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The ICC World Cup, held October 5 – November 19, 2023, drove the growth of fantasy sports apps. In December, companies behind fantasy sports reported that their active users increased by up to 60 percent, leading to record traffic and revenues.
Fantasy sports platforms reported the increase of user base increased during the ICC World Cup. Some saw playing users increased by 60 percent on a month-on-month basis, while the new sign-ups grew by 40 percent, with the number of unique users growing by 2.15-fold.
The surge in user engagement on fantasy sports platforms during the ICC World Cup highlights the potential correlation between major sporting events and the popularity of virtual or online experiences.
The increased user base, sign-ups, and unique user growth suggest that significant real-world events, such as global sports tournaments, can drive interest and participation in virtual platforms like fantasy sports. This trend may be indicative of a broader pattern where events in the physical world contribute to the popularity and expansion of activities within the metaverse or online spaces.
Metaverse casinos for immersive gaming experience
Aside from fantasy sports games, the metaverse is also utilized in various sectors, including gambling. The metaverse can innovate the sector, offering numerous benefits.
One of the benefits of metaverse casinos is that they provide an immersive experience. Casinos can create a digital environment that mimics the real world, blurring the lines between the virtual and the real world. With the assistance of VR headsets, users can immerse themselves in the digital world, interacting with the environment. Users can see and experience popular land-based casinos without physically going there.
Another benefit is that metaverse casinos usually have a vast library of games. Players do not need to worry about running out of games to try, for metaverse casinos usually offer many games, from classic games to new ones.
Another benefit of metaverse casinos is that they offer a more personalized experience compared to traditional online casinos. Users can customize their avatars to resemble themselves and even use metaverse cosmetics to make them unique.
The cosmetics in the metaverse usually come as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which can be integrated into the casinos and become items that can be traded. And since metaverse casinos allow players to use avatars to represent themselves and interact with the environment, players will feel more involved in the game.
The use of VR not only enables players to immerse themselves in the gaming experience but also allows them to interact with other players via text or voice chat. This, in turn, builds a sense of community among the players, something that rarely happens in online casinos without metaverse technology.
The best part of metaverse casinos is that they allow anyone to join as long as they have VR headsets to enter the digital world. Users do not have to worry about geo-location restrictions that are usually imposed on guests at land-based casinos. So, if you are curious and want to know more, you can try out this metaverse casino.
Mixing fantasy cricket with Metaverse
Since cricket is considered the most popular sport in India, there are many fantasy sports platforms coming from the country. One of them is Behaviol, which also added metaverse to the mix.
Co-founded by Sri Lankan cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara, Behaviol was launched in 2022. In an interview with Business Insider India, Sangakkara stated that his motivation to be involved in the fantasy sports business stems from his desire for everyone to have access to cricket.
“Not everyone has the ability to pick up a bat and ball and play. But there’s so much love for this sport. How do we actually make sure that cricket is for everyone? Web-based gaming has a great opportunity for that,” said Sangakkara.
Sangakkara further explained that later on, he and Behaviol’s co-founders developed the idea of Meta11, a cricket fantasy game powered by AI. He mentioned that since all the players in the game are controlled by AI, even cricket fans who never play the sport can still enjoy the game. In Meta11, players can buy cricket athletes and train them to be stars.
“If you own your own avatar, you can expose your avatar to training to more match play, the more experience they get they learn on their own,” said Sangakkara. “It’s a great tool to spread awareness about cricket as well in its globalization drive.”
Sangakkara is not the only cricket player who utilizes the metaverse for the sport. Back in May 2022, David Miller, a cricket player from South Africa, also used metaverse to interact with fans of Gujarat Titans, his then-team.


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Three senior leaders at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn — Joy Falotico, Stuart Rowley, and Steven Armstrong — have announced plans to retire after careers that span more than three decades at the automaker.
Falotico, president of Lincoln since 2018, is retiring Dec. 1. She will be succeeded by Dianne Craig, head of the Ford International Markets Group. She will report to Ford President and CEO Jim Farley.
“With Dianne’s global experience, her success in strengthening Ford’s IMG operations and her deep respect and knowledge of our dealer network, combined with her passion for Lincoln, Dianne is an incredible leader to advance the Lincoln brand,” Farley says.
Rowley, Ford’s chief transformation and quality officer also plans to retire Dec. 1. His responsibilities will fall to Jim Baumbick, vice president of product development operations, cycle planning, and internal combustion engine programs. Josh Halliburton, executive director of quality, now will report to Baumbick, further integrating quality improvement across workstreams in product development, including design, engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing.
“Quality is our No.1 priority as a company and Jim Baumbick is the right leader to deliver world-class quality and reliability at Ford with a disciplined process that runs from our supply chain to our engineering labs all the way to the factory floor,” Farley says.
Armstrong, vice president of India and South America Transformation, will retire Jan. 1, 2023, after 35 years with Ford. Going forward, responsibilities for Ford’s business in South America will be part of Ford Blue under its president, Kumar Galhotra, and Ford’s India operations will be part of Ford’s IMG unit. Additionally, Ford Business Solutions now will report to Mike Amend, Ford’s chief enterprise technology officer.
Falotico is credited with helping to drive the resurgence of Ford’s luxury brand, including its growth in China, strengthening the Lincoln retail network, and setting the stage for the brand’s electric and digital future.
“Joy has been a wonderful steward of Lincoln, building out its distinctive lineup of vehicles and experiences, polishing the Lincoln brand image, and overseeing a promising growth strategy in China,” Farley says. “As Lincoln embarks on its second century, it is well positioned to flourish with a new generation of electric and connected vehicles.”
Under Falotico’s leadership, Lincoln refined its Quiet Flight brand DNA manifested by elegant design, a smooth, quiet driving experience, and a sanctuary-like experience inside the vehicles, according to the company. During her tenure, Lincoln launched popular new models like the new Lincoln Aviator and Corsair, the Lincoln Zephyr in China and the Lincoln Star and Lincoln Model L100 concept vehicles.
She previously served as Ford’s chief marketing officer and chairman and CEO of Ford Credit.
Rowley’s career at Ford spanned more than 32 years, during which he served in a series of senior leadership roles, including as CFO of Volvo Cars; CFO of Ford of Europe; Ford’s global controller; head of strategy; COO of Ford North America; and president of Ford of Europe.
“No matter the role, Stuart has always taken on tough challenges and led positive change,” Farley says. “I’m especially grateful to Stuart for leading the redesign of our European business to become much leaner and focused on our commercial vehicles business and transition to EVs.”
Armstrong has held many senior management and purchasing positions for Ford-owned Jaguar and Volvo in addition to Ford of Europe. He was president of Ford South America, vice president and COO of Ford of Europe, and then group vice president and president of Ford of Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Prior to his current role, Armstrong was president of Changan Ford.
“Steve’s leadership has been critical to the significant improvement we have seen in many of our international markets,” Galhotra says. “He has taken challenging assignments in the Ford world and always made a positive difference.”
In 2020, DBusiness magazine featured Falotico as an honoree of its annual Powered by Women coverage, which can be found here.

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As supplies in Pibor marketplaces run out, many people are at danger of going hungry.
According to Pibor’s Deputy Chief Administrator, local markets in the area have run out of goods, causing commodity prices to rise.
According to John Joseph Abula, supplies have not arrived in the area for at least two weeks due to heavy rains that flooded the Pibor airstrip.
In an interview with Eye Radio yesterday, Abula stated that communities in the area have been left in need, with many people expected to starve if supplies are not restored soon.
“The communities are in need of humanitarian assistance, but there is no road that connects the Greater Pibor Administrative Area counties to Juba,” Abula explained.
“Our roads are only usable during the dry season, but due to clashes between GPAA and Baidit youth, the road connecting Juba to Pibor was blocked by Jonglei youth,” he added.
Due to road insecurity, the restive area of Pibor has relied on airlifting goods from Juba to the area since the beginning of this year.
According to the Deputy Chief Administrator, consumer prices are rising on a daily basis, with a bottle of soda costing 1,000 South Sudanese Pounds as of Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
“What little we have in the market was brought by traders who chartered planes from Juba to Pibor here, but we have gone two weeks without a plane landing on the Pibor airstrip.”
“So, we’re using air to transport water and everything from Juba, and today a soda costs SSP 1,000, and prices for other goods are rising everywhere.”
According to the World Food Programme, food insecurity in the country has reached its highest level since independence in 2011.
The situation in the country remains dire, with 8.3 million people – or 75% of the population – facing severe food insecurity.


text: Deutsche Telekom, owner of T-Mobile USA, is in talks to buy MetroPCS Communications and combine it with T-Mobile, which could shore up two struggling US wireless industry players. T-Mobile is the fourth-largest cellphone company, with 33.2 million subscribers. With 9.3 million customers, MetroPCS is fifth. A deal would give T-Mobile more airwave space, a critical factor as cellphone carriers expand. Last year, regulators blocked number two AT&T from buying T-Mobile for $39 billion, citing the threat to competition.


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NHN Corp. and Daum Communications, owners of South Korea’s largest search engines have filed complaints against Google with the country’s Fair Trade Commission, alleging that local phone carriers and manufacturers in South Korea were banned from embedding their search applications on mobile devices running on Google’s Android operating system.
According to Bloomberg NHN’s complaint alleges “Google has banned South Korean phone manufacturers from including Web search apps made by other companies under its marketing contracts . . . [and] Daum learned about Google’s practices while trying to have its apps installed and has evidence to prove its claims.”
NHN alleges that Google “delayed certifying the use of its software for handset makers,” with Daum adding that it has evidence to prove its claims that Google banned “search applications made by other companies.”
The two companies alleging anti-competitive behavior are NHN Corp., operator of Naver, South Korea’s most popular search engine, and Daum Communications Corp. Google has a 20% mobile market share in South Korea, despite only having 2% market share of desktop search (Naver and Daum’s search engines account for about 90% of desktop searches combined).
“Android is an open platform, and carriers and partners are free to decide which applications and services to include,” Lois Kim, a Seoul-based spokeswoman for Google, said today by phone. “We’re looking forward to working with the FTC to address any questions they may have.”


