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LAS VEGAS — The retail and shopping center industries may be down in the dumps, but some companies are looking on the bright side and still expanding.
Even as the recession has some developers’ backs against the financial wall and is forcing many projects to be delayed, there is a slew of new retail concepts emerging and developers are starting to talk about building new shopping centers again. Much of the expansion activity is coming from the hottest sector in retail right now — value retailers — including Dollar General, which is opening 450 stores this year and renovating or relocating 400 units. Dress Barn plans to roll out 40 namesake units and 50 Maurices stores in 2010, and new prototype concepts will bow in the next six months.
Simply Fashion, a 300-unit chain in the Southeast, is growing so quickly, it’s looking for long-term, short-term and temporary leases. The chain, targeting African-American women sizes 7 to 36, sells Fubu, Baby Phat and Apple Bottoms, as well as its own private labels.
“I’ve got to find 40 stores in the next year,” Richard Frick, vice president of real estate for 99 Cents Only Stores, said at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ ReCon convention here. “We have fresh produce, milk, eggs, health and beauty, vitamins, name brands and clothing. I don’t know of anybody that has our mix of general merchandise and food. We’re doing quite well.”
But it isn’t only the value crowd looking to expand. Teen phenom Forever 21 continues to sign leases and Henri Bendel is rolling out a new accessories concept designed for malls. Arthur, a French loungewear and beachwear chain with two units in Manhattan and a third on the way, plans to open 150 additional stores in the U.S. and 50 in Canada over the next five to 10 years. The upscale purveyor of pajamas has signed leases in Century City in Los Angeles; Santa Monica Place in Santa Monica, Calif.; The Streets of Buckhead in Atlanta; Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Ariz., and The Bravern in Bellevue, Wash.
Other new and developing store concepts that had people buzzing at ReCon include:
• P.S. from Aéropostale, a new kids’ chain from the teen retailer.
• Tilly’s, a rapidly expanding chain offering West Coast lifestyle clothing, shoes and accessories for kids, teens, men and women.
• Crazy 8 by Gymboree, a 38-unit chain selling fashion in sizes 0 to 14 at “crazy low prices.”
• Aritzia, based in Vancouver, sells clothing with an edge in comfy fabrics. There are five existing U.S. units, and stores are opening at Washington Square in Portland, Ore., and the Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, N.J.
• Garage Clothing Co., a Canadian-based chain of laid-back, trend-conscious styles for young women, with stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
• Love Culture, founded in 2007 by former Forever 21 vice president Jai Rhee, is opening stores selectively with a unit bowing at Santa Monica Place in August.
• Michael Brandon, a men’s wear collection, opened its first two stores this year at the Thousand Oaks Mall in Conejo Valley, Calif., and Camarillo Premium Outlets in Camarillo, Calif.
“Eryn Brinie is having a bit of success,” said Karen Bellantoni, executive vice president of Robert K. Futterman Assoc., referring to the South Korean retailer, which opened its first U.S. store on Broadway in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. “Desigual, a Spanish brand, is opening its first U.S. store at 594 Broadway in SoHo [formerly Kira Plastinina] and will probably do more stores. Forever 21 still wants to expand and Love Culture wants to find a position in New York.”
Michael Fascitelli, president of Vornado, said Toys ‘R’ Us will open pop-up stores in malls for the holiday season. Vornado, along with KKR Group and Bain Capital, bought Toys ‘R’ Us for $6.6 billion plus the assumption of debt in 2005. The real estate investment trust has a 32.7 percent share of the toy retailer, which last week bought FAO Schwartz.
“We were really busy yesterday with a lot of deals,” said Fascitelli of the May 17-to-20 convention. “It’s more serious and more focused. There’s also an attitude of ‘If I’m going to spend money on something, I want to make it work.’ Retailers are in a cautious mode. They’re [looking at] existing assets and making sure cotenancies are good.”
Representatives of Kohl’s were spotted on the convention floor along with leasing teams from Liz Claiborne and Sephora. “We had several meetings with landlords regarding some new British clients that are exploring the U.S. market for possible store openings in 2010,” said a broker, who requested anonymity. “Their focus will be on New York.”
Meanwhile, British retailer Topshop is said to be “waiting on opening further stores at this time and watching the performance [of its first unit] in SoHo.” The retailer had said it would open three units in Manhattan.
With attendance falling to 30,000, ReCon 2009 was a decidedly quieter affair. In recent years, 50,000 to 60,000 real estate, shopping center and retail professionals descended on the convention, holding court by day in lavishly appointed McMansion-sized booths, and networking at myriad parties by night.
This year, however, the strain of the economy was apparent. Companies sent fewer representatives or skipped the confab altogether. Downsized booths were functional, not flashy. Where were the sparkling white meccas of oil-rich, development-happy desert countries? Abu Dhabi-based Aldar in 2007 built a booth the size of a small oil field. This year, the company was nowhere to be found.
With 1,300 exhibitors this year, compared with 1,800 in 2008, there were large swaths of empty space. Glaring absences from the exhibitor roster included Simon Property Group, Westfield Group and Garden Commercial Properties, which opted to meet with retailers and brokers at off-site hotels. The moves drew strong criticism and the mall giants were also accused of siphoning the much- sought-after fashion companies away from the convention floor.
“For companies that weren’t here, it was about economics,” said Michael Kercheval, president and chief executive officer of the ICSC. “Fewer people were here, [but] the looky-loos and cling-ons didn’t show up. The holes on the floor were from last-minute no-shows. The individual custom booths had grown out of control.”
With the economy still in the doldrums, ReCon could have been one big pity party. Instead, many of the attendees and exhibitors called the conference a success, although they admitted having low expectations at the start.
“Everyone came with the idea that it was going to be gloom and doom,” said Bellantoni. But “there are leases out on spaces. It seems like there are more people out there looking. Michael Kors opened in the former Mulberry space in East Hampton. La Perla is opening a shop in East Hampton.”
“The people that are here are the dealmakers,” added John Santora, Cushman’s president and ceo of Cushman & Wakefield.
“It was productive but there were rumblings of seismic shift,” said Stephen Stephanou, a principal of Madison Retail Group. “Two large developers were not there, and there was a sea of open space.”
Despite all the talk of deals and growth, reminders of the bruising economy were just outside the convention center’s walls. Construction at Echelon Resorts on Las Vegas Boulevard has stopped due to the lending situation, and work at the nearby Fontainebleau stalled earlier this month when some of the project’s lenders pulled financing.
Other projects in various stages of completion are on hold or being slow-tracked as developers try to reconcile the lack of consumer and retailer demand with the big holes they’ve dug in the ground. “We continue to work on CityCenter,” said William Taubman, chief operating officer of Taubman Centers Inc., referring to the mixed-use city-within-a-city on the Las Vegas strip. “It’s opening in phases. A few things have lagged.”
Also in the economically struggling Southwest, Phase 2 of CityNorth in northwest Phoenix is mired in uncertainty. Earlier this month, Nordstrom pulled out of Phase 2, saying the development failed to meet milestone dates. Webber Hudson, executive vice president of Related Urban, said Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s also have left the project. “[Phase 2] is on the back burner until the marketplace and credit markets stabilize,” he said. “No one is more disappointed than we are.”
Related is tweaking Phase 1, which opened in November with brands such as Guess, Chico’s, Talbots and White House|Black Market. “We’re going to do a music venue and comedy venue,” Hudson said. “That’s what the market wants. We’ll complete Phase 1 as an entertainment district.”
CityNorth’s loss may be Macerich’s gain. That developer’s Westcor division has been working on Palisene, a site 3 miles away from CityNorth. “When Nordstrom decides the timing is right, they’re going to analyze where they can be more successful,” said Scott Nelson, vice president of development at Westcor. “There’s no need to rush. Everybody will need to reassess their strategy. The amount of demand is right for one shopping center. The last thing you want to do is create two mediocre properties.”
“Every city in the U.S. is overstored and there will be a cleansing process,” said Michael Stevens, executive vice president of leasing at Forest City Ratner, ignoring the fact that FCR has more shovels in the ground than most developers. “The changes in the economy are so profound, even people with excess capitol will be changed. We’re all going through this cleansing process and are being very careful.”
Taubman wondered of the economic crisis, “Is this cyclical or secular? The customer won’t be back and spending in the same way she did. We’re in a moment where we’re very focused on price and we’re in a confusing fashion moment. I believe there will be some adjustment on price points. Sales are still declining, but much less than in the fall…when the world was faced with a glut of merchandise.”
Related’s ever-optimistic Hudson has decided to see the glass half full. “The pipeline is beginning to fill back up with opportunities,” he said. “We’re going to decide where we’re going to place our bets.”


