Picture this: You're General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), and you've fallen on tough times. You've been forced to seek alms from the U.S. government simply to make ends meet. Recently, the Obama administration gave a resounding thumbs-down to your viability plan, and a bankruptcy filing seems increasingly likely. So, how do you try to prove you're still a thriving, relevant corporation? Partner with Segway!

That's right -- in a move that's sure to leave even Steve Wozniak scratching his head, General Motors is teaming up with Segway, Inc., purveyors of the commercially unsuccessful two-wheeled scooter, to create the PUMA (shorthand for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility). A prototype of the battery-powered vehicle will hit the streets of Manhattan today, though the PUMA likely won't make its way to the consumer market until 2012.

Continue reading General Motors announces new joint venture with ... Segway?

General Motors announces new joint venture with ... Segway? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A piece in the Wall Street Journal [subscription required] discusses Nike's (NYSE: NKE) efforts to move in on Puma's business, and offer lower-cut, less flashy footwear, often at a fraction of what some of the company's top-selling basketball sneakers sell for.

Known as "low-profile" for their classic look and more reasonable pricing, sales of these sneakers grew 4.4% in 2006, exceeding sales of basketball shoes. The look first became popular in Europe, and has also caught on among fashion conscious metrosexuals and the skateboard crowd. While Nike's $150-dollar shoes might appeal to hardcore athletes (and posers, mostly posers), the low-profile look is gaining ground and is easier on the wallet.

I don't think Nike will have a lot of success in this market. While Nike is number one for sporting-related footwear, Puma has a "cooler" image among non-basketball fans. The Puma brand has fashion credibility and I don't think that Nike really does.

Nike says it's making progress on selling lower-priced, lower-cut shoes, but I don't think Puma has a lot to worry about in this area of the sneaker-wars. I'm much happier with $30 Puma's I can but at TJ Maxx (NYSE: TJX).

Nike tries on low-profile look. Can it compete with Puma? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 May 2007 19:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PPR Group, parent company of Gucci, has offered $7.1 billion for Puma, the company that manufactures basically all of my footwear. PPR is publicly-traded in France, while Puma trades in Germany. PPR said that its offer was "firm and final," but the market seemed to disagree. Puma shares traded slightly above the offer price, indicating that many observers believe that a bidding war will ensue. One prime suspect: Nike.

An acquisition of Puma might make sense for Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE). While Nike has been hugely successful in the sports apparel market, it has not even come close to duplicating Puma's success as a cross-over, luxury brand for the fashion-conscious. Think of Nike as Pete Rose: Very adept at sports, but widely seen as a bum outside of baseball. Puma is more like David Beckham: Amazingly athletic, in addition to being urbane and sophisticated (and married to the coolest of the Spice Girls).

Nike is currently sporting very little in the way of debt, and could probably afford to take on Puma. The question is, given the company's history of lackluster acquisitions, do they want to?

Gucci chasing Puma originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Puma sports a $7 billion bid from PPR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.