Ford botches Explorer launch, putting CEO back on hot seat

Ford Motor Co.’s Jim Hackett and Wall Street analysts started this year frustrated with one another. Sure, the automaker had been underperforming, but the chief executive appealed for time to show he was fixing things. He assured them the redesigned Explorer SUV rolling out months later would be a proof point. But rather than help the earnings results Ford delivers this week, the Explorer will be a hindrance. Sales have plunged as a plant plagued by personnel problems has struggled to get the new sport utility vehicle out the door. Thousands have been shipped 270 miles away to another Ford factory for rework. The botched Explorer launch puts Hackett back in the position he was early this year—testing the patience of investors. A downbeat assessment of how long it will take to turn the automaker around already cost the company an investment-grade credit rating. By pointing to the SUV as one of the first products he influenced, the CEO staked his reputation on it. "From a design, styling and content standpoint, it hit the marks,” Jeff Schuster, a forecasting analyst for LMC Automotive, said of the Explorer. “But if you can’t get out of the gate, that certainly is going to put some question marks not only on his credibility, but from a consumer standpoint, on the vehicle itself.” The transformation of Ford’s Chicago assembly plant was one of the most complex in the company’s history, a spokeswoman said. The company is shipping the new Explorer— the all-time best-selling... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-21 21:58:49 UTC ]
News tagged with: #hostile environment #general motors #settle claims #troubled past

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Chilling Crime Novels for Hot Summer Reading

🏆 These are the “it” books of the year so far.🏖️ Emily Henry became a bestselling author without book tours ... Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-06-28 15:00:00 UTC ]
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NYC libraries are getting their funding back.

As the saying goes, you know you’ve fucked up when the librarians start protesting—and while New York City makes a sport out of hating its mayors, current problematic mayor Eric Adams really stepped in it when he announced cuts to the city’s libraries in the mid-year budget last fall. As we... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-28 14:01:00 UTC ]
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How a Small Press Poetry Contest Launched Samuel Beckett’s Career

Paris, June 1930. At 3.00 in the morning, Nancy Cunard quickly writes a letter to her friend Louise Morgan, American journalist and editor at Everyman magazine: We found a poem, a beauty, by a poet—so much so that it must be printed by itself. Irishman of 23, Ecole Normale here, that’s all I... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-26 08:56:36 UTC ]
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Authors Against Book Bans Officially Launches

The group's 1,500 members from all 50 states aim to provide “support and encouragement for the educators, librarians, parents, and students who are the first line of defense against censorship, and for the authors whose books are under attack.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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YA Author Lee Wind Launches Kickstarter to Donate Books to LGBTQ+ Teens

Wind, who is also chief content officer at the Indie Book Publishers Association, is creating a limited collector's edition of his latest YA novel, initially published this spring by Chicago Review Press, as an incentive for donors to his Kickstarter campaign benefitting LGBTQ+ teens. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Washington Post’s newly named editor backs out of job, will stay in Britain

Robert Winnett’s departure is the latest of the news outlet’s woes. The Washington Post said Friday that newly named editor Robert Winnett has decided not to take the job and remain in Britain instead, another upheaval at a news outlet where a reorganization plan has gone disastrously wrong.The... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2024-06-21 14:48:23 UTC ]
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10 Nebula Award Winners You Should Put on Your TBR

Get to know the Nebula Awards for science fiction and fantasy writing, with outstanding, must-read examples to pick up right now. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-06-21 11:00:00 UTC ]
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DK Launches New Adult Imprint, DK Red

The imprint will focus on lifestyle publishing and narrative nonfiction, and is part of DK’s recently renamed adult division, DK Living. First books are set to be released next spring. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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FairSquare Comics Rebrands as FairSquare Graphics, Launches Horny Dolphin Imprint

FairSquare Comics, which marked its fifth anniversary on June 20, is rebranding as FairSquare Graphics, and will launch Horny Dolphin, a new imprint dedicated to "NSFW" titles focusing on immigrant and minority voices, this fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of Religion Books Stay Hot

Strong demand for hardcover titles helped to drive up sales of religion books 38% in April over a year ago, according to the AAP's most recent StatShot report. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Industry Sales Were Hot in April

April was far from the cruelest month for book sales, with the 1,277 publishers that report results to AAP’s StatShot program showing a 18.3% increase over April 2023 following a flat first quarter. Every major category posted an increase over a year ago. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Saturday Books, Imprint with New Adult Focus, to Launch Next Fall at Macmillan

Sara Goodman and Eileen Rothschild, VPs and editorial director and associate publisher, respectively, at the young adult imprint Wednesday Books, will also head up Saturday, which will publishing 10–12 titles annually for readers aged 18–30. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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'Mad Men' ad exec launches new campaign to win buyer for townhouse

Jerry Della Femina, an icon of the advertising industry whose memoir about Madison Avenue’s rollicking heyday provided fodder for the hit cable series Mad Men, has a new campaign: selling his home.Della Femina and his wife, former TV journalist Judy Licht, have put their Upper East Side... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2024-06-12 17:29:24 UTC ]
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B&NE Names New CEO, Completes Refinancing Package

In complementary moves, Jonathan Shar was promoted to CEO of Barnes & Noble Education following the completion of a new financing package that includes a 100-to-1 reverse stock split. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Events Programming at Free Library of Philadelphia 'a Hot Mess' After Staff Firings

After the author events planning team at the Free Library of Philadelphia was fired on June 3, some of the authors scheduled to appear there this month are expressing their support for the former employees—some quietly, others publicly. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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See You At The Library, Brave Books’s Storytime, Back in 2024

Brave Books is bringing its right-wing See You at the Library Storytime events to public libraries again in August. Now is the time to prepare. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-06-10 15:54:09 UTC ]
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Empire of the Ants will let you explore a photorealistic bug’s life this November

Empire of the Ants, a real-time strategy game with dazzlingly photorealistic insects and other critters, arrives on November 7. Although the game doesn’t sound like it’s exactly a remake, it comes from the same publisher (and draws from the same source material) as the 2000 RTS game of the same... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-06-10 08:00:22 UTC ]
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ALA 2024: ‘That Librarian’ Fights Back: PW Talks with Amanda Jones

The author of ‘That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America’ discusses her fight for the freedom to read and her debut memoir. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Rights Edition Interview: Agent Urpu Strellman, Back to Publishing

With Helsinki Literary Agency selling up to 150 books yearly, its former CEO, Urpu Strellman, heads for her publishing roots at Art House. The post Rights Edition Interview: Agent Urpu Strellman, Back to Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-06-07 17:49:17 UTC ]
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Harper Group Launches Nonfiction Imprint, Harper Influence

Senior VP Lisa Sharkey has been tapped to helm Harper Influence, which will publish a "wide range of nonfiction spanning popular culture," including general lifestyle, entertainment, and inspiration. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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