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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war action against Ukraine has made many personalities and organizations take a severe stand against Russian nationals and policies. Following the same stance, the famous luxury brand Chanel has barred Russian nationals from buying their products. Several Russian nationals currently residing elsewhere have posted their experience and disappointment after facing denial from Chanel stores.
Russian Elites Slam Chanel For Their Latest Intolerant Policy Against Them
Several Russian elites around the world have shared their outrage against the luxury brand Chanel. The brand recently issued a policy to ban Russian nationalists from any of its products. The step comes to express their strict stand against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. While the step might seem quite expected, the Russian elites have expressed that it’s shocking for them to be barred from stores outside Russia also.
Famous Russian influencer Liza Litvin posted her experience after being denied to buy a Chanel product in a mall in Dubai. “I went to a Chanel boutique in the Mall of the Emirates,” she posted. “They didn’t sell me the bag because (attention!) I am from Russia!!!” Moreover, she shared the details of the policy as she faced them. She explained Chanel “has a new order that they only sell after I sign a piece of paper saying that I won’t wear this bag in Russia.”
The store manager at the Dubai Mall told Litvin about the latest decision when she shared her number. “They asked for my ID details and I gave my Russian phone number,” she explained. “Next, the manager said that starting from today they were selling to Russians only if they sign an agreement not to wear their items in Russia.”
Another Russian personality Anna Kalashnikova turned to dig up Chanel’s history in retaliation. The singer and TV show presenter slammed the brand for its latest move. She told the manager’s exact words as he refused to sell the product to her. “We know you are a Russian celebrity. We know you’ll be making purchases in Russia, so we can’t sell our brand’s items,” he told Anna. “ ‘Oops’, I thought. Next, I remembered Coco Chanel was not only mistress of a Nazi officer, but an agent of German intelligence,” she said. “So this action of her brand really makes me remember her biography. It’s so low to support fascism and Russophobia.” Moreover, the presenter has decided to boycott the brand in retaliation.
The Brand’s Representative Explain Their Stance
The French corporate office of Chanel opened up about their policy against Russians. “The latest sanctions restrictions of the European Union and Switzerland prohibit ‘the sale, directly or indirectly, of luxury items to any natural, legal person or entity in the Russian Federation or for use in the Russian Federation,’ ” the company said in a statement.
“We understand that these measures, aimed at complying with the requirements of the law, may create certain inconveniences for some customers. We are currently working to improve the procedure and apologize for any related misunderstandings and inconveniences,” Chanel said. The customers would now have to sign an agreement saying that the acquired product won’t be used in Russia.


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GE will expand its new, advanced manufacturing battery factory, which is part of the company's new Energy Storage business. The new Durathon battery products, which are half the size of conventional lead acid batteries but last ten times longer, are the result of GE's $100 million initial investment in battery technology developed at GE's Global Research Center in nearby Niskayuna, NY. The breakthrough technology will provide reliable and cost-effective energy storage options for a broad range of GE customers globally, including telecom and utility operators.
GE said that it will invest an additional $70 million to expand the Schenectady plant, effectively doubling production and adding 100 new jobs, which will bring the total factory workforce to 450 when at full capacity.
GE Chairman & CEO Jeff Immelt said, "Just a few years ago, researchers in our labs invented a new battery, one that was simple in its ingredients but advanced in its design and science, containing more than 30 patents. It soon became obvious that we weren't just making a new battery; we were building a new business, so GE teams went to work designing an advanced manufacturing process to build the battery efficiently and a go-to-market strategy to ensure it can reach customers where they work."
Immelt said. "GE Energy Storage was born in New York's Capital Region from an idea that we turned into an advanced manufacturing plant and a global business that we expect will generate more than $1 billion in revenue annually in just a few years. We'll continue to expand the business into new areas beyond telecommunications to build the next generation of energy-efficient buses, locomotives and mining vehicles around the world."
Megatron Federal, an engineering company with products and services in power generation, transmission, distribution, construction and telecommunications based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has signed a purchase agreement for 6,000 batteries, which will be delivered in 2013. These batteries will ensure the continuous operation of telecom installations in Nigeria, and enable the customer to lower fuel consumption and emissions of the diesel generator powered telecom towers by up to 50 percent.
Brandon Harcus, division manager telecommunications, Megatron Federal said, "The breakthrough batteries from GE - a next-generation energy storage system - will ensure uninterrupted service of telecoms installations in Nigeria and for our customers in emerging markets."
The battery plant has received support from state and local government in New York, where GE has done business for 130 years. New York State committed $15 million when the new plant was announced in May 2009, and $5 million was committed by Schenectady County's Metroplex Development Authority.
Innovative Batteries at Work
The Durathon batteries are the result of GE's unprecedented investment in research and development that has helped GE introduce more new products than at any time in its history. The batteries are produced using abundantly available raw materials such as salt and nickel and are non-toxic and fully recyclable. The batteries can operate at temperatures ranging from minus 4° Fahrenheit to 140° Fahrenheit. The batteries have received GE's ecomagination certification from a third party for their environmental and financial benefits.
The new battery plant is about the size of four football fields. Its projected annual production capacity is approximately one Giga-watt hour (GWh), enough energy to power 1,000 typical American homes for one month.
GE Transportation President & CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said, "GE's innovative Durathon battery highlights our ongoing leadership in technology. We bring a state-of-the-art energy storage system to customers around the globe and lay the foundation for hybrid applications in the rail, mining, and marine industries."

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We reported earlier that Toyota is developing an affordable version of the Fortuner SUV for the developing markets. This mini Toyota Fortuner will be slightly smaller than the regular model and is reportedly to make global debut by the end of this year. It will first go on sale in Thailand.
At last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota showcased the new ladder-frame based & ICE-powered IMV O concept. In fact, the company has introduced the Hilux Champ, an affordable lifestyle pickup based on the IMVO platform in Thailand. Hao Quoc Tien, President of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific had told the media that there could be a new SUV based on the IMVO platform.
The new Mini Toyota Fortuner is likely to be called the Toyota FJ Cruiser, as the name has been patented by the Japanese automaker. It will be based on the same ladder-frame chassis that underpins the Hilux Champ. The IMVO is basically a different version of the IMV architecture, which underpins the Hilux, Fortuner and Innova.
The new SUV is likely to share the styling cues from the existing Fortuner, featuring boxy design. It is expected to share the dimensions including the 2750mm wheelbase with the existing Fortuner. The new SUV could be offered with two- and three-row seating layouts.
The cabin layout of the new mini Toyota Fortuner is likely to be shared with the Hilux Champ lifestyle pick-up. However, the SUV will have better quality material, a larger touchscreen infotainment unit, better fit & finish with more premium touches and several new features.
The new SUV is likely to be offered with multiple engine options including diesel and petrol. It is expected to get a 2.4-litre turbo diesel and a 2.8-litre turbo diesel engine, while the petrol version could get a 2.7-litre petrol engine. These engines currently power the Innova Crysta and Fortuner in India.
New Mini Toyota Fortuner – India-Bound?
Toyota is yet to make an official announcement on the launch of IMVO architecture based products in India. Toyota was planning to launch a new C-SUV to fill the gap between the Hyryder and the Fortuner; however, this plan has been cancelled. The new mini Fortuner could be the right product to fill this void.


