John Thomson's Back!
Feb 23, 2012 / 9:19 am
Here I am, back at the old computer after nine months off because of some health problems I am having. I needed to get back to work and I am happy to be here. I will be writing my new column every Thursday. I hope you will join me. I never did retire; that wasn’t my purpose, I just...
John Thomson retires
May 17, 2011 / 5:00 am
This is probably the most difficult piece that I have ever had to write but I wanted my readers to know what is happening with The Thomson Report for the future. I have decided to put the column to bed. I have been writing the column since 1989, twenty-two years. I...
Here and there
May 3, 2011 / 5:00 am
Boosting entrepreneurial talent is critical for our country’s future. Successful CEOs and business leaders from across Canada will be taking an intensive program at the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario. Emil Anderson Construction has...
Here and there
Apr 28, 2011 / 5:00 am
Right behind the Polson Place Mall is the place where Kal Tire is building their new world headquarters. It will be a building housing three hundred staff and their many companies from all over the world. Greyback Construction of Penticton is the builder. Kal Tire is a wholly-owned...
Rumours and things
Apr 27, 2011 / 5:00 am
I know you have always wondered what makes owning a Tim Hortons such a profitable business, and believe me, it is a lot of hard work for those that own these franchises. Right now there is a most difficult court battle in Ontario between a small group of...
Here and there
Apr 26, 2011 / 5:00 am
As consumers fret and complain about the ever-rising cost of gasoline, economist Jeff Rubin has a deeper concern. Canada could very well be heading into another economic downturn as the cost of oil and prices at the pump continue to surge to the highest...
Here and there
Apr 14, 2011 / 5:00 am
Photo: Contributed It’s a go. The sixth tower at Landmark Centre will, over the next two years, head to the sky with seventeen floors and 230,000 sq.ft. of commercial space. Building six will be located directly across from building...
Rumours and things
Apr 13, 2011 / 5:00 am
I was watching the news on Global Vancouver the other day when they started to discuss the coming of Target stores to Canada. Their question to the guest was about rumours that Target would be charging more for goods in the Canadian stores than they would be in the store in Bellingham,...
Thomson report
Apr 12, 2011 / 5:00 am
I met these four people in 2002 when they had just got the idea for their business after graduating from the Centre for Arts and Technology Okanagan (CATO) and were about to start their new advertising agency. The four were Giuseppe Simpatico (Sep), Vivian Turgeon, John Bos and Brad...
Thomson report: April 5
Apr 6, 2011 / 5:00 am
When I first interviewed David Burke it was after he left Western Star Trucks as CFO when the company was sold. He had purchased a new business venture almost immediately. Vadim, was a software company started in the 90s with offices in the Rutland area. This was a new venture...
Thomson report: April 6
Apr 6, 2011 / 5:00 am
It was forty years ago when Dave Lund and his wife Debbie decided that Kelowna would be the next place they would like to live and this was their opportunity to buy a business. Here, let Dave tell the story: We had a small family with a three-month-old...
Here and there
Mar 29, 2011 / 5:00 am
My wife had difficulty getting home from the south where she was vacationing with our daughters. The return flight couldn’t leave because of mechanical problems and WestJet had to bring in a mechanic from Los Angeles. She said that WestJet did everything to make the...
Here and there
Mar 23, 2011 / 5:00 am
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that disgruntled cell phone customers can pursue class-action lawsuits against Telus and other providers, even if they signed away that right in a contract. ************************* Canadian Tire...
Thomson report
Mar 22, 2011 / 5:00 am
The situation in Japan is tragic and worrying. Our hearts continue to go out to those affected and responding. Many charities are aggressively soliciting donations, often in ways we feel are misleading. I spoke with Give Well; the New York based non-profit organization that...
Here and there
Mar 16, 2011 / 5:00 am
Although 75% of Canadians surveyed say their trust in banks has stayed the same or has increased in the past 12 months, almost 64% say they plan to switch banks or have already done so because of service quality issues, says an Ernst & Young report just released. In a new era of customer...
Thomson report
Mar 15, 2011 / 5:00 am
The average Canadian who files for bankruptcy owes $59,800 not counting his mortgage and is a 41-year-old married man with four credit cards, according to a report by a Kitchener-based bankruptcy trustee. The information, released by Hoyes Michalos & Associates says this amount owed by the...
Rumours and things
Mar 10, 2011 / 5:00 am
Don’t you just love rumours? I have been writing about them successfully for twenty-two years. Like always, we have a new big one making the rounds. Actually it is two rumours about the same company. It’s about Costco and more stores for the valley. The rumour regarding the West Kelowna store...
Thomson report
Mar 9, 2011 / 5:00 am
Ten dumb things to do with your tax refund 1. Spending it rather than investing it Getting a lump sum of cash is a great time to consider investing, especially in a tax-advantaged vehicle like an RRSP or other account that will allow your earnings to grow tax-deferred. Saving might not be as...
Thomson report
Mar 8, 2011 / 5:00 am
It looks like it is a finally a go for the Sheraton Four Points Hotel across from the entrance to the Kelowna International Airport. Argus Properties of Kelowna is the developer. It's good to hear that the project is going ahead as it has been a rumour mill for years and years and if my numbers...
Here and there
Mar 3, 2011 / 5:00 am
I have written about it many times as we anxiously awaited the official announcement that Al Stober Construction would go forward with their with their plans for building #6 at Landmark Centre. It was in 1994 that the builder started the work on building #1 and one year later the Landmark Centre...
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