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'Brands are using influencer marketing for driving virality of content & engagement'
GroupM President Partnerships & Trading Ashwin Padmanabhan and INCA Senior Director Kunal Sawant unveiled the inaugural India Influencer Marketing Report 2021 at the conference
Influencer marketing has emerged as an industry in India and is becoming an important part of the marketing mix for many brands, Group-M President Partnerships and Trading Ashwin Padmanabhan said at the unveiling of the inaugural India Influencer Marketing Report 2021. He also said that influencer marketing has become an important part of GroupM's recommendations to its clients.
“Influencer marketing has become an industry in the last few years. It is not something that people do for a hobby, it's become an industry, and it has grown exponentially. In fact, influencer marketing has become an important part of GroupM's media recommendations to clients. It has become an important part of marketing mix,” Padmanahbhan said while speaking at the Impact Digital Influencer Conference and Awards.
He further stated that authenticity and trust are the two things that embody the relationship between an influencer and their audience. “They have got brands who are seeking influencers and working with them to replicate the same trust with the audiences. We are happy to see more and more brands recognising this power of influencer marketing and making it an important part of their brand strategy.”
Talking about the need for bringing out the report on influencer marketing, Padmanabhan said, “While influencer marketing is still at a nascent stage, and we have just discovered the tip of the iceberg, as the influencer industry continues to evolve we feel that there is a strong need to quantify and organise this space and thus the India Influencer report was born where we try to highlight some interesting findings on the growth of influencer marketing in India and the trends to follow.”
Padmanabhan also highlighted some of the key trends that will shape influencer marketing. These are the rise of D2C brands, measurement and accountability, and influencer commerce. He noted that the biggest advantage of digital is its duality, as it can act as an independent medium and also act as a measurement tool for traditional mediums as well.
India, he said, already has got 600+ D2C brands and almost all these brands have worked with influencers to drive not just awareness or consideration but also drive purchase. “Influencer marketing will be at the core of any D2C brand's marketing strategy. Interesting collaborations will be evolving between influencers and these brands,” he stated.
According to Padmanabhan, the other piece which will define the way influencer marketing evolves in the coming years will be measurement and accountability. “Influencer marketing will become mainstream as measurement and accountability comes in. Metrics like cost per engagement, cost per sales, return on ad spends, all of these will start becoming important, and we will have tools to measure them. We already have tools to measure them. This will give that much credibility to influencer marketing.”
Influencer commerce, he believes, will become an integral part of a brands' sales channel mix. “This is specially true for D2C brands and specialist platforms like Trell or e-commerce platforms like Myntra and social platforms like Instagram, which has taken a lead in this area. While most have stayed in this area for demand generation and order taking, we could see a full funnel experience for consumers very soon. We can see new business models emerging here.”
Padmanabhan noted that the influencer ecosystem will expand both in-depth and width driven by Indian short-video platforms like MX TakaTak, Josh, Moj as well vernacular and social platforms like ShareChat and Dailyhunt. “We are seeing an explosion in talent as well as audience on these platforms.”
He also said the measurement tools for influencer marketing will get sharper and better. “There is going to be an interesting play between influencers and their audiences. Our tools are going to become more sophisticated in understanding the audiences that influencers have. Campaign planning will become more data driven. We will get some precious insights which will be invaluable for a marketer.”
INCA, GroupM's influencer marketing agency, has seen nano influencers drive a 10X engagement to a macro influencer. “On the flip side, the campaign objectives will define which influencer type to work with, and a lot of this will come from data and analytics,” Padmanabhan said.
Taking on from where Padmanabhan left, INCA Senior Director Kunal Sawant said that new formats like audio, short-form video, live-streaming, and social commerce will drive engagement. He further stated that self-regulation will drive privacy.
“Looking at the kind of investments that brands are doing on influencer marketing, there was a need for regulation. The ASCI guidelines are a welcome move which will build transparency and accountability both from a platform and creator perspective,” he added.
Sawant said that the brands are using influencer marketing for driving consideration, virality of content and engagement. He also noted that there is a misconception that influencer marketing is only about the top of the marketing funnel and awareness.
He also highlighted that the biggest reason why brands partner with content creators is trust and credibility, as they drive customer acquisition. The key challenges faced by brands are keeping up with trends, understanding the right content, choosing the right creator, measuring ROI, brand safety and authenticity (bots/fake followers).
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Private equity firm Catalyst buys stake in Mimosa Pharmacy
Private equity firm Catalyst Principal Partners has bought a stake in Mimosa Pharmacy, a retail drugs store chain, in the first local investment by the investor.
Catalyst said it made the investment jointly with Africa Chemist and Beauty Care (ACBC), a Mauritius-based pharmaceutical chain. The deal amount was not disclosed but a typical investment ranges between $5 million (Sh444 million) and $20 million (Sh1.78 billion). The private equity firm, however, said the stake is a mix of equity and debt.
Catalyst said its latest investment is meant to get it into the booming healthcare market, which has been rapidly expanding for more than a decade. Mimosa becomes the second pharmacy chain to get a private equity investment over the past 12 months.
Last September, Fanisi Capital bought a stake in local pharmacy retail chain Haltons for an undisclosed amount. ACBC estimates the pharmacy industry in Kenya is worth about $440 million (Sh39.4 billion) with an average annual growth rate of 22 per cent. The private sector accounts for half of the growth.
“The private healthcare sector in Kenya has evolved over the last 14 years owing to increased public awareness on the need for investment in personal health. This has led to increased consumer spending in medical care, beauty and cosmetic products,” said Catalyst managing director Biniam Yohannes in a statement.
“Kenyans are now targeting a holistic approach to healthcare aimed at improving one’s overall wellbeing.”
Chris Gitonga, founder of Mimosa, said the company would use the funds for expansion and to upgrade their stores. “I am optimistic that the acquisition creates a platform for Mimosa to realise its vision while empowering current staff through skills transfer and capacity building,” said Mr Gitonga.
Mimosa has six stores and targets the high-end market. The pharmacy chain will leverage on ACBC management’s experience in running stores in the US, Europe and working with large pharma such as Merck and Pfizer.
Fanisi Capital CEO Ayisi Makatiani said pharmacies are attracting investors such as private equity firms due to the latter’s ability to build them into structured brands which is not so common in the Kenyan market. “The industry is ready for consolidation,” Mr Makatiani told the Business Daily.
The bet is that consolidation can result in increasing market share which will in turn boost revenues.
Mimosa becomes the second investment by Catalyst Principal Partners this year following its February investment in EFFCO, a Tanzania-based logistics firm. Source: Business Daily Africa

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Tensions Escalate in the Middle East, Five Countries Close Airspace
AIRDO Launches Best Price Rent-a-Car Comparison and Reservation Service
AIRDO, in collaboration with Flash Edge, has launched a car rental comparison and reservation service called “Best Price rentacar.”
By accessing through AIRDO’s website and entering the pickup location and date, customers can compare plans from 15 car rental companies. AIRDO flight users can get even more discounts by entering their reservation number.
At the launch of the service, it supports 15 companies including Toyota Rent a Car, Honda Rent a Car, Sky Rent a Car, Nissan Rent a Car, Honda Rent Lease Hokkaido, ABC Rent a Car, ORIX Rent a Car, Family Rent a Car, Sweet Rent a Car, Budget Rent a Car, Niko Niko Rent a Car, Amami Rent a Car, JNet Rent a Car, Sky Rent a Car Hokkaido, and Miyakojima Airport Minivan Rent a Car.
The translation may not be accurate.


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Yerbaé Brands Corp. (TSX-V: YERB.U; OTCQX: YERBF) (“Yerbaé” or the “Company”), a plant-based energy beverage company, is thrilled to announce a 30% increase and new record sales during Prime Day 2023. This exceptional growth highlights the brand’s unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality beverages that resonate with consumers.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230714910777/en/
Amazon Prime Day, a highly anticipated online shopping event, provides a platform for brands to connect with millions of customers and offer exclusive deals. Yerbaé, known for its refreshing plant-based beverage selections, capitalized on this opportunity to showcase its diverse range of products, resulting in an extraordinary surge in sales and consumer satisfaction.
The 30% increase on Amazon Prime Day 2023 was achieved by Yerbae’s new advertising strategy and demonstrates the brand’s strong market presence and growing popularity among consumers.
Co-Founder and Member of the Board of Directors of Yerbaé Plant-Based Energy, Karrie Gibson, expressed excitement and gratitude for the staggering growth, stating, “We are immensely proud of the remarkable growth and efficiencies we achieved on Amazon Prime Day. Our new record sales for Prime Day is 30% higher than same period previous year. This is a testament to our commitment to crafting innovative and delicious beverages that our customers love. We are grateful for the trust our customers have placed in our brand.”
Karrie Gibson emphasized the brand’s dedication to providing unique and satisfying beverage experiences. “We will continue to push the boundaries of flavor and quality, ensuring that our customers have access to exceptional beverage options that enhance their lives.”
Yerbaé Plant-Based Energy extends its heartfelt appreciation to its loyal customers for their continued support, which has been instrumental in this remarkable growth.
To learn more, join Yerbaé’s mailing list for important updates and offers: https://investors.yerbae.com
About Yerbaé Brands Corp.
Founded in 2017 by Todd Gibson and Karrie Gibson, Yerbaé Brands Corp., (TSX-V: YERB.U; OTCQX: YERBF) is disrupting the energy beverage marketplace with great tasting, zero sugar, zero calorie beverages, while using plant-based ingredients that are designed to meet the needs of the wellness forward consumer. Harnessing the power of nature, Yerbaé’s celebrity ingredient (Yerba Mate) is known to produce 196 different vitamins, minerals and nutrients that also produces caffeine.
By combining Yerba Mate, a South American herb with its premium ingredients and flavors, Yerbaé provides consumers with a no compromise energy solution. All Yerbaé energy beverages are zero calorie, zero sugar, non-GMO, and gluten free.
Find us @DrinkYerbae on Instagram and Facebook.


