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As direct-to-consumer brands shift more of their marketing dollars towards television, streaming platforms like Hulu are also starting to take up a greater portion of their time and energy. Last year, lingerie startup ThirdLove did two custom sponsorships with Hulu, tied to two Hulu original series, Little Fires Everywhere and Mrs. America. Based on the success of those campaigns, ThirdLove vp of marketing Rebecca Traverzo said the company plans to pursue more custom sponsorships in the future. Meanwhile, telehealth platform Ro recently incorporated Hulu into its Valentine's Day campaign.
Lost packages typically mean lost revenue for retailers. With the current e-commerce sales boom, the chances of having to replace delayed or lost customer orders has increased. Despite having to eat the added costs, a number of brands are figuring out new ways to deal with this mounting problem.
As the hospitality industry continues to adapt to the virtual world, service workers like chefs and bartenders are seeking new opportunities to supplement their lost income. In recent months multiple platforms, like Demi and The Industry Collective, have launched to directly match these experts to everything from brand sponsorships to paying consumers.
After years of focusing on growing within large cities like New York and Los Angeles, skincare startup shop Heyday is going the franchise route to expand. The company, which closed a $20 funding round this month, is hoping the addition of a virtual consultation platform will help it gain a bigger presence.
One of the most frequently touted advantages of going direct-to-consumer is the ability to collect more data on customers. And one of the most straightforward ways companies can do that is by getting customers to fill out a quiz. But as executives at brands like ThirdLove and Clare told Modern Retail, there's more to creating a successful quiz than just following a Buzzfeed-like template.
As e-commerce has grown into a bigger industry, brands now have more ways to build their online stores than ever before. One type of e-commerce architecture that's being talked about more is headless commerce. At its most basic level, headless commerce means that the architecture for the front-end of the website from the back-end, which gives companies more control over how their website looks and runs.
As some retailers start carry more products on their websites, they've found that it can be overwhelming for customers to sort through dozens of different sneakers or leggings. For retailers that sell thousands of SKUs like Bandier, the challenge is to improve the overwhelming experience via recommendations and promoting curated collections on their homepage.
The so-called ugly produce movement has gained steam during the pandemic, with customers turning to services like Misfits Market, Imperfect Foods and Hungry Harvest for their grocery essentials. Now these startups, typically viewed as a niche category within the overall delivery space, are focusing on private label and customization for customer retention.
This week's DTC briefing delves into what's fueling a new crop of new sites that are trying to be both a marketplace and a reviews site for direct-to-consumer brands. At least early on, these sites are better designed to help brands tell their stories, rather than to help customers figure out, for example, which DTC swimsuit brand to buy. And, a Q&A with Win Brands Group co-founder and CEO Kyle Widrick.
Since first launching checkout on Instagram two years ago, Facebook has made news when it's gotten large retailers like Target and Sephora to use the service. But now, it's adding a new feature to the service aimed squarely at attracting more direct-to-consumer startups. On Tuesday, Facebook announced that it would add support for Shop Pay as a payment method through its checkout service .By partnering with Shopify, the main engine powering many direct-to-consumer startups' businesses, it gives Facebook another way to coax these companies into trying its checkout service.
At the very beginning of the pandemic, podcast listenership dipped dramatically due to the lack of commutes. While downloads recovered throughout 2020, brands that advertise on the medium have tweaked their marketing strategies to cater to the new listening habits.
Startup EatOkra wants to become much more than a Yelp for Black business. Its current iteration lets users filter by location and food type, leave reviews and find contact info and open hours for restaurants in their area. But the company said a lot more is on the horizon, including new features that would let users buy from businesses and even home chefs directly in the app. In a dire moment for the Black business community, EatOkra wants to become something bigger.
Caraway, a predominantly direct-to-consumer cookware startup, is kicking off its first physical retail partnership. The startup announced on Tuesday that it's launching a new cookware set that will be sold exclusively in 81 Crate and Barrel stores, and through Crate and Barrel's website. Caraway just launched in November 2019, but CEO and founder Jordan Nathan told Modern Retail that he thought it was important for Caraway to start selling its products through other retailers' websites early on, because "we want to be where customers are buying for big stages of their life."
Buy now, pay later services had a record year in customer acquisition during the pandemic. Now, companies like Afterpay and Affirm are turning to physical stores to market their installment payment options for customers. What began as an e-commerce checkout tool is becoming the latest tool to get shoppers back into stores.
As the number of purchases made online grows, so has the number of startups selling businesses on their checkout experience like Bolt and Fast. Meanwhile, established companies like Shopify and Apple are trying to push greater adoption of their own digital wallet. All are trying to convince direct-to-consumer startups and other e-commerce brands that if they use their incrementally better checkout system, it will result in huge increases in conversion rates and average order values -- but the reality is that only a few will become the go-to checkout options for most consumers.
At the Modern Retail Summit LIVE, retail executives will come together virtually to discuss effective strategies for driving sales by building a loyal customer base both online and offline.Buy Passes


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When COVID-19 hit, Pavel Volkov, a serial entrepreneur and VC at an established crypto fund, realized his mission was to help small businesses. This is how Artifiqa, a community-oriented video reviews platform, was born.
According to recent research, videos have helped to increase product purchases 144% by capturing attention and driving customers to the checkout. The “add-to-cart” conversion rate improves 37% on average. By 2023, livestream shopping is projected to reach $25 billion in the U.S., says Coresight Research, a global advisory and research firm.
“Many of my friends in San Francisco and around the U.S. run small online stores and have been striving to increase sales in tough times,” Volkov said. “I thought videos could help. Across the globe, they have become the most popular choice for content consumption. This means videos help to sell products.”
He tested his idea on other entrepreneurs and it turned out to be successful. The average time that shoppers spent on their websites increased, as well as conversion rates and overall sales.
An idea finds its market
Artifiqa is not Voklov’s first business. Starting in his early 20s, he’s been running an IT firm in Central Asia, representing a big Bulgarian software company. One of his recent projects – a solution for marketing surveys – was launched in 2017. Volkov used blockchain technology to validate if the surveys are fraudulent.
Amir Capital, a cryptocurrency investment fund headquartered in Estonia, became interested in his solution and bought the company. Volkov was headhunted along with his team. He joined the VC world and began to evaluate startups for Amir Capital to identify those with the best investment potential. Despite this new professional frontier, his entrepreneurial dreams remained alive.
“In the beginning of 2020, I traveled to San Francisco and realized I want to create technology that solves problems for other people,” Volkov said. So he left his steady position at Amir Capital and embraced the uncertainty of entrepreneurship.
“My team believed in me and my project, so many decided to join, although it has been a tough time,” Volkov said. He initially invested around $350K of his own funds to build the platform, spending it mostly on the team’s salary and marketing.
Luckily, Volkov’s idea found its market. “We’ve discovered a very good trend,” he said. “The segment of sales through video is growing, but big players haven’t taken over yet. For startups, it’s a blue ocean — a new market with little competition and few barriers.”
Shoppable video for small online stores
Although tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon, TikTok, and Pinterest are investing big into livestream shopping, opportunity is still there. “Amazon Live, for example, is a great solution, allowing retailers to create personality-driven storytelling videos to highlight the brand and products,” Volkov said. “But it’s only available if you sell on Amazon.”
Other shoppable video solutions for e-commerce include Firework, a livestream platform that recently raised $150 million, and VideoWise, the video shopping platform for Shopify brands.
“Our main difference is that we focus on small stores, even dropshipping businesses, selling DIY tools, supplements, cosmetics, and other consumer products.” Volkov said. “There are millions of them, and we are helping to increase their sales.”
According to Volkov, Artifiqa is building a “TikTok for shopping”, a video app that connects small online stores to a platform where they could boost their sales with storytelling.
Artifiqa’s first product, Recomm.app, provides services for e-commerce businesses, helping them to boost sales. In the next few months, Volkov is planning to launch his product on Shopify and other platforms.
The future is Web3
Volkov believes his product has great potential in the metaverse. One of his first projects is a collaboration with New Layer, a Web3 startup allowing users to discover and identify NFTs.
“It’s a similar AR concept to PokemonGo, but the startup is building their own metaverse and a community on the basis of their technology, and our service helps to create videos for these NFT objects,” Volkov said.
The metaverse is becoming a new reality for online stores, allowing consumers to shop in an immersive environment. Successful brands, such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dior are already embracing it.
“There are stores emerging in Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Meta, and they all will need videos,” Volkov said. “Of course, tech giants are looking into this market, and the competition is growing. But I believe there’ll be a place for our services. It’s a huge opportunity for us and all small businesses.”

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Recent in Company News (page 3 of 40)
Jan 31, 2017
To the world travelers and event attendees or to those who are introducing new ingredients and staying in place, Cosmetics & Toiletries and Global Cosmetic Industry would love to post about your new launches.
Jan 30, 2017
Alongside 18 European partners, Lessonia is diving into GENIALG, a European project to develop bioactive ingredients from algae. A number of benefits come included with project participation including the launch of new ingredients for cosmetic applications.
Jan 27, 2017
DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio products is celebrating 10 years of production with an event taking place on March 9, 2017.
Jan 25, 2017
This move is part of the company’s continued efforts to supply specialty silane, silicone and metal organic materials to its customers in both an efficient and timely manner.
Jan 23, 2017
Active Organics and Lipotec LLC will now be combined and operated under the name Lipotec USA, Inc.
Jan 20, 2017
Givaudan freshened up as a new member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to take part in initiatives, creating sustainable food systems.
Jan 19, 2017
This is a strategic move for Azelis as it will help further growth in the Western U.S. as well as increase their resources.
Jan 13, 2017
A portion of the exhibitors at Face & Body Midwest 2017 are local to the area. Register now to see these and other vendors in action in Rosemont, Ill.!
Jan 10, 2017
The NYSCC Suppliers’ Day Kickoff to NYC Awards Night will be held on Tuesday May 2, 2017 from 9pm-1am.
Jan 5, 2017
With a turnover of €8 million in 2015, Serdex has joined Seppic to expand Seppic's portfolio of natural ingredients. Representing a market over €900 million, the global specialty active ingredients for cosmetics are quickly becoming a growing trend with natural active ingredients.
Jan 3, 2017
The PolyPeptide Group announced it will acquire the operations and peptides business of Lonza in Braine-l’Alleud.
Jan 3, 2017
Huntsman Corp. sold its European surfactants business to Innospec Inc., helping to move forward with its debt-reducing efforts.