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IP sales expected to climb as funding sources dry up
- Jesse Noyes
By the time nTag Interactive Corp. filed for bankruptcy it had raised $23 million in venture capital and owed about $2.5 million to creditors.
That’s a bit more than the $25,000 the Boston-based company, which made interactive name tags for events, was offered for use of its technology, according to a recent court filing.
It’s a sobering scenario that could become more common as startups stressed by the recession file for bankruptcy or simply shut down. Local lawyers, investors and intellectual property brokers expect more IP to be put up for sale as funding sources become more scarce.
“We’re seeing a doubling, if not more, of people coming in and saying we have patents we would like to sell,” said Phil Stern, CEO of Yet2.com Inc. The Needham-based company, which has about 20 employees, helps companies find buyers for their IP.
Stern said much of the IP being unloaded comes from companies looking to generate capital to keep going in tough times or by companies that are shutting down altogether.
“A tremendous amount of IP is now on the market,” he said.
In cases where a startup files for liquidation, what happens to the company’s IP holdings is more cut and dried, area IP attorneys said. In those situations a trustee is appointed to sell the assets of company, and patents are sold just as office furniture might be.
In liquidations the idea is to try to pay back secure creditors with money generated by selling assets such as IP. Typically private investors are not secure creditors unless they have made bridge loans to the startup, said Gene T. Barton, a principal at law firm Fish & Richardson PC in Boston.
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Having risen to the challenges of the pandemic, Paris-based sales company Totem Films is enjoying a high-profile Cannes.
When Laure Parleani, Agathe Valentin and Bérénice Vincent launched French company Totem Films in late 2018, their first two sales acquisitions were Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6 and Chinese-Austrian filmmaker CB Yi’s Moneyboys. Two-and-a-half years later, Compartment No. 6 world premieres in Competition today (July 10) while Moneyboys makes its debut in Un Certain Regard on Monday (July 12). “They’re our first acquisitions from the very beginning of Totem,” says Parleani. “To have them now premiere in Cannes means a lot to us.”
Other titles on the slate include Samuel Theis’s Critics’ Week selection Softie and polyamorous love story Explosions In The Heart, lead produced by Norway’s Thomas Robsahm and Renée Mlodyszewski at Oslo Pictures, who are in Cannes with compatriot director Joachim Trier’s Palme d’Or contender The Worst Person In The World.
Operating out of a vast terraced apartment tucked away above the fashion stores of Rue d’Antibes, the trio reports a packed meetings schedule, even if there are reputedly few buyers on the ground. “Because of the nature of our company and our independence, we’re across a number of things, so we’ll be talking to buyers, looking at potential future sales acquisitions and also meeting producers,” says Vincent. “There are lots of European producers in town and while there might be fewer buyers, all the key US and European ones are here.”
Totem had barely been up and running for a year when the pandemic struck in early 2020. Prior to that, the company enjoyed a buzzy first Cannes in 2019 with Georgian-Swedish director Levan Akin’s drama And Then We Danced and Costa Rican drama Land Of Ashes.
When the markets moved online in 2020, the trio rose to the challenge with one of the slickest sales campaigns of the virtual Cannes market last June for Cannes 2020 label selection Gagarine. French directors Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’s debut feature charts the life of a Black teenager, obsessed with space travel, as the crumbling 1960s housing estate he calls home faces demolition.
The film secured a raft of deals, including to Cohen Media Group and Curzon for the US and UK respectively, and went on to do the rounds of physical and online festivals. Most recently, the company racked up more than 30 sales at the online European Film Market in March for Berlinale Competition title Ballad Of A White Cow.
“We’ve managed to strike hard in terms of creating Totem’s identity and ensuring the visibility for our films,” says Vincent. “Given the current fragile situation, the size of the company and the sort of independent work we champion, it could have gone the other way. There was a risk we could have ended up with zero visibility. We know this sort of success can come and go, so we never take anything for granted.”
Totem branched into documentaries last year with the creation of Totem Docs, which kicked off with four titles including Alice Diop’s We, which won best film in the Berlinale’s Encounters sidebar as well as the festival’s best documentary prize. The company also has production and co-production ambitions. It is developing an adaptation of hard-hitting work The Female Gaze by Franco-American writer and critic Iris Brey, who is on this year’s documentary jury at Cannes.
The company brought in emerging producer Elsa Payen to oversee these production activities as its first employee last year and has since hired Nuria Palenzuela Camon to handle festivals and also assist in production and sales. All Totem’s sales acquisitions and production projects have remained true to its founding desire to support work exploring issues of gender and identity.
“We don’t take on a lot of films,” says Valentin. “One of the motives behind setting up this company was to defend films with a different view on the world. Every acquisition is the result of long discussions between all three of us.”
The slate is also the fruit of a growing network of producer and filmmaker relationships the trio began developing in previous roles at Celluloid Dreams, Les Films du Losange and Pyramide Films International, prior to launching Totem. Vincent and Parleani, for example, worked on Kuosmanen’s debut feature and 2016 Un Certain Regard winner The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki while at Losange, connecting with his producer Jussi Rantamaki.
“We are growing and so are our partners, who are becoming more numerous,” says Parleani. “Here in Cannes, we want to exchange, share visions and welcome this growing network. It’s not exactly family but rather a sort of tribe.


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The main sensor will be Sony IMX586, the company confirms on Weibo.
It was a big week for Android.
The phone launched on T-Mo US this Friday, is available for purchase in India and is coming to Europe next week. Any takers?
These two will do better in Western regions where there is less competition in the mid-range. Elsewhere, their price makes them hard to love.
Know where exactly you were and what you were doing when that song came on.
That's $30 and $40 off the Huaweis, $70 savings on the cans.
That's the version after the upcoming Q, mind you, for a feature that's been present on makers' software for years.
It's powered by Snapdragon 855 SoC and comes with Liquid Cool 3.0 vapor chamber cooling that promises 14°C lower chipset temperature.
It should launch in China soon now that it has received TENAA certification.
Priced at INR17,990 ($256), it can be purchased from online and offline stores across the country.
The triple camera setup consists of 13MP main, 8MP wide-angle, and 2MP depth sensing units.
It sports a 5.45-inch HD+ display and packs a 3,900 mAh battery.
The first Xiaomi Redmi device with a Snapdragon 855 is coming and a list of alleged specs is here.


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Jabra (News - Alert) recently announced the release of the new and innovative Jabra BIZTM 2300, which focuses on meeting the needs of the next generation contract center professional. Jabra includes specialists in manufacturing innovative audio solutions and its latest release has been designed to specifically help the ever demanding requirements of the current contact center landscape.
The customer service industry across the world relies heavily on its call center agents who need to answer a high number of calls on a daily basis and ensure that the end customer receives clear service with no background noise. The new release from Jabra has taken these needs into consideration and the headset will further help call center agents provide customers with a high quality call.
In a statement, Holger Reisinger, Jabra Vice President of Marketing, Products and Alliances said, "We believe that contact center agents are key contributors in safeguarding brand perception, and this will only increase in the future. With the Jabra BIZ 2300 we accepted the challenge of developing a superior audio device for these brand ambassadors with best-in-class sound performance, built-to-last durability and exceptional comfort."
The new headset offers close to 50 percent better noise cancellation and is also 20 percent lighter when compared to other headsets in the market. Some of the other benefits of the Jabra BIZ 2300 include agent comfort due to the lightweight form factor, ergonomic design and unprecedented noise cancellation microphone which reduces unwanted background noise and is ideal in crowded open office environments.
Linda Hartig, Avaya (News - Alert) VP of Global Support Services said "Today, companies like Avaya need to execute to perfection at all customer touch-points, with a crisp and clear voice. Our Services Desk in Westminster, Colorado has piloted the Jabra BIZ 2300 and it is spot on in terms of delivering that superior sound quality Avaya and our customers expect."
Some of the other features of the Jabra BIZ 2300 include the fact that the headset has been optimized for speech analytics by ensuring accurate recognition of key words and phrases; it has been created to be contact center tough and comes with a 360 degree break-proof boom arm and a Kevlar-reinforced cord; it can also be mass deployed as it is fully supported by Jabra Xpress, which makes remote configuration and deployment simple and easy.


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Ipswich’s first gaming lounge opens its doors
- Credit: Archant
Ipswich’s first ‘barcade’ has opened its doors to the public - offering gamers a vast range of modern and retro consoles as well as a virtual reality suite and VIP area.
The Press Start gaming lounge, next to RBS on Princes Street, is the brainchild of friends Liam Eley, Morris Grant and his brother Paul Grant who decided to set up the business after a trip Liam took to America.
Seeing how gaming lounges had taken off stateside, the trio were eager to bring the idea across the Atlantic.
The three friends worked tirelessly to prepare for the launch putting the finishing touches to the venue just hours before letting people in to play.
“I was looking to open some type of cafe at the time,” said Morris, “and then we thought why not open a gaming cafe.”
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The venue boasts an impressive range of modern consoles as well as retro systems, an arcade machine and pinball tables set in a 3000 sq feet lounge.
“In our heads it was much smaller but now we’ve got 20 modern systems, a VR room - it was way bigger than we planned,” said Liam.
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If you would like to play in style, the lounge also offers a VIP area - with a massive 60 inch 4K TV, surround sound system and luxurious sofas.
But Liam says the most popular part of the lounge is the VR room, decked out with a top-of-the-range HTC Vive headset.
“The virtual reality is definitely the most popular part, said Liam, “Everyone that goes in there is blown away by it.”
The trio are looking to hold gaming tournaments at the venue within the next week or two and a leader board to keep a log of the best scores for the virtual reality games.
The venue also has a deal with nearby Smokey Joes, meaning gamers can order food and have it brought to them as they play.
For more see www.psglounge.com


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Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. began trading on the Nasdaq on Dec. 13, pricing its $22 million secondary public offering at $5.95 per share.
Adamis (Nasdaq: ADMP) uplisted from the over-the-counter markets following a 1-for-17 reverse stock split of its common stock — releasing 3.7 million shares.
Adamis said it plans to use $7 million of the net proceeds to complete the Aug. 1 purchase of an asthma inhaler technology from 3M Co.
Adamis initially licensed 3M’s (NYSE: MMM) Taper Dry Powder Inhaler for $3 million. The Taper DPI can also be used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The company said it wants to use the new technology provide a branded generic alternative to the top-selling asthma medication on the market, Advair Diskus by GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK).
An additional $7.2 million will be used to pay back debt that was issued in a private placement in June 2013, it said in a regulatory filing.
Adamis said the remaining proceeds will be used to fund clinical trials and for general corporate purposes, as well as fund the filing and launch of its epinephrine injection – a generic version of the EpiPen.
Adamis had initially filed for a $25 million public offering.


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Saga has a bold vision for the future of global commerce, and it has created a tool that may allow people everywhere to trade directly with each other.
Unlike stablecoins, which rely on a single currency to maintain their value or tokens like Bitcoin which float freely, Saga has a novel solution. T..
Facebook shook the cryptocurrency ecosystem up earlier this year when it announced plans to peg its Libra stablecoin project to a basket of major fiat currencies.
Yet while the pace of Libra’s development has been tempered by development scope and mounting international regulatory pressure, a nimbl..


