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|Bid||162.53 x 230000|
|Ask||162.76 x 59700|
|Day's Range||162.18 - 171.66|
|52 Week Range||124.85 - 171.66|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||13.73|
|Forward Dividend & Yield||N/A (N/A)|
|1y Target Est||196.44|
Mexico's Coca-Cola Femsa , the world's largest Coke bottler, said on Friday it had decided to indefinitely shut down operations in a town in southwestern Mexico after being crippled by violence and organized crime. The firm, a joint venture between Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa) and Coca-Cola Co, said it was shuttering operations at its 160-employee distribution center in Ciudad Altamirano in Guerrero state. "The lack of conditions necessary to operate in an efficient and safe way in this area of the state of Guerrero, as well as the recent unwarranted aggression towards one of our workers, led to the company taking this decision," Coca-Cola Femsa said in a statement.
MONTERREY, Mexico, March 16, 2018-- Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. held its Annual Ordinary General Shareholders Meeting today, during which the shareholders approved the Company’ s annual ...
FEMSA (FMX) is losing momentum on grounds of dismal surprise history. However, its focus on strategic initiatives can help it steer through the storm.
Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FMX), alias FEMSA, reported lower-than-expected results for fourth-quarter 2017 with both the top and the bottom lines lagging estimates.
Mexican bottler and retailer Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa) on Tuesday said its net profit fell more than 70 percent in the fourth quarter, hit by the revaluation of assets in its Venezuelan Coca-Cola bottling operation. Net profit in the October-December period was more than 1.83 billion pesos ($93 million), down from nearly 6.7 billion pesos in the same period of 2016. Femsa controls Coca-Cola Femsa, the world's largest Coke bottler, which reported a $1.2 billion net loss in the fourth quarter, hampered by a change in the reporting of its results in Venezuela.
MONTERREY, Mexico, Feb. 27, 2018-- Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. announced today its operational and financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2017.. 11.5% income from operations ...
FEMSA (FMX) remains plagued with soft margins for over a year. Moreover, the company cautious outlook for fourth-quarter 2017 and 2018 remain constraints.
MONTERREY, Mexico, Feb. 20, 2018-- Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. today announced that it has modified the start time for its Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Conference Call on Wednesday, ...
MONTERREY, Mexico, Jan. 31, 2018-- Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. is pleased to invite you to participate in its Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Conference Call that will be held on:. Wednesday, ...
Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FMX), alias FEMSA, has regained its position in investors' books after a solid third-quarter 2017, which marked a turnaround in the company's dismal surprise trend.
Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FMX), alias FEMSA, has been witnessing significant surge since reporting a robust third-quarter 2017 that marked a turnaround in the company's dismal earnings trend over the past few quarters.
Mexican bottler and retailer Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa) said on Friday it could see a slowdown in sales in the fourth quarter and in 2018 as high inflation, concerns over trade talks and an upcoming election dampen consumer appetite. In a Friday conference call with analysts, Eduardo Padilla, Femsa's corporate and finance director, said consumption could take a hit thanks to inflation, which at close to 6 percent on an annualized basis, is already well above the central bank's 3 percent target. "Inflation has hurt real wage increases and consumer sentiment.
On a per-share basis, the Monterrey, Mexico-based company said it had net income of $5. The Coca-Cola bottler posted revenue of $6.44 billion in the period. Fomento Economico shares have climbed 20 percent ...
Mexican bottler and retailer Fomento Economico Mexicano reported on Thursday a nearly four-fold surge in third-quarter net profit after selling a 5.24 percent stake in Dutch beer company Heineken NV. The ...
Mexican bottler and retailer Fomento Economico Mexicano reported on Thursday a 385 percent surge in third quarter net profit to 32.4 billion pesos after selling a 2.5 billion euros stake in Heineken. The ...
Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. today announced that it has modified the start time for its Third Quarter 2017 Conference Call on Friday, October 27, 2017. The call will now begin at 9:00 AM ...
Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. is pleased to invite you to participate in its Third Quarter 2017 Conference Call that will be held on:
Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FMX), alias FEMSA, is benefiting from solid portfolio and robust strategic measures including increasing store count, diversifying business portfolio and focus on core business activities to drive growth.
FEMSA (FMX) divested nearly 5% of its total stake in the Heineken. However, it retains its governance rights and remains a significant stakeholder in Heineken.
A Relative Strength Rating upgrade for Fomento Economico Mexicano shows improving technical performance. Will it continue?
Fomento Economico Mexicano sees its Relative Strength Rating hit the 80-plus level.
Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. announced today that Carlos Salazar Lomelín, FEMSA's Chief Executive Officer, will retire from his position on January 1, 2018, after a long and productive career ...


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When Motorola released its Flipping Razr Phone, the entire world loved it because of its unique foldable design. Many customers pre-booked it even before months of its release date. It was no surprise when the phone sold out pretty quick. The only downside to this model was that it did not come in better colors. But the problem has been solved by Motorola, as the company has recently launched the phone with a beautiful black and gold color scheme. The bottom back of the phone will be featuring the golden color, giving it a striking appearance.
The original version of the phone came in the ‘noir black’ colour, which gave it a very simple and basic feel. Like the original, the new Flipping Razr Gold will also be a Verizon exclusive product. The cost of the phone will be around $1499, but it really will be worth the price.
Currently, the company has two colour variants for the Flipping Razr Phone, the gold and black. Both the phones will cost the same price and as expected, they will both support the same specifications. Whether it be the Snapdragon 710 processor, to the midrange battery power, all of it will remain the same.
The Motorola Verizon Exclusive Flipping Razr Phone, on its release was obviously appreciated by people for its unique design. But it still does not hide the fact that the phone lacked various basic features, performed poorly in the market. It was criticized a lot for its poor camera, as it failed to take good photos and had difficulty in focusing on faces.
A detailed review by Dieter Bohn pointed out how Motorola’s Flipping Razr failed in the market because of concentrating too much on its external appearance and lagging behind in performance. The reviewer also stated that the battery power of the phone was also inadequate and not sufficient enough to last for even 4 to 5 hours. He commented that the Motorola’s Flipping Razr was a ‘compromised phone’.
Despite receiving such major criticisms from so many reviewers and users, the Motorola Company has surely paid no heed to it. As the company still continues to put its focus on the appearance. The Company on its new Flipping Razr only made changes to the colour scheme, but no focus was made on the performance of the phone. The company did not make any effort in fixing the focusing issue of the camera as well as increasing the efficiency of the battery.
Therefore, people who are not a very keen user of mobile phones, but are only interested in the external appearance of a device, can surely choose to buy Motorola’s Flipping Razr Phone at a price of $1499. Expecting the phone to last for the entire day on a single charge will be wrong. Users after purchasing the phone, have been disappointed as some reviews clearly suggested that the phone is inadequate for people who are used to using their mobile phone for extensive gaming experience and are also a keen photographer.
Whether the Motorola Company will focus more on the hardware and performance of their device is still unknown as they have not responded to any emails, messages, texts or phones. On enquiring the Company was not immediately available to respond to our questions. But according to sources, the company is working on something big for their next launch, so Motorola fans are not going to remain disappointed for long.
No official statement has been released by the Company about their new project, therefore it’s just speculations and word of mouth news.

domain: news


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Source: Wine & Spirits Daily
With the boom in ready-to-drink sales, the taxation and availability of RTDs (particularly spirits-based) has been top-of-mind for producers and legislators. Indeed, Michigan and Nebraska recently passed laws lowering taxes on spirits-based RTDs and several other states are considering similar legislation.
One of those states is New Jersey. The New Jersey Assembly is considering a bill that would equalize the state excise tax for spirits and beer products with 9.9% abv or lower at 12 cents/gallon. Spirits producers currently pay $5.50/gallon.
You may recall, beer industry members formed a coalition against the bill in New Jersey, sending a letter to the state Senate pointing out the disadvantages of equalizing the excise tax on and accessibility of spirits-based RTDs, most notably that tax revenues would decrease [see WSD 06-02-2021].
In response, the Distilled Spirits Council has submitted testimony to the New Jersey Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee ahead of the hearing on the bill later this week.
As aforementioned, New Jersey is not the only state taking a closer look at RTDs, nor is it the only state "in which the beer industry has decried this type of consumer-friendly legislation and leveled myth-based criticisms at the spirits industry," per the testimony penned by DISCUS svp of state public policy Jay Hibbard.
Jay outlines a few "misrepresentations" made in arguments against treating spirits-based RTDs similar to malt-based. To wit:
DISCUS estimates the state would realize more than $34 million in new tax revenue from the category within three years, and that equalizing the tax will increase jobs in the state's spirits industry.
"It is a myth that distilled spirits are 'harder' than beer or wine," writes Jay, pointing to the standard drink definition as containing 14 grams of pure alcohol - that's about 12 fl oz. of 5% beer, 5 fl oz. of 12% wine, or 1.5 fl oz. of 40% abv spirits. "Put simply, there is no beverage of moderation, only the practice of moderation."
DISCUS also alludes to the recent malt-based hard seltzer launches with higher abv, such as White Claw Surge and Truly Extra, both of which are about 8% abv. As such, "it is a myth to suggest that an 8% or 9.9% abv spirits-based RTD should not be treated as a 'low-percentage alcohol' product."
The testimony concludes: "Finally, for all the claims that the sky-will-fall made by the beer industry, should New Jersey adopt a fair and equal state tax rate, the state's action will have no impact on the Federal Excise Tax rate currently imposed on low-alcohol spirits products, which will continue to be taxed at a rate nearly 400% higher than beer products of the same ABV. Beer will continue to enjoy a marketplace price advantage."
We'll have more as the legislation progresses.