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Asus has just unveiled what’s likely to be the most talked about product at this week’s Computex trade show in Taipei, a cute talking robot for the home priced at US$599.
Intel and Sony headlined press-conference day, showing off gadgets from collision-avoidance drones to turntables, which are making a resurgence at CES. Here's some of the things that caught our eye.
Any smart TV you buy from Samsung in 2016 will be 'IoT' ready, meaning it will be able to talk to compatible appliances around the home, Samsung said Wednesday.
'We don't ask you for free iPhones,' the singer said this weekend, so Apple shouldn't demand free music
The company operates its content delivery network with 1,000 homegrown, high-density storage systems
Imagination says its new line of PowerVR CPUs are 50 percent faster than their predecessors.
With more than a billion monthly active users, it's easy to imagine that most of the data travelling over Facebook's networks is delivering photos, status updates and "likes" to its end users, but that's far from the case.
Qualcomm's keynote at the International CES was packed with big names and even a Big Bird, but CEO Paul Jacobs' focus was on something much smaller -- a new family of processors aimed at high-end smartphones and tablets.
Qualcomm called on some big names Monday to ensure its opening-night keynote at the International CES wasn't a dud. Steve Ballmer, Big Bird, the pop group Maroon5, and even former Archbishop Desmond Tutu all made appearances to keep things rolling along.
Corning has developed a new version of its Gorilla Glass for smartphones and tablets that it says will result in 40 percent fewer scratches and appear in devices later this year.
The presiding judge will now try to calculate what he thinks is a fair royalty rate for Motorola's patents


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Anheuser-Busch (AB) has recorded a US$390 million drop in sales in the US because of its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The Daily Mail reported Thursday AB blames the volume decline in Bud Light sales for the drop in revenue in its second quarter, with figures showing total US revenue falling by 10.5% compared to one year earlier.
AB said sales to US retailers plunged 14%, adding it had underperformed the industry as a direct result of the collaboration with Mulvaney. For the second quarter of 2022, it sold US$2.73 billion worth of beer to retailers. For the second quarter of 2023, sales dropped to US$2.35 billion.
Bud Light’s popularity has been dropping since AB teamed up with Mulvaney in April and gave him a personalized promotional can.
It blamed the declining sales on the backlash it faced for partnering with Mulvaney and issuing the promotional can.
The can was gifted to Mulvaney who was celebrating 365 days as a girl — the phrase he uses to describe his transition from male to female.
It triggered outrage among drinkers, who accused Bud Light of trying to force progressive beliefs on them and their favourite brand.
The collaboration acted as a lightning rod for people concerned about progressive ideologies and gave them a direct means of hurting a brand which backed them.
Bud Light has been dethroned at the top of the beverage sales by AB brand Modelo Especial, taking more than a US$27 billion hit in market value.
It owns Modelo in countries outside of the US after an anti-trust settlement with the Department of Justice in 2013 over fears it would stifle competition.Sales of Modelo in the US are controlled by rival Constellation Brands and do not count as part of its global volumes.
Modelo surpassed Bud Light’s $297 million, which was a 22.8% fall in sales compared to the same time last year. It reported an 11% increase in sales for the second quarter of this year.
It is the first time since 2001 Bud Light has not been in the top spot, when it dethroned its sister brand Budweiser.
Mulvaney said in June his partnership with Bud Light led to him facing more bullying and transphobia than he would have imagined. “I should have made this video months ago, but I didn’t,” he said.
“I was scared of more backlash and I felt personally guilty for what transpired.” AB said on July 27 it would lay off about 400 employees at its corporate offices because sales have plunged.
It has about 19,000 employees. However, it said job cuts would impact less than 2% of its workforce.
Its restructuring would eliminate corporate and marketing positions at their main US offices in St. Louis, New York City, and Los Angeles.


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Put down that latte.
Drinking coffee from a paper cup could be ‘seriously’ bad for your health, new research conducted in India warns.
This is because you might be consuming thousands of microplastic particles as you sip your hot drink, due to the plastic lining in some cups that makes them waterproof.
And those particles could cause disease.
Study lead author Dr Sudha Goel explained: ‘In the 15 minutes it takes for coffee or tea to be consumed, the microplastic layer on the cup degrades. It releases 25,000 micron-sized particles into the hot beverage.
‘An average person drinking three regular cups of tea or coffee daily, in a paper cup, would end up ingesting 75,000 tiny microplastic particles which are invisible to the naked eye.’
Researchers in India poured ultra-pure water at 85 to 90 degrees celsius into paper cups and left it to sit for 15 minutes.
The liquid was then analysed under a fluorescent microscope, which revealed ‘startling’ results.
The plastic linings of the cups were separately examined for changes in physical, chemical, and mechanical properties.
Along with discovering microplastics in the water after being in the cup and the degradation of the plastic lining, the analysis discovered the presence of heavy metals in the lining, too.
Dr Sudha explained: ‘A disposable paper cup exposed to hot liquid for 15 minutes will have approximately 10.2 billion submicron sized particles.’
This is all quite concerning, as recent research has suggested a possible link between consuming microplastics and cancer and infertility.
Institute director Professor Virendra Tewari said: ‘This study shows careful consideration needs to be done before the promotion of replacements for bio-hazardous products and environmental pollutants.
‘We have been quick to replace plastics cups and glasses with disposable paper cups.’
The research adds to growing concern over the use of single-use cups for hot drinks, which are also not good for the environment.
Experts recommend swapping to a reuseable cup, but acknowledge that it’s difficult to find a style of cup that offers the same convenience as paper ones.
A spokesman for Chennai-based environmental charity Ecolife said: ‘There is definitely a push factor from the companies that install and maintain coffee or tea vending machines that are ubiquitous in offices.
‘Apart from ingesting microplastics, as outlined in the study, paper cups leave behind thin plastics that contaminate the environment.
‘Disposable paper cups do not decompose in a landfill and cannot be recycled. There is a continuous and growing demand for them that can only be met by further deforestation.’
Ecolife is researching non-plastic, plant-based films that can coat paper cups such as and are biodegradable. But they are twice as costly.
It’s worth noting that this research was done in India, and the Paper Cup Alliance says that the materials used in UK cups is not the same.
A spokesperson for the Paper Cup Alliance said: ‘Paper cups manufactured in the UK and EU meet the most stringent health, safety and food hygiene regulations, keeping customers safe.
‘This report looks at cups manufactured for the Indian market and does not represent those used in the UK.
‘Paper cups manufactured and used in the UK do not use HDPE or co-polymers of cellulose, which were used in the cups sampled in India.
‘Consumers can be confident that their cups from UK high street coffee shops are 100% safe, hygienic and recyclable.’
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing email@example.com.


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Nintendo Co. Ltd. this week released Luigi’s Balloon World to Super Mario Odyssey for the Nintendo Switch.
Luigi’s Balloon World is a free update that allows users to hide a balloon in a kingdom within a certain amount of time. Adversely, users have the same amount of time to find a balloon hidden by another player. The mini-game includes online rankings to compete against global users.
In addition, the update adds the Musician Hat and Outfit, Sunshine Shades and Outfit and Knight Helmet and Armor.
Finally, new Coin and Neon filters are added to Snapshot Mode.
Locations include a metropolitan city, forest and a food-based world.
A new ally, Cappy, allows Mario to inhabit different characters in the game. In addition, a second player can control Cappy for local co-op functionality.
It sells at $59.99.


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Quarters Arcade Bar, Salt Lake City’s first game-themed watering hole, will open Thursday, offering serious and amateur gamers a chance to play checkers or “Space Invaders” and sip a sling at the same time.
The basement bar is at 5 E. 400 South, in the former Manhattan Club spot, steps from TRAX and Main Street’s growing entertainment, restaurant and bar scene.
The owners and operators, Michael Eccleston and Katy Willis, bought dozens of games for customers to play, from pinball machines and Skee-Ball to retro board favorites and classic arcade titles like “Mortal Kombat,” “Street Fighter” and “X-Men.”
The centerpiece, though, is “Killer Queen,” an arcade-style video game that up to 10 people can play at one time. Eccleston and Willis launched a successful fundraising campaign to collect the $13,000 needed to buy the strategy game, designed for “talking and meeting people.”
“Killer Queen is the epitome of that,” said Willis. Players must interact with their teammates to accomplish various tasks, from filling their hive with nectar to assassinating the enemy queen. About 50 of the games are known to exist worldwide.
Willis said Quarters plans to host tournaments and a league for “Killer Queen” as well as other popular games.
Those who contributed to the fundraiser will get a chance to play the games Thursday from noon to 4 p.m., before the bar officially opens, said Willis.
Encouraging people to put down their electronic devices and have a personal interaction is one of the reasons the owners were drawn to the arcade bar concept.
It’s also one of the reasons the concept has become a trend across the nation, they say.
Alongside the video games are other classic pastimes, such as Monopoly, foosball and Dungeons and Dragons.
Quarters will serve local beer, wine and craft cocktails that have gamer themes such as the Techno Pagan, a reference to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” It’s made with tequila, lime juice, orange-flavored liqueur — garnished with a glowing ice cube.
There also will be simpler drinks called slings, like the Red Rum — think “The Shining” — made with Mountain Dew Code Red and rum.
“It tastes like a strawberry cream soda,” said Willis.
Eccleston and Willis have spent months remodeling the 7,000-square-foot space, which was funded in part with $150,000 from Salt Lake City’s Economic Development Loan Fund.
Willis says the loan was a unique and much simpler way to secure funding than a traditional small-business loan through banks.
“It’s a resource that other cities don’t have and really made us allies,” she said. “Going through the inspection process, it was good to have someone at the city helping us.”
As part of the remodel, the pair restored the Manhattan Club’s outdoor neon sign and other pieces from the building’s past, including an old telephone booth, the white grand piano and a mural of the Big Apple.