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Willoughby News Herald, Lorain Morning Journal parent files for bankruptcy
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The Journal Register Co., which owns two northeast Ohio newspapers, has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in three years and now wants to sell its newspapers to an investor, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
The company plans to auction off its newspapers in the next 90 days and already has received a bid from 21st CMH Acquisition Co., which is affiliated with the Aldean Global Capital LLC firm that already owns more than 10 percent of the chain, the newspaper reports.
The Journal Register Co. owns both the Willoughby News Herald and Lorain Morning Journal, the newspaper reports. The company has seen a drop in advertising income.
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We've been hearing about the relaunch of the Toyota finally confirmed when we'll see the car. The 2020 Supra will debut in January at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show , Toyota said in a press release. As Toyota describes it, that debut date is, "one of the worst-kept secrets in the auto industry."for what feels like an age, but Tuesday
Toyota also said that it'll be offering the first production-readyup for auction next year, with all the proceeds from that sale going to charity. Get your checkbooks ready, as we're sure that the desirability of owning the very first 2020 Supra will drive up prices -- to say nothing of more virtuous reason to bid on a car that benefits charity. Production of the new car is slated to begin in the first half of 2019.
While we had a chance to drive a preproduction version of the new Toyota Supra, there are still some blanks in our knowledge. For instance, we know the car will use a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engine, but Toyota won't say how much power or torque that mill will produce. Nor do we have details like a curb weight or price, for instance.
On the other hand, we know that the Supra was co-developed with and shares many parts with the new BMW and Toyota last had much contact on the two projects; Toyota told Roadshow that once major details about the rear-wheel-drive sports-car chassis were nailed down in 2014, "After that we completely separated our team. After that, no communication with each other.". That said, since
Stay tuned to Roadshow over the coming months as we bring you all the details on the 2020 Toyota Supra and its debut, and look out for our first drive review as soon as Toyota will allow us to slip behind the wheel.


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Salt Bae’s London restaurant made £7m in three months
Despite being considered one of the worst places to eat in the capital, Nusr-Et London reportedly made a turnover of £7 million between opening last September and the end of the year.
Propel reports that the swanky steakhouse made a weekly pre-tax profit of £170,000 on a turnover of £540,000 during the period. The overall pre-tax profit was in the region of £2.2m.
A statement from the Nusr-Et restaurant group said that the fourth quarter results for 2021 were “higher than expected”: “…the directors believe that the company will be able to continue to trade for the foreseeable future based on the profits generated during the year and management’s through review of cash flow.”
It takes more than just a sprinkle of salt and gold leaf to make a successful restaurant. But, with social media an increasingly integral part of marketing, Nusret Gökçe (who has more than 47 million Instagram followers) has capitalised on the fervour and built an international empire with restaurants in seven countries.
Equally, the opening of the restaurant generated a huge amount of publicity, and while many of the reviews were scathing, the only thing worse than being talked about would have been to not be talked about. Much of the criticism was due to the pricing, including a £50 cappuccino, £65 house wine and an £830 gilded tomahawk steak, though such items clearly sold well enough. Other UK restaurants have since taken a gold leaf out of Salt Bae’s book.
Observer critic Jay Rayner, who described the Knightsbridge establishment as “ludicrous” and opted to eat a kebab outside instead of visiting, tweeted in response to the phenomenal figures: “I don’t know why I f*cking bother.”
Jonathan Nunn, editor of popular London food newsletter Vittles, argued last year that the restaurant was actually doing a service, of sorts: “London restaurants are scams but at least his audience is on it.”
However, Salt Bae has left the building – only staying in London until early November when he went to open another venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Since then, his team have been the ones doing the obligatory sprinkling.
The results come at a time when most other UK restaurants are struggling to cope with staff shortages, inflation and the loss of months of trading during the pandemic. Last week it emerged that 64% of the UK’s 100 biggest restaurant companies are now making a loss.


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Home Tags Rite-Aid
No weapons were used in the robbery and no injuries were reported.
The combined company is expected to earn revenues of $83 billion in 2018.
Walgreens will acquire almost half of Rite Aid’s U.S. stores for $5.18 billion in cash.The new deal would still create the nation’s largest drugstore chain.
Walgreens still expects to close the $9.41 billion deal this year.


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Restaurateur John Blakeley and Chef Spencer Watts know that planning ahead is the key to creating a delicious holiday feast
The Bavarian (mostly German) holiday festival will celebrate its 5th year in Vancouver, with beer, pretzels, and the uber popular carousal.
Once this pipeline opens the market for exports, it is predicted local gasoline prices will rise to world levels.
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The brand new Teams client was first announced at the Windows 11 event and is currently called “Teams 2.0”. With Microsoft Teams 2.0, Microsoft plans to target consumers and make its popular video collaboration tool available on more devices.
Thanks to a leaked build, we have now managed to download and install an early preview of the brand new Microsoft Teams app.
Microsoft Teams 2.0 first look
The new app is built around the Microsoft Teams web and doesn’t look significantly different from the existing app or website, but it uses Edge (Chromium) WebView, which means that Microsoft has removed the browser’s address bar and users can use Microsoft Teams can run in a separate window like the current desktop app.
The browser extension and main menu are also gone for a native app-like experience, but you can find traces of the Edge browser when you right-click anywhere in the app window.
In our testing, we found that Teams 2.0 is significantly faster than the current desktop app and can run smoothly on lower-end devices with 4 GB RAM and Core i3 (10th generation) without major performance degradation.
Teams memory usage has also dropped and overall performance is significantly better than the current platform. In fact, Microsoft Teams can now launch directly and not get stuck on the loading screen, thanks to Microsoft Edge background processes and WebView integration.
Another thing you’ll notice is the app’s adaptive interface. You can now easily resize the app window and the interface will resize automatically, which is not possible with the Electron app.
Microsoft has also enabled integration with all Windows 10 features such as native notifications, including the upcoming Teams chat app in Windows 11.
Designed with consumer and performance in mind, this new Teams client will provide an “always up-to-date nature” through the use of Edge WebView. In other words, users can easily download and update the client.
All necessary Microsoft Teams features are available in the new version, but advanced controls are currently missing. For example, the functionality of the Together mode is limited and users cannot change the noise reduction settings.
The new web-based Teams client is currently in development and Microsoft will provide support for features such as multiple accounts and improved PowerPoint integration in the coming weeks.
Microsoft will formally announce the new Teams experience in a few weeks.


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Carl Edwards Leaving RFR In '15 FIFA Sponsors May Decrease Pushes For Reform Cirrus Fitness Signs Deals With Pro Leagues Under Armour Launching Female-Focused Ads Johnson Leads In NASCAR TV Exposure Under Armour's Global Investments Paying Off Utah State Undecided On "I Believe" Trademark Eric Decker Models In New Fashion Campaign Marketplace Roundup Dick's Fires All In-Store PGA Pros
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Published April 22, 2013
HOYA DESTROYA: USA TODAY’s Jeff Zillgitt reported Basketball HOFer Patrick Ewing “relaunched his basketball shoe under the umbrella of Ewing Athletics.” Ewing earlier this month “debuted two new hightops: one pair in Georgetown colorways and the other pair in Jamaica colorways.” The shoe line “originally relaunched in 33 stores in the USA, but has expanded to 46, and the shoes are also sold in Canada and Europe.” Investors over the years have “approached Ewing and his longtime agent, David Falk, about restarting Ewing Athletics” (USATODAY.com, 4/20).
FROST YOURSELF: The N.Y. POST’s PAGE SIX reports La Liga club Real Madrid MF Cristiano Ronaldo “appears in a new campaign for Jacob Arabo’s jewelry brand Jacob & Co.” A new print campaign will show Ronaldo “wearing a Ghost Watch that displays 20 different time zones on its face” (N.Y. POST, 4/22).


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Harley-Davidson halts production of LiveWire electric motorcycles
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Harley-Davidson halted production of its new LiveWire electric motorcycles because of a mechanical issue.
Harley says it found the problem during a quality check.
They've stopped production and deliveries as they perform additional tests.
In a statement, the company said the following:
"As we lead in the electrification of motorcycles, we have delivered our first LiveWire motorcycles to authorized LiveWire dealers. We recently discovered a non-standard condition during a final quality check; stopped production and deliveries; and began additional testing and analysis, which is progressing well. We are in close contact with our LiveWire dealers and customers and have assured them they can continue to ride LiveWire motorcycles. As usual, we’re keeping high quality as our top priority."


