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Discovering how European technology start-ups succeed when they shift their operations to the critical U.S. marketplace is a difficult task. The reason: Few executives have managed to make the transition work.
"The U.S. has been such a territory of failure," lamented Bernard Liautaud, CEO and founder of Business Objects, one of the most successful venture-backed European start-ups ever to make the leap across the Atlantic.
"They go to the U.S. and everything goes down the tube," he said of most of his corporate compatriots who have relocated to the States. "The tendency is to say that we are a unique case, but I don't think so. Any software company in Europe should be able to do what we did. I think European VCs are still wondering what the right model is."
Indeed they are, though replicating the success of Liautaud's Business Objects would be tough. Liautaud, a former Oracle sales head in Paris and Stanford University-educated engineer, set out 15 years ago to build his software start-up in the American mold after Oracle passed on his suggestions to set up a business-intelligence software unit within the company. He also staked a claim in the U.S. very early in his company's development.
"We were only seven people in Paris when we started our U.S. operation," recalled Liautaud, who capitalized on the timing of the move with key strategic decisions. The software market at the time was centered almost exclusively in the U.S., so even though the company was based in Paris he made its official language English. He sought venture funding from Boston-based Atlas Venture, which boasted a network in the tech industry that he could lean on alongside his two French venture backers, Paribas Technologies and France Telecom's Innovacom unit. Liautaud also instituted an incentive-based, American-style sales framework.
"When you are in the U.S., you have the toughest competition," Liautaud said. "It forces you to improve your products. If you beat the competition in the States, you beat it everywhere."
But in the technology industry, where for so many sectors the U.S. is the main market and thus key to a company's long-term success, European venture capital-backed start-ups that take the plunge most often fail miserably. European VCs reel off myriad reasons for the failure of their portfolio companies to translate technological savvy into business success in the U.S., but common to all the tales of woe is one overriding issue: the paucity of qualified executives able, or willing, to lead the charge.
"There is nothing more impacting on a company than hiring a good CEO," says Frank Bohnke, managing director at Wellington Partners in Munich. Liautaud worked for Oracle and then mimicked its corporate culture in an American setting, but few European executives possess such a deep knowledge of the U.S. market and the skills necessary to guide what is likely to be an obscure European technology company in a new and vastly complex market.
"The wrong executive hires kill companies very fast, and that's what so often happens," agrees Ben Anderson, managing partner of high-tech recruiting specialist Capital Christian & Timbers in London. "We've had to come in and clean up too many European companies to mention that have gone over to the States and made the wrong hires."
Indeed, between 1997 and 2003 European venture capital firms poured 42.7 billion euros ($55 billion) into more than 15,000 companies, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Yet only a handful of companies--such as Business Objects, GlobespanVirata (now part of Conexant Systems), Autonomy and ARM Holdings--have ever had a measure of success cracking the North American market.
Finding the right people
Many European start-ups have the requisite technological prowess, especially in areas such as wireless technology and biotechnology, where Europe has a competitive edge, but something happens when they try to airlift their businesses to the U.S. Whether it's an ignorance of the U.S. market, the inherent parochialism in U.S. tech circles, an unwillingness to pay the higher compensation demanded by American executives or cultural differences that become apparent only after it's too late, most transatlantic jumps fail because they are led by the wrong people.
"There is a relatively small population of Europeans that will comfortably make the transition to president or CEO of a business resident in Delaware," says Charles Cotton, a director at Cambridge, England-based
tech research firm Library House. Cotton also is a former CEO of Virata, a DSL chipmaker that moved from Cambridge, England, to Santa Clara, Calif., and had a wildly successful IPO on Nasdaq in 1999 before morphing into GlobespanVirata via a U.S. acquisition. "I had lived and worked in the U.S., so I had the right experience but not the right accent," observes Cotton, an Englishman and Virata's third CEO.
European venture investors, after some very expensive lessons learned during the past bubble-fueled start-up migration to the U.S., are beginning to change how they go about luring top-tier executives in the U.S. But even in these more cautious times, the process can be still remarkably unsophisticated.
The same careful investors who spend months vetting a business and its underlying technology will often go on little more than intuition and a cursory background check to select a leader to steer a company into which they have just poured millions.
As outsiders to the U.S., Europeans are seldom able to tap American VCs' vast network of local talent, and they operate at a disadvantage at home because Europe's much younger tech industry offers a shallower talent pool. Consequently, finding an outside executive and key salespeople in the U.S. is a task that often falls to headhunters.
Yet these efforts often fail as well. "Americans are exceptionally good at marketing themselves," says Cotton, who is also chairman of Level 5 Networks, a fabless chip company with operations in England and Silicon Valley. "They are used to talking about themselves from an early age. So the difficult thing for people without the requisite experience is seeing through what is a pretty thick veneer."
Pay is another problem. European start-up CEOs, for example, typically get an equity stake of 3 percent to 5 percent in their companies when they are parachuted in to run a start-up. American CEOs often expect double that percentage.
"They are absolutely brutal about it," Anderson says of aggressive, experienced American CEOs. "They really know how to lean in and be aggressive. It's always a question of 'How much money can I make out of this?' "
The psychological edge
There is also an unabashed superiority complex that pervades the American high-tech community from Silicon Valley to Boston, making it even more difficult to sell a European story to an American executive who has three or four other offers at known entities backed by familiar investors. "You have to create an aura around a company," says Wellington Partners' Bohnke of his executive-recruitment efforts in the U.S. "If you're not able to do that, to create that aura, you will meet with snobbery."
Jo Taylor, global head of 3i Group's venture capital business in London, agrees. "If you just come out as a European company saying, 'We're coming to America,' you get a third-tier sort of sales and marketing vice president who doesn't really do much but sit around for a year and get fired and walk off with the cash."
The alternative, of course, is to retain current management, yet a basic knowledge of the U.S. is still key. "It's a sine qua non," says Laura Morse, Atlas Venture's "human capital" partner, whose job is dedicated to recruiting and retaining managers for portfolio companies. "If you're going to send somebody into the U.S. who is European, the person must have had U.S. experience--minimal would be U.S. education. But to send someone who's never worked or acclimated to the U.S. for a key role is something we wouldn't do."
But while culture is crucial, it goes both ways. "Entrepreneurs check out more at an earlier stage in Europe than they do in the U.S.," 3i's Taylor notes. "They make 30 million pounds on an exit and say, 'Fine, I'll just play golf for the rest of my life.' We have found it more difficult to recycle good management because they get comfortable rather earlier than we would like."
A sea change in the collective psyche of European tech executives seems, at least in the near term, an unlikely proposition, which means that venture capitalists in Europe will have to continue to rely heavily on the U.S. talent pool. That's a mixed blessing for high-tech recruiting specialist Anderson at Capital Christian & Timbers.
"We're getting better at it," Anderson says, "but trying to recruit Americans in European companies is still really tough."
© 2005 The Deal.com. All rights reserved.


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Kia India’s price hike for 2023 begins in January and varies between Rs 20,000 and Rs 1 lakh amongst models and trim levels.
As of the first of the year 2023, Kia India will be increasing their prices. The Carnival remains on sale at its previous price point while the Seltos, Sonet, Carens, and EV6 all see price increases. There will be a new price increase for Kia vehicles beginning in January 2023, ranging from 20,000 to a million rupees (or a hundred thousand to ten thousand dollars).
In CY2022, Kia saw a rise in sales of 40.19 percent, from 1,81,583 units to 2,54,556. Its Seltos model was the most popular, selling 1,01,569 units, while the Sonet sold 86,251 units. Kia, like other automakers in India, has been dealing with supply chain issues, which has resulted in increased wait times for several of its models.
Kia Sonet Price Hike Jan 2023
The cost of purchasing a Kia Sonet has increased by between Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000. The standard HTE model, which features a 1.2-liter petrol engine, has seen a price hike of Rs 20,000, rising to Rs 7.69 lakh from Rs 7.49 lakh, while the HTK and HTK+ models have seen similar increases, rising to Rs 8.45 and Rs 9.39 lakh, respectively.
Following a regular price increase of Rs 25,000, the HTK+ through GTX+ variants of the Sonet 1.0-liter turbo petrol now cost between Rs 10.24 lakh and Rs 12.94 lakh, with the top-tier X-Line DCT now costing Rs 13.64 lakh. New costs for the Kia Sonet diesel vary from Rs 9.45 lakh to Rs 14.39 lakh, an increase of 40,000.
Kia Seltos, Carens Price Hike Jan 2023
The price range for the new Kia Seltos now begins at Rs 10.69 lakh for the base HTE petrol trim and extends to Rs 19.15 lakh for the highest grade X-Line AT diesel model, a rise of between Rs 20,000 and 50,000. Diesel models automatically cost Rs 50,000 more than their gasoline counterparts.
The price of the Kia Carens MPV has increased from 20,000 to 45,000. The price of petrol models goes up by Rs 20,000–25,000, while diesel models go up by an average of Rs 45,000. After the increase, the price ranges from Rs 10.20 million for the entry-level 1.5-liter MT Premium petrol trim to Rs 18.45 million for the top-tier Luxury Plus 7-seater.
Kia EV6 Price Hike Jan 2023
The EV6’s GT Line RWD has witnessed the most price increase, from Rs 59.95 million to Rs 60.95 million. Previously priced at Rs 64.95 lakh, the GT Line AWD is now priced at Rs 65.95 lakh. Note that all listed prices are in ex-sh.
The 2023 Auto Show will be the debut for a plethora of new Kia models. Among these are the EV9, a three-row electric SUV; the new generation Carnival minivan; the Sorento seven-seater SUV; a brand-new concept car designed specifically for India; etc. New versions of Seltos and Sonet with updated designs are also on the horizon.

