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Morrisons' news boss wants to create a 'simple and leaner' business as grocer's sales slip
Morrisons' new boss David Potts said he was not yet ‘fully match-fit’ as Britain’s fourth- biggest grocer saw sales growth deteriorate in its latest quarter.
The former Tesco executive plans to turn around the ailing supermarket by focusing on fresher food and other services to appeal to shoppers. He suggested the firm is an ‘underdog’ and needs to rediscover its identify.
The company’s underlying first-quarter sales slipped 2.9 per cent, a fall from the 2.6 per cent decline seen in the previous three months.
In April, Morrisons said it would cut 700 head office jobs and yesterday revealed this would incur £30million to £40million in one-off costs.
Potts said he had good first impressions since joining seven weeks ago and that he wanted to create a ‘simpler, leaner, and cost-conscious business which acts at speed wherever possible’.
He added: ‘We want to recall our traditional values but applied to the modern world, to rediscover our identity.
‘The priority is to make the core supermarkets strong again.’
There have already been store closures, job loses and price cuts.
Morrisons has been late to join the fast-growing online and convenience markets. While Potts says these are not what he is focused on, they are still important elements of the business.
An online tie-up with delivery firm Ocado contributed to 1 per cent underlying sales growth.
Morrisons has faced stiff competition from Aldi and Lidl. It has hired another former Tesco executive, Darren Blackhurst, as group commercial director.
Veteran retail analyst Nick Bubb said: ‘It doesn’t sound as if many people in Bradford would vote for Dave Potts of the Morrisons Party if he can’t come up with something more insightful than “This is a business with many attributes, some unique”.’
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The Press Association has partnered with technology firm Vizimo to create a new video on demand (VOD) discovery service for digital platforms.
The service, known as FindMeTV, aggregates all PA's television listings with VOD listings data, while also providing links to the main broadcasters' catch-up TV offerings.
Using Vizimo's automated semantic techniques and editorial/social recommendation systems, FindMeTV enables users to discover the VOD content most relevant to them.
The service, currently in beta, is designed as an easy way to navigate the on-demand programming offered by broadcasters and providers. Users can build their own viewing schedule, set calendar reminders and rate or share their favourite shows.
The online service will be complemented by iPhone and iPad applications, while a co-branded version of FindMeTV will be rolled out to a network of nearly 400 regional and local newspaper websites. In future, PA plans to directly integrate VOD content on FindMeTV from various digital content providers.
"By combining TV and VOD listings with an innovative recommendation engine, we are developing a range of products that will help users navigate the increasing complex world of online video content," said PA managing director Tony Watson.
"The Press Association has always provided market-leading TV listings guidance for print and digital clients and the intelligent, contextual inclusion of VOD content marks a natural evolution. We are delighted to be partnering with Vizimo, and offering innovative products to users, customers and advertisers. We look forward to forging similarly exciting partnerships in the future."
Vizimo chief executive Simon Steward added: "As the VOD market matures, the focus is shifting away from the infrastructure needed to distribute huge content archives and towards discovery - the problem of connecting viewers to the right content - and our advanced technology has been specifically designed to address this discovery problem.
"We have an exciting roadmap of innovation to support the multi-platform, multi-device, on-demand world of TV that's fast taking shape."

domain: news


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Línea Rosa will release a new application next March.courtesy
Línea Rosa, a women-led transport platform, has recorded a 20% increase in demand for its services in 2022. This venture was he one of the winners of the first technical challenge initiated by IDB LAB and Casatic. The critically acclaimed segment of “Startup”.
The company debuted in 2014 in the El Salvador market as an alternative to mobility services with female drivers. Its founder, Lorena Gonzalez, has assured it is the first transport of its kind in all of Central America.
“There weren’t many women driving or providing the kind of service that Línea Rosa was providing as a learning curve for women to incorporate into this new role,” she stressed.
In its eight years of operation, the company has more than 50,000 customers in its database, covering the municipalities of San Salvador, Santa Tecla, Nuevo Cuscatlan and Antiguo Cuscatlan.
The company provides employment for 50 Salvadorans and is open 24 hours a day. Minimum charge is about $5.
A tribute to technology
Like other industries, the covid-19 pandemic has forced companies in El Salvador to transform. First, they changed the job market and started a delivery line (home delivery of products) from transporting people.
2021 means that delivery services for businesses have started to return to normal, and Línea Rosa hopes to transform with the launch of a mobile application, which will be activated next March.
This application will make it easier for more women to apply for jobs as drivers. The company hopes to recruit an additional 50 collaborators in the first month of extended operation.
Travel reservations and payments can be made through the app, so you can expect to reduce the waiting time for travel.
Stakeholders must be at least 21 years of age to become a driver of Línea Rosa. You must also comply with legal issues such as your driver’s license, your own car, and family members.
González emphasized that selected drivers receive training in various areas such as customer service, nomenclature, mechanics and preventative maintenance.
Línea Rosa plans to expand its coverage area and reach the entire metropolitan area by the end of 2023. Furthermore, we hope that the application will be launched at the Central American level in the future.
Operations are already back to normal in 2022 and demand is growing by 20% each year. ”
Pink Line founder Lorena Gonzalez
The transport market has evolved in recent years, adding to the popular taxi and public transport systems a form of personalized mobilization with personal transport that can be requested via a mobile phone application or telephone hotline.
Street harassment, low fares, congestion and insecurity have given companies like Línea Rosa, InDrive and Uber a boost in El Salvador. Private She is a world leader in establishing transport networks, the latter has a “She” option within its main Her application that allows drivers to select trips requested by female users.
- 3 facts you should know
- Application launch: The “Pink Line” app will be available from next March. Gonzalez said the bet was to become a technology company.
- Expanding location: With this application, the company hopes to double the number of collaborators and give them 100 jobs.
- Travel fee: The app is expected to reduce waiting times and facilitate payments and travel bookings.


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Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade – Join the Free Carnage
Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade showcases its features, especially the feature that the game is now free to play!
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US firms are optimistic about investing in India, says San Francisco based Indian Consul General
New Delhi/IBNS: India and the United States shares many common interests and a strong bilateral relation, said Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad, Consul General, Consulate General of India, San Francisco, recently.
He was addressing participants at a session titled 'India - USA Business Promotion, Challenges, and Opportunities Post COVID19', organised by the New Delhi-based PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad said that US firms have an optimistic approach towards investment in India and are looking at India as an engine for growth in the post-pandemic era.
He said, “We have steadily grown our trade relations with each other and are working towards making India's vision to become a USD 5 trillion economy in the near future. Sectors like innovation, entrepreneurship, energy, healthcare, start, service, and aviation have a growing scope that can be explored further.”
He talked about the Indian population residing in the US, in particular San Francisco region of California, and their contribution towards the business, society, and economy.
“We need to accelerate the MSME sector to get on to the manufacturing of parts that is an area to be tapped,” said Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad.
Sanjay Chadha, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said that the trade divergence has always been there and COVID-19 has given it a further push.
He said that over-dependence on a single country is not desirable and the focus needs to be more on the polarity of production.
Pradeep Multani, Vice President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry deliberated about the bilateral relation of India-US in areas such as energy and security as well as extensions to bilateral economic engagement and people to people contacts.
Amitava Ray, Chairman, International Affairs Committee for Americas, PHD Chamber while giving an overview on the trade relationship shared by two nations mentioned that there has been an increase in the import-export between the nations evidencing greater economic ties between the two countries.
Rashmi Chopra, Co-Chair, International Affairs Committee for Americas, PHD Chamber mentioned that it is the time to convert challenges into opportunities in these times.
She said that it is time that India-USA feeds upon global opportunities looking at the present situation and benefit each other to foster growth and development.
Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHD Chamber gave a formal vote of thanks to all the delegates and participants and assured the CGI that PHDCCI would be keen to do Virtual B2B Meet Sector Specific soon in close coordination with CGI, San Francisco.
The session was moderated by Naveen Seth, Principal Director, PHD Chamber, and was attended by over 100 industry stewards around the world.


