Oxxford Clothes, based in Chicago, is the last company in the United States which makes all their tailored suits by hand. This short promotional video, one of the best I’ve seen, plays to this primary benefit perfectly. Incredible well done at  every level.

A ringing bell instead of an intercom signals that more help is needed at the registers. Registers don’t have conveyor belts or scales, and perishables are sold by unit instead of weight, speeding up checkout. Crew members aren’t told the margins on products, so placement decisions are made based not on profits but on what’s best for the shopper. Every employee works all aspects of the store, and if you ask where the roasted chestnuts are he’ll walk you over instead of just saying “aisle five.” Want to know what they taste like? He can probably tell you, and he might even open the bag on the spot for you to try.

That and along with valuing stellar customer service, paying people well, and trusting them to do good work seem to be at the core of their success. Oh and be very clever about what you sell and to whom.

You can read more about his here and here.

A moderate increase in overall ad spending for 2011, but continued strong growth for online advertising, including mobile. Overall, advertisers will increase their spending next year by less than 5% above this year’s projected level, bringing U.S. ad spending totals to $238.6 billion. We’re expecting total online ad spending to grow almost 14%, from $45.6 billion, in 2010, to $51.9 billion, in 2011. The fastest-growing segments of online advertising are the local sector, anything targeted, and everything involving social media. By next year, local online advertising should grow by almost 18%, from $13.7 billion, in 2010, to $16.1 billion, in 2011.