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Audi sold 264,100 cars worldwide in the first quarter of 2010, its best result for the period with March sales of 110,400 its highest ever monthly total.
“With these sales results, we have even surpassed the comparative figures from our record year in 2008,” said Audi sales and marketing chief Peter Schwarzenbauer. “We expect continued growth compared to last year in the second quarter of 2010. Some of the credit goes to the new generation of our flagship car, the Audi A8, which we are currently launching.”
Schwarzenbauer said that the new A5 Sportback and A5 Cabriolet models helped the company to its record while there were also strong sales of the Q5 and of the A4 and A6 models.
In Europe, first quarter sales increased an annual 12% to around 162,500 units; in the US sales were up 34.8% to 21,315 while in South America sales were up 70.5% at 3,000.
Sales in China were up 77.3% and up 70% in the rest of Asia-Pacific.


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Eight compete for Investing Women’s trade missions
Jackie Waring, centre, with finalists
Eight aspirational female-led Scottish companies have been shortlisted as finalists for this year’s AccelerateHER Awards.
They include Glasgow-based businesses All Day Designs, manufacturer of a toddler pushchair which converts into a trike; Cedeco Contractors, developer of an offshore wind turbine installation solution; Empowered Earth, an app for managing and tracking symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome; and Staels Design, creator of an air filtration system for wheelchair users.
Edinburgh-based companies SnapDragon Monitoring, which monitors on-line markets for IP infringements, and Criton, developer of an on-demand guest service app for the hospitality sector, were also selected for the next round of the awards.
Joining them on the shortlist were two Midlothian-based life sciences businesses: Biotangents, developer of a diagnostics system for infectious livestock diseases, and Cytochroma, creator of a new means of testing new drugs for liver toxicity.
The finalists were announced following pitches by 17 semi-finalists to the AccelerateHER Awards judging panel. Three award winners will be revealed at a finals event on 9 May at Barclay’s Eagle Lab within Edinburgh’s Codebase. This year’s programme will also include a new ‘Rising Star’ category recognising a female company founder with a great early stage business idea.
The winners will be offered a free place on a trade mission to Dubai or Berlin where they will showcase their business, be introduced to key industry contacts and investors, and build their understanding of how best to target these and other global markets.
Jackie Waring, CEO of Investing Women said: “We are particularly encouraged by the level of entries from female-led businesses in key industries such as life sciences and technology, a sector where representation amongst women continues to be low.”

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According to TipRanks.com, Divan is a 1-star analyst with an average return of -1.2% and a 45.9% success rate. Divan covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co, Satsuma Pharmaceuticals, and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals.
Evolus has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $14.50.
Based on Evolus’ latest earnings release for the quarter ending March 31, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $33.91 million and GAAP net loss of $17.4 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $12.24 million and had a net profit of $6.4 million.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 35 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of EOLS in relation to earlier this year.
TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.
Evolus, Inc. is a medical aesthetics company, which engages in the provision of medical aesthetic treatments and procedures. It offers products under the brand of Jeuveau. The company was founded by Scott Cannizzaro in November, 2012 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, CA.
Read More on EOLS:
- Kepler Capital Sticks to Their Buy Rating for MERLIN Properties SOCIMI SA (MRPRF)
- Ocado Group (OCDGF) Receives a Sell from Kepler Capital
- Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Top Line Results from Open-Label Phase 2 INSPIRE Trial of Zygel™ in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome
- UBS Remains a Hold on Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group RE Ltd. (SCPAF)
- Morgan Stanley Thinks Nearmap Ltd.’s Stock is Going to Recover