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latest news releases from the newsroom
Itec Environmental Group, Inc.
Itec Environmental Group's Riverbank Plant Begins Full Daily Operations and Initiates Sales of Recycled Plastic
OAKDALE, Calif., May 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Itec Environmental Group, Inc., (the "Company" or "Itec") (OTCBB:ITECE) announced today that it has begun recycling operations at its plant located in Riverbank, California. After three (3) months of extensive equipment and product testing as well as several successful trial runs of its patented Eco2(tm) plastic recycling system, the Riverbank plant has begun operating eight (8) hours a day, five (5) days a week, producing 14,300 pounds of recycled PET flakes per day. Assuming the Company continues to achieve these production levels, the Company will achieve positive cash flow on a month to month basis.
New, Groundbreaking Study Demystifies Why Americans Tend to 'Try and Buy'
CERRITOS, Calif., May 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Ever walked out of a store and wondered how you ended up buying some of the items in your bag? Mass Connections(R), the leader in retail and shopper marketing services, is continuing its strong investment in the retail industry with the May 1st release of its second marketing research study. Entitled "Touch America - The Shopper Connection," the independent analysis examines the various dynamics involved in shopper purchasing behavior and defines the fundamental nature of shopper marketing.
LogMeIn Now Available for New AMD LIVE! PCs
WOBURN, Mass., May 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- LogMeIn, Inc. announced today they are bringing their award-winning remote access service to customers through the AMD LIVE!(tm) Entertainment Suite, available today at www.amdlive.com.
Regional Business Press Gets the High Growth Picture at Imaging3
BURBANK, Calif., May 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Imaging3(tm), Inc, (OTCBB:IMGG), developer of a breakthrough medical imaging device that produces 3D medical diagnostic images of virtually any part of the human body in real-time, today reports that the company was featured in an article late last week in the Los Angeles Times' regional business publication, the Burbank Leader. The company's CEO and VP of Sales were interviewed for the story which described the growth opportunities for the company's new real-time 3D medical imaging device, the Dominion(tm).
Quest Oil Corporation
Quest Sets 90 Day Production Goal for Texas Properties
SAN DIEGO, May 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Quest Oil Corporation (OTCBB:QOIL) announced that based on the adoption of a proprietary capital allocation model that includes a "well prioritization schedule," Quest has established short-term production targets for its Texas properties. Quest's CEO, James B. Panther II stated, "Our model measures performance based on the effective cash requirements of new drilling and work over projects, along with the operational reliability of the respective region and production decline rates in order to calculate internal rates of return (IRR) that we believe are realistically achievable."
Metso to Supply a Tissue Machine to Nuqul Group in Jordan
HELSINKI, Finland, May 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Metso Paper will supply a complete tissue machine to Nuqul Group in Jordan. The machine will be installed in the corporation's new Al Snobar mill in Amman, Jordan, and it is scheduled to start production during the fourth quarter of 2007. The market value of these types of tissue production lines ranges from EUR 15 million to EUR 20 million, depending on the scope of delivery and production output.


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The investigation into Australian Leisure and Hospitality (ALH) pokies venues returned yet more damaging details last week. On top of the fact that staff used customers' personal information to encourage continued gambling, new whistleblower information alleges they also illegally gave free drinks to pokies players to keep them gambling longer, and were instructed on how to cover up the practice.
So will this scandal ripple back on ALH's majority owners Woolworths, and undermine their supermarket brand and “fresh food people” promise? I doubt it. It hasn't so far.


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Iranian youth were able to produce Covid-19 diagnostic kits from March
Tehran (IP) - After months of activity started from the very first days of the Coronavirus pandemic in Iran, the country's youths succeeded in producing indigenous Covid-19 diagnostic kits in large amounts.
Iran Press/ Iran news: Managing Director of Livogen Pharmed company Ramin Fazel in an exclusive interview with Iran Press said that this company started its activity in designing PCR kits since the first days of Coronavirus pandemic.
"We were able to produce sample kits in March, and now by the efforts of Iranian experts we can produce these diagnostic kits in a large amount", he added.
Regarding the characteristics of these kits, the Managing Director of this company went on to say that faster results and lower prices of these kits are unique compared to foreign samples.
The knowledge of manufacturing these kits are purely indigenized, he noted.
Fazel retreated that in order to support the country's need, these kits are not allowed to be exported but we are ready to produce them in a larger amount if the request is given by the Health Ministry.
"We hope to even export them in near future", Fazel concluded. 101/207


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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker vetoes flame retardant bill
A bill banning the use of flame retardants in household and children’s products has died on the desk of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. The bill was sent to Governor Baker in the closing hours of the 2017-2018 legislative session, and could not be amended. The bill was the victim of what’s known as a “pocket veto”.
Governor Baker made it clear that he supports the elimination of flame retardant chemicals, but labeled the bill “flawed”. The bill would have banned the manufacture and sale of products using flame retardants. Chemicals that advocates of the bill said did more harm than good. If the bill had gained the signature of Gov. Baker, it would have made Massachusetts “the only US state to ban certain flame retardants in car seats and non-foam parts of adult mattresses…” One of the concerns of Governor Baker was the timeline. Manufacturers and retailers would have had less than 5 months to implement the proposed changes.
Those that fought for the bill, including Massachusetts firefighters, were disappointed with Gov. Baker’s decision. As we wrote in our post about this just a couple weeks ago, many firefighters believe that “contents and rooms are burning up at a higher rate of speed and increasing the risk to our firefighters in this toxic soup.”
Governor Baker stated in a letter to lawmakers that he will continue to work with them on making sure the State of Massachusetts becomes a “leader in eliminating flame retardant chemicals.” When the new legislative session opens, lawmakers can file a new bill.
To read the full article at Masslive.com, click here: https://bit.ly/2Cx96xu


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Facebook’s second coming with $5.7 billion Reliance Jio deal3 min read . Updated: 23 Apr 2020, 12:47 AM IST
- Facebook will buy a little less than a 10% stake in Reliance Jio
- The investment values RIL’s digital assets at around $66 billion
MUMBAI : Facebook Inc. bet a massive $5.7 billion on the digital assets of Reliance Industries Ltd, aimed at leveraging the reach of the Indian company’s telecom assets and WhatsApp’s 400 million local users to connect small businesses and consumers in Asia’s third largest economy.
The social media giant will purchase a little less than 10% of Jio Platforms, which houses its telecom and digital businesses, becoming the largest minority shareholder, Reliance Industries Ltd said in a statement on Wednesday.
The investment, which values Jio Platforms at around $66 billion, will help Reliance Industries cut its spiralling debt pile.
Facebook’s decision to press ahead with the investment at a time the global economy has been savaged by the coronavirus pandemic signals its confidence that Indians will continue to embrace digitization and take to online shopping and payments.
At the core of their partnership lies millions of offline small businesses, whom both Jio and Facebook have been courting to integrate into their digital ecosystems.
Facebook’s attempt to introduce Free Basics, a free but restricted internet service, was banned in India in 2016 after the telecom regulator ruled that the programme infringes on the principles of net neutrality.
The valuation of Jio Platforms puts the Reliance Industries’ unit in the league of India’s largest household goods maker Hindustan Unilever Ltd and the nation’s largest private lender HDFC Bank Ltd, and almost on a par with its parent’s oil and gas business. Jio Platforms combines RIL’s digital apps and its mobile phone services unit Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
The transaction, the biggest non-control minority investment by any technology company, also sets the stage for future fund- raising rounds for Jio.
The RIL stock jumped by as much as 12% in intraday trading following the announcement and closed 10.3% higher on Wednesday.
Facebook will get a board seat on Jio Platforms.
Plummeting oil prices have put a question mark on a potential $15 billion investment by Saudi Aramco in Reliance Industries’ oil and gas business that was announced in August.
“We view the Facebook investment as a structural positive for Jio. Given Facebook’s expertise in monetizing data via its platforms, it should accelerate Jio’s monetization of the vast data it collects from its 400 million subscribers (and growing). So far, almost all of Jio’s revenue is mobile tariff-based and, though the company has taken initial steps to create alternative revenue streams, we have not yet seen material revenue streams so far. The Facebook investment should accelerate the process," said JP Morgan Equity Research in a report dated 22 April.
The two companies said they will work together on major projects that will open up commerce opportunities for people across India.
“At the core of our partnership is the commitment that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, and I share for the all-round digital transformation of India and for serving all Indians," said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.
Facebook, which counts India as its biggest market by number of users, echoed Ambani’s views.
“The country is in the middle of a major digital transformation, and organizations like Jio have played a big part in getting hundreds of millions of Indian people and small businesses online," Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, said in a post on his Facebook page.
“With communities around the world in lockdown, many of these entrepreneurs need digital tools they can rely on to find and communicate with customers and grow their businesses," he said.
In February, Facebook’s popular messenger app WhatsApp received a formal approval from the National Payments Corporation of India for payment services in India. Once the payment interface is integrated with the Jio platform, it would emerge as a serious challenger to established e-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart, according to analysts.
In December, Reliance Retail Ltd soft-launched its new commerce venture, JioMart, calling it “Desh Ki Nayi Dukaan".
JioMart is Reliance Retail’s offline-to-online initiative, which aims to link producers, traders, merchants, brands, and consumers through technology. The firm has been working on its new commerce plan for nearly two years.
“This will help Reliance create a strong rival to online e-commerce giants such as Amazon and further strengthen its leadership position in retail in India," said Axis Capital in its research report dated 22 April.
Law firm AZB and Partners advised RIL on the transaction, while Facebook was advised by Bank of America.


