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Wiki Wiki Summary
Externality In economics, an externality or external cost is an indirect cost or benefit to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party's (or parties') activity. Externalities can be considered as unpriced goods involved in either consumer or producer market transactions.
Holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself.
Google Account A Google Account is a user account that is required for access, authentication and authorization to certain online Google services. It is also often used as single sign on for third party services.
Bank account A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transactions between the bank and a customer are recorded. Each financial institution sets the terms and conditions for each type of account it offers, which are classified in commonly understood types, such as deposit accounts, credit card accounts, current accounts, loan accounts or many other types of account.
Profit margin Profit margin is a measure of profitability. It is calculated by finding the profit as a percentage of the revenue.
Sales taxes in the United States Sales taxes in the United States are taxes placed on the sale or lease of goods and services in the United States. Sales tax is governed at the state level and no national general sales tax exists.
Advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally independent of the client; it may be an internal department or agency that provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services, or an outside firm.
On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates (Danish: Om Begrebet Ironi med stadigt Hensyn til Socrates) is Søren Kierkegaard's 1841 master's thesis under Frederik Christian Sibbern. This thesis is the culmination of three years of extensive study on Socrates, as seen from the view point of Xenophon, Aristophanes, and Plato.His thesis dealt with irony, and in particular, Socratic irony.
List of political parties in Australia The politics of Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal/National Coalition. Federally, 16 of the 151 members of the lower house (Members of Parliament, or MPs) are not members of major parties, as are 17 of the 76 members of the upper house (senators).
Open-source appropriate technology Open-source appropriate technology (OSAT) is appropriate technology developed through the principles of the open-design movement. Appropriate technology is technology designed with special consideration to the environmental, ethical, cultural, social, political, and economic aspects of the community it is intended for.
Internet In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct from a fee which the borrower may pay the lender or some third party.
List of entertainment affected by the September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 had a significant impact on broadcast and venue entertainment businesses, prompting cancellations, postponements, and changes in content. In the United States and several other countries, planned television screenings of films and fictional programs where terrorism, plane crashes, bombs, or other related disasters that were the primary subject were postponed or cancelled.
Minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century.
Third-party beneficiary A third-party beneficiary, in the law of contracts, is a person who may have the right to sue on a contract, despite not having originally been an active party to the contract. This right, known as a ius quaesitum tertio, arises when the third party (tertius or alteri) is the intended beneficiary of the contract, as opposed to a mere incidental beneficiary (penitus extraneus).
Tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or national), and tax compliance refers to policy actions and individual behaviour aimed at ensuring that taxpayers are paying the right amount of tax at the right time and securing the correct tax allowances and tax reliefs. The first known taxation took place in Ancient Egypt around 3000–2800 BC. A failure to pay in a timely manner (non-compliance), along with evasion of or resistance to taxation, is punishable by law.
Security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems or any other entity or phenomenon vulnerable to unwanted change.
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis.\nAlthough Irwin and Rippe cautioned in 2005 that the use of "multiple organ failure" or "multisystem organ failure" should be avoided, both Harrison's (2015) and Cecil's (2012) medical textbooks still use the terms "multi-organ failure" and "multiple organ failure" in several chapters and do not use "multiple organ dysfunction syndrome" at all.
Season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of Earth's orbit around the Sun and Earth's axial tilt relative to the ecliptic plane.
Market trend A market trend is a perceived tendency of financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. These trends are classified as secular for long time frames, primary for medium time frames, and secondary for short time frames.
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed.
Boys Generally Asian Boys Generally Asian, also known by the acronym BgA, is an American K-pop parody group that was created by YouTube personality Ryan Higa. The group, which describes itself as "guys who can't sing, dance or really speak Korean", debuted in 2016 with the single, "Dong Saya Dae".
Daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also known as daylight savings time or daylight time (United States, Canada, and Australia), and summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks (typically by one hour) during warmer months so that darkness falls at a later clock time. The typical implementation of DST is to set clocks forward by one hour in the spring ("spring forward"), and to set clocks back by one hour in autumn ("fall back") to return to standard time.
New product development In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along with various business considerations.
Subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that belong to the same parent company are called sister companies.
2018 in American television The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2018. Events listed include television show finales and cancellations and information about controversies and carriage disputes.
Cost–benefit analysis Cost–benefit analysis (CBA), sometimes also called benefit–cost analysis, is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives. It is used to determine options which provide the best approach to achieving benefits while preserving savings in, for example, transactions, activities, and functional business requirements.
Radiocarbon dating considerations The variation in the 14C/12C ratio in different parts of the carbon exchange reservoir means that a straightforward calculation of the age of a sample based on the amount of 14C it contains will often give an incorrect result. There are several other possible sources of error that need to be considered.
Yoda conditions In programming jargon, Yoda conditions (also called Yoda notation) is a programming style where the two parts of an expression are reversed from the typical order in a conditional statement. A Yoda condition places the constant portion of the expression on the left side of the conditional statement.
Dirichlet conditions In mathematics, the Dirichlet conditions are sufficient conditions for a real-valued, periodic function f to be equal to the sum of its Fourier series at each point where f is continuous. Moreover, the behavior of the Fourier series at points of discontinuity is determined as well (it is the midpoint of the values of the discontinuity).
