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Zimbra raises cash — Zimbra, the San Mateo company that developed a Web 2.0-class email platform, has raised $14.5 million in a third round of funding
We’ve written about Zimbra before, noting how it lets you drag and drop emails to your calendar (which is great, because we get really bugged with the clunky Outlook), and even lets you automatically turn the emails into calendar events, etc. There’s a whole range of features already discussed. It has also added what it calls “zimlets,” which for example gives you a Google Map if you mouse over an address.
Presidio STX, the venture arm of Sumitomo, and Duff Ackerman & Goodrich joined existing investors.
Neflix’s “business model patent” — Did news about online Netflix’s lawsuit against Blockbuster strike anyone as, well, different? Netflix is a local Silicon Valley company, and you want to support the underdog, but the patent it is trying to protect is basically its business model. Indeed, Blockbuster has responded: “The timing of this lawsuit appears to confirm that Blockbuster Online has emerged as a real competitive force in the online rental industry…Apparently Netflix would prefer to take us on in the courts rather than facing us in the marketplace where the consumer is the judge.”
Netflix sued Blockbuster Tuesday in San Francisco, claiming Blockbuster violated two patents, one detailing how subscribers create lists of movies they want to rent, and the other covering the number of titles they can rent at a time. They don’t really seem incredibly innovative, and the lawsuit seems designed to reduce competition, as some have pointed out. Mike, at Techdirt, seems to take particular delight in pointing out the follies of our patent system. He points out how the “business model” patent is almost entirely the work of one specific patent attorney. Almost no one had been pushing for business model patents, but the judge, Giles Rich, who wrote the decision allowing such patents had been one of the patent attorneys who helped draft the patent law it relied on:
In his decision, he claimed that it was “Congressional intent” to allow business model patents — which he should know if he helped draft the law, which is why he’s sometimes referred to as “the father of the patent system (though, it makes you wonder why he was presiding over this case).
Google employee dishes on Gmail — Here, a Google employee tells the good, bad & ugly about his company’s Gmail, comparing it to old freeware client Pine.
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Discover our Briefings.


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By Jon Reynolds
Everything you heard and read about in 2020 in the craft brewing industry claimed that it was the “Year of the Craft Brewery Pivot.” The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the on-premise sales segment and caused some craft brewers to shut their doors to the public. Others “pivoted” from mostly on-premise sales to off-premise and direct-to-consumer sales. With their taprooms struggling to remain open, due to state laws and maximum capacity limits, craft brewers shifted into high gear to land local grocery store, liquor store, and in some cases C-store business. They also began shipping their beer to consumers via Drizly, Minibar, DoorDash, Tavour, Craft Beer Shack, Taprm, Beer Drop, and/or First Sip Brew Box. This worked for some while others focused on getting their state laws changed so they could deliver direct to consumers. These were mostly temporary state law changes and now many craft brewers are working with their state legislators to make the laws permanent.
Craft Brewery Off-Premise Sales in 2021
So, what is happening in 2021? By reviewing the off-premise trends shared by the Bump Williams Consulting Group (BWC), the off-premise sales are not growing from 2020 levels when pantry-filling and hoarding became the norm. Here is a chart that shows you what is happening with craft beer by quarter in 2021:
Q2 and Q3 sales for craft brewers have been sluggish in scanned stores; this was caused by some of the largest independent craft breweries not being able to grow their businesses—mainstream craft like Blue Moon and Shocktop suffered the worst declines at -12%
This year the craft brewers are attempting to shore up their on-premise losses from 2020. This has essentially caused a “reverse pivot” in their collective sales strategies by focusing on-premise instead of off-premise. Don’t let the numbers in the above chart fool you—craft will most likely show a small gain of +3-4% once all of the on-premise trends are rolled into the off-premise trends to give the industry a complete picture, which Bart Watson, the economist from the Brewers Association (BA) publishes in late January every year.
Key Factors Affecting Off-Premise Craft Beer Sales in 2021 Include:
- Business closures—Nielsen CGA shows -8% drop in off-premise outlets as a result of COVID.
- Lack of returning restaurant workers causing inconsistent hours of operation and some closures as well.
- Shipping bottlenecks which has impacted aluminum can supply chains causing some out-of-stocks on craft beer.
- Delta Variant which is causing fear about entering off-premise grocery, C-Store and liquor outlets.
- C-stores have been impacted the most as stop-by or walk-in traffic has been curtailed during the Delta Variant.
- Employees who work from home don’t stop at off-premise outlets on their way home from work—they’re making less shopping trips to get groceries and impulse items like snacks and beer!
- Indoor special events, outdoor sporting events and concerts have had less attendees this year than prior years due some event cancellations, dates being moved back and some hesitation from consumers on attending due to fear of getting COVID.
- Travel has somewhat bounced back due to pent-up demand and more safety features but is still down from 2019 levels so this impacts vacations, tourism and business travel.
- Seven in ten working Americans now work from outside the home, which is up +80% from April 2020. Nearly a third of these consumers (31%) are spending more than a hour in their vehicles, causing them to have less time to spend grocery shopping, having household cookouts or spending time watching television with an ice cold beverage or two.
- According to Nielsen CGA survey, consumers who have not gotten or are uncertain about getting their vaccine shots declined from 26% to 17% of all consumers. The 17% are not going to well-traveled off-premise (or on-premise) outlets and some require proof vaccination, so craft beer sales suffer.
- There has been a huge shift in alcohol consumption from weekdays to the weekends. While taprooms used to get consumers 3-4 days per week, the off-premise outlets which captured those consumers only get them one day per week and that’s now on the weekends. Also, consumers are going home earlier from taprooms, so they buy beer-to-go and that creates sales that aren’t tracked by the scanning stores but will be covered when the BA publishes their final numbers for 2021.
Overall, the reverse pivot from on-premise to off-premise has not produced the positive sales results or bounce back, that was expected by the analysts in the craft scanning numbers. We all hope that the return by many consumers to on-premise helps build keg sales, can sales off-site from the taprooms, increase in app-based delivery services, and even direct-to-consumer sales (where legal) provides the volume lift to grow the total craft beer business in 2021 and into 2022!
Learn about UVM’s Business of Craft Beer Certificate Program.
Jon Reynolds is the founder of Brewplan, a strategic marketing advisor to craft brewers, craft distilleries, boutique wineries, and a Certified Instructor in the UVM Business of Craft Beer Professional Certificate Program. He writes about business trends, beer consumers, distributor issues, legislation that affects craft brewers, marketing tools, and strategic planning to improve brewery profits.
Views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author who has spent more than 40+ years in the beer, wine and spirits industry and are provided for informational purposes only. The information set forth reflects the author’s opinion of current trends in the industry and should be researched further to make your own business conclusions.

domain: news


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Atari sends word that a new video trailer for Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the
Underdark is now available, the 36 MB clip has been posted on 3D
Gamers and Worthplaying.
Accompanying the news about the clip is the decidedly low-key announcement that
the game has gone gold. Here's the whole deal:
The game will be available
next month and she just went gold!
That's right beautiful people
BioWare proudly announces that the highly anticipated expansion pack Neverwinter
Nights: Hordes of the Underdark has gone gold and is being packaged up and
should be arriving in North Americain [sic] stores by December 2!


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- Last Active
Intel chip kernel flaw requires OS-level fix that could impact macOS performance, report s...
USB 3.0 & USB 3.1 merger into USB 3.2 branding by overseers further confusing USB-C
FCC votes to undo net neutrality protections despite public proteststallest skil said:frank777 said:…in less than two years we’ll have 5G mobile connections building out that are as fast as home connections, and cable ISPs will be in the fight of their lives.
Forbes says they're planning deployments now, and the cable guys will be at a disadvantage, since the phone guys can bundle both home and mobile over the one network infrastructure. 5G apparently widens the mobile pipes so much they can offer the 1TB caps home users are accustomed to now.
And eventually do it over most of the continent.
Future MacBook Pro may gain retractable keyboard for thinness, screen protectionAppleInsider said:In 2020, Apple had to advise people against fitting slideable camera covers over the lens in the lid, because it was leading to cracked screens.
Now that Apple is once again listening to customer feedback on MacBook designs, maybe they can take the hint from this sentence.
Bob Iger: Disney and Apple likely to have merged if Steve Jobs was alive
AirTags help Toronto man track down stolen Range Rover
Prototype Apple Watch with case designed to look like a brick phone leaks
Satechi introduces the USB-C Clamp Hub for 24-inch iMac
Future Apple devices might warn users of environmental dangersDoes having to throw out a perfectly good machine because Apple made it impossible to upgrade the graphics qualify as an environmental danger?


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Price Alert: LG G4 Available for Just 339 €, The Lowest We’ve Seen Yet
Last week, LG confirmed that it will release its upcoming flagship smartphone, LG G5, on February 21st at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 in Barcelona. Now, just days after this announcement, some online retailers in Europe are offering the predecessor LG G4 for under 400 Euro, making it one of the best devices in this price range.
LG G4 is now available online for just 339 € from AcquistaBene, in Metallic Grey and Ceramic White. Another retailer Stockisti has priced the device at 349 € [Metallic Grey, Ceramic White]. These prices are undoubtedly the lowest we’ve seen for the G4 since its launch back in June 2015.
In other news, LG’s current flagship has become the world’s first non-Nexus smartphone to get the newest Android Marshmallow update. The firmware brings various new features including Doze power saving, new secured verified boot system, Google photos app, and support for more international language among others.
Besides these goodies, LG has also incorporated new Knock Code security feature, advanced messaging and video calling feature to the device.
Here’s a quick glance at LG G4 specs:
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 with X10 LTE
- Operating system: Android 5.1 Lollipop
- Display: 5.5-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display (2560 x 1440, 538ppi)
- Storage: 32GB eMMC ROM, microSD card up to 128GB
- RAM: 3GB LPDDR3 RAM
- Rear camera: 16 megapixels with f/1.8 aperture / OIS 2.0
- Front camera: 8 megapixels with f/2.0 aperture
- Battery: 3,000 mAh removable
Gohar is the lead editor at TechFrag. He has a wide range of interests when it comes to tech but he's currently spending a big chunk of his time writing about privacy, cyber security, and anything policy related.


