Quirky Fact & Business models

It costs the soft drink Industry over $100 million a year for thefts committed involving vending machines.

Actual Coke vending machine robots!

*actual Coke vending robots!

Yet vending machines still exist for one simple reason. This is still a profitable business regardless of the theft.

So often in startup land we here people pointing out the gaps and potential issues in any business model we propose. The fact is no business model is perfect. Every business has gaps and potential issues which will impact profitability. There is always leakage, there is always some evaporation. What we need to focus on is the net result and understand if we can still make a profit regardless of the model imperfections.

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Quirky Christmas Business Facts

Here’s some Quirky Business Christmas facts for a bit of fun:

  • The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was written in 1939 for a store promotion by an advertising employee of the department store Montgomery Ward.
  • The modern image of Santa Claus (big red suit) was developed by Coca Cola for promotional purposes
  • More than 30 million ‘real’ (dead?) Christmas trees are sold in the USA each Christmas
  • Boxing day (practiced in Commonwealth Countries) was originally when citizens give gifts to the less fortunate members of society. Now they run to department store sales to buy big screen TV’s.
  • In 1951 Former US president Ronald Regan encouraged people to give Chesterfield Cigarettes to friends for Christmas. I wonder what he gave his enemies?
  • The first commercial Christmas Cards were commissioned in 1843 during the Victorian Era by Sir Henry Cole in London.
  • The best selling Christmas toy in 1959 was Mattel’s Barbie, the same year that the doll launched into market.
  • According to the Harvard Crimson around 80 percent of non-Christians are actively participating in what some view as an explicitly and exclusively Christian holiday.
  • In 1982 the Cabbage Patch kids was the best selling Christmas toy.  By 1984 the Coleco toy company had sold over $ billion worth of said dolls not adjusted for inflation!
  • Only 1 out of 3 Christmas cards have a religious message.
  • During the Christmas buying season, Visa cards are used an average of 5,340 times every minute in the United States alone.

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Add your quirky Christmas business facts to the comments!

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