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Supervalu has proposed reorganizing itself into a holding company to facilitate the segregation of its wholesale and retail operations and support its ongoing strategic transformation amid ongoing pressure from a dissident shareholder.
Under a plan described in a proxy statement filed late Tuesday, the Minneapolis-based wholesaler proposed that a subsidiary known as Supervalu Enterprises would become the publicly traded parent of its entities through a merger of Supervalu and another subsidiary created for the purpose of effectuating the transaction called Supervalu Merger Sub.
Following the merger, Supervalu Enterprises would change its name to Supervalu Inc., while the current company—the holder of its wholesale and retail assets—would be a wholly owned subsidiary known as Supervalu Operations.
The company said the proposal would facilitate its ongoing strategic plan to transform itself behind wholesaling by allowing it to separate its wholesale and retail operations in an “efficient and strategic manner.”
“We have been executing a strategic transformation of our business over the last two years to become the wholesale supplier of choice for grocery retailers across the United States, while also executing initiatives to deliver long-term stockholder value,” Mark Gross, Supervalu’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “The proposed holding company structure is another significant and important undertaking by our team that would support and advance our transformation by further separating our wholesale and retail operations in a tax efficient manner.”
The deal would also facilitate previously announced intentions to sell certain retail assets; better segregate liabilities into respective business segments; increase financial flexibility; and provide potential tax benefits of up to $300 million over 15 years.
Shareholders of Supervalu, who under the plan would become owners of the holding company, are expected to vote on the proposal at Supervalu’s annual meeting—a date for which has yet to be announced. Also at that meeting, shareholders are to consider a slate of six director nominees proposed by activist shareholder Blackwells Capital, which has been engaged in a campaign to influence what it said would be initiatives to appreciate the value of its stock, including potential asset sales and a merger with another wholesaler.
Supervalu has resisted the efforts of Blackwells and in its proxy statement June 12 urged shareholders to vote against the Blackwells candidates. The restructuring announcement did not connect the new structure to the proxy fight.
In its proxy statement, Supervalu said the reorganization would put a timetable on the sale of its retail units in order to realize the potential tax benefits before expiration of a capital loss carryforward in February 2019. The company in April announced it was seeking a buyer for its Shop n’ Save and Shop n’ Save East divisions, and shut down its money-losing Farm Fresh banner, selling about half of those units piecemeal.
“The board has previously announced that it intends to seek to sell certain of our retail assets to third parties and focus on the company’s wholesale business,” the proxy statement read. “However, we may not be able to identify a third party for such a strategic transaction, or any third parties that we do identify may not be willing to agree to terms that are acceptable to us.”
Supervalu has also executed a sale-leaseback deal to monetize eight of its warehouses, generating $483 million.
The company has insisted these moves are all related to a strategic transformation set in motion by Gross, who took over for Wayne Sales in February 2016. Blackwells first revealed its holdings publicly in October and said late last month it owned about 7.3% of the company’s stock.


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As Apple is set to start taking pre-orders for its first ever smartwatch tomorrow, Google is once again said to be working on making its wearable platform play nice with iOS. We first heard something like this about one month ago, and this new report even has some details about Google’s progress on the matter.
Apparently Android Wear already works with iOS in Google’s labs, through a companion app. That’s nothing out of the ordinary, since the same path is taken on Android itself. However, this might become an issue when the search giant will want to publish said companion app in the iTunes App Store. Read more »
We had talked about the upcoming racially diverse emoji in iOS and OS X a few weeks ago but it finally started rolling out in yesterday’s iOS 8.3 and OS X 10.10.3 update. It’s not often the emoji stack gets updated and this is by far the biggest update it has received in years, so let’s take a closer look at it.
The main change here was to diversify the skin color of the various faces. Emoji usage has exploded since Apple adopted it in iOS back in 2011 and a lot of people care about this now for the skin color of the faces to actually be an issue. Read more »
Although a launch elsewhere is still in up in the air, Apple Pay is continuously gaining ground in the US. Apple’s payment system has now added 39 new banks and credit unions to its list of partners.
This brings the total number of banking institutions that support Apple Pay to more than 180, which is pretty substantial. Apple has been constantly looking for new partners since it announced the service last year. Read more »
Instagram has updated its Android app today, with a new iOS version coming soon as well. Both should have the same features. Speaking of which, with this release Instagram intros two new image alteration tools: Color and Fade.
The former lets you tint the highlights or shadows in a photo. You can use yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, cyan, or green for this purpose. Read more »
Leonard Nimoy, popularly known as Spock from the space fiction movie series Star Trek, passed away on February 27 and made the character Spock immortal. Even Apple is preparing to pay homage to Nimoy and Spock with a new Star Trek themed Spock emoji for OS X and iOS.
Often referred casually as the Spock sign but actually the Vulcan salute, it has been adapted form Jewish heritage. Read more »
Apple employees will be able to purchase an Apple Watch with 50% off. The Cupertino giant’s CEO Tim Cook delivered the good news in a memo to the entire Apple team.
The sweet discount will be available for the entry level Apple Watch Sport, as well as for the stainless steel model. Read more »
According to a new report, the soon to be revealed, next generation Apple TV will lack support for 4K video streaming. The successor of the currently available TV console is expected to debut in June this year.
The upcoming fourth generation Apple TV won’t support 4K video streaming initially, because Cupertino believes that the high resolution is “still in its infancy.” Read more »
According to a report in 9to5Mac, come April 10, Apple will have Watch-themed front displays for its retail stores. The Cupertino giant’s upcoming smartwatch will be available to try in-store and pre-order on the aforementioned date.
Apple’s store front displays will consist of clusters of circles, which resemble the user interface of the wearable device. Read more »
Apple’s debut on the smart wearable market – the Apple Watch is finally inching closer to its release. Initial preorders begin on April 10 and the first units will start shipping on April 24. With the release date so close, a lot of eager Apple fans can’t wait to get their hands on the new wearable.
But while tech savvy people will surely have no trouble getting around the Apple Watch and are already pretty familiar with its array of interesting features, the Cupertino giant has kept with traditions and has gone the extra mile to familiarize as wide an audience as possible with the upcoming gadget. Much like with the original iPhone, Apple has prepared a series of how-to videos, which show and explain the Apple Watch in all of its aspects in a clear and, naturally, stylish manner. Read more »
Today Microsoft has brought its pretty successful Office Lens app from Windows Phone to iOS and Android. Office Lens was initially introduced for the company’s own mobile platform more than a year ago, and Microsoft says it’s now one of the most popular free apps for Windows Phone.
The concept behind it is simple. Office Lens allows you to capture a lot of different things with your smartphone’s camera, then automatically crops and enhances the images and saves them to OneNote or OneDrive. And thanks to optical character recognition, the text inside your captures becomes searchable. The app can even convert images of paper documents into Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, or PDFs for easy editing. Read more »
Today Skype has announced updates for both its main app as well as Skype Qik. Skype itself has been renewed for both Android and iOS, but the former platform gets more new features.
For example, Skype 5.3 for Android gives you a new bubble-style chat layout, similar to the one already employed in the iOS and desktop apps. It also receives support for emoji, so you can express yourself better. Read more »
According to report in 9to5Mac, buyers of the $10,000 and up Apple Watch Edition will be treated to e number of perks. The special treatment for the big spenders will begin with no waiting in line when they are buying the watch or need help with it.
After shelling out the eye watering asking price for the gold Apple Watch, users will have access to a special Edition phone support line, which will be available around the clock for two years (three years with AppleCare+). Read more »
Better late than never, as they say – Twitter’s Vine has finally entered the HD age. The service, which lets you create six-second videos that run in a loop, has just announced plans to upgrade the quality of its recordings. Believe it or not, Vine videos have so far been 480p.
Not anymore, though. Expect to see 720p HD videos on Vine (both through the service’s mobile apps for iOS and Android, as well as embeds on websites) “over the coming days”. Above you can see an image that should apparently give you an idea about the quality differences, since it shows the same Vine in 480p on the left and 720p on the right. Read more »
Less than a couple of weeks after there were reports of the voice calling feature being tested on WhatsApp for iPhone, co-founder Brian Acton has revealed that the feature will be made available to iOS users soon.
Although Acton, who made the revelation at Facebook’s F8 developer conference yesterday, first said that the feature would roll out in a couple of weeks, he later backtracked from the statement, saying that it will take “several weeks”. Read more »
Apple may have announced the Apple watch (twice) but the watch is still to go on sale. But even though there are still a month left for the watch to start shipping, developers have already started rolling out updates for their apps to make them work with the Apple Watch.
The list of apps available for the Apple Watch now includes Target, American Airlines, Nike+, Instagram, Twitter, OpenTable, Evernote, TripAdvisor, CNN, eBay, Shazam, NYTimes, Fandango, Citi Mobile Lite, Expedia, Runtastic, ESPN, and many more. Read more »

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In-N-Out Burger, which has locations around the western United States and Texas, has announced that it is planning to make the switch to beef not treated with antibiotics.
"Our company is committed to beef that is not raised with antibiotics important to human medicine," vice president of quality for In-N-Out Burger Keith Brazeau told Reuters. "We've asked our suppliers to accelerate their progress towards establishing antibiotic alternatives."
The change comes amidst recent headlines outlining the issues surrounding meat and other foods treated with antibiotics. The problem is this: Although antibiotics are meant to kill bacteria in meat, the potentially infectious material sometimes develops an immunity. Rather than being wiped out by the antibiotic, it can multiply and remain in the food for consumption.
Essentially, dispelling antibiotics in food rids consumers of the risk of ingesting superbugs, or bacteria-infected bugs that cannot be treated. Obviously, this sort of thing is rare, but is still an issue.
The fast food company will join other organizations that have made similar changes, including McDonald's (which will serve antibiotic-free chicken by 2017) and East coast mini-chain Shake Shack.
From: SF Gate


