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The last several years have been a rollercoaster for many industries, including wine and spirits. And as we head into 2023, that rollercoaster will continue. The challenges that the industry is facing include:
- Production prices are rising
- Direct-to-consumer channels are becoming more important for revenue
- Restaurants are still recovering from pandemic closures
In addition, the wine and spirits industry needs to find a way to tap into the buying power of millennials. In order to do so, the industry will have to rely on showcasing its values, augmented reality, and of course, a high-quality product.
As we look ahead to 2023, expect companies to invest in technology, analyze how to reduce production and transportation costs, and invest in partnerships and marketing strategies to capture larger millennial customers as well as direct-to-consumer subscribers.
The cost of wine is going up
In the 2022 holiday season, you spent more on your Thanksgiving turkey, more on the vegetables, and even more on the wine. As a result, inflation has hit your local liquor store.
The wine industry saw a 30% increase in costs in 2022, and multiple factors are to blame. The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help; shuttering restaurants and wineries drove up prices per bottle.
Every business and industry is dealing with inflation and the rising costs of materials, transportation, and labor. Raising the price of your product is one way to make up for the cost increase. However, some customers, especially cash-strapped millennials, may stop paying up.
Companies will need to employ multiple strategies, such as exploring alternative packaging, analyzing transportation routes, and leaning into premium channels, if they’re to maintain strong profit margins.
The wine market is finally growing
The Global Wine Market accounted for $489.3 billion in 2021 and is estimated to grow to a market size of $825.5 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1% through 2030.
This industry should receive this projection as encouraging news after a few years of pandemic stress and millennials not buying into the wine industry as their boomer predecessors have.
Fueling the growth is the growing urban inclination for exotic wine, surging demand for alcoholic beverages, and rising consumer socialization with liquors.
Online alcohol sales rose 167% in 2020, leading to more acceptance of liquor consumption socially. In addition, consumers’ desire to travel has increased, and they are seeking activities that serve alcoholic beverages while vacationing. Consumers are also seeking out low-calorie drink options, giving the wine market an avenue to shine.
On-premise wine sales are finally recovering from the pandemic
Where people bought their wine drastically changed during the pandemic. Instead of getting a glass of wine at a bar, consumers bought bottles at the grocery store.
In 2019, U.S. restaurant wine sales totaled $864.3 billion. In 2020, it plummeted to $659 billion. In 2021, sales recovered to $789 billion. However, the 2021 figures are still down 8.7% from 2019.
While it’s encouraging to see the rebound, the tension point is if restaurant wine sales continue to grow rests in the price per glass. The cost of wine bottles in grocery stores remains the same, but the price of a glass or bottle of wine continues to increase when dining at a restaurant. Consumers have noticed that widening gap, and many have decided they don’t want to pay the markup.
According to Nielsen calculations, the restaurant industry’s average cost for alcohol is about $1.02 for a 12-ounce serving of beer, $0.88 for a 1.45-ounce serving of spirits, and $1.51 for a 5-ounce pour of wine. That makes the cost of wine 72% more expensive compared to spirits at a restaurant.
If restaurants continue the markup, wineries will need to rely more on tasting rooms, off-premise sales, and DTC channels.
Virtual reality & and living wine labels
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, most customers used their phones to scan QR codes and read menus. But now wine labels are using that habit to provide extra entertainment and help your glass of wine come to life.
Emerging wine brand 19 Crimes utilizes QR codes that customers can scan to unlock a historical mystery based on British prisoners sent to Australia for one of 19 different crimes. Through augmented reality, customers can then listen to the prisoner tell their story in their own words. The brand refers to these as “living wine labels.”
This may sound like a fancy gimmick, but wine labels and producers need new tactics to increase millennial wine consumption.
Millennials are consuming far less wine than their baby boomer predecessors. And unfortunately, the news gets even worse — millennials are less loyal to brands, with only 24% knowing what they were going to buy before walking into the store.
For brands looking for a new way to capture the fickle millennial market, it will take some innovation and money to create this augmented world and bring it to life. According to the ITRrex group, a typical augmented reality app will cost between $25,000 and $35,000, taking two or three months to develop. While augmented reality may require an upfront investment, it could end up paying dividends for an organization.
DTC on the rise
Direct to Consumer (DTC) wine sales became an integral part of wineries’ ability to survive during the pandemic. However, once tastings rooms reopened, Silicon Valley Bank’s annual State of The Wine Industry report predicted DTC prices to remain stable and the share of total sales to either stay steady or perhaps decrease.
However, sales stayed strong and prices actually increased.
Today, DTC sales represent about 10% of total wine industry sales in the U.S. and about 65% of the average winery’s total revenue in 2021. DTC sales have continued strong, with 2021 sales having exceeded every monthly benchmark compared to 2020.
A recent ShipCompliant report stated the value of the winery DTC sales channel totaled $4.2 billion, driven by an 11.8% increase in average price per bottle on 8.5 million cases shipped from American wineries.
The success shows DTC is more than a trend and is becoming a mainstay in total revenue for wineries in the United States.
DTC growth is somewhat tempered by local state laws that ban DTC shipping. However, states such as Delaware are looking to end this ban soon. If they end the ban, Mississippi and Utah will be the only remaining states completely outlawing DTC alcohol shipping. Arkansas, Delaware, and Rhode Island allow on-site shipments but not off-site shipments.
Wineries and distributors have an exciting year ahead to showcase what they do best, which is to make and sell good wine.
However, each segment of the industry has to reconcile with rising costs, whether that’s the rising cost of a glass at a restaurant or production costs.
2022 brought lots of promising news and growth for the wine industry, setting the industry up for a strong 2023 as long as they adapt based on the story the data is telling them.
Interested in learning more? Check out our full white paper—”5 Trends Impacting the Wine & Spirits Industry in 2023.”
- How Analytics Can Optimize Your Wine & Spirits Technology Stack - September 26, 2023
- Highlights From the DIUC23 Keynote - September 21, 2023
- High Tech for High Times: How Drones Are Elevating Cannabis Cultivation - September 20, 2023


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The publication GizChina reports that in the future Apple plans to improve existing animaze. Especially for this kupertinovtsy patented mechanism that can expand the sonic possibilities of animated smileys.
According to reports, engineers from Cupertino want to make animaze not only repeated facial expressions and lip movements of users, but could make different “suitable” sounds.
For example, if an iPhone owner wants to create an animated emoticon of a dog and will bark when sending animaze unlikely Lai will be replaced by a generated track. Thus, the recipient of animaze will create the overall impression that the barking was real.
We will remind that the company Apple unveiled animated Emoji in September 2017, simultaneously with the release of the new iPhone X. In the past cupertinos few added “library” available, animaze. Moreover, for creating animated smiley users need a device with a camera to True Depth, which is used for Face ID.

domain: news


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How Are You Going to Replace Your Data?
Google has recently announced it won’t use technologies that track individuals across multiple websites. Considering Google accounted for 52% of 2020’s digital ad spend globally, what does this mean for companies needing consumer data to target ads?
The good news is the shift to a consumer opt-in model gives access to much more quality consumer data than before—all while enabling the privacy consumers want and need. Being able to access consumers’ financial data with their permission—rather than from their browsing history—provides much better insight on spending habits and is able to prove incremental spending, all while putting consumers in control.
Learn more about our Tranzactionz API that gives access to consumer bank and card transactions in our free sandbox environment.


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Evansville-based Atlas World Group Inc has acquired Pennsylvania-based Champion International Moving, Ltd. Atlas says the deal marks the largest acquisition in company history.
Champion is a "household goods forwarder that serves corporate customers, relocation management companies, federal government agencies and a small group of agents internationally."
“We are excited to join the Atlas World Group family,” said Ron Smith, founder of Champion International Moving in a news release. “The synergies and assets they provide will help Champion exceed customer expectations while creating many opportunities for future growth. The integrity, attitude and work ethic of Atlas World Group and its employees fits perfectly with our culture, creating an easy path forward.”
The deal marks Champion as Atlas World Group’s ninth subsidiary, and the company will maintain its name and leadership team throughout the transition. Additionally, Champion will operate independently.


