When Jerry Kohl and Brighton went up against Kay’s Kloset, he never backed down, and the case went all the way to the US Supreme Court.
The result was new law. Yeah Jerry!!!
6/29/07
High Court Rules Manufacturers Can Set Prices
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that manufacturers have the legal right to set minimum prices for goods sold through retail stores. The ruling overturns a 96-year legal decision that had put pricing in the hands of retailers and, in the process, may change the relationship between merchants and manufacturers.
The case brought before the nation’s top court pitted Leegin Creative Leather Products, a manufacturer of a wide range of casual and dress leather products under a variety of labels including Brighton, against Kay’s Kloset, a retailer in Texas.
In 2002, Leegin discovered that Kay’s Kloset was moving Brighton merchandise but at 20 percent below the manufacturer’s recommended minimum. The retailer argued the pricing was necessary for it to compete against others also discounting Leegin merchandise while the supplier said Kay’s Kloset was, among other things, contributing to a devaluation of the brand.
When Leegin requested the discounting stop, Kay’s Kloset refused and the Brighton line was pulled from the retailer. It was then that the retailer brought a suit, which argued that Leegin was in violation of a 1911 ruling (Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co., 220 U. S. 373) that determined minimum prices set by manufacturers were anticompetitive and therefore illegal.
In its new ruling, the Supreme Court has taken the position that manufacturer-set minimum prices do not always discourage competition and in some cases encourage it.
___________________________________________________________________

We at Success Dynamics are proud to have Brighton as a client, and I am proud to call Jerry my friend. After reading this article I called him last night and found him celebrating with his wife Terri in a Newport Beach restaurant. YEAH JERRY!!!
_________________________________________________________________

To see the photo up close click on it, and then click on your back button to return to the blog.

Willie Nishi and I found ourselves on the same flight to Las Vegas yesterday.
I am not a gambler, but if I see a place to gamble on the number 37 I will.
Willie is celebrating 37 great years with ABC Stores. With six (or more) ABC Stores in Las Vegas he may have chosen a tough place to “get away”.
As for me, we have clients all over this place so I feel right at home.

Click on photo to see full size, and then your “back button” to return to the blog.

I have only flown 1st Class for more than 30 years (long before I could afford it).
Masae on the other hand is a bit (lot) more frugal, so when she elected to come along to Las Vegas she insisted on flying coach. She pointed out that she is much smaller than me (thanks a lot), and that’s it is only a six hour flight.
Upon web check in last night I saw a 1st Class upgrade for “only” $379 and suggested she go for it. “No way” was her answer.
When we checked in at the Premier Club lounge today I asked Marilyn, a long time Hawaiian Air employee if a 1st Class upgrade was available. “Yes” she said, “And it’s only $379, and there is a seat available right next to you (2A).” I commented that it isn’t worth that much for Masae to move up. Marilyn said, “But is it worth it to you?”
What else could I say but, “Sure?”
My next comment was, “Hey Marilyn, how would you like to have a job in retail?”
Hawaiian Air is fortunate to have someone like this .
What was Masae’s reaction? She said, “I would have rather had that $400 bucks to gamble with”. Sometimes feeling appreciated can be a tough task!

I am off to Las Vegas to meet with Team Lassen Las Vegas, attend two Lassen art shows and watch Masae tote full shopping bags around The Forum Shops.

I will leave Las Vegas on Sunday to go to INspiration in Vancouver, BC; more on that later.

Sometime in the 80’s I read Chuck Cooradt’s book The Game of Work and it clarified what I have been feeling my whole life.
Work can be fun, and when you think of it as a fun game everything changes.
What do games all have in common? Right; some form of scorekeeping. Coonradt say’s, “We watch the score while the game’s in progress so we can change behavior to win BEFORE the time runs out.”
When I was first exposed to retail I was shocked at how many businesses tallied up the totals at the end of the month, or even worse 20 days into the following month in order to calculate percentage rent.
Keep score day by day, or even better hour by hour. You will have more fun and make more money as well.

“Drugstore giant Walgreen Co., in the midst of an aggressive nationwide expansion, plans to go head-to-head with Longs Drug Stores Corp. in Hawai’i, eventually opening as many as 40 stores in the state and locating them next to Longs whenever possible.”

That story in the Honolulu Advertiser must have Long’s worried.

If it doesn’t they are asleep at the wheel. With the lack of major competion all these years, they have been able to survive complacently.

I sense that those days are over. Competition is a great motivator and it will be very interesting to see how they (Long’s) go about that process.

What do you think is going to happen as more and more Walgreen stores are opened?

Click on the photo to see a close up, and then your back button to return to the blog.

Some people go to Tahiti to just sit and relax; and then there’s Christian Riese Lassen.
Those that are used to success find different ways to “relax” than others.
Surfing, Kayaking and jet skiing might be a bit too much for some, but not this guy.
And he somehow finds the time and energy to paint new masterpieces and send me 20 or more e-mails a day as well, and I’ll bet I am not the only one.
What a vacation!

Click on the photo to see a close up, and then your back button to return to the blog.

Bob and Barbi McAllaster had their “prospect-icles” on at the Honolulu Star Bulletin’s presentation of the Best Businesses in Honolulu.
INspiration and the Honolulu Design Center were voted the Best Furniture Store.
Congratulations to Thomas, Peter and the whole staff at both stores.

Click on the photo to see it full size, and then your “back button” to return to the blog.

“TIAD” is a disease that successful salespeople are susceptible to, and it is most prevalent in the last week of the month or final hours of the day.
“TIAD” pronounced Tie-Ad stands for Thumbs in Armpit Disease. This is a syndrome where people start celebrating their success before the end of the game.
You can get your thumbs so far up there that they block your vision of current new opportunities.
The nice thing about TIAD is that only successful people catch it. And when accused of having TIAD, remember that denial is a symptom of the disease.

The late George Kanahele was known for the wisdom he shared with Hawaii businesses.
One was his definition of the Hawaiian word; Kina’ole.
Kina’ole: one who has done the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, to the right person, for the right reason, with the right feeling, the first time.”
Another meaning is flawlessness. Are you striving for Kina’ole?

Click on photo for full view and then back button to return to the blog.