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Tennessee Producer Tries Tactic in Sofas: Speed
As Some Turn to Imports, Custom Couch In 3 Weeks Is Like ‘Greased Lightning’
By DAN MORSE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EDGAR, Wis. — On Sept. 29, Grace Riehle walked out of her white farmhouse, climbed into the car and embarked on an urgent mission: shopping for a sofa.
Thanksgiving, when 35 relatives would be headed over for turkey, smoked kielbasa and all the trimmings, was just two months away, and the 57-year-old grandmother wanted to be ready with an L-shaped sectional to match her new burgundy drapes.
At her first stop, a sofa salesman in nearby Wausau, Wis., showed her various styles, along with a burgundy fabric swatch. He said a sofa might arrive by Thanksgiving — if he could fax an order to the furniture factory that day. “I better think about that,” Mrs. Riehle said on her way out.
Store No. 2, down the road, offered more hope. Salesman John Steffeck assured her that her $1,475 sofa would arrive in plenty of time. Sold.
Did it arrive in time? The answer turns on one company’s drive to solve a business problem that — in an era of space travel and spliced genes — remains surprisingly intractable: getting a sofa delivered quickly. The company is England Inc., at the base of the Appalachian Mountains in New Tazewell, Tenn. It makes about 11,000 sofas and chairs a week, all built to order. England delivers to local furniture stores in places such as Wausau, generally within three weeks. “In the furniture business, that’s like greased lightning,” says Tom Rose, owner of Thomas Everett’s Fine Furniture in Abilene, Texas.
Becoming fast has never been more important for the U.S. factories — and their 73,000 workers — that make upholstered furniture. At England, employees need look no farther than their local Wal-Mart to see why. For sale: Chinese-made leather recliners — in black or cream — for $199, ready to take home.
“Our whole industry has set itself up for this China thing by being archaic on delivery,” says Otis Sawyer, chief financial officer of England Furniture, which has been owned since 1995 by La-Z-Boy Inc., now the nation’s second-largest furniture company.
U.S. sofa makers do have a critical edge over imports: Shoppers usually want a sofa to match the rest of the room. Thus, many sofa makers offer customers an array of fabric choices, and then build and deliver the sofa. That’s something factories overseas, with shipping times stretching to four months, are hard-put to match. Generally, shoppers who buy imported furniture must make do with what’s already in stock.
Still, instant gratification is also a big draw, as is the relatively low price and rising quality of much imported furniture. Already, imported wood furniture is hammering American manufacturers, by some estimates accounting for more than 40% of the U.S. market. Upholstered furniture imports take a smaller slice — generally estimated at 11% to 15% — but their share is rising rapidly.
So England is attempting a tricky balancing act: offer customers enough choice to make choice an advantage, but keep prices in check — England’s sofas generally retail for $500 to $1,500 — and deliver, if not instantly, at least before the customer has redecorated again.
That means building 85 different styles of frames and keeping 550 different fabrics on hand. It means that even if it has been a slow couple of weeks in Laramie, Wyo., the company will still swing a truck over there to drop off three couches.
Most of all, though, it means discipline. England Furniture refuses to take orders that arrive even five minutes after weekly production deadlines. “No one in this industry can say no,” says the company’s president, Rodney England, 51, a former Army drill instructor. “That creates chaos.”
England pushes fabric suppliers on speedy deliveries, dropping those it feels can’t keep up. And it runs its own trucks, unusual among sofa makers. To recoup transportation costs, four England employees work the phones and the Internet seeking paying loads to haul back to Tennessee. Among recent cargoes: Sheep brains, competitors’ furniture, frozen turkeys and a corpse. In order to handle more types of loads, England has equipped 22 of its 445 trucks with refrigeration.
All this has let England cut delivery times by one-half to one-third compared with five years ago. At La-Z-Boy’s headquarters in Monroe, Mich., Chairman Pat Norton is pushing the rest of his company to move as quickly. “I wish we could,” Mr. Norton said. “We would own the market.”
Some retailers say the company — in its quest for speed — doesn’t offer enough modern styles and fabrics to be a true custom player. Too frumpy.
Other retailers say England’s furniture actually costs a bit much for middle-market shoppers. Indeed, because it offers more than 40,000 possible frame/fabric combinations, England must make short, and thus more-costly, production runs. The better strategy, these people say, is to offer far fewer models while staying on top of style.
“You can’t offer all those fabric choices,” says Chuck Vogel, a longtime executive at Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., a big manufacturer that also tries to make a name for itself with midpriced speed. “It screws up your whole system.”
Bucking a Trend
Yet England’s sales are growing, bucking the industry trend. Sales jumped 8.3% to $201 million for the fiscal year that ended April 27. Sales for the entire domestic upholstery-manufacturing industry fell 9.3% to $9.8 billion in 2001. England increased its work force by 7.4% to 1,901 in
2001, even as the industry work force fell by 9% nationwide in 2001, according to the Labor Department. England and La-Z-Boy officials say England is profitable but decline to provide specific numbers.
For England, moving quickly means resorting to a few tricks. Unlike computer maker Dell Computer Corp., England can’t start on an order the minute, or even the day, it is received. That’s because the furniture maker is constantly working to build up its delivery loads so it won’t go broke on transportation costs.
In Wausau, Mrs. Riehle ordered her sofa from the Furniture & Appliance Superstore on a Sunday, a typical sofa buying day nationwide. The store had until 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday to phone, fax or e-mail that week’s orders to England.
On Monday nights, England’s computers take all those orders and plot out delivery schedules. While orders and deliveries for most of the stores England serves are scheduled weekly, stores farther away must compile their orders for two or more weeks. The extreme: West Coast stores such as Harkness Furniture in Tacoma, Wash., which collects orders for four weeks before England starts building the sofas. Still, says Harkness sales manager John Opland, England zips the furniture out, making the company’s custom-built deliveries still faster, on average, than nearby sofa makers in Oregon and California.
Mrs. Riehle’s sofa was assigned — still unmade — on Monday, Sept. 30 to a truck that would carry 82 other pieces of furniture to eight stores in Wisconsin.
The next step was to plot out the manufacturing of hundreds of furniture components so that her sofa would come off the assembly line and go right onto its assigned truck. Adopting an idea from other industries, England does this by using computers to schedule specific production tasks down to the minute, printing out bar-code tickets that are attached to various parts.
To build Mrs. Riehle’s sectional sofa, England workers would have to cut 126 pieces of burgundy fabric, 137 pieces of wood and 21 pieces of foam. They would sew in zippers and stuff in Dacron. And they would piece together 60 small metal parts, assembling the internal mechanisms to work the two reclining seats at each end of the L-shaped sofa.
It would be easier to build all these sofas inside one assembly plant. But England grew up in pieces — a sewing plant here, a frame-cutting operation there. And the terrain in and around its headquarters in New Tazewell is hilly, rocky and scattered with caves. Building a big plant would cost an estimated $3.5 million just to blast and grade the site. So nine England workers spend their days driving trucks among the company’s eight plants, hauling sofa components past cows, cemeteries and school buses.
England figures the hills cost it about two production days for each sofa. But there are advantages to New Tazewell. The company pays most of its factory workers $10 to $14 an hour, which, because it’s higher than many factory jobs in the area, allows England to demand higher productivity for physically exhausting work, according to both workers and managers.
The firm has gained local support for things such as roads and sewers to serve new plants partly because it isn’t afraid to demonstrate its economic impact. England takes out full-page newspaper ads to congratulate entire shifts for avoiding on-the-job injuries. And for many years, the company paid its twice-yearly, profit-sharing bonuses in $2 bills, which made clear to area merchants exactly where the cash was coming from.
Depending on how many orders England gets each Monday, executives immediately adjust labor needs — telling workers they won’t be needed on Friday in slow weeks, or adding overtime hours in busy ones. Other sofa makers argue that it’s better to smooth out troughs and valleys with more consistent production schedules. “They think what we do is ridiculous,” Mr. England says.
England’s workers would like more consistent hours, and some have quit over this. But many stay, attracted by the relatively high wages and England’s health-insurance benefits.
All the production scheduling in the world is no good, of course, if England doesn’t have supplies on hand, particularly fabric. This is a traditional bottleneck in the industry.
It’s impossible to predict exactly which fabrics consumers will like. England executives admit this, even as they buy roughly 140 new styles and colors a year from textile mills. “Fifteen of them will be dogs,” says Dennis Valkanoff, England’s head buyer.
“And three of those will have fleas on them,” Mr. England adds.
So the company presses fabric suppliers for smaller, more-frequent deliveries. That way it won’t get stuck with too many yards of a pattern that turns out to be a dog, and England can quickly get more stock if a pattern is a surprise hit. Since arriving at England about seven years ago, Mr. Valkanoff has culled his list of fabric vendors to four from more than 40. The remaining suppliers now deliver in one to three weeks instead of six to eight.
“He beats the c–p out of us,” says Robb Tomlin, more in admiration than malice. Mr. Tomlin, a top merchandiser at Joan Fabrics Corp. in Tyngsboro, Mass., sold Mr. Valkanoff the Ambassador Merlot fabric used in Mrs. Riehle’s sofa.
To reward his big suppliers, Mr. Valkanoff places large orders in June, July and August, when mills can be slow and hungry for business. That helps him lean on the mills in busy times. “I don’t care who you have to kick out. I don’t care if it’s my parent company,” Mr. Valkanoff will tell his vendors. “I need my covers.”
By having weekly order cutoffs, England garners some production efficiencies, because it can group production by various styles. The goal: Don’t cut one layer of fabric patterns when you can just as easily cut a stack of 50. Don’t program the automatic wood routers to cut a single frame, when you can program them to cut 50 frames. In its quest for speed, though, England produces in smaller batches than many competitors.
By Monday, Oct. 7, the various pieces of Mrs. Riehle’s sofa had arrived at England’s main assembly plant, which is roughly the size of eight football fields. Workers on the plant’s 29 assembly lines push sofas along elevated tracks, piecing together the frames, cushions, backs and legs as they go. There’s a constant thump-thump-thumping of heavy-duty staple guns.
The fastest crews here can earn as much as $16 an hour. Each person in a nine-member crew is paid the same wages, based on how quickly the whole crew works. So most everyone shows up on time. Some crews rib each other to keep things moving — crews such as Line 3, which handled Mrs. Riehle’s sofa. One new member of that crew, Cody Jones, 22, is a budding preacher who was issued a warning upon his arrival.
“You won’t be a preacher long if you come here,” Line 3 crew members said, only half in jest. Each sofa style has a posted time to try to beat. Some times are easier to beat than others, which means higher wages. The sofa Mrs. Riehle ordered represented one such opportunity.
“Here comes the gravy,” Mr. Jones told his new crewmates as Mrs. Riehle’s piece started coming down the line.
Over the next 24 hours, Mrs. Riehle’s sofa was finished, wrapped in a foam-plastic blanket, stacked in a staging area and loaded onto a trailer truck. On Wednesday morning, Oct. 9, driver Larry Carroll showed up to begin the four-day trip to Wisconsin and back.
Twenty-eight hours later, he pulled into Wausau. Mr. Carroll helped unload the sofas, hoping to squeeze a few more stops in for the day. He still had to get to Waupaca, Wis., to pick up a load of brake drums for the trip home.
And so it was that on Oct. 10, 11 days after Mrs. Riehle ordered her sofa, it arrived at the store. Sheila Brainard, the store’s upholstery buyer, says England’s discipline and speed are the best she has seen: “They really have their stuff together.”
The next morning, one of her sales staffers called Mrs. Riehle and left a message on the answering machine. Mrs. Riehle had already headed off to work at the IGA grocery in Edgar. Her husband, Chuck, eventually retrieved the message. Three days later, as they were returning home from dinner at a daughter’s house, he turned to his wife with news: “The furniture store called.”
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Updated November 19, 2002
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As a developer for CMOS sensors and vision systems for industrial, professional, scientific, medical, and surveillance markets, AnaFocus will accelerate e2v’s CMOS development roadmap and deepen the company’s reach into the professional imaging markets, according to the press release. In 2013, e2v’s high performance imaging division grew by 26%, so the acquisition is expected to provide an additional boost to the company’s machine vision business, as AnaFocus sales last year were €5.6m. This year, AnaFocus is expected to generate sales of approximately €11 million.
Steve Blair, e2v technologies’ Group CEO, noted in the release that AnaFocus adds technology, people, and customers to the business, while strengthening its position in the overall market.
"The strength of the AnaFocus team, and the e2v worldwide sales and customer support channels they can now access, will help us to accelerate our opportunities in this fast-growing business," he said. "We see immediate opportunities to apply the technical capabilities of AnaFocus to provide enhanced offerings to our joint customers."
The initial purchase price of €29.2m (£23.2m) is made up of €26.5m cash for the business, and assumed net debt of €2.7m. AnaFocus management executives are staying with the business and can achieve an earn-out of up to €5m in cash, dependent on value generating "stretch" integration targets, including revenue growth. The transaction will be funded from e2v's existing resources, including its new £90m bank facility.
View the press release.
Share your vision-related news by contacting James Carroll, Senior Web Editor, Vision Systems Design
To receive news like this in your inbox, click here.