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Just like every month, Google has commenced roll out the latest March Android security patch. The company has already dropped support for the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, hence, only the Pixel smartphones by Google will be getting the latest security update. Though there are no Pixel security patches in the March 2019 Pixel Update Bulletin, Google has released a few functional patches for thePixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL devices.
The functional patches are primarily related to camera and performance. The camera patch is said to improve the startup and responsiveness of the Camera app in Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones. As far as performance is concerned, there are two patches which improve recovery in the instance of an OTA update failure, and enhances storage performance on both the Pixel 3 devices.
The Bluetooth patch improves Bluetooth reliability on Pixel 3 lineup and the Media patch improves playback of encrypted media on some video apps. The update is 60.6MB MB in size and, according to the changelog, the update fixes critical bugs and improves the performance and stability of the Pixel devices.
Meanwhile, Essential Products has announced that the Essential Phone is getting the latest software release. “Check your Essential Phone for the update!” the company said on Twitter. Last month, Essential Phone got the Android 9 Pie update along with the latest February Security Patch.


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EA announced this morning that The Sims series has sold over 100 million copies.
That's a crap-ton of Simoleons, eh? Our pet theory is that there a million different expansion packs and additions to the game, and each one sold 100 copies, but no matter how it got there, 100 million is a lot of videogames.
"Over the years, we've seen an idea blossom into a global community of players, creators and people who love to share with others. As part of that worldwide community, you've told your stories -- more than a 100 million uniquely creative and inspiring tales that will continually take The Sims into the future," announces EA's Rod Humble.
The Sims 3 is slated to come out across platforms by the end of this year.


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Say what you will about Amadeus, it undeniably dreams big, audacious dreams. At a time when many institutions pursue small solutions for trivial problems, the travel tech titan has big hopes for reshaping how hotels operate and sell their themselves online.
- Today, more than 50,000 properties buy at least some software for hotel operations from the Madrid-based travel technology company.
- Two of the world’s three-largest hotel companies now use Amadeus’s core tech. In November, Marriott International signed up to replace its central reservation system with one built by Amadeus. That deal follows IHG [InterContinental Hotels Group], which migrated over to Amadeus’s system before the pandemic started.
- Wyndham has in the past year signed up for some of Amadeus’s tools.
- Last month, Aimbridge Hospitality, the largest U.S. hotel management company, said it would use Amadeus’s business intelligence tools.
- In 2021, Amadeus’s “hospitality and other solutions” revenue — the majority of which was generated by hotel-related sales — was approximately $550 million (€538.6 million).
Amadeus faces a competitive field.
- Amadeus does sell tech a la carte. But its ideal vision is for hotels to buy a platform, meaning an array of interrelated tools from a single provider.
- In hotel software, Oracle Hospitality and Shiji Group have similar approaches and are in talks with giant hotel groups.
- Other platform players include Cloudbeds, Yanolja, Protel, Jonas Software, and Mews — depending on how you interpret things.
- Given Amadeus’s broad ambitions, its products compete with the offerings of dozens of vendors.
- Nearly every hotel company large and small is today piecing together their hotel tech from multiple providers. None have moved all key functions to the cloud yet. So in a sense, Amadeus is helping to create a new platform-based hotel solution market, rather than stealing shares from others.
To learn about Amadeus’s strategy, I spoke with the top boss of its hospitality effort, Francisco Pérez-Lozao Rüter — widely known as Paco.
Pérez-Lozao said the company has three aspirational goals.
- “We want to drive demand for hoteliers across any channel, that’s number one,” Pérez-Lozao said. “Not only the GDS [global distribution system], but also through metasearch and OTAs [online travel agencies]. We have a large practice around digital advertising, for example.”
- “The second is to help hotels provide the best guest experience possible with the help of better IT [information technology].”
- “Our third leg is to grow our market-leading practice in hotel BI [business intelligence] to help hotels improve their decision-making.”
Are mergers and acquisitions part of Amadeus’s approach?
- The parent company has said it is open to making opportunistic acquisitions.
- But Pérez-Lozao didn’t volunteer that Amadeus was looking to acquire any specific functionality.
- One functionality that some outside observers have said seems to be missing from Amadeus’s playbook is revenue management, referring to the tools that help hotels set rates in response to market signals.
Does Amadeus plan to build revenue management as critical functionality?
- “No,” Pérez-Lozao said. “We want to partner with the revenue management companies. We have so much on our plate, it wouldn’t be prudent for us to do that.”
- Having said that, he also said that some of today’s typical revenue management practices need to “evolve.”
- “Where? I don’t have a clear picture,” he said. “I think we’re moving into a region of dynamic pricing where the prevailing methods and probably even the architecture have to evolve, and that will take quite some investment.”
- “Revenue management is a very tricky part of the whole equation,” he said. “Very tricky.”
“Amadeus wants to move the whole [hotel tech stack] to the cloud but, more than that, we want to transform it into something else.”
—Francisco Pérez-Lozao Rüter, president, hospitality, at Amadeus.
A few factors hold hotels back from being as digitally savvy as some other types of businesses, Pérez-Lozao said.
- “The whole landscape of channel connectivity in the hotel industry is incredibly fragmented and therefore, I would say, very inefficient,” he said. “You have hundreds of PMSes [property management systems, or key pieces of operational software]. You have payment systems flourishing everywhere that are very local and not global.”
- “If you’re a hotelier going into a new market, say Finland or Bangladesh, you have to do many integrations,” he said. “That’s an expensive and time-intensive challenge, especially the further you move down from a sophisticated enterprise to a mid-sized hospitality company.”
- Hotel companies that build their own tech are struggling to compete with technological specialists in hiring top talent, which hinders their progress, he said.
Today’s standard hotel tech stack has the property management system at its core. But a “property-centric view” isn’t the future, said Pérez-Lozao.
- Most hotels in the world have a property management system, and most of these systems are locally-installed technology, which is tremendously difficult to evolve, he said.
- “The enterprise hotel companies create enterprise IT layers, but these typically cohabitate with local infrastructure,” he said. “You have two guest profiles, one here and one there. You have two systems that post rates, here and there. Two inventories, here and there. Two channel connectivities, here and there. Two payment systems, and so on…. It’s almost like spaghetti.”
- “Amadeus wants to move the whole thing to the cloud but, more than that, we want to transform it into something else,” he said. “We want to get these overlaps out of the system, removing the duplicated functionality and other inefficiencies. There are many overlaps between what the PMSes and CRSes [central reservation systems] do, and we want to remove them.”
Attribute-based selling, as an alternative to listing rates by room type, is a goal of a few enterprise-level hotel companies, as I reported last week. Amadeus has introduced rudimentary attribute-based selling into the central reservation system it has stitched into the systems of IHG. But it will take time to spread the change so that guests actually see it and use it.
- IHG is in the process of collecting the data it needs from properties to roll this out.
- Many other changes to the hotel ecosystem have to happen, too.
- Property management systems, revenue management systems, and eventually online travel agencies have to adapt their processes to be able to handle attribute-based selling, as a LinkedIn discussion last week noted.
- Today, even if IHG had fully rolled out attribute-based pricing already, travel management companies wouldn’t have the technology to be able to help travel agents fetch a single price for a business traveler who wants a basic bed plus breakfast in a high-floor quiet room with a proper desk for working at length.
- It will take time for the changes to propagate throughout the travel technology ecosystem — if Amadeus’s vision comes to pass at all.
- Another piece of friction is a debate among hotel owners, investors, and brands about who should pay for technological innovation. Many hoteliers are cost-conscious about tech overhauls. “They say, ‘Hey guys, if you impact my P&L [profit-and-loss sheet] we’ve got a problem,” Pérez-Lozao said.
Helping hotels drive more direct bookings — which cost less for hotels than acquiring guests through online travel agencies and other third parties — is another goal. That task requires a lot of data savvy, Pérez-Lozao said.
- “The biggies are solving it themselves because they have the muscle to do that,” he said.
- Mid-scale operators need help teasing insights out of their data so they can essentially recognize a customer by their online behavior and provide relevant services and messages to them, he said.
What about the rise of short-term rentals and vacation rentals?
- “We’ve inserted alternative accommodation into the demand side of our strategy,” Pérez-Lozao said. “In our business intelligence tools, we give customers a view on how alternative accommodations compare with hotels and how they affect supply and demand. But we haven’t looked at the IT side of things. At some point, some customers may want to manage alternative accommodation along with hotels as one single inventory ideally. But not yet.”
How about Amadeus’s operational tools for hoteliers, like HotSOS, which offers management tools for housekeeping and other activities?
- “HotSOS is the leading product in the market,” Pérez-Lozao said. “We’ve put quite some investment in upgrading it. It was a little bit dated but we’re reinvigorating that.”
- “We’re the largest player on the sales-and-catering side,” he said. “We have fully moved that product into the cloud.”
- “Our events product is fast-growing,” he said. “In Las Vegas, with maybe one or two exceptions, every big property is a customer for our events software. And we have a presence with big players everywhere.”
- “We are connecting the sales-and-catering into the meeting broker channels, such as Cvent, and seamlessly integrating that in the cloud,” he said. “That is a super-powerful proposition. Nobody else has that.”
- “Our ultimate vision is to take the hotel industry from a siloed approach to a platform, cloud-native approach,” he said. “We’re actually putting our money where our mouth is in R&D [research and development] spending. I can’t say the same of all of our competitors.”
Amadeus’s view today is arguably slightly different than its view in 2015, when it acquired a property management system called Itesso. The story goes that IHG, Amadeus’s customer, essentially recommended Amadeus buy Itesso to help quickly add some functionality to complement the central reservation system product. But it’s unclear how much of Itesso’s offerings has made it into Amadeus’s platform today.
- Pérez-Lozao partly agreed with this version of events that Skift heard from sources. He said Amadeus’s big client originated the idea, giving Amadeus reassurance to proceed. He said his team did due diligence on the architecture of Itesso’s software and knew upfront that Amadeus would have to evolve the tech to fit its needs.
- “We knew we didn’t need a standalone PMS,” Pérez-Lozao said. “We knew in the due diligence that we needed to evolve it. You could argue we could have done it with more or less pain but there’s always a bit of more or less pain here when you evolve something, to be very blunt.”
Right now, Amadeus offers a “functionally rich but simplified” (no attribute-based booking) central reservation system that’s different from what it offers the Marriott’s and IHG’s of the world. Pérez-Lozao said his teams are working on the two projects in tandem with equal energy.
- “We’re saying internally every day that our high-end clients IHG and Marriott are important but this project for the rest of the market is also important,” Pérez-Lozao said. “We’re doing a double whammy in investment.”
- He said his teams are re-engineering their interfaces with external systems and Amadeus systems to make them, aspirationally, universally compatible. In the future, it will need fewer one-off integrations.
- Perhaps five-ish years from now, ideally Amadeus would merge the tech and sell essentially one platform for every type of customer, Pérez-Lozao said.
If all of the above wasn’t ambitious enough, Amadeus as an overall company has a vision for what it calls “the transversal traveler.”
- Someday, Amadeus and other platform companies might link enough systems across airports, airlines, hotels, rental car companies, and other parts of the travel system to provide more intelligence across any given traveler’s trip.
- The goal? If there’s a disruption in a trip, such as a canceled flight, the process for rebooking and making adjustments to each of the other parts of the affected traveler’s trip would be much more seamless than the recent chaos and Airmageddon. This has echoes of the connect trip vision of Booking Holdings’ CEO Glenn Fogel.
If nothing else, Amadeus thinks big.