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GTA Online: Rockstar teases Arena War Grand Theft Auto mode
GTA 6 rumours have been coming in thick and fast ever since some bold claims were made about what’s next for Grand Theft Auto.
Last month the GTA 6 rumour mill was kicked into overdrive after an alleged shock Grand Theft Auto leak was unearthed.
The rumours came from a Pastebin post that was published last December but only recently discovered.
Not only that, but it was claimed that GTA 6 would be out in 2020 alongside the PS4 successor.
That opened the floodgates and since then GTA 6 rumours have been coming in thick and fast.
One recent rumour is of particular interest as Grand Theft Auto fans will soon be finding out if it is true or not.
In a now deleted Reddit post it was claimed that Rockstar Games would announce a brand new game at E3 2019.
The post was written by a Redditor that claimed to be working for a company building a website for Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two.
Seeing as E3 is just around the corner, fans will soon find out whether these GTA 6 claims are true or not.
If this leak does turn out to be accurate it would be very surprising considering Rockstar Games has typically made announcements outside of E3.
If Rockstar were to reveal GTA 6 during E3 it would break with tradition and their typical tactics of announcing new games.
GTA 6 release date news - Major Rockstar news coming soon? Grand Theft Auto latest
So the odds do seem to be stacked against this rumour turning out to be true, but either way fans will find out in a few weeks time.
There are a number of boxes needing to be ticked for this rumour to end up being true, so it is best to take it with a pinch of salt.
Either way, there will be plenty of eyes on LA when E3 comes around with Microsoft expected to unveil their next-generation Xbox there.
And there’s still the question if Sony, who aren’t at E3, will hold an event outside of it around the same time to promote new games or reveal the PS5.
• Stay tuned to Express.co.uk for more gaming news


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Banners hanging at Macworld Expo on Monday read, “2008: There’s something in the air,” suggesting wireless news to come in CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote Tuesday morning.
Faster cellular service for the iPhone is already on its way later this year, AT&T’s top executive reportedly said in November, but Apple could go beyond that plan and extend high-speed wireless WAN (wide-area network) capability to its MacBook notebooks and even a rumored “ultramobile” computer.
Many consumers have been clamoring for more speed on the iPhone since it was announced a year ago with support only for Wi-Fi and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), a version of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) that generally runs below 200M bps (bits per second). U.S. iPhone carrier AT&T Wireless and other operators around the world already have a set of faster systems called HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) that can deliver more than 1M bps (bits per second).
At the same time, wide-area wireless has been moving into PC notebooks and smaller PC-like devices. The big notebook vendors, including Dell, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard, have rolled out products with built-in 3G. And the Asustek Computer Eee PC and some other small UMPC (ultramobile PC) devices are slated to ship with WiMax.
Apple hasn’t made the leap. Mobile Mac owners can hook up to Wi-Fi hotspots but have to buy dongles or other add-on devices from third parties to get fast wireless elsewhere. Offering a built-in 3G card would give MacBook users access to broadband in far more locations.
However, that leap would take Apple into a market that hasn’t attracted a large percentage of notebook buyers, analysts said.
At least in the U.S., 3G radios are associated with a particular carrier and usually sold along with two-year data contracts. Users keep notebooks longer than they do phones and don’t want to lock them down to a particular carrier, said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. In addition, many notebooks are purchased by enterprise IT departments, which demand more flexibility, Golvin said. He doesn’t expect to see another iPhone phenomenon.
“I don’t think that laptop users would be as interested in aligning themselves formally with one particular carrier,” Golvin said. One alternative would be to build in a chip that could handle more than one carrier and 3G technology, he added.
Avi Greengart of Current Analysis believes Apple’s proven ability to streamline could change the picture.
“They have not been in the forefront of 3G on notebooks. However, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they came out with a simplified offering that just made a lot of sense and became the catalyst, as the iPhone is,” Greengart said. Apple simplified the iPhone experience for customers by sticking with one carrier and letting subscribers sign up with AT&T through iTunes.
Apple could also jump-start the market by offering an alternative to the expensive monthly service model that carriers typically use, said Gartner’s Ken Dulaney. Most consumers don’t travel frequently enough to justify spending US$30 or more per month for cellular service on their notebooks, but they might be willing to buy a system with built-in 3G and pay for service as they need it, he said. Verizon has a little-known offering like this, in which users can pay $15 for 24 hours of service, according to spokesman Jeffrey Nelson.
Because of its greater mobility, a rumored Mac that’s smaller than a notebook but bigger than the iPhone would be an ideal candidate for 3G. If the company unveils it on Tuesday, that product could lead Apple’s new wireless charge.
But that “something in the air” could be a number of other things, too, analysts said. Apple is expected to make its SDK (software development kit) for third-party applications on the iPhone available next month, Greengart said. And the iPhone could gain GPS (Global Positioning System) capability, or some iPods could get Wi-Fi, he said. As always, it’s all speculation until Jobs speaks.
Comment: [email protected]


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LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix Super Markets is voluntary recalling some varieties of its store brand pancake and waffle mixes after being informed by a supplier that milk powder used as an ingredient may contain salmonella.
The pancake mixes were sold at Publix stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
The affected products include Publix brand Premium Pancake and Waffle Mixes in three flavors: Blueberry, banana chocolate chip and pumpkin. They can be identified by their global trade item numbers (universal product codes) 4141503603, 4141503503 and 4141503703 respectively.
The recall is effective Dec. 8, according to the Federal Food and Drug Administration.
Maria Brous, Publix media and community relations director, said there have been no reported cases of illness at this time.
“As part of our commitment to food safety, potentially impacted product has been removed from all store shelves,” Brous said.
Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. According to the FDA, most people affected by Salmonella recover without treatment.
However, in some cases patients may need hospitalization. Elderly, infants and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness, according to the FDA.
Customers who have purchased these pancake mixes may return the product to their local Publix store for a full refund, according to a statement released by the company through the FDA.
Publix customers may also call the company’s Customer Care Department at 1-800-242-1227, or may visit the Publix website.
Customers with concerns can reach the US Food and Drug Administration at 1-888-SAFE-FOOD (1-888-723-3366).


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Multi-year agreement gives ESPN+ subscribers exclusive access to purchase UFC’s biggest events
UFC® and ESPN+, the direct-to-consumer sports video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN, today announced an agreement that will deliver value and simplicity to mixed martial arts fans, making ESPN+ the exclusive distributor of UFC Pay-Per-View events in the United States through 2025. The agreement will make ESPN+ the single point of purchase for consumers of the biggest UFC events throughout the year and the definitive destination for fans to get the most comprehensive coverage of UFC.
Starting with UFC® 236: HOLLOWAY vs. POIRIER 2 on April 13, ESPN+ becomes the exclusive distributor in the United States of all UFC PPV events, showcasing 12 blockbuster live events per year from the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, for each of the next seven years. The agreement adds a new business model to ESPN+ and builds upon the historic multi-platform rights agreement announced in 2018, which is now extended through 2025.
UFC PPV events sold through ESPN+ will include all bouts on the Main Event fight cards and will be streamed in high definition in both English and Spanish. Preliminary bouts for all UFC PPV events will continue to air nationally on ESPN (English) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish) under the agreement announced in 2018. Early preliminary bouts will be available to all ESPN+ subscribers, as well as on UFC FIGHT PASS® and to those who have purchased the PPV. UFC will continue to sell its PPV events to commercial establishments.
“With the addition of UFC PPV events, we are making ESPN+ an absolute must-have for any fan of the UFC and mixed martial arts,” said Kevin Mayer, Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer & International, The Walt Disney Company. “In less than a year, ESPN+ has established itself as the leader in direct-to-consumer sports and this new programming agreement adds a significant business to our platform while reinforcing the value and strength of our product and our content lineup.”
“Today’s announcement further establishes the strength of the partnership between UFC and ESPN,” said UFC President Dana White. “Now our fans will be able to watch all UFC events exclusively on ESPN platforms, including ESPN+, which is an innovative way to deliver fights to our young fan base. I couldn’t be more excited to work with ESPN for the next seven years. Together we’re going to do amazing things to help grow this sport.”
Jimmy Pitaro, President, ESPN and Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks added: “The extremely successful launch of the UFC on ESPN+ emphatically demonstrated the collective power and scale of ESPN and DTCI, and we couldn’t be more excited to continue to drive passionate fans to these new pay per view experiences.”
In addition to giving MMA fans a one-stop home for all UFC PPV events, ESPN+ pricing and packaging will deliver new value to fans as well:
New ESPN+ subscribers will get one-year of ESPN+ and a UFC PPV event for $79.99;
Existing ESPN+ subscribers will be able to purchase UFC PPV events for $59.99 per event.
ESPN+ may explore other potential packaging in the months ahead.
UFC® 236: HOLLOWAY vs. POIRIER 2 goes on sale via ESPN+ at espnplus.com/ppv on April 8. Fans must purchase the event on the web, and then can stream it via the web or on the ESPN App on any connected device. ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN app on all major mobile and connected TV devices and platforms, including Amazon Fire, Apple, Android, Chromecast, PS4, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, X Box One and more.
UFC’s digital brands — UFC.TV, UFC.com and UFC App — will continue to serve as a consumer entry point for PPV events. Once there, fans will be directed to ESPN+ on ESPN.com, where they will be able to purchase and watch UFC PPV events.
UFC made its record-setting debut on ESPN+ on January 19, 2019, logging 568,000 new subscribers over two days. The debut marked the largest event and subscription catalyst for ESPN+ to date. Through its base subscription package ($4.99 / month, $49.99 / year), ESPN+ already offers 20 UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night events, as well as hundreds of hours of original and on-demand programming.
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. UFC boasts more than 278 million fans worldwide and has produced over 460 events in 24 countries since its inception in 1993. Acquired in 2016 by global sports, entertainment and fashion leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG), together with strategic partners Silver Lake Partners and KKR, UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas with a network of employees around the world.
UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe, while programming is broadcast in over 165 countries and territories to 1.0 billion TV households worldwide in 40 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.
ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.
Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC, Top Rank boxing and PFL fights and events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.
ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.