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Articles on this Page
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- 09/29/17--03:55: _Supermarket giant C...
- 03/29/17--05:49: Apple Pay goes live in Taiwan with support from seven banks
- 05/23/17--04:29: Samsung Pay goes live in Taiwan with seven banks
- 06/01/17--05:14: Android Pay goes live in Taiwan with CTBC and First Bank
- 09/29/17--03:55: Supermarket giant Carrefour launches mobile wallet in China
Apple Pay has launched in Taiwan with support from Mastercard, Visa and seven banks including Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Cathay United Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank, CTBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Union Bank of Taiwan.
Read the rest of Apple Pay goes live in Taiwan with support from seven banks at NFC World.
Supermarket giant Carrefour and French bank BNP Paribas have unveiled a new QR code-based mobile payment platform that will let customers make in-store, online and peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payments as well as store loyalty cards, coupons and special offers on their mobile device.
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across Italy with support for Mastercard and Visa cards issued by Carrefour Banca and UniCredit, with American Express, CartaBCC, ExpendiaSmart, Fineco Bank, Hype, Banca Mediolanum, N26 and Widiba listed as “coming this year”. The launch takes Apple Pay to a total of 16 markets globally.
Read the rest of Apple Pay launches in Italy with support from UniCredit and Carrefour Banca at NFC World.
Samsung Pay has been launched across Taiwan with support from Visa and Mastercard along with seven major banks including Citibank, Cathay United Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank, Fubon Bank, Union Bank of Taiwan and Standard Chartered. The service supports iris scan authentication for those with Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices.
Android Pay has launched in Taiwan, taking the mobile payment service to a total of 13 markets following its debut in Canada earlier this week. Visa and Mastercard credit cards from supporting banks CTBC and First Bank can be used with the mobile payment service at launch, with support from EnTie Bank, Hua Nan Bank […]
Read the rest of Android Pay goes live in Taiwan with CTBC and First Bank at NFC World.
“Europe’s largest retailer, France-based Carrefour SA, has introduced its own mobile wallet dubbed CarrefourPay and joined hands with China UnionPay, a bankcard provider, to build a mobile payment ecosphere… The cross-industry partnership will see both firms working together in such areas as general payment platforms, membership systems, secure payments, big data analysis and smart retail.”
Read the rest of Supermarket giant Carrefour launches mobile wallet in China at NFC World.


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Build a culture of curiosity. Find your ideal agency partner. Develop commercial advantageFind out how
We ended the debate: #CRISPIN or #CRISPOUT?
We helped Walkers uncover whether crisps should be eaten IN or OUT of sandwiches. To help find the answer, comedian Asim Chaudhry asked the nation in a star-studded video featuring Gary Lineker and Gordon Ramsay, as well as experts and members of the public.Read More
BITE launches the BITE LIVE 2021 trend report
Inclusive creativity, tackling online hate and a masterclass in post pandemic purpose are top of the agenda in this year’s trend report.Download it now!
Our latest report - The future for brands and sustainability
Access our latest report on the future for brands and sustainability where we ask 50 senior brand marketers for their take on leading a greener recovery and putting the climate firstRead more and download
Why marketing production is the missing piece in marketing’s sustainability push
by Helen Weisinger, Tag
To coincide its latest report 'Know to Grow', Tag’s CMO Helen Weisinger says brands need to recognise the positive impact marketing production can have in helping them meet ambitious sustainability goalsRead more
Cutting ties with the taboo around the menopause
by Katie Edwards, Publicis•Poke
Katie Edwards, Managing Partner at Publicis•Poke on why the creative industries, along with others, urgently need to address the deafening silence around the menopause.Read more
Agency Insight Papers
Pitch strat chat edition 03
strat chat is here to level up your insights, add analytical thinking to our audiences and bring extra rigour to results. Enjoy!
Strat Chat Edition 02
Pitch strat chat is here to level up your insights, add analytical thinking to our audiences and bring extra rigour to results. Enjoy!
Strat Chat Edition 1
Welcome to strat chat, a new addition to the regular Pitch Report, focusing on strategy. Every month, our senior strategist sharer the most interesting, thought-provoking, mind bending stats, screenshots and strategy news she and the team have come across. strat chat is here to level up your insights, add analytical thinkingto our audiences and bring extra rigour to results. Enjoy!
Havas Group opens its first virtual Village in the metaverse
Havas Group becomes the first communications group to plant its flag in The Sandbox, opening up a new opportunities for brands and talent. Havas Group, physically present in over 100 countries with 68 Villages, now owns a plot of virtual land in The Sandbox video game where it plans to inaugurate its first virtual Village (the 69th Havas Village).
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Feel Human at Work: An Introduction
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‘Infrequently Asked Questions: The creative and cultural firepower of breaking the silence around the Menopause’
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Building a Strategy for TikTok
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Vienna, VA (PRWEB) June 10, 2013
The Overweight and Obesity 2013 Statistical Fact Sheet by the American Stroke Association and American Heart Association confirms that 154.7 million American adults aged 20 and over are overweight or obese. The data shows that of non - Hispanic white American males,a massive 73.1% are overweight or obese with 60.2% of white American females also being classed as overweight or obese by the latest research.
The new data confirms that obesity is a growing problem despite an historical awareness of the issue. A joint report from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information revealed that over 1 in four Canadian adults and around 9% of children aged six to 17 are obese. Overall, the World Health Organization calculates that the number of people classed as obese has doubled since 1980 with 65% of the global population living in countries where overweight deaths now outnumber underweight related deaths.
In the wake of this new research, which shows the number of people classed as overweight or obese is on the increase , online pharmacy, http://www.ShopPharmacyCounter.com has issued a timely reminder that the important thing to realize about obesity is that it is both preventable and treatable, adding that the time to take action is now. In the face of such worrying statistics and the increased prevalence of obesity and overweight individuals, it is urging those who know their BMI is reaching unhealthy proportions to begin the road to recovery today.
ShopPharmacyCounter.com’s over the counter alternatives to prescription pills like Phentermine or Adipex can help to tackle those struggling with obesity or overweight BMI without the need for medical intervention. A spokesman from the pharmacy said, “We know that prescription Adipex is very effective but, because it requires a doctor’s visit and a checkup, it can be off-putting for those who are self conscious about the size, which can lead those who need the help such medication can give to actually not access the resource at all.
“We want to raise awareness of how effective non-prescription diet pills like PhenObestin 37.5 are. Because they don’t need a doctor’s prescription but are clinically proven to be just as effective, they can be exactly the right method for those bordering on obese to try first. There are no embarrassing doctor’s visits to endure and the tablets look and feel like popular drugs such as Phentermine. They can reduce calorie intake by as much as 60% and increase weight loss by 25lbs per month which can be all the motivation needed to get serious about regaining a healthier BMI.”
To help those who are considering taking action to curb obesity or other weight issues, http://www.ShopPharmacyCounter.com has a number of money off discounts available on PhenObestin 37.5. The pharmaceutical grade diet pill is made from highly effective cocoa plant compounds, extracts from the acacia blackbush and Yohimbine bark. The formula melts away fat and works as a mood booster to keep dieters on track. http://www.ShopPharmacyCounter.com has reduced the price of one bottle from $149 to just $64.95. Orders of two bottles are reduced from $256 to $123.40 and orders of three bottles reduced from $380 to $156.00.
To find out more about PhenObestin 37.5 and buy online, visit http://www.shoppharmacycounter.com
Based in the suburbs of Maryland, http://www.ShopPharmacyCounter.com offers effective weight loss products while providing customers with a unique shopping experience. Their offerings strive to assist customers to lose weight as effortlessly as possible. With a commitment to quality and client satisfaction, ShopPharmacyCounter.com has helped countless individuals tackle weight related problems.
Operating as one-of-a-kind online pharmacy, their customers come from every corner of the world. Celebrating a proud legacy of a customer-base that continues to grow, ShopPharmacyCounter.com works towards ensuring health for every single client. Dealing in supplements, muscle building vitamins and a wide array of weight loss products, they never fail to meet and exceed expectations.


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The cliche "8 bits is dead" is dead. CPU/MCU shipments are exploding.
Are you writing code for an 8051?
If so, trust me, you're not a dinosaur.
There's a new study of the MCU market. The forecast is that 6.7 billion 4- and 8-bit MCUs will ship this year, up 6% over last year. Considering that so many feel 8 bits is dead that's pretty astonishing growth. Those parts are up 40% since 2009.
16-bit MCU shipments have almost doubled since 2009. And 32 bitters have gone up by a factor of four over the same period, though one wonders how many 32 MCUs really existed five years ago.
ARM's 2012 annual report indicates that some 26 billion cores were shipped last year. This number presumably includes the 19 billion 4-, 8-, 16-, 32-bit MCUs mentioned above.
To read the full story, go to Embedded.com.