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Over the past few weeks there have been several stories about the growing penetration of smartphones across Africa, as 4G networks expand and more Africans come online. This has led to many positive developments, the best known being the rapid expansion of mobile-money services. Thanks to M-Pesa in particular, Africa is a world leader in mobile money.
These successes inevitably lead to talk about how Africa is “leapfrogging” more advanced economies. Leapfrogging, in this context, is when countries skip a step in development thanks to rapid innovation—from no phones to smartphones, for example. The mobile phone, in this context, has allowed African countries to avoid the heavy investments required to build fixed-line networks.
But Harvard’s Calestous Juma believes we’re wrong to think about leapfrogging in that way. In a recent paper—Leapfrogging Progress, The Misplaced Promise of Africa’s Mobile Revolution—Juma points out that no advanced economy got where it is today by cutting corners and sidestepping (that is, leapfrogging) industrialization. And he reminds us industrialization requires infrastructure:
Infrastructure is both the backbone of the economy and the motherboard of technological innovation. African countries need adequate infrastructure to realize their full potential.
Juma, a well-respected advocate for the role of entrepreneurship and technological innovation in Africa’s development, says that African policymakers should revisit their respective industrial policies. In his view, the shortcoming of the mobile revolution is that while it has opened up communications for tens of millions of ordinary Africans, it hasn’t established an infrastructural base for broader economic development.
This challenges the conventional wisdom for development in Africa, which revolves around a shift from exporting raw materials to developing “value added” products. The oft-cited example is becoming a chocolate maker instead of a cocoa exporter, as in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Juma argues we should think about this in different way:
There is little evidence to suggest that countries industrialize by adding value to their raw materials. Rather, the causality runs the other way—countries add value to raw materials because they already have local industries with the capacity to turn raw materials into products. Initial industrial development thus becomes the driver of demand for raw material and value addition rather than the other way around.
Juma’s paper makes many more vital points on the importance of industrialization to Africa. In short, there are no shortcuts.


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Microsoft has announced the Band, the company's wearable device that is designed to help you live a healthier life. Besides the expected features like tracking your daily steps, it also has some unique aspects too, like a UV sensor that can help you keep track of the exposure your skin receives on a daily basis.
It should also be pointed out that the Band was announced last night and can be purchased today, with no delay from announcement to release. But are you planning on buying a Band?
The device costs $199, which is not cheap, but does cost less than competing devices like Apple's Watch and the Moto 360, but is more expensive than some pure fitness devices, such as those made by FitBit.
The question is, will you be buying one? Let us know if you plan to jump on the Band-wagon, by voting in the poll and sharing your comments below.
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Marico to separate Kaya biz, list it on bourses
MaKE will have its own separate board of directors, distinct from Marico's board, the company said.
"Harsh Mariwala will continue to be the Chairman and Managing Director of both Marico Ltd and Marico Kaya Enterprises Ltd," it added.
The company said there is unlikely to be any adverse impact on the income statement of Marico or MaKE pursuant to the Scheme of Arrangement except for the costs of executing the proposed Scheme.
The company said Saugata Gupta, who currently heads Consumer Products Business will lead the overall FMCG Business, as Chief Executive Officer- Marico and will continue to report to Harsh Mariwala.
"Vijay Subramaniam, who currently heads the International FMCG business, will take over as Chief Executive Officer- Kaya, effective April 1, 2013," it added.
The company said Kaya Chief Executive Officer Ajay Pahwa has decided to leave the organisation, to pursue an entrepreneurial venture backed by private equity investment.
Scrip of Marico today closed at Rs 227.45 on the BSE, up 1.36 per cent from its previous close.
The Kaya skin care business, which was launched in 2002, has 82 clinics in 26 cities across India, 19 clinics in the Middle East and 2 clinics in Bangladesh. Its product range has over 40 products for skin, hair & body for both women and men.
In 2010, Kaya also acquired the aesthetics business of Singapore-based Derma Rx Asia
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While Samsung readies a series of software updates that will effectively brick any remaining Galaxy Note7s in circulation, some new numbers suggest there may be a lot more of them out there than we think. Or perhaps there just aren’t that many LG V20s.
Apteligent has released its tally for new Android flagship device launches in the second half of 2016, and the visuals are quite stunning. The most obvious takeaway is that in a normal year a new Samsung Note absolutely blows away its competitors, with a massive spike in sales at launch and a sustained sell-through. This year that initial burst is followed by an equally steep decline as people rushed to return their handsets following a global recall.


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With Vistoso, the users will also be able to order customized apparel and merchandises using the same images. The orders will be fulfilled by VistraPrint.
The technology is going to be integrated into the native camera of Intex, providing a filter for users to transform images in real-time.
“With the launch of the latest Intex Aqua series we decided to introduce strikingly new and enticing functionalities. We are happy to bring new AI powered camera filters with Staqu loaded with cutting edge neural graphics technology. We are affirmative about the launch and hopeful for a positive response,” said Nitin Goel, GM of digital services, Intex.
Staqu had earlier launched an AI-powered fashion discovery app, Fashin.


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TAYLOR — ULTA Beauty will open its doors to a new store on Friday in Taylor at the Southland Center and will feature 20,000 beauty products, 4,000 testers and more than 1,000 scents.
ULTA Beauty is among the largest beauty retailers in the U.S. and offers one-stop shopping with a full-service salon. Nationwide, the company operates nearly 700 retail stores across 46 states.
In celebration of its grand opening starting at 10 a.m., the first 100 guests on Friday, Saturday, and 11 a.m. Sunday will receive gift certificates from $5 to $100. The first 100 guests will also receive a gift certificate for a free service at THE SALON, ULTA Beauty’s full-service salon. ULTA Beauty will offer free makeovers and consultations all weekend with makeup and skin experts and stylists from THE SALON. One lucky customer will have the chance to win a Pamper Me Pink box filled with ULTA products.
“ULTA is all things beauty, all in one place,” said Kelly Smith, who manages all the store openings for ULTA Beauty. “We are truly a beauty destination for Taylor, and our ULTA beauty experts are ready to help with all of your beauty needs, from the basics to the perfect shade of lipstick to the newest hair tool.”
ULTA Beauty is located at the Southland Center, 23000 Eureka.