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Scientists bid to create finishing touch for VR
Virtual reality may be able to transport our sight and sound senses to new heights but one area it has failed to immerse us in is the power of touch.
Scientists in the US have developed a prototype device which aims to put this third sense within VR’s reach, using a flexible material fitted with tiny vibrating components that can be attached to skin.
But researchers from Northwestern University believe the system, known as epidermal VR, could be useful in other cases as well, from a child touching a display relaying the gesture to a family member located elsewhere, to helping people with amputations renew their sense of touch.
In gaming, it could alert players when a strike occurs on the corresponding body part of the game character.
“Virtual reality is a very important emerging area of technology,” said Professor John A Rogers, who worked on the project.
“Currently, we’re just using our eyes and our ears as the basis for those experiences.
“The community has been comparatively slow to exploit the body’s largest organ: the skin. Our sense of touch provides the most profound, deepest emotional connection between people.”
The team’s design features 32 vibrating actuators on a thin 15cm by 15cm silicone polymer which sticks on to the skin without tape or straps and is free of large batteries and wires.
It uses near-field communication (NFC) technology – which is used in many smartphones for mobile payment today – to transfer the data.
“It could be very powerful for social interactions, clinical medicine and applications that we cannot conceive of today, beyond the obvious opportunities in gaming and entertainment,” Prof Rogers said.
“With this wireless power delivery scheme, we completely avoid the need for batteries, with their weight, size, bulk and limited operating lifetimes.
“The result is a thin, lightweight system that can be worn and used without constraint indefinitely.”
Scientists hope that the technology could eventually find its way into clothing, allowing people with prosthetics to wear VR shirts that communicate touch through their fingertips.
Their research is published in the Nature journal.


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In a statement that was sent to Business Insider Africa, Paga explained that the launch was in partnership with the Bank of Abyssinia, a leading lender in the Horn of Africa country.
Paga described the partnership with Bank of Abyssinia as a core, strategic development, seeing as the lender is one of the leading players in the country. Business Insider Africa understands that the bank has more than five million customers and close to 700 branches. It is also a pioneer of Ethiopia's digital finance and payment solutions.
Following the official launch, Paga will now begin to avail Ethiopians access to its online payment gateway, as well as other financial services. This would, in turn, help to drive and enhance the country's digital economy.
Adam Abate, the Chief Executive Officer of Paga Ethiopia, commented on the official launch, saying:
“Ethiopia is on the cusp of a digital transformation. Paga has a long history working in Ethiopia, and we are very excited for this next phase of our involvement in Ethiopia, where we can provide innovative payment and financial services to the market. We are equally excited to be partnering with the Bank of Abyssinia, which has demonstrated its commitment to and capabilities in driving Ethiopia’s digital economy forward. Combined with Paga’s innovation and technology, we believe our offering will be very exciting for Ethiopian consumers and businesses.”
Also commenting on the development was Sosina Mengesha, the Chief Digital Banking Officer of Bank of Abyssinia. She said her bank chose to partner with Paga because of the fintech company's innovative product and demonstrated commitment to financial inclusion in Africa.


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We profiled the launch of San Diego-based Scout Distribution lats month. It’s a new craft-focused beer distributor that wants to change the brand model, saying it will work directly with the brands on the development of their local, regional and national market plans. One of its first brands it brought to market was story-based brewery 32 North Brewing Company.
“We started as a one-man show, shipping beer out of the brewery in a van and servicing our accounts with a small, but hard-working sales team, and while we’re proud of the footprint we’ve made over the past four years, we are continually looking for new ways to expand in a competitive and ever-growing market,” said Steve Peterson, owner of 32 North Brewing Company.
The collaboration kicked off mid October and the brewery says it is already bringing forth positive exposure and is slated to extend the organization’s reach before year’s end.
“Our desire to grow, aligned with Scout’s deep and established relationships in the craft-beer community, seemed like the perfect fit,” Peterson said. “Their team has already done, and will continue to do, a fantastic job of taking care of our current accounts while focusing on bringing new partners into the fold for both our brand and the portfolio. We look forward to seeing what 2019 has in store.”
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Cross-border savings and investments marketplace Raisin announced on Tuesday it has launched its services in Ireland. The platform claims that it launches with the “best-in-market” interest rates on most term deposits, finally propelling Ireland out of the last place on Europe’s retail interest rate ranking.
Raisin reports that deposit platforms recently surpassed €16 billion in total brokered volume since launch in 2013. This number is said to equate to more than €115 million in interest to over 200,000 savers across Europe.
“With Raisin.ie’s marketplace offering up to 1.2% on term deposits, Irish savers will have the opportunity to earn up to 3 times more on their savings. In addition, Irish banks will be able to provide their own customers with a range of deposit products by integrating Raisin’s offers into their own platforms.”
Speaking about the Ireland launch, Dr. Frank Freund, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Raisin Bank AG and Co-founder of Raisin:
“Raisin Bank is enlarging its focus on fintech and digital banking, areas driving the customer-centric direction of retail banking today. We were thus eager to take this opportunity to lead on the launch of a Raisin platform in such an important market. With the Raisin.ie marketplace, Raisin Bank is enabling Irish customers to significantly increase their profits on deposits by connecting them in a simple, transparent way to competitive offers on the continent.”
Alejandro McCormack, Business Development Manager for the Irish market at Raisin, then added:
“By removing the barriers to access and collecting good deals from across the European Economic Area all in one place, Raisin Bank’s Irish platform aims to bring dynamism back into a huge sector of the economy: savings. We put more money into regular people’s pockets when we democratise deposits. So we’re thrilled to be able to offer Irish consumers the ability to earn real interest on their savings.”
Raisin is one of the fastest-growing Fintechs in Europe. In March of 2018, Raisin acquired a bank becoming the first Fintech to do so in continental Europe.
In July, Raisin announced that Goldman Sachs had invested €25 million into the Fintech.


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"Just in time for Halloween, Hunter: The Reckoning Redeemer immerses players in a sleek gothic world filled with hideous abominations and unholy monsters," said Philip O'Neil Sr. Vice President Sales & Marketing, Vivendi Universal Games. "Offering all new content, fast-paced combat, an in-depth storyline and addictive game-play, Hunter: The Reckoning Redeemer, brings out the big guns for the latest installment of the franchise."
In the game, players are again set in the once sleepy town of Ashcroft, where the citizens are enjoying a rejuvenated city with clean streets and a thriving commercial district, funded by the town's largest employer Genefex. Unbeknownst to them the company has been lacing their products with supernatural poison...slowly turning those who consume the products into monstrous servants of destruction. The new young Hunter, Kaylie, has been investigating these mysteries during the night. As her investigations grow closer to finding the truth she is spotted and evil forces delay her inquiries. The time has arrived for the expanded team of five Hunters to defeat the evil looming underneath the clean surface of Ashcroft and discover the truth about Genefex.
Hunter: The Reckoning(r) Redeemer will be available on the Xbox(r) video game system from Microsoft for a suggested retail price of $49.99 with an expected ESRB "Mature" rating. For more information, log on to http://hunterthereckoning.com/redeemer/ .


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Design firm Adaptive Path worked with Mozilla Labs to create an engaging concept video, titled Aurora, to communicate a forecast of future Web-browing experiences. From Adaptive Path:
With Aurora, we set out to define a plausible vision of how technology, the browser, and the Web might evolve in the future by depicting that experience in a variety of real-world contexts.
The release of Aurora is part of the launch of Mozilla Labs' browser concept series, an ongoing initiative to encourage designers and developers to contribute their own visions of the future of the browser and the Web. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be releasing more video segments, as well as background material showing just what went into imagining the future of the Web and translating that into a video.
Aurora (adaptive path)


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The UK’s leading independent invoice finance provider, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), has restructured its sales team with the appointment of Dave Golding as UK Sales Director, according to creditman.biz.
Golding – who has been with the business for 12 years - was formerly Sales Director of the BFS Corporate team which is responsible for delivering larger invoice finance transactions to the SME market.
Under Golding’s leadership the team opened over £100m of new finance facilities in just over a year. The funding delivered was used for a variety of purposes including funding acquisition, supporting growth and replacing existing facilities.
Commenting on the appointment, David Postings, UK CEO at BFS says: “Since joining the business over a decade ago, Dave has driven sales and performed exceptionally well on a consistent basis.
“Over the past year, his leadership of our Corporate team has been invaluable to the business. We know that his expertise and knowledge of the market will drive our national sales teams to success in 2014.”
Golding has over 20 years’ experience in financial services having started his career at Lombard Business Finance in 1993 before moving to a senior management role at RBS. In 2002 he joined Bibby Financial Services, based at the business’s new Manchester office.
Reflecting on his new role, Golding said he was proud of what he has achieved to date but is ready for a new challenge: “I have had an amazing 12 years at Bibby Financial Services and have seen the business go from strength-to-strength. We are now considered a major player in the business funding market.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve invested heavily in people and technology. We are now in a great position to build on the success delivered in 2013.”
According to the Asset Based Finance Association, its members advanced £17.4bn to businesses in the third quarter of 2013 - an increase of six per cent on the same period in 2012.
In reference to alternative finance becoming more prevalent among businesses looking for different forms of funding, Golding adds: “What was once thought of as alternative finance is now mainstream and funders such as Bibby Financial Services are providing vital support to growing businesses, thus stimulating the economy.”


