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“Chinese factory output slowed to its weakest pace on record early this year, a sign that the economy remained under pressure from US tariffs and weaker domestic demand despite a series of economic stimulus measures in recent months…
“China is ramping up assistance for the economy as 2019 growth looks set to plumb 29-year lows, but support measures are taking time to kick in.”
“The downturn in China’s auto market worsened in January and February as an economic slowdown and a tariff fight with Washington chilled demand in the industry’s biggest global market. Sales of SUVs, minivans and sedans plunged 17.5 percent from a year earlier…
“The decline in sales of passenger cars in January was 15 percent… Last year’s auto sales suffered their first decline in nearly three decades, calling 4.1 percent from 2017 year to 23.7 million.”
“For years, China’s biggest borrowers relied on accounting alchemy to prop up their balance sheets. Those days are over.
“Corporate perpetual bonds have almost always been recognized by Chinese auditors as equity, not debt. That enabled state-owned enterprises to borrow billions of dollars without it showing up that way.”
“The single most pressing economic problem in Thailand is household debt. Actually, the household debt issue is currently the world’s most important economic issue too.
“With the prevailing debt in major economies, it is difficult to see the world’s economy moving beyond a 2% annual growth rate. The household debt problem has already triggered a global financial crisis, namely the Lehman Brothers crisis in 2008. And it can trigger a similar crisis in China any time.”
“New Zealanders have a debt problem. In the past seven years, household debt has skyrocketed…Kiwis are spending more money that they don’t have. It’s a signal to economists that the foundations are shaky.
“It’s also not hard to see why borrowing is going through the roof — property prices. Houses cost more. People have to borrow more to buy them. Wages are growing more slowly than house prices. The result? Ballooning debt.”
“Toronto households are some of the most indebted in the country, with the average family owing more than twice the amount they bring in.”
“While the overall level of [US] consumer borrowing is rising at a steady pace, one subset of loans, those linked to car purchases, has risen sharply over the past year.
“This is particularly true in the “subprime category” — those high-risk borrowers with a FICO consumer credit score below 620 (the bare minimum score required to be approved for a conventional mortgage in the US). More striking still, defaults on those subprime auto loans appear to have surged.”
“Brussels has said a vote by UK MPs to block a no-deal Brexit in any circumstances is a meaningless move, with one senior EU negotiator describing it as “the Titanic voting for the iceberg to get out of the way”.
“A European commission spokesman offered a withering assessment of the decision by MPs to ignore Theresa May’s assertion that no deal was the default position unless there was a deal in place by the time of the UK’s departure.”
“The Swiss economy will grow less quickly than previously anticipated, hamstrung by the global downturn, and stands to lose even more pace if the international trade dispute worsens.”
““We love our city, we love our weather, we love the Greek people, but we are scared and afraid in a way, because the situation is not that good,” Dimopoulos said about him and his friends.
““We have to try harder and harder to make our own money … Sometimes we are talking (about going) abroad: If it is going to be better for us to leave Greece or if it is going to be better to stay in Greece and try harder. It is in our minds.””
“Turkey’s industrial output shrank for the fifth month in a row in January, the clearest evidence of continued weakness in the Middle East’s largest economy after it fell into a technical recession during the last quarter of 2018.
“Combined production of Turkish manufacturers, miners and power producers slumped 7.3 percent from a year earlier…”
“Protests initially erupted on December 19 after a government decision to triple the price of bread, while irregular fuel supplies have been a common feature for months across Sudan. “The economic issues need to be solved immediately as it impacts inflation and our currency rate,” said Eila. Although the bread price rise triggered the protests, anger had mounted across the country for years over soaring inflation and an acute shortage of foreign currency.”
“The World Bank will lend Angola $1 billion to fund social security and water projects, the president’s office said on Wednesday.
“Angola, Africa’s second largest oil producer, has been pushed into an economic crisis by the fall in oil prices since mid-2014.”
“Venezuela’s largest private food supplier says massive looting and vandalism occurred at four facilities in the city of Maracaibo during nationwide power outages, complicating efforts to distribute food and drinks to people in the area.”
Read the previous ‘Economy’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here.


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Apple pushes to delay court ruling forcing its hand on app store payments
Apple is calling for a US judge to pause an order which would change app store rules as it appeals the latest judgement in an ongoing antitrust case.
The Tech giant has been embroiled in a globe-spanning set of legal disputes with Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite, after it kicked the company off the app store for violating payment rules which let Apple take a 15 to 30 per cent cut of sales.
In a court filing issued yesterday Apple said it intends to appeal a September ruling which served the company with an injunction, scheduled to go into effect in December, allowing app developers to circumvent app store payment infrastructure which could cost the company billions of dollars.
“At a high level, it is my judgment that, without thoughtful restrictions in place to protect consumers, developers, and the iOS platform, this change will harm users, developers, and the iOS platform more generally,” an Apple spokesperson said in Friday’s court filing.
On September 10 federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in favour of Apple for nine out of ten counts in its anti trust battle with Epic Games. Apple previously called the decision a “huge win,” but has since argued that the app store’s payment infrastructure helps to prevent scams and keeps customers safe.
A hearing on Apple’s delay request has been set for November, but the company has said it wants the proceedings to go ahead earlier. If Judge Rogers refuses to grant their request, Apple could go to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals according to Bloomberg.
Read more: Fortnite calls on Apple to allow its developers back on app store

domain: news


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SBAU On Campus Hult Prize 1st Round Competition Is Officially Commencing
n 2009, Ahmad Ashkar created a company which in time became widely known as the Nobel Prize for students and entrepreneurs. The foundation and its work hold even more significance presently. Now, SBAU on campus Hult Prize 1st round competition of 2021 is officially commencing.
The 1st round of the on-campus Hult Prize competition at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SBAU) has started through team registrations. This year a staggering amount of 35 teams has registered in the SBAU on-campus competition.
Hult Prize Foundation
The Hult Prize Foundation had started its journey based on a simple principle, to transform today’s youth into leaders who impact the world around them and turn their startup dreams into reality. The Founder and CEO of the Hult Prize have stated this,
“Solving the world’s most pressing challenges is not just the right thing to do, it is also good business.”
The other two Co-CEOs of the foundation are- Philip Hult and Edward Hult. Along with CEO Ahmad Ashkar, their vision is to enable the world to prosper through creating startups that turn into established businesses, solving global problems, and providing education and a lifetime of experiences.
Hult Prize 1st Round Officially Commencing
The esteemed Hult Prize business competition has 4 steps. The first one is the “Campus Round”. The winning team of this round will proceed to be selected primarily for the next step- “Regional Round”. The funds flow through from a combined effort of The Bill Clinton Foundation and the United Nations (Office for Partnerships).
The 1st round program is on 13th November 2020. The final round is determined to be held on 28th November 2020. The last extended date of registration was till 29th October.
The organizers have decided on and announced activities for the upcoming events. They also have arranged training sessions, which have been named “Grooming Sessions”.
The campus director, Rifatul Islam has mentioned that the Hult Prize Foundation has selected this years’ challenge as “Food for Good”. The issue surrounding the challenge is to- solve the existing problem of food supply chains, poverty alleviation, creating new designations for 1 crore people in the world by 2030.
Partners and Sponsorships
Any reputed competition needs sponsors and partners. The on-campus partners of this year’s Hult Prize competition are- The Daily Ittefaq, Smartifier Academy, SAUPS, SAUCC, Kishan Theatre, Upstarters, EMK Center, Greeniculture, Somoy TV, etc.
So, keep an eye out for the intriguing commencement of the SBAU on campus Hult Prize 1st round competition. See who wins and proceeds to the next round!
Saiyara Mahjabin Adrita
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Sony Sets Plans For Alpha Ultra-Compact Hybrid Cameras
By Greg Tarr On Mar 10 2010 - 2:35pm
ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Sony delivered
one of the biggest surprises of
this year’s 2010 PMA Show when it
revealed a new ultra-compact hybrid
camera concept that offers the versatility
and interchangeable-lens capability
of a d-SLR and the compact size of a
point-and-shoot digital camera.
Designed to go up against similar hybrids,
such as the Micro Four Thirds
cameras of Panasonic and Olympus
and Samsung’s new NX10, the new
Sony camera offers a mirror-less interchangeable-
lens system, but will use an
Exmor RAPS-C CMOS sensor instead
of Micro Four Thirds technology.
The camera will also record HD video
using the AVCHD compression format.
The new ultra-compact hybrid camera
will be part of Sony’s Alpha series of d-
SLR cameras when it ships later this year.
Sony did not offer pricing or many details
on the product that will actually ship.
Sony also showed off a concept model
of a replacement for the Alpha A700
d-SLR. Also shipping later this year,
the new d-SLR will include an Exmor
APS HD CMOS sensor and will record
HD video in AVCHD format,
making it the company’s fi rst Alpha d-
SLR with video capability.
Sony said it also plans to release new
lenses in 2010, including the Distagon
T 24mm f/2.0 ZA SSM Carl Zeiss
wide-angle lens coming soon. The
company said it will also release a Super
Telephoto 500 f/4.0 G lens.


