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SPIRIT OF INDIA—YOUTH SPECIAL
They start media networks, work towards advanced crop technologies and train talent in the rural sector. If for one the power of innovation lies in tapping into the unorganised cycle rickshaw market, for another it lies in providing an online platform for jets. If for one the phrase out-of-the-box refers to a sports management or a backpacking company, for another it translates into selling puja kits.
For one, it meant giving up a highpowered job to start his venture, a one-of-a-kind that offers consultancy services in real estate. For an IIT engineer, it was to turn farmer and to work towards production of affordable food and become an inspiration for other farmers in Tamil Nadu.
For yet another, the son of a politician, it was to forgo politics and start a media company, giving competition to one of the biggest news agencies in his state. And what about the woman engineer who has dedicated herself to setting up rural BPOs? These are people who prefer to beat the crowd and stand out. These are youngsters who swim against the tide and use unique ideas as a means to change.
YOGESH SHAH, 35, AND SUCHNA HEGDE, 30, THE BACKPACKER CO.
“I didn’t want anyone else to decide how long I should look at the Eiffel Tower or when I should eat dinner.”
That’s because he has been busy sending people to Italy, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Poland and other tongue-twisting places in Eastern Europe. “When I was growing up there were only packaged tours. And I didn’t want anyone else to decide how long I should look at the Eiffel Tower or when I should eat dinner,” says Shah.
That was the essential idea of The Backpacker Co. Shah knew people wanted to travel to places that were off the beaten track but also realised that information was very hard to find. He also knew that his target audience—18 to 30 years—didn’t have the deepest pockets. And that is exactly the service his company today provides, advising people on where to go, when and how to travel, where to eat, what to see and how much money one needs to survive every day.
Shah, an HR College graduate, wanted to explore the world beyond Mumbai. “I had my visa and passport ready at all times. I just didn’t know how to go and where,” he says. When he was 20, an acquaintance told him about his plans to backpack across Europe. With the money he had saved working in his family’s logistics business, Shah took off. “It was supposed to be a 15-day holiday. It turned into two months,” he says.
That first trip set the wheels in motion. It was over animated travel tales that Shah and Suchna Hedge decided to tie the knot. But before the two could start a business, they knew they had to sort out the finances. “Besides, it’s only now that people are getting used to the idea of independent travel like an impromptu picnic in the Bordeaux region of France or a cycle tour through Amsterdam,” he explains. The two travellers have moved into an office space and now have a staff of six. “We still do most of the research ourselves,” says Hegde. The couple’s business primarily runs on the consultation fee they charge. It started with Rs 1,000 per person two years ago and has gone up to Rs 5,000 now.
But Shah and Hedge are now moving on to the second phase of their venture. They’ve put in place Travel with Yogi and Suchna, a plan where people travel with them. To make sure that plans take off, the two have in place a Central Europe trip in May and a Mediterranean tour in June where four to five people will take off with the couple. “But it won’t end up being a packaged tour. We’ll take them but then they can do their own thing,”says Shah.
Voyage of discovery: On one of his trips to Italy, Shah stayed at a zoo in Rome. It had been recently evacuated and was being utilised as backpacker central.
ATUL KHEKADE, AIRNETZ AVIATION, 26
“I always wanted to be an innovator and create something special, not just be a follower of someone else’s idea.”
Khekade, who was on a trip to scout for business opportunities, spotted a fleet of small planes in the hangar of the San Francisco airport in 2005. A quick search on the Internet and he realised that these were private jets owned by the rich and the famous. The concept was new to him but he instantly smelt a lucrative opportunity. With friend Ritesh Kakkad, he launched Airnetz. “My family didn’t encourage entrepreneurship but I always wanted to create something new,” says the student of Parle Tilak Vidyalay, Mumbai.
His business mantra was to create a spiralling demand for private aircraft but convincing the city’s elite to rent their jets to other customers was no easy task. Today, Airnetz has spread its wings to the US, Europe and Indonesia. The demand, says Khekade, is only set to grow. “People don’t know that there are 400 airstrips in India, which are largely used by politicians during campaigns,” he says. To popularise his company, he recently launched joyrides for picnickers who can take a 30-minute-long spin in the air for just Rs 1,500.
He is in the business of offering luxury travel to clients but Khekade is not one to spend too much time on luxuries. For the workaholic, free time is all about travelling to new places and exploring business ideas. On a recent holiday to Goa with his wife, he walked to the terminal building instead of taking the bus. He inspected aircraft facilities and chatted with travellers. “I want to explore the world by travelling and talking to people,” he says. Confident that his business is set to grow from strength to strength, he has his expansion plans chalked out. “I work less for money and more for a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment,” he says with the air of an achiever. The Mumbai boy knows he has many more skies to conquer.
Assessment plan: Khekade loves spending his day at the airport, chatting with ground staffers and passengers to understand the demands of aviation.
VISHAAL UPPAL, SPORTS BOULEVARD, 32
“I believe in the process rather than the result. Instead of worrying, I concentrate on giving my hundred per cent.”
For the commerce graduate from the Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi, starting a business of his own was not a very difficult task. His tennis background helped, allowing him, for instance, to snap up the rising star Somdev Devvarman, for whom they are handling everything, from his publicity to sponsorships.
Oddly though, Uppal’s first love was cricket and he found himself playing tennis only by accident during a school break with his friends at Modern School, Delhi. Uppal now plans to focus on quality work instead of quantity. “I don’t want to bite more than I can chew,” he says.
He is looking at organising tennis events, but the current slowdown has acted as a spoilsport with many sponsors backing out of events that were being planned by the company. But Uppal hasn’t lost hope. After all, patience is a game whose rules he is familiar with.
With strings attached: Music forms a big part of Uppal’s life. He is a great devotee of classic bands such as The Eagles and Dire Straits.
RAKESH ANTALA, CREDERITY INFO SERVICES, 32
“Great companies think of new ideas to steer through rough business environments."
It is a tall order but he is in the business of empowering integrity. As the web’s first guaranteed trust builder, Rakesh Antala’s Crederity Info Services provides identity authentication services for individuals in India and the US.
Set up first in the US in 2005 and then launched in India in 2007, the company applies sophisticated technologies to help people and businesses in resume validation, matrimonials, tutorials and net banking. For this, Crederity gives each verified user a Crederity Trust Seal, which can be associated with the users’ online profiles, blogs, and other online presences.
“We realise we’re going up against big odds, but that’s what makes it a satisfying problem to counter,” explains Antala. Crederity has helped thousands of individuals prove their identity and integrity through its partnerships with websites such as SimplyMarry, tutorsource and FirstNaukri among several others. With Crederity India taking off, he is currently gearing up for the global launch by end-2009. That is bound to be a successful journey for the chemical engineer from Gujarat. And as Crederity’s tag line says, Trust Matters.
Role model: Richard Branson of Virgin Group because he is an entrepreneur at heart and an adventurer who appreciates life.
—Amarnath K. Menon
KAUSHALENDRA, SAMRIDDHI, 27
“I have plunged into this business to earn money, generate employment and ensure quality products to buyers.”
He knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Besides integrating potential business associates, like a roadside vegetable vendor in Patna and a farmer in a faraway village in Nalanda district, he also had to convince his parents, who initially thought their son had taken leave of his senses. He laid the foundation of a farmers’ cooperative, Samriddhi, under which he established a supply chain to deliver fresh vegetables, picked up directly from the fields, to his outlets in Patna and Lucknow, to be sold in specially-designed ice-cooled pushcarts.
Almost two years later, his cooperative earns Rs 4-5 lakh every month and employs over 1,000 people. Besides working for the farmers, Kaushalendra also keeps the consumers happy by making special efforts. He arranges free home delivery of vegetables, besides offering a kilo of potatoes free with every purchase of 2.5 kg of any vegetable.
“We keep the consumers informed on healthy eating. No wonder we are rocking,” he says. Kaushalendra has succeeded in inspiring confidence in his elder brother, Dhirendra, who left his job as lab technician to join him. With Dhirendra, by his side, the balding, bespectacled and ever-smiling Kaushalendra knows he can manage it all.
Making a differences: Kaushalendra’s friends call him the most highly-educated green grocer India has ever produced.
Y.S. JAGAN MOHAN REDDY, ENTREPRENEUR, 36
“Aiming to be the best is the successful way to do business.”
Growth brings with it opportunities. So, his entrepreneurial drive made him turn to cement production which is now about five million tonnes a year by tapping the limestone deposits of the state. In 2008, his newspaper Sakshi became the first all-colour Telugu daily.
In less than a year, he followed up the initial foray into media by launching Sakshi Television, the only regional channel to offer high-definition images. For one who had his early schooling in Pulivendula village in Andhra Pradesh, Reddy has come a long way. Now, he is racing to occupy the Kadapa seat in the new Lok Sabha in June. “Life’s most important lessons are learnt from family values,” says Reddy. From real power to political power.
Role model: Father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy who believes that there is no substitute for hard work to achieve success.
—Amarnath K. Menon
NIKHIL VASWANI, 28, AND ROHIT SHANKAR, 25, WELLOCITY
“The day you decide to get into business, be prepared to write off the next five years of your life.”
Delving deeper into the Ahmedabad scene, they realised the city of five million had only a few good fitness centres, leave aside wellness centres. After passing out in 2006, they set up a small fitness centre in Gandhinagar to cater to government employees. Once they had learnt the ropes they decided to go in for a full-fledged wellness centre in Ahmedabad, complete with the most-accomplished trainers, top-class equipment and a spa facility, which was not an easy task.
They scoured the city for an investment partner, travelling across on their two-wheeler in the city’s scorching heat. Having found a willing partner in T.S. Anand of Sirisha Infrastructure, Shankar and Vaswani set up Wellocity, a wellness centre, at an investment of Rs 2.5 crore.
Each of the 20 trainers at the gym is secretly evaluated by the the customers on a periodic basis. Another software allows the clients’ progress to be evaluated. In its first year, the centre has a turnover of over Rs 1.5 crore and a membership of 700. Vaswani says the two of them are “determined to set new standards in the wellness business”. Looks quite likely.
Role model: For both Vaswani and Shankar,Virendra Sehwag is an inspiration because like him, they too believe in playing their natural game.
SALONI MALHOTRA, DESI CREW, 27
“It is satisfying to see that my company has created so many jobs for educated youth in rural India."
Few would believe that youngsters sitting at a call centre in a remote Indian village can draw digital maps, answer queries on the newest pub in Mumbai or even provide knowledge-based research to financial firms in different countries.
Born and brought up in Delhi, the engineering graduate from Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune, didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of her parents, who are doctors. Instead, she wanted to start a company, which would have the rural sector and technology as its key elements.
To achieve her dreams, she invested all her savings in a nascent project, which got registered as DesiCrew in 2007. While the easy part of the business was to identify locations, the more difficult one was to convince clients that BPO units in rural areas could deliver the same quality of service. With five BPO centres and several bluechip clients, the company, specialising in document management and data digitisation, employs 105 people in the state.
Given that the first three years in any enterprise are very tough, Malhotra survives on a basic income and lives in district guest houses while travelling. What has worked for her is the strength and support she derives from her parents. Some of Malhotra’s friends too have joined DesiCrew after seeing the rapid growth of her company. Her friends are fellow entrepreneurs who are trying to make a success of their ventures. Like all single girls her age, Malhotra too does all that people of her generation do—watch movies and hang out with friends, all of whom she smilingly says are “gainfully employed”.
Success graph: Malhotra has provided employment to 300 rural youth and plans to expand the footprint of her rural BPOs beyond Tamil Nadu.
ANUJ NAUTIYAL, BNP PARIBAS REAL ESTATE-INDIA, 29
“The only reason to playthe game should be to win. Otherwise one should sit on the side, watch and learn."
Unorganised and fragmented when Nautiyal took the plunge, few youngsters regarded real estate as a serious career.
But for Nautiyal, MD and CEO of BNP Paribas Real Estate-India, a subsidiary of the European financial services Powerhouse, the turning point came in 2006 when he decided to start his own real estate advisory company, Redwoods Projects. With only Rs 40,000 in his account it was a big gamble.
The company started out with two divisions—an advisory arm that provided guidance and another for construction and development. What began as a three-employee company today has 35 people working across three cities. Nautiyal attributes his success to the goodwill among his clients.
“Many of them even left JLL to do business with me,” says Nautiyal. A workaholic, he loves exploring new business ideas with friends. Travelling is also a part of this inquisitive nature. He is confident about holding forth in the difficult scenario. “This is the time when people will value quality advice,” he says. For him, adversity equals opportunity.
Role model: Mother Shree Nautiyal who taught him not to abandon hope in the face of trouble and to keep trying.
AVANISH AGARWAL, JPEARLS.COM, 25
“My challenge is to convert internet users into buyers by building confidence."
“When we first thought of a website with a payment gateway in 1999, many wondered what the Internet was,” he recalls. “We offer an unknown option considering that buying jewellery is usually done after seeing and examining the pieces,” explains Agarwal. For him, the “challenge is to sell it without knowing who is going to buy it”. He believes the Internet users of today are the Internet shoppers of tomorrow. He has shipped orders across India and has been a preferred partner with oil companies and banks including BPCL and ICICI among others.
“Online marketing is seemingly simple and a very profitable business. But companies cheat customers to erode confidence which is difficult to build in a virtual market,” he says. Moreover, online customers purchase products that are not expensive to reduce risk. The average ticket size that Agarwal sells is about Rs 2,500. “This is just the beginning as there is no classified data on the online retail business yet,” says Agarwal.
Role model: Kishore Biyani who is constantly evolving and implementing innovative retail formats even in the face of an economic downturn.
—Amarnath K. Menon
ARUN SAHLAM, CARWALE.COM, 31
“We have created a set of parameters which help people arrive at the fair value of their vehicle.”
If you are planning to buy a car and cannot make up your mind, chances are you haven’t visited Carwale.com. The portal has answers for all consumers’ needs.
They tried to connect all the dealerships with a web interface so that they could trade among themselves and serve customers with a better inventory. But no dealership used it.
They then decided to bring all the used car stock directly to car buyers. Thus was born Carwale.com. Says Sahlam: “Since car information was not available easily, we started offering comparisons and user reviews to empower our visitors.” By then, Rs 6 lakh had been invested in the venture, which was not making money initially. As traffic increased, automobile manufacturers began to advertise on the website. In just over three years, from being a pilot project, Carwale has turned into a profitable venture. It has won many awards, including the Red Herring Asia Top 100 and BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Young Entrepreneurs in Asia. In three years, Sahlam hopes to list the company once its revenues touch Rs 100 crore.
Success graph: Carwale has facilitated 10 million Indian car consumers and influenced approximately $3 billion worth of car transactions in the country.
IRFAN ALAM, SAMMAAN FOUNDATION, 28
“Twenty years from now, I will be heading the most valuable company of the downtrodden.”
Born into a middle-class family of Bihar’s Begusarai district, Irfan Alam has always been about bucking convention. So the 28-year-old picked economics at GD College despite everyone telling him bright students do only science.
“One day, I asked a rickshaw puller for water and he said he did not have it and could not afford it either. This triggered a chain of thought in my mind to help them sell water, newspapers and even operate as delivery boys,” he says.
Within a week he had a team of seven rickshaw pullers selling mineral water for him, getting it at a margin of Rs 2.50 a bottle from the distributor. The rickshaw puller had to invest nothing. Though the return was meagre, an idea was surely born. But when his family asked him to complete his studies first before plunging into the business whirlpool, he completed his masters in foreign trade followed by specialisation in entrepreneurship from IIM-A in 2006.
A few years later, he developed the idea further to establish the Sammaan Foundation in 2007, which aimed at improvising rickshaws into multipurpose advertising vehicles, metamorphosing the rickshaw puller into a delivery boy and mobile telephone booth, besides of course ferrying passengers. There was no looking back. Sammaan has already started operating in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh and Alam personally vets every new member before letting him join it. All this success, however, has failed to impress him. “I am a man in a hurry and still far away from where I wish to reach,” he says.
Booking it right: On his shelf, you would find Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani and Chasing Rickshaws by Tony Wheeler and Richard I’Anson.
PRAKASH MUNDHRA, SACRED MOMENTS, 29
“Most of my peers discouraged me. They said people would not gift puja items for Diwali. But I proved them wrong.”
Yet, he realised there was a pressing opportunity in the puja space. Moreover, he says, “I realised that young people like me knew nothing about pujas and how they were to be performed.” That’s when he thought of developing a kit which would provide what was needed for a particular ceremony. For instance, while most shopkeepers performed the Diwali puja in their shops, they needed the right ingredients, ghee, agarbattis, diyas, in the right quantity and in a convenient pack.
In 2006 he founded Sacred Moments to supply gift kits under the Blessingz brand to institutional clients. “People were getting bored of sweets and dry fruits during Diwali,” he says. Today the company’s turnover is Rs 1 crore with a 25 per cent net margin per kit, which sells for Rs 350. His clients include Reliance Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ITC. He has specialised kits for Holi, Ganpati puja, grihapravesh, namaz and soon plans to create kits for Christmas and New Year, as well as a Pongal kit and a Durga puja kit. In business, Mundhra swears by two things. A quote he read: In business there are no ifs and buts, only guts. The other, of course is his daily puja. It seems the gods are smiling on him.
Role play: At the age of six,Mundhra would insist on dressing up as mythological characters in fancy dress competitions. He lost whenever he dressed as anything else.
ASWIN CHANDRASEKARAN, INVENTION LABS, 27
“Fostering a culture of invention can help create products that make sense in India."
Called Kavi, it costs one tenth of the comparable devices abroad. Chandrasekaran seeks to give Indian engineering an identity in the global map and to achieve this he set up Invention Labs along with Ajit Narayanan, 27, Adib Ibrahim, 28, and Preetham K. Shivanna, 26—all from IIT Madras. Apart from Kavi, they have developed other products like machine vision systems for quality control and retail vending machines. The company currently has 11 employees and to ensure cash flow they also design subcomponents and products for various industries.
Role model: Bill Gates because he built a successful business by taking his product to every corner of the world.
M. THIAGARAJAN, PARAMOUNT AIRWAYS, 31
“A successful business IS the direct result of intelligence and courageous decisions.”
His business model was unique with his airlines catering only to the businessclass. Besides, Paramount became the first domestic carrier to introduce the New Generation Embraer 170/190 family series aircraft equipped with unique Category II low visibility auto-land. With a market leadership of 26 per cent in south India, the airways now operates to 12 destinations.
While expanding his flight network in the western part of the country, the management graduate from Thiyagaraja College, Madurai, plans to set up a new hub in Kolkata soon. After completing the mandatory five years in the domestic circle, Paramount will launch international services by 2012. Apart from his love for aircraft, Thiagarajan loves the Maldives and likes to shop in Indonesia. He is a great gadget freak as well. His enthusiasm for flying extends to yachting, golfing and adventure sports.
Passionate about: Astro navigation. Thiagarajan can tell you the location of a place by just seeing a star.