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ROTH investor conference is Sunday - Wednesday. Implications of a new tax on some high net-wealth individuals from Moss Adams Capital. "The Legacy of Bing," next up at SHACC. Details on Industry Insight.
Last week, buyers and retailers converged at Know?Show at the Vancouver Convention Center in Vancouver, Canada.
The Canadian market is a key territory for the action sports industry, and Know?Show has become an important place for brands and retailers to get together.


text: ECS International Ltd, the Richmond-upon-Thames subsidiary of ECS SA, Paris, France – the IBM hardware leasing company controlled by the French bank Societe Generale SA – is moving into the software leasing market. The company has unveiled a scheme under which it says users will be able to benefit from tax concessions to get lower software leasing terms. Currently capital allowances apply only to hardware purchases but users have been able to bundle software with hardware and claim tax concessions on the cost of both. But according to ECS finance director George Wirgman under such a scheme there is always the risk that the claim may be rejected. Now ECS is offering a scheme where users negotiate a licence with the software maker, then lease software through ECS which then claims tax concessions, passing on the benefits – in the form of lower lease payments – to users. ECS also intends to negotiate contractual terms under which it deals with the software vendors in order to establish a clear relationship between ECS and its customers. The company says all too often leasing company don’t have contracts with software houses they buy from. ECS will concentrate on the IBM Silverlake market and is wooing IBM agents with its proposals. ECS said users should find cheaper software leases particularly attractive since software costs now make up 60% of the total cost of an installation. The ECS scheme follows the launch last month by Bristol-based Pallas Leasing Ltd, subsidiary of the merchant bank S G Warburg, under which the company buys licences from software houses or hardware makers and sub-issues them to customers under a lease agreement (CI No 885). Pallas claims to have signed up three customers and to be negotiating with 12 software publishers. ECS managing director Antoine Colboc said the company’s scheme effectly gets rid of the ambiguity in users’ tax positions – whether or not a tax claim on software disguised as part of a hardware purchase will be accepted by the Inland Revenue – giving them peace of mind or, as he put it, enabling users to sleep on both ears. ECS arrived in the UK in l986 and now employs 25 staff for a UKP50m turnover in 1987. It has plans to move into third party maintenance for IBM mid-range hardware this year.


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This week, I'll be sharing a few posts about the impact of FOREX markets on our sector -- an article I wrote while flying in a number of less-than-full planes last week across the United States (not a common occurrence in the past couple of quarters, but maybe a warning sign of things to come?). As a teenager and college student, I was fascinated by currencies and if a promised internship at AIG on a currency desk ultimately materialized -- it did not -- I probably would have gone down the FOREX path. No other market is as pure from the ability to look at both macro and micro events and numbers -- not to mention politics -- and make snap decisions based on gut, not to mention, now, with the help of financial models.
Yet for all of us sitting directly in the middle of the supply and demand side of the equation, in terms of real goods and services for our companies (or governments), FOREX matters for an entirely different set of real reasons. Even though we can laugh at the Trump publicity stunt from last week -- Trump accepted payment in gold instead of dollars for a down payment on a property lease -- the uncertainty and volatility in the currency markets not only can impact our procurement costs, but also demand and, of course, exports (and imports). Regarding Trump's situation, the above-linked story notes that, "in announcing the lease, Mr. Trump said it was a sign of the unfortunate standing of the United States and the U.S. dollar in the world that led him to do this."
Alas, we can laugh at Trump's move now, but it's not entirely far fetched that our suppliers might want to be paid in a different currency (or even medium) for contracts in the future.
Stay tuned as we continue to investigate the currency situation and it's impact on the buying (and selling) of real goods and services on a global basis.


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It's an announcement we've been expecting for months; Apple has held press events to introduce its newest smartphone to the world every September since 2012. But what makes this event different is that
Photo: What Would Yeezus Wear We'll admit it: We have an unhealthy obsession with all things Kimye. So we were both comforted and insanely jealous (why didn't we think of this!?) when we stumbled upon
When Nokia released the Lumia Icon earlier this year, it took its polycarbonate design philosophy and went a bit metal -- aluminum, specifically. The result was a premium phone with a fancy body to match.


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CIBC has announced that it has signed a long-term agreement to become the exclusive issuer of Costco Mastercards in Canada, expected to start in early calendar year 2022.
CIBC will also acquire the existing Canadian Costco credit card portfolio which has over $3 billion in outstanding balances. Mastercard will remain the exclusive payment network for the Costco cobranded credit card in Canada and acceptance in Costco warehouses in Canada.
According to CIBC, the portfolio acquisition significantly grows and diversifies CIBC's credit card portfolio in the everyday rewards category. This agreement with Costco will provide an opportunity to deepen relationships with new clients from across Costco's large and growing member base.


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Two coveted trophies were claimed by the weather alarm app on this year’s Best of Swiss App Award: Silver in the «Swissness» category and Bronze for «Usability/Interaction Design» .
Collect discounts, cash rewards and benefit from tips and great promotions.
On November 1, 2015 the previous Mobile Unit of youngculture AG began operating as a separate company with headquarters in Glattbrugg and a subsidiary in Belgrade, Serbia.
In his key note speech at this year’s Emex 15 Daniel Estermann shared his first experiences as Apple watch user and highlighted trends and chances of Apples latest gadget.
André Horstmann interviewed by “Netzwoche”.
A dream comes true for our senior developer Yves Bannwart: As one of around 5,000 developers at the WWDC in San Francisco this year, he will get a LiveUpdate on the latest software from Apple.
The new release brings more overview with less clicks.
As per June first Daniel Estermann joins the youngculture mobile team as “Senior Consultant and Project Manager”.
From February 24 to 26, 2015 youngculture was at the EuroCIS in Dusseldorf, Europe’s leading Retail Technology fair.
The popular world of bluewin.ch is now available as iPhone and Android App.
Together with the MediData Team we are delighted about the entry of the MediData App in the „Best of Swiss Apps“ Hall-of-Fame!
The theme of the latest research workshop at the Institute of Retail Management in the University of St. Gallen focussed on „Customer Inspiration and Loyalty with Shopping Apps“. youngculture was invited to make a presentation illustrating different practical aspects of the topic.
Fast and easy service for Quickline multimedia products at the customer site – thanks to the new app for Quickline field service technicians.
We are extremely pleased that from among the 103 app projects submitted, the Medidata app developed by youngculture mobile has been selected for the “Master of Swiss Apps 2014″ shortlist!
Speaking at the 4th Mobile Businessclub 2014 in Cologne, Dominic Veit end Jens Saade of youngculture described how e-commerce and brick-and-mortar in-store trade should be brought together to form an integrated omnichannel-solution.
This popular weather alarm app has been completely redesigned and now offers attractive new features such as 36 hour weather forecasts, interactive weather maps and the latest weather status for events via push alert.
At this year’s “ONE-Fair” youngculture was present with its own booth and three interesting presentations.
According to a recently published survey the Ex Libris App ranks second amongst the most popular Swiss Shopping Apps, after H&M and before Zara, Chicorée and Ricardo.ch.
Quick and free of charge transmission of reimbursement receipts to insurance companies – with the new MediData App.
iOS 7.1 makes it possible: Apps can respond to new beacons in the environment, even if they have been explicitly closed.
This year’s Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona was impressive alone with the size of the fair: 1,800 companies from 32 countries presented their offers in 9 exhibition halls in the top modern fair centre «Gran Fira» in Barcelona.
computerworld.ch wanted to know all about good app design from André Horstmann, Head Mobile Application Development at youngculture mobile. Read the interview here.