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- In what executives blamed on ongoing supply chain challenges and inventory constraints, Bed Bath & Beyond reported fourth quarter net sales fell 22% year over year to $2.1 billion, while comparable sales fell 12%. The company suffered about $175 million in lost sales during the quarter as a result of out-of-stocks at the Bed Bath & Beyond banner, which continued into March, CEO Mark Tritton said during an analyst call Wednesday.
- Gross margin during the period fell 320 basis points year over year to 28.3%. The home goods retailer swung to a loss of $159 million from a profit of $9 million last year, according to a company press release.
- For the full year, Bed Bath & Beyond reported net sales fell nearly 15% to $7.9 billion, while net loss widened by over 270% to $559.6 million.
Executives on Wednesday said they were "disappointed" in Bed Bath & Beyond's financial results as the retailer wrapped up the first year of its multi-year transformation.
"These disastrous results show that Bed Bath & Beyond had a very miserable holiday," GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders said in emailed comments. "That they were delivered against a backdrop of strong consumer demand for home products and should have benefited from the various improvements the company has made to stores and products, simply adds insult to injury."
Over the past year, the home goods retailer introduced a number of initiatives aimed at turning around the business. Bed Bath & Beyond has introduced eight private labels since announcing its goal in October 2020 to launch over 10 private labels over the course of 18 months. Retailers have increasingly turned to private labels as a way to improve margins and differentiate their assortment. Target — where Tritton was chief merchant and oversaw the launch of several owned brands — has leaned into this strategy, boasting 48 private labels, 10 of which are billion-dollar brands.
But analysts have criticized whether the labels Bed Bath & Beyond has introduced over the past year are differentiated enough to drive traffic and sales to the retailer. The brands are "bland," Saunders said, adding that "this neutrality neither compels people to buy nor makes Bed Bath & Beyond a destination for homewares."
The retailer has also closed underperforming stores and remodeled others, but in some cases, those stores still appear "messy," according to Saunders, and they lack necessary inventory, which executives have pinned on industrywide supply chain disruption.
"We do not accept the excuse that this is supply chain induced," Saunders said. "While global supply chain issues have been unhelpful, these issues have been occurring for a long time and are deep seated."
Bed Bath & Beyond also introduced an online marketplace at the end of last year and formed a partnership with Kroger to sell products from its namesake and BuyBuy Baby banners on the grocer's website and in select stores. Products became available on Kroger's website last week.
The partnership, according to Saunders, will help alleviate some of the short-term challenges Bed Bath & Beyond is experiencing by potentially attracting a new customer set.
But Bed Bath & Beyond's problems may become more apparent as inflation continues to impact consumer sentiment and demand for home goods comes down from early pandemic highs.
The company continues to face sales and traffic challenges in the first quarter as a result of lack of inventory in stores, according to Chief Financial Officer Gustavo Arnal. Quarter to date, comparable sales are down about 20%, he added. For the full fiscal 2022, Bed Bath & Beyond expects sequential comp sales improvement to occur in the second half of the year, while adjusted gross margin is expected to expand modestly over last year.
Late last month, Bed Bath & Beyond struck a deal with Chewy founder Ryan Cohen and his activist fund, RC Ventures, which together own about 10% of the company's outstanding shares. As a result of the deal, Bed Bath & Beyond has added three directors to its board, which RC Ventures chose. Cohen, which undertook a separate activist campaign at gaming specialist GameStop last year, criticized Bed Bath & Beyond for not focusing more on improving its supply chain, which has led to lost sales. Cohen also suggested separating out BuyBuy Baby from the business and possibly selling the entire company to a financial sponsor.


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League of Legends – Star Guardian Animated Trailer: Light and Shadow
New Star Guardians are coming to League of Legends? You better believe it! Star Guardian Neeko, Xayah, Rakan and Zoe are coming on September 12th, 2019!
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Apple and companies that make phones using Google's Android software have filed dozens of such lawsuits against one another around the world to protect their technology. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs called Android a "stolen product."
Google and Apple informed a federal appeals court in Washington that their cases against each other should be dismissed, according to filings on Friday. However, the deal does not apply to Apple's litigation against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
Apple has battled Google and what once were the largest adopters of its Android mobile software, partly to try to curb the rapid expansion of the free, rival operating system.
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The program placed orders in 25-millisecond bursts involving about 500 stocks, according to Nanex, a market data firm. The algorithm never executed a single trade, and it abruptly ended at about 10:30 a.m. ET Friday."
Link to Original Source
What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent bagel.


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If you are a marketer that cannot find a creative way to join the Super Bowl 50 social chatter, Imgur might be where you belong. The social-media site, which is hugely popular with Gen Y guys, surveyed more than 6,000 millennials and found that more than half of them do not plan to watch the Denver Broncos battle the Carolina Panthers for the NFL title on Sunday.
Forty-five percent of the men surveyed will be doing something other than watching the game, and 58 percent of the women do not have Super Bowl viewing plans.
Seventy-five percent of San Francisco-based Imgur's 150 million monthly users are under 35, while 91 percent identify as "geeks." So nerd-minded marketers—like gadget or software retailers—could have a potentially fruitful opportunity to target this non-sports-loving demographic while competitors focus on the Big Game.
Old Spice and eBay are examples of brands that have tested Imgur's promoted posts in recent months. The platform offers native and display advertising options.
"A lot of work we're doing is brand localization," said Steve Patrizi, vp of marketing at Imgur. "Helping them translate their marketing message [in a way] that makes sense for these users."
Helping them switch from regular English to geek-speak, perhaps? Of course.


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Uber France director general Thibaud Simphal and director for Western Europe Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty were detained by police following an ongoing investigation into the company’s practices.
They have been charged with engaging in "misleading commercial practices, complicity in the illegal exercise of the taxi profession and illegal use of private data," according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Uber POP Under the Spotlight
The investigation is specifically looking into the company’s mobile UberPOP service, which puts clients in touch with unregistered drivers who generally offer a cheaper deal than local taxis.
A French law introduced in October last year banned the use of UberPOP, however Uber has contested the ruling, while officials have said they have found it hard to enforce the law.
The Uber officials will face charges of carrying out deceitful commercial practices and being complicit in the illegal operation of a taxi service through the provision and advertising of its various options, prosecutors said.
The two @Uber managers who have been arrested yesterday in Paris, will be tried in Criminal Court on Sept. 30.— Stefan de Vries (@stefandevries) June 30, 2015
On top of that, officials are also facing privacy charges over the use and storage of personal data without the authorization of France’s privacy watchdog.
The backlash against Uber led to a nationwide strike from France’s taxi drivers last week, with some protests turning violent as cabbies blocked roads, burned tires and even attacked other vehicles with eggs to show their disapproval of the mobile phone app’s use.
The French protests aren’t the only ones to have taken place against the app, with a number of similar demonstrations held in various cities across the world, with taxi drivers complaining that registered drivers are penalized due to the steep registration fees many are forced to pay, while the same fees don’t apply to those offering Uber services.
The French decision to take the Californian-based Uber to court could be significant in setting a precedent for other countries who are also facing calls to crack down on the service.


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Side Delights® Reveals Trend Data For Changing Consumer Eating and Shopping Habits
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Since the beginning of the pandemic, consumers have continued to focus on purchasing products that are both health-forward and immunity-boosting. While our industry continues to adapt to rising demands, trends show that these shopping habits will continue to persist and that fresh produce will remain a high priority. Companies like Side Delights are weighing in on this trend, revealing recently released data on the growing focus on the health benefits of foods and the impact it has on consumer behavior.
“In a time where immunity, health benefits, and food sourcing are critical aspects of food quality, Side Delights potatoes are a nutrient-rich choice for any meal at any age, grown in this country’s best-growing regions,” noted Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network. “Retailers benefit when they leverage this information and feature potatoes in stores and online to remind shoppers to add potatoes to their shopping lists and carts.”
The International Food Information Council issued a report, “COVID-19 Pandemic Transforms the Way We Shop, Eat and Think About Food,” based on the recent IFIC’s 2020 Food & Health Survey, noted the press release. According to the survey, 85 percent of Americans made at least some change in the food they eat or how they prepare it due to the coronavirus pandemic. Forty percent of respondents who said they were seeking food or diets for their health benefits were explicitly focused on their immune function and that plant-based items have continued to be a trend into 2021.
This connection between healthy eating and reducing disease risk is outlined in the USDA’s newly released Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025. The guidelines recommend nutrient-rich plant-based foods like potatoes for all stages of life—starting as young as six months old.
In addition to what is in their food and its health benefits, consumers are paying more attention to where it is grown. As stated in the Forbes article Food Trends Forecast 2021: Being Healthy In A Post COVID-19 World, “Shoppers have changed how they are choosing their foods with a new yearning for reading labels, understanding what ingredients are in their foods, where their foods come from, and which foods they should avoid.”
Side Delights potatoes are literally “Grown Where It Matters” to be fresh, high-quality potatoes—cultivated in the best potato growing areas, stored in high-tech storage facilities, and packed and delivered close to customers/final mile experts so that the healthfulness of the fresh product stays intact for consumption by shoppers. Once the product is in the store, Side Delights offers award-winning, eye-catching packaging and a complete category assortment to address all types of shoppers—value, convenience-oriented, gourmet, and organic.
While consumers continue to pursue nutritious and healthy fresh produce in stores, keep checking back to ANUK as we bring the latest insights on the industry.
Companies in this Story
Fresh Solutions Network
Fresh Solutions Network, LLC® is the exclusive supplier of the Side Delights® brand of fresh potatoes and onions. We...