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The director behind Sonic Frontiers, the latest 3D entry in the Blue Blur’s 30-year-plus career, has admitted the game ‘still has a long way to go’ despite having just launched.
Speaking on Twitter, Morio Kishimoto said that while the team are “relieved” it’s now in players’ hands, the developers are “checking the opinions of the critics and everyone” and that Sonic Frontiers is “not quite there yet.”
I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you because I’ve been busy since the release date. “I’m relieved that the release date has arrived and that it seems to have reached everyone safely. We are checking the opinions of the critics and everyone. As you pointed out, we still have a long way to go, and we take this seriously as a global playtest.
Related Content – Sony PS5 Complete Guide – Everything Explained On PlayStation 5 For New Users
Sonic Frontiers is out now for PS4, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. You can read our review here.
[Source – Morio Kishimoto via VGC]


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New PRHPS Client: Kingston Imperial
Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) announced on October 16, a multi-year sales and distribution agreement with Kingston Imperial, a recently launched independent press founded by music industry veteran, audiobook producer, author, and publisher Marvis Johnson.
Beginning May 1, 2021, PRHPS will sell and distribute the entire frontlist and backlist across all sales channels worldwide.
Kingston Imperial publishes a range of both fiction and non-fiction, with particular strengths in urban thrillers, music, memoir, true crime, and cookbooks. The eclectic list includes such bestselling novelists as Miasha and SLMN, actors Columbus Short and Erica Peeples, and upcoming biographies of some of the most captivating figures in hip hop and pop culture.
Prior to starting Kingston Imperial, Johnson formed Urban Audio Books in 2008, one of the largest independent Black-owned audiobook publishers. In 2013, he branched out to print and, in combination, has published over 800 titles ranging from debut writers to New York Times bestselling authors.
Marvis Johnson, Publisher of Kingston Imperial, said, “I am thrilled to be able to work with the world’s largest publisher, top distributor, and most renowned sales force. Our focus is to bring more diverse titles to market and tell stories that have previously been overlooked, and I’m excited to do that in partnership with Penguin Random House.”
Jeff Abraham, President, Penguin Random House Publisher Services, said, “In a relatively short time, Kingston Imperial has proven to be one of the most exciting independent publishers to carve out a distinct place in the market. We all strongly believe in the vision, pipeline of titles, and growth potential Marvis and his team have built, and look forward to doing great work together and help bring its authors the widest possible readership.”
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Amazon practically invented the e-book market with their first Kindle reader back in 2007. Since then they've been refining the technology, adding touch-based screens and better resolution. The Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon's e-reader with a frontlight, was recently released to glowing reviews.
The newest Kindle has been so popular that the ship date has been slipping. Last week Amazon predicted a ship date of October 22nd, and today that date has been pushed back to sometime in November. According to Digitimes, the delay could be caused by issues in the supply chain, but the fact that the date has been slipping indicates that demand for the device is extremely high and is expected to reach a few million in 2012.
Interestingly, the Kindle Fire HD is not experiencing a backlog. It's unclear whether there are simply no supply chain issues with the tablet or if the demand simply isn't as high.


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Google wants to make it easy for people who buy clothes online to see how they will look on them before they buy. The company announced a new virtual try-on feature on Wednesday. It uses generative AI, the same technology behind new apps and picture creation tools, to show how clothes look on various body types.
The company says that with this feature, buyers can see how an item would hang, fold, stick, stretch, or make wrinkles and shadows on different models in different poses. Google is also releasing a feature that will help people find similar clothes in different colors, patterns, or styles from stores all over the web.
Google AI-powered visual matching tool
This will be done with the help of an AI-powered visual matching tool. These efforts are part of a larger push by Google to protect its search engine from a wave of new AI-powered tools that have come out since ChatGPT went popular.
At last month’s Google I/O developer conference, the company spent over 90 minutes teasing a long list of AI news, such as expanding access to its current chatbot Bard and adding new AI features to Google Search.
Google said that it made the virtual try-on option by putting together a lot of sets of pictures of more than 80 models standing up and to the side, in sizes XS to XL, with different skin tones, body types, and ethnic backgrounds. The AI-powered tool then learned to match the shape of specific shirts in those poses to make realistic pictures of the person from all sides.
At first, the feature will work with tops for women from Anthropologie, Loft, H&M, and Everlane. Google said that it will also sell men’s shirts in the future. Google also said the tool will become more accurate as time passes. Google even Tweeted about how ai will enhance the shopping experience for users.
Check out their Tweet below:
Bring the fitting room to your home with our new virtual try-on feature, powered by generative AI, and new filters to find exactly what you’re looking for. Learn more. https://t.co/2ptiJKQ6qK
— Google (@Google) June 14, 2023
Let’s check out what happened in the PlayStation showcase: Sony could show off upcoming games like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, the Last of Us online game by Naughty Dog, and many others.
Other Companies Also Using AI
Google isn’t the only online store that uses AI to improve the shopping experience. Some companies, like Shopify and Instacart, use technology to help customers make shopping choices. Amazon is trying out using AI to summarize what customers say about goods on the site. This could reduce the time people spend reading reviews before making a purchase. And eBay just created an AI tool to help sellers write captions for their product listings.
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Bank survey: Customers opting to pay for overdraft protection
WASHINGTON — A new survey shows 46 percent of bank customers report they did – or will – opt in to their bank’s overdraft program, saying they are willing to pay a fee for the service to ensure that debit card transactions will be approved even if their account is overdrawn.
he survey was conducted by Ipsos-Reid, an independent market research firm, which polled more than 1,000 adults by telephone August 14-15.
On August 15, new federal regulations went into effect requiring banks to get permission from customers before paying debit card overdrafts and charging a fee for the service. Previously, no permission was required. Customers who do not opt in for overdraft protection may have one-time debit card transactions or ATM withdrawals declined if their account is overdrawn. The new rules do not affect checks or automatic bill payments.
Survey respondents were informed that banks can no longer charge a fee for covering overdrafts when they use a debit card unless the customer tells the bank in advance that they want overdraft protection and are willing to pay a fee for the service. They were also informed that if they did not choose to opt in for overdraft protection, their transactions could be denied if their account was overdrawn. They were then asked whether, based on that knowledge, they will choose — or did choose — to have overdraft protection.
The results showed:
• 46 percent of bank customers said they did – or will – opt in for overdraft coverage;
• 49 percent of bank customers said they did not opt in for overdraft coverage;
• 5 percent of bank customers did not know or were unsure of their decision.
The margin of error was plus or minus three percent.
“These results show that many bank customers value debit card overdraft protection and are willing to pay for the service,” said Nessa Feddis, ABA vice president and retail banking expert. “They are now in the driver’s seat and control the way their accounts are managed.”
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Merger will create efficiencies within the organization while maintaining separate brands
HIGH POINT — Furniture resources Urban Roads and DesignWorks Furniture have signed an agreement to merge their companies, which will operate under a new umbrella company called Urban Design Collective.
Completed a few weeks ago, the merger unites two companies have worked together over the past six years. Formed in 2013, DesignWorks has provided design support to Urban Roads and Urban Roads, formed in 2015, has provided sales support to DesignWorks. DesignWorks sources case goods out of Vietnam and Mexico and Urban Roads sources case goods and upholstery from Mexico.
“Six or seven months ago, they came to us and said, ‘Why don’t we put this whole thing together.’” said Kelly Hahn, the new chief operating officer and chief creative officer of the new company, who also has previously served as chief creative officer at DesignWorks. “So we have been ironing out the details of a merger between the two companies, which we finalized three to four weeks ago.”
Also in leadership positions are Tom Halasz, who has been named president and Mike Felsen, who has been named chairman and chief executive officer. Halasz also previously served as president and CEO of Urban Roads and Felsen was chief executive officer of DesignWorks. Liz Felsen also remains part of the creative team as product designer.
Hahn told Home News Now that the companies will continue to operate as Urban Roads and DesignWorks for the foreseeable future, each offering collections of bedroom, dining, entertainment and occasional furniture as well as upholstery provided by Urban Roads.
A key goal of the merger is to create efficiencies in the organizations. Thus they are in the process of streamlining areas of operation such as sales, customer service and quality control handled out of the U.S., Asia and Mexico.
“It’s the new way to do business,” Halasz said. “The heavily burdened and layered company concept is obsolete. The merger will create a consolidated and efficient, but more importantly, a highly motivated team.”
“A lot of companies rushed to Mexico during the pandemic, but Urban Roads was a well-seasoned and established pioneer there,” Halasz added. “Mexico is tricky, and like the early days of manufacturing in Asia, it really required the kind of skill set which we have refined over a decade of working in Mexico. The same could be said for Vietnam and Asia, where our DesignWorks partners have been firmly rooted for over 30 years.”
The companies also are sharing a showroom on the first floor of Centers of High Point Centennial at 401 S. Centennial St. during the High Point Market.
“It will hardly come as a surprise to most of our major dealers because we are so interchangeable,” Hahn said of the merger. “Their largest customers are our largest customers and I am in their showroom working with their customers on new designs and they are in our showroom working with our customers on sales.”
“We also see this as a way of becoming more efficient,” he added, noting that part of the value equation is to have less overhead, which means cost savings ultimately go back into the product. “The lean, mean furniture company is going to be the future…Our executive team will be very tight and small but very effective.”
Down the road, he said, the product line itself could ultimately be marketed as Urban Design Collective. However, for now, they will continue offer some distinct looks, scaling and pricing – with DesignWorks offering bedrooms under $2,000 and Urban Roads falling above that with some larger scale design footprints.
“DesignWorks has always been firmly entrenched in the middle price points — we never dove to the bottom,” Hahn said. “And with another brand, we can use Urban Roads to play in a different sandbox if you will.”
In the showroom the product lines will be distinct, with separate signage for the umbrella company and the two brands.
“Nothing really changes for our customers,” Hahn said. “The integration will be seamless with the same beautiful designs and world class service, but the efficiencies are going to make us even more competitive as we enter a post-pandemic and grossly uncertain furniture market.”