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Study: Public Needs Recycling Education
Curbside recycling is available to more than half of American adults and two-thirds are clear on what belongs in recycling bins, but significant numbers are unclear about some items that can be recycled.
The survey found that more than half of Americans (55 percent) confirm their town or city offers “curbside collection” of recyclables, which they place into a bin or cart separate from their household trash bin. Additionally, two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) say they’re clear on what materials go in recycling bins, and 64 percent know it is necessary to rinse used food containers before placing them into recycling receptacles.
In one area of confusion, 39 percent of Americans incorrectly believe it is acceptable to recycle plastic bags by tossing them into household bins. Plastic bags can damage and even shut down recycling facilities and should instead be recycled at participating grocery stores, the association said.
Energy Manager News
- BMW Tests Fuel-Cell Car
- Researchers Develop Cell that Can Store Solar at Night
- Energy Efficiency Program Saves Texas College $4.4M
- White Efficiency Poses Challenge for Solid-State Lighting
- Senators National Energy Policy Vision Leads to a Hopeful Future
- Google Builds Data Center on Site of Old Coal Plant
- EPA Honors 3 Facilities for Combined Heat and Power
- Cheese Factory Installs Anaerobic Digestion


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Japan was Australia’s largest trading partner until 2007 and largest export destination pre-2009. It is now Australia’s 2 nd largest trading partner behind China, with total trade (exports + imports) of A$71.8b in 2017, making up 9.4% of Australia’s trading portfolio. Australia and Japan entered a free trade agreement in April 2014, which grants more than 97% of Australian exports preferential treatment in Japanese markets. Australian exports to Japan are dominated by coal, iron ore, beef and copper. Woodside, Mitsui and Co, MMG, Centennial Coal, and Newmont Mining are some of the Australian companies that export commodities to Japan. Teys Australia, JBS Australia and NH Foods export beef to Japan. Major Japanese imports to Australia include motor vehicles, gold, petroleum, and goods vehicles.
Service exports to Japan were worth A$2.3b in 2017. Japanese tourist arrivals have declined since 2004, due to the depreciation of the yen against the AUD and stagnant Japanese income growth. But Japanese tourist arrivals did grow 13% p.a. over the last two years to over 434,000 in 2017 driven by a sharp rise in flightpaths available between Japan and Australia. Japanese enrolments remain limited, but they did rise 9% in 2017 to over 16,000 students.
Japan is Australia’s fourth largest source of foreign investment behind the US, UK and Belgium. Japan’s stock of foreign investment was worth A$219b in 2017 (7% of total investment) centred predominantly in the resource sector. But investment in financial services, infrastructure, information and communications technology, property, food and agribusiness is growing. The free trade agreement should support additional Japanese investment in Australia as the barrier for screening by the Foreign Investment Review Board has been lifted from A$248m to A$1.1b.
Australian investment in Japan was worth A$125b in 2017 equivalent to 5.5% of Australia’s foreign investment portfolio. This is small considering export receipts from Japan. But this is a trend that isn’t unique to Australia—Japan’s inward stock of FDI is the lowest in the OECD. Deterrents to foreign investment include language barriers, the high cost of doing business in Japan, and a restrictive foreign investment regime—although the FTA will provide enhanced protections and certainty for Australian investors in Japan.


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The Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lineups target the flagship segment exclusively. The Galaxy A series, on the other hand, covers the budget and mid-range markets. These efforts ultimately allow Samsung to target almost every price point, but the company is still missing a true budget flagship that’ll rival the OnePlus 7.
Pretty soon, this position will be occupied by the Galaxy A90 and its 5G sibling, and today some new details have emerged about both devices.
A massive battery to accompany a massive display
Over the past few months, 6.7-inches has gradually become Samsung’s favorite display size. It’s already used on the Galaxy S10 5G, Galaxy A70, and Galaxy A80 but will pretty soon make its way to the premium Galaxy Note 10+. According to the latest info, though, such a large panel is also planned for the Galaxy A90, which means a big battery will be needed too.
Typically, these things don’t reveal too much but in this particular case, the certification listing includes an interesting photograph of the cell that points towards a minimum capacity of 4,400mAh and a typical capacity of 4,500mAh, the latter of which should be the advertised number. Samsung previously used the same size battery inside the Galaxy S10 5G and the mid-range Galaxy A70. Speaking of which, all signs seem to suggest the Galaxy A90 and Galaxy A90 5G will simply be an upgraded version of the aforementioned device.
The Galaxy A90 could look a lot like the Galaxy A70
Per recent reports, the Galaxy A90 series won’t just be borrowing the Galaxy A70’s battery capacity and display size. In actual fact, the upcoming smartphones are set to reuse the latter’s entire exterior housing. This means a large Super AMOLED Infinity-U display complete with an in-screen fingerprint scanner will be present up front while over in the top-left corner of the rear will sit a vertical camera setup.
It’s unclear at this point if an upgrade is planned for the selfie snapper, but the primary rear camera on both the Galaxy A90 and A90 5G is expected to offer a 48-megapixel resolution – the Galaxy A70 features a 32-megapixel snapper.
The accompanying 8-megapixel wide-angle shooter and 5-megapixel depth sensor on the 5G model are set to be directly carried over from the Galaxy A70. The standard Galaxy A90, however, will reportedly include an upgraded 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a special ‘Tilt OIS’ technology that could help straighten out photos before taking them.
One of the best processors on the market
Although externally the Galaxy A90 will be virtually indistinguishable from the Galaxy A70, the internal side of things is a completely different story. As corroborated by a new benchmark listing (via Nashville Chatter) of the 5G model, the upcoming smartphones will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855. Samsung already uses this chip inside the Galaxy S10 series but it also powers the OnePlus 7 and LG G8 ThinQ.
Accompanying the flagship processor will be a decent 6GB of RAM paired with what should be 128GB of expandable internal storage. Other characteristics will seemingly include Android 9 Pie straight out of the box alongside the One UI custom interface. Also, on a side note, the Galaxy A90 5G is expected to support 45W fast charging.


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On Tuesday, December 5th, at 2 pm EST, Bluefin P2PE partner, Nelnet Campus Commerce, will host an educational webinar in conjunction with University Business on “Battling the Data Breach Epidemic: Securing your Campus.” The webinar will discuss the data breach epidemic in higher education and how technologies like PCI-Validated Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) are helping to secure campus payment data more effectively.
Times have changed from the days when tuition or dining plan payments were physically mailed to universities and colleges. Today’s parents and students are accustomed to the convenience of paying for tuition, athletic tickets, books and even meal plans with their credit or debit cards in-person, over the phone or online.
The shift to cashless payments is now broadly accepted in educational institutions, from the bursar’s office to the cafeteria, and cybercriminals have found themselves a new favorite target within the payment networks of colleges and universities.
According to Gemalto’s Breach Level Index, in 2016 there were 157 data breaches in education. The leading cause – 60% of the breaches – was malicious software (malware). And, the first half of 2017 shows that breaches are not slowing down, as Gemalto’s new edition features a 13% increase in data breaches from the last half of 2016, and a 164% increase in stolen, lost or compromised records.
Nelnet Campus Commerce’s webinar will feature Daryl Robinson, Nelnet’s Director of Product Development & Strategy, and Bluefin’s Chief Strategy Officer, Ruston Miles, discussing the Devalue the Data approach that universities and educational institutions can employ with PCI P2PE, a security technology that encrypts card data immediately upon swipe or dip in the payment terminal, rendering the data useless to hackers if it is exposed.
Nelnet specializes in providing powerful payment processing solutions for over 900 higher education institutions across the U.S. The company partnered with Bluefin in 2017 to provide PCI P2PE directly through Nelnet’s payment technology, enhancing security and reducing PCI scope with no change to the payment transaction flow.
The webinar will provide a detailed overview on the state of data breaches, current payment security technologies, the role of PCI-validated P2PE in protecting card data, validated vs. non-validated solutions, and the scope reduction and cost savings of PCI P2PE.
Registration for the webinar is now open.


