Chain Store Business in US

Chain stores are a common sight in US and each one is a brand by itself and has a history to its origin. There are chain food stores, chain commodity stores, chain garages, chain book stores, chain coffee stores, chain electronic stores, chain grocery stores, supermarket chainstores and even chain Indian stores. You name a consumable and you will have at least one chain store spread across this country specializing in that commodity.

Lets kick off with food stores first. Food comes first, right ???. Be it food for the growling stomach or food for thought !!! McDonald's tops the list in brand popularity across the world, followed by KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).

The other more popular ones across America are the TacoBell, Dunkin' Donuts, Subways, PizzaHut, Jet's Pizzas, Wendy's and the list goes on endlessly. Be it Chicago , Detroit, San Francisco or Texas, you will find these stores sprinkled liberally all over the landscape. They serve burgers, French fries, tortillas, tacos, pizzas and donuts.


For the uninitiated, donuts are Indian Vada shaped sweet buns that may have been dipped in hot chocolate, cheese, cream and any other combination you can think of. Tacos are the Indian chapatti rolled up with a salad of your choice or a rajma like gravy. Tacos come in a variety of ways. There is a 2 layer taco, a 3 layer taco and a Jumbo 7 double layer taco. Pizza Huts too differ in the fact that

So what is common between all these restaurants. The only commonality among all these is the fat rich food that they serve... ;-). And do the Americans love these ? Well, they don't just love them, they thrive on them !!! That should explain the obesity factor clearcut !!!

These stores even compete with each other using funny but quite innovative slogans !!. KFCs have huge signboards that scream "Finger lickin' good".. Wendy's advertises "Where your family can have more for less". McDonald's have a bright smiley emoticon saying "Lip smackin' good". And Taco's which need to compete with all the other fast food outlets which offer bread and bun products, keep running TV ads that say "Think outside the bun !!!" That one really is a hard jab at all the others in the fray !!!

Unlike the Indian counterparts, these fast food outlets really are fast. All of them have "Takeaway counters" and "DriveAways". Driveaways allow a person to drive right around to the kitchen and place his order, pay up and drive away with his goody !!!. All without even alighting from his automobile seat. As I said earlier, these stores do everything to maintain the fat wrapped around the American tummies and keep the health experts sprouting one more worrisome wrinkle everyday !!!

Buuuuuuuuurp !!! That was food enough. Let's talk about the other chain stores. Lemme think...Yeah, the next best candidate on the list would be the FMCG. Here again you have a hoard of players. Walmart leads the list followed by a host of others like Meijer ( pronounced "Myer"), Kroger, Sam's Club and many more.

Walmart stands out distinctly because most others in the scene today have borrowed the idea from the Big Daddy of them all. Each Walmart outlet is nothing less than a monster outlet offering everything you would want to have in life under one single roof.

The Walmart outlets are also famous for their lowest prices in the market. They proudly display "Walmart prices...always reducing". This also has been the butt of many a joke. One goes like this "If Walmart prices are always reducing, then they ought to become zero sometime soon..." Now who woudn't love to see that day.

Meijer is another famous kid on the block. Meijer, I suspect is an Italian word for commodities.
The word Meijer somehow gives me the creeps for my brain has somehow associated it with the other infamous Italian word "Mafia". However, I love Meijer chain of stores much more than Walmart.

Now chain garages must really have come as a surprise, because it is not something that has yet caught up in India. You have Firestone, Belle Tires, Midas...quite fancy names, eh.. All have outlets spread across the US. However, unlike the previous two categories of stores we talked about, these, are based on an entrepreneurship scheme. If you have the money and moolah to invest and a good real estate spot to bank your cash upon, you can open a garage and get affiliated to these groups. Very much on the lines of computer institutes like Aptech, NIIT, etc having spread across India.

Chain Coffee stores are yet another common sight across America. The one that revolutionized the way Americans consume coffee was Starbucks.

