stlplaceLast Updated on January 30, 2007 by stlplace
Shoebuy is having a sale on Crocs, the $10 off discount code is WWMAG. They don’t have many left though, so hurry up if you want to get a pair.
I found Crocs shoes are actually gender-neutral, as you can see from the size definition, e.g., size 4 stands for Women 6/Men 4. I think people choose the Crocs based on color. I just found out they run out of the color I want 🙁
Last Updated on February 1, 2007 by stlplace
Counting the economy hotels in China:
Jinjiang Inn: 139 hotels in 44 cities (including under development) as of June 2006, owned by Jinjiang Group (HK Stock Exchange, 2006.HK), started in 1996 (Shanghai).
Home Inns (Nasdaq, HMIN): 134 (94 leased, 40 franchised, 39 cities) as of Dec 31 2006, founded by Ctrip founders Ji Qi, Neil Shen and James Liang, started in 2002 (Beijing)
Motel168 (Morgan Stanley invested $20 m for 20% stake): as the name suggested, the room started from CNY 168, they also offer CNY 268 rooms; started in 2002 (Shanghai).
Super 8 (US Chain): all franchised
7Days Inn (Warburg Pincus invested $10 m for 20% stake): founded by Ctrip South China manager Zheng Nanyan (do we see pattern here?), started in Guangzhou.
Another useful source: hostelCN
Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace
From Reuters: “After more than five years of development, over 50 million lines of software code, a $6 billion investment and a few headaches,…”
One thing is for sure, we will not see people lined up in front of Best Buy as they did with Windows 95, Play Station II and III,…Operating system is very much matured market.
Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace
It’s Superbowl time. Time to get the HDTV. Here is Vizio 50″ from Circuit City. Note I am not getting any referring fee from them. I heard Superbowl is the big time for HDTV sales. Some retailors such as Best Buy, Circuit City should be very happy.
Last Updated on January 29, 2007 by stlplace
I mean the stocks, not the motel price. It’s being mentioned by IBD (Investors Business Daily) as No. 1 stock this Monday. IBD publishes 100 stocks every Monday based on its own rating system. Because a lot institutional investors trade stocks based on the IBD (whether there is merits or not is another story), the stock went up again today to $47.
A little background about IBD: IBD was founded by a savvy a stockbroker and writer named William J. O’neil. Here is an introduction about William on wikipedia. He also wrote some books such as “How to make money in stocks”. At one time I took very seriously on IBD’s rating system, but not now. I remember once a friend told me he found the “holy grail” of the stocks: IBD and William O’neal’s books. By the way, I told him at the time I liked to buy Google at about 160 (November 2004), he said “No”.
My point is: I like to read books, newspapers and magazines, listen to radio, or watch TV, but I won’t take all these blindly.
Last Updated on February 25, 2007 by stlplace
It’s harder to get Turbo Tax discount these days. I used to get discount code in the email since I have been using it to prepare income tax in year 2001. But not lately. Here is a 15% off deal I found at ADP.
(Update 29Jan07) Sun has an incredibly detailed list of tax software. Here is the link.
Last Updated on January 27, 2007 by stlplace
I made a mistake on the market cap of Home Inns (Rujia, just like home), in my previous post (corrected now). The correct number is stock price * number of shares, or
$44.93 * (32,283,906 / 2 + 5,874,237 ) = $839,479,146
The number of shares 32,283,906 is from its Q3 2006 report. 5,874,237 is the IPO shares on Oct 26, 2006. Note it’s 2006 revenue is about $73 m. So the market cap/sales revenue is about 11.5
Is it high? Yes it’s high among hotel industry. But not high if compared to SINA (also about 10 right now). Note HMIN is growing much faster than SINA these days (70% vs. 30%). I also looked at Baidu’s number, it’s market cap is $4.15 B, and est. 2006 revenue is $106.4 m. The ratio is about 39. BIDU is expected to grow at 68% by WRHambrecht’s James Lee (click on the PDF report). Note growth is only one factor here, we also need to look at the profit margin, etc. if we want to compare apple to apple.
Last Updated on January 26, 2007 by stlplace
Zhao Huan Yan, a Chinese blogger, has an excellent blog about the developments of hotels and motels in China. He put together lots of statistics (numbers) there. The Alexa ranking of hotels is interesting. Again don’t take this too seriously.
Unfortunately (or fortunately for me), it’s all in Chinese.
Last Updated on January 27, 2007 by stlplace
It’s about $44 now. Today IBD published an article about Home Inns. The author’s view is a little too optimistic: as I understand serious domestic competitor includes motel168, besides the Jinjiang Inn. I noticed Jinjiang Inn also offers free broad band Internet now, as this was a key differentiator for Home Inn/Ru Jia in the past. Super 8, the US motel Chain, is also expanding very aggressively in China.
Last Updated on January 25, 2007 by stlplace
Did a little adjustment on my portifolio today. Sold 30 shares of Heelys (HLYS) and bought 22 shares of Crocs (CROX). I saw the new product release from Crocs today.
“…the Off Road and All Terrain models in the spring and fall of 2007. The Off Road (MSRP: $39.99) is a rugged outdoor shoe with additional traction and is currently available in women’s sizes (6-12) and men’s sizes (4-13). The model is available in seven color combinations, including chocolate/chocolate and sienna/khaki, new to the shoe’s 2007 color palette. The All Terrain (MSRP: $59.99) is a weatherproof shoe for all-condition performance and stability. The shoe is available in women’s sizes (6-12) and men’s sizes (4-13) in five colors, including the new 2007 color combination of black/black…”