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Enterprise debit card provider Teampay has netted $4m in a Seed round, to support its sales and marketing to boost customer reach, Teampay founder told FinTech Global
The investment was led by Crosscut Ventures co-founder Rick Smith. Other participants to the round included KEC Ventures, Precursor Ventures, CoVenture, and group of angels.
New York-based Teampay helps companies to keep up with the expenses by connecting a company virtual debit card with a web interface to track and analyse spending. The platform has bank-level security and can be used through a mobile platform.
The solution works by all receipts being tied to a transaction and loads it into the chat window to help speed up approval and tracking of expenses. Specific parameters such as total spend limit, single or recurring purchases and spending over time can be set on each virtual card.
Teampay CEO Andrew Hoag said, “There’s a lot of attention on the commercial sector in FinTech right now, which I think is great. Traditional banks are getting broken up into their parts, and startups are innovating on the individual parts, all the while traditional providers in the space can’t keep up. It’s exciting.”
Over the year, the company’s main goal is to bringing in new mid-market customers that have 200 to 1,000 employees.
Hoag said, ?As a both founder and manager, I found it incredibly difficult to stay on top of what my team was spending, and it only become worse as people want to use their own software & services to do their job.
?Teampay is a new form of purchasing software that enables companies to request, approve, pay for, and track employee spend in real-time – creating an active versus reactive way of dealing with your company money.p>
Last month, travel expense management company Spendesk closed a ?2m funding round to support its expansion in Europe. The company helps companies to track the spending of their employees through a company card, as well as automating the invoice recovery and accounting tasks.
Within in expense market Hoag believes there is room for a lot of development. He said, “We see a lot of derivative ideas, like new ways to take pictures of receipts on your phone. There is a lot of room for solutions that actually help companies work smarter and more efficiently, as opposed to simply improving legacy processes.”
Crosscut Ventures recently contributed to the $8.5m funding round of e-commerce technology developer Reaction Commerce.
Copyright ? 2018 FinTech Global


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The number of trademarks actively in use across the globe is on the rise, and so, too, is the rate of infringement of those marks, whether they be buzzy brand names and well-known logos or in some cases, the source-identifying appearance of an iconic design, itself. According to a new “Trademark Ecosystem” study from trademark research and protection consultancy CompuMark, not only is the number of trademarks growing (there are nearly 100 million marks currently in use), instances of infringement are steadily mounting, as well, as part of a “definite upward trend.”
Surveying 351 in-house trademark counsel and external trademark attorneys across the United Kingdom, U.S., Germany, Italy and France, Boston-based CompuMark found that a whopping 85 percent of those lawyers experienced instances of infringement in 2019, up from 81 percent in 2018 and 74 percent in 2017. The scope of infringement is similarly escalating as the landscape evolves, and is taking place across an increasing range of channels – with respondents citing instances of infringement by way of others’ web domains and social media handles, as well as a prevalence of infringement taking place on online marketplaces and in advertising campaigns – and “no longer affecting just traditional word marks.”
Maybe more striking than the increase in the number of cases of infringement (i.e., the unauthorized use of another’s trademark in a way that is likely to create confusion amongst consumers as to the source of the trademark-bearing goods and/or services) is “the overall cost of that abuse,” per CompuMark. “The consequences of infringement are well documented; from loss of customer trust to loss of revenue.” And in addition to the potential for “customer confusion, loss of revenue and reputational damage” that comes from the unauthorized use of another’s trademark, such infringement can be expensive and risky from a public relations standpoint.
CompuMark found that 75 percent of its survey participants were forced to initiate litigation as a result of infringement. “This is a costly avenue,” the company notes. But more than that, litigation “impacts the wider business [of trademark holders] in terms of publicity,” it states, as it stands to impact “how customers and the market perceive the brand.”
“While lawsuits may be settled amicably, such as in the well-publicized case of Burberry versus Target” – in which Burberry sued the retailer for selling scarves and other products bearing a plaid pattern that was remarkably similar to its famed “Burberry check” mark – or “the Adidas America versus Skechers USA case” – which saw the sportswear giant take on rival Skechers over its use of a 3-stripe design and settle just days before the start of trial, CompuMark aptly states that such litigation “can also lead to more costly conclusions.”
Adidas, for instance, has garnered itself something of a reputation for its aggressive enforcement of its various 3-stripe trademarks. That is what Forever 21 asserted when it filed suit against the German sportswear giant in March 2017, arguing that it was “tired of operating with a cloud over its head with regard to its right to design and sell clothing items bearing ornamental/decorative stripes, and unwilling to stop doing something it has every right to do and pay a bully to leave it alone.” Levi’s was called a similar name in June 2018 in the lawsuit filed against it by Barbour. According to Barbour’s complaint, the denim-maker “has the dubious distinction of being one of the world’s biggest trademark ‘bullies’” as a result of its filing of hundreds of lawsuits against brands ranging from Saint Laurent and Kenzo to more mainstream names like Vineyard Vines.
Still yet, Louis Vuitton similarly garnered itself a bad name over the past decade or so after threatening suit (against the University of Pennsylvania Law School) and filing a handful of lawsuits, prompting one defendant, canvas bag company My Other Bag, to call foul, arguing that the world’s largest luxury goods brand utilized “bullying tactics” throughout the course of the case and others.
As for the trademark landscape more generally, CompuMark says that it is changing. “We are seeing the emergence of more opportunistic approaches to trademark applications that demonstrate the value of intellectual property,” the company states, citing “the recent application by celebrity entrepreneur Kylie Jenner to register the phrase ‘rise and shine,’” as well as NBA star Lebron James’ attempt to register trademark “Taco Tuesday.”
Beyond the increased reliance on trademarks by brands, celebrities, and laypeople, alike, (48 percent of survey participants reported filing more applications for registration in 2019 than the year prior), CompuMark asserts that “the trademark landscape is expanding” in terms of the types of marks being claimed. For instance, “More than half of respondents say they filed more image marks over the last 12 months, and surprisingly, 78 percent have included industrial design in their filing strategy.
This expansive approach to trademarks might be a result of the fact that, as CompuMark notes, “finding a unique mark is a challenge,” particularly in light of research showing that the supply of available trademarks is “severely depleted, particularly in certain sectors of the economy,” such as fashion and retail more generally.


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Why Did Stryker Wait to Recall Rejuvenate Hip Device?
On July 6, 2012, Stryker Orthopaedics announced that it was recalling certain hip device components, including the Rejuvenate. The Rejuvenate device is a modular-neck stem used in hip replacements. It is associated with corrosion and fretting, which can cause pain and swelling. The problems have forced some patients to undergo painful revision surgeries to remove the dangerous device.
My immediate response to this recall announcement was that Stryker should have taken this action long ago. Reports of problems with this device are not new. In fact, in April 2012, Stryker announced a recall of these devices in Canada. If the device was not safe in Canada, why did the company allow doctors to continue using it in the United States and throughout the world?
The company clearly had information that it understood called into question the safety of the device. When it became evident that the problems were serious enough to prompt a recall in Canada, the company immediately should have moved to suspend all sales of the device and initiate a global recall.


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In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to Kind Snacks instructing the company to remove the “healthy” label from the packaging on four of its bars as well as on the web site. Their gripe? The nut-heavy bars in question contain 1.5 to 4 grams more saturated fat per serving than the FDA considers officially good for you. (In order to use the word healthy as a nutrient-content claim, an item must have only one gram of fat, though fish and meat can have two grams per serving.) The brand is working to remove the term — and a “+” symbol also flagged by the FDA — but they are calling on the group to update its definition, which they believe is outdated.
Kind worked with about a dozen independent nutrition experts in drafting a Citizen Petition to the FDA that states that, yes, nuts are high in fat, but much of it is the unsaturated type, which is widely considered to be good for us. And nuts aren’t the only victims of the regulations: Fish and avocados wouldn’t be up to snuff either, despite the fact that nutritionists often recommend replacing saturated fat from meat and dairy products with healthier sources of fat like nuts, seeds, salmon, olives, and olive oil. Meanwhile, the brand points out that sugary cereals and low-fat pudding could technically be called healthy under the current definition.
Even the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee nixed restrictions on total fat intake and suggested Americans focus on eating certain types of foods rather than specific nutrients. (The FDA will release the finalized Dietary Guidelines later this month.) The FDA hasn’t officially responded to Kind’s petition, but we hope they’ll come to realize that current limits on saturated fat are, well, nuts.