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About the imminent exit on the market of banking by The Wall Street Journal said the head of payment services Google Caesar Sengupta. According to him, next year the company will launch the service to provide checking accounts. In fact, this is a simple Bank account on which you can write checks, but this procedure in the United States is not losing popularity. Code name draft — Cache, consonant with another English word “cash.” First question — why? Google already has a mobile payments system, integrated with Google Pay and Google Wallet. But the company goes further in banking — where already with their credit proposals located Apple. And this is a completely different format than the one that today sells Chinese Wechat or trying to implement Facebook or Telegram. Although the motivation certainly is the same — to unite the audience around a single brand. Says the Chairman of the Board of the Association of participants of the market of electronic money and remittances Victor Dostov.
Victor Dostov Chairman of the Board of Association of participants of the market of electronic money and remittances “In my opinion, it is not the desire to become a financial Empire, but rather a desire to create a closed ecosystem so that the user inside the interface of the company, inside Facebook, inside Telegram, inside Google, you shouldn’t have to go outside for shopping. That is, all the companies try to keep people inside and to minimize the number of cases when a person gets out to pay for something, make a transfer and so forth.”
Back to the money. Today’s competitor Kesha, Apple, and works in cooperation with the Bank Goldman Sachs. The number of partners Google, Citigroup and credit Union at Stanford University, which will manage the offer Google accounts.
A logical question arises — why bother to use the services of IT companies, if you have traditional financial institutions? Google promises more favorable terms and a loyalty program. And if the company also will waive a fee for the service (and this option is being considered), the advantage will be obvious. Google is counting on a loyal audience, but this factor may not play. Said independent analyst Dmitry Stepanov.
Dmitry Stepanov independent analyst “in them, respectively, the main opportunity lies in the fact that very large, of course, the audience. Based on this audience, you can display any products, but, in General, this is where it ends. Each player in the market, which has a large audience of users of Google mail, maps and other Google products it products from other manufacturers will not change. The owners of these brands, I expect that some more difficult financial decisions will be popular. But, on the other hand, everything about Finance, after all this is a very conservative decision. It’s one thing to use email, and another thing to use your money on some new products.”
In the context of plans by Google to remember the words of the head of Sberbank German Gref, said even three years ago. He said that traditional banks have no future. And the market will inevitably seize IT-giants are services outside of the banking sector. And forecast Gref, it seems, is coming true.
Read more •••
Video of the day. The teacher is not a pedophile: in the famous University scandal


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Nisa has kicked off its Wine Festival for 2017 to help independent retailers drive sales throughout September.
The festival will begin on September 11 and run through to October 1. For retailers taking part, a variety of white, red, rosé and sparkling wines will be on promotion, supported by themed PoS, including a gondola end kit featuring tasting notes and food pairing notes.
The symbol group will also run ads on its social media channels, on the Nisa FM radio network in stores and on consumer leaflets to drive shoppers into stores. A dedicated Wine Festival website will include a bespoke wine selector, where consumers can enter their occasion and preferred wine type to find their perfect wine match and be in with a chance of winning a bottle.
“Following on from the success of our previous Wine Festival events, we are confident that this event will again support our members with a competitive offer and help them to drive sales with some fantastic deals on a wide range of wines,” said Asa Chamberlain, Nisa business manager for licensed.
The launch of the festival follows successful initiatives in 2016, which generated a 66% increase in sales in April last year, and comes hot on the heels of Londis’s Wine Festival, which drove sales by 60% earlier in the summer.
The wines on promotion
Heritage 75cl wines, £3.99
I Heart Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 75cl, £6.99
Selected Echo Falls 75cl, £5.49
Selected Blossom Hill 75cl, £5.49.


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Space to multicultural hair care has tripled in key markets.
A new app allows users to virtually try six hairstyles.
When retail hair care got more sophisticated and challenged salons, David Berglass helped professionals write a competitive playbook.
Amidst soaring prestige hair sales, industry sources say the $100 million brand could double its business in three years.
The lineup could bring in $10 million in sales for year one, industry sources said.
The Warren-Tricomi cofounder’s new salon concept, called The Salon Project, is set to launch in at least ten Saks doors.
The shampoo and conditioner range has new packaging and an influencer-backed marketing campaign.


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Cayman’s own Health City was recognized in one of the most popular business review magazines worldwide, the Harvard Business Review. The coverage threw the spotlight on Cayman’s budding medical tourism industry and the authors highlighted Health City, saying it has created a model for change.
Director of Business Development at Health City Cayman Islands Shomari Scott said being featured will be good for Cayman.
“Its a proud moment for us that we continue to put Cayman on the map in a positive light and when you have an entity such as Harvard business review it makes it just makes it such that our hospital is elevated the Cayman Islands are also elevated and all of our customers who have come to us.“
Hopefully, he added, the coverage will bring more business to Cayman’s shores.


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One of America’s most iconic cannabis brand, Cookies, opened its first Asian location on Saturday in Bangkok.
A gram of Cookie’s flagship strain Girl Scout Cookies retailed for 900 baht, or around $27 USD, Leafly reported.
A Cookies representative told Coconuts that all the nugs they are selling are grown in Thailand by partners.
Cookies founder Berner was on site for the grand opening (judging from his Instagram, he’s having a grand time getting to know Thailand, too). But the famous cannabis executive wasn’t the only draw. The event also featured muay thai boxers exchanging kicks to the ribcage in the middle of one of the store’s showrooms. A tuk tuk branded with Cookies’ signature looping logo was parked outside the store, ready for photo opportunities with excited stoners.
We should clarify, however, that cannabis rights are not exactly set in stone yet in the country. In fact, some Thai politicians are pushing back on the mere idea of a recreational commercial industry. When the plant was descheduled in early 2021, it didn’t take long for a fleet of weed trucks and brick-and-mortar locations to pop up across Bangkok, particularly in its tourist areas.
At the moment, the Thai scene generally discourages adult-use weed being consumed by anyone under 20, or by people who are pregnant or breast-feeding. Smoking in public (this is a big one!) could land a toker a $750 USD fine or even jail time, according to some sources. Driving while intoxicated is also frowned upon.
Perhaps in an attempt to shield the international corporation from potential legal reckoning (we don’t know if this is the case or not), the new Bangkok location is not technically owned by Cookies, nor did the brand pay to build the new store. Instead, the name listed on the paperwork appears to be Joel Schmidt, a Bay Area man who has long worked with Berner.
Schmidt has been in the cannabis business for awhile, opened one of Cali’s first licensed medical dispensaries, Trichome Healing Caregivers, and currently heads up a variety of large-scale weed operations in California, Oregon, and elsewhere —including a California company called Natura that is interested in building worldwide cannabis supply chains.
“Thailand is an incredibly unique place full of incredible culture, and opening up a Cookies store with the support of the country of Thailand, I am grateful for,” Schmidt told Coconuts. “I hope Bangkok is ready for an exclusive menu of fire genetics.”
Berner announced this master plan to bring US weed to the Thai people back in August, when he posted on Instagram that he and Schmidt had been cooking up the plan for two years.
In addition to opening a new location in Thailand, Berner recently helped developed and launched R&B legend Erykah Badu’s new weed strain. A separate store opening in California garnered some controversy for allegedly appealing to kids by, supposedly, invoking Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster.
Cover image via
Keep out of reach of children. For use only by adults 21 years of age and older.


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The approach seems to have convinced investors, with Popular Pays announcing that it has raised an additional $3.1 million, which it rolled up with the funding it raised after participating in Y Combinator into a Series A of $5.2 million. The round was led by GoAhead VC with participation from Pallasite Ventures and Hyde Park Angels.
Drummey told me that when he started Popular Pays, he assumed that the main value the service could provide was connecting marketers with social media influencers to promote their brands and products. That wasn’t entirely wrong, but he said, “The real value of what we’re doing is in the content itself. Brands realized that, too — they wanted the impressions, but they were staying for the content.”
After all, brands need an increasing amount of videos, photos and blog posts if they’re going to keep posting and engaging online, a trend that’s only going to increase as social media shifts toward more Snapchat Stories-style formats.
To be clear, Popular Pays hasn’t abandoned the influencer marketing model entirely. Drummey said most of the company’s campaigns involve a combination of generating content for a brand and publishing promotional messages on users’ accounts.
However, he said the company has switched from calling those users influencers — instead, it calls them creators, to reflect the fact that for many of them, “Their value isn’t necessarily that they’re famous or a celebrity, but that they’re professional content creators.”
Drummey also noted that Popular Pays offers tools that help marketers manage many creators at once (hundreds, in the case of some campaigns), and to A/B test the content that they produce. And the company is expanding the way it makes money by licensing the technology to other businesses and also working with resellers — in fact, he said resellers already account for nearly one-third of the company’s revenue.


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BenQ Corp (
BenQ may produce mobile phones for large-scale clients and stop own-branded sales, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported yesterday, citing unidentified people.
"The report is groundless and not true," Eric Yu (
Yu's comments may help ease concerns about the future of BenQ's cellphone business after the German unit filed for bankruptcy protection following the funding decision.
The Apple Daily reported yesterday that BenQ's German unit stopped shipments of the S68 mobile phone and put another two new models on hold, pending a court ruling on the insolvency protection.
"We need to negotiate with the German unit's insolvency administrator on shipments as there're changes in the transaction terms after the unit filed for insolvency protection," Yu said.
"Before that, we will use our inventory to fill orders," he said.
He declined to give details on the inventory level and phone models that would be affected.
The German unit supplied 20 percent to 30 percent of BenQ's mobile phone shipments.
Yu said BenQ makes most of its handsets in factories in Shanghai and Suzhou.
But in Germany, BenQ Mobile, which filed for insolvency protection last month, said it's in talks with customers and investors about a new business model to continue production.
BenQ now aims to develop and design mobile phones for "big and well-know contractors," which can then market the handsets under their own brand name, Martin Prager, the unit's insolvency administrator, said yesterday.
The focus on research, development and design will probably lead to job cuts at the marketing, sales and administration departments, Prager said in a statement.
BenQ, Taiwan's biggest mobile-phone maker, said last month that it had decided to stop funding the German unit less than a year after taking over the unprofitable handset division from Siemens AG. The unit filed for insolvency protection the next day.
The German cellular-phone unit employs 3,000 workers and has offices in Munich and Bocholt and a factory in Kamp-Lintfort.
Prager, who on Sept. 29 started as insolvency administrator, approved Siemens' decision to deposit the 100 million euros (US$125 million) in an escrow account because some financial claims between BenQ and BenQ's German mobile-phone unit still need to be clarified.
BenQ said it would take "action" should Siemens fail to make payments related to the acquisition, after Siemens said on Oct. 5 that it halted planned payments of 100 million euro to BenQ.