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State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said the government will introduce a virtual platform to help global investors effectively operate their businesses in Bangladesh.
The virtual business platform or meta version involves augmented, virtual, and mixed reality technologies, facilitating the users to interact in a fully-realized computer-generated world.
Palak said many traders can’t do business directly by ensuring a physical presence. Through this platform, it will be possible to invest or conduct business activities in Bangladesh for global business.
He was speaking at the ‘Digital Bangladesh IT Investment Summit’ at Trump Tower in New York on Monday.
The conference was organized under the chairmanship of Bikarna Kumar Ghosh, Managing Director, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority.


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High development costs and anunstable regulatory environment have increased average solar power purchaseagreement (PPA) prices in Europe to a new high of €76.84 (US$82.4)/MWh in Q42022.
Prices have increased 60% year overyear, and are up 11.4% from the previous quarter as continued inflation, risinginterest rates, supply chain issues and permitting roadblocks add to the tallyof headwinds developers are facing, according to PPA services company LevelTenEnergy.
Emerging markets in central andeastern Europe have not faced the same situation with demand lower due tobuyers used to short-term contracts from fossil fuels.
Markets such as Greece and Hungaryare gaining traction as they are less saturated and with interest in solar PPAsrising. Both countries accounted for 21% of Q4 2022 solar offer volume,according to Frederico Carita, senior manager of developer services, Europe atLevelTen Energy.
Demand from corporate buyerscontinues to stay high, despite PPA prices increasing too, with Italy (up 20%from Q3) and the UK rising significantly.
The price increase in corporate PPAin the UK during Q4 was due to less capacity available in the market as in thepast months 2.2GW of solar PV was awarded through the Contracts for Differencescheme.
“Corporate buyers who can move withspeed and efficiency will continue to enter into highly desirable renewablePPAs: providing them with increased protection from Europe’s volatile energymarkets while securing the GOs they need to reach their sustainability goals,”said Flemming Sørensen, VP of Europe at LevelTen Energy.
With Europe approving a €180/MWhrevenue cap last year, and with some countries setting their own price cap(such as the Netherlands with €130/MWh), developers have faced uncertainties asto the implications of the measure.
Europe’s regulation changes anduncertainty has contributed to a scarcity of PPA, with demand for renewableenergy PPAs exceeding the current supply.
“Current offers in this marketenvironment need to factor in the potential for financially harmful policiespassing in the future, which applies further upward price pressure,” saidPlácido Ostos, Europe senior energy analyst at LevelTen Energy, adding thatdevelopers have to reduce investments and raise PPA prices until theuncertainty period is gone, which led to fewer offers at the moment.
Figures quoted come from LevelTen’sP25 PPA price index.
Spain remains a strong and activemarket for corporate PPAs in Europe as the country continues to have highlevels of land available, and due to its strong solar resources.


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Nonprofit Group Says Asbestos Found in 15 Percent of Talc-Based Cosmetics Products
December 3, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– A nonprofit, non-partisan organization has reported the results of a study it commissioned, saying that asbestos was found in almost 15 percent of talc-based cosmetic product samples.
In a Nov. 25 press release, the Environmental Working Group stated that the study, published in Environmental Health Insights, highlights the fact that methods used to screen talc supplies in the cosmetics industry are “inadequate.”
The study comes months after Johnson & Johnson announced that it would end the sale of talc-based Baby Powder in North America. For more on the announcement, see the May 2020 issue of HarrisMartin’s Talcum …


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February 7, 2013 BY Aaron Hope
Asics has benefitted from an impressive array of strong collaborations over the past several years, and here’s a closer look at proof that their in-house designs have just as much potential. Set to join the Gel Saga with a similar insole graphic, the Asics Gel Lyte III ‘Urban Camo’ offers a crisp grey and navy suede build with electric blue accents that hint at the range of blue tones on the camouflage footbed. Have a closer look below so you can size these up against the GL3’s sizeable selection of suede hits and stick with Sneaker News for release info.
Tags: Asice Gel Lyte III


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ROCKLEIGH, N.J. (October 16, 2020) For everyone’s safety the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon has gone virtual, but that doesn’t mean runners have to miss out on the visceral experience of participating in the world’s largest marathon.
With 25,000 runners expected to register for the race, Volvo Car USA, in partnership with Spotify and Heard City, have created the Run NY Playlist, a one-of-a-kind audio experience that gives runners a free and safe way to immerse themselves in the unmistakable, and often unheard, sounds of New York City.
Available today on Spotify, the audio experience features real audio from various New York City neighborhoods along the TCS New York City Marathon route that runs from Staten Island to Central Park.
The playlist is hosted by Olympian and winner of the 2009 TCS New York City Marathon and the 2014 Boston Marathon, Meb Keflezighi. Throughout the audio experience, Meb shares personal stories from past marathons to create a compelling storytelling experience alongside music from a variety of top- and emerging artists.
Along the journey, listeners will also hear familiar sounds from throughout the city, including the hustle and bustle of local streets, music from talented street performers and of course the iconic NYC Marathon crowd cheering them on.
As the official vehicle sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon, Volvo Car USA is encouraging participants to join New York Road Runners’ largest virtual marathon to-date for the chance to win the Volvo car of their dreams, while also providing opportunities for runners to celebrate the completion of their 26.2 mile journey. These include:
“While participants won’t be running through all five boroughs of New York City this year, it was important for Volvo to provide a safe alternative for those motivated by the unmistakable ambience of the city,” said Rick Bryant, Sales Operations, Volvo Car Americas Region. “We hope runners all over the world use the Run NY playlist to help them reach their goal of completing this iconic race.”
While the in-person gathering of the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon has been cancelled this year, the virtual marathon offers a chance for runners around the world to participate in this popular race. Volvo, a partner of New York Road Runners, is also activating the virtual marathon in other markets around the globe.
With more than 300 runners across Mexico already registered, TCS New York City Marathon Volvo XC90 Pace Cars will circulate near popular running parks and routes in Mexico City for the next few weeks, while another will be prominently displayed at the city’s airport. Past Mexican winners German Silva and Adriana Fernandez will serve as Brand Ambassadors.
The pace car will also be on display at local Volvo retailers, both in Mexico and Brazil.
For more information on the Run for Volvo Cars Sweepstakes, including official rules, and how to enter, visit RunforVolvoCars.com.
About Volvo Car USA
Volvo Car USA, LLC, (www.volvocars.com/us) is a subsidiary of Volvo Car Group of Gothenburg, Sweden. VCUSA provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States. For more information please refer to the VCUSA media website at: http://www.media.volvocars.com/us.


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Alphabet Inc’s Google will begin paying Agence France-Presse for its news content as part of broad five-year partnership announced Wednesday that marks one of the biggest licensing deals struck by a tech giant under a new French law.
News organizations, which have been losing ad revenue to online aggregators such as Google and Facebook, have complained for years about the tech companies using stories in search results or other features without payment.
New laws in France and Australia – fueled by media lobbying and public pressure – have given publishers greater leverage, leading to a slew of licensing deals around the world collectively worth billions of dollars.
The AFP accord follows France enacting a copyright law that creates “neighboring rights,” requiring big tech companies to open talks with news publishers that want a licensing payment.
Google declined to disclose financial terms of the deal, but confirmed it would run for five years.


