By Nick Chambers •
October 16, 2009
The American hybrid landscape is shifting under our feet.
With the perceptible movement of a slow landslide, Ford hybrid sales have been dramatically increasing over the last year—sales in September were up 73% from last September. According to Automotive News (subs. req’d), this brings Ford within a few thousand units of overtaking Honda to become the second largest seller of hybrids in America.
These numbers are significant because, according to Ford hybrid marketing manager David Finnegan, “More than 60 percent of Fusion Hybrid sales have been from non-Ford owners, and more than half of those are customers coming from import brands, mostly from Toyota and Honda.”
Confirming Finnegan’s assessment, the established hybrid juggernaut, Toyota, has seen sales of its hybrids plummet 28% in the same time period. Toyota still blows all the hybrid competition out of the water—capturing nearly 66% of all US hybrid sales—but the speed with which the changes are taking place certainly bodes well for a healthy and competitive hybrid marketplace in the future.
By Kelly Rand •
August 28, 2009
Abe’s Market, a new online natural marketplace, is about to launch and is looking for the latest and greatest natural products to create the best array of products for the site.
Abe’s will offer a comprehensive selection of all natural products, with the best and latest in health, beauty, food, home and consumer goods with the ease and convenience of the most modern e-commerce services. The site aims to be a place for customers to find their favorite natural brands as well as a place to discover some of the newest and unique undiscovered lines, as well as “meet” the creators of the brands and gain knowledge about the ingredients, processes and stories behind these products.
In addition to being the source for purchasing all-natural goods, Abe’s Market will be the place and opportunity for up and coming producers of natural products to feature, market, and grow their brands. Abe’s will continually seek out new brands and welcome new sellers to the site. Additionally, the Abe’s Market management team led by co-founders Richard Demb and Jon Polin, who have their professional experience in both natural businesses and the retail environment, will help these newer brands gain exposure with natural retailers to establish distribution.
The latest Japanese car sales figures reveal that the Toyota Prius hybrid has now become the top selling vehicle in Japan.
According to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, in June the company sold 22,292 units of its flagship hybrid vehicle, a sharp rise of almost 400% over the same month last year (when 6,231 cars were shifted) and more than twice as much as the 10,915 sold in May.
By mcmilker •
November 25, 2008
Question should we have a sale on Black Friday / Or should we wait 4 Cyber Monday? Also any ideas on how to promote sale of our Holiday items
As are many retailers, green or not, Trees Instead which is a sight where users can buy a tree to be planted in the Amazon, the US or Israel for various occasions (among other things), wants to run a sale on their service and products.
Over the years, as online shopping has matured, Black Friday, as the day after Thanksgiving is called, because that is the day of the year that many retailers actually start to make profits or “go in the black”, has been followed by an equally big shopping day, Cyber Monday - the day consumers turn to look for online sales.
This year with Black Friday looking to turn out to be very black indeed, as in funeral black not profits black, retailers both on and offline are looking for ways to fight the tide of bad news and entice consumers into the store.
For green and socially responsible retailers, here are some thoughts:
