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Celebrity endorsement, as a marketing strategy, has gone viral amongst Indian real estate companies today. From master blaster Sachin Tendulkar to Bollywood diva Sonam Kapoor – celebrities can be seen endorsing a whole lot of real estate entities and their projects. But does it really work to the point of boosting sales?
What is so common among cricketing icons like Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, and Bollywood beauties like Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, Kajol and their male counterparts like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Mohanlal and Mammootty?
Well, these — and many more — celebrities from sports, Bollywood and glamour world are today the poster boys and divas of different realty firms, which are keen to encash upon their pan-Indian appeal and familiarity. From selling fast moving consumer goods to dream homes, the concept of brand ambassadors has become a rage in the country. It has emerged as a lowest common denominator item in advertising, to act as a kind of warrantor as well as differentiator in an uncertain and ‘me-too’ market.
So much so that real estate companies are roping in brand ambassadors to improve their brand connect, even if celebrities have no brand fit. For, the immediate objective of these developers is celeb-linked awareness building. They feel the endorsement news reaches the customers at a much faster pace than any other communication modes and creates an instant impact.
While film actress Sushmita Sen happens to be the brand icon of Assotech Ltd, it is Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the case of Amrapali Group. Former actress Twinkle Khanna aka Tina, has joined the Supertech bandwagon to endorse their ORB project — a circular shaped 40-storeyed luxury homes development at Sector 74, Noida. After quitting her film career more than a decade ago, Twinkle has taken upon herself the design of this 50-acre property.
The reigning diva of Hindi film industry, Kangna Ranaut, has been roped in by Ajnara India to endorse its projects and in the case of Prateek Group, not one but two celebs are enhancing its brand image — Rajeev Khandelwal and Prachi Desai. Another real estate entity, Krrish Group has roped in dusky damsel Bipasha Basu to endorse its recently launched first project — Provence Estate in Gurgaon with apartments of an average area of 5,800 sq ft.
Some developers have chosen to pick regional celebrities for adding zing to their advertisement campaigns. Of late, two Kolkata-based real estate companies have roped in Bong celebrities — Konkona Sen Sharma in the case of the Eden Group projects and celebrated musician Bickram Ghosh and his actor wife Jaya Seal for Paharpur Pragnya Realty to endorse its upcoming project in Barrackpore. Significantly, the Ghosh couple happens to have also invested in a property in the company’s first project, Genxx Valley in Behala, located on the southern fringes of Kolkata. Well, the list of popular icons endorsing real estate companies is long-drawn, with newer faces being added to it, frequently.
Brand Versus Icon
It seems to have become difficult to market a real estate project without the endorsement of celebrities these days. With property prices touching the roof, real estate developers are pulling out all stops to lure customers. However, is selling a property costing `1 crore, as easy as selling a beauty product costing `50? Aren’t the basic parameters of transparency, credibility and honest delivery getting undermined in this process?
Says Ambi M G Parameswaran, executive director & CEO, Draftfcb+Ulka, “Real estate companies are trying the last trick in the book. In a parity market with a lot of clutter, a well-known celebrity can, of course, help a brand get recall and recognition. FMCG brands have been resorting to this trickery for many years. The big difference is the fact that FMCG products are, by and large, low involvement purchases. Apartments, on the other hand, are very high involvement purchases, so using celebrities for selling homes is at best a risky exercise.”
India being a celebrity-obsessed nation, celebrities can work in the realty sector just like in any other space. The main reason for more realty players to opt for celebrities is the expected rise in real estate prices. While an educated or savvy buyer may not be influenced by such exercises, but even in that circle, a buyer inclined towards films or sports wouldn’t mind getting swayed away by the star power.
Anil Kumar Sharma, CMD, Amrapali Group disagrees that that real estate firms bank more on celebrity endorsement than the important parameters of good quality, value for money and timely delivery. “I strongly believe that brand ambassador and company’s goodwill are intertwined. As Dhoni has to keep performing well as the captain of Indian cricket team, in the same way, we have to keep alive our customers’ trust by providing them properties in a given time-frame, fulfilling all parameters,” says Sharma.
So, do consumers really get influenced by the presence of brand ambassadors, while finalising their property purchase decision? “Frankly, we won’t buy a flat simply by seeing a celebrity as its ambassador. Of course, homes are a lifetime investment and there are many other factors that one has to look into before investing one’s hard earned money. We would want to invest with a credible developer who has a clean balance sheet and track-record. We adore Sachin Tendulkar, but that doesn’t mean that we will blindly buy a home endorsed by him,” say Hanoosh Kodakkat and Fariha H, an NRI couple living in UAE.
Likewise, Realty Plus quizzed over 50 customers looking to invest in real estate across India. Majority of them said that it would make little impact if a project is endorsed by a celebrity or not. They said that real estate is purely a different ball game and it is not advisable to invest lakhs or crores of rupees, simply charmed by brand ambassadors, when it is a known fact that they are paid for their job.
Disregarding Brand Fit
At another level, more often than not, the celebrity is remembered, while the brand is forgotten. “One must find out whether the brand positioning fits the usage of a celebrity or is it a forced affair? Sometimes, the credibility factor also is diminished by using an incongruous star. If the project has many USPs and salient features, spend the budget to communicate these features rather than wasting it on paying some star,” says Kunal Banerji, president marketing at M3M.
But, celebrity endorsement has started to fit in, as far as real estate industry is concerned, claims RK Arora, CMD, Supertech Ltd. “In my view, such endorsements help you gain the required attention of customers in the face of cut-throat competition, but still, the desired credibility comes from quality construction, good value for money and timely delivery of the project. We were more than satisfied with the response we received for ORB, which was endorsed by Twinkle Khanna.” Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi, director, DLF Homes strikes a balanced view, saying, “Irrespective of the industry, the power of celebrities in influencing the consumer’s purchase decision cannot be underestimated. It is an accepted fact that celebrity endorsement can bestow special attributes upon a product. However, if a celebrity can enhance the merits of a brand, in changing times, a reverse has been seen too. Moreover, the aspirational PR coverage and instant brand recall can invest a developer with a temporary credibility only.”
A Selling Proposition?
It is a moot question whether in today’s real estate market, cluttered with celebrity brand ambassadors, the buzz created by them ultimately helps clear up piling inventories and boosting sales.
Says Prashant Tiwari, MD, Prateek Group, “The so-called marketing mania works only for a new company which is little, or not at all, recognised. For creating a buzz about themselves or any new project which they might be planning to launch, these kinds of players suddenly hire the services of a brand ambassador. But the growth in sales can never be achieved by simply hiring famous faces.”
Agrees Pranav Ansal, chairman, Ansal API, “Roping in a celeb can help a company to grab the initial attention but ultimately it’s the 4P’s (price, product, place, positioning) that help to boost property sales. When a buyer makes a decision to invest in a project — quality, price and delivery top his list and if the product doesn’t meet these yardsticks, no amount of celeb value can influence the buyer’s decision.”
Good Strategy For Expansion
Once a nascent concept, celebrity endorsement has today become the trendsetter in the country’s real estate market. In Delhi-NCR alone, there are over 20 firms which rely upon celebrities to market their properties. While the trend is quite prevalent in Western and Northern parts of the country, Southern and Eastern regions have just a few celebrity-endorsed real estate firms and projects.
These variations apart, big real estate players have deep pockets and a face with pan-India appeal may help them when they expand their footprints.
Says Honey Katiyal, CEO, Investors Clinic, “Delhi–NCR based real estate developers are enrolling celebrities as their brand ambassadors for encashing their national status. With the expansion of real estate sector, the customer base has grown manifold, which has underlined the need to reach out to customers in a way that they become confident enough to buy houses, which normally cost a lifetime’s savings.” Katiyal’s company has ace cricketer Yuvraj Singh, now also an epitome of a courageous battle against disease, as its brand ambassador.
Pune-based company Amit Housing has recently signed master blaster Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador in a high-ticket deal, reportedly running into several crores. Does the company — with projects mostly in Pune or surrounding areas — really need Sachin’s iconic stature to sell projects regionally?
Reasons out Katiyal, “Celebrities choose the brand they promote very carefully. They bring in their rapport and goodwill to the company and help in giving initial boost to its services/products. Beyond that, however, what matters is the strength and performance of the company.”
Affordable Versus Luxury Segment
Though high net worth individuals (HNIs) love to flaunt the luxury status of their homes, buying a home is an important investment that a middle-class family makes, which hinges upon value for money, appreciation potential and location of the property. While the concept of brand ambassadors does enjoy a degree of traction in ultra-luxury residential projects, there has been a “lack of success” when it comes to promoting mid-income housing projects through brand ambassadors in regional markets.
In southern India, where there is a greater fan following for film stars than other regions, there are just a few companies which have roped in a celebrity to sell their projects.
Bengaluru-based Oceanus Group has Mollywood star Mohanlal to endorse its projects. The company, which has several projects in Kerala, recently offered special discounts to celebrate the star’s birthday. Another Mollywood star Mammootty endorses Kochi-based real estate firm Pearl Infra, while cricketer S Sreesanth is the face of Mather Projects.
Avers Dr JMA Bruno-Mascarenhas, author of medical books, based in Chennai, “Here, I don’t think the trend is so prevalent. If I see a celebrity endorsing a project I would think that it will be overpriced because of the endorsement and may not further consider it. In South, people are more concerned about the basic parameters of realty development.”
Says Jim Phillip, assistant regional manager, ICICI Prudential Insurance, Kochi, looking to invest in residential real estate in the city, “Celebrity endorsement would definitely enhance the brand recall of a project. But when it comes to buying it, celebrity factor will have little influence over buyers like me.”
In the Eastern region of the country too, the market is extremely conservative where purchases are made by common sense, irrespective of brand ambassadors.
Glamour’s Grey Spots
Recently, well-known singer Yesudas was in a soup for allegedly promoting a Kochi-based real estate company called ‘Apple A Day Properties’ whose promoters are presently evading the arm of law after misappropriating investors’ money.
This is one of the grey areas of celebrity endorsement: fraudulent advertisements endorsed by celebrities. Shouldn’t the so-called brand ambassadors be held liable for issues like cheating in real estate or financial products?
This is what Bollywood actress Genelia D’Souza had to face when she was recently summoned by the Andhra Pradesh High Court to explain her role as brand ambassador in the controversial real estate project called ‘Anjaniputra.’
The episode points to the vexatious issue of dealing with cases of cheating involving a real estate project endorsed by a brand ambassador. While there are no easy answers to these questions, consumers must tread a cautious path while firming up their property purchase decisions.
Passing On The Cost?
While the celebs are fuelling a new trend in the realty space, their endorsements — be it at project level or company level — won’t come for cheap. Is the huge endorsement fee again a burden on the customer’s pocket? What will a customer get, if the project has or not been endorsed by a celebrity? Of course, only a home to live!
“Be it realty or any other segment, the fees charged by brand icons generally do not vary much. The cost depends on the type of celeb a company chooses. An SRK, Amitabh or Dhoni will cost more than someone like Neil Nitin Mukesh or Kailash Kher. One may get a reasonable rate from brand ambassadors for good, recognised national brands as compared to brands that aren’t very popular where the celeb may charge a premium,” says Das Blah, managing director, KWAN Entertainment. At times, says he, compensations are made in terms of property packages. “If an icon that has charged `5 crore, is offered a property worth `2 crore, I don’t think he will decline, given the ever-rising real estate prices.”
Interestingly, few listed companies are keen about doing promotional activities using celebrities.
Behind The Veil
While having celebrities to endorse a product might lead to an increase in property costs, another debatable issue pertains to the use of real estate endorsements by celebrities as a channel to route and park their unaccounted wealth.
“Today, many real estate companies are associated with people who have black money and other benami operations. Unlike Swiss Banks these days, properties are the best place to park your unaccounted wealth away from the glare of income tax sleuths. Yes, when a celebrity is roped in, there is obviously a brand connect but more than it, there are other hidden aspects to the deal as well,” explains a Delhi-based police official, who did not wish to be named. But, none of the developers we interviewed shared any financial details regarding their particular deal with their celebrity icon.
Anil Kumar Sharma of the Amrapali Group strongly denies the possibility of any behind-the-scenes transactions. “It’s an irrelevant question, there is nothing dubious involved in any of our deals with a celebrity. We spend money on marketing where these costs are included. The price of property remains the same and there are less chances of price appreciation because of brand ambassador.” “The ambassadors are chosen at the company level to boost its brand equity rather than selling just one project. It is done because a brand has to be associated with the overall vision of the company, which is always kept in mind in all the projects,” observes Katiyal, declining to share his company’s deal size with Yuvraj Singh.
Rakesh Mahajan, director, Nirala Developers, voices a similar view, “We are using our brand ambassador at the corporate level as we want to register ourselves in the mind of consumer as a brand rather than promoting a single project. Brand endorsement at the company level works better because once you have registered your brand then it becomes comparatively easier to promote respective projects.”
Explains Prashant Tiwari of Prateek, “Whenever we hire a celebrity we only pay them their fees. We don’t offer them any stake in our project. In our company, the fund for celebrity endorsement is a part of the budget which we allocate for media promotions and advertisements. This spend is 1-2 per cent of our turnover.”
As for the overall efficacy of celebrity endorsement as a marketing strategy, no amount of it can help resolve a credibility issue like a negative image on delivery, quality and consistency of a real estate offering. The developer community has to steadfastly follow the basic rule of transparency, credibility and honest delivery as branding helps only when these parameters are ensured. In the ultimate analysis, a real estate entity’s brand name plays the most significant role, besides other aspects. The consumers have come of age and no amount of celebrity endorsement can woo them if the product lacks substance.


