North Pole Inc.
From a strictly business perspective, how has Santa made a go of this enterprise for so many centuries, let alone being so successful at it?
I mean, does he have backers? Who would want to put their money in this enterprise, anyway? Where's the return on investment? He gives presents away! Why, it violates the very essence of basic economic principles. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the business disaster an IPO would be if he decided to go public.
How does he pay for the materials to make all those toys? Who supplies him? His shipping costs must be enormous even with the volume he does. From the logistical standpoint alone, inventory management must be a colossal nightmare. What kind of salary and benefits can he realistically offer the elves? His labor costs must be fantastic too because there's such a limited talent pool in the Arctic – especially in the toy-making field. (And, as an aside, Mrs. Claus, obviously the brains behind the marketing, has to be chafing that her business acumen is constantly being overshadowed by her CEO husband's celebrity status.)
And what about anti-trust laws? I’ve never read about Congress giving him any kind of exemption, yet Mr. Claus has a monopoly, even if it is only on December 24th.
He has to worry about the myriad business, environmental, and aviation regulations for all the countries he visits, that yearly deadline, polar bear attacks, and even global warming's potential impact on his headquarters.
Yet he remains a jolly old elf – at least publicly. How he's managed to evade even a hint of impropriety in this 24/7 twitterverse of scandal-hungry media coverage is a miracle.
But then, Santa Claus really is a miracle, isn’t he?