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CHICAGO, November 15, 2013 (ADOTAS) – BrightTag, one of the world’s leading marketing technology platforms, today announced a new $27 million round of funding led by Yahoo! JAPAN, which invested in the company after selecting BrightTag’s newly patented Fuse™ technology to power its breakthrough data management platform (DMP). Yahoo! JAPAN, the world’s 10th largest [...] more...
strong>ADOTAS – Devavrat Shah (pictured) has joined the advisory board of Compass Labs, a leading social marketing platform. Shah is currently a Jamieson career development associate professor with the department of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, where he has been teaching since 2005. He is a member of [...] more...
CHICAGO (February 21, 2013) – BrightTag, a technology platform provider for the digital marketing industry, today announced that Yahoo! JAPAN, the Japan market leader with 83.9% * reach of Japan’s online audience, has expanded its relationship with BrightTag. Under the terms of the new long-term agreement, Yahoo! JAPAN will be [...] more...
Delivering tags down to a web page is the prime directive of any tag management system. However, a properly delivered tag is still subject to the hostile environment of the browser where syntax errors, server outages and deferred tag loading can cause the data in the tag to be lost [...] more...
CHICAGO (November 7, 2012) – BrightTag, a technology platform provider for the digital marketing industry, and AppNexus, the world leader in real-time advertising technology, today announced an integrated solution that dramatically simplifies the way marketers connect with any of the more than 250 companies that leverage the AppNexus platform. “One of [...] more...
ADOTAS – BrightTag, a platform provider for digital marketing, has announced the general availability of BrightTag ONE-Click Preview, a new feature for brand marketers and website owners using the BrightTag ONE™ server-direct integration platform for data collection and distribution. This feature enables marketers and website owners to provide effective privacy regulations [...] more...
ADOTAS – A slew of impressive third-party ad tech firms — including Interclick, Aggregate Knowledge, Turn, Marin Software, DataXu, Adometry and [x+1] for starters — have signed up as partners for BrightTag’s ONE platform, a service layer between websites and third parties that removes the data transfer process from the browser and onto a server-to-server connection. “We [...] more...
ADOTAS – The same month it launched its data rights management platform that facilitates tag-tracking for both marketers and advertisers, BrightTag just closed a Series A round of capital-raising led by New World Bentures and TomorrowVentures, the investment engine of Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Being a modest company, BrightTag didn’t [...] more...
ADOTAS – BrightTag wants you to stand up, publishers, and stand strong — Take back control of your data! Launched publicly yesterday, BrightTag’s data rights management platform simplifies the process of managing tracking tags and data transmission for publishers. A single “BrightTag” will give publishers control over who collects what and [...] more...
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Andy Lubahn has re-joined Alliance as National Service Manager. In this role, Lubahn will lead the Regional Field Service Managers and increase Alliance’s emphasis on service training for its valued customers and business partners.
“Andy’s skillset, experience, and customer-focused mindset will bring a fresh take on this role. He’s committed to helping our customers succeed,” said Steve Bowie, director of North American Commercial Support at Alliance Laundry Systems.
Lubahn brings 28 years of commercial laundry experience. He started his career in 1994 as a technician for Michigan Laundry Equipment, performing installations, service support, and parts ordering. Learning from the ground up provided Lubahn with a well-rounded understanding of the industry and how high-quality installation, service, and maintenance can positively impact customer satisfaction.
“I’m excited to deliver tools customers need to be more efficient at servicing and maintaining equipment,” Lubahn said. “I look forward to connecting with our customers and bringing an incredible customer experience.”
Alliance adds Quality Assurance positions
In the North America service area, Alliance has created the position of Quality Assurance Specialist. Tony Berton and Scott Demotts will take on the roles focused on large chassis and small chassis products, respectively. Berton has been with the company for 25 years, and Demotts has been in the appliance industry for 30 years.


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The vast majority of customers now turn to the Internet to find local businesses, and the reviews they find of your business online can make the difference between them shopping with you or the competition.
The right kind of advertising can elevate your business to new heights, and it does not have to cost a fortune. That's especially good news during these tough economic times, when
extra marketing funds can be tough to come by and consumers are spending
less and less.
Holt Brothers Construction LLC today announced it has been awarded roles
on three upcoming construction projects in the Raleigh area. Led by
former N.C. State and NFL stars Terrence and Torry Holt, Holt Brothers
Construction will work with several of the Southeast’s largest general
contractors on essential community projects that will propel the region


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Bargain hunters find rock-bottom deals at massive Goodwill centre in Edmonton
Environmental initiatives central to Impact Centre and Outlet Store
Anneke Wieleng is on a treasure hunt.
Wieleng is pawing through bins at the Goodwill Impact Centre and Outlet Store looking for clothes and toys for her great- grandchildren.
The 100,000 sq.ft. warehouse and retail space, at 114th Avenue and 168th Street, is the last stop for unsold items from Goodwill stores in the Edmonton region.
It's where Wieleng and other customers get a chance to pore through the items and pay by the pound for their finds.
"Good deals," nods Wieleng who's happy to pay $1.95/lb. for the first 50 lb.
Where shoppers see affordable shoes, furniture and household items, Dale Monaghan sees a "dream and vision for a centre of excellence."
"We're offering sustainability, environmental stewardship and unprecedented job training for Albertans with disabilities," said Monaghan, president and CEO of Goodwill Alberta.
Thirty per cent of Goodwill Alberta's 800 workers report having some form of disability, Monaghan said.
Goodwill Alberta is setting records at all levels and is eyeing expansion into Calgary, hoping to add an impact centre within two years he said.
In 2019 Goodwill Alberta received more than 600,000 donations.
You can see more from the Goodwill Impact Centre and Outlet Store at 2 p.m. on Sunday and 11 a.m. on Monday on CBC TV and CBC GEM.
He points proudly to Alberta Goodwill's recent Emerald Award perched on a shelf.
For three decades the Alberta Emerald Foundation has been recognizing green initiatives and executive director Gregory Caswell believes the Edmonton Impact Centre has raised the bar for environmental practices in the industry.
"They've developed many different pathways and programs that utilize different materials that are coming to the Goodwill, and finding ways to turn them into reusable items, recyclable items and ways to generate income for their nonprofit," Caswell said.
- Goodwill plans to preserve sealskin coat donated to Edmonton thrift store
- Calgarian 'totally shocked' after grandfather's WW II-era medals and photos returned by Goodwill
He mentions Goodwill's partnership with local hotels which take used towels and turn them into cleaning clothes.
"Something very moving as well is the many books they have come through their doors," Caswell said. "They've created literacy programs using ones that haven't been sold in their stores. There's lots of really amazing things going on."
Mortimer Capriles, director of sustainability and innovation for Goodwill Alberta, loves to see shoppers coming through the doors.
"When you buy here, you're automatically diverting these items from the landfill and that is why this is such a great concept that we have in place in Edmonton."
But if the bargain hunters don't snap the items up, Capriles points to the centre's robust recycle, reuse, repurpose operation, such as the one for hard plastics.
"All plastics that didn't sell in the outlet store, they're going to be granulated."
The material is sent to a company in Lethbridge to be made into park benches, Capriles said.
"Ninety per cent of the items we receive at the Impact Centre are being diverted from the landfill and we're really proud of that fact," he said.


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Commonly viewed as a breakfast beverage, juice and juice drinks saw their status change once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, as consumers sought healthful, immune-supporting products, leading to a resurgence in juice and juice drinks.
In Chicago-based Mintel’s June 2020 report “Juice and Juice Drink: Incl Impact of COVID-19, US,” Madelyn Franz, cross-category research analyst at Mintel, defines the nearly $19 billion juice and juice drinks market as “sizable but struggling.”
“Juice has been going through an identity crisis of sorts, which has put the category in a tough spot,” Franz explained in Beverage Industry’s January eMagazine. “Products tend to toe the line between healthy and indulgent without committing to either position, leaving consumers confused and disengaged. While it’s been relegated to very specific consumption occasions as a result, the COVID-19 outbreak has granted brands a chance to break free from the category’s downward trajectory.
“Thanks to the pandemic and subsequent recession, consumers’ needs have actually aligned with the benefits that juice has been offering all along: comfortable, cost-effective, vitamins,” she continued. “More than that, it’s created a brief window of opportunity for the category to reset, retarget and recover in the longer term.”
Gary Hemphill, managing director of research for New York-based Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), agreed that the pandemic and more people staying at home have positively impacted the category’s performance.
“After several consecutive years of soft market performance, juices and juices drinks are experiencing modest volume growth in 2020,” he said in the January eMagazine. “Fruit beverages are one of the few categories that have actually experienced improved performance due to the pandemic. More people staying at home have improved the category’s performance.
“Citrus juice, especially orange, is performing well, driven by a jump in take-home sales,” he continued. “Fruit beverages have been rejuvenated in 2020, due to improved take-home sales performance driven by the impact of the pandemic.”
According to data from Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI) the refrigerated juice/drinks category accounted for $7.4 billion in sales for the 52 weeks ending May 16 in total U.S. multi-outlets. This is an 8.9% increase from the prior year. The refrigerated orange juice segment, which represents approximately $3.3 billion of the category, was up 6.5% for the time period. Other segments bolstering the refrigerated juice category are lemonades, up 18.2%, and juice and drink smoothies, up 12.5%.
Adding to the power of the lemonades segment, SUNNYD, a brand of Harvest Hill Beverage Co., released two limited-edition flavors: Lemonade and Raspberry Lemonade. Like other SUNNYD flavors, Lemonade and Raspberry Lemonade contain 100 percent of the daily recommended value of vitamin C and 60 calories in each 8-ounce serving.
Meanwhile in the juice and smoothies segment, Naked Juice, a brand of PepsiCo, added Rainbow Machine, a blend of seven fruits and veggies, to its line of juice smoothies. Rainbow Machine is a nutrient-rich juice featuring red beets, apples, mangoes, bananas, kiwis, blueberries and blackberries. Providing an excellent source of vitamins B, C, E and calcium, Rainbow Machine also is a good source of vitamin D and fiber, the company says.
The bottled juice category also fared well for the 52 weeks ending May 16. According to IRI data, bottled juices increased 7.8%, totaling nearly $7.8 billion. The cranberry cocktail juice drink segment was among the top performers registering a 16.5% increase for a total of $1.2 billion.
Meanwhile, the aseptic juices category was up 9.8%, totaling $1.5 billion. Aseptic juice drinks was the strongest segment posting an 11.9% increase and more than $1 billion in sales.
Experts note that the pandemic has sparked a demand for such ingredients as vitamin C and probiotics to promote immunity and digestive health, respectively.
In its December 2019 “Juice in the US” report, Chicago-based Euromonitor International states that unlike other health trends, interest in digestive health has consistently grown as evidenced by increased sales of brands that offer added probiotics.
“Good Belly has been a standout brand within nectars and demonstrates the potential for juices which promote gut health,” the report states. “Long-declining juice drinks saw growth in value sales in 2019 thanks to the notable performance of the Bai brand.”
The importance of a healthy immune system is top-of-mind for most consumers, renewing interest in a familiar functional ingredient: vitamin C, states Mintel’s June 2020 Juice and Juice Drinks report.
“As a result, demand for orange/citrus juice has skyrocketed, driving the category’s unprecedented growth. Industry giants (e.g., Tropicana, Minute Maid) and lesser-known brands (e.g., Uncle Matt’s Organics, Natalie’s Orchid Island) have both seen increased year-over-year sales,” the report states. “Consumers’ standing investment in wellness will make immunity claims a priority in the longer term. However, brands will need to address the pre-pandemic concerns that plagued the juice category (e.g., high sugar content, limited functional benefits) to maintain growth once hype surrounding the virus subsides.”
To compete with the growing list of niche better-for-you beverages such as still and sparkling waters, and nutritional drinks, juice brands will need to deliver on consumers’ definition of “healthy” in 2021, including the addition of premium added-value claims.
WTRMLN WTR, a brand of Caribe Juice Inc., released new functional blends that are made with watermelon juice, which is a source of natural hydration, and new functional ingredients, such as superfruit acerola juice, sea salt, turmeric, cayenne, hibiscus, ginger juice and tart cherry. Available in four varieties ― Hydration, Recover, Immunity and Antioxidant ― the functional watermelon blends contain 320 mg of electrolytes, 300 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C and six times more potassium than traditional sports drinks, the company says.
Although the juice and juice drinks category is reinventing much of its offerings, experts still remain cautious about its performance in the long term.
“We believe once the impact of the pandemic has subsided, sales are likely to be softer and the category may see declines once again,” Hemphill said in the January eMagazine.