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Delivery giant recently missed estimates and has been late to raise prices.
FedEx (FDX) – Get FedEx Corporation Report is facing many road bumps and should have raised its shipping prices sooner, Real Money’s Stephen “Sarge” Guilfoyle argues.
The international shipping company recently reported adjusted fiscal first-quarter earnings per share of $4.37, “missing expectations of more than half a buck higher” Guilfoyle wrote in a recent Real Money Pro Column. While the company generated revenue of $22 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimate by about $140 million, the 14% revenue growth was a deceleration compared to 23% and 30% growth the prior two quarters.
FedEx has several headwinds, including the tightness in hiring employees, rising wages and paying overtime, which cost the company $450 million in expenses for the period. In addition, its operating Income fell from an adjusted $1.64 billion to $1.4 billion on an adjusted operating margin of 6.8%, down from 8.5%. FedEx’s adjusted net income dipped from $1.28 billion to $1.19 billion.
To make matters worse, the company cannot forecast full year fiscal 2022 GAAP EPS or an effective tax rate.
The technical indicators suggest that FedEx is already very oversold.
“Relative Strength, the Full Stochastics Oscillator and the daily MACD all look like something out of a cheap monster movie,” Guilfoyle wrote. “The stock now trades so far below the three key moving averages that I follow as to make mentioning them irrelevant.”
But Guilfoyle said he is “not feeling it. Something is wrong. Wronger than it should be.” He has downgraded FedEx to a “sell” and plans to sell out of his position. “This thing gets back into the high $230s, and I’m outta here,” he wrote.
One factor that would help FedEx boost profit margins is raising prices, which it plans to do starting Jan. 3, 2022. FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Home Delivery shipping rates will rise by an average of 5.9% to 7.9%.
Get more trading strategies and investing insights from the contributors on Real Money.

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(CNN) – America’s largest retailer says prices are going up.
Wal-Mart CFO Brett Biggs told reporters Thursday the company is planning to raise prices on items impacted by tariffs on Chinese goods.
He did not specify which items would see increases.
The Trump administration raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese-made goods last week that mostly impacted industrial materials.
But things like luggage, hats and gloves were also affected.
According to a letter sent to President Trump by retail groups, China supplies 41% of apparel sold in the US as well as 72% of all footwear and 84% of travel goods.
Wal-Mart imports 26% of the merchandise it sells from China.
That number is lower than many other retailers because more than half of its sales come from groceries, which mostly come from the US and other regions.
Biggs pledged Wal-Mart will do everything it can to keep prices low.
For live, local news, download the KRONon app. It lets you watch commercial-free the Bay Area’s Local News Station on multiple streaming devices.
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The Realme X50 Pro 5G launched in India and Europe last month debuted in China today.
The X50 Pro 5G comes in Rust Red and Moss Green colors and has three memory options - 8GB/128GB priced at CNY3,599 ($515/€460), 8GB/256GB priced at CNY3,899 ($560/€495), and 12GB/256GB that costs CNY4,199 ($600/€535).
It's already up for pre-order in China and sales will begin on March 19.
The X50 Pro 5G is Realme's first flagship of 2020. It's powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC and runs Android 10-based Realme UI out of the box.
The X50 Pro 5G boasts a 6.44" FHD+ 90Hz AMOLED screen and packs a 4,200 mAh battery that charges at up to 65W.
For photography, the X50 Pro 5G has a quad camera setup at the back, which is a combination of 64MP main, 12MP telephoto, 8MP ultrawide and 2MP depth sensor modules. For selfies and video calls, there's a 32MP snapper on the front, which is joined by an 8MP ultrawide unit.
You can read our Realme X50 Pro 5G hands-on review to know more about it. And if you are in a rush, you can watch the video below where Will talks about the phone's key features.
Source (in Chinese)


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Last week, the Canadian government announced a ban on cruise liners carrying at least 100 passengers through at least February 28, 2022. This has deeply impacted Disney Cruise Line and other cruise operators who sail to Alaska.
Related: Disney Cruise Line Confirms Level 4 Travel Warning From CDC
The official announcement reads, in part:
Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced two new Interim Orders, which prohibit pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic waters and cruise vessels in all Canadian waters until February 28, 2022. This means:
- Adventure-seeking pleasure craft are still prohibited from entering Arctic waters.
- Passenger vessels carrying more than 12 people are still prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters, including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and the Labrador Coast.
- Cruise vessels carrying more than 100 people are still prohibited from operating in Canadian waters.
Every cruise liner in the Disney Cruise Line fleet — the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy, the Disney Magic, and the Disney Wonder — each carry well over 100 passengers.
Related: Disney Cruise Line Extends Suspension Further Into 2021
Today, Inside the Magic confirmed with the Disney Cruise Line customer relations phone line that bookings for all upcoming sailings to Alaska have been suspended at this time.
Those Guests who previously booked staterooms on 2021 Alaskan cruises have not yet been notified of itinerary cancellations, but no new reservations are available at this time. Disney is aware of Canada’s new restrictions and the company is currently monitoring how it will impact Disney Cruise Line’s Vancouver port and various Alaskan ports of call.
Due to this new Canadian cruising ban, it is likely that Disney will have to cancel its entire 2021 Alaskan sailing season, which runs from May through September annually. The popular cruise season was also canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disney Cruise Line had 17 available 2021 Alaskan cruises on its official website. The first was slated to leave on the Disney Wonder on May 17, 2021. These Disney Alaska cruise options have now been removed, indicating an official cancelation announcement is likely to come soon:
The cruise industry has been ravaged by the pandemic and The Walt Disney Company’s cruise division is no exception.
Related: Details About the Changes to Disney Cruise Line Staterooms
This means that Disney Cruise Line will not be able to offer an Alaskan sailing itinerary until May 2022 at the earliest, marking three years without visiting Alaska. Disney last sailed to Alaska in 2019, due to the canceled 2020 season.
What is Disney Cruise Line’s current status?
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lifted its “No-Sail Order” on October 31, 2020, Disney Cruise Line has yet to return to the high seas — and may be unable to for quite some time.
As part of the CDC’s sailing framework, all cruise lines are required to obtain conditional sailing certificates for all the vessels in their fleets. This means that a variety of pandemic health and safety protocols must be in place and test cruises must occur before paying passengers are officially allowed to board.
At this time, none of Disney’s ships have returned to normal operations. If you are interested in changing an existing cruise reservation to a later date or learning more about future cruise credit offerings, contact Disney Cruise Line directly.
Disney’s first Triton Class ship, the Disney Wish, is still slated to make its maiden voyage in Summer 2022.
Stay tuned to Inside the Magic for the latest Disney Cruise Line news and let us know what you think about three years without DCL’s Alaskan cruises in the comments!
If you are interested in booking a future Disney Cruise Line vacation, let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan every magical detail. Whether you want to visit Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, in the Bahamas, you are planning an epic European adventure inspired by Frozen, or you simply want to discover the latest Disney cruise deals, they can help you every step of the way.
This article has been updated since its original publication.