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(Updates with description of drugs that will be divested in second paragraph.)
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. won U.S. antitrust approval to acquire Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho Dermatologics and Sanofi’s Dermik unit, the Federal Trade Commission said.
As a condition of approval, Mississauga, Ontario-based Valeant must sell manufacturing and marketing rights to two drugs for acne and pre-cancerous lesions to a unit of Mylan Inc., according to the FTC’s statement, released today. Valeant also must sell marketing rights for a wrinkle treatment to closely held Spear Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to the statement.
Without the divestments, Valeant’s purchase of Dermik and Ortho Dermatologics would reduce competition in skin-care markets, leading to higher prices, the statement said.
Laurie Little, a Valeant spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
--Editors: Justin Blum, Bob Drummond
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Xbox confirmed it’s still developing a file Low cost flow stick Designed to bring Game Pass to the masses by taking away from the console. However, the company appears to have hit a snag with the latest hardware in development and is now pivoting towards a new approach.
The xCloud streaming device was first announced in June 2021 along with plans to bring the non-device required Xbox Game Pass app to supported TVs. The company had previously teased Xbox streaming stick, stating that a device that you can connect to a TV or monitor to stream games is in development. Recently, a product with the codename “Keystone” appeared in the list of the Xbox operating system.
In a statement to Windows CentralA Microsoft spokesperson reiterated Xbox’s intentions to release a cloud gaming dongle, but acknowledged that the concept in development needed to be scrapped.
Our vision for Xbox Cloud gaming is consistent, and our goal is to enable people to play the games they want, on the devices they want, and wherever they want. As announced last year, we’ve been working on a game streaming device, codenamed Keystone, that can be connected to any TV or monitor without the need for a console,” a Microsoft spokesperson stated.
As part of any technical journey, we are constantly evaluating our efforts, reviewing what we have learned, and making sure that we deliver value to our clients. We’ve made the decision to move away from the current iteration of the Keystone. We’ll take what we’ve learned and refocus our efforts on a new approach that will allow us to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to more gamers around the world in the future.
We don’t know much about live streaming apart from its goal of lowering the barrier to entry to access Xbox Cloud Gaming, which includes hundreds of games through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, along with TV shows, movies, and other media. It may take the form of a Roku Streaming Stick or it may be a larger box with an Ethernet port and USB connections. Early leaks show a mini hub with Ethernet, USB, and HDMI ports, and a similar look to the Xbox Series S.
Whatever the case, this device can’t arrive soon enough; While the stock is slowly approaching demand, buying the latest Xbox at retail price remains a challenge. Even if you manage to get one, it will cost you $300 minimum for Xbox S and 500 dollars for Series X. A low-cost streaming stick can benefit both consumers and Xbox, giving the former a cheaper way to experience modern games while the latter earning a steady stream of income through subscriptions.
It will be interesting to see how all this goes, especially since then Xbox intends to bring cloud gaming app to select TVseliminating the need for Completely extra hardware. The last thing we heard about the streaming device is that it can reach Within the next 12 months. I won’t hold my breath. After all, Xbox head Phil Spencer said in November 2020 that we’ll see the Xbox app on TVs in 12 months and he doesn’t think anything will stop us from doing so. We’re here in 2022, and we’re still frantically pressing “update” on retailer sites for the chance to spend big on a console.


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Scrapping breeds new kind of criminal activity
The theft of scrap metal has become a fast growing crime in Sweetwater according to Sweetwater Chief of Police Jim Kelley. Metals such as brass, copper, aluminum, nickel and stainless steel are being sought after by thieves looking to make money by selling it to recyclers. Items that are stolen have included gutters, window units, fence posts, gate doors, old appliances and junk cars. "These crooks are ripping people off left and right, taking anything metal that they can," stated Kelley. "They are driving the streets, looking for metal in yards, even going into people's fences and storage sheds to get the metal. They are even using bolt cutters to take things that are bolted down," he said.Kelley stated that scrapping is a booming business, and "thieves" are working very hard to make money off of other people's belongings. "We've had reports of these criminals posing as city employees clearing yards. We have even heard of some posing as detail personnel that end up using residents' cars to spend the day hauling metal to the recycling facilities."Kelley warns residents to be wary of these criminals in local neighborhoods. "If you see an unfamiliar car in the alley or cars passing by slowly, scoping out properties, call us here at the police department and someone will come out to investigate the situation. Also, be careful what you put in storage sheds and rented storage facilities. Don't store valuables or firearms, just keep them in the house. Once your property is scrapped it is gone for good, this is unrecoverable property."Kelley reminds residents that city employees have identifiers on their shirts. "If you are not sure, ask for identification."Kelley also warns about those wanting to detail cars. "We have good detail shops in town. Do not let a stranger that comes to your door take you car. These crooks may also be seasoned criminals and sex offenders coming to your door. Do not put yourself in a bind, call the police department and we will handle it for you."According to a local scrap metal recycling business, prices for scrap metal are currently higher than usual with brass at $1.50 per pound, copper at $2.50 a pound, aluminum at $0.40 a pound, cans at $0.61 a pound, iron at $220 per ton, long iron at $180 per ton and junk cars at $140 each. Prices are expected to decrease."These thieves and dopers are willing to work very hard in the 100 plus weather, stealing the property of others instead of getting a real job like most people," stated Kelley. "Be watchful of these criminals."