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Absolutely, without any doubt the mall culture has gripped Indians and they seem love every bit of it.
Few days back I visited a newly opened 2 million square feet everything-under-one-roof mall in Pune. I was shocked to see the number of people that had thronged the place. It seemed to be some kind of a huge people procession out there.
In earlier days (about a decade back), if you wanted to do any kind of shopping, one had couple of places to go (or should I say streets) like Laxmi Road or Main street (every city has shopping streets like these, especially in the downtown area), where small shoppers line up across the roads. Bargaining to extract the best price was common place- and it had it own charm too.
But everything has changed now. The younger and older generation alike prefer buying stuff from huge malls where one not only get variety, but quality too at moderate prices.
Even for your everyday grocery buying superstores have come up at every nook and corner. Just to give you an example, we have around 8 superstores (Reliance fresh, Spencers, Big Bazaar) within area of roughly 5 sq. km. The main attraction with all of them is competitive pricing as compared to next door retail grocery shop.
In a recent survey done by Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, a real estate consultancy firm, it reports that 328 new malls are expected to come up in metros and Tier I, II, III cities by 2010.
And the reason for so many malls and super stores coming up is simple – huge consumer demand.
According to study carried out by Assocham, a whooping Rs. 1,31,804 crore has been invested in organised retailing in last 6 months alone.
Here are some of the highlights of that study:
- Organized retail growing at estimated 25%; set to penetrate tier II and tier III cities like Pune, Chandigarh and Hyderabad; investment worth Rs27,550 crore announced
- Real estate companies like Unitech and DLF draw up plans that cater to growing demand of shopping malls; capex of Rs65,000 planned to be invested in real estate development for retail space in next four to five years; food and grocery is next big retail segment with investment plan of Rs22,100 crore
- Hyper marts will soon dot the Indian retail space with investment announcements of Rs29,154 crore expected to set them up
- Companies like Reliance Retail have set aside Rs24,000 crore for setting up hyper marts by 2010-11 in National Capital Region; Spencer retail announced capex of Rs3000 crore for expanding its retail outlet and setting up hyper marts by 2010
- Increased competition among food & grocery retailers will provide better services to users; capex of Rs22,100 crore planned to set up chains of food and grocery stores in next three years
- Past six months witnessed major expansion in textile and apparel segment by large retailers including Provogue, Trent and Arvind Mills drawing up an investment chart of Rs7,900 crore for setting up new stores in Pune, Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai
- Job creation centres of the future will be cities like Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Chandigarh among others
Retail sector seems to be the next big thing in India, and with Software jobs going down, retail seems to be the perfect sector to dive in for aspiring candidates !


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Never Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.
In an effort to ramp up its vision for an electric and/or self-driving car, Apple's Project Titan is operating a secret lab in the heart of Germany's auto mecca, according to reports.
Dawn Kawamoto, Associate Editor, Dark Reading
April 18, 2016
3 Min Read

(Image: AleksandarNakic/iStockphoto)

Tesla Model 3, BMW i3: 10 Electric Vehicles To Own
Tesla Model 3, BMW i3: 10 Electric Vehicles To Own (Click image for larger view and slideshow.)
Apple has launched a clandestine lab in Berlin to speed up development of its Project Titan automotive initiative, as the race for electric and driverless cars becomes more intense.
The secretive lab is located in the heart of Germany's auto mecca and is being staffed with approximately 15 to 20 of that country's top automotive professionals, according to a report in Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The staff in the Berlin lab is made up of hardware and software engineers, among others, and considered "progressive thinkers" who felt stymied by their bosses at their former jobs, according to the German publication. The Frankfurter Allgemeine also noted this team will address potential distribution partners for the cars once they are ready for market, and also regulatory and competitive landscape issues.
To address the distribution challenge created by not having a national network of dealerships to sell the cars, Apple is eyeing a car-sharing model that is similar to BMW's Drive-Now service, the publication noted.
The Apple Car is expected to be a small electric vehicle that is anticipated to hit the market sometime between 2019 and 2020, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine. Austrian auto parts maker Magna is expected to build the cars, once they are ready for production. While the Apple Car, or iCar, as the German publication calls it, will initially be only an electric vehicle, driverless capabilities are anticipated to be added later, the report noted.
The time to market and the lack of driverless capabilities already puts Apple far behind Google, which is already testing its prototype cars in the market. Tesla Motors has long been selling its high-end electric cars, and is slated to release the less expensive and more mainstream Model 3 by the end of 2017.
Apple currently has more than 1,000 employees working on its Project Titan in a facility close to the company's headquarters in Silicon Valley, according to an AppleInsider report. But in February, according to AppleInsider, executives were displeased with the group's progress and had implemented a temporary hiring freeze.
Since then, however, things have apparently improved. Apple currently has posted at least 10 job openings for engineers tied to its car efforts. Also, Apple and rival Tesla have been poaching employees from each other's ranks.
With news of the secret Apple Car lab, it's becoming clear that Apple is ramping up its efforts to compete in the increasingly crowded field of electric and self-driving cars.
About the Author(s)
Associate Editor, Dark Reading
Dawn Kawamoto is an Associate Editor for Dark Reading, where she covers cybersecurity news and trends. She is an award-winning journalist who has written and edited technology, management, leadership, career, finance, and innovation stories for such publications as CNET's News.com, TheStreet.com, AOL's DailyFinance, and The Motley Fool. More recently, she served as associate editor for technology careers site Dice.com.
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Fisher-Price is recalling about 34,000 infant cradle swings because when the seat peg is not fully engaged, the seat can fall unexpectedly, posing a risk of injury to the child. The recall involves three models of the swings: CHM84 Soothing Savanna Cradle ‘n Swing, CMR40 Sweet Surroundings Cradle ‘n Swing and CMR43 Sweet Surroundings Butterfly Friends Cradle ‘n Swing. Affected units were sold at buybuyBaby, Target and other stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com and other websites between November 2015 and March 2016 for about $170. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled cradle swing and contact Fisher-Price for revised assembly instructions.
Ikea is recalling about 11,000 bat cape costumes because the fabric hook and loop fastener at the neck of the cape can fail to detach readily during use, posing a strangulation hazard to children. The recall involves black capes with gray stripes. Ikea, Lattjo and the numbers 60311650 and 18937 are printed on a white label sewn into the seam of the cape. Affected units were sold at Ikea stores nationwide and online at ikea-usa.com between November 2015 and February 2016 for about $13. Consumers should immediately take the recalled bat capes away from children and return the capes to any Ikea store for a full refund.
Eleanor Rose is recalling about 5,900 loungewear sets because the loungewear fails to meet federal flammability standards for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children. The recall involves two different styles, including a girl’s gown and a boy or girl’s top and pants set. The loungewear was sold in sizes 12 months to size 12. Affected units were sold online at eleanorrose.com between November 2014 and February 2016 for about $30. Consumers should immediately take the recalled loungewear away from children and return it to Eleanor Rose for a merchandise credit towards the purchase of another Eleanor Rose product.
The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission works to protect the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products.


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Chinese people are living in peace and harmony, which is the result of the work of the CPC. It is also something that we should learn from China, that if you put your people’s interest first, you are capable of achieving remarkable results.
In the next period, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation should move from a stage where scale is the primary goal to one that focuses on efficiency, health, safety and sustainability.
There is no doubt that China has set a global record in the fight against poverty which offers Africa an opportunity to learn and to build a strong socio-economic foundation for the future prosperity of its people.
The pact aims to liberalize trade and investment across the Asia-Pacific region by lowering tariffs that will likely be eliminated on 86 percent of industrial goods exported from Japan to China and laying out new rules on government procurement, competition and policy for e-commerce.


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Recent software updates for iPads, iPhones, iPod touches, Mac desktops and laptops, and the Apple TV set-top-box mitigate one of the vulnerabilities known as Meltdown. The Apple Watch is not affected.
Sitting down with one tax expert for the second story in our ongoing series about how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will change industry.
Westinghouse, owned by Toshiba since 2006, has faced deep losses due to its stalled nuclear business, including canceled plants in South Carolina.
Tesla has been blowing through more than $1 billion per quarter, and its slower ramp up in manufacturing Model 3s led analysts to speculate another capital raise could be near.
The U.S. Manufacturing Reshoring survey responses will provide "valuable insights into how much manufacturers offshore, what drives them to offshore and what U.S. policy changes would motivate them to reshore,” according to The Reshoring...
The cuts would mostly come from parts of the business that are facing new competition, the drugmaker said.


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A jury in New York City has awarded $25 million to a woman who claimed asbestos-tainted Baby Powder caused her cancer.
Yesterday’s talcum powder verdict only includes compensatory damages. The same jury will convene next week to consider whether Johnson & Johnson and other defendants in the case deserve to be assessed punitive damages.
According to her complaint, Donna Olson, 66, began using Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder when she was just 8-years-old and continued to do so after she married in 1984. The former Manhattan resident claims that she inhaled asbestos particles from clouds of talc created by her repeated applications.
Olsen subsequently developed mesothelioma in her lungs, a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
Johnson & Johnson currently faces more than 14,000 talcum powder lawsuits nationwide that blame Baby Powder and other popular brands for causing mesothelioma or ovarian cancer. The company has a mixed record at trial, and yesterday’s talcum powder verdict in New York marked the 10th win for plaintiffs.
Johnson & Johnson has also settled four talc mesothelioma lawsuits since last December, including two others that were scheduled to go to trial in New York City.
The company has also won seven cases. In fact, Johnson & Johnson’s most recent win came just hours after the New York talcum powder verdict was announced, when a South Carolina jury cleared the company of liability for another woman’s mesothelioma.
Three other Johnson & Johnson talcum powder trials have ended with hung juries.
Johnson & Johnson denies that its talc-based powders contain asbestos or are in any way carcinogenic.
Last December, however, Reuters reported that the company’s raw-talc and finished powders had periodically tested positive for trace amounts asbestos since the early 1970s. Internal documents suggested the occasional asbestos findings worried many at Johnson & Johnson. But rather than warn the public or notify regulators, they worked aggressively to undermine efforts to regulate talc in consumer products and research into its possible health effects.
Reuters published a follow-up report in April, this time highlighting internal documents that suggested Johnson & Johnson shifted its talcum powder marketing focus to African-American, Hispanic, and overweight women in 2006.
That same year, the World Health Organization declared talc-based powders “possibly carcinogenic” when applied to the female genitals. Shortly after that, Luzenac America Inc., one of the company’s talc suppliers, began including a cancer warning on customer shipments. However, Johnson & Johnson continued to withhold this information from the public.