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Molson Coors Beverage Company has launched Roxie, a line of zero-alcohol canned cocktails, in three flavour varieties.
Jamie Wideman, VP of innovation at Molson Coors Beverage Company, said: “[Roxie] packs layers of flavourful complexity, delivering a line of zero-proof cocktails built for those who want to moderate their drinking, abstain or simply sip on something fantastic.”
The cans are available in passionfruit, pineapple and mango flavours and are available via the brand’s website.
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Latest Samsung Galaxy S Stories
Digiarty Software today launches the 2014 Back to School Giveaway to warm up a new school season in advance.
MacXDVD today announces a revolutionary breakthrough in the latest version of MacX Video Converter Pro, distinguishing itself from the previous edition with great feature enhancement.
LONDON, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportbuyer.com has added a new market research report:
San Francisco’s WaterField Designs extends its Finn wallet Collection to include a custom-size Samsung Galaxy S5 Case; the Finn stows phone, cash and cards in one compact place.
MacXDVD today announces it has completed the latest update to its world-renown MacX DVD Ripper Pro targeting the newest Samsung Galaxy Tab S, Samsung Galaxy S5 mini, Amazon Fire Phone, HTC One
Digiarty Software has fueled the growth of its top-rated DVD ripper and video converter (both Windows and Mac editions) with the support for Samsung Galaxy S5 mini, HTC One M8, Chromecast, Surface
Backed by $5 Million to Develop Mobility Solutions Conceived by Inventor-Entrepreneurs NEW YORK, July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneur Daymond John, CEO and Founder of urban clothing company
“AT&T Mobility says it will be the first carrier to sell the new LG smartwatch,” says Technology Industry Analyst Jeff Kagan. Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July
Galaxy S® 5 is available for a limited time in stores and online for $539.99 after mail-in rebate* for customers looking for the best deals in prepaid ALPHARETTA, Ga., June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/
MugenBattery.com announces the launch of extended 5900mAh batteries for Samsung Galaxy S5. Denver, CO (PRWEB) June 19, 2014 MugenBattery.com (
Image Caption: Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000. Credit: PaulK/Wikipedia(CC BY-SA 3.0) The Samsung Galaxy Tab is an Android-based tablet computer produced by South Korean manufacturer Samsung Group. It was introduced on September 2, 2010 at IFA Berlin. The Galaxy Tab has a 7-inch TFT-LCD touch-screen, Wi-Fi capability, 1.0GHz ARM Cortex-A8 Samsung Exynos 3110 processor (codenamed Hummingbird), a Swype input system, 3.2MP rear-facing camera and a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video calls. It...
- The deadly nightshade, Atropa Belladonna, which possesses stupefying or poisonous properties.
- A sleeping-potion; a soporific.
- To mutter deliriously.


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Good news has arrived for all you Monster Hunters out there. While we’ve had a fixed Monster Hunter World: Iceborne release date of September 6 for consoles for a little while, there hasn’t been one for a PC release – […]
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Monthly Archives: July 2019
The benefits offered by introducing a grappling hook to a videogame are well documented. A little extra vertical freedom goes a long way, as exhibited in everything from the Assassin’s Creed series to Terraria, and there’s no more satisfying expression […]
Fortnite Season 10 starts tomorrow, and from the teasers we’ve seen over the course of the last week, it looked as though Epic was preparing to dial back the clock. Earlier today however, that seemed to be confirmed, as Fortnite […]
WoW Classic launches next month, taking players back to the earliest days of Azeroth. But while the MMO’s long-term fans are aching to relive those halcyon days, it’s fair to say that World of Warcraft used to be a little […]
With Iceborne, the first major expansion for Capcom’s ARPG Monster Hunter World, on the way, players are no doubt keen to know just exactly what it’ll bring to the game. We already know that it’ll feature an arctic ecosystem, with […]
AMD has just put down the phone on its Q2 2019 earnings call, reporting a mixed bag of results: both strong CPU-side results alongside middling GPU and semi-custom revenue as the latter verges on a next-gen console launch. But aside […]
League of Legends patch 9.16 is already live on the PBE, giving us our closest look yet at the upcoming Pantheon rework. Riot lifted the lid on the Unbreakable Spear earlier this week, showing off his flashy new skins and […]
It looks like some of those cool Forge maps you might’ve edited or just enjoyed with your pals in some of the previous Halo games will be making a comeback in upcoming Halo: The Master Chief Collection. A tweet on […]
Although upcoming Diablo 4 has reportedly already been shown – at least in part – to some of developer Blizzard’s employees, it’s not clear just yet when we’ll get to head back into Sanctuary. If you’re keen to get your […]
The first Anno 1800 DLC is here with Sunken Treasures, a new expansion all about teaming up with a wacky inventor to help build his gadgets. The big addition – literally – is the new Cape Trelawney map, which is […]
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The Trump administration is always one step behind in the fight against COVID-19, whereas billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Elon Musk are pooling their assets to deliver concrete solutions.
The ultra-rich are putting their own money, expertise and resources on the line to alleviate the impact of the global pandemic.
As governors in New York, California and other large states order strict lockdown measures, many now rely on e-commerce to supply their basic needs. Amazon, being the largest online retailer in the world, is stepping up to the challenge.
Jeff Bezos has tweaked the e-commerce giant’s supply chain to meet the soaring demand.
We’ve changed our logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing, and third party seller processes to prioritize stocking and delivering essential items like household staples, sanitizers, baby formula, and medical supplies. We’re providing a vital service to people everywhere, especially to those, like the elderly, who are most vulnerable.
Bezos is also hiring 100,000 workers and giving hourly employees a salary bump. He’s doing this so that Amazon can continue fulfilling orders in these challenging times.
While Donald Trump was still focused on bragging about the growth of the stock market, Bill Gates was busy supporting the frontliners.
In February, Gates donated $100 million to combat coronavirus .
Through the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, $20 million will go to organizations such as the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The money will be used to help frontliners detect, contain, and treat the virus. Another $20 million will go towards at-risk countries in Africa and South Asia.
The remaining $60 million is allocated towards the development of vaccines, treatment and diagnostics.
In 2015, Bill Gates predicted that the world is due for a global pandemic. He’s fighting one now.
Elon Musk recently came under fire for tweeting that “the coronavirus panic is dumb.”
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX appears to be making up for the mishap by delivering critical medical supplies.
A CleanTechnical exclusive reveals that Musk is preparing to supply hospitals with over 250,000 N95 masks . On top of that, Musk says that he’ll have more than 1,000 ventilators next week. It’s no secret that medical equipment is in short supply in the United States.
As Trump fails to take responsibility in solving the medical equipment shortage, billionaires are stepping up to the plate. They will do more in the fight against COVID-19 than any politician.


