Here at Grid we spend a lot of time reading what the Internet has to say about business. Or, as journalists like to call it, “working.” Every Friday, we let you benefit from our diligence by collecting the most interesting and entertaining stuff we’ve encountered this week.
Should McDonald’s just make less money?
Business Insider’s Henry Blodget weighed in on the McDonald’s living-wage controversy with a provocative post that asks a fundamental question about American business: Where should an enterprise draw the line between taking care of its employees and making money? Brandon Copple
Amy Merrick, who’s written for Grid, tackles the sale of Saks Fifth Avenue to Hudson’s Bay for the New Yorker. It’s a lovely reminder of what Saks means and has meant for the past near-century, but it also ponders the store’s future. Namely: As outlet malls go high-end, will Saks lose out on sales to its own discount stores? With a Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th opening in the Rosemont’s new Fashion Outlets of Chicago — an indoor mall chock-a-block with luxury brands and art installations — it’s an interesting question. Sarah Collins
We can’t wrap up the week without one more mention of the Fashion Outlets in Rosemont — or as Racked called it, “a retail GAME. CHANGER.” The Grid team absorbed every detail (for professional purposes): 530,000 square feet, $250M, 2,000 jobs, a shuttle to O’Hare and, most remarkably, an AllSaints outlet. Sara White
Everyone loves some office porn
Take a step into the the boardrooms of the 40 largest multinational corporations in Europe with photographer Jacqueline Hassink. She pulls back the curtain on these corporate powerhouses revealing the inner sanctum of business elites. “By photographing the most important corporate tables in Europe, the meeting places of companies’ boards of directors, I began mapping the centers of economic power,” she explains. Rex Chekal
A new reason to stop being unattractive
According to a study that’s as depressing as it is unsurprising, you’re more likely to get bullied by co-workers if you’re not much to look at. Check out Bloomberg’s take on an experiment that began with “the scientific equivalent of Hot or Not.” Matt Present
And from reporter Meg Graham, currently vacationing in the Great White North …
And lastly …
The business story that every business journalist ever wishes they’d written, courtesy of The Onion