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Uber has made a concerted push to expand its reach in New York City, and it's starting to reap the benefits.
For the first time ever, more people are using Uber in New York than the city's classic yellow taxi cabs, the New York Times reported this week. On the average day in July, for example, Uber completed 289,000 rides while New York taxis recorded 277,000 trips, according to the report.
Uber's new lead is the result of sending thousands of black cars to New York's outer boroughs, such as Queens and the Bronx, according to The Times. Cabs can be hard to find in those areas, which also lack easy access to public transit.
The total number of New York taxi trips fell 11% to 123.7 million in 2016, and industry revenue dropped 9% to $1.8 billion, according to Crain's New York Business. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley estimated that the share of ride-hailing trips accounted for by traditional taxis fell from 84% in April 2015 to 65% in April of last year, as app-based competitors, including Uber, Lyft, and Via, gained market share.
New York is one of Uber's biggest markets, but its ascendance in the city hasn't been easy, thanks in part to several run-ins with the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Taxis likely won't disappear anytime soon, but it's clear they're now operating in Uber's shadow.


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Your search for Fashion and Apparel in Raf Simons returned 82 articles
ARTICLES ABOUT RAF SIMONS
Nicolas Ghesquière, Raf Simons, Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour, and Kanye West were all chatting with the contestants.February 27, 2014, Thursday
These fashion brand collections share certain qualities that may help them go viral.January 24, 2014, Friday
At the Paris Couture shows, designers featured elegantly simple shapes and ethereal fabrics.January 23, 2014, Thursday
Raf Simons has good taste in art. That he proposed doing a complete line with Sterling Ruby is not surprising.January 17, 2014, Friday
The designer, in collaboration with a Los Angeles artist, sent out a winter 2014 men’s collection that was as colorful as it was desirable.January 17, 2014, Friday
The Belgian designer teamed up with the American artist, an old friend, to design a one-off collection under a new label.January 16, 2014, Thursday
Scenes from the Paris Fashion Week photo diary of Kevin Tachman.January 16, 2014, Thursday
Designers tend to work feverishly in a single genre, instead of creating a broad vision.January 10, 2014, Friday
What started as a ripple in New York has turned into an all-out spring trend, as both Céline and Chloé showed pleated looks.September 29, 2013, Sunday
In Paris, a string of captivating images from several labels including Dior, Chalayan, Lanvin, Ricci.September 28, 2013, Saturday
The atmosphere — not to mention the reception — was quite different from a year ago, when Raf Simon’s reverential collection paid homage to the couture house.September 28, 2013, Saturday
Raf Simons’s collection offered so many things to look at, from the cut of the shirt dresses, to the wisteria-like clumps of beaded necklaces, and more.September 27, 2013, Friday
The fashion photographers Patrick Demarchelier, Terry Richardson, Willy Vanderperre and Paolo Roversi captured the collection’s global essence in these previously unpublished images.August 21, 2013, Wednesday
Men’s wear designers harped on freedom this season during Paris men’s Fashion Week, probably to the bafflement of men, who generally have little trouble doing exactly what they want.July 4, 2013, Thursday
At Couture Fashion Week, Giorgio Armani offered a feast for the eyes; Raf Simons, nourishment for the mind.July 4, 2013, Thursday
SEARCH 82 ARTICLES ABOUT RAF SIMONS:
In almost every one of the 54 outfits, in the purposeful use of craft, Mr. Simons made a link to the modernity that Christian Dior brought to fashion right after World War II.
Giorgio Armani offered a feast for the eyes; Raf Simons, nourishment for the mind.
Raf Simons conceived the collection as four loosely aligned geographic groups: Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa. Each group expressed a central idea.
The press buildup at the recent spring collections in Paris for the first ready-to-wear shows by the new designers Raf Simons (for Dior) and Hedi Slimane (for Saint Laurent) was far-fetched.
Photos from the men’s wear shows in Paris, including Thom Browne, Givenchy, Raf Simons and Yves Saint Laurent.
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Aesthetics reports on the Galderma Aesthetics Academy Annual Conference.
Global pharmaceutical company Galderma has appointed Kendrick PR and Mantlepiece PR as its new UK representatives.
Pharmaceutical company Galderma will be the headline sponsor at CCR in October.
Clinic group Premier Laser & Skin is celebrating its success after 10 years in operation.
A statement by the Association for Cosmetic Practitioners Britain (ACPB) has been released today in response to the recent Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners' (JCCP) announcement to only allow healthcare professionals onto Part 1 of the JCCP Practitioner Register.
Pharmaceutical company Galderma has released the results of its two phase III studies for its liquid formulation of botulinumtoxinA (relabotulinumtoxinA).
Know our NASHAs from our OBTs to create a personalised signature look with Restylane hyaluronic acid fillers
Aesthetics reports on the highlights of the annual aesthetic conference of the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses.
Pharmaceutical company Galderma will be hosting a free, two-hour webinar on the Aesthetics Media website between 7-9pm on March 11.
New technology will be in place from January 31 to monitor advertisements on social media relating to the promotion of prescription-only medicines (POMs) such as botulinum toxin.


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Fast Track CRM Inks Deal With Parimatch Africa
The online gambling industry continues to grow globally. Some countries and states focus on different types of wagering. For example, some companies focus on land casinos with hotels and a Racetrack. Others have gotten into the online casino business. Recently, in The United States Of America and Africa, a lot of big corporations have invested in the Sports betting industry. In this article, we are going to discuss how Parimatch Africa just signed a deal with FAST TRACK CRM with a focus on sports wagering.
In a recent press release from The Lyceum PR Team, Parimatch Africa announces its new deal. If you are not familiar with Parimatch Africa, they are one of the top-rated Africa-facing sports betting operators. Recently, they announced that they have decided to switch to FAST TRACK CRM . As a result, they will be giving their customers real-time player engagement with their new platform.
With this new partnership, Parimatch Africa can continue to dominate the sports betting business in Africa. Furthermore, they have a decent-sized presence in Tanzania. Now, they are looking to expand to other countries on the African Continent. Their goal is to use Fast Track’s software to grow a larger market share of this emerging market. They can offer their customers a specialized CRM tool.
Fast Track CRM is one of the leading CRM platforms in the online gambling industry, globally. Ultimately, they build their software with a focus on the IGaming industry. They offer tons of player engagement data, which allows more operators to place bets in real-time.
In the recent press release from The Lyceum PR Team, Lasha Gogiberidze, who is the CEO of Parimatch Africa makes a few statement. First of all, she says “We have big plans over the next few months. With Africa being the fastest-growing region for sports betting, now is our moment to bring something new and exciting to this market.
Shortly after that, she goes onto to say “As part of our expansion plans, we know that we have to be able to engage with players in a way that others are not currently achieving in Africa, and FAST TRACK CRM is the tool we need to be able to do this.”


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Fearne Cotton has revealed a stunning new hair transformation on Instagram and the star looks fantastic.
Taking to the social media platform, Fearne revealed her new hair to fans, saying: "Gone pink in honour of my mate Lyndell. I’m thinking of you Lyndy and promise to seek the colour and fun in life always."
Fearne debuted a gorgeous and fun new pink colour, with fans and celebrities alike commenting on how much they loved her new hair. Singer Jessie Ware commented "Love it xxx" while actress, Patsy Palmer, said: "Looks beautiful 💕💕💕."
Fearne's new look also has a beautiful and meaningful reason behind it that inspired the change. Fearne revealed that going pink was to honour her late friend and hair stylist, Lyndell, who sadly passed away recently. Fearne had previously shared a thoughtful post about Lyndell, saying: "I’m not sure I’ve ever met a more vibrant, beautiful, positive soul in my life."
Lyndell was known for her signature pink hair, which Fearne has beautifully paid tribute to with her latest look. The star shared another picture of her pink hair with fans more recently, reminding "check in with yourself to see how you’re feeling without judgement," ahead of World Mental Health Day.
Fearne's new hair is so gorgeous and such a beautiful tribute.