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Letsgoph.com | In a dazzling affair on Saturday, December 2, the SuperMoms Club marked its anniversary at SM Mall of Asia, spreading cheer with the happiest holiday vibes, surprises, stories, and gifts. The event, in collaboration with esteemed brand partners Fortima, Watsons, SM Deals, and Krispy Kreme, was a spectacle of joy and festivities.
The celebration kicked off with a heartwarming holiday message from the celebrity SuperMom, Ms. Dimples Romana, setting the tone for a day filled with happiness. SuperMom Boss MK Bertulfo, representing our community partner FHMoms – Filipina Homebased Moms, led an insightful panel discussion that resonated with the audience.
The Anniversary Meetup was not just an event; it was a gathering that embodied the spirit of SuperMoms coming together to celebrate the essence of motherhood and the magic of the holiday season.
The SuperMoms Club Anniversary Meetup was a testament to the strength and joy found in unity, making it an unforgettable chapter in the journey of these incredible SuperMoms.
Photos by: Nikko Calixto / https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091478620407&mibextid=LQQJ4d
#ExperienceFAMtimeAtSM #AWorldofExperienceAtSM #EverythingsHereAtSM #SMMallOfAsia #SMSupermalls #LetsGoPH #LetsGoCez #KameraKong #SuperMomsClubAnniversaryMeetup


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Irish retail business costs are higher
Director of Retail Ireland Torlach Denihan has welcomed the Forfás report which confirms that retailers in Ireland face significantly higher costs
7 January 2009
A Forfás review of the retail sector in Ireland has found that the cost of running a retail business here is significantly higher by comparison with other countries. The report, which was released before Christmas and was commissioned by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan last September, has been greeted with approval within the industry.
Director of Retail Ireland Torlach Denihan said: “This report by Forfás confirms what Retail Ireland has been saying for many years, that the cost of running a retail business here is significantly higher than in Northern Ireland and in other countries. Our analysis suggests it is approximately 30% more expensive to run a retail business here than in the North.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan commissioned the review by Forfás last Autumn after serious concerns were raised over the price differential between the North and South of Ireland. The action was taken after Taoiseach Brian Cowen was overheard telling the Tánaiste to “get a handle on it”, in the now infamous “those f**kers” outburst, following persistent criticisms of rising consumer prices in the Republic during Leaders’ Questions at the Dáil.
In response to the new Forfás report, the director of the retail division of IBEC is calling on the government to address the high cost problem for retailers in Ireland.
“We want to know what the government now proposes to do about costs that the State controls directly such as commercial rates, electricity and waste disposal,” Torlach Denihan said in a recently issued press release.
In addition, Denihan said that the report is useful because it also draws attention to the fact that retailers in the north have further advantages over competitors in the south: “The Forfás report is a very useful exercise, but only deals with a portion of the costs incurred by retailers. Retailers in Northern Ireland benefit from the economies of scale associated with being part of the massive UK market, with its 60 million consumers. The Forfás report does not deal with the fact that these economies of scale are not available to retailers here.”
Furthermore, he added: “Prices paid to suppliers do not fall within the terms of reference of the Forfás report. The report points out that the cost of goods bought for resale accounts for 75% to 80% of any retailer’s cost base. Retailers are frequently not given the benefit of sterling’s weakness, with UK-based suppliers either refusing to pass it on or else pricing in euro. We believe that Forfás should next be asked to look at this.”
Denihan concluded by stating that the need for action is greatest now, particularly after several consecutive months of falling value of sterling against euro. The pound was trading at over 98 pence to the euro as 2008 drew to a close, with further decline expected.
“Retailers here are at an enormous competitive disadvantage due to the 23% collapse in sterling over the last three months. Retail Ireland rejects the government implication that the sector is not giving consumers the benefit of the strong euro. Government needs to act to restore the sector’s ability to compete and maintain employment. If this action is not forthcoming job losses among the sector’s 300,000 employees are inevitable," he said.


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By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday - China, which has been called a cyclists' paradise for a long time, is rapidly transforming into an automobile kingdom. As a result, automobiles have become the central issue for most of the lives of Chinese people. We could now say that automobiles cannot be separated from Chinese people.
[China is becoming an automobile kingdom. Automobiles cannot be separated from the daily life of most of Chinese people now. This reality can be seen from the fact that a car was presented as a prize at an event of Baoding in Hebei province./ Source: China Automotive News]
This is automatically assumed if we look at the current Chinese automobile market. According to the Dec. 14th report of the Reference News (PRC limited-distribution daily newspaper), nearly 23 million vehicles were sold in China last year, up 7% compared with the previous year. However, China is seeing dramatic rise in car sales this year although its overall economy is hardly better than last year. Nearly 24.94 million vehicles were sold in the first 11 months, an increase of 14.1% over the same period last year. Retail auto sales in China surged 20% to 2.42 million units in November. Sales of total motor vehicles is expected to rise 26 million units this year. It seems the figure is hard to catch up for the U.S., which has been falling behind China in terms of sales volume since 2009.
China is surely enough to earn the title "automobile kingdom" in terms of the number of vehicles on its roads. By the end of this year, it is certain that China will have nearly 200 million vehicles. It is still less than the US but much more than ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations). With a conservative assumption that China will see an increase of 25 million units on average per year, it is highly likely that China will either overtake or follow closely behind the U.S. by 2021. As a result, there are staggering number of car brands and models available in China. The world-renowned motor shows are held in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Yet, it is hard to say that China is a car paradise due to poor local brands and bad traffic manners. Car dealer Li Jinsheng said, "China is the world's biggest automobile kingdom in terms of its volume. But its cultural level falls far behind." It seems that China has a long way to go to become an automobile paradise.


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Washington (AFP) - Falling US gasoline prices drove inflation and retail sales down in May, defying expectations and raising more questions about the economy and the pace of interest rate increases this year.
The government data released Wednesday came out just hours before the Federal Reserve is widely expected to increase interest rates when concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting, despite weak inflation and tepid wage growth.
But analysts said the latest economic data created fresh doubts about whether the Fed would raise rates for a third time later this year.
The Consumer Price Index, which tracks changes in the cost of household goods and services, declined 0.1 percent compared to April, largely driven by 6.4 percent drop in the cost of fuel at the pump, according to the Labor Department report.
Meanwhile, retail sales dropped a surprising 0.3 percent last month, also due in part to falling gasoline prices, as Americans also bought fewer appliances and electronics, the Commerce Department reported.
Economists had projected CPI to be flat, and retail sales to rise 0.1 percent.
- A more cautious Fed? -
Analysts said the Fed would be undeterred in raising rates for the second time this year at this meeting, but the weaker May numbers likely undermine the justification for another increase this year.
Fed futures markets on Wednesday showed the chances of another increase before the end of the year, which had been seen as highly likely in September or December, had fallen below 50 percent.
The data "won't stop the Fed hiking today, but if this trend continues through the summer then the next hike, which we have been expecting in September, will be delayed," Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a note to clients.
Excluding the food and fuel categories, which can see big swings from month to month, "core" CPI rose 0.1 percent, the third month in a row this closely-watched data point has come in below expectations.
The headline CPI for the 12-months through May fell below the Fed's two percent target to 1.9 percent last month, continuing a steady decline since February.
And the 12-month core, which has been falling since January, slipped another two-tenths to 1.7 percent, putting the measure back to where it was two years ago.
Falling prices were widespread, with declines recorded for air fares, which were down a sharp 2.9 percent, as well as medical services, clothing and new and used cars.
Nevertheless, James Bohnaker of IHS Markit said seasonal factors likely exaggerated the effect of falling energy prices on overall inflation because gasoline prices typically rise in the spring, ahead of the US driving season.
"The gasoline pump drop was an artifact of crude prices softening," he wrote in a research note. "So this decline will not likely be repeated in June."
- Sales trending lower -
Within the retail report, sales were down 0.3 percent even after excluding the more volatile food and auto categories, the first decline for the core measure since August.
Car sales remained sluggish for the month, falling 0.2 percent in May, while electronics and appliance sales saw their largest monthly decrease in more than seven years, plunging 2.8 percent.
And gasoline stations saw sales drop 2.4 percent, the biggest decline since February of last year.
The shift towards internet retail continued apace, with department stores declining a full percentage point while "non-store" retailers soared another 0.8 percent for the month.
Restaurants and bars also saw a 0.1 percent decline in May.
American consumers forked out $473.8 billion in the month, 3.8 percent above May of last year.
Despite the weak report, analysts noted that April's sales numbers were revised significantly upward, especially in the "control" group of goods, which excludes gasoline, cars and building materials.
"In terms of quarterly growth, the upward revision to April outweighs the downside surprise in May," said Chris Low of FTN Financial.
Even so, "The revision does not change the fact sales are clearly trending slower this year."