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‘We are at war. This is the third world war.’ Marshall Motor Group chief executive Daksh Gupta laid things bluntly on the line in a live interview today (Mar 27) with Car Dealer boss James Baggott as part of Car Dealer Live’s third show.
Marshall Motor Group has closed its sites and taken advantage of the government’s furlough scheme, but it has also taken a number of additional steps to help its staff during this difficult time.
Before the crisis began, Marshall Motor Group announced a stellar set of results with revenue of £2.3bn and a £33.1m operating profit.
Arguably one of the sharpest dealer bosses in the business, Gupta chatted to us about what has been the most bizarre week ever in the car industry, how he is looking after staff and what he sees as the opportunities that could come out of this crisis.
The group had been monitoring events abroad and began reacting in mid-February, putting out communications to staff as to what to do, follow NHS advice, etc.
Marshall decided to closed its dealerships before the government-ordered shutdown ‘because our people were worried’. This included concerns about schools shutting down.
The group has some 4,300 employees with 400 non-furloughed to support key workers across the country.
Its garages are helping keep essential vehicles on the move, including ambulance, fire and police.
‘People who are volunteering to do their bit are absolute heroes,’ said Gupta.
We’ll worry about sales on the other side; let’s just look after key workers now, he added.
Most manufacturers will be lenient over warranties, too, he reckoned.
Three-point mantra to give hope: stay safe (eg, social distancing), stay positive (don’t get into a negative spiral, take exercise), and stay Marshall (treat everybody well).
But what about the future? Gupta suspected that the current three-week nationwide shutdown could continue for up to 12 weeks, with the industry taking up to three years to recover. One problem facing the average dealer group is that one month’s cost equals one year’s profit.
The Car Dealer Live session is available now to watch. Just click on the play button at the top of this story.


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Save the date, 14th November. Nominations of The Game Awards to be revealed by Geoff Keighley
It’s the 9th edition of The Game Awards this year. And the wait to know who all are nominated is almost over. Next Monday, 14th November, the host and the producer of the show, Geoff Keighley will announce the nominees at around 9am Pacific Time, and 5pm GMT. Online voting will also be opened soon. The show revealing the nominations will be livestreamed on Twitter, Twitch and YouTube.
The Game Awards is basically an annual award show commemorating the triumph of video game industry worldwide. Just like the previous edition, the venue this year remains Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles. The D-Day not only celebrates the best gamers and games across the globe, it also showcases the games to be released next year. The victors are decided by the Jury and public voting via social media. The cardinal part of The Game Awards is the producer and the host of the show, Geoff Keighley- a Canadian games journalist and television presenter.
Geoff Keighley recently teased new things
Geoff Keighley recently teased, that new things are brewing this year. Now fans must be wondering, what new to expect from the 9th edition. Apart from the regular categories, a new category has been added this year, Best Adaptation. It is basically a category that felicitates video games that have been adapted by different popular media- like movies, streaming shows, novels, podcasts and comic books.
Expectations are always high from this award show. The Game Awards 2022 will be livestreamed for free worldwide across forty different digital platforms- Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok live, Facebook and many more.
So, to put it simply, it’s next Monday that fans are eagerly waiting for.


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txt fr ur insrnc?
HOLIDAYMAKERS can buy travel insurance by texting over their mobile phones for the first time today. Text2Insure, backed by insurance broker Hastings Insurance Services, also plans to offer household and motor cover soon.
The new firm promises to text quotes to mobiles within 60 seconds of an inquiry. All stages – apart from final payment – can be carried out by text.
Text2Insure reckons the low cost of distributing insurance by text means it can offer competitive premiums and target those who need last-minute cover.
Research carried out for the group found that nearly a quarter of mobile users would consider taking out insurance through a text messaging service. That figure rises to almost half of those surveyed aged between 16 and 24.
Around 14% of mobile users said they thought they would buy insurance by text messaging within three years.
Around 3m texts are sent in Britain every hour. This year, we are expected to send a whopping 30bn text messages over our mobiles. Almost a third of people aged between 16 and 24 send at least 36 texts a week.
Nicholas Thurlow, director and founder of Text2Insure, said: 'We believe that the convenience of SMS text messaging, and the fact that so many people are comfortable using it, means that it is a natural distribution channel for buying insurance. In time, we hope that it will become as popular as the internet.'
Travellers looking for a quotation for cover should text INSURE to 61066.
They will then receive a text asking for details of their trip, including the number of days they need cover, whether their trip is within or outside Europe, their age, and whether they are looking for an individual or family policy.
Text2Insure will then text a quote within a minute. Should the customer want to proceed, the firm's call centre will ring for credit or debit card payment.Customers can then check details of their policy online.
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Kim Kardashian's ShoeDazzle, a subscription-based e-commerce sites backed by Brian Lee, is having a hard time adjusting to a non-subscription model. PR Newswire
Everything that glitters doesn't necessarily stay gold for long.
We have been covering Lee’s e-commerce-meets-celebs businesses for a while— ShoeDazzle with Kim Kardashian, Legal Zoom with Robert Shapiro, The Honest Company with Jessica Alba, Teeology with Jennifer Lopez—and Lee's marketing techniques have proven nothing less than masterful. Lee takes the tried-and-true marketing tactic of celebs pushing products but targets celebrities that have invested the 21st century version of a mailing list: social networks. Lee's celebrity partners then make direct pitches for the businesses to their millions of followers. The partnerships, and the subscription-based business models the businesses use, have been successful, but the Times points out their stars may be waning:
Subscriptions were the hot trend in the last year, but I think some of that energy has really flattened,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, an e-commerce analyst at Forrester. While subscriptions have worked well at companies like Amazon.com and Diapers.com for necessities like toilet paper and diapers, shoppers might find it harder to justify a recurring credit-card charge for colorful suede booties. ShoeDazzle switched to a nonsubscription model this year, so shoppers log on whenever they are in the mood to shop instead of receiving monthly boxes. In September, the company replaced its chief executive, Bill Strauss, with Mr. Lee. He laid off 20 of its 220 employees and cut expenses like corporate apartments. Both Honest and ShoeDazzle are capital-intensive because they design, store and ship their own inventory.”
Amora McDaniel is a New York-based contributor to Upstart Business Journal.
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V1.2 of Google Ads Editor was released last week, and it includes support for several new campaign types and updates to multi-account management.
Advertisers using Google Ads Editor will be pleased to know that the latest update of the app brings with it several improvements. Probably the most important of these is that it now supports App campaigns for engagement and Discovery campaigns, meaning that advertisers can now create and edit these campaign types within the Editor, at scale.
It’s now also easier to share existing negative keyword lists across accounts, simply by applying them in the Editor’s Shared Library. Negative keyword lists are an important part of any search campaign, as it helps advertisers make sure their ads don’t show in searches related to specific keywords.
Historically, looking for an error in Google Ads Editor has been a bit of a nightmare – especially when there are several accounts to look through. To help advertisers find and fix errors, the updated Editor will now let them search for them across campaigns and accounts, making it much faster to look in all the possible places where a potential issue occurred.
Furthermore, in order to save time for advertisers, Editor is making it easier for them to find the fields they are looking for by condensing the edit pane. Empty fields – video IDs or custom parameters – will now be hidden by default, allowing advertisers to scroll through fields much faster. Empty fields can, of course, be shown optionally.
In order to update labels on an item via CSV import or “Make Multiple Changes,” advertisers had to specify the full set of labels. They can now add or remove labels while keeping all existing labels, by adding the “+” in front of their label names to preserve any existing labels or by adding “-” in front of their label to remove it, while preserving other labels.
Finally, in Editor when advertisers upload new images from files on their computer, the file name will be used as the image name. When the images are uploaded to a Google Ads account, the image data is uploaded as well. Similarly, when downloading from the Google Ads account, the names of images remain the same.
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By Mike Mazur
Coming soon to a select retailer near you: Protective eyewear from Nike that’s not just another pair of sunglasses. In fact, they’re not glasses at all.
The Nike MaxSight – a shaded, soft contact lens developed with Bausch & Lomb – was introduced to the golf world during the Buick Open in July. Over two days, it created quite a stir, as 51 players and caddies lined up behind Nike Golf’s tour van to get fitted.
It’s an ideal alternative, Nike officials say, for athletes who don’t want to fret about sliding frames or dirty lenses in the midst of a swing. And it serves as evidence of the extreme measures companies are taking to capitalize on golf’s eyewear market.
Once almost exclusively a fashion domain, eyewear has been growing fast, thanks mostly to health-conscious golfers seeking sun protection. But sales also are up because players are coveting eyewear as “equipment” that can help shave strokes off their scores.
That consumer demand has attracted the interest of manufacturers large and small, from Oakley to entrepreneurs such as PeakVision Sports. And whether they’re promising fashion, sun protection, better vision or even stereo sound, they’re all investing significant resources to get their fair share of the market.
This summer, for instance, Adidas Golf created a line of golf-specific eyewear to complement its apparel and shoe offerings at green-grass shops and specialty retailers.
Says Adidas Golf president John Kawaja: “The category has the potential to be a $5 million to $10 million business.”
But eyewear hasn’t always been so lucrative.
Golfers, largely bound by tradition, often spurned wearing sunglasses on the course for fear they would hinder performance. That especially was true for professionals – despite the fact their livelihoods increased their chances of developing UV-related eye disease.
“Back then we’d go out with a bag of glasses and couldn’t give them away,” says Al Janc, Oakley’s golf sports marketing manager.
But eventually, Oakley’s persistence and design ingenuity – along with that of other golf pioneers such as NYX Golf – began to pay off. Today, a number of pros, especially younger players, consider eyewear essential gear during play.
That interest has created opportunities for newcomers such as PeakVision, an Overland Park, Kan., business that’s focusing on selling a single message to a targeted consumer: better performance for the competitive golfer. PeakVision officials say their golf-specific glasses feature lenses that not only block the sun, but aid in reading greens. Its Dual-Zone technology splits a lens into a gray-tinted upper zone designed to reduce glare, and an amber-tinted lower zone that highlights green contours.
As part of its marketing offensive, PeakVision has inked a deal with The Golf Channel making it the official eyewear of the Viewers Cup Championships, and recruited Tour players Billy Andrade, Scott McCarron and Bruce Fleisher, and TV commentator David Feherty, to endorse its products. Determined to emphasize their glasses’ performance benefits, PeakVision only signs endorsers who will wear its glasses in competition – and not just in advertisements.
“If they don’t, you’re sending the wrong message,” says Scott Berg, PeakVision’s president and chief operations officer.
But for many golfers, sunglasses remain a fashion statement. Regardless of performance features or lack thereof, if eyewear doesn’t look good and fit comfortably, it won’t sell.
Which likely explains the continuing popularity of Maui Jim, the sunglass company that evokes a sun-soaked Hawaiian lifestyle.
By most accounts, Maui Jim, with its broad menu of fashion designs, is the No. 2 player in the golf market, trailing only category leader Oakley.
Several of its more performance-oriented rivals, however, resent Maui’s success, and contend that the company’s polarized-lens eyewear might be good for fishing, but not for golf. (Maui Jim officials did not return calls.)
“The ball appears smaller, and it can mess with your depth perception,” says Andrew Cohen, product manager for Bolle, one of several brands that comprise Bushnell Performance Optics.
Cohen insists Bolle’s brown, EagleVision tint is ideal for on-course applications. The company’s pitch appears to be working: Golf eyewear accounted for roughly 10 percent of Bolle’s 2004 sales, which represented “significant growth” over previous years, according to Derek Schuman, Bolle’s sports marketing coordinator. And in 2006, Bolle – which sponsors Sergio Garcia – will expand its EagleVision golf lens to nine frame styles from its current offering of six.
In the future, manufacturers may take eyewear in a whole new direction. Some already have.
Last year, Oakley introduced the Thump, sunglasses with built-in digital audio. And in July, the company partnered with Motorola to unveil the RazrWire, which comes equipped with Bluetooth cell phone technology.
Then again, who needs frames at all?
Nike’s MaxSight, available as corrective prescriptions, make an attractive alternative for golfers who have balked at wearing sunglasses.
Says Rob Barnette, Nike’s product business director: “It’s simply a derivative of the work that’s happened over the course of the last 10 years.”


