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Article Review : What Makes Brands Elastic? The Influence of Brand Concept and Styles of Thinking on Brand Extension Evaluation Journal of Marketing Vol. 74 (May 2010), 80–92 ( Link )  In this very deeply research article the authors examine why some brands are more elastic than others. Here the authors describe elasticity as the ability of the brand to extend to other categories Research suggest that brand extension success depend very much on the extension fit.That is whether the extensions fit the perception of consumers about the parent brand. The more elastic the brand is when the brand is able to extend itself to distant categories. Early research suggest that the brand's elasticity is dependent on the parent brand's characteristics.If the brand is positioned on prestige, then it is more elastic and can be extended to multiple categories. Functionally positioned brands are less elastic  This article tries to expand the existing research by saying that while brand's ch...

I like to make the most of my precious time and that means having a focused exercise program that fits into my schedule, and works best for my body.  I believe in quality not quantity, and using exercise movements that challenge me to change me, but do not hurt me.  It is not a fun place to be when exercise brings about injury and especially when that injury stops me from doing what I like to do.  I do not even like to feel a nagging pain that I know was caused from a certain move I should have avoided, but the push to want was greater than listening to what my body was telling me at the time. It is those types of constant and repetitive things that can bring about a chronic issue and I say no thank you to that. What it comes down to is training “smarter and not harder.” I do not need to prove anything to anyone, and I do want to maintain a healthy body that not only looks good but feels good for the duration of my life. What that means is keeping my routine simple, smart...

Customs cases present a few unique challenges to potential litigants in the U.S. Court of International Trade. One of those that every unfavorable liquidation of a customs entry stands alone as a possible claim to be brought to the Court for review. Often, multiple entries are grouped together into a single protest and the denied protest forms the basis of the case. The plaintiff initiates the case by filing a summons, rather than a complaint as is done in most courts. The summons puts the case on the Court's Reserve Calendar ( see Rule 83 ) where it can sit for 18 months or more if the Court grants an extension. Sometimes, the cases sit on the Reserve Calendar for substantially more than 18 months. Why is this the process? Because the typical customs case involves a small potential refund but is often one in a series of many similar potential cases that are worth litigating in the aggregate. To facility the resolution of issues covering many entries and many protests, the Court al...

Let's get down to the business of reasons and how they fit into our daily life and overall health and fitness.  Reasons are often used to avoid a workout or eat healthy meals and I think we can all agree on that. Can I go as far as to say they parallel excuses and guess what, we all can have them and often do. What amazes me is how often we think and want to be healthy, want the hot body, the glowing skin and quality life without pain, but come up with every reason in the book to not do what it takes to obtain the goals.  I say it is time to "reel in the reasons" and ask why they keep getting in the way of the thing we most want.   On top of the reasons that pull us in the opposite direction of our goals is almost a rebellious attitude of "I can eat and do what I want" and still reach my goals.  A negative attitude, excuses, and rebel behavior is definitely not going to achieve a healthy body or mind for that matter. I like that saying that goes "If it were...

There is an important and sometimes silly aspect of customs law involving who has the right to make entry. There is a statutory requirement that the importer of record for merchandise entering the U.S. be a party with the right to make entry. Specifically, the IOR may be the owner or purchaser of the goods or a broker appointed on behalf of the owner, purchaser or consignee. That is fine and seems clear. The problem is that it just does not fit with all of the crazy ways international transactions get structured these days. For example, what if Acme Corp. Canada owns some merchandise located in Canada that it wants processed in the U.S. by a third party. There is no purchaser in the U.S. because Acme Canada continues to own the goods. Acme Canada could be the (non-resident) importer as the owner. But, what if Acme Corp. USA decides to offer to help and act as importer? That might be an issue. Acme USA is not the owner (that is Acme Canada), it is not the purchaser, and because the good...

Exercise does not have to be extreme to be effective.  When it comes to our health and fitness, it is not a competition, but a lifetime maintenance body program.  There may be those who have certain goals and need to perform above the maintenance requirement, but in general creating a healthy ROCKIN body can be accomplished by moving it for 30 minutes at least five days per week.  Most of us want to feel and look good in and out of clothes with a simple exercise routine that does not require leaping over tall buildings in single bounds and lifting hundreds of pounds of weight.  I am not knocking those doing the leaping, heavy lifting, or extreme sports with this Blog, but addressing the norm demographic of everyday people who just want to get healthy and look healthy. Studies have shown that 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as brisk walking is sufficient to maintain a healthy body, and spread over time throughout the week.  It would be reduced to 75...

