Novakovic will take over on January 1 is better positioned for the future than many of its defense-industry peers because it generates a quarter of corporate revenues from the prestigious Gulfstream business-jet line, which does not depend on the Pentagon for sales.
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Levi's U.S. sales force didn't hear of the on-line invasion until a month before the launch.
On a price-to-sales basis, the stock is trading in line with the peer group average of 2.57x.
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Friedman is mostly upbeat on the spring sales season at Banana Republic, thanks to a spruced-up line of men's blazers and a fresh lineup of women's handbags.
Suzuki was next in line with sales in China down 42.5 percent year-on-year.
Not that covering this industry is ever exactly boring, but when key players like SanDisk spokesperson Carm Lyman offer to put something valuable on the line -- in this case, her flowing locks -- in preparation for the holiday sales figures, well, we can't help but get drawn in.
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Through partnerships with 250 medical organizations and Web sites -- including the American Medical Association and Physicians Online -- Bhan says he has access to more than half the estimated 350, 000 doctors and 835, 000 nurses who are on-line in the U.S. Medsite offers the organizations a 5% cut of book sales.
Samsung, the market leader in smartphones, on Friday said its fourth-quarter profit surged 76% to a record high on the strength of smartphone sales, including its Galaxy S line.
Paul Panzera, director of sales at SCA Promotions, said his company had been putting its capital on the line in perfect-bracket contests for more than a decade, backing competitions that have collectively garnered millions of entries, and the closest anyone got was 59 of the 63 games.
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