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Official figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the economy shrank by 0.4% in April.
Caused by a “dramatic” fall in car production and an easing of stockpiling by manufacturers. The contraction meant growth for the three months to April slowed to 0.3%.
Factory shutdowns designed to cope with disruption from a March Brexit slashed UK car production in April by nearly half, the industry said last month.
BMW’s Mini factory in Oxford brought forward its summer maintenance shutdown to April to minimise any disruption surrounding Brexit. Other manufacturers’ annual stoppages were also brought forward.
Economy showing the signs of Brexit ‘Hangover’
The economy had seen a spurt of growth in the run-up to the proposed March date for the UK leaving the European Union, as manufacturers stockpiled parts, raw materials and goods in the anticipation of holdups at the border.
After the Brexit deadline was extended to October, it suffered the reverse effects as these supply reserves were used up and fewer purchases were made.
Yael Selfin, chief economist at accountants KPMG UK said:
“The hangover that’s followed the UK’s original exit date is proving stronger than anticipated.”
“Today’s figures signal the UK economy is likely to experience more subdued growth for the rest of the year, marred by Brexit uncertainty.”
ONS statistician Rob Kent-Smith said:
“Growth showed some weakening across the latest three months, with the economy shrinking in the month of April mainly due to a dramatic fall in car production, with uncertainty ahead of the UK’s original EU departure date leading to planned shutdowns.
“There was also widespread weakness across manufacturing in April, as the boost from the early completion of orders ahead of the UK’s original EU departure date has faded.”
NIESR: UK economy will contract this quarter.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research is Britain’s longest established independent research institute, founded in 1938
The think tank has warned that the UK economy may shrink by 0.2% in the current quarter.
That would put Britain half-way into a Brexit-induced recession.
NIESR fears that there hasn’t been a “meaningful” recovery in May, following the 0.4% drop in GDP in April revealed this morning. So if manufacturing and construction keep shrinking, the overall economy could contract this quarter — having grown by 0.5% in January-March.
Garry Young, head of macroeconomic modelling and forecasting, said:
“The UK economy is on course to contract by 0.2% in the second quarter.”
“The latest GDP data were weaker than expected, partly reflecting shifts in production around the original Brexit departure date, including a 24% fall in car manufacturing.”
“The underlying picture is also quite weak, with Brexit-related uncertainty at home and trade tensions abroad dragging on investment spending and economic growth”
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Well, it finally happened: Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head, won a James Beard award last week. If you’re not familiar with the James Beard awards, they’re the pinnacle of excellence and respect in the culinary world. Just to be nominated for an award is a career-changing honor. Since 1990, The James Beard Foundation has searched all over the country for the best chefs, restaurants and bars, and they give an award for the Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional as well. Calagione has been nominated in that category every year since 2011. This year, he pulled down the top prize and joined a very short list of brewers who have nabbed the honor (Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing and Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery).
Under Calagione’s supervision, Dogfish Head has grown to be one of the biggest independent breweries in the country, hitting the number 14 spot on this year’s list from the Brewers Association. They brew more than 250,000 barrels of beer a year, distribute to 34 states, but have managed to maintain their reputation for brewing “off-centered” beers. They put out hop bombs and beers with no hops whatsoever (seriously). They put out beer designed for drinking while listening to music, and beers brewed from recipes found on Egyptian hieroglyphics.
So, in honor of Calagione’s award, we decided to put together a gallery of beers that make Dogfish Head Dogfish Head. Take a look and hit up your local bottle shop to see if you can put together the ultimate Dogfish Head six pack.
1 of 10
120 Minute IPA
You can't talk about Dogfish Head without talking about 120 Minute, which comes in between 15-20% ABV and breaks the IBU scale. It's continuously hopped throughout the brewing process, then dry-hopped and bottled unfiltered. They're releasing it twice this year, too.
2 of 10
Beer To Drink Music To
A beer inspired by music? Ambitious. This year, it's a tropical blonde brewed with kiwi juice and hibiscus flowers. As always, it's the official beer of Record Store Day.
3 of 10
Burton Baton will knock you on your ass. It's a blend of imperial IPA and English strong ale aged in oak barrels. It ain't for everyone.
4 of 10
Dogfish Head loves sessionable sours, and they've been brewing this Berliner Weisse since 2007. Think, green apples and apricots and a low ABV.
5 of 10
Saison du Buff
We're putting this beer on the list because it shows off Dogfish Head's spirit of camaraderie. In 2003, Dogfish Head, Victory Brewing and Stone all joined forces to form the BUFF Alliance (Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor). Each year, a different brewery takes turns brewing Saison du Buff.
6 of 10
Beer for Breakfast
Exactly what it sounds like, this beer is brewed with breakfast foods. Specifically, cold press coffee, maple syrup and Rapa Scrapple (leftover hotdog bits).
7 of 10
Oak-Aged Noble Rot
Noble Rot is a "science experiment" of a beer that includes the addition of two white wine grapes. The Oak-Aged version is obviously aged in oak (for a year). It's like if you spilled white wine in your beer. But better than that.
8 of 10
Dogfish Head used ingredients and traditions taken from Egyptian hieroglyphics to brew this beer. They used an ancient form of wheat and loaves of bread, chamomile and various herbs from the Middle East. They even went to Egypt and captured a native yeast strain.
9 of 10
This imperial stout was released in honor of the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew album. It's actually three parts imperial stout and one part honey beer.
10 of 10
Liquor de Malt
It's a 40 because it comes in a paper bag, but it's fancy cause of the name. They claimed it was the world's only bottle-conditioned malt liquor.