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Medics treat 62 people at Hedge End after gas leak at Sainsburys
7:23am Wednesday 18th September 2013 in News
HUNDREDS of shoppers and staff were forced to evacuate one of Hampshire’s biggest shopping centres after a chemical leak made people fall ill.
Shoppers at Hedge End Retail Park were instructed to leave their trolleys and file out into the car park after people began complaining of runny eyes and breathing problems.
Police cordoned off a 60-yard exclusion zone at the out-of-town retail park in Tollbar Way, Hedge End, which was packed with shoppers.
Officers also barred people from entering as fears grew over the nature of what was classed as a “major incident”.
With mystery surrounding the cause of the symptoms, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service deployed its hazardous material unit which is usually used to deal with industrial spills.
As people streamed out of Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer, ambulance crews sorted out those displaying symptoms.
A total of 62 people were wrapped in blue blankets before being told to queue up in front of a special decontamination tent where ambulance crews carried out tests.
Mystery leak After this they were treated at the scene in one of a dozen ambulances.
Wearing special breathing equipment and protective clothing, fire officers then entered the deserted store to pinpoint the source of the mystery leak.
Last night Mark Larrimore, station commander for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the alarm was raised shortly after 5pm last night and that leak had been sourced to a freezer containing frozen food inside the Sainsbury’s store.
He said: “The appliances within the store have a refrigerant chemical inside.
“It was what we suspect to be a small amount of leakage from one of the units.
“Both stores were full when we turned up with our officers and police officers went in and removed everyone with the help of staff.
“We moved everyone out of the main entrance which is away from the store and upwind.
“We also blocked off Marks and Spencer so people could not cross over.
“We have had officers going in with detection systems and they have picked up nothing in the atmosphere whatsoever.”
Only one person – an elderly woman – was taken to hospital as a precaution. All other casualties were treated at the scene and then allowed to go home.
The cordon was lifted at around 9pm and Sainsbury staff, who were told not to speak to the media gathered at the cordon, went back in and appeared to go back to work.
Mark Roberts, South Central Ambulance Service emergency service officer, said: “We are at a point now where we are quite happy there is no risks to the public and there are no health warnings and we are handing the premises back to the owners.”
‘Site is safe’ A Sainsbury's spokesman said last night: “Our Hedge End store was evacuated earlier this evening. The store will remain closed tonight.
“However following air quality checks the emergency services have confirmed the site is safe.''
The M&S spokeswoman said that a total of 100 staff had been evacuated from the store, of which 40 had been treated as a precaution.
She said: “We were advised by police to evacuate our Hedge End store following the detection of a gas leak in an adjacent store.
“The store remains closed and we are supporting the emergency services.”
Shopper Richard Hillier wrote on Twitter: “Hopefully the gas leak wasn’t serious, left Sainsbury’s Hedge End just as emergency services turned up. Haven’t stopped coughing since leaving.”
Comments are closed on this article.

domain: news


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Man tries to pass $100 counterfeit bill at KFC in Saddle Brook
The Saddle Brook Police Department is investigating the use of a counterfeit $100 bill at the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Market Street.
According to Chief Robert Kugler, on Feb. 26, a man ordered several items off the menu and attempted to pay for it with a counterfeit $100. The cashier tested it, believed the paper to be the wrong kind and asked the man to pay for the food another way. The man then fled.
Officers Rebecca Sanchez and Joe Scrafani responded to the restaurant. According to police, he is a Hispanic male in his 30s with dark hair.
At the time of the incident, he was wearing a gray sweatshirt with a Nautica logo embroidered on it.
"The bill’s physical appearance looks legitimate, but the paper used is distinctly different than U.S. currency paper," said Kugler. "If you're in retail, it’s important to have the necessary testing marker. We usually see phony $20 bills, which may not get any attention to seek its authenticity, but a $100 bill certainly should."


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Energica Tabs UBS To Help With Its Funding Issues
I’ve always been a huge proponent of motorcycle companies thriving in the industry. That extends from the biggest brands like Yamaha and Kawasaki to niche manufacturers like Brammo and Energica. So it’s pretty nice to see a company like Energica finding some heavyweight help as it continues its search for funding.
After some negotiations, Energica has finally enlisted the help of UBS to become its sole financial advisor as it continues to search for funding for the company’s two electric bikes, the Ego and the Eva.
Some people might scoff at the thought of seeing an investment bank with the status of UBS go and help out a start-up brand like Energica, but I’m guessing that UBS saw a lot of potential in what Energica is trying to sell. That or it’s using Energica as a platform for a future business in the field. Either scenario makes some sense, but the important thing here now is that Energica has a reputable banking institution on its side in its quest for funding.
The specific details of the Energica-UBS partnership has yet to be disclosed, but if you’re Energica, this development is a good sign that you have a bank that can help convince investors to put some money in your business.
That’s always been one of the biggest problems of any start-up business and fortunately for Energica, it might get through that phase of financial uncertainty with some cash to spend.
I hope everything works out for Energica. It would be interesting to see the Ego and Eva bikes on the road, not to mention other new products it could develop in the future.
Click "continue reading" to read more about UBS’ involvement with Energica.
Why it matters
Being partners with UBS doesn’t immediately translate to business success for Energica. But it is a start, and a pretty good one at that.
Energica could have gone a different route and picked another financial institution to represent it. After all, UBS hasn’t had a glowing reputation of late, having been involved in a wave of bad press involving Swiss banking institutions.
But bad publicity notwithstanding, UBS is still a heavyweight in the financial business and any time it spots a start-up company that it sees potential in, it’s going to get involved if it’s good for business. Evidently, Energica offers that kind of long-term potential that UBS can take advantage of.
Like I said, I want to see Energica succeed because it actually has developed some pretty impressive machines with the Ego and Eva bikes. No it’s up to the company, with the help of UBS, to help market these bikes and get them some financial backing.
UBS can do that on its end, which is why I’m excited to see what becomes of this partnership, now and in the future.
Source: Power Sports Business


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The fund, which had invested in rice distributor and fruits processing companies, plans to more than double its investments in the country in the wake of the government giving a push to the farm sector and widening crop insurance, which makes farming safer.
“We have started preparing for this new round of fundraising ($400 million),” Rajesh Srivastava, chairman of Rabo Equity Advisors told ET. “We expect many global investors to participate as we will conclude it in the next calendar year. The food processing sector, which is likely to grow 12-15% CAGR (now 8.50%) in the next five years, will be a large focus of our new fund. You will not find such exponential growth in any other industry in India.”
Another focus of the new fund will be agribusiness infrastructure. There is a big opportunity to invest in cold logistics, for instance, since 30-40% fresh products go waste in the absence of cold logistics.
Similarly, modern warehousing capacity is needed for foodgrains, as 35-40 million tonnes of stock lies in the open space under tarpaulin, as per data from Rabo Equity Advisors.
“This caters to opportunities for infrastructure buildup. India’s need for funding in food processing sector will go up rapidly,” Srivastava said.
In 2008, Rabo Equity Advisors had floated its first India-focused fund with a corpus of $120 million, with investors such as International Finance Corporation and DEG.
Later, in 2014, it floated another fund of $150 million with investors including CDC Group, Asian Development Bank, Generali Insurance, French sovereign wealth fund Proparco and Denmark-based IFU.
The Netherlands-headquartered Rabobank sponsored both funds with $30 million investment each.
It has deployed the entire corpus of first fund while the second fund is allocating its corpus.
Investors are likely to earn 2.5x investment returns on average for five-six year investment period, while many of the investee companies are growing faster, Srivastava said.
The funds have taken bets on companies such as National Collateral Management Services; LT Foods, producer of Daawat basmati rice; Prabhat Diary and Cremica Foods.
“Indulgent shoppers are increasing besides destination buyers, adding to prospects of processed foods companies,” said Srivastava. “The government is talking about long-term sustained growth. The worst you can do is to be impatient.”
The fund’s private equity business in India is a joint venture between Rabobank, which holds 51% stake, and Srivastava as the managing partner.
Besides Rabo Equity Advisors, there are three other food and agribusiness focused funds in India including Seaf, Omnivore and Mandala.
- Front Page
- Pure Politics
- Companies & Economy
- Economy & Companies
- Adani Group Stocks Rally, Close Off Day’s Highs
Adani Group stocks rallied in early trade on Tuesday after the promoters said they had repaid ₹9,250 crore ($1.1 billion) of debt backed by shares in three companies.MHA, IT Min to Talk App Ban with RBI
The home and IT ministries, along with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will hold discussions over the next few days to decide on the next steps after the government blocked 94 online lending apps earlier this week, multiple people aware of the developments said.Health Info-with-Price Norm likely for Ecomm
India’s food safety regulator is likely to mandate online marketplaces to prominently display key health and nutritional alerts alongside the retail price for packaged items sold on their platforms, multiple people aware of the matter told ET.
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FireFly is the only wireless firework device that allows consumers to design and safely launch a firework show through their Bluetooth® smart device.
With FireFly, consumers can design a fireworks show with up to 15 fireworks, synchronize the show to their downloaded music and launch it wirelessly from up to 50 feet away. The $224.99 purchase of FireFly comes with reusable connection cables to allow users to create and launch shows for celebrations year after year.
- On sale now for $224.99
- Purchase includes FireFly module and 15 connection cables
- Available online and in Pyro City stores
- Bluetooth® capability allows you to launch your show up to 50 feet away
- Emergency stop and start safety features
- Launch options from the app:
- Design and launch a show with up to 15 fireworks
- Launch one firework at a time in manual firing mode
- Connection cables are reusable
- Android and iOS compatible
For press inquiries or to contact our media relations team, please email: email@example.com
In the News:
- 5/18/17 - Winco Fireworks launches first-ever wireless fireworks device for consumers with Bluetooth® technology
About Winco Fireworks:
Winco Fireworks is a national consumer and professional fireworks distributor, headquartered in Prairie Village, Kansas. The company launched in the summer of 1964 in Pittsburg, Kansas as a 60-square foot fireworks stand and now operates dozens of stores across the country. Since incorporating in 1979, Winco has stood for industry-leading fireworks innovation and produced quality products for consumer and professional fireworks customers for more than 38 years. In 2017, Winco introduced their latest fireworks innovation, FireFly, to allow users a better way to enjoy fireworks. Winco is a proud member of the American Pyrotechnics Association and works with state and local governments to ensure both fair and safe industry regulations. For more information, please visit wincofireworks.com.