The other that has carved a niche for itself is the Tim Hourton's coffee stores chain. Both these do serve amazingly intoxicating coffee. Two months into US and I am already a fan of the Starbucks Cafe Mocha .... With a cup of this in hand and a nice novel to drool upon in the other hand, I would say "Paradise Gained".

Book stores too are not far behind in the chain stores scene, though again you have a only a few names in the big league. One, the Barnes and Noble and the other the is Amazon.

Now comes another of my favorite category of chain stores. The Electronic chainstores. You have BestBuy, Circuit City and Radioshack doing the top rounds.

You name an electronic gizmo and these shops flaunt it, each one advertising lower prices then the other. You enter these shops and any amount of money you have in your bank account suddenly seems a pittance. Well, can't help it....that's the sad part of it.

As I complete this writeup, I would be doing grave injustice if I fail to make a mention of another sort of a chain stores that is making its presence felt. The Indian Chain stores are mushrooming in every US city and that speaks volumes of the growing Indian consumerism in the US. The most prominent among them is the Patel Brother Stores who seem to have a store in every major US city. That reminds me of my Uncle in Toronto who keeps reminiscing the days when he landed in Canada way back in the 1960s. There had been a single Indian store in the entire Great Lake Region and that was in Toronto. Times have changed and definitely for the better when it comes to aiding the Indian who is "globalizing".

Dwarpal - The Door Keeper

Here's an old article I had written based on the experience of one of my colleagues. Republishing for your reading pleasure

Predicaments come in various formats. Some predicaments do end after a short duration. Some come in just to stay with you, eternally. But how would one explain predicaments that seemingly end every moment, only to pop up the very next moment!!!

One such predicament is that of my colleague, Dipankar. And the predicament faced by him is no small one. It assumes gigantic proportions at times and ceases to be even a bother the following minute.

Ours is the cubicle that is present right as soon as one enters the door to our floor. It is indeed a fantabulous place!!! Fantabulous, because no one can really escape our notice while on their way to their cubicles. Not to mention also the privilege of getting to know any news as soon as it bursts open on our floor, be it somebody announcing a special event in his/her family or distributing sweets to celebrate the occasion. We are never left out!!!

Now amidst such a marvelous place, what could possibly go amiss for Dipankar? Lots!!!…. according to Dipankar.

This door of ours requires a proximity card swipe to even get out, something that is not anymore in vogue. But then the whole parody lies in it. And our floor is full of people who keep coming in from other branches of the company and it is obvious that they lack the access rights to come in or go out.

Come in, they surely do, courtesy the security outside. But, go out…. How do they do that? Some do knock on the door to grab the attention of the security outside. But to the majority of others, Dipankar is saviour incarnate. Being the guy who sits closest to the door, they turn to him to grant them access to get out.

Time is 9:00 in the morning. Dipankar is checking his mails. “Excuse me!!! Could you please let me out?” a lady’s voice pips. Our guy flashes the best smile available in his repository, gets up from his chair, swipes the card and opens the door for the lady. “Thank You”. Another bright smile from Dipankar and back he is in his seat. Time ticks by… At 9:15 a voice booms, “Can I have your card, please?” Our guy looks up and hands the card to an elderly gentleman. A Sardarji is next to seek our saviour’s help “Excuse me, Can you please give me your card, so that I can go out. Actually, I do not have access rights for this door, but will soon ask the concerned authorities to grant me the same. You know I was transferred here only yester……” the voice goes on. Dipankar has already opened the door for him and the Sardarji is still showering accolades on him for his munificent gesture. Yet another good turn for the day by our man of the moment. Then there are others who do not even openly ask for the card. They tap Dipankar’s shoulder and put up a face that portrays their helplessness. The very look on their face conveys to Dipankar their requirement. And he gallantly hands them the card as though he is bestowing on them the Param Vir Chakra. You must have a look at the panache that he does it with. Old timers too are his “clients”. They just have no time for all the niceties. They have asked for the card so many times that the request that they make has literally got etched on their face and shows up as soon as they spot Dipankar.