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Toys R Us to hire 45,000 holiday workers
WAYNE, N.J. (AP) - September 28, 2010 -- Toys R Us will hire about 45,000 employees to help with the holiday season, doubling its U.S. work force.The privately held toy company said Tuesday that it is hiring more workers than in the past three holiday seasons because of an additional 600 smaller stores located in malls and shopping centers. Those "pop-up" stores are called Toys R Us Express.
The news comes at a time when unemployment levels remain high in the U.S. and seasonal work is viewed as a potential opportunity for a full-time position.
"We're pleased that we can create thousands of new jobs as we double our work force nationwide in preparation for another busy shopping season in our stores," Dan Caspersen, executive vice president of human resources, said in a statement.
In the past the company, based in Wayne, N.J., has hired about 35,000 seasonal workers. The employees fill managerial roles as well as sales person positions and serve as stock workers.
Of the seasonal help, Toy R Us said 35,000 workers will be based out of its 587 namesake stores, with the remaining 10,000 working at Toy R US Express locations. The company said it will also hire some employees for its nine distribution centers.
Existing workers will have the chance to pick up overtime at their current locations or alternate stores.
When not contending with the holidays, Toys R Us normally has 45,000 U.S. workers.
Toys R Us purchased the assets of high-end retailer FAO Schwarz after it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009.
The company announced in late May that it plans to go public again by raising as much as $800 million in an initial public offering that would be one of the biggest retail IPOs in years.
Macy's has also announced plans to hire thousands more workers for the holiday season.
toys r us, consumer news
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The rise in prices of vegetables has been a major issue of concern amongst citizens of India in the last few days. Prices of onions and potatoes have skyrocketed. One kilogram of onion could cost anywhere between Rs 60 to Rs 85 (€0.72-1.02). These unregulated prices of vegetables especially that of onions are attributed to the newly amended Essential Commodities Bill that has excluded onions and potatoes from the list of essentials.
In September, approving the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, the Central government said that the freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply will lead to harnessing of economies of scale and attract private sector/foreign direct investment into the agriculture sector.
Manash Nath, Director of Food and Civil Supplies department speaking to G Plus said, "Vegetables were never under our department. It was earlier regulated by the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board (ASAMB). But that is currently non-functional. So traders get to freely increase the price of vegetables. As for onions and potatoes, after these were removed from the list of essential commodities it is no longer under our department to regulate prices."
"We are procuring onions from Nasik and Indore and distributing them at the 'ration dukan' (fair price shops) at Rs 35 for everyone. Onions can be bought by every citizen from here at Rs 35, even those who do not have a ration card. But the prices of onions in groceries are around Rs 60-65 and the roadside vendors are selling at an even higher price of Rs 80-85," he told guwahatiplus.com.


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Passat sales slide
U.S. sales of the Chattanooga-made Passat have dropped as buyers move to SUVs and trucks. Below are February Passat sales since 2014:
› 2014: 6,997
› 2015: 6,309
› 2016: 4,380
› 2017: 6,114
› 2018: 3,036
Source: Volkswagen of America
Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant, reacting to slowing sales of its Passat sedan and higher demand for the Atlas SUV, will idle production for two weeks this spring, according to the automaker.
"It's not a secret the market is shifting from sedans and passenger cars to family-friendly SUVs," plant spokesman Keith King said. "It allows us to correct course a little bit."
The Chattanooga plant will have nonproduction periods on March 26-29 and April 2-5.
The plant will remain open the first week of nonproduction and the time will be used for training for hourly employees, according to VW.
King said that during the first week, plans are to do some retooling in the plant to boost production of the seven- seat, three-row Atlas.
"Part of it is general retooling, preventative maintenance and just retooling for potential new developments," he said.
The second week will be a mandatory shutdown of the factory.
Atlas sales rise
VW began sales of the Atlas SUV in May 2017. Below are sales for select months though February 2018:
› May 2017: 1,610
› August: 2,807
› September: 4,095
› November: 5,154
› February 2018: 4,766
Source: Volkswagen of America
On Thursday, Volkswagen of America reported that sales of the Chattanooga-made Passat in February were 3,036, off 50.3 percent from a year ago.
The falling Passat numbers come as Volkswagen of America sales overall were up 5.7 percent the first two months of the year, largely due to SUVs.
The company's Chattanooga-built midsize Atlas SUV posted sales last month of 4,766 units. There are no comparable numbers because the new Atlas wasn't sold last February. But February's Atlas sales were more than 10 percent higher than in January, figures show.
Also, sales of VW's all-new Tiguan compact SUV, which is made in Mexico, are outpacing even the Atlas. The 2018 new Tiguan reported sales in February of 7,486, according to the German automaker.
SUVs overall accounted for 54 percent of all Volkswagen of America sales last month, according to the company.
Top VW officials have talked publicly about the company's SUV offensive, and they've remarked about assembly of a potential new vehicle in Chattanooga such as a five-seat SUV.
There's also been discussion of electric vehicle production in Chattanooga in the future.
King said it's common in auto manufacturing to make adjustments as needed. He said he believes such non-production weeks have been put into place at the plant in the past, but he couldn't recall a specific time.
King said no one is being laid off at the plant that employs about 3,450 people.
"There's nothing like that at any time in the future as far as I'm aware," he said.
Karl Brauer, Kelley Blue Book's executive publisher, said VW is building awareness of the Atlas, the biggest vehicle it has ever built in America.
"There's room for higher volume there," he said.relatedarticlethumb
The Passat is sitting on an aging platform, though VW has said it's slated to be redesigned for 2019.
Brauer said that while the redesign may inject some new life into the vehicle, sales of sedans across the auto industry are falling amid buyers' appetite for SUVs and trucks.
"The new normal for total sedan sales ... it will be lower," he said.
Brauer said VW officials know that a big turnaround of Passat sales isn't realistic. At the same time, he sees Passat production continuing because carmakers need such sedans "to be a player" in the market.
"It's an additional component to SUVs," he said.
While VW heads into the non-production weeks, however, there has been some nervousness among employees. In week one, VW has told hourly workers that they can use all their 2017 personal time off, use 2018 days, or take off excused without pay.
In week two, workers can exhaust comp days (salaried only) and 2017 personal time, use 2018 days, or take off excused without pay.
King said the company didn't want to comment on whether VW workers could seek unemployment benefits during the non-production weeks.
But the company said it plans to pay out its first-quarter performance bonus one week early on April 20 to reduce the burden on employees.
Contact staff writer Mike Pare at firstname.lastname@example.org or 423-757-6318.


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It's been an important year for the coffee conglomerate in Asia. Last September saw the chain launch Teavana, a tea company it bought in 2012, into 6,200 of its stores across the APAC region, part of a global effort to increase the brand's focus on tea.
The firm also started releasing Teavana Frozen Teas exclusively in Asia this month. These 'beverages with textural and visual appeal', which include ingredients from pomegranate pearls to Kyoho grapes, are designed to appeal specifically to Asian preferences.
In July, Starbucks made its biggest ever purchase in a bid to consolidate its position in China, buying the remaining 50 percent share of its business from partners in the eastern part of the country for US$1.3 billion. It's a move designed to offset slowing growth in the US; China is expected to eventually overtake the States as the brand's largest market, with a store target of 5,000 by 2021. These will include "premium roastery" shops and plenty of innovations, according to executive chairman Howard Schultz, to appeal to experience-loving social media users. Starbucks is also closing all of its online stores in the coming weeks to focus more heavily on positioning its shops as 'destinations'.
So far, so positive: but consumer analysis reveals a more complex picture. Starbucks dropped two places from 12th to 14th position in Campaign Asia-Pacific's Asia's Top 1000 Brands research this year and while the brand is undoubtedly popular in some markets, like Korea, where it is set to post record operating profits this year, it suffered heavily in consumer opinion in certain other markets, such as Vietnam, where it fell from 32nd to 54th position.
Despite big plans for China, Asia as a whole makes up just 15 percent of Starbucks' overall revenue, and each store currently brings in under half the amount per month of its US counterparts. We asked two regional experts what they think the future holds. Read on for their analyses.
Chairman, Hong Kong
The coffee shop industry appears to being heading into a period of consolidation and reframing after a decade of rapid growth. This is only ever good for consumers as it fuels innovation with all players, from market leaders to fresh startups, having to look for ways to differentiate and standout. Starbucks has grown phenomenally in Asia and is the clear market leader, but the brand faces a number of challenges; from a more savvy consumer base to some bold and talented new competitors across the different Asian markets.
In major urban centres across Asia, from Singapore and Hong Kong to emerging cities such as Cambodia's Phnom Penh, we are seeing a rise in independent artisanal coffee shops offering a cool, high-quality, localised and personal experience to a customer base looking for something more than a semi-automated, machine-produced cappuccino. Arguably, these independent shops are a bigger competitive threat than the other major international or domestic chains such as Costa, Pacific Coffee or The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
There is still undoubtedly a huge growth opportunity for Starbucks, on scale of location opportunities alone—and especially in tier 2 and 3 cities in China. But innovation in experience will be key, especially in the major cities. The ‘Starbucks Reserve’ concept [upscale coffee shops] is a great example of how they are adapting to meet the needs of a specific audience segment, namely white-collar workers in Grade A office locations. I’d like to see more of this level of thinking for different locations and audience groups. Perhaps the recent buy-out of the brand's partner in China will give it the control and freedom to do just that.
General manager, ecommerce, Greater China
Starbucks has always been very effective with social commerce campaigns and integrating the online and offline store experiences. An example would be their WeChat Wallet integration from this year's Valentine’s Day—'Say it with Starbucks'.
What is interesting to me is that when the Tmall store launched [in late 2015], it was focused on connection and gifting, selling “specially designed e-cards, Starbucks cards and coffee vouchers, providing customers with a quick and easy way to light up someone’s day.” It was perfectly in line with the brand’s core value: connection. As time has gone on and users have continued to use the store, Starbucks has expanded the portfolio to include merchandise and coffee to brew at home.
But, when I look at different analyses of the brand, I see that people claim they are focusing on Reserve coffees to drive connoisseurship in the wake of increased competition. I don’t really see that reflected in the Tmall flagship, which is still very much driven by occasion and gifting. The highest-selling SKU’s are still gift cards, not drink vouchers or merchandise. On Tmall Chaoshi, the top products are packs of Frappucinos.
I think that is an area for improvement, potentially with more purely digital campaigns now that they have a bigger presence on Tmall.
|See more Brand Health Check features|


