C M Y K PAGE B4

WEDNESDAY,JUNE 5, 2013

B4 BUSINESS

EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204-697-7308 [email protected] I MARKET DETAILS B5 I winnipegfreepress.com Minister blocks -Mobilicity deal ❚ Wind Mobile suggests possible purchase ❚ Customers,consumers awaitupstart’s fate

anddebt-holders. wroteonhis blog Tuesday. “There are By Julian Beltrame “(They)now face considerable un- ahostofother possibilities, including certaintydue to thepressingfinancial fullyopening themarkettotelecom challenges facing thecompany,” Telus andbroadcastdistributors,tough rules TTAWA —Ottawaisblockinga said in astatement. on domestic roamingand towershar- $380-million deal to sell strug- NDPcriticGlenn Thibeaultaccused ing, afullset-aside in theforthcom- Oglingwireless-upstartMobilicity thegovernmentofcreatingashambles ingspectrumauction,oraregulated to TelusCorp. andsaysitwillcontinue in thesector,addingifMobilicitywent wholesalemarkettocreateastrong to prohibit spectrumtransfers that bankrupt,“consumerswillbelefthold- classofMVNO(mobile virtue network wouldlimit competitioninthe Can- ingthe bag,”along with thecreditors. operator) competitors.” adianwirelessmarket. Butthe minister said it wasnot a Paradisrefused to acknowledge Industry Minister ChristianParadis “foregoneconclusion” Mobilicity will that thegovernment’spolicyobjective said Tuesdaythe government would go bankrupt. failed,sayingsince 2008,consumers use alltools at itsdisposaltoensure Mobilicity chiefexecutive Stewart have seen theaverage pricefor wire- thereare at leastfourwirelesscom- Lyonssaidhewas reviewingthe min- less services declineby18per cent. petitors in everyregionofCanada. ister’sdecisionand will “bespeaking “Wewillnot allowthisprogresstobe Telusand Mobilicity hadsoughtan with Telusand otherstakeholdersand lost or undermined,” he said.“Iwillnot exceptiontoafederal policy that pre- will have moretosay in duecourse.” hesitate to use anyand everytoolatmy