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At first glance, the inside of clothing store on Tweedy Avenue looks like a vast plaid labyrinth, with wall upon wall covered with every bit of merchandise imaginable.
Upon closer inspection, however, you’ll see the layers of clothes draping the interior are really layers of history piled one on top of the other. It's a history that dates back all the way to 1928.
“We’re the birthplace of the West Coast hip-hop look,” explained owner Evan Greenspan with a smile. “Easy E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Cypress Hill…not on purpose, though. Things sort of just happened that way.”
If that weren’t remarkable enough, Greenspan’s has also outfitted the casts of such Hollywood films as “La Bamba,” “Mi Vida Loca,” and “Mi Familia.” And that’s not even taking into consideration the fact that Lady Gaga paid the shop a visit earlier this year.
Proudly calling itself the oldest family-owned and operated store west of Texas, the store has been serving South Gate — and the greater Los Angeles area — for over half a century, continuing a legacy that began all those years ago.
It was in 1928 when Alex and Eva Greenspan, Evan’s grandparents, set up their first department store, only back then, they were still calling Watts home. It would take an earthquake, a fire and another decade before the storefront on Tweedy would become the new permanent home of Greenspan’s.
“In those early days, South Gate was a very conservative, very Anglo place,” Evan explained. “It was the sort of place where you might not be able to get service based on the way you looked. But my father always said that we need to treat our clients like ladies or gentlemen no matter what, unless they give us a reason not to when they’re in the store.”
Under the guidance of Evan’s father, Edward, the store continued to flourish. His work ethic has helped sustain Greenspan's over the years, with management moving from Edward to Evan, and now involving the fourth generation with Evan's son Josh learning the ropes of the shop.
“There was a time, I’d say sometime in the mid ‘60s, where we started earning this reputation as being the ‘Mexican store,’ and in those days, it wasn’t being said as a compliment,” explained Evan. “There was a plain-clothes police officer parked across the street from our shop because apparently people were under the impression that we were bad for the neighborhood because of the type of clients we served.”
“Well, that car was out there for about a week,” he went on, “and eventually, the officer came in and told us, ‘You know, we’ve been getting calls from all over the city, but this corner is actually the safest corner in South Gate.’”
What made — and still makes — Greenspan’s so popular is its signature look. The Greenspan’s aesthetic draws from the meticulous tailoring and craftsmanship of ‘40s and ‘50s fashions. From custom-made shoes to feather-topped fedoras, from helping to bring the iconic Dickies brand to California to continuing a devotion to the highly coveted Pendleton shirts, Greenspan’s popularity has held up against the fashion rigors of time.
On any given day, it wouldn’t be at all unusual for new customers to be rubbing elbows with Greenspan’s veterans, those regular shoppers who have sampled the styles here and keep coming back for more.
"I used to come here when the [South Gate Assembly] plant was still up," one customer told Evan while browsing through a selection of blue and red Pendletons. "I'm glad to see it's still here and doing well. I'll definitely be coming back again."
Meanwhile, not far away, a young man from Hollywood wanders in asking for an update on the custom-tailored shirt he requested. Next to him, a family walks in asking for assistance in selecting a wool pea coat for their son.
"Do you have a hat to match this shirt?" someone asks before Evan's multitasking daughter, Shira, emerges from behind the register, ready to help. In an instant, a flurry of hats pop up out of nowhere. Another sale. Another happy customer.


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Mercedes-Benz had an enviable first-quarter and managed to find itself back on top of U.S. luxury sales, icing out its chief rival BMW after two years of living in its shadow. Mercedes reportedly sold 78,256 vehicles within the first three months of 2021, thanks largely to its crossover vehicles.
It’s a year-over-year increase of 16 percent and helps to explain why the brand is relegating the CLS to a single trim while expanding its options for heavy hitters like the GLC Class. But Mercedes’ recent success may have more to do with the way the luxury segment is rebounding as a whole. As pedestrian models are finding themselves coming out of the pandemic with fewer customers, especially of the subprime variety, high-end luxury brands are enjoying clearer skies.
Most manufacturers were awash in red by the end of 2018, either from the ink on their ledgers or the rose-colored glasses they were wearing while trying to assure themselves that all was well. Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai … all ceded ground over the last twelve months.
Those seeking the brightest light in 2018 need look no further than our own backyard. Fiat Chrysler climbed the sales chart in a big way. Predictably, that charge was led by Jeep. The numbers put forth by the Trail Rated brand did hold one very surprising statistic, however.
MRF 95 T-BirdSears and JC Whitney also had similar dune buggy kits. The VW accessories along with the running gear for legal use just bolted on. Hmm Amazon? A Bradley GT or Kelmark kit using an electric “skateboard” platform would also be cool.
Inside Looking OutCadillac now associates with rap music. In the past it was all about rock'n'roll. Rap is environmentally friendlier than rock'n'roll.
EBFlexThis is nothing compared to what Ford is doing. The fake lightning is seeing massive price increases for 2023. Remember how they self pleasured themselves about the fake lightning starting under $40k? In 2023, the price jumps by a very Tesla like $7,000. And that’s not the biggest price jump. And much less talked about, the government fleet discounts are going away. So for a basic 3.3L Explorer, the price is jumping $8,500. S basic F150 is also now $8,500 more. Im sure the same people that complained about the oil companies making “obscene profits” will say the same thing about Ford.
BobbysirhanSometimes it seems like GM has accepted that the customers they still have are never going to come to their senses and that there aren't any new dupes on the horizon, so they might as well milk their existing cows harder.


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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.’s recovery is well under way and shows no signs of slowing, analysts said Wednesday.
The fast-casual restaurant chain reported earnings of $1.60 per share and sales of $1.07 billion for the first quarter. The FactSet EPS consensus was $1.28, and the sales estimate was $1.05 billion. Same-store sales rose 17.8%, beating the 14.9% FactSet consensus.
Shares of Chipotle CMG, +0.26% closed up 2.4% on Wednesday.
“Chipotle’s same-store sales accelerated in the first quarter and we believe the drivers are in place to sustain the recovery,” wrote SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in a Tuesday note. “We expect continued improvement in two-year same-store sales throughout 2017 as the impact from the new TV advertising campaign (launched April 10 running through July) builds and digital orders continue to increase (up 53% year-over-year and about 8% of sales in the first quarter.)”
While traffic and sales looked to be improving, Chipotle reported in its most recent 10-Q that it recently spotted “unauthorized activity” on the payment-processing network used in its restaurants between March 24, 2017 and April 18, 2017. SunTrust analysts called that “insignificant.”
SunTrust rates Chipotle shares buy with a $550 price target, up from $500.
Buckingham Research Group is also bullish about Chipotle despite the latest piece of negative news, because it said the company’s story is coming together as expected when the firm initiated coverage last June.
“The business is accelerating as food safety incidents recede into the past,” the Wednesday note said. The illness outbreak was “amplified” by social media, which has “elongated the impact and delayed the recovery.”
Price increases, advertising, execution, digital adoption and new menu items, including the buñuelos dessert item that it will be testing this month, will push even more growth, Buckingham wrote.
Chipotle has raised prices at 440 restaurants in several cities, according to Barron’s.
Buckingham rates Chipotle shares buy with a $568 price target.
Chipotle’s price target was raised at least four times, at J.P. Morgan (up to $420 from $365) Canaccord Genuity (up to $440 from $375), Instinet (up to $510 from $333) and RBC Capital Markets (up to $500 from $465). RBC downgraded Chipotle to sector perform from outperform based on the “implied return” to its new price target, which is about 2% above current levels.
Not all analysts are optimistic. Raymond James reiterated its underperform stock rating based on the results.
“While first-quarter comps and EPS beat expectations, we believe this is more than offset by continued weak and choppy two-year geometric trends… and management margin guidance that will likely result in reduced ’17 consensus estimates to levels well below ‘stretch’ 2017 guidance of $10,” analysts wrote.
Wedbush analysts believe that a wait-and-see approach is the way to go, with April same-store sales trending in the low double-digits.
“Given the rollout of national advertising in early April, we were looking for a potential step up in April, the absence of which underlines the continued lack of visibility into Chipotle’s trajectory towards pre-crisis volumes,” they wrote.
Wedbush rates Chipotle shares neutral with a $450 price target.
Chipotle shares are up 28% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.34% has gained 6.6% for the period.


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Kevin Durant Seen as Nike’s Golden Ticket in Bay Area MarketBy
The NBA player turned down a deal with Under Armour in 2014
Analyst says Durant’s jersey sales could rise as well
Golden State Warriors fans are excited for superstar Kevin Durant to join the team. For Under Armour Inc., probably not so much.
Durant, 27, said on Monday he would take his talents -- and 10-year Nike Inc. endorsement -- to the San Francisco Bay area from Oklahoma City. The move brings the former most valuable player to a higher-profile team for greater exposure, especially if the Warriors win another championship, analysts say.
“It’s not just about Kevin Durant changing teams -- it specifically helps Nike mute this Under Armour attack in the San Francisco market,” said Scott Becher, executive vice president of sports and entertainment at Zimmerman Advertising.
Durant’s new teammate Steph Curry has become Under Armour’s marquee endorser after Nike failed to match its smaller rival’s offer in 2013. Curry has since been named the league’s MVP twice while carrying the Warriors to two NBA Finals and one championship.
Since Curry’s signing, Baltimore-based Under Armour’s market capitalization has grown to $16.1 billion from about $8.8 billion. That’s still dwarfed by Nike, which has a $92.7 billion market cap, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In addition to Curry, Durant will join Draymond Green, another Nike partner, and Klay Thompson, who signed with Chinese sneaker company Anta Sports Products Ltd. Adding a former MVP to a team that has made the finals two years in a row makes Golden State the favorite to win the championship next year, according to Las Vegas sportsbooks. And that could translate into higher sales.
“Shoe marketers are like athletes: They want to win championships,” Becher said. “Both Under Armour and Nike will benefit. It’s just that now Nike has the opportunity to bask in the incredible excitement that’s taking over the Bay Area.”
Durant’s Thunder lost to the Warriors in the conference finals this year, letting a three-games-to-one lead slip away. The Warriors went on to lose the championship to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.
Durant’s inability to snag a ring may be part of why sales of his signature shoes -- which Nike introduced in 2009 -- lag those of Curry and James. Curry’s shoes generate about $160 million in annual sales in the U.S., edging out James at $150 million and roughly doubling Durant’s $82 million, according to a Morgan Stanley analysis of SportScanInfo data published in March.
Curry’s rapid rise has slowed Nike’s basketball-shoe business. The sporting-goods giant reported fourth-quarter sales last week that missed analysts’ estimates, casting doubt on its ability to meet its goal of $50 billion in annual revenue by 2020, up from about $32 billion now.
For his part, Durant, who passed up Under Armour to remain with Nike in 2014, cited personal growth as a factor in his decision to change teams.
“The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player -- as that has always steered me in the right direction,” Durant wrote in an article in the Players’ Tribune.
The move also could elevate his personal brand, closing the sales gap with Curry and LeBron, said Matt Powell, a sports industry analyst at NPD Group Inc.
“He certainly could achieve a level of LeBron if they come out with the right product and he performs at a high level,” Powell said.