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On Tuesday, Walgreens Boots Alliance stated that it intends to purchase Rite Aid for $17.2 billion in cash (including net debt), a move aimed to massively strengthen its influence and negotiation capacity with pharmacy benefit managers as well as drug producers.
National regulators are bound to analyze the transaction, as retail pharmacy mergers could lead to a very small number of chains sharing the market.
Thanks to the healthcare politics of president Obama, the Affordable Care Act is in full swing. One consequence of it is that big names from the pharmaceutical industry chose to join forces. Another effect of the Obamacare is that more Americans are insured, which upped the demand for prescriptions. Only last year, this led to a seven percent spike in pharmacies' profits, year to year.
"Today's announcement is another step in Walgreens Boots Alliance's global development," Walgreens CEO Stefano Pessina, declared.
Walgreens has a tradition of growing by acquiring smaller companies. Names such as USA Drugs, Kerr Drug and Duane Reade were recently welcomed under the Walgreen umbrella, which allowed the corporation to own around 8,200 stores and bank $76 billion last year. The purchase of Rite Aid brings boosts Walgreens's trove with an extra 4,600 stores in 31 states.
By comparison, CVS Health, the largest chain of drugstores by market cap, runs around 7,800 stores.
"This combination will further strengthen our commitment to making quality healthcare accessible to more customers and patients. Our complementary retail pharmacy footprints in the U.S. will create an even better network, with more health and wellness solutions available in stores and online," added Pessina.
In turn, this will directly reflect into better prices for customers who purchase prescriptions.
Even after the deal is closed, Rite Aid will still keep its own brand name, but will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens.
Due to the scale of the transaction, antitrust scrutiny is expected.
Jeffrey S. Spigel, a specialist in antitrust law firm King & Spalding, affirms that special attention will be focused on geographical locations where Rite Aid and Walgreens are in competition with each other. This means that in respect to regulations, only one of the two brands names should be present in some areas.
Spigel further pointed out that The Federal Trade Commission promised deeper scrutiny on the means by which clients purchase prescriptions and pharmacy items.
"I expect that the companies will argue that the competition is now broader than just the Rite Aids, Walgreens and CVSs of the world," he mentioned.
After news broke out regarding the transaction between the two pharmaceutical companies, Rite Aid's stock surged and closed the day at $8.67, marking a near 43 percent rise in value.
Walgreens stated that the deal will be financed through a mixed bag of measures including cash, deleting existing debts of Rite Aid and opening of crediting lines.
Leading to the merging process, Rite Aid received council from Citigroup for financing and from Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Jones Day for legal issues.
UBS offered financial know-how to Walgreens and is the only institution that will manage the banking part of the deal, while legal matters were handled by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
Walgreens acquiring Rite Aid may prove to be a substantial step forward towards affordable pharmaceutical shopping and the number of real stores adds to the human factor value that over-the-Internet purchasing currently lacks.


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Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad is investing more than RM100 million (US$24 million) to expand its MILO factory in Chembong, in line with its strategy of driving strong, profitable and sustainable growth and investing in Malaysia as a key manufacturing hub for the Nestlé Group. Subsequently, French dairy group, Lactalis will acquire and take over operations of the PJ factory as well as Nestlé’s market-leading Chilled Dairy business.
Lactalis plans to establish Malaysia as the operations hub of its Dairy business in ASEAN with plans to drive growth through an expanded portfolio of exciting new products.
The Nestlé expansion is part of the company’s drive to improve efficiency and enhance competitiveness and will see the group establishing its Chembong Factory as the world’s biggest MILO Manufacturing Centre of Excellence.
Nestlé Malaysia will be moving all existing MILO manufacturing operations from its Petaling Jaya (PJ) Factory to consolidate and expand MILO production at the Chembong Factory.
“This move is an investment to strengthen our Nestlé presence in Malaysia further. The MILO plant in Chembong is an integral part of the company’s business, supplying MILO domestically and contributing exports to over 20 countries,” says Alois Hofbauer, CEO of Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad.
“Through the concentration of our MILO operations and our investment of over RM100 million into the Chembong factory, we will not only be able to upgrade production facilities further and improve operational efficiencies but also scale up capacity and make Chembong the biggest MILO Manufacturing Center in the Nestlé world. This will help us to meet growing local and export demand better.”
“Nestlé remains positive on the Malaysian market and Malaysia as an export hub and we look forward to unlocking more growth opportunities in the future. We see great potential that these investments will allow us to strengthen our focus on strategic core businesses that can deliver good long-term growth and are aligned with evolving consumer needs. At the same time, this initiative will pave the way for the Chilled Dairy business and PJ factory to flourish under the new leadership of Lactalis,” adds Hofbauer.
By: Food Ingredients First
Source: Food Ingredients Food
Consumer behaviors and preferences are evolving rapidly. With macro shifts in society, inflation and food supply challenges set to profoundly influence how people consume food and beverages, Givaudan is exploring what the world of dairy alternatives will look like in the coming decade.
After nearly three decades with AFI, Andersen is leaving to pursue a different career path “to work on diverse projects and explore opportunities to serve as board member”. Serving as CEO since 2010, Andersen joined AFI in 1994, initially overseeing applications and R&D. Over the years, he has maintained a strong focus on the whey business.
The Kraft Heinz Company has introduced five new members to its executive leadership team, who will collaborate with Carlos Abrams-Rivera upon assuming the CEO role in 2024. Pedro Navio will assume the position of North America president at the beginning of next year. In addition, Willem Brandt, Bruno Keller, Cory Onell and Diana Frost will join Abrams-Rivera and Navio on the executive leadership team.


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Japanese mobile game provider Gree said Wednesday it will buy California-based developer Funzio for US$210 million.
The acquisition will allow Gree to add to its growing portfolio Funzio’s game franchises, “Crime City,” “Modern War,” and “Kingdom Age,” which have totalled over 20 million downloads worldwide. The Japanese company, which acquired game platform operator OpenFeint last year, is expanding aggressively toward its goal of 1 billion users. It had 190 million at the end of last year.
Funzio’s games are free but charge for in-game currency. In Crime City, for instance, a “bag of gold” costs US$4.99, while a “vault of gold” is available for US$79.99. Many of Gree’s other offerings also charge for in-game purchases, as well as generating revenue from advertising and its social platform.
Gree has mainly focused on mobile games until now, but Funzio has also expanded its titles to social networks Facebook and Google+, looking to leverage its success in Apple’s iOS ecosystem.
Gree is putting the finishing touches on a new global gaming platform announced last year. The company has said the platform will go live by the end of June, unifying its existing APIs and allowing game developers to easily launch globally on iOS, Android or on the web. It will also allow the company to unify its social and advertising networks, which generate most of its profits.
The Japanese company is fueling its overseas ambition with strong income at home and a yen that is near record highs versus other currencies. For the fiscal year through June, it targets a net profit of at least ¥44 billion (US$550 million).
Gree is competing in the U.S. and other international markets with Japanese rival DeNA, which acquired mobile game firm ngmoco and has sealed deals with large carriers such as AT&T. The two companies have clashed in court over copyright infringements and the alleged blocking of developers from launching games on each others’ platforms.
Funzio is based in San Francisco and has 100 employees, according to its web site. The company is funded by IDG Capital Partners, which is backed by International Data Group (IDG), the parent company of IDG News Service.


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As Digg prepares to launch its own alternative to Google Reader — which is set to shut down on July 1 — the site surveyed about 17,000 Google Reader users to find out how they use the RSS service. Digg has gotten 8,000 responses so far, and the company posted some results on its blog Thursday.
One stat that sticks out is that 80 percent of respondents check Google Reader “many times a day,” and 40 percent subscribe to over 100 feeds. “This is a product for power users,” Digg concludes, “and we’ll need to make sure we have some serious infrastructure in place to support that kind of usage for launch.”
The survey also finds that most respondents use Google Reader for both work and non-work stuff, suggesting that while this is definitely a product beloved by journalists, they aren’t the only ones using it. (In fact, more respondents said they use Google Reader for “play” alone than for work only.)
And while over 40 percent of respondents haven’t actually switched over to a replacement RSS service yet (maybe they’re waiting for Google to change its mind), it appears that those who have either switched or are now testing another reader are going with Feedly, both on desktop and mobile:
That’s borne out by the fact that Feedly added three million new users in the first two weeks following the announcement of Google Reader’s death. And while Digg seems pleased to note that it’s early and people “have yet to settle” on a Reader alternative, Feedly’s success thus far may be a stumbling block for companies that take awhile to launch their product. On the other hand, if many people are sticking with Google Reader until the bitter end, companies like Digg have at least a couple of months to roll out an alternative.


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Senator Carl L. Marcellino today announced that he is co- sponsoring legislation that would ban the practice of "universal default" in New York State, which allows credit card companies to increase interest rates if a cardholder makes a late payment to another credit card company or even pays a phone or utility bill late. The practice has forced some consumers to pay twice the amount of their credit card bills because of interest and fees.
Universal default clauses are increasingly common provisions in credit card agreements that allow a credit card company to increase a cardholder’s interest rate or impose additional fees and charges based on the cardholder missing a payment to another creditor, such as a credit card company, mortgage lender, or the telephone company. Information about universal default is usually buried in the fine print of a credit card agreement.
"Everyone should be extremely alarmed by these schemes cooked-up by private corporations that amount to an invasion of privacy never before seen. Under the disguise of good business practices, banking and insurance companies are developing financial practices that penalize everyone but the very rich in our society. This practice must be banned in New York State," said Senator Marcellino.
While credit card companies have always had default interest rates, late fees or other charges imposed on cardholders who fail to make timely minimum payments, with universal default, a company views a default to any creditor as a default to itself and then penalizes the cardholder.
Nearly half of U.S. banks have universal default clauses, with universal default rates running as high as 35%. Senior citizens and college students, two groups that have been identified as relying more on credit cards in recent years, are impacted greatly by universal default and other credit card practices. According to a new study by the National Consumer Law Center, the average credit card debt for consumers aged 65 to 69 has skyrocketed 217 percent over the last decade to $5,844. Forty-seven percent of college students have four or more credits cards, and students double their average credit card debt and triple the number of credit cards in their wallet by the time they graduate college (Nellie Mae Credit Card Study).
This legislaion would prohibit banks that do business in New York State from enforcing universal default provisions against New York cardholders. The measure was approved by the State Senate and the State Assembly last year, but was vetoed by then-Governor George Pataki.