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The Denmark Sporting Goods store in downtown Orlando has been a magical place for Rex Godber ever since his boyhood.
He remembers being taken there by his dad, and roaming wide-eyed along the aisles, surrounded by all that new hunting and fishing equipment, and all the other tools and trappings of indoor and outdoor recreation.
Rex Godber, 33, is now vice president in charge of the store at 149 N. Magnolia Ave., and three other Denmark retail outlets in the metropolitan area.
''It's kind of an awesome responsibility, really,'' said Godber, who joined the company 10 years ago, ''when you think of how much the Denmark name has meant to so many people in Central Florida.''
His father, Bob Godber, was a coach at Memorial and Robert E. Lee junior high schools, and at Oak Ridge High School, and helped found the area's first Boys' Club. He died four years ago.
Tom Denmark opened his first store downtown in 1941. When he marched off to World War II, his wife, Ruth, ran the business. Walter Hudson became Tom's partner in 1946, both their sons became involved in the business as it branched out, and in June of last year Denmark's entire operation was purchased by attorney Don Wright.
On Dec. 19, 1985, at the peak of the holiday shopping season, a fire in the downtown store gutted the second-floor showroom. Water and smoke ruined much merchandise in the basement.
And almost immediately, rumors began spreading that Denmark's downtown store would close after 44 years. Instead, the store has been extensively remodeled.
''People still ask me if the store's been closed, but as you can see, we're very much open,'' said Godber with arms proudly outstretched.
Judy Holsclaw, 70, now in her 18th year in ambulatory services in the Holiday Division of Orlando Regional Medical Center, has been invited by Gov. Bob Graham to attend the Florida Women's Hall of Fame reception in Tallahassee next Tuesday.
A dedicated nurse who contributes countless hours to charitable and civic pursuits, Mrs. Holsclaw has been nominated as a possible inductee into the Hall of Fame by the Licensed Practical Nurses' Association of Florida. Juanita Schrodt, who is on the board of the association, wrote the Holsclaw nomination biography and is also invited to the reception.
''Just being nominated is reward enough,'' said Mrs. Holsclaw.
Three-dot data: The class of 1971 from Orange Memorial Hospital School of Nursing is planning a reunion in July. The contact is Dianne C. Smith, (305) 282-9655. . . .
The Central Florida Dealer Association recently contributed $3,500 to Edgewood Boys' Ranch for construction of an automotive vocational facility.
Sour root stock: Don Hewitt, creator and executive producer of 60 Minutes, and novelists Josephine Humphreys and Robert B. Parker are booked to speak before about 1,000 people at Dinner With the Authors tonight at Wyndham Hotel Sea World. Before leaving New York on Thursday, Hewitt called to check on the Orlando weather. ''If I don't get any sun while I'm there,'' he quipped, ''I'll bring a 60 Minutes film crew into Orlando and do an inside story.''


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Weetabix drops child ambassadors
Weetabix will no longer use child brand ambassadors following the release of guidelines outlawing the practice.
In its response to the Bailey Review into the commercialisation of childhood, the
Advertising Association (AA) has persuaded several companies not to use people under the age of 16 ‘to actively promote brands’. The AA’s progress was presented to Prime Minister David Cameron earlier this week.
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
- Campaign Marketing Manager EMAP Competitive + Bonus, London (Greater) / London (East), London (Greater)
- Exhibition Designers WRG Live Competitive salary and benefits package dependant upon experience, Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Producer WRG Live Competitve salary and benefits package dependent upon experience, London (Central), London (Greater) / Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Content Manager WRG Live Competitive salary and benefits package, Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Deputy Creative Director - Integrated/shopper agency The Industry Club London Ltd £75,000, London (Greater)


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2022 will see accelerated investment in supply chain tech as businesses around the world the goal is to improve ability to plan and manage all the time chain.
More advanced digital enablers such as cognitive planning, predictive analytics based on artificial intelligence, and advanced tracking and tracing methods will be key elements.
Such is the outlook according to KPMG, whose report Six outlined the key trends affecting global supply chains in 2022
that “many supply chain managers are currently struggling by the lack of visibility in their entire extended offer chains because there are so many nodes and participants in them extended chain. Leading organizations use advanced technology for significantly improved visibility and thus become much more sensitive to great disruption and variability within their domestic, regional and global supply chains.”
KPMG lists a few key ones considerations for the companies they address today’s logistical challenges, the first among which is sufficient operational flexibility adapt in real time to changes in the trade flows and regulations, ongoing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and broader geopolitical issues. The guidance also highlights the importance of deriving usable data from digital operations, supplier partnerships and continuous monitoring of risks.


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If it was in the last day, month or even year you - and millions of people like you - are driving an evolution in the global economy.
This is because you are buying a service, rather than food or clothes. And it’s not just consumers buying services. Companies are also buying in services like legal, financial, HR and IT.
When put together, this explosion of services consumption is changing patterns of global trade. In fact new research from HSBC, shows that exports of exports fell about 3% this year. But overseas sales of services such as tourism, banking, construction and software development have risen by 1% even in this tough trading environment.
And if governments don’t put up barriers, services trade is estimated to grow about 7% a year. By 2030, it’s estimated services will add USD12.4trn to global trade flows, up from around USD4.9trn this year.
Evolution leads to adaptation. Today’s entrepreneurs are busy creating services we didn’t know we wanted but now can’t live without, like being able to order a cab from your phone.
Established firms are also adapting to this new environment. They too are working out how services can be integrated into their existing business model. This is creating a new breed of companies, those who are using hybrid models – part manufacturer, part provider of services – to grow.
Take the automative sector. Some cars are only 50% metal, the other 50% being software. Or think about aeroplane engines sales, which come with a 20 year servicing contract, or even the cloud contract which comes with a mobile phone.
Not only are services being traded more, the research also suggests selling they contribute to a more stable business model. This is because buying and selling services is less sensitive to the economic cycle than the exporting of manufactured goods.
So what will happen next? Well, today the US, UK, China, Germany and France were the world’s top exporters of services in 2015. These countries will still top the league table in 2030, but most developed markets will lose market share.
This is because people in today’s emerging economies are developing skills and the digital infrastructure they need to compete in this new environment. India, for example, is already a highly successful exporter of business process outsourcing (BPO) and support services for finance, medicine and engineering, and is set to increase these exports in the coming years.
For businesses looking for growth and the next opportunity, working out what services they can sell is a good place to start.
Download the full report - Unlocking the Growth Potential of Services Trade below or view Global Trade Forecast 2016