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Chinese car brand, GAC Motor, through its official Philippine distributor, Legado Motors, Inc. or LMI, is aiming for some high notes. That’s because we’ve received a very short email stating its move to build a new dealership somewhere in Quezon City.
The email was somewhat vague, but it gave us with a photo of what was the brand’s first step into building the said structure - a contract signing ceremony to seal the deal. It was attended to by Giovanni Frias (LMI Vice President for Sales and Operations), Wilbert Lim (LMI Chief Executive Officer), Jessie Royo (Masa Mart Business Center Chairman), and Emma Royo.
In case you’re wondering what Masa Mart Business Center is, it’s slated as the new dealership’s owner and operator, and from here on will be referred to in future news as Masa Mart Motors. It has yet to project when the dealership will be fully operational. But seeing the current pandemic situation, we can guess that it could be well within the ballpark of late 2021 or early 2022.
Masa Mart Motors, will offer the following vehicle models: GA4 sedan (available in 1.5-liter manual, 1.5-liter automatic, and 1.3-liter gas turbo automatic), GS4 subcompact SUV, GM8 premium seven-seater minivan (available in GT and GE Premiere variants), GS8 large SUV (available in 4x2 GE Premiere, 4x2 GE Sports, and 4x4 GL variants), and the GS3 subcompact crossover (available in 1.3-liter gas turbo, 1.5-liter Premiere, and 1.5-liter GS).
For the latest updates, visit your nearest GAC Motor dealership or follow the official social media pages Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: @gacmotorph.


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- Green Growth
- Your Consultant
|Vietnam needs new policies to tighten management and penalties to improve the quality of the e-commerce market, Photo: Le Toan|
Vietnam’s authorised agencies have recently inspected Shopee Vietnam after various media outlets had reported on third-party vendors selling illegal toys on its e-commerce marketplace. The e-commerce website was accused of selling toys depicting a Chinese map violating Vietnam’s sovereignty. Shopee Vietnam was ordered to remove listings of the illegal toy map depicting the illegal nine-dash line that China has used to claim Vietnamese territory in the East Sea.
However, Shopee is not the only e-commerce company that has caused trouble for customers with its lax management of vendors. Lazada.vn has also repeatedly been in hot water over the past few years, with numerous complaints from customers about used items, fake promotions, and wrong prices, among other issues.
Information provided by the Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that Lazada.vn received the most complaints of all comparable e-commerce sites in 2017.
Meanwhile, Sendo.vn, which is operated by Sen Do Technology JSC, a member of FPT Group, also received complaints on online forums and social networking sites. In June 2018, several customers reported that they had bought a large batch of phone cards from Sendo’s e-commerce platform, but all of the cards were used.
Additionally, counterfeit branded products are found on e-commerce websites like Lazada.vn and Shopee.vn. Many famous international brands like Chanel, Nike, Adidas, Fila, and Converse, as well as a series of cosmetics and accessories, are regularly advertised for sale at extremely low prices compared to authentic goods.
Easy registration and loose management
Currently, the relaxed conditions for business registration make it easier for e-commerce companies to attract a large number of vendors, but make the quality of goods an industry-wide problem.
Lazada.vn, the e-commerce platform backed by Recess Co., Ltd., has around 10,000 shops, over 500,000 items, and one million users. The company has used aggressive marketing strategies to attract customers, increase the number of listings, and develop quickly after six years of operations in Vietnam.
Likewise, Shopee Vietnam has lured a large number of vendors to its platform. Just one year after its official launch in 2016, the company’s app has garnered a total of four million listings. Meanwhile, Sendo has about 200,000 operational online shops on its e-commerce platform after six years of operations.
However, the problem lies in the undemanding terms and conditions for registering to sell on an e-commerce platform. Sellers only need to fill out basic information like name, age, address, phone number, email, and give a password, without any ID number or business licence needed. These rules apply to all e-commerce websites at the moment.
Although this was originally meant to create an open policy for e-commerce companies to attract e-retailers and develop their online shops, it has already shown shortcomings. For instance, if an online shop is sanctioned, the owners could register the same shop under a different name without any issues.
Nguyen Thi Viet Phuong, a vendor on Shopee.vn, told VIR that the easy registration is a “double-edged sword.” “It helps vendors to easily create an online shop instead of implementing a lot of complicated procedures to open a real shop. This is an opportunity for everyone to do business online.”
“However, the easy registration has increased the number of ‘dirty’ accounts and vendors. Due to fierce price competition, a lot of shops resort to false advertising,” Phuong said.
Crackdown on infringement and counterfeit
As the Vietnamese e-commerce market is in the initial stages of development, many say it is normal to see fast-growing e-commerce companies having issues with compliance.
Tran Tuan Anh, director of Operations and Finance at Shopee Vietnam, said that e-commerce companies are working hard to crack down on counterfeits. However, they still face challenges in dealing with millions of product listings.
“Selling low-quality products will not only affect the consumers, but also the e-commerce platform itself. It is obvious that e-commerce firms do not want a negative impact from these quality management issues,” he said.
On the same note, Nguyen Ngoc Dung, deputy chairman of the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM), said that e-commerce companies have taken measures to deal with counterfeiting problems. “They remove thousands of listings violating their terms and conditions every day,” he said. “E-commerce companies have stepped up their quality management practices by applying new technology and forming specialised teams with a focus on monitoring online listings.”
Strengthening management mechanisms
According to Germany-headquartered Statista, an online statistics, market research, and business intelligence portal, Vietnam had around 35.4 million e-commerce users in 2017. In 2018, the number of e-commerce users is forecast to reach 37.3 million.
Moreover, e-commerce platforms have been receiving more and more investment. Last week, Sendo received a total of $51 million from Japan’s SBI Holdings and other companies based in Asia, including Daiwa PI Partners, Softbank Ventures Korea, and SKS Ventures. In 2014, Japanese companies poured around $18 million into Sendo.
Meanwhile, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba has invested $4 billion into Lazada Group SA between 2016 and 2018, to develop six Southeast Asian markets. Tiki.vn has also received $44 million from China’s JD.com and $17 million from Vietnam’s VNG, while Shopee Vietnam has received $500 million from China’s Tencent (through SEA Ltd.). Amazon seems to have also set its sights on Vietnam, as it is preparing to carry out plans for developing markets in the region.
With the strong development of online businesses, many feel Vietnam needs new policies to further tighten management, supervision, and penalties to improve the quality of the e-commerce market and reduce problems for customers.
Nguyen Van Tuan, director of Vietnam Communication Corporation’s Zamba Department, which develops e-commerce projects, told VIR that it is very difficult for e-commerce platforms to honour their responsibilities because they are quite similar to a “real” market. An e-commerce platform can close scam shops and ban the associated accounts, but it does not have the power to prevent such a situation. Vendors can just register another account for a new shop.
“Although we have already notified vendors to not sell prohibited products, it is hard to check the quality of their goods. Even e-commerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba have been called out for similar problems,” Tuan said and affirmed the need for a legal framework and state sanctions to deal with fraudulent sellers.
In order to deal with these problems and strengthen management mechanisms, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) plans to publish a list of e-commerce websites and mobile applications that have violated laws and regulations on online trading in the near future.
The ministry is also working on a draft circular on the management of e-commerce websites and mobile applications to reduce the shortcomings of the currently effective Decree No.52/2013/ND-CP on the management of online business forms.
Dang Hoang Hai, director general of the MoIT’s E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, told local media that the draft circular would require e-commerce websites to register or notify the ministry as prescribed by the law.
The draft circular also stipulates that organisations and individuals using e-commerce websites and mobile apps are not allowed to trade prohibited products like shotguns, sports weapons, and cigarettes, among others.
Violators would have to remove prohibited products from their e-commerce websites. In addition, owners of e-commerce websites would be required to implement technical solutions to prevent and remove listings of counterfeit or smuggled goods or products as well as services violating intellectual property rights.