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TURKEY: Deadline for liquor privatisation extended
The original closing date for offers for the state-owned alcohol firm, Alkollu Ickiler Sanayi ve Ticareti AS, which is part of the state-owned alcohol and tobacco monopoly, Tekel, was September 26.
Tekel said the deadline had been extended on account of significant interest from potential investors.
The global roll-out of InBev's Brazilian beer, Brahma, adds a third premium brand to the global brewer's international portfolio but some observers have suggested it's an unnecessary step which threat...
Brasserie Kronenbourg has clarified earlier reports about its entry into the low alcohol beer sector in France....
Costs relating to alcohol abuse in Sweden are on the rise, according to research out this week....
Police in eastern Kenya have said that at least 24 people died on Saturday after drinking illegally produced alcohol....
According to a recently published study, people who drink alcohol may have a lower risk of developing a type of cancer which affects the lymphatic system known as non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)....
Diageo is calling for facts labels to be placed on alcohol beverages in the US....
Kenyan authorities are to ban beer and spirits advertising from television and billboards in the country, according to a local report late last week....
Post-menopausal women who consume even moderate amounts of alcohol may face an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a comprehensive US study....
- Diageo's Q4/FY 2016 results - Preview
- Diageo's FY performance by region - Focus
- Wine consumption and its health effects
- Time to take stock of Constellation's Corona
- The future for drinks industry's waste products
- Diageo sets sights on alcohol-alternative trends
- SABMiller puts brakes on A-B InBev integration
- "We tried to make Bushmills hot" - Diageo CEO
- Diageo names new TR head as Doug Bagley exits
- Brexit "not a big deal" for Scotch - Diageo CEO
- Global RTD insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
- Adultifying Soft Drinks; Capitalizing on rising adult demand for non-alcoholic beverages
- Global non-Scotch whiskies insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
- Global Scotch whisky insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
- Global travel retail insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends


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A new global survey has found that the vast majority of air travelers are tech-savvy.
The survey, which was conducted jointly by Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques (SITA) and Air Transport World, revealed that while almost all of the surveyed passengers use some form of mobile technology when travelling, 77 percent of the 6,277 passengers surveyed would be content using wearables such as smartwatches and smart glasses to make their journey more interesting or to help them during their travels.
The survey focused on consumers travelling through the 30 top airports across the globe.
The global survey carried out by the aviation communication and IT firm based in Geneva and the aviation journal, showed that nearly every passenger (97 percent) had a smartphone, tablet or laptop with them when they flew and that one in five passengers surveyed travelled with all three of these devices. This finding alone highlighted the increasing importance of passengers who are tech-savvy.
Passengers want to be able to use mobile technology at every point of their journey.
The survey also learned that air travelers want to stay connected at each part of their journey. The study found that 76 percent of respondents utilized airline apps and that of this same group, 43 percent said that the apps made a distinct improvement when planning their travels and during their travel experience.
In addition, 54 percent of participants wanted there to be a greater investment in technology to assist them in comparing airline fares. Furthermore, 52 percent wanted in-flight wireless service and improved real-time flight information. Also, the survey revealed that 57 percent would like airport directions and maps and 53 percent wanted personalized alerts sent directly to their phones to notify them about any delays.
The survey clearly reveals that mobile technology is important to air travelers. According to Francesco Violante, the CEO of SITA, passengers who are tech-savvy “expect more personalised apps and services consistently delivered on the web, to their phone or tablet. New technologies like smart watches and glasses have now become commonplace and “they present a great opportunity for airlines and airports to engage directly with their passengers to provide efficient services throughout the journey.”


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Michael Jackson Items Fetch Big Bucks
The BBC reports a set of silk pajamas and a bed in which the late singer once slept have been sold at an Irish auction for a total of 8,900 euros (approx. $12,200 US).
An American entertainment company bought the star's pyjamas for 2,700 euros ($3,700 US), while a mahogany bed he slept in was sold to an undisclosed Irish bidder for 6,200 euros ($8.500 US). more on this story
popmusiclife is an official news provider for the antiMusic.com.


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India will be the fastest growing apparel market in 8 years, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.8 per cent and more than tripling the consumption. China and India are set to overtake Europe and the US in terms of consumption. The Indian ... The Financial Chronicle, 1 month ago
The first-ever exhibition of "incredible Indian textiles" will be held next week in Dubai in which 19 companies from India will participate with an aim to forge strategic alliance with importers in the UAE. The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion ...Business Standard, 2 months ago Exhibition to showcase Indian textiles to be held in Dubai Business Standard, 2 months ago
on your WebpageAdd Widget >Get your members hooked!


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[Source: Lead-Free Wheels]
Chrysler, Wheel Weight Makers Agree to Eliminate Lead
Companies Forced to Reformulate Products for the California Market Due to Water Pollution Threat from Lead-based Wheel Weights
Oakland, CA - The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) today announced it has reached a legal agreement with Chrysler and the three largest producers of automobile wheel bearing weights, requiring the companies to end the use of leaded wheel weights in California by the end of 2009. The landmark agreement marks the first-ever legally binding statewide rule phasing out lead in wheel weights in the U.S., and will end the annual release of 500,000 pounds of lead into the environment in California, which occurs when wheel weights break off of automobile wheels.
Last August, CEH launched its legal action against Chrysler, Perfect Equipment, Inc, Hennessey Industries, and Plombco Inc., due to the threat to the state's drinking water from wheel weights that fall from cars and trucks. "Wheel weights have been identified as the largest new route of lead releases into the environment," said Michael Green, Executive Director of CEH. "By moving the industry away from leaded wheel weights, we are helping to keep the lead out of our kids' drinking water."
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), about 65,000 tons of lead wheel weights are in use on cars and trucks in the U.S., and it is estimated that at least 3% of wheel weights fall off of cars and trucks. USGS states that the discarded wheel weights "drop to the road surface where they become abraded by vehicle traffic, eventually becoming dissipated into the environment by wind and storm water."
A peer-reviewed study in 2000 found that lead pollution from wheel weights "is continuous, significant, and widespread, and is potentially a major source of human lead exposure." The study noted that the highest rate of lead deposition likely occurs in urban areas, posing a significant lead poisoning threat to poor and minority populations that are already disproportionately impacted by other sources of lead.
While Chrysler had lagged behind most car makers in switching to non-leaded wheel weights for their new cars, Chrysler is now quickly phasing out the use of lead as a result of CEH's action. In addition, aftermarket repair shops still often use leaded weights when they balance auto wheels and/or replace tires. Just this month, a Hennessey spokesperson told Tire Business that leaded wheel weights are still "the major part of our wheel weight business." This will no longer be the case in California due to CEH's efforts.
The Ecology Center, based in Michigan, has worked for several years to expose the problem of lead wheel weights and advocate for alternatives, while running the web site www.leadfreewheels.org . "This settlement represents the beginning of the end for lead wheel balancing weights in the U.S.," said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center. "We fully expect dozens of states to follow California's leadership and ban the use of lead wheel weights."
In 2005, the Ecology Center petitioned EPA under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), calling for a federal ban on lead wheel weights. Lead wheel weights have been banned in the EU since July 2005, and Japan and Korea are phasing them out. Yet EPA has refused to enact a ban, instead relying on voluntary industry action. "It is simply scandalous that three years after the rest of the world banned toxic lead weights, the U.S. continues to allow their use," said Gearhart. "It's time fix our failed regulatory system." A Hennessey spokesman recently stated that due to the price difference between lead and safer alternatives, "[I]t will be hard to change the market [to lead-free wheel weights] without legislation."
Washington, Maine and Massachusetts have considered such legislation, but the CEH settlement creates the first binding statewide ban on shipments from the major wheel weight suppliers. Some municipalities have eliminated lead wheel weights on their local fleets, and the U.S. Air Force and Postal Service have taken action to eliminate lead wheel weights from their fleets.
Under today's agreement, Plombco will end shipments of leaded wheel weights into California by the end of this year; Hennessey and Perfect Equipment agreed to end shipments by the end of 2009. Chrysler agreed to eliminate its use of leaded wheel weights on 55% of its automobiles by the end of this month and to fully eliminate lead in wheel weights on cars intended for sale in California by July 31, 2009.
CEH has a ten-year track record of using California law to stop toxic water and air emissions and to protect children from hidden lead risks in consumer products, including vinyl baby bibs, lunchboxes, baby powders, children's medicines, imported candies, and metal and vinyl jewelry.
The Ecology Center is a regional environmental organization which works to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles. For more information on the Ecology Center and the issue of lead-free wheel weights, visit www.ecocenter.org and www.leadfreewheels.org.