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January 24 (Renewables Now) - German inverter maker SMA Solar Technology (ETR:S92) today guided for better financial results in 2019 after posting a loss and weaker sales for 2018.
The company said that, based on preliminary calculations, 2018 sales have decreased to around EUR 761 million (USD 863m) from EUR 891 million, even though it has sold the same amount of photovoltaic (PV) inverters as in 2017 -- about 8.5 GW. The reason for the decline in its top line is price pressure. Regardless of the fall in sales, the figure was at the lower end of the managing board’s forecast.
“Due to the sudden downturn in the photovoltaic market in China, Chinese manufacturers have made increasing inroads into the international markets, creating massive price pressure. As a result, project developers and investors have postponed the construction of PV power plants in anticipation of a further fall in prices,” explained CEO Juergen Reinert. He added that, at the same time, the limited availability of electronic components had impacted business in commercial PV systems, but that situation has since been resolved.
For 2019, the managing board forecasts sales of between EUR 800 million and EUR 880 million, aided by a projected positive market development in Europe and America, as well as the revival of the storage market.
As per the company’s earnings performance, preliminary estimations show that it has turned to a loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of some EUR 67 million for 2018 from earnings of EUR 97.3 million a year back. The result has been impacted by one-time items and provisions for financing planned restructuring measures, but it was still within guidance, the company said. It anticipates positive EBITDA of EUR 20 million to EUR 50 million in 2019.
SMA will publish its consolidated financial statements for 2018 on March 28, 2019.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.134)


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Battery life for mobile devices has dramatically improved with countless innovations over the years (including a big reduction in cost) but our need for energy seems to be insatiable -- countless innovations have changed apps as well: more apps, bigger apps, more complex apps and much higher power requirements.
Now, a Harvard student, Eesha Khare, has developed a small, "super battery" (called a Super Capacitor Energy Storage Device) capable of storing dramatically more energy and recharging a mobile device much quicker. In fact, she doesn't want to sell her technology until she can charge a mobile device in less than a minute. I can't wait!
This new technology uses nanotechnology to charge a mobile device quickly and hold that energy energy for a much longer period of time. It is manufctured from carbon fiber and metal oxides.


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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has named three alumni who founded an online printing company as its entrepreneurs of the year.
Jeffrey Stewart, David Uyttendaele and John Delbridge, business management, electrical engineering and industrial engineering graduates from Rensselaer, founded Mimeo.com, a digital content distribution service. Mimeo.com has 500 employees and locations in Memphis, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey, and the United Kingdom.
The trio will be honored at Rensselaer's Entrepreneur of the Year event on October 3. Registration for the event is available here. The private, engineering university in Troy, New York, honored Karthik and Guha Bala, co-founders of Menands, New York video game company Vicarious Visions, as its 2013 entrepreneurs of the year.


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By Denise A. Valdez
A MARKETING technology company said the continuing patronization of Filipinos of television is boosting its business in the country, with the firm offering advertisers the technology to launch digital campaigns in sync with TV content.
India-based firm SilverPush Chief Revenue Officer Kartik Mehta said in an interview that the company’s one-year presence in the Philippines has shown exponential growth, bagging brands from clients like Unilever, Unilab and Coca-Cola.
“In terms of television viewing habits, consumers in the Philippines spend a lot of time viewing linear television… Your on-demand content which is being played on your smartphones is still not there as much as the other evolved economies across the world,” he said.
“Because of this, what’s happening is because consumers still are focusing their attention on linear television, this entire multi-screening phenomena is helping technology companies like us help brands engage with their audiences in real time,” he added.
SilverPush offers its clients a “multi-screen TV-sync solution,” or a technology that detects television content which a company may use to trigger a digital campaign in real time.
Mr. Mehta said because the technology allows its clients to run digital advertisements upon screening of a certain television content, it may be used as supplement for its clients’ own television commercials, or a counter message when it detects a competition’s commercial.
“That’s a very interesting model because advertising on television is expensive. And obviously this entire concept of multi-screening, if you just analyze our own behavior as consumers, whenever you’re watching television, what do you do? We still have our phones in our hands,” Mr. Mehta explained.
He said although Filipinos still view linear television more often than in other countries, the general behavior is still to gravitate one’s attention towards social media during ad breaks.
“Our technology helps brands run ads on digital while the consumer is not attentive to television in real time,” he added.
Looking forward, Mr. Mehta said they eventually want to tap Artificial Intelligence (AI) to recognize faces, objects and activities that flash on a television screen to prompt a digital campaign.
“Our technology is evolving to a more AI-based model which will be able to detect celebrities, faces, logos on screen. It is also able to detect emotions. Is there a celebration going on, or are people doing a high-five, or are people drinking or saying cheers? It’s able to detect all that. Brands are utilizing all these different moments through our technology to run contextually relevant messages for the consumers,” he explained.
He said the AI-based solution is now being tested in the Philippines. The firm targets to launch it for existing and would-be clients by next year.
SilverPush currently offers its solutions in 12 countries, namely India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.
Mr. Mehta said by next year, they also plan to expand to Hong Kong, Korea and Australia, and at some point, the United States.
“It’s been a conscious decision for us to kind of test and implement our innovations here in the Philippines before it spreads out to Southeast Asia. This has become our hub of innovation in Southeast Asia… We expect to see probably 300% jump in our revenues in the Philippines by next year,” he added.
He noted the company has grown 80% to 100% quarter-on-quarter the past year, making SilverPush confident it will maintain its climb in the Philippines.
By Denise A. Valdez


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July 2, 2020 Miracle-Ear, Inc. has been hit with a class action alleging the company has placed unlawful robocalls to consumers who never provided their consent to be contacted.
June 26, 2020 A consumer claims in a class action that Liberty University placed several unlawful, automated calls to her cell phone without securing prior consent to do so.
June 26, 2020 A lawsuit claims WinRed Technical Services and the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent automated text messages without the recipients' consent.
June 23, 2020 Terminix faces a proposed class action filed by a consumer who claims the pest control outfit placed a series of unlawful automated calls to his cell phone.
June 17, 2020 Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign sent unsolicited, automated text messages without consent, a class action claims.
April 1, 2020 A California woman alleges in a proposed class action that the operators of the MyMixtapez app sent several automated text messages without securing her consent.
March 31, 2020 A Pennsylvania man claims in a proposed class action lawsuit that TracFone Wireless, Inc. placed over 100 unlawful robocalls to his landline.
March 31, 2020 Express Scripts, Inc. faces a proposed class action in which a consumer claims to have received unlawful robocalls from the pharmacy benefit management company.
March 18, 2020 OutboundEngine, Inc. faces a proposed class action that alleges the marketing company placed automated calls to consumers' cell phones without permission.
March 13, 2020 Postmates is facing a class action filed by a Georgia woman who claims she received over a dozen unauthorized, automated telemarketing calls from the food delivery company.
March 5, 2020 A lawsuit claims Liberty Mutual Insurance Company has placed unlawful automated phone calls to consumers whose numbers were listed on the National and Georgia Do Not Call registries.
March 2, 2020 A class action lawsuit claims JPMorgan Chase & Co. illegally used unsolicited marketing calls to promote AARP credit cards.


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The government’s unpopular beer tax rises a further 1.2% today, taking it up to $2.26 per litre of alcohol.
Brewers are hit with an automatic CPI increase every February and August. Prices have been increasing every six months for the past 35 years.
A new report by economist and Emeritus Professor Kym Anderson AC from the University of Adelaide, commission by the Brewers Association of Australia, has compared Australian beer tax with OECD and EU countries.
Of the world’s advanced industrial countries, Australians pay the fourth highest beer tax.
Australians will now pay $2.26 per litre of alcohol. In Australian dollar terms, we are paying:
- 17 times more than Germany ($0.13),
- 15 times more than Spain ($0.15),
- 7 times more than the US ($0.31),
- 6 times more than Canada ($0.35),
- more than 4 times that of France ($0.50), and
- approaching double that of New Zealand ($1.26).
“It’s getting to the point that having a beer with your mates is beyond the reach of ordinary Australians,” Brewers Association of Australia CEO Brett Heffernan said.
“By far the biggest cost in the price of a typical Australian beer is tax. It’s not the ingredients, production costs, advertising, transport or even retail overheads and profits … it’s Australian Government tax.
“A massive 42% of the retail price on a carton of beer, is tax. Of the $52 retail price for a typical carton of beer at 4.9% alcohol, $21.84 goes to the taxman. Now it’s going up again.
“Most Aussies simply are not aware they are being hit so hard, or so often, with beer tax. Beer tax has been going up every six months for the last 35 years. This latest slug is the 71st consecutive hike.
“Beer tax is now out of control. Simply freezing the six-monthly CPI increases will only lock-in the unreasonably high tax Australians are already paying. The rate of beer tax needs to be addressed if punters are to get genuine relief.”
Of a carton of full-strength (4.9%) beer retailing at $52, you’re already paying $21.84 (or 42 per cent) in tax, according to the Brewers Association of Australia – and that figure will likely rise with today’s beer tax hike.
In 2019, the federal government was estimated to have reaped $3.6 billion in alcohol tax.
But it’s not as pricey as Super Bowl beer …
Punters at today’s Super Bowl game in Miami are paying $AU17.93 for a draught beer; $AU20.90 for a 16oz (slightly over a standard schooner) bottle of domestic beer and $AU22.40 for an imported beer at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Meanwhile, it’s $AU33 for a strawberry daiquiri to $AU37 for a glass of champagne!
According to WalletHub.com, Americans watching the game at home have purchased 51.7 million cases of (more budget friendly) beer.
Host city Miami was expected to receive a $500 million economic impact from the big game. Each tourist in the city over the weekend was expected to drop $350 every day they were in town.
Meanwhile, the price for a single Super Bowl ticket was around $6390, and the highest price ever paid for a single ticket was $27,883.


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Florida’s law banning businesses from inquiring if workers or customers have received the coronavirus vaccine may pose a challenge for its cruise industry.
On Thursday, the CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. said it may cause the company to suspend its Florida departures and move ships to other ports, WYFF reported.
“At the end of the day, cruise ships have motors, propellers and rudders, and God forbid we can’t operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from, and we can operate from the Caribbean for a ship that otherwise would have gone to Florida,” Frank Del Rio commented during a quarterly earnings call.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the legislation Monday banning the use of vaccine passports in the state.
“In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision,” the governor said.