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Hits: 13The Philippine president has threatened to order the arrest of Filipinos who refuse COVID-19 vaccination and told them to leave the country if they would not cooperate to contain the pandemic Read More Go […]
Hits: 18 Bug spray, swollen welts, citronella. It’s mosquito season. And in a normal year, the health department serving Ohio’s Delaware County would be setting out more than 90 mosquito traps a week — black […]
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Nosh Kitchen is bringing its sweet and savory offerings to downtown Fargo
Nosh, which started in 2019 in Kelly Burm's West Fargo home kitchen, is taking over the kitchen space of the former Twist bar and restaurant.
FARGO - Kelly Burm is making the leap from home kitchen to downtown storefront.
Burm is the owner of Nosh Kitchen , a West Fargo home-based business that is making the jump to 220 Broadway N., the space once occupied by Twist bar and restaurant.
She’s been telling people about her plans on Nosh’s Facebook page for a couple weeks, but recently served notice on the Broadway facing windows that Nosh is ready to satisfy downtown’s cravings for the sweet and the savory.
Burm wants to open sometime in early November.
“I don’t have an exact open date. There have been a couple of pushbacks just because of me trying to get in there and them trying to get old stuff out and getting cleaning done before I get my inspections,” Burm said Wednesday, Oct. 13. “I want to be in there for the holidays for sure.”
Nosh Kitchen will offer a small bakery with items ready-to-go and filling orders made in advance. It will also operate like an “indoor food trucky” type of concept, Burm said.
“You can come to us. You can stay out of the rain, stay warm,” while ordering from items on a revolving menu that changes every two weeks.
- Boss' Pizza & Chicken coming to downtown Fargo
All of those foods will be served to go or by order. There will also be take-and-bake items “for busy families or those who don’t like to cook and just want a homestyle meal,” she said.
The focus will be on comfort food as cold weather sets into the region: lasagna and other pastas, soups, potato bowls, braised short ribs, enchiladas. Lighter fare will come when the warm weather returns.
“We’ll try to mix it up a bit, something for everyone,” Baum said. “A lot of good stuff!”
She plans to have some vegetarian items, but won’t have gluten free items until she had adjusted to the new space.
Delivery will include bakery and take-and-bake type items ordered ahead, but not lunch and dinner.
Old kitchen equipment is being pulled and the space deep cleaned for inspection and licensing.
“I’ll know a little bit more by the end of the month as far as opening time,” Burm said.
It’s a family oriented business, she added, saying that most of her family is working for her in the venture, either in the kitchen or the front of the store.
Updates on Nosh Kitchen are available on its Facebook page. Customers can also order bakery items online, delivered to your door, through noshkitchennd.com .
“It’s come a long way from two and a half years ago” when the business started, she said.
“We're rolling through this pandemic, and people think I’m a little crazy for trying to do this at this time. But you have to seize the opportunity when it comes, I think,” Burm said. “It’s been a little wild lately, but in a good way.”