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Last year, OnePlus cofounder Carl Pei, started his own new venture in form of Nothing. With the launch of this new venture, Pei announce that the company will mainly focus on audio products. Now, According to leaks, the audio based company is planning to launch its first audio product this summer, to be call Nothing Ear 1. Since the summer has arrived, therefore we can expect the company to launch its first audio product next month. But, we don’t have any official information about Nothing earbuds release date. The first audio product will be launching in form of earbuds and will be called as Nothing Ear 1. According to reports, Nothing has officially announced that the company is planning for the arrival of its first audio product in form of earbuds. The company also claims that the launch is scheduled for June. However, the company did not reveal the exact launch date for the upcoming TWS earbuds.
Nothing Ear 1 officially coming this June:
Carl Pei has reveal some details about these upcoming Nothing TWS earbuds. He also shared his journey with this new venture via a blog post. The all new Nothing Ear 1 is likely to come with a transparent look, which will offer an iconic form factor and refined functionality. For the time begin, the company did not want to reveal much details about the design of these upcoming Ear 1 TWS earbuds. The company is trying to create more suspense and further fuel people’s anticipation. This makes the device stands out with features and specifications.
To recall, the company did unveil its Concept 1 back in March. Its design gives us an idea about how the audio product could look like. The teaser showcase a transparent and tiny tobacco pipe-shaped earbud with a very small stem. The all new design also provides a look at the internals of the product. Since, the all new Nothing Ear 1 is mention with transparent design. Therefore, we can expect the Ear 1 to carry forward the design factor from Concept 1 which was unveil by the company earlier this year.
Beside details about Nothing Ear 1, The post from the company also hints at Nothing’s vision. In the post the company mentions Its mission is “to remove barriers between people and technology to create a seamless digital future that looks, lives, and feels like nothing.”. The post also gives us details about why the company choose audio products over others. The company aims to make a difference in audio market. They wants to deliver design and value-focused product in form of Nothing Ear 1. Also Read: MIUI 13 Update release for limited Xiaomi smartphones on June 25
To recall, Nothing was launch in October last year by Carl Pei. As Carl Pei wants to start a new venture with fresh beginning. However, his idea got official in January this year. Earlier, Nothing also acquire Essential, which was a mobile phone brand launched by Android co-creator Andy Rubin. However, as for now, we don’t know what role will Andy Rubin’s company will play in Pei’s new venture. According to recent reports, the company could launch more smart and connected products for consumers in coming months after launching Nothing Ear 1. But for now, we have to wait for Nothing Ear Audio gadget, which could launch in next month. Also Read – Nothing Ear 1 will be Flipkart exclusive in India