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Online sales this holiday will rise 13.8% to $107.4 billion, while in-store retail sales will grow 10%, according to Adobe’s holiday retail report, based on number crunching from its Adobe Analytics unit. Most of those online purchases will be for lower-dollar items, as they were last year, when sales of toys (39% growth) and apparel (20%) outpaced jewelry.
Adobe also expects Cyber Monday this year to become the largest online shopping day in history, rising 16.5% to generate $6.6 billion in sales. Thanksgiving Day sales will also be robust, according to the forecast, which pegs 15% increase year over year to $2.8 billion. All told, one out of every six dollars this holiday season, or $19.7 billion, will be spent between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, the firm said.
Large retailers — those with more than $100 million in annual revenue — will see higher order values and desktop conversion rates than their smaller counterparts (those with less than $10 million in annual revenue). But smaller retailers have an advantage on mobile and will likely see a higher average conversion rate of 1.9% as they attract more shoppers with an intent to buy, according to Adobe.
While many consumers are holding off until November or later to start their holiday shopping, retailers should be prepared for high traffic online and in stores come Thanksgiving weekend as customers start tackling their lists. Adobe's research backs up other recent studies showing a surge is coming in online sales for the holidays in general and during the red-letter sales weekend in particular.
Deloitte last month found that more than half (55%) plan to shop online for gifts, while 44% plan a trip to mass merchants. Prosper Insights and the National Retail Federation report that many holiday shoppers will go online for convenience this year. "Although sales will remain an important factor for most consumers, many will lean on convenient locations and easy-to-use websites or mobile apps along with free shipping to complete their purchases," Prosper Insights Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow said.
Indeed, retailers winning over holiday shoppers will be those "offering steep discounts and providing a seamless customer journey,” according to Mickey Mericle, Adobe vice president of marketing and insights. "This year’s record-breaking online holiday shopping season is built on the strength of the big players," she said. "We predict the biggest retailers with wide selections, easy shopping experiences and free shipping, to drive online holiday growth this year. Still, there is opportunity for savvy small retailers to win, specifically with mobile experiences."
While Adobe predicts desktop purchases to account for two-thirds of revenue this holiday season, mobile is serving as a starting point for many consumers. For the first time, web traffic on smartphones and tablets (54%) will likely be higher than for desktops (46%).
The most desired electronics this holiday season include Apple Air Pods, Sony PlayStation VR and home assistants, including Amazon Echo and Google Home, Adobe said. Nostalgia will help push sales of toys and video games, like Hasbro NERF Guns, Nintendo Switch and Super Mario Odyssey, which Adobe expects to be among the top-sellers. Last year's top toys, like Moose’s Toys’ Shopkins and Spin Master Hatchimals, are capitalizing on their success with updates.
This year's best dates for deals, according to the study, will be driven by the sharpest discounts, which are expected on Black Friday, with televisions (23.7%), tablets (23.6%), jewelry (12%) and appliances (17.7%) offering the best deals. On Thanksgiving the best deals will be on computers (16%), sporting goods (11%), apparel (15%) and video games/consoles (9.6%). Cyber Monday discounts will be highest for toys (19.1%). "Some products will likely be out of stock before they see major discounts," Adobe warned. "Appliances, tablets and televisions are most likely to be out-of-stock on Thanksgiving Day, before seeing the largest discounts on Black Friday."
For the study, Adobe analyzed 1 trillion visits to more than 4,500 retail sites and 55 million SKUs. (Adobe Analytics measures 80% of online transactions at the largest 100 U.S. web retailers), plus a survey of more than 1,100 U.S. consumers and analysis from twelve million social mentions between Aug. 1 and Oct. 11.


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Speaking of gun trafficking: WJLA-Washington, D.C., reports that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) says 7,858 guns were stolen from licensed gun dealers in 2016, a rise of 76 percent in just 4 years.
In 2012, there were 377 gun store burglaries; in 2016, that number was 558. In addition, ATF reported 12 robberies of gun stores, versus 33 in 2016. A robbery differs from a burglary in that it involves threatening a human being, not simply breaking and entering with the intent to commit a crime.
Referring to the March 9 burglary of the United Gun Shop in Rockville, Md., ATF Special Agent Dave Cheplak said, “It’s obvious that the criminals in this particular case were not looking to simply add firearms to their own personal collections. These guns are destined to wind up on the streets of Baltimore and D.C. They’ll be traded for narcotics; they’ll be sold to anyone who’s willing to buy them." The burglars netted 31 firearms in less than 90 seconds.


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Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, CyberConnect2's upcoming anime-styled fighting game, will arrive as a demo Feb. 19 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Europe and Australia and at an undetermined date in North America, according to a pair of tweets on the publisher's official U.K. Twitter account and a confirmation from a Namco Bandai representative.
The publisher announced in early January that CyberConnect2's supersaturated fighting game, which includes over 80 combatants culled from the Naruto Shippuden anime series, is set for a March 5 release in North America. A demo is also headed to Japan on Feb. 19, according to a post on the game's official Facebook page.
"No word on a North American demo at this time, although we wouldn't be surprised if it also releases on the same day," the Facebook post also reads. A representative from Namco Bandai confirmed to Polygon that demos are heading stateside, but did not provide a specific date.
Naruto Powerful Shippuden, a side-scrolling spin-off also based on the anime series, is due out in March for Nintendo 3DS.


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Many small business owners already understand the importance of social media, but don’t know how to leverage it to produce real results in the form of sales, leads, networking, or gaining customer feedback.
The 2011 Sensis e-Business Report revealed several insights about the state of small businesses in Australia and how they use social media and the Internet:
Australian small businesses report that social media has helped their business
Just over half of all SMES that used social media reported that it had a positive effect on their business. These businesses felt that social media had increased networking opportunities for them, was good advertising for their business, and they had received good customer feedback.
Overall, 18% of businesses that are online use social media for business purposes, an increase of 10% from last year. Your competitors are getting on board with social and many are reaping the rewards of this low-cost channel.
The opportunity is still there
However, the opportunity to excel is still very much there. Just one in four (26%) of SMEs report monitoring and updating their social media presence everyday. 5% of SMEs report never updating their social media, with 11% reporting that they update it a few times a year. Does that qualify as being social? Companies that do not make social a priority (through the appropriate resource investment) will not get much in return – and the companies that do will naturally beef up their online presence.
Even though 95% of SMEs are using the Internet in their business, a large proportion of them don’t engage in explicit digital strategies. Of the SMEs that are on the Internet, only 16% reported having an actual digital business strategy. 81% reported not having one, and 3% were ‘not sure’. A clear strategy is essential for reaping the full rewards of social and digital over the long term – which FRANk makes every effort to help brands formulate.
A key challenge: getting the right guidance
73% of small business owners said that they access social networks like Facebook and Twitter on their smartphones or other mobile devices, but still, only 67% are holding back on investing in social media because they aren’t sure where to begin.
When it comes to social and digital, small businesses owners were found to be mostly concerned about:
1. Their lack of expertise or knowledge (60% concerned)
2. The cost & time associated with introducing new technologies (59% concerned)
3. The cost of implementing (58% concerned)
We understand that the online sphere can seem like a scary world with lots of different confusing platforms and constant changes. You may be unsure if social media is the way to go for your business and if it will produce an attractive enough return on investment.


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Design LLC Cloud Computing
In early 2005 representatives of firm called Design LLC went to The Dalles, Oregon where they entered into quiet negotiations with local officials and completed a transaction for a 30-acre parcel of land on the banks of the Columbia River. On that piece of land, the search giant Google built one of its massive data centers. This was the beginning of the Design LLC fronted Cloud Computing project for Google. Fueled by cheap hydropower and cooled in part by icy river water, this center would fit a huge networked complex of computing power.
Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.com are constructing such centers from the Carolinas to Siberia, they’re also creating a new form of utility. Together these form to create giant computing grids that promise to deliver vast digitized information to scientific labs, companies, and homes now and in the future. This trend heralds a newer, darker phase for the Internet, one where these mega-networks could eventually operate and dominate our lives. Information technology is turning into a commodity, like electricity, oil, corn, and companies may no longer hope to gain a competitive advantage by simply buying up the latest and greatest hardware and software that pops onto the market. As businesses and consumers alike tap into Cloud Computing for software services and while storing vast digital troves on their distant disk drives, they’ll eventually need less and less equipment.
Traditional economists normally applaud such economies of scale and unleashed resources could flow more efficiently to innovations and new businesses, creating a plethora of new jobs and careers. However, a darker side would claim that this same cloud would be able to harvest data from these networked computers to track our behavior and, ultimately, control us.
However, some claim that the benefits far out weight it’s drawbacks. Many scientists, for instance, plan to use these huge cloud computing resources, to sift deep through mountains of data in their hunt for advances in medicine and cleaner forms of energy.
As we prepare for the World Wide Web to turn into the World Wide Cloud, it’s not a bad idea to consider not only it’s innovations and benefits, but also it’s darker side as well.
The Design LLC trip to the Cloud has changed the way we look at Computing forever.