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Finance Yorkshire makes £1.25 million investment in healthcare company
A start-up pharmaceutical company has been given a helping hand to a healthy future after receiving Finance Yorkshire’s biggest investment to date.
Finance Yorkshire celebrated its first year of investing in business by giving Wakefield-based Boston Healthcare a major £1.25 million boost from its Equity Fund.
Boston Healthcare, a company set up in April 2010 by senior managers already working within the healthcare industry, will use the investment to procure, market and distribute a recently acquired portfolio of well-known pharmaceutical products.
The portfolio of over-the-counter (OTC) products produced by Boston Healthcare includes a range of sun protection products (Uvistat) and multi-vitamins (Dalavit) already available in high street retailers and pharmacies.
Steve Stocks, Executive Chairman of Boston Healthcare, said: “Our focus is on OTC brands that people know and have trusted in the past. We are looking to bring them back to life through more creative and innovative marketing, through partnering with our retail and wholesale customers and by increasing the on-shelf presence of each of our products.”
“When we met with Craig Hopwood, our Investment Director, there was a very good chemistry right from the start. He had a good understanding of what the business is about and had a genuine interest in the company. It was an exciting time for everyone involved.”
Colin Darroch, Managing Director explained that with more than 60 years industry experience between them, the senior managers of the company carefully considered the portfolio of brands before deciding to go ahead with the acquisition.
“The OTC market is very large and is being influenced by government pressure as people are encouraged to see their pharmacist for advice and purchase OTC treatments where possible to avoid seeing a GP.”
He said: “We had a look at these brands and looked at other options and decided that now was the time to get the deal done, get control of the brands and start on the marketing of them. Every product is going to have its own individual website – I am a strong believer in digital marketing.”
Craig Hopwood, Investment Director, said: “We are delighted to be working with Steve, Colin and the other members of the management team. They are all impressive individuals with great sector experience and they have a clear strategy to drive future value. Healthcare is one of our preferred investment sectors and the OTC market in particular is a very interesting space given current dynamics. We have been investing in businesses across Yorkshire and the Humber for just over a year now and this is the Equity Fund’s largest investment to date.
Alex McWhirter, Chief Executive of Finance Yorkshire said; “This is a significant investment and demonstrates that Finance Yorkshire can operate at this level. The company needed investment and Finance Yorkshire were able to provide the right equity package to fit their needs. We intend to build on this success by completing more of these types of deals in the future.”
The deal was introduced by David Hardless of Leeds based Park Place Corporate Finance. David said: “I believe Boston Healthcare will be successful because its management team has the ability, energy and experience to re-invigorate the OTC brands it has acquired. To build Boston on a sound financial platform we wanted a partner who would invest in a genuine equity instrument. Finance Yorkshire’s willingness to do this distinguished them from competitors and made them management’s preferred partner.”
Financial due diligence was undertaken by BDO (Matt Copley and Chrisi Leslie) with Pinsent Masons (Peter Wood and Michelle Kershaw) providing legal advice. Management were advised by Park Place Corporate Finance (David Hardless and Richard Firth) and Gateleys (Paul Jefferson).
Helping a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development, Finance Yorkshire provides seed corn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2 million.
The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30 million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15 million from Yorkshire Forward’s Single Programme, and £45 million match funding from the European Investment Bank.
For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or ring 0845 649 0000.
Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire


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You don't hear so much about the Magnificent Seven tech stocks anymore as the S&P 500 has been selling off since August.
That group consists of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META).
Together, those seven growth stocks are responsible for the bulk of the S&P 500's 9.23% year-to-gain. As you can imagine, they're all heavily weighted in the S&P 500.
Now that earnings season is upon us, the market will get more insight into whether these stocks will continue driving a rally.
However, because of their heavy influence over the broader S&P 500, the maybe-not-so-magnificent-after-all Seven have the potential to drag down the broader index.
The market has been down this exact same road, and not that long ago. A look at the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA: SPY) chart shows the index rolling over just at the beginning of 2022, following a huge pandemic-era uptrend.
Techs led the market lower in 2022
As tech stocks sold off in 2022, they led the broader market.
Is history about to repeat?
As of now, the divergence between their performance is showing up. Alphabet earnings beat views, but the stock is still down nearly 10% in the past week as revenue at its cloud business came in below estimates.
Meanwhile, Microsoft's earnings report indicated that AI is contributing to its cloud-business growth, as the company is seeing rising demand for AI tools.
Microsoft stock is up less than 1% for the week.
Fading EV boom drives Tesla lower
Meta earnings and revenue also exceed Wall Street views, although it also issued conservative guidance, causing the slide to slide 4.25% for the week.
Apple reports on November 2, and AI chip titan Nvidia is due to report on November 21.
There's no question about the profitability of any of those companies, but guidance could make an impact, as we've seen.
Meta and Alphabet are the top two most heavily weighted stocks in the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLC), which was down 5.13% the week ending October 27. Those two stocks drove communications stocks as a group lower.
Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia are among the top-weighted stocks in the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLK), which was down 1.17% the week ended October 27.
Higher yields could hurt techs
The tech sector is down 1.10% in the past month.
One factor that could result in a continued downturn is higher interest rates and Treasury yields, a result of Federal Reserve actions and concerns over the broader economy.
Technology and growth stocks are vulnerable to higher bond yields due to those stocks' long-term earnings potential.
When bond yields rise, fixed-income investments become more attractive, causing investors to sell high-valuation tech stocks in favor of bonds, where they can make more money.
Higher yields also increase borrowing costs for growth companies, impacting their profitability, which in turn causes stock prices to drop.
Are investors selling techs in favor of bonds?
In addition, growth and tech companies are more vulnerable to higher yields, as their typically robust projected future cash flows are valued less highly when investors can earn more from risk-free government bonds.
In other words, can a musty old asset class like bonds put growth and tech returns at risk? In this particular environment, it's a possibility.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was 4.86% on October 27, the highest level since 2007.
Higher rates, while not yet demonstrably affecting consumer spending, may yet have that effect. Recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk Tesla said he believed higher interest rates could put a damper on car buying.
Higher rates can hurt the broader economy by increasing the cost of borrowing for businesses and consumers, which can lead to reduced investments, spending, and economic growth. It's possible the pain could spread well beyond the Magnificent Stocks.


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This year’s Which? Awards have announced that Miele has been crowned Large Kitchen Appliance Brand of the Year. Hosted by Which? CEO Anabel Hoult, the ceremony took place virtually on the 8th of October in London.
“I am incredibly proud of this achievement, especially so in a year that continues to present so many challenges for us all,” said John Pickering, managing director, Miele GB, Ireland & South Africa. “To discover that Miele has been awarded this prestigious accolade is a real boost to everyone in our business and recognises the role we individually play toward our ‘Immer Besser’ philosophy – to be forever better in everything we do. Our aim is to combine outstanding, reliable and long-lasting products with exemplary service to genuinely improve the lives of our customers. This award is testament to every Miele employee who works so tirelessly to put customers at the heart of everything we do.”


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Founder Elizabeth Lumpkin has a message for diners after she sold the popular Boss Hawg’s barbecue restaurant to Topeka native Sarah Burtch: Don’t panic.
The recipes for the most popular dishes went with the restaurant, so customers can continue to enjoy the food that made this Topeka’s Best of Barbecue restaurant for years.
Lumpkin said: “I’ve been telling people, ‘Why would you buy a successful business and then change it?’ I feel extremely lucky to find such a talented person to take over.”
“The recipes work, so I don’t want to change that,” Burtch said. “I do plan to add some new fresh items on the menu and expand the salad offerings. I know we’ve been horrifying vegetarians for years, but they have to eat, too. And I want to give the guys in the back a chance to show things off, too, by letting them create some new dishes. Eventually I want to get into the kitchen and create our own house-made desserts.”
Burtch returned to Topeka after years of seasonal cooking and restaurant management work in such places as Alaska, Florida and Wyoming. The Topeka High School and University of Kansas graduate got her culinary training at the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin. Before coming home, she spent two years as general manager for the Pahaska Tepee Resort’s restaurants in Cody, Wyo. (Buffalo Bill’s original hunting lodge).
“I had been doing seasonal work for years and hadn’t spent a holiday with my family for a long time,” Burtch said. “I wanted to be home for Christmas. And then I just stayed.”
Burtch spent the past year working as an assistant manager of a clothing store while she and her mom looked into opening a restaurant. Then one of mother’s friends told her that Lumpkin was looking to retire and sell Boss Hawg’s.
“Elizabeth and I met on a Friday afternoon and talked for four hours,” Burtch said. “Then on Monday, which happened to be my birthday, we sat down with our attorneys and signed the papers.” And then she added, with a smile, “I got a barbecue restaurant for my birthday.”
While menu favorites will stay the same, customers will begin to notice some changes in the next few months. Burtch plans to spruce-up the paint and upholstery throughout the restaurant and hopes to install new televisions in the bar area in the future. A website redesign is already in the works, and there are plans for new menus, with separate ones for lunch, dinner and dessert, plus a late-night bar menu.
“I would like customers to walk away feeling better than when they came in,” Burtch said. “And there’s nothing better than a great meal to lift your spirits.”