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Will the late Prime Day sabotage or catapult holiday spending?
Amazon.com’s Prime Day, which traditionally takes place in July, is expected this year to land in October, possibly jumpstarting or rivaling holiday campaigns.
Indeed, Prime Day may be more popular than key dates during the Christmas selling season. Coresight Research’s weekly survey of U.S. consumers on the coronavirus fallout from August 12 found one-third expecting to buy on Prime Day, well above the one-quarter expecting to buy on Cyber Monday and 16 percent on Black Friday.
Amazon’s sales from the 48-hour Prime Day in July 2019 exceeded its Black Friday and Cyber Monday events combined.
Prime Day, which offers exclusive deals for Prime members, was delayed this year due to challenges Amazon has had filling orders due to the coronavirus crisis.
On its fourth-quarter conference call on July 30, Amazon said the event would take place sometime in the fourth quarter. The week of October 5th is reportedly a “placeholder date,” according to an email sent to third-party sellers obtained by CNBC.
Further COVID-19 outbreaks could push Prime Day into November which could cannibalize holiday sales to a greater degree. Peter Kearns, former Amazon executive and VP of partnerships at Buy Box Experts, told Fox Business that holding Prime Day in early fall would help Amazon “spread out consumer buying” and also “lessen the impact on associates around the holidays.”
In recent years, Amazon’s competitors also took advantage of the hoopla over Prime Day. A YouGov poll last year found Walmart, Target, eBay, Best Buy and Macy’s among the biggest beneficiaries from running special deals on the same dates.
In an article on Forbes.com from Kiri Masters, CEO, Bobsled Marketing, and a RetailWire Braintrust panelist, said she found that some sellers are seeking to avoid investing in Prime Day this year because it’s too close to their holiday plans. However, she believes the event will still offer opportunities to drive sales, acquire new customers and test strategies in a challenging year.
Ms. Masters wrote, “With the risks and unknowns all weighed and considered, the brands who push forward and invest in Prime Day are likely to see a good return — especially if their competitors are sitting this one out.”
- US Survey Update: How Consumers Expect To Shop for the Holidays (Select Findings) – Coresight Research
- Amazon delays Prime Day until October due to coronavirus – CNBC
- Amazon Prime Day is coming in the fourth quarter – CNET
- Amazon Prime Day is coming to the U.S. this year, but ‘later than usual’ – USA Today
- Amazon.com Announces Second Quarter Results – Amazon.com
- Amazon (AMZN) Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript – The Motley Fool
- Is Amazon facing a crossroads with the coronavirus pandemic? – RetailWire
- Prime Day paid off for Amazon – but also for Walmart and Target – YouGov
- Amazon Prime Day sales may shrink if it’s too close to Christmas – Fox Business
- How brands are choosing whether or not to invest in Prime Day – Forbes
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: How disruptive might Prime Day be to holiday selling, and what difference would an early October vs. November date make? Would you encourage other retailers to run major campaigns around Prime Day or focus on traditional holiday campaigns?
Join the Discussion!
21 Comments on "Will the late Prime Day sabotage or catapult holiday spending?"
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Principal, Retail Technology Group
I tend to think in terms of pent-up demand and availability of disposable income. Whether Prime Day is held in July or October, if consumers want to buy and have the money, they will buy. Big competitors to Amazon are not going to let this event go unmatched. The challenge will be to order the right goods in time for whenever the events take place.
Bob is correct – this will depend on the disposable income of families or how confident they feel to spend their money. Regardless, Amazon will have company from other retailers – you don’t know what will happen and no one likes to get left out when the sale is what matters.
Managing Director, GlobalData
I don’t think Prime Day will provide a major boost to holiday spending. However I do think it will distort and elongate the trading calendar. Essentially, it will mean the golden quarter becomes one big promotion fest starting in October. While all the deals and discounts may take their toll on margins, a longer holiday season is actually a plus. It will allow retailers to more easily manage the surge in digital demand which would otherwise put enormous pressure on fulfillment operations.
VP of Strategy, Aptos
Historically, retailers have not been able to get consumers to think about holiday any sooner than, say November 15th. Holding a big event like Prime Day in November is really just promoting at a time when people are already starting to think about spending.
I think most important for this holiday season is going to be capacity. Parcel shipping capacity, and retailer fulfillment capacity. We still can’t run DC’s (or stores, for that matter) at full capacity. Which means getting consumers to spread out their spending beyond the usual concentrated holiday season is going to be critical.
My advice to retailers: jump on an October Prime Day bandwagon as soon as possible. Not just to make sure Amazon doesn’t dominate the mindshare of consumers, but also to make sure that you can spread holiday demand over a wider period – simply so that you have the ability to fulfill it all.
Senior Vice President Marketing, PDI
What Nikki said. That’s an excellent point about having time to fulfill when supply chains still see disruption. Retailers must capitalize on the momentum Prime Day creates – whether it’s in October or November.
Amazon currently dictates what’s happening in retail, now they’re dictating holidays.
Founder & Principal, PINE
I think the closer Prime Day gets to the beginning of the holiday selling season, the more disruptive it will be. Although a friend sent me a picture from his Costco and they had Christmas trees out two weeks ago so I wonder if there are “seasons” anymore.
I would encourage other retailers to think through their categories and overlap with holiday purchases. Figure out where they can/can’t play, where they can/can’t win and run campaigns accordingly.
At the same time, front loading campaigns to be earlier in the season might alleviate the high likelihood of product availability, supply chain and delivery challenges closer to December.
Founding Partner, Merchandising Metrics
An October Prime Day creates the opportunity for many retailers to have a better than would otherwise be expected holiday season. The more sales in the bank the earlier is key. Malls are going to be difficult at best to shop during peak holiday weeks. And think of the surge FedEx, USPS and UPS are going to experience. And all bets are off if another COVID-19 outbreak hits. So happy Halloween — uhmm, Merry Christmas — oh heck — happy holidays!
Founder, President, Bakertown Consulting
If a family has a set amount of disposable income for holiday shopping, the addition of Prime Day in October or early November just gives another option to spend. For other retailers, if they don’t mirror an event at the same time, they will lose out on an opportunity to sell their merchandise.
I think consumers will react positively to having another sale event to get holiday shopping done sooner vs. later.
This actually could be a blessing in disguise for all retail as there may be less pressure at the very end to fulfill last minute purchases as the spending was done earlier in the season.
Chief Data Officer, CaringBridge
In a normal year, we could discuss whether or not Amazon would be able to actually shift the holiday season forward with the sheer magnitude of their reach and the loyalty of their Prime customers. This year, I think the greatest factor will be whether or not Congress passes the extra financial support legislation, and when. If an extra $600 per week appears in consumers’ accounts, then I do think Amazon will drive the season earlier. If not, then I think that consumers will hang on and wait for better deals and for the money to arrive.
Professor, International Business, Guizhou University of Finance & Economics and University of Sanya, China.
The one absolute is that there is a finite amount of money to spend in the consumer’s hands. They will spend what they can spend on the holiday season no matter if the holiday season stretches on for four or five months or is consolidated into two or three months.
I’d encourage retailers to watch their margins. You may steal some business from a competitor, but you are not going to expand the market.
Content Marketing Strategist
Holding Prime Day in Q4 will give Amazon a bigger share of overall retail holiday sales. Yet 2020 sales will be lower than 2019’s total. As a result, a Q4 date would be positive for Amazon and consumers, and negative for rivals.
Amazon’s stealth and ambiguous timing makes it hard for rivals to plan simultaneous sales events to compete on Prime Day. This edge means Prime Day 2020 could resemble a global sales extravaganza like Alibaba’s Singles Day by focusing on Amazon as it jumpstarts holiday spending.
Since March, Amazon has refined supply chain processes and gathered more consumer data to improve Prime Day’s top line performance. The e-commerce giant will reach more consumers in Q4 than its usual July timeline, especially if there are new fall lockdowns.
Overall consumers will gain more choice, more competitive offers and a better chance of receiving items before the holidays.
Principal, Cassarco Strategy & Analytic Consultants
Four factors will make this a holiday season like none before: 1.) Prime Day in October; 2.) the likelihood that Black Friday will not be the in-store shopping event that it has historically been; 3.) the likelihood that gift givers will see fewer of their gift recipients in person this year, and; 4) supply will be dodgy.
Throw out everything you know about holiday shopping, this one is without precedent. Walmart, Target and Amazon will set records this year. For everyone else, success this season will be driven by each retailer’s ability to adapt quickly during an unpredictable fourth quarter.
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
It is true that it all hinges on disposable income. But in huge part it also rests on emotion and I think Prime Day is Round 1. It will only fire up consumers, and Round 2 will come up in November.
Director of Marketing, Körber
This is an unprecedented year so it is difficult to predict how consumers will spend this holiday season, however overall spending is likely to be down. With a Prime Day so close to the holiday season, Amazon may be set up well to get a jump on consumers’ dollars over other retailers if they decide to utilize traditional timing for their holiday campaigns.
Global Industry Architect, Microsoft Retail
It could well have a beneficial impact for others by bringing forward holiday spending for all. 2020 has been a difficult year for many and it could be a diversion for some people.
The term “revenge spending” was a new one for me this year and some may feel they are seeking to start thinking about Christmas earlier than usual.
October vs. November might yield some additional buys for Amazon – if they hold the event in November it might automatically slot some buyers for holiday purchases vs. Prime Day deal/impulse purchases.
If Prime Day is held in October, I think it makes sense for others to plan around it — the big ones will do so regardless of date. If it is in November, I guess the holiday push just starts earlier for competitors. We thought the holiday push would start earlier this year, anyway.
Content Marketing Manager, Surefront
My theory is that consumer budget constraints will lead to earlier, more strategic holiday spending. Families that suddenly find themselves in the low-income bracket as a result of the pandemic will spend more time planning purchases for their loved ones.
We’re talking less impulse purchasing and more (online) coupon clipping. The most important move for Amazon and other heavy-hitters is to start planning their holiday promotions early, make them significant, and make sure that customers have time to plan for them.
Retail Strategy - UST Global
With all the uncertainty, and the complete rearrangement of the normal seasonal shopping curve, go early and go deep. All those people home working and browsing the web while no one can see what’s on their screen … home office themes will be big!
Associate Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology
Let’s not forget the other major event impacting holiday selling … the US Presidential election. A change in the White House may make consumers tighten up the purse strings while no change in the white house may erupt in more social divide.
Prime Day will be monstrous this year with pent up demand, so all retailers should be on notice. Too early and it may miss the holiday selling opportunity, too late and it may be a loss based on the results of the election. I would say early November would be a better bet to balance out demand and supply chain capacity. Also, most consumers over-spend on holiday versus non-holiday.
October is too early. All Retailers should ABSOLUTELY join the bandwagon, as Nikki says.
I think that there are two camps right now: people who are hurting and NOT doing well, and people who are not doing badly. That group I believe is feeling pent up frustration and I believe those people have money to spend, and I think they will spend on Prime Day. This might be about an early start to holiday season needs and gifts, but I believe will also be things for themselves. I believe that others will capitalize on Prime Day with their own specials — as they should capitalize on this event — as it is becoming tradition.
Consultant, Total Wine & More
This year’s holiday season will be tough for retailers and cash-strapped consumers alike. Retailers absolutely should be looking for new ways to provide quality savings and discounts to shoppers throughout the holiday season, including offering additional deals around Prime Day. Amazon’s exceptional performance this year shows that retail customers appreciate the convenience, flexibility, and safety of the online shopping experience.
An October date for offering Prime Day deals should be excellent timing for kick-starting the holiday season without overcrowding November and December with deals. This year gives retailers the opportunity to establish a strong and consumer-friendly online presence, and providing enticing online deals in early October is a perfect way to do that.