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Bale Breaker Brewing Company: Making Local Connections in Washington
With climbing bines already firmly rooted in their DNA, a craft brewery seemed like the next logical step for a family of fourth generation hops farmers. Bale Breaker Brewing is the creation of siblings Meghann Quinn, Patrick Smith and Kevin Smith, whose family started growing hops in Washington’s Yakima Valley back in 1932. They founded Bale Breaker in 2013, with help from Kevin Quinn, Meghann’s husband.
The growth curve at Bale Breaker has been steep. Out of the gate, they were unable to keep up with demand for their beer, despite increases in production capacity. “We went with a 30-barrel brewhouse and 180 barrels of fermentation space,” says Meghann Quinn, president. “Before we opened, it was clear what we had wasn’t enough. We ordered two more 90-barrel tanks and we’ve since ordered six more. We still can’t keep up.”
The funny thing is, a lot of people told them they were nuts to open a brewery in the first place, despite the hops connection. “More than a few people told us no one drinks craft beer out here,” Patrick says. “We took that on as a challenge. One of the reasons we thought a brewery could succeed here is there’s no real competition. We felt like we had an opportunity to be the local beer here.”
The thrust of the business plan Patrick wrote as part of his MS in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University was that Bale Breaker would forgo the lucrative Seattle-area market to focus on building a strong following for its beers in rural eastern Washington. That strategy aligned with what Kevin Quinn had seen while selling restaurant franchises. Individual franchises were all over the map. The lack of a focused, core area led to problems. He thought Bale Breaker should be different.
“Looking at successful breweries, we realized that most owned their local markets,” Kevin Quinn says. “Distributors kept talking about the importance of a strong local presence, telling us our beer would do better remotely if it was well known here. That became our mission.”
It turns out the concept of local beer resonates almost everywhere these days. “Locals have supported us like crazy,” Meghann Quinn says. “We had a local connection with the farm, but most of the hops go away. The brewery has enabled us to form a connection with the end user, since a lot of our beer is consumed right here.”
Fatherly Advice, Family Intuition
After opening in April 2013, Bale Breaker sold more than half of its first year’s production in the taproom and the Yakima area. And it’s continued to do well there since. The beers, which were designed to showcase Yakima Valley hops, might have something to do with that.
Brewer Kevin Smith, with help from the rest of the team, developed recipes for a line of clean, hop-forward beers, and the two flagships, Field 41 Pale Ale and Topcutter IPA, feature vivid hop character. “Our initial focus on two beers worked out well,” Kevin Smith says. “It allowed us to dial in the consistencies of those beers, which helped us build a following. The last thing you want to do when you’re getting started is release beer that isn’t consistently good.”
Smith got hooked on brewing as he was finishing college at the University of Washington in Seattle. He became interested in starting a brewery about the time his siblings were thinking the same thing. But there was a catch. “Dad made it clear to all of us that we needed to try something else before we came back to the farm,” Kevin Smith recalls. “He told me to finish my degree (in geography) and get a job in a brewery.”
True to his father’s wishes, Kevin Smith graduated and got a job at Two Beers Brewing in Seattle. During the two years he worked there, he learned a lot and watched Two Beers experience dramatic growth. Patrick Smith and Meghann Quinn followed their dad’s directive, as well, in different industries.
“You might say we were drawn into craft beer,” says Patrick Smith, who runs Loftus Ranches with his father, Mike Smith. “We had great relationships with brewers because of the hops. But the more serious we got about opening a brewery and the more people we met and talked to, the more we felt like we had to be part of the industry.”
Canning for the Future
Despite, and in some sense because of, their status as hops growers, they set up Bale Breaker as a separate business with shared ownership. They didn’t want brewers to perceive Bale Breaker as a competitor for hops. “We wanted it to be clear that Loftus Ranches was not opening a brewery, but that members of the family were starting a separate business on the farm,” Meghann Quinn says. “In fact, we contract for hops just like everyone else. The only scenario where we have an advantage is with fresh hops.”
Working to develop a viable sales strategy, they collected input from brewers, distributors and industry friends. Ultimately, they decided six-packs of cans would be their main focus. That decision was driven by the reality of today’s marketplace. “There aren’t many permanent tap handles out there,” Kevin Quinn says. “We’ve done well in our core area. But no matter how fast a keg of our beer sells, most bars are going to rotate something else in. We concluded grocery store shelves are the new permanent handles.”
As a result, their priority has been getting cans of Field 41 and Topcutter into stores. And it’s worked. Draft sales were 52 percent of production their first year and roughly the same last year. In August 2015, sales of cans surpassed 50 percent of total volume. They expect that trend to continue. “If we had to shut down draft to fill cans, that’s what we’d do,” says Kevin Quinn. “They are the priority.”
Their distributor in the Seattle area endorses that thinking. “Bale Breaker’s off-premise strategy reflects their progressive approach to this ever-changing industry,” says Brandon Odom of Odom Distributing in Bellevue, Wash. “It is energizing to see a new brewery break from conventional wisdom and enjoy great success.”
– 9 90-bbl fermentors
– 1 60-bbl fermentor
– 1 30-bbl fermentor
– 3 100-bbl bright tanks
Field 41 Pale Ale: Dry-hopped with Simcoe and Ahtanum, Field 41 features the aroma and flavor of an IPA in a lighter package. Named for the hop field where Bale Breaker Brewing is located. 4.5% ABV
Topcutter IPA: A well-balanced, yet aggressive West Coast IPA that showcases Yakima Valley hops. Late additions of Simcoe, Citra, Ahtanum and Mosaic contribute to the complex citrus, fruity and floral character. 6.8% ABV
Bottomcutter IIPA: Light colored, but heavy in aroma and flavor, this Double IPA is double dry-hopped and brewed for a light, dry finish. A combination of Citra, Simcoe and Equinox hops provide flavor and aroma. 8.2% ABV
Raging Ditch Dry-Hopped Blonde: A thirst-quenching summer seasonal that’s light in color with bright tropical and citrus notes. Named for the maze of irrigation ditches that flow throughout the Yakima Valley. 5.3% ABV
Bubba’s Brew: A limited-release IPA brewed to raise money for Ales for ALS, Bubba features a blend of experimental hops that impart notes of tropical fruit. For each pint sold, $1 goes to ALS research. 6.0% ABV
High Camp Winter Warmer: Dry-hopped like its siblings, High Camp is a winter seasonal with a malty backbone and spicy chocolate notes that represents the dark side of Bale Breaker’s hop-forward style. 7.3% ABV ■


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- OnePlus U series Tv models and Oneplus Nord CE 5G set to launch at the OnePlus summer launch event.
- The words CE refers to the Core Edition of Oneplus Nord.
- Oneplus Nord CE open sale starts from June 16.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G has been tipped to accompany the Snapdragon 750G SoC and a 64-megapixel essential back camera sensor. Some different insights regarding the impending spending telephone have additionally been spilt. OnePlus reported it will divulge OnePlus Nord CE 5G on June 10 at its Summer Launch Event alongside new OnePlus TV U-arrangement models. The telephone is accepted to be a replacement to the OnePlus Nord N10 5G that was before dispatched in Europe and North America yet didn’t go to the Indian market. Also read, Top 5 Reasons to Buy Poco C3 – Please Read Before Buy
A report by Android Central referring to insider sources asserts that OnePlus Nord CE 5G will be controlled by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G SoC, which is a stage down from the first OnePlus Nord that has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G in the engine. OnePlus Nord CE 5G is additionally expected to accompany a 6.43-inch AMOLED show with a 90Hz invigorate rate. Even though the telephone is relied upon to be the replacement to the OnePlus Nord N10 5G, it purportedly conveys the centre particulars of the OnePlus Nord – which is the reason the name OnePlus Nord CE represents Core Edition.
The report adds that OnePlus Nord CE 5G will highlight a triple back camera arrangement featured by a 64-megapixel essential sensor. At the front, it is required to accompany a 16-megapixel camera sensor for selfies and video calls. It will probably hold the opening punch pattern plan.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G will be divulged on June 10 at 7 pm IST alongside the OnePlus TV U arrangement. While the TV models will go on their first deal that very day as dispatch for Red Cable club individuals, OnePlus Nord CE 5G will be accessible for pre-request from June 11, again for Red Cable club individuals. Open deal for OnePlus TV U arrangement models will begin from June 11 and June 16 for OnePlus Nord CE 5G.


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Payments under the 2021 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) have commenced on Monday 18 October, with Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue announcing that €738m will reach 114,600 farmers' bank accounts over the coming days.
The 70% advance payment rate is an increase of the standard rate of 50% normally allowed under the regulation, with 30% balancing payments due to commence on 1 December.
Minister McConalogue said: “I am delighted to confirm that advance payments under the BPS, worth €738m to 114,600 farmers, have commenced today. This is in line with previous years.
"These payments contribute greatly to maximising family farm income and are a vital support for farmers across the country.”
The Minister said it is a key priority of his and the Department of Agriculture to issue payments as quickly as possible.
It is a key priority of mine to issue payments as quickly as possible
“I know how crucial it is to support farm families and that’s why it is a key priority of mine to issue payments as quickly as possible. The Department will continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria.”
Direct payment helpline
The Minister and his Department have also arranged for extended opening hours for the direct payments helpline to facilitate a predicted increase in calls and allow any farmer wishing to contact the Department regarding BPS or Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) payments to do so.
The helpdesk (call 057-867 4422) will be available to answer queries from Monday 18 October to Friday 22 October up to 8.30pm each evening. Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie.
Concluding, the Minister said: "Given the importance of scheme payments to farmers, the Department has recently written to all farmers outlining the payment schedule over the coming months.
"I am committed to ensuring that these scheme payments continue to issue in the most efficient way possible to ensure that these vital supports are delivered to farmers in a timely manner."


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You already know you're unstoppable. Here's how to get the cash to prove it.
The new federal agency that protects Americans against fraudulent financial products and practices has 679,000 complaints against 3,000 financial companies. Is yours one of them?
More Fintech companies are expected to join the bandwagon in this and next year


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OnePlus 9 series launch date, The next generation of OnePlus devices will be reviled on 23rd March. The confirmation comes from OnePlus and specifies the reviling of its 9 series smartphones will start at 10 AM EDT / 2 PM GMT / 7:30 PM IST. This time OnePlus has paired up with an iconic Swedish Photography brand Hasselblad.
Unveiling OnePlus 9 series launch date
OnePlus 9 series launching date will be announced on 23rd March 2021. The new partnership is set for three years with OnePlus committing $150 million to help take its camera game to the next level for the next successor products of the company. The company has combined with Hasselblad Camera for the OnePlus 9 series. The system includes the Natural Color Calibration with Hasselblad which aims to preserve color accuracy and the natural look of colors in shots from the OnePlus 9 series.


