The American Version is Called "The Cougar Bar"

There Are No Turkeys in Korea

Well it's Thanksgiving here and I definitely won't be having turkey - not exactly something you can find on the menu here. There are Thanksgiving parties being held for ex-pats at a couple of the hotels, but not until the weekend. I assume official dinners will be given at the U.S. military bases today, but I won't be invited.

So just a regular Thursday for me. Off to go sell something...

The New Phrase For Sales in 2009

Learn It: "Flat is the New Up"


Example 1:

Boss: WM, your numbers are looking pretty flat

WM: Hans. Bubeeee. Haven’t you heard? In this economy "Flat is the New Up!"

Boss: WM, you’re right. Here is your full bonus check.


Example 2:

Customer: WM-san, I do not know if we can afford your new technology as things are looking flat.

WM: Yamamoto-san. Bubeee. Haven’t you heard? In this economy "Flat is the New Up!"

(customer does sharp intake of breath through sides of mouth)

Customer: WM-san, your wisdom is very great. We must still invest. Here is our purchase order.


The bad news is that Down is still Down, and you’re not going to talk your out of that.

Existential Thought for the Week

Is life a journey to nothing or a journey to forever?

Recession Proof Products: Spam and Cellphones

And I mean canned Spam, not the email kind (H/T Instapundit): Hormel Turns Out More Spam


And, thankfully, the industry I am in is largely - but not totally - recession proof:

Consumers won't give up their cell phones. They may lose their jobs and even their homes, but consumers seem unwilling to disconnect their cell phones.

"I would sleep in my car before I would give up my mobile phone," says Yankee Group Analyst Carl Howe. "Consumers buy services like broadband and mobile phones, and even if they lose their jobs they need these services more than ever."

The cellphone companies are suffering, but more because consumers are trading down. While volume is down, it is not significant (and with past cellphone growth any slowdown seems huge). In the mean time cellphone providers are bleeding off inventory. The combination of trade-down and inventory bleed is currently hurting the supply chain pretty badly. But after the bleed-off, the demand for the basic cellphone building blocks will level off and I think there will be stability within the segment by the back half of 2009.

As for the guys making TV receivers and other gadgets for high-end handsets, well, those guys will be hurting for the duration.