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The Huawei P20 Plus might finally usher the beginning of an era where we will be seeing tri-cam phone setups in the market. Here are a series of leaked images that reveal what the phablet-sized flagship will look like from both the front and back. To be honest, we’re more concerned about the rear side of the P20 Plus will look like once it gets officially unveiled.
Huawei P20 Plus Could Have a Massive Selling Point on the Optics Side With Its Triple-Camera Setup
Although the leaked pictures of the early prototype of the Huawei P20 that made headlines earlier featured a dual-camera setup that was reminiscent of the P20, the retail device might not end up looking like that. This was made clear from the leaked case renders of the P20 Plus.
The triple-vertical camera setup can be seen clearly in the pictures, as seen on the 360-degree renders some time ago. The leak comes from a reputable source, and there is no question that Huawei is going to be targeting various smartphone pricing brackets with the release of the P20 Plus, P20, and P20 Lite models. Just to be clear, these will have different designs, power, and sets of cameras.
For instance, the leaked P20 Plus prototype seems pretty interesting. The front shows a top bezel cutout, similar to the iPhone X’s notch. This has increased the screen-to-body ratio. Some time ago, Huawei also teased a 3D facial recognition system which was a lot like Apple’s and we might see it in the P-series smartphones.
It is worth mentioning that some flagship smartphones in the market still have a single rear camera, so a triple-camera set up will truly make Huawei P20 Plus stand out. The P20 series will be unveiled officially on March 27 in Paris, France and we’ll be here to provide you with timely coverage.
News Source: PlayFullDroid


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News - BMW
BMW eyes prestige market leadership
Despite sales falling behind Benz in recent years, BMW is working to regain top spot
11 May 2015
BMW plans to wrestle back sales leadership in Australia’s increasingly competitive premium new-car market from German rival Mercedes-Benz through a measured product rollout, updates to its dealer network and a sustainable growth strategy, according to the car-maker’s Asia-Pacific chief.
BMW has lost its grip on the number-one position in recent years, succumbing to a resurgent Mercedes despite claiming the top spot eight times since 2004.
But 2013 marked a major turning point, thanks to Mercedes’ rollout of its new range of compact cars, starting with the instantly popular A-Class hatch and CLA-Class sedan, both of which showcased the new styling direction of the brand that is now seen across its model range. Mercedes topped BMW that year by 2584 sales with 23,106 new passenger car registrations, against BMW’s 20,522, and extended the margin further last year to 4399 units (27,121 versus 22,722), according to VFACTS figures.
So far this year, Mercedes is ahead of BMW by about 2300 sales, and Audi, which has also declared it is gunning for prestige market leadership in Australia, is nipping at its heels with just 212 units separating second and third spot. Audi also outsold BMW last month.
In Melbourne last week, BMW senior vice-president of Asia-Pacific and South Africa Hendrik von Kuenheim said that while the company was working to take back market leadership, it would not come at the expense of profitability.
“In principle I would like to be number one,” he said. “But you have to balance your growth … you have to have profitable growth.
“BMW’s philosophy in the last 10 to 15 years is, clearly, we want to be number one worldwide. Not just volume, you want to be known as number one as a brand with the most innovation, most customer satisfaction, the most focused on environmental issues. Clearly we want to be number one in profitability as well and number one in volume.” BMW’s sales growth in the past decade has been strong, rising from 14,860 units in 2004 to 22,722 last year, while Mercedes has climbed from 13,075 to 27,122 over the same period. Audi, meanwhile, has risen from 3701 units to 19,227 last year.
Globally, BMW is still the number-one brand in the premium segment, with more than 1.81 million sales last year, but a bullish Audi is on its tail with 1.74 million. Mercedes-Benz was third with 1.65 million sales for the 2014 calendar year.
Mr von Kuenheim highlighted BMW’s stable profit returns compared with its rivals, and expressed confidence in recently appointed BMW Group Australia managing director Marc Werner as the best person to build BMW further in this market.
“In the last 10 years BMW has been the largest luxury brand in the world. We were in 2014 again and clearly again in first quarter of 2015 and when it comes down to profitability we can clearly say BMW continues to be the best-run in the world,” he said.
“We have a constant, stable return to our shareholders in the guidance of 8-10 per cent. If you look at competitors that are up and down like a yoyo, BMW is very stable, which is evident in our share price.
“I have all the confidence in the world that we will turn out eventually to be number one. It’s not important to be today or tomorrow, but you have to have your strategy and your vision and focus and don’t leave the path of your strategy. Since Marc used to work in the (BMW) strategy department for many, many years, he is very visionary and he knows what to do.” While describing the Australian and New Zealand markets as “paradise” in terms of economic stability compared with other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr von Kuenheim said there was still room for plenty of growth.
“I believe in Asia and Oceania and here Down Under we have substantial potential to grow. It looks pretty good for first few months of this year. We did pretty well last year,” he said.
Left: BMW Asia Pacific and South Africa vice president Henrik von Kuenheim.
“But he (Marc Werner) can always sell more cars, there is no question about that. I am never 100 per cent satisfied.”
Identifying areas for improvement in the Australian market, Mr von Kuenheim said BMW’s 45-strong dealer network required attention.
“Not everything in the past was great. We need to straighten out a few issues on the dealer organisation and I think Marc is just the right character to do this. Sometimes you just need to listen, sometimes you need to talk and I believe the feedback I have received from some of the dealers has been outstanding,” he said.
“I do believe that everywhere in the world we have dealers that can do a better job. They have some outstanding dealers in Australia and they have some dealers that could pick up the pace as well.
“The majority of BMW dealers have been in the business for 30 years so some of them are up for succession planning, some are not. Some have performance issues, some not.”
Mr von Kuenheim said the growth of international dealer groups such as Inchcape and Sime Darby Motors in Australia had positive implications for the industry, and highlighted American retail kingpin Roger Penske as a leader in the field.
“We see international groups more and more investing in Australia. So far Roger Penske, who I consider one of the great leaders in this world, he has three to four dozen BMW dealerships throughout the world.”
While Mr von Kuenheim declined to comment on whether the Penske Automotive Group was planning to set up BMW dealers in Australia, he said he had a meeting with a representative of the group last time he was here.
Currently Penske operates a truck rental business in Australia and has the rights to import MAN, Western Star and Dennis Eagle commercial vehicles in Australia and New Zealand, but has not yet entered the passenger car retail sector.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he enters the car business as well in the luxury segment (in Australia). Those international groups they raise the bar on how they do business with the customer, how they do follow up,” he said.
Other changes to dealerships in Australia include a fresh look for the showrooms that is being rolled out now, and the introduction of a product ‘genius’ – a non-sales staff member that offers advice to buyers on how to get the most out of the technology in their new BMW.
While Audi and Mercedes-Benz are BMW’s most obvious rivals, Mr von Kuenheim said there is now stronger competition coming from Korea and Japan than other European countries.
“Traditional competitors have virtually disappeared. If you look at the importance of the Italians in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, or the French, and where they are today.
“We talk about Korea. I think the Hyundai-Kia motor group is incredibly aggressive and advancing. It is a changing of the guard. Some of the Korean products replacing the Japanese products and eventually putting a threat or challenge to BMW.”
Mr von Kuenheim said he was not concerned by the rise of Mercedes-Benz and its growing appeal to younger buyers, adding that competition can lead to positive outcomes for a car-maker.
“If I look at my product and what I have coming, I think we are very much on the edge of being very aggressive, very useful and very modern in technology and in design which is why I am not concerned at all,” he said. “Competition is not a bad thing, it is a good thing. It keeps you awake. Sometime they sneak one on you – why didn’t we see this? Maybe their strategy worked better than our strategy.” Mr von Kuenheim said BMW has a strategy for growth that is truly global, rather than relying heavily on one or two larger markets.
“You always have to see the global aspect – are we well balanced? – and I believe … if you look at the German competitor, we are the most balanced where we do our business in the world. We don’t depend heavily on China like some people from Ingolstadt (Audi).
“Between America and Germany and China we’re very much a well-balanced business, very well balanced in Asia between Japan and Korea and Australia – better balanced than the competition.”
The Road to Recovery podcast series
7th of May 2015
BMW adds three-pot to refreshed 3 Series
3 Series update also reveals new BMW four and six-cylinder petrol engines
14th of July 2014
Werner to take BMW reins in Australia
BMW Group Australia chief Horton to return to UK as Marc-Heinrich Werner steps in
23rd of June 2014
BMW forges ahead with new-model onslaught
No niche left unturned in Australia as BMW continues local range expansion
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The growth rate is truly mind-blowing. The smart phone is changing the way in which customers interact with businesses, in the way that they obtain information from friends via texting, social media, in the way they buy things and generally behave especially in retail. The whole phenomenon of “show-rooming” where a person goes into a store to examine a product before purchasing it online is having a huge impact on the retail trade.
For every business, addressing the needs of the mobile customer is not a nice to have, it’s an absolute essential. Who is the mobile customer and how can companies better serve them?
- According to Cisco, by the end of 2013 there will be more mobile devices on the planet than people.
- According to the IDC Worldwide New Media Market Model Forecast, by 2015 there will be more people accessing the web using a mobile device than a wireless computer.
- RealBusiness says that there are an estimated 24 million smartphone users in the UK alone, which is nearly 38% of its population, and this number is projected to rise steadily until 2016.
- In February 2013 alone there were more than 275 million app downloads in the UK.
Check out this data:
How do small business owners feel about the economy?
Almost 70 percent of small business owners say their local economy is doing better now compared to just one year ago. Here are a few valuable takeaways to keep you “in the know”:
- 67 percent of owners surveyed predict their overall business profits to increase.
- 65 percent assessed their current experience as “easy” when it comes to retaining current employees.
- 43 percent of owners indicated their intention to increase full-time hiring in the next year.
- The No. 1 hiring challenge for small businesses is finding candidates with the necessary level of industry experience.
This is our hot new startup for Monday.
Exploding Startup Solves the Dreaded College Move
Campus Bellhops Saves Time, Hassle and Backaches
Chattanooga, TN – (June 10th, 2013) – Parents across the US are preparing for a task that 40% compare to a root canal or waiting in line at the DMV: collegiate moving. With 14 million students attending college in the US, each moving a average of 3.5 times during their collegiate tenure, many disgruntled parents will be bribed into coming to town to help with the process. Serving 49 college cities and counting, Campus Bellhops is the answer. (https://campusbellhops.com/#campuses).
Business Models for Startups
The startup’s business model has become more important than the business plan over the past decade or so. Before 2000 no one talked about business models. Everyone wanted to see your business plan instead. Now the situation is reversed. Unfortunately many people have a problem grasping how to design a business model since it’s such a abstract concept–or appears to be so for first-timers.
Watch this short video for an explanation on how to visualize the business model for your startup.