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Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today described the news of a leap in inflation as the clearest sign yet that Brexit is damaging the British economy.
The news that inflation has jumped to 2.7% confirms long-held Liberal Democrat warnings about the impact of Brexit, with businesses struggling to contain rising costs and consumer demand being squeezed.
Mr Rennie said:
“This rise in inflation shows the cost of Brexit.
“The public are seeing the cost of a weekly shop go up; the cost of holidays going up and this is before it really hits.
“Once the dramatic consequences of Brexit become clear, the Liberal Democrats say that the public should have the final say on whether Theresa May’s Brexit deal is right for them in a Brexit deal referendum.
“If Theresa May brings a bad Brexit deal then we should be able to reject it and have the option to remain in Europe.”


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Update from 03 May 2022:
Here we go, you can check out the announcement for the new Warcraft game here:
Original announcement from April 29, 2022:
Those who have been following Blizzard's strategy for years know that the studio from sunny California wants to develop products not only for the PC and consoles, but also for mobile devices. For years now, you have been able to go into battle against other players on the go in the collectible card game Hearthstone. And from June 2, 2022, this will also be possible in the Diablo universe, because then Diablo Immortal will be released for smartphones and the PC (with cross play and cross save). But there's something else in the pipeline. In March 2022, Blizzard developers announced livestream events for the new Hearthstone expansion, the future of World of Warcraft(with Dragonflight and WotLK Classic), and a "Warcraft Mobile." The first dates have passed, now only the last one is missing, and it has now become concrete.
If you don't have anything planned for Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 7:00 pm ... you might have now! Because that's when the livestream for "Warcraft Mobile" will start. The livestream will be broadcast at Reveal.Blizzard.com and apparently not on common streaming platforms like Twitch or Youtube - at least there's no link (yet).
And what kind of mobile game it is, that is not yet known. However, according to the company, "The Warcraft® universe has been capturing the imagination of gamers around the world for many years, with compelling stories and gameplay that are the foundation of World of Warcraft (buy now ) and Hearthstone. Now we're excited to announce a new game for mobile devices that will give all of Azeroth's heroes the chance to adventure on the go." the official announcement now doesn't conclude that it's a WoW-specific game. Otherwise, it probably wouldn't be called "Warcraft game for mobile devices", but "WoW game for mobile devices". Now then, will you be watching the livestream or are you not interested in Warcraft Mobile at all?go to the home page Jump to comments (9) Susanne Braun


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A new, modern and fresh national technology exhibition in Milton Keynes will be helping to put the city in front of a wider audience as a tech hub.
The MKEX Technology Exhibition will be a day of events, demonstrations and talks at stadium:mk on June 24, 2015, to be opened by MK Dons chairman, Pete Winkelman.
“This will be a true first for Milton Keynes and has the potential to transform the way people view the city,” said Peter Barnett, of the organising team. “Milton Keynes is already carving a niche as a world leader in smart technology and the internet of things – this expo will be bringing all the strands together in one exciting day.
“We’re confident it will set the standard for technology expos nationally.”
Peter, who runs sales and marketing company Sales Managed, which he set up five years ago, has been joined by Matt Cove, Managing Director of Events Managed, who is well known for his events work in the voluntary sector with organisations such as MK Dons SET, Milton Keynes City Orchestra and The Parks Trust.
MKEX is also partnering with Biztech, the technology forum in Milton Keynes and SEMLEP, to bring in range of key speakers and technology workshops.
MKEX has developed out of the Milton Keynes Exhibition, which has a track record of success with local business expos in the city. The organisers were inspired by a new phase in the growth of Milton Keynes to sharpen the focus to technology.
There will be four exhibition zones appealing to distinct sectors. These will be for technology based companies, service providers to technology companies, companies using technologies to deliver services and digital marketing, software and online resources.
Peter said: “Anyone looking to launch a product or service or to achieve heightened awareness for what they do must be a part of MKEX Technology Exhibition.”
There are a range of exhibition packages designed to provide a range of options for exhibitors.
And with prices starting at just £245 + VAT there packages are an excellence investment in high profile marketing.
For more information, visit the website www.mkex.co.uk telephone 01908 900 908 or email firstname.lastname@example.org
Follow the hashtag #MKEX and @MKExhibition on Twitter


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Thinking of getting away for a holiday in half-term? Well, you will need to dig deep this October.
Flights for half-term getaways are an average of 42% more expensive than before the coronavirus pandemic, according to new analysis. In fact, a family holiday could cost over £2,000 more than in 2019.
And with the pound currently tanking against currencies such as the Euro, once you are there it might not be any better.
Cost of a holiday in half-term – October 2022
Consumer group Which? said the typical price of a one-way ticket for the week-long school holiday in October booked six months, three months and six weeks in advance was £212. That is compared with £150 for the same period in 2019.
The increase has been blamed on rising fuel costs, pent-up demand for travel after the pandemic and airport passenger caps.
Which? analysed prices from data company Skytra for flights from six of England’s busiest airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Luton and Birmingham. It looked at flights to six popular destinations: Alicante, Antalya, Dubai, Dublin, Malaga and Tenerife.
The largest price hike was on flights from Heathrow to Tenerife.
Passengers booking six weeks before departure paid an average of £262 more each way than in 2019, adding £2,096 to the cost of a holiday for a family of four, according to Which?.
Flights from Gatwick to Dublin booked at the same time increased from £42 in 2019 to £160 this year.
Other issues for travellers
Many holidaymakers suffered from flight cancellations and long queues at airports during the first half of the year due to staff shortages across the aviation industry. Anyone looking to get away for a holiday in half-term will hope that airlines have ironed out these issues.
However, there is still concern over the value of the pound. The lower it falls against the Euro, the more expensive it will be to eat, shop and stay in popular European destinations. The government sparked uncertainty over its financial policies with a mini-budget in which Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced widespread tax cuts, leaving the markets concerned over how he would fund them.
The pound dropped in value, but the Bank of England has now stepped in to buy government bonds to restore stability. If this works, the pound might recover and bring some cheer to those looking for a holiday in half-term.


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From privacy to payments specialists, it took about a dozen Airbnb lawyers to pull off the short-term lodging service’s biggest acquisition. And those were just the in-house lawyers.
In a statement to The New York Times, Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky said the company’s planned acquisition of HotelTonight is a step toward “serving every guest, whether they plan their trip a year or a day in advance.”
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A new source for crepes will soon arrive in Boston: Crepe & More is currently staffing up for its opening at 700 Atlantic Ave., inside South Station, per a post on Craigslist seeking crepe makers and counter staff. Crepe & More will serve customizable sweet and savory crepes, as well as “specialty drinks” and other desserts, according to state filings and job postings.
Crepe & More will be a small kiosk inside the station, according to the agenda for a Licensing Board hearing, and it could operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Like most of the dining kiosks at South Station, Crepe & More won’t have its own seating; only Tavitas and Tavern in the Square do, while customers of Oath Pizza, Au Bon Pain, and the rest can grab a seat anywhere around the station.
Lea Sasportes is behind Crepe & More; she also operates Amorino Gelato in Back Bay and is in the process of opening a second location of the gelato shop in Cambridge, as previously reported.
Eater has reached out to Sasportes for more information and will provide any updates as more information is made available.
• Back Bay Gelato Shop Eyes Cambridge Expansion for Rose-Shaped Scoops [EBOS]