The process has been fine tuned to such an extent that our guy’s hand involuntarily gropes for the badge as soon as he sees a person approaching him.

Now, pray what might it be that turns the whole process into a predicament! It’s the “attitude” of certain people as I have noticed it. There are individuals who just demand “Hey man, open this door”. They just extend their hand in a fashion that reminds one of the mannerisms of a “Supari Killer” who asks for his payment before carrying out the assignment. Our guy opens it but then I can see a look on his face that talks of his displeasure over their behaviour. The look on his face clearly says “What do they think I am sitting here for? Is it just to open the door for them every time they feel an urge to get out? I will surely ignore all these people the next time……” And he reseats himself with a steely resolve.

But then the very next person, who requests him for the card, does so in such a sweet manner that our hero is in a quandary. The big question that hovers in front of him is this…”Do I open it or do I pretend he doesn’t exist ?”

His magnanimity at heart rules the roost!!! So magnanimous that he forgets all the bitter episodes and is back to business. Not an iota of pain on his face!!! “Here you go gentleman!!!” and out he lets the guy.

Amazing Guy!!! So much so that our cubicle guys have christened him lovingly “Dwarpal”. And he loves every crumb of attention that we shower on him!!! And on rainy days it’s the experiences of our Dwarpal that keep us engaged!!! Long live the Dwarpal!!!

Is it the end of the world?

I was witnessing a spectacular halo around the moon on the night of 12th Sep, 2008 in Chennai, when my neightbour drove past me and got off his vehicle. I drew his attention to the halo. He was amazed for a moment. however I could see apprehension creeping up his face. he hurriedly tapped on my shoulder and asked me, "Do you think this is the beginning of the end of the world?". I was perplexed and asked him why he thought so. He whispered, "Do you know that scientists are experimenting in CERN, France with that new atom smasher machine they have got?. maybe this halo is a result of that experiment having gone wrong"

Phew !!!

I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, console this neightbour of mine !!

Bone robbing thrives in India; feeds Western medical schools

Did you know that India is the number one supplier of top quality human bones to the world's medical institutions and colleges?

However there is a dark side to it. One that involves robbing the bones from graves, pullling off corpses from burning pyres the moment the relatives of the deceased disperse, keeping the skeletons hanging in the rives for the fish and bacteria to lick clean the flesh, boiling the bones in a vat of caustic soda to remove remaining bits of flesh, drying the bones in the sun and washing them with hydrochloric acid to give the bones a white shine and exporting them illegally to Western medical institutions that pay anywhere between $1500-$5000 for a skeleton. Read the full story here

Kid in a tunnel

A simple video to answer a straightforward question. How does it feel to go through a tunnel for the first time. ASk this kid.....errrr, observe this kid

Energy needs will push Human Evolution

Space has never ceased to thrill me and I even authored a book titled "Man conquers the Riddle of Space" when I was in class X. I devour any article on space with equal zest and enthusiasm as I had when I wrote the book. I have been a fan of websites like the Cosmos Magazine, the Space for long.

One article recently caught my eye in the Cosmos Magazine. Titled 'Star Makers', the article gives a vivid and enthralling explanation of the 3 stages that intelligent civilizations go through. Based on the Russian astrophysicist Nicolai Kardashev theories the article states that advanced civilisations can be grouped according to three Types: I, II and III, signifying mastery of, respectively, planetary, stellar and galactic forms of energy usage.

Human civilisation has only recently begun to master planetary energies: fossil fuels, passive solar, wind, geothermal and nuclear fission, and may one day soon crack nuclear fusion. But how long will it take to reach Type II and III status?

Read for yourself here

The pole was not in the map...