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British design store Heal’s now offers its online customers access to an in-store expert on demand. Advisors who are working in one of six stores in the UK are now able to provide their expertise and advice to customers on heals.com, particularly during busy hours online and quieter hours in-store.
The United Kingdom
42 percent of consumers from France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden have used click & collect in the past twelve months. And one in four Europeans who used click & collect bought another product in-store while they were picking up their online order.
The majority of consumers in Ireland also turn to the United Kingdom for online shopping. The fact that the ecommerce industry in the UK offers more choice, is the main advantage to shopping from the UK, nearly half of those who shop with UK retailers say.
LogistCompare will launch in the United Kingdom. It’s an online marketplace for retail and ecommerce customers who are looking for warehouse space. It seems like a great timing, considering the busy holiday season is near and retailers might be looking for extra space for inventory.
Online consumers from the United Kingdom aren’t unenthusiastic about paying for delivery, if the fee isn’t too high. Two thirds of UK shoppers normally don’t expect free delivery when placing orders online, but when orders go over 10 pounds they begin to expect free delivery options.
Sloggi, the underwear brand from Triumph, is now presenting itself completely independently online and has launched an online shop in Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria and France. By the end of the year, Sloggi also wants to have online stores in seven more countries throughout Europe.
There has been a serious drop in the number of European retailers that offer free returns to their customers. It went from 55 percent in the first quarter of this year to 28 percent now. In the UK, half of brands offer free returns, while 23 percent in Germany and 21 percent in Ireland do this.
The eCommerce Expo, held on 27 and 28 September in London, has a new owner. Today, CloserStill Media, Justin Opie and Graeme Howe have announced that they are acquiring eCommerce Expo from UBM. Howe and Opie are the former owners of IMP Events, from where they launched eCommerce Expo in 2006.
The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union isn’t making things easier for British ecommerce companies. After last year’s Brexit vote, some online retailers say it’s now harder to hire staff for their warehouses.
French consumers are more open to new delivery methods than consumers from the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. For example, 58 percent of the French would give couriers temporary access to their homes to let them deliver parcels. In the UK and the Netherlands, it’s respectively only 36 and 25 percent of consumers who would do this.


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illycaffè, the Italian espresso and lifestyle brand, has increased its subscription program turnover by 20% in Europe using global payment solutions provided by Computop
. This announcement was picked up by Retail Times
, a popular retail news portal, which features the latest retail, manufacturer, and wholesale news from around the world.
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is an independently owned website reporting on local and global retail markets. It delivers original and unique retail news and is first with the detail; discovering, exploring and revealing the latest retail trends, opinion and innovation in this vibrant business sector.


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Happy Apple Day - Celebrating the Love of Cider with Somersby
Love apples? Did you know it’s being celebrated by thousands of folks in the UK in the month of October. Interesting. Apple Day, a festival celebrating the delicious fruit, which coincidently goes into every bottle and can of Malaysia’s No. 1 best selling cider, Somersby.
When was the last time you’ve had some Somersby? In fact earlier this year, there was a new flavour being introduced, the Somersby Watermelon. Somersby’s Apple Day celebrations will kick off from 11 October to 10 November with a social media contest offering 59 lucky winners three grand prizes of the latest Apple iPhone 13, three limited-edition Somersby Volkswagen Kombi cooler boxes worth RM3,000 each, three Apple Watch Series 6, and Somersby products worth RM150 each as consolation prizes.
To enter, consumers simply need to purchase at least one can or bottle of any Somersby product, snap a picture of how they are celebrating Apple Day with Somersby, and publicly post it on Facebook or Instagram by tagging @SomersbyMY with the hashtag #SomersbyAppleDay.
Caroline Moreau, Marketing Director of Carlsberg Malaysia, commented, “Somersby Apple Cider is our best-selling variant within the Somersby brand, which is the No. 1 preferred cider brand in Malaysia. After we launched our latest flavour Somersby Watermelon in March, fans of juicy, refreshing drinks have also taken to it in a big way and it is now the brand’s second most-popular flavour and the No. 1 best-selling cider on Shopee. That’s why for this year, everyone’s invited to our Apple Day celebrations – even watermelons – with consumer promotions rewarding fans of these two wonderful Somersby flavours!”
Apple Day joy extends to purchases at supermarkets, hypermarkets, mini-marts and convenience stores with a special price offer for any Somersby 4-pack can cluster from any flavour, where this promotion is available nationwide between 18 to 31 October.
Consumers opting to enjoy Somersby at the comfort of their homes are not left out. Any purchase from Carlsberg Malaysia’s official stores on Shopee and Lazada in the month of October will come with a free 320ml can of Somersby Watermelon, while stocks last.
For more information on Somersby’s Apple Day contests and promotions, check out Somersby’s official Facebook and Instagram pages at @SomersbyMY. All promotions and contest are open to non-Muslims aged 21 and above.


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Orca Security, an innovative Israeli cloud security company, announces that it has raised $550 million in its extended Series C fundraising round led by Temasek, an investment company headquartered in Singapore. The round boosted its valuation 50% in just seven months to $1.8 Billion. Orca Security’s C round also includes substantial participation from venture capital firms CapitalG (Alphabet’s independent growth fund), Redpoint Ventures, GGV, ICONIQ Capital, Lone Pine Capital, Stripes, Adams Street Partners, Willoughby Capital, and Harmony Partners.
According to Gartner®, “By 2023, 70% of all enterprise workloads will be deployed in cloud infrastructure and platform services, up from 40% in 2020.” Under this paradigm shift, agent-based solutions are ill-suited to meet the increased complexity and ephemeral nature of the cloud. Enterprise security teams are turning to Orca’s Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) to simplify the detection and prioritization of security issues in minutes, not months.
“Customers are fed up with agent-based tools that claim run-time protection but de facto are little more than a gimmick, typically reach only a fraction of the environment, and don’t provide the context security teams desperately need to prioritize critical alerts,” says Avi Shua, CEO and co-founder, Orca Security. “We provide fast agentless deployment, 100 percent coverage of all cloud assets, and automatic prioritization of the alerts that demand quick action.”
Orca Security’s patent-pending SideScanning™ technology collects data directly from cloud provider APIs and the workload’s runtime block storage out-of-band. This means that after a quick and easy one-time deployment, Orca Security surfaces critical attack vectors, composed of the most serious risks such as vulnerabilities, malware, misconfigurations, weak and leaked passwords, lateral movement risk, misplaced PII, and more. We believe that this technical innovation helped earn the company recognition as a 2021 Gartner Cool Vendor.
Orca Security will leverage Temasek’s investment portfolio and global network to deepen its penetration into the APAC region and beyond, and into key industries such as telecom, financial services, transportation, consumer goods, and more. The company plans to have over a dozen employees in the APAC region by the end of 2021.It will also continue to expand its footprint and customer base in the UK, and across the EMEA region.
Furthermore, the company is expanding its global partner program and is continuing to build rapid customer traction with partners in the U.S., Europe, India, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and Japan, Orca recently launched versions of its website in German, French, Chinese, and Japanese in order to better support its partners, prospects, and customers.