Boeing 777X The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet.
Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (Catalan: Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; IPA: [əsˈkɛrə rəpubːliˈkanə ðə kətəˈluɲə]; generically branded as Esquerra Republicana) is a pro-Catalan independence, social-democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales (Northern Catalonia). It is also the main sponsor of the independence movement from France and Spain in the territories known as Catalan Countries, focusing in recent years on the creation of a Catalan Republic in Catalonia proper.
SOX 404 top–down risk assessment In financial auditing of public companies in the United States, SOX 404 top–down risk assessment (TDRA) is a financial risk assessment performed to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX 404). Under SOX 404, management must test its internal controls; a TDRA is used to determine the scope of such testing.
Internal border control Controls imposed on internal borders within a single state or territory include measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders through border controls. \n\n\n== Background ==\n\nInternal border controls are measures implemented to control the flow of people or goods within a given country.
Control environment A control environment, also called "Internal control environment", is a term of financial audit, internal audit and Enterprise Risk Management. It means the overall attitude, awareness and actions of directors and management (i.e.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a business and self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless.
Effective method In logic, mathematics and computer science, especially metalogic and computability theory, an effective method or effective procedure is a procedure for solving a problem by any intuitively 'effective' means from a specific class. An effective method is sometimes also called a mechanical method or procedure.
Bond (finance) In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of the bond at the maturity date as well as interest (called the coupon) over a specified amount of time.
Risk Factors
BLAIR CORP ITEM 1A RISK FACTORS Significant increases in the costs associated with its direct mail business could negatively affect results of operations
The Company incurs substantial costs associated with its catalog mailings, including paper, postage, and human resource costs associated with catalog layout and design, production and circulation and increased inventories
The cost of printing, paper and postage are governed by contracts and other long term arrangements which serve to mitigate the risk of sudden or unexpected increases
As a result, it is not possible to adjust the costs of a particular advertising mailing to reflect the actual subsequent performance of the mailing
Since the direct mail business accounts for the majority of total net sales, any performance shortcomings experienced by the direct mail business, such as the damage or delay of delivery of catalogs or errors therein, would likely have a material adverse effect on the overall business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
Net sales could be negatively impacted by a decline in response rates to advertising promotions, by a decline in operating results or a reduction in the customer file
Response rates are impacted by the Company’s ability to continually develop and/or select the right merchandise assortment, maintain appropriate inventory levels and creatively present merchandise in a way that is appealing to customers
Consumer preferences cannot be predicted with certainty, as they continually change and vary from region to region
On average, the design process for apparel is initiated nine to ten months before merchandise is available to customers
Further, purchase commitments are made four to six months in advance
These lead times make it difficult to respond quickly to changing consumer preferences and magnify the consequences of any misjudgments made in anticipating customer preferences
Consequently, if the Company misjudges customer merchandise preferences or purchasing habits, sales may decline 3 _________________________________________________________________ [35]Table of Contents significantly, and markdowns may be required to significantly lower prices in order to sell excess inventory, which would result in lower margins
Response rates to advertising promotions and, as a result, the net sales generated by each promotion, can be affected by other factors beyond the Company’s control such as weak economic conditions, and unseasonable weather in key geographic markets
In addition, a portion of all advertising promotions are to prospective customers
These promotions involve risks not present in promotions to existing customers, including lower and less predictable response rates
Additionally, it has become more difficult for the Company and other direct marketers to obtain quality prospect mailing lists, which may limit the Company’s ability to maintain the size of its active customer file
Lower response rates could result in lower-than-expected full-price sales, higher inventory levels and/or subsequently higher-than-expected clearance sales at substantially reduced margins
In addition, the Company faces substantial competition from discount retailers for basic elements in the merchandise lines, and net sales may decline or grow at a reduced pace if it is unable to differentiate its merchandise and shopping experience from discount retailers
Further, the retail apparel industry has experienced significant price deflation over the past several years largely due to the downward pressure on retail prices caused by discount retailers
The Company’s sales, revenue and operating income may be adversely impacted by changes in minimum customer credit scores determined by a third party
Historically, Blair has managed its own credit portfolio and set the minimum credit scores a consumer must have to be entitled to purchase Blair merchandise on credit
Blair sold its receivables portfolio to World Financial Capital Bank, an industrial bank subsidiary of Alliance Data Systems Corporation in November, 2005, and going forward they will have discretion over the minimum credit score necessary to be eligible to purchase Blair merchandise on credit
If the bank decides to raise the applicable credit rating standards, certain consumers will no longer qualify to purchase Blair merchandise on credit, which could lower sales thereby lowering revenue and operating income
Consumer concerns about purchasing items via the Internet as well as external or internal infrastructure system failures could negatively impact e-commerce sales and costs
The e-commerce business is vulnerable to consumer privacy concerns relating to purchasing items over the Internet, security breaches, and failures of Internet infrastructure and communications systems
If consumer confidence in making purchases over the Internet declines as a result of privacy or other concerns, e-commerce sales could decline
The Company may be required to incur increased costs in order to address any system failures or security breaches
The Company’s net sales, operating income and inventory levels fluctuate on a seasonal basis