I saw something funny today. I was walking on my way to work. There was a Buddhist monk ( an European convert) who was looking at the map in his hand and walking towards me from the opposite direction. He didn't realise that he was walking into a pole. He had a pair of sun glasses. I saw a sec late to warn him.

He went "DISHUM......!!!! " *$%@#()!@^#. He bumped against the pole, the sun glasses fell off.

He picked up the specs quickly and looked around to see who else had witnessed the tragedy and I was staring at him. He gave a weird a smile and said "Good morning.....The pole was not in the map...you see !!!"

Ha ha ha ha....Both laughed.....

Stock Market Domino Effect

'Woebegone Wednesday' would aptly summarize the mood across equity markets around the globe yesterday when a selling spree in the Shanghai Stock market triggered off the worst known global domino effect after the Asian Financial crisis in 1998. Within a single day, the bell weather stock indices of the developed world like S&P, the tech heavy NASDAQ and the Dow Jones Industrial sensex had all taken a hit and fallen to record lows in the last 2-3 years. European and Asian bourses were next as they fell on cue too.

Two key reasons highlighted on how the world has come to be so connected figured in my head as I read 3-4 versions of the story across different dailies.

1. American equity traders have invested heavily in emerging Asian equity markets like Shanghai, Mumbai, Istanbul, Singapore, etc over the past 5 years.
2. The yen carry trade is resulting in copious amounts of 'free-yen' flowing out of Japan to be invested in riskier assets and these are getting into the Asian equity markets.

When the world's developed nations have their money standing in the Asian markets, it comes as no wonder then that a jolt or a hiccup here would have its reverberations felt in the mature markets of the developed world. Talk of Globalization and you get an idea of the darker side of it.

Spidey Game - Double Wires

Some of the games out there on World Wide Web are truly good and allow you to pass some time when you get really bored and you are not in the right frame of mind to do any mind bending work. One such game I found was Double Wires. An exciting game based on Spiderman capabilities. You need to swing from one cliff to another using two elastic sticky wires that you can throw at the cliffs and get hooked on. Hope the game gets you hooked on too.

Kimchee - Dangerously Healthy Food :-)

In Korea do as the Koreans do. Well, being a vegetarian, the best I could do to emulate the Korean lifestyle was to try out their dish, Kimchee. Kimchee, also spelled gimchi or kimchi is a traditional Korean dish of fermented vegetables seasoned with chili peppers and salt.

So famous has this dish become over the years that

• English has borrowed the word 'KimChi' from this dish. The phrase "in deep kimchi" is sometimes used to describe a person in a perilous situation.
  
• It is served as a mandatory dish in Korean Airlines and Asiana airways, the two official international airways of the Republic of Korea.

The basic ingredient is usually a variety of Chinese cabbage called napa cabbage and/or white radish, seasoned with chili pepper, garlic, scallion, ginger, salt, and sugar. Though there are hundreds of variations, most types of kimchi tend to have a strong, spicy, tangy flavour and odour.

Kimchi was profiled by Health Magazine as one of the world's five "healthiest foods" for being rich in vitamins,

• aiding in digestion, and
• even possibly preventing cancer.

The health properties of kimchi are due to a variety of factors.

• Most types of kimchi contain common ingredients like onions, garlic and peppers all of which have well-known health benefits.
• The main vegetable being made into kimchi also contributes to the overall nutritional value. Kimchi is rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium and iron and
• also beneficial bacterial cultures of Lactobacilli which results in a higher lactic acid content in the final product than in yoghurt.

So remember, when in Korea, don't miss on giving your health a much needed boost by savouring Kimchee. Three cheers to to Kimchee !!!
For more info read: WikiPedia, KimcheeDepot

Musicovery : interactive webRadio

Do you feel tired? Energetic? Attained Nirvana? Or feeling just plain wicked !!! Well there is music to suit all moods.

Go to Musicovery and click on the touch pad according to your current mood. Let the music heighten your senses !!!

