Word: heupel
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...carries a somewhat higher risk for Amazon, since book sales are still a bread-and-butter portion of its business. "This price war is not the greatest development for Amazon," says Heupel. "But will it move the needle for these guys? No. The Kindle is the endgame for the company." (See "Where the Cyber Monday Deals...
...looks like an obvious score. Cheap books make tidy stocking stuffers. And for the retailers, particularly Walmart and Target, the discounts may not carry too much risk. Books are just a small slice of their portfolios. "Is Walmart making money selling books at $8.99? Probably not," says David Heupel, a senior equity portfolio manager at Thirvent Financial in Minneapolis. "This is a mass-merchant move to draw customers to the websites." The hope is that you poke around for a book and then add other, higher-margin products to your basket...
This pricing could also crush big book retailers like Barnes & Noble and small independent stores. "I wouldn't want to be a mom-and-pop bookseller right now," says Heupel. The industry is so concerned about the battle that the American Booksellers Association has asked the Department of Justice's antitrust division to investigate the retailers' pricing practices. "Amazon.com, Wal-Mart and Target are devaluing the very concept of a book," the organization, which represents locally owned independent bookstores, wrote. "The entire book industry is in danger of becoming collateral damage in this war." (See the 100 best novels...
...efforts, Target's transformation won't guarantee success. It's hard for a retailer to shake its reputation as a clothing outlet, while at the same time quickly mastering the management of perishable grocery items. "You can't just flip the switch and change the store overnight," says David Heupel, a senior equity portfolio manager at Thirvent Financial in Minneapolis. Plus, if Target drops grocery prices below Walmart's levels, the big boy will quickly respond. "There's no reason to put a stick in the bear's eye," says Ed Weller, a retail analyst at ThinkEquity Partners...
...three before that? Craig Krenzel, Ken Dorsey, and Josh Heupel. Ever heard of them...