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14 April 2020
INTERVIEW - In the second interview with Lloyd’s List published April 14th 2020, our Group CEO Jens Holger Nielsen elaborates on keeping international trade moving to ensure deliveries to workers at sea – Seafarers' suppers fed by triple barrel supply pipeline
Local, regional, and global sourcing needed to ensure food reaches those working at sea, and who are on the front line of helping to keep supermarket shelves stocked
With tens of thousands of seafarers trapped on ships, and many more on offshore installations, the challenge of supplying food and other essentials requires meticulous preparation, says Wrist chief Jens Holger Nielsen.
Nielsen: Wrist makes about 80,000 deliveries a year to some 13,000 vessels of all types.
At a time when globalisation is falling out of favour, Jens Holger Nielsen is adamant that his company’s worldwide network is essential in order to keep international trade moving by ensuring those working at sea receive the provisions they need.
With tens of thousands of seafarers trapped on ships, and many more on offshore installations, because of widespread restrictions on crew and personnel changes, the challenge of supplying food and other essentials requires meticulous preparation and numerous back-up plans, says Mr Nielsen, group chief executive of the ships services company Wrist.
That in turn is dependent on what Mr Nielsen calls “a triple barrel supply pipeline”, with sites able to source supplies locally, regionally, or globally.
Most businesses that provide stores for ships or offshore platforms are either local or at best regional organisations, but with the spread of the coronavirus starting to disrupt distribution systems, the ability to tap into a strong global supply line is necessary in these unprecedented times, according to Mr Nielsen.
“Now is the time to prove we are there for the people at sea…. to deliver what they need in order to keep going,” he says. “They are completely dependent on us.”
As the undisputed leader in this sector with an estimated market share of 10%-12%, and with strong owners in contrast to some of the smaller players, Wrist is already seeing business grow as the pandemic underlines the need to be well-resourced. Privileged supplier relationships are another advantage.
“We already today have a number of large customers working with us under more framework type of agreements, which is much more efficient for both parties and which secures supply planning better. We have seen this accelerating under the current circumstances”, says Mr. Nielsen.
The Denmark-based company, which is owned by the Scandinavian private equity fund manager Altor, has 26 sites around the world from which it can provide supplies, located in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
“As the only company in our industry, we have a completely global footprint as well as a robust supply chain, and were very early out of the starting blocks to protect our organisation and business continuity, and so far so good, we believe we have all the measures in place to continue supplying vessels globally under increasingly challenging circumstances,” says Mr. Nielsen.
Wrist started to build up stocks before the disease worsened into a pandemic, and also updates on a daily basis a heat map of Wrist’s global supply capability in order to immediately detect any potential issues. Staff can see in real time where there may be bottlenecks or shortages.
That way, if stores are running low in one location, alternative arrangements can be made to provision the vessel at its next port of call although this has not yet been necessary.
Food is sourced from all over the world, with Wrist buying some 3,000 containers of food and other supplies a year that can be distributed between its 26 sites. While balancing sustainability considerations, airfreight will be used when necessary but predominantly for urgent vessel spare parts.
In these difficult times, there may be occasions when the exact produce ordered is in short supply, but customers have been very understanding, according to Mr Nielsen, and no crews have gone without provisions.
“We see bumps and strained supply chains here and there but nothing we have not been able to handle,” Mr. Nielsen notes. “We do, however, see food inflation.”
The former chief executive of Samskip, and managing director of Maersk Line UK, believes his background is proving particularly useful, giving him a good appreciation of customer requirements in these difficult times.
As the coronavirus spreads, there have been reports of officials in some ports trying to block deliveries of certain supplies to ships, thinking it is bound for export markets.
“But they soon understand, once we explain that the provisions and supplies are for the seafarers on board, and if that is not allowed, then global supply chains stop,” says Mr. Nielsen.
Wrist makes around 80,000 deliveries a year to some 13,000 vessels of all types, from tankers, bulkers, containerships, ferries, cruiseships to offshore vessels and platforms — all through its three main divisions — Wrist Ship Supply, Garrets for vessel budget management and Strachans for offshore work.
The challenge now is to second guess where shortages may occur in the food supply chain, as agricultural work is disrupted by the coronavirus, and make sure there are alternative supplies.
”That is where our global footprint is an enormous benefit and we spend a lot of time solidifying our supply chain from all angles,” says Mr. Nielsen.
“Because if we cannot get food to the crew on board ships, then it is game over — or at least a very different ball game.”
Article written and published by LLoyd's List:
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Innovobot Labs and Azzera Partner to Accelerate the Net-Zero Transition
MONTREAL, Aug. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- R&D, Engineering and Innovation company Innovobot Labs and carbon offsetting solutions specialist Azzera are joining forces to simplify access to carbon credits for businesses and the general public.
Game-changing technology for the carbon offset market
Carbon offsetting is the purchase of credits to compensate unavoidable carbon emissions. Currently, this is a highly complex process, heavily burdened by bureaucracy. Azzera now simplifies this process through a unique and rigorously curated marketplace that supports both individuals and businesses, looking to offset their emissions. What makes this a game-changing approach is its intuitive simplicity that does away with the need for expensive intermediaries.
Institutions and businesses initiating an offset program simply go to the Azzera website. There, they select an offset program from a worldwide Carbon Marketplace. For those beginning their sustainability journey, Azzera's specialists can assist in measuring their Carbon footprint. Each program selected for the Marketplace is rigorously audited for tangible results, to guard against greenwashing. For organizations operating in compliance-based regulatory environments, Azzera offers comprehensive support, securing all necessary allowances and ensuring that all program requirements are met.
Individuals looking to make a difference can determine their environmental impact using Azzera's online Carbon Footprint Calculator. From there, they too can access the Carbon Marketplace and select the offset program that fits their needs.
A ground-breaking carbon credit exchange to reward GHG efficiency
The partnership with Innovobot Labs will focus on the next phase in Azzera's growth: the creation of a ground-breaking online, transparent blockchain-based exchange. This new platform will greatly facilitate carbon-credit trading. It will be open to both individuals and business participants.
"This exchange, the first of its kind, will offer businesses and the general public a place to buy and sell carbon credits. A significant proportion of these credits sits unused in portfolios because their owners have met or exceeded their carbon reduction goals. Our exchange is a way to reward these organizations and individuals for their efficient management of GHGs. It also creates a new offering for those looking to buy credits at the most competitive price," says Azzera CEO & co-founder Puja Mahajan.
A recently published McKinsey report predicts that the demand for Net Zero offerings could generate over $12 trillion of annual sales by 2030. As the net-zero transition advances, markets for zero-emission offerings should expand further, says the report. "The Azzera Carbon credit Exchange will give participants a ground floor opportunity to tap into this expanding market," adds co-founder Nick Houseman.
A partnership that democratizes the use of carbon offsets
Through this strategic partnership, Innovobot Labs will help Azzera build its one-of-a-kind trading platform and enhance the technological elements of its solution. In parallel, the Labs' advisory team will support the design of the marketing and commercialization strategy. The end-result of this collaboration will make carbon offsetting solutions simpler to access and more affordable to use, across all major economic sectors.
"We are very excited at the prospect of working with Azzera. The trading platform will bring positive disruption to the offset market, while democratizing the fight against greenhouse gases. We are proud to work with Azzera to co-create a leading carbon credit exchange and accelerate its path to market," says Fadi Albatal, Chief Operating Officer at Innovobot and President of its technology research and development arm, Innovobot Labs.
"The partners at Innovobot Labs have come together to contribute to environmental sustainability and the improvement of human well-being. Azzera's mission dovetails with our Tech-for-Good goals," he concludes.
About Innovobot Labs
Innovobot Labs is an R&D, Engineering and Innovation Design House operated by Innovobot Inc. The Labs tackle pressing problems through the development and application of cutting-edge technologies. Focused on Haptics, Robotics, AI, Advanced Materials and IoT, Innovobot Labs provides companies with a framework for open innovation and collaboration, with the goal of creating products, solutions and IP that are commercialization-ready. For more information, please visit http://www.innovobotlabs.com
Azzera is an innovative provider of carbon offsetting solutions. The company was founded on the belief that investing in the protection of our environment should be simple. Business owners and managers seeking to implement carbon-neutral operations, and individual consumers wanting to make responsible environmental choices all require support to reach their objectives. Azzera's mission is to make trading high-quality carbon offsets effortless. For more information, please visit https://azzera.com/.
Mark Lowe, Azzera, 1 (514) 576-2519, [email protected]


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A Toronto man accused of defrauding 30,000 Americans of about $7-million U.S. in a low-rate credit card scheme for people with poor credit has taken his case to the country’s highest court to avoid being returned to Chicago to stand trial.
Alex Orphanou, a.k.a. Alexos Orphanou, who is in a Toronto jail, was ordered extradited to the U.S. last week by an Ontario Court of Appeal to face a slew of fraud-related offences. He quickly filed a leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, which will rule if it will hear the case or send the suspect packing.
Orpanou was charged by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2008 for violating commission laws and a telemarketing sales rule by falsely “promising consumers a major credit card and charging an advance fee for it, but never delivering the card,” the FTC said in a 2002 news release.
The FTC alleged “the appellant fraudulently telemarketed credit cards by offering persons who had poor credit ratings ’guaranteed’ credit cards in exchange for a fee.”
Court heard the alleged scheme was highly organized and preyed on elderly U.S. residents.
“The alleged fraudulent scheme, of which the appellant is said to have been the chief architect and directing force, was massive in scope and highly sophisticated,” the Court of Appeal said in its decision.
“It involved numerous corporations owned or controlled by the appellant, thousands of victims in the U.S. and victim losses totalling approximately $7 million U.S.”
The FTC alleged Orpanou falsely claimed he can provide consumers with a Visa or MasterCard with an interest of 3.9 or 6%, and a credit limit of $2,500 to $5,000 and no annual fee.
The scheme required customers to pay an upfront “processing” fee of up to $199 for the credit cards by authorizing debits from their bank account. But their cards never arrived.
The FTC said instead “consumers received packages containing information about avoiding credit card fraud and financial scams, about discount shopping services and vacation certificates.”
The commission alleged Orphenu was not authorized to issue credit cards and as many as 30,000 Americans, many who were elderly, were ripped off for millions of dollars.
The scheme led U.S. and Canadian police to shut four financial companies that they alleged were operated by Orphanou out of the same location in Toronto.
This article was written by Tom Godfrey and published by the Toronto Sun on October 4, 2011.
To find additional global criminal news, please read The Global Criminal Defense Daily.
Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition and OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal.
The author of this blog is Douglas McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at firstname.lastname@example.org or at one of the offices listed above.