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China Southern Airlines has announced that it will launch a freighter service linking Guangzhou with Ho Chi Minh City and the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on September 24.
´The freighter service will operate four times a week, on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, using Boeing-747Fs.
A China Southern spokesman said that cargo will mainly consist of shoes, clothes, fruits and vegetables. It is the carrier’s first freighter service to Vietnam.
Growing cross-border volumes
In another development, China Southern has introduced its cross-border e-commerce platform - Southern Cross-Border Purchase (http://csairshop.com), through which customers can purchase goods on-line in overseas markets, including the U.S., Japan, Australia and New Zealand and ship them on the carrier’s global network to China.
Since January 2015, China Southern’s cargo department has been working with cross-border e-commerce operators and overseas producers and suppliers to create B2C procedures and develop transport channels. Currently, its cross-border e-commerce business covers 13 international destinations, including among others Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Auckland, Tokyo and Frankfurt.
In January-July 2015, China Southern carried more than 1,500 tonnes of cross-border packages.
Nol van Fenema


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Last month, I sat down to report on marketing campaigns around the King’s Coronation. I was surprised to find very little, other than the predictable product lines from quintessentially British brands like John Lewis. Cadbury’s launched a Coronation chocolate bar, Tyrrells’ have cooked up Coronation chicken flavoured crisps and Marks & Sparks have popped a crown on Colin the Caterpillar. Whilst I’m sure these limited editions items of food, gifts and onesies will be snapped up by customers, it comes across as a somewhat half-hearted activation of such a historic event, particularly given the recent celebrations around the Queen’s Jubilee.
I looked again more recently and, slowly but surely, news stories started to emerge around Britain’s ‘favourite supermarket’. Tesco are activating a Coronation Roadshow ‘fit for a king’, hosting street parties out-of-store and photo opportunities in-store with a gilded throne and high teas showcasing their finest foods. On 4th & 5th May, Tesco goes one step further and opens the doors to their first-ever pub ‘The King in the Castle’ in Farringdon, serving their limited edition Coronation food range. Members of the public can book tickets to the pub via OpenTable with £250,000 of proceeds being donated to Tesco’s long-standing charity partner, The Prince’s Trust. The Prince’s Trust was founded by King Charles III to help improve the lives of disadvantaged young people in the UK.
On opening the pub, Tesco Chief Customer Officer Alessandra Bellini said: “The Coronation is a historic moment and we want to help our customers celebrate it.”
Windsor & Eton Brewery, a craft brewers based in Windsor, was awarded royal warrant to supply beer to the Queen in 2018 having also launched a Coronation Ale named ‘Return of the King’, to celebrate ‘a lifetime of service to the country and his passionate support of the environment.’
Guinness have also got involved, by giving the famous foamy head of their pint a crown and using a playful double-entendre with their strapline 'good things come to those who wait'.
In November last year, The Economist* led with a headline stating ‘King Charles III’s coronation is a real marketing opportunity’, so why have so many brands seemingly shied away from marking the occasion?
Could it be that they are nervous of audience appetite for a new era of the British Monarchy? Reports of family rifts and the end of the Queen’s reign have certainly divided opinion on what the future holds for this iconic Institution. Uncertainty remains around the role the slimmed down Royal Family and indeed the newly crowned King will play in society. Values are key to any brand alignment and marketing activity. Some would argue that, right now, the Royal Family needs to re-establish or rather evolve their own ‘brand’ and better define their purpose in order to garner more confidence from their audience. This is not an easy task under the expectant watch of the British public and the omnipresent scrutiny of global media.
Brand partnerships should always be carefully considered. The recent controversy over Budweiser Light and Nike’s partnership with transgender actress and TikTok sensation Dylan Mulvaney showcases the delicate line that brands must walk when making such decisions. The fallout at Budweiser knocked $6billion from the company’s value and Alissa Heinerscheid, Vice President of Marketing, has since taken leave of absence from her role**. For Nike, the partnership aimed to promote a new sports bra, has resurfaced questions over the company’s contentious track record with female athletes***, as the wider argument surrounding transgender participation in women’s sport rumbles on.
Before embarking on any brand partnership or marketing campaign, it is vital to take a step back and revisit the fundamentals of marketing. What do we stand for? What are our values? What is our core purpose? And most importantly, who is our target audience? Whilst inclusivity should be applauded and historic occasions often warrant celebration, the first question to ask ourselves should be whether this is relevant to our brand and audience. Secondly, do we have the resource and budget to activate it effectively?
* : The Economist
** : CNN Business
*** : Business Insider


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SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Hoodoo Ski Area will offer free lift tickets from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday for guests who donate a minimum of four non-perishable food items.
All food donations go to La Pine Community Kitchen, which provides free food and clothing to those in need. In 2020, La Pine Community Kitchen served more than 300,000 pounds of food and 26,000 hot lunches.
Hoodoo is also currently offering discount 2021-22 season passes for purchase at skihoodoo.com/season-passes. The sale ends Sunday, April 18.
For current conditions at Hoodoo, call the Hoodoo Snow Phone at 541-822-3337 or visit The Mountain section at skihoodoo.com. Guests can also follow updates on Hoodoo's official Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Check out Hoodoo's daily schedule for the remainder of the season at skihoodoo.com/events.


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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California plans to require all new cars, trucks and SUVs to run on electricity or hydrogen by 2035 under a policy approved by regulators Thursday that aims a drastic reduction in carbon emissions and the eventual end of gasoline. Vehicles.
The California Air Resources Board’s decision came two years after Governor Gavin Newsom first ordered regulators to consider such a policy. If the goal is met, California would cut car emissions in half by 2040.
The move gives the most populous U.S. state the toughest regulations in the world for transitioning to electric vehicles. It should encourage other states to follow California’s lead and accelerate the production of zero-emission vehicles by automakers.
The policy has yet to be approved by the federal government, but it is seen as highly likely under Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.
“This is a historic moment for California, for our partner states, and for the world as we blaze this trail toward a zero-emissions future,” air board president Liane Randolph told a hearing. public before the vote.
The policy allows Californians to continue driving gasoline vehicles and buying used ones after 2035, but no new models would be sold in the state.
A fifth of automakers’ sales after 2035 could be plug-in hybrids, which run on batteries and gas, but the rest must be powered solely by electricity or hydrogen.
In June, the European Parliament backed a plan to effectively ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars in the 27 European Union countries by 2035, and Canada mandated the sale of zero-emission cars. here the same year.
California climate officials say the state’s new policy is the most ambitious in the world, as it sets benchmarks for increased electric vehicle sales over the next 13 years.
The first mandatory threshold comes in 2026, when one-third of all vehicles sold in the state must be zero-emissions. Automakers could be fined $20,000 per vehicle sold below that target.
About 16% of cars sold in California in the first three months of this year were electric.
Washington state and Massachusetts have already said they will follow California’s lead and many more are likely to do so – New York and Pennsylvania are among 17 states that have adopted some or all of the standards California tailpipe emissions that are more stringent than federal rules.
Laurie Holmes of Kia Corp. said the company plans to spend $25 billion by 2025 on electric vehicles and hopes to offer seven models by 2027.
But she and several other automaker representatives have expressed concern about the state’s timeline given factors including supply chain challenges and the high cost of materials to build electric cars.
“Automakers may have significant difficulty achieving this goal given factors beyond the industry’s control,” she said.
Switching from gas-powered to electric cars will significantly reduce emissions and air pollutants, but the transition will be painful for the state’s oil industry. California remains the seventh-largest oil-producing US state, although its production is declining as it pursues its climate goals.
California shouldn’t frame its entire transportation strategy around a market for electric-powered vehicles, said Tanya DeRivi, vice president of climate policy for the Western States Petroleum Association, an oil industry group. .
“California people should be able to choose vehicle technology, including electric vehicles, that best suits their needs based on availability, affordability and personal necessity,” she said.
California is the most populous state in the country, with around 39 million people. They represent 10%. of the US auto market, but own 43% of the 2.6 million plug-in vehicles registered in the country, according to the Air Board.
Achieving the 100% target by 2035 will mean overcoming some very practical hurdles, including a sufficiently reliable power supply and charging stations.
California now has about 80,000 stations in public places, well below the 250,000 desired by 2025. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents many major automakers, warned of the lack of infrastructure, access to materials needed to manufacture batteries, and supply chain issues as some of the challenges to meet the state schedule.
The new commitment came as California strives to maintain reliable electricity while moving away from gas-fired power plants in favor of solar, wind and other cleaner energy sources. Earlier this year, top California energy officials warned that the state could run out of power during the hottest days of summer, which happened briefly in August 2020.
It hasn’t happened yet this year. But Newsom, a Democrat, is pushing to keep the state’s last nuclear plant open beyond its planned 2025 tie-up, and the state could turn to diesel generators or natural gas plants as a backup. when the power grid is under strain.
Adding car chargers will increase demand on the energy grid.
Ensuring access to charging stations is also key to increasing sales of electric vehicles. The infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year provides $5 billion for states to set charges for every 80 kilometers (50 miles) along interstate highways.
Newsom, meanwhile, has pledged to spend billions to boost sales of zero-emission vehicles, including adding chargers in low-income neighborhoods. The new rules approved by the Air Board state that vehicles must be able to travel 150 miles (241 kilometers) on a single charge.
Driving an electric vehicle long distances today, even in California, requires careful planning of where to stop and recharge, said Mary Nichols, former chair of the California Air Resources Board. State and federal money will go a long way to bolstering that infrastructure and making electric cars a more practical option, she said.
“It will be a transformational process and the vehicle sales mandate is just one part of that,” she said.
Although hydrogen is a fuel option under the new regulations, fuel cell cars have accounted for less than 1% of car sales in recent years.
State governments and the federal government are offering multi-thousand dollar rebates to offset the cost of buying electric cars, and the rules provide incentives for automakers to make used electric vehicles available to people low or middle income.
Over the past 12 years, California has given more than $1 billion in rebates for the sale of 478,000 electric, plug-in or hybrid vehicles, according to the Air Board.