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Italian stainless steel producer Thyssenkrupp Acciai Speciali Terni will temporarily shut down again this month amid low volumes, unions representing employees at the company told S&P Global Platts on Tuesday, adding that the company expects finished products in May to be about half of previously announced levels.
The company has told its unions that production of finished cold steel products in May will likely reach 47,000 mt, against the 84,000 mt previously expected.
As a result, the company will halt operations at its melting shop from May 23 to June 3, while its cold rolling mill will stop production from May 25 to June 3, and its tube rolling mill will stop from May 29 to June 3.
“We have been told that this decision has been taken mainly from the decrease of orders mainly from the automotive sector. We have been told that the drop due to the coronavirus of auto orders will be of minus 30% for May,” a union source said.
Terni wasn’t immediately available for comment on the matter Tuesday.
Terni’s parent company, ThyssenKrupp, said in its earnings report that total shipments from the Italian unit last year came to 844,000 mt, while in 2018 the company shipped 888,000 mt of steel products.
In the statement, ThyssenKrupp said that its outlook due to the coronavirus pandemic and the associated impacts on the economy as a whole cannot currently be predicted in full for the remaining months of the fiscal year. At the end of March, the company withdrew its forecast for the current fiscal year.
Along with other Italian steelmakers, Terni stopped output at the end of March due to the coronavirus, although it subsequently restarted production after the Easter holidays.
— Annalisa Villa


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Larry Summers Thinks Trade War Will Last Past March Deadline
The U.S. and China are unlikely to negotiate an agreement that could end the trade war by their March deadline, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said on Tuesday, warning that the possibility of the U.S. slipping into a recession in the next two years would put even more strain on the relationship.
Earlier in December, U.S. President Trump agreed to delay a scheduled Jan. 1 hike in tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports from 10% to 25% until March 1, giving the two countries more time to negotiate on controversial issues like non-tariff barriers, cyber theft, and forced technology transfers.
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While fashion’s sustainability efforts are often focused on the industry’s impact on the planet, it’s vital that those who make our clothes are not left out of the conversation. “Sustainability means caring about nature and caring about people,” Madhu Vaishnav, founder of Saheli Women—an all-female artisan collective in the village of Bhikamkor, rural Rajasthan, northern India—tells Vogue via Zoom.
Founded in 2015, the atelier provides a secure income for local women and revives traditional embroidery techniques that have fallen out of fashion. “Poverty is a big problem in the villages, and especially in our village. It's a desert village; there’s no economic opportunity there. I wanted to give empowerment to the ladies by providing them training,” explains Vaishnav, whose husband’s family is from Bhikamkor. “These skills were there, but now it's all gone because the next generation didn’t learn it—so we started teaching them how to do beautiful stitching.”
Since then, Saheli (which, in Hindi, means female friend) has grown from just five women to around 50 artisans working together. “It’s more than a community, it's like a family,” says Rukiya Bano Teli, community centre manager and one of the group’s first members. “We share our problems and our happiness.”


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Telecom Lead America: MTN Satellite Communications (MTN) has opened Product Innovation Office in Seattle.
This office will focus on creating new products, solutions and services with special thrust on exceptional advances in consumer and enterprise connectivity.
The product innovation will be to supplement the connectivity and value global MTN customers have realized for more than 30 years.
MTN is planning to hire software developers and engineers with exceptional technology skills to build its next-generation communications infrastructure and network, as well as the products it will enable.
“Social networking sites and mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, are fueling more high-data consumption. This has generated farther-reaching customer requirements, whether delivered through satellite, Wi-Fi, cloud computing or other technologies,” said Errol Olivier, president and CEO, MTN.
The MTN Product Innovation Team will look at products and services that can assist MTN to deliver Internet, content and social media at sea in ways never before imagined.
Bob Wise, chief innovation officer at MTN, is heading the company’s Seattle office efforts and brings several decades of experience in cloud, mobile, internet and telephony technologies.
“Our Product Innovation Team is charged to raise the bar on ways customers can connect to people, content and applications. Seattle is one of the best places in the world to recruit talent with experience in cloud computing, mobile technology and advanced communications,” Wise said.


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GTECH, a global provider of lottery and gaming technology worldwide, has officially launched G2, its new interactive lottery, sports betting, poker, bingo, and casino subsidiary.
G2 is the new brand name for GTECH's interactive gaming and sports betting services businesses which are comprised of Boss Media and its four poker networks, Finsoft, St Minver and Dynamite Idea.
GTECH announced the re-branding of this subsidiary as G2 at the European Lotteries Congress this week in Istanbul, Turkey.
The company said that G2 provides a full range of end-to-end gaming services, game content, and technology solutions to fully-regulated customers operating lotteries, sports betting, interactive poker, casino style games, bingo, skill, and regulated multi-player games. These services include e-commerce marketing, player relationship and risk management, fraud prevention, responsible gaming, and community functions.
"Igaming and sports betting are areas where we see tremendous growth for lotteries around the world," said G2 President Atul Bali. "Our worldwide lottery and gaming industry experience, coupled with our recent strategic acquisitions, uniquely position us to lead the industry in these rapidly-growing gaming segments. G2 is an integrated market-focused organization that can offer our lottery customers igaming and betting products to facilitate growth in every aspect of the value chain today."
"GTECH has been working closely with its customers and customizing and delivering world-class interactive solutions for them for more than a decade. Working with lotteries such as Veikkaus Oy, Camelot, New Zealand Lotteries, An Post National Lottery, and Loterie Nationale in Luxembourg, we have built tremendous experience and capabilities in the interactive gaming space," said GTECH President and CEO Jaymin B. Patel.
"We are always investing in the future of our lottery customers, and with the acquisitions of Boss Media, Finsoft, St Minver, and Dynamite Idea, we have further enhanced our core capabilities in this high-growth area through the integration of new products, services, and content. We are fully prepared to assist our customers as regulations allow and opportunities present themselves in digital gaming."


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Emotix, a Mumbai based robotic startup has raised ₹18.6 crore in seed round from Chiratae Ventures, YourNest India VC Fund, and Technology Venture Fund. The company plans to use the funding for R&D and new product development.
The investors have been allotted 2,794 Seed 1 compulsorily convertible preference shares (Seed 1 CCPS) on May 15, each at a premium of Rs 66,419 per share.
Of the total, Chiratae has invested ₹9.08 crore, while YourNest infused ₹8.26 crore, and Technology Venture Fund poured in ₹1.23 crore.
With a team of engineers, mathematicians, artists, and neuro-psychologists, the company created Miko – an artificial intelligence based companion robot capable of engaging, educating, and entertaining children above five years. Miko helps them learn, play, and develop skills.
Currently, it has two products, Miko 1.0 and Miko 2.0, priced at ₹19,000 and ₹25,000, respectively.


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Apple had been interested in acquiring Canoo, but the team wanted to maintain its own independence and went public via a SPAC.
Tony Aquila has taken over the role of CEO of Canoo in addition to his role as executive chairman. Canoo is one of the hottest Silicon Valley electric car start-up which even generated interest from Apple. This means Canon’s co-founder and CEO Ulrich Kranz is out of the company alongside its chief lawyer Andrew Wolstan. This shakeup comes weeks after Canoo also lost its chief financial officer, head of corporate strategy. Canoo had recently gone public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). This also comes after earlier in the year its head of powertrain development Phil Weicker left the company.
Since Aquila came onboard via the SPAC, he has pivoted the company towards developing more truck-like modular vehicles for commercial purposes than the original vision of a subscription service based van. Canoo also couldn’t manage to close its deal with Hyundai which was deemed dead last month. Kranz, who was previously at BMW, had earlier been removed from the board of directors of the company.
Canoo had been founded in 2017 when former employees of Faraday Future Ulrich Kranz and Stefan Krause came together. Krause left the company last year before the SPAC. Now the only co-founder who is at the company is Richard Kim who was also a designer at BMW who was instrumental in the styling of the i8 and i3 vehicles. Apple had been interested in acquiring Canoo, but the team wanted to maintain its own independence and went public via a SPAC. Apple was particularly interested in Canoo’s IP; its skateboard particularly which it felt could be adapted for the Apple Car.