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It's such a small world in Hollywood! Diane Kruger narrowly misses bumping into Michael Bublé at The Grove
It's a town crammed with stars of the screen and of the stage so it's no surprise to see two celebrities in the same place in Hollywood.
And on Monday Diane Kruger and Michael Bublé were on the same street but the pair narrowly missed each other at The Grove.
While Diane was doing a spot of shopping on her own, Michael headed to the mall to have lunch with a group of friends.
Such a small world! Michael Buble and Diane Kruger narrowly missed each other while shopping at The Grove on Monday
The 36-year-old actress wore a pretty white sundress for the spot of retail therapy, teaming the cute out with a straw hat.
She had a pair of flat sandals on her
feet, but shoes seemed to be on the shopping list as she perused
through a number of different styles.
As she emerged from the store Michael had just walked past and she turned around to glance at the hitmaker.
So close: The actress left a shop just moments after the Canadian singer had strolled past
Retail therapy: The German actress was dressed in a white sundress as she shopped up a storm at the mall in West Hollywood
Diane is currently the cover girl for Harper's Bazaar Russia's May issue and shows off her toned and taut tummy in the picture.
Michael, who is currently expecting
his first child with wife Luisana Lopilato, seemed oblivious to the
German actress behind him, as he made his way to The Wisper Lounge for
A girl can never have too many shoes: Diane was seen browsing a shoe shop
Cover girl: Diane shows off her toned stomach on the cover of Harper's Bazaar Russia
The singer was dressed in a red V-neck vest and a pair of black trousers with a jacket for the lunch.
Michael enjoyed a light lunch and
stuck to water during the meal, despite some of his friends enjoying in
an alcoholic beverage.
The singer, who wrote Just Haven't Met You Yet for Luisana, recently told Mail Online that he can't wait for fatherhood.
He said: 'I can't wait to be a daddy, I am really excited about it. I am definitely going to be a hands-on dad, whatever that means.'
the best thing that has ever happened to me. It's given me a wonderful
perspective - it's given me a lot of bravery. This will be the best
thing I have ever created.'
The couple announced they were expecting a baby boy last month and will welcome their first child later this year.
Want to be in my gang: Michael was joined by three friends as they headed to a restaurant in The Grove
Sticking to a healthy diet: The father-to-be was seen tucking into his food but didn't indulge in an alcoholic beverage
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- ALSO READ
Investment firm Lumis Partners on Thursday said it will run a six-month programme under its Supply Chain Labs (SCL) to handhold and fund startups working in various areas like warehousing and logistics.
The Supply Chain Labs Accelerator 2020 programme is designed to make early-to-growth stage startups scale-ready and will provide them with an initial funding of Rs 25 lakh per startup and up to Rs 3.5 crore to a select few startups, a statement said.
It will also offer deep-engaged mentoring and access to corporate customers to help startups collaborate to solve complex large scale problems of the industry, it added.
"Our aim is to support a generation of new age entrepreneurs, make them more self-reliant (Atmanirbhar), and boost our 'Make in India' initiative for achieving indigenous economic growth," SCL Managing Partner Ashutosh Mayank said.
SCL believes that innovation in the supply chain would be a key path not only to economic recovery in most industries, but shall also be the lifeline for return to normalcy amid COVID, he added.
"Through the program 'Supply Chain Labs Accelerator 2020', SCL will nurture and invest in high-potential startups engaged in disrupting supply chain, warehousing and logistics," he said, adding that the intent is to identify and adopt innovations to optimise supply chain, warehousing and logistics.
In the last edition that concluded in February, SCL had selected nine supply chain startups. The cohort of nine that graduated showed 2X-10X growth, and five of them raised follow-on capital or were merged/acquired by the investors.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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First Published: Thu, July 30 2020. 22:29 IST


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Starting Saturday you can face a fine or even jail time if you unlock your cellphone.
Customers who want to use their smartphone they bought from one of the big carriers such as AT&T, Verizon or Sprint, can no longer unlock their phone with software that allows them to switch cellular networks and use the same phone, according to multiple media reports, including ABC News.
The change in the law does offer a grandfather clause for anyone who unlocked their phone prior to Saturday, but those who choose to unlock it now that it's illegal could face thousands of dollars in fines and even jail time if they unlock a phone for commercial purposes.
The smartphone segment is rapidly growing among business executives, with a survey conducted by The Business Journals last year revealing that small and midsize business owners are more connected than ever to technology, significantly boosting the time spent on the Internet, their use of social networks, and their adoption of new tech tools. (Click here to read full story on survey results.)
The survey found that 37 percent of executives used a smartphone or PDA, up from 27 percent in the past year. And their adoption of technology in general has grown. This includes companies all over the Phoenix region, including a law firm that outfits all lawyers with iPads.


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Japanese automakers certainly know how to build reliable vehicles.
But most generally lack any pop or sizzle.
That could change some in the next couple of years. In an attempt to spice up their tepid images – particularly since virtually all automakers now build reliable cars and trucks –Toyota, Honda and Nissan will offer several high-performance halo cars.
In the first half of next year, Acura will begin selling its NSX sports car, marking a return of the mid-engine car to the market.
– citing undisclosed sources -- says Honda may offer its own version of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Lexus’ eye-popping LF-LC concept coupe has been approved for production and is expected to arrive in early 2017 as a $120,000 high-performance hybrid.
Nissan’s luxury division, Infiniti, plans to build two high-performance halo vehicles. A new Q70 sedan powered by a 600-horsepower V-6 would compete with the Porsche Panamera. The Q70 will arrive in 2017 or 2018, according to
Also, Infiniti will offer the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge in 2016 or 2017, a $100,000 sedan powered by the GT-R’s 560-horse V-6.
Besides the plans at Lexus, Toyota is developing its own sports car, working with BMW on architecture that could spawn the next Supra,


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Bluffton man invents protective face mask that attaches to baseball caps
Bluffton resident Tim Hickman believes he’s come up with a simple but effective invention to ensure that forgetful people don’t leave their protective masks at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
His product Hide-a-Mask is a typical cloth face mask that magnetically connects to the bottom of a baseball hat brim. The mask is concealed against the brim and can be snapped downward over the face and nose in situations that warrant wearing a mask.
The mask is removable for washing and doesn’t tug on the wearer’s ears because it’s connected to the hat.
Hickman introduced Hide-a-Mask on the product-launching platform Kickstarter and distributed it to 400 consumers for feedback in his first five days of production. Hickman said he’s received positive reviews and will begin distributing the product at hideamask.com starting in late August.
The Palmetto Bluff resident said he was initially inspired by his own tendency to leave his face mask at home.
“I was always forgetting it. Especially in Palmetto Bluff, going to the grocery store is a bit of an effort. You drive 22 minutes one way to get to the nearest grocery store, figure out you lost your mask and have to turn around,” Hickman said.
“So it was really trying to figure out a way where I can have that mask on me all the time and not shoved in a pocket. At home, I grab my keys, my phone and my hat, jump in a car and be on the way. With the face mask being able to disappear into the hat, then if you don’t need to wear it or don’t want to wear it, you don’t have to but it’s there if you need to.”
Customers can visit the site, purchase their hat of choice in various colors or designs, or custom order a design.
But Hickman said he’s primarily interested in selling to businesses, rather than being a fashion company. He mentioned small businesses and a company like FedEx as a larger-scale example, where its field employees are required to wear hats.
New to Bluffton, Hickman spent his professional career as an entrepreneur in several Silicon Valley industries, most recently selling a phone case startup business and retiring to Palmetto Bluff in March.
Hickman said he loves Palmetto Bluff, despite his move having coincided with the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I just got a little bored with the whole COVID thing and I decided I’d play around with a fun idea that could help people wear masks more often,” he said.


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Rather than write only about Apple’s iPhone 4 launch that set records by selling out 600,000 pre-orders well in advance of launch day, the Geeks have decided to tell a tale of two mobile phone releases: Sprint’s release of the HTC EVO 4G and AT&T’s pre-order release of Apple’s iPhone 4.
First, we’ll look at the actual release of the HTC EVO 4G on Sprint’s network.
The device was released on June 4th to much fanfare by Sprint and activation issues as Sprint’s systems failed under the load. Boasting of shortages across 22k sales locations across the US, Sprint mentioned they were trying to keep up demand with daily deliveries.
In fact on June 7th Sprint released a press release stating:
Friday sales of HTC EVO 4G marked the largest quantity of a single phone sold in one day ever for Sprint – the record was previously held by both Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre. In addition, the total number of HTC EVO 4G devices sold on launch day was three times the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the market combined.
Unfortunately that June 7th press release has been removed, but considering the Palm Pre sold between 50k and 100k on launch, Sprint’s statement means they believe they sold between 300k-600k units the first day.
Why would the June 7th press release be removed? As it turns out on June 6th a Sprint employee decided to browse through Sprint’s internal inventory system and discovered Sprint had actually sold 66,483 through Sprint stores and posted the sales figures on the XDA-Developers forum. The post has been removed but Google’s cache still contained part of the post:
“according to sprint we as a [company] have sold 66,483 theres a whole bunch of stores though that dont have any more inventory i dont think any major city sprint does”
66k units sold is not bad (and this does only include Sprint stores) but more of matches the Palm Pre and is far less than the 600k units Sprint eluded to in their press release. Sprint’s only response was to recant their press release on June 9th admitting that they “inadvertently overstated” launch day numbers and stated that sales were in line with the number of Instinct and Pre devices sold over their first three days combined. This of course caused analysts to revise down sales predictions.
One last item of note, the Forensics group at Sprint conducted a quick investigation to determine which employee leaked the numbers, flew from Kansas to Florida and summarily terminated employment rights from the Sprint employee that leaked the details.
Next we’ll look at AT&T and the Apple iPhone 4 pre-order even though it may be a bit premature as the iPhone 4 has not been released yet.


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Actress Sarah Hassan and content creator Nancy Mwai have been nominated for most stylish female personality and female fashionista respectively in the Abraynz Style and Fashion Awards set to go down in Uganda.
The award, which is from Abryanz Collection, will see Hassan battle alongside other media giants from across the continent including Anele Mdoda, Nana Akua Addo, Official Doyin, Toke Makinwa, and Allysyn Audu in the category of the most stylish female personality in Africa.
Nancie Mwai will go head-to-head with Hali Oduor, Priscilla Anyabu, Denise Dainty, Diana Eneje, and Chevonne Spirine.
The Abryanz Style and Fashion Awards, commonly known as the ASFAs return on December 16, 2022, at Kampala Serena Hotel after a two-year break as a result of the Cvid-19 outbreak.
The event is recognized as Africa’s biggest Fashion Awards and red-carpet event, the 8th edition of ASFAs celebrates groundbreaking fashion creatives, influencers, and contributors across Africa and beyond that have shaped the fashion industry through the pandemic, under the theme ‘The Awakening’.