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OnePlus, the China-based handset maker that has made a name for itself by offering high-end devices, has another reason for Android enthusiasts to celebrate: its latest smartphone is awfully easy to fix.
The OnePlus 2 Android-based smartphone earned a repairability score of 7 out of 10 from iFixit, a company that tears down electronics and sells tools to help users fix their own products. The score, which equals the repairability rating on Apple's iPhone 6 Plus, was boosted for the handset's use of modular components that can be replaced independently without worry of buying a whole new smartphone. The OnePlus 2 easily bested its predecessor, the OnePlus One, which could only muster a 5 out of 10 in iFixit's review of that device.
While iFixit's teardowns mean little to the average consumer who has no interest in breaking open a device to fix internal components, there is a subset of enthusiasts who often take apart devices to fix everything from screens to bad batteries to internal components. It's that group that iFixit caters to, and it's one -- especially in the Android space -- that is larger than one may think.
The OnePlus 2 is arguably doing the most of any smartphone on the market to excite Android enthusiasts. The device, which OnePlus calls the "2016 flagship killer," comes with high-end specs, including a 5.5-inch screen, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a USB-C port, making it one of the first mass-market smartphones on the market to come with that port. It's also running a modified version of Android developed in-house by OnePlus called Oxygen. The smartphone starts at $329.
OnePlus came on the scene with a splash last year when it unveiled its OnePlus One. The company had initially offered an invite-only method for buying its devices to control its costs and build a viral component to its marketing. The technique paid off, and has since made OnePlus a noted handset maker in the Android space. In 2013, when the company was founded, it had just 10 employees. It now has 900 employees and growing fast.
OnePlus has followed a similar strategy with the OnePlus Two by offering its device on an invite-only basis. The company, which faced issues getting invites to customers due to high demand for its OnePlus One, said things would be better this time around. On August 13, however, OnePlus announced that it will be rolling out invites more slowly than initially planned. The company blamed the slow rollout on issues it's seeing in the manufacturing process, as well as some trouble it's facing on software.
"There is continuous work being done on OxygenOS to improve the overall product experience," the company wrote on its forums. "In addition, we've seen a few cases where the material of the new USB Type-C cable is not holding up to our standards. This is being resolved upstream. For these reasons, we will be rolling out invites slowly to closely monitor and act on user feedback."
The announcement came after OnePlus announced on August 10 that it will delay its North America launch and start shipping to the continent two to three weeks after the handset is offered in Europe. The device went on sale to invite holders on August 11.
When customers get their OnePlus Two, they'll find a handset bundled with Qualcomm components. According to iFixit, Qualcomm not only powers the processor in the OnePlus 2, but also the built-in audio chip, the component that manages dual-SIM connectivity, and its Wi-Fi chip. OnePlus is relying on Samsung for its memory and storage. Like the OnePlus One, iFixit discovered that the 2 also features the company's signature red battery -- a design touch only those breaking open the device will see.
Still, it wasn't all nice inside the OnePlus 2: iFixit discovered that the device's LCD screen and the glass digitizer, which converts user touch inputs to digital commands that control the operating system, are fused together. If the glass cracks, therefore, the digitizer must also be replaced, boosting cost.
OnePlus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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Starbucks U.S. Store Closures Follow Employment Trends
from Media Buyer Planner
A look at the newly-released list of the 200 U.S. stores coffee chain Starbucks said it would close this year shows that many of the planned closures are concentrated in states with some of the highest unemployment figures.
Bernanke Sees Signs of Economic Stability
That day was clearly not at hand quite yet, since Bernanke said the Fed was exploring an expansion of the types of credit made available through its program to restart securitization markets, known as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility or TALF.
Concentrate on Your Existing Customers
With the economy still not showing much improvement, it is vital that you focus your attention where you can have the greatest impact on sales. In these economic times, I have seen everything from firms with sales down as much as 70 percent to firms that are still seeing small increases; however, the vast majority is experiencing decreases in sales around 20 to 30 percent this year. Getting new customers is going to be very difficult in these economic times. Most people want less uncertainty in their lives right now, which means that they are less willing to make changes in vendors.
Pay for Performance Debate Centers on Incentives
from Government Executive
While lawmakers and the Obama administration continue to wrangle over how best to implement new federal pay-for-performance systems, some employee representatives say the salary structure already in place in most of government is sufficient for rewarding performance. "The General Schedule system that's been in effect for a while has ways of rewarding good performance that don't get used," said Terry Rosen, a labor relations specialist with the American Federation of Government Employees. Those incentives include cash rewards and expedited within-grade increases -- also known as quality step increases.
Business Process Management Solution Drives U.K. Hospital Compliance
When the U.K. government mandated that national hospitals reduce patient treatment waiting times by nearly a third, officials at the highly specialized University College London Hospitals (UCLH) calculated that they could comply -- by hiring 12,000 people. Since that wasn't a possibility, they looked into business process management solutions to automate aspects of patient management instead.
Managing Toxic Employees
from Business West
These days, we often hear stories of toxic assets, toxic waste dumps, and toxic shock syndrome. But increasingly the adjective ‘toxic’ is being used to describe a deplorable employee. This article will identify possible reasons why a seemingly excellent hire turns out to be toxic, or why a long-standing employee has deteriorated into a hostile individual. In addition, we will focus on the proper approach employers should take toward transforming a toxic employee into a positive performer.
Biden's Chief Economist on President Obama's Plans for the Economy
from Fox News
This is a rush transcript from "Your World With Neil Cavuto," April 10, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.


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Over two dozen rabbis from Boro Park gathered at Masbia and the Rachmastrivka Rebbe, Rabbi Chai Yitzchok Twersky was given the honor of affixing the mezuzah on the main door.
Making l’chaim at the inaugural day at the first Masbia soup kitchen in honor of the mezuzah affixing ceremony. Seated facing front from L-R: Mordechai Mandelbaum, founder of Masbia; Kossover Rebbe; Dezher Rebbe Boro Park; Harav Shlomo Gross, Belzer dayan of Boro Park; Harav Yechazkel Roth, Karlsburger Rav; Chernobyler Rebbe; Rachmistrivke Rebbe; Harav Yeshaya Kenig, the Yoka Rav; the Skverer Rebbe of Boro Park; Pupa dayan.
Rachmastrivka Rebbe, Rabbi Chai Yitzchok Twersky giving l’chaim to Mordechai Mandelbaum, founder of Masbia.
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With this new security measure, Valve hopes to reduce phishing, spam and other bot related things on Steam. This new security measure is to limit what people can do on Steam if they haven’t spent $5 on the platform.
“Malicious users often operate in the community on accounts which have not spent any money, reducing the individual risk of performing the actions they do,” They also went on to say; “One of the best pieces of information we can compare between regular users and malicious users are their spending habits as typically the accounts being used have no investment in their longevity. Due to this being a common scenario we have decided to restrict certain community features until an account has met or exceeded $5.00 USD in Steam.”
Anybody who uses Steam will now have to pay $5 before they can:
- Send friend invites
- Open group chat
- Vote on Greenlight, Steam Reviews and Workshop items
- Participate in the Steam Market
- Post frequently in the Steam Discussions
- Gain Steam Profile Levels (Locked to level 0) and Trading Cards
- Submit content on the Steam Workshop
- Post in an item’s Steam Workshop Discussions
- Access the Steam Web API
- Use browser and mobile chat
However, this isn’t the only security upgrade announced by Valve as earlier this week they announced their two-step mobile authentication model and a beta group for it, where users can test the new security feature. If you don’t already use it, you should as it sends you a text and inside the text is a new password every time you login, to ensure that you and only you can access your account. This feature should roll out to all users soon.


