Media Alerts / Story Ideas
jnavarro@bauer.uh.edu
Interim Director, Communications & Marketing
UH BAUER MEDIA TIP SHEET / Week of Feb. 22, 2010
Expert Sources, Story Leads and Upcoming Events Compiled by UH Bauer College for Members of the Media
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- LUXURY SHOPPERS ARE BACK IN SAKS, BUT FOR HOW LONG?
Saks releases its fourth quarter earnings this week, and marketers hope the luxury retail giant will confirm whether luxury spending is really on the rise. Upscale retailers like Saks have navigated tough times by cutting back inventory and stocking the shelves with new, more affordable designer lines. While these tactics may lure affluent shoppers back to the racks in the short term, Professor Vanessa Patrick says that luxury retailers may be compromising their ability to maintain a premium on the brand down the road.
To schedule an interview with Patrick, see Media Contacts section below.
- CREDIT CARD REFORM COULD MAKE COLLEGE STUDENTS SMARTER CONSUMERS
Credit card legislation passed last year is supposed to make it easier for consumers to repay debt — or in some cases avoid it all together. This week, the provisions of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 go into effect. Bauer College lecturer and UH Small Business Development Center consultant John Lopez, who teaches personal financial planning to undergraduates, says it’s important for college students to understand interest rates and payment schedules before pulling out the plastic, and these changes might make it all a bit more transparent.
To schedule an interview with Lopez, see Media Contacts section below.
- CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION COULD PUT BRAKES ON TOYOTA’S BRAND REFORM, PROF. SAYS
In the latest in a string of bad publicity for Toyota, officials from the company will have to answer questions about their vehicles’ safety on Capitol Hill as federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation following widespread recalls. UH Bauer associate professor of marketing & entrepreneurship Partha Krishnamurthy says the newest twist in the Toyota turmoil has the potential to irrevocably damage the brand. “This will keep the recall story in the news, which is bad, for a new wrong reason, which is even worse because it is a criminal probe,” Krishnamurthy says.
To schedule an interview with Krishnamurthy, see Media Contacts section below.
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Media Contacts
- Jessica Robertson Navarro
Senior Communications Manager
713-743-4348
jnrobertson@uh.edu - Lori Reichardt
Communications & Marketing
713-743-2800
lreichardt@bauer.uh.edu - Chester Jacinto
Executive Director
Communications & Marketing
713-743-4609
cjacinto@uh.edu
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas' premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.
About the Bauer College of Business
The C.T. Bauer College of Business has been in operation for more than 60 years at the University of Houston main campus. Through its five academic departments, the college offers a full-range of undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in business. The Bauer College is fully accredited by the AACSB International - the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In August 2000, Houston business leader and philanthropist Charles T. (Ted) Bauer endowed the College of Business with a $40 million gift. In recognition of his generosity, the college was renamed the C.T. Bauer College of Business.