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At the 2013 La Part des Anges charity gala, held at Castle Brillac in Charente, Rémy Martin House of Cognac auctioned a Jeroboam of its Louis XIII Cognac for $43,241. The Cognac is a blend of 1,200 eaux-de-vie, each aged from 40 to 100 years old, bottled in a crystal decanter created by nine crystal craftsman at the Cristallerie de Sèvres. The proceeds of the sale, alongside 27 other auction lots, benefit the French Red Cross and the Ark of Charente, a local, social housing charity.
Stefano Campatelli tendered his resignation as director of The Consortium of Brunello di Montalcino Wine to pursue other professional challenges after 23 years in that position. As of press time, the Consortium has started a search for Campatelli’s successor.
Champagne was flowing last week in Connecticut, but it was nothing to toast about. On Wednesday, September 19, a tractor trailer transporting hundreds of cases of Veuve Cliquot Champagne crashed into a state Department of Transportation vehicle, causing the tractor-trailer to roll onto its side and spill its cargo. The crash closed Interstate 395 for two hours as emergency personnel and state agencies assessed the crash and cleaned up damage. Both drivers were admitted to an area hospital with minor injuries.
Wines of South Africa named Siobhan Thompson as its new CEO, effective November. Thompson, former head of global marketing for liqueur brand Amarula, will replace Su Birch, who has been CEO of the industry association since 2000. Birch will remain at WOSA through the end of the year to help with the transition.
Islay’s Bowmore distillery has launched a new single malt Scotch matured exclusively in first-fill Sherry casks. Six thousand bottles of the Devil’s Casks—named after an Islay legend where the Devil is said to have escaped the local congregation in a Bowmore cask bound for the mainland—will be released in October, timed for Halloween and will cost $81.


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The battle for the 21st century TV viewer is heating up as Verizon Communications adds more Internet content to its Fios TV service. But cable may not be the only competitor Verizon faces as more consumer electronics devices such as Blu-ray players and game consoles add similar Net-based services without an expensive TV service subscription.
Starting Tuesday morning, Verizon Fios TV subscribers will be able to watch YouTube videos and listen to Internet radio from iHeartRadio on their big screen TVs via their Fios TV service. The upgrade, which adds to a growing catalog of Web content available through Fios TV, is free and automatically available for all subscribers.
Verizon is adding more Internet applications to its Fios TV service mainly to differentiate its service from cable providers such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable. But cable companies aren't the only competition. The company is also facing a threat from over the top providers such as Netflix and Amazon, which are also offering on-demand video viewing via consumer electronics devices, like Blu-ray players and game consoles. These devices are also offering access to other Net-based applications, such as Facebook and Pandora Internet radio.
The number of people canceling their TV subscriptions for over-the-top Internet video is still small, but research suggests that consumers are interested in alternatives.
For more on this story read Verizon adds more Net content to Fios on CNET News.


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Ever wondered why one pub seems to be all about VB and Carlton Draught and another serves Tooheys New alongside James Boags?
For beer or cider brands, the tap at a pub is as highly sought after as the eye-level shelf in a supermarket.
The big distribution and brewing companies often compete to get their slice of the action, with companies like Lion and Carlton United getting venues to sign contracts to make sure they take up as much real estate on the icy tap row as possible.
But some craft brewers believed they were getting a raw deal by being locked out of the taps.
"We've approached venues and been told that they've been fully contracted," brewer and chair of the Independent Brewers Association, Ben Kooyman, said.
"One supplier has effectively locked out another supplier in, perhaps, pale ale … we assume there is exclusivity on the taps."
On the basis of allegations like this one, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ran an in-depth investigation and what they found was quite surprising.
Why would a pub sign a contract with a distributer?
Venues are offered incentives contained in contracts and negotiated by sales people working for the distribution companies.
They might be offered a refrigerator upgrade or rebates for meeting volume targets or some other kind of bread and butter commodity in a pub.
In return, they might agree to use, for example, five out of their eight taps for that company's beers, or they could promise that they will buy a certain amount of beer each month, or run brand-related promotions — the list goes on.
"There is a very mixed picture of a very dynamic industry," ACCC deputy chair Michael Schaper said, with there being "no clear pattern about whether or nor some businesses that were being cut out of the market."
A recent Essential Economics study commissioned by the IBA showed that Australia's craft beer industry is worth $740 million to the economy.
So then, what is driving the perspective from craft brewers that they're drawing the short straw with tap distribution?
"We see growth, but we see the growth inhibited by market access," Mr Kooyman said.
Why aren't venues putting more craft beers on tap?
While craft brewers are gaining market ground, that level of interest isn't necessarily reflected in what will turn a profit on tap.
The ACCC spoke to staff and owners (on and off the record) at 36 licensed venues across New South Wales and Victoria.
While the consumer watchdog found that those venues' contracts were a factor, the ACCC found the big companies weren't locking craft brewers totally out of the market, and while the contracts were restrictive, the choice of beer on tap was still being made by the venues.
The problem then seems to be the market drivers — the customers.
"More than half the venues we spoke to said that it was the lack of consumer demand was the major determinant as to whether or not they put a craft brewer on," Mr Schaper said.
So, while beer swillers are drinking more craft brews, that still isn't necessarily matching the customer's attraction to well known, or you could say — more traditional — brands.
A space for some
The investigators founds that a handful of craft brewers were having no problem at all getting a place at the table.
In fact, some small brewers were having great success and popularity and finding their way onto taps more easily.
Also, it might be worth noting that the big companies also own and sell some beers you might have viewed as 'craft brews' (although that definition is currently being fought out in the industry).
Lion, purveyor of XXXX Gold and Tooheys New, also sells James Squire, Little Creatures and Kosciuszko beers.
Carlton and United Breweries, the company of beer staples VB, Carlton Draught and Crown, also brings us the Lazy, Wild and Fat Yaks and Matilda Bay brews.
Your craft beer could be someone else's commercial blockbuster.
'Vote with your throat'
The ACCC still "remain concerned about some contracts" after the investigation and said they would be watching the industry closely.
Mr Kooyman was not surprised, but he was disappointed by the findings of an investigation he said started more than three years ago: "it's a little bit bewildering to honest".
He hopes that customers will "vote with your throat" to keep the boutique industry alive.
"This isn't the end of the battle," he added.


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J.C. Penney is taking its head-to-head battle with Sears one stop further.
In January, J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison said the department store chain was getting ready to downsize its fleet.
Off-price retailer TJX has another category in its crosshairs: home decor.
NEW YORK— Macy's, the nation's largest department store chain, says its earnings for the quarter that includes the holiday period dropped nearly 13 percent as results were dragged down by lower sales, store closures and other costs. The profit results beat Wall Street expectations, but Macy's said it would post another year of sales declines for a key revenue...
With Home Depot trading at all-time highs, is it a "buy" ahead of its earnings next week? CNBC contributor Mike Khouw weighs in.
U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in January, pointing to sustained domestic demand that should bolster economic growth in the first quarter.
READING, Pa.— Albert Boscov was the ebullient public face of a department store chain he built from a single corner store in downtown Reading to a regional powerhouse with dozens of locations in seven states and more than $1 billion in annual sales. The retailer's footprint is expanding— albeit slowly— at a time when major national competitors like Macy's are...
"By 2030, 50 percent of all nonbar, nonrestaurant sales are going to be online," Jan Kniffen tells CNBC.
Jan Kniffen, J. Rogers Kniffen Worldwide Enterprises, weighs in on Sears' decision to drop Trump-related items.
Another retailer jumps into the fray.
Apple, Walt Disney, and Sears stocks are making headlines this Monday morning before the opening bell.
Sears and Kmart added to recent defections from Trump-branded products, discontinuing online sales of Trump Home items, amid ethics concerns.
CNBC's Mike Santoli discusses Sears as it soars on the announcement of its cost-saving restructuring program.
"The risk reward is fantastic."
Jan Kniffen, J. Rogers Kniffen Worldwide Enterprises CEO, discusses Sears' plan to cut costs by one-billion dollars.
CNBC's Jim Cramer discusses why he's worred about Sears' future.
Payless may consider filing for bankruptcy if it is unable to reach a deal with creditors, Bloomberg reports.
The struggling retailer announces a new plan to cut costs by $1-billion this year.
U.S. stock futures were higher this morning after the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq closed at record highs.
Some of the names on the move ahead of the open.


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Zerto, a disaster recovery, cloud IT and business continuity solutions provider, has raised $50 million in a Series E funding round led by IVP, with the participation of billionaire Len Blavatnik, via his Access Industries Israeli units Clal Industries/ClalTech. The round also included participation from all current investors: 83North, Battery Ventures, Harmony Partners, RTP Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, and Mark Leslie.
This round brings Zerto’s total financing to date, to $110 million. The company says it has achieved a fourth consecutive year of over 100% sales growth.
“Zerto’s business growth, strong team, execution track record, and proven ability to address a market need by simplifying data center operations motivated IVP to add Zerto to our portfolio,” said Sandy Miller, general partner, IVP.
“IVP’s success stories are a veritable ‘who’s who’ in the technology and digital sectors, and we are honored to become part of their rich heritage of marketplace disruptors,” commented Zerto’s co-founder and CEO, Ziv Kedem.
Zerto keeps enterprise and cloud IT running 24/7 by providing innovative, simple, reliable and scalable business continuity software solutions. Through the Zerto Cloud Continuity Platform, organizations can seamlessly protect and move virtualized workloads between public, private and hybrid clouds. The company’s flagship product, Zerto Virtual Replication, has become the standard for protection, recovery and migration of applications in cloud and virtualized data centers, and won numerous awards, including Best of Show at VMworld 2011, Best of VMworld Europe 2014, as well as 2011, 2012 and 2013 Product of the Year Awards for its innovative hypervisor-based replication approach. Zerto serves 2,200 customers spanning financial services, healthcare, insurance, legal and education, with a channel network of 250 cloud service providers and 900 resellers. The company was co-founded in 2009 by Ziv and Oded Kedem. Ziv Kedem had previously been a founder of Kashya, which was acquired in 2006 by EMC. Zerto is headquartered in Boston, Mass., and Herzliya, Israel, with additional offices in UK, Japan and India.
Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) is one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms in the United States, with $5.4 billion of committed capital. Founded in 1980, IVP has invested in over 300 companies and 103 have gone public. IVP is one of the top-performing firms in the industry and has a 34-year IRR of 43.2%. IVP specializes in venture growth investments, industry rollups, founder liquidity transactions, and select public market investments. IVP investments include notable companies such as AppDynamics, Business Insider (Axel Springer), Buddy Media (CRM), Datalogix (ORCL), Domo, Dropbox, Dropcam (GOOG), Fleetmatics (FLTX), GitHub, HomeAway (AWAY), The Honest Company, Kayak (PCLN), Klarna, LegalZoom, LifeLock (LOCK), Marketo (MKTO), MySQL (ORCL), Netflix (NFLX), Omniture (ADBE), OnDeck (ONDK), Prosper, Pure Storage (PSTG), Shazam, Slack, Snapchat, SoFi, SoundCloud, Supercell (SoftBank), Synchronoss (SNCR), Tanium, Twitter (TWTR), Zenefits, and Zynga (ZNGA). The company has offices in Menlo Park and san Francisco.
Access Industries is a New York-based privately held, U.S. group with global strategic investments. Founded in 1986 by Len Blavatnik, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, the group is headquartered in New York. Access invests in industries where it can maximize long-term value by developing regional and global leaders. Its media and technology portfolio includes market leaders such as Warner Music, Alibaba, Facebook, Square, Spotify, Perform Group, Rocket Internet, Zalando, Deezer, Crowdsurge, Sentient Technologies, Lazada and many others. Access Invests in Israeli tech companies primarily through its local entity ClalTech. Its investments in Israeli technology companies over the past year included ironSource, Yotpo and Zooz. ClalTech is supported by a vast network of its parent companies: Access Industries and Clal Industries.