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Beverage company Lion has announced that it may cut up to 61 jobs at breweries in Queensland and South Australia.
The Milton brewery in Brisbane, which produces XXXX beer could lose 25 full-time workers while 36 jobs are expected to go at the West End brewery in Adelaide.
Lion says that the job cuts are needed in order to remain competitive in the marketplace “against a range of cost pressures” and the “continued decline” in the mainstream beer market.
The drinks company is currently undergoing a strategic review, however Lion said that the proposed job cuts are separate to those negotiations and “reflect external market conditions”.
Although the company confirmed that West End remains South Australia’s most popular beer and XXXX is the best performing mainstream beer brand in Australia, it said “no brewery is immune from the need to be competitive”.
West End will continue to be brewed locally and will play an “important role” in the Lion brewery network.
Lion said any workers made redundant would have access to outplacement, job transition and retirement planning assistance.
“Our preference would always be to offer voluntary over compulsory redundancies in the first instance,” the company said.


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The range and quality of foods now offered at many U.S. colleges and universities has created a greater degree of competition. According to recent Mintel research, 72 percent of college students who have dined on campus have done so at their campus cafeteria, compared to 65 percent who have done so at a café, restaurant, or coffee shop on campus.
“Students and their parents have come to expect high-quality food in their college or university environments,” says Eric Giandelone, foodservice director at Mintel. “This is placing pressure on schools to include these programs as part of their overall package when attracting students.”
Lighter meals are the most popular option for on-campus diners, with sandwiches (61 percent) leading the pack as most ordered for the on-the-go students. Salads are also a popular preference (42 percent), but would be best served as a to-go alternative versus the standard all-you-can-eat option.
Female students are more likely than male students to opt for healthier choices, such as salads (46 percent vs. 35 percent); however, they also have a sweet tooth and are more likely than males to get a baked good/pastry or ice cream dessert. Men, on the other hand, are less healthy with their on-campus food choices and are notably more likely than women to order French fries (36 percent vs. 30 percent) or cheeseburgers (26 percent vs. 18 percent).
Ultimately, when it comes to top restaurant attributes, price is top-of-mind for student diners.
“Keeping on-campus meals and snacks at a competitive price point will help keep students from wandering off campus for their brain food,” Giandelone says. “This is also true for foodservice providers looking to attract off-campus students not enrolled in a campus meal plan to select on-campus establishments.”
Some 86 percent of students claim price was the most important factor when selecting their eating destination, followed by menu selection, convenient location, and cuisine type (74 percent, 71 percent and 68 percent, respectively).
While not overly important to students now, some 6 percent of students made their choice based on local ingredient usage and 4 percent on the use of fair trade products. This corresponds with the local, sustainable, and green movements that the foodservice industry is seeing as a whole.


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Pancheros Mexican Grill Names Joe Gale to Director of Franchise Development
Accomplished Sales Executive to Amplify Strategic Franchise Growth for Leading Fast-casual Mexican Brand
June 14, 2021 // Franchising.com // CORALVILLE, IOWA - A new Director of Franchise Development is in place for Pancheros focused on spreading the Burritos Better Built mantra across the county.
Today, the brand announced the appointment of Joe Gale to the post. Gale is leading the company’s franchise expansion strategy aimed at growing the Pancheros footprint in targeted U.S. regions.
Born, bred and still living in Pancheros’ home Iowa City market, Gale brings more than 20 years of relevant restaurant industry experience to the position. He spent the past two-plus decades with Coca-Cola, guiding sales directly with franchise brands and restaurant franchise owners. Gale has cultivated strong relationships directly with large multi-unit franchise operators in more than 20 states, providing him with a strong footing for the role with Pancheros.
“I have witnessed this amazing brand become a national leader in the fast-casual space being so close to it for so many years. I’ve always admired how Pancheros has carved out its place at the top of the category and I couldn’t be more proud to join the company,” said Gale, who freely admits that Pancheros has been his favorite restaurant to eat at since it first opened in the early 90s. “As a life-long Pancheros fan, I'm honored to be part of the team. I look forward to propelling growth in the near and long terms.”
Building strong relationships and earning trust through a role like this is not new to Gale. Prior to Pancheros with Coca Cola, he managed sales relationships that included national and regional regional chains such as Dairy Queen, Arby’s, Popeyes and IHOP.
Gale’s addition to the Pancheros team comes at a very exciting time for the brand, as it continues to expand through new unit growth, including openings coming soon in Peoria, Moline IL, Bismarck, ND and Cherry Hills, NJ. .
“Our future is bright with Joe joining our team because of his unique background and experience when it comes to building franchisee relationships,” said Rodney Anderson, CEO and founder of Pancheros. “We’re excited to have him bring his sales background to our brand. He adds an expertise that stands to make a significant impact on our growth.”
Pancheros is positioned apart from other big-name burrito concepts because of its quality ingredients, fast service and burritos better built. The brand’s pursuit to build the perfect burrito dates back to 1992, when Pancheros founder Rodney Anderson opened the doors to his first restaurant in downtown Iowa City, Iowa.
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SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son believes that if meal delivery business Swiggy decides to go public at some time, it will have a solid offering, similar to Zomato’s excellent stock listing.
“I believe we will see good returns from here as well if they (Swiggy) go public. In an earnings presentation on August 10, SoftBank CEO Son stated, “That is our expectation.” Swiggy was reportedly valued at over $5 billion as SoftBank led a $1.25 billion investment.
While Zomato was valued at roughly $5 billion in a private investment round earlier this year, when it went public, it had a market cap of over $13 billion. Since then, the stock has been hovering around that level. Swiggy, for one, has no plans to list just yet. It has considered an IPO, but there is no timetable and no actual action being taken right now, according to CEO Sriharsha Majety in a recent interview.
As of June this year, Swiggy has over 20 million monthly users and processes 1.5 million orders per day, according to Son’s presentation. From June 2020 to June 2021, orders increased 2.5 times, while revenue increased 2.8 times.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund, which was chastised less than two years ago for poor investments and over-aggression, made a $2.14 billion profit in the first quarter of 2021. SoftBank reported over $45 billion in yearly net profits in May, a new high for Japanese companies, because to successful portfolio listings around the world, primarily in South Korea’s Coupang. Coupang’s stock, on the other hand, has dropped almost 15% since then, reducing SoftBank’s earnings.