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When Ford announced back in 2020 that they were reviving the storied Bronco name with a brand-new, super-tough 4×4, Australian motoring fans were ecstatic. Aussies love off-roading, so the prospect of a cool new ‘Jeep killer’ entering the market – especially one with such a high level of customisation offered from the factory – was a tantalising one.
Sadly, Ford Australia has since revealed that they won’t be bringing the car Down Under – consigning the Ford Bronco to be yet another cool Ford, like the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles, that Aussies are set to miss out on.
Never fear, however: one enterprising firm has stepped up to the plate, and is importing and right-hand-drive converting Broncos themselves, to help fellow Aussies get their Bucking Horse fix… Although there’s a catch.
Melbourne’s Crossover Car Conversions, which has been converting LHD US-made vehicles for the Aussie market for years, have recently opened up their waiting list for new Broncos. CCC has already imported at least one Bronco, with the Melbourne Car Spotters Instagram page sharing a photo of an orange Ford Bronco Wildtrak parked at the Westfield Southland shopping centre in Cheltenham earlier this week.
So what’s the catch? Well, they won’t be cheap. Depending on the trim level, you’re probably looking at anywhere between AU$90,000 and $150,000 for a Bronco. The import duties and cost of converting the cars to right-hand drive takes its toll (literally)… As does the price shenanigans US Ford dealers play.
“The problem you have with America is the prices are overinflated by the dealers so you can’t buy them cheap, so they end up being so expensive just like a Shelby is right now… The price [demanded by dealers] will always be $10,000 to $15,000 over, maybe even $20,000 over the MSRP because of the demand over there,” CCC owner Craig Dean tells Chasing Cars.
The Bronco’s just the tip of the iceberg. Imported US domestic market vehicles are becoming increasingly common on Australian roads, with a number of firms around the country specialising in the whole import/RHD conversion shebang having popped up in recent years.
Popular candidates for importation/conversion include sports cars like the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, as well as full-sized pickup trucks like the Ford F-Series and GMC Sierra, which are prized by locals for their towing capacity and imposing on-road presence.
As for Ford Australia, they’re probably not that fussed by third parties wanting to bring Broncos to Australia. The Ford Ranger ute and Everest SUV, both of which were designed and tested in Australia and have formidable off-road capabilities, are still best-sellers.
Ironically, the new Ford Bronco actually shares the same T6 chassis as the Everest and Ranger… So unless you really want a soft-top, you’re probably better off saving your money and buying a Ranger. But that’s just, like, our opinion, man.


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The Nets have entered into a multi-year sponsorship alliance with PEAK, a China-based company specializing in sports apparel production, including shoes, sportswear, and gear.
The announcement of the sponsorship was made at a press conference on Monday at the High Point Solutions Business Center at the IZOD CENTER, which was attended by PEAK general manager and executive director Xu Zhihua and Nets chief executive officer Brett Yormark. The press conference also included a performance by the Peking Opera and a fashion show, with PEAK models taking the ramp.
PEAK's sponsorship agreement with the Nets includes television visible courtside and baseline signage that can be seen during the 31 Nets' regular home games this season that will be broadcast in China. PEAK, which is based in Quanzhou, Fujian province, was founded in 1989.
"We are looking forward to building a solid and positive relationship with the Nets, as well as to building up our image on the East Coast and to marketing our products in the US," said Xu Zhihua. "We want to bring attention to China and we want the Chinese community to be excited about NBA basketball and about the Nets."
With their off-season addition of Chinese forward/center Yi Jianlian, the Nets have made their website, www.njnets.com, viewable in both simplified and traditional Chinese characters to give Chinese speaking fans the opportunity to connect with Yi.
(China Daily December 25, 2008)


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Holland America Line has announced relief support details for the Philippines in the wake of the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan. A pledge of $1 million or more from Holland America Line’s parent company Carnival Corporation & plc, along with the Miami HEAT basketball team, will support relief efforts in communities affected by the disaster. More… read more of “Join Us in Support…”
We are profoundly saddened by the news of the passing of Charlie Trotter, one of America’s greatest chefs and a founding member of the Holland America Line Culinary Council. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time. “Our relationship with Charlie went beyond being business colleagues,” said Stein Kruse,… read more of “In Memoriam: Chef…”
Holland America Line once again earned top honors with eight 2013 Readers’ Choice Awards from Porthole Cruise Magazine, one of the world’s leading consumer cruise travel publications. The awards include Best Alaska, Canada/New England and Central America Itineraries, Best Shore Excursions, Best Medical Facilities, Best Facilities for Physically Challenged Passengers, Best Private Island for Half… read more of “Holland America…”
Seattle, Wash., Oct. 2, 2013 — Holland America Line, through its subsidiary Holland America–Princess Alaska, has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the McKinley Chalets Hotel in Denali National Park from Aramark Sports and Entertainment Services.
Holland America Line’s ships might be leaving Europe for the season, but if a cruise vacation to Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Turkey, the Baltic or northern Europe is on your mind for next year, it’s never too early to begin planning for summer 2014. And with several homeports to depart from, there’s an exciting adventure… read more of “Homeports of Europe…”
Welcome to the new and improved Holland America Blog! You’ll notice that the look of the blog has changed quite a bit, but the same amazing content can still be found. The blog is organized in a similar manner to the old blog, but there are a few new bells and whistles. We now have… read more of “How to Navigate the…”
Blog fans, over the past couple of months you might have noticed a change with the blog. We’re doing less posts, but the posts are longer and more comprehensive, filled with exciting information that gives readers a better look at the total Holland America Line experience. We’re still using the wonderful photos and words from… read more of “A New Blog Look is…”
Congratulations to Lynn Narraway, the UK managing director of Holland America Line and Seabourn. She received the prestigious award of “Outstanding Contribution to the UK Cruise Industry” at the Cruise Lines International Association UK and Ireland Cruise Excellence Awards. Having held the post of UK managing director of Holland America Line for almost 15 years,… read more of “HAL’s Lynn…”


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MONTREAL – Bicycling enthusiasts around the world are facing higher prices as manufacturers adjust to a stronger U.S. dollar and introduce new lines of more expensive rides this summer, bike maker Dorel Industries said Thursday.
“Everyone in Canada will be raising prices from last year,” chief financial officer Jeffrey Schwartz said following the company’s annual meeting.
The Montreal-based company, the world’s fourth-largest bike firm, anticipates a turnaround in its sports business in the second half of this year after currency headwinds caused revenues to drop nearly five per cent in the first quarter.
Dorel, the company behind the Cannondale and Schwinn bicycles, said in addition to raising prices, it is cutting costs and introducing nine new bike platforms — the most in its history.
“Probably too much for a company our size to do, but we needed to catch up,” Schwartz added.
Among those announced so far are fat bikes with extra large tires and a bike aimed at the growing trail category in the mountain bike market. Prices for the Habit being launched in July start at US$1,799.
For triathletes, Dorel has the Slice. There are five models ranging from US$2,700 to just under US$11,000.
The company is also seeking to bolster its parts and accessories business with the introduction of a carbon fibre saddle, created in collaboration with Airbus. The lightweight Fabric ALM saddle recently began to sell in Canada, with prices ranging between US$200 and US$500.
Dorel (TSX:DII.B) hopes the seat, made without foam or padding, along with a new clip-on water bottle, will be among the products that can help expand its parts and accessories business to industry norms.
The higher margin accessories business is a US$10 billion global industry. While most bike makers derive up to 20 per cent of their sales from parts and accessories, Dorel’s take is less than three per cent.
Dorel says research and development investments in new bikes and Cannondale and GT parts and accessories should allow that part of its business to double or triple in sales in the coming years.
It is also launching new child car seats, strollers and home furnishings, including a ready-to-assemble sofa.
Follow @RossMarowits on Twitter.


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DowDuPont, the chemicals giant, said on Tuesday that it would shift the focus of its reorganization plan after shareholders opposed a proposal to break up the company.
The decision is the latest response by a big company to activist shareholders who have taken on ever-larger targets in recent years, demanding changes to corporate strategies. Household names like Procter & Gamble, Nestlé and Samsung have all found themselves in the sights of such investors.
The new plan, announced
RelSci News & Alerts gets you:


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Grant Shapps has hinted that other countries will be added to the UK's travel “green list” soon, urging people to “be a little patient” in the meantime.
Saturday, May 22, 2021
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Texas-based 7-Eleven, Inc. is building a travel truck stop on U.S. 301 near Interstate 26 in Orangeburg. http://dlvr.it/SP7nKG
Now that travel is picking up again, research on the fictional spy's travel practice provides helpful reminders to would-be adventurers ...