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Canadian consumer trends: We're health-nut comparison shoppers who buy online
"... And I did it my way."
— Frank Sinatra
As part of Small Business Week in Canada, BDC released a report highlighting some of the major trends shaping Canadian consumer behaviour.
If you're a Canadian entrepreneur or dream one day of becoming one, read carefully: BDC identified five main trends that are shaping your business' future.
1. Your competition is the whole planet
You'll forever be fending off competition from rival companies from the other side of the planet, because distance is no object when the Internet is the new glue of the economy. You have to compete on both price and expertise.
"We're on the Web" used to be enough. Not anymore. Your website must not only entice a potential customer, but it must also engage them. From product discovery to checkout, your company's web experience has to be as painless as possible. If you're a restaurant, ignore how easy it is to just throw a .pdf of your menu onto your site, and think of how a would-be customer will read your daily specials on her phone while weaving through sidewalk traffic.
As a business owner, you ignore sites such as Yelp at your peril. Sure, they're Sure, they're overrun prima donnas and accused of gaming their results, but hidden in there are legitimate customer concerns that you, the small business owner, would be insane to ignore.
The opinions of other consumers have supplanted those of previously-revered "experts", and are supplanted only by those of the buyer's friends and family.
It wasn't that long ago when you'd have never even considered typing your credit card details into a web browser. Now BDC has found that a third of us are more likely to consult a smartphone than a store employee when we have questions. Big-box electronics store shoppers will only be surprised that this number isn't higher.
One in 10 of those surveyed admitted to "showrooming", in which they use brick-and-mortar shops to browse, but only pull the trigger when they can buy online for less money. This practice is the bane of record stores, which is why they frown upon anyone showing up with a pen and piece of scrap paper. BDC's survey revealed that 47% of respondents researched purchases online. 42% check consumer-review sites, and the same percentage will also figure out where to buy the product they've been reviewing.
Let's look at trust levels for a second. This infographic shows how much we tend to trust various sources of product recommendations or advertising. Look how low social media ads fall on the ladder. As a business owner, how does that make you feel about your Facebook advertising budget?
Old-media ads are kicking social media's ass up here in Canada when it comes to trust.
Overall, 41% of respondents bought goods and services online, suggesting that the whole process isn't scaring too many people away. What do we research most before we buy? Gadgets and travel.
All these trends point to something you already knew: online retail is continuing to blow up. A $5.4 billion industry in Canada by 2012, BDC expects it to reach $10 billion by 2020. This is because we're never more than a tap away from the Internet, according to BDC:
In 2012, 84% of the population was connected to the internet and each user had, on average, 2.6 internet-capable devices, including mobile phones, laptops, desktop computers or tablets. This always-on internet presence is further enhanced by growing smartphone ownership, with over half of Canadians now owning such a device, up from one-third in early 2012. Moreover, Canadians are avid social media users, with almost two-thirds of Canadian internet users logging onto Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn every day.


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The parent of Irvine-based Billabong USA and several other local apparel and accessory brands confirmed it received an alternative refinancing package from two U.S. hedge funds.
Australia-based Billabong International Ltd. said its board is considering the Centerbridge Partners LP and Oaktree Capital Management LP offer, which includes a $121.51 million equity placement and refinancing of Billabong’s existing $292.53 million bridge loan.
The Oaktree/Centerbridge consortium had earlier offered a refinancing package to Billabong, but it was rejected because the company had already struck its deal with a group led by Palo Alto-based Altamont Capital Partners and GSO Capital Partners.
This latest proposal comes after Billabong announced earlier this week revised terms to its refinancing package with Altamont. The reworked terms allowed the company to stave off a possible challenge to the deal by the Australian Takeovers Panel.
Billabong said it would negotiate the revised terms with Altamont over the next two to three weeks and also intended to hold a shareholder meeting for approval on the Altamont deal before October. It’s unclear how this latest news would affect that timetable.
The Altamont deal had already set into motion major executive changes at Billabong, including the departure of Chief Executive Launa Inman and Americas President Paul Naude, who was based in Irvine.
Former Oakley Inc. chief Scott Olivet is expected to lead Billabong if the Altamont deal goes through. He’s currently serving as consultant to the company, while Chief Financial Officer Peter Myers is interim Billabong chief.
The Centerbridge/Oaktree news is one more twist in a more than year-long saga for the struggling surfwear company in which it has seen multiple competing purchase offer prices, management changes and the sale of some or parts of two of its popular brands.
Investors sent Billabong shares up about 7% on Friday in Australia, where the company is traded on the Australian Securities Exchange, to a market value of $260.80 million.


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Make it a Sparkle Club summer!
The award-winning company Sparklicious has just announced some dazzling news! "We are bringing our 5-star experience directly into your home! Virtually experience our famous Sparkle Club this summer," says Sparklicious owner, Kristin McGuinness.
Sparklicious will now deliver their one of a kind Sparkle Club, a bounty of crafts and creative fun, directly to your home! McGuinness explains, "We will provide step by step instruction and all supplies with a burst of SPARKLE FUN!
Sign up by July 10th and your supplies will be delivered in time for Sparklicious online classes which kick off on July 20. Choose from 3 or 5 classes designed for 3-7 year olds and 8-12 year olds.
"We will keep children engaged while painting, making slime, creating jewelry, cookie decorating, and more! Sparklicious even offers pre-teen tips and tricks. "Our Sparkle Club classes always deliver the message of positivity and kindness because kindness makes you sparkle," says McGuinness.
Want to keep the kiddos happy and creative all summer long? Sign up to have Sparkle Club delivered directly to your child on a monthly basis.
"We can’t wait to sparkle with you!" says McGuinness.
Visit www.sparklicious.com for information on Sparkle Club, online classes, to sign up for the virtual camp week or to join the Sparklicious monthly subscription plan.


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Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has sought investment from the US in sunrise sectors such as electric vehicles, semiconductors and battery technology, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.
The minister is in the US for a three-day visit till January 11.
Goyal also held discussions with several CEOs of leading companies, including Michael Miebach of Mastercard; Henry R Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman of KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co); Josh Silverman, CEO of e-commerce platform Etsy; Stephen A Schwarzman, CEO of asset management group Blackstone; and George R Oliver, CEO of Johnson Controls.
CEOs, in their discussions, expressed optimism at India's growth trajectory, the statement said, adding the minister invited them to expand their presence in India.
"He invited the US industry to make use of the limitless opportunities in India especially in sunrise sectors such as EVs, semiconductors, battery technology, etc," it added.


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By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit in goods widened sharply in September, likely as a strong dollar and slowing global demand weighed on exports, but that did not change expectations that trade would lead to an expected rebound in economic growth in the third quarter.
Wednesday’s Commerce Department report also showed moderate increases in wholesale and retail inventory last month, suggesting that slowing domestic demand was forcing businesses to become more cautious about ordering more goods.
The Federal Reserve is aggressively raising interest rates to control inflation, stimulate the dollar and limit spending. The data was released ahead of Thursday’s release of the government’s advance estimate of third-quarter GDP.
“Net exports will contribute significantly to GDP growth in the third quarter, adding about 3.0 percentage points,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.
The goods trade deficit rose 5.7% to $92.2 billion last month. September’s increase only reversed some of the declines of previous months, leaving the gap considerably smaller in the third quarter. Trade and consumer spending were the only bright spots in the economy in the second quarter.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, GDP likely rebounded to an annualized rate of 2.4% in the third quarter after shrinking at a 0.6% pace in the April-June quarter. The economy contracted in the first half of 2022, but is not in recession, with more than 2.5 million jobs created during this period.
Goods exports fell 1.5% to $177.6 billion last month. The drop was led by a 14.0% drop in food exports.
Shipments of industrial supplies, which include crude oil, fell 3.1%. Exports of consumer goods also fell. But there were increases in exports of capital goods, motor vehicles and other goods.
The dollar has gained nearly 11% against the currencies of major US trading partners this year, which could make US products less competitive but help fight inflation.
The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero in March to the current range of 3.00% to 3.25%, the fastest pace of policy tightening in a generation or so. more.
Imports of goods rose 0.8% to $269.8 billion. They were supported by a 4.4% jump in imports of capital goods, which bodes well for business capital spending. Imports of motor vehicles and consumer goods also increased, likely as businesses stocked up for the holiday season. But imports of foodstuffs, industrial supplies and other goods have fallen.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. US Treasury prices rose.
Chart: Goods Trade Balance – https://graphics.Reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/dwpkdgewnvm/tradebal.png
SLOWDOWN IN GLOBAL DEMAND
“While the stronger dollar has helped both to ease the cost pressures created by higher world food and energy prices and to reduce the nominal trade deficit, it is almost certain to help decline in net exports over the coming year,” said Mark Hopkins, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “Slowing economic growth abroad and the growing risk of a global recession are likely to further erode real net trade and its contribution to domestic output.”
But with trade flows still well below pre-pandemic levels, a significant deterioration in the trade deficit is not expected.
The Commerce Department also reported that wholesale inventories rose 0.8% last month after rising 1.4% in August. Retail inventories rose 0.4% after rising 1.4% in August. Retailers find themselves saddled with excess merchandise, a function of both easing supply chain bottlenecks and slowing demand for merchandise, forcing them to offer discounts.
Motor vehicle inventories rose 1.9% after jumping 3.5% in August. Excluding motor vehicles, retail inventories fell 0.1% after rising 0.7% in August. This component enters into the calculation of the gross domestic product.
Inventories were the main drag on GDP in the second quarter. Economists expect a neutral impact in the third quarter. Rising borrowing costs continued to put downward pressure on the housing market, weighing on the economy.
A second report from the Commerce Department released Wednesday showed sales of new single-family homes fell 10.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 603,000 units in September.
Sales fell 17.6% year-on-year in September.
Chart: New Home Sales – https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/znpnbdkwepl/nhs.png
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.94% last week, the highest in 20 years, from 6.92% the previous week, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac.
The median price for new homes in September was $470,600, a jump of 13.9% from a year ago. There are, however, signs that the decline in housing demand is slowing house price inflation.
There were 462,000 new homes on the market at the end of last month, compared to 457,000 units in August. At the pace of September sales, it would take 9.2 months to sell the supply of homes on the market, compared to 8.1 months in August.
“The housing market continues to normalize in an economy under pressure from higher borrowing costs, persistent inflation and uncertainty about future Fed activity,” said economist Jeffrey Roach. chief at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Housing demand is likely to decline further over the next few months, putting downward pressure on median prices.”
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Jonathan Oatis and Andrea Ricci)


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As of Thursday, June 30th, Parks Maintenance Staff have added and filled in 58 tons of brand new mason beach sand at Pebble Beach, Willow Point Beach, Sunset Beach, and Valley Lake South Beach!Read More
Boat Ramp Keys are for Residents only. The Wildwood Park District will begin selling new Boat Keys and Decals for the 2022-2023 season beginning April 1, 2022.Read More
All fields and parks are currently open. All beaches will officially re-open for the season on May 27th (Memorial Day Weekend).