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PT. AKR Corporindo, Tbk
Jakarta, January 31, 2019 – PT AKR Corporindo Tbk (IDX ticker code: AKRA.IJ) today announced that its joint venture with BP (formerly known as British Petroleum) officially opened its third retail fuels site in Cibubur.
The joint venture company, PT Aneka Petroindo Raya (APR), that operates under the name of BP AKR Fuels Retail,under the exclusive agreement, intends to develop and offer a differentiated consumer proposition leveraging BP’s and AKR’s capabilities and expertise across Indonesia’s growing retail market.
Mr. Peter Molloy, President Director of APR stated that APR will open up more petrol station. "We are pleased to announce the opening of the third BP-AKR service station in Cibubur, after earlier we have opened two petrol stations in De Latinos, Serpong on November 28, 2018 and Jababeka Cikarang, greater Jakarta area on December 20, 2018. We aim to provide quality fuel with convenience to customers under BP brand. We look forward to opening more service stations throughout the country and creating thousands of new retail jobs in the process.”
Attending the event were Board of Directors of APR, BP partners and other dignitaries from local governing bodies. BP-AKR’s strategy is to grow it’s footprint in the branded retail fuel distribution market and strengthen BP-AKR’s position as a trusted and reliable fuel supplier to retail customers in Indonesia.
Corporate Secretary & Hubungan Investor Relation Division
PT AKR Corporindo Tbk


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Hardly a day goes by without a story in the news about marijuana shops in San Diego.
Sometimes it’s a robbery or break-in at a so-called “dispensary,” or we see a story about the federal crackdown on these marijuana stores. Perhaps a lawyer for marijuana dealers is filing a lawsuit in an effort to keep their doors open.
As of Jan. 1, a new state law went into effect that alters the course of current events related to marijuana retailers. AB 1300 (Blumenfield) empowers cities to adopt and enforce local ordinances that regulate the location, operation and establishment of medical marijuana storefronts, while affirming the power of local governments to pursue the civil or criminal enforcement of those local laws.
The new law is welcome news to San Diegans who live and work near marijuana retailers, and whose daily lives are impacted by their operations.
Parents, who are worried about how the open, public sale of marijuana shapes their children’s view, also regard the passage of AB 1300 as cause for celebration.
A study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence indicated that adult marijuana abuse and dependence are nearly twice as high in states where medical marijuana use is allowed. And more teenagers use marijuana in states with medical marijuana laws, according to another study, published in last September’s Annals of Epidemiology.
Closer to home, there are worrisome trends in marijuana use.
In the San Diego Unified School District, seventh-, ninth- and 11th-graders participate in the biannual California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS). Between 2007 and 2009, more students in all grades reported smoking marijuana. Fewer students believed that smoking marijuana is harmful.
The presence of marijuana outlets not only makes marijuana seem acceptable, but it directly increased access to marijuana by teens. The number of high school juniors who thought pot was “easy” or “very easy” to get more than doubled between 2007 and ’09, according the CHKS survey.
The most startling statistic from the CHKS survey is the percentage of 11th-graders who reporting using marijuana in the month prior to the survey. Between 2007 and 2009, that number increased by more than 76 percent in San Diego city schools.
Everyone, even marijuana retailers, agree that Proposition 215 was not meant to give teenagers easier access to marijuana for recreational use. Yet it’s obvious that’s what has happened. For example, last April, seven students at a middle school in Serra Mesa were hospitalized after eating a commercially prepared marijuana “edible” sold at a local marijuana storefront.
Youth impacts aside, marijuana retail outlets have an extremely negative impact on public safety, attracting criminals to neighborhoods and business districts.
The criminal activity goes beyond an occasional break-in. San Diego Police investigated 40 marijuana stores in 2011, and found that armed robbers had targeted one out of every five such businesses.
People just don’t feel as safe when there’s a marijuana storefront around the corner from their home, or near their child’s school, or in the same building as their business.
Back in 1996, a slim majority of Californians approved Proposition 215. That measure gave limited legal protection to sick people who use marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. However, loopholes in the law allow recreational users who aren’t sick to easily obtain doctor’s recommendations for marijuana.
The compassionate voters who supported Proposition 215 were promised that sales of marijuana would remain illegal in California.
Fast-forward to present-day San Diego, when U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith launched a crackdown on illegal marijuana retailers. At the start of their joint-agency operation, approximately 180 marijuana shops were open for business. Some of these businesses are run by organizations from outside of our county; none of them have obtained a business permit from the city. They’ve created an industry, complete with advertising campaigns to attract new marijuana users. They have formed business coalitions that lobby against common-sense regulation.
Retail marijuana stores aren’t good for our kids or our neighborhoods. That’s why parents, residents and businesses are applauding the passage of AB 1300. By shining a green light on local control of marijuana retailers, AB 1300 empowers municipalities to adopt and enforce the laws that define our collective quality of life.
And that’s a New Year’s resolution worth celebrating.


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We show you our most important and recent visitors news details Dubai launches digital platform to simplify startup process in the following article
Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - Dubai launches digital platform to simplify startup process
News • 03 February, 2021
Source: Gulf News
On Tuesday, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai announced the launch of Invest Dubai – a digital platform for entrepreneurs looking to set up shop in Dubai.
The new platform was approved during the Executive Council’s meeting held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Sheikh Mohammed. The platform covers over 2,000 commercial activities and various licence types, Sheikh Mohammed said in his tweet.
The new initiative is another step making Dubai the destination of choice for entrepreneurs from around the world. UAE had issued a law in November 2020 which scrapped the need for a UAE national to be the sponsor when starting a business on the mainland.
Starting from December 2020 entrepreneurs of all nationalities could start businesses with 100% foreign ownership. In the Ease of Doing Business score by The World Bank in 2020, Dubai scored a high 94.8, based on 10 factors and ranks in the top 20 easiest countries to start a business.
The Invest Dubai platform combines all the information, requirements and procedure of starting a Dubai-based business in one place. From getting information on the kind of licence you need to details on the funding programmes available, the platform offers a wealth of information for entrepreneurs.
The Dubai DED Instant Licence allows entrepreneurs to get a licence in 5 minutes with no pre-approvals. The Instant Licence allows entrepreneurs to start a business with no tenancy contract and no requirement for a bank account for 12 months. The licence is available to many categories of activities and four types of establishments – Limited Liability Company, One Person L.L.C, Sole Proprietorship and Civil Company.
The licensee gets an establishment card from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs along with three work permits for employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation once the trade licence is issued.
While this licence itself is not a new feature, the Invest Dubai platform allows you to check availability of the licence based on activities, number of partners and type of company. It also shows you the fee payable if you were to go for the licence.
Continue reading this story
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E-wallet service giant Payglobal has recently adopted cryptocurrency by enabling crypto to fiat transfers feature for its existing cardholders, aiming to vary the way its customers make a purchase.
End-users across the European Union, Australia, Singapore, Mexico, and Nigeria can now top up their e-wallets via bank transfers, debit cards, alternative payments and in two currently supported digital assets Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
Precisely, after exhaustive verification, registered users should be able to transfer in between €5 and €1,000 by withdrawing the fiat of choice to their Visa bank cards, the process of which will be charged a small crypto invoice.
As one of the pioneers in the evolution of payments, Payglobal’s CEO Giora Tal proudly said that the startup’s “state-of-the-art technology offer new payment solutions yet to be seen in the market,” while further added that it has been facilitating tools for freelancers, the gig economy, fintech entrepreneurs, blockchain developers, and family-to-family payments withal.
Tal also reportedly signaled the adoption of more cryptocurrencies and the launch of the innovative e-wallet solution in many more countries in the future, reported Bitcoin.com on March 3.