You can listen to music based on your mood or dance. You can even select the Genres from where you want the music to flow from.

Stories that Statistics tell

What do statistics tell us? One might say "Nothing", unless someone breathes life into them and gets them to tell a story. Well, that's exactly what a professor, Hans Rosling from Monterey, California has done.

Wanted Sexy Tutors in HongKong !!

 

Angela Yiu and Stella Cheng spent weeks meeting with fashion stylists and photographers before deciding on the miniskirts and high heels to wear in their promotion campaign. They're not models peddling perfume or sports cars. They're English tutors who earn good money helping secondary school students pass Hong Kong's grueling exams to get into college.

 

 

 

Sex appeal has become a hot selling point, just as important as teaching ability and knowledge, in Hong Kong's hypercompetitive world of “cram schools”.

Singing Horses

 

Ever heard singing horses? No !! Well now you can. Not only can you hear them sing but make them sing to your will. Follow the link.

 

http://svt.se/hogafflahage/hogafflaHage_site/Kor/hestekor.swf

Chronology of Satellite Launches by India

Following is the chronology of Indian satellite launches:
Launch Dates Vehicle Result

1. August 10, 1979 SLV-3 E1 Unsuccessful

2. July 18, 1980 SLV-3 E2 Successful

3. May 31, 1981 SLV-3 D1 Successful

4. April 17, 1983 SLV-3 D2 Successful

5. Mar 24, 1987 ASLV-D1 Unsuccessful

6. July 13, 1988 ASLV-D2 Unsuccessful

7. May 20, 1992 ASLV-D3 Successful

8. Sept 20, 1993 PSLV-D1 Unsuccessful

9. May 4, 1994 ASLV-D4 Successful

10. October 15, 1994 PSLV-D2 Successful

11. March 21, 1996 PSLV-D3 Successful

12. September 29, 1997 PSLV-C1 Successful

13. May 26, 1999 PSLV-C2 Successful

14. April 18, 2001 GSLV-D1 Successful

15. October 22, 2001 PSLV-C3 Successful

16. September 12, 2002 PSLV-C4 Successful

17. May 8, 2003 GSLV-D2 Successful

18. Oct 17, 2003 PSLV-C5 Successful

19. Sept 20, 2004 GSLV-FO1 Successful

20. May 5, 2005 PSLV-06 Successful

21. July 10, 2006 GSLV-FO2 Unsuccessful

22. January 10, 2007 PSLV-07 Successful

How do 200 calories look like?

Just returned from a brief holiday and had gained 2-3 pounds. My cousin was on a weight reducing program and the talk back home was at most times on calories, food, weight, metabolism, etc. Some of the interesting facts that came out of her program are listed below

• It takes 7500 calories of food to increase your weight by 1 kilogram
• Weight reduction programs do not cause a smooth decrease in weight. Weight reduction happens in cascade mode with sudden dips followed by plateaus and dips again.
• The thyroid gland is the organ that regulates body metabolism and hence the weight of the body.

Here's an interesting link I stumbled upon. It shows food stuffs and amounts of each that carry 200 calories.

Innovative & New way of multiplication

Mathematics often springs surprises in the amount of flexibility it allows in the approaches to solving a problem. The newest and most innovative method of multiplying involves drawing lines. Yes, just lines and nothing more. All you need is loads of patience. Watch the video and learn.

Ten Reasons to Savour Life

Ten things that should motivate us to savour life

1. Life is the greatest teacher.
2. Life is an ever learning process
3. Life takes you places and gets you to meet people
4. Life springs sudden surprises
5. Life gives both the bitter and better experiences
6. Life makes you wonder at the way of other people around you
7. Life brings the best and the worst out of you and opportunities to better/correct yourself.
8. Life drives home the fact that you are a nobody in the perspective of the cosmos.
9. Life is a great leveler.
10. Life tells you that savouring life is the best way to experience the entire spectrum of emotions, opportunities, people and places that it throws at you.