A New PDA.

I took a look at the latest Gun World magazine in the library today and had to roll my eyes a little at the ad on the back cover. It was an ad for the new PDA from Para-Ordnance. In this case however it's not a new electronic organiser, PDA standing for Personal Defense Assistant. Apparently someone in their marketing department got a flash of inspiration and figured out a new use for a familiar abbreviation. The "DA" part of the name does have a practical signficance, standing for double action.

Para-Ordnance is in fact a Canadian company, located in Scarborough, Ontario. First going into business to manufacture a paintball gun the company eventually went on to specialise in pistols based on the John Browning designed Colt Model 1911, offering such improvements as a larger magazine capacity and their own proprietary double action trigger mechanism. But don't expect to buy a PDA in Canada. With it's three and a half inch barrel it is considered a prohibited weapon, handguns being required to have a four and a half inch barrel under current regulations. Para-Ordnance does make various models that are legal in Canada, although getting a license to own a handgun does take some effort.

Get Them Young.

Building brand loyalty is the goal of any large consumer goods manufacturer or retailer. Many firms try to appeal to as many market niches as possible, including children. But some firms are now going farther than just offering kids lines. They've begun to offer outlets specifically aimed at children. For example the Gap has a series of Gap Kids stores, while Canadian lingerie retailer La Senza has its La Senza Girl outlets for the pre-puberty set.

Although some folks might find the idea of such stores manipulative it's not as if kids need any encouragement to buy into the consumerist bent of our culture. A store specifically aimed at young girls like La Senza Girl isn't likely to make them any more consumerist than the media and the behaviour of their parents already are. How effective they are in getting today's children consumers to remain loyal to the brand when they're ready for adult clothing is another question. The stores are a relatively new concept so chances are they're still seeing how the concept is working. The fact that there are 80 La Senza Girl stores would seem to indicate that at the very least the stores themselves are making money, whatever impact they're making on creating a future clientele for La Senza Lingerie.