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By Aparajita Saxena
Dec 29 (Reuters) – Zach Lazarus, chief executive officer of A Green Alternative, a marijuana dispensary in San Diego, California, has lost count every time he re-opened a bank account after it was closed because of his connection to the cannabis industry.
Lazarus has had to play a game of “whack-a-mole” with banks, likening his frustrations to a popular arcade game in which a player repeatedly gets rid of something only to have it re-appear somewhere else.
“We have had Chase Manhattan and Wells Fargo shut us down … my wife’s personal bank accounts and credit cards have been shut down as well, all because I’m in the cannabis industry,” he says.
Lazarus and other marijuana business owners in the $8 billion industry resort to cash-only transactions for business and to pay employees because they cannot get access to banks.
Despite making legal inroads in the United States, with California the latest state to legalize marijuana for recreational use starting Jan. 1, owners still feel the pinch.
The main problem is the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, alongside heroin, LSD, and ecstasy – making it almost impossible to get banking services.
Banks are governed by federal laws and doing business or extending services to the firms means tougher scrutiny, often at significant costs, as banks have to do their own due diligence to prove transactions are legal.
They are required to prove that the firms are not selling to minors, funding crime groups, and not using the pretext of selling marijuana to push illegal drugs among other things. http://bit.ly/2ynhLyE
A poll conducted by industry publication Marijuana Business Daily in 2015 showed 60 percent of the companies operating in the cannabis industry reported not even having a basic bank account. http://bit.ly/2nSr5dQ
The void makes it hard for cannabis companies to conduct basic financial transactions such as deposit money, receive federal insurance or pay taxes.
“Most marijuana companies have a courier service, or a Brinks truck, or a big wheelbarrow full of cash that they send to the Internal Revenue Service to pay their taxes,” says Stuart Titus, CEO of California-based Medical Marijuana Inc.
With an estimated 165,000 to 230,000 full and part-time workers, according to Marijuana Business Daily, many marijuana business owners pay their employees in cash. http://bit.ly/2nQBeYw
“It is basically a kind of underground, cash-based economy,” said Titus.
Sapphire Blackwood, director of public affairs for the Association of Cannabis professionals, says she got paid in cash at her last firm, a San Diego-based cannabis consulting company.
“Because I get paid in cash, and even though I did no illegal activity, I’ve had to deposit so much cash every week and every so often … I felt like I was being stared at by the banks. It’s frightening,” she said.
Blackwood’s current firm also had banking problems. All the deposit accounts were closed because the word “cannabis” was in the name of the company, she said.
Read More Here.
(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)


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Japanese car maker Honda has begun limited mass production of a hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle.
The Honda FCX Clarity will be the world's first commercially available hydrogen fuel cell car.
However, the company plans to deliver only 200 of the vehicles during the next three years.
A few dozen will be made available in the US and Japan during the next 12 months, but there are no plans yet announced to offer the cars in other countries.
The vehicles are being leased to customers at a cost of $600 per month through three dealers in California. Honda has not said when it plans to begin full mass production.
"This is an important day in the history of fuel cell vehicle technology and a monumental step closer to the day when fuel cell cars will be part of the mainstream," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda.
The cars are fuelled with hydrogen gas which is compressed for storage inside the fuel cell. Honda has developed technology for producing hydrogen from natural gas, to enable owners to fuel their own vehicles.
The fuel cells charge batteries to drive an electric motor. Fully-fuelled, the car has a maximum range of 280 miles, according to Honda.
Lifetime leasing costs for the vehicles are apparently well below Honda's current manufacturing costs, according to earlier statements by the company.
Cotton seedling freezes to death as Chang'e-4 shuts down for the Moon's 14-day lunar night
Fortnite easily out-earns PUBG, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018
Meteor showers as a service will be visible for about 100 kilometres in all directions
Saturn's rings only formed in the past 100 million years, suggests analysis of Cassini space probe data
New findings contradict conventional belief that Saturn's rings were formed along with the planet about 4.5 billion years ago


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Digital TV News: Videa
Videa announces spot television industry’s first open data exchange APIs
Sep 24, 2019 – Videa has made available free, transparent, TIP-based API specifications helping to pave the way for programmatic transactions and software integrations. The APIs include specifications for inventory, RFPs, proposals, orders, makegoods and pre and post logs.
News categories: Videa, Shereta Williams, Rob Weisbord, Dave Villano, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, USA
Videa launches forecasted ratings tool
Jul 24, 2019 – Videa has launched a forecasted ratings tool that brings faster, more efficient and statistically accurate forecasts to its end-to-end solution. The technology picks up viewership patterns and infer future ratings from the patterns.
News categories: Videa, Shereta Williams, Mary Barnas, Alan Wolk, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, USA
Videa to use Red Bee Media metadata in automated TV ad offering
Apr 24, 2019 – Red Bee Media has entered into an agreement with Videa. Videa's platform includes machine learning based TV ad forecasting algorithms. To optimize its algorithmic data services offering, Videa will include textual metadata from Red Bee Media.
News categories: Red Bee Media, Videa, Chris Stark SR, Brett Adamczyk, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, USA
Videa research connects adaptability to staying relevant in TV
Apr 2, 2019 – Videa has released the results of a survey yielding insightful perspectives from more than two hundred marketing and advertising professionals with six or more years of experience in the TV advertising and buying industry.
News categories: Videa, Mary Barnas, Advertising, Digital TV, Market Research, USA
Videa platform integrates Comscore TV Data
Jan 23, 2019 – Videa has announced that it will use Comscore TV data within its automation platform. The addition of Comscore TV data grants media buyers and sellers access to Comscore campaign measurement insights within the Videa platform.
News categories: Videa, Comscore, Mary Barnas, Steve Walsh, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, USA
Cox Media and Nielsen renew TV and audio measurement agreement
Jan 17, 2019 – Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) and Cox Media Group have announced a renewal agreement for television and audio measurement services. The agreement covers all Cox Media Group's local television and radio stations as well as CoxReps and Videa.
News categories: Nielsen, Cox Media Group, Megan Clarken, Kim Guthrie, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, USA
Google joins the Streaming Video Alliance
May 10, 2018 – The Streaming Video Alliance, an industry forum solving challenges to improve the video experience, has announced at its Annual Meeting that Google has joined as its newest member.
News categories: Streaming Video Alliance, Viacom, Google, Jason Thibeault, Glenn Goldstein, Alec Hendry, Content Distribution, OTT, QoE, Worldwide
4KUNIVERSE selects Accedo for 4K SVOD on Amazon Fire TV
Mar 21, 2017 – 4KUNIVERSE has announced the launch of its 4K Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) service on Amazon Fire TV, created and powered by Accedo. 4KUNIVERSE offers Ultra HD TV series, movies, documentaries and sports.
News categories: Accedo, 4KUNIVERSE, David George, Matthew Mancinelli, Canada, Digital TV, OTT, Set Top Box, USA, UX
Videantis Announces Support for WebM Project and VP8 Codec
May 21, 2010 – videantis has announced that the WebM project and the open source VP8 video codec released by Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will be supported on the videantis v-MPx programmable processor platform.
News categories: videantis, Media Player, Semiconductor, Silicon IP
- Youfone Android TV service powered by 24i and Amino
- Synamedia launches addressable advertising solution
- Liberty Global to acquire Sunrise Communications by tender offer
- FOX News launches international D2C streaming service
- Ten carriers in Germany and Austria choose Ocilion for IPTV
- BluTV DTH launches in Brazil on EUTELSAT 65 West A
- Viya TV+ launches in the US Virgin Islands with Mirada
- OTT TV and video revenues at $83 billion in 2019
- 41.4% of TVs in Latin America are Smart
- DISH Network pay TV subscribers down 51,000 in 2Q 2020
- Pirate subscription TV services now a billion-dollar U.S. industry
- PAOK FC OTT platform built with Insys Sport on AWS
- SLING TV in-app guide integrates local OTA channels on LG Smart TVs
- Conviva releases State of Streaming Q2 report
- Stay-at-home providing springboard for French SVOD
- Survata announces enhanced CTV measurement suite
- Ofcom releases Media Nations 2020 report
- RADIO.COM expands connected TV footprint with Vewd
- NAGRA multi-DRM selected for Grupo Express OTT service in Argentina
- V-Nova and NETINT collaborate on MPEG-5 LCEVC transcoding


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Tf2 Halloween 2020 Items
Yet somehow the classic game reportedly attracted more players than it has in years, thanks to its Halloween event Scream Fortress XII–though observers caution not all of the players logged are real . While Team Fortress 2 was one of the biggest games around in the late 2000s, many gamers probably don’t even give it a second thought in 2020. Yet somehow the classic game reportedly attracted more . Halloween is almost here and while it may look a little different this year, there’s nothing stopping us from getting our DIY on. Etsy says it has a 27% increase in searches for Halloween items in the .
I went ahead and did my own Halloween 2020 Cosmetic Case
- EREBUS (TF2 HALLOWEEN MAP 2020) YouTube.
- Very Scary Halloween Special Official TF2 Wiki | Official Team .
- Probably the most infuriating halloween restricted item : tf2.
Best TF2 Spy Halloween Costume Guide
From Destiny 2 to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there are plenty of video game Halloween events in 2020 to keep you entertained plus new clothing items, candy, and most importantly – pumpkins. . Kids and pets decked out in spooky costumes won’t line the streets of Mount Vernon Avenue for Del Ray’s annual Halloween Parade in 2020 due to the pandemic. But organizers will host some of the parade .
Worth sacrificing two Halloween items. I love this damm game : tf2
We may not have been able to go anywhere or do anything or see anyone in 2020 — but we did get to watch a lot of television. Tis the season to be spooky, even amid coronavirus. Here’s a look at fall fun and Halloween events in and around Manhattan. .
So you can Rebuild a hat in TF2, you can also rebuild Halloween
- Scream Fortress 2020 has begun | Rock Paper Shotgun.
- Predictions for Next Year Reskinned Halloween Case : tf2.
- There’s no new TF2 Halloween event this year, but all the old ones .