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As she keeps hitting runways worldwide, model Monika Myers wants others to know they too can pursue their passions, whatever they may be.
The Toronto teen, who has family ties to Chatham, has become a role model in the fashion industry.
Last year, she was the first model with Down syndrome in Canada to walk the runway for Toronto Kids Fashion Week, and the first such Canadian model to take part in New York Fashion Week.
Since breaking that glass ceiling, she has become an ambassador, advocate and guest speaker for people with visible and invisible disabilities.
“It’s awesome,” the 15-year-old said Thursday, adding she’s enjoying the experience and looking forward to the month ahead.
She’ll be returning to New York Fashion Week, this time as the first Canadian model on the Runway of Dreams, helping raise awareness for people with disabilities in the industry.
Her photo has also been selected out of 2,400 worldwide entries for the National Down Syndrome Society video presentation on the JumboTron in Times Square.
This month, she will fulfil her dream of walking in Paris Fashion Week for renowned designer, Funari NY, and become the first Canadian to take part in Fashion Week Studio, in Place Vendôme.
“It’s been an unbelievable journey … This year past has been an absolute whirlwind,” said her mother, Stephanie Myers, who is originally from Chatham.
“The world has fallen in love with Monika. The bigger picture is what it stands for about inclusivity and diversity. And that we really are all beautiful.”
Throughout her travels, Monika has spoken at various events including United Nations World Down Syndrome Day in Trinidad & Tobago to support inclusion in the education system and community.
She has an initiative called “I AM BRAVE AND BEAUTIFUL” and makes bracelets to empower others, while donating to charity.
Monika has also been featured in Biz & Fashion magazine.
Stephanie said parents want to see their children do what they love, but admitted watching them effect change is even more rewarding.
“So much excitement has come out of it,” she said. “Monika has opened the door for others. We’ve seen other people with Down syndrome be accepted into the fashion industry since. And other people just pursuing their own dream.”
People can follow Monika on Instagram @Monikamyers08 and @IAMBRAVEANDBEAUTIFUL.


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There are a lot of reasons to get the Note 10+ over the Note 10 this year. The Note 10+ has a larger and sharper display, bigger battery, and is the only one of the two phones that comes with more than one storage configuration.
While the regular Note 10 limits you to just 256GB of storage, the Note 10+ allows you to choose between 256GB and 512GB. Even better, it comes with expandable storage (here are a few of our favorite microSD cards for it, by the way), so you can add even more space if you find yourself needing it.
Some of our AC forum members recently got to talking about which storage variant they ended up getting, and this is what they had to say.
Now, we want to hear from you. What storage size did you get for the Note 10+?
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The Echo Buds are just $80 right now and that’s a great deal
Alexa's 6th birthday is coming up, and our favorite AI voice assistant is discounting all of her favorite Amazon devices. I recommend that you rush to grab a pair of Amazon's underrated Echo Buds which are on sale today for $50 off!
Where's Android 10 for my smartphone?
Android 10 has been kicking around for more than a year now, but not every phone has received the big update yet ahead of the launch of Android 11. Here's a breakdown of which phones are confirmed to get the Android 10 update and when you can look forward to it.
Google's Pixel 5 is now on sale in the U.S. and Canada
Google's Pixel 5 is finally available to purchase in the U.S. and Canada. The phone was released in seven countries earlier this month, including Australia and the U.K.
These are the best Galaxy Note 10 cases on the market!
The Galaxy Note 10 is a stunning, powerful, and shatter-prone smartphone. Keep it safe with one of these excellent cases!


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Circular smart ring aims to “democratise personal health”
Smart wearables brand Circular have launched a smart ring and aims to “democratise personal health” for worldwide users and to meet the growing demand for health wearables.
The ring, dubbed “the most wearable wearable” by the brand, is available to preorder from the company’s website, for delivery in the summer. It features sensors capable of detecting 142 metrics including heart rate variability, blood oxygenation or SpO2, breathing rate, body temperature, heart recovery, and sleep balance, Circular says.
According the company, it correlates metrics to give personalised recommendations that help users in making good decisions, responding to their body signals in a healthier way: better sleep, physical activities and heart recovery, resulting in proactive health monitoring to alert on conditions such as sleep apnea.
Compared to competitive wearables, the ring does not provide just raw data, but also personal insights, thanks to the accompanying app that includes a personal assistant, and it connects via Bluetooth to the user’s iPhone or Android device.
In addition, the ring is customisable, with four outer shells to choose from – silver, gold, rose gold and black. The Circular ring can be charged on the go with a portable USB-dongle.
Finally, the ring offers a personal & smart alarm clock, which, unusually for an alarm, is silent, Circular says. It works by studying the user’s sleep and smoothly wakes them up during the light sleep stage, without disturbing the user’s surroundings, thanks to silent vibrations.
Other features to be added in the future include alert notifications including calendar, reminders, timer or social notifications right on the wearer’s finger with discreet vibrations to never miss out on what’s important.
Among the company’s other aims are that of controlling other connected objects with the ring and a second round of fundraising to invest in further developments
Amaury Kosman, co-founder of Circular, comments: “The Circular ring is a daily companion capable of tracking your health and activity metrics from wake time to bedtime. It will assist every user on its daily life to improve it, with easy-to-read insights and pertinent recommendations.”
Initially, the brand is targeting the B2C market and will soon be aimed at professionals (insurance companies, medical and health establishments, etc.), Circular says. Orders mainly concern the United States, Canada, European countries (France, Germany, Italy and UK), Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Key Selling Points
- Sensors capable of detecting 142 metrics
- Waterproof up to five metres
- Customisable with four finishes
For more health and fitness wearables news, click here


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BELGRADE, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Infrastructure investments and other projects within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative are benefitting Serbia as well as the whole of Europe, an expert has said.
Neven Cveticanin, a senior research assistant at the Institute of Social Sciences of Serbia, told Xinhua in a recent interview that the stable and fruitful bilateral cooperation helps improve Serbia's economy and its people's living standard, and also sets an example for Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to strengthen their cooperation with China within the framework of the win-win initiative.
In May last year, a Serbian delegation, headed by then Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and including several ministers, attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, during which several cooperation agreements were reached between the two countries.
One of the cooperation achievements is the Pupin Bridge in Belgrade, Serbia's capital, over the Danube River. Funded and built by Chinese enterprises, the bridge is regarded as a friendship bridge between the two peoples, the expert said.
"It is a useful bridge that links two parts of Belgrade. Vehicles and pedestrians are seen crossing the bridge everyday," said Cveticanin.
He referred to a steel mill in Smederevo, which kept the about 5,000 jobs after it was purchased by a Chinese company, as another major achievement of bilateral cooperation.
The achievements are also visible on the streets in Serbia, the expert said. "We notice that more and more Chinese come to the country for tours or businesses and Chinese restaurants and goods are popular among Serbian customers."
The growing bilateral cooperation also provides the two countries' scholars with opportunities to exchange views and learn from each other, said Cveticanin, who participated in a meeting of think-tanks from CEE countries and China last December in Beijing.
The expert suggested that the two sides increase science and education cooperation within the framework of the initiative and promote engagement between universities and scholars.
Cveticanin believed that the cooperation sets an example for CEE countries. "If Serbia-China cooperation can make such achievements and benefit their economies and peoples, this kind of cooperation can be a good example for other countries."


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The Chevrolet Volt was the best-selling rechargeable auto in the U.S. in May, topping Toyota’s plug-in Prius and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf hatchback.
Deliveries of the GM plug-in sedan more than tripled to 1,680 units from 481 a year earlier, bringing the yearly total to 7,057. Toyota sold 1,086 of the Prius plug-in version, introduced in March. That is down from the cars initial month of sales in April of 1,654. Nissan Leaf sales slid 55 percent to 510 cars. This is compared to a year-low in April of 370. Total YTD Leaf sales are 2,613.
Leaf sales have dropped the past two months as the Yokohama, Japan-based company has changed how it sells the car, now available in all 50 U.S. states, said Al Castignetti, vice president of Nissan’s North American sales.
“I have huge dispersion issues,” Castignetti said in an interview today. “In places like California, dealers have pretty good inventory, but I’ve got states that literally have no Leafs, and we’ve got to address that.”
Sales of the Leaf will rise to a minimum of 1,000 a month by July, he said.
The four-model Prius line from Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota, which includes the plug-in version, is the biggest seller among all electric-drive autos, with sales rising 210 percent to 21,477 in May and 73 percent to 107,504 for the year. The standard Prius sold 13,053, while the C and V sold 3,693, and 3,645 respectively.


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Informz, an email marketing service catering to associations and nonprofits, released its 2012 Association Email Marketing Benchmark Report. The study found that the day of the week mattered little on the open rate, but emails sent in the morning had a higher open rate than the mid-afternoon. Also, shorter subject lines were the most successful.
Web Analytics Association changed its name to the Digital Analytics Association, Wakefield, Mass., effective immediately. The new positioning reflects the focus of the organization.
International Association of Business Communicators World Conference, June 24-27 in Chicago, is expecting more than 1,400 participants. The conference will focus on professional development and best practices for those in the communications industry. Keynote speaker will be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Business Marketing Association announced a new Go and Grow traveling conference for marketing professionals as an extension of its annual conference. The association has planned events across the country in the late summer and early fall.
Communications and media professionals pay attention – March is International Listening Awareness Month, according to International Listening Association. The 2012 theme is “We Are Listening-Advocate, Research, Educate,” which is in line with the theme of the association’s annual convention in Bremerton, Wash.