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We have some new updates! If you’ve been waiting for more details surrounding the opening of the iconic Vancouver restaurant, Black+Blue in downtown Toronto, you’ve come to the right place. Glowbal Restaurant Group said a new Black+Blue location is set to open in the heart of Toronto’s Financial District next year.
The award-winning Vancouver-based restaurant will open its first Ontario restaurant in Spring 2023. Toronto can enjoy Black+Blue, Canada’s premier steak dining experience and Glowbal Restaurant Group’s flagship restaurant, once it opens its doors in the city’s Financial District at 130 King Street W.
The restaurant group confirmed the news to Curiocity and shared details as to what guests can expect when it opens.
Black+Blue occupies 9,000 square feet of two-story space with a 2,000 square-foot outdoor patio, perfect for the summer. And its interior is designed by hospitality design firm Navigate Design.
This Canadian city is ranked among the top destinations in the world
Ontario just got its first ‘diverging diamond’ intersection & here’s what it looks like
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As for the menu, you can expect a focus on classic steakhouse offerings with a twist, and the world’s most premium
cuts of meat, overseen by Executive Chef Morgan Bellis. Menu offerings include Dry-Aged Beef, Kobe Beef Certified (one of the only license holders in Canada to sell certified Japanese Kobe Beef), Japanese A5 Wagyu, Seasonal Seafood, Raw Bar and Caviar, and Classic Steakhouse starters and sides, just to name a few.
The restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner, as well as Happy Hour where it will have its own special menu. On top of that, the restaurant plans to introduce weekend brunch shortly after it officially opens.
“What better way to mark our 20th anniversary than by returning home to Toronto where it all started. After 20 years, we’ve come full circle” said Glowbal Restaurant Group CEO Emad Yacoub, earlier this year. “We’re also excited to be able to add even more talent to an already all-star back-of-house team that works across all our restaurants.”
Glowbal Group have several established Vancouver restaurants that include Glowbal (photographed in main image), Coast, Italian Kitchen, Five Sails, and Black+Blue.
Voted as one of the top 10% of restaurants worldwide, Black+Blue is a classic steakhouse and has become a staple in Vancouver since its opening. We’re definitely getting excited about this one!
Read more in Food & Drink
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You can go on a scenic high tea train ride near Toronto this spring
Mega-popular Korean bakery opens first Canadian location in Toronto
Shake Shack is opening its first Canadian location in Toronto & here’s what to know
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AMD is forging ahead with its next-next-gen Zen CPU architecture, with lead Zen architect Mike Clark confirming that AMD is now working on the "Zen 5" CPU microarchitecture.
The news comes directly from a one-year-later video from AMD about their Ryzen CPU, right before the new Ryzen 2000 series processors launch on April 19. AMD hosted a panel with the top brass behind Ryzen, with people from both their CPU engineering and marketing departments.
VideoCardz reports that "manufacturers often skip 4 due to its meaning in Chinese culture. It's an unlucky number because it's homophonous to the word 'death'. Something that AMD surely does not want to be associated with Zen architecture". Interesting.
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“Your choice isn’t college or oblivion. It’s not higher education or alternative education,” says Mike Rowe of the TV show Dirty Jobs. In 2008, Mike created the mikeroweWORKS Foundation to launch a national PR campaign for skilled labor.
After you stop making these 5 deadly SEO mistakes your google traffic is going to increase, says digital marketing expert Neil Patel. Sometimes just making a simple change can dramatically increase your traffic.
We have emphasized to the Department of Justice that this is one of our top consumer protection priorities. We need you to make this an issue to send a signal to all of the robocallers out there, even the ones who are beyond our shores, that this is not going to stand for America consumers.
“You will see the continuous expansion over the next year into many different categories,” says Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman. “Anything that you do not use every single day, we want to make it fiscally irresponsible for someone to not have a subscription to Rent the Runway. We’re trying to build the Amazon Prime of rental.”
Direct to Consumer, or DTC, is a fundamental platform shift, according to former AOL and Verizon digital properties CEO Tim Armstrong. “There have been a couple times in my career where there has been what is basically a fundamental platform shift,” noted Armstrong. “I felt like direct-to-consumer was something that was going to be a platform shift.”
You can try a lot of stuff, but what used to work to collect emails doesn’t work as well now, says internet marketing experts Neil Patel & Eric Siu on their Marketing School podcast. What does work effectively they say are free tools.
Marketing innovator Neil Patel says that video is better than most marketing channels out there for getting traffic fast. In his latest video Patel explains how anybody can drive traffic to their website, and more importantly, drive sales of products and services.
Blockbuster was an $8.4 billion company that was taken down by a startup called Netflix that successfully shifted the habits of consumers. Blockbuster thought that people wanted the experience of picking out physical DVD’s and would not want to just download a movie. They were wrong.


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Midtown Crossing is primed to celebrate the Omaha return of the US Olympic Swim Trials by making a brilliant splash of its own. Starting Friday, June 24, neighborhood guests will be encouraged to get in “The Pool by Jen Lewin,” a world-renowned, fully-interactive light and color experience.
Created by American artist Jen Lewin, her studio describes The Pool as “an environment of giant, concentric circles created from interactive pads. By entering The Pool, guests enter a world where play and collaborative movement create swirling effects of light and color. ”The Pool by artist Jen Lewin, photo by Aaron Rogosin. The Pool will take up residence in the southeast quadrant of Turner Park until July 4. The US Olympic Swim Trials run June 26 – July 3 at CenturyLink Center Omaha. The display is free and open to the public.
A world-travelling piece, The Pool has been included in festivals in Singapore, Sydney, Lisbon, Prague, London, Istanbul and at Burning Man and has clocked millions of user steps. It is weather resistant and designed for aggressive use: “Like a giant game of light ‘ping pong,’ the pool will have users running and jumping, adding, bouncing, and mixing light together. As multiple users play in The Pool, their interactions become mesmerizing patterns of shifting and fading colors.” (jenlewinstudio.com)
Molly Skold, Midtown Crossing’s vice president of marketing and communications, says, “We couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to celebrate the excitement of the US Olympic Swim Trials and continue one of our favorite traditions: finding new ways to bring even more of the fresh and exciting to Turner Park. It’s going to be a blast seeing our community play in The Pool!”
May 21, 2020
Due to the global COVID-19 health crisis, Midtown Crossing has cancelled the popular Zydeco Festival scheduled for June 20 in Turner Park...
May 20, 2020
Fashion Cleaners recently opened its first 24/7 Dry Cleaning and Laundry Locker...
May 13, 2020
In the heart of the city, an enthusiastic ShO!w of Support. To celebrate our community's determined spirit and inevitable comeback...
May 7, 2020
Read on for more information about current Midtown Crossing retailer offerings.
May 7, 2020
Given our new world of social distancing practices, customers are exercising their demands for a safe and well-stocked grocery shopping experience...


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Airbnb’s projected $10 billion valuation represents a stunning rise for the online home rental company, which started modestly in San Francisco in 2007 and had several stumbles before finding its footing.
A promotional foray involving “Obama O’s” breakfast cereal during the Democratic National Convention in 2008, as well as a big public push at the South by Southwest conference that same year, both failed to boost the company’s business.
But Airbnb’s venture capital investors saw something potentially huge, even in the company’s earliest days. They thought the market opportunity was big and they were impressed by the founding team.
Luck also played a big part. If it wasn’t for Barry Manilow’s drummer, the company may never have gotten on the right track.


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NEW DELHI: India Inc on Friday exhorted the government to immediately announce a stimulus package to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, asserting that the lockdown has resulted in "massive economic disruption". The industry also welcomed the Centre's decision to extend the lockdown for two weeks from May 4 with relaxation to industrial activities in certain zones.
"With restricted economic activities, the imperative for a quick and forceful economic support package for industry is even more compelling now. CII has suggested instituting a Government spending package equivalent to 3 per cent of GDP which would add Rs 6 lakh crore to the available firepower. Enhanced debt to GDP ratio can be a way out for adding fiscal space at a time when the debt to GDP ratio is modest in India," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.
''The government's strategy to build on the gains in the form of containment of coronavirus is understandable and must be supported, but the 40-day lockdown has resulted into a massive economic disruption. The disruption has started causing livelihood concerns for millions of workforce - both in the formal and informal sectors," Assocham stated.
It said businesses across different sectors, be in hospitality, construction, logistics, manufacturing and trade find themselves locked up in grave financial woes.
"Such a dire state of affairs demands a large sized fiscal stimulus even if it requires monetisation of fiscal deficit by direct lending by RBI to the government," said Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood.
Another industry chamber Ficci on Friday submitted its lockdown exit strategy recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs and called for resumption of industrial and commercial activities in green zones including within municipal districts, while maintaining protocols for sanitization and social distancing.
Ficci suggested that government services such as documentation, stamping, registering trusts, etc. be resumed or digitally validated and resumption of international courier services.
It said export routes through Land ports may to be opened and inland Waterways may be explored for both domestic and Exim cargo movement.
In order to enable economic activity to go forward, retail & wholesale businesses of both essential & non-essential goods need to start operations in Green Zones maintaining necessary protocol for sanitation and social distancing, Ficci said.
Reacting to the decision to extend the lockdown, Ficci President Sangita Reddy said while a regular assessment of the zones and activities is required to further relax the opening up of business activities, it is also now opportune time for the government to come up with the financial package, especially for the MSMEs, and for the industry as a whole.
Confederation of All India Traders Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that due to such a long unprecedented lockdown in the country, millions of retailers are facing severe financial issues and are on the verge of collapse.
"Even the existing inventory is unprotected and the quality is fast deteriorating. Cases of theft have also risen in unprotected and unguarded markets," Khandelwal said.
The government on Friday announced that a "limited" lockdown, including suspension of inter-state travel, air and train services, will continue to remain in force for another two weeks throughout the country from May 4 but some activities would be allowed after classifying areas into Red, Orange and Green zones.
The government order, which announced extension of the lockdown invoking the Disaster Management Act, said a limited number of activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the zone.
These prohibited activities include travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training hospitality services, cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes.
All social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings and religious places or places of worship for public will also remain shut, the order said but added that movement of persons by air, rail and road is allowed for select purposes, and for purposes as permitted by MHA.
Industrial establishments in urban areas including Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Oriented Units (EOUs), industrial estates and industrial townships with access control have been permitted.
Construction activities in urban areas have been limited to in-situ construction (where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside) and construction of renewable energy projects.
Shops in urban areas, for non-essential goods, are not allowed in malls, markets and market complexes. However, all standalone (single) shops, neighbourhood (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential.
E-Commerce activities in the Red Zones are permitted only in respect of essential goods. and private offices can operate with up to 33 per cent strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home.
Apart from Guleria, Pradeep Pandey senior vice-president (customer service), HMSI has put in his papers. In February this year Shekhar MC, formerly general manager (finished vehicles logistics), too exited the company and joined Ola Electric Mobility.
The buses will benefit from the central government subsidy offered under the remodeled FAME II scheme administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries. “With the very low discovered prices under the Grand Challenge, a savings of approximately Rs 361 crore of national subsidy can be realised, which in turn may be utilised for additional buses,” it said.