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Reader's advisory: Wired News has been unable to confirm some sources for a number of stories written by this author. If you have any information about sources cited in this article, please send an e-mail to sourceinfo[AT]wired.com.
NEW YORK -- Unbridled greed proved the ultimate undoing of an identity theft crime ring that ripped off thousands of Americans, according to law enforcement officials.
The criminals' repeated data downloads coupled with escalating consumer complaints eventually aroused curiosity at credit reporting agencies, leading to the arrest of three men who officials said were the primary perpetrators of the scam.
But at least 20 other people may have been involved in the two-year swindle.
"The investigation is still in its early stages, but we have found the guys who opened the fire hydrant of fraud," James Comey, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said on Monday. "How high will the damages go? We don't know yet.
"The credit agencies knew that it was only a matter of time before the people who were doing this would be caught if they kept doing it," Comey added.
But victims and potential victims wonder why it was so easy for the accused to steal consumer information.
"How could a low-level employee like that twit they busted yesterday have easy access to so much private, sensitive information?" wondered a potential victim of the scam, who asked not to be identified.
Harvey Jacobs, a Washington, D.C., attorney, said the case highlights the need for major changes in the way credit bureaus handle consumer information.
"The fallout should certainly be much, much tighter controls over this information and who is allowed to access it," he said.
Jacobs suggested that all credit bureaus be required to fund an ombudsman-type consumer panel in each state to hear and try to resolve all credit-related fraud cases. The industry also needs to take responsibility for security breaches, he said.
"Without some form of major monetary incentive for credit card and/or credit bureaus to safeguard our credit info, like major fines and/or being held liable for the damages they cause, this is likely to happen over and over again," Jacobs said. "Yesterday's arrests prove how easy it is to access consumer credit information."
According to subpoenas released on Monday, Phillip Cummings (PDF), a help-desk worker at TCI, a company that provides hardware and software to credit reporting bureaus, was allegedly contacted in the summer of 2000 by a suspect (PDF) who introduced Cummings to the idea of accessing and then reselling consumer credit reports.
Under the guise of helping the customers work through software and hardware problems, Cummings obtained the codes companies used to request credit records.
Cummings is charged with selling those records to 20 "individuals of Nigerian descent living in New York," according to court documents.
Cummings left TCI in March 2000, but was still able to download credit reports using the codes he had obtained as an employee.
At one point Cummings set up at least three laptops with lists of purloined access codes and passwords, and passed the computers on to at least one cohort. Those who had access to the laptops could use the codes to easily request consumer credit records stored by the three major credit bureaus.
This easy access -- no longer did the criminals have to wait for Cummings to download and then pass along credit reports -- apparently encouraged them to get sloppy. The first crack in the case came when more than 15,000 credit reports were ordered over a very short period of time, ostensibly by Ford Motor Company.


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PARIS — On a last-minute Christmas shopping spree this past weekend, Austrian real estate company Signa acquired the site of Berlin’s iconic department store KaDeWe along with 16 other Karstadt locations, giving a strong boost to the German property market.
The Innsbruck-based real estate giant said it paid 1.1 billion euros, or $1.45 billion at current exchange, to acquire the collection of buildings from HighStreet, a consortium that includes Whitehall, the Goldman Sachs property fund, and Deutsche Bank’s RREEF.
“We are on a hunt for prime locations in Europe. This has been our core business and will remain so in the future,” a spokesman for Signa told WWD.
The KaDeWe building alone is reported to have changed hands for 500 million euros, or $659.3 million at current exchange rates.
The acquisition follows the purchase of Munich’s Oberpollinger and other Karstadt property by Signa in 2011. The Austrian company owned by investor René Benko is currently also developing an ambitious luxury retail project worth 500 million euros, or $659.3 million at current exchange, in downtown Vienna.
According to the new landlord, KaDeWe and the other 16 sites will continue to be operated by Karstadt on a long-term basis. More details regarding the transaction, which ranks among Germany’s largest property deals this year, are set to be revealed during a press conference early next year.
The annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Pacific Palisades this weekend drew Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laura Dern and more. See pictures of the star-studded event on WWD.com. (📷: @chelsealaurenla) #wwdeye
In his new book “Hollywood Royale,” Andy Warhol’s Protégé Matthew Rolston celebrates the Eighties revival of Hollywood glamour. Featuring more than 100 portraits taken by Rolston from 1977 to 1993, the book contains photos of icons like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and @drewbarrymore, pictured here in 1991. “Hollywood Royale,” out today, will be accompanied by an exhibition opening at Los Angeles’ Fahey/Klein Gallery on March 1. #wwdeye
"Nowadays when life is not so happy with everything going on in the world, I think people come to me for a little bit of whimsy and color and fun." - Designer Rebecca De Ravenel on her cult-favorite jewelry line. (📸 : @vsteves) #wwd40
“Everyone is talking about how the retail industry is struggling, but I think it’s an incredible time because brands who are doing something different and innovative are setting themselves up for the future,” said @adamgoldston, who founded the luxury athletic brand @apl with his brother @ryangoldsten. The Goldston’s are part of WWD’s 40 under 40: a group of industry notables. See the rest of the list on WWD.com. (📷: @vsteves) #wwd40
@eyeswoon blogger Athena Calderone debuted her first-ever cookbook, “Cook Beautiful,” which is heavily centered on the presentation and visual expression of food. Pictured here are her miso glazed carrots from the book. Get the recipe on WWD.com. (📷: @johnny_miller_) #wwdeye
“It’s passion that helps get anybody to a certain point and it’s what’s propelled me,” said Kith founder @ronniefieg, one of WWD’s 40 under 40: a group of industry notables who are changing the face of retail, fashion and beauty. Fieg, who opened a Manhattan flagship on October 7, began his career at age 13 as a stock boy and salesman for footwear chain David Z. “I think staying true to [my] beliefs, hard work and passion have gotten me to where [Kith] is today.” See the rest of the 40 at WWD.com. (📷: @vsteves) #wwd40
25-year-old @samweaving is about to break out this fall, starring in Netflix’s horror film “The Babysitter,” fittingly out today on Friday the 13th. That’s not the only place you’ll be seeing her, though — Weaving’s got a role Showtime’s “SMILF” and another alongside Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Though she’s got a full plate at the moment, there’s one role she’s got her eye on: Marilyn Monroe. “I’m a little too young at the moment, but it’s on my bucket list,” the actress told WWD (📷: @dandoperalski) #wwdeye
BFF's Poppy Jamie and Suki Waterhouse celebrated the launch of their bag line Pop x Suki at Nordstrom last night. "The line is really about our friendship, and how we are so different but complement each other," said Waterhouse. 👯 (📷: Katie Jones) #wwdeye
After designing the new @louisvuitton and @bulgariofficial flagships and a @chanelofficial boutique opening in Japan, @petermarinoarchitect has another project on his plate: The Lobster Club. Located in the Seagram Building, it’s the famed architect’s first restaurant project in New York, serving up modern Japanese brasserie-style cuisine. Bronze hues, bespoke material detailing, blush and chartreuse tones and a heavy emphasis on Picasso can be seen throughout. Mark your calendars for Nov. 1 for the much-anticipated opening. (📷: @clint_spaulding) #wwdeye


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US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on another 300 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods if President Xi Jinping of China does not meet him at the G20 summit in Japan later this month.
“We’re expected to meet, and if we don’t, that’s fine, and if we do, that’s fine,” Trump said of himself and the Chinese leader in a phone interview with CNBC on Monday.
When asked whether Xi’s failure to meet him at the summit — slated for June 28-29 in Osaka — would result in the imposition of tariffs on the last 300 billion dollars in Chinese imports to the US, Trump said, “Yes, it would.”
Trump first threatened to impose those tariffs last week, saying he would decide whether to follow through with the threat following the G20 summit.
Trump then seemed to both downplay his threat and put the onus on President Xi, saying he wouldn’t be insulted if the Chinese president declined to meet him.
“I’m never insulted. I’ve learned not to be insulted,” Trump said after the CNBC interview. “I think he will be there. We’re scheduled to talk. Interesting things will happen. We’ll see what happens.”
He also claimed that he had a “great relationship” with President Xi despite the bitter trade war the two countries are locked in.
China has not confirmed a meeting, with the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang saying on Tuesday that information would be released once it was available to the ministry.
He also warned that Beijing would respond resolutely “if the United States only wants to escalate trade frictions.”
“China does not want to fight a trade war, but we are not afraid of fighting a trade war,” Shuang said, stressing that China’s door was open to talks based on equality.
Trump initiated the trade war with China last year, when he first imposed unusually heavy tariffs on imports from the country. Since then, the two sides have exchanged tariffs on more than 360 billion dollars in two-way trade.
Beijing and Washington have held talks to settle the issue, but to no avail so far. Their latest round of trade negotiations ended earlier in May without conclusion


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Sara Lee Shuts Down Senseo
Sara Lee will discontinue the retail Senseo single-cup coffee business on March 31, 2012.
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.
North American owners of Senseo coffee makers from Philips may have some trouble finding coffee, as the pod coffee maker system is due to be discontinued next year.
Sara Lee, who makes all official Senseo pods, announced on November 11 that they will discontinue the Senseo single-cup coffee business on March 31, 2012 "with the exception of certain online channels."
Senseo was originally created in partnership between Philips and Sara Lee, who owns Dutch coffee maker Douwe Egberts. Now, Sara Lee has divested much of its North American coffee business to Smuckers, who already owns Folgers, Cafe Bustelo and Dunkin' Donuts coffee brands. There's no word on whether production will halt in Europe.
Faced with strong competition, the Senseo has failed to gain market share in North America, and the brewer itself is often given away or sold at a heavy discount along in order to entice consumers to buy more pods.
Once the business is discontinued, existing Senseo owners should be able to order pods online, or use reusable pods and fill them with their own coffee.