ventsatransferofspectrumfromnew, Wind Mobile CEOAnthonyLacavera SEAN KILPATRICK /THE CANADIAN PRESS disposal to supportgreater competition smallcarriers to thelarge incumbents said he’dconsiderbuyingMobilicity. in themarket.” Industry Minister Christian Paradisdefends thegovernment’s action as necessary forfiveyears afterlicencesare issued. “I thinkthisopens up anew oppor- To that end, Paradissaidhewillpost- to ensure ahealthy levelofcompetition in thewirelesssector. ButParadis’languagesuggestsTelus tunity fordiscussionwithMobilicity,” pone thenextauction of 700megahertz wouldstill have ahighbar to clearto Lacavera said from . increase competitioninthe wireless (TSX:QBR.B), hasbeenmoresuc- of spectrum—originallyslatedfor getpermissiontopurchaseMobilicity’s Mobilicity’s subscribersand network sector that hasbeendominated by Bell cessfulinthe Quebec market,but November —toJan.14, 2014 in order spectrumevenafter February 2014, wouldgiveWindMobilemorecritical (TSX:BCE), Rogers (TSX:RCI.B)and -based forthe industry to adjust to thenew when theinitial limitation expires. massand itsspectrumcould be added Telus(TSX:T).Duringa2008saleof (TSX:SJR.B)decided againstusing the policy parameters. Thetelecom sector wasup0.2 per to Wind’s spectruminthe transition to additionalspectrum, setaside spectrumitboughttostart up anew In essence, thepolicykeeps in place cent in afternoontrading on theTo- afaster, next-generationnetwork. aportion fornew entrants in an effort wireless business. thefive-year limitontransfers of rontoStock Exchange followingthe He also said VimpelCom, whichhad to create anew national carrierand University of Ottawa lawprofessor set-asidespectrum, but then places announcement,which wasmadebefore put Wind Mobile up forsale, maywant strong regionalproviders. MichaelGeist,who specializesine- asecondhurdleinthe wayofindus- marketsopened, whileTelus shares to keep it nowthere’s certaintyonthe Whilethe policy attractedseveral commerce,calledthe decision“defens- tryconsolidation.Any applicationfor rose 23 centsto$36.02. rulesfromthe federalgovernment. newplayers,mostofthe independent ible,” but said thegovernmentneeds to transferswould be rejected if,inthe Telus, whichhas warned in thepast “I thinkthe government made avery carriers —operating theWind, Mo- go much furthertoachieveits goal of view of thegovernment, it resultsin Mobilicity won’tbeabletosurvive good move in providingthe market bilicity andPublicMobilenetworks— increasing competitioninthe sector. “undue concentration” andtherefore withoutfinancial help,calledthe de- with clarityonhow spectrumtransfer- have struggledtomakemoney andare “The government needstodomore reduces competition. cision“unfortunate” forMobilicity’s abilityrules will be applied,”hesaid. currentlyupfor sale. than simply buy time by enforcingthe 250,000 customersand 150employees Thegovernmenthas long soughtto Videotron, part of Quebecor five-year spectrum-set-asiderule,”he —The Canadian Press Yoga giantoffersstudentswisdom Midwest Mistakes didn’t stop farmers ‘world’s biggestposer’ face wet By Geoff Kirbyson late start CHIP Wilsondidn’tbuild acompany with a$12-bil- lion market capitalization with non-stop,flawless executionofhis business plan. By DavidPitt In fact, thefounder of LululemonAthletica ad- mits to making “millions of mistakes” during his time in theretailbusiness. DESMOINES, Iowa —It’sdecision Oneofthe most high-profile ones undoubtedlyoc- time formanyMidwest corn farmers curred in March when theyoga-clothingmanufac- stuckinone of thewettest springs ever: turer andretailerhad to recall millions of dollars Plantlateingroundthat’sbeentoo wet, of blackluonyogapants because they were see- replantcorninmuddy fields or collect through.The pantswerefar from atrivialitem, as cropinsurance. they represented nearly one-fifthofthe company’s TheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture business. said 91 percentofthe nation’s corn Wilson, neverone to shun responsibility,was cropisinthe ground but just 74 per quicktoown up to theerror. cent of theplantshaveemerged.But “Whenyou’repushing technology,you’regoing some states —leading corn producer to make mistakes,” he said. Iowa,Minnesota,Missouriand North “Whenyou’remakingatechnical knit,there are Dakota—are much furtherbehind. 1,000 things youhavetoput in it.There’s always “We’ve hadasmuchraininthe last onething that won’twork, maybetwo,but if youget monthand ahalfaswedid thelast threeyou’vegot aproblem,” he said. wholegrowing season,” said Kevin “It’sincrediblehow many testswehavetodo. Rempp, 55,who farmsincentral Iowa Wouldwebeabletodothemall?Perhaps not. But near Montezuma. everythree years, somethingwillhappenthatwe Only 88 percentofIowa’scorncrop will notbeabletotestfor.Idon’t know what that hasbeensowed.Normally, it’d be fin- is.Whatwewillpromise is nottosellthemtothe ishedbynow.Rempp is fortunateto customer,” he said. have higher ground;his 1,200acres of Wilsonsaidinresponsetothe snafu, Lululemon corn andsoybeansare planted. hasimplemented morestringent qualitycontrols, “It’sjustone of those dealswhere added morepeopleand is making amachine that PHIL HOSSACK/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Mother Naturehas givenusadifferent will ensure thesheerness issuewon’t return. Lululemonfounder Chip Wilson does a“seated-cobbler’spose” at theAsper SchoolofBusinessTuesday. hand to play this year andwe’re trying Thecompany relaunched theyogapants this to make thebestofit,”hesaid. week,thistimewith“morefabricacross thebum 1979.Hecalls it his“20-year MBA.” branding officerlastyearbut he remainschair- If theskies clearand thegrowing so it’s notstretched from theget-go.” He made enough mistakes therethathewas on manofthe board. season is favourable,it’sstill possible to Wilson, nowinhis late 50s, addressedstudents theRoyal Bank’s“special” accounts list. Past IDEA recipients includelastyear’swin- have an abundant corn harvest, which at theI.H.Asper School of Business on Tuesday “Thatmeans you’re goingbankrupt,baby,”he ner,Stu Clark(StormResources Ltd.), SirRichard wouldhelp moderate priceswings and afternoon. He toldthemthe historyofthe company, said with alaugh. Branson(Virgin Group),MurrayEdwards (Can- keep food andbeveragepricessteady. howhelooks to hireother people whohavemadean He sold thecompany before that couldhappenin adianNatural Resources),DameAnita Roddick So far, weatherconcernshavedriven abundanceofmistakesand he took questions. 1997,the year before he startedLululemon. (The Body Shop), Howard Schultz(Starbucks),Jim corn prices up nearly 10 percentinthe Wilsonwas in town to receivethe International He wasn’t really much of asurferand he doesn’t Balsillie(Research In Motion)and thehusband- past week andahalf. DistinguishedEntrepreneurAward from theAsso- consider himself ayogi, either.Instead,hesaidhis and-wife team of Schwartz andHeather Reisman Butfarmers can’tlooktoo farintothe ciates at theUniversityofManitoba Tuesdaynight, skillisbeing able to predictretailtrends. (OnexCorp. andChapters). futurewhenfaced with water-logged oneofthe highlights of Winnipeg’s business social “I’m theworld’s biggestposer,”hesaidwitha fields.Wisconsin lags themostwith74 calendar.Hewas fetedinfront of asold-outcrowd grin. [email protected] percentofthe crop in thefield. of 800atthe Winnipeg Convention Centre. Wilsonwas theCEO of theyogagiant until2005 John Ruedinger, 57,has only 100of Wilsondidn’thit thejackpot with hisfirst venture, when he sold a48per cent staketoapair of private his1,300 acresofcorninand about50 but he hasalwayshad an active theme. He founded equity firms, Advent Internationaland Highland See videoat of theseveral hundredacres of alfalfa hisfirst apparelcompany,Westbeach Snowboard CapitalPartners. he planstogrowtofeedthe 1,200cows