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BOSTON — WrightGrid is a startup that makes cellphone charging stations powered by solar. Its workshop measures 300 square feet, about the size of a small studio apartment. When it needs a rivet gun or a part made on a 3-D printer, it turns to other startups located in the same warehouse.
Autonomous Marine Systems (AMS) is developing an oceangoing robot catamaran, or "datamaran." Some of its best fundraising advice comes from two neighbors, Dynamo Micropower and Altaeros Energies. Its electronics and metal parts are fabricated at five different factories, from suburban Washington, D.C., to Detroit.
Welcome to the new model for inventing and refining hardware.
WrightGrid, AMS and about 40 other companies reside at Greentown Labs, an incubator in metropolitan Boston that hosts fledgling hardware companies trying to get to market. It is one of a handful of incubators and accelerators that are offering a cheap, hybrid path toward something that America supposedly forgot how to do — invent amazing physical objects.
"If you have a space like this, the chance that you can turn that idea into something great is 10x than if you tried to do it in your garage," said T.J. Edwards, the 30-year-old CEO of AMS.
Greentown is made up of two main parts. One is 10,000 square feet of office space, where executives, salespeople and software engineers do their thing. Alongside it is another 20,000 square feet of "lab" space with high ceilings, where the boundaries between projects are demarcated in neon-green tape and where engineers can be messy and noisy.
To qualify to enter, a company must make hardware; no app developers need apply. Most are merging physical objects with some combination of robotics, advanced electronics, global-positioning systems, renewable energy or data to perform tasks that no object has ever done. No two products are the same. Getting from idea to prototype to the first sale is much longer, riskier and more expensive than it would be for a software company.
But the companies are a lot smaller than yesterday’s hardware labs. To cut costs, they rely heavily on contractors, corporate partners and peers. The company consists of a few desks, a few hundred square feet of workshop and a squad of brainy employees who tie it all together.
"You’re fighting against an engineering problem. You’re not just trying to program something," said Emily Reichert, the CEO of Greentown. "You’re trying to machine something, right, and there’s lots of skill and expertise that it’s important to have shared among a larger community."
Nowhere is that fight more difficult than in energy, one of the most conservative and risk-averse sectors in the economy.
Most of Greentown’s tenants are tied in some way to energy, from Altaeros Energies, a maker of airborne wind turbines, to Dynamo Micropower, a builder of portable microturbines, to Appollo Wind, which is trying to make air conditioning more efficient, to Loci Controls, which controls methane-gas collection from landfills.
Greentown calls itself the largest clean-tech incubator in the country, though some of its products, like a detector of dirty bombs or a maker of 3-D printers, fall outside the usual definition of that term. All face an uphill battle for funds. Clean tech — and especially clean-tech hardware — is still a dirty word to many investors, who remember the high hopes and bankruptcies that accompanied the downturn of 2009 and 2010.
A nimble new mammal
Companies using collaborative spaces to build hardware is an idea as old as Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory. After cranking out wave after wave of great inventions through the mid-20th century, though, the United States’ big corporations have produced fewer hits in recent decades. Most manufacturing moved abroad, and the torrid pace of software absorbed R&D dollars at the expense of hardware.
Now, a millennial generation is arriving with little money but a desire to collaborate, born of the always-connected Internet.
Most of the new hardware workspaces provide office space and workshop space, along with business advice, in exchange for a piece of the company. One is Bolt, a hardware manufacturing space in Boston that is the former home of some Greentown members. A leading hub is the San Francisco Bay Area, home to Lemnos Labs, Highway 1 and Lab IX, an outgrowth of Flextronics, one of the giants of contract manufacturing.
Another, older strain is umbrella firms that nurture on their own projects while also doing contract work for other companies, such as DEKA Research in New Hampshire, the innovation hub created by Dean Kamen, best known as the inventor of the Segway, and other outfits like SRI International in Arlington, Va., as well as Applied Minds in Southern California.
Greentown is unusual in that it doesn’t take a stake in its tenants; it just charges rent. Most hardware spaces lead their recruits through a supercharged accelerator program to refine their business skills. Greentown, by contrast, picks and chooses young firms that have already proved their mettle by winning prizes, raising funds or surviving the crucible of others’ accelerators.
In the 3,000-square-foot "event space," hardly a day passes when a free lunch isn’t put on by an organization offering some sort of advice or training. Every week, CEOs attend a roundtable to talk fundraising strategy and explore issues that are too sensitive to discuss in front of their employees.
Greentown has built out a long roster of corporate partners such as Saint-Gobain SA, the French building-materials company, which has built an experimental pod where Greentown’s building startups can test their equipment. Others, such as Autodesk and Solidworks, give tenants free access to their prototyping software, while big energy companies such as Shell, EnerNOC and National Grid contribute upward of $50,000 a year to the incubator’s operations and offer regular "office hours" with member companies to dispense advice. All want to cultivate relationships with the next wave of young hardware companies.
What’s happening at these hardware incubators and accelerators is very much like what happened at software incubators since the 1980s, when shrinking microprocessors and leaps in computer programming made a new wave of businesses possible, said Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur and instructor of entrepreneurship.
The difference this time is in the tools. A constellation of products are now cheap and easily available that endow machines with new abilities — everything from drones to 3-D printers to web services that make data crunching cheap, to the gyroscopes that exist in any smartphone, Blank said.
Another, he said, is the rise of on-demand, small-batch manufacturing, which makes it far easier to develop prototypes quickly.
"We now have a way to manufacture things incredibly cheaply by a factor of 100, if not 1,000, and that’s China Inc.," Blank said. Most Greentown companies interviewed for this story do most of their contract manufacturing, at least for now, in the United States.
But even with cheap and powerful tools, bringing new hardware to the market is extraordinarily hard, for both the company and its incubator.
"The reason that this seems new is because it requires so much expertise and talent on the part of the people who are helping the companies incubate," said Bryan Mattimore, a corporate creativity consultant. "This isn’t just, ‘give them office space and add some business consulting advice.’ These guys need to be very sophisticated in their knowledge of the technology and business, and help these companies invent and solve problems appropriately."
The companies at Greentown are small even as they take on projects that encompass vast swaths of expertise. Many require not only experienced mechanical and electrical engineers, but software engineers who can mesh data with machines while also creating apps that give the customers some degree of control. They are more open and fluid than America’s prior wave of industrial innovation. Those older corporate and government labs, often designed in the era of the Cold War, are frequently hierarchical, secretive and rarely mix researchers across different disciplines.
"We located the national labs for the most part a long way from the population centers because we wanted some level of secrecy, and we built this huge infrastructure that is not really relevant to how we do applied engineering and applied science projects today," said Saul Griffith, the founder of Otherlab, a San Francisco hardware innovation space.
"Honestly," he added, "those places look like slow and expensive ways to do research."
Science fair for dollars
Occupying one tip of the L-shaped warehouse floor is Grove Labs, a company devising a "farming appliance" for homes. It is an aquaponics system — incorporating both fish and vegetables — so its workshop is a humid room of bubbling fish tanks and varieties of lettuce and basil.
Leave this biological zone and one passes the far more sterile stall of Voxel8, a company that is building a 3-D printer that can assemble electronics from scratch. Walk the other way, through the double doors to the office space, and one finds a dispenser for Bevi, a startup that wants to shake up the bottling industry by mixing beverages in the dispenser itself.
To top off the science-fair feel, a few stalls up from Voxel8, an electrical engineer solders a circuit board together with the help of a microscope. His company, Silverside Detectors Inc., is building a sensor for the Department of Defense that can cheaply detect nuclear devices.
Greentown has a waiting list of companies that want to join, and its biggest problem is finding room for the companies it already has as they grow, Reichert said. A second location may come online soon.
Many of the startup founders, and many of their employees, come from the deep pools of intellect at Boston’s universities, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Northeastern and Tufts.
WrightGrid’s work area is near the center of the lab floor. The founder, Ryan Wright, gave a tour of his solar-powered charging station, while his chief engineer, Daniel Vanier, assembled a circuit board.
"If we were in my basement, or in some factory setting, maybe we got great rates, but we’re the only one in there," Wright said. He was interrupted by a loud whine coming from a nearby tool shop surrounded by a chain-link fence. The cage held some of Greentown’s shared machining tools — a drill press, a lathe, a bandsaw — and someone was busily grinding down a piece of plastic. "If we’re locked away somewhere, no one’s going to see us," he concluded.
Being seen is one of the best things about being at Greentown, Wright and others said. Candidates for Massachusetts governor have trooped through, as have investor groups and reporters. The person passing you in the walkway might be a guy in a hardhat with a ladder, or a Chinese businessman in a tie.
At Greentown, "You feel like you’re part of a community already," said Nicole Homier, the vice president of product for Understory, a company that is fashioning a product for insurers: a sensor that detects hail.
"When you’re working at a tiny startup, it’s just so isolated," she said. "Now you’re with people who are all experiencing similar things, so there’s people to talk to about the issues you’re facing."


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A tech veteran with 26 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, Vigna, who started at Ferrari last September, is tasked with marrying innovation with tradition.
"We should expect a clear focus on technology transition, qualifying the key burning question, namely how the company will evolve in this new environment, not only in terms of products portfolio," said Marco Santino, a partner for automotive practice at management consultants Oliver Wyman.
Ferrari has already presented four hybrid models and promised its first full-electric car in 2025.
It has said strategic partnerships will be key to accessing new technologies while keeping capital expenditure under control.
The company is expected to reveal the relevant areas for new partnerships, which could develop along the lines of an existing tie-up with Britain's Yasa, now part of Mercedes-Benz, which is supplying technologies for electric drive for Ferrari's hybrid models.
Vigna said earlier this year that Ferrari would rely on partners to develop bio and synthetic fuels which could be an additional green option alongside all-electric technology.


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Lil Baby Wants To Start A Gaming Team
Atlanta rapper Lil Baby is ready to level up in the gaming world. The hip-hop superstar went online to let the world know he’s eyeing a potential new venture in games. Although he didn’t get specific, LB said he is considering putting together a team of gamers. With the popularity of titles like Fortnite taking over the entire globe, Baby’s investment could pay off in a big way outside of the music biz.