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Oil companies offer subsidy to dealers to install solar rooftop systems
Dealers opting for the subsidy would be required to connect the maximum facility with the solar power system
The three state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) are on a solarisation spree, to reduce “consumption of hydrocarbon fuels” and “improve public perception” of themselves.
They are offering a subsidy to their cooking gas (LPG) and motor fuel pump dealers to install solar rooftop systems at their units. There are close to 50,000 petrol/diesel outlets in the country and around 18,000 LPG distributors.
Of the three, Indian Oil has set an initial target of solarising 5,000 locations in 2018.
“Solarisation has manifold advantages as a source of energy in our retail network. It is not only a green alternative for power generation vis-à-vis the traditional DG (diesel generator) sets but leads to reduced consumption of hydrocarbon fuels and lowers carbon footprints,” goes a circular issued by the OMCs to its dealers, reviewed by Business Standard.
Also, that such a move would send a positive message to customers about their “marketing channels and commitment to the environment, thus boosting the public perception of the corporation as a responsible
The OMCs have also enlisted regional suppliers of solar power systems. Dealers have been mandated to take the latter’s services to avail of the subsidy, which is 55-65 per cent of the cost. A solar rooftop system costs Rs 300,000-1,100,000 with battery back-up and Rs 250,000-900,000 without this.
The move comes after the central government discontinued all subsidy and support programmes for solar energy equipment. There is also currently no subsidy for installing solar rooftops or any other system in commercial establishments. Till two years earlier, there was central finance assistance for solar equipment makers and interest-free loan schemes for buyers.
Also, the ministry of new and renewable energy had a ‘channel partner’ scheme under which it enlisted certified companies which could sell solar power systems. This has also been discontinued.
The OMCs have enlisted a little more than two dozen companies which supply solar rooftop systems. Dealers opting for the subsidy would be required to connect the maximum facility with the solar power system. There is also an option for dealers to feed the surplus power generated into the grid and earn a discount on the supply coming from the conventional grid.


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How is TV evolving - Five things to look out for in 2017
As consumers ourselves, it is clear there has already been a massive shift in the way we consume our TV over the last few years. Edgeware’s technology enables this high-quality TV and video to be streamed across the internet and IP networks – and is used by TV content owners that want to scalably, securely and cost-efficiently make TV and video content available to their viewers. As we look ahead to the next 12 months, what are the key trends that will have a big impact on the TV content delivery industry?
ICP Search visit the ESA #Sentinel2GO Launch March 2017
As a self-confessed Space enthusiast and the most prolific tweeter in the office, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to combine my two favourite things and spend time with people just like me! On January 19th, I saw a tweet from @social4space inviting Space and Social Media lovers to participate in a very exciting event; being an active participant in the Sentinel-2b launch live from ESOC in Darmstadt!
As of May 25th 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) following a number of years in political negotiations and lobbying will finally be here. It will affect every organisation that processes EU residents’ personal identifiable information (PII). Organisations who fail to adhere to provisions set out by the GDPR can expect fines of up to 4% of annual global turnover (NB turnover, not profit) or €20 million – whichever is greater.


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US wholesale prices declined more than expected in April, led by energy prices again, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
The inflation data are all moving in the same downward direction, as sharply lower demand due to social distancing has kept prices depressed at both the wholesale and consumer levels. That trend is likely to continue until there is a pick-up in demand.
With some states moving toward business re-openings, followed by the eventually rehiring of most laid-off workers, prices should start to move higher in the coming months. However, it will be a long process and prices still likely to remain below their year-ago rates for several month.
Final demand PPI fell by 1.3% in April, well below the 0.5% decline expected, with a 19.0% plunge in energy prices the key factor.
The energy price decline was in line with the sharp drop in global oil prices and severely reduced demand for gasoline as consumers stay home, in contrast to normal seasonal patterns. Gasoline prices fell by 56.6%.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, PPI was down 0.3%, below the 0.1% decline expected. The BLS’s preferred core measure, which also excludes a 1.6% gain in trade services prices, fell 0.9% in the month.
Through April, overall PPI prices stand 1.2% below their year ago level, while prices excluding food and energy were up only 0.6%, both down sharply from March rates.
Food prices were down 0.5% in the month after a flat reading in the previous month. While there were declines in most categories, there were solid gains in beef (+12.6%) and eggs (+31.8%) due to reported shortages.
Trade services prices were lifted by margins on several sectors, including fuels retailing even as prices plunged. Margins at securities brokers and investment advice firms fell sharply after solid gains in the previous two months.


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EXPLAINER: Why US inflation is so high, and when it may ease
Inflation’s relentless surge didn’t merely persist in June. It accelerated. For the 12 months ending in June, the government’s consumer price index rocketed 9.1%, the fastest year-over-year jump since 1981. And that was nothing next to what energy prices did: Fueled by heavy demand and by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, energy costs shot up nearly 42% in the past 12 months, the largest such jump since 1980. Even if you toss out food and energy prices — which are notoriously volatile and have driven much of the price spike — so-called core inflation soared 5.9% over the past year.


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Browsing: Jeff Bezos
If you’d told most people in 1994 that in 2014 there would be a website dedicated to watching other people play videogames, they would have laughed at you. And yet on Friday, Amazon concluded a deal to buy Twitch, an electronic sports broadcaster, for nearly
Amazon is not a consumer electronics company. Yes, the e-commerce giant has sold tens of millions of its own devices to customers. And yes, it has just launched a smart phone, but measuring Amazon by Samsung’s or Apple’s standards overlooks the most important thing about its business. When Amazon
Unmanned drones don’t have a very good reputation. They’re usually associated with assassinating terrorist leaders or spying on celebrities. But that may change when they start delivering birthday presents. Jeff Bezos, the irrepressible founder and chief executive of Amazon.com
Jeff Bezos isn’t easily satisfied. He’s the 26th richest person on the planet, and he’s been a (self-made) billionaire for nearly two decades. And yet the 48-year-old founder of Amazon.com continues to push his company, and himself, into new territory. When Amazon launched the Kindle e-reader in late
Inside a remote mountain in Texas, a gargantuan clock is being pieced together, capable of telling the time for the next 10 000 years. Once the clock is finished, people willing to make the difficult trek will be able to visit the vast chamber housing it, along with displays marking various anniversaries of its operation
It’s customary at this time of the year for TechCentral to publish its lists of who it considers the newsmakers of the year, both internationally and in SA. We kick off, as always, with the five people we thought were the biggest newsmakers in the technology space in 2011 worldwide
When Apple announced the iPad earlier this year, some commentators declared that it could signal the demise of Amazon.com’s Kindle e-reader. Unlike the Kindle, which could do only one thing well — display pages from books — the iPad was a multifunction device, allowing people to browse the Web, check their e-mail, read magazines, watch movies, listen to music and run a universe of applications.


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PCWorld, back in January:
Sprint Nextel will sell a WiMax version of the Research In
Motion PlayBook tablet beginning this summer, the companies
announced on Thursday at the International Consumer Electronics
Show in Las Vegas.
Fierce Wireless, this week:
Research in Motion’s PlayBook tablet suffered another blow as
Sprint Nextel announced it cancelled plans to sell a WiMAX-enabled
version of the device. […]
“It’s an interesting concept, it just hasn’t caught on with
business customers,” Paget Alves, president of Sprint’s business
markets group, told the Wall Street Journal in explaining Sprint’s
decision not to carry the PlayBook.
Where by “business customers”, Alves means “anyone”.
★ Wednesday, 17 August 2011