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- Got a Sony PS3 or XBox 360? Then there'll be no Formula One for you this year.
To quote: The latest issue of the UK Official PlayStation Mag reckons the PS3 version's been pushed back to next year.
And (surprise, surprise) now sources 'in the know' have told us the 360 version won't be out until 2010 either.
Our source said that Wii and PSP F1 games would be released later this year, but only because...


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June 8, 2018 – After sitting empty for the past three months, the old train depot that formerly housed The Wharf Marketplace has a prospective tenant that would add a new dimension to downtown Monterey’s thriving craft brew scene.
The owners of Dust Bowl Brewing in Turlock have applied for a beer license for the property and are working to assume the lease—which was granted to Tanimura & Antle by the City of Monterey in 2013—so they can open a satellite taproom.
“We’re still trying to get all our ducks in a row and going through the process,” says Dust Bowl founder Brett Tate. “But we’re excited about the possibility of bringing our brand to Monterey.”
“With all the places that John Steinbeck wrote about there, Dust Bowl seems like a natural fit. It’s kind of a no-brainer,” he adds. “It makes total sense.”
Tate says his grandfather was “a snotty-nose Okie kid” who arrived in California with his family of ten during the dust bowl years in the 1930s. He became a real-life hobo and rode the rails in search of work during the Great Depression.
Several of the brewery’s beers have a Steinbeck theme, including Hops of Wrath IPA and Hobo Pilsner.
Dust Bowl Brewery was founded in 2009 and operates a taproom/restaurant in downtown Turlock. In 2016, it opened a 32,000 square foot brewery to handle growing demand for its products, along with a second taproom at the brewery.
Owners say the new taproom—just off Highway 99—has been a big hit, serving one million customers in its first two years of operation.
The brewery crafts all different types of beers from IPAs to sours and last fall won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival for its Public Enemy Baltic Porter.


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According to the UN study, the 2019 Revision of World Population Prospects, an additional two billion people will be added to the global population by the year 2050, increasing the total from 7.7 billion to approximately 9.7 billion. Future food systems will have to deal with feeding this growing population while using the same resources that are available today, with the additional stress caused by climate change and environmental degradation. Furthermore, the impact of the Covid-19 situation causes many countries to use measures to limit agricultural and food exports in order to maintain sufficient stock for domestic consumption. In some areas, measures to control goods transportation and the cessation of airline and port services will also be available. It has contributed to global increases in transportation costs as well as agricultural and food product prices. That’s why there is a need for a major transformation of the food system on a global scale.
The study Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems, published in January 2019 in The Lancet, presented the term “A Great Food Transformation” to refer to the significant dietary shifts and sustainable food production systems. This study recommended several strategies for achieving them, including generating support from foreign and national governments for an overhaul to a more plant-based diet, especially for young people, and encouraging the use of plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. In addition, the calories must be sustainable over the long term so that a growing population will not experience food shortages. Also, solid and coordinated governance, as well as international and local commitment are required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals of halving food losses and waste.
One of the practical tools to transform our food systems is agricultural technology or “agritech.” The portmanteau term that refers to a collection of agricultural technologies refers to a variety of tools that aid in accelerating yield, production, and consumption. Agritech encompasses a wide range of applied-based concepts, ranging from agricultural technology like hydroponic growth, seed preservation, and advanced weather forecasting to applied businesses like drone fertilization and propagation.
Agricultural technology is critical when discussing the topics of food security in the Middle East. Food availability by itself does not generate economic activity, but other conditions such as affordability and marketability of produce must be in place to help create growth. To summarize, agritech investment is expected to reduce foreign food imports while increasing food exports and promoting Gulf food security through commercial enterprise.
For example, in Bahrain, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a major initiative to invest in aquaculture, which would improve the archipelago’s unparalleled fishing opportunities heavily. The Southern Governorate uses private fish farmers to assist with the regularization, regulation, and promotion of local produce. Meanwhile, in the UAE, the “Agriculture and Food Tech Team” was created to harness new technology in the agricultural sector. Food security and commercial viability are the main drivers behind this. Thus far, the team has served as a meeting ground for aquaculture, poultry production, and fruit and nut producers to discuss the future rice cultivation in Sharjah, with staple food being given a focus.
For those interested in agritech, food transformation tools, or looking for business opportunities in the future food industry, don’t forget to visit Asia’s key F&B trade fair, THAIFEX-ANUGA ASIA 2021 “The Hybrid Edition,” a combination of the online show called “THAIFEX Virtual Trade Show (VTS)” and physical event in response to the demands of the Thai food industry in establishing valuable relationships in the new normal era. The transformation process of the food industry is particularly reflected in the food trends and focus themes of the trade fair this year. This event will demonstrate that the food and beverage industry is encountering the challenges of transformation with new approaches and innovative products. The megatrends include the themes of sustainability, health, and digitalization. The trade fair aims to establish an international business network and provide a platform for international communication, assisting the food and beverage industries in their mission to sustain and grow successfully.
THAIFEX-ANUGA ASIA 2021 “The Hybrid Edition” is scheduled for 29 September – 3 October 2021.
For more information, visit VTS at https://thaifex-vts.com and other information at https://thaifex-anuga.com
And don’t forget to save the date.


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With the trend of the daily unveiling of ecommerce platforms in Nigeria, i might have no other choice than to assume that we are witnessing a silent revolution in the ecommerce sector already. The way ecommerce startups spring up nowadays, it leaves a very big hint.
The very good thing about this is that they have judiciously cut across almost every sector in the country, not leaving any in the dark, ranging from fashion, to electronics, to automobiles and so on, i actually still believe that there is more to come. We would be saying one or two things on each of these sectors.
This could be said as the largest ecommerce market after electronics. Yes, the fashion industry is evidently big, ecommerce has actually taken a substantial chunk of that big market. With startups like Jumia and Konga (pioneers), the5kshop, Obeezi, Kilimall and so on, fashion items like shirts, skirts, wrist watches, jeweries and so on can now be shopped for online and get delivered to our doorstep.
Here, we would be including smartphones and other mobile devices. The electronic ecommerce is believed to be the largest in the country, as people have turned to the cheaper phones online mentality. Electronics like televisions, smartphones, features phones, headphones e.t.c can be shopped for online and delivered at a relatively cheaper price on platforms like Jumia, Konga, slot, Kilimall and so on. Most times, these online platforms holds promo days (e.g BlackFriday), which further increase customers patronage.
Food and groceries
To an extent, gone were the days where you have to be at a restaurant every morning, afternoon and night just to feed your rumbling stomach, or you have to find time to run to a supermarket out of your very busy schedule to get groceries, thanks to platforms like Hellofood (now Jumiafood), Gloo.ng and supermart.ng who are making life easier in this sector.
Well, this one might be a bit new but the main thing is, it’s here. IkokuOnline is a major player in this market, as they help to deliver car parts to you office or homes upon your order. IkokuOnline has ventured into a blooming sector here. Cheki Nigeria, and Cars45.com.ng are used cars selling and listing websites too.
These are startups that do not have stores or sell merchandise of their own. They are simply platforms for buyers and sellers to meet. Jiji.ng and OLX have now become exceedingly popular amongst customers, as it could really help when it comes to selling used products.
Real estate ecommerce
Buying and renting spaces – homes or offices – has now been very made easy through platforms like ToLet.com.ng and PrivateProperty. Instead of the normal way of going to roast your skin under the hot Nigerian sun, you can do all that from the comfort of your own home now.
You want to book travel tickets? Wakanow, as a travel ecommerce platform let you do more than that. They let you make travels plans – buy flight tickets, book hotels, make visa arrangements, etc – with ease on the website.
You can book hotels online through hotels.ng, book events centres through Ogavenue.com.ng, buy furniture and houseware from. Showroom.ng and Furnish.ng
Now, take a deep look at these sectors that ecommerce have a presence in and tell me if a revolution isn’t going on in Nigeria already. Do let us know other sectors ecommerce is changing that we have not mentioned here.


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The payments behemoth singled out digital wallets as a way to boost engagement going forward.
Watch the on-demand replay of our webinar, The Bank in 2025, as we discuss 4 trends reshaping the industry and how banks can thrive in a fast-changing financial services landscape.
Although the volume and value of global M&A deals in banking has stalled, pent-up demand is building.
Payments volume grew 17% YoY in Q2 despite leaving a major market. Visa is focusing growth ambitions on new tech like open banking.
The CFPB will use a dormant legal provision to examine nonbank financial companies that “pose risks to consumers.”
US Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Robert Menendez sent a letter to Early Warning Services regarding how it’s handling rising fraud.
The No. 1 biggest source of financial stress among US adults last month was managing living expenses, with 27% being most concerned about the cost of necessities like groceries, gas, and utilities. Saving, investing, and planning for the future were the second biggest stressor, cited by 19%, while managing debt was No. 3, with 13% calling it their primary financial worry.
The UK’s FCA found that the banks may have inadequate financial crime defenses.
The tech giant appears to have switched Apple Cash over from Discover to Visa and enhanced fraud prevention features for Apple Pay.
Watch the on-demand replay of our webinar, The Payments Ecosystem.
Watch the on-demand replay of our webinar, The US Mobile Banking Benchmark, as we discuss top mobile features that customers crave, how demand for these features differs when cut by key segments, and how banks and neobanks are measuring up in meeting customer demand.
More US consumers are buying things with crypto, and the window for early mover status is closing.
The issuer’s Q1 growth sets it up for a strong year as it leans into drivers like digital purchasing and health and wellness products.