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IoT, or the Internet of Things, is the power behind digital transformation. The applications and interconnectivity of devices could encourage a more efficient and costly way of running things, therefore, it is no wonder that Business Insider predicts that business spending will reach $6 trillion dollars by 2020.
Emerging technologies have the potential to completely redesign healthcare. With the impending move towards smart cities, it only makes sense that our healthcare becomes smarter. Rapid developments within reality technologies and artificial intelligence have seen undeniable impact on sectors such as retail, sport, manufacturing and finance, but the possible usage of these technologies within healthcare could revolutionise the medical profession globally.
With businesses and services looking to transform their digital strategy and implement new technologies and software to improve their services, the cyber threat is becoming an evermore present threat to company and personal computers.
Criminals are no longer using the attacks to demand just money. Political statements and aims of disruption are behind some attacks, with healthcare and finance becoming a high profile target.
Mobile technology has become hugely disruptive for an array of industries, it’s revolutionising our society and the way in which we work. Here are three industries which are at the cutting edge of digital transformation and where mobile has become a key disrupter.
Why is Digital Transformation so Slow in the Health Sector?
The NHS is unquestionably feeling the strain this winter. On a quick scroll through the BBC health homepage last week, hysterical headlines range from generalisations such as “10 charts that show why the NHS is in trouble“, to the heart tugging clickbait “NHS 'failed' spinal cancer death woman” through to the editorials such as “Growing waiting times threat to NHS” offering historical analysis but no insight as to a solution.
Marketers know the importance of connecting mobile and digital, thus leading to increased brand engagement. According to a new study from Forrester Research called “The Internet of Things Redefines Brand Engagement", it’s vital for brands to understand how the powerful connection of mobile and the IoT will drive brand engagement.
Wearable Technology is still waiting for its big break. There’s no question that wearables will eventually take off, the real question is WHEN will they take off? Wearable tech has the potential to become a potent business tool within the enterprise and in a true Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy, wearables need to be considered.
At the beginning of 2015, B60 made some bold mobile predictions for the year ahead. The time has come to review those predictions and to find out whether we were bang or on way off the mark!
Let’s take a look at the first of those 5 predictions…
Following the release of the Apple Watch last month, we’ve rounded up 5 of the best fitness apps available on your smartphones. You’ll be as fit as a fiddle in no time. Enjoy!
No, you didn’t misread that. It’s been revealed that a smartphone has been used to automatically detect parasites in blood samples. Despite living in a world where our mobile devices can do just about anything, using smartphones as medical tools that help fight diseases is unheard of. But researches in California have developed a microscope that can do just that.


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The 2024 China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum will host an online media sub-forum in Xiamen, Fujian province, on April 2nd. Organized by the China Daily website, the sub-forum aims to foster collaboration between Chinese and African online media outlets.
The sub-forum will delve into topics such as innovative storytelling, promoting cultural exchanges online, and strengthening people-to-people connections between China and Africa. A China story co-creation award ceremony will also be held during the event.
The broader 2024 China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum, scheduled for April 2-3, will focus on building a digital innovation partnership and enhancing digital cooperation. The forum will feature an opening ceremony and four sub-forums covering digital economic development, online media cooperation, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence governance.
Participants will include government officials from China and African nations, African ambassadors to China, representatives from international organizations, internet companies, and think tank leaders.


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Google has removed hundreds of applications from the Play Store that are related to financial trading. This decision was made after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released its study of trading applications currently available on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store. According to the agency, more than 300 trading applications for Android and iOS are owned by individuals or firms operating without required licenses. The biggest risk regarding unregulated trading firms is the possibility that some of these companies engage in fraudulent activities, though many are still legitimate. Consumers who invest using such platforms have no protection from the state in case such a business goes bankrupt, ASIC argued.
The trading applications usually work by issuing binary options, providing users with the ability to take advantage of fluctuations in the stock prices and foreign exchange rates across different global markets. Depending on the conditions set by trading firms and changes in the prices and exchange rates, investors may either gain a substantial amount of money or lose all of their investments. Trading firms focus their marketing on the promise of earning money easily. The study conducted by ASIC saw a certain application that promises users that they will earn 90 percent of their investment in less than an hour. The agency also pointed out that these applications fail in educating potential investors regarding the risks involved in such transactions.
Aside from trading applications, the agency warned about educational sites and binary options reviews that only exist to gather data from consumers for "high-pressure cold-calling," with the latter referring to the practice of businesses soliciting individuals using previously obtained information. Given those risks, the agency asked consumers to be vigilant regarding the firms that they invest their money in. One way to ensure the legitimacy of a trading firm is by checking whether the trading firms are licensed to provide such services. In addition, users are asked to ensure that the binary options providers control their prices fairly. Last but not the least, investors are advised to not commit their hard-earned money to deals that seem too good to be true because they likely are.


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Google I/O conference sells out in 20 minutes
Profit-hungry scalpers flock to eBay
Tickets for Google's annual I/O developer conference have sold out in less than 20 minutes, and scalpers have already taken to eBay to cash in on the show's popularity.
Google has run the I/O conference since 2008, and this year's show is scheduled to take place in San Francisco on June 27 through 29 – the first time the show has been stretched to three days rather than two. Tickets went on sale Tuesday morning at 7am Pacific Time and hits on the website hit 6,250 queries per second, the demand was so great.
"While we're overwhelmed with the interest and enthusiasm around Google I/O, we know it can be very disappointing and frustrating when an event sells out this quickly," said Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of social business at Google on his Google+ page.
In order to make up for the lack of tickets, Gundotra said that the company would stream keynotes and main breakout sessions as they happened, and would make individual session videos available online within 24 hours. The company would also support viewing parties around the world.
Google I/O has become one of the top developer conferences on the calendar, in part because of its importance to developers of Android, Chrome, and – to a much lesser extent – Chrome OS. The Chocolate Factory also shows off its latest creations and hands out coding samples to give developers a head start on new apps.
Some delegates are also motivated by the freebies that come with a conference ticket. Last year, for example, attendees got a special edition Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1-inch tablet, as well as a Chromebook from the Korean box-shifter. The previous year, Google handed out free Sprint EVO 4G phones and an additional handset – Verizon Droids for US developers and NTC Nexus Ones for non-US visitors.
Needless to say, scalpers got wise to the popularity of the event, and eBay already has tickets on offer with mark-ups that even Apple would draw the line at. Google raised the standard ticket price to $900 this year, double last year's early-bird discount price, but auctions on eBay are already offering them for up to $4,500 apiece. ®


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Buying a pound of cookies helps cut down on the pet population in Muskingum County.
Saturday, P.A.W.S. held their annual cookie walk to raise money for its organization. The group made and iced over 2,400 cookies for the event, while others donated bread, dog treats and other goodies.
The cookies were sold in pound containers. Money goes towards helping pet owners spay and neuter their animals at a low cost.
The president of P.A.W.S. said that people not spaying and...


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An array of exciting speakers have confirmed they will take to the online stage at this year’s FPJ Live event on October 6th.
In the wake of the coronavirus crisis’ monumental impact on the fresh produce industry, there is no shortage of talking points for this year’s event, which is going fully online for the first time ever.
But despite the hardships faced, the industry stepped up to the plate by keeping quality fruit and veg on the frontline of the coronavirus response, and on our kitchen tables. We want to celebrate these efforts.
With the Brexit transition period coming to a close, there is still huge uncertainty about what 2021 will look like for the industry after the EU, not to mention the ever-changing global market, and technological developments.
Discussing the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the foodservice industry and the amazing efforts by suppliers to adapt their businesses is Tony Reynolds, managing director of Reynolds Catering Supplies, with fresh produce stalwart, health campaigner and BBC presenter Chris Bavin.
Fresh Produce Consortium CEO Nigel Jenney will also update us on the key issues surrounding Brexit, with British Growers Association chief executive Jack Ward and AHDB chair Nicholas Saphir, also joining us to tackle the big questions facing British businesses at the moment.
In production and technology, FPJ Live is excited to discuss the ground-breaking endeavour by Handsfree Hectare to develop a fully automated harvest, while berry growers Beeswax Dyson, and prominent veg grower Guy Poskitt will also join the virtual stage.
Kantar’s Joe Shaw Roberts and the England Marketing team will also offer vital insights into how the retail market has changed and consumer behaviours altered by the crisis, as well the huge opportunities for the healthiest industry in town. From New Zealand, fresh produce marketing, brand and strategy expert Lisa Cork will also share her insights on building a successful fresh produce business.
WIth more big names to come, stay tuned for further announcements and updates on speakers on the FPJ Live website. With so much to talk about, it’s not to be missed.
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New figures have revealed that broadband helped to increase the number of people using the internet for shopping last month.
According to statistics from the Interactive Media in Retail Group, online retail sales reached record levels during July, thanks in part to more people using high-speed broadband connections to access the internet.
The research also found that the 80 per cent increase in online sales was helped by the poor weather, with many people preferring to browse from the comfort of their own homes rather than venturing out into the rain.
Another important reason behind the growth in online shopping has been the amount of money that has been put into e-retail facilities.
Meanwhile, the number of consumers using high-speed broadband continues to grow.