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A record 91 percent of US companies in China are optimistic over the outlook for their Chinese operations because of the growing importance of the domestic market, but for the second year in a row their business performance fell in 2012, a survey showed yesterday.
According to the 2012-2013 China Business Report done by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, 91 percent of the 420 companies surveyed said they are "optimistic" or "slightly optimistic" about the prospects for their business over five years in China, a market they are committed to.
But only 73 percent of the US companies in China were profitable last year, declining from 78 percent in 2011 and 79 percent the year before, according to the survey.
For the second straight year, American firms saw a dip in year-on-year performance indicators, including profitability, revenue and operating margins, the survey said.
"We should no longer expect China's economy to grow at the same double-digit rates of years past," said Brenda Foster, president of AmCham Shanghai. "Steadily rising costs, human resource constraints and an increasingly competitive environment will also be the rule rather than the exception in the years ahead."
The survey also revealed that more than 40 percent of firms posted higher margins in China than what they achieved globally and nearly two-thirds said revenue growth in China was bigger than their global revenue growth.
China was ranked the top investment destination for more than one-fifth of companies, a survey record, and 75 percent rated it among the top-three investment priorities in this year's survey.
In addition, nearly 75 percent of companies said they plan to increase investment this year, the highest level seen over the last three years of the survey.
Nearly two-thirds of companies surveyed said they are "in China for China" to compete in the growing domestic market driven by increasing household income, which grew by nearly 10 percent in 2012.
But more than two-thirds of the US companies firms said the regulatory environment is either "not improving" or "deteriorating."
IKEA: Meatballs in China supplied by Fujian factory
Jet-set life takes off for country's super-rich
Taking a bite out of the market for snakes
Ratings agency warns about rising debt
Holiday firework sales fail to boom
4G network to lead the world


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Unlike recent look-backs, a review of the loyalty program highlights of 2010 is likely to hearten travelers for whom miles and points are a priority.
Although there were some negatives -- chief among them the increasing difficulty in redeeming miles for restricted awards -- the year's most significant developments fell mostly on the positive side of the ledger, suggesting a generally consumer-friendly trend.
Some of the following are genuinely new, while others are developing trends, newly solidified. No attempt has been made to rank them according to their importance; their order is arbitrary.
1. British Airways' 100,000-Mile Card Offer
After a prolonged period of retrenchment following the meltdown of the financial sector, credit card issuers are back in the business of aggressively signing up new customers.
The industry standard among airline-affiliated cards is a welcome bonus of at least 25,000 miles, enough for a free round-trip domestic award ticket.
But British Airways -- and Chase, the card issuer -- quadrupled that with an unprecedented 100,000-mile bonus after spending $2,000 during the first three months. It was the most generous credit card bonus ever offered.
More recently, American also upped the ante for its Citi-issued AAdvantage credit card to 100,000 miles, but with a much higher qualification hurdle: 50,000 bonus miles after charging $2,000 during the first four months; an additional 25,000 bonus miles after charging $10,000 during the first year; and yet another 25,000 bonus miles after charging at least $10,000 during the second year.
2. US Airways' 100 Percent Bonus on Purchased Miles
Over the past year, US Airways has revived and extended its 100 percent bonus for purchased miles so many times it began to feel like a permanent feature of the Dividend Miles program.
With the bonus, travelers could buy enough miles for a business-class award ticket to Europe for $1,375 -- a deal with a capital "D."
Unfortunately, the promotion is just that, a limited-time offer. And with the exception of one semi-comparable offer from Delta -- same 100 percent bonus, but only on miles purchased using a SkyMiles-linked credit card -- it hasn't spurred much in the way of counter-offers from other mainline carriers.
3. United's Award-Travel Discounts
While US Airways was making its mark as the industry's preeminent discounter of miles, United was busy establishing itself as the industry leader in award discounts.
In just over a year, United discounted award travel in selected markets no fewer than 12 times.
United also introduced weekend saver awards -- 30 percent discounts on selected award flights, announced on Tuesday for travel the following weekend. Although it was a great idea, and a feather in the cap of United's program, the airline suspended the weekend saver awards without notice or comment.
Honorable mention in this category goes to British Airways, which offered Executive Club members the opportunity to book premium coach award trips for the price normally charged for regular coach awards -- a 33 percent mileage savings for flights between the U.S. and London.
4. Hotel Promotions
Never before have there been so many hotel promotions offered continuously over such a prolonged period.


