Of the three major American carriers to publish third-quarter results so far, only Alaska Airlines Cargo saw its cargo revenues increase, up 3 percent, year-over-year, to $31m - a fraction of its growing passenger revenue, according to earnings reports. Meanwhile, United registered a 4.7 percent decline in revenues, y-o-y, to $224m and, as previously reported, Delta continued its losing streak into the quarter, with revenues falling 15 percent, y-o-y, to $167m.

The rate of adoption for radio frequency identification in the retail apparel, footwear and accessories market has more than doubled during the past two years, according to a survey of 60 European and U.S. retailers and wholesalers, conducted by management and strategy consulting firm Kurt Salmon.

Projecting an image as a brand with global appeal is often a fundamental aspect of multinational corporations' (MNCs') strategy - a core focus of their marketing campaigns, employee recruitment efforts, and relationships with supply chain partners and others. But some markets and certain consumers prefer local firms, according to research in the Journal of International Marketing.

Cotton, the most widely used natural fiber, is considered the world's dirtiest crop because of its heavy use of pesticides - its cultivation accounts for 17.5 percent of global insecticide sales. So in recent years, several apparel and home-goods companies, including Eileen Fisher, Patagonia, and Nike, have used organic cotton, grown by farmers who eschew pesticides and enrich their soil with compost. That's good for the environment but raises another big problem: Organic cotton is too expensive for average shoppers.

If robots are taking human jobs, they haven't made much headway in Santa's workshop - or in his supply chain. It turns out that even the most technologically advanced retailers need lots of humans to serve customers. Amazon, arguably the most disruptive force in American retailing, announced last week that it would be hiring 120,000 seasonal workers this year - 20 percent more than last year - and the Seattle giant isn't alone.