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AUS: Coca-Cola Amatil to alter recall procedures
Coca-Cola Amatil failed to inform the New Zealand Food Safety Authority of a problem with its Pumped water range last year
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has said it is reviewing its product recall process after an investigation highlighted deficiencies in the firm's procedure, according to reports.
A recent report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) revealed that the Australia-based Coca-Cola bottler had failed to inform the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) of a problem with its Pumped water range last year, New Zealand publication stuff.nz wrote today (23 May). As a result, MAF said that CCA's recall plan is now being rewritten.
Around 11 people became ill after consuming Pumped late last year, the publication said. The report by MAF showed that CCA had failed to inform NZFSA of the problem until two months later.
CCA recalled the water at a trade level in December and distribution was stopped in January, however complaints were still being received a month later. NZFSA was not informed of the recall until 7 February.
Following an investigation, NZFSA identified a number of deficiencies in CCA's processes. As a result, the bottler said it realised "major improvements had to be made to its recall plan" and that it was "pro-active in getting to the source of complaints".
MAF warned that, although it was closing the file, if CCA breached the Food Act again it would consider legal action.
CCA could not be reached for comment.
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Tesla unveiled and started taking orders for Powerwall 2, its latest generation of home battery packs, almost a year ago (October 2016). As we reported at the time, the product at that price point was a game changer in the residential energy storage market.
Yet, installations are still very limited in the US today as thousands of reservation holders are still waiting.
Now it looks like Tesla is finally expanding the reach of the highly anticipated product.
The company started expanding installations to more markets, like in Minnesota, where a local solar installer, All Energy Solar, confirmed having installed the first 12 Powerwall 2s in the state.
Brian Allen, co-founder of All Energy Solar, told the local paper:
“Energy storage has been top of mind for a lot of solar energy customers, but cost has always been a driving factor. We’re now to the point where energy storage makes a lot more sense.”
He added that they have 50 more Powerwalls on order to be installed by the end of the year.
And those systems, which are paired with solar arrays and/or used for backup power, are not cheap. All Energy Solar says a new Powerwall can cost up to $10,000 with installation – though homeowners can get a 30 percent federal tax credit.
While Tesla lists a Powerwall 2 for $5,500, they also say that $700 in “supporting hardware” is required and “typical installation cost ranges from $800 to $2,000.”It’s why Tesla is focusing deliveries in markets with high electricity rates and where residential solar has a high penetration rate.
The economics only make sense there for now, but a broader rollout for people who want to use the system mainly for backup power is also expected later.
Furthermore, the company has been guiding “fall 2017”, which starts in just a few weeks, for a production ramp up to start delivering the increasing number of Powerwalls won through its referral program over the last year.
In the meantime, the product is becoming more popular in Australia, where a homeowner recently shared his Powerwall 2 ownership experience. The Australian market has received the Powerwall 2 early since it has near perfect market conditions for the product.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Mobile phone retailer Phones 4u is on the hunt for more than a hundred new stores as it prepares to close its concessions in Currys.
Its 160 concessions are set to shut before May next year following the merger of Currys owner Dixons with Carphone Warehouse. The merged firm Dixons Carphone will replace the Phones 4u concessions with Carphone Warehouse branded areas.
However, Phones 4u is looking to open new stores close to the Currys branches to compete with Carphone Warehouse, according to the Express.
The 350 staff working in the Currys concessions will be found roles in either new or existing Phones 4u stores.
Phones 4u has more than 500 standalone stores across the UK. The firm, which is owned by private equity firm BC Partners, is understood to be considering an IPO later this year.


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Qatar Airways has introduced its latest in-flight duty free magazine, Shopping Extravaganza, which offers passengers a greater choice of onboard products.
The new 112page magazine features 155 products, including over 80 new items seven of which are available exclusively onboard Qatar Airways.
Shopping Extravaganza is packed with best-selling products that include fragrances for men and women, cosmetics, skin care products, wide range of watches, travel accessories and electronic products.
Commenting on the new magazine, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: “Our priority is always our valued passengers and so we are delighted to be able to provide them with this new edition of the Inflight Duty Free Magazine offering such a fantastic range of duty free products onboard all our flights.
“The magazine means that our passengers can browse through an extensive variety of products and make essential and gift purchases from the comfort of their seat.”
Qatar Airways serves destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. The Airlines Company plans to serve more than 120 destinations worldwide by 2013.
By the end of 2011, Qatar Airways plans to expand further with the introduction of five new routes one of them being Entebbe in Uganda from November 2.


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ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s reopening is set to continue when movie theatres can welcome customers and limited in-restaurant dining may resume in a loosening of coronavirus restrictions.
This comes after other businesses, including barbershops, gyms and nail salons were allowed to start seeing customers last Friday. While many gratefully opened their doors after a monthlong closure, others did not feel ready yet and remained shuttered.
A similar mixed response is expected for the businesses allowed to reopen.
Governor Brian Kemp last week announced he was relaxing restrictions despite health experts’ warnings of a potential surge in infections and disapproval from United States (US) President Donald Trump.
Kemp released 39 requirements that restaurants must follow if they reopen, including a limit of 10 customers per 500 square feet and employees wearing face coverings “at all times”. Movie theatre ushers were ordered to enforce social distancing.
The shutdown imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus caused tremendous damage to the economy, and the governor said it was time to start letting people get back to work. But public health experts said a spike in new cases could follow if reopening happens too quickly.
Trump, who also stressed the need to get the economy chugging again, said last week Kemp’s plan was too much too fast. The president specifically said spas, beauty salons and barber shops should not reopen immediately.