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It started with three busted piano keys: a D, E flat and E. After a locked-down year of having to pluck around them while playing his 18-year-old Yamaha P-250 — and falling in love with a friend's new Yamaha YDP-184 — Jeff knew it was time to upgrade.
Between July and November, Jeff would pay for two new $2,200 digital pianos, finally cancel one of them and spend dozens of hours on the phone with four different companies. By late October, Jeff finally received one of the pianos he'd ordered almost four months before.
A couple of years ago, this story would have sounded pretty bananas — an online purchase from hell. But after a nearly two-year pandemic that has broken the way the world builds and ships electronics, Jeff's three-and-a-half-month wait is downright relatable. Welcome to supply chain hell: We all live here now.
"We just broke a record number of vessels offshore again, and some of them will be there for weeks," said William George, an analyst at Import Genius, a company that sources shipment records from customs bureaus. "It's gotten so far beyond one issue now."
Ordering — and reordering — and waiting
Jeff, a San Francisco tech entrepreneur (who asked that we not use his last name "to avoid further headaches related to the whole ordeal"), ordered the pianos in early July, when both looked to be in stock. After he put in the first order, the camera and electronics retailer Adorama notified Jeff that the piano was out of stock.
"The backorder date they gave me was way in the future," Jeff said. "There was something about the wording that made me think … 'Ugh, I can't rely on this.'"
Wanting a piano that could arrive sooner, Jeff put in a second order with the Guitar Center subsidiary Music & Arts, which gave him a July 23 estimated time of arrival.
But on July 18, Jeff made one of what would be many calls to Music & Arts (the company said it has records of him calling 21 times, though he said there were many more times when he didn't get through to a representative) to ask about his order. A customer service rep then emailed him that the piano wouldn't get to the company's warehouse until Oct. 20.
"A three-month delay update five days before my order was allegedly supposed to be delivered to the warehouse is unacceptable," Jeff wrote back. "I received an email delivery estimate of July 23 just 11 days ago, and I reached out to you guys today, not the other way around."
'I don't want anyone to ever see any record of that phone number existing. Again.'
In early August, Jeff learned that Music & Arts had sent the piano to a shipping company called ABF Freight on July 27, but that ABF had sent it back to Music & Arts two days later because it hadn't been able to reach Jeff.
As it turned out, ABF was calling Music & Arts' phone number, somehow thinking it was Jeff's.
"They called Music & Arts' number over and over again to try and deliver it, and never got anyone and no one ever called them back," Jeff said. He then called Music & Arts to tell them what happened and that the piano was being sent back to them, but they said he'd have to start all over again, with a backordered piano. That's the third piano, but who's counting? Jeff. Jeff was counting. And, yes, he had to call ABF to make sure they deleted Music & Arts' phone number from his account.
"I was, like, 'Please delete that number from the system,'" Jeff said. "'I don't want anyone to see any record of that phone number existing again in your system."
Thanks to further backorders, the second piano wouldn't make it to ABF until mid-October.
Where's my piano?
Face-palming customer service failures aside — and we'll note here that neither ABF nor Music & Arts would return Protocol's requests for comment, but its customer service center did give us multiple wrong numbers for a PR department — the reason for the backorder was on the manufacturer's side, a customer service rep told Jeff in a followup email.
That's not surprising, according to Nathan Strang, the director of ocean trade lane management at Flexport, a freight forwarding and customs brokerage company.
Microprocessors are in short supply, and they're likely to go to products like iPhones and Teslas before digital pianos, Strang said.
"Where was that manufacturer in that pecking order, I think, would have driven that," said Strang. Packaging is also hard to come by, which can cause further delays, he noted. But even once a product is manufactured and packaged, it can get stuck for months at a backlogged port.
'None of it's real. It's not actually tracking anything.'
Customs records sourced by ImportGenius show that Music & Arts imported a shipment of digital pianos from Shanghai to the Los Angeles port on Oct. 4. Earlier shipments of musical instruments for Music & Arts customers came into Long Beach on June 20 and Aug. 5, and to LA on June 4 and July 1.
The two ports have been inundated with shipping crates for months.
"As they've filled up, there's been a cascading inability to move things," said George. "Even once you unload the containers, it can take, similarly, weeks to get them processed."
In the meantime, Jeff — eager for a new piano and not wanting to keep waiting for a delivery that would never come — kept calling Music & Arts to check on his order. On Aug. 28, the company told him the piano would be back in stock on Sept. 24, warning that that date was "set by the vendor and is subject to change at any time."
Especially at a time like this, tracking overseas shipments is complicated, Strang said. For one thing, companies might choose to simultaneously import some products by air and some by ocean, which is cheaper but takes longer. If they're nervous that customers will start canceling orders, they might send some by air.
But that can make it hard to know when a specific customer's order will arrive.
For this reason, many companies' tracking systems — especially at smaller companies — are essentially timers, Strang said.
"None of it's real. It's not actually tracking anything. It's just counting down a clock," Strang said, noting that UPS and FedEx are some notable exceptions.
So when you call customer service about your package, it can be hard for a representative to answer.
"Because there's no good assigned to the shipment yet because it hasn't reached fulfillment, they don't even know how to answer that question," Strang said. "You want to know where it is. The problem is, 'it' isn't yet defined."
Jeff finally got his piano on Oct. 20. But the broader supply chain issue is unlikely to even out for two or three years, Strang said. Anytime there's a big surge in demand, like around holidays, the "whiplash effect" will return.
"All of the things are still in place that caused this," Strang said. "There's just not enough time in a year to fix that."


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The Spanish clothing empire, Zara, ranked #48 in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2010, is attempting to tap into the social shopping phenomenon with Zara People!.
Zara People! is Zara's take on an already extremely popular online activity called a ‘lookbook’ or ‘street style’ combined with Social Shopping. This phenomenon has already exploded in the tween and teen online demographic.
Recently, eMarketer published a study on teen girls and social shopping in which they point out:
Teen girls have a passion for continuously experimenting with new looks as a form of trying on different identities. They are greatly influenced by peers, pop culture and celebrity. Given their sheer number, potential spending power, internet and social media usage, teen girls represent an enormous opportunity. Retailers that tap this vein will attract new customers turned on by the viral buzz that girls themselves create.
Zara People! invites you to create and account and upload photos of yourself wearing at least two articles of clothing from the current collection (with each article referenced).
Each week, Zara will select 10 photos of the best ‘looks’ and post them to Zara People!, as well as using them for commercial promotional purposes.
Those 10 people who own the chosen looks will receive a prize of €300 (in exchange for giving up rights to the look and the image). That's €3,000 per week to reach potentially millions of custmores worldwide. For a company with the size and success of Zara, I don't think they'll be feeling a pinch in the budget.
Suite101.net points out that this is an interesting endeavor for Zara to take as normally Grupo Inditex, its parent company, prefers to be conservative with advertising and lets the stores and clothes advertise themselves.
According to Modae.es, the Zara brand is one of the top 20 most liked on Facebook. As of publishing this article, Zara has 8.1 million fans. Curiously, however, with such a huge fan base, Zara has not yet announced Zara People! on Facebook nor created a fan page for it.
The launch of Zara People! in Spain has not been widely publicized, and finding information in English is nearly impossible at the moment.
Perhaps the goal is for Zara People to virally publicize itself?
The sign-up website is logically located at https://people.zara.com/, but the location of the site itself is more hidden and not directly connected to the account page: http://www.zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category/es/es/zara-S2011/69502/PEOPLE%2B
The first ‘looks’ came out this week: http://www.demujer.es/zara-people/
My predictions is that this will be a huge success. I’m interested to see how it evolves…


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BROMONT, CANADA – Sept 2012 –
Cogiscan, the leading track, trace and control solution provider for the electronics manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce the start of a strategic partnership with MIRTEC.
Both companies will work together to integrate the MIRTEC line of AOI machines with the Cogiscan TTC software. Additionally, MIRTEC will sell and support the complete line of Cogiscan TTC solutions in the Korean market.
Mr. Chan Wah Pak, President of MIRTEC commented about the news : “Over the past few years our customers have been increasingly asking us to provide traceability and related software solutions to complement our AOI equipment. Our core expertise is developing inspection machines and the associated machine software, so we decided to partner with the industry leader in global traceability software. We feel that Cogiscan has the right solution for the local market. Their technology is proven and well established in other parts of the world and we look forward to bringing this reliable product to our large installed base of customers in Korea.”
“We are thrilled about this collaboration. MIRTEC is a strong technology leader and our business strategy is very much in line with their forward-thinking approach. They will provide the local support and credibility required for Cogiscan to succeed in Korea,” said Vincent Dubois, Co-President of Cogiscan.
For more information, interested parties are encouraged to contact Cogiscan at +1 450-534-2644
, or e-mail email@example.com


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After Nintendo’s miniature NES and SNES consoles blew up in terms of sales, other companies with decades-long libraries of games have started to take the concept a lot more seriously. Take Sega, which rebooted the development of its new Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Mini under its own roof late last year. The company is doing something a bit different when it comes to the game selection, though, by having fans decide on which games to include via Twitter polls.
There’s Sonic the Hedgehog vs. Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Puyo Puyo vs. Puyo Puyo Tsu, and Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention vs. Shining Force II. As it’s a Twitter poll, anyone from any region can vote within six days as of this writing.
The implication that we won’t be getting every Sonic game on this Mega Drive Mini is bizarre, to say the least, but it could be the case that the polls results will only factor into the Japanese release.
Hopefully we’ll learn more about the finalized system in the coming months.


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Now Apple's got to pay an extra £81m on UK tax bill after HMRC investigators probe another of its companies
New demand: Apple's tax bill has climbed by £81m
Apple’s tax bill has climbed by £81million after investigators probed another of its companies – bringing the total demanded by HM Revenue and Customs to almost £220million.
The hike in payments means one of its sales and marketing arms, Apple UK Ltd, has seen its total bill soar by 260 per cent.
Tax officials at HMRC combed through the company’s accounts for 2011 to 2015.
Investigators are understood to have disputed how much commission Apple UK gets for providing business services to other firms owned by the iPhone maker.
For the five years to September 2015, it reported total sales of £500.5million and profits of £289.5million – but it paid just £22.6million in tax.
Apple said the hike in its bill by £81.4million was due to an ‘extensive audit’ by HMRC.
The fresh tax hit takes the total amount of back-dated payments made by Apple to £218m. Tax officials also swooped on another of its UK arms, Apple Europe Ltd.
It was forced to hand over an extra £137million, accounts revealed last week.
The company was criticised last year after its UK retail arm, Apple Retail UK, posted £1billion of sales at its British stores but paid just £8million in tax.
Apple has defended its tax affairs and insists it pays everything it owes in the countries it operates in.
A spokesman said: ‘As a multinational business and the largest taxpayer in the world, Apple is regularly audited by tax authorities.’
An HMRC spokesman said yesterday it did not comment on specific companies but stressed that large businesses were subjected to ‘an exceptional level of scrutiny’.
‘Multinational companies must pay all taxes due and we don’t settle for less’, he said.
For the 18 months to April 2017, the new accounts showed Apple UK paid a further £35.7million in tax.
The business reported sales of £313.1million and profit of £291.7million over the period.
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coast coal harbour hotel
Okabe North America Inc.
Size: 20 storeys, 220 guestrooms
Inside was hired by Coast to design its flagship 220-room Vancouver hotel. We worked to keep the rooms visually spacious with our furniture and floorplans. We made the lobby impactful by creating cast concrete check-in desks balanced by a colour scheme of bronze and deep blue.
Shu Naito, former Vice-president of development Okabe North America, owners of the Coast brand, said the hotel will set a new standard for the brand and its interior design.