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A software developer and publisher which has won a BAFTA for its games is moving its Birmingham base to a new home in the Custard Factory.
Codemasters will relocate its studio from Edgbaston to Digbeth later this year.
The firm is known for the DiRT, GRID, Micro Machines series and official games of the FIA Formula One world championships including F1 2010 which won a BAFTA for best sports game.
The business, which is headquartered in Southam near Leamington Spa, has taken 9,000 sq ft of space in the Custard Factory and a three-month programme will now begin to renovate three floors of the building to house 120 staff.
Custard Factory owner Lucan Gray said: "Each time a business joins our working community, the whole gets stronger, giving more employment opportunities and expanding the talent pool.
"Codemasters is a particularly exciting company, combining cutting edge art, design, programming and much more to achieve international commercial success.
"Codemasters will add significantly to the impressive list of products being conceived, created and made right here in Digbeth and sold all over the world.
"We are thrilled they are coming, particularly as we will together launch a quarterly workshop to promote interaction with creative businesses in the city and give people who are interested an opportunity to learn from an industry leader."
The space will comprise open-plan studios, private meeting spaces and break-out areas, with the team expected to be in situ in early spring.
Nick Craig, studio manager for Codemasters in Birmingham, added: "We're looking forward to becoming part of the vibrant community that the Custard Factory has created.
"This will move the studio to an area of the city much more suited to our unique business and company personality.
"From our new home, we will continue to create some of the most successful racing games in the world and expand our successful portfolio of products onto mobile later this year."


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Neiman Marcus will acquire Stylyze, a Seattle startup that helps online home and fashion retailers – GeekWire
Luxury retail giant Neiman Marcus Group this week announced that it will acquire Stylyze, a Seattle startup that sells “merchandising-as-a-service” software to online home and fashion retailers.
Stylyze provides retailers with product attribution data, digital outfit and room builders, content creation tools, and more to boost their e-commerce shopping experiences. The startup was founded by Kristen Miller and Lisa Perrone Cirelli. Miller previously founded four companies in the home decor industry. Perrone Cirelli is an interior design expert who previously worked at Schoenfeld Interiors and Schick Design Group.
“This allows us to deepen our relationship with our customers through the use of technology,” Neiman CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said in a statement.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Miller told GeekWire that she and Perrone Cirelli, along with 12 other staffers, will join Neiman as part of the acquisition.
“We are excited to continue to expand our platform and integrate more deeply across Neiman’s business,” she said. “At this point, the thought is that that platform will be for their exclusive use.”
Stylyze launched in 2015 and had raised $2.8 million to date from investors including many leading retail executives such as former Nordstrom CFO Mike Koppel. It previously partnered with Neiman starting in 2018.
The acquisition of Stylyze is part of Neiman’s plan to invest in tech and digital capabilities. The company took a hit due to the pandemic as COVID restrictions crushed department store sales. Neiman filed for bankruptcy a year ago, added new owners, and then refinanced $1.1 billion in debt.


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Samsung is all over the internet today because of the announcements it made at its Developers Conference. While the Samsung foldable smartphone is getting all the attention, we might see an entry-level Android Go smartphone to be launched by Samsung in the near future. Dubbed as the Samsung Galaxy J4 Core, the Android Go-based smartphone is spotted on a Brazilian e-commerce portal which also revealed the key specifications of the smartphone. Being an Android Go smartphone, the Galaxy J4 Core is listed with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard storage and a front-facing LED flash.
Samsung Galaxy J4 Core: Specifications and Features
Diving into the listing of the Galaxy J4 Core, the phone will have a large 6-inch HD+ display on the front with 18:9 aspect ratio, 720x1480 pixels resolution and 274 PPI. The listing, however, did not reveal which protective glass is used on the smartphone. This dual-SIM smartphone comes laden with Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) out of the box. Other connectivity options on the smartphone include 4G LTE, VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and a Micro USB port.
The phone will be powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core chipset, clubbed with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Notably, we haven't seen many Android Go smartphones in the past with 16GB of onboard storage. There's a dedicated microSD card slot which allows users to expand storage up to 256GB.
Cameras on the Samsung Galaxy J4 Core include an 8MP shooter on the rear side with a f/2.2 aperture and LED flash, followed by a 5MP shooter on the front which also has an LED flash. The camera app is said to offer features such as Emoji AR, super slow-mo video recording, Pro mode and timelapse. Lastly, the phone comes backed by a 3300mAh battery and it measures 160.6x76.1x7.9mm. Sensors on the handset include an accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor and geomagnetic. It weighs 170 grams.
Galaxy J4 Core Will Be Second Android Go Smartphone from Samsung
To recall, Samsung launched its first Android Go smartphone a while back and it also arrived with similar specifications. The Galaxy J2 Core is Samsung's first Android Go smartphone and it arrived with features such as a 5-inch FWVGA display, Exynos 7570 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 8MP rear camera, 5MP selfie camera, Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) and a 2600mAh battery.
That said, the upcoming Galaxy J4 Core brings upgrades in every aspect. Firstly, it has an 18:9 display on the front and the processor could be a powerful one too. It has a bigger battery and also offers double the storage out of the box. When the Galaxy J4 Core launches in India, it could be the pricier Android Go smartphone to launch in India. The Galaxy J2 Core is currently available for purchase in India at Rs 5,990.


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I just got an e-mail in from Agetec with a release date for Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, its November 13th release date is less than a month away. Also the price is a shocker at a mere $15 (read: cheaper than a Greatest Hits title).
The US release is way less than the price Japan had to pay for the game a few years ago and after reading the article about niche publishers (thanks Simon) I wonder if Agetec is going to make any money from the project. If you’re planning on picking this up make sure to avoid Gamestop. They have Fire Pro Wrestling Returns inked in at $19.99.


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21 Nov 2019 Improved stevia sweetener goes into commercial production
As sugar reduction remains a key theme in food and beverage formulation, Avansya, the joint venture (JV) between Cargill and DSM, has started production at the first commercial-scale fermentation facility for EverSweet stevia sweeteners.
Andy Ohmes, from Cargill, says that “some of the first commercial products made using EverSweet are already on the shelves in the US and that by the new year, there will be more of the EverSweet sweetened products on the market across various categories.”
Cargill and DSM announced their intention to establish this JV in November 2018, subject to regulatory approvals.
“This is the most significant investment in the commercial production of steviol glycosides produced by fermentation in North America,” says Ohmes.
Stevia’s initial excitement as an option between full-caloric natural and non-caloric artificial options was soon dulled by poor taste.
Most stevia ingredients are based from Reb A, the most abundant glycoside in the leaf that can turn bitter when using it in high volumes.
Cargill first partnered with Evolva to develop the fermentation technology needed to extract Reb M and Reb D, sweeter-tasting compounds that make up less than 1% of the stevia leaf, and are much more difficult and expensive to use – until now.
According to Ohmes, the beverage category has always been the most significant category for high potency sweeteners.
“We see a lot of new products driven by the labelling law changes in the US, involving confectionery, dairy, bakery and even in indulgent categories where you have never really heard about sugar reduction in the past.
“Consumers still want to indulge, but they may not want as many calories or sugar as previously. So we see opportunities across the board and EverSweet can fill these gaps.”
Ohmes says that EverSweet can provide up to 100% sugar reduction in a typical carbonated drink, while its ViaTech stevia ingredient can only reach 70% and basic stevia leaf extract can only reach 30%.
“With an industrial-scale process like fermentation, you can end up with a fantastic tasting product. Many experts are positively and pleasantly surprised by how clean tasting EverSweet is,” says Oscar Goddijn, Avansya CEO.
“This allows our customers to keep their taste profiles very simple and straightforward. EverSweet has a sugar like taste profile overall, customers are very pleased with the taste.”
Global approvals in the pipeline
EverSweet is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS), and the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the US (FEMA) GRAS approved for use in food and beverage products in the US and Mexico and additional regulatory approvals for use in other countries are underway.
EverSweet’s clean taste profile is well-suited for use in products such as yogurt, chocolate milk, soft drinks, ice cream, cereal bars and confections. Avansya has commercial volumes available and is already supplying EverSweet to various customers in the US and Mexico.
In Europe, however, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approval takes a little longer. Therefore, Ohmes says products using EverSweet “could be available in around two years,” with other global locations, like Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, to come “within the year.”
The market for high-intensity sweeteners produced by fermentation is expected to exceed $3-billion by 2025, according to Cargill and DSM. The new $50-million fermentation facility is located in Blair, Nebraska, and is operated by Cargill.
Source: FoodIngredientsFirst.com, DSM