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Potential GOP candidate Donald Trump has been peddling false and malicious attacks on President Obama. He gains much of his prominence from his prime-time NBC show The Apprentice. This morning at 9:30 am on Twitter, ThinkProgress urged concerned citizens to ask Groupon to stop sponsoring the show.
Moments ago, a Groupon representative announced that, in the future, they will block their advertisements from appearing on The Apprentice website.
Groupon ads previously appeared on The Apprentice website. After hearing a bunch of complaints today, Groupon announced that they will not be advertising on The Apprentice website in the future. But Groupon spokesperson Julie Mossler does not consider placing website advertisements a “sponsorship.” In apparently related news, she also says the company will not offer Groupons for abortions. You can read Ms. Mossler’s statement here.
,Bloomberg News picks up the story: “Groupon Won’t Place ‘Apprentice’ Site Ads Amid Complaints”[updat


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There were tears of joy amongst a crowd of friends and collaborators as Saul Nash took home this year’s International Woolmark Prize. Presented in a ceremony at London’s 180 The Strand, the menswear designer – whose namesake label strives to expand the language of activewear through functional fabrics and innovative design, informed by his background as a dancer – was awarded a AUD200,000 cash prize, alongside the opportunity to be stocked at renowned stores globally thanks to the the International Woolmark Prize Retailer Network.
Nash, who first made an impression showing under Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East talent incubator, first presented his winning merino capsule collection amongst his AW22 offering in February. Titled The Ritual, the collection was inspired by the designer’s Guyanese heritage and the folklore tales of his childhood.
“I did a lot of knitwear in my master’s, but when I left university to start my brand, it was something I had to put on hold for a moment because I couldn’t find the right manufacturing, and the materials I used didn’t lend themselves well to knitwear,” said Nash after his win. “What’s beautiful about knitwear is that it’s only helped me advance what I was doing. In terms of activewear, wool is such an amazing material for it. For wicking, and for temperature control – the experience helped me find that this was the right material for me to explore.”
In creating the collection, which has breathable, thermo-regulating, moisture wicking and antibacterial qualities, Nash has been able to work alongside a series of Woolmark specialist partners, who he is already planning to collaborate with moving forward. “I’m all about technical innovation with garments, that’s the beauty of wool, it’s going to dip in and out of my range for the rest of my career as a designer,” he says.
When it comes to the prize money, expanding his team is Nash’s biggest priority. The designer plans to employ someone to work solely on research and material innovation. “Seasons come so quickly. As you grow, you need that support around you,” he says.
Amongst the seven prize finalists, which included Ahluwalia, Peter Do, Jordan Dalah, Egonlab and Rui, was South African duo Mmusomaxwell, who won the Karl Lagerfeld Prize for Innovation and an impressive AUD100,000. The label is lauded for its marriage of technical advancements with traditional, handwoven techniques.
Both prizes were chosen by an esteemed judging panel that included Riccardo Tisci, Pieter Mulier, Naomi Campbell, Edward Enninful and Ib Kamara. This year’s prize also saw Woolmark team-up with the Isamu Noguchi Foundation, as well as FKA Twigs who created a visionary short film for the ceremony.
Photography courtesy of International Woolmark Prize.


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Netflix Gaming Is Finally Here With Two Stranger ThingsGames
Last month, Netflix confirmed that is planning to introduce game streaming to its service as early as next year. It also revealed that will start with mobile games first. Yesterday, Netflix Gaming has debut in Poland with two Stranger Things mobile games.
Netflix Mobile Gaming launched in Poland with two Stranger Things games
However, the service is only available on Android devices for now and includes two games, Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3. The games will appear under a new tab in the Netflix mobile app as seen in the image above. From the screenshot attached to the announcement, users will have to install these games to play and not stream them.
Let’s talk Netflix and gaming.
Today members in Poland can try Netflix mobile gaming on Android with two games, Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3. It’s very, very early days and we’ve got a lot of work to do in the months ahead, but this is the first step. https://t.co/yOl44PGY0r
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) August 26, 2021
When you tap on the install button, it opens up the Google Play Store within the app. Once the download is complete, you will be able to play the game from within the Netflix app only as the games won’t appear in your app drawer.
If you are not impressed, remember that this isn’t game streaming but just a way to access mobile games made for popular Netflix shows, the streaming service said “it’s very, very early days and we’ve got a lot of work to do in the months ahead,”.
What Netflix is offering now is a way to play games tied to its shows at no extra price. Stranger Things 3 is available on the Nintendo Switch but for $9.99. Netflix subscribers will be able to play the game for free with no ads and no in-app purchases.
It is too early to write off the service as this is just a test run. We expect Netflix has big plans in the pipeline and a true game streaming experience awaits users.


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The Art and the style…
- Dated: October 2009
- Media: Les Echos
Emmanuel Milani is the new Rep for Alain Godon
Let it be plainly said– Alain Godon is now on a different planet. In four years, the artist has moved on from the European to the international market. And the proof, his paintings in New York are now selling with five zeros tagged on the end… These days it’s difficult to buy what is now known as “a Godon”. However, his wish is precisely that his art remains available to the wider public. Accessible art…. not low cost! As a result, Emmanuel Milani, director of the Bristol Hotel and a long standing friend, is now wearing his other hat… that of sales representative marketing accessible and low cost works by Godon.


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In the digital age, banks face the constant challenge of effectively communicating with their customers to prevent and manage fraud incidents. The results of a recent global consumer fraud survey highlight the need for proactive, personalized customer communication to detect and prevent fraud, as well as to efficiently resolve fraud cases.
However, meeting customer expectations in this area is not a simple task, as dissatisfaction with a bank’s response to fraud management can lead to customer churn.
To demonstrate care for their customers’ financial well-being, banks must find ways to be proactive in their communication. One of the most effective ways to show this care is by actively working to detect, prevent, and notify customers about potential fraud incidents.
While fraud detection measures strive to minimize false positives, there will always be cases that appear to be fraudulent but are not.
Consider a scenario where a customer makes an unusual purchase, such as expensive diamond earrings. Since this transaction deviates from the customer’s typical spending pattern and involves an unfamiliar merchant, it may trigger a fraud alert.
In such cases, proactive customer communication is essential. A quick, automated SMS message from the bank can allow the customer to verify the purchase and avoid any potential embarrassment at the checkout.
When executed correctly, this communication reinforces a sense of protection for the customer. However, if the communication is incorrect or mishandled, it can result in a negative experience that requires significant resources to rectify and may damage the customer’s relationship with the bank.
Globally, customers prefer digital channels for communication, such as text messaging, emails, bank apps, and third-party messaging services, over traditional analog methods like phone calls.
According to a survey, nearly 80% of customers worldwide prefer digital channels for payment verification. Text messaging is the most favored method, with 43% of customers preferring it, followed by 17% who prefer email.
However, it’s important to note that payment verification preferences vary across countries. In the United States, 64% of customers prefer text messages for verification, while only 2% prefer third-party messaging apps.
In Brazil, the preferences are more diverse, with 28% preferring text messages, 30% favoring bank apps, and 12% opting for third-party messaging apps.
Thailand stands out from the global group, as 41% of respondents in the country prefer phone calls for payment verification.
In regions like the European Union, customer verification methods are driven by regulatory requirements. Strong customer authentication dictates that many payments must be authenticated using two out of three methods:
This approach is being adopted globally with the introduction of 3-D Secure 2 for card payments.
With such diversity in communication preferences, banks face the challenge of effectively reaching out to customers through their preferred channels.
Accurate customer contact information is vital for proactive customer communication. However, many banks struggle with outdated or inaccurate contact details.
According to the survey, 22% of credit card customers worldwide report that their card provider does not have their correct mobile number. Similarly, 18% of debit card customers report inaccurate mobile numbers, and 28% report inaccurate home addresses.
The impact of inaccurate contact information goes beyond basic communication issues. Mobile numbers are increasingly linked to user security and anti-fraud controls.
In the UK, almost 20% of customers report that their bank does not have their correct mobile phone number. This becomes problematic if the bank relies on sending one-time passcodes via SMS for payment authentication.
In many cases, the requirements of PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication prevent issuers from bypassing these checks. As a result, banks must find alternative methods to authenticate payments for customers with mismatched contact details, or the payment will fail.
Considering that there are over 50 million adults with a bank account in the UK, and 70% of them also have a credit card, it is estimated that more than 10 million individuals may have discrepancies between their actual mobile numbers and the numbers their card providers have on record for communication, authentication, and identity verification purposes.
When banks struggle to contact and engage customers effectively, they face significant repercussions. The survey reveals that 83% of customers worldwide will either complain to their bank (56%) or switch banks (27%) if they are unsatisfied with the bank’s response to a fraud event.
According to the Bank Administration Institute (BAI), banks can spend up to $10 per contact in their call centers. Any increase in contact center volume leads to escalating costs for banks, not to mention the risk of losing customers to competitors.
Proactive and personalized communications are crucial for maintaining stability and fostering growth.
To summarize, consumers prefer digital channels for communication, and banks must bridge the gap in contact information to provide proactive customer communication. Failure to do so can result in increased contact center costs, a decline in brand equity, and customer attrition.