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Contrary to popular belief, the perfect fall sneaker does exist. Well, three of them actually.
Released to celebrate its 75th anniversary, Salomon has dropped a trio of fall-ready sneakers, each of which pay homage to its pioneering 1992 silhouette the Adventure 7.
Taking the unmistakably Salomon material composition and a concoction of heritage-inspired hues, the French outdoors label has reimagined its XT-6 EXPANSE, RAID WIND, and XT-QUEST silhouettes, just in time for some damp, rainy dog walks.
Because that’s what everyone’s looking for nowadays: versatility. A sneaker equipped for every occasion, no matter the time or place.
Released under the brand’s Salomon Sportstyle line, the 75th Anniversary Pack – which is reportedly available online now – is a continuation of the label’s versatile footwear offering, meaning it's as suited for a night down the pub, as it is scaling a mountain.
It’s this USP that has seen the brand’s popularity soar in recent years, with the XT-6 silhouette almost impossible to get away from.
Collaborations have undoubtedly played their part too. Salomon has teamed up with the likes of and wander, Bodega, and Children of the discordance in the last month alone, with BEAMS, Slam Jam, and COMME des GARÇONS also among the brand’s partners.
Sometimes though, it’s the mainline stuff that hits hard – and it’s certainly the case with this 75th Anniversary Pack.
Whether you’re trying to cop the XT-6, RAID WIND, or the XT-QUEST, one thing is for certain: you’ll look the bollocks this fall, regardless.


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However, hackers were able to download driver's license numbers of around 600,000 drivers in the United States.
"None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it", says Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced Kalanick in June, in a statement. He was not at the helm when it happened. Instead, the company paid hackers to delete the data and keep the breach quiet.
Uber would not confirm it paid this ransom.
CEO Travis Kalanick, who was in charge when the hack took place, is still on the company's board of directors.
While the legal implications of Uber's cover up are still being examined - the Italian Data Protection Authority just launched an investigation into the data breach - The New York Times points out that Uber may have violated the Federal Trade Commission's stipulation that companies disclose data breaches and reveal any evidence of a cybersecurity compromise. After obtaining login credentials from that site, the attackers accessed data stored on an Amazon Web Services account where an archive of rider and driver information existed.
Khosrowshahi also said that he can't erase the past but the company will learn from its mistakes.More news: FCC confirms plan to kill net neutrality
Two hackers managed to access personal information they stole from a "third-party cloud-based service".
The news that ride hailing service Uber has suffered, and covered up, a major hack means that millions of people could unknowingly have had their data put at risk.
"We do not believe any individual rider needs to take any action, " the company said in its statement.
Uber fired its chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, this week for the data breach coverup. The company also said it is notifying regulators, and monitoring affected rider accounts for signs of fraud.
Jeremiah Grossman, chief of security strategy at security firm SentinelOne, says this was not a sophisticated hack. "Facing thousands of attacks daily, or even tens of thousands, it's a matter of when - not if - a breach will occur", said Gary Weiss, senior vice-president and general manager of the Security, Discovery and Analytics Business Unit at information management software firm OpenText. The San Francisco-based company also faces dozens of civil suits, including a high-profile case from Alphabet set for trial next month. In a coincidentally timed announcement shortly before Uber's hacking disclosure Tuesday, Whitman said she was stepping down as head of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. "It doesn't address the underlying problem in your own organization - your security practices need revision and you're failing to adequately protect your assets including your own proprietary information, and your customers' data".


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RON TAN hasn’t been resting on his laurels since completing the privatisation of Cityneon Holdings in February this year with Hong Kong entrepreneur and investor Johnson Ko.
The experience entertainment company last month announced an investment by Citic Capital, the investment arm of Chinese state-owned financial conglomerate Citic Group, of an approximately 10 per cent stake in the company.
The consideration was not disclosed, but the move is expected to ramp up its growth in North Asia. Mr Tan, Cityneon’s executive chairman and group CEO, expects the region to contribute 35 to 40 per cent of the company’s bottom line, from the current single-digit percentage, by FY2020.
“We have two big China deals coming up,” he told The Business Times in a recent interview. These involve the existing intellectual properties (IP) of Cityneon – in particularly the introduction of Jurassic World into China in partnership with Chinese developer Wanda Group.
Currently, Cityneon’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. and Transformers Autobot Alliance exhibitions have travelled to Chinese cities such as Beijing, Chongqing, Wuhan and Changsha.
“We have not been treating China as a strategic market, and have instead addressed it just like all the other markets in the rest of the world. This will change. We only have one of each set in China currently – not sufficient for a population of 1.38 billion. China is big. When we say launch, we are looking at possibly up to eight exhibition sets.”
Cityneon is therefore producing four more exhibition sets of Jurassic World from the one set it currently has. The current Jurassic World exhibition set will be launched in Seoul, Korea, in partnership with Lotte Corporation on June 28 this month.
Mr Tan said that having a strategic partner in Citic Capital will open doors for Cityneon to work with property developers, media and entertainment companies, retail and merchandising companies who can help in its marketing campaign – and even the state government.
People often have the wrong idea that big brands will automatically sell themselves and therefore do not need to be aggressively marketed, he said. “That’s a very wrong assumption. Even in a small city like Singapore, you have so many distractions… Even big brands need very strong marketing and strong partners who understand the local market in order to be successful.”
“(Citic Capital) is strong financially. Strategically, a good example of how we can potentially work together is, if you look at its recent investment in McDonald’s franchise business in mainland China and Hong Kong, that alone is a few thousand outlets.” That would present a huge merchandising and marketing opportunity, he said.
Mr Tan also has plans to create Cityneon’s own asset-based intellectual property (IP) that should come to fruition from 2024. Asked what this IP will look like, he said: “Something like a theme park, but not really a theme park. Don’t think roller coaster rides at all… it’s something educational. It’s a total themed experience, not a travelling set but a permanent one.”
Some reference points he cited included Madame Tussauds museums, Gardens by the Bay and even the Singapore Zoological Gardens. Another is the recent launch of a circus using holograms – a circus without animals – in Germany, called Circus Roncalli.
“I wish that I can share more but I cannot. We can only say that we built from the experience that we have been doing from all the movie IP… If I could do this in Singapore, I would love to, but it would probably be North Asia.
“The R&D (research and development) has already started and special project teams have been formed. This could possibly be in partnership with like-minded and experienced assets companies. Universal Studios in Beijing, for example, is 30 per cent owned by Universal. There are more land, venue spaces, and shopping mall and physical spaces in this world than there is world-class quality content,” he said.
In fact, this IP creation idea was partially the reason he wanted to de-list the company, Mr Tan said. With the company listed at a market capitalisation of S$300 million or so, he did not have much margin to make mistakes or to take risks with a long-term view for the future. IP creation can be capital-intensive and its rewards may only be reaped in the longer term.
Mr Tan said Cityneon did not de-list because there was any problem with the Singapore market or the Singapore Exchange. “I feel that Cityneon was treated very kindly (by the market and exchange)… When I first became involved in the company back in 2015, its share price was 17 cents. When I took the company private, its share price was S$1.30. If anyone had faith in the company, no shareholder would have lost money from day one.”
But privatisation was needed to wrest back management control, he said. Listing compliance restrained its ability to grow, and management needed to make decisions with a longer time horizon, not just quarterly, to appease shareholders. “Functioning as a private company allows us to have more autonomy and to make decisions on a longer-term basis for the benefit of the company.”
As a listed company, there was also the need to address multiple interests of various shareholder groups, short- and long-term funds, retail and institutional, and so on. “It’s too diffult to manage the company while trying to meet the needs of different groups of shareholders. We are just not at the right size to be able to do that. But right now, we only have three groups of shareholders who are very much aligned in terms of where we want to bring the company to.” These are Mr Ko, himself, and Citic Capital.
On the idea that he might relist again one day, Mr Tan said that is a possibility, although not his priority at the moment. “Listing can be in the US, Hong Kong or Singapore, as long as it’s a major stock exchange. My priority is always to focus on the fundamentals of the business. Once you have done that, and if the need arises and if market conditions are right, then we go.”
Cityneon is also not in need of cash at the moment, as its cash flow remains very healthy. Earnings and revenue have continued to be on the upclimb and look set to continue that way, he said, declining to reveal more. Its latest public financial statements showed the firm posting a nine-month net profit for the period ended Sept 30, 2018 that tripled year-on-year to S$13.7 million, while revenue rose 29 per cent to S$85.5 million.
Cityneon currently partners major movie and gaming studios globally to secure IPs to hold exclusive exhibitions for their audience. These global studios include Disney, Marvel, Hasbro, Universal, and Lionsgate. It plans to boost the number of relationships it has with studios up to seven to eight. It also plans to add two to three more movie IPs to its current four by next year.
To date, the group has toured their IPs in 33 cities and, by the end of this year, will have 12 permanent and travelling exhibition sets.
It will be making inroads to new cities with Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibitions in Cardiff, United Kingdom and Santiago, Chile, as well as its Jurassic World: The Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea.
The group also recently opened its Hunger Games: The Exhibition at Las Vegas, in partnership with MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.