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This article was previously title ‘Apple’s Audacity’
It is the nature of hardware that a computer the vast majority of Apple’s customers will never own was the headline from the company’s keynote at its annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC). The Mac Pro starts at $6,000, and will be configurable to a number many times that. If you think that is absurd, or would simply rather buy a new car, well, you’re not the target customer.
At the same time, here I am, leading with the Mac Pro, just like those headline writers, and I’m not incentivized by hardware driving clicks: it was fun seeing what Apple came up with in its attempt to build the most powerful Mac ever, in the same way it is fun to read about supercars. More importantly, I thought that sense of “going for it” that characterized the Mac Pro permeated the entire keynote: Apple seemed more sure of itself and, consequentially, more audacious than it has in several years.
The iPhone Plateau
In retrospect, the previous malaise around Apple should have been expected. When a product like the iPhone comes along — and make no mistake, there are very few products like the iPhone! — the goal is simply to hold on to a rocket ship. Growth was trivial: simply add a new country or a new carrier, and predict iPhone sales with eerie accuracy. That all culminated with the iPhone 6, when Apple’s forecasts were finally wrong — there was far more pent-up demand for larger screens than anyone anticipated.
It turned out that was the peak: Apple would again miss forecasts with the iPhone 6S, but this time their mistake was expecting growth that never materialized, eventually resulting in a $2 billion inventory draw-down. The forecasts did get better, but as I explained last year, unit growth never returned:
The 6S was the new normal: iPhone unit sales have been basically flat ever since:
What has changed is Apple’s pricing: the iPhone 7 Plus cost $20 more than the iPhone 6S Plus. Then, last year, came the big jump: both the iPhones 8 and 8 Plus cost more than their predecessors ($50 and $30 respectively); more importantly, they were no longer the flagship. That appellation belonged to the $999 iPhone X, and given how many Apple fans will only buy the best, average selling price skyrocketed:
From a financial perspective, it didn’t much matter where the growth came from — more units or more revenue per unit. The iPhone, though, was no longer a rocket ship scaling to new heights; it was an institution, something with roots, and something that could be exploited.
This changes a company: instead of looking outwards for opportunity, the gaze turns inwards. In 2018 I called it Apple’s Middle Age:
Apple’s growth is almost entirely inwardly-focused when it comes to its user-base: higher prices, more services, and more devices…The high-end smartphone market — that is, the iPhone market — is saturated. Apple still has the advantage in loyalty, which means switchers will on balance move from Android to iPhone, but that advantage is counter-weighted by clearly elongating upgrade cycles. To that end, if Apple wants growth, its existing customer base is by far the most obvious place to turn.
In short, it just doesn’t make much sense to act like a young person with nothing to lose: one gets older, one’s circumstances and priorities change, and one settles down. It’s all rather inevitable…The fact of the matter is that Apple under Cook is as strategically sound a company as there is; it makes sense to settle down. What that means for the long run — stability-driven growth, or stagnation — remains to be seen.
The long-run came quickly: one year later CEO Tim Cook had to issue a revenue warning thanks to slumping iPhone sales; after four years of accounting for between 68-70% of Apple’s revenue in the company’s fiscal first quarter, the iPhone suddenly only accounted for 62%.
It might have been the best thing that could have happened to Apple.
There were three announcements in yesterday’s keynote that, particularly when taken together, spoke to a company moving forward.
The first was the end of iTunes, which will be split into separate Music, Podcasts, and TV apps; device syncing will be handed by the Finder. This is both straightforward and overdue, but still meaningful: while iTunes didn’t save Apple, the application is the connective thread of one of the greatest growth stories in business history. There is a direct line from the introduction of iTunes in January 2001 to the introduction of the iPod later that year, then the iTunes Music Store in 2003 (upon which the App Store was built), and ultimately the iPhone in 2007. iTunes provided the foundation for everything that followed, and it seems appropriate that the application is going away at the same time that growth story is coming to a close.
The second was the introduction of iPadOS. This is, to be clear, mostly a marketing move: iPadOS is very much the same iOS it was two days ago. Marketing moves can matter, though: in this case — much like the Mac Pro — it is a statement from Apple that the non-iPhone parts of its business still matter. While the company was on the iPhone plateau it wasn’t so clear that management cared about either — both the iPad and Mac languished, the former in terms of software, and the latter in terms of hardware — but now there is real evidence the company is fully back in. That management no longer had a choice is besides the point.
The third announcement was the App Store on Apple Watch. While there was not any news about the Apple Watch being completely untethered from the iPhone — non-cellular models have no choice — it is a clear step towards making the Watch independent.1 That, by extension, completely changes the Watch’s addressable market from iPhone users to everyone. This was likely Apple’s endgame all along, but there is more urgency than there may have been even six months ago, and that is a great thing: better urgency than complacency.
Privacy and Purpose
Last fall Cook gave a remarkable speech at the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in Europe. This was certainly not the first time Cook has spoken about privacy, but the clarity, purpose, and passion with which Cook spoke was striking. I wrote about the speech in a Daily Update, so I will not break it down in full here, but this portion is worth highlighting again:
Now there are many people who would prefer I never said all of that. Some oppose any form of privacy legislation; others will endorse reform in public and then resist and undermine it behind closed doors. They may say to you, “Our companies can never achieve technology’s true potential if they are constrained with privacy regulation.” But this notion isn’t just wrong: it is destructive. Technology’s potential is, and always must be, rooted in the faith people have in it, in the optimism and the creativity that it stirs in the hearts of individuals, and in its promise and capacity to make the world a better place. It’s time to face facts: we will never achieve technology’s true potential without the full faith and confidence of the people who use it.
It was only a month ago that Google made a very different pitch, making the case that the services it created with all of the data it collected was a tradeoff worth making. Unsurprisingly, the two different visions aligned with the company’s two different business models: data collection is obviously integral to advertising, and privacy a differentiating factor for Apple’s high-end hardware.
What I appreciated about both company’s events, though, was the commitment. Google did not try to obfuscate or hide how its products worked, but rather embraced and dwelled on the centrality of user data to its offerings. Apple, similarly, emphasized privacy at every turn, and did so with passion: it felt like the fight for privacy has given the entire company a new sense of purpose, and that is invaluable.
In short, it is clear that privacy has become more than a Strategy Credit for Apple. It is a driving force behind the company’s decisions, both in terms of product features and also strategy. This is particularly apparent in perhaps the most important announcement yesterday, Sign In with Apple.
Sign In with Apple
It’s important to note that the question of privacy goes far beyond Google and Facebook — it predates the Internet. Starting in the 1960s companies began collecting all of the personal information on individual consumers they could get; Lester Wunderman gave it the sanitized name of “direct marketing”. Everything from reward programs to store loyalty discounts to credit cards were created and mined to better understand and market to those individual consumers.
The Internet plugged into this existing infrastructure: it was that much easier to track what users were interested in, particularly on the desktop, and there were far more places to put advertisements in front of them. Mobile actually tamped this down, for a bit: there was no longer one browser that accepted cookies from anyone and everyone, which made it harder to track. That, though, was a boon for Facebook in particular: its walled-garden both collected data and displayed advertisements all in one place.
Over time Facebook extended its data collection far beyond the Facebook app: both it and Google have a presence on most websites, and offering login services for apps not only relieves developers from having to manage identities but also give both companies a view into what their users are doing. The alternative is for users to use their email address to create accounts, but that is hardly better: your email address is to data collectors as your house address was fifty years ago — a unique identifier that connects you to the all-encompassing profiles that have been built without your knowledge.
This is the context for Sign In with Apple: developers can now let Apple handle identity instead of Facebook or Google. Furthermore, users creating accounts with Sign In with Apple have the option of using a unique email address per service, breaking that key link to their data profiles, wherever they are housed.
This was certainly an interesting announcement in its own right: identity management is one of the single most powerful tools in technology. Owning identity was and is a critical part of Microsoft’s dominance in enterprise, and the same could be said of Facebook in particular in the consumer space. Apple making a similar push — or even simply weakening the position of others — is noteworthy.
Privacy and Power
Still, Sign In with Apple is a hard sell for most developers who have already aligned themselves with Facebook or Google or have rolled their own solution. And, given that developers want to make money, is it really worth adding on an identity manager that would likely interfere with that?
Then came the bombshell in Apple’s Updates to the App Store Guidelines:
Sign In with Apple will be available for beta testing this summer. It will be required as an option for users in apps that support third-party sign-in when it is commercially available later this year.
Apple is going to leverage its monopoly position as app provider on the iPhone to force developers (who use 3rd party solutions)2 to use Sign In with Apple. Keep in mind, that also means building Sign In with Apple into related websites, and even Android apps, at least if you want users to be able to login anywhere other than their iPhones. It was quite the announcement, particularly on a day where it became clear that Apple was a potential target of U.S. antitrust investigators.
It is also the starkest example yet of how the push for privacy and the push for competition are, as I wrote a year ago often at odds. Apple is without question proposing an identity solution that is better for privacy, and they are going to ensure that solution gets traction by leveraging their control of the App Store.
Note, though, that even this fits in the broader theme of Apple regaining its mojo: complaints about the App Store have been in part about data but mostly about Apple’s commission and refusal to allow alternative payment methods. It is a tactic that very much fits into the “get more revenue from existing customers” approach that characterized the last few years.
Sign In with Apple, though, is much more aggressive and strategic in nature: it is a new capability, that could both hurt competitors and attract new users. It is the move of a company looking outwards for opportunity, and motivated by something more intrinsic than revenue. It is very Apple-like, and while there will be a lot of debate about whether leveraging the App Store in this way is illegal or not, it is a lot more interesting for the industry to have Apple off the iPhone plateau.
I wrote a follow-up to this article in this Daily Update.


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Sony has announced that it has started rolling-out Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for Xperia T2 Ultra and T2 Ultra Dual smartphones. The update will be released over the coming weeks in markets across the globe.
“We’ve been working to build new Sony experiences on Google’s KitKat release to create some neat / sweet features (if we say so ourselves) – in addition to a few performance tweaks here & there,” noted Sony in blog post.
According to Sony, the update includes the Android 4.4 specific changes like performance improvements, UI optimisation, immersive mode, cloud-print support and updated Hangouts app as well as tweaked Status Bar and Quick Settings, upgraded native app portfolio, new version of Sony media apps, Xperia themes support and support for SmartBand SWR10 and Lifelog app.
The company has also stated that it will soon start the KitKat update release for Xperia E1, Xperia M2 and M2 dual smartphones.