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Apple Inc. (AAPL) Raises Debt to Avoid Repatriation Tax
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) this week sold bonds worth $6.5 billion to raise cash. The move comes just a few days after the company reported record-breaking quarterly profit of more than $18 billion. That begs the question, why raise debt when Apple has about $178 billion in cash stockpile?
Avoiding hefty taxes
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) took debt so it could avoid paying hefty taxes on its cash held abroad. Most of Apple’s $178 billion cash pile is held in offshore accounts and bringing such money home would attract about 35% corporate taxes. That would wipe out billions of dollars from the company’s cash hoard.
Opportunity to raise debt cheaply
Given the low-interest rate environment in the U.S., it is cheaper for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to take a debt to meet its current cash needs than repatriating its cash in offshore accounts.
The $6.5 billion debt that Apple raised is expected to help the company fund various projects such as shares repurchases and payment of dividends. The company will also use the debt to settle some other outstanding debts. Apple could keep raising debts to meet its U.S. cash needs as long as the company is worried about the hefty corporate taxes at home.
Tax holiday proposal
A tax holiday for the repatriated cash could be a good way to encourage Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and other U.S. multinational companies to bring home the profits they earned abroad. Some lawmakers in Washington have been trying lower corporate tax on repatriated cash to 6.5% from as much as 35%. Such are efforts to encourage Apple and its peers to bring their money in the offshore accounts into the U.S.
However, the bill to lower cash repatriation cash tax has not yet been introduced. Still, other lawmakers have already expressed skepticism over such a move.
Whether the government decides to lower cash repatriation taxes or not, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has found a way to raise cheap debt to fund its operations in the U.S., allowing it protect its cash hoard abroad.
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Aldi confirms new Australian store locations
Aldi has confirmed a number of new store locations, all set to open by the end of 2017.
The German discount supermarket currently has 473 stores located across Australia and recently expanded into South Australia and Western Australia.
Aldi will however spend the rest of 2017 opening further stores in the following locations:
New South Wales – Hillsdale, Wetherill Park, Macarthur Square, Narellan, Riverwood and Maitland (Maitland store to open July)
Queensland – Drewvale (July), Caboolture (August) and Coorparoo.
Campbellfield (August), Bell Park (September), Tarneit Central (October), The Glen (October) and Gladstone Park.
South Australia – Adelaide Airport (August), Kensington Park (October), Aldinga (November), Victor Harbor (November), Ingle Farm (November) and Nuriootpa (December).
Western Australia – South Fremantle (July), Bunbury (July), Banksia Grove, Busselton, Northam, Yokine and Currambine.
An Aldi spokesperson said each of the stores will follow Aldi’s new store format with clearer signage, redesigned shelving and expanded wooden produce bays, energy efficient LED lighting and extended chillers.
“This will allow for a more pleasant and efficient shopping experience, while also catering for an expanded range across our fresh meat, produce and health categories,” the spokesperson said.
“While the new format means a better shopping experience for customers, it won’t lead to higher prices,” the spokesperson said.
Woolworths remains to have the largest supermarket footprint in Australia with 922 supermarkets.
- Aldi continues WA and SA expansion with more stores
- Amazon in chats with Australian suppliers says UBS
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INTERNET SEARCH GIANT Google's first 10in tablet, the Nexus 10 has promptly sold out in the UK.
Over on the Google Play store, both the 16GB and 32GB Nexus 10 models are now showing as sold out just 24 hours after the tablet went on sale. There's no word when Google will be receiving its next batch of the Samsung tablets either, as the page simply states, "We are out of inventory. Please check back soon."
The firm's 3G enabled Nexus 7 that also went on sale yesterday is also showing as sold out on the Google Play store, despite costing more than the 7in WiFi-only tablet models at £239.99 upfront.
Neither tablet sold out as quickly as the LG Nexus 4 though, which was showing as sold out at the Google Play store just minutes after it went on sale. That's not surprising considering the prices of the top-end smartphones, with the 8GB and 16GB models priced at just £239 and £279 SIM free, respectively.
We've contacted Google to see when it will be getting more stock of its latest Nexus kit, but it has not yet responded. µ
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Video shows off upcoming handset in Rose Gold compared to iPhone 6S predecessor


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Jenner made her debut at the prestigious Victoria's Secret Fashion Show earlier this week.
Kendall Jenner made her most high-profile modelling appearance to date at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show this week, but the vast majority of her family was not in attendance – under her own instructions, as it turns out.
The 20 year old model starred in the prestigious show alongside her friend Gigi Hadid on Tuesday (November 10th), and though she was watched by her parents, Caitlyn and Kris Jenner, her assorted stepsisters were absent, because Kendall felt that their headline-grabbing presence would have been “too much pressure” for her on such a big occasion.
Kendall Jenner at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
“I told them all to stay away,” Jenner revealed to New York Daily News’ magazine [email protected] backstage at the event. “It was too much pressure and I was like, 'Mom and Dad are good enough. I just need the pressure off. There's enough pressure as it is.”
The reality TV star also admitted that she had only been informed of her place in the fashion late last week, a few days after Hadid had been confirmed. She revealed that she’s been struggling to hold back tears of joy all week at getting such a big break this early in her career.
“(At) my first fitting I was on the verge (again),” she said. “You know when you can feel it in your throat that you're about to cry? I held myself back. I stopped myself.”
Jenner also said that she wasn’t too afraid of having to watch her weight, and was comfortable enough to have a sizeable meal the night before the show. “I had chicken and sweet potato and egg whites and avocado,” she said.


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Taipei, Singapore-based DBS Bank on Wednesday retained its forecast of a 1 percent contraction of Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, DBS said Taiwan’s economic development in the second half of the year is likely to remain under the shadow of a deteriorating job market, in which the number of furloughed workers has been increasing, and amid rising tensions between the United States and China.
In its forecast, DBS said that in the second half of the year, businesses in Taiwan that are reliant on domestic demand will see only a moderate rebound due to job losses and decreased income among consumers, despite the outlook that Taiwan will soon lift some of its restrictions pertaining to public gatherings and social distancing.
Some of the businesses hardest hit hardest by COVID-19 have been manufacturers in the old economy sector, retailers, and food/beverage vendors, as the coronavirus outbreak has forced many people to stay home and has sent crude oil prices plunging, the bank said.
Taiwan’s central bank is therefore expected to further reduce key interest rates, cutting the discount rate from 1.125 percent to 1.00 percent, in an effort to stimulate the economy, when the bank holds its quarterly policymaking meeting on June 18, DBS said.
On the bright side, Taiwan’s electronics industry is expected to remain vibrant, as global demand for notebook and tablet computers, game consoles and electronics components such as chips and servers has been on the rise on the back of remote work and online learning amid stay-at-home orders in many countries, DBS said.
However, tighter sanctions by the United States against Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies Inc., one of the largest clients of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., are expected to adversely affect Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, DBS said.
Its forecast of a 1 percent contraction of Taiwan’s economy in 2020 was more downbeat than that of the country’s Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), which in May predicted a 1.67 percent growth.
The DGBAS said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s efforts to stimulate consumption and an increase in returning Taiwanese business investments would help to mitigate the impact of the disease.
The DGBAS forecast, however, was a downgrade of 0.70 percentage points from its projection in February.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel


