In a joint venture, Sony and Comcast will be opening a retail store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The store, which will carry the name Sony StyleComcast Labs, will be used by both companies to show off new products, services and technologies.
Although many experts are questioning the timing of this venture, especially with the economy in shambles and consumer buying at a quarter century low, it appears as if Sony and Comcast will be trying to mimic the success of the Apple stores across the United States. The Sony StyleComcast Labs store will be nearly 3,500 square feet and will be located …read more

Periodically, the business channel here at b5 has a challenge, and this one is about taking risks. Since it’s world trade month, I thought mine should have something to do with, not surprisingly, trade.
The risk I took was to start a law firm with the aim of assisting foreign (mostly German) companies set up in the US, more specifically in the Philadelphia area. Before, during, and after law school I was told that you couldn’t be an international lawyer in Philadelphia, that you had to go to New York or Washington. A combination of stubbornness and home-town pride (Go Flyers, …read more

The other day Jean wrote about the different ways to put foreign holidays on your calendar. That’s great advice, and I’ve already subscribed to the calendars for the countries I deal with most frequently.
Sometimes, though, that’s not enough. It’s particularly important to communicate with your colleagues, wherever they are, about local mores and customs, because those will also impact the holiday schedule. For example, here in Philadelphia, our “regional” holidays pretty much match the usual US holidays, so no great difficulty there. If you try to do business with businesses further north and west in Pennsylvania on the first day …read more