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KUALA LUMPUR -- China is the preferred investment destination for Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional, thanks to growing bilateral ties and the mushrooming of technology companies there in recent years.
While the bulk of its investments through equity shareholding is still focused domestically, its overseas exposure has also been climbing steadily. According to a Khazanah statement on Wednesday, China tops the list, accounting for 7% of its realizable asset value of 157.2 billion ringgit ($40 billion) in 2017, surpassing Singapore which stood at 5.8% since Khazanah was established in 1994. The fund's RAV, the market value of all its equities, securities and cash, grew 29.2% from 2012 when investment in China accounted for just 2.2%, trailing Singapore's 3.7%.
Last year, Khazanah's investment in China yielded 1.8 billion ringgit in RAV through e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and another 800 million ringgit through equity trading. Under a bilateral arrangement, Beijing granted Malaysia access to its capital markets through its Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program.
Khazanah started to dabble in the technology sector in 2012, marking a move to diversify and create value, as it strengthens investments in other key sectors including telecommunications, power, healthcare and property.
"Investing in tech [companies] is very risky, as you can imagine there are a lot of things going on with technology," Azman Mokhtar, Khazanah managing director told reporters. "But I am comforted and encouraged that we have made big gains on Alibaba and we have reinvested them carefully."
The fund made a gain of nearly $1 billion from a partial divestment of its stake when Alibaba went public in 2014, and has since reinvested in over 30 tech companies globally.
Although investment into the sector in 2017 was not as big as the previous year, Khazanah said it would continue to increase its shares. Last year, it invested in Koubei.com, an Alibaba affiliate that provides information on restaurants, real estates and other consumer services. Other investments include France's Sigfox and Viet Thai International, a Vietnamese consumer and retail outfit.
In Malaysia, Khazanah's investment portfolio in strategic companies including Tenaga Nasional, CIMB Group Holdings, Axiata Group and IHH Healthcare are among the top 10 biggest companies by market capitalization. Like Singapore's Temasek Holdings, Khazanah has been playing a major role in Malaysia socio-economic development following a strategic revamp in 2004. Since then, it has made 88 billion ringgit worth of investment and contributed 11.7 billion ringgit in dividends and taxes to the state coffer.


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Domino's Pizza Inc (DPZ)
$364.59 2.15 (0.59%)
19:59 EST DPZ Stock Quote Delayed 30 Minutes
Previous Close -
Market Cap 15.42B
PE Ratio 55.49
Volume (Avg. Vol.) 624,800
Day's Range 360.01 - 368.47
52-Week Range 275.22 - 435.58
Dividend & Yield 2.11 (0.58%)
DPZ Stock Predictions, Articles, and Domino's Pizza Inc News
- From InvestorPlace
- From the Web
With 2020 delivering surprisingly robust returns for risk-on names, it’s tempting to ride that bandwagon. However, some evidence indicates that you should turn instead to safe stocks to buy.
It's been a tough year for restaurants, but digital sales and adoption of new technology can mean better days for these restaurant stocks.
AI stocks are moving to the forefront of investors' attention. In many cases, they may not realize how many companies are already on board.
Microsoft, Workhorse, AT&T and Domino's Pizza were our top stock trades for Monday. With that in mind, let's look at the charts.
Domino's Pizza (DPZ) earnings for the pizza chain's third quarter of 2020 have DPZ stock falling Thursday on a missed EPS estimate.
Work-from-home is an obvious tailwind for DPZ stock. But industry dominance and an attractive model underpin a long-term case as well.
The pre-pandemic trajectory of DPZ stock should continue as quarterly earnings should get a boost from stay-at-home food orders.
DPZ stock fell in the six weeks after its stellar earnings report. But analysts believe that the strong fundamentals from the prior report are still in place.
Beyond Meat has the best performance year to date of food stocks with a market cap of $2 billion or more. Here are six others to buy.
Delicious menus, pandemic innovations and solid fundamentals make these seven food stocks great buys right here.
By Alex Sirois
These seven consumer discretionary stocks are well-positioned to benefit shareholders regardless of the pandemic's economic toll.
By Joel Baglole
Investors can count on these growth stocks to deliver consistent, positive returns for the remainder of this year and beyond.
Domino's Pizza (DPZ) earnings for the company's second quarter of 2020 have DPZ stock dipping lower on Thursday despite beating estimates.
If the two companies were to merge, JD.com would definitely be the buyer with annual operating profits in 2019 of $1.3 billion compared to an operating loss of $153.2 million for MercadoLibre.
DPZ stock may have stretched itself for the moment, but Domino’s contactless delivery makes it a relevant pick for the new normal.
You won't find any old, stale leftovers here. These are the pizza stocks with the best upside potential in a post-coronavirus world.
From Market News Video
Navellier RatingsPowered by Portfolio Grader


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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday said it injected 337.16 million dollars in the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) in its first intervention in the inter-bank foreign market for November.
A statement issued in Abuja by Isaac Okorafor, the bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, noted that the amount was in addition to 56.17million Chinese Yuan (CNY) in the spot and short tenored forwards segment of the market.
Okorafor stated that the intervention was for requests in the agriculture and raw materials sectors.
He added that “the Chinese Yuan, on the other hand, was for Renminbi denominated Letters of Credit.”
The director stated that the market had continued to enjoy stability owing to the regular interventions by the bank, adding that it had also guaranteed stable exchange rate for the Naira.
He assured that the CBN remained committed to ensuring that all the sectors of the forex market continued to enjoy access to the needed foreign exchange.
The CBN had on Tuesday intervened in the wholesale segment of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market to the tune of 210 million dollars.
Meanwhile, one dollar is exchanged for N362 at the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market, while the Chinese Yuan exchanged for N54.


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Between China’s protective government regulations, expanding access to
the Web, and above-average economic growth, Chinese Internet firms are
blossoming. And according to the latest Sector Focus commentary
by Turner Investments, these favorable conditions may help Chinese
Internet companies to generate double-digit earnings growth over the
... read more
Medio Systems, the leading provider of mobile predictive analytics,
announced today that Rovio Entertainment Ltd., the creator of Angry
Birds, will adopt Medio technology to enhance fan engagement for Rovio’s
popular games across all consumer platforms, including Google Chrome,
Android devices and Apple’s iPhone and iPad ... read more
Great Wolf Resorts®, Inc. (NASDAQ: WOLF), North America's largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, recently unveiled an innovative new website for its Great Wolf Lodge® brand of resorts, unique in how it integrates social media and guest content. In a departure from most traditional consumer websites that display content written by copywriters, or provide staged static images, the new GreatWolf.com is an interactive, community-focused experience providing new resources which were grounded in user feedback, and designed to demonstrate the ... read more
EMS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELMG) announced today that its Defense &
Space (D&S) division has been awarded a contract with Northrop Grumman
Aerospace Systems (NGAS) to provide an anti-jam beam-forming network for
the fourth Lockheed Martin-built Advanced Extremely High Frequency
(AEHF) spacecraft. The contract is valued ... read more
Bowes Management Services (PBMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pitney
Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), will showcase its legal services,
specifically in the areas of eDiscovery
services and litigation
support services, at the International Legal Technology Association
... read more
Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) today announced it has enlisted the
support of TIMCO Engineering to serve as an independent Project 25 (P25)
interoperability test lab for Motorola ASTRO® 25 system infrastructure.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Compliance Assessment Program
... read more
Dell today announced that it recently
received four Partner of the Year Awards at the 2011 Microsoft Worldwide
Partner Conference in Los Angeles. The company was honored last month
among the top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in
innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on ... read more
healthcare alliance today announced new agreements for chlorhexidine
gluconate (CHG) skin prep products have been awarded to CareFusion 213,
LLC. of San Diego; and PDI-Professional Disposables International of
Effective ... read more
Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics leader hhgregg (NYSE:HGG)
today announced that it will officially Grand Open fourteen new stores
in the Chicago area on Thursday, September 15th. Chicago is a
new market for hhgregg, and with the opening of 14 new stores, it will
become the company’s ... read more
Today, GE (NYSE: GE) announced the acquisition of Commtest, a provider
and designer of machinery health information systems. GE Energy’s Bently
Nevada product line, a global leader in condition monitoring, will
incorporate Commtest products into its portfolio and enhance an already
robust lineup. Bently Nevada provides ... read more
Corporation (NYSE:ELX) today announced that it was awarded a 2011
XChange XCellence award in the category of “Breakthrough Technology
Vendor” during this year’s XChange
Americas event hosted by Everything
Channel. The XChange XCellence Award winners are selected by top ... read more
When Hurricane Katrina passed through the city of Lucedale, Miss., on Aug. 29, 2005, the town of roughly 3,000 was left without power and resources for information such as radio and television. When the city went into recovery mode and assessed the property damage - which totaled about $2.4 million - the community realized that it was time to expand its communications systems.
To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/4-h-youth-deliver-emergency-preparedness-economic-development-to-hurricane-belt-128032268.html
Realizing the need to provide more ... read more
Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALXA) announced today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the ADASUVE New Drug Application (NDA) as a complete, class 2 response to the FDA's action letter, with an indicated Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of February 4, 2012. On August 4, 2011, Alexza resubmitted the ADASUVE NDA, which seeks marketing approval for the rapid treatment of agitation in adults with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Alexza's NDA is based on ... read more
Wireless calling, text messaging and surfing the Web on the Verizon Wireless network is now easier and faster for residents and travelers in Georgia, thanks to heavy investments Verizon Wireless made during the first half of 2011. From January through June, the company installed additional network capacity in 249 cities across the Peach State. The company's ongoing network investment in Georgia now totals more than $1.9 billion since the company was formed in 2000.
"These significant investments represent our ongoing commitment ... read more
As part of its continuing network investment to support growing demand for advanced mobile devices and applications, AT&T* today announced the activation of a new mobile broadband cell site in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan to enhance coverage for consumers and businesses.
Enhanced areas of mobile broadband coverage include East 49th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues and along 2nd Avenue between East 47th and East 51st Streets. With mobile broadband speeds, AT&T customers can surf the Web, ... read more
As part of its continuing network investment to support growing demand for advanced wireless devices and services, AT&T* today announced that it has expanded its mobile broadband coverage at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport by completing the installation of a new Distributed Antenna System (DAS) to serve customers throughout the facility.
A DAS installation consists of several strategically-placed antennas that distribute AT&T's wireless network coverage throughout BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, providing for more efficient management of wireless capacity in heavily-trafficked areas. ... read more
PRA, a leading Clinical Research Organization, announces the hiring of Dr. Frederick T. Lewis, D.O. as Vice President, Psychiatry - Scientific Affairs in our Therapeutic Expertise group. Dr. Lewis will provide medical and scientific support for PRA project teams and guidance to clients in all aspects of clinical drug development.
"Dr. Lewis's exceptional background in psychiatry and broad-ranging industry experience make him an ideal fit for our Therapeutic Expertise group," said Dr. Michael Kirchengast, Vice President and head of PRA's Scientific ... read more
Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the immediate
availability and free trial of its new Adobe®
Digital Enterprise Platform and first set of solutions for Customer
Experience Management (CEM). The platform and solutions enable
enterprises to bring together marketing and ... read more
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that IT analyst firm International Data Corporation (IDC) has ranked IBM number one in Application Management Services market share, as measured by revenue, in its report, "Worldwide and U.S. Application Management Services 2010 Vendor Shares: IDC's Top 10 Vendors."
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )
According to the IDC report, IBM swept the three Application Management Services (AMS) categories, ranking #1 in Worldwide Discrete, #1 in U.S. Discrete, and #1 in Worldwide Consolidated (Discrete + Bundled).
The report states ... read more
zAutos.com, a consumer car research website, just launched the newly redesigned version of its Build Car Application, providing car consumers with a wider selection of vehicle images, videos, and pricing information.
This interactive feature allows viewers to click on the year, make, model, and trim of their desired vehicle and then customize it down to the very last detail. Users can select different options and packages to change the look of the car or calculate its unique price. The Build Car ... read more