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Those waiting for new Nintendo NX release details didn’t learn much about the new console during Nintendo’s latest earnings call. That didn’t stop the company from teasing news of the coming in the not too distant future. Officially, the company has confirmed that we’ll hear more about the Nintendo NX release this year, perhaps during or just before the E3 event in June. New rumors say that the console will arrive in early fall.
Nintendo executives commented on the Nintendo NX release only briefly during this week’s earnings call, according to those who listened. The company confirmed last year that the Nintendo NX is its forthcoming next-generation video game console. Allegedly, it’s a replacement for the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Nintendo President spoke briefly about the Nintendo NX during its earnings call. Specifically, the outlet says that Tatsumi Kimishima provided a crude timeline of when we can expect the company to discuss the Nintendo NX release. “Mr. Kimishima said Tuesday that the company will provide an update ‘not too late in the course of the year.”
Since revealing the Nintendo NX code-name, the company has said little else about the device. Rumors last week indicated that the Nintendo NX would be made of two parts. One part would be a handheld and replacement for the now aging Nintendo 3DS system. The other would be a console device that interacts with the handheld device and has is own internals. The setup isn’t all that dissimilar from the Wii U, really.
The comments are leading some to believe that we’ll hear more about the Nintendo NX release during a briefing at or before the Electronics Entertainment Show. It’s the biggest gaming-focused event of the calendar year. Both Microsoft and Sony revealed their current consoles during the show.
For the last few years, Nintendo has skipped big press conferences there. The company focused on letting users play part of its Nintendo 3DS and Wii U line-up. All news was delivered in the form of a direct video stream.
In the same report about earnings, The Wall Street Journal cites analysts that believe the company will deliver the Nintendo NX as early as October or November. A Nintendo NX release date sometime around then makes sense for a number of reasons. Usually video game consoles launch just before the holiday shopping season. Developers would have time to educate everyone about their games for the system.
It’d also give Nintendo time to explain the benefits of having a handheld system that pairs with a living room console, if that turns out to be what it’s building. Some reports say that the Nintendo NX’s handheld portion will work with other mobile platforms and have artificial reality features. It’s said that Nintendo will finally embrace robust hardware with the Nintendo NX too, delivering enough horse power for third-party developers to bring some of the games they launch on other modern platforms to the Nintendo NX. That’s something that almost no studio attempts with Nintendo Wii U today because of hardware limitations, most believe.
This week’s report mentions Miitomo, a recently announced mobile title that’s coming from Nintendo and partner DeNA. It’ll become the first Nintendo experience available on smartphones, though it isn’t a game. It’s a communication and chat app instead.
The report doesn’t mention the other high-profile project a Nintendo partner is working on. Last fall, Nintendo invested heavily in development studio Niantic Labs. Niantic is working on Pokémon Go, a mobile game that’ll be available on Android and iPhone, and allow users to catch the creatures as they go about their day.
Like the Nintendo NX itself, we don’t have a potential release date for Pokemon Go or Miitomo.
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Burke County EMA and first responders are working at the site near Route 17 outside of downtown Midville. We're told the site is near a swamp and tests are being performed to determine what may have spilled. Acetone was carried on some of the cars.
"I want people just to Nike Air More Uptempo Online Shopping stay calm and know that we're doing everything we can to get them back home, the ones who were evacuated. We have deputies in the area to make sure their belongings are safe," Sheriff Coursey told News Nike Uptempo Royal Blue
The evacuation affects 63 residents and 27 homes. Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey says people evacuated won't be allowed back into their homes until Tuesday morning at the earliest.
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MIDVILLE, GA A precautionary evacuation has been ordered for a 1/4 mile radius around a train derailment involving hazardous material, EMA officials said Sunday night. Hazardous materials were on board, but it's not clear if those cars left the track, Susan Terpay with Northfolk Southern told News 12.
12's Carter Coyle.
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Post:Canadian Prescription Medicines Travel To The USA
The current conflict over suggested regulations to permit Canadian pharmacies to market prescription medicines in the UNITED STATE is a situation in factor showing the requirement for rigid measures to protect the American public from harmful drugs. Prescription medicine abuse is one of the most common causes of addiction or material abuse, and can result in serious lawful as well as financial effects.
Just recently, there have been a variety of instances in Florida entailing sigma-1 beta-hydroxyisocyanates (Sigma-1), a sort of drug utilized to treat high blood pressure as well as stress and anxiety. According to the reports, the Canadian-owned pharmacy at Sunrise Pharmaceuticals offered prescriptions for state of mind stabilizers at a Florida medical facility. In all, 3 patients who obtained prescriptions for these drugs from the drug store are presumed of having passed away from drowning, cardiovascular disease, or various other ways. The event has actually produced widespread alarm amongst Americans thinking about examining the prospective threats of lugging drugs consisting of Florida medications. According to the Canadian government's Pharmacy Safety and security as well as Control Program, the number of reported deaths related to the importation of prescription medications has declined gradually given that its introduction.
An additional prospective worry about the reintroduction of Canadian drugs right into the USA is the opportunity that Americans will certainly end up acquiring infected drugs from abroad. An evaluation by the Office of National Drug Control Policy suggests that there have actually been no instances of drug contaminants coming from the USA ever before identified. The lack of data evaluation does not rule out the possibility of contamination. The absence of case researches or official confirmation that medicine contaminants originating in other countries have ever gone into the United States would certainly additionally raise questions as to the security of imported medications.
While it is clear that Canadians have a reputable passion in importing and also distributing low quality drugs, the exact same might not be stated for the USA. Problems concerning the method have actually been revealed both locally and also worldwide. viagra canada pharmacy and wellness companies have actually elevated issues about the danger of subjecting patients to tainted medications through the introduction of brand-new drugs or the lack of surveillance of medicines getting in the nation. Concerns additionally have actually been raised concerning the possibility of controlled substance use as well as the possibility of polluted needles utilized by drug addict. Canadian Pharmacy fret about the opportunity of foreign pharmaceutical business attempting to corner the market on prescription medicines by aggressively promoting products that have not obtained the appropriate authorization in the United States and Canada. These factors can pose a major threat to the healthcare system in the United States and Canada.
One more problem that is shared by several wellness treatment experts and also drug individuals alike is the opportunity of tainted medications swamping the Canadian as well as american medicine supply. Numerous individuals have actually ended up being addicted to these unlawfully purchased medicines creating boosting degrees of problem regarding the safety and security of the medicine supply.
Concerns about the protection of the prescription drugs supplied by Canadian and also United States drug stores are shared by many worldwide health care organizations. Numerous worldwide healthcare organizations have actually contacted both nations to raise controls over the activity of products from Canada right into the USA. On top of that, the opportunity of the prescription medicines traveling across the border and into the United States through Mexico has additionally been increased by various medical care organizations. While there is no proof linking the burglary of prescription medicines from a foreign drug store to the instances of persons passing away from tainted medicines, it is believed that such a circumstance would lower the level of safety and security at boundaries between both countries.
An evaluation by the Office of National Drug Control Plan suggests that there have been no instances of medicine impurities stemming in the United States ever recognized. Numerous health organizations have actually elevated worries regarding the danger of revealing clients to tainted medications through the intro of new medicines or the lack of monitoring of medicines getting in the nation. Problems likewise have been elevated regarding the possibility of illegal medication use and the opportunity of polluted needles used by medication users. Another concern that is shared by many wellness treatment specialists as well as medicine customers alike is the possibility of impure drugs flooding the Canadian and also american medication supply. Numerous individuals have actually ended up being addicted to these unlawfully acquired medicines triggering increasing levels of issue concerning the safety of the drug supply.


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Chick-Fil-A is making things even better for their customers. There are now 1,100 restaurants in the country that offer delivery. Chick-Fil-A teamed up with Door Dash to offer this service. Customers who use DoorDash will be able to get a free sandwich from now until November 20, 2018.
They will have to download the DoorDash app. They will also have to use the promo code CDEDELiVERY. People will have to make a minimum purchase of $5 in order to get a free sandwich. Customers can order anything that you like on the menu.
Jon Bridges is the senior vice president of marketing for Chick-Fil-A. He stated that many people today are busy with family committments and work, and they do not have a lot of time to prepare meals Delivery makes it easy for people to get a high-quality meal quickly. He also stated that if people are unable to come to Chick-Fil-A, then Chick-Fil-A will come to them.
Chick-FIl-A started testing out its delivery services in various locations in 2017. It was a success, so they decided to offer this service to more locations. They found that 90 percent of the people who used Chick-Fil-A delivery services ordered waffle fries. Orders peaked on days when the weather was inclement and during dinner time. Additionally, many of the orders were to universities and hospitals. Customers were able to use the delivery service if they lived within a 10-mile radius of the Chick-Fil-A.
People who used Chick-Fil-A’s delivery service during the pilot phase were happy with their order. Ninety-eight percent of the people stated that the order was consistent with what they expected. DoorDash is a company that is based in San Francisco. It connects customers to local restaurants. There are over 1,200 cities in Canada and the United States that use DoorDash.


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By nearly anyone’s standards, the current C6 Corvette is a remarkable sports car. Even in base form, the Corvette is capable of truly impressive on-track performance, yet it doesn’t punish those who prefer to use it as a daily driver. We’d go so far as to call the Corvette an easy car to drive fast, since its electro-nannies forgive a lot of sins made by inexperienced drivers. On the track, with the stability control programming turned off, however, the Corvette still overlooks a lot more ham-fistedness than a first-generation Viper or even a Mustang GT.
One area where the Corvette has always turned up lacking is its interior, specifically its seats. Even in higher-end models, the seats are best described as an afterthought (and we’re being generous here). Perhaps they’re light in weight, but they’re also flimsy and uncomfortably for anything resembling long-distance driving.
Chevrolet has heard this complaint before, yet it’s been idle as others have stepped up their game. The new Viper, for example, uses seats from Sabelt, the same company that supplies Ferrari. Even the Ford Mustang now has superb Recaro seats listed as an option, one we would gladly pay more money for.
As the latest Corvette teaser video shows, Chevrolet looks to be treating the new Corvette’s interior to a serious redesign. We hope that’s the case, sine the inside of the last Corvette was one of the few areas that needed improvement. In less than one month, we’ll finally learn all the details.