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2018 Hennessey Lincoln Navigator
Hennessey has started rolling out a modified 2018 Lincoln Navigator that’s fitted with the tuner’s patented HPE600 tuning program. The custom tuned full-size SUV gets an increase in power, among other upgrades. The tuning package costs $19,950, and availability is limited to just 200 units for the 2018 model. If you’re interested in buying one, you can order the SUV though Hennessey or any authorized Hennessey Lincoln dealer.
Hennessey Thinks 311 MPH is Possible With New F5 Venom
Hennessey claims that a prototype version of the Venom F5 is ready to begin testing sometime in 2019 with the goal of hitting 311 mph. Notice that Hennessey is overshooting the unicorn speed of 300 mph? That’s because the company believes that the F5 is capable of going well beyond the threshold number. Once the prototype version of the Venom F5 is ready to test its worth in the heavily anticipated top speed wars, we’ll know for sure if it can back up the hype surrounding its 1,600-horsepower bullet.
2019 Chevrolet Silverado Goliath 6x6 by Hennessey
Hennessey has once again thrust itself into the spotlight with another mind-bending creation, called the Goliath. As the name suggests, Goliath isn’t a pee-wee muscle car with turbochargers stacked one on top of the other. It’s not even a demented supercar that can hit 300 mph. Goliath is what its name says it is. Goliath is a
based 6x6 monstrosity that can probably withstand the apocalypse if it arrived today.
This 1,200-Horsepower Dodge Demon is No Joke: Video
Hennessey Performance’s new engine upgrade package for the Challenger Demon raises the muscle car’s output to 1,200 horsepower. Called the HPE1200, the program makes the Demon’s standard output of 840 horsepower look like a puppy by comparison. Hennessey put its crown jewel Challenger Demon program to the test, and as you’d expect it, “mercy” wasn’t in the muscle car’s vocabulary.
Hennessey Claims to Have Pushed the Venom F5 Engine to Over 2,000 Horsepower
The Hennessey Venom F5’s 7.6-liter, twin-turbo, V-8 is so powerful that John Hennessey himself claims that it’s capable of producing over 2,000 horsepower. The owner and proud father of the Venom F5 spoke with Top Gear about the company’s plans for its new hypercar. In addition to talking about the Venom F5’s monstrous power figures, Hennessey also confirmed the company’s plans to start testing the hypercar in 2019 with an eye at making a top speed run in the latter part of next year.
2018 Ford Mustang Hennessey Heritage Edition
Twenty-seven years ago, in 1991, John Hennessey began modifying cars with the goal of maximizing their potential well beyond what automakers were able to, or wanted to do. Since then, Hennessey has become a household name in the auto world, and to celebrate the company’s 10,000th tuning creation, Hennessey is rolling out 19 units of the Ford Mustang Hennessey Heritage Edition.
Celebrate The 4th of July With a Special Ride In The 2018 Ford GT Heritage Edition
The U.S.A.’s birthday has arrived, and along with all the tasty BBQ and cold beer, it’s looking like we’ll get a full serving of gas-fed American horsepower to boot. The latest comes from Texas-based tuner Hennessey Performance, which recently posted the second episode of its Heroes & Horsepower series, this time featuring a 2018 Ford GT Heritage Edition and a U.S. Army veteran.
Continue reading for the full story.
Hennessey Knows Being the Best Matters as it Aims for 300 MPH with the Venom F5
Hennessey is looking to become the first automaker to build a car that can eclipse 300 mph, and it may be able to achieve it with its first-ever custom-built car, the Venom F5. As the chase for the fastest top speed by a production car becomes more challenging, the American outfit wants to make a statement against Bugatti and Koenigsegg by accomplishing what neither has been able to do.
Hennessey’s Demon Is The Fastest In The World
‘Merica - land of the free, home of the brave, and producer of the most outrageous drag racers ever conceived. Proof in point - the new Hennessey Demon, a street-legal destroyer of tires that’ll blow the doors off just about anything with actual doors.
Continue reading for the full story.
Video of the Day: Hennessey’s 2017 Camaro ZL1 Exorcist Tops Out at 217 MPH
It’s been almost a year since Hennessey Performance debuted its Exorcist package for the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Originally billed as the ultimate competitor to the then-new 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the Exorcist was designed to out-power the 840-horse monster of a Mopar.
While the pair hasn’t officially met on the drag strip yet, Hennessey has just proved the Exorcist’s top speed on the mile-long straight at Continental Tire’s Uvalde Proving Grounds. Turns out, the extra 350 horsepower delivers more top-end speed. Who knew?
Continue reading for more information on the Camaro ZL1.
Video of the Day: Watch Hennessey Turn a Stock 2018 Chevy Camaro ZL1 into the Exorcist!
The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Exorcist came into our lives in April 2017. It packed ungodly amounts of power under its hood, allowing it to hit speeds that the devil himself would be proud of. The sinful beast comes to us by way of Hennessey. To give us an idea of how it came to life, the American tuner has released a time-lapse video chronicling the creation of the Exorcist from its not-so-humble Camaro ZL1 roots.
To be clear, the Camaro ZL1 is potent in it of itself. It comes with a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine that pumps out 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, allowing it to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in a tick over three seconds before hitting a top speed of 186 mph. Impressive, right?
Apparently, Hennessey shrugged its shoulders at the Camaro ZL1’s capabilities. Knowing it had something better to offer, the tuner decided to swap in a bigger supercharger compared to the stock unit. On top of that, Hennessey also installed a new camshaft, added long-tube headers, freed up the flow of air through the engine, and recalibrate the engine with some fancy computer work. The result is a car that saw its output increase to a demented 1,000 horsepower.
Turning a Camaro ZL1 into the Exorcist obviously takes time. That doesn’t appear to be the case in the time-lapse video, but judging by how many people came in and out of the shot and how many times the car was lifted, brought back to the ground, lifted again, and brought back down again, it’s safe to assume that the engineers over at Hennessey had their work cut out for them.
It all ends well, though, because the Camaro ZL1 Exorcist is madness personified.
Watch Hennessey Do 174 MPH in a Hellcat Hauling A Christmas Tree!
Adding to its long list of wild stunts, Hennessey Performance decided to strap a Christmas tree to the roof of a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody to see just how fast the car could run. Needless to say, the Hellcat comes perfectly equipped for speed. Its 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 makes an astounding 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque that’s mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
As a refresher, the Widebody version of the Challenger Hellcat has a wider track than the standard car, which allows for fatter tires. Naturally, wider tires offer better traction – something that’s desperately needed with the Hellcat’s power levels.
John Hennessey, CEO of his tuning and performance company, took the Challenger Hellcat Widebody to Continental Tire’s test track for some top speed trails, tree and all. The baseline run without the tree but with the suction cup-mounted roof rack posted a top speed of 177 mph. That means the Hellcat Wideboy only lost three mph off its top speed with a live tree strapped to its hood. That’s impressive.


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The online vlogger PewDiePie is one of the biggest names on Youtube. How can businesses replicate his success?
PewDiePie may not be a name you’re familiar with if you’re not into video gaming.
But the YouTube star’s rise to fame through savvy personal marketing offers lessons for businesses that want to build their internet presence.
PewDiePie, a 29-year-old Swedish ‘vlogger’, has now amassed 100 million subscribers – making his the second-most viewed YouTube channel in the world after Indian music label, T-Series (110 million followers).
Kjellberg has built a legion of young fans with his “let’s play” game commentaries – and a fair dash of controversy.
In late 2018, Kjellberg urged his followers to subscribe to his channel after his rival T-Series began to quickly amass support, with Bollywood stars rallying fans to help overthrow PewDiePie’s five-year reign as the most subscribed to channel on YouTube. Kjellberg himself made a rap diss track about the label in an effort to hold on to the top spot.
In less than stellar moments, however, Kjellberg has also been accused of courting controversy with right wing jokes and imagery.
The YouTube vlogger reportedly removed some of the videos and issued a statement recognising that some of his jokes were “ultimately offensive”.
So how do businesses learn from PewDiePie but also avoid his controversial mistakes? Arabian Business asked the experts…
According to Mike Khouri, managing director of Dubai-based mobile marketing firm Tactical, PewDiePie’s biggest strengths are his evident passion for the gaming subject and his consistency with updating his channel.
“Gaming on YouTube is massive and he’s all about gaming – he’s had a laser-like focus on it, been consistent, and amassed a cult following,” says Khouri.
The MD also notes that PewDiePie has been careful to collaborate with the right people to help leverage his brand.
“It’s important to find ways to collaborate with allies within the same subject or similar subject; this can help with raising awareness to other audiences,” he says.
James Reynolds, founder of Dubai online agency Sherpa SEO, says to get more YouTube subscribers, you first need to get more views on your videos.
Here are his top tips:
• Use popular keywords relating to the topic of your video in the title, description and tags.
The easiest way to find popular keyword searches is by typing into the YouTube search box and seeing what terms YouTube suggests. These are the most common searches. By optimising your videos around these keyword terms, you can get a lot of views from YouTube search.
• Next, check the most popular channels in your niche, and see which of their videos got the most views. You want to create videos around these topics because when you do, there is a high chance you might show up as a related video after theirs.
• You also need people to watch your video. The best way to do this is to create a curiosity-driven video title and a standout thumbnail.
Thumbnails with a headshot and a title of the video work well, and for extra marks use standout colours. Since YouTube is predominantly red and black, contrasting colours like green and orange can work well for thumbnails.
Reynolds tells Arabian Business: “When it comes to growing a subscriber base, there are only two things that matter: Awesome content. There is no way around it; if your videos suck, your subscriber count is going to suck too.
“And also just ask for the subscribe. Seriously, I've found that asking viewers to subscribe to my channel at the end of videos boosts subscriber numbers.”
According to Khouri, it’s also important to cross-promote your content across all your platforms, keep the content as two-way as possible and be strategic in your story telling process.
He says all good content must aim to “educate, entertain or inspire”.
“Try to keep narrative quality to your content and take them on a journey of entertainment,” the MD says.
Khouri also recommends investing in paid YouTube media options to boost your click through rates.


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Existing TruFrame customers can register an account by completing the information below.
If you are not currently a TruFrame customer and you are a trade customer in the UK looking for uPVC windows and doors at competitive prices contact us by calling 01664 410 140 or by using our contact form.
2nd June 2020
Quality Windows and Doors in Just 5 Days
With the UK slowly emerging from the COVID-19 lockdown, there has never been a more important time to offer top of the range products with a fast turnaround service. We want to help our customers get back on track, and are delighted to continue our five-day turnaround on our standard profile colours. TruFrame has created a solid plan […]Read on
20th March 2020
Continuing Business During Coronavirus Pandemic
As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues, it can seem like an uphill battle to continue business during these challenging times. With people self-isolating to avoid the virus, and others holding back their spending due to economic uncertainty, it can be difficult to continue business in the fenstration industry. But it doesn’t mean that business can’t […]Read on
24th February 2020
Choose Made in Britain to entice customers
After December 2019’s general election, the United Kingdom voted the Conservative party to remain in government, this time taking the majority of seats. But in reality, this was more than just a normal general election, overshadowing this election was Brexit. This election was the deciding factor in how Brexit would proceed in 2020. The Conservative […]Read on


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Embarcadero have just announced the availability of RAD Studio Rio 10.3.3.
This introduces Android 64 bit support for Delphi users and Mac iOS 13 App Store for both Delphi and C++, as well as a host of other significant fixes and improvements.
So what are you waiting for? Go get it!
Here are some useful links.
What’s new in Rio 10.3.3
10.3.3 Summary (including a video)
Jim McKeith has recently posted a webinar replay called “Get the most out of Android with 10.3 Rio”. It’s worth watching and it’s at.
Get the most out of Android with 10.3 Rio
In the webinar Jim points out that Android is now the most used operating system in the world (in terms of numbers of devices it is installed on). He also points out that Samsung are much more involved in the control and steering of Android then many people realise (most folk just assume Android = Google).
Samsung have the “Dex” scheme (short for “Desktop Experience”) which allows users to quickly and effectively turn their smart phone into a desktop PC. Clearly another attempt at encouraging the world to drop Windows.
What does all this mean to software developers?
The short answer is that any new projects that are likely to be “on going” (and professionally developed software that isn’t aiming to be “on going” is a contradiction in terms) should be designed with a view to migration from one platform to another being a genuine consideration.
Embarcadero have just announced the availability of RAD Studio Rio 10.3. The road map published this summer promised this before the end of the year so they have delivered on time.
This release has many major new features and enhancements. I talk more about this release in future postings here, but in the meantime to see “what’s new” information have a look at this link.
What’s new in Rio 10.3


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Catch up with the latest news from the Red Rose Awards.
More than 130 people attended this year’s Lancashire Business View Red Rose Awards winners’ reception at Mitton Hall near Clitheroe.Read Article
More than 1,100 guests gathered at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool last night to celebrate business excellence at this year’s Lancashire Business View Red Rose Awards.Read Article
Lancashire Business View’s Red Rose Awards will return to its Winter Gardens home in Blackpool this year. The county’s premier celebration of business excellence has been held at the iconic venue since its launch in 2011.Read Article
The judges for this year’s Lancashire Business View Red Rose Awards have praised the diversity, strength and skills of this year’s entries.Read Article
The final shortlist for this year’s Lancashire Business View Red Rose Awards has been announced, confirming the business hopefuls in with a chance of collecting a prestigious trophy in front of a 1,100-strong audience.Read Article
The Red Rose Awards, Lancashire’s most anticipated and successful celebration of the county’s business excellence, has announced the latest wave of organisations to sign up as event sponsors.Read Article
The countdown is on to the 2018 Red Rose Awards – Lancashire’s most anticipated and successful celebration of the county’s business excellence.Read Article
The wait is over and the winners at Lancashire’s biggest celebration of business have been revealed at a glittering awards evening.Read Article
Lancashire’s biggest celebration of business is a 1,100-plus sell-out – for the fourth consecutive year.Read Article
Businesses across Lancashire are celebrating after being announced as finalists in this year’s Red Rose Awards.Read Article
It’s the final call for businesses across Lancashire to enter the national award-winning Red Rose Awards which will close for entries at midnight on Friday 13 January 2017.Read Article
Lancashire Business View’s Red Rose Awards is to team up with Preston-based web and social media specialist 3ManFactory again for 2017.Read Article
Simply fill out the form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can.