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Eaton Vance Management Increases Holdings in Shutterfly, Inc. (SFLY)
Eaton Vance Management raised its position in shares of Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,184 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management owned 0.06% of Shutterfly worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Shutterfly by 132.9% during the second quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Shutterfly during the first quarter valued at $141,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in Shutterfly during the first quarter valued at $144,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Shutterfly by 8.2% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Pacad Investment Ltd. grew its holdings in Shutterfly by 50.0% during the second quarter. Pacad Investment Ltd. now owns 4,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period.
Several brokerages have weighed in on SFLY. ValuEngine raised Shutterfly from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 6th. Zacks Investment Research raised Shutterfly from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. TheStreet lowered Shutterfly from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. BidaskClub lowered Shutterfly from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 10th. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Shutterfly in a report on Friday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.10.
Shares of Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ SFLY) opened at 47.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.21. Shutterfly, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.91 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 289.33 and a beta of 0.89.
Shutterfly (NASDAQ:SFLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The technology company reported ($0.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($0.13). Shutterfly had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The business had revenue of $209.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.48) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Shutterfly, Inc. will post $0.47 EPS for the current year.
In other news, VP Jason Sebring sold 644 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.30, for a total transaction of $31,105.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Blackwood-Kapral sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.56, for a total transaction of $58,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.
Shutterfly Company Profile
Shutterfly, Inc is an online manufacturer and retailer of personalized products and services. The Company focuses on helping consumers manage their memories through the medium of photography. The Company’s segments are Consumer and Shutterfly Business Solutions (SBS). The Consumer segment offers photo-based products, such as photo books, stationery and greeting cards, other photo-based merchandise, photo prints and statement gifts.
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For the second time in a month, a payment processor has reported being hit by data thieves.
This time, the victim is Heartland Payment Systems, one of the five largest payment processors in the United States. Heartland (NYSE: HYP) has not disclosed how many people were affected by the security breach, which it said may have begun in 2008 and was only uncovered last week.
According to Heartland, the scope of the data loss is still being assessed. Credit card account numbers, expiration dates and, in some cases, cardholders’ names, were stolen in the attack, Nancy Gross, a Heartland spokesperson, told InternetNews.com. However, the company does not yet know how many cardholders or businesses were impacted. The 12 -year-old payment processor serves 250,000 business locations and more than four billion transactions every year, according to its Web site.
“The investigation is still ongoing and we have very far from complete information,” Gross said.
Revelations about a similar data theft at another firm surfaced last month, when RBS WorldPay disclosed that it had suffered a data breach in November that compromised more than a million customers’ records.
In the newest data breach, Heartland’s Gross said that a keystroke logger had been found in the company’s card processing system. But according to a Web site that Heartland set up to handle matters relating to the breach, none of its check management or other systems had been affected, so the attackers did not gain access to merchant data or cardholders’ Social Security numbers, unencrypted personal identification numbers, addresses or telephone numbers.
Still, some observers are worried.
“What’s interesting is what’s missing” from Heartland’s disclosure, Mark Bower, director of information protection solutions at e-mail and database encryption software vendor Voltage Security, told InternetNews.com. “It doesn’t say that cardholders’ credit card numbers or credit information was actually not breached.”
Robert Baldwin, the company’s president and chief financial officer, said in a statement on its Web site that Heartland notified federal law enforcement about the breach, and that it also has alerted the issuers of the various cards it processes.
He also said that this incident may be the result of a widespread global cyber fraud operation and that Heartland is cooperating with the United States Secret Service and the Department of Justice (DoJ).
The company said on its breach-related Web site that it discovered the breach after auditing its systems last week, following alerts from MasterCard and Visa about suspicious card transactions in autumn.
However, Gross said that Heartland does not know precisely when the breach actually began.
“We were alerted by Visa and MasterCard late in the fall and we then enlisted the help of several forensic auditors who were charged to conduct a thorough investigation,” she said. “But nothing came up until last week.”
Page 2: Next steps for Heartland — and the industry
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Michael Argast, a security analyst with security consultants Sophos, told InternetNews.com that companies like Heartland need to adopt extremely high security measures. Heartland has said on its site that it has taken steps to further secure its systems, and that it plans to implement a new technology that would flag network anomalies on its systems in real time.
That may be only the start of what it needs to do, Argast said.
“For organizations that monitor transactions, you need to have much higher levels of security,” he said. “These guys are the crown jewels of theft for
Argast added that he thought that if Heartland had good auditing systems in place, it should have been able to find out how many cardholders have been affected by now. “This type of organization needs to be able to do this with in-house security analysts, and should not have to call in third-party auditors,” he said.
He also said that that the keystroke logger probably represented the first part of a two-phase attack.
“They got that malware into the organization through social engineering, then pulled down the sniffer into the network,” he said.
Matters of disclosure
Observers also say the Heartland breach highlights the current state of legislation regarding disclosure when data loss hits corporations.
There is no federal law requiring companies suffering a data breach to
notify affected users, customers or employees, but several state laws in various states do require this, Scott Christie, a partner in law firm McCarter & English, told InternetNews.com.
“As a general proposition, those laws require victims to be notified once it is clear that residents of those states have had their information compromised,” he said. But if the data is encrypted, most states relieve the company of the burden to notify, he added.
Gross said Heartland had been certified as compliant with Payment Card Industry specifications in April and that its systems are secure, but said she could not be more specific.
Public disclosure may also be delayed because some state laws require a breached company to report the attack first to law enforcement. The law enforcement agencies may then require companies to hold off on notifying customers of a breach to avoid hurting their investigation,
More attacks to come?
Yet even as Heartland is coping with the aftermath of its data breach, other payment industry companies may also be at risk. Gretchen Hellman, vice president of security solutions at database security and encryption solutions vendor Vormetric told InternetNews.com that more such attacks targeting payment processors may be on the way.
“Once the cybercriminals have a model that works, there’s no reason to not repeat that,” she said.
Experts have already warned that cybercriminals will step up their efforts this year.
The government does show some signs of taking steps to thwart such an increase. Earlier this month, California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced two bills on data breaches and protection of individual privacy.
Still, more needs to be done to fight back, experts said. Enterprises and governments need to review their security approaches, identify key gaps within their infrastructures and deal with them quickly, Bill Conner, president and CEO at security vendor Entrust, told InternetNews.com in an e-mail.
He also called for more government action to deal with the problem. “The government needs to standardize data breach notification laws and call for technology like encryption and stronger authentication that truly protects consumer information,” Conner said.
Conner’s calls echo those made last month by a bipartisan nonprofit think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The Center called on the Obama administration to strengthen cybersecurity in both the private and public sectors.
Update adds additional details of the breach from Heartland and comments from Gross, Christie and Argast.


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Hutch Essar weighs bids
THE owners of the controlling stake in India’s fourth-biggest mobile operator, Hutchison Essar, are expected to meet today to discuss the first bids made for a business that is likely to fetch close to $20 billion (£10.3 billion).
Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile operator, submitted a bid on Friday, as did Reliance Communications, India’s biggest mobile company. Essar, the Indian conglomerate that is the minority shareholder in Hutch Essar, has also made an offer to Hutchison Telecom International (HTIL), its partner in the Indian business.
HTIL, chaired by Canning Fok, is controlled by Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong group that in Britain owns the mobile network 3 as well as Superdrug.
A fourth offer was expected from the British-based Hinduja brothers. The Hinduja group, which


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By Kim Evered, Solutions Marketing Manager
Last week, several of us attended the Self Storage Association Fall Conference in Las Vegas. The emphasis for industry success continues to be on operational efficiency and streamlined marketing, as well as revenue protection through value selling.
The keynote address by Dean Jernigan announced the re-branding of U-Store-It to CubeSmart, which corresponded with their Press Release. He introduced the concept that expanded services and amenities at the store level will be the differentiators in the future. The CubeSmart re-branding and Dean's vision for the future of the storage industry was the buzz of the conference.
While conference attendance was down slightly from last year, the networking opportunities were still plentiful and well organized. We look forward to upcoming SSA events, including the SSA Winter Executive Ski Workshop in Lake Tahoe, CA January 30 - February 2, 2012, and the SSA Spring Conference, which will be a combined event with the Florida SSA in Orlando, FL in April 2012.


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r(HealthAndLovePage) The Fifth Estate is an investigative program that airs on Canadian CBC. In their 39th episode they are discussing the less known properties and the potential DR Hyman.
If you take a closer look at the TV shows about healthy food and even in the articles found on the Internet, you can find many resources about the dangers of salt and fat in your diet, but those focused on sugar come in a really small number. All these things suggest that the sugar industry is making efforts to hide the truth about the real properties of sugar from the public.
Several medical researchers have decided to be part of the investigation involving four family members who will exclude sugar from their diet. These researchers are convinced that sugar can lead to heart disease, cancer and even to Alzheimer’s disease.
According to some statistics an average American family (Two adults and two children) consumes about 95 teaspoons of sugar per day. Of course, this amount is not taken in teaspoons, but found in the food itself. This is why many people are not aware of the amount of sugar they take on a daily basis.
For example, there are about 5 teaspoons of sugar in the Healthy Choice chicken pineapple and seven teaspoons in one can of Campbell’s tomato soup. Who would’ve thought, right? On the other hand, an average Canadian consumes about 26 teaspoons of sugar every day. That’s about 40 kilograms per year.
The entire food industry in North America includes large amount of sugar in their products, but yet almost none of them puts recommendation about daily sugar intake on their products.
The bliss point
Dr. Howard Moskowitz reminds people about the term “bliss point”. This is a point when people like the product they consume the most, the moment when they feel the best. Although Dr. Moskowitz is a mathematician educated in Harvard he is also a food industry consultant. What he is trying to determine is the bliss point in a product – the perfect combination of ingredients that will make people want to buy certain product.
Dangers of Using Sugar: Toxicity of sugar
During the 80’s and the 90s, many nutritionists were focused on dietary fat and the negative effects of fat. However, what we can determine from this perspective is that the introduction of products that don’t contain fat at all didn’t change the fact that people were still getting sick from modern diseases and their weight remained more or less the same. This is why many experts consider that sugar is the answer to this question. According to Dr.. Robert Lustig, a medical professor and pediatrician, sugar is much worse than fat. He is also one of the main figures in the so-called anti-sugar campaign. He has his own YouTube channel with thousands of subscribers.
The main reason why people are still getting sick and obese is sugar. People are trying to replace fats with sugar and this is a big mistake. Sugar consists of 2 molecules – fructose and glucose. Once they are in the system they are separated. While the glucose reaches every part of our body and nourishes the brain and muscles, the fructose is going straight in the liver. When the body is dealing with excessive amount of fructose it converts the energy in liver fat. The liver fat leads to heart disease and cancer.
Why people consume more food than they are supposed to?
Eating excessively and not being involved in physical activity is the “winning” formula for those who want to get fat. Dr. Lustig blames the fructose from the sugar because it practically blocks the areas of the brain that signals us when we are full. It is worth mentioning that the food companies and the experts working for them consider these theories to be wrong and without any scientific support.
READ ALSO: How Sugar Affects Your Brain [VIDEO]
Food industry’s reactions
What makes this episode from the Fifth Estate interesting is that the food industry was well-aware of the effects of processed food and diseases even 15 years ago.
The heads of some of the most popular food companies in the USA and Canada (including Nestle, Kraft and Coca Cola) have organized an auditorium in Minneapolis in 1999. They were actually discussing the trend of obesity and overweight in these countries and some of them were worried about getting sued because of the foods they offer on the market, because they knew that there is a link between processed food and obesity, cancer and heart disease.
They were also worried because this was the period when the tobacco industry suffered from the many multimillion lawsuits and they thought that they could be next. The VP of communications at Kraft – Michael Mudd – who was part of this meeting is now blaming the food industry that they knew exactly what they were doing, but they didn’t take any measures in all these years.
READ ALSO: Brown Vs. White Sugar
Is there a link between sugar and serious diseases?
Dr. Lustig has decided to conduct a serious study which involved records about diabetes in more than 170 countries around the world. He included all the possible factors that lead to diabetes and concluded that sugar is the number one factor of diabetes and several other diseases. However, expert nutritionist Dr. John Sievenpiper disagrees. He agrees that the consumption of sugar has increased in the past two decades, but people have also started using some other products like bottled water for example, but this doesn’t mean that they are the cause of all these diseases.
He says that the most important thing is noticing the warning signs and this is exactly what students and scientists at the University of California at Davis were doing. They’ve fed guinea pigs with sugary drinks and after two weeks they have determined that the warning signs for cardiovascular disease were significantly increased. However, even this study didn’t impress Dr. Sievenpiper because the tests were performed in animals and they didn’t take the amount of calories into account.
Despite this fact, there are many scientists that are convinced that added sugar is significantly increasing the probability of developing some of the previously mentioned diseases. This is certainly not enough for the FDA and the Health Canada body to confirm the link between sugar and these diseases.
The good news is that the American heart Association has recommended cutting the amount of added sugar for both men and women. According to them, men should have about nine teaspoons of sugar per day while women should have six. In addition, there are many congressmen like Frank Pallone for example, who are trying to introduce bills that will improve food labeling and emphasize the effects of sugar and the daily recommendation of sugar.
What happened with the Breedons?
The Breedon family was eating food prepared by professional chefs. They could eat as much as they want and add butter and salt if they want. They were not forced to perform any exercises that they didn’t do before. The only thing that was forbidden was the use of added refined sugar in the recipes. After three-weeks we can see the first results of this interesting experiment.
The adults have lost a couple of inches from their waist (without feeling hungry at any point) and reduced the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the system by 10% to 20%. Watch the entire video and see what happened.