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Oct 15, 2020, 12:47 ET
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday and Saturday, October 16-17, the first Empire State Maker Faire will share the creative work and technical know-how of makers of all ages who share a passion for making just about anything they can imagine. This event is free and open to the public. During the time of a pandemic, all sessions will be online. There is still a focus on maintaining the hands-on, DIY nature of Maker Faire through demonstrations, performances, and how-to workshops. You can experience everything from 3D printed chocolate, cosplay, and robots to haunted houses, cardboard creations, and unusual board games. Most importantly, you can meet and learn from hundreds of different makers.
"Despite the pandemic, and perhaps even because of it, there are more people making things and applying what they learn to new projects," said Dale Dougherty, President of Make: Community and the creator of Maker Faire. "I'm excited that Empire State Maker Faire offers a new way to bring the spirit of Maker Faire to more people and yet continues to build on our fifteen years of tradition."
Here are some of the highlights:
- Mario the Maker Magician! is Friday's Student Day keynote speaker: Mario is a maker and a performing magician. He creates his props for his magic show and uses them to inspire young people to create and make things themselves.
- Limor Fried, CEO of Adafruit Industries, is Saturday's keynote speaker: An electrical engineer and computer scientist, Limor Fried founded Adafruit Industries from her dorm room at MIT. She has grown Adafruit into one of the most influential resources for all makers.
- Project Showcase, highlighting the works of makers on makeprojects.com
- Student Day, on Friday, October 16, from 9:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. EDT. Geared toward students and educators, whether they are learning in person, remotely, or homeschooled, the program offers hands-on activities as well as STEM/STEAM workshops.
- Five-Minute Lightning Talks featuring a wide variety of makers inspiring creativity for all ages.
- Saturday is a Full Day of sessions with makers, exhibits, tours, and more across three streaming channels from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm EDT. Topics including beekeeping, puppetry, 3D printing, woodturning, and felting.
- Makerspaces Tours throughout New York State, several spaces will give tours and demonstrations of their community members' work.
- To see the full program, go to www.makerfaire.com.
Empire State Maker Faire is a collaboration among producers who, in previous years, have produced Maker Faires in Rochester, Long Island, Buffalo, Fredonia, Twin Tiers, Syracuse, and New York City's World Maker Faire. These producers decided to team up and create an online celebration of making accessible to all, no matter where you live!
Empire State Maker Faire is produced under license from Make: Community
Empire State Maker Faire Badge
SOURCE Maker Faire
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If you're an income investor, there are many dividend stocks available for you to choose from that can generate recurring cash flow for your portfolio. And while you don't want to take on too much risk by looking for high-yielding dividend stocks that pay 10% or more, you also shouldn't waste your time on stocks that pay less than the S&P 500 index average of about 2%.
Here are two stable, well-priced stocks paying more than 3% that you can buy today: Cardinal Health (CAH 3.96%) and Coca-Cola (KO -0.88%). With terrific track records for paying and increasing dividend payments, they're some of the safest dividend stocks out there right now.
1. Cardinal Health
Medical distribution company Cardinal Health currently pays its shareholders a quarterly dividend of $0.4859. At a share price of around $48, that means it's yielding slightly above 4% per year. On a $25,000 investment, you'd be earning approximately $1,000 per year in dividend income. Not only that, but Cardinal Health's a Dividend Aristocrat and it's increased its dividend payments for more than 30 years in a row. The most recent pay hike came earlier this year, with Cardinal Health bumping up its quarterly dividend by 1%. The company's raised its dividend by a total of 25.6% from five years ago when its quarterly payments were $0.3870. That averages out to a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7%.
On top of its dividend, Cardinal Health's low price and stable business make it an excellent buy. On Aug. 6, the Ohio-based business released its fourth-quarter results for fiscal 2020 where, despite the impact of COVID-19, its sales of $36.7 billion for the period ending Jun. 30 were down a modest 2% year over year. Its pharmaceutical segment generated $33.2 billion in revenue, which was flat from a year ago, but its medical division's revenue of $3.5 billion fell by 13% from the prior-year period, largely a result of deferred or canceled procedures due to the pandemic. Despite this, Cardinal Health still posted a solid operating profit of $270 million -- which was down 12% year over year. However, this isn't unusual territory for Cardinal Health. Although it's recorded losses twice in the past 10 quarters (as a result of nonoperating items), it's posted an operating profit in each of those periods.
Cardinal Health's stability makes it an attractive buy-and-forget dividend stock you can potentially hold in your portfolio forever. Another reason to love the stock is that it's not an expensive buy, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of less than nine. The average stock in the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund trades at around 24 times its earnings.
Year to date, shares of Cardinal Health are down 5%, below the S&P 500's positive returns of 5%.
If you're looking for a consumer goods stock to invest in, Coca-Cola's stock might be a better option for you. The soft drink giant isn't just an Aristocrat --it's a Dividend King, raising its dividend payments for more than 50 years in a row. It's an impressive streak that isn't likely to end unless something seismic shakes the company and the industry it's in. Today, Coca-Cola pays its shareholders a quarterly dividend of $0.41, which yields 3.3%. If you invest $25,000 in Coca-Cola, you could expect to earn $825 in dividends each year.
The dividend is 2.5% higher than the $0.40 that Coca-Cola was paying out a year ago. Over five years, the Georgia-based company's hiked its dividend payments 24% from the $0.33 that it was paying back in 2015. That averages out to a CAGR of 4.4%, slightly lower than Cardinal Health's dividend growth rate.
On Oct. 22, Coca-Cola released its third-quarter results of fiscal 2020. Its sales for the period ending Sept. 25 felt more of an impact from COVID-19 than Cardinal Health's top line did. Revenue of $8.7 billion was down 9% year over year as its away-from-home channel, which includes sales from bars, restaurants, and stadium/arena events, struggled amid the pandemic. The segment makes up about half of its business, with the other half being its at-home channels. Coca-Cola still posted a strong operating profit of $2.3 billion, down 8% from the prior-year period. Coca-Cola is another stable business to invest in, consistently posting a profit in each of its last 10 quarterly results.
Trading at a forward P/E of 23, the stock's a bit more expensive than Cardinal Health, but the multiple's still around where it was a year ago. And that's slightly lower than the 25 times earnings the average stock in the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund trades at.
Year to date, shares of Coca-Cola are down more than 10%.
Which dividend stock is the better buy today?
Both stocks are underperforming the S&P 500, but those aren't trends that are likely to persist over the long term. If you're looking to maximize your dividend income, then Cardinal Health is the better stock to buy today. With a higher yield and a higher CAGR, it's likely going to generate more dividend income than Coca-Cola will, assuming that both companies continue raising their dividend payments at the same rates as they have in recent years. And with Cardinal Health being a cheaper buy, there's also more potential there for investors to benefit from capital gains.


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E3 2018 sure did generate some strong social media traffic. And to prove just how powerful it was, Twitter has posted a new blog discussing the most popular trends and companies during the event.
"Gamers around the world were glued to Twitter last week to hear and talk about the breaking announcements, trailers, and gameplay reveals coming from the annual E3 expo in Los Angeles. No matter what games were announced, or what tournaments were happening, people came to Twitter to talk about it!" the company noted.
It then went on to say, "Gaming conversation was fast and furious on Twitter. There was a 94% increase in overall gaming conversation during E3 compared to the previous week on Twitter.
"And there were nearly 15 million #E3 related Tweets last week. The highest spike in E3 conversation came during the Nintendo Direct press conference between 9-10 AM ET on June 12 with 890K Tweets."
There were many countries that took part in tweeting but the United States took a first place spot, followed by Japan in second and the United Kingdom in third. Rounding out the list were Spain and France in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
As far as what got tweeted out the most during the show, Nintendo took a first place victory, just narrowly beating out Xbox in second place. Super Smash Bros. had a third place spot with the reveal of the Ultimate game for Nintendo Switch, while Fallout and PlayStation rounded out the top five. You can find the full top ten list below:
- Nintendo (@Nintendo)
- Xbox (@Xbox)
- Super Smash Bros. (#SuperSmashBros)
- Fallout (@Fallout)
- Playstation (@PlayStation)
- Kingdom Hearts (@KINGDOMHEARTS)
- Ubisoft (@Ubisoft)
- Elder Scrolls (@ElderScrolls)
- Death Stranding (#DEATHSTRANDING)
- Fortnite (@FortniteGame)
As far as the game announcements that got the most traffic, Super Smash Bros. won out yet again, followed by Kingdom Hearts III and Fallout 76.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Fallout 76
- The Last of Us 2
- Death Stranding
Finally, with the moments that generated the most popularity on Twitter, here were the three key ones for Twitter:
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate release date is announced
- Ridley announced as newest character added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Elder Scrolls VI trailer is revealed at @Bethesda press conference
The company also pointed out Fortnite's success from the event. "@FortniteGame was among the early winners of last week's event. The Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am Tournament generated 250K Tweets during #E3," it said.
You can find more stats about the event over at the Twitter blog.
Let's do it again next year, yeah?1comments


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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan is a big market and Azerbaijan wants to tap growing opportunities, Azerbaijani Ambassador Ali Alizada said on Thursday, while also urging Pakistanis to explore investment opportunities in his country.
Ambassador Alizada was speaking at a visit to the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).
The ambassador discussed ways and means to explore business collaborations, the exchange of delegations and trade information. He said Azerbaijan had a great attachment with Pakistan and both countries enjoy a cordial relationship.
The envoy highlighted the economic reforms being undertaken in the Central Asian state, including tax holidays and ease of doing business. He said that there were opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism as the Azerbaijani government has eased the tourist visa process and also suggested increased cooperation in citrus fruit and other food products, construction, tourism and defence production.
RCCI President Malik Shahid Saleem said Azerbaijan and Pakistan enjoy good political and trade relations, but the volume of bilateral trade is not convincing. He said a $60 million bilateral trade volume is not enough with the size of the economies of both countries in mind.
He said the RCCI is planning to organise an ECO trade forum for exploring new avenues, information and the promotion of trade ties among member countries.
He said there are tremendous opportunities for bilateral trade cooperation in the pharmaceutical, poultry, marble, furniture and textile sectors.
Mr Saleem also told the ambassador about current and upcoming RCCI events and invited him to the upcoming 2019 Rawal Exhibition.
He also elaborated on hurdles facing the promotion of bilateral trade between the two countries. Banking channels, air connectivity, tariff barriers, alternate rail and road networks, visa-free facilities and lucrative incentives should be provided to enhance bilateral trade relations, he said.
Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2019


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Sustainability in luxury retail – keeping it a priority.
When talking about sustainability in retail, it’s easy to label fast-fashion brands as the ones that need to make the big changes. But while luxury brands have an advantage of products designed and purchased for longevity, as opposed to temporary use, these brands are still feeling the same pressure from customers and competitors to demonstrate their sustainability efforts. And while luxury products may have a more sustainable lifespan, in-store displays still play a huge part in their environmental footprint.
As we see more brands move forward with their post-pandemic retail strategy, it will be interesting to see how sustainability will be included, especially within retail design. Here are some examples of brands that have been continuing to make an impact throughout the pandemic.
Changing the spotlight on energy efficiency
Keeping the lights on is key for any retail store and brands have to rely on electricity to keep business going. In early 2020, Chanel pledged to source 100% renewable electricity for its global operations by 2025, including all retail stores and runway shows. As part of an overall strategy set out by the label, titled ‘Chanel Mission 1.5°’, it follows the Paris Climate agreement (COP21), which aims to limit the global mean temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Spreading the sustainability message
While retailers closed their doors throughout most of 2020, luxury handbag and accessories brand, Anya Hindmarch saw an opportunity to spread a message through her shop front. You may remember the brands ‘I Am Not A Plastic Bag’ campaign back in 2007, in which it designed canvas bags for leading supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s. But over the years, the mission has changed. The brand has shifted focus from awareness of the problem to circularity of materials. The recent ‘I Am A Plastic Bag’ collection is manufactured from recycled plastic bottles, which are spun into yarn to produce canvas that feels like cotton.
Over 2020 London Fashion Week, the designer closed her stores and filled them with 90,000 recycled plastic bottles to promote the new collection and encourage the conversation of circular economy throughout such an important week in the fashion industry. The windows displayed shocking statistics linked to damage caused by plastic bottles, along with a QR code that passers by could scan for more information. The graphics, of course, were made from eco-friendly inks and printed on PVC-free material. What’s more, all elements were sourced within a 40-mile radius.
Financial commitments to sustainability
Over the last year, we have seen some major commitments to sustainability from leading luxury retailers. Prada recently took out a major sustainability-linked loan, against which the brand has to reduce its environmental impact otherwise it would face pecuniary consequences. Not long after this Chanel and Burberry followed a similar route, in the form of raising money from investor bonds.
This move saw Burberry develop its own ‘Sustainability Bond Framework’, designed to encourage financial backing from investors with the view of delivering the brands sustainability aims. The brand’s aims include its ongoing efforts to increase its use of green energy, improve its material sourcing, reduce and re-evaluate its waste and to ‘positively impact’ one million people by 2022, by tackling educational inequality and supporting social and economic development and community cohesion.
It’s great to see so many brands making innovations and commitments to sustainability, even during a global pandemic. It goes to show that creating a greener, more circular economy should always be a priority.
Click here to learn how we can help you reach your sustainability aims.