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- ‘SitePoint’ has had a data breach that escalated to user data access, exfiltration, and leak.
- The actors who got their hands on this data launched a crypto-themed phishing campaign.
- The platform admitted the incident now and reset all user passwords while also upping the character number requirement.
Hackers have breached ‘SitePoint,’ the Australian web developer-focused book publishing, forum, job finding, and newsletter distribution platform. The website was launched over two decades ago, and today it enjoys a big and vibrant community of programmers and IT professionals in general.
Unfortunately for the platform and its members, hackers have managed to gain access to a third-party tool the admins used for GitHub account monitoring, stole API keys from there, and eventually accessed the codebase and system.
The actors then proceeded to steal user data from the backend and then started distributing fake cryptocurrency giveaway emails to the members, making SitePoint appear as the sender. Many of the recipients reported this to the platform, realizing that they were being phished, so a subsequent investigation confirmed the breach.
Now, SitePoint distributes real messages to its members, informing them that a third-party has accessed its infrastructure and that their accounts have been reset as a precautionary measure.
Users will have to use a new password that has a minimum length of 10 characters from now on. As for those already stolen, the platform says they were properly hashed, so it’s unlikely that the hackers will ever get to decrypt them. Still, though, to avoid any credential stuffing surprises elsewhere, you should perform resets to wherever you may be using the same password and email address.
SitePoint also offers a paid subscription that gives users access to hundreds of publications. However, as the platform clarified, they keep no financial information like credit card data on their systems, so that kind of details cannot have been leaked.
However, though, what has been leaked is a dataset that is being offered for free by the notorious data broker ShinyHunters, who defined 'Learnable.com' as the owner. Since that domain redirects to Sitepoint’s site, it is clear that the exfiltration that took place during the breach has already changed many hands in the underground.
The database consists of just over a million records and contains usernames, email addresses, bcrypted passwords, DoB, IP address, authentication tokens, user photo, and more.
Using KELA’s cyber-intelligence tools, we have found that the first post of this dataset came out on January 26, 2021, so it’s been ten days already. So, it’s possible that SitePoint knew about this and chose not to disclose the incident but admitted it only when the phishing emails started to reach users. Obviously, that was the second stage of the development, with other actors using the data shared by ShinyHunters to launch phishing campaigns.


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LTI, Inc. Idaho drivers deliver groceries for WinCo
Thu, Jun 11, 2020
LTI, Inc. drivers in Caldwell and Jerome, ID answered the call this spring when the supermarket chain WinCo Foods was hit with an unprecedented demand for groceries due to the shelter-in-place orders. WinCo's daily freight volumes grew from 2.4 to 7 million pounds of grocery products. "We agreed to help and quickly sent out trucks and drivers to the Boise, ID distribution center," says LTI, Inc. Operations Manager Gordy Sant. "Within the same day Caldwell drivers were hauling 400,000 pounds of groceries to several WinCo locations." In all, LTI, Inc. drivers hauled 3.4 million pounds of freight to various Idaho communities during the rush period. Jerome drivers also hauled loads to Salt Lake City, Western Oregon or wherever products were needed. "Everyone at LTI, Inc. pulled together to cover shifts for these drivers so we could assist in this emergency situation," Gordy says. "We continue to haul groceries for WinCo as needed. This is a great example of how Lynden and its people can quickly diversify and an opportunity to show our strength in an area outside of the milk industry."


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Third-Quarter Global Commercial Insurance Pricing Increased but Limited
December 06, 2018
Marsh's Global Insurance Market Index for the third quarter of 2018 found that average commercial insurance pricing has increased for the fourth consecutive quarter. On average, the findings showed prices increased by slightly more than 1 percent in the third quarter, driven by increases in property and financial and professional lines.
Furthermore, the index found that while prices rose slightly, on average, the market remained stable. Prices during the quarter generally fluctuated within a relatively narrow range across most products and geographies, according to the report.
Globally, pricing for property risks increased more than 3 percent on average, in line with the prior 3 quarters. Casualty prices declined nearly 2 percent on average, continuing a trend of year-over-year declines stretching back to 2013. Pricing for financial and professional lines continued to accelerate, increasing more than 3 percent on average for the second consecutive quarter.
Regionally, Australia again had the largest pricing increases in the index. Average prices also increased in the United Kingdom and Latin America. Prices decreased slightly in the United States, Continental Europe, and Asia.
Commenting on the findings, Dean Klisura, president, global placement and specialties at Marsh, said, "Average prices have increased moderately for four consecutive quarters as the marketplace continues to respond to several factors, including recent [catastrophe] events and increased claim activity on certain non-property coverages. However, market capacity remains strong in most product areas and geographies, limiting overall price increases."
December 06, 2018


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TIA CARR WRITES — Just last week, the popular app TikTok was flooded with frantic posts from prominent figures saying goodbye to their beloved online forum and urging followers to keep up with them on other online platforms. This came in response to President Trump’s executive order, demanding that Apple and Google remove the app from their respective stores, inhibiting any future downloads. The ban was set to go into effect Sunday, September 20th at 11:59 pm- the first step in the Trump administration’s plan to begin cleaning house by eliminating Chinese-owned apps. Now that the deadline has passed, and the scrolling hasn’t stopped, people are left wondering what happened.
ByteDance, the privately-owned Chinese company that runs TikTok, filed an injunction against the Trump Administration and its claims that the app was posing a threat to national security. The administration had raised concerns that TikTok was funneling users’ data to the Chinese Communist Party, potentially putting users at a variety of risks. US District Judge Carl Nichols issued a temporary block to Trump’s executive order and additional legal counsel raised the issue of ByteDance not receiving due process rights.
In the meantime, ByteDance was struggling to put together a deal with American corporations to acquire partial ownership, and so allow TikTok to continue operating in the US. Trump called for a complete change in ownership, but ByteDance changed its approach entirely: it created a new corporation, TikTok Global, which sold 20% of its stock to American based companies Oracle and Walmart. This way, US operations would be based on American soil and board members would likewise be American. A mere few hours before the ban was set to go into effect, President Trump announced that the app would remain in the US market.
The banning of TikTok would not just be a loss of free comedy and teen dance videos, but the quelling of an entire online community. TikTok is full of educational and political content, giving people a chance to voice opinions and experiences. Maybe the ban is not so much about national security but, instead, marks a final desperate attempt to silence public dissent before November.


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In another black eye for one of the world's leading consumer brands, US authorities announced a recall Friday of nearly 3 million Samsung washing machines following several reports of injuries—including a broken jaw—due to "excessive vibration," the AP reports. The recall comes a month after Samsung recalled millions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones because of a mysterious problem that caused the phones' batteries to overheat and catch fire. The recall comes after weeks of discussions between Samsung and US authorities about reports that the drums in certain top-loading washing machine models can become unbalanced and cause severe vibration, in some cases causing the top of the machine to detach from the chassis.
Samsung was hit with a lawsuit over the summer by attorneys representing consumers in Texas, Indiana, and Georgia who say their washing machines "exploded" while being used. In a statement Friday , the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission cited 733 reports of Samsung machines that experienced "excessive" vibration and nine related reports of injuries, including a broken jaw and an injured shoulder. Samsung said the problem occurred when a high-speed spin cycle was used to wash bedding or other bulky items. In a statement, the company's US subsidiary said it's working with retailers and the commission to inform consumers about the problem. (Read more Samsung stories.)


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Infosys to deliver TV apps for Orange Livebox PlayWednesday, April 23rd, 2014
Infosys DigitizeEdge Creates New Immersive Experience for Orange IPTV Viewers
BANGALORE and PARIS — Infosys today announced a strategic partnership with Orange to offer customers a new immersive experience on Orange’s IPTV offering. Infosys will deliver a broad portfolio of interactive TV apps on the Orange Livebox Play™.
The TV apps will be powered by Infosys DigitizeEdge, an integrated digital asset and experience platform for TV operators, media companies, advertisers, and content publishers. Infosys will leverage this cloud-based platform to onboard top content providers and brands across the globe. DigitizeEdge will enable Orange to deliver a wide range of lifestyle-centric, video-rich, and contextual over-the-top (OTT) services via TV apps, to enhance viewer experience and interaction with their TV. The platform will customize content for Orange’s viewers in France.
- Infosys DigitizeEdge allows enterprises to easily launch immersive app channels on multiple devices including connected TV, tablets, smartphones, PCs, and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
- The platform also helps to monetize OTT services and generate new revenue streams.
- The platform enables video and interactive features across TV and second screen apps, synchronized with TV viewing patterns.
- Infosys DigitizeEdge provides modular capabilities to support the entire digital value chain including multi-screen consumer experience, service delivery, and digital asset transformation.
- It offers targeted personalization and recommendations, analytics, and partner collaboration, with a self-service management console, to accelerate revenue generation initiatives.
- Infosys DigitizeEdge has partnerships with some of the world’s top digital media companies like Popular Science, Motor Trend, Space.com, Visible Body, Entrepreneur, and Wright’s Media, as well as advertising agencies and brands.
- These relationships create a unique value chain of content providers, advertising networks, consumer brands, and marketers that allow TV operators to create an innovative immersive experience for their viewers.
Rajesh K. Murthy, Global Head, Energy and Telecom, Infosys: “Integrating TV with Internet content services will allow Orange to deliver a fantastic experience to their customers. We are seeing traditional pay-TV providers as well as telecommunication and cable firms, continuously looking to provide Web-based services on existing TVs. Our solution aggregates multiple content players in the digital value chain to deliver a superior experience for viewers and generate new revenue opportunities for service providers.”