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Wii Kirby appears in Nintendo financials
The only one of Nintendo's big characters not to make an appearance on the Wii, Kirby, is still on his way.
According to Nintendo's latest financials, a game called Hoshi No Kirby, is slated for release some time this year in Japan although the exact date was listed as TBA.
Kirby hasn't appeared on a home console since Kirby's Air Ride came out on the GameCube in 2003.
He has done rather well on the DS though with Kirby Super Star Ultra selling 2.3 million copies.
- Resident Evil HD remake gets its first trailer
- Capcom working with Dimps on a what is probably Street Fighter V
- New Titanfall update adds Titan-free combat gameplay mode
- OnLive coming to Philips' new range fo Android-powered smart TVs
- Explore the rest of the solar system with Google's Destiny Planet View
- Dead Or Alive 5: Last Round coming to next-gen consoles
- Voting opens up for GamesAid's charity of 2014
- Nintendo promising a good 2015 with Zelda, Star Fox and Splatoon coming to Wii U
- Warframe comes to Xbox One today


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While the general consensus in the mobile industry seems to be raising prices on smartphones is best for business, T-Mobile has decided to take a new approach to selling phones.
The company announced on Friday, February 11 and Saturday, February 12, all T-Mobile phones, even 4G smartphones, will be offered for free at T-Mobile retail stores with qualifying plan on two-year contract. It is being promoted as a Valentine's Day deal.
T-Mobile has prominent smartphones in its array including the myTouch 4G, HTC HD7, T-Mobile G2 and the Samsung Vibrant. The company does say a mail-in rebate might apply to certain phones, and some stores may not be included at all.
Smartphones offer people incredible flexibility to stay connected and express their love to the people that matter most, John Clelland, senior vice president of marketing, T-Mobile USA, said in a statement. T-Mobile's Valentine's promotion makes it easier for anyone to get their favorite smartphone and keep connected on America's largest 4G network.


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Casio announced a new addition to its G-Shock line today — arguably one of the most recognizable wristwatch lines in the world. It has built-in Bluetooth, and can talk directly to the iPhone…
“The G-SHOCK line of watches is always evolving in terms of technology and performance innovation. This time, G-SHOCK has taken another step forward by incorporating Bluetooth v4.0 into this new model, which features the round-shaped design popular in the G-SHOCK brand around the world.
This new watch communicates with the iPhone to perform various functions such as notifying the wearer of incoming calls and enabling iPhone alarm and vibration functions from the watch button. In addition, the watch can automatically adjust itself to exact time according to different time zones by synchronizing itself to time data received from the iPhone.”
Casio says that the watch uses low-power bluetooth 4.0 technology — which is also built into the iPhone 4S. And with the accompanying iPhone app, it can receive notifications of incoming calls, control iPhone alarm and vibration functions, and let the wearer know when the iPhone is out of range or left behind.
Admittedly, the features on this watch are child’s play compared to what the Pebble and some of the other smartwatches can do — control iPhone’s Music app, receive text messages and other notifications — but that simplicity, along with strong brand recognition, may end up working in Casio’s favor.
The company says that the G-SHOCK GB-6900AA will come in 5 colors, but there’s no information on pricing and availability for the US yet. It does, however, go on sale in Japan in October for around $230.
So, what do you think of Casio’s new iPhone-friendly G-SHOCK?


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PACIFIC COUNTY — Business is booming for the local cannabis industry in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, with recreational retailers, growers and processors reporting record sales in recent months.
Cannabis consumers purchased more than $560,000 worth of pot in Pacific County in June, a record high and roughly 50% higher than the same period last year, according the latest figures from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.
Pot shops cash in
The county’s three licensed recreational marijuana retailers have each experienced significant surges in revenue that have dwarfed figures from last summer. The Freedom Market in Ilwaco sold $165,000, the most among Pacific County’s three retailers. The total was about $47,000 more than June 2019.
Mr. Doobees in Seaview has set monthly sales records for three consecutive months, starting with $118,000 in May, followed by $133,000 in June and more than $150,000 in July, approximately $50,000 more each month than the same period in 2019.
Grower’s Outlet in South Bend had record sales each month since spring, first jumping from $79,000 in February to $99,000 in March. The South Bend business has since averaged more than $115,000 each month since, nearly double the amount over the same period last year.
As many local businesses have braced for a slower-than-usual summer the marijuana industry has undergone a resurgence since spring.
“Every month has exceeded our expectations,” said Mr. Doobees owner HJ Norris, who’s seen an influx of visitors and a surge in sales at his pot shop, situated along U.S. Highway 101 in Seaview, the primary artery leading into the Long Beach Peninsula.
Norris has noticed a difference in customers stopping by in recent months.
“We’re getting a lot more older folks who have come here to escape the metro areas, especially Seattle, or their kids sent them down here because they have a summer home, or rented a home for a few months.”
Sales have been equally steady for flower and concentrates, but edibles seem to be expanding to a new customer base, especially those looking to experiment with marijuana as an alternative medicine for the first time, Norris said.
“They often get the edibles because they’re looking for an alternative to the pharmaceuticals with serious side effect or that cost an arm and a leg — and actually works,” Norris said.
“It used to be our weekends were the big days because people would be traveling through,” he said. “Now, because we have such a steady flow of people staying here, Tuesday and Wednesday are crazy days, which is totally opposite of the six years I’ve been doing this. Those used to be the days I would try to give everybody off. Everybody’s tills are ringing with cash. Hopefully it will run through September and maybe in October. Covid, for our little area, has been a blessing.”
Fewer restrictions and fair weather have made the peninsula an especially desirable destination this summer, Norris said.
“It’s everybody working from home that can. Pretty much everything is closed down in the metro areas, so where can people go? They come down here. They can go to the restaurants, beaches, go fishing — all the stuff we normally take for granted here got opened back up.”
Norris has seen a lot of the usual traffic from Seattle and Portland, but also unexpected places.
“It’s amazing the broad spectrum of people coming out here. We’re getting people traveling from all over, even some foreigners,” he said. “April through June used to be big months for people bicycling through here but this year they’re actually coming down and staying for a couple months. It’s a lot of people from Texas, California, a ton of people from Nevada. We’ve never heard that before.”
Farmers, processors enjoy high times
As sales climb for cannabis so has demand on local growers and processors. In June producer and processor sales exceeded $2.7 million across 23 licensed businesses in Pacific County, generating more than $150,000 in excise taxes.
Millennium Marijuana in Raymond generated more than $1.1 million in sales in June, by far the most in the county, and 12th most overall in the state over the same period. Two Heads Co. had the second-highest amount in June with $377,000 in sales followed by BMF Washington with $335,000.
Coastal Growers owner Marty Junge, a tier-1 grower in Ilwaco, said demand continues to grow for top-shelf, craft cannabis, particularly for medicinal use.
“I’m at a point now where I can sell more than I can produce,” Junge said, while harvesting plants on Saturday, Aug. 22 in Ilwaco. Junge feels the smaller marijuana producers deliver a product that bigger operations can’t match.
“It takes small, artisanal farmers. Sometimes my Gorilla Glue and Black strains are the only thing that will put them [medical marijuana customers] to sleep,” he said.
Junge harvests almost weekly, approximately 7 to 10 plants at a time, each producing around 150 to 200 grams of flower, depending on the strain.
“The Lemon OG, Gorilla Glue and Cookies are our staples,” Junge said. “But our new strains include Parfait and Cherrylime Soda.”
The new strains come from a Seattle-based seed company called Umami Seeds.
“It’s all about the flavor,” Junge said, “Even though another strain may be more productive or finish faster.”
The only hurdle this summer, according to Junge, has been the heat and a lack of rain.
“I’ve had to ration my water even though I have 200,000 gallons of storage here,” he said. The grow requires about 300 gallons of water per day. “My plants like rainwater because it’s really pure, usually about 10 parts per million or less of anything. It’s as close as you can get to distilled water.”