Disney Stores president Jim Fielding casts magic on retail as media. An exclusive Q&A interview by Tim Manners. (more)

Two collectors, living across the pond from each other, are keeping the world safe for New York's Checker and London's Hackney cabs, reports A.G. Sulzberger in the New York Times (2/10/10). The two fellows -- Ray Tomkinson of Manchester, England and Alvaro Gallego of Queens, New York -- started swapping taxis from their respective collections more than ten years ago. They've never met and exchange no money: Ray sends Alvaro London cabs and Alvaro sends Ray New York cabs in barter deals. They also swap "parts and other taxi paraphernalia."

Their bond is a passion for vintage taxis, obviously. They both also rent out their cars "for film shoots and promotional campaigns" -- Alvaro's business is called Taxidepot. They were introduced by a mutual acquaintance who thought Alvaro might be able to help Ray procure Checker cabs for his collection. At first, Ray paid cash, but before long "they were working out trades." Alvaro says his interest in old taxis began about 40 years ago, the first time he "sat behind the wheel" of a Checker cab. He thinks London's Hackney cabs are pretty cool, too.

"Both are strong and good cars," says Alvaro. "They've been doing what they've supposed to be doing for so many years, moving people from A to B in a safe, roomy way." Both cars also "symbolize their home cities, their distinctive curves adorning all manner of gift-shop knickknacks. And both were made explicitly to be taxis -- purpose-built ... with roomy back seats large enough to comfortably hold five people." Of course, the Checkers were discontinued in 1982, and while the London cab is still around, "it too has been pressed by new models, stoking the fear that it could go the way of the Checker."

Stefano Pessina sees store-brands, health services and acquisitions driving growth for Alliance Boots pharmacies worldwide, reports Cecilie Rohwedder in the Wall Street Journal (11/20/09). "One of our main projects for the future is to internationalize the Boots brand," says Stefano, who bought Boots two years ago with KKR & Company. "We want to sell more Boots-branded products outside the U.K." Boots's U.K. success is largely propelled by a line of Boots-brand skin creams known as Boots No. 7.

The line is now also available in France and Portugal, but Stefano, a former nuclear engineer and "one of the richest men in Italy," sees his store brand spreading across Europe. As it is, various Boots brands are available in "15 countries, including the U.S," both online and in stores. Boots pharmacies currently operate "in places ranging from Holland to Thailand, and 10 of its biggest U.K. locations feature on-site doctors and opticians. Other services include "cervical cancer vaccinations, nutritional advice and programs to help customers stop smoking."

And then there's Stefano's acquisition strategy, which suffered a setback when he failed to win his bid "to buy part of Sweden's Apoteket retail pharmacy monopoly," via a government auction. Stefano said it was too expensive. His challenges include the company's "debt of over eight billion pounds," and of course today's economy, which maybe isn't a great market for skin creams. But Stefano is nothing but optimistic: "We see more confidence, customers are more keen to shop, even for items that are not really necessary to survive," he says.

The first time Volkswagen asked Italians for some design help, "the only suggestion was to enlarge the car's rear window," reports Phil Patton in the New York Times (4/12/09). That was in 1949, the car was the Beetle and the designer was Pininfarina. The second time VW turned ot Italians, it was to help "build a sportier car based on the Beetle." That time, VW went to Ghia, and the result was, of course, the Karmann Ghia.

The third time, turned to Giorgetti Guigiaro, whose credits included the Maserati Ghibli and the DeLorean DMC-12. Giorgetto turned out "the original Golf of 1974, which established the shape of the quintessential front-drive econobox." Perhaps a glutton for punishment, VW is at it again, having engaged Walter de'Silva to add a little more tutti to Teutonic (this makes no sense but couldn't resist the alliteration, sorry).

Walter hired Klaus Bischoff, who brought in Flavio Manzoni, who created a new "design language" for VW called the up!, which was "conceived as a restatement of the Beetle for the new millennium." So far, VW's new face has been applied to the Scirocco and the Golf, the latter of which now "has a more pronounced, angular, high shoulder and character line ... the shapes are fuller and angled." Flavio refers to his approach as "clear design for a complex world." ~ Tim Manners, editor.

It used to be that American cars ruled the world, but now the world rules American cars -- and everyone else's, suggests Chris Woodyard in USA Today (4/8/09). He writes: "Today, all new cars from the world's major makers are designed by pretty much the same folks -- a roving band of top designers for hire. Their careers are spent going from one automaker to the next, spanning the globe." These designers include Tom Kearns, who used to work for General Motors but now heads Kia's design studio.

Tom's crew of "15 designers are Korean, Italian, Venezuelan Chinese and American nationals." Back when he was at GM, Tom "worked on the acclaimed Cadillac CTS sedan and saw how to make it distinctly American. The car's sharply creased, angular body was similar to the stealth fighter jet, an American icon." Now, at Kia, his job is to create "a new design heritage." His "big achievement so far is the Kia Soul, a youth-oriented car that could help set the standard for a run of Kias to come."