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Thursday’s Market Insights: Shake Shack Inc (SHAK), Etsy Inc (ETSY), Groupon Inc (GRPN), EMC Corporation (EMC)
By Kate George
Shake Shack Inc (NYSE:SHAK) is down over 3% in pre-market trading to $47.00 after the fast-casual burger joint filed to sell up to 26 million shares, though the company will not receive any of the proceeds from the sales. Shake Shack went public in January with a media-frenzied IPO as burger lovers rushed to the restaurant chain’s over 50 locations. Shake Shack debuted on Wall Street with an IPO of $21, which quickly doubled. By May, the stock was trading was at $92 per share, though shares have since come down a bit. Though analysts were bullish on the company when it went public, it seems more analysts are falling to the sidelines. According to the 5 analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months, 3 are bearish on the stock and 3 are staying on the sidelines. The average 12-month price target is $41.50, marking a 15% downside from where the stock last closed.
Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) is down nearly 2% in pre-market trading to $13.90 due to competition from Amazon. Handmade by Amazon launched today as a platform that allows artisans to sell their own crafts; strikingly similar to Etsy’s purpose. Reports say that Amazon’s new platform will offer more than 80,000 items from all 50 states and 30 countries. While Etsy has remained the dominant marketplace for handcrafted goods, analysts are worried that Amazon’s scale and distribution network will pose a threat. According to the 3 analysts on TipRanks who have rated Etsy in the last 3 months, 1 is bullish on the company, 1 is bearish, and 1 is staying on the sidelines. The average 12-month price target is $17, marking a 20% potential upside from current levels.
Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) fell 4.71% in pre-market trading down to $3.64 after analyst Kevin Kopelman of Cowen & Co. initiated coverage on the company with an Underperform rating and a $2.75 price target. Although the company “leads in US/Europe voucher deals and has $6B in billings,” the analyst points out that “op. margins are low and trending down.” Kopelman believes the company can turnaround in the future, but attributes his current bearish rating to “growth figures that suggest the marketplace has peaked;” “investment in hyper-competitive food delivery;” and deteriorating margins. According to the 10 analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months, 6 are bullish on Groupon, 1 is bearish, and 3 are staying on the sidelines. The average 12-month price target for the company is $6.24, marking a 63% increase from where the stock last closed.
Click here to view Kevin Kopelman’s past ratings and performance history.
EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) spiked 6.70% in pre-market trading up to $27.70 following reports released yesterday that EMC is in talks to merge with Dell. If achieved, the takeover would be the largest merger in the technology sector. Although the deal has not been formally proposed, reports suspect that a deal would value EMC at about its market cap value of $50 billion, though more than half of this valuation is attributed to EMC’s VMware. Dell is a privately held company valued at about $25 billion. This is not the first time that EMC has been in the spotlight for a potential takeover, as the technology company was in talks with HP last year, though this possibility ended once HP announced its plans to split. According to the 14 analysts on TipRanks who have rated EMC in the last 3 months, 11 of them are bullish on the company and 4 are staying on the sidelines. The average 12-month price target for the stock is $29.58, marking a 14% potential upside from where shares last closed.


text: Apple has a couple more new products to announce before the year is out, and it plans to unveil them in a few weeks time. People familiar with Apple’s plans tell AllThingsD that the company will hold its next invitation-only event on Tuesday, October 22. The focal point of the gathering will be the latest updates to the company’s iPad line, but the new Mac Pro and OS X Mavericks will likely get some stage time as well, I’m told. The fifth-generation iPad is expected to feature a thinner, lighter design akin to the iPad mini’s, and an improved camera. It will run Apple’s new 64-bit A7 chip. The second-generation iPad mini will be upgraded with a retina display and also likely see the A7 incorporated into its innards. It’s not clear whether Apple’s new iPads will feature the Touch ID fingerprint sensor that recently debuted on the iPhone 5s, though that has been rumored.


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Intel Corp.’s venture-capital arm is investing $20 million in digital textbook and tablet maker Kno Inc., supplying funding that will be used to develop software.
Intel’s investment is part of $30 million in funds from a group that includes Andreessen Horowitz, Advance Publications Inc., First Round Capital, Floodgate Fund LP and SV Angels, the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker said in a statement.
The funding boosts Intel’s involvement in the growing field of educational technology, a market that may top $47 billion this year, according to research firm Compass Intelligence. The alliance may also help Intel find wider distribution for its chips in tablet computers.
“The increasing consumption of digital content has primed the textbook market for disruption, creating an exciting opportunity for technology innovation to fundamentally change the way 1.4 billion students globally learn,” Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital, said in the statement.
Founded in 2009, Kno raised $46 million in equity and debt financing last September from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm co-founded by Web pioneer Marc Andreessen. Before the Intel-led investment, the Santa Clara-based startup had raised a total of $65 million.
Kno said in November 2010 that it would charge $599 for its single-screen tablet aimed at students and $899 for a dual-screen version. The company shipped a limited number of the devices in December and then suspended sales.
At the end of last year, Intel Capital held a portfolio of investments worth $2.27 billion. Since 1991, it’s invested more than $9.8 billion in more than 1,100 companies. In that period, 189 portfolio companies have gone public and 258 were acquired or participated in a merger, according to Intel’s website.
Intel Capital looks for technologies and products that will support or create demand for its personal-computer chips.
Intel, whose processors power more than 80 percent of the world’s PCs, has struggled to parlay that dominance into sales in the faster-growing market for tablet computers. Apple Inc.’s iPad runs on chips based on ARM Holdings Plc’s technology, which is more widely used in mobile phones.
Kno is the second education-related startup founded by Osman Rashid. In 2005, he co-founded online textbook rental provider Chegg Inc. and led the company to $100 million in annual sales in less than five years. While at Chegg, he raised seed funding for Kno, which was then called Kakai.


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SDL has announced it plans to integrate Webtrends' Streams technology into its Intelligent Marketing Suite, a way to gather real time customer data for improved analytics and customer experiences.
SDL Fully Adopting Customer Experience
SDL is going full bore on transitioning to a customer experience management provider, and we've recently taken a close look at the company's focus on predictive social capabilities. But the Webtrends integration is closely aligned with that as well because being able to understand more about customers is a big part of both operations.
The Webtrends Streams real time customer engagement system will debut in the SDL Intelligent Marketing Suite, but will eventually roll out to other SDL products, Bruce Kenny, SVP of technology at Webtrends said in an interview.
Streams rolled out in 2013, and Kenny said the product has been a hit with customers and partners alike.Streams takes customer actions from various digital properties and funnels them in real time to dashboards and visualizations to see exactly where customers are along their journey.
Allowing a company like SDL that is very focused on things like predictive capabilities to integrate real time analytics sounds like it could be a good showcase for Webtrends. The more vendors Webtrends works with after all, the more word should spread about Streams, and the more deals it could win. For SDL, adding a bit more analytics firepower to its newly created marketing suite could also help it convince more customers it has the best mix of tools.
Real Time Predictive Marketing
As we wrote earlier this summer, SDL is weaving predictive social marketing into its Tridion CMS, and now it seems that integration will eventually include Streams. SDL has the Webtrends Streams API, so it will be up to it to decide when any integration goes live, Kenny said.
SDL folded its customer analytics, campaign manager and email manager products into the Intelligent Marketing Suite, and at launch, that's where Streams will live. There's no timetable for when SDL will roll Streams (pictured above) out to other products, but when it decides to do it, it shouldn't take much more than the flip of a switch. Kenny characterized it as a handshake API, a good fitting integration that didn't require a ton of technical expertise.
One place where Webtrends Streams has been particularly effective, Kenny said, is in boosting email conversions. Streams funnels traffic sources, mobile app impressions, shopping cart data, ad performance and other information into the marketing suite where SDL can analyze it for whatever campaigns it's running. Having that ability in real time would allow a marketer to send off an email within minutes of a given event, a timely and relevant message that should help those email conversions climb.
SDL is already strong in email campaigns, so Streams really plays to its strengths there. Already this summer, SDL's marketing suite has been upgraded to allow videos in email campaigns, so combined with Streams, the system indeed starts to get interesting.


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(Host) Commentator Tim McQuiston sees a silver lining in the recent rash of embezzlement cases – because the perpetrators are being sent to jail. This should help to make someone think twice before sticking their hand in the till.
(McQuiston) Recent headlines report that Vermont has been named the worst state in the nation for the risk of embezzlement.
There doesn’t seem to be a logical reason for this, even as we witness case after case with our own eyes. It might be argued that Vermont’s small organizations may lack sufficiently robust institutional controls. But Ben & Jerry’s has been a recent victim, and it’s a big business owned by a giant multinational. And, in any case, Virginia and Florida are among the worst off – and they’re hardly small states.
We can’t really blame hard economic times either, because Vermont has suffered less in the Great Recession than nearly every other state. And although Vermonters are typically trusting by nature, embezzling tends not to be done for the reasons you might think; it’s almost always just about greed.
There are plenty of laws against theft – which is what embezzlement is – and trouble with the IRS is practically guaranteed, so what gives? Well, in my humble opinion, the problem is societal acceptance – and it’s something that I’ve witnessed first hand.
Some years ago, I worked at a newspaper group in another state in which upper management was trading advertising space for personal goods and services – a business practice that’s usually perfectly legitimate. The managers were pretty open about it, so we employees just assumed that the absentee owners knew all about it.
Turns out they didn’t, and I’ve always wished I’d been there when the perps were brought out in handcuffs and stuffed into the back of police cruisers.
But the problem was that the owners were embarrassed and just wanted some of their money back; so the managers essentially got away with everything except their jobs.
What the owners decided, as others have and will, was that putting up with theft from the company was just another cost of doing business. To the alleged embezzlers, trading advertising for new cars and in-ground pools was just part of the game. If they got caught, they’d have to give back pennies on the dollar. Big deal.
Today, as the Vermont Legislature considers more effective laws to scare away potential embezzlers and round up those who’ve been robbing the store, I’d like to remind them that the problem is not so much legal as societal. The public mindset has been that it’s not really a crime – like sticking up a convenience store – but more like cheating on your taxes. Not right, of course, but everyone does it so why be a chump?
Still, it now seems that the businesses, government entities, and nonprofits that have been victimized by recent embezzlers in Vermont – sometimes to an extraordinary degree – have shaken off their apathy and decided to let the criminal courts deal with it. I see this as a positive development.
Government needs only to encourage employers to treat embezzlement as the crime it is. Jail time is a great convincer.