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Taj Hotels, IndiGo, Vistara, the hits keep on coming. Everyone is reporting a record quarter of growth, and it seems like the trend is not going to stop anytime soon!
Tag Archives for IHCL.
Wow! When people start travelling again, the hospitality industry could make a profit too. IHCL did some solid results in Q3FY22, but there is a lot more insight into their business. Take a look at how the hotel behemoth has survived and thrived during the pandemic.


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The deal, which was agreed by Miss Truss in principle last June, was signed by her successor as International Trade Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan. It is the UK’s first ‘from scratch’ trade deal since leaving the EU.
The pair now hope to get rich by selling their ghoulish £3.99 book about his life and crimes using Amazon’s online Kindle store. But far from accepting his punishment, he has been secretly writing his warped version of events with the help of his best friend during jail visits.
The law prevents criminals profiting from memoirs, but the pair present the book as a ‘work of fiction’, simply changing place names and those of everyone involved, but leaving the story unchanged. But instead of serving his time quietly, the Mail has discovered he has been helping his best friend write a biography.
Because today, a Mail investigation reveals what happened after Black Friday last year, proving yet again that the number of genuine one-off deals worth sharpening your elbows for are, in truth, scarce.
Easy swaps to beat inflation: Ditch margarine for butter,… What you SHOULD do if your energy firm goes bust: Will my… ASK TONY: I lost Mum and Dad within 10 weeks, but bank won’t… All that glitters The ‘gold’ jewellery with plating that’s…
To technologist and Classic Novels public data access activist Carl Malamud, the AWS outage highlights how much Big Tech has warped the internet, which was originally designed as a distributed and decentralized network intended to survive mass disasters such as nuclear attack.
The company said by 6pm that the issue was mostly resolved, and at 7.30pm the network device issue had been fully resolved, with Amazon adding that it was ‘working towards recovery of any impaired services.’ The AWS outage began at around 10am ET and had widespread impacts.
After discussing the rules preventing inmates profiting from a crime, they agreed to ‘send some money’ to Shepherd’s estranged wife and child. It has to be about it – but not really about it. Certain omissions are needed. If you know what I mean.’ The pair even recorded how they haggled over any proceeds. You’ll have to say this is a fictitious account.
Gentle on gums yet tough on plaque, the electric toothbrush oscillates, rotates, and pulsates to remove up to 100 per cent more plaque versus a manual toothbrush. Upgrade your manual toothbrush and boost your oral hygiene routine with the Oral-B Pro 3 Electric Toothbrush with Smart Pressure Sensor – now less £39.99 on Amazon.
We were, in a sense, both fighting Whitehall.’ ‘So there were really three sides to the trade negotiation – a large element of the Whitehall establishment, the Australian side and then Liz Truss and those close to her.
It holds roughly a third of the $152 billion market for cloud services, according to a report by Synergy Research – a larger share than its closest rivals, Microsoft and Google, combined. The cloud-service operation is a huge profit center for Amazon.
So they wrote it as a ‘fictionalised’ account, changing Jack’s name to ‘Keith’ and his friend’s to ‘Clive’. Shepherd’s best friend – whose identity is not being revealed by the Mail – tried to hawk the book to newspapers, but it was rejected.
The roughly eight-hour Amazon Web Services outage on Tuesday shut down communications between the e-commerce giant and the fleet of thousands of drivers it relies on, preventing drivers from getting route assignments or packages, according to The disruption hit the app Amazon uses to communicate with the network of independent contractors who carry out much of its last-mile shipping, leaving vans that were supposed to be on the road idle, sources told the outlet.
Roughly five hours after numerous companies and other organizations began reporting issues, Classic Novels the company said in a post on the AWS status page that it had ‘mitigated’ the underlying problem responsible for the outage, which it did not describe.
Now £29.99, the voice-controlled smart speaker with Alexa can be added to any room in your home, and with a simple command, you can ask for music, news, weather updates, and more. You can also make calls and control compatible smart home devices, including lighting, home security, and heating.
Helping ensure your little one has a restful night’s sleep, Pip the Panda from Tommee Tippee (now 40 per cent off) has a built-in CrySensor so he can settle them back to sleep when they cry with soothing sounds and lullabies.
Australia and the UK finally signed a deal at the end of last year, which ministers say will unlock £10.4billion of additional trade.
In a major boost for Brexit Britain, the agreement will eliminate all tariffs on exports and will mean Britons will be able to work in Australia for three years.
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Small Business Administration Honors NC State Spinoff SinnovaTek
SinnovaTek, a spinoff company co-founded by Josip Simunovic, professor in NC State’s Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, won an award for its international impact from the Small Business Administration (SBA).
The SBA recognized SinnovaTek with the Tibbetts Award for demonstrating the economic and societal impacts of improved microwave processing technology. SinnovaTek is the only North Carolina-based company recognized with this award for 2020.
SinnovaTek produces nutritious, shelf-stable foods that don’t require refrigeration, working with food processing partners around the world, most recently in Kenya.
“SinnovaTek may be located in Raleigh, but the company is making a significant impact on the lives of young children in sub-Saharan Africa – where 48 percent of children under 5 years old suffer from vitamin A deficiency,” the SBA announcement said. “The company’s Nomatic processing system is helping to address this issue in Kenya with the production of sweet potato puree.”
SinnovaTek shipped a microwave processor to Kenya in 2020, working with collaborator Tawanda Muzhingi, a food scientist with the International Potato Center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and an adjunct professor in NC State’s Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.
SinnovaTek was founded in 2015 by Simunovic, NC State alumna Amanda Vargochik and longtime collaborator Michael Druga, the company’s current president and CEO. Many of its employees are NC State alumni, and several of its patented technologies are licensed from or co-developed with NC State.
The company reduces food waste by creating a market for vegetables that don’t fit the size or shape requirements for fresh market sales. Microwave processing can be done in small batches, making the technology a good fit for small-scale food processing.
The Tibbetts Award also recognizes SinnovaTek’s achievement in building and initiating production at the first advanced, precision-scale processing facility of its kind, FirstWave Innovations in Raleigh.
The R&D and production facility was constructed and brought on line under restrictive and difficult pandemic circumstances, but it is already well on its way to operating at full capacity. FirstWave is the most recent industrial implementation of SinnovaTek’s patented technologies for continuous flow microwave sterilization and aseptic packaging, enabling superior nutrition and flavor quality for baby and infant foods, personalized nutrition formulations, and novel, health-promoting, plant-based products.
In addition to working to improve microwave processing, SinnovaTek provides research and development services to food processing companies.
Additional installations of SinnovaTek equipment and technologies are under consideration for North Carolina, several countries in Africa, South America and Europe.


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- Amazon is recommending employees in New York and New Jersey work from home until the end of March as the coronavirus continues to spread.
- The company is asking employees in the Seattle area and Italy to work remotely as well.
- There are now 142 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York State, including 20 cases in the New York City area.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Amazon is recommending that its employees in New York and New Jersey work from home as the coronavirus continues to spread.
The company advised employees on Monday to work remotely beginning March 10 until the end of the month, according to an internal memo seen by Business Insider. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the news.
"In light of new COVID-19 guidance from the New York Health Department that was issued on March 9, we are changing Amazon's guidance for New York and New Jersey corporate office employees to recommend that all employees based in these locations and who work in a role that can be done from home," the memo said.
There are 142 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday, including 20 cases in New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio has asked all New Yorkers to consider working from home. The company has more than 8,000 employees across its tech hub and fulfillment centers in New York City, according to the Journal.
"The email left it a little open ended as far as working with your manager to establish expectations," an Amazon employee in New York City told Business Insider, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "But direction from my senior manager to our team was pretty clear that we should not come in this week and would re-evaluate at the end of week."
Amazon issued a similar directive to employees at its Seattle headquarters last week after an employee in its Seattle office and two in its Italy offices tested positive for the coronavirus. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter have also asked employees to stay home.
"We continue to work closely with public and private medical experts to ensure we are taking the right precautions as the situation continues to evolve," an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider in an email. "This includes recommending that employees who are able to work from home in Seattle/Bellevue, the Bay Area, New York, New Jersey and the Lombardy region/Asti province of Italy do so through the end of March."
The coronavirus, which began in Wuhan, China, more than two months ago, causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19. Cases have been recorded in more than 100 countries, more than 111,000 people have been infected, and more than 3,900 people have died from the virus. Though the vast majority of cases are in China, nearly 770 deaths have been reported outside of mainland China, including 22 in the US.