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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- A number of old ideas born during the dot-com age were too early to go prime time.
Now, about a decade after the Internet seeped into the American consciousness, the financial environment is healthier and consumer spending and sustainable advertising dollars have replaced venture subsidies.
Translation: There are business models around these ideas. What seemed like failed businesses in the '90s are potentially viable ones in the new millennium.
Where the old-is-new theme is quite apparent is in sites that try to leverage a persons' social or business network.
Networking services, which essentially try to leverage our personal or business networks and expand them by automating and managing our people connections on the Internet, have been all the rage since 2003. They've been referred to as the next new thing for consumer Internet companies, or Internet 2.0.
But many will recall that a commercial version of an Internet social network, Sixdegrees, was launched back in 1996. Founder Andrew Weinreich said he raised just over $26 million for his company back then.
Weinreich started Sixdegrees because he believed the Internet could make the process of networking more efficient. He was building upon a theory of social networks, which says that people are connected on average by six degrees. The concept became popular about forty years ago, according to Greenhouse Associates.
"Networking is the act of meeting the people you don't know through the people you do know," he said. "The Internet afforded me the opportunity to accelerate the networking process by capturing in a single database the relationships of everyone who wanted to participate."
That's the same reason social networks are being started today.
They will come... eventually
Yet a decade ago, it was a big challenge for Sixdegrees because no one was on the Web.
I was still using those good old-fashioned rolodexes. What's so useful about a Web service that leverages your network when half your network isn't even on the Web?
Even in 1999, when a couple hundred Internet companies went public, the Net population was only two-thirds the size it is today.
The latest stats show that there are 126 million American adults, or 63 percent of the nation's adult population, on the Web. This compares to 86 million four years ago, according to Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Weinreich said that by the time he sold his company to Youthstream Networks YSTME in December 2000 for $125 million Sixdegrees managed to amass 10 million people on its database.
By comparison, Spoke Software, a networking company for sales, amassed a database of 13 million searchable people in less than two years.
Enhancements in technology have also improved the online experience.
Digital cameras were not mainstream in the middle of the last decade. Now Nokia
"Everyone has a digital camera," said Weinreich, in an interview. "The difference between Friendster and Sixdegrees is that they have photos and we didn't."
Indeed, 1 out of 5 Internet users said they have posted photographs to Web sites, according to a study released Monday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Social behavior has also changed: The world has become a stage, and everyone wants to be on it.
Thank you Reality TV for conditioning the I-want-my-15-minutes-of-fame generation. People expose themselves and tolerate their own transparency, in order to buy someone else's attention -- an audience, a date, a potential employer, or a potential customer.
The consequence: People are going online and giving up a plethora of personal information in order to be seen by their network and others. The social networks have become fertile soil for the egotistical and consumerist mentality.
A final reason why old ideas, like social networking, can work today is that start-up executives have a better idea about what works on the Net.
Most have a better sense of where the dollars reside. For instance, Tribe.net has made it clear that it's going after classified advertising. On Monday, Tribe announced a partnership with CareerBuilder.com whereby Tribe will be able to post CareerBuilder job postings of about 400,000 per month. This should attract more Tribe users, particularly those seeking jobs, into its network. By attracting more users, Tribe can then attract classified advertisements.
Dan Marriott, senior vice president of IAC's interactive development group, was not ready to articulate the company's plans on making money with ZeroDegrees. But for those familiar with LinkedIn, the experience is pretty similar. They both, at least based on my experience, serve as one big enhanced Rolodex.
Clearly, Tribe.net, ZeroDegrees and LinkedIn have potential in attracting members and maybe even enough of a critical mass that recruiters may eventually find it useful to pay for access to it. If so, the pioneer job sites, HotJobs and Monster Worldwide
Other sites, like Spoke Software and Visible Path, which recently received venture funding from Kleiner Perkins, have also emerged as social networking sites. The difference is that they're selling their products to corporations that want to give their employees a well-connected, dynamic Rolodex.
This is one area that seems promising to Weinreich.
His new venture called I Stand For is attempting to be a social-network in a box for political groups. On an outsourced basis, he'll provide all the functionality that's needed for an organization. Weinreich says to build all these tools could easily cost some organizations about $1 million. He charges about a $1,000 a month.
Receive this column via e-mail. Sign up for Bambi Francisco's Net Stocks. You can also subscribe to Bambi Francisco's Net Sense, a weekly commentary. See the latest columns: The contrarian investor: Peter Thiel and The upside down of search and Comparing 2004 and 2000.


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The Fort Collins Outback Steakhouse Has Closed
Lovers of pumpernickel bread and Bloomin' Onions might have to travel to the actual outback to get their fix (or at least out of Fort Collins), because Outback Steakhouse has closed its location in the Choice City.
According to The Coloradoan, the company decided to say goodbye to its Fort Collins location because the restaurant was underperforming.
"While closing a restaurant is always a difficult choice, we are grateful for the many years we have been able to serve the Ft. Collins community," Out West Restaurant Group CEO David Goronkin told the publication. "We have many other Outback locations in Colorado and look forward to continuing to serve our guests at these locations for years to come."
One of the other Colorado locations in Longmont has also shut its doors. However, Goronkin said that no more closures are currently planned for the Centennial State.
If you're really craving some Shrimp on the Barbie, you can travel to the nearest Outback Steakhouse at 497 E 120th Avenue in Thornton.
10 Fort Collins Area Restaurants That Closed in 2020


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The OnePlus 6T will come with a fingerprint reader beneath its Full HD+ AMOLED display, processor, camera and similar memory and internal storage variants
If you thought the new iPhones were the worst kept secrets in the smartphone industry this year, think again. The sequel to the OnePlus 6, which was launched earlier this year, is about to be revealed in the second week of October. It has already made several unofficial appearances online and now it’s made an official appearance as well—alongside Amitabh Bachchan in a TV commercial. That’s not all, Amazon has also created a dedicated page for the successor to the OnePlus 6.
The TV commercial has confirmed several things about the new smartphone—its name for instance, OnePlus 6T—and has given us a clearer look at the back of the phone. Bachchan also talks about “a new way to unlock your smartphone", without explicitly mentioning the method.
It has been widely reported that the 6T will come with a fingerprint reader beneath its Full HD+ AMOLED display. And it makes sense—OnePlus is a sister company of Oppo and Vivo and is owned by the same conglomerate, BBK. It has access to all the resources required to fit an in-display fingerprint scanner.
The TV commercial further makes our assumption stronger, since there’s no visible fingerprint scanner at the back of the phone, unlike the OnePlus 6.
The ad also reveals that the back of the smartphone is devoid of a glass panel, something that all OnePlus 6 variants (except the Silk White variant) have. It appears to be a matte finish, but it is not possible to determine the exact material used.
Coming to the numerous leaks and rumours surrounding the OnePlus 6T online, the phone is expected to come with a new screen design, most likely a teardrop notch. It is much smaller than the usual notches found on Android phones (and iPhones), and curves around the camera. The Oppo F9 Pro comes with this design. And while we are at it, the OnePlus 6T will sport a slightly larger, 6.4-inch Optic AMOLED display with a resolution of 2340x1080.
It is also reported that the smartphone will skip the 3.5mm headphone jack. OnePlus has a solid reputation for making premium flagship smartphones while not skipping the beloved headphone jack.
“If we were to do that [remove the jack] two years ago, the percentage (of wireless headphones owners) would have been much lower and it would have caused a lot of friction for our users," OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei told TechRadar while rationalising the decision.
The OnePlus 6T is also expected to come with the same chipset, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, and similar storage and memory options. At the back of the phone it will feature the same 16MP + 20MP cameras but with further AI integration.
If you wish to know more about how OnePlus’ latest competitor fares against it, click here.
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What the $113,820 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 20th Anniversary Edition by AEV Gets You
There’s a new Jeep SUV hitting the market to celebrate a significant milestone, but it won’t come cheap. Stellantis dropped 20th Anniversary Editions of the 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 and a new 2023 Wrangler Rubicon this week at the Chicago Auto Show. You can now order these limited edition Jeep sport utility vehicles, but don’t wait too long. These will not be available for long, even if it costs $113,820.
The 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 20th Anniversary Edition is fully loaded
Stellantis announced this week that it would release two new Jeep Wrangler SUVs to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 and the 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 4xe 20th Anniversary Editions are the most capable yet, but both come at a price.
The Wrangler Rubicon 20th Anniversary editions get a seven-slot grille, bead-lock-capable wheels, triple hoop grille guard, and steel bumpers. Jeep also included an 83-piece tool kit, a half-inch suspension lift, and some special 20th Anniversary decals.
As expected, Jeep isn’t planning on making many of the 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 392 and 4xe. That means the cost is higher, starting at $69,585 for the 4xe and $90,895 for the 392 20th Anniversary Editions.
You can also order the 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 with the AEV upgrades
For the ultimate 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, the Level II upfit by American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) adds even more utility. Jeep says BFGoodrich 37-inch All-Terrain T/A® KO2 tires give the SUV 14.2 inches of ground clearance, 37.1 inches water fording, 50-degree approach angle, 33-degree breakover angle, and 43-degree departure angle.
Adding the $1,795 destination charge, $20,135 for the Rubicon 20th Anniversary Level II upfit by AEV, and a $995 upfit logistics charge to the base $90,895 works out to $113,820 without tax for the Wrangler Rubicon 392. This also adds AEV 7000 Series off-road lights, upgraded bumpers, Mopar performance wipers with integrated washer jets, and a Warn VR EVO 10-S winch.
This Jeep SUV is powered by a V8 engine with 470 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft of torque. It can go from zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and does the quarter mile in 13 seconds. Jeep says it is the quickest, fastest, and most powerful Wrangler.
The Level II upfit by American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) is limited to 150 units
The 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 4xe starts at $69,585 with a $1,795 destination charge, $21,983 for the AEV upfit, and the $995 logistics charge works out to $94,358. This version gets the 375-horsepower 470-lb.-ft plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain with 21 miles of electric range and 49 MPGe.
Stellantis will sell the Wranglers on a first-come, first-serve basis. Customers can order through local Jeep dealerships this month, and the Wrangler will ship from the Toledo Assembly Complex. From there, it will go to AEV for the additions and then to a dealership of choice. The Wrangler is still made in the USA, and Jeep is still the most patriotic automaker for the 20th year in a row. $113,820 or not, this Wrangler Rubicon is pretty legendary.