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- Leading API platform company Postman announced recently that it raised $225 million in Series D funding at a $5.6 billion valuation
Leading API platform company Postman announced recently that it raised a $225 million Series D round of funding at a $5.6 billion valuation. This round of funding was led by existing investor Insight Partners and they were joined by new investors Coatue, Battery Ventures, and BOND along with existing investors CRV and Nexus Venture Partners. Plus DoorDash Product Leader Gokul Rajaram and Freshworks Founder Girish Mathrubootham have also joined as individual investors. In total, the company has now raised more than $430 million across four rounds.
Postman plans to use the Series D round of funding to expand its teams in the areas of sales, marketing, product, and engineering. And the company will continue to invest in its community of developers across the globe, support students through innovative API literacy programs, and contribute toward open source projects in order to foster a strong and thriving API ecosystem.
As APIs increasingly become the driving force for software development and business success in this decade, Postman is continuing to experience rapid growth. Now Postman has over 17 million users and 500,000 organizations on its platform, making it home to the largest API community in the world.
APIs are also growing in popularity led by developers who are adopting the “API-first” model to build new applications faster, modernize legacy architectures, and scale business processes. Organizations have also been adopting the API-first model to build and ship new products faster and create products of higher quality with less code.
Postman added more than 300 employees across 13 countries since the beginning of 2020, more than doubling its headcount as well as adding thousands of new customers to a customer base that includes 98% of the Fortune 500 and the likes of Salesforce, Stripe, Kroger, Cisco, PayPal, and Microsoft. And the company recently announced that its Public API Network is now the largest API hub in the world, with more than 75,000 APIs shared on the network.
“We are thrilled to have the support of our community and customers who continue to propel us forward, and this new round of funding will help Postman dramatically increase the speed of that forward motion. We’re committed to helping developers who are building the future with APIs.”
— Postman CEO and Co-founder Abhinav Asthana
“APIs have quickly become the fundamental building blocks of software used by developers in every industry, in every country across the globe—and Postman has firmly established itself as the preferred platform for developers. Postman has the opportunity to become a key pillar of how enterprises build, deliver products, and seamlessly enable partnerships across the ecosystem. Their continued, rapid expansion and strong management team point to a future for Postman with virtually unlimited possibilities.”
— Insight Partners Managing Director Jeff Horing
”Coatue was impressed by Postman’s ability to solve challenges faced by developers worldwide who need to build software faster than ever. We also liked Postman’s work towards providing management teams, regardless of size, proper visibility into their API landscape and to ensure that increasingly lean teams can effectively maintain APIs. We are proud to support Postman’s future plans and partner with them as they execute their vision to serve a rapidly expanding developer workforce and expand further into new roles and areas with plans for exciting future growth.”
— Coatue General Partner David Schneider


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MANHATTAN (CN) — Showing the best monthly gain since the beginning of the year, Wall Street polished off April in the black despite muddled corporate earnings and mixed inflationary data.
The Dow Jones Industrial closed out the week up 290 points since last Friday’s closing bell, while the Nasdaq gained 154 points and the S&P 500 increased by 36 points.
On Friday, the latest inflation data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that personal consumption expenditures rose by less than 0.1% last month, a comforting sign. But another report issued on Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that wages and salaries increased 5.1% over the last year, hinting that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to combat price increases has not yet fully worked.
“While inflationary pressures continue to ease, the trajectory is still not moving quickly enough for the Federal Reserve to declare victory,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. The Fed is scheduled to meet again next week, during which it likely will announce its final interest rate hike of the year at 0.25%.
Another factor that may affect the Fed’s approach is the lackluster gross domestic product growth, which came in at 1.1% annualized for the first quarter, less than the 2% many experts had forecast. Real GDP increases have shrunk for three straight quarters since the middle of 2022.
“Although underlying activity growth rebounded in the first quarter, while wage and price inflation remained too high, we expect the second quarter to bring a sharper slowdown across the board,” Andrew Hunter, deputy chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wrote in an investor’s note Friday morning.
Investors were largely focused earlier in the week on the big names and wildly disparate results among corporate earnings: from record first-quarter profits from Exxon Mobil to the lowest-ever quarterly loss at Intel.
The biggest splash in earnings came on Wednesday from Microsoft, which reported a 7% increase in revenue and a 9% jump in net income last quarter, far surpassing analyst forecasts. The news caused a huge jump the following day in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which at one point on Wednesday gained nearly 10%.
Microsoft executives chalked much of the gains up to its successful cloud services, which picked up by 13%. “Across the Microsoft Cloud, we are the platform of choice to help customers get the most value out of their digital spend and innovate for this next generation of AI,” CEO Satya Nadella said.
A similar ripple came on Thursday, when Facebook parent company Meta released its earnings. The tech company posted a 3% gain in revenue — 6% year over year — though a 24% decrease in net income over the past quarter. Its forecast for the second quarter, however, was what propelled investors to send the stock the highest point since January of last year.
Meta executives said they expect the second quarter of 2023 to bring in revenue of nearly $30 billion, up to $32 billion. “We had a good quarter and our community continues to grow,” CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
Earlier in the week, earnings did what they could not do the week prior: help boost indices. On Monday, Coca-Cola reported its net revenues increased by 5% and its organic revenue — which doesn’t include revenue from acquisitions — gained 12%, beating analyst forecasts.
More encouraging to investors is that, even while the beverage-maker’s prices grew, demand did not fall. The company reported its overall global case volume grew by 3% in the last quarter, while some its Smartwater brand increased in volume by 8%. The company’s Asia market saw a 10% increase in volume, while the only market in which Coca-Cola saw a drop in volume was in its Europe, Middle East & Africa sector, which fell by 3%.
“We are encouraged by our first-quarter 2023 results,” CEO James Quincey said in a statement. “Our system alignment is stronger than ever, and our networked organization is allowing us to adapt as needed.”
Finally, consumer sentiment for April showed a slight increase, according to the monthly survey by the University of Michigan, inching up to 63.5 from 62 points. The index is still lower than the 65.2 reading from April 2022, as concerns about high prices persist.
“Consumers are bracing for the labor market to weaken,” Joanne Hsu, the survey’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Sustained, meaningful improvements in economic conditions — which will have to come from cooling inflation, given how little room there is for labor markets to strengthen — will be required for their sentiment to rise again.”Follow @NickRummell
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January 22, 2018
The Mainland China retailer, which is 62.4% controlled by Yue Yuen which is in turn controlled by Pou Chen and the Tsai family, will go private under terms of a NK$11 billion (US$1.4 bb) takeover offer that Pou Sheng says is needed so that the retailer can make significant investments in its business to deal with the disruption in the market from e-commerce and a more promotional environment.
It plans a major launch in Feb. that will include soccer apparel, footwear and equipment with the well-traveled brand, which is now owned by Iconix.
The UK High Court of Justice ruled that Garmin’s wrist-based heart rate monitoring technology did not infringe on PulseOn Oy registered designs in the EU, according to a GRMN press release.
CIA says that Namastetics is copying its distinctive Goddess legging design with ornamental leg warmers, for which it has a design patent, with its Fusion line of leggings.


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updated 02:16 pm EST, Sat February 22, 2014
Sony starts selling PlayStation 4 in Japan months after US, European launches
Sony has launched the PlayStation 4 game console in Japan, months after shipping it to customers in the United States and Europe. While it has already sold 5.3 million units in other markets when competing against the Xbox One, the launch in Japan will be largely uncontested, with The Verge noting no news of an Xbox One launch in the country has been issued by Microsoft, and the Nintendo's Wii-U continues to sell poorly.
Sony PlayStation 4
AT&T, T-Mobile approve Android KitKat update for HTC One
The Android KitKat update for the HTC One has been approved to roll out to devices in the United States on AT&T and T-Mobile. Technical approval for Android 4.4.2 and Sense 5.5 has been granted by the two carriers, reports Phone Arena, with T-Mobile apparently starting to trigger over-the-air update, and AT&T likely to follow in the near future. HTC recently made a commitment to provide all major Android updates for current devices up to two years after their launch, among other new benefits.


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Marketing Week and IDM research shows the strategic importance of training to optimise business performance.
It’s satisfying and timely to hear Mark Ritson call for a focus on Small Data over Big Data. A report published this week by The World Federation of Advertisers and The Customer Framework found that across 47 member organisations the secret to tangible data success needs is a strategic focus on what data is needed and how it […]
Main media advertising budgets saw the biggest boost over the third quarter of the year, as marketers report growing optimism about the prospects of their businesses.
For 75% of marketers, the pandemic has permanently shifted how they communicate and collaborate at work, according to the seventh edition of Salesforce’s ‘State of Marketing’ report. At the Festival of Marketing, senior marketers from Metro Bank and Just Eat shared how they are overcoming new challenges and realising new opportunities.
Is personalisation still relevant, or even achievable, in a post-cookie world? Perhaps, if marketers are willing to lean in closer to consumers, suggests GSK’s Jerry Daykin.
Two years ago, the travel agency was front and centre in the news as it slowly crumbled under the crushing weight of its own debt. Now the brand is back on the market, rebuilding online with a new proposition.