▼ winnipegfreepress.com Ltd.,which sold surf,skate andsnowboard gear,in He also steppeddownaschief innovation and on hisdairyfarmnearVan Dyne,Wis. Theproblem is rain keepscoming an inch or twoatatime, saturatingthe heavyclaysoil. With little sunand tem- peratures hovering about10degrees lowerthanusual,fieldsaren’t drying. Manitoba pipefittersstrikefor equalpay “About thetimeitdries up,weget an- othershotofrain,”hesaid. Corn farmerswho choose to plantun- By Adam Wazny Wieshern said thestrikeisabout man- Wieshern said. with the(national)labourboard,isthat finished fields or go back andreplant powerretention andfinding amore WhileCASAand theprovincial basedonthe precedentofthe last 40 this late will seeasizable reductionin competitivewagefor workersinthis unions operatewithinanationallabour years, that thevotingprocedure has thegrain they harvestthisfall, said LOOKINGfor abetteroffer from the province. contract (NationalRoadSprinkler Fit- been ignoredinthisinstanceand the RogerElmore, an Iowa StateUniver- national association, Manitoba sprink- “Welookedtothe east andthe west of terCollectiveAgreement), each prov- Local254 hastaken them on strike,” sity agronomy professorand acorn lerfitters decidedtoapply some pres- Manitoba andwagepackagesare con- ince hasanoptiontoflush theagree- CASA presidentJohnGaltsaid, adding specialist. sure Tuesday. siderablymore,”Wieshernsaid. “We’re ment through itsown provincial labour no futurebargainingsessions arecur- Elmoresaidsomemay thinkabout UnitedAssociation Local254,the findingmoreand moreofour member- law. rentlyscheduled. switchingtoacornvariety that ma- unionrepresentingthe main pipe- ship headingout of province.Weneed- Wieshern said only Manitoba and Sprinklerfitters installand inspect tures morequickly to avoidrunningup fittingtradesinthe province,con- ed to do something.” BritishColumbiaare currentlywithout automaticfire-suppressionsystems againstthe firstfallfrost. firmed 175workers were offthe job AccordingtoLocal 254, thelatestof- adeal. (bothoverheadand underground) in Butinthe wettestfields, insurance andonstrikeasof12:01 a.m. Tuesday ferfromCASAwould seea$7. 50 differ- Negotiationsbetween Local254 and alltypes of buildings.CASAsaystheir payments maybethe bestoption. morning.The unionhad setthe June 4 ence over threeyears betweenMani- CASA hadbeengoing on rightupuntil membership carriesapproximately “There arealot of fields that have strikemandate on May21, threeweeks toba sprinklerfitters andSaskatchewan theJune4deadline, but with this action 3,000 sprinklerfitters nationally. been floodedordrowned out. Once the afterthe most recent contract with the workersperformingthe same job. from theunion thenationalassociation watergoesdown, they’llhavetobeas- Canadian AutomaticSprinkler Asso- “All we areaskingfor is thesame confirmedthe talkshavehalted—at [email protected] sessedfor planting,” Elmoresaid. ciation(CASA)had expired. contract we got forthe plumbers, leastfor thetimebeing. Local254 business managerHeiko whichwas athree-per-centincrease,” “Our contention,and we’llbefiling —The AssociatedPress

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