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Metis Real Estate Advisors announces Peter Barker as new Director
Metis Real Estate Advisors, the independent retail, leisure and investment agency business, has today that Peter Barker has joined its advisory team as Director.
Barker was most recently a property director at Lovisa where he drove the brand’s growth from its debut Leeds store in 2015 to over 40 stores across the UK. Prior to this, he was head of northern retail at Savills, most notably acting for UBS on Birmingham’s Primark, the brand’s largest store in the world.
Stephen Tregenza, Director of Retail Agency at Metis, said: “Peter’s expertise is invaluable as we continue to drive UK acquisitions for Lovisa and further diversify our client base. Throughout his career, Peter has visited and worked with an unrivalled range of shopping centres, and this specialist experience adds a new dimension to our team.”
Peter Barker said: “After following closely the rapid growth of Metis, and the ambition and proficiency of the advisory team, I am delighted to be joining the company. I look forward to applying my experience in the sector to Metis’ high-quality client base, aiding the company’s expansion even further.”


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Life Drones On
Lily Engon 11 November, 2015 at 10:11
Drones were something of the future once. They were secretive, unmanned flying machines that were both scary and out of the ordinary. Now drones are ubiquitous. They perform at TED showcases and other innovation events, whizzing above audiences and landing on speakers. Recently, drones have been the stars at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) where companies demonstrated how they could hover for hours in Las Vegas. Missing drone flyers have even popped up in Silicon Valley neighborhoods.
We are at a natural point of reflection on how we fly drones. Like any technology, drones are used wisely or stupidly. The companies, engineers and designers, who create and reimagine drones, must pay closer attention to mounting regional and federal legislation and they must also consider how the general public will use them as well, which is trickier.
For years, the U.S. government and others have employed a variety of unmanned flying machines for reconnaissance, border patrols and unsavory missions. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate soldiers tied bombs to balloons to fly over enemy territory. Surveyors have used drones to map out uncharted geographical terrain for decades. But drones have generally remained out of the consumer eye.It wasn’t until Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos hinted at drones delivering packages on Sixty Minutes two years ago that unmanned flying machines hit the mainstream radar hard. Then the media paid much closer attention to the possibilities of how drones can play a bigger role in consumer technology.
Bezos asserted his company would one day deliver groceries and other packages with drones. Suddenly, there was buzz, a sense of excitement and talk of the potential of what drones could do. Imagine consumers getting any product they wanted in less than 30 minutes. There were stories about drones delivering pizza, drones capturing great aerial photos at weddings and even about drones dropping off beer at football stadiums. Fun, harmless, even helpful.
The serious-minded theorized that drones could go to dangerous and unreachable places where emergency workers cannot enter like smoky areas or radiation zones. They hypothesized that drones, equipped with 3-D printers and robotic controls, could even fly into such areas to make essential repairs or even carry out victims if needed. Extremely beneficial.
But what exactly do you do about drones when stalkers fly them to spy on victims or paparazzi snap exclusive pictures of celebrities above their homes? When you’re outside barbecuing in your backyard, you think about annoying mosquitoes and flies, not drones. The problem has become serious and invasive in California, where Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed legislation to prevent paparazzi from flying drones above private property. Plain headshaking.
We have learned to expect surveillance cameras in public buildings and streets. But surveillance cameras on drones shake our normal expectation for privacy. Suddenly, privacy is not a given.
It is true. We fly drones to do so many unexpected good things. With drones, we now have beautiful images that showcase our incredible planet, and we now have valuable data about once unreachable terrains, from Antarctica to the Mohave Desert. We now drop off food and needed medicine and water in remote and inaccessible places.
But we also fly drones to do so many unexpected things that interfere with privacy and sensibility. The two ideals rub the wrong way. Surely, common sense plays a role in how drones are used.


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Photo: Vlad Kagoshima (Shutterstock)
On Tuesday, Apple followed through on its promise to start filling the App Store up with more advertising. Almost immediately, people took to the internet to complain about the bizarre and sometimes seedy ads they were seeing. Apple made an abrupt policy change days later, “pausing” (but not banning) ads for gambling. We’re not just taking ads for gambling—it’s marketing for skeezy dating apps, red-pilled right-wing videos, and more.
Apple’s push into the world of ads is part of developing strategy that seems directly aimed at crippling other companies’ ad businesses, particularly Meta (formerly known as Facebook). Last year, Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency, a privacy setting that decimated Meta’s ability to effectively advertise on iPhones. Meta said the change cost it an estimated $10 billion in lost revenue. Apple, meanwhile, has been hard at work on its own tools that could replace Meta’s in-app advertising network. Just this week, Apple updated its guidelines to lay out a demand for a 30% cut of the money users pay to “boost” or promote posts on certain apps—another change that will have an outsized effect on Meta.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Even some Apple diehards are unhappy with the ways the company is opening up its platform to rake in advertising dollars. If the ads people have already seen in the App Store are any indication, the coming advertising wave may contradict the squeaky-clean corporate image the iPhone-maker h worked so hard to build.
Here are the worst ads people have seen in the App Store so far.


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Editor-at-Large Roberto Michel authored an article in the June issue of Modern Materials Handling, “The Big Picture: Adaptability as King,” that featured Matthews Automation Solutions’ brand Lightning Pick.
Discussed were the company’s emerging mobile robotics solutions and augmented reality (AR) glasses as part of a trend toward warehouses adopting automation solutions that support greater flexibility and adaptability in handling growing e-commerce and other distribution and order fulfillment needs. The emerging technologies offer gains in speed and flexibility, getting more orders out the door faster.
Among the experts interviewed, Michel spoke with Jim Bast, Vice President and General Manager of Lightning Pick. In discussing some of the benefits of mobile robots over fixed, permanent conveyor installations, Bast noted, “We see much of the advantage from mobile robots as coming from the flexibility of movement it allows for human operators. When you start adding lots of automation to a DC, it can start looking like an expressway interchange in Southern California.”
Bast also discussed AR glasses, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens, as a technology that supports greater warehouse and order fulfillment agility. He noted that the glasses’ ability to mix a view of physical reality with holographic information shows promise as a future alternative to hard-wired, pick-to-light solutions.
Although the hardware is not yet robust enough to handle the rigors of of a warehouse, Bast said, “we believe that as these [AR glasses] solutions become more industrialized, and frankly, more cost effective, there may come a time when maybe there won’t be physical lights needed for applications like put walls.”
The entire article can be found here.


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. dropped on Tuesday on the news that the video game publisher is delaying a highly anticipated basketball title on concerns about the game’s quality.
On a company blog, EA Sports President Peter Moore said the publisher made the decision to delay “NBA Elite” — which was slated to hit stores next week — due to the company’s conclusion that the game “would benefit from more time in development.” No expected launch date was given.
“We are going to keep working until we’re certain we can deliver a breakthrough basketball experience,” Moore wrote on the blog.
Shares of EA ERTS were trading down a nickel, or 0.3%, to $16.52 by midday Tuesday. The stock had fallen as much as 2% earlier in the session.
EA is the largest publisher of sports games in the business. Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets said he had expected EA to sell about 2 million units of “NBA Elite” in the current quarter. He said the company’s other NBA titles may help offset the loss somewhat, so he maintained his earnings estimates for the company.
“Nonetheless, there is less upside potential now with the title push-out,” he wrote in a note to clients Tuesday.
Shares of Take-Two Interactive
Todd Mitchell of Kaufman Bros. trimmed back his earnings estimates for EA, and lowered his price target on the stock from $23 to $21. He noted that the delay comes as he is also hearing negative buzz about the company’s up-coming “Medal of Honor” title, which will compete with market leader “Call of Duty” in the shooter realm this holiday season.
“The game is not developing the level of buzz necessary to knock ‘Call of Duty’ off its perch,” Mitchell wrote in a note to clients.
He said the planned Oct. 12 release of “Medal of Honor” puts the game between last month’s blockbuster “Halo Reach” launch and ahead of the planned Nov. 9 release of “Call of Duty: Black Ops” from Activision Blizzard
“We really don’t see a rationale for owning all three of these games,” he wrote.