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YouTube turns five today, and with 2 billion daily users to celebrate the birthday, is safe to say the video site is having a good life. Still, the road to the big "zero five" -- that's a long time in Internet years -- wasn't without potholes. Here's...
Sharp revealed its first 3D camera for mobile devices this Wednesday, detailing that they plan to start production of the module before the end of the year.
Sony Australia today announced a new HD camcorder that will use interchangeable lenses. The yet-to-be-named prototype records video in the AVCHD format and will incorporate key technologies from Sony’s new interchangeable-lens compact stills camera r...
While text-based search services such as Google's and Microsoft Bing now come pretty close to consistently serving up what users seek, video search services remain inexact at best, said video archiving experts who spoke on a panel at last week's WWW2...
Cisco finally announced the newest member of its Flip family, the Flip Slide HD. This newest Flip camcorder sports a three-inch resistive touchscreen for viewing your home flicks as well as 720p video, and 16GB of storage for recording up to four ho...
Considering the TV series House centers around an unorthodox doctor, it isn't too surprising that the production crew took an unorthodox approach to filming the Season Six finale.
French search specialist Exalead thinks it's cracked one of the big challenges of search, making video searchable, and has landed a high-profile customer to prove it: the Web site of France's President.
Wal-Mart Stores is taking another swing at the online movie business with the acquisition of Vudu.
The parents of a Pennsylvania high school student have asked a federal judge to bar school district personnel from switching on cameras in school-issued MacBook laptops, calling the security feature "peeping tom technology."
Despite playing a soft hand in terms of new cameras, Canon went all-in with its high-definition camcorder announcements at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Milan prosecutors Wednesday sought prison sentences ranging from six months to one year for four Google executives accused of violating Italy's privacy laws over the posting of a video showing the bullying of a handicapped teenage boy.
Boris FX has announced that its entire product line has been updated for used with the new Apple Final Cut Studio 3.
Google has reached an agreement to buy video compression technology vendor On2 Technologies in a stock deal worth about US$106.5 million, the companies announced.
Pixar Animation Studios has debut RenderMan Pro Server 15 and the brand-new Tractor 1.0 render management software, and announced that owners of its RenderMan rendering software will soon be able to use the product across all processor cores on a sin...
Kodak has announced a new high-definition pocket video camera, the Zi8, which captures video in 1080p HD. The Zi8 is a step-up in video resolution over its predecessors, the Kodak Zi6 and the weather-resistant Zx1, which both maxed out at 720p. Along...
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TOKYO — Nissan Motor Co said Tuesday that it was suspending production at its St. Petersburg plant between March 16 and March 31 due to weak sales in the Russian market.
Japan's No.2 automaker will not extend temporary contracts at the factory and will suspend hiring, a spokeswoman said.
Industry-wide new car sales in Russia plunged 38 percent in February from the same month a year earlier, continuing a sharp decline in 2014 as the economy weakened due to lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis.
The ruble also tumbled last year, forcing consumers to put off large purchases and automakers to raise prices.
The tough market has also prompted General Motors Co to announce plans to idle its Russian plant for eight weeks starting in late March, after it had already cut one of the two shifts at the factory in September.
Nissan builds the X-Trail, Murano, Teana and Pathfinder models at the St. Petersburg factory. It also has local production of other models at factories owned by top Russian automaker Avtovaz, in which Nissan and Renault SA jointly hold a majority stake.
Nissan has plans to eventually double production capacity in St. Petersburg to 100,000 vehicles a year, and said Russia remains an important long-term investment.


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When fellow luxury houses were unveiling its Spring/Summer 2021 collections to a virtual audience, Virgil Abloh had kept the details on Louis Vuitton Men’s under wraps. Key influencers and media were treated to a socially distant teaser in Paris where housed in a shipping container, would transport viewers figuratively to China. Dubbed Zoooom With Friends, Spring/Summer 2021 begun digitally, through a squad of curious cartoon characters loaded into crates and shipped off to sea. Four weeks later and the collection materialised in front of a live audience in Shanghai. And amid the pandemic, is one of the first houses to do so, lending a hint of normalcy found within an eccentric tale.
On the banks of the Huangpu River, guests were treated to a larger-than-life presentation. Abloh who is usually visible at collection presentations was absent due to travel restrictions, yet his design ethos and creative DNA permeated throughout the runway. “What you’ve witnessed today is not just a mere musical performance or another fashion show,” Abloh said in a video, narrated by Hill and posted to his personal Instagram Thursday. “What you’ve seen is black imagination manifesting itself in real life.”
Award-winning, American singer Lauryn Hill was projected onto the shipping containers above for a virtual performance while models donned garments below for in-person viewing. Looks were what you expect of Abloh’s reign over Louis Vuitton. Classic blazers, jackets and patterns are treated with a strong shoulder pad dressed in vibrant colours and patterns while the sleek business tie lend a Wall Street vibe. Warped sunglasses and futuristic frames are reminiscent of The Matrix with ’90s flare and the same cartoons, can be seen transformed into knitted, stuffed toys found clutching to iconic bag silhouettes.
According to WWD, the runway broke records in China alone, with 85 millions views on Louis Vuitton’s livestream. In a world plagued with uncertainty, and despite his absence from the physical stage, Virgil Abloh combined a sense of normality, escapism and a political agenda (the use of all-Black collaborators a nod to the Black Lives Matter Movement) for an inclusive and impactful show.


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BANGKOK, Aug. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — With officials from the Chumphon Agriculture Bureau and members of the Chumphon Durian Association serving as witnesses, Sangmanee, an established durian grower based in Chumphon, Thailand, inked a strategic cooperation agreement with Zebra Prime, a leading Chinese membership-based e-commerce platform within the Zhejiang Ge Jia Network, on August 24. Under the agreement, Zebra Prime will help Sangmanee and other players operating in Chumphon’s durian market expand their reach to China’s middle-class consumers and more efficiently tap the market potential.
Ye Hong (left), brand marketing manager at Zebra Prime, inking a strategic cooperation agreement with Mr. Songrlt, director at Sangmanee
China is now Thailand’s largest export market for durians. Thailand exported 490,000 tonnes of durians to 48 countries in 2018, including 343,000 tonnes exported to China. Based on an estimation that one durian weighs 3kg, eight out of every 100 Chinese consumers buy durian. The durian market still has huge potential.
K. Nuchanat Saengmanee of the Chumphon Durian Association said durian and durian-based products are among the most popular search items on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Knowing that Zebra Prime is one of the most visited platforms among middle-class consumers with strongest purchasing power in China, the Association aims to further establish its presence and leadership as a major durian provider among high-end consumers across the country, while seizing the huge growth opportunities brought about by its fast-growing population of middle-class consumers.
Photo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190827/2559989-1?lang=0


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WITH seven years operations in Gauteng, Selpal – a financial technology solutions (fintech) company that operates specifically in townships and rural sectors of the economy is now ready to spread its wings, and according to CEO, Stephen Goldberg, township traders and their customers could see this innovative FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) trading platform hit the Western Cape within the next 12 – 18 months.
“Understanding the FMCG informal market and being able to design a revolutionary route to market and cashless platform has been challenging to say the least!” admits Goldberg.
The concept was initially backed by a minority shareholding from FNB which turned into a 100% acquisition at the end of 2020, leading one to believe that after the seven year baptism of fire, FNB now believes the concept is mature enough and moreover opens up the huge potential of tapping into the informal market with its other products and services.
Goldberg explained that FNB over the last few years has made significant strides in supporting and becoming more relevant to community-based businesses. The tie-up with Selpal affirmed this commitment.
Tried and tested in Gauteng which boasts 60% of the national FMCG trade, Selpal’s footprint is supported by an integrated two pronged approach for business to business and business to customers. The clever system connects informal retailers such as spaza shops with FMCG suppliers, wholesalers and manufacturers.
From a business user experience perspective, Selpal merchants are equipped with a free Selpal POS (Point-Of-Sale) device that doesn’t attract fees yet enables them to view, order, and pay for and sell stock (including various value-added services such as airtime) without the merchant needing to leave their shop.
Considering the cash-intensive nature of this market, FNB is leveraging its collective current cash handling infrastructure to enable Selpal to seamlessly facilitate payments between stakeholders in the supply chain. This further solves a large challenge of security and convenience for all participants.
How it works
From the merchant’s perspective; once the Selpal device is implemented in store their Vault (an electronic wallet system developed by Selpal) and contains sufficient ‘cash’, the merchant can buy their usual inventory and pay for it cashlessly from their Vault, as well as sell other services such as electricity, gaming and airtime. A new customer wallet and loyalty programme is under development and follows a new and exciting B2C strategy.
Says Goldberg; “A fundamental part of this concept is to bring value to the informal trade, not extract value, that is why the device and its use – both with ordering stock and interacting with the customer – costs the trader precisely nothing and eliminates cash handling and its security issues. “Our income is through the well-established transactional fees system levied on wholesalers and suppliers.”
Concluded Goldberg, “If community-based businesses can see the value in what we are offering, we are confident that they will make use of our products and services, and in-turn, help increase the level of financial inclusion, adopting more formal financial services. This could include increasing the level card/QR payment acceptance at spaza stores which ultimately benefits both businesses and consumers. FNB’s relationship with Selpal involves helping businesses to get access – to financial education and skills, funding and access to markets” he said.


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Social Native has joined Tik Tok’s marketing partner program as a creative partner, delivering brands access to content from Tik Tok creators.
Social Native aims tap into the global creator economy and utilize native Tik Tok creators to make branded content that matches pace with how quickly its audience consumes it.
This content can be organically posted by creators, as well as leveraged by the brand through ads and on its own Tik Tok account.
David Shadpour, founder and CEO of Social Native said, “The sheer volume of content that brands need to create to be successful on Tik Tok can be daunting, even to experienced marketing teams. With our massive pool of creators who know exactly how to cater to this audience, we can help generate native content that truly resonates with this rapidly growing crowd.”
Melissa Yang, head of ecosystem partnerships, Tik Tok said, "Through Tik Tok For Business, we’re building new opportunities for marketers to be creative storytellers and meaningfully engage with the Tik Tok community. We're thrilled to collaborate with some of the most strategic and trusted leaders in the advertising industry and continue giving marketers access to more tools to successfully create, measure and optimize ad campaigns on Tik Tok."
Liz Montiel, VP of partnerships and business development at Social Native said, “Our partnership with Tik Tok has already shown proven results for brands looking to reach an audience that plays by different rules. With our relationship poised to grow stronger, we are excited to showcase how we can help brands integrate Tik Tok more fully into their social strategy."