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TAIPEI, Taiwan — June 1, 2016 — Wednesday at Computex 2016, Microsoft Corp.
invited its Windows 10 hardware partners to create virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality devices and everything in between with Windows Holographic, the platform that powers Microsoft HoloLens. In opening up Windows Holographic to partners, Microsoft shared its vision for mixed reality — a world where devices interact with each other to change the way people work, communicate, learn and play.
“With Windows 10, we’ve been on an incredible journey with our partners, and today we usher in the next frontier of computing — mixed reality,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices.
Windows: The only holographic platform
With over 80 million virtual reality devices expected in the market, per year, by 2020, the business opportunity for virtual reality is vast. Yet, today’s devices are built with related but differing technologies — ranging from virtual to augmented reality. These devices and experiences do not work together today, because of different user interfaces, interaction models, input methods, peripherals and applications. Most virtual reality experiences can’t mix real people, objects and environments into the virtual world, making creation and collaboration difficult.
Windows Holographic unites these worlds and enables innovation across a range of devices. Windows Holographic offers a holographic shell and user interface, perception APIs, and Xbox Live services, enabling a familiar experience across apps and content. All Universal Windows apps can run on the Windows Holographic platform. Today there are nearly a thousand Universal Windows Apps that run on Windows Holographic.
In a mixed reality world, devices can offer experiences that extend beyond the virtual world. Imagine wearing a VR device and seeing your physical hands as you manipulate an object, working on the scanned 3-D image of a real object, or bringing a real-life holographic representation of another person into your virtual world so you can collaborate. In this world, devices can spatially map your environment wherever you are; manipulating digital content is as easy and natural as it is in the real world. Interested partners can learn more at http://www.winhec.com.
In addition to opening up Windows Holographic to its partner ecosystem for the future, Microsoft is working with Intel Corporation, AMD Inc., Qualcomm Inc., HTC Corp., Acer Inc., ASUS, Dell Inc., Falcon Northwest, HP, Lenovo Group Ltd., MSI and many others to build a hardware ecosystem supporting great virtual reality experiences on Windows 10.
Celebrating new Windows 10 devices
Nick Parker, corporate vice president, OEM division, highlighted how Microsoft works hand-in-hand with PC makers, celebrating innovation in hardware from PCs to gaming to Internet of Things and beyond.
Microsoft at Computex
Visitors to Computex 2016 this week can view the new Windows 10 devices at the Microsoft Booth L0110, located at Nangang Hall 4F, Computers and Systems area. The show is open through June 4.
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empowerevery person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.


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Angus Stevens, chair of AMAC, thinks Australian organisations are well-positioned to capitalise on metaverse possibilities, but are missing out on its potential by confusing future states of the metaverse with current opportunities.
Marketing Mag speaks to Stevens about the launch of AMAC, his own projects in the space and the opportunities leaders should be keeping in mind.
“The biggest single upside is knowledge retention. That, to me, is the biggest thing that the metaverse offers. It allows people to remember stuff that they otherwise would not,” he says.
Virtual opportunities presented by the metaverse
Stevens says we should stop focusing exclusively on innovative content forms when thinking of the metaverse, since the ways people engage with it are also important. He points out that most people hear the term ‘metaverse’ and think of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) headsets and avatars, but the technology is far more accessible than that. Desktop and mobile devices facilitate detailed exploration of virtual models, even on a traditional screen.
He points to IKEA and Nike as major brands that publicly showcase virtual products, but celebrates its use for highly technical products that can be disassembled and examined in ways that aren’t possible in a physical reality, citing internal air-conditioning parts as an example.
But beyond passive consumer interaction with virtual products, Stevens sees business-to-business (B2B) interactions as more fruitful marketing avenues for metaverse investment, as experiences and environments can be tailored to enhance client relationships.
“The big opportunity right now is around educating brands, and educating people through those brands, in an experience whereby it’s a really cool way of learning about the product,” he says.
“So, you can transport someone into a totally different environment, or you can use AR to make a 3D visualisation of your product, or of your brand identity, and then engage with folks that way.”
An advisory council for the metaverse
On the value of AMAC, Stevens has plenty to say: “There are a lot of folks in Australia who are working within this space in different ways, and yet the energy hasn’t been harnessed within the lens of a uniquely Australian perspective.”
He believes many enterprises, academic institutions and government bodies creating virtual and mixed realities need practical assistance from an Australian body without commercial interest.
“The whole point of AMAC is to advocate, educate and advise,” he says.
“We’re about actually being in the industry right now and being able to show tangible ways of being able to use [the metaverse] right now. But, also to point out the difference between a future state and an immediate state, and to allow people to have that knowledge, so that they can make the right decisions about what they want their business to do.”
Confusion around existing opportunities of virtual and mixed realities has created metaverse hesitancy in the Australian market, but Stevens says Australian brands shouldn’t wait.
“There’s a pathway to the metaverse that companies can begin now. [Just like] social media had early adopters that reaped the rewards of it and those who didn’t, the metaverse is the same,” he says.
Stevens’ own virtual and mixed realities
In 2015 Stevens co-founded Start Beyond, a company that specialises in VR and AR products, and he has been CEO for the past two years.
Among other endeavours, Start Beyond develops bespoke, high-end marketing campaigns and educational courses that exist within the platform it has created: Oncio. A recent educational project that Stevens is proud to have delivered is Start Beyond’s work with St John Ambulance, an accredited VR course that simulates medical emergencies.
“It was rolled out in Victoria and then off the back of the success of that, it’s now being rolled out nationally. And that’s a program that allows people to get certified first aid training through our platform,” says Stevens.
Other noteworthy projects have included VR-based therapy simulations, climate change resilience training for farmers and de-escalation practice for aged care staff.
Content development for all programs is guided by subject matter experts, and Stevens encourages organisations to embrace the current state of the metaverse so that more projects with such social benefit can be brought into practice.
Images attributed to Start Beyond and Angus Stevens.


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Port Everglades Terminal is going to get a Disney makeover. Local 10 provided us with this information.
- Disney Cruise Line is a popular vacation option for many families all over the world.
- If you're going to be sailing with Captain Mickey, they will sail into a brand new magical theme terminal at Port Everglades next fall.
- On Tuesday, the Broward County Commission approved a new Port Everglades design for a project with Disney Cruise Line.
- In a press release, "the Broward Commission named Bermello, Ajamil & Partners as the design service that will complete the Disney makeover for Terminal 4 at the port."
- "Disney is known for its remarkable creativity worldwide. I’m sure this new terminal will reflect the magical Disney experience for travelers. We are certainly very happy and complimented that Disney Cruise Line will be sailing from our Port Everglades," said Broward County Mayor Michael Udine.
- The company has yet to create their design inside or outside of the terminal, but the project is said to be completed in the fall of 2023.
- Disney Cruise Line is heading to the South Florida Port as part of their 15-year partnership beginning next fall.
- With all of these new additions, it is expected to bring more than 1,100 local jobs to Port Everglades as well as 12.3 million in state and local taxes. This is according to Martin Associates which is a highly recognized maritime research company.
- The original home for Disney Cruise Line is Port Canaveral, which is located in Central Florida.
Laughing Place recommends MouseFanTravel.com for all your Disney Cruise travel planning


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Google Home has hit the scene as the smart-speaker to connect “all the things” in your home and even provide some light-hearted comedy if the mood strikes you.
The release of the Assistant SDK to third parties is opening a huge market for smart, connected products that work seamlessly with your little Google helper.
Burger King however, has found a whole new way to leverage Google Home and its hotword, “OK, Google.”
A 15 second commercial spot shows us an employee at the fast food chain describing the popular Whopper Burger. About 10 seconds in, the friendly Burger King employee calls on Google Home to explain the ingredients that go into the classic sandwich.
Honestly, this is brilliant marketing. I can’t deny that. The problem here is how invasive marketing of this sort can be. Not only would countless Google Home devices randomly start giving you a fresh ingredients list of a flame-broiled Whopper but what about the millions of smart phones with the “OK Google” enabled?
As clever as this may seem, does it open the door to advertisers taking advantage of smart-speaker devices? This will surely create a buzz of privacy concerns for many and may cause the reevaluation of many who use these devices.
Another point here is the fact that many users have expressed a deep desire to be able to remap or rename the “OK, Google” hotword. Personalizing this feature would at least curb marketers from unwanted access of Google Home and the Assistant. Not to mention, giving the device a unique name would be a great selling point in my humble opinion.
What do you think? Is this targeted marketing gone too far? Comment below and let your voice be heard.
Source: NY Times


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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Employees at Big R and Ranch stores in Washington and Oregon will be sharing $22,000 dollars with their co-workers this week.
Big R recently received an additional rebate from their workers compensation carrier SAIF, and decided to give the $22,468 to their employees.
"Safety is the most important thing in our stores," said owner Buzz Wheeler in a statement. "We're putting our money where our mouth is and financially rewarding our employees for working safely."
The company is receiving the money based on the safety record of each individual store in 2010.
There are nine Big R stores located in Washington and Oregon.


