Final exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Final exam - Essay Example This is because when newcomers arrive, as aforementioned, many changes take place that negatively affect majority of the original residents of the area. However, for the newcomers, this is a new chance at getting cheaper and better services than they previously exposed. Gentrification was not all bad in New Orleans. This is because the newcomers brought with them a lot of knowledge and expertise that was useful in the reconstruction and recovery of New Orleans after the hurricane Katrina. Most of them helped in developing the area, thus boosting the economic situation of the area. The newcomers took up different roles in New Orleans ranging from education, entertainment and media as well as entrepreneurship. Public Housing as a hard struggle The public housing program in New Orleans was created in 1937 and sought to improve the lives of working class and the poor in the society. However, this program was impeded by institutional racism (Arena 100). To illustrate this is the racial se gregation of different projects in the public housing projects, neglect of the blacks’ project as well as the eventual demolition of such projects. The most controversial attacks that marred this housing project occurred when tenants were padlocked. Most of these tenants were poor and black. The housing projects favored the white citizens who were given first priority. In fact, it was not until 1996 that a single black man was allowed to represent others in the housing authority of New Orleans, HANO. HANO further decided that some part of the land be sold to HRI, which subsequently sold to Wal-Mart. The latter was a private development group in the land. This raised a lot of negative reaction and criticism, especially from the progressive urban planners, white activists, and conservationists. In the end, privatization emerged and most public projects ceased to exist. Hurricane Katrina and Corporate Development Hurricane Katrina has gained its infamous popularity in the world from its destructive and devastating nature in different states; New Orleans included (Arena 90). It caused a lot of havoc in the state, submerging about eighty percent of New Orleans, thus destroying homes and infrastructure. In general, hurricane Katrina tops the list of the most costly natural disasters in the United States of America. With these destructions, the economic stability of New Orleans was interrupted, a fact that saw dire need for reconstruction in order to bring back its previous stature. Many developers, entrepreneurs, and politicians came together for this purpose. Economic instability is attributed to the adverse effects of hurricane Katrina. The first reason why this is so is the poor response to a disaster as well as inadequate disaster management strategies in the city. This, coupled with the shortages of Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, led to the need for a localized approach to handling such calamities. New Orleans’ leaders, together with t he local government were forced to take up the task of mitigating the effects of hurricane Katrina, as well as other natural calamities (Arena 67). This occurred in all senses, from emotional to financial support. Before hurricane Katrina, high unemployment issues characterized the city of New Orleans, and those who were lucky enough to get jobs were paid low wages. This was

Snapshot of Uniqlo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Snapshot of Uniqlo - Essay Example The company has four major brands – Theory, Comptoir Des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam.Tam and g.u. Theory, which is the mainstay brand, has been experiencing growth in the United States and Japan, and is opening markets in China and Hong Kong. As for August 2011, it was operating 371 brands throughout the world. Comptoir Des Cotonniers is a French label for women, and operates 386 stores across Europe, Japan and the United States. Princesse Tam.Tam is a brand which focuses upon lingerie, home wear and swimwear. This brand operates out of well-known department stores and boutiques, and there are 159 outlets in the United States, led by France, and is available in 40 countries in Europe. g.u. is a brand that specializes in low priced jeans, and has net sales of 30 billion yen annually, and the brand operates 148 stores in total as of August, 2011, with two new flagship stores in Osaka and Tokyo. Uniqlo is looking to expand its Asian market, as they opened their first store in Ta iwan in October of 2010, which generated high sales. Next, they want to focus on other Asian stores, with a focus on China, South Korea and Taiwan, and opening a flagship store in Seoul, Korea, in the fall of 2011, as well as two new stores in New York: one on Fifth Avenue and a megastore on 34th Street. They presently operate stores in the United States, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK. The history of Uniqlo is that they opened their first store in 1984 in Japan, and demand for their products surged with their fleece apparel campaign in 1998. Uniqlo, after experiencing an ebb and flow in their sales from 1998, reworked the strategy to focus on an expansion of women’s wear. Their expansion into international markets began in 1991, starting with the UK. After a successful launch in the UK, they ventured into the markets of China, Hong Kong, South Korea, the United States and France, Singapore and Russia. The bulk of their stores are still in Japan, with 843 in that country, and 181 overseas markets. In 2005, they expanded their domain by purchasing a range of companies worldwide, and these companies are the Comptoir Des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam.Tam and Link Theory Holdings Co., Ltd, who developed the Theory brand. These brands are explained above. At present, their worldwide industry ranking in the apparel specialty stores is exceptional, as they rank fourth overall, in terms of sales, in the world, just behind The Gap. They have more sales then the Limited, NEXT, Polo Ralph Lauren, Esprit, Abercrombie & Fitch and Liz Claiborne. As noted above, they are currently the leading Japanese Domestic Clothing Retail chain. The Uniqlo business model is that they have established a SPA, which is a Specialty Store retailer of Private label apparel, and this business model encompasses all stages of the business, from design and production to final sales. This model has helped them make adjustment to p roduction that reflect the latest sales environment and minimizes store-operation costs, such as personnel costs and rent. It is through this SPA that Uniqlo is able to provide high quality clothing at low prices. They have an Research and Development team which looks at the latest fashions