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Australia’s hospitality sector has been deeply affected by Covid-19 ‘s social distance restrictions.
According to recent ABS data, spending on hotels, cafes and restaurants fell off the cliff during the March quarter, with the health and economic disaster affecting both large and small players across the industry.
Almost one million Australians lost their jobs in five weeks, with the hospitality and tourism sectors worst affected by social distance restrictions.
More than a third of staff in hotels, cafes and restaurants lost their jobs as of 14 March — the date Australia recorded its 100th coronavirus case.
The ABS payroll figures showed job losses of 7.5%, with wages down 8.2%. The numbers, as well as the 5 million Australians on the job-keeper, one million on the jobseeker and one million took early access to their Super fund are not unexpected statistics but still concerning.
According to a survey conducted by The Monday Group, a recruitment agency for the hospitality sector. The findings highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on 200 businesses in the hospitality business in terms of hiring, culture, and personal life.
90% of respondents said they had to reduce their headcount and their salaries due to coronavirus. It is also noted that 58% of them have or expect to be laid off, often concentrated in the mid-level professional and junior managers segments.
Team motivation and mental health have also been identified as key challenges that will continue to be of concern as job opportunities are expected to remain low. 37% of respondents said they would employ fewer workers after the constraints had been relaxed, and more than 40% expect they might not be able to hire again till 2021.
Culture and communication
As restrictions begin to ease, only 11% of respondents predicted that they would start hiring again before August. For existing staff, 43% of respondents said that there has been a negative impact on the team culture.
The impact on culture cannot be ignored. During difficult times, workers have looked to their company owners and managers for guidance on actions and leadership, especially when communicating bad news. In absence of the right communication tone, rumors may begin to circulate which may have a negative effect on you and your company.
In addition to the negatives, business owners have also highlighted some of the positive developments they have experienced over this time. The primary areas found by the survey were that 63% spent more time with the family, 48% saved time by not commuting to work, and 45% did more exercise.
In terms of the industry’s outlook for the rest of 2020, respondents were divided between pessimism (44%) and cautious optimism (43%).
As we enter a new phase of loosening restrictions coupled with the upcoming long weekend (ACT, NSW, The NT and VIC there is no doubt we will see some form of honeymoon effect for hospitality in June.
Who is Coraggio?
Coraggio has grown significantly in the past year. We strive for greatness and encourage our members to dream big.
Our network of members continues to grow annually across the Eastern Seaboard. The growth of our Member businesses over the past 2 years has also escalated with turnover growing from $2.5 billion in 2018 to $3.5 billion in 2020. The number of employees across our Members businesses has also increased from 7,800 in 2018 to 9,200 in 2020.
This demonstrates the Coraggio membership base contributes significantly across business communities in QLD, NSW, and VIC.
Coraggio Members are industry leaders who complement each other by sharing industry knowledge and experience, challenging assumptions, and solving business roadblocks and as a collective work towards becoming more effective leaders. Our members belong to the following industries:
The resurgence of the hospitality industry requires business owners to be courageous and creative with their approach.
The following Coraggio members in the hospitality sector have weathered the COVID-19 storm and have reopened their businesses following strict social distancing and workplace safety guidelines:
- Daniel Pinkstone and Grant Gladman
GM and COO, Mingara Leisure Group
- Jason Manning
CEO, Pittwater RSL Club
- Rob Rubis,
Owner, Manta Restaurant


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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is said to be in the early stages of talks with Uber and Amazon for mobility and self-driving car services.
The automaker has been in discussions with Uber about a partnership with the ride-hailing service that could begin later this year, according people familiar with the matter. Uber has also been in talks with several other automakers, said another source who asked not be named.
Fiat also has had initial contacts with Amazon.com on self-driving vehicles for the web retailer’s deliveries, these sources said. Like the Uber discussions, no agreements have been reached and negotiations could still fall apart.
Fiat Chrysler, Uber, and Amazon, declined to comment on their potential alliances.
This comes soon after Fiat Chrysler’s alliance with Google was announced for 100 prototype Chrysler Pacifica self-driving minivans. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been pursuing partnerships with several technology companies, including offering to build a car for Apple Inc.
“The question here is if Fiat Chrysler is right in working with new industry participants or it should rather try to compete with them like the other carmakers are doing,” said Massimo Vecchio, an analyst at Mediobanca in Milan. “We believe that the scenario where every carmaker develops its own autonomous driving is another example of capital wasting in the industry.”
Uber offers access to a large fleet of cars to gather data and help improve systems. Uber has expressed interest in deploying self-driving cars, and has conducted a test project in Pittsburgh. Uber joined with Google in April to create an advocacy group for safety regulations for self-driving vehicles.


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Hybrid Hard Drives to Debut at WinHEC
Samsung said Wednesday that it plans to demonstrate a prototype of the first commercially available hybrid hard drive (HHD) at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle next week. The drive integrates NAND flash memory with the standard magnetic storage in today's hard drives.
The benefits, especially in the mobile space, are numerous. HHDs will be able to boot or resume operation up to twice as fast as a traditional hard drive, and are five times as reliable. Additionally, the drives provide an extra 20-30 minutes of battery life over their predecessors.
"We see the HHD as the most advanced and cost-effective means of improving the performance of a notebook computer's storage functionality," Samsung senior marketing vice president Jon Kang said. "The Samsung HHD addresses the two biggest consumer desires: extending battery life and improving boot and resume performance."
Hybrid hard drives eliminate the need for the disk to spin continuously, which would contribute to a longer usable life as well as less risk of data loss from dropping or jarring. This is due to the NAND flash memory acting as a cache.
Either a 128MB or 256MB cache would act as the first step in storing data. The hard disk would only need to spin to save data when this cache is filled, roughly once every 10 to 20 minutes. The cache could also assist in allowing a PC to boot quicker.
Samsung says the first HHDs will ship next quarter. The company plans a more widespread rollout in January 2007 in conjunction with the launch of Windows Vista.
"We are very pleased to see Samsung moving so rapidly with HHD technology to prepare for high-volume production in time for the Windows Vista launch," Windows client corporate vice president Mike Sievert said in a statement.
This year's WinHEC is shaping up to be one of the biggest in at least three years. Along with the debut of new Vista-centric hardware products, Windows Vista Beta 2 will make its official debut and be available for download to the general public.
Contrast this with last year's event, which many considered a letdown. Technology pundit Chris Pirillo said at the time that Vista -- then code-named Longhorn -- was "far from impressive, and left me NOT wanting more - but wanting to walk away altogether."


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More American families are turning to credit cards as their financial safety net, citing skyrocketing costs, dwindling savings and stagnant wages, according to a report released this week by Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending.
The report, “The Plastic Safety Net: The Reality Behind Credit Card Debt in America,” presents new findings from a national survey on credit card debt among low- and middle-income households — those whose incomes fell between 50 percent and 120 percent of local median income. The survey provides new information about why households are in credit card debt, how long they have carried their debt and the impact this debt has had on their economic security.
Research shows that credit card debt in America nearly tripled in the 1990s and has increased 31 percent since 2000. Americans now owe some $800 billion in credit card debt. In addition, owing largely to job instability and medical costs, bankruptcies rose from 616,000 in 1989 to over 1.8 million in 2004.
“American families are facing financial hardship not experienced for generations, and we commissioned this survey to tell us precisely why they are turning to credit cards so often” said Tamara Draut, director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos and co-author of the report. “The results are clear: wages have stagnated while medical and housing costs have skyrocketed, and if confronted with a layoff or health emergency there are few, if any, personal or public safety nets adequate enough to help in a crisis. Households are turning to high-cost credit cards to keep afloat.”
Key survey findings include:
- The average credit card debt of a low- and middle-income indebted household in America $8,650.
- Fifty-nine percent of respondents were in credit debt for longer than one year, with an average length of just over three and a half years.
- Seven out of 10 low- and middle-income households reported using their credit cards as a safety net — relying on credit to pay for car repairs, basic living expenses, medical expenses or house repairs.
- One out of three households reported using credit cards to cover basic living expenses on average four out of the last 12 months; households that reported a recent job loss or unemployment, and those without health insurance in the last three years, were almost twice as likely to use credit cards for basic living expenses.
- Twenty percent of surveyed homeowners had paid off some credit card debt with a mortgage refinance in the last three years, reducing their home equity $12,000 on average. Further, these households still had average credit card debt over $14,000. As a result, they were carrying 18 percent more debt than homeowners who had refinanced a mortgage but not paid down credit card debt — even though their incomes were almost identical. In other words, they were trading unsecured credit card debt for higher mortgage debt secured by their home.
The Plastic Safety Net also reports that, as Americans are increasingly relying on credit cards to pay for essentials that wages no longer cover, reliance on credit cards is having a multiplying effect that is creating millions of “debt-stressed” families:
- Forty-seven percent of households had been called by a bill collector.
- Almost half missed or were late with a payment in the last year, with nearly a quarter of households reporting paying a late fee at least one or two times in the past year.
- In addition to charging late fees ranging from $30 and $39, most issuers also penalize cardholders for late payments by increasing the interest rate on the account two- or three-fold, often after only one late payment. A household with the average amount of credit card debt in our survey ($8,650) would pay an additional $1,100 in costs each year if their card’s interest rate was increased from the typical 12 percent to the average 25 percent “default rate” for one late payment.
“Americans families are losing the fight against an economy and lending practices that are working against them,” said Mark Pearce, president of the Center for Responsible Lending. “It’s time for Washington to address this crisis head-on and create policy that protects, and promotes economic vitality for, all American households.”
The report’s authors recommend reforms to promote economic security, including promoting increased savings to help families meet unexpected financial emergencies; improving wages for working families; improving access to affordable health insurance; and strengthening unemployment insurance coverage and benefit levels.
The authors also recommend reforming “penalty pricing” that saddles financially vulnerable consumers with thousands of dollars in extra fees and interest costs; requiring changes in credit card rates and fees to be related to the original contract and limited to future activity on the consumer’s account; and banning mandatory arbitration clauses that keep consumers from pursuing complaints in court, among other recommendations.
Send tips or a Letter to the Editor to email@example.com or call (510) 658-9252, ext. 133.