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Fashion Startups that started five Top Trends of 2016
2016 has been a weird year but there have been some upsides to it. E-commerce grew like never before thanks to demonetization and as a result, fashion as a category has been positively affected this year.
The rise of Fashion re-commerce
The idea of re-commerce involves reselling products or items as you outgrow them. Today there is an increasing awareness among consumers to re-use and recycle and for the longest time there was no platform that allowed selling and buying of goods that are still in perfect condition. This gave birth to a number of re-commerce
ALSO READ: BI Year-Ender: Five emerging start-ups that got $100 million funding in 2016
Online to offline fashion retail
A decade ago, most websites were essentially a digital brochure comprising images, descriptions, and specifications of products you could buy somewhere else. Soon the online platforms started selling products and services on their platforms. Hence online to offline shopping concept evolved and many retailers took the omnichannel route. For instance
Indian based entrepreneurs are successfully using social media to create fashion communities that together discover, share and, most importantly, buy. While the fashion e-commerce space is already crowded, there are few unique fashion tech startups that are opening greater possibilities in the exclusive world of fashion. Talent & discovery, social & talent networking platforms, focusing on community building, to re-commerce, a lot of fashion-tech companies have created a niche for themselves and growing exponentially. This also remains one of the main reasons why Fashion startups continue to draw investor’s attention.
ALSO READ: Here are the top five top selling smartphones on Flipkart
Focus on homegrown fashion talents and professionals
AdvertisementIndia has emerged as the one of the world’s largest talent producing countries in fashion. Lack of opportunities and limited access to the world outside are the existing challenges for aspiring minds from Tier 2 / 3 market. With the help of digitization, few fashion startups are able to connect this talent and create avenues for them. From talent networking to portfolio management these platforms have a lot to offer. 6Degree a fashion-tech platform has created opportunities for not only new designers but also for fashion professionals who have started late in their career.
ALSO READ: 45% of Indian Millenials consulted for lifestyle diseases in 2016
Customer experience on priority
Use of technology for enhanced fashion buying experience, hassle-free exchange and return etc
A lot of Fashion based startups are shifting their focus on customer delight to bring in the enhanced buying experience. Implementing newer technology for the smooth transition, they are making sure that consumers interact with retailers in multiple ways. Innovation in technology has led these startups to create a unique proposition that helps them standout. Innovative technology-driven concepts like digital stores, Virtual assistant, Fashion chat bots are introduced everyday is bridging the gap between retailers and customers, like never before.
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The CEO of Pizza Express has said the restaurant chain is “well underway” with a three-year schedule to open 50 more sites.
In contrast to the pandemic plans to increase the size of the asset, last year the firm completed a company voluntary arrangement that resulted in the closure of 73 restaurants with the loss of 1,100 jobs.
It was among businesses that had to temporarily close sites for indoor dining during the COVID-19 crisis, adding to the existing headwinds Pizza Express already faces ranging from higher business rates bills to increased competition. was doing.
The company concluded a £335 million refinance in July of this year following a takeover by bondholders. Former Wagamama boss David Campbell came on to help spearhead the turnaround plan.
In April it also launched a recruitment drive.
Today Pizza Express said sales since the start of the fiscal year from January to September 5 reached £182.5 million, with underlying profit of £22.2 million.
It said sales outperformed the CGA Peach Market Tracker every week, but since the return of the unrestricted meal in July.
Campbell said the firm “traded strongly” through its delivery and click and collect services during the latest lockdown.
Boss said: “With a strong balance sheet under new ownership and management, we will continue to invest in growing the brand above and beyond new openings and refurbishments. We expect good business continuity for the rest of the year and are optimistic about the prospects for 2022 and beyond.


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Apple didn’t say much about the Mac on yesterday’s quarterly earnings call. Customers only bought 3.7 million Macs in the past three months, a 13 percent drop compared to the year prior. For those keeping track, that’s only the fifth quarter in the past eight years in which Apple sold less than 4 million traditional computers. Meanwhile, both IDC and Gartner released reports saying the past quarter was the best the PC market has seen in six years.
The Mac’s decline is vindicating to the Apple fans and professionals alike who have been on the soapbox discussing how the company’s current products don’t measure up in one way or another. The best example is surely the MacBook Pro, with its problematic keyboard, lack of legacy ports, recent thermal troubles, questionable touch bar and — of course — its sky-high price. Meanwhile, the MacBook Air, Mac Mini and Mac Pro have all lingered for years without meaningful updates.
Between dropping sales and controversial products, what does the Mac means to Apple in 2018? Yes, it’s the company’s first flagship product, but it’s also an increasingly small portion of its business. Pretty much everything that Apple sells, from streaming music and wireless headphones to the Apple Watch and HomePod, is designed with iOS in mind. The days of the Mac serving as your “digital hub,” as Steve Jobs famously put it way back in 2001, are long gone.If that’s the case, what does the Mac mean to Apple (besides about 10 percent of last quarter’s revenue)? The answer can be found by looking at the one product category going through explosive growth: Apple’s services segment. CEO Tim Cook has been talking up this part of the company’s business for years now, and with good reason: Over the past three years, revenue from services has grown from $5 billion to $9.5 billion, making it Apple’s second-largest product category behind the iPhone.
Among the products Apple considers services are iCloud storage, Apple Pay, Apple Music and all the digital content it sells from the iTunes Store, the Mac and iOS app stores, iBooks and so forth. None of these products require a Mac, but if you use an iPad or iPhone and still want a traditional desktop or laptop, you’ll have a much better experience with a Mac than a Windows machine or Chromebook. And yes, that’s even if Apple isn’t updating its hardware as frequently as it used to.
Probably the best example of this is iMessage. As text messages (and then iMessages) became a dominant form of communication, being able to send and receive them on all Apple devices, including the Mac, quickly became a killer feature that Google hasn’t yet been able to replicate with Android. Similarly, using Safari on my Mac to easily pull up pages I browsed on my phone or iPad is pretty convenient. Yes, Chrome sync would also work, but as long as I can’t change default browsers in iOS, Safari makes for an easier choice.
Similarly, I recently picked up an LTE Apple Watch and started running with just it and a pair of AirPods. Being able to stream any song I want from Apple Music to such a tiny device feels pretty futuristic — but Apple Music is the only real option if I want to run and go phone free. In a perfect world, Spotify or Google Music would work on the watch, but they don’t. So I keep on using Apple Music, and while I could access the service on Android or Windows, it definitely works best on an iOS device or a Mac.
Those are just a few examples, but generally Apple has done a good job at making macOS and iOS work closely together without having to merge the two different operating systems. Even something as simple as the combo of iCloud and the new iOS Files app provide a much more cohesive experience than you’ll get on other platforms.
But this quarter’s drop in sales has to be concerning to Apple, as Cook cited customer satisfaction as one of the main drivers of its services business. “A growing portion of our revenue is directly driven by our existing install base,” Cook said in January 2016. “Our customer satisfaction and retention rates are second to none and provide us with a long-lasting foundation.” That foundation is the 1 billion-plus active Apple devices cited on the same earnings call. Macs only make up a small portion of that active base, but with iPhone and iPad sales relatively flat, the company doesn’t want to see any of its major hardware categories start slipping. It’ll make continued services revenue growth that much harder.
If those loyal customers are going to keep buying Macs, Apple will have to show that it considers the platform more than just another place to sell its services. I don’t expect Apple to look back in hardware design; the days of it selling a pro laptop with an SD card slot are sadly behind us. But more-frequent hardware updates across more of its product lineup would probably go a long way toward convincing users that the Mac is more than just a legacy part of Apple’s business.


