brie de meaux ?

Have you said Brie de Maux or Brie de Meaux ? 

"Maux" my be translated in French by "troubles" which is not quite the kind of thing you expect from a cheese. The Brie de Meaux, is said to be the king of all cheeses since 1815 (unlike being the best ...;) during the Vienna Congress directed by Talleyrand. Anecdote,  the cheese nominated King of all Cheeses during the Congress where coming from the farm of Mr. Courtier, mayor of Villeroy at that time ...

Photo shot in a Carrefour hypermarkets in Medellin, Colombia. That's an explanation for the price of 30500 Colombian pesos per kilo (10,4 euros / kilo).

Store names & Kaufman's store pics

I've always been amazed by the lack of imagination of (most) retailers when choosing a name for their stores (at least in France). Basically, we may find 2 sources of inspiration : location of the first store and founder's name. For example, Carrefour is the name of the building where was installed the first supermarket in Annecy. Auchan is also coming from the name of the place where was located the first store (lieux dit les Hauts Champs). 

As for founder's name some example from the most famous are Leclerc, Darty, Aldi or Wal-Mart. 

Here's a strange collection of Kaufman's [kawf-muhn] store pictures. A bit of a pleonasm when you know that Kaufmann means, in German, merchandiser...

Trader Joe's clients

I visited this summer Trader Joe's for the first time. It's really a unique concept, with special mention to the in-store communication and private label range development.

Belonging to Aldi Group, the company shares the parent company the cult of secret. To know more about Trader Joe's, I suggest the book by Len Lewis, The Trader Joe's Adventure (a book recommended by Jean-Pierre). I particularly liked the description of the target client made of aphorisms :

• Out-of-work PhD's
• College professors who drive old Volvos
• Overeducated and underpaid
• People with champagne tastes and beer incomes
• Yuppie epicures in search of Tasmanian feta cheese

Here's a video shot a sunday afternoon. A lot of clients !!

Have you said Sheraton Hotel ?...

... or Cheraton ? Well maybe confusing but as the avdvertisement says at the entrance of the "Palace", you can find hot water 24 hours a day. Not a bad idea when you travel in Boyaca, Colombia where days may be very cold.

Great souvenir of a famous weekend with beloved friends !

Vintage ad #2

Here are a second part of my preferred ads from worth1000 contest.

Vintage Ad contest on worth1000.com

Worth1000.com is a cool website made for designers and others Photoshop lovers. Contests are organized between members on such topics as "Final Photo, the last pic you'll ever take" or "Alternate history, changing historical moments". Some are really great of inspiration and goes beyond reality.

I've chosen a pick of one of my favourite series, the Vintage Ad contest. Or how an actual product would have been promoted some years back. Enjoy ! 

Vivre et réussir son expatriation, 7 tips in (a less than) 7 minutes video

Henri Kaufman (my dad) and his pal PPC are the creators of "How to - les videos du succès". On a weekly basis they present here a video (in French) on such different topics as "How to say I love you", "Order your desk" (or better said, how to convince yourself to not ordering your desk...;), or "How to become an excellent photograph". More than 20 videos released up to date. 

The tips are out of the box thoughts and make you think twice about a subject you believe have deep knowledge in. Remarkable point,  all videos are structured in the same way : 7 advices / tips given in (less than) 7 minutes.

This week, I'm interviewed about how to live a successful expatriation. Enjoy !