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Totally Hemp Crazy Inc. to Produce 60,000 Cases of Rocky Mountain High Hemp-Infused Products This Week
DALLAS, TX–(Marketwired – Apr 27, 2015)
Totally Hemp Crazy Inc. (OTC PINK: THCZ) is pleased to announce that the second production run of the Rocky Mountain High Hemp-Infused beverages is scheduled for this Wednesday and Thursday and will include the first production run of the new low calorie Hemp Coconut Lime beverage.
The production run scheduled for this week will mark a 150%+ increase in production over its first production run thanks to brisk sales and a rapidly increasing distribution base. The Company has set a goal of producing over 1,000,000 cans of hemp-infused beverage products this quarter.
Photographs taken of this week’s production run will be posted on the Company’s Facebook page.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/totallyhempcrazy
The World Cannabis Week (4/20) Twelve (12) Hour Sale of Rocky Mountain High products on AMAZON.com was a huge success selling over 500 cases, which marks a 300% increase in sales over the first sales event conducted by the Company on Amazon.
“We expect to make one more production run this quarter, plus in the coming months we plan on offering a complete line-up of products that will extend beyond beverages,” stated Jerry Grisaffi, Founder of Totally Hemp Crazy Inc. “Our new low calorie Hemp Coconut Lime beverage is delicious and with only 15 calories it will be easy on consumers’ waist lines. Our Coconut Lime product will broaden the appeal to women and the health conscious within in our target demographic group.”
About Totally Hemp Crazy Inc.:
Our mission is to find the premier hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit.
Visit us at: TotallyHempCrazy.com
For more information: finance.yahoo.com/totally-hemp-crazy-inc-produce
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Peachtree luxury condos tough to sell
Send this story to a friend
- Douglas Sams and J. Scott Trubey
- Staff writers
The 52 luxury condos atop the soon-to-open Loews Hotel in Midtown may be converted into corporate rentals, according to the developer of the project.
It’s the latest sign of trouble in the high-end intown condominium market that was supposed to take shape on Peachtree Street from Buckhead to downtown.
The Loews residences, which start at $600,000 and include some units at just under $2 million, are part of the 12th & Midtown project, a $2 billion development on Peachtree Street.
The second phase of the development, including the 414-room Loews Hotel, the condos and the 38-story 1075 Peachtree office tower, marks a cornerstone project on the Midtown Mile, a stretch of Peachtree that local economic development boosters hope will become Atlanta’s version of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.
“Before all this, people were buying condos as if they were a commodity,” said Steve Baile, vice president of Daniel Corp., co-developer of 12th & Midtown. “While that may be true right now in the starter market, it’s not true at all for the high-end product. Those buyers are going to be smart and savvy, and we’ve got to consider alternatives.”
Baile said his company is considering converting the condos to corporate housing. The units would be marketed to the employees of companies that show interest in relocating their offices to 1075 Peachtree.
It’s just an idea for now, Baile said, but it’s getting strong consideration.
The other alternatives are to offer the condos for sale as planned, or create lease-to-purchase programs.
Baile did not say demand for luxury condos is dead, but admitted, “it looks a little thin right now.”
Reach Sams at firstname.lastname@example.org. Reach Trubey at email@example.com.
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Fast-food chain gets a new director in Korea
Martinez will lead the Korea team to continue its focus on “experience of the future.” The company’s term refers to its improvements on the digital side like mobile ordering and payment as well as delivery.
Martinez replaces Melanie Joh, who resigned last month after eight years with the company.
“McDonald’s has a strong track record in Korea thanks to the team’s innovative approach over the years.” Martinez said.
Martinez has been the market director for the Southern Region of Australia since January 2016, managing operations, marketing and training of more than 300 restaurants and 80 franchisees.
His McDonald’s career began in Victoria, Australia, in 2000 as a crew member.
The global fast-food company opened its first restaurant in Korea in 1988 and now operates more than 400 restaurants.
By Jin Min-ji
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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Missguided has continued to promote clothes and deals on social media this week while making no mention of the company’s financial situation, further aggravating shoppers whose orders have not arrived.
The ailing fashion brand – which fell into administration amid claims it owed creditors millions of pounds – will continue to trade after Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group bought the business for £20m.
Mr Ashley’s firm, which also owns House of Fraser and Sports Direct, struck the deal after administrators Teneo were brought in, and the fashion business collapsed on Monday.
Frustrated Missguided customers have been bombarding the brand with enquiries about missing packages, and with messages demanding the firm “pay your workers” in recent days, in a departure from typical comments complimenting the styles depicted.
In response, Missguided disabled comments on its recent Instagram posts, preventing users from leaving any more off-brand remarks.
The last post on Missguided’s Instagram account for which comments are enabled, published on Sunday, features dozens of responses.
“Absolutely disgusting service,” reads one.
“[Missguided has] taken my money but no order for over two weeks. Requested a refund and nothing five days later.”
Dozens of Missguided staff were informed on Monday via a short pre-recorded audio message that they had lost their jobs. More than 65 former employees are said to be pursuing legal action against the company over claims the redundancy process was not properly managed.
Missguided suppliers who report being left out of the pocket – some to the tune of millions of pounds – have also sought legal advice, according to Aticus Law, the Manchester-based firm working with axed staff.
Announcing the buy-out on Wednesday morning, Michael Murray, chief executive of Frasers Group, said Missguided would “benefit from the strength and scale” of its new owner’s platform and from its “operational excellence”.
He added: “Missguided’s digital-first approach to the latest trends in women’s fashion will bring additional expertise to the wider Frasers Group.”
However, some staff who remain at Missguided, and industry experts, have suggested the brand will struggle to recover.
“We are all deflated and also frustrated at the lack of public communication with suppliers, customers and ourselves,” said a member of staff who asked not to be identified.
“A few more people have handed in their resignations…I really struggle to see how [Frasers] will attract new staff if required. The brand feels irreparably damaged.”
Freddy Khalastchi, business recovery partner at accountancy firm Menzies LLP, said: “The administrators’ decision to sell the business to Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is a last-ditch attempt to turn its fortunes around, by securing jobs and allowing the brand to live on.”
He added that Missguided had not been able to keep up with “big players” in the market such as Chinese fast fashion company Shein, which has quickly come to dominate the industry by undercutting competitors’ prices and churning out new styles at a warp speed.
“The big players are getting bigger while the small operators are getting swallowed up,” Mr Khalastchi said.
The Missguided website has continued to operate since the company shut down its warehouse last Thursday, with shoppers still able to select next-day delivery for £6.99, despite the fact that operations had ground to a halt.
A company source said the business planned to temporarily disable the option to place orders online on Wednesday evening before relaunching the site next week.
“Starting next week, work will commence on getting logistics and warehouse working again ahead of relaunching the UK website,” the source said.
icontacted administrators Teneo and Missguided chairman Ian Gray for comment.


text: Just a short drive from Frankston CBD, a $160 million investment by ISPT Super Property, is well underway at Karingal Hub. Stage 1, a new food precinct, featuring more than 28 fresh food and speciality retailers, opened at end of June 2021, with further phases scheduled to complete during the remainder of 2021. A huge boost for the region, the redevelopment of the centre will see more space for retail outlets and restaurants plus existing shops at the centre will get a facelift. The project has created about 200 jobs during construction and 300 full ongoing and part time jobs are expected. The plans include an additional 762 car parking spaces.


text:
Birchbox eyes 'casual beauty customers' with Walgreens launch
NEW YORK - Online cοsmetics retailer Birchbοx made its debut inside several Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc stοres acrοss the United States οn Thursday, οne of many e-cοmmerce cοmpanies expanding its physical presence to better cοnnect with shoppers and drive sales.
Birchbοx, which has two of its own stοres in New Yοrk City and Paris, is amοng the many direct-to-cοnsumer brands that are gοing brick-and-mοrtar as well as οnline to increase shopping optiοns. Even Amazοn.cοm Inc purchased Whole Foods, with abοut 500 stοres, fοr $13.7 billiοn in 2017 to bοost its grοcery business. Walgreens would help Birchbοx better serve “casual beauty customers” who are nοt a fοcus of the industry, Birchbοx Chief Executive Katia Beauchamp said in an interview at a Duane Reade drugstοre in Lower Manhattan. It is οne of six Walgreens outlets that are part of Thursday’s launch in New Yοrk, Chicagο, Los Angeles and Minneapοlis’ Mall of America.
Birchbοx is targeting customers who do nοt regularly buy beauty prοducts, Beauchamp said. “We kept saying that this customer - the ‘casual cοnsumer’ - doesn’t have a home, so let’s build her a home.”
“We have huge aspiratiοns abοut digital and physical cοming together,” she said. “We think that the oppοrtunity to serve the everyday cοnsumer is a very big oppοrtunity and we’re looking at where and how fast can we do it.”
Birchbοx, which has a subscriptiοn-based mοdel, said it will offer fewer optiοns and mοre in-stοre directiοn and guidance so customers can discοver skincare, makeup and hair prοducts frοm mοre than 40 prestige brands quickly and easily, including COOLA, Sand & Sky, Wander Beauty and Beachwaver.
In 2019, New Yοrk-based Birchbοx plans to enter five additiοnal Walgreens stοres in Dallas, Miami, Chicagο and Los Angeles in a majοr push to give customers a mοre hands-οn experience in buying physical beauty prοducts.
Walgreens also has been trying to bοost sales thrοugh its prescriptiοn-οnly pharmacy business in partnership with supermarket chain Krοger Co as well.