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IHS Technology Predicts 6B Internet-Enabled Devices to Be Produced in 2014
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The global market for Internet-enabled devices is projected to surpass 6 billion units in 2014 as new products including cellphones, tablets and computers enter the electronics ecosystem, according to a new report from IHS Technology.
Worldwide production of connected equipment will amount to 6.18 billion units this year, a 6% increase from 5.82 billion in 2013. This will be the largest increase for the market in four years, surpassed only by the 10% hike in production during 2010, according to the research firm.
IHS expects production growth rates will then slow in the next few years, even though total units produced will continue to rise in absolute numbers. Between 2015 and 2017, an estimated 19.42 billion new devices will flood the global market.
“The improved growth this year of the connected devices industry marks the return of higher production as manufacturers deliver all sorts of connectivity equipment to users,” says Jagdish Rebello, Ph.D., senior director for information technology at IHS. “Given the voracious appetite of consumers for social media and their yen for always-on connectivity, it’s little surprise that makers will continue to turn out such devices to keep buyers engaged.”
Connected devices are defined as equipment that allow users to interact with the Internet in some fashion, from as passive an activity as simply looking at photos in social media or streaming media content for consumption, to a livelier form of engagement, such as gaming in real time. The devices must possess embedded connectivity, made possible through built-in semiconductors.
Among connected devices, those expected to enjoy higher production numbers this year include video game consoles, media tablets, mobile handsets, liquid-crystal display televisions (LCD TVs), set-top boxes and mobile PCs.
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Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century
This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!


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Apple’s new store in Dusseldorf, Germany, opens on 14th December
Apple’s site confirms that its new store in Dusseldorf – its 13th German store – will open at 10am on Saturday. The first 1000 visitors to the store will reportedly receive an Apple t-shirt.
The store is located in Dusseldorf Köbogen, a brand-new upmarket shopping center with stores featuring a number of luxury brands, at Königsallee 2.
Apple’s retail stores must qualify as one of the world’s most successuful risky gambles, earning more per square foot than any other retail company in the world – beating even Tiffany and Harrods. Apple has over 400 stores worldwide, and plans to open a further 30 next year.
Thanks for the many tips on this


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Abu Dhabi-based hotel operator Rotana expects a faster return to pre-pandemic business levels by the end of this year, based on an earlier forecast for 2023, driven by a growth in tourist numbers, the return of business meetings and the FIFA World Cup Qatar, its said President and Chief Executive.
The hospitality group expects “nothing less” than a 20-25 percent increase in sales this year compared to 2021 and a further 15-20 percent year-on-year increase in 2023, Guy Hutchinson said The National on the sidelines of the Future Hospitality Summit in Dubai.
Supported by strong investor appetite for hospitality development, Rotana plans to open seven more hotels by the end of this year, Mr Hutchinson said. Seven more property openings are planned for 2023, although these could double by the end of next year due to ongoing discussions.
“We don’t talk about recovery anymore, we don’t use that language regularly anymore,” Hutchinson said.
“We’re talking about growth, expansion, restoring the industry’s strongest fundamentals, reinvesting in real estate, expanding the portfolio. We launched our new Edge brand and are expanding our franchise business.”
Dubai hosted 8.1 million international visitors in the first seven months of 2022, a nearly triple year-on-year increase and surpassing the total for 2021. The emirate, whose tourism sector has recovered significantly in the post-Covid era, hosted 7.28 million visitors in 2021.
Project pipeline from Benin to Luxor
Rotana currently manages a portfolio of more than 100 properties in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey with an aggressive expansion plan.
The hotel management company signed an initial pact for a five-star resort in West Africa’s Benin, Mr Hutchinson said.
It also signed a deal for its new Edge hotel brand in Istanbul and a deal for The Residences by Rotana to offer villa accommodation in the port city of Bodrum, on Turkey’s southwest coast on the Aegean Sea.
The first Edge Hotel is scheduled to open on October 1 in Jaddaf, Dubai.
Next year, Rotana will enter the Algerian market with the opening of Azure Rotana Resort & Spa in the port city of Oran. The opening of the object is planned for March.
The new hotel in Muscat’s Al Mouj development is scheduled to open in the first quarter of next year.
The hotel operator will launch the Luxor Rotana in late 2023 in Egypt’s historic city famous for its ancient monuments. Luxor Rotana is one of six new hotels set to open in Egypt, with hotels in New Cairo and the north coast also planned in 2024.
“Egypt is one of the most developing markets we’ve seen,” Mr Hutchinson said.
“I was there three weeks ago and the last time I saw physical construction of this scale was in China.”
The upcoming hotel openings, slated for this year and next, come as investment in hotel construction has accelerated in the wake of the pandemic, Hutchinson said.
“We’re seeing a pace of hotel development and construction that we didn’t anticipate,” he said.
“Investors have noticed some resilience in the industry during the pandemic. They’ve had a strong recovery and maybe they’ve had an opportunity to negotiate good deals.”
At the end of the third quarter, Rotana was “spot on” with its performance guidance for the three-month period, Mr. Hutchinson said.
“We haven’t seen a slowdown anywhere,” he said. However, there was a “small outlier” with an outflow of GCC travel to Europe, but countries like Jordan and Beirut “will do stronger next year”.
The company just completed its financial planning cycle for next year and will be budgeting for “very strong growth across the region,” Hutchinson said.
He said Rotana expects the current trend of strong performance in the Middle East to continue into 2023.
“The region has done so well in breaking into new markets and new business and there has been so much support from governments and airlines,” Mr Hutchinson said. “All of this underpins the very strong growth momentum.”
Fifa World Cup buzz
Rotana’s hotels in Doha and Dubai, the Middle East’s tourism hub, are reporting strong bookings in the fourth quarter during Qatar’s four-week mega soccer tournament, which begins in mid-November, Mr Hutchinson said.
His five-star properties in downtown Doha are at full capacity, while occupancy rates at his other properties will hit the “high 90s,” he said.
Rotana is also preparing to open two new properties in Doha on November 1 to capitalize on the Fifa World Cup boom.
The group’s hotels in Dubai are seeing “significant demand” for bookings in November and December, with occupancy expected to reach “mid to high 90s” as dozens of daily shuttle flights between the emirate and Doha during the event keep fans busy, said Mr Hutchinson.
He added that higher inflation and fuel costs “have the potential” to impact the business if average daily hotel room rates fall, but the effect will be offset by growing occupancy and source market diversity.
Visitors from traditional markets like Saudi Arabia and the UK have rebounded sharply, while demand from existing markets like France has doubled, Hutchinson said.
Travelers from new Latin American markets such as Brazil and Mexico are also contributing to Rotana’s growth.
“We haven’t seen a reopening in China yet, but if we do, it will add another layer of growth to where we are now,” Hutchinson said.
Updated September 19, 2022 4:11 am


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New clothes bought in the UK produce more carbon emissions per minute than driving a car around the world six times, says Oxfam, in a claim that echoes Vivienne Westwood’s Big Issue message.
The charity’s research found that the textile industry produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the shipping and aviation industries combined.
They also reported that more than two tonnes of clothing are bought every minute in the UK with the emissions from buying one new white cotton shirt equating to driving a car for 35 miles.
A new study has revealed shocking statistics like this below about the impact of #ClimateChange on the environment and in turn on people around the world. Make a stand in September and take part in #SecondHandSeptember 👉 https://t.co/7euTmdPJs8 pic.twitter.com/ow8VI2qzsH
— Oxfam (@oxfamgb) August 30, 2019
Overall, the emissions from new clothes bought in the UK every month are greater than those from flying a plane around the world 300 times with each adult spending £27 on fast fashion monthly despite owning two unworn items. And that’s not counting the 11 million garments Oxfam estimate end up in landfill in the UK.
Add in the poor working and pay conditions for workers making the garments in some of the world’s poorest countries – who are feeling the effects of climate change disproportionately to their greenhouse gas output – and the message is clear: fast fashion needs to go.


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The new 2015 Ford Mustang is set to go on sale in the UK in June next year and in the rest of Europe in the first quarter of 2015.
We are all excited to see how well this vehicle is going to do on the European market as the sixth generation Ford Mustang is going to be the first ever Mustang to go on sale in this part of the world. There will be two different engines available: the 2.3L EcoBoost and the 5.0L V8.
However, there has already been some criticism from the European Media, particularly the UK Media. They are very critical of the low speed ride quality, which has been questioned in recent test drives. The UK media are saying that the poor comfort at low speeds will not work on the UK roads and Ford have promised to have a look at altering the suspension for the European models.
Raj Nair is the Ford Global Engineering chief, and this is what he had to say about the suspension alteration: “As soon as we play with the low speed damping we risk harming the car’s handling. Even so, we’re about to begin testing and there are some things we can do,”.
The only problem with messing around with the suspension is that it could have a negative affect on the handling, which is one of the main areas this vehicle has been praised for along with the overall performance.
What do you think of the 2015 Ford Mustang? Do you think it will be a success in the UK and do you think softening the suspension will work? Let us know what you think in our comments box below.
Take a look at the new 2015 Ford Mustang in the video below:
Do you own a Ford vehicle?
If you own a Ford vehicle and are looking for replacement parts you are in the right place. We have a comprehensive network of UK Breakers with parts available for all makes and models at amazingly low prices. You can begin searching for your needed Ford parts by visiting our Ford parts page today.