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Tesla's electric vehicles have become more common place on roads around the world over the past few years, as production has scaled up in line with increasing demand, but selling an entire year's worth of cars in one go would be a massive achievement for the Elon Musk founded company. That's exactly what might happen in 2020 too, as app-based taxi firm Uber has pledged to buy half a million cars from Tesla if it can make them autonomous.
Although unlikely to be an outright lie, it's important to note that while these claims were made about Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO, they don't come directly quoted. This message comes from Tesla board member Steve Jurvetson (via Forbes), who claims Kalanick made the claims during a Top 10 Tech Trends dinner.
Uber has previously offered journeys in vehicles from lots of different manufacturers. One day though, they may all be Tesla.
Assuming his right however, it's worth considering that although this is an attractive offer for Tesla, since selling 500,000 cars in one go would generate at least a smidge of profit for the firm, having its cars operate autonomously by 2020 is a tall order. As it stands, Tesla vehicles and those of other manufacturers offer some automated features, such as emergency autonomous braking and smart cruise control, but cars that can drive themselves on every road aren't really expected to go on sale until 2025.
In the short term, motorway automation is expected in commercial vehicles by 2017, but whether that will be enough for Uber remains to be seen, especially since the service's main business is found in cities, where heavier traffic and pedestrians create a much more difficult environment to develop autonomy for.
What will be interesting to take note of in the near future however, is whether Uber's own autonomous vehicle developments progress swiftly. It's currently working on driverless cars with Chinese search giant Baidu and may even team up with the company to buy Nokia's HERE unit.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: I would be surprised if Tesla or anyone could develop a fully autonomous car by 2020. However Tesla is said to be working on a system where its cars can overtake for the driver, just by turning on the indicator.


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HANOI – WWF and the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) have launched a project aimed at boosting environmentally sustainability in the Vietnamese textile sector. The initiative aims to encourage players in the domestic textile sector to promote better river basin governance, water quality improvement and sustainable energy use. The project is sponsored by HSBC as part of the ‘Driving impact reduction through the textiles value chain’ to support the green textile industry in China, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam.
As one of Vietnam’s most economically important sectors, the textile and apparel industry contributes 15 per cent of its total export value, with 6,000 factories and over three million employees.
However, the textile and apparel sector can have significant impacts on water resources and greenhouse emissions, and there has been a determination by authorities in the country not to go down the same route as China, where pollution was allowed to go unchecked for decades.
Moreover, as the industry continues to grow, authorities have recognised changes will be required to reduce these impacts. “Vietnam ranks as the fifth largest exporter of apparel goods in the world, but our industry is more famous for low cost production with limited environmental standards. With customers worldwide now more conscious about the environment, this is forcing a lot of global brands to change their operations to include higher environmental and social standards. If we do not change our practice now, Vietnam could lose its competitiveness,” said Mr. Vu Duc Giang, chairman of VITAS.
The project will be implemented from 2018 to 2020 and has a vision of transforming the textile and apparel sector in Vietnam. Its main focus is to improve water and energy sustainability. It will also work with textile and apparel manufacturers to encourage them to practise sustainable energy planning and collaboration in order to achieve long term sustainable investments in the textile and apparel sector.
An important part of the project is encouraging Vietnamese textile investors to carry out more sustainable practices. “For WWF, greening the textile sector in Vietnam is also a means to achieve our wider goal of addressing river governance and energy sustainability, which are top global environmental concerns. In the long run we want to see factories, industrial parks and other actors come together to take more proactive collective actions to address risks and impacts beyond their factory fences and more responsibly manage shared resource uses across-sectors,” said Marc Goichot from WWF-Greater Mekong. “With more than 10 years of working with the textile industries of top exporting countries as Bangladesh, China, India and Pakistan, WWF believes that we can help Vietnam to create a big positive change for the sector.”


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Bob Johnson, the founder of BET, is in talks to buy Image Entertainment, a home entertainment company with a deep library specializing in content for the African-American community, TheWrap has learned.
A spokeswoman for Image Entertainment confirmed that Johnson was in talks to buy the company, but said a deal was still several weeks away. “They are in talks,” said the spokeswoman, without offering further detail.
A spokesman for Johnson could not immediately be reached.
A publicly traded company, Image Entertainment (NASDAQ: DISK) produces, distributes and licenses film & television productions in North America. It boasts more than 3,700 owned or licensed titles. The company’s revenues decreased 4.4% in 2011 to $88,959,000 from $93,070,000 for fiscal 2010, according to the company’s annual report. Its profit margin increased to 23% compared to 20.1% the year before.
The library includes feature films from brands such as the Criterion Collection, and a varied archive of television programs, music, comedy and audio content. The company has distinguished itself by being among the first to buy up digital rights to many classic movies.
Johnson (left), the founder of Black Entertainment Television, is one of the nation’s few African-American billionaires. In 2003 Viacom bought BET from Johnson for $3 billion.
Johnson is chairman of RLJ Development and former majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, an NBA franchise. Johnson has more than once announced his plans to own an African-American-oriented movie studio, though the vision has never come to fruition.
For many of its titles, Image has exclusive audio and broadcast rights and commands digital download rights to approximately 2,000 video programs and over 300 audio programs containing more than 4,500 tracks.
On November 20, 2008 Image struck a merger agreement with Nyx Acquisitions. The deal to sell Image was valued at approximately $100 million, including the assumption of the company’s outstanding debt.


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It’s never bad to brush up on your fighting skills before a long journey
This morning, Nintendo of Japan hosted a livestream which covered various details concerning combat mechanics in the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles X.
Developed by Monolith Soft, Xenoblade Chronicles X is set to come out on the Wii U on April 29th in Japan. The rest of the world will be getting it later this year.
For a close up look at Xenoblade Chronicles X’s combat system, check out the footage below.


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When iOS 6 goes available to public this October, it will bring with it the opportunity for iCloud service users to get their own email account ending in iCloud.com.
Word of this development came on Monday as iOS 6 Beta 3 was seeded to Apple’s developers. The release note effectively spilled the beans on the new email feature. “icloud.com email addresses are now available for iCloud mail users,” the notes read.
“Users signing up for new Apple IDs, or enabling Mail on their iCloud account for the first time, will automatically receive an iCloud email address instead of a me.com email address. iCloud users with me.com addresses that have been used with iOS 6 beta 3 will receive an iCloud email address that matches their me.com address.”
If you are not a developer installing the Beta, you will have to wait until iOS 6 comes in near future in order to take advantage of the new iCloud.com email accounts. Apple is clearly looking to expand its users’ entrenchment in all Apple services and platforms.
Apple has not said anything about its plans surrounding .me accounts that are already in existence.


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Writers’ Blogs and Publishing Attention
All you aspiring authors out there, sharpen up your wit and get your snarky comments ready. And if you want to share some dirt about your boss and his corporate expense account, feel free to throw that in as well. The Book Standard has an interesting article about publishers paying attention to writer blogs. The article states “‘Bloggers have an audience; they have a connection with readers,’ acknowledges Sophie Cottrell, associate publisher of Little, Brown, which has one of the hottest current blog-to-print properties: Julie Powell???s Julie and Julia, which is scheduled for release in September. ‘This can provide the publisher with a great, solid foundation of ready-made fans.'”
Check out the complete article here.


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ChiniMandi, Mumbai: Tuesday 1st June 2021
Production & Export Overview:
According to the latest reports by Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) the country till May 31,2021 has produced 305.68 LMT of sugar and about 57 lac tons of contracts for export of sugar have already been entered whereas 44 to 45 LMT has been exported for sugar season 2020-21. Additionally, 4.48 LMT in Oct- Dec 2020 quarter against the MAEQ of last season 2019-20. To read more click here
Monthly Domestic Quota Announcement :
In a notification issued on 31st day of May 2021, the food ministry has allocated 22 LMT monthly sugar quota for June 2021 to 555 sugar mills which is 3.5 LMT higher than the quota allocated in June 2020. In the previous month the Govt. allocated 22 LMT monthly sugar quota to 555 mills. The allocated quota for June 2021 is 18.2% higher than that of June 2020.
According to market experts, the market may witness pressure due to the surge in Covid-19 cases that has led to extended lockdown restrictions in various states. Millers are likely to face selling pressure amidst the pre-monsoon rains in many states.
The demand has been quite poor throughout the month of May with the surge in Covid-19 cases and statewise imposed lockdowns in different parts of the country amidst summers. The Central Government however has been reluctant to call for a nationwide lockdown on apprehension of backlash on the economic growth. Sugar millers have already been facing the heat with selling pressure, stocks piled, unlifted sold stocks,growing interests etc, logistics has also taken a backseat hence not being able to liquidate funds.
Market-men expect expect to witness the same situation until some eases are introduced to the statewise lockdowns. The industry is also eagerly awaiting some decision on the hike of Minimum Selling Price which is currently ₹3100/Quintal to improve the situation of stakeholders.
State wise Prices as on June, 01 2021 :
– Maharashtra:S/30 Sugar rates from millers are ₹3100 to ₹3120/Qntl. whereas M/30 ₹3125 to 3170.
In the resale market S/30 is trading at ₹3015 to ₹3040 whereas M/30 is trading at ₹3040 to ₹3110.
– Karnataka : S/30 Sugar rates from millers are ₹3180 to 3225 whereas M/30 is at ₹3275.
– Uttar Pradesh: The rates for M/30 are ₹3300 to 3315
– Gujarat: S/30 Sugar rates are ₹3260 to 3300 whereas M/30 rates are at ₹3350
– Tamil Nadu: S/30 Sugar rates are ₹3225 to 3300 whereas M/30 rates are at ₹3300 to 3350
(All the above rates are excluding GST)
GOI amends Sugarcane Control Order, 1961
The Amendment by GoI has allowed entrepreneurs to set up factories with sugarcane crushing & make ethanol directly from sugarcane juice & also allowed use of B-Heavy molasses for production of various types of ethanol. This will help in diverting surplus sugar to ethanol & timely payment to farmers.
To view the notification click here
Global sugar prices showed great volatility in May, after a strong increase in April. The initial rally in sugar futures contracts were driven by concerns about the persistent dry climate in the Center-South of Brazil, which is expected to affect the productivity of sugarcane fields in the 2021/22 harvest. Apparently, the appreciation of the real against the dollar has been a positive factor for sugar prices which removes the competitiveness of Brazilian sugar in the international market.
Friday’s Closing :
On Friday sugar prices climbed high where London sugar peaked to $462.30/ton with an appreciation of 1.05% whereas raw sugar on the New York Stock Exchanged was noted at $17.39/lb with an appreciation of 1.58% and extended its earnings owing to concerns on the Brazilian sugarcane harvest.
London white sugar closed at $459.60/ton with an appreciation of $2.10 whereas New York closed 0.24 points higher to close at 17.36/lb in comparison to the previous day. Yesterday the New York Stock Exchange was closed today due to Memorial Day, celebrated in the USA whereas the London Stock Exchange was closed due to Spring Bank Holiday.
Market Today :
The market opened firm and witnessed some fresh buying.
At the time of writing this update sugar prices are in the green with prices up more than 1.30%
London White Sugar front month contract is trading at $463.80/tn whereas New York Sugar front month contract is trading at 17.15/lb
Indian export rates today:
In the Indian market, white sugar for the season 2020/21 icumsa 100 ready delivery for exports is trading at ₹28700 to ₹28900 on ex factory basis. Demand for Raw sugar of the season 2020/21 icumsa between 600-1200 is at ₹27700 to ₹27800 factory basis
Comment on Sugar Market by Archer Consulting:
What we can assume from the confusing picture of the sugar market before us is that the appetite of the funds might be running out; the strengthening of the real, though temporary, will hold back the sugar quotations; 16-17 cents can consolidate as a price support over the medium term. If there is a resurgence of the pandemic, the real will certainly drop again, but the visible acceleration in the major economies (except for Brazil) should make oil prices appreciate and – if the parity with the international price is kept – gas will go up here. Cost inflation is deeply worrisome, the IGPM – General Market Price Index is soaring and the mills are (re)calculating their costs fearing the increase in inputs.
To read the entire article click here
Currency, Commodity & Indian Indices:
The rupee traded against the US dollar at 72.941 whereas USD was trading with BRL at 5.2183 Crude futures traded at Rs.4970, Crude WTI traded at $68.06 a barrel. Sensex closed 2 points lower at 51,9354.88 whereas Nifty ended 7.95 points lower at 15,574.85.