However, Tom does like to pick up bits and pieces from cars he admires, such as BMW's shift knob and Audi's headlights. Indeed, one downside of the global approach is that "designs are often not as distinctive as in the past." That's also because the cars must appeal to a range of consumers in multiple markets, worldwide and adhere to certain safety standards. Over at Acura, Michelle Christensen designed the new Acura ZDX for the American market, but Acura hopes it will do well in China or Russia, too. In true "global" fashion, Michelle is American, but her design "was inspired by the roofline of a soccer stadium she saw in Japan." ~ Tim Manners, editor.

There may be some 12,000 pubs in Ireland, but it's become increasingly difficult to find one that's authentic, reports Steven Kurutz in the New York Times (3/11/09). "A good pub is a place devoted to conversation, with the drink as the lubricant," says Bill Barich, whose latest book, "A Pint of Plain," is based on his "own search to find a good local pub near his home in Dublin." While Bill's search was for authenticity, his ideal was fictional -- "Pat Cohan's, the country pub in John Ford's Flim, The Quiet Man.

That pub was built on a soundstage, and as it turns out, some of the pubs he visited might as well have been. One favorite, R. McSorley & Sons featured "a musty dignity that spoke of permanence." But as it turned out the "antique bric-a-brac on the walls" were phony, and soon after Bill became a regular new owners gave it "a slick makeover." Perhaps McSorely's was modeled on "the Irish Pub Concept, a program sanctioned by ... Diageo-Guinness USA that offers tips for authentic replication -- for instance, adding "& Sons" to a name to convey history."

Real pubs are indeed family-run, and usually the publican lived upstairs. But these days, "trophy pubs" can be worth millions and ownership is by corporation. Meanwhile, "more Irish are drinking wine" and doing so "at home or in restaurants, chipping away at the social relevance of pubs." Farmland is giving way to "suburban sprawl" putting an end to rural pubs that once doubled as community centers. But Bill Barich did find himself at least one worthy pub "called John Kavanaugh, but better known as the Gravediggers." It's near a cemetery and run by a publican named Euguene Kavanugh, who lives above the pub and says, "It's not my job. It's my life." ~ Tim Manners, editor.

"People still love bubbles," says PepsiCo ceo Indra Nooyi in a Wall Street Journal interview with Betsy McKay (9/11/08). After noting that her own 15-year-old daughter "drinks Pepsi every day," Indra goes on to describe her own affinity for her brands: "We have Lay's chips for dinner every night. Indian cuisine has a crisp with dinner -- a papadum -- but we just use Lay's Kettle chips or Miss Vickie's Simply Sea Salt or Jalepeno." Indra also says she also likes Lay's Kettle chips, slightly heated, with lunch. For breakfast, it's usually Quaker Oats for breakfast, with Tropicana juice.

However, despite the growth market for PepsiCo products in the Nooyi household, Indra is fully aware of her challenges. Beverage sales in the U.S. are down, grain prices are up and Coke is buying "a big Chinese juice company for about $2.4 billion." Indra says part of the problem is that consumers now finish the beverages they buy instead of throwing away leftovers the way they used to. That the housing market is down means fewer construction workers are buying fewer snacks.

The solution, says Indra, is to "segment your portfolio very, very carefully. You want targeted innovation that grabs the consumer and gives people a reason to buy." She sees "good for you" or "better for you" products as a way in, having spun off Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, and acquired Quaker Oats and Tropicana, for example. And she sees China, India and Russia as places where PepsiCo expects to realize "spectacular" growth. She says she stays in touch by listening "to kids talk about what they're consuming," and reading pubs like People and Vanity Fair. "Brands never die," says Indra, "You only stop reinventing them." ~ Tim Manners, editor

Car marketers used to export their designs to China, but soon it may be the other way around, reports John D. Stoll in the Wall Street Journal (6/23/08). Ed Welburn, the design chief for General Motors, says a "somewhat acquatic" style of design, where cars kind of look like fish, is gaining popularity in China, and suggests the look may spread elsewhere, worldwide. For example, the grilles might have "bubbly air vents rather than horizontal slats." Ed says other Chinese influences "including ancient art and dragons" are also finding their way into Chinese car design and may be picked up elsewhere. On the new Buick Invicta, the "headlamps and tail lamps carry intricate detail that ... make the lights look like they are encased in jade," for instance (image here).

The Invicta is a midsized car that "won't be sold to the public as a production model," but instead "serve as the basis for the second-generation Buick LaCrosse sedan that GM plans to unveil next year" for sale in both China and the United States. It's expected that "future Buick models will borrow from Invicta's design but won't resemble the concept car as closely as the LaCrosse. Buick enjoys an especially strong brand identity in China, where it began selling cars in 1997. Its popularity is rooted in its image as a luxury brand because it had previouysly been imported into China by "foreign diplomats and businessmen" for decades.

That legacy is evident in the car's design, which gives the back seat a priority, the opposite of American preference. "We wanted this to look a lot like a stretch limo, putting a lot of space into the passenger seat compartments," says Ed Welburn. "As a result, the Invicta has an extra set of stereo and climate controls stashed in the back seat's armrest. It also ahs more back-seat legroom and interior chrome accents to give it a luxurious feel ... The interior is splashed with light, warm colors" and the wood trim blends with the seat leather," a nod to the Chinese, who are used to monotone color schemes." Exterior vents meanwhile were moved from the fenders to the hood, and reduced to three from four, because "Chinese buyers typically associate the number four with death." ~ Tim Manners, editor