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After a slow 2020 caused by the coronavirus pandemic, automakers are facing another major problem this year – the microchip shortage. It has forced many car manufacturers to significantly reduce production due to the missing semiconductors, losing precious sales while generating frustration among shoppers.
Speaking as the president of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse warns in a letter that “the gravity of the situation requires a strong and coordinated response across the European Union.” Based on a document obtained by Bloomberg News, members of the industry association are projecting the lack of microchips will continue through 2022.
As new car inventory keeps decreasing, the prices of used vehicles have gone up significantly in the last few months as people have no other way but to look elsewhere. How has 2021 been treating BMW so far? Year-over-year sales through September are up by 17.9% with a total of 1,932,236 vehicles sold by the Group (including MINI and Rolls-Royce). Not only that, but sales of EVs have more than doubled compared to the first three quarters of 2020.
Nevertheless, members of the ACEA are worried sales won’t reach pre-pandemic levels in 2022 as the chip shortage will linger on and disrupt car production. The organization believes a solution for the future to avoid these bottlenecks would be to diminish the dependency on suppliers originating from Asia.
For some dealers, the microchip shortages have been a blessing in disguise as with customer demand far surpassing what is available on dealer lots, salespeople took out incentives and stopped offering deals. In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this year, Mark Wakefield, a consultant with AlixPartners in Detroit, said some of the US car companies are making $3,000 more than before for each car sold. Not only that, but pickups and SUVs are generating up to $10,000 higher profits per unit.


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Those looking to purchase a Hyundai in Cebu will be pleased to know that Hyundai Motor Philippines has just broken ground for its upcoming dealership, which will be located in Talisay, Cebu. Executives from the automaker and Gateway Motors (which will be operating the dealership) were present at the ground-breaking ceremony last August 11.
The Cebu-Talisay dealership will be the latest addition to the company’s electric vehicle outlets, and will feature the Hyundai Global Dealership Space Identity 2.0 for a more customer-centric approach and appearance. Expect this dealership to open in the fourth quarter of 2024.
“Cebuanos will soon have more access to our sustainable and innovative cars, most especially the back-to-back World Car of The Year winners, the Ioniq 5 and the Ioniq 6,” said HMPH president Lee Dong Wook. “Not only that. We wish to make our presence more felt by existing Hyundai owners who are residing or working on this island through our expert after-sales care as well as genuine parts and accessories offers.”


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Big 5 Expo was an amazingly constructed event exclusively tailored for the construction industry, equally useful for the suppliers as well as buyers, exhibiting over 3500 stands with an expected walk-in over 75000 potential customers.
For Immediate Release: July 9, 2017, Dubai, United Arab Emirates KAZEMA PORTABLE TOILETS NAMED AS FINALIST IN THE GULF CAPITAL SME AWARDS 2017 The UAE – Kazema Portable Toilets, one of the leading suppliers of plastic portable toilets, GRP portable toilets and sinks, and other portable sanitation equipment today, this week excitedly announced they have been […]
Top Quote Think of Eco friendly Toilets, Kazema Portable Toilets is the first company which comes to mind. This ISO certified company is showcasing the latest Eco-Friendly toilets in the BIG 5 Exhibition 2016 starting tomorrow.
Kazema Portable Toilets has been awarded the coveted ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems certification from the International Organization for Standardization.
The Big 5 2015 was the biggest and most successful show to date with an 8% increase on participation from last year. The 2015 show brought even more exhibitors, products and learning opportunities than ever before.
With Kazema’s new Automatic Handwash Stations, protect yourself and others with the single or dual sided custom made portable handwash stations available with automatic and self contained supplies for easy use. With the 5 Gallon freshwater and waste water capacity each, feel the freedom to use for the needs and provides plenty of washes at your convenience and at whichever location.


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Kanye West is proving once again that there is not an industry that he won’t tap into. From working with Adidas and creating the sneaker phenomenon YEEZYs, the music mogul is now setting his sights on taking his talents to the automotive industry with “Donda Industrial Design” according to reports.
Ye has named Steven Smith, a footwear architect as head of “Donda Industrial Design” where they have conceptualized a futuristic “DONDA Foam Car.” The statement for the Donda Foam Concept reads: “Donda Foam Vehicle, Conceptualized, Designed, Manufactured in the United States, Amen.”
The concept car is a blacked-out tank with oversized wheels similar to what Ye pulled up in during his McDonald’s commercial for the Super Bowl. There has yet to be official news on whether or not the Donda Foam Vehicle will be released or what manufacturer Ye will be using but according to the statement, it will be made in the U.S.


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Onerous Food Safety Rules Could Abolish Outdoor Access for Laying Hens
Cornucopia, WI – Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft guidance document to clarify how egg producers, including organic farmers with outdoor access, can comply with its 2009 egg safety rule aimed at reducing salmonella contamination in the nation’s egg supply.
Since organic producers are required by federal standards to grant outdoor access to their laying hens, the guidance applies to all organic egg producers. The FDA, which collaborated with the USDA’s National Organic Program in promulgating their guidance, recognizes minute covered porches, which do not afford true and meaningful outdoor access to laying hens, as one of four possible organic production systems and thereby legitimizes their use.
Already the focus of controversy and threatened lawsuits, the USDA has been widely criticized for allowing giant “organic” factory farms, confining as many as 100,000 birds to a building, to skirt the requirements for outdoor access by employing tiny screened porches, often with a capacity of only 1-3% of the confined birds. The USDA is currently allowing these giant poultry operations to claim these structures as the legally required “access to the outdoors.”
“This is collusion between two Obama administration agencies to significantly and permanently weaken the integrity of the organic standards,” says Mark Kastel, Codirector of The Cornucopia Institute.
“By giving the OK to use covered porches as ‘outdoor access,’ and putting additional burdens on producers with legitimate outdoor runs or pasture, the recommendations in this food safety document decisively tilt the playing field to industrial-scale producers,” added Kastel.
Some in the organic community had been concerned that the FDA would require impractical swabbing and disinfecting of the outdoor areas but the draft guidance puts these concerns to rest. However, other prevention and control measures that are included in the guidance could force organic producers to devote significant additional resources, or may even make it impossible for pastured poultry operations to comply.
Stephanie Alexandre, a producer of certified organic, pastured eggs near Crescent City, California, objects to the draft guidance. “It’s ironic that federal regulators would apply such scrutiny, and costly and labor-intensive requirements, to my farm when there is abundant published, peer-reviewed research indicating that the real danger to society, from salmonella contamination in eggs, comes from giant industrial operations, generally with caged birds, not with modest sized flocks of pastured poultry,” said the organic farmer.
For example, despite weak scientific evidence that contact with wild birds is a significant risk factor for salmonella contamination, the FDA requires organic producers to minimize contact with other birds. The agency recommends noise cannons, temporary confinement, or netting, or even structures with roofs (porches) which would be cost prohibitive for most organic producers with meaningful outdoor access.
Some of the recommended measures would discourage chickens from using the outdoor space. For example, while noise cannons would be effective in scaring wild birds, they would also scare the laying hens and effectively make the outdoor area an inhospitable environment for the organic birds.
“In effect, the FDA’s proposed recommendations would steer organic egg producers toward the use of porches, which would be the most effective and cost-efficient way to ensure complete compliance with the rule,” Kastel explained. “Why would farm operators invest the extra labor and expense to meet the FDA requirements, and put their birds outside, when they can create a token structure, attached to their main building, and continue to confine their animals?”
“The recommendations in this draft guidance essentially give organic producers a textbook of excuses for why their birds can legally be confined in industrial settings,” says Kastel. “To create the safest and most nutritious eggs, we should be encouraging more and better use of outdoor space for laying hens so that they can exhibit their true, native behavior. But this FDA document does just the opposite.”
The Cornucopia Institute was already investigating a legal action against the USDA for its unwillingness to enforce the law requiring outdoor access for chickens. It is the farm policy organization’s contention that confining birds to small adjacent structures on massive industrial-scale “farms,” does not meet the federal legal mandate.
In what now appears to be a cynical ploy, the USDA had asked the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the expert citizen panel that Congress created to advise the Secretary of Agriculture, to develop standards to help enforce the requirement for outdoor access.
The NOSB completed a years-long process of collaborating with industry representatives and forwarded a series of recommendations to USDA leadership that would have required a minimum amount of square footage, and other requirements, like the number and size of doors, that would have facilitated enforcement of the outdoor access provisions.
Recently, leadership at the USDA’s National Organic Program informed organic stakeholders that they would not follow through with amending poultry/livestock regulations, incorporating the NOSB’s recommendations, because it was currently “not a priority.”
“The lack of enforcement action by the USDA has helped shift the lion’s share of production of organic eggs to giant agribusinesses, which mostly produce conventional eggs, at the expense of family-scale farmers who are producing a superior product in an environmentally responsible manner and treating their livestock humanely,” stated Cornucopia’s Kastel. “We will not stand by while the most dedicated and responsible, and law-abiding, organic producers are placed at a competitive disadvantage by the arbitrary and capricious behavior of the current administration’s leadership at the USDA and FDA.”
The FDA has opened a 60-day public comment period for input pursuant to their draft guidance on compliance with the salmonella safety rule for producers with outdoor access for laying hens. For more information, visit the FDA’s website: http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm361861.htm
The Cornucopia Institute will soon release an action alert and briefing paper so interested organic stakeholders can make informed comments on the draft guidance.
Cornucopia is also analyzing a separate pending FDA draft rule that will seriously impact family-scale vegetable growers.
If organic farmers and consumers interested in protecting the integrity of the organic label, and possibly the country’s safest agricultural producers, are not already Cornucopia members, they can either join by visiting the organization’s website (for full access to electronic and print publications) or sign up for Cornucopia’s free electronic newsletter: www.cornucopia.org. Either way they will be notified when Cornucopia’s action alert and briefing materials become available.