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The study by Apollo, which combines media-exposure data collected from consumers using Arbitron's Portable People Meters with purchase data culled from Nielsen Co.'s ACNielsen Homescan consumer panel, found exposure to TV ads decreases consumers' tendency to react to price changes.
The study, involving an unnamed "Brand X," broke consumers down into heavy, medium and light category purchasers, finding that heavy purchasers were most likely to have their price sensitivity reduced by exposure to TV ads.
Exposure to the ads also had a cumulative effect, the study found. Even one or two exposures to TV ads for the brand produced some reduction in price sensitivity. Consumers exposed to the brand's ad four or more times showed even less sensitivity, "with behavior changes tapering off at between seven and eight exposures," according to a statement by the joint backers of Apollo, Arbitron and Nielsen.
Though it's unclear what brand was involved, it's likely to be a high-household-penetration brand from one the Apollo pilot's charter clients, which include seven advertisers with a combined $6.8 billion in measured U.S. ad spending. They include Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever, Kraft Foods, Pfizer and SC Johnson. It would need to be a fairly widely purchased brand to produce statistically meaningful results in the pilot group of 11,000 of PPM-equipped consumers.
The Modeling Group, a unit of ACNielsen that does marketing-mix modeling for clients that include P&G, conducted the pricing analyses. Research based on such modeling long has suggested that advertising reduces price sensitivity, but the Apollo backers noted that such a detailed analysis of purchases and consumer segments isn't possible using conventional marketing-mix modeling.
Apollo will release more complete results of the study at the Association of National Advertisers conference later this week in Scottsdale, Ariz., a spokesman said.
Aiming for national rollout
The latest data come as Apollo makes a final try at building enough client support for a full national rollout of the service, whose plans initially called for a nationwide single-source panel of 30,000 households. Arbitron and Nielsen said they, along with the seven client members of the Apollo steering committee, had agreed to extend the pilot period into the first quarter of 2008 after Arbitron Chairman-CEO Stephen Morris said on a July investor conference call that the pilot could conclude as soon as this month.
"There's a lot of excitement about the potential of the data to drive market and decision-making, but there is also the reality of price-value and other alternatives," Mr. Morris said.
In its statement yesterday, Apollo said the additional quarter of research will aim at building "the strongest possible business case for the commercialization of the proposed single-source marketing-information service." The additional time also will allow further testing and analysis of the commercial-detection capabilities of the PPM, which earlier this week Arbitron said would include coding ads on several radio networks for detection, and additional development of software and systems to make data more easily accessible.
Apollo backers also said they would conduct additional tests on the impact of non-TV advertising, including print and internet ads. Apollo uses web surveys of the Homescan panel to track exposure to such things as magazine ads and newspaper circulars.
Through the first two quarters of this year, Arbitron racked up losses of $1.8 million on its half of the project, Chief Financial Officer Sean Creamer said on the July conference call.
Since its inception in 2005, Apollo has intrigued marketers, but its potential price tag has made them wary. Initially, Apollo sought 0.5% of clients' marketing budgets, amounting to seven figures annually even for midsize advertisers. After some clients balked, Arbitron and Nielsen agreed to launch the pilot instead last year.


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Tanning biz retools
- Holli L. Estridge
- Staff Writer
Gone are the bright fluorescent lights, clinical white hallways, loud color scheme and uncomfortable vinyl chairs at Palm Beach Tan's newest stores.
The Farmers Branch-based tanning chain is trending toward warmer hues, hardwood floors and creating a spa-like feel for its 30-something and increasingly male demographic.
Palm Beach COO Diane Lucas, who spearheaded the store redesign, said the company made the changes after surveying customers.
"Most of them said they thought our salons were convenient and clean, big, bright and beautiful," Lucas said. "They also commented though that the white walls seemed too sterile and that their visit to the salon was usually their 20 minute-time away from the kids, so they wanted a more relaxing environment."
After some experimentation at Palm Beach's Greenville Avenue salon, the chain opened its first new prototype in Las Colinas earlier this year. The chain's new store in Denton along Loop 288 and a recently opened Las Vegas salon also reflect the changes.
Palm Beach's salons, which usually span a 3,000-square-foot footprint and carry 20 beds, are larger than the typical tanning salon.
The redesign replaces fluorescent lighting with eclectic fixtures, modern and softer furniture and higher-quality towels.
Lucas says costs associated with the new look, in terms of build-out, are flat compared to the previous design. She declined to say what those costs were.
Tony Hartl, founder of Palm Beach's Dallas-based competitor Planet Tan, says customers want convenience more than anything, and that is what Planet Tan's stores -- which often have 50 beds -- seeks to provide.
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This is due to vessel scarcity in key import sources of Japan (which accounts for 80 per cent of second–hand units coming into the country), Europe and other key markets of United Arab Emirates,Singapore and South Africa.
Apart from occasioning loss of millions to dealers and individual car importers, the Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA) risks loosing up to Sh30 billion in excise duty.
On average, it collects Sh250,000 or higher, per unit of a second-hand car that lands at the Port of Mombasa.
“We will be reaching out to kebs to find a way forward. I hope they will do the right thing because it is a genuine case. If they don’t do this, then Kenyans will loose. I don’t think they will find it acceptable that so many Kenyans lose this much especially during this hard times,” CIAK Mombasa chapter chairman Mustafa Ramadhan told the Star yesterday.
The Kenyan National Chamber of Commerce (KNCC) has also called on the government to support businesses during “this unprecedented time.”
“This are extra ordinary times with a lot of disruptions. It is only right if importers are listed to and cushioned,” KNCCI Mombasa chapter CEO James Kitavi said, noting KPA and shippers have done the same to free storage period and days for containers coming and leaving the port.
Imports have 16 days to have all 2013 units arrive and cleared at the Port of Mombasa.
Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development CS Betty Maina last month remained firm on import regulations.
“All importers were advised to ensure vehicles get in before December 2020. They were advised in September to ensure goods arrived by December,” CS Betty told the Star.
The last time the eight-year rule caught up with importers was in 2014 when more than 2,000 used motor vehicles registered in 2006 were locked out of the country, leading losses of millions of shillings by dealers and individual importers.
Second-hand cars dominate the local market accounting for 85 per cent of Kenya’s car purchases, with an annual import of above 86,000 units.
The government has been seeking to reduce the age limit to five years to promote local assembling and address emission concerns blamed on combustion in old cars.
Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta affirmed his support for growth of local industries, encouraging local motor vehicle assembling as opposed to imported used cars which he said have flooded the country.
He commissioned the local assembly of the Malaysian Proton Saga saloon cars at the Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) in Miritini, Mombasa County.
“We want to revive the automotive industry in Kenya. It used to be at one stage that the majority of vehicles that used to traverse our roads were actually assembled by our own young Kenyans,” the President pointed out.


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The global electronics sector is comprised of powerful corporations—the 49 largest information communications and technology (ICT) companies have a combined market capitalization of US$5 trillion. In 2020, following benchmarks in 2016 and 2018, KnowTheChain evaluated these companies on their efforts to address forced labor and human trafficking in their supply chains, including their efforts to tackle exploitation through the recruitment processes in their supply chains.
No One Should Have to Pay for a Job: Responsible Recruitment in ICT Supply Chains (2020)
July 14, 2020
by: Felicitas Weber, KnowTheChain Project Director, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre


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It was sometime in the last few months of 2014 when the chatter started.
It began with Tiger Global’s interest in Unicommerce. If you remember 2014 and Tiger Global, this should stick with you: Tiger was the big daddy in town then and if its head Lee Fixel said, ‘I want to put money into you’, nobody really said no. And Lee Fixel was interested in Unicommerce.
To invest almost $10 million. Talks went far. In November 2014, Inc42, the startup focused digital media outlet reported that Unicommerce had raised $10 million from Tiger Global. Even as all this was happening, news started trickling in that Snapdeal wasn’t happy with the deal. In fact, the company itself was interested in acquiring Unicommerce.
Snapdeal Acquiring Unicommerce
Just a month later, in December 2014, Mint reported that Snapdeal was in talks to acquire Unicommerce. If you are thinking, whatever happened to Tiger Global, well this is what The Economic Times said, back then: “Online order management and fulfillment platform Unicommerce is in talks with Snapdeal for a potential acquisition, according to multiple people familiar with the development.
Two of the sources told ET that Unicommerce returned an investment of $10 million (Rs 62 crore) from Tiger Global to pursue the potential acquisition bid from Snapdeal, one of India’s top three online marketplaces. An acquisition, if it happens, could value the company at up to $10 million, according to people privy to the talks.”
Ken could not independently verify the return or exchange of money.
What came to light though by studying the company’s books of accounts is this. April of 2015 was the time when Unicommerce’s books first mention an acquisition by Snapdeal. In a board meeting held on 10 March 2015, the Unicommerce board approved the merger of the company with Snapdeal. According to documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), the amalgamation scheme (a schedule to merge two companies shares) was put for approval at the Delhi High Court.
Two points are of note from the High Court order, dated 20 October 2015.
Firstly, Section 4.3 of the document.
“There is also an averment to the effect, in paragraph 14 of the application that, the directors of the transferor and the transferee company have no material interest in the matter except to the extent that Mr. Kunal Bahl and Mr. Rohit Bansal, who are the promoters of the transferee company are also shareholders of the transferor company. It is stated that both Mr. Kunal Bahl and Mr. Rohit Bansal, separately, hold equity shares to the extent of 4.41% in the transferor company.”
Larger Conflict Of Interest?
While the potential conflict of interest with Bahl and Bansal being on both sides of the table is declared, whither Nexus? If anything, Nexus had a much larger conflict of interest given that it owned ten times as many shares in Unicommerce as Bahl and Bansal did individually and, like them, was both a major shareholder and a director in Snapdeal too. Curiously, the declaration completely skips this material disclosure.
In fact, Nexus is not mentioned even once in the entire document that was submitted to the court. While it is moot if this was deliberate and/or malafide, most people would call this a major disclosure lapse.
Even more so, when you see it in conjunction with Section 4.5 in the same document relating to the consent of shareholders for the proposed amalgamation. This section breaks down the number of each class of shareholders who have consented to the merger. On the side of Unicommerce, it mentions that 1 out of 1 preference shareholder has consented (this one shareholder being Nexus of course) and on the other side, it mentions that 16 out of 35 preference shareholders in Snapdeal have given their consent.