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The hospitality industry is seeing a steady increase in occupancy, and we’re excited about it! Enseo’s Vanessa Ogle joined Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Quicktake to discuss the latest hotel and travel trends shaping the summer travel season.
Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and more than 37 million people are expected to travel according to AAA. It’s an increase of 60% from 2020. As confidence returns and travelers get out, Bloomberg Radio interviews CEO Vanessa Ogle to find out what travelers can expect in the way of safety precautions and technology since the pandemic hit.
Enseo CEO Vanessa Ogle, joins Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous to discuss the enseoCONNECT mobile remote implementations amid the pandemic.
Hotel owners lost nearly $46 billion in revenue last year. In this short video, MarketWatch investigates how the industry is shifting its business model and pivoting towards tech to recover.
Vanessa Ogle, Enseo founder and chief executive officer, talks about how the company is making hotel rooms safer for guests during the pandemic. She speaks on Future about how a mobile phone can help control most of the guest experience and how her company survived cutbacks and pandemic lockdowns.
Enseo CEO and founder Vanessa Ogle joins Yahoo Finance’s Zack Guzman to discuss COVID-19 has precipitated a rise in hotels using contactless technology to prepare for guests traveling again.
Small businesses across the U.S. are facing crisis, hoping for relief. Enseo CEO Vanessa Ogle on Fox Business’ the Claman Countdown discusses the process, challenges, and hope for the future after COVID-19.
“1 in 25 Americans work in hospitality & 61% is small business.” CEO Vanessa Ogle talks Coronavirus impact on the travel industry with Nasdaq TradeTalks’ Jill Malandrino.
“We are absolutely seeing an increase in investment technology by the big hotel brands,” Enseo Founder and CEO Vanessa Ogle says. “And a lot of this investment is around areas of safety— for employee safety.”
Honey Grove ISD invested in a new security system called “MadeSafe.” “When we can give accurate information faster to first responders, we save lives. Honey Grove is really jumping ahead of a problem in the market,” says CEO of Enseo, Vanessa Ogle.


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Good Morning! IoT Insider is delivered first thing every morning exclusively to BI Intelligence members.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH GOOGLE TO ADVANCE SURGICAL ROBOTS: Ethicon, a medical device company owned by Johnson & Johnson, announced an agreement to work with Google's Life Sciences team to help advance surgical robotics, according to a J&J press release. The companies will work together to share their "intellectual property and expertise to create an innovative robotics-assisted surgical platform." The agreement's goal is to help improve the operating room's efficiency.
Robotic surgery is more efficient than traditional surgery. In the press release, J&J highlights how robotic-assisted surgery improves the surgeon's control, gives her better access, and improves accuracy. In particular, this type of surgery helps to minimize the patient's trauma, reduce scarring, and will help the patient heal faster.
The medical device sector of the IoT is growing quickly. This year, we expect 62 million internet -connected healthcare and social assistance devices will be shipped. In 2019, we expect shipments to equal 170 million.
"GAPING SECURITY HOLES" IN THE IoT: The open-source software, Linux, is expanding its reach into the IoT, according to EE Times. Currently, Linux powers gateways, however the open-source software is looking to expand its reach to be able to power IoT end nodes, which connect with local IoT devices and gather data. To implement this plan will be incredibly challenging, though, because Linux tends to require a lot of data space to run. Comparatively, systems like the AllSeen Alliance's Alljoyn require little space.
The company's announcement came at the Embedded Linux Conference, which occurred last week. At the conference, Dominique Le Foll, a Linux expert for Intel, said, "We are miles away from where we should be [in security] in the embedded world. We have the tools but people understand them a little — and they don't want to use them." Similarly, Bryant Eastham of Panasonic said, "There's a huge amount of effort going into security, but one study said 75% of IoT products have gaping security holes."
'LEADING EDGE CONSUMERS' FIND CONNECTED CARS APPEALING: GfK released results of their survey of 5,800 drivers in Brazil, Germany, Russia, UK, US, and China, analyzing their attitudes toward the connected car. The firm split up the respondents into two groups: Leading Edge Consumers (LEC) and general consumers, with LEC's referring to tech-savvy individuals who are "early adopters, influential, and passionate about shopping." The survey found:
- The top connected car concept among both groups is a car that is 'Ultra Safe.' 96% and 87% of LEC's and general consumers, respectively, indicated that that was the most appealing connected car concept.
- Data trackers, which collect the car's usage information, run diagnostics, record accident data, and check repair costs, were the second most desired feature among both groups. 91% and 79% of LEC's and general consumers, respectively, indicated that that was the second most appealing connected car feature.
- Interestingly, the last place concept was for autonomous (self-driving cars). However, there was still a high level of appeal. 81% of LEC's and 66% of general consumers, respectively indicated that they like the concept.
Unsurprisingly, they found that LEC's are the most valuable target customer for automakers. Leading edge consumers' "are a clear 'hot opportunity' for sales of connected cars," according to Frank Hartl, global lead for automotive at GfK. They will be the first adopters of the technology and could drive the market.
INTEROPERABILITY IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR SMART HOME CONSUMERS: "Over 50% of smart home device owners consider interoperability 'very important'," according to a new Parks Associate survey. The survey found that the importance of interoperability correlates with the number of smart home devices the respondent has, meaning if the respondent has multiple smart home devices, they are more likely to say that interoperability is important." Notably, the survey found that 60% of US broadband households are unfamiliar with smart home products and services.
PARKME EXPANDS COVERAGE: ParkMe, a mobile app that tells users about open parking spots using real-time data, expanded is coverage to Hollywood and Venice, CA, according to a press release. Using Xerox's MERGE, a sensor-based infrastructure platform, ParkMe is able to inform its users of open parking spaces. The application also informs the driver of the current parking rates.
This is just one of the many ways that we believe IoT devices will proliferate within governments and municipalities. Already, the ParkMe application connects 28 million on-street and off-street spaces, spanning 81,000 cities, 3,100 cities, and 57 countries. One analyst believes that in the US alone there are roughly 800 million parking spots. If companies, like ParkMe, are able to connect even a fraction of the total parking spots, the number of associated devices could reach the hundreds of millions.
Here's what else BI Intelligence subscribers are reading...


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Roguelike Metroidvania title Dead Cells has shifted more than 3.5m units since its launch back in May 2017.
That's according to a press release from developer Motion Twin, which pegs the game as having sold around 1.1m copies since September 2019. That's pretty impressive stuff. The studio revealed that Dead Cells has sold 2.4m copies when it set up the Evil Empire company to look after the title last year.
Back in May 2018, Motion Twin revealed to PCGamesInsider.biz that the title had shifted 730,000 units during its time in Early Access. By the following March, when the game had launched in 1.0 on Steam and come to Nintendo Switch, it had reached one million units, with PC still being the leading platform for the indie hit.
At GDC 2018, we caught up with marketing and communications boss Steve Filby to discuss the process of making the game and the complications that came with mixing two of the most popular genres – roguelike and Metroidvania – in the indie games space.
The following year, Filby and designer and chief Sébastien Bénard reflected on what they learnt from the development of Dead Cells, Early Access and beyond. The duo also discussed Motion Twin's co-operative working philosophy, which the studio has described as "a direct challenge to tired old world corporate structures."
Motion Twin also revealed that the title's second paid DLC, Fatal Falls, is set to launch in the first quarter of 2021.


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Facebook’s Plan to Make Ads More Transparent Already Has a Big Hole In It
Facebook’s new push to be more transparent have already hit a snag. The company recently introduced a new tool that lets users easily see any ads a particular Facebook Page is running, but advertisers have already found a way around it.
The social media giant is in the midst of dealing with a number of crises over privacy, security, and bad faith use of the tools on its platform. To deal with one of the bigger looming problems — bad actors potentially using the social network’s ad network to covertly influence elections just as the Russia-linked Internet Research Agency did in 2016 — Facebook came up with a solution that emphasized transparency.
Facebook rolled out the Info and Ads section on Facebook Pages in June. With the new tool in place, anyone can now go to any Facebook Page and click on Info and Ads tab in the Page’s menu to get a full view of all that Page’s active Facebook ads as well as all the posts the Page is spending money to promote. Before this feature was launched, this information wasn’t centralized, with many ads only visible if you happened to be one of the users that the ad was targeting.
Some Facebook Page administrators have argued against the changes in private Facebook groups. They say that competitors can use the info that Facebook’s transparency policy provides — from its sales pitch to the products they promote — to reverse-engineer their marketing strategy. For example, clicking on the Info and Ads tab on a politician’s Page could unveil the types off people they’re targeting and how they’re trying to reach them.
Unfortunately for the Page administrators, there are no exceptions to the rule — Facebook wants to make all ads, and the identity of who’s paying for them, available to the public, and there’s no way to remove the Info and Ads tab.
Until now, that is.