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Xbox One (opens in new tab) is gaining momentum. While Sony has a significant headstart in this generation, thanks to a comparatively low price and a consistent PR campaign, people are starting to flock back to Microsoft’s console. Titanfall, the removal of Kinect, and some hefty price-cuts have seen Xbox regaining ground. Now, with Gamescom becoming an increasingly significant date in the gaming calendar, Microsoft is poised to win lapsed fans back once and for all.
Well, that’s certainly what should be happening.
Microsoft has worked hard to recover from the car-crash that was 2013. While the new Xbox hasn’t sold poorly, there’s no denying that PS4 is seen as the new-gen console of choice. The deepest wound–the fact that 360 devotees switched allegiances, en masse, to Sony in this latest generation–is starting to heal. And that makes the timing of this year’s Gamescom so delicious for console gamers.
While E3 was used as a blunt instrument to hammer home Microsoft’s message that ‘we’re all about the games’, Gamescom is where the company needs to both reiterate this sentiment AND show us what else it has. I wrote an editorial during E3 (opens in new tab) that praised Xbox One’s focus on games, but raised concerns about the short-sighted strategy that seemed to imply. Some of you agreed, others didn’t.
I’ll say it again: yes, loads of games will win over the hardcore crowd, and bring lapsed 360 owners back into the fold, but Microsoft needs more than this. It needs to show potential buyers that One has an exciting future. It needs to demonstrate that this new Xbox will evolve in fresh, exciting ways just like the 360 did. And Gamescom is the perfect platform to do that from.
So, what do I expect to see from Microsoft at their Showcase next week? Plenty of playable games: Halo: Master Chief Collection, Forza Horizon 2, Sunset Overdrive, as a bare minimum. New games? Well, maybe. Expect some indie announcements and exclusive DLC bits for sure. Trailers? Better believe it. Halo 5 should be there in some capacity, along with a bunch of other games for 2015.
More than this, though, Microsoft needs to bring on ideas that differentiate the One from PS4. A price cut would be great, but can Microsoft realistically shave more money off the console? They’ve already chopped £80 in a year. The Spanish version of Xbox.com has already either leaked or falsely reported on a price-cut (Microsoft denies it (opens in new tab)), which could see another €50 / £30 slashed from the price. £320 for an Xbox One? Now that’s tempting.
Apps and wider features need to play a bigger role too. Stuff like Snap and Skype are excellent features, but neither feels essential. Every device known to man can now run Netflix, so what else is in the bag? Proper sports and movie deals for Europe via Sky and BT? How about a streaming service that makes Sony’s PS Now look greedy and outdated (opens in new tab)? That’d certainly be a massive counter-punch for Xbox. With the PS Now Beta drawing criticism over its pricing, Microsoft needs to come in with an amazing, low-price streaming service. Will it do that? History says ‘No’, but circumstances say ‘Why the hell not?’.
Of course, wheeling in a great streaming service and saying ‘Hey, we’re going to give you these games for peanuts’ isn’t an easy thing to do. It requires planning and forethought. If Microsoft has really been listening to gamers, and it genuinely wants to recover lost ground against PS4, then it needs a big announcement like this. It needs to demonstrate that it’s no longer furiously back-peddling; it’s moving forward, and becoming an industry leader again.
I genuinely think that Microsoft has learned a big lesson with Xbox One. It’s the same issue Sony faced after the awful launch of PS3 back in 2006/7 where hubris sent millions of once loyal fans scurrying to a new gaming home. Microsoft has certainly addressed concerns much faster than Sony did, and will be keen to push forward again. But what if it doesn’t?
Well, the Xbox One is by no means a sales failure–it’s doing very well. However, you have a finite amount of time to capture certain sections of the gaming audience. There’s a limited number (but we’re talking tens-of-millions here) of hardcore gamers who will pay premium prices for consoles, and Microsoft needs more of them. Sure, some will buy two machines, but this is something that often occurs after several price cuts, and expensive exclusives. And with the ever diminishing number of exclusives (along with increasingly compelling competition from PCs), there are fewer and fewer reasons to have two boxes under your TV. No, Microsoft needs to bag those gamers still clinging on to last-gen machines.
With the Autumn / Winter silly season just around the corner, Gamescom is where the hearts and minds of many will be made up. You can bet good money that Sony is keen to remind everyone that it’s still in charge, so Microsoft needs to step up now. If it does, this could be one of the most exciting Gamescoms in years. I know Microsoft should be aiming to make that happen… and I strongly suspect it will.


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CINCINNATI - Federated Department Stores Inc. is buying rival May Department Stores Co. for $11 billion in cash and stock in a deal that would create a powerhouse better able to compete against discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and upscale merchants.
The deal announced Monday would bring together the operator of Macy's and Bloomingdale's with May, a company known for its Marshall Field's and Lord & Taylor chains, creating a company with nearly 1,000 department stores and $30 billion in annual sales.
Federated Chairman, President and Chief Executive Terry Lundgren said the deal would give Federated a presence across the country, adding key markets such as Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis and St. Louis.
By doubling in size, the combined company will be able to roll out national marketing initiatives, expand the best store label merchandise collections of both companies and roll out some of Federated's successful store initiatives, such as larger fitting rooms, to May's department stores. The merger is also expected to wield more clout with vendors.
Federated would not say how many jobs will be cut because of the merger or what the company would do in cases where it and May have stores in the same mall. Federated operates the Macy's store at Augusta Mall. May has no stores in Augusta.
The company wants to hear what government regulators will have to say about whether and how many overlapping stores will have to be closed, Mr. Lundgren said.
The Smith Barney financial services firm estimates that 94 malls have stores with Federated and May nameplates.
Ultimately, Federated plans to put the Macy's name on most of May's regional department stores, as it is now doing with its own regional chains, including Lazarus, Rich's and Burdines.
The merger should have benefits for shoppers, one industry analyst said.
"For consumers, this will create sharper price points and better fashions that will help bring back shoppers away from other full-price department stores and discounters," said Burt Flickinger III, the managing director at Strategic Resources in New York.
But another analyst said it was "bad for the industry, for the vendors and for the consumers." Dan Hess, the president and chief executive of Merchant Forecast, a New York-based independent research company, said consumers will get fewer options and will be harder for some smaller suppliers to break into the merged entity's new vendor structure.
THE DEAL: Federated, the parent of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, offers $11 billion in cash and stock for May, operator of the Lord & Taylor's, Marshall Field's, Hecht's, Foley's, Filene's, Strawbridge's, Kaufmann's, Famous-Barr and L.S. Ayres chains.
TIMETABLE: Assuming shareholder and regulatory approval, Federated hopes to complete the takeover in the third quarter.
OUTLOOK: Federated plans to rename many stores as Macy's, creating a nationwide chain. Details of job losses and store closings have not been released.
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Sherman is no stranger to DraftKings and was among the digital sports entertainment and gaming company’s first 15 employees when she joined nine years ago. Most recently she served as the company’s SVP of Marketing.
Before joining DraftKings, Sherman spent almost six years at Vistaprint and managed the company’s offline acquisition team.
“Since our early days as an insurgent daily fantasy business, Stephanie has been a driving force of our growth and contributed hugely to DraftKings becoming a household name and a global, multi-product digital entertainment company enjoyed by millions of consumers,” DraftKings Co-founder and President Matt Kalish stated in a press release. “I am thrilled to elevate Stephanie as our Chief Marketing Officer and gain her integral perspective within our executive leadership team.”
The decision to promote Sherman comes ahead of perhaps the most significant moment of the year for the company, the Super Bowl. In her expanded leadership role, she will continue to lead future marketing for brand and agency campaigns as well as media buying and influencer strategy as she works to optimize DraftKings’ marketing capabilities.
Her promotion also closely follows the launch of legalized sports betting in New York earlier this month, which immediately rose to the top as the largest market in the U.S. Within 12 hours, New York boasted twice as many users than Pennsylvania, the second-largest sports betting market in the U.S.
As more states repeal laws and regulations that have prohibited gambling on sports, Sherman’s role will become increasingly important as the company looks to build mindshare among consumers and fend off rivals, such as Caesars and FanDuel, as the company races to capture a slice of lucrative new markets.
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Honda released teaser images of the new updated CB500X ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show for the 2016 model year. The new 2016 Honda CB500X receives very modest updates similar to the other updated bikes such as the 2016 Honda CBR500R.
Along with the press release for the 2016 CB500X, Honda also announced that its bigger sibling, Honda NC700X, will also be getting some new updates on the same lines.
The Honda CB500X is the smallest-displacement adventure-tourer from Honda’s stable. The 2016 Honda CB500X will retain the same 471cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin DOHC engine which has proved to be versatile and also fuel efficient.
For the 2016 model year, the Honda CB500X sports a new LED headlight and tail lamp assembly. The overall new styling is more edgy, sharper and masculine along with a new stylish muffler design. It features a 10cm taller windscreen and adjustable brake and clutch levers to improve riding comfort. The front suspension gets an update with externally adjustable fork pre-load. Other ergonomic changes for the CB500X include a newly designed hinged fuel cap and a “wave” style key which are made standard for all new 2016 machines from Honda. Mechanical updates include a refined transmission to provide better gear-change feel.
The 2016 Honda CB500X will be offered in Japan with a smaller 400cc capacity engine as the Honda CB400X has to comply with the local regulations. Elsewhere around the world the bike will be of 500cc capacity.
The Honda NC700X for 2016 receives some more serious updates. The bike will be powered by the same 670cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine. The new 2016 Honda NC700X will be offered in two versions, one with a standard gearbox and another with a fully automatic Dual Clutch Transmission with three sport-mode settings. The other updates include a revised windscreen and meter console, LED tail lights, bigger utility compartment, pentagon shaped muffler with improved exhaust sound and the smoother functioning “wave” style key.
The 2016 Honda CB500X will be available in two colour schemes, Matte Black Metallic and Matte Brown Metallic. The prices for the American market have been released with the standard CB500X priced at $6,499 and the ABS version carrying a price tag of $6,799. The new CB500X will be available at dealerships from February next year whereas the NC700X will be available from April 2016. The prices of the Honda NX700X have not been disclosed as of now. Both the 2016 Honda CB500X and Honda NC700X are expected to be unveiled in flesh at the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show.


text: This rough diamond sold for $53 million. It weighs 1,109 carats. It was found in Botswana in November 2015 and remained unsold for almost two years. The diamond had been up for auction at Southby's, but failed to reach the $70 million reserve last year. Depending on the reference consulted, this is either the 2nd or 3rd largest rough diamond ever found. You can find the entire article on about the sale, visit our trade journal's website here.