tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post2144187345928119886..comments2023-09-23T11:16:00.352+02:00Comments on The Franco-American Flophouse has moved: In Defense of CostcoVictoria FERAUGEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-43207588713080028002017-06-13T06:02:54.530+02:002017-06-13T06:02:54.530+02:00@Victoria
Yes, Sodexho has LOTS of US military co...@Victoria<br /><br />Yes, Sodexho has LOTS of US military contracts too. <br /><br />Also another French "brand" many people don't realize is French is "Bic" the ubiquitous makers of cigarette lighters, pens, disposable razors and other miscellaneous nick knacks.<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9_Bic<br /><br />Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03894651289037073128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-36648806636729341212017-06-13T02:25:01.559+02:002017-06-13T02:25:01.559+02:00Thanks, glad I could make you laugh. Usually I jus...Thanks, glad I could make you laugh. Usually I just get eye rolls.bubblebustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789474207408205280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-90241851784237026762017-06-13T01:33:53.652+02:002017-06-13T01:33:53.652+02:00Sauve, Yes, that's a side of France that few ...Sauve, Yes, that's a side of France that few want to discuss. France is Asterix - the small but doughty underdog fighting the Romans. I'm with you. I like that I have options for something as mundane as basic shopping. Your point about this making it easier for older people is one I hadn't considered but you are absolutely correct. My mother-in-law in Paris is less mobile every time we see her. If she could order by phone or we could order by phone or Internet that would really help. One feature of Amazon here in Japan that I just love is that you have the option of scheduling delivery. I can ask , for example, that they deliver between 12:30 and 13:00. Outstanding and 100% reliable. Well wotht the small fee they charge for the service.<br /><br />Tim, I had forgotten about Sodexho. Yes, they are a monster. Didn't they also get contracts for the US military?<br /><br />Bubllebustin, Bahahahahah! That's EXCELLENT and it made me laugh. Thank you. Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-35387443612636165532017-06-13T00:01:17.480+02:002017-06-13T00:01:17.480+02:00Maybe if they named it Costceau?😂Maybe if they named it Costceau?😂bubblebustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789474207408205280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-69320471050617926672017-06-12T15:00:30.693+02:002017-06-12T15:00:30.693+02:00@Victoria
I suspect many American expats in Franc...@Victoria<br /><br />I suspect many American expats in France don't realize how big Carrefour is(MUCH bigger than Costco) due to the fact they don't have a presence in the US. On the other hand there are some very big French service companies with big US' presence. Sodexho for example is by largest operator of corporate and college cafeterias. Even the House of Representatives Cafeteria on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC is run by Sodexho.<br /><br />Another example is Motel 6 in the US is owned by the French hotel operator Accor that also owns Sofitel and now Fairmont(operator of the Plaza Hotel in NYC and the famed "railroad" hotels in Canada).<br /><br />I will add though not all American retail "invasions" are successful. About six or seven years back the US retail chain Target made a big expansion into Canada but after two years closed all their Canadian stores and headed back south of the border with their tail between their legs at the hand of "Canadian" retailer Canadian Tire(which sells a LOT more than just tires).<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Tire<br />Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03894651289037073128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-68462823249275092142017-06-12T09:44:03.412+02:002017-06-12T09:44:03.412+02:00Perhaps the problem is simply competition. Whateve...Perhaps the problem is simply competition. Whatever it is will not affect me in any way that I can see at this time. You're absolutely right about France being just as competitive as anyone else in the world. I think the difference is France likes to think of its family or private life as being small and bucolic, because its business are anything but. They are efficiently run or they close. Just as in the USA. Prodways just went public. An idea born in my husband's office in St. Etienne sometime in 2004 I believe. It took him time to find an investor which enabled him to forge ahead. 4 years ago it was one man working in a warehouse in Bayeaux and today it is a company with a couple hundred employees in Les Mureaux. People are the same the world over really. <br /><br />I like that I can choose to go shopping or not. That I can use Auchan or Intermache or Carrefour Drives, as I will do when I log off here. Such things would have been heaven sent when I was a single parent of 3 school aged children, working 2 full-time jobs, in Dallas but living in either Plano or Garland, Texas. Now the options of store shopping, home delivery, or drive-thru are going to extend my ability to be self-sufficient much longer as I age. Coupled with internet bohemoths such as Amazon handicapped and elderly will be able to remain independent that much longer. That will lower the cost of care, not to mention the lessening of stress to their adult children who are trying to balance out responsibilities to their children, spouse's family, jobs, and the routines of everything else. I know that amazon has been great for me because it has enabled me to buy one of my children's family groceries when in between jobs, to gift card Christmas to my adult children and grandchildren back in the USA. <br /><br />Eh. It's all good. The world changes all the time. It is something we all thrilled to when we were young. I understand for some of us, once we had families and began 'adulting' (love that word) that was a desire to return to what we consider simpler times but did those ideal times ever really exist for the persons 'adulting' in them? I doubt it.<br />Sauvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01904505685103914256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-70373947314587954512017-06-12T04:21:11.602+02:002017-06-12T04:21:11.602+02:00Aha! Thanks for the correction. I will fix. :-)Aha! Thanks for the correction. I will fix. :-)Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-78274435934181052062017-06-12T04:06:11.909+02:002017-06-12T04:06:11.909+02:00Adobe is from San Jose. It has an office in Seattl...Adobe is from San Jose. It has an office in Seattle, but it's always been a Silicon Valley company.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com