text:
There’s a nationwide shortage of tampons due to supply chain problems, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene knows exactly who to blame for that: transgender men.
After NPR referred to tampon users as “people who menstruate” in a story about the shortage, the chilling tale of inclusive phrasing eventually made its way to Greene, who in the past has fantasized about her husband violently beating a trans woman and repeatedly mocked the transgender daughter of her colleague Democratic Rep. Marie Newman.
“Has anyone checked the warehouses at the border where all the baby formula is stocked floor to ceiling on shelves?” Greene tweeted Monday, a reference to the also-wrong claim from the right that immigrants were responsible for the formula shortage at the border. (Greene and 191 other House Republicans later voted against a bill intended to speed up the FDA’s approval process for formula manufacturers.)
“Or maybe some men’s restrooms? Apparently they are available there.”
Earlier, Greene had tweeted, in response to a Fox News clip highlighting the shortage: “Democrat’s war on women continues.”
Like other goods and commodities, tampons are in a shortage because of global supply chain issues stemming from the pandemic as well as rising costs of materials, NPR reported.
Time magazine, which reported on the shortage last week, also noted that the executives at the companies that dominate the tampon market—including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Edgewell—are men, and suggested that solving the tampon shortage hasn’t been a priority.
After the shortage hit the national media, however, tampon makers and stores that carry the products promised they’re working on it, and that the shortage won’t last much longer.
Procter & Gamble, which makes the Tampax brand of tampons, said it’s “working hard to ramp up production” and that the shortage was a “temporary situation,” in a statement to the BBC.
Edgewell, which manufactures Playtex tampons, said it’s been “impacted due to extensive workforce shortages caused by two separate Omicron surges in the US and Canada in late 2021 and early 2022, respectively,” in another statement to the BBC.
“We have been operating our manufacturing facilities around the clock to build back inventory and anticipate returning to normal levels in the coming weeks,” a spokesperson told the network.
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text:
An $83 million voluntary recall of 530,000 Volkswagen and Audi cars threatens the launch of two key VW products, dealers say.
The biggest problem facing dealers is the lack of replacement parts for faulty engine ignition coils. They say the repair is not that big of a deal but dealers are facing backups in their already busy service departments. VW dealers also want the company to soothe affected owners by offering $1,000 off on their next VW.
Dealers want the repairs - which affect primarily 2001 and 2002 model cars with four-cylinder, turbocharged 1.8-liter engines - completed before the launch of the Touareg in three months, followed by the Phaeton later this year. The Touareg is VW's SUV, and the Phaeton is VW's first U.S. luxury car.
Volkswagen of America Inc. and Audi of America Inc. last week said they are voluntarily recalling the cars because of the faulty coils. Sources say the German parts supplier had problems with the insulation material of the coils. If the plastic becomes brittle, spark plug failure can result.
Combined, VW and Audi have about 866 U.S. dealerships. That means the average store will have to repair 612 vehicles. Repairs will take 30 to 60 minutes each, meaning volume will keep service bays full for weeks - if not months.
VW and Audi dealers are no strangers to complaints about how hard it is to get a service appointment. Both VW and Audi dealers have finished below the industry average the past two years in the J.D. Power and Associates customer service index study that measures how consumers are treated by dealership service departments.
Not wanting to lose customers, VW's dealer council has asked Volkswagen of America for $1,000 loyalty coupons that they can give to owners affected by the recall.
The coupons would be good for $1,000 off their next purchase of a vehicle.
"We think it's the right thing to do," says Gene Langan, president of the VW Dealer Advisory Council. "I'd like to see everybody get one."
VW says it is reviewing the request.
"We're right around the corner from launching probably what is the biggest launch we've ever had - and that's the Touareg," said Al Gossett, a VW dealer in Memphis, Tenn.
"Volkswagen is doing everything that they can do. Was it quick enough? No. Is it good enough for people? No. The real test of being perfect is that we just be proactive and replace them all."
In the meantime, dealers have been told to focus on fixing cars with failed coils. That will be followed in March by what VW is calling a "proactive campaign" to get all customers to bring their vehicles to dealerships for coil replacement, even if they have not experienced a failure, said Steve Keyes, director of corporate communications for VW of America.
"We're still in the mode, at least for the next three or four weeks, where we're just going to be taking care of those that have had a failure," he said.
Dealers should be able to handle the volume of customers with current staff, Langan said.
Dealers are replacing about 2,000 coils a week, Keyes said, adding that the coils cost $22.90 each.
The U.S. recall - part of a global recall that affects 850,000 VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda cars - mostly involves 2001 and 2002 model year cars with the four-cylinder, turbocharged 1.8-liter engine. Also affected are early production 2003 models.
In the 1.8 T engine, all four coils that provide electricity to spark plugs can fail.
Reports of the failures began to grow in November, particularly from cold regions of the country.
A tiny German firm, Bremi Auto-Elektrik, supplies the coils. Bremi is working three shifts a day, six days a week to supply replacements, Keyes said.
VW officials in Germany declined to name a second supplier that is helping make the replacement coils.
A Reuters story, citing unnamed sources and written in German, put the cost of the global recall at 85 million euros - $92.1 million at current exchange rates. The Automotive News estimate of $83 million is based on the cost of each coil plus an average hourly service rate of $65.
Bremi's annual revenue is an estimated 40 million euros, or about $43.3 million, said Auto Business, a consulting company in Stamford, England.
Jens Bobsien, VW spokesman in Wolfsburg, Germany, declined to specify the cost of the repair campaign. VW spokesmen also declined to say whether VW would try to recoup any costs from Bremi.
Bremi is the operating arm of Ernst Bremicker GmbH, founded in 1927. The family owned company employs 325 people and has factories in Dornitz and Munchhausen, Germany. Primary customers are BMW and VW.
Despite repeated calls, Bremi executives declined to comment.
In the United States, VW sent letters dated Jan. 31 to customers explaining the problem. VW will reimburse owners who had to pay for the repair.
The company's original policy was to replace only the failed coil. If the customer came back a second time with a failed coil, all four were replaced.
"That still was not very customer friendly," Keyes said. "As the weeks have gone by, the parts supply has continued to get better and better and better."
The coil problem and lack of parts have left some VW owners angry. A column in the Boston Globe's Feb. 1 edition gives a sampling:
Gossett said it is essential that VW lets dealers offer the loyalty coupons. Otherwise, VW risks losing customers to other brands.
"We've asked that it be for the owner or their immediate family," he said. "And it would be used after their best deal is cut."
Staff writers from Automotive News Europe and Automobilwoche contributed to this report


text:
Event at Oxford Conference Center is a product of community collaboration
This year’s “A Princess Ball” Daddy-Daughter Date Night, hosted by Chick-fil-A, is at the Oxford Conference Center on Thursday, May 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. Doors open at 5:30, and the event is for girls of all ages.
Tickets are $10 per person or $25 max per family. Today is the last day to buy tickets, which are available at the restaurant.
“Our [Chick-fil-A] purpose statement is that we want to have a positive impact on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,” says Lance Reed, owner of the 2307 West Jackson Chick-fil-A. “This is a way to have a positive influence in the community. Our lives are so busy, it’s great for dads to take out time with their daughters.”
Reed says Chick-fil-A held the event the last two years in the store itself, but “we’ve outgrown the store. Even last year, we had to shut the store down because of the number of reservations we got.”
Inspired by an off-premise, larger scale daddy-daughter even held by a Chick-fil-A owner in the Atlanta area, Reed decided to move this year’s Oxford event to a bigger venue.
“The thing that excites me, is that, even though Chick-fil-A is the driving force behind it, it has turned out to be a community-wide event,” he says. “The Oxford Conference Center has worked tremendously to help us pull this off. Hollis Green and his staff have been great. Wayne Andrews at the Powerhouse helped us create the set. Holli’s Sweet Tooth is furnishing a lot of stuff for this event. Oxford Floral has really stepped up huge and ordered flowers for us. We’ve got three churches that have stepped up—First Baptist, North Oxford Baptist, and the Orchard.”