The Company experiences seasonal fluctuations in its net sales and operating income
Seasonal fluctuations also affect our inventory levels, since we usually order merchandise in advance of peak selling periods and sometimes before new fashion trends are confirmed by customer purchases
We must carry a significant amount of inventory
If we are not successful in selling inventory we may have to sell the inventory at significantly reduced prices or we may not be able to sell the inventory at all
The Company’s sales and reputation depend on key vendors for timely and effective sourcing and delivery of quality merchandise
The Company generally maintains non-exclusive relationships with multiple vendors that manufacture its merchandise
However, there are no contractual assurances of continued supply, pricing or access to new products, and any vendor could discontinue selling to the Company at any time
If the Company was required to change vendors or if a key vendor was unable to timely supply desired merchandise in sufficient quantities on acceptable terms, delays in filling customer orders could be experienced resulting in lost sales and a decline in customer satisfaction
The Company’s increasing reliance on direct sourcing from foreign vendors may negatively impact the cost to source and deliver merchandise
As it continues to diversify merchandise sourcing opportunities, the Company expects to increase its investment in product development and source more merchandise directly from foreign vendors
For the year ended December 31, 2005, the Company was importer of record on approximately 32prca of total merchandise purchases
The increased volume of purchases will further expose the Company to new and greater risks and uncertainties, the occurrence of which could substantially impact the Company’s ability to source merchandise through foreign vendors and to realize any perceived cost savings
Considerations include, among other things: 4 _________________________________________________________________ [36]Table of Contents • Failure of foreign vendors to adhere to quality assurance standards or standards for conducting business; • Changing or uncertain economic conditions, political uncertainties or unrest, or epidemics or other health or weather-related events in foreign countries resulting in the disruption of trade from exporting countries; • Restrictions on the transfer of funds or transportation delays or interruptions; and • Delays or cancellation of shipments as a result of geopolitical factors or other events related to factory or shipping lines
The Company enforces a code of conduct that sets guidelines for vendors regarding employment practices such as wages and benefits, health and safety, working hours and working age, and for environmental, ethical and legal matters
Although management believes it is allocating appropriate resources to monitor compliance with such standards, if management or an outside third party discovers that any of the Company’s vendors are engaged in practices that materially violate vendor code of conduct or other generally accepted social responsibility standards, sales could be materially affected by any resulting negative publicity
The Company may be unable to fill customer orders efficiently, which could negatively impact customer satisfaction
If the Company is unable to efficiently process and fill customer orders, customers may cancel or refuse to accept orders, and customer satisfaction could be harmed
Considerations include, among other things: • Failures in the efficient and uninterrupted operation of customer service call centers or the Company’s sole distribution center, including system failures caused by telecommunications systems providers and order volumes that exceed present telephone or Internet system capabilities; • Delays or failures in the performance of third parties, such as shipping companies and the US postal and customs services, including delays associated with labor disputes, labor union activity, inclement weather, natural disasters, health epidemics and possible acts of terrorism; and • Disruptions or slowdowns in order processing or fulfillment systems resulting from increased security measures implemented by US customs, or from homeland security measures, telephone or Internet down times, system failures, computer viruses, electrical outages, mechanical problems, human error or accidents, fire, natural disasters or comparable events
The Company’s success is dependent upon its senior management team
The loss of key personnel could have a material adverse effect on the business
Furthermore, the location of the Company’s corporate headquarters outside of a major metropolitan area may make it more difficult to replace key employees who leave, or to add qualified employees needed to manage growth opportunities
Any determination that the Company has a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting could have a negative impact on stock price
Management continues to apply significant management and financial resources to document, test, monitor and enhance internal control over financial reporting in order to meet the ongoing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations
Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation
In addition, because of changes in conditions, the effectiveness of internal control may vary over time
Management cannot be certain that internal control systems will be adequate or effective in preventing fraud or human error
Any failure in the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting could have a material effect on financial reporting or cause the Company to fail to meet reporting obligations, which upon disclosure, could negatively impact the market price of the Company’s common stock
The Company’s stock price is susceptible to significant fluctuation
Blair’s stock price may fluctuate substantially as a result of limited public float or as a result of quarter-to-quarter variations in the actual or anticipated financial results of Blair or other companies in the retail industry or markets served by Blair
In addition, the stock market has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price of many retail and other stocks and that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies
Changes in the Company’s business model will distort comparison of prior year financial results
In November 2005, the Company sold its proprietary credit portfolio to a third party
As a result of this sale, the financial results of the Company will no longer reflect finance charge revenue on time payment accounts, provisions for doubtful accounts and overhead costs associated with servicing the proprietary credit program
As a result, 2006 period-to-period comparisons of its prior year results may be viewed negatively
5 _________________________________________________________________ [37]Table of Contents The Company’s business, results of operations and future financial performance will depend on the risk factors listed above, as well as other risk factors not currently known to management and the board of directors that may arise in the future
Any one or more of these risk factors could have a material adverse effect on the Company