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While a few other countries have been able to enjoy Sony (SNE) Ericsson’s PlayStation Phone, the Xperia Play, for a few weeks now, the U.S. has been left out in the cold with only rumors and speculation as to when the device would hit our shores. Luckily, that speculation has come to an end with a firm date: May 26.
The phone is finding its way to Verizon’s (VZ) network, with preorders beginning tomorrow, May 19. The phone will run at $199 on a new two-year contract from Verizon, and require customers to enroll in a $39.99 monthly Nationwide Talk plan along with a $29.99 smartphone data plan.
We had a chance to mess around with the Xperia Play back at Game Developers Conference 2011 in San Francisco, and players who have been waiting patiently for the Play to make it to the U.S. won’t be disappointed in the device’s gaming capabilities. The phone features a slide-down game pad in place of a keyboard, a Qualcomm (QCOM) Snapdragon II 1Ghz processor and Adreno 205 GPU, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It supports Adobe (ADBE) Flash, carries a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera plus a front VGA camera, and mobile hotspot capabilities.
But most notable about what you get with the Xperia Play are the preloaded games. The phone comes with six games out of the box: Madden NFL 11, Tetris and The Sims 3 from Electronic Arts (ERTS), Asphalt 6: Adrenaline and Star Battalion from Gameloft, and Crash Bandicoot from PlayStation. Users will also be able to buy from a back catalog of old PlayStation games to run on the phone, including classics like Resident Evil 2.
Game support for the Xperia Play could end up being pretty tremendous. So far, Sony has admitted that PSOne back-catalog games available on the phone haven’t sold well – the best among them has racked up fewer than 1,000 downloads – but that’s quite likely to change when the Play hits the U.S. market and its huge community of PlayStation fans. The Play also has a lot of support from premium mobile game maker Gameloft, including exclusive games like BackStab, which was released only for the Xperia Play before becoming available for additional Android devices. Electronic Arts, also becoming a serious contender in the mobile gaming space, has thrown its support behind the Play as well.
And that’s to say nothing of the support Sony will put behind the device itself. Sony has been working on a new system called the PlayStation Suite, which will allow players to compete against each other across various platforms like the PlayStation 3, Sony’s newly announced S1 and S2 tablets and its forthcoming NGP handheld. It’ll also integrate aspects of Sony’s PlayStation Network – including Trophies (Sony’s brand of achievements) and friends’ lists.
All things considered, the Xperia Play comes with a pretty solid price tag (comparable to a new iPhone 4 with a Verizon contract) and a decent crop of games out of the box. With exclusives like those offered from Gameloft and the plans Sony has for the device, gamers shouldn’t be disappointed – but we’ll have to wait another week to see just how big a contender Sony Ericsson’s PlayStation Phone becomes.


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Competition Commission’s R3.6-billion fine recommendation may become null and void in upcoming appeal court ruling
MTN Group on Thursday said that its South African subscriber base declined from 17.231m at the end of June 2009 to 16.419m at September 30
Didata extends footprint in emerging North, South, East, and West Africa
Sharp Corp, Japan's largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, on Thursday reported its second half-year loss in a row because of falling sales of those LCD panels, used for such devices as televisions and computer monitors.
Nintendo's first-half profit plunged by more than half as sales of its hit Wii home console fizzled in a saturated market.
Yahoo! and Microsoft have extended the deadline to finalize an agreement on their Internet search and advertising partnership, Yahoo! said Wednesday.
The initial emphasis was on ICT, subsequently expanded to include the whole electro-technical sector as defined by the DTI
Jenny McKinnell takes over the reigns as executive director of the Cape IT Initiative (CITI)
ICASA is now responsible for reducing interconnect rates. Are they likely to be as incompetent as usual, or surprise SA consumers with good service?
Competition Commission finds fixed-line operator guilty of abusing its ‘near-monopoly’; Multi-billion Rand fine possible