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Customers at the Wellesley Bertucci’s on Sunday night were told the restaurant was closing for good when they left and the remaining takeout orders were picked up.
One customer who arrived around 7:30pm with his wife was politely greeted by the manager from Bertucci’s Needham restaurant, who said the restaurant team found out at 7pm that the eatery was being shuttered. As a parting gift, the manager gave the customer a coupon for the Needham location.
We swung by the Playhouse Square building at 9:20pm-ish on Sunday night and all the lights were out (the restaurant usually closes at 9pm on Sundays, so that did seem like an awfully quick lights out). No signs were on the windows to indicate anything was awry.
But Bertucci’s first thing Monday responded to our inquiry, and confirmed the closing, described as “lease-related, unfortunately.” Other Playhouse Square tenants, such as TD Bank and Legit Activewear, have also departed this property in months past. Real estate banners have popped up on the building encouraging new tenants to sign on.
Bertucci’s emailed customers on Monday morning with the following message titled “Bertucci’s Important News” (including a $10 coupon, no minimum purchase):
We are sad to report that yesterday was our last day of operation at Bertucci’s in Wellesley. The reason for closing was lease-related. We are doing everything possible to relocate many of our Wellesley staff members to other Boston-area Bertucci’s locations.
While this news is tough to deliver, we hope that you — our valued guests — will consider visiting our other nearby Bertucci’s. Closest to Wellesley, our team members at Bertucci’s Needham are ready to step in to satisfy your craving for our rolls, pizza, pasta and more. For location information, please visit bertuccis.com/locations.
Thank you for being a Dough Nation member and loyal Bertucci’s fan. We hope that you’ll continue to come to a Bertucci’s nearest you and that you’ll stay in the club. Please click this link to choose a new Bertucci’s home store so that you can continue to enjoy all of the benefits of membership, including birthday, half-birthday, wedding anniversary gifts and more.
To our wonderful team members and loyal guests in Wellesley, we thank you for your support over the years.
The news about Wellesley’s pizza-plus joint closing comes on the heels of the Bertucci’s in Kenmore Square in Boston shutting down last month after 15 years in business and the Bertucci’s in Faneuil Hall being shuttered in January. Lease issues were also cited in those closings.
About 80 Bertucci’s locations are listed on the company’s website, and all is happiness on the company’s social media (i.e, latest Facebook post starts: “Happiness is a warm Bertucci’s roll dipped in olive oil.”).
With Bertucci’s closing, the cries have already started among longtime or past Wellesley residents to bring back the Community Playhouse that once occupied that building and showed movies for decades until it shut down in 1987. More reactions from customers and other observers have begun flooding in to our Facebook page.
Meanwhile, for those seeking pizza in Wellesley, no shortage of options exist, from chains like Upper Crust and California Pizza Kitchen, to one-of-a-kinds such as Old School.
Bring back the theatre!! Wellesley Film Festival?
Patrick Rafter says
Yes. Bring back the theatre! A Wellesley venue for film, acting and more! Any local philanthropists in search of a new worthy cause?
Jeff Brooks says
Bertucci’s has gone downhill steadily over the last 15 yrs. Not really sad to see them go. Also in favor of a theater. And definitely NOT in favor of another bank, pizza place, or yogurt shop. 🙁
John Williams says
Greg Livingston says
We’d go there often, and it was usually either empty or only a few tables occupied, and I wondered how they made the payroll that day. Sorry it’s gone.
Abe Froman says
The town must have a big spender looking for a theatrical writeoff? What happened to the guy that got the Beach Boys to play in town?
Bertuccis was a disaster, understaffed with moody Managers. Good riddance. A real shame and corporate was oblivious.
I had worked for Bertuccis for 10 1/2 years. I have seen them close restaurants and open new ones. They use to have a really good staff in one of their restaurants that could have saved their chain. Now, many of those that were phenomenal cooks and servers have gone elsewhere because they did not want to pay well, nor treat their employees fairly. Just heard they are filing for bankruptcy, I am not surprised to say the least. I could tell numerous stories of some of the things I’ve seen over the years.
Patricia Salvas says
All of Bertucci’s are closed in Western Mass and I have a gift card and cannot travel to the Boston area to redeem it… I have heard on the news they may reopen under new management.. owners? I loved this place.. sorry to hear and sorry my gift card isn’t worth anything to me now.