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Skin care products purchased from both Amazon and eBay have been revealed to contain as much as 30,000 times the legal limit of mercury. Despite the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) setting the legal limit of mercury at just one part per million (ppm), research conducted by 51 advocacy groups reveals the nation is at risk every time these skin care products are opened.
What is mercury?
Mercury is a toxic chemical which is naturally found in the air, in water, and in the soil. However, it’s typically added to skin care products aimed at lightening and rejuvenating the skin. Therefore, it’s commonly found in creams and moisturizers which are marketed to improve dark circles, blemishes, and aging or mature skin, Kidney damage is cited as a leading effect of using skin care products containing mercury as it can poison the kidneys and the nervous system. In addition, mercury is also linked to anxiety disorders, depression, and psychosis. It is also known to impair the eyes, lungs, digestive system and nervous system when used for a prolonged period of time.
The risk you face
The average American women wears $8 worth of skin care products every day. Therefore, it’s understandable that millions are enticed by low-cost beauty products sold on sites such as Amazon and eBay. But by purchasing these items from such sites, you’re putting your health and the health of others at significant risk. When you open a skin care product containing mercury, the vapors get into the air and are breathed in by other people and pets. Worryingly, a 2016 study found that adults absorb up to 450 mcg of mercury when applying a single application of a skin care product containing 10,000 ppm of mercury. Meanwhile, when you hop in the shower and wash with such products, the toxins make their way back into the nation’s water supply and exposure becomes more widespread.
Hiding behind another name
Confusingly, manufacturers who use mercury in their skin care products don’t always list mercury on their ingredient list. Instead, they will use one of its aliases, which include Hg, mercuric iodide, mercurous chloride, ammoniated mercury, amide chloride of mercury, quicksilver, cinnabaris, hydrargyri oxydum rubrum, and mercury iodide. Therefore, you should look out for these ingredients before investing in any skin care brand.
Avoiding skin care products containing mercury
Unfortunately, mercury has no identifiable smell or taste, so it can be difficult to determine whether your skin care products are laced with the toxic ingredient. It is, however, advisable to educate yourself on the other names that mercury goes by so that you can scour the list of ingredients on your products. Should you purchase any skin care items which fail to list the ingredients then it’s best to avoid opening the packaging or using the product. For optimum peace of mind, seek out beauty brands that actively promote being mercury and chemical free, such as Acure and Kiss My Face.
Imported skin care ranges
The products purchased from Amazon and eBay from the advocacy groups were imported products. According to EWG, one of the groups involved in the project, the FDA has few resources and authority to regulate cosmetics and skin care products which are imported. This is because the cosmetics section of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act hasn’t been reviewed for 80 years. As a result, an abundance of illegal and dangerous mercury-containing skin care products are being put up for sale on sites such as Amazon and eBay, even though both companies have restricted item policies in place for sellers.
A growing problem
This isn’t the first time that mercury infused skin care products have hit the headlines. In 2014, the California Department of Public Health issued a public health alert following multiple cases of mercury poisoning which were caused by skin creams bought from Mexico. In 2011 and 2016, the Minnesota Department of Health found products for sale which contained 54,000 ppm of mercury. Meanwhile, in April 2018, 12 products imported from Pakistan and Spain to New York were revealed to contain elevated levels of mercury and a health warning was subsequently issued.
Purchasing skin care products from Amazon and eBay and similar sites may be easy and low-cost, but these products could be packed with dangerous levels of mercury. Therefore, in the interest of both your health and public safety, it’s essential you wise up to the acronyms mercury goes by, shop smartly and avoid these toxic products at all costs.


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February 17, 2016 8:45 AM
Since graduating from Tulane Law School in 2015, Nicole Swartz has balanced studying legal briefs with building her own brand of beauty products.
Dubbed the Sweet Cheeks Beauty Co., Swartz’s budding line of bathtime body scrubs and hydrating hair masks was created last summer while awaiting news of passing the Michigan bar exam.“The law background has definitely been helpful in starting the company,” Swartz says.
The luxe line of Sweet Cheeks body scrubs includes ingredients like handpicked lavender, pink grapefruit zest, sweet almond oil and rose petals. Infused with recycled Starbucks coffee beans, the newly offered coffee body scrub collection also provides a mud bath-like experience in the shower.
Each PETA-certified cruelty-free item comes packaged in recycled materials.
“We consider ourselves 100 percent kind,” says Swartz.
With help from a longtime friend working as a publicist in New York, Swartz was invited to feature Sweet Cheeks products in celebrity gift bags during New York Fashion Week.
Hollywood Swag Bag, the company that delivers gift bags during major award shows like the Oscars, also recently acknowledged the products. Sweet Cheeks was reserved a spot in the “swag bags” delivered to celebrities, including host Ricky Gervais, prior to the 2016 Golden Globe Awards ceremony.
Now based in Los Angeles, Swartz’s company is looking toward national distribution.
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118 504-865-5000 email@example.com


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Auckland writers festival reports record ticket, bookshop sales for 2012
23 May 2012 @booksandpublishing
The Auckland Writers & Reader’s Festival has reported record ticket sales for its 2012 festival, which ran from 9-13 May. More than 24,000 tickets were sold for the five-day event, representing a 10% increase on the previous year. Festival chair Sarah Sandley said the festival was ‘delighted to have exceeded...
Category: Local news


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YouTube live TV service is now streaming on Firefox web browser. At the initial stage, only Firefox is getting the update from Google for now. There is no added feature available for Safari, Edge, or other browsers getting Google’s blessing to work with YouTube TV at this time. Previously, YouTube TV streaming service only available on Chrome and also added to the Android and iOS mobile apps too. But now Firefox becomes an alternative option for streaming favorite TV shows through YouTube’s streaming service.
YouTube live TV streaming costs bump up to $40 per month. The users can able to watch and record contents from channels like MTV, Comedy Central, CNN, MLB Network and NBA TV. The company said that the service continues to add more networks, more capabilities and more options for viewing in upcoming days.


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Latest Foe-to-Friend for Microsoft is RealNetworks
Sun | Local
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, left, and RealNetworks Inc. Chief Executive Rob Glaser announce that they have reached agreement to join forces. Ted S. Warren | Associated Press
SEATTLE A broad settlement between digital media pioneer RealNetworks Inc. and its longtime foe Microsoft Corp. goes a lot further than simply ending the last major U.S. antitrust case against the tech heavyweight.
The deal also aims to help the two companies better compete against Apple Computer Inc. in the increasingly important business of online audio and video.
The settlement starts with a $460 million cash payment that settles all antitrust disputes worldwide that RealNetworks had against Microsoft.
RealNetworks also gets $301 million in cash and services — including promotion on Microsoft Web sites and the software giant's instant-messaging service — that are designed to help its products reach a wider audience.
"I'm eager to begin working together with the team at Microsoft," the company's chief executive, Rob Glaser, said during a joint appearance with his former boss and longtime nemesis, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
The deal is the latest in a peace offensive Microsoft has launched in recent years, following an antitrust settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. The peacemaking has cost the cash-rich company several billion dollars but also led to better cooperation with some formerly bitter rivals.
In July, Microsoft reached an $850 million deal with International Business Machines Corp. That followed a $1.6 billion settlement with Sun Microsystems Inc. in 2004 and a $750 million truce with America Online, part of Time Warner Inc., in 2003.
Seattle-based RealNetworks sued Microsoft in December 2003, accusing it of illegally forcing Windows users to accept Microsoft's digital media player. RealNetworks said its player suffered as a result.
RealNetworks also had participated in European Union and Korean antitrust complaints against Microsoft, but withdraws from those cases as part of the agreement.
Founded by Glaser in 1994 after he quit Microsoft, Real was among the first companies to offer an online music player.
The company has for years been one of Microsoft's direct competitors in digital music and video but has increasingly struggled against its massive local rival.
Both companies also have found it exceptionally tough to compete against digital music's juggernaut: Apple's iPod digital music player and iTunes online music store and jukebox software.
Indeed, Glaser said he initiated talks with Gates a little more than a year ago, after his company launched a service — without Apple's permission — that aimed to allow songs purchased through Real's online music services to be played on the iPod. The move came after RealNetworks complained that Apple was rebuffing attempts to form an alliance.
"Apple does great products, but at the end of the day we think consumers want choice, consumers want openness," Glaser said.


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UK: AG Barr, Britvic bullish over merger prospects despite competition probe
The proposed merger could yet still happen
The GBP1.5bn (US$2.4bn) merger, first announced in November, hit a stumbling block yesterday (13 February) when the UK's Office of Fair Trading said it had referred the deal to the Competition Commission. The OFT said that it has competition concerns over some brands, which could mean higher prices for consumers.
But, in a joint statement today (14 February), the companies argued that the deal "will not result in a substantial lessening of competition" and they will be able to prove that to the Competition Commission.
The groups said they want to work with the commission with "a view to seeking clearance of the proposed merger".
"A.G. Barr and Britvic consider there to be compelling rationale for clearance," the companies said.
The Competition Commission's investigation is expected to take around six months.
Barr and Britvic's board will have to reconsider the deal if it receives clearance.
However, the statement added: "There can be no certainty or assurance that, following such clearance, any such merger would be forthcoming or that any offer will be made by either A.G. Barr or Britvic."
To read an analyst's take on the situation, click here
Although AG Barr was on its way to the church earlier this month, Britvic was still having second thoughts. The end of the affair leads Richard Corbett to ponder what went wrong for the two and what h...
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Click and collect provider Doddle has seen a 115% uplift in Black Friday parcel volumes, the company says. Volumes on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th were up 216% on the week before as a result of the Black Friday effect, compared to 101% last year.
Volumes from the Monday before Black Friday to the Sunday immediately following it were up 76% on the week before, said Doddle. In 2017 volumes from the Monday before Black Friday to the Sunday immediately after increased by 50% and in 2016 by 42% (significantly less than the 76% this year).
Tim Robinson, CEO of Doddle said: “Impressive year on year parcel volume growth shows that price conscious consumers have responded well to the prolonged Black Friday shopping trend overall. But retailers will have a harder time than ever in future years capturing shoppers’ imagination and sustaining it through such a prolonged sales season. The shift will have to move from price only to price plus experience to create true differentiation,” he said.
Image credit: Doddle


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Acura recalls 106,000 MDS SUVs to fix air conditioner bolt
|CTVnews 25 Jun 2015 at 07:29|
Detail of the wheel of the 2016 Acura RDX during the media preview of the Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place in Chicago on Feb. 12, 2015. (AP / Andrew A. Nelles)
The Associated Press
Published Thursday, June 25, 2015 10:23AM EDT
DETROIT -- Acura is recalling about 106,000 SUVs because an air conditioner pulley can fall off, creating a hazard for other motorists.
The Honda luxury brand says the recall covers 2014 and 2015 MDX SUVs.
The air conditioner clutch drive bolt can loosen or break, which could cause a pulley to fall under the vehicle.