Not that Whitacre's viewpoint is discounted -- far from it.
Mr. Gould said Federated would offer its usual post-Christmas sales, but further price cuts would come on items that had been only partially discounted so far.
The possibility of AI to enable better decision-making has been heavily discounted thus far.
But if Amazon's algorithm works, it would translate to far less spent on discounts, far less inventory piling up in warehouses, and better predictability of new product introductions — each of which would yield enormous competitive advantage.
As I wrote when I last cited this, "The only change I'd suggest is to drop the words 'by industry,' given that everyone in societies thriving on fossil fuels has harvested the present benefits while largely discounting, so far, the need to invest against long-term risks from the resulting buildup of greenhouse gases.
"The levels of discounting so far this season have been lower than in the previous three years, but we expect activity on the high street to step up in the next 10 days to two weeks unless the weather changes and there is a cold snap," said one retailer.
Some I have discounted as too far away to be practical.
By contrast, several foreign companies have discounted their vehicles far less than has G.M., which on Monday reintroduced the interest-free loan programs that helped it increase sales after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Online shopping is indeed a revolution, and shoppers are snatching up electronics, books and software by the truckloads at far discounted rates, without ever leaving their homes and offices.
And although both management and labor have said talks were moving smoothly so far, analysts discounted the notion that the talks would wrap up before the Sept. 14 expiration date.