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The world’s third-largest economy after the U.S. and China shrank an annualized 3.4% in the January-March period, pushed down by the initial effects of the coronavirus pandemic. That followed a revised 7.3% contraction in the previous quarter that was triggered by an increase in the national sales tax. Two straight quarters of contraction is one definition of a recession.
“The situation has become even more severe in April and May after a state of emergency was issued,” Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Monday. “The economy is expected to shrink substantially for the time being.”
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a national state of emergency in April to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Last week, he lifted it in 39 of 47 prefectures. It still applies in Tokyo and Osaka, but is expected to end nationwide in the next week or two.
Many stores and restaurants have closed during the pandemic, while tourism has virtually halted because most foreign visitors are barred from entering the country and Japanese people have been encouraged to avoid travel.
Economists are forecasting a contraction at an annualized pace of 20% or more in the current quarter.
Exports fell at an annual rate of 21.8% in the first quarter, reflecting supply-chain disruptions and lockdowns in China, one of Japan’s biggest markets. Private consumption and capital spending by companies also fell, but not as much.
Daiwa Securities economist Mari Iwashita said exports were likely to fall further with lockdowns continuing in some countries. She said imports might improve as China’s economy moves closer to normal operations and provides Japan with personal computers for people working at home and masks.
Société Générale economist Takuji Aida said that even after Japan’s state of emergency lifts, the pace of economic recovery may be slow because many people may see their income reduced or lose their jobs. “Households and companies are reaching their limits of their strength,” he said.
Mr. Nishimura, the economy minister, said the government planned to put together an additional spending package by about May 27, including further support for corporate financing and aid for students. In April, Parliament passed a measure with some $240 billion in spending, including cash payments of about $935 to every person in Japan.
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The future of the workplace has never looked more poised for change. Around the world, many traditional office workers are wondering what it would be like to work from home permanently.
In the past, nine to five jobs revolved around a standard office setting. Not only do formal spaces help companies define their collective identity, but seeing coworkers face-to-face is ideal for most collaborative situations.
Still, the allure of rolling out of bed and opening a laptop to start the workday is appealing. With McKinsey Research indicating that more than 20 percent of the workforce could officially adopt a part-time remote schedule, the future has never been more promising for salaried workers.
It seems the youngest generation in the workforce may be well ahead of this curve. Concepts like ‘digital nomad’ (a wandering freelancer) are becoming more widespread. Although, according to the same McKinsey report, more than half the workforce won’t have the option of working from home, that could change in the future.
Already, young generations have shown innovative spirit, creating new opportunities for online employment in increasingly unique sectors. Let’s take a look at some of the latest professions utilized by the next-gen of remote workers.
From the earliest days of professional poker, which culminated in the inaugural 1970 World Series of Poker tournament, it was assumed champions would be from the old guard. With traditional wisdom and experience on their side, older players should’ve swept the tournament.
But by 1978, Bobby Baldwin, only 28 at the time, took home the WSOP Main Event title. From there, young players in their 20s began racking up notable achievements on the global stage and disproving long-held assumptions about what a leading pro should look like.
Today, they’ve launched their careers online, gathering followers by performing well in large tournaments, live-streaming gameplay, and blogging about the ins and outs of being a professional player. Some of them have even found success launching their own Twitch streams about their day-to-day careers.
As mentioned above, poker players have found success on streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. When Twitch originally launched in 2011, it revolved around video gamers (more on that below), but has since opened its policies to include just about anything.
Streamers deliver on content, ranging from Counter-Strike exploits to poker exploits to live footage of baby kittens. Subscribers jump onboard, willing to pay for special content. From there, a streamer can ‘activate’ their following for just about anything—a flash sale at their online store, a huge collab streaming event, or a range of sponsorship deals.
In 2020, a total of 3.2 billion hours were streamed on the platform. The future of Twitch looks limitless at this point. Viewership doubled between 2020 and 2021, which coincided with Twitch’s expansion beyond eSports.
Twitch may be the platform that helps launch an eSport athlete’s career, but the ultimate goal for most video gamers is to find their way onto an elite eSports team. Back in 2008, the International Esports Federation began with the purpose of promoting and regulating the industry.
Since its launch, 204 countries have joined in. This has led to international standards for player eligibility, trade and contract agreements, and taxation laws. Homegrown gamers can now be recruited by tops teams like NRG eSports and FaZe Clan, regardless of where they’re from.
Gamers can now make money competing alone in tournaments for cash prizes, earning up to $5,000 per month on an official team, and making extra money from sponsorship deals. The better a player is, the more they make; according to eSports Earnings, players like N0tail and JerAx have made over $6 million in prize money alone.
Today, many schools around the world offer rudimentary coding courses for students. Studying coding helps people understand the programming that fuels their favorite tech devices—but more young workers are opting for a long-term career in coding.
With an ever-expanding range of mobile and web options for shopping, gaming, browsing, and more, coders can find work easily—and often at a high starting salary. For the time being, coding seems to be in a formative, creative period.
Rather than creating something functional, coders are now looking to reinvent coding through an artistic lens; rather than accomplish a specific task, coding expresses a certain emotion. This could tie in well with the current NFT boom, which prioritizes digital artforms.


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Amazon is offering free release day delivery on all next-gen pre-orders for a limited time.
As part of a special limited-time promotion, Amazon.com is offering free release day delivery for select gaming consoles and accessories including next-gen systems like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
The announcement went public after Amazon sent out emails to customers who had already pre-ordered next-gen systems, informing them that their orders had been upgraded with free release day delivery. This means that the promotion will apply to all customers who pre-order next-gen consoles through Amazon as well as those who already pre-ordered before the promotion went live.
The promotion also applies to next-gen games, accessories such as controllers, and even select PC games and accessories that have yet to be released. So if you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, now’s a great time to get a head start on all of your next-gen gaming purchases. But act fast since the promotion ends on December 31st, 2013.
The full announcement which was included in Amazon’s customer email can be seen on the following page.


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Home » Windows 7 Phone
The beginning of this year came up with some great partnership as Microsoft and Nokia became a partner and committed that the users could experience the very first Windows Phone 7 from the giant cellphone industry called Nokia, the wait now seems to end up by next week most probably.
I was just wondering to play my favorite and most popular game Angry Birds for Windows Phone 7, I just Google it up and found this news that the company is planning to launch the game across different mobile platform including Windows Phone 7. The good news is that the game designer Rovio Mobile has confirmed the news to Pocket Lint that Angry Birds...
The ineluctable is approaching shortly. There is good news that some smart developers have managed to gain root access or in simple words you can say that the hackers have managed to even jailbreak the Windows Phone 7. In the end the experiment to jailbreak Windows Phone 7 yields some concerning results .
Windows 7 phone is expected to launch soon and today we have seen the new Asus Windows 7 phone which is ready for a launch on 11th October this year, certainly we have found some video images of Windows phone 7 smartphone. According to the images it looks that the phone features an AOLED display screen, what do you think is it an AOLED screen ?


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Maymo the Lemon Beagle is stealing the spotlight for beagles everywhere. In his latest escapade, Maymo wears 100 fruits and vegetables in 100 seconds:
“No one looks better in a styled Napa Cabbage hat than me,” said Maymo. The video reportedly took four months and hundreds of biscuits to make. For more Maymo, visit his Facebook page.


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Hyundai Mobis earnings preview: what to expect
- Hyundai Mobis will be reporting earnings from the most recent quarter on April 24.
- Analysts expect earnings per share of KRW 6665.03.
- Go here to follow Hyundai Mobis stock price in real-time on Markets Insider.
Hyundai Mobis releases earnings for the most recent quarter on April 24.
2 analysts estimate that Hyundai Mobis will report earnings of KRW 6665.03 per share compared to earnings of KRW 5101.67 per share from the same quarter last year.
Analysts are expecting sales to increase 6.87% compared to the prior year quarter. The company is expected to report KRW 9,337.93 billion.
For the fiscal year, analysts expect a profit per share of KRW 28798.04, compared to KRW 23867.70 in the same period last year. Sales estimates average KRW 40,147.43 billion, after the previous year saw KRW 38,049.00 billion.
This story was written by Markets Insider's RoboEddy, which automatically writes these stories based on data provided by our partners.


