"Fossil is about a culture devoted to design and the Fossil brand"

The Star-Telegram's Mitchell Schnurman calls it "an expensive, labor-intensive proposition." Specifically: "a big in-house media operation, churning out hand-drawn graphics, posters, packaging and sexy images from a photo staff as large as this newspaper. Fossil even has its own architects to design its stores. The company has 150 designers, most based in the sprawling Richardson headquarters. Each product or service category has a distinct area -- watches on the ground floor, apparel on one side, a large photo studio in the center and graphics spread out in its own work zone. 'Creatives are seen as an asset; they make Fossil work,' says Tim Hale, senior vice president for marketing and design."

I wonder if you could say that, in putting so much art and meaning into their stores and packaging, they're successfully creating an emotional benefit -- one that can't be duplicated. But maybe I go too far.