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Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) reported a loss for the third quarter as the company’s operations were affected by the COVID-related disruption. The stock suffered a big loss on Tuesday morning, soon after the announcement.
The aviation firm posted a loss of $3.30 per share, on an adjusted basis, in the third quarter, compared to earnings of $2.33 per share a year earlier. The reported net loss was $5.38 billion or $8.47 per share, which marked a deterioration from the prior-year period when the company recorded a profit of $1.5 million or $2.31 per share.
The bottom-line was hurt by a 76% fall in revenues to $3.1 billion, reflecting the sharp fall in passenger traffic that triggered widespread trip cancellations. The top-line matched the Street view, while earnings missed.
DAL shares fell 3.8% during Tuesday’s pre-market trading hours, immediately following the announcement, after closing the previous session lower.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) reported first quarter 2023 earnings results today. Consolidated net revenues increased 8% year-over-year to $8.7 billion, in line with projections. Global comparable store sales increased
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL, GOOG) on Thursday reported a 1% increase in fourth-quarter 2022 revenues, with strong contributions from the cloud business. The company, which owns the largest internet search
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) reported fourth quarter 2022 earnings results today. Revenue increased 12% year-over-year to $1.14 billion. Net income attributable to Harley-Davidson, Inc. rose 94% YoY to $42 million,


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It looks like those who rely more on Facebook Messages than email these days will have a bit of adjusting to do. The company has just announced a new look for that key component of the social network, one that now sports a side-by-side layout and support for multiple inline images -- not to mention emoticons. It's also promising a number of other improvements that are less immediately evident, including the ability to search by a sender's name or keyword directly from the main messages view, and a number of new keyboard shortcuts.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.


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ASUNCION – Unions representing Paraguay’s taxi drivers announced on Monday that they will mobilize this week against what they fear is the impending arrival of ride-hailing service Uber, which has already registered its trademark in the South American country.
Cab caravans are set to roll on Wednesday in Asuncion and in other important cities, including Ciudad del Este, Encarnacion, Pedro Juan Caballero and Coronel Oviedo, organizers told a press conference in the capital.
Aristides Morales, president of the Asuncion Professional Taxicab Drivers Association, said that cabbies are targeting Uber because the company’s business practices threaten their livelihoods.
“When we think that our job stability is at risk and in peril, we have the mandate to be able to organize a demonstration with our colleagues,” he said, accusing of Uber of seeking to insert itself as a middleman between drivers and passengers.
Paraguayan taxi firms can already offer riders the same benefits that Uber claims to bring, including the ability to hail a cab via an app, Morales said.
He added that thanks to the efforts of his association, the taxi fleet in Asuncion has been upgraded with new, environmentally friendly vehicles “to a degree without parallel in any other Latin American city.”
Angel Galeano, the director of a taxi co-operative, blasted Uber as “illegal and unfair competition.”
“We, the taxicab drivers, must abide by all the municipal regulations of our activities,” while Uber does not work under the same rules, he said.


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TELEVISION programmers are looking to make the Web a lot more like TV.
On Tuesday, the emerging-media group at Scripps Networks, part of the E. W. Scripps Company, plans to introduce an all-video Web site that will use programming from its Food Network, Fine Living, HGTV and DIY Network brands, as well as new clips.
A major advertiser in Scripps offline media, General Motors’ GMC division, has paid for a video showroom on the site and a presence throughout it.
Others are likely to follow, as advertisers show a growing interest in the approach. “One of the biggest drivers for online advertising the first time was Web sites advertising on other Web sites,” said Peter Petrusky, director for advisory services at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “This time it’s being buoyed by the offline brand builders like Coke, Honda, Nike, Visa and Nestlé.”


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4th September 2020 - 2 min read
Samsung has rolled out the new Samsung Pay Card in South Korea, a credit card launched in partnership with Samsung Card and Mastercard to offer more benefits to Samsung Pay users.
According to Samsung, the Samsung Pay Card expands the features of Samsung Pay, combining the convenience of a physical card with the additional features built into Samsung Pay. Users can only apply for the Samsung Pay Card through the Samsung Pay app, and a numberless physical card will also be issued for their use.
The Samsung Pay Card is also managed exclusively via the Samsung Pay app. You can use the app to check your card number, view card transactions and payments due, as well as enjoy limited-time discounts on selected merchants. Should the need arise, you’re also able to block overseas payments through the app.
In addition, the Samsung Pay Card also offers a 1% discount whenever users make an offline purchase via Samsung Pay. Meanwhile, online purchases will earn them a 1.5% discount. There will be additional discounts from now till the end of the year to entice users to use this card.
The Samsung Pay Card is the latest product that expands the Samsung Pay ecosystem around the world. Samsung had also recently launched the digital Samsung Pay card in the UK, as well as the Samsung Money for the US market. There’s no word yet on whether any of these new innovations will make its way into other markets such as Malaysia.
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Stay tuned for what’s to come next in the personal finance world


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Last December, Ontario's government threw a wrench into the plans of Canada's cannabis retailers when it announced there would be just 25 cannabis store licences across the entire province by April 1.
That's just two weeks from now, and as a smart new analysis by the Ottawa Citizen's Jacquie Miller concludes, it's highly unlikely that 25 cannabis stores will actually be open on Ontario on April Fools' Day. (That might be related to the fact that most of the licence winners were individuals with no previous experience in the cannabis retail space, and have spent the past months scrambling to partner up with bigger players.)
Ontario's decisions to limit its first store licences and dole them out by lottery didn't get a great reception from the cannabis industry. But cannabis consultant Omar Khan thinks the province got it right on both counts, given supply problems in the cannabis industry.
"I think the lottery system was something that they really didn't have a choice on, given that the initial tranche of licences was so low," says Khan, vice president at Hill+Knowlton Strategies.
"You would want to avoid any perception of favouritism, whether it's true or not, especially when there's such a small number of licences, and they're so highly sought-after."
(It's worth noting that Khan is a vice-president of the Ontario Liberal Party and a former chief of staff for former ministers under Ontario's previous Liberal government.)
Right now, the lack of licensed cannabis stores appears to have hamstrung sales of legal cannabis in Ontario, compared to other provinces with better retail access. Khan expects Canada's cannabis supply issues should start clearing up towards the end of this year — and if the Ontario government doesn't start improving access to legal cannabis by licensing many more weed stores by then, he thinks Doug Ford's PCs could face "definite political risk."
Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor with the Retail Council of Canada, which supports Ontario's move to privatize retail cannabis stores. He thinks it's unfair to judge any provincial governments on their cannabis store policies in the short term.
"It's only been not even six months (since legalization), so let's give it some time," says LeBlanc. "It's complex, and I don't think it's something you want to rush."
But as Omar Khan points out, it's not just cannabis consumers, the weed industry, and pointy-headed policy wonks who are watching to see if Canada's cannabis legalization efforts are successful in achieving Ottawa's goal of combating black market marijuana.
Other developed countries are also watching, as they ponder their own cannabis policy reforms. Since Ontario represents roughly 40 per cent of Canada's total cannabis market, Ontario's success (or failure) in launching bricks-and-mortar cannabis stores will play a huge role in the success (or failure) of legalization on a national basis.
"If we're not able to show them, let's say a year out from legalization… that we've been able to do it in a smooth, efficient, and equitable manner, then it may cause others globally who are looking at this to perhaps pause a little bit, and second-guess whether or not they should follow Canada's example," says Khan.
New on The Leaf
- Recycling initiative: A program funded by Canopy Growth Corp. will recover and reprocess cannabis containers from legal retailers and individuals.
- Know your limits: Herb explains what the law has to say about possessing cannabis edibles in public.
- Downward trend: High-level data show Canadian cannabis sales dropped between December and January.
Elsewhere on the Weed Wide Web
- Indigenous self-governance: Six Nations First Nation has enacted its own cannabis law.
- Slinging weed with The Girls: "The Girls," a pair of Halifax weed dealers, allow a reporter to observe their booming business.
- Genetic analysis: Nova Cannabis stores in Alberta are now offering DNA tests that purportedly determine how a subject will react to cannabis.


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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A remodeled version of San Francisco’s iconic Cliff House restaurant will reopen in 2024, according to a press release from Sutro Lands Ends Partners. The National Park Service gave a 20-year lease for it to operate.
The restaurant, located on the western edge of San Francisco at 1090 Point Lobos Ave., closed in 2020 after operating for 157 years. Its previous owners blamed the National Park Service and slow business due to the pandemic for the closure.
“Since 1863, there has been a Cliff House perched on that dramatic bluff welcoming locals and visitors to come and be inspired by the views of the Pacific and perhaps share a drink or a meal with friends and family. We are honored to have been chosen by the National Park Service to be the stewards of this beloved venue for the next generation,” said Alexander Leff, who is leading the effort to bring back the restaurant.
The Cliff House building includes a restaurant, café, event space and retail shop. The new café will be in an area that had been used for retail space.
“We are excited to maintain this public space and invite a new operator to provide a dining experience that is loved by our community” said David Smith, General Superintendent for Golden Gate National Recreation Area. “We are absolutely grateful to our community for their support and patience during the extended vacancy and look forward to working with this new partner on public offerings at this iconic site.”
Sutro Lands Ends Partners plans to hold public meetings to discover what type of food and events the public would like to have at Cliff House. You can also input your opinion at Cliff House’s website.
A date for the space to reopen has not yet been set.