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Video games are now the biggest entertainment industry in the United States based on consumer spending. According to the Entertainment Software Association, Americans spent almost $36 billion on video game content in 2018. That’s almost as much as Americans spent on home video, cinema, and music combined.
The success of the video game entertainment industry can be witnessed on a variety of different gaming platforms, many of which are internet-enabled. For a video gaming platform to be successful, it’s imperative that video game developers are both interested in and actively developing for that platform. According to a recent survey by UBM, the most popular gaming platform is PC, with 60% of game developers saying they are interested in developing for the platform and 66% saying they are actively developing for the platform. Nintendo Switch, PS4, and smartphones/tablets also showed strong interest from developers. AR/VR headsets and Mac platforms were near the bottom of this list for game developers.


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Warehouse automation is now experiencing expansion in unexpected niches.
One of the most tedious but critically necessary logistical chores is measuring and weighing freight—whether it is a box, a pallet, or a shipping container. It has to be precise; no guesstimates allowed. Botch the dimensions and space is wasted; time, money and efficiency are all lost.
That’s true for all transport modes – ocean shipping, trucking, air cargo, barges or any freight that requires storage, warehousing packing, loading and documentation. Until the digital age dawned, “dimensioning”— as it is described in a single word—was a manual, time consuming exercise with ample opportunity for costly blunders and shipment-delaying mistakes. And with no rigid standardization or reporting.
For years, trucking companies took advantage of this by applying enough “reweigh” and “audit fees” scanned by expensive equipment they were able to purchase, alleges a former warehouse operator. “This allowed them to add ‘accessorial charges’ which many businesses have neither the time nor the documentation with which to fight,” he adds. “Additionally at $120,000 per system, there was no way smaller companies could equip themselves to efficiently fight those charges.”
Warehousing Automation Finds New Niches
The advent of computerization and now artificial intelligence (AI) and the scanner changed that. Plus, some technology visionaries and companies have refined and streamlined the process considerably and cost effectively. The long-time freight processor and warehouseman cited above, Jason Joachim, chief executive, and co-founder of Cargo Spectre in Houston, is one of those trailblazers. As the career warehouse operator-turned-technology entrepreneur put it in an exclusive interview with the American Journal of Transportation (AJOT), “warehouse automation is in our DNA.”
Cargo Spectre Freight Dimensioning System sounds exceptionally complex and costly, but Joachim insists it is “accurate and affordable” whether it is dimensioning pallets or parcels. While the market is crowded with competitors, the system is priced some 40% to 50% below its rivals. “We have made what was a $120,000 system 10 years ago into a $700 monthly service,” he contends.
But it does not shortchange users on features which includes 3-D scanning technology to “accurately calculate the precise dimensions of a pallet or parcel,” Joachim said.
For example, while the software system has a built-in scale to secure the exact weight of the shipment, Cargo Spectre also includes tiny, embedded cameras to record the physical condition of every pallet that moves through the warehouse, explains the CEO of the company.
But it doesn’t stop there, he maintains. The collected pallet or parcel is documented by saving it in the “database or cloud storage system of your choice.” Moreover, customers do not need a squadron of information technology specialists to install Cargo Spectre software, said the co-founder of the company, “The software can be integrated with any backend or cloud-hosted application in less than an hour,” said Joachim. And it is split second fast, he added. “Each pallet dimensioner, is capable of dimensioning, weighing and photographing any pallet in a couple of seconds.”
But those capabilities are more logistical than pure analytical. “Our process automation feature lets the system use AI to collect and analyze the data and make educated calls. This works especially well for air cargo which is four times more expensive to transport cargo than moving it by sea when you factor in fuel, crew and other expenses.”
Cargo Spectre’s Dimensioning has a huge advantage over manual freight handling, said the software executive. “Because it is costly and catastrophic to overload an airplane and disrupt the weight and load balance, we do a freight loading simulation on the ground—study and model it—before actually loading the cargo onto the aircraft.”
Warehouse Space: Going Vertical
For decades, warehouses and distribution centers were situated in suburbs and off freeways and expressways where owners could get lots of land and unencumbered access to thoroughfares, where commuter traffic was minimal, and automobile and 18-wheeler snarls did not disrupt schedules and fray driver nerves.
But urbanization, shrinking land parcels, the insatiable demand for swift, no-excuses cargo delivery to the front porch and not just a loading dock, where a shrinking scarcity of big rig drivers and the recent trend to accept runs and routes close to their home rather than bunking in at truck stops or sleeping in their cabs, has changed the face of trucking and of industrial real estate, specifically warehousing and DC’s.
Now, stir in not just computerization but advanced digital technology such as AI or machine learning and the basic warehouse — if there is such a thing anymore—is immediately transformed into a 24/7 AI laboratory.
The burning logistical question becomes where do you situate these structures, so they generate maximum productivity, profits and minimum waste and do not swallow up prime commercial and industrial real estate?
Robert C. Kossar, vice chairman of global real estate brokerage JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) and head of its Northeastern (U.S) Industrial Region, told AJOT “we spend more time counselling (warehouse) occupants and owners on how the property will ‘fit’ a tenant’s operational and logistical needs.”
As he puts it, rather than just signing warehouse leases for industrial property owner-clients, “I focus as a player-coach on creative outcomes for others. Clients who are successful in making strategic real estate are well positioned for broader success.”
Kossar was an early enthusiast and expert in the benefits of multi-story warehouses and distribution centers in markets where space is at a pricey premium and trade and transportation is a high-volume, high-density, year-round business. The first examples of multi-level warehouses appeared in Asia 20-plus years ago. The world’s largest San Francisco-based logistics real estate investment trust and owner, Prologis, pioneered that specific marketspace with vertical properties in industrial land- scarce Far East and developed the first vertical warehouse in the U.S. in San Francisco five years ago.
Kossar, a 25-year veteran of commercial real estate who is based in JLL’s East Rutherford, New Jersey, office, isn’t reluctant to talk. He first spotted high rise freight warehouses when he was in Shanghai and Tokyo. “They were built close to the city center, and they were very efficient from a design and operational standpoint,” he recalled.
Since then, Kossar and his senior JLL colleagues have amassed a reputation for expertise in marketing vertical warehouses in the U.S. and consulting with tenants who can benefit from the logistical advantages they offer.
Location still reigns supreme as the primary consideration in any real estate transaction and even more in multilevel warehousing. There are realities that simply cannot be altered. Kossar tells of a “state of the art” one million square foot vertical distribution center at 2505 Bruckner in the New York City borough of the Bronx.
Another multi-level warehouse property in Long Island City was creatively designed. “The first two floors were industrial space, the third floor were entertainment spaces, and the upper floors were studio spaces,” he said.
Kossar also said there is a six story vertical warehouse in Queens and a three story 397,000 square foot multi-level industrial property in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn which is fully leased to e-commerce giant Amazon. Two other massive multi-story warehouses are slated for completion in the Bronx in early 2024.
Multi-level warehouses are a reality or under development in densely populated cities like Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, and San Francisco. In many cases the properties are targeting e-commerce giant Amazon as a sole tenant. (Prologis opened the first U.S. multi-story warehouse in Seattle some five years ago. It is a three-level, 590,000 square foot facility near the Port of Seattle and close to rail connections).
Warehouse Automation: Drones Take Flight
Innovative, automated warehouses are not confined to marquee high-tech cities. One 27-person, five-year-old warehouse inventory management software concern —Gather AI – is headquartered in Pittsburgh and the three founders have stayed with the venture to grow it rather than cash out.
Interestingly, the founders, then all graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, developed what the company claims is the “first guaranteed safe full-scale autonomous helicopter, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), and tested at the FBI training grounds in Quantico, VA. The helicopter could avoid obstacles, land itself, cover 10 kilometers in three minutes and build a 3D map of its environment.” Said co-founder Sankalp Arora: “That’s when we realized drones are excellent data gathering machines.”
Gather AI’s founders also realized the helicopter format could be scaled down to a drone size that could navigate the inside of a cavernous warehouse said Arora and take automated inventories. With a venture capitalist in its corner, the start-up acquired an established company in autonomous inventory management called Ware, vaulting Gather AI to a spot as the “world’s largest software player in the space,” the company contends.
In an interview with AJOT, Arora capsulized Gather AI’s modus operandi. “We do not develop the autonomous, commodity drones. We supply the software that allows the drones to fly through warehouses with no Wi-Fi or GPS, in the dark and in very narrow aisles. The drones photograph inventory stored in pallet locations and the pictures are uploaded into the Cloud where the AI reads barcodes, text and other photographic information and compares it to what’s in the warehouse management system.”
As a result, warehouse employees no longer spend, he continues, “long, tedious hours doing manual inventory counts working on forklifts. There is less likelihood of misplacing products. Gather AI is up to 15 times faster than manual cycle counting.”
Rather than market directly to company warehouses and distribution centers, Gather AI sells its inventory management software mainly to third party logistics (3PL) companies that provide warehousing services to a variety of their clients.
For example, Gather AI, working with 3PL Barrett Distribution Centers had a challenging assignment when its client, U.S. based high end global sneaker and apparel company called Stadium Goods, came aboard. Barrett housed in its warehouse 450,000 to 500,000 individually serialized and bagged shoe boxes stored in very narrow aisles.
Gather AI’s software, powering the warehouse’s robotic drones, scanned the individual shoeboxes, so Barrett Distribution was able to provide its footwear client with a 99.95% to 100% inventory count “accuracy rates” on a weekly basis, said a Gather AI statement. It also freed up warehouse staff who were previously doing manual counting so they could work on other value-added work, resulting in “efficiency gains,” said Arora. How efficient? The co-founder said the Barrett Distribution facility was able to reassign six forklift operators to other warehouse chores when one drone took over their inventory management responsibilities.