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Frank Ocean brought a green robotic baby with him to the 2021 Met Gala Monday evening (Sept. 13).
Click to copy
Frank Ocean attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sept. 13, 2021 in New York City.
brought a green robotic baby with him to the 2021 Met Gala on Monday evening (Sept. 13).
The reclusive R&B star wore a black Dreamcore cap that kept his neon-green hair under wraps as well as a black Prada jacket, similar to the nylon gabardine anorak jacket he wore at the 2019 Met Gala. Ocean’s new independent American
luxury brand Homer
recently partnered with Prada on a collection.
“In America … I feel like we do kinda make, set some trends in general, especially in music,” he said about the evening’s theme of”In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.”
For More Details : billboard


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Beauty’s at-home upswing will be reaching its apex in time for the holidays, new data from Spate predicts. The trend tracker estimates that beauty and wellness products oriented toward domestic spa environments will be gaining the most traction. “People have spent the last year indoors, doing research on what tools and supplies they need to achieve their beauty goals from home,” said Yarden Horwitz, cofounder of Spate. “Consumers know what they want.”
Regarding search and sales volume, how strong the season will be is still up in the air, Horwitz said. “There’s some beauty seasonality in back-to-school, and we didn’t see that this year,” she added. “However, it’s a little different because of at-home learning.” If earlier holidays in the year — namely Mother’s Day — serve as any indication, consumers barred from travel will opt for gifting over quality time, she added. Here, see Spate’s top 10 predicted holiday trends, ranked by percent predicted growth in search.
Top 10 Holiday Trends, Ranked by Predicted Growth in Search
Heated beard comb: +100 percent
Custom shampoo: +58.5 percent
Skin-care fridge: +56 percent
Retinol face wash: +51.2 percent
Rowing machine: +49 percent
Facial steamer: +47.8 percent
Soy candles: +44.2 percent
Lash lift kit: +41.5 percent
Beard straightener: +40 percent
Sleeping mask: +36.8 percent
Source: Spate Holiday Predictions, 2020.
For more from WWD.com, see:


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Kroger Names New Chief Information Officer
US supermarket chain Kroger has named Yael Cosset its new chief information officer and senior vice-president, effective 1 May 2019.
Presently, Cosset is the chief digital officer of the company and will continue to hold on to the portfolio in addition to his new role.
He will succeed Christopher T. Hjelm, who will retire on 1 August 2019.
'Thoughtful Succession Planning'
Chief executive of Kroger, Rodney McMullen, said, "Consistent with Kroger's history of thoughtful succession planning, Chris and Yael have a deliberate transition plan to ensure continuity while successfully delivering on our Restock Kroger technology initiatives to redefine the grocery customer experience."
In January 2017, Cosset was elected as the group vice-president and chief digital officer of Kroger, and has played an important role in leading Kroger's digital growth strategy.
Commenting on Cosset's appointment, McMullen said, "He is a passionate advocate for applying technology, innovation, and customer science to make a difference in the lives of our customers.
"Yael has the qualifications, skills and strategic mindset to ensure technology and digital are key accelerators of Kroger's future success."
An Industry Veteran
Cosset is an industry veteran and has served as the chief commercial officer and chief information officer of 84.51° since its inception in 2015.
He has also held several leadership roles at Dunnhumby, including executive vice-president of consumer markets, global chief information officer, and chief executive officer of KSS Retail.
He graduated with a major in mathematics from the Classes Preparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles in France, and holds a masters of science degree from the business school of the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Chambery.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.


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Port Orange auto tech wins national award
PORT ORANGE — Edgewater resident James Foulk, a master automobile technician who works at the Tire Kingdom tire store/auto repair shop in Port Orange, was recently honored with a national achievement award as the Tire Kingdom chain’s ASE Automobile Technician of the Year. Tire Kingdom has more than 1,200 automotive service centers in multiple states.
Foulk received the award at the fall board of governors meeting of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence in Ft. Lauderdale. He was one of 47 people to receive top scores this year out of more than 300,000 ASE-certified professionals nationwide, according to a news release from the Leesburg, Virginia-based National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.
Foulk has been a technician for 20 years and has worked at the Port Orange Tire Kingdom at 899 Dunlawton Ave. for roughly half of those years in two different stints. This the first time he has won the national award, which came as a surprise, he said.
“It was amazing,” Foulk said of the honor, which included a $1,000 cash prize plus a plaque and certificate, commemorative shirts and an award medallion. “It was a pretty big honor ... almost like the Academy Awards.”


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The logistics arm of state-owned oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has formed a joint venture with China’s Wanhua Chemicals, the media reported.
The joint venture between Adnoc’s logistics unit and Wanhua Chemicals will be called AW Shipping.
It will own and operate a fleet of very large gas carriers (VLGCs) and modern product tankers.
In a statement, Adnoc said, “The company will be responsible for transporting LPG cargoes and other petroleum products, sourced from the ADNOC Group and global suppliers, to Wanhua Group’s manufacturing bases in China and around the world. To deliver maximum fleet efficiency, the company may also pursue other market opportunities.”
With regard to the JV with Wanhua Chemicals, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc Group chief executive officer told the media, “The JV further solidifies Adnoc L&S’ position as the largest, fully integrated logistics and shipping company in the UAE and paves the way for the transportation of greater LPG volumes to China, in line with market demand.”
Recently, AW Shipping signed a contract with CSSC Jiangnan Shipyard for the construction of three 86,000 cu m very large gas carriers (VLGCs).
The VLGCs, designed by Jiangnan Shipyard, will be in 230 metres length, 36.6 metres width and 22.2 metres depth, and equipped with LPG dual-fuel engines.
The delivery is expected to take place somewhere in the third quarter of 2022, the media reported.
Earlier this year, Adnoc Logistics and Services signed an agreement with Atlantic Gulf and Pacific for the conversion, supply, operations and maintenance of a Floating Storage Unit (FSU) at AG&P’s new LNG import facility located within Karaikal Port in Puducherry, India.


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Truecaller Crosses 100 Million Daily Active Users in India
It is with immense pride that we announce Truecaller has reached 100 million daily active users in India.
Moving beyond just a ‘Caller ID and Spam blocking app’, Truecaller has emerged as one of the most preferred applications and a one-stop communication app for people offering a variety of services including messaging and payment. With this achievement, Truecaller now has 130 million daily active users globally and over 500,000 Premium subscribers.
On top of this major milestone, every tenth active user in India has linked their bank account to Truecaller Pay, and 60% of all the people who are coming onboard on Truecaller Pay happen to be experiencing UPI for the first time.
“India is one of our focus markets and we are very pleased to have hit this landmark. We feel extremely privileged to know that there are 100 million people in India who trust our brand and use our services daily.” Alan Mamedi, CEO & Co-founder, Truecaller
With the boom of smartphones over the recent times in the country, Truecaller has become the primary gateway to the internet for millions of people. With our integrated services like, calling, SMS, Instant Messaging, Flash Messages, Video Calling, and payments, it goes synonymously with smartphones and more Indian users are relying on the platform for its integrated services.
“There are very limited mobile-only services that have an impact on these many users each and every day and we are very proud to be a part of this exclusive group. We will continue to expand in the Indian market and integrate more services to create a robust unified communication platform, and simplify the lives of our users.” – Mamedi
Additionally, Truecaller has evolved to become more than just an app on the user’s phone, it has aided in bridging the digital divide between the urban and growing semi-urban/rural markets in India. Further, it has enabled and empowered users businesses by making communication more safe and efficient.
Thank you to all Indians who have made Truecaller part of their daily lives!