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Supermarket chain Asda's sales remain under pressure
Asda has posted another fall in sales as it continues to grapple with testing conditions for the industry.
The UK's second biggest grocer saw like-for-like sales drop 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of the year, as falling food price inflation hammered sales across the supermarket sector.
Shopping around: Like-for-like sales fell during the secon quarter of the year
Asda, which is owned by US giant Wal-Mart, has had a tough start to the year after suffering its first sales fall for four years, of 0.3 per cent, in the first quarter.
Wal-Mart International president and chief executive Doug McMillon warned trading conditions were likely to remain tough.
He said: 'Asda's customers are facing recently announced tax increases and cuts in government spending. These are likely to cause our UK customers to face a challenging 12 to 18 months.'
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Portillo's 'subscription' delivers food to any home in U.S.
You can now subscribe to Portillo's.
The famous hot dog chain announced Tuesday the launch of a new Portillo's 365 subscription service, which sends a rotating selection of Portillo's favorite dishes to your house every other month for a year, anywhere in the country. It costs $365, including shipping.
The chain also announced it will start delivering its Portillo's World Famous Chocolate Cake, previously only available in restaurants. It's $49.99, including shipping.
The cake requires assembly, though. The cake layers arrive pre-baked, but recipients need to add the chocolate frosting on their own (a spatula is included).
Portillo's has had a food shipment program for several years but only for individual packages, and never the chocolate cake.
After being bombarded with requests from customers who wanted them to ship the cake, Portillo's spent a year testing different ways to do it, said Nick Scarpino, Portillo's vice president of public relations and marketing.
The assembly option was chosen so customers could have the “experience” of putting the cake together. Portillo's follows a similar procedure with Italian beef sandwiches, or with a tomato that needs slicing with hot dog shipments. And the shipments always include Portillo's paper hats for everyone to put on.
“There's this experience element to our shipped products,” Scarpino said. “People get it when they have family gatherings or parties ... and a lot of Chicagoans like to send it to someone who used to live in Chicago and wants a taste of home.”
Portillo's, which started out of a small trailer in Villa Park in 1963, now has more than 40 locations across several states.


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Here are the latest updates being applied to EasyAntiCheat on Thursday August 31.
Modified or Changed
● Easy Anti-Cheat has been updated to the latest version and its compatibility has been enhanced.
Please enjoy your time playing Black Desert.
[Updates] [EAC] Update Details - September 11, 2023 Sep 11, 2023 (UTC)
[Updates] Patch Notes - September 6, 2023 Margoria Pirate Fleet, auto-complete feature on the Central Market search, and more Sep 6, 2023 (UTC)
[Updates] [Black Desert+] Update Details - August 30, 2023 Aug 30, 2023 (UTC)
[Updates] Patch Notes - August 30, 2023 Added an Old Moon Furniture Workshop in Velia, a new way to acquire knowledge of Muiquun, and more Aug 30, 2023 (UTC)


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A bill proposed Thursday by a House Democrat would allow parents to sue online companies that track their children.
The Protecting the Information of our Vulnerable Children and Youth Act (Kids PRIVCY Act), unveiled by Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Florida), would also prohibit companies from using behavioral targeting techniques on children younger than 13.
The measure would significantly broaden the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, a 1998 law that effectively requires companies to obtain parental consent before tracking children 12 and younger for ad targeting purposes. That law bans companies from collecting personal information -- including IP addresses, data stored on tracking cookies and other information used for ad targeting -- from children under 13, without parental permission.
Castor's proposal expands that law in several ways, including by requiring companies to obtain opt-in consent from users between 13 and 17 before collecting, transferring or using their data.
The current law provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, but doesn't allow for private lawsuits. Castor's proposed bill would allow parents to sue over any violations of the children's privacy rules.
Castor isn't the only lawmaker who wants to toughen children's privacy laws.
Earlier this month, Reps. Bobby L. Rush (D-Illinois) and Tim Walberg (R-Michican) introduced the “Preventing Real Online Threats Endangering Children Today (PROTECT) Kids Act,” which would curb companies' ability to serve behaviorally targeted ads to anyone younger than 16. That measure would also create an “eraser button” enabling parents to delete personal information of their children.
Last year, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) also proposed updating the children's privacy law. Their proposed “Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Minors” would require companies to obtain explicit consent from teens between the ages of 13 and 15 before collecting their personal information or location data.
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Studies show that shoppers are both ready to spend for the holidays and holding off because of the election.
The retailer's Carolee division will operate the newly acquired label.
There Will Be Pie, Lots of Pie
Photographers used to start as assistants and climb the ladder until they launched their own careers, but these days there’s an additional path to success: social media.
Fashion show producer Jessica Minh Anh staged her 20th show at Pier 88, featuring only women designers.
Fashion Forward showcases spring 2017 collections.
The new site is akin to a Kickstarter for fashion designers.
The lingerie giant is to broadcast the spectacle on Dec. 5.
Staging her 20th fashion show, the Vietnamese-born events producer will show her collection on the Carnival Corp. vessel.
Elle teamed up with the State Department to focus on the role that design has played in diplomacy through the years.


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SAN FRANCISCO — When native advertising rose to prominence in 2011, many onlookers believed that, to match the unique publishing environment in which they were delivered, native ads could not scale to the kind of efficiencies demanded by modern ad-tech.
But many a native ad vendor has proved that theory wrong. These days, it is commonplace for native ads to be bought and sold through programmatic trading platforms. And the same can happen for native video ads, according to one of the platforms.
“The market has definitely adopted native as a standardized, programmatically-viable and programmatically-sellable medium,” says Sharethrough’s Dan Greenberg, in this video interview with Beet.TV.
“Programmatic is everything. There’s a component of our business, which is publishers selling directly, and even that’s shifting to programmatic … the future of that direct sale is private marketplaces and programmatic deals.”
Sharethrough has been one of the leading exponents of technology that lets advertisers and publishers deliver ad units that look like surrounding content in to a principally feed-based publisher environment.
It now helps the likes of CNN, Disney, Time and RollingStone.com do that. And last year it enabled an integration with Adobe Advertising Cloud, allowing advertisers to scale their ad campaigns.
In our interview, Greenberg speaks fondly about preserving an open web funded by both advertising and subscriptions, as a foil to the walled gardens which many advertisers and publishers are growing suspicious about.
This video is part of a series produced in San Francisco at the RampUp 2018 conference. The series is sponsored by Alphonso. For more videos from the series, please visit this page.


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May 9 (Renewables Now) - SunPower Corp (NASDAQ:SPWR) on Tuesday announced a sequential reduction of its first-quarter (Q1) net loss, new forecasts for both the second quarter and full year, and plans to shed its North American power plant development assets.
The US solar company, which is majority owned by France’s Total SA (EPA:FP), posted a GAAP net loss of USD 116 million (EUR 98m) for the first quarter of 2018 compared with losses of USD 572.7 million in October-December 2017 and of USD 219.7 million in the first quarter of 2017.
For the second quarter, SunPower guided for a GAAP net loss of USD 125 million to USD 100 million, including the impact of revenue and timing deferrals related to sale-leaseback transactions and charges related to restructuring initiatives.
The company also provided a full-year forecast of USD 75 million-125 million for adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), saying that the figure takes into consideration an estimated USD-55-million negative impact related to tariffs on solar imports associated with the section 201 trade case.
When US president Donald Trump announced his decision on that case, SunPower CEO Tom Werner argued that the company should be excluded from the measure because of the type of solar panels it manufactures. SunPower, whose solar module factories are mostly located in Asia and Mexico, eventually announced a deal to take over Oregon-based solar panels maker SolarWorld Americas, with plans to invest in factory improvements that will boost its manufacturing footprint at home.
As part of several corporate initiatives to delever its balance sheet, SunPower is in the process of actively divesting its North America power plant development assets, Werner said on Tuesday. This move would allow the company to focus exclusively on leveraging its SunPower Solutions (SPS) group for power plant equipment sales, he added.
CFO Chuck Boynton, on the other hand, commented that the company’s strong Q1 performance was achieved thanks to “solid execution in all markets while prudently managing expenses”. He added that from a financial point of view, the company’s efforts continue to be focused on improving cash flow, managing working capital and executing on restructuring initiatives.
The table below gives more details about SunPower’s performance in the quarter ended April 1, 2018 and its guidance for Q2.
|In USD million (except percentages and per-share data)||Q1 2018||Q4 2017||Q1 2017||Q2 2018 guidance|
|GAAP gross margin (%)||2.6||(2.1)||(13.9)||2.5-4.5|
|GAAP net loss||(116)||(572.7)||(219.7)||(125)-(100)|
|GAAP net loss per diluted share||(0.83)||(4.10)||(1.58)||N/A|
|Non-GAAP gross margin (%)||6.5||11.9||6.5||6-8|
|Non-GAAP net profit (loss)||(28.2)||35.8||(50.4)||N/A|
|Non-GAAP net profit (loss) per diluted share||(0.20)||0.25||(0.36)||N/A|
|Operating cash flow||(233.3)||47.9||(126.9)||N/A|
SunPower expects to deploy 350 MW to 380 MW in the second quarter of 2018.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.844)


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Flipkart is looking for understudies who can work in its flexibly and coordinations chain as assistants for 45-days as the organization inclines up its tasks for the forthcoming happy season deal. This is a paid temporary position opportunity from Flipkart with understudies being paid around Rs 500 every day, however the compensation will be founded on the nearby state and work laws and can be as high as Rs 600 every day. The offer is essential for Flipkart’s Launchpad program.
Flipkart has explained that while it is searching for assistants, to get them it works legitimately with instructive foundations. So in the event that you need a temporary job with Flipkart under the Launchpad program, you should move toward your organization or school rather than Flipkart.
“Understudies from level II urban communities and past will get a chance to work across key gracefully chain capacities at Flipkart’s offices across India,” Flipkart said in an announcement. “Launchpad will assist understudies with increasing basic abilities in gracefully chain the board and make a biological system of prepared experts for the internet business industry.”
The program will likewise enable Flipkart to deal with its gracefully coordinations chain successfully during the bubbly season deal when it is holding Flipkart Big Billion Days deal.
Flipkart says that it is working with “instructive foundations across 21 areas including Binola (Haryana), Bhiwandi (Maharashtra), Uluberia and Dankuni (West Bengal) and Malur (Karnataka), Medchal (Telangana) and a lot more to distinguish exemplary understudies and draw in the chose understudies at its satisfaction communities.”
The organization said that separated from cash, the assistants will likewise get an opportunity to learn new abilities. “After joining, understudies will be prepared in different parts of flexibly chain the executives while following exacting practices that organize their wellbeing and security,” said the organization.