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Is it possible that I failed to report on the Court of International Trade decision in GRK Canada, Ltd. v. United States ? I can't find it on my own blog, so that seems to be true. Well, the Federal Circuit has vacated and remanded that decision back to the CIT, so pretend it never happened and start here. The issue is the proper tariff classification of various screws. Customs and Border Protection liquidated the the screws as "other wood screws" in HTSUS item 7318.12.00. GRK protested, asserting that the correct classification in in 7318.14.10 as "self-tapping screws." The Court of International Trade held that both subheadings were eo nomine , meaning that the scope of the heading depends on the description of the product by name rather than by use. Because the government's argument in the Trade Court was based on the use of the screws in wood, the Court found it to be weak and ultimately unconvincing. The Court then found that the imported products had p...

Brand : Layer'r Company : Adjavis Venture Ltd (AVL) Brand Analysis Count : # 547 Layer'r was launched in 2013 by AVL which was founded by Mr Devandra Patil. Mr Patil was a co-founder of Paras Pharmaceuticals and later the brothers of Paras decided to start on their own after selling Paras to Reckitt.One of the brothers, Darshan Patel started the Fogg brand under the company Vini Cosmetics which recently became the market leader in the deo category. Devendra Patel entered the deo market with two brands- Layer'r Shot for men and Wottagirl for women. In the highly cluttered market for deos, the key success factor lies in the differentiation. The market is hotting up with majors like ITC entering the market with its Engage brand which gobbled up around 6% share within a short span of time. Taking a cue from the success of Fogg, Layer'r has put in some thought with regard to the differentiation. The brand has rightly decided to move away from the " seduction" theme...

The dreaded food journal can be your best friend and accountability partner when it comes to implementing a healthy nutrition program.   I have heard it all when it comes to fitness and food journals and the love/hate relationship that keeping track of food intake can cause. The problem is really not the food journal, but it is the issue of not being honest with ourselves.   When life is going great and our program is on track, we gladly write down every healthy morsel placed in our face with a smile and will even share the exciting events that are producing the positive results.   On the other side of that coin is the need to hide or even toss our journals to the curb as temptations to go “off plan” creep into the program.  It is almost as if we convince ourselves that being unhealthy is not happening if it is not written down in the journal.  Believe me, you can run but your body will not hide the consequences of unhealthy choices.  The fact is the food j...

I need to give you a post on GRK Canada v. United States, which is a recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on the classification of screws. It is interesting and deserves attention. You'll have to wait a bit. In the meantime, enjoy some dessert, specifically a product called "Le Crème Pregiate - Ricotta con pezzi di pera e gocce di cioccolato ." According to Customs and Border Protection, this delicious sounding stuff is gelato containing milk, sheep-milk ricotta, semi-candied pear pieces, chocolate chips, and a bunch of other stuff. As with many rulings issued from CBP in New York, there is no analysis provided in N255285 (Aug. 6, 2014) . The end result is that it is classifiable in HTSUS subheading 2105.00. The specific tariff item will depend on whether the goods are imported in or out of the milk quota, which is why this caught my attention. That result is similar to the unbaked cinnamon rolls we discussed last week. See a theme here? That...

Sabotage is a strong word to describe the behavior that can sneak into our life and steal the success that healthy eating and exercise has provided our bodies.   It can come in the form of our own thoughts, an unsupportive spouse, friend, and even co-workers. The important thing is to be on guard so that the forms of sabotage can be recognized and dealt with in a way that is healthy, and keeping us on track with our fitness goals. I am not addressing the occasional cheat meal or even day, I am talking about a chronic issue of falling into a trap of being swayed away from a healthy lifestyle, and allowing that to happen. Living a healthy lifestyle takes mental strength and a loving commitment to maintain our best self through consistent healthy choices each day. Let’s address self-sabotage and how it can creep into our mind and try to convince that “just this once” or “just a few bites” can become part of the healthy plan.  The issue with this type of sabotage is that it does n...

Brand : Park Avenue Beer Shampoo Company : JK Helene Curtis Brand Analysis Count : # 546 Park Avenue is a cash cow in the portfolio of JK Helene Curtis which owns the prestigious apparel brands like Raymonds , Color Plus, Parx etc. This brand has contributed half of the turnover of the apparel business of the company. Later the company decided to extend the brands to categories like men's grooming market. According to Business Standard, men's grooming market is worth Rs 4000 crore growing at 25-30 % per annum. So for a company like JK Helene Curtis, it makes sense to extend a popular brand to this category. In September 2013, Park Avenue launched Park Avenue Beer shampoo in the Indian market. According to ET, there is a research backup that beer is good for hair  and if Park Avenue has its way, then the most popular men's drink will find a new place - men's head ( sic). Watch the launch ad : Park Avenue Beer Shampoo The ad is clutter breaking and very funny. The ads wer...