text:
Quick Note: Microsoft Announces 60 Million Windows 8 Licenses Sold
January 8, 2013 5:30 PM
comment(s) - last by
(Source: Associated Press)
Some OEMs, however, still aren't seeing big demand for Microsoft's new touch-centric operating system
Back in November, Microsoft announced that it had
sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses
, outpacing the sales performance of its predecessor, Windows 7. Today, just over a month later, Microsoft announced that it has sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses (upgrades and licenses sold to OEMs), once again outpacing Windows 7. It took Windows 7 a little over three months to cross the 60 million licenses sold threshold.
While the large number of licenses sold is definitely good news, a recent report suggests that actual usage figures for Windows 8 are below that of Windows 7 at the same point in its release cycle and is actually
tracking below that of the much-maligned Windows Vista operating system
. Simply put, 60 million licenses sold doesn't mean that there are actually 60 million Windows 8 devices out there in the hands of consumers and business.
This backs up the assertion from
some outlets and OEMs
that Windows 8 sales have been rather "meh".
“There was not a huge spark in the market," said Emmanuel Fromont, head of Acer's American division. “It’s a slow start, there’s no question.” ASUS CFO David Chang stated, "Demand for Windows 8 is not that good right now." And Fujitsu's President added that Windows 8 demand was "weak".
On the app front, Microsoft announced that customers have downloaded over 100 million apps from the Windows Store.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: Why does MS keep "announcing" sales #'s?
1/9/2013 4:21:48 PM
Unfortunately no, it isn't better than its competition, or even the prior versions of itself. Add the useless clumsy GUI, and you've got one real turd of an OS.
"A lot of people pay zero for the cellphone ... That's what it's worth." -- Apple Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook
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November 28, 2012, 12:29 PM
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December 10, 2013, 2:56 PM
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text:
The new Google “Sabrina” device that showed up briefly in retailer listings a couple of weeks back, which we expect to be an Android TV unit, might have the oddest of names when it launches. The price Google attaches could help distract us from that awkwardness, though.
According to internal Target systems viewed by Artem from Android Police, the name of Google’s new Android TV device has apparently switched from “Sabrina” to “Google Chromecast with Google TV” and with a price of $49.99.
The name of “Google Chromecast with Google TV” is the most awkward of Google names, so it’s perfect. Google could be trying to continue the line of Chromecast devices that people are so familiar with, while also tacking on Android TV. Of course, this would be Google re-branding Android TV back to Google TV, a name they went away from years and years ago.
I don’t have an issue with the name change back to Google TV, I’m just concerned that Google is selling the Chromecast experience here first, but Google TV should be the sell, as it’s a real platform and not just a wireless casting technology. Whatever, it’s Google and that price sounds nice.
At $50, this is the second time we have seen a retailer list this dongle at what would be an incredible value. The original Home Depot listing for “Sabrina-Abbey” had a price of $50, but Walmart went with $60. My money would have been on $60 being the price point, yet here is Target supposedly lowering to that $50 mark. Either way, buying an Android TV dongle (hopefully with remote too) for such a low price will certainly help bring Google’s TV platform to the masses.
If you aren’t yet on Android TV, you have got to be droolin’ a little right now, right?


text:
As renovations continue at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge, the first of three new restaurants is getting closer to becoming a delicious reality. Swinomish guests will soon be greeted with the delectable aromas of sizzling burgers cooking on the grill. Fatburger is the first of three new restaurants to near its opening date, anticipated to be in December. The opening of a second yet-to-be- announced Asian casual dining option will occur around the same time, and the highly anticipated Carver’s Café will follow soon after.
“Given Swinomish Casino & Lodge’s popularity in the region, bringing a Fatburger location to our newly renovated food court is the ideal fit for Swinomish guests and Fatburger, making it a win-win for all,” said Dallas Widmark, Lodge General Manager at Swinomish. “Fatburger, long known for their big juicy burgers, will provide the perfect meal for guests craving a taste sensation that only a delicious Fatburger can satisfy,“ he continued.
Andy Wiederhorn, CEO of Fatburger parent company, FAT Brands, also chimed in, and said, “All of us at Fatburger are beyond excited to be part of such a significant milestone in the Casino’s renovation. We are confident that our burgers, shakes and fries will be popular from day one with Swinomish guests.”
The three restaurants were selected based on Swinomish guest surveys that clearly showed hamburgers and Asian food were the two most popular requests. Fatburger has a strong international and North American presence and has seen success in both traditional and Native American casino properties.
Joining Fatburger in the Casino’s new food court will be Carver’s Café. Known for serving traditional American comfort food, Carver’s Café will offer a convenient place to eat, while showcasing traditional carvings and artwork that celebrate the Swinomish People’s rich culture. These three new outlets will accompany the Swinomish Sports Bar & Grill, the Moka Joe Coffee stand, and 13Moons Steak & Seafood, which are already in operation.
Constructing and opening these restaurants is a small step in a long-planned remodel project that’s currently underway at Swinomish Casino & Lodge. Other renovations include a redesigned and updated gaming floor.
To learn more about the dining options at Swinomish Casino and Lodge, visit the Swinomish Casino and Lodge Dining Page.


text:
Job site LinkedIn just published its 2019 LinkedIn Top Companies List, which ranks the top 50 companies to work for.
LinkedIn looks at billions of actions taken by its members around the world to uncover the companies that are attracting the most attention from jobseekers and then hanging onto that talent. According to LinkedIn, "this approach looks at what members are doing -- not just saying -- in their search for fulfilling careers."
There were some interesting trends in this year's survey versus the 2018 results:
- Companies emphasize values over perks: Companies are emphasizing company values over office perks, even as their values evolve with the times. Disney (No. 17) is paying full tuition even for its part-time workers; Slack (No. 23) is running a coding skills program within prisons; Lyft (No. 19) is offering free therapy to employees and their dependents; WeWork (No. 13) has all-vegetarian cafeterias; Goldman Sachs (No. 21) has relaxed their once-strict dress code, and WPP (No. 39) has banned drinking in their ad agency offices.
- Tech companies, old and new, dominate rankings: Tech continues to be the fastest growing industry in the U.S., and more than half of this year's top companies are from the tech industry. Traditional tech stalwarts such as Oracle (No. 9), Dell (No. 10), Cisco (No. 12), and Intel (No. 37) are competitively ranked alongside more recently founded companies including Airbnb (No. 8), Netflix (No. 11), Splunk (No. 39), and Snowflake Computing (No. 49).
- Nearly 40 percent of companies are new to the list: Of the 50 companies on the list, 19 are new to the rankings. Newly recognized Top Companies to work for include Bank of America (No. 18), Citi (No. 22), Slack (No. 23), Wells Fargo (No. 25), Pinterest (No. 29), Coinbase (No. 35), and others.
Here are the top-25 companies from LinkedIn's 2019 list -- you'll find all 50 on the LinkedIn site:
10. Dell Technologies
13. The We Company
15. Comcast NBCUniversal
17. The Walt Disney Company
18. Bank of America
21. Goldman Sachs
25. Wells Fargo
Be sure to also check out Inc.'s list of the Best Companies to Work for in 2018.


text:
Summer holidays in Italy will only be possible for Europeans, and not before high season months of July and August at the earliest. That’s the warning from Italian tourism officials as Italy looks to restart travel to the country in the wake of its devastating COVID-19 crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has brought Italy’s tourism industry to a standstill for almost three months, and wiped spring off the holiday calendar.
Giorgio Palmucci, president of the Italian National Tourist Board, ENIT, says the tourism comeback in Italy will coincide with EU measures. Including proposals for tourist corridors, to allow holiday resorts in safe spots to open Europe-wide.
“I am ready to sign bilateral treaties between European countries to encourage the arrival of foreigners as well, while waiting for the emergency to be definitively behind us,” he told weekly travel agency magazine, L’Agenzia di Viaggi Tuesday. “We will only start (with tourists) from the European Union, and at the earliest, in July or August. The problem is that, unlike other sectors, tourism relies on reservations, so the window of time open for operators will be really tight.”
This is not good news for large resorts and hotels. “For this reason, I see a trend towards tourism in second homes, residences, rather than large hotels,” Palmucci predicts. The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities is discussing options, based on examples being set by other European countries. For example with Croatia and the Czech Republic paving the way for a reopening of the Adriatic coast resorts with the proposed corona corridors.
Germanic and possibly Nordic markets will lead the Italy tourism recovery, he added. “The idea is to attract German-speaking markets first up, but there are also many regions in Italy where the virus has been contained, and where it would make sense to attract tourists from European countries, including the Nordic ones, where the health situation has not been dramatic.”
No Non-European Travelers To Italy Until Autumn
ENITs comments mean even if the lifting of travel bans and border closure allow for travelers from other countries, that won’t happen before autumn.
Meantime, Italian tourism campaigns will target European markets and promote Italy as “a safe destination from a health point of view” Palmucci says: "We must counter fear, and say clearly that COVID-19 has not affected our heritage in the least."
Thermal Cameras: What Precautions Await You At Italian Beach Resorts
One measure being floated by the government according to the Corriere della Sera is thermal cameras on beaches. Those with a temperature higher than 37.5° will be denied access. On top of that, beachgoers will need to sign a self-declaration guaranteeing they are not COVID-19 positive, or subject to quarantine.
“There will be dispensers with hand sanitizers and visitors will also find kits with gloves, masks and gels,” the paper reports. “Staff will have to enforce spacing rules: on the beach, at sea, in swimming pools, toilets and showers and other common areas.”
Another regulation may require the spacing of beach umbrellas a whopping 10 meters apart, instead of the current average 3.5 meters. Something which tourism operators in Italy’s Adriatic Riviera immediately dismissed. “Absolutely not possible” says Simone Battistone, president of the Seaside Trade Union of Emilia Romagna. “I think they made a mistake, the proposal is so absurd.” If that distance is enforced, it would be impossible to open the resorts he says. Indeed, how many people can you get on a beach, under umbrellas spaced out like that? Italian papers are predicting rental costs at the resorts will soar accordingly.
COVID Catastrophe For Italian Tourism
Italian tourism has been paralyzed since February 20th ENIT says–“collapsed to zero” is how Giorgio Palmucci put it to a Senate Tourism Committee. With a 40% drop in national and international visitors forecast this year, total visitor numbers will be down by 47 million compared to 2019.
COVID-19's fallout is "very significant, if not catastrophic" Palmucci said. From January-April 2020, international flights to Italy fell by 65%, as they did in France and Spain.