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Just the other day, we revealed that Elon Musk said that Tesla would start accepting Dogecoin and see how this goes from here.
Tesla will make some merch buyable with Doge & see how it goes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2021
It’s important to note the fact that just after Musk’s statement, Dogecoin spiked from $0.15 to $0.21, a 40% increase in less than two hours.
The memecoin has since leveled out, currently trading at $0.181 at the moment of writing this article.
The announcement comes right after Time Magazine named the SpaceX CEO its 2021 Person of the Year.
DOGE vs BTC
In an interview with Time, Musk said that he believes DOGE has an advantage over Bitcoin when it comes to being a form of payment.
“Bitcoin is not a good substitute for transactional currency. And even though it was created as a silly joke, Dogecoin is better suited for transactions…”
When asked why he thinks DOGE is better than BTC for transactions, Musk stated the following:
“The total transaction flow that you can do with Dogecoin is substantially more than… like transactions per day [on Dogecoin] is much higher than, has much higher potential than Bitcoin.”
He continued and explained:
“[Dogecoin] is slightly inflationary, but that inflationary number is a fixed number as opposed to a percentage. So that means, over time, its percentage inflation actually decreases. And that’s actually good because it encourages people to spend rather than hoard it as a store of value.”
Last month, Musk made headlines again in relation to Bitcoin.
Back then, Michael Saylor had a proposal for Elon Musk. Check out what he replied via Twitter in the post below.
Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock.
Do you support this?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2021
Stay tuned for more news.


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Misters.in, India’s first direct-to-customer men’s health and wellness brand has raised $1mn as a part of its series B round of funding led by Sauce.vc, Rainforest Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and angel investors.
Further to the recent series A round of funding of INR 2.54 crore received in August 2019, the total funding received so far is around $1 Million. With an aim to provide offerings to navigate their way to better masculinity, misters.in, will utilise the capital raised to establish its strong footprint in the highly fragmented but massive men’s health and wellness space, with a focus on high quality products, science and sensitivity.
misters.in offers men a way to navigate their way to better masculinity. On misters.in, this happens through an interactive quiz that delves into areas that men are known to be extremely unwilling to seek any help for, such as better sex, better hair, better skin etc. The organization aims to foray into cities across India and hence offers interface both in Hindi and English.
Commenting on the Series B round of funding Mr. Suhas Misra, Co-Founder, misters.in, said, “We are extremely happy about the partnership with Sauce.vc, Rainforest Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and Angel Investors. This story of personalised solutions for men’s problems–taking on the intrinsic stigma in the category–is very interesting. The first few months of Health Factorial have been amazing with a strong team coming together, lots of super-exciting research happening and, most importantly, a nuanced consumer thesis has emerged.”
Mr. Manu Chandra, Founder & Managing Partner, Sauce.Vc, says, “We are extremely thrilled to be associated with Suhas and his highly driven team. Suhas has previously co-founded a very successful brand, Paper Boat which demonstrates a rare and exceptional pedigree. He showcases years of experience in collating data on consumer behaviour across the country relating to this problem. With a very highly specialized and experienced team along with a set of advisors, misters.in is placed well to create relevant proprietary products and market them in an intelligent manner, driven by a strong technology architecture.”
The company’s mission is not only to put together and offer the very best products that science has to offer, through its AI-driven platform but also to get the country to talk about sex! This is, of course, an area shadowed by stigma, and therefore there is a compelling business and intellectual justification for the AI-driven platform that offers personalized therapy to men in the privacy of their mobile phones.


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Sears Holdings Corp. has filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to close another 142 stores. Edward Lampert will also vacate his position as the company’s CEO immediately, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Three executives will fulfill Lampert’s duties as CEO, according to the report.
By filing for bankruptcy protection, the company “buys more time for a turnaround, one it’s been attempting for years,” the article says. Since 2011, Sears has lost more than $11 billion. In the last two years, the company has closed more than 725 Sears and Kmart stores, according to the article.
After filing for bankruptcy protection, Sears announced that it had secured “$300 million in debtor-in-possession financing, which will allow it to continue operating the business and paying employees while it tries to restructure around a smaller group of stores,” the article says.
Sears is also seeking an additional $300 million from ESL Investments, the hedge fund company run by Lampert, according to the Tribune. Lampert is also in discussions to buy “a large portion of the company’s store base,” according to a press release from the company.
The bankruptcy filing lists Sears’ total assets as nearly $7 billion and its total debts above $11 billion, the Tribune reports.
In its report, the Tribune says “…Sears survived the Great Depression, adapted as its shoppers traded catalogs for downtown department stores, and followed customers to suburban shopping malls. But it faltered as discounters, specialty chains and online merchants wooed consumers away in recent decades, and it never seemed to find the niche that would bring them back.”


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Future lanches iPad guide app hours after product unveiling
By Ed Owen, mediaweek.co.uk, Thursday, 08 March 2012 10:45AM
Future Publishing's Tap! and MacFormat brands have launched a guide to the new iPad, which was revealed last night, in the form of an iOS app.
Tap! magazine staff worked through the night to launch the app today.
It has been released just 12 hours after the launch of the new iPad, although internet rumours have proved to be reasonably accurate about the product's specifications.
The free app exploits the tablet's advanced technology, including an HD screen, 4G network capabilities and a faster processor.
Apple's new iPad does not go on sale until 16 March in the UK, but the app can also be used with older models.
Christopher Phin, Tap!'s editor, said: "We're offering this app for free as a way to reward our customers for their loyalty, and we're also running a competition for customers to win a new iPad, which is a great incentive to drive downloads."
This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk
- Deputy Creative Director - Integrated/shopper agency The Industry Club London Ltd £75,000, London (Greater)
- Head of Development, Digital and Communications Sound and Music £45,000, London (Central), London (Greater)
- Senior Media Planner Buyer - Retail and Animal Charity Client. Oxygen Recruitment Solutions Ltd Circa £29000 + benefits, London (Greater) / London (Central), London (Greater)
- Java Team Lead Source £60000 - £70000 per annum, London (Central), London (Greater)
- Brand Manager Ball & Hoolahan £42,000 + Car/Car Allowance, London (Greater) / London (Central), London (Greater)


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Closer collaboration FINAT & Afera
The European associations Afera (adhesive tapes) and FINAT (self-adhesive labels and narrow-web packaging) have started exploring the potential for closer collaboration. As a first step, they have joined forces in recruiting a new Regulatory Affairs Manager, who will help to step up the combined organisations’ public affairs agenda in a big way.
Winners of the #Labelicious competition presented during Labelexpo Europe 2019
During Labelexpo Europe 2019 in Brussels, FINAT presented the winners of the #Labelicious competition. This competition was launched by FINAT in 2018, at the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the European label association. The project was developed in response to the growing need of all companies in the European label industry, to attract next-generation talents in design, engineering, and product development.
Afera’s content marketing project creates awareness
With the goal of growing the market for tapes by appealing to product designers and mechanical engineers who are not yet aware of the use of tape as a bonding solution, Afera, under management of Lejeune, began exploring the possibilities, opportunities and necessity of developing its online presence in 2012.


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DELIGHTED Christina Leon is pinching herself after winning a dream travel job that will see her jetting around the globe for a year.
Burlesque dancer Christina, 24, was selected from more than 3,000 applicants across the UK as the winner of a competition to find online firm lowcostholidays.com a new official reviewer.
She was one of ten finalists who battled it out to spend the next twelve months holidaying around the world and will now go on a holiday abroad every month for a year and receive a salary of £20,000.
Jewellery maker Christina, from Johnstone, won 22 per cent of the votes in an online election after making an entertaining video about Edinburgh, where she works.
She said: “This has been such an amazing journey, which has only just begun. Thank you to everyone who voted for me to win this dream job. I guarantee my reviews will be filled with useful tips and information. I will hunt down the best areas to shop and eat for all budgets and where is best for that sunset cocktail!”
Christina’s favourite holiday destinations so far have been America and Japan and she would love to visit Morocco and Istanbul to delve right into their great markets.
Avid social networker Christina, who studied to be a jeweller at North Glasgow College, took viewers round the historic sites of Edinburgh and the medieval closes as well as the shopping boutiques and Calton Hill in her video.
She explained: “I picked Edinburgh because I have been working there for two years and I thought it would be good to show to people because it is our capital. Also, because I’m not from Edinburgh, I found it interesting as a tourist myself.”
Former Johnstone High School pupil Christina can take a travel companion on two of the holidays, and she has promised to take her mum Anna and sister Jacqueline overseas.
Christina, who is currently learning to speak Japanese, was performing burlesque dance routines on stage before it became trendy through artists like American Dita Von Teese and does 1940s pin-up style modelling.
Big-hearted Christina told the Paisley Daily Express she will donate £1,000 to the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) if she wins, in memory of her friend Sarah Beckinsale, who died aged 22 in 2007.
Over 70 per cent of consumers look online at blog and review sites for inspiration and advice when booking their holiday rather than reading holiday brochures or visiting travel agents, according to recent research by lowcostholidays.com
Christina’s first destination will be Majorca later this month and other destinations over the next year include Turkey, Egypt, the Dominican Republic and Italy.


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This is a Fireside Chat at Expo East’s Sustainability Summit with Food Tank’s Danielle Nierenberg at 2:55 at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Information about Expo East, the Natural Products Trade Show, is here.
FTC food marketing report–Tuesday!
Thanks to Michele Simon for the heads up on the Federal Trade Commission’s new report on how much the food industry spends on marketing to kids. The FTC is releasing the report Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. I can’t wait to see what it says. View the webcast!