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The 40 or so people gathered in conference room 502B at Los Angeles Convention Center came from starkly different backgrounds.
They included a San Joaquin Valley farmer, a Huntington Beach restaurateur, a Paramount fabric importer and a Denver attorney. Some were in suits and some were in shorts.
But as they networked and shared stories, the depth of their common commercial passion extended to the very fiber of the hemp business cards they exchanged.
Mention hemp to friends over dinner, and you might get stoner jokes from folks who see hemp as just another form of pot. Or you could arouse a zealot who’s convinced hemp is a miracle plant that can save the planet, if only The Man would stop suppressing the truth.
Check out even more news and information in our special report on cannabis and the environment.
Those divergent views are about to be tested anew in California.
Marijuana got all the attention last year when voters approved a landmark ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana. But buried in the last few pages of the lengthy measure was less noticed language legalizing industrial hemp production.
It’s been a slow, low-profile roll out. But a new state regulatory panel has begun meeting to hammer out a path for farmers to start growing the first legal hemp in California in 80 years; a California Hemp Association is forming, with a retired Apple executive at the helm; and a few dozen aspiring “hempsters” from around the globe paid $299 and descended on Room 502B at the L.A. Convention Center on Sept. 13 to attend a Hemp MBA in a Day workshop during the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition.
The entrepreneurs want to be part of California’s emerging legal cannabis industry, though most have no interest in helping anyone get high.
Some want to grow hemp here, lured by the promise of a potentially valuable crop that requires almost no pesticides and absorbs enough atmospheric carbon it could possibly qualify for state tax credits.
Others want to buy California-grown hemp and use it to make energy-efficient construction materials, durable fabrics, nutritional foods and biodegradable plastics.
“We’ve got a billion-dollar industry, at a minimum, and probably tens of thousands of jobs,” said Wayne Richmond, the ex-Apple executive who now heads the fledgling state hemp association. “We’re just waiting for government to get the heck out of the way.”
There are some very real challenges for hemp to overcome, Richmond acknowledged, including uncertainty about the federal government’s posture toward hemp production and sales. The U.S. government has long classified hemp the same as marijuana, meaning it faces similar restrictions on access to banking services, international trade and raising capital. In addition, the domestic supply chain for hemp – connecting farmers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers – has been dormant for eight decades and must be rebuilt from the ground up.
Nevertheless, entrepreneurs and activists who’ve touted the benefits of the plant are confident California’s hemp market – and therefore the global industry, since California is the sixth largest economy in the world – will be thriving within a few years.
All it will take, supporters argue, is for a big retailer to start using hemp-based shopping bags, a leading home builder to start using hemp-based building materials or a major car company to incorporate hemp batteries into their vehicles.
And the expectations tend not to be understated. “Hemp is going to crush the marijuana industry,” said Dion Markgraaff of San Diego-based General Hemp, a private equity group that he says has arranged tens of millions of dollars in investments for hemp companies around the world. “It’s going to revolutionize the whole economy.”
A convoluted past
Tales of hemp use trace back to the nation’s forefathers – and some of them are even true.
Early drafts of the Declaration of Independence were indeed written on hemp paper. The first American flag was made from hemp. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both farmed the crop.
Hemp remained an agricultural crop throughout the United States until the turn of the 20th century. That’s when popular belief in the dangers of marijuana began to mount, driven largely by rhetoric from community leaders who used the drug to demonize the new wave of Chinese and Mexican immigrants.
Hemp and marijuana are both strains of the cannabis plant. The only legal difference today is that hemp must have 0.3 percent or less THC, the compound in cannabis that makes people high. The plants are also cultivated differently, with marijuana given space to branch and flower while hemp is grown in dense rows to pack as much plant material as possible onto every acre.
With some quick training, that makes it pretty easy for law enforcement to tell the difference between fields of marijuana and fields of hemp, according to Kings County Sheriff David Robinson, who’s on the state’s new Industrial Hemp Advisory Board. And since pollen from hemp plants can travel for miles, ruining any strains of weed grown nearby, Robinson said there’s no need to fear farmers hiding marijuana plants inside their hemp fields.
“The two don’t grow hand in hand,” he said, explaining why he supports hemp farming even as he opposes marijuana legalization. “To me, the less marijuana that’s grown and the more hemp can be grown, that’s good for our farmers and good for the environment.”
The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act didn’t distinguish between the two, though, making all forms of cannabis federally illegal.
Court rulings later clarified that hemp products could legally be sold in the United States, though farming hemp generally remains illegal without a permit from the Drug Enforcement Administration since the agency argues it could still be grown to produce marijuana. That’s led to hundreds of millions of dollars in hemp products being imported to the United States each year from counties such as China, Canada, France and Estonia.
Perhaps the biggest importer of hemp products in the country is Lawrence Serbin, who runs Hemp Traders from a 7,000-square-foot warehouse in an industrial area of Paramount.
Serbin sells hemp rope and twine, plus aromatic oil pressed from hemp seed. But 70 percent of his business is pure hemp or hemp-blended fabrics imported from China, which he sells to companies that turn it into everything from furniture to wedding dresses to cloth diapers.
The business has grown steadily since he imported his first textiles in 1993, particularly as growers developed strains and methods to make finer fabrics than the type Woody Harrelson had fashioned into a tan tuxedo for the 1997 Golden Globes.
But Serbin has been waiting nearly three decades for the supply chain to reemerge in his home state of California.
Return of American hemp farming
The door started to crack open for American hemp farmers five years ago. When Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana in 2012 in defiance of federal law, they also voted to allow hemp cultivation. The first open hemp harvest in nearly eight decades took place in Colorado in 2013, with Kentucky and a few other states not far behind.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act in 2013. But the bill included a line that said farming could only take place if “authorized under federal law,” rendering it essentially moot.
In 2014, the federal government passed a new Farm Bill. It permitted hemp cultivation in states that limit growing to agricultural agencies and university studies or marketplace research. Under the latter provision, several states are allowing commercial cultivation and are shipping raw hemp across state lines, so far without federal interference.
Serbin received his first shipment of American hemp products from Kentucky in 2016. And just last week, he got a 6-foot-tall bale of unprocessed hemp fiber from Colorado.
Now, California is joining the movement.
Proposition 64 approved in November allowed, as of January of this year, hemp to be grown as an agricultural product and for research without the strict regulations applied to marijuana. One catch was the state Department of Food and Agriculture, working with a new 11-member Industrial Hemp Advisory Board, had to establish a registration system for hemp farmers. But the measure did not set a deadline to get that system up and running.
Some eager farmers already have started growing small fields of hemp. That includes George Bianchini, CEO of Medi-Cone, who’s growing 25 acres in the San Joaquin Valley now for research.
Though they note that no other crop in California faces such restrictions, most big players are waiting for the state to approve registration fees and send needed paperwork to county agricultural commissioners before they start putting hemp seed in the ground.
The hemp advisory board has met once so far. Chairman Eric Carlson, who’s with International Hemp Solutions, said he’s hopeful they’ll get the registration system established in time for farmers to plant their first legal hemp crops in the spring. Other members said it won’t happen until 2019.
“I get calls weekly from all over the county and all over the state wanting to know when this is going to happen,” said Tehama County Agricultural Commissioner Rick Gurrola. “Unfortunately, the wheels of government turn very slowly.”
Industry representatives on the state board are pushing for an annual registration fee of $100 plus $1 per acre. That would be substantially lower than Colorado’s rate, which is $500 plus $5 per acre.
There’s also confusion about whether farmers would be applying to grow hemp, which would mean they could get turned down, or if they would simply be registering so authorities would know they’re there. The state agriculture department says nothing in the law precludes local authorities from banning or otherwise regulating hemp cultivation. But prospective growers and manufacturers say they’ll fight back if cities or counties try to shut out hemp farms.
It’s also not yet clear how California’s program will fit within the federal Farm Bill’s research mandate.
Graduate student Tony DeVeyra, who’s studying plant science at Cal Poly Ponoma, said he secured permits from the DEA for a hemp research project. But before it started, university administrators halted the project, he said.
Cal Poly Pomona spokesman Tim Lynch said the project hadn’t been vetted through a formal approval processes.
Jeannette Warnert, spokeswoman for the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources extension program, said the program’s attorney is reviewing the matter, but she’s confident hemp research will be approved once the state’s regulatory framework is in place.
Check out even more news and information in our special report on cannabis and the environment.
The combination of regulatory and economic hurdles may limit hemp production in some agricultural counties. That’s why most Ventura County farmers are sitting on the sidelines, according to John Krist, CEO of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County.
“Right now there are just too many unknowns about the market for growers to make practical plans and investment decisions,” Krist said. “They deal with it all the time, but growers really dislike uncertainty.”
Also, the cost of water, land and energy also works against hemp farming in the area, he said.
“It might be like trying to grow cotton – we could do it here, but the per-acre value is so low, it would never pencil out,” he said.
He predicted hemp production would be more viable in the state’s Central Valley or Imperial County, where water and land are more affordable.
From farm to factory
Serbin is eyeing the Central Valley for a factory he hopes to build to make hemp-based particle board.
He’s passionate about the benefits of hemp fabric. But he noted most textile production has left the U.S., and he always wanted to make a product that could save trees.
He spent eight years working with farmers and factories in China developing his hemp particle board, which he insists is more durable, less flammable and less destructive than traditional wood. He said he’s sold small batches of the boards, but found it wasn’t cost-effective to do on a large scale while the hemp had to be grown in China.
Now Serbin hopes to contract with farmers to grow 4,000 acres of hemp in the Central Valley, adjacent to his planned factory.
In San Diego, Markgraaff said his company is close to locking down property near the airport to build a factory where they plan to manufacture tiny homes, dog houses and other structures made with hempcrete, a cement-like product processed from hemp, lime and water.
Experiments with building hempcrete structures in Europe and Australia show they are extremely energy efficient, a growing number of studies show, with the porous material absorbing heat, cold and humidity. That also makes the material resistant to fire and decay from water damage, which is why Markgraaff said owners of a hemp home built in North Carolina got a break on their insurance rate.
One of the fastest-growing segments of the hemp industry may also be the most uncertain. It’s not yet clear how the state plans to regulate hemp-derived CBD, the compound in cannabis that’s thought to have therapeutic benefits without making consumers high. The state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control will regulate CBD from marijuana, but that authority may or may not extend to hemp going forward. For now, CBD made from hemp is readily available online and in a number of mainstream stores.
Shops such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s also sell hemp seeds, hemp milk, hemp lotion and other products known to have health benefits. Those products are primarily coming from Canada and Europe. But regulators and would-be leaders of a new California hemp industry say there’s plenty of room in the market for locally sourced food and personal care products – as well as broader commercial opportunities, despite the challenges.
Said Robinson, the Kings County sheriff: “I really think industrial hemp could be a sustainable crop for many, many years to come.”
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Cost Plus to Focus on Home
May 30, 2005,
Oakland, Calif. — Cost Plus is focusing on higher-margin items and is reaping some success in areas such as bedding, pillows, floor coverings, collectibles and candles. The company also plans to open 30 stores this year and close five in existing markets.
Another differentiating point for the company moving forward will be a more balanced combination of seasonal and core products. Cost Plus said it will always be a sku-intensive brand but is working to keep inventories down by controlling them at the individual buyer level.
In addition, Cost Plus' marketing will have a younger appeal this summer, kicking off with a new campaign in July in four test markets: San Diego; Atlanta; South Fort Worth, Texas; and Kansas City.
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1200 Suppliers are Ready for You at Intertextile Shanghai
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See the August 2017 issue of Home & Textiles Today. In this issue, we look at the Top 50 Retailing Giants Report, plus Manufacturing: Made in the USA gaining ground; International: Portugal ramping up exports; New products: NY Now home textiles introductions; Outlook: Commentary from H&TT's editors; and Planning: Trade show calendar.


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Having previously held the role of managing director of EMEA and APAC respectively, Capano will now cover all regions outside of the US and Japan, including Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The appointment comes as part of the company’s commitment to investment in new technologies and services built for the global market ahead of expansion into new territories.
Since his time at Rakuten Marketing, Capano launched the business into Australia, which saw significant growth across the region. Not long after he was promoted to managing director of EMEA, leading the way in managing operations and overseeing expansion plans in both France and Germany, positioning Rakuten Marketing as one of the leading advertising solutions in Europe.
“The momentum we’ve built internationally over the past few years has put the business in a fantastic position to begin tailoring and deploying our technology in new and exciting markets. By providing the network and support brands need, we’re going to be able to offer clients countless opportunities to grow internationally,” commented Capano on his plans under his new role.
On the appointment, Rakuten Marketing CEO Nick Stamos said: “As more of Rakuten Marketing’s EMEA clients expand operations overseas, this appointment allows for the international operations to unify under one leader. Anthony’s well-versed background, understanding of the e-commerce industry in the EMEA and APAC regions, coupled with the growth he has driven for both Rakuten Marketing and our clients over his six years with the business were recognised as perfectly suited to naturally progress Rakuten Marketing’s international business.”


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It is one of Japan's biggest modern cultural icons. The anime Gundam that has for three decades shaped not only the animation industry in Japan, but also the toy and model kit industry. In the last 30 years there have been dozens of television shows, movies and direct-to-video animation series that have spawned thousands of toys and other merchandise.
Last year, animation studio Sunrise celebrated the show's 30th anniversary by creating a 1:1 ratio model of the main mecha the RX-78-2 in Shiokaze Park in Tokyo.
Continuing the celebrations, toy maker Bandai has released a new 1:48 model series aptly titled 'Mega Size.' The first mecha to come off the line is none other than the RX-78-2. At present, Bandai is only releasing this iconic mecha, with future model kits yet to be announced.
To celebrate the Hong Kong launch of the new model series, local distributers have set up the '1:48 Mega Size up Artists Exhibition @ MiXTRA.K-11 shopping Museum of Art' activities. A number of local award-winning "Gunpla" model makers, those who make Gundam plastic model kits, were given Mega Size kits to assemble and customise for the exhibition.
The exhibit runs until Tuesday at K11 shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The Mega Size kit is available from shops such as Toys R Us and Jusco for HK$729.90.
Ask James questions or comment on the Young Post forum here