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If you remember, Eminem released a cinematic video for his recent single “Phenomenal” a few months back. The adrenaline-pumping, fast-paced clip for “Phenomenal” was high in entertainment value from start to finish and played out like a sequence from a blockbuster action flick. However, for those outside of Apple Music’s web, just being able to watch the video was a lot more diffcult than just logging onto YouTube and typing in a couple of words. Now, Eminem’s video for “Phenomenal” has been officially made available for watching on YouTube and Vevo — just like every other high-profile music video. For those who haven’t seen it yet — or if you just want to replay it on a different platform — check out the YouTube stream above.
- All Sections
HYPEBEAST 100: The innovators from all realms of creativity in the spotlight.
With in-depth interviews, focused features and fashion-forward editorials, our print publication features long-form coverage of the topics valued by readers.
Explore and be inspired by the latest women's fashion news and trends.


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The Danish media group Jysk Fynske Medier is characterized by their consistent work of improving their digital business. Especially in terms of monetization and attracting new subscribers. Learn about their latest onboarding campaign in this customer case.
In Mid 2016, Jysk Fynske Medier created a Data & Audience team with the mission of optimizing advertising and subscription sales. It was a large investment of 30M DKK (4M €) over a three-year period, but the return on investment have already proven to be significant for Denmark's second largest media company.
Most recently, Jysk Fynske Medier have been running a voucher campaign offering potential customers a month complimentary access to their subscription newspapers.
“We made a thousand vouchers for each of our 13 daily newspapers and offered these through various channels. That being on a landing page, through Facebook campaigns and directly in the Nyhedskiosken app, where we expose it as interstitials in the non-gated weekly newspapers. This has been a very interesting case for us and we sent out the first 4000 vouchers in no time.” says Dennis Vesti Brorsen, Head of Data & Audience.
Example of one of their Facebook ads:
He tells that the voucher campaign has generated just short of 5000 leads by now with approximately 4500 coming from their Facebook campaigns. And the result speaks for itself. So far, they've been able to convert seven percent of the leads to a paid subscription.
Voucher codes on text messages
The campaign has undoubtedly been a success, but there is still room for improvement and Dennis Vesti Brorsen points at the invalid leads - that being leads who've provided an invalid phone number - as a group that can be reduced with a simple fix.
"The challenge has been to ensure a good lead quality. We know that the email address is genuine, because this is where we will send the voucher code. But the leads do have the option of providing a fake phone number making it impossible for our telemarketing team to reach them. So, we want to try sending out the voucher codes on text messages instead. That way, we ensure they provide a genuine phone number," he explains.
36 percent of the leads have been unreachable so far while 37 percent are simply not interested in buying a subscription. The remaining five percent are unqualified e.g. because they already holds a print subscription of one of Jysk Fynske Medier's newspapers. Dennis Vesti Brorsen says that the latter is a group that they instead try to encourage to use the digital editions even more, because »digital users have proven to be more loyal.«
Want to track the usage of voucher codes
Vouchers can be generated by Visiolink for a symbolic fee and can be made with a single generic password or multiple unique passwords. Jysk Fynske Medier chose the latter because they want to track how often the voucher codes are used by the individual user once this is possible.
“We are currently awaiting an update of our app which will enable us to closely monitor the usage of each voucher code through Google Analytics. By doing so, we will know when a specific lead has logged in 15 times for instance and this is highly valuable information for our telemarketing team who will try to convert the trial to a paid subscription,” he says.
Jysk Fynske Medier previously enjoyed great success with a trial-campaign that offered a combi-subscription at a reduced intro price of 49 DKK (6,50 €) the first month. The campaign led to an increase of 50 percent in combi-subscription and an impressive conversion rate of 23 percent. Dennis Vesti Brorsen shared this story at the Inspirational Tour in Oslo early this year. Watch his presentation above.
Make your own voucher campaign
If you're interested in trying out a voucher campaign yourself then don't hesitate reaching out to your Visiolink contact. They'll be more than happy to help you get started.


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mutual benefits to
artists and advertisers
By Wayne Leung
The exposure of well-known professional actors and singers in TV commercials is reaching an apparent climax. People enjoy these “movie-like” ads, and both artists and advertisers benefit from the positive feedback. |
“We think the feedback from the ads starred in by Aaron Kwok is very good,” said Ms Eleanor Ng, the public relations executive of One2Free.
“After showing the ads, we definitely made more profit, both on services and product sales,” Ms Ng said.
Courtesy of Tse Sui Luen|
Jewellery Co., Ltd
Singers also benefit by the increased exposure and the broadcasting of their songs in the ads.|
“It does help the sales of the singers’ albums, but it is hard to say if the help is obvious or not,” said Mr. Michael Tsang, promotions manager of Capital Artists Ltd.
“With the exposure in the ads, people can recognize artists more easily,” said Mr. Tsang. “A talking point is created afterwards. Therefore, the artist becomes well-known to the public.”
“The younger generation is usually the target market of products promoted in these ads,” said Ms Samantha Wong, account executive for Ogilvy & Mather Advertising.
“With stars, it is much easier and a more effective means to arouse youngsters’ awareness,” she said.
Though there is already a large number of such ads, Ms Wong said the audience would not be bored.
“The story-lines are totally different, though they all are feathered by stars,” said Ms Wong.
Ms Wong said the product is always the top priority when creating an ad. The story-line comes next.
“The star is the final consideration,” said she. “Therefore, over-domination by the star in the ad is not likely.”
Dr. Wang Jian is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Communication at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He said there is a “tie-in” between celebrities and the products in ads.
“The stars’ image and style are transferred to the products. They help to promote the brand name of the products.”
These ads also cause the so-called “name recognition” effect.
“This means the ads can arouse public attention easily, making the brand name more well-known,” said Dr. Wang. “This favours the sales of the products promoted, since people’s consumer behaviour is based heavily on brand names.”
Nevertheless, Dr. Wang said such kinds of commercials may have shortcomings.
“As the image of the stars and the brand names are well-connected, if the star fades, the brand name is also affected negatively.
“If both parties are not linked, the ad not only doesn’t help to promote the goods, but also creates a negative outcome,” Dr. Wang said.
One consumer interviewed for this story who had purchased a product from a One2Free shop claimed that he was not influenced by the ad.|
“I buy the product simply because I have the need. The price is also attractive,” he said.
Ms Jacqueline Lam and Ms Lo Yi-ling, two 17-year-old students, admitted that they may be influenced by ads when buying albums.
“We buy records after we have listened to the songs in the ads,” one said.
When buying products, money is still their main consideration.
“I think the enlarged budget for hiring stars will ultimately drive up the prices of the products,” Miss Lam said.
“I only treat these ads as a kind of entertainment, just like watching movies,” she continued.
Dr. Wang predicted that the star commercials trend will go on.
“People in Hong Kong pay much attention to brand names. As a result, producing celebrity ads is an effective way to establish a brand name, as well as to promote it.”
Ms SamanthaWong of Ogilvy & Mather had a different view.
“Almost all well-known pop singers have participated in various kinds of ads and have already signed contracts. Moreover, the clients always want to have some new faces in their ads. Therefore, the trend can be foreseen that there will be a pause for a while after this year,” Ms Wong said.


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A few days after hinting that he is ready to make a big announcement, Telugu film star Mahesh Babu finally announced the launch of his own clothing brand called The Humbl Co. On Monday, he said they were all set to unveil his clothing line just days before his birthday. Playing on the name of his company, Mahesh Babu thanked everyone that had responded astoundingly. The Humbl Co. is not just clothing, it’s a way of life, he said while asking his fans to look forward via a tweet.
Our Humbl endeavour unveils today. Thank you all for the astounding response 🤗🤗 For us, The Humbl Co. is not just clothing, it’s a way of life. We welcome you all to the @thehumblco family. Stay tuned for the launch on 7th August! #theHUMBLco pic.twitter.com/eLAR13jBgt
— Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) July 29, 2019
Without opening up entirely about his new venture, Mahesh Babu retweeted a rather cryptic message from his Twitter handle, indicating how everything starts with Humbl beginnings and asking his followers to click on a website link so they could guess what his new venture was about. After following the guidelines, it was quite evident that the Southern superstar was talking about the launch of his clothing brand in association with a leading e-commerce company. The brand’s tagline says, “Dress like a Dream, Live Real.”
After Vijay Deverakonda, Mahesh Babu is the second Telugu actor to be launching his own clothing brand. Last year, Vijay had unveiled his own clothing line called Rowdy. Soon after the announcement of his launch, congratulatory messages started to pour in from fans all over. Some even started a countdown to his birthday, which is celebrated on August 9 every year.
On the career front, the 43-year-old actor is busy shooting for yet another Telugu action drama titled Sarileru Neekevvaru, in which he plays the lead role of an army officer. The project will mark the actor’s maiden collaboration with filmmaker Anil Ravipudi. The film will also be starring Jagapathi Babu, Rashmika Mandanna and Rajesh Prasad in important roles.


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The resurgence of Aldi and Lidl has hogged the spotlight, but the growth of TJ Morris, B&M Retail, Farmfoods and other UK-owned discounters has been no less dramatic on the indie grocery retail scene, according to The Grocer’s annual ranking of the UK’s Top 50 independents.
Now in its 10th year, the rankings - which detail the 50 biggest British grocery retailers that are more than 50% owned by management or family - include 26 names not seen on the original Top 50 list, as sellouts and receiverships among leading independents have been accompanied by the march of discounters including Wilkinson, 99p Stores and most recently Poundstretcher, into grocery retail.
Total sales for the Top 50 rose 8% to £8.7bn in 2011, with pre-tax profits up 24% to £280m, delivering profit margins up from 2.8% to 3.2%.
But with sales up 11.6% and profits up 18.7% the nine discounters accounted for 51.4% of total sales (up from 50%), and 75.5% of profits (from 79.1%). Stripping out the £22m hike in profits for fine wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd last year following disposals, profits among traditional grocery retail operators including supermarkets, c-stores and CTNs fell 2.1% while margins shrank to just 1.0%.
One sector hit hard by the discounters was CTNs. The four operators on the list together reported just a 2.9% increase in sales in 2011, while profits fell 9.5%, reducing profit margins to just 0.5%.
“Discounters continue to be our biggest threat,” said Tony Wright, MD of Maynews. “We are now competing with them.”
Mike Colley, MD of Rippleglen, added: “We must compete better with discounters and are overhauling our high street division to meet the challenge.”