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Challenger sets up venture arm with S$1m
CHALLENGER Technologies has set up a venture arm with S$1 million of paid-up capital to invest in digital platforms, the electronics retailer announced on Tuesday after the market closed.
Challenge Ventures' purpose will be to invest in businesses that can support and complement the company's business operations, the company said. Challenger's recently set up e-commerce portal Andios, as well as its existing marketing solutions subsidiary inCall System, will be injected into Challenge Ventures.
Another S$20 million could be injected into Challenge Ventures if suitable investments are found, the company said.
"We intend to look for suitable investments beyond brick-and-mortar retail businesses in order to expand our physical retail footprint as the largest IT retail chain store operator in Singapore," Challenger chief executive Loo Leong Thye said in a statement. "Investing in digital platforms will help us achieve our vision of being a large online and offline player."


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Mobile applications as well as AI could simply conserve humanity. July 26, 2019 4 minutes reviewed Opinions revealed by Entrepreneur factors are their very own.
Human beings might have opposable thumbs, have actually designed the apple iphone and also placed a male on the moon, yet in regards to our payment to the earth’s exsitential survival, we’re doing far more damages than excellent. The data are also difficult to disregard. A current record by the World Wildlife Fund disclosed that it’s taken just 2 generations of the human race to exterminate majority the globe’s wild animals. Reef and also rain forests, both vital for healthy and balanced and also well balanced all-natural communities, are under siege also, and also a brand-new UN research ended that nature overall remains in the middle of an “unmatched” decrease.
Some even more significant truths:
The excellent information is, mankind has actually additionally developed outstanding modern technology services to aid battle this issue, and also below are a couple of that might actually recover the world.Related:
How Entrepreneurs Can Fight Climate Change Expert system From the vehicle as well as traveling markets to health care and also federal government industries, expert system is coming to be much less something you would certainly locate in a science fiction and also even more a regular component of our day-to-days live. Some methods which AI can aid combat the following all-natural calamity enhancing forecasts of just how much power we require, uncovering brand-new products, enhancing supply chains as well as making accuracy farming feasible at scale.Some of these objectives might seem a little bit soaring, however AI can likewise make an effect merely by transforming the method customers store. If AI crawlers like Alexa and also Siri were programed to push customers towards making a lot more diligent choices, countless people might do their component without also recognizing it. These crawlers currently make certain individuals obtain all their action in for the day, so why not additionally motivate them to select greener options? The very same reasoning can be put on marketing agency and also electronic advertising and marketing agency too.
As apple iphone’s very early mottos flaunted, there is currently undoubtedly a mobile application for every little thing you can think about, as well as several of them are attempting to record individual focus to aid in ecological conservation. Online-currency firm Kora, for example, incentivizes customers to buying green items or pick greener traveling choices. As well as French ride-share choice BlaBlaCar enables customers to carpool long-disance a lot more effectively.
The extremely effective Beyond Meat IPO verified that food modern technology might be just one of the most effective methods to obstruct international calamity, yet “environment-friendly” food technology does not need to appeal purely to vegans and also vegetartians. There are methods we can still customer our preferred meat, fish, and also fowl without adding to the following damaging cyclone or warm front. AquaMaof, as one instance, is giving responsibly-farmed tank farming techniques for virtually any kind of kind of fish.
Smarter structures as well as smarter cities
Many districts have actually vowed to minimize their carbon as well as greenhouse-gas discharges, yet to fulfill those objectives we require smarter cities to keep track of discharges and also proactively decrease them. What remedies do we have? Google has actually introduced a brand-new device to eliminate environment adjustment, one that will certainly approximate regional carbon air pollution from cities all over the world in actual time. And also its moms and dad business, Alphabet, likewise released a task called Sidewalk Labs that tracks website traffic circulation to figure out exactly how hotspots of blockage may be reduced, this lessening air contamination.
Currently is the moment to do whatever we can to suppress the impacts of environment modification on our earth, as well as fortunately we have innovation to aid us. From mobile applications and also AI to creating smarter cities that can “assume” on their own and also remaining to create and also construct brand-new “greener” innovation, onward assumed as well as activity is our best choice to assist balance out nature’s decrease.


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Several tech startups are chipping in India's fight against coronavirus. While some have come with new digital solutions to combat the pandemic, some are helping run the supply chain to manage inventory of health equipments, sanitisers and other essential items. Here are four such startups and aiding them in this fight is Microsoft Azure platform.
Bulk MRO Industrial Supply: The B2B marketplace is helping provide a range of medical products including masks, gowns, hazmat suits, gloves, sanitizers and various medical equipment. Bizongo
: Online B2B marketplace for packaging has launched a live demand supply platform and is offering its supply chain services for auto-replenishment of PPE kits. The platform claims to be providing services exclusively to hospitals, health centers, pharmacies, providers of essential goods or services, NGOs and other medical fraternities across public and private sectors.CoRover
: The chatbot company has launched AskDoc VideoBot that helps people lower their anxieties related to coronavirus while staying at home. AskDoc uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing to create a virtual conversational platform to enable patients interaction with doctors.MphRx
: The healthcare technology company has configured its digital platform 'Minerva' to help in the fight against Covid-19. It automatically triages patients by remotely monitoring them and providing tele-consultations. Minerva assesses symptoms and screens responses. It creates worklists for care coordinators, who can then set up tele-consultations with symptomatic patients. For patients in self-quarantine, it sends alerts based on a care plan to regularly monitor their vitals. For those requiring coronavirus testing, it initiates referrals to designated test labs and hospitals.


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A northern startup has secured £7.5 million to take wearable health technology to new heights.
Prevayl is developing connected sports clothing capable of delivering biometric data to users.
The investment has been made by Stonebridge, which is headed by DTC entrepreneur James Cox of Simba Sleep, Mahabis and Torque Brands.
The Manchester firm was founded by former personal trainer Adam Crofts alongside serial entrepreneur David Newns – one of the UK’s youngest-ever FTSE executives with two exits already under his belt – in April 2019. It plans to launch to consumers in Q4 this year.
CEO Crofts has built an elite team of experienced apparel designers, hardware developers, intellectual property experts and marketeers, whose CVs are furnished with stellar experience in both apparel and technology, from the like of GymShark, The Hut Group, VF Corporation, Lacoste, and Burberry, with others having designed for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The smart sportswear company has a full-time, in-house IP department of five to protect a growing number of patents.
Claiming that its products have a comparable look and feel to luxury sportswear brands, Prevayl’s garments contain ‘invisible’ tech which connect them to an app which monitors performance and recovery.
At launch the fashion-forward brand will consist of three distinct elements; the sportswear, the hardware and the app, underscoring Croft’s vision to straddle the athleisure and tech industries.
“To secure £7.5m pre-revenue is testament to the whole team,” said Crofts. “Everyone is on the same page – the drive and ambition is palpable.
“Creating a global community and owning the connected clothing market hinges on cultivating genuine buzz and talkability, which ultimately relies on creating a product that not only knocks others out of the park, but also on the right infrastructure to scale at pace.
“Partnering with Stonebridge has undoubtedly been a leg up for the business. It’s providing us access to the Torque Brands eCommerce platform, which will accelerate our ability to scale, whilst offering our community a slick user experience – helping us fulfill our global ambitions.
“We are all really focused on igniting a new era of innovation that not only gets the blood flowing and puts the heartbeat back into the region’s rich textile heritage, but puts Prevayl on the map worldwide.”
The new funding will be used to kit out state-of-the-art laboratories and fitness areas with data testing facilities, new hires, garment design, continued innovation and IP creation and developing an infrastructure that will facilitate growth.
Third party testing for Prevayl is provided by the University of Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University, while it has also been tested on fighter pilots.
Heart rate, pace and training zone are the standard elements provided by alternative devices on the market. In contrast, Prevayl claims to offer meticulous insight and analysis of the body from comprehensive ECG (electrocardiogram) data that identifies heart rate and variability including heart rate zone and recovery, orthostatic heart rate, cardio age, heart function, atrial fibrillation and ectopic heartbeat.
It is also said to measure breathing state, time and type (thoracic/diaphragmatic), ventilatory threshold and minute volume, so it can recognise dysfunctional breathing and stress levels.
In addition, it measures core temperature, energy expenditure and hydration. Finally, it looks at IMU (inertial measurement unit) so it can understand acceleration, body position and activity classification between walking, running, cycling, HIIT, yoga and more.
Managing Partner at Stonebridge, James Cox said: “What the company has created over the last 24 months is quite amazing and sits right in the sweet spot of what we believe consumers want.
“The founders are world class and well on the way to disrupting another large global market and were delighted that we can be part of that journey with them.
“Prevayl is the perfect example of the type of company which we love to back.”
Prevayl’s launch collection will include a tank top, crop top and T-shirt retailing at around £90.
The sensors are connected by invisible stainless steel threads, surrounded by a yarn that expands with heat to keep them close to the body.
This is held in an internal panel that sits under the bra in the women’s crop top and around the chest in the men’s tank top, to pick up the ECG from the heartbeat and the breathing rate from the lungs.
Battery life is claimed to be around 24 hours.


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As many retailers retreat to online selling, Nordstrom is betting big on bricks and mortar. One of the last remaining retail dynasties, the multibrand monolith opens its first New York shop tomorrow.
The secret to its success? Confidence, perhaps. “We are going to have a lot of unique things that you won’t be able to find in other Nordstrom stores or, frankly, any other store in the city,” says Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores. “We will have what I believe will be the best men’s shoe shop in the city.”
The new flagship will roll out with a dedicated menswear offering; a first for the company, it will also feature an in-house tailor and bar.
By 2019 the retailer plans to have launched the remaining shop: a multilevel, multibrand statement to its belief in the future of bricks-and-mortar retail.
The whole project is a gutsy move by Nordstrom and shows a spirited belief that physical stores, done well, will still put feet on high streets.