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With one location in Beverly Hills, it appears that the “no regretti spaghetti” folks at Impasta are expanding their operation westward. There’s window paper up at 413 Santa Monica Blvd. announcing the impending arrival. You may recall that this particular block was nearly destroyed in May of 2020, but has been slowly reviving with the arrival of Blue Bottle, MIXT, and now Impasta. Impasta offers a menu designed for low-carb and gluten-free diets with items such as “classic pasta and pizza recipes made with zero to low carb noodle options, cauliflower crusts”, and no red meat.
I’ve been hearing from startled readers that Truxton’s American Bistro has unceremoniously disappeared from the corner spot at 14th and Santa Monica Blvd in Santa Monica. Truxton’s opened this location in 2013, and was a solid neighborhood lifeline on an otherwise desolate stretch of Santa Monica Blvd. It was able to survive The Pandemic with take-away and outdoor seating, so it’s a bit shocking that it pulled up stakes so abruptly. It appears that the Westchester and Torrance locations remain open.
Originally I reported that the small space at 3008 Santa Monica Blvd. was going to be something called Kohi Cafe. That never happened. Then it was going to be a Japanese-themed lounge/cafe named Kissaten Coffee/Wine Cafe. That never developed either. Now a new sign is promising us Please Enjoy Coffee Bar. Construction is well underway so it shouldn’t be long now to find out exactly what is going on…
You may recall the corner spot at Fourth and Santa Monica Blvd. from the nightly news after an arsonist torched the place in May of 2020. Back then, it was the home to Sake House by Hikari which decided not to return to the location at 401 Santa Monica Blvd. The space had been undergoing renovation since then, and now window paper lets us know the new occupant: MIXT. MIXT has locations throughout California and in Scottsdale and Dallas. They offer a menu of chef-crafted salads, market plates, sandwiches, and bowls, as well as a “design your own” concept featuring “whole, honest, pure foods”.
Beverly Hills lost its branch of international gelato brand Amorino during the Pandemic. Now it looks like another icy treat company is moving to the space at 9605 Santa Monica Blvd. The address was recently rented, but no signs have appeared. There is, however, a small legal notice taped to the front door. It lists the new tenant at Ample Hills Sub LLC, the company behind Ample Hills Creamery. Ample Hills make their ice cream from scratch in their Brooklyn “plant” where they actually pasteurize their own dairy and bake their own mix-ins. They have locations in New York, New Jersey, and in Long Beach CA.
Note: I do not yet have confirmation on this story.
For a while now, I’ve been watching the former home of Panini Kabob Grill at 9601 N Santa Monica Blvd. Construction has been fierce since the Mediterranean eatery closed its doors during the Pandemic, but there was no signage to indicate what was replacing it. Recently a now hiring banner went up on the front that lets us know that this will be a branch of the ever-popular chain Shake Shack, which as you know, began life around 22 years ago as a pet project of legendary New York restaurateur Danny Meyer and has ever since embarked on an inexorable march toward world domination fueled mostly by the cultish devotion of fans.
If you’ve been missing Forty Carrots‘ peanut butter yogurt you’re in luck. There hasn’t been an outpost on the Westside of the Bloomingdale’s house brand since the store closed in Santa Monica. But there is now an location on the third floor of the Bloomindale’s in The Westfield Century City Shopping Center. Expect a menu of frozen yogurt, sandwiches, and salads.
Compartes Chocolates closed down fairly early into the Pandemic, leaving their first floor Westfield Century City Shopping Center location vacant for months. But a new tenant is on the way. A reader (Thanks M!) wrote to tell me that this will soon be a branch of Cha Cha Matcha. CCM currently has two other LA locations and four NYC outposts and “specializes in all things matcha” using only ceremonial-grade powder from Uji, Japan. Looks like they’re shooting for a Spring opening.
While no one was looking, a new confectionary spot has arrived to the Westfield Century City Shopping Center. Almost overnight, Brique French Toastery has appeared on the ground floor, directly underneath Del Frisco’s. And what is that? Their menu appears to be singular: “Rock Toast” which is thick cut brioche French toast topped with proprietary peanut butter coconut maple syrup, toasted coconut chips, and vanilla whipped cream. If they’re not open by the time you read this, they will be very soon…
Kaido Japanese Cuisine has had a difficult time of it. They were forced to relocate to 1049 Gayley in Westwood when their original location in a strip mall in Santa Monica was cleared to make room for another big development. And now, sadly, it appears they are done at their current location. There’s a large “available” sign on the front announcing the news.
A delightful new outdoor dining experience has landed on Santa Monica Blvd. in West LA. You could easily miss it if you weren’t looking, but set in the back of an empty lot at 11819 Santa Monica Blvd. is Empire Hotdog. The food truck has build a clever home for itself in a park-like setting complete with tables and chairs and a large LED screen, that at the time I visited, was showing Shakira videos. Grab a burger and a drink and sit under the stars marveling that such a place even exits in busy West LA.
Don’t count out plucky Everytable… The nobly inspired concept chain aimed to bring fresh, nutritious, made-from-scratch meals to a fast food world at price points based on what a community could afford. Then they ran into a spot of trouble a while ago and closed various outlets. But hope springs eternal. There’s window paper covering the prominent space at 11049 Santa Monica Blvd Suite A in West LA (former site of a CBTL) announcing that they are opening a new branch at this location… and just about everywhere else as well. Check out this impressive list of upcoming Everytables, including Long Beach, Van Nuys, and Torrance. This branch is planning on a November 5th opening.
Were you wondering what was going on in the tiny space at 321 Santa Monica Blvd? The location has been a number of different incarnations over the years from coffee shops to, most recently, a boba spot. Now it has transformed into something called the Pink Daisy Cafe. As it turns out, Pink Daisy is a sister restaurant to Santa Monica’s perennially favorite brunch eatery Blue Daisy. Now you know…
I’m sure you’ve noticed that Santa Monica Blvd. on the Westside has been undergoing a major gentrification of late. An indication of this is the new Starbucks that is coming to the corner of Purdue and SMB, at 11401 W Santa Monica Blvd. This would normally be unremarkable news, except that this will only be the third stand alone branch of the coffee chain on the Boulevard between the 405 and The Beach (the others being at 26th and Bundy), and that is a little remarkable for this neck of the woods.
I recently noticed paper covering the windows at 9632 S Santa Monica Blvd. You may recall that this space was most recently inhabited by a branch of Danish lifestyle brand Joe & The Juice. It looks like Joe has moved on and something called La Ong is moving in. I don’t have any information on La Ong, except that “Thai cuisine” will be on offer.
Long-standing Westside staple Mama Hong’s Vietnamese Kitchen is moving locations. A complany rep gave me the skinny on the new signage up at 12201 Santa Monica Blvd. in LA. This address used to be home to burger joint Quicksand which fell victim to the Pandemic. Mama Hong’s will be closing their Brentwood location in the under-renovation shopping complex at 11819 Wilshire Blvd. in about a week, and opening in the new space “soon”. They also have locations in Burbank and Orange as well.
It appears that a new healthy eatery is landing on a prominent corner in West Hollywood. There’s window paper up on the former optometry space at 8801 Santa Monica Blvd. announcing a new branch of Kale Me Crazy. Kale Me Crazy operates a number of outlets, mostly in The South but also another location in West Hollywood, and describes itself as a “super food cafe” offering “juices, smoothies, salads, and wraps in a sleek, upscale environment”.
The 400 block of Santa Monica Blvd. in Downtown Santa Monica was hit particularly hard during the melee a year ago. Businesses were destroyed and the north side of the street has sat largely unoccupied since. Long-standing sushi restaurant Sake House by Hikari was set on fire and will not be returning, as evidenced by the for lease sign in the window. But there is a sign of hope: Bay area third wave fave Blue Bottle Coffee will be moving into the space at 415 Santa Monica Blvd.
Good news, Westsiders! From out of nowhere, a tiny outpost of LA’s iconic Canter’s Deli has appeared in the strip mall on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Bundy in Santa Monica (12109 Santa Monica Blvd. to be exact). This miraculous apparition is now up and running from 10:30AM to 9:00pm and is offering a takeaway menu of Canter’s classics, including their legendary soups, sandwiches, black and white cookies, salads, and breakfasts. You’re welcome.
Erratum: Thanks KJ, this is officially West LA.


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Amazon.com Closing Irving, Texas, Distribution Center Due to Tax Dispute
"We regret losing any business in Texas, but our position hasn't changed: If you have a presence in the state of Texas, you are required to pay sales tax, just like any other business that has a presence in Texas," said Allen Spelce, a spokesman for Texas Comptroller Susan Combs.
Texas asked the company to pay $269 million in unpaid sales taxes last year. The state says Amazon must pay sales taxes that the company has not paid on in-state online sales. Other states have filed lawsuits against Amazon for sales taxes not paid on online purchases made in their states.
Amazon spokeswoman Mary Osako would not say how many Irving employees would be laid off as a result of the closure.
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MYR - MYER - up 0.5 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to 37 cents
Myer's battered share price rose following a media report that arch-rival David Jones may be interested in buying the embattled department store. But David Jones's parent company says rumours that it is considering acquiring Myer are baseless.
AGL - AGL LTD - down 54 cents, or 2.5 per cent, to $21.14
The head of the consumer watchdog, Rod Sims, has added to the pressure AGL is facing to sell the Liddell power station site in the Hunter Valley, saying if the sale went ahead, it would improve competition and benefit consumers.
MGC - MG UNIT TRUST - up one cent, or 1.1 per cent, to 95 cents
Shareholders of Australian dairy processor Murray Goulburn voted in favour of the $1.3 billion sale of the co-operative to Canadian dairy giant Saputo, with 98.16 per cent of proxies in favour.
WBC - WESTPAC - up 43 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to $29.05
Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer said the bank has been sloppy rather than deliberately negligent in its checks on whether potential customers could repay their mortgages.
AAC - AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY - down 3.5 cents, or 3.0 per cent, to $1.15
Shares in Australian Agricultural Company slumped after the beef producer said it expects a statutory earnings loss for fiscal 2018 amid higher costs for production and procuring cattle, and unfavourable seasonal conditions.