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A trademark dispute involving an Irish drinks company and a cream liqueur backed by global superstar Mariah Carey has been settled.
Dublin based Darker Still Spirits, which had claimed ownership over the "Black Irish" trademark in the EU and UK, has agreed to sell that name to the singer's liqueur brand of the same name.
Black Irish Whiskey, produced by Darker Still Spirits, is now to be rebranded to "Born Irish" as a result of the sale.
The whiskey was launched in 2020 using the Black Irish name, which had been purchased by Darker Still Spirits from another company that had filed it with the intellectual property office five years earlier.
The spirit was subsequently sold in Ireland, the UK, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore.
But in August of 2021, singer Mariah Carey launched her Irish cream liqueur brand – also called Black Irish - through a company called Splashes Beverages.
This led to a legal dispute between Darker Still Spirits and Splashes Beverages over the ownership of the trademark.
As a result, sales of Mariah Carey's Black Irish cream liqueur were limited to the US while the issue was being worked out.
However, both sides have now confirmed that two years on, the issue has been resolved.
Under an agreement reached at the end of December and concluded last month, the Black Irish trademark has been bought by representatives of Mariah Carey.
Subsequent to the sale, Darker Still Spirits will change the name of its drink to Born Irish in The Americas and Europe before the summer.
It intends to roll the product out globally before the end of this year.
"We are delighted to have resolved this trademark issue with Mariah's team so that we are both able to sell our respective brands in our desired territories," said Richard Ryan, who along with Irish drinks industry veterans Dave Phelan, Adrian Walker and Steven Pattison created Black Irish Whiskey.
"Our brand name may have changed but Born Irish still contains the same innovative recipe - Irish Whiskey aged in bourbon and stout casks, made dark with infusions of chocolate malt, roasted barley and vanilla.
"On a personal note, we also wish Mariah and her team the best of fortunes with their cream liqueur brand."
In a statement, Splashes Beverages confirmed it owns the trademark in the EU.
"I can confirm on the EUIPO register that Splashes Beverages LLC, Mariah Carey's company, is the owner of Black Irish in all of the E.U., there is no dispute on the trademark," a spokesperson said.
Last week, Ms Carey announced that her liqueur would go on sale in parts of South America and the Caribbean from this Spring, marking its first move outside of the US.
The star has described the product as "crafted in Ireland with aged Irish whiskey and dairy sourced from Irish farms", though it is not clear who is producing the drink for her here.


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More Celebrity Hubbies Busted For Ashley Madison Accounts Duggar, had two alleged Ashley Madison accounts created in 2013 and.
have been published online as alleged users of the Ashley Madison The adultery website Ashley Madison could face legal action from People then pay to be able to contact other 'members' and it's not kept his phone close by and he could not account for some money. . Celebrity news · Dating..
Famous people allegedly ashley madison accounts tri SeoulPSA: nothing you do online is anonymous or secure. OITNB's Jackie Cruz and Power Rangers' Becky G team up for Billboard panel in Miami. Everything You Need To Know, Right Now. Welcome my cheating, and chaste friends to the new internet. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Ethical questions will also arise for media outlets — as surely there will be government officials, public figures, CEOs, entertainers, and pro athletes included among the leaks. Justin Bieber's ex Chantel Jeffries parades her curves as she frolics on the beach.
Popular Videos - Mimi Faust & Celebrity sex tape
Famous people allegedly ashley madison accounts - - tour easy
Make-up free Whitney Port debuts sizeable baby bump while shopping at Whole Foods in her sweats. Pregnant Kimberly Wyatt shows a hint of baby bump at dancewear launch as her ex bandmate Ashley Roberts turns out to support her. Absolute privacy of data still matters. Stephanie Davis puts on a VERY busty display in a skimpy scarlet top after tell-all interview about Jeremy McConnell accompanied by baby son Caben-Albi. Would you like to view this in our French edition? Shakira plays tourist while filming new video with Carlos Vives on the streets of Barcelona... And one executive works for Coca Cola,' one of the sources told Daily Mail Online exclusively.


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Printing House condos launch signature scent
It’s not every condo that has a signature fragrance. (Sniff, sniff.) Ah, but the Printing House in the West Village does.
When the old printing factory-turned-condo launched sales in early spring, it not only debuted four custom-designed model units; it introduced “Australian Coast,” a scent hand-picked by developers Myles Horn, Belvedere Capital Management and Angelo, Gordon & Co.
The fragrance, sprayed through six shoe-box-sized machines strategically placed throughout the lobby and the model units, is what the developers hope will “add to the experience of a buyer entering the building,” said Matt Muller, a project manager for Horn.
Muller thinks the 64-unit Printing House, at 421 Hudson Street, is the first residential new development in New York City to put on a refreshing air, so to speak. Lots of hotels, though, like to smell good — and that’s where the development team got the idea.
The scent, available only commercially, comes from a line marketed by a North Carolina company called ScentAir. The cost: about $2,200 a quarter, Muller said.
Scent can be an effective tool to market a building’s aesthetic, explained Caroline Errickson, the New York account executive for ScentAir, which counts Starwood hotels, many Holiday Inns and Disney among its clients. “Part of the experience is when [buyers] first walk in the door, that smell is already triggering a happy feeling,” she said.
The developers sampled dozens of ScentAir’s fragrances, “from more floral to citrusy stuff,” Muller said. “We did it on-site, in one of our units, to get the feeling.”
The group’s final pick was chosen for what Muller described as its “breathy airiness.”
“A lot of our design is open and airy, so we wanted to play on that,” he added. “It’s just something fresh, clean and crisp.”
COMPANIES AND PEOPLE


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While most of us have become quite comfortable with e-commerce – the number of retailers begging us to come into their physical stores instead of shopping only on their websites is a testament to this – fewer of us have fully embraced what’s known as “m-commerce.”
M-commerce is e-commerce over a mobile device. While most tech-savvy people have done some shopping on their smartphones or tablets – buying a song or an e-book qualifies – we haven’t quite gotten to the point where we’re happy to shop for jewelry, clothing or other popular items from our phones.
We’re getting there, though. While the 2012 numbers may not be in yet, Forrester (News - Alert) Research predicted last year that mobile commerce was expected to reach $10 billion by the close of this year. The report, “Mobile Commerce Forecast: 2011 to 2016,” predicted an annual compound growth rate of 39 percent for mobile commerce over the next five years. The growth is being driven by consumers who are purchasing more products and categories on their mobile devices, reported Mobile Commerce Daily.
More and more people are using their mobile devices to shop now that merchants are attempting to make it easier for them with mobile apps custom designed to make it easier. In the earliest days of m-commerce, shoppers had to make do with a slightly sized down version of the company’s website…shoppers did a lot of squinting and touching the wrong spot on the tiny screen, which made it largely an exercise in frustration. Today, however, merchants are designing mobile apps that take into consideration the screens’ small sizes.
But they’re also going beyond that, adding touches that are unique to the mobile experience. The blog eConsultancy uses the example of Ice.com, a Web-only jeweler that uses “reality technology” to help the mobile shopper. The ice mobile application offers a unique “try on” feature: shoppers can tap the screen on the product page and the application lines up the photo of the ring or bracelet on the shopper’s finger or ring using the mobile device’s camera. (While it’s clever, this could be tricky with a sweater or pants, however.)
Japan’s Panoplaza offers a virtual retail shopping experience, allowing users to navigate to different shops via a 3-D panorama of a virtual “mall” and examine virtual shelves. It’s a cloud-based tool that allows merchants to customize their shoppers’ online experience. Other popular sites that have turned m-commerce onto its ear include Pinterest, a site that allows users to essentially engage in virtual “window shopping.”
While m-commerce still has a lot of room to grow, one thing is clear: clever retailers will take what was formerly considered a disadvantage to shopping online – a small screen and interface – and turn these things into advantages.
Edited by Rachel Ramsey
Back to Mobile Commerce Insider Home


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Posts Tagged ‘Apple plans’
Recent weeks have increased the rumors about the new iPhone, a further indication that the company is preparing to launch. The latest rumors speak of a device with a new quad-core processor, possibly called A6, and LTE connectivity options. Other speculations say that Apple could introduce two new models and making a record-definition screen.
The truth is that every time there is less to answer for both questions and the latest information seems to confirm that there will have to wait a month for it. The website All Things Digital Apple cites sources who claim that the intention of the company is presenting its new device in the first week of March.
The date makes sense because it would just a year since Apple introduced the iPhone 2 . The company has devices used to renew annually, so that the deadlines would be met from the presentation occur in the first week of March. In addition, another factor that makes it even more likely date is that just that week ends the Mobile World Congress.
Apple would counter with their presentation media attention and users to the news announced at the Barcelona event, which will see many of the tablets that will compete with the iPad. Moreover, precisely the fact that they present a large number of devices could force Apple to not fall behind in the launch of the iPhone 3 to avoid losing market share.
On the presentation does not have leaked details, but it seems that once again the company will be held in San Francisco, presumably in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.


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CHARLOTTE – SPX Corp., a Charlotte-based highly engineered products and technologies supplier, announced Tuesday that Eric Kaled has been hired as president of its Genfare business.
Kaled has experience in transit and technology innovation in P&L management, business development, commercial leadership and product development.
“We are excited to welcome Eric to lead our transportation solutions platform,” said SPX President and CEO Gene Lowe. “He has a proven record of driving growth through innovation and will be pivotal to further enhancing our strategic growth initiatives in full service fare collection solutions.”
SPX has about 4,000 employees in 17 countries and had about $1.4 billion in annual revenue in 2018.
Kaled’s most recent role was at Crane Co., where he served in many positions, most recently as senior vice president and general manager in the connectivity and financial payment technology groups.
Before that, Kaled spend 12 years at Teradyne Inc. in various roles.
Genfare manufactures fare collection and mobile ticketing systems.
This story is from the North Carolina Business News Wire, a service of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism


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Learn More About
Baldwin Australia offers a
variety of specialty items to help
distributors in Australia & New
Zealand make Baldwin sales.
CLARCOR Engine Mobile Group Leadership Transition
CLARCOR Engine Mobile Group, which includes Baldwin Filters, recently announced changes in leadership of the group. Sam Ferrise has retired and Jacob Thomas has been appointed the new president of the group.
New products have been added to the Baldwin
Filters' line as of
January 22, 2016.


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Audi used this year’s New York auto show to show off the wares of its Audi Sport division—formerly known as Quattro GmbH—including a special-edition R8 plus the TT RS, the RS3 sedan, and the RS5 coupe as well as this new race car. Dubbed the R8 LMS GT4, it will compete in, you guessed it, the GT4 class coming stateside in racing series such as the Pirelli World Challenge and the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.
Said to share some 60 percent of its parts with the streetgoing R8, including its seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and brakes, the GT4 was described to us as “essentially an R8 V10 Plus with the interior ripped out and that’s been caged.” It uses a 5.2-liter V-10 producing up to 495 horsepower, although output will depend on specific series regulations.
- Audi R8 Audi Sport Edition Adds Audi Sportiness to Sporty Audi R8
- Electrified Audi RS Models Will Happen, But Not Before They’re Awesome
- 2018 Audi RS5: Two Turbos, Much Power, Available Hatchback
The car is intended to provide customer racing programs an option that requires a lower financial commitment than the existing—and very successful—R8 GT3 racer. If buyers aren’t interested in racing the car, it also can be bought and used privately as a sort of ballistic weapon for track days. We’re told the GT4 will cost roughly $200,000, spares not included—a smokin’ deal compared with the $450K commanded by the more specialized GT3 car. The new racer is still being homologated; deliveries will begin by the end of the year, Audi said.


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Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) said raw jute price ceiling is going to be counterproductive for jute cultivation and sought the intervention of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to take up the matter with the Centre to review the decision by the Union government.
The jute mills lobby body seeking to quash or at least revise the raw jute price ceiling level, opined that the Jute Corporation of India may be activated to procure jute from farmers and supply the same to the Industry under linkage of jute bag supply orders. The jute regulator Jute Commissioner’s office has imposed a price ceiling of Rs 6,500 per quintal on raw jute trade in order to ensure supply of raw material to the mills at a fair price.
However, a section of mill sources said on Monday that pressuring the government to review the step will also have a negative impact and hoarding of raw jute will only rise. The jute farmer will be dis-incentivised to cultivate raw jute next year with these regulations in place. The West Bengal jute farmers will be worse off than their counterparts in Bangladesh. Indirectly this will result in growth of the Bangladesh industry at the cost of India, IJMA said in the letter to the Chief Minister.
This policy of fixing a ceiling price when jute is still held at the farm level will never allow the jute industry to grow and meet the increased demand of jute bags. We request you to take up the matter with the Central government for review of the price ceiling order by the Jute Commissioner, the letter urged. IJMA claimed similar grade of jute is priced at Rs 7,000 per quintal and said the industry has the capacity to meet the demand provided raw material is available and prices are commensurate with the rate offered for jute bags for packaging food grains.
Officials of the Jute Commissioner’s Office said price ceiling and stock limits had been imposed for the benefit of the jute mills in terms of price of fibre and supply. The issue of availability and resultant affordability of raw jute remains the biggest bottleneck for growth of the jute sector. For two consecutive years, we have been faced with a short supply of raw material. The year 2020-21 witnessed record low output of raw jute, at only 58 lakh bales, as farmers and farm labour had been hit with the Covid19 pandemic, IJMA claimed.
Availability of just 85 lakh bales is insufficient for the Industry’s requirements. By our calculations, 100 lakh bales of jute crop are required by the Industry to cater to the increased requirement of bags of the food grain sector, IJMA said.


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CNN Money is Reporting: Remember the drug used by cancer and AIDS patients that skyrocketed from $13.50 to $750 a pill? Well, the price has yet to come back to earth.
The company still has not cut the price below $750 even though it vowed that it would on national TV and in a public statement over two weeks ago.
Major pharmacy chains CVS (CVS) and Walgreens confirmed that the price has not changed.
Business Insider checked the price of the drug at a local pharmacy Wednesday and found it was still about $900 a pill.
CNNMoney did the same Friday morning and found that CVS in New York City was retailing it for $885.99 a tablet if you pay cash. Duane Reade, part of the Walgreens chain, had it listed for $907 a pill.
Read Full Story Here


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If you'd been at Stonehenge a couple of weeks ago, the sight of two huge, inflatable cows hovering above the famous slabs might have made you think you were hallucinating.
But far from a cosmic vision, the floating bovines were part of a PR teaser campaign for Arla Foods' Anchor Spreadable brand.
The above-the-line campaign broke on Wednesday 19 November, but the unbranded inflatables depicting Clemmow Hornby Inge's new brand characters, Moo and Anchor Cow, went on a tour around the country for a fortnight, taking in some of its most famous landmarks. The resulting coverage, mostly from radio phone-ins, forms part of a strategy to put the brand's new message - that most spreads, apart from Anchor, contain everything but butter - firmly in the minds of consumers.
Advertising attempts to draw attention to the natural ingredients in Anchor, using the two animated cows set against Techno Cow, who advocates spreads containing E-numbers and colourings. Anchor Cow and Moo like Anchor Spreadable unadulterated by additives. Techno complains that: "It's all too simple around here." The CHI account director Sarah Gold says: "The campaign urges consumers to take a look at what's in the spread they buy."
Television orientated, the ads targets family viewing. Carat handled media planning and buying. Carat's communications planning director, Jay Gallagher, says: "Usually, butter advertising is about taste, but this message - about ingredients and purity - is different."
The two 40-second ads will run on terrestrial and mainstream satellite channels, with a focus around issues-based programming such as the ITV1 drama show Between the Sheets and Channel 4 talkshows such as V Graham Norton. Azon Howie, Carat's associate director for media, says: "We're interested in targeting families during must-see television, when parents are likely to be concentrating on what they're viewing." The first spot aired during Holiday Showdown on ITV1.
Gallagher said that despite the budget of £7 million, the campaign uses a very targeted approach, with the result that the outdoor element of the above-the-line campaign focuses entirely on bus sides.
"Research shows that families spend more time together in the car than they do in any other circumstance," he says. "Poster sites were too static - we wanted to catch their attention with something big and moving." Mega-rear and wrap-around posters will feature on buses nationally, bought through Posterscope.
Press advertising did not meet the collective viewing criteria, according to Gallagher, and apart from some activity for Anchor's block butter product and advertorials for its cream product, will not feature in the main brand strategy. "Papers and magazine are solitary media," Gallagher explains. "We want families to see, and discuss, the message together."
Below-the-line activity is managed by BD Network, and although it has worked on point-of-sale material for the relaunch, the agency is planning its main tranche of activity - a nationwide door drop campaign - to start on 19 January. The group account director, Heather Christie, says: "The new creative campaign needs time to be seeded into consumers' minds, and a door-drop campaign rolled out during Christmas would be lost in the melee."
Promotional activity in-store will also form an important strategy as Anchor battles it out on-shelf with rival brands. PR strategy will see food writers and consumer editors and buyers targeted. Postcards showing those inflatables flying over the London Eye should raise a smile and, more importantly, awareness among key players in the trade, Christie says.
Client: Arla Foods
Media: Television, outdoor, door drops and advertorials
Agencies: Clemmow Hornby Inge, Carat, BD Network
Media idea: Encourage awareness of Anchor's use of natural ingredients
with a media strategy that targets families when they are together


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Two media buying agencies -- Group M and Zenith Optimedia -- have revised down their forecasts for global growth in ad spending next year. Group M (a unit of WPP) now sees only a 6.4 percent increase over 2011, to $522 billion, down from an earlier forecast of 6.8 percent. Zenith (a unit of Publicis) believes growth will be a more modest 4.7 percent, down from its previous view of 5.3 percent.
That's still pretty decent growth, but not as much as the business would like to have seen given that in 2012 the world will see the Olympics, a presidential election in the U.S., and the Euro 2012 international soccer championship, which normally boost ad spending by several percentage points.
Much of the remaining growth comes from China. Zenith's report notes that China has the fastest growing ad economy on the planet -- it could add more than $16 billion in media spending through 2014. That growth would take it from an estimated $30 billion in annual ad spending today to $46 billion in three years' time.
But given the size of its population, and the amount of press its fast-growing economy generates, China is batting considerably under its weight, Zenith's report says. It won't come anywhere close to the United States as an advertising market.
At first, this seems to be some kind of error. Facebook has 800 million users and is expected to generate $4.27 billion in revenue this year, much of that from its nearly 20 percent share of U.S. display ads. Yet it collects only 3.1 percent of online ad dollars, Zenith says. It looks like a rounding error next to Google.
Get the latest Google stock price here.


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By Sheila Dang
(Reuters) – Snap Inc Chief Executive Evan Spiegel said Wednesday the tech company expects it can deliver 50% annual revenue growth over several years even without growing its user base or engagement.
Spiegel clarified a previous estimate by saying 50% annual revenue growth does not depend on further user or engagement growth, and reflects the “steady state” of the current business. He spoke at the virtual Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Wednesday.
Spiegel said Snap can grow its average revenue per user as it continues to develop augmented reality products like photo filters and add more media content, such as shows within its discover feature.
The company, which owns popular photo-messaging app Snapchat, earns revenue by selling ads on the app and has focused …
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