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In Maine, scallops surging
The catch and the price are both growing for the state's meaty mollusks
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine's rebuilt scallop fishery is enjoying high demand from the culinary world for its prized meaty mollusks, and the 2016 season that ended last month is likely to go down as another strong year.
All sea scallops have been growing in value over the past 15 years, and while Maine's catch is a small fraction of the national total, they are a premium product for which restaurants and consumers pay top dollar.
The Maine scallop fishery dwindled to just about 666,000 pounds in 2009 before rebuilding to more than 3 million pounds in each of the last three years. State fishing managers credit new regulations, including a rotational management system that protects localized areas from being too heavily fished.
The 2016 Maine scallop season, which began in December and ended in April, apparently also was productive, said Trisha Cheney, a marine resource management coordinator with the state. She said the fishery benefits because it can often provide larger scallops than the national fishery, which is anchored in Massachusetts and New Jersey.
"That's the type of product that high-end restaurants are scrambling for," Cheney said.
Fishermen caught about 200,000 pounds of scallops in December, about in line with the previous two years. December's catch usually gives an indication of the strength of the season.
Maine scallops have also experienced a surge in price in recent years and sold for a record $12.70 per pound at the dock in 2015. The scallops were selling for about that much during the early part of the 2016 season.
Dana Black, a Blue Hill scallop fisherman who sells his catch from his home, said his prices have crept up from about $11 to $14 per pound over the past five years. He said the rise in value has made for a crowded fishery in recent years, but business has been good.
"I hope it stays that way," he said.


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The Kent-based firm, which has one store in Nottingham, was forced to appoint Deloitte after efforts to secure additional funding and sell the business failed.
Land of Leather opened its first store in 1997 with the aim of bringing affordable leather sofas to the mass market. It was in talks over a possible takeover late last year, but rejected interest from a number of parties in December.
Land of Leather has 109 stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, including one at Castle Meadow Retail Park in Nottingham.
Last week rival Sofa Workshop, which has a store in Exchange Arcade, Nottingham city centre, said it had started steps to appoint administrators.”
Follow the link below to read the original story.


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With the city hosting the Canada Summer Games in a few months, a Winnipeg entrepreneur saw an opportunity to boost the city’s tourism profile.
And so Winnipeg Pass, a tool to make the city’s tourist destinations more accessible, will be unveiled next week at a launch event involving Mayor Brian Bowman, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and a handful of tourism heavyweights looking to capitalize on the national Games that arrives in Winnipeg July 28.
The premise of Winnipeg Pass is simple: By purchasing the pass, the holder has access to a slate of Winnipeg tourist destinations at a discounted rate with the added benefit of the ease of showing the card when arriving at locations such as the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Manitoba Museum, Fort Whyte Alive and Royal Canadian Mint.
Enver Naidoo, the creator of Winnipeg Pass, said the idea behind the Winnipeg Pass is to keep tourists staying longer and exploring more.
Naidoo said Statistics Canada data shows visitors from the United States between 2007-14 dropped 24% and out of province traffic dropped 9%.
“Our whole goal is to try and elevate the perception of Winnipeg to both locals and tourists, to give them the idea that there’s lots to do in the city.,” Naidoo said.
At Tuesday’s launch, they will also reveal their special Canada Summer Games Attractions Pass, which will target the estimated 20,000 visitors expected to descend on the city for the two-week event.
“20,000 visitors may come to Winnipeg, but we have a chance to have 20,000 excited ambassadors leave,” Naidoo brands it.
Naidoo said the pass can also serve to provide ideas for Winnipeggers who sometimes forget – or simply don’t know – about some of the off-the-radar attractions the city offers.
Naidoo uses the example of Winnipeg Railway Museum inside Union Station downtown of an attraction that plugs away with a passionate volunteer base while telling a story significant to the region’s history.
“There’s a lot of organizations in Winnipeg that don’t have a marketing budget to support themselves to reach new demographics and new customer segments,” he said. “And what we try to do with this as a tool is help them grow visitation.
“There’s a lot of locals that have never been to the railway museum and they don’t even really know where it is. … It’s run by these really passionate volunteers that have limited marketing dollars. So what we try to do is try to get new people to go in to the museum and hopefully it allows for it to continue to be sustainable for years to come.”
Passes start at less than $30 and more information can be found at winnipegpass.com.
App caters to hometown tourists
Pablo Listingart arrived in Winnipeg from Argentina with his family two years ago and needed a tour guide. So he decided to make one.
Listingart moved from South America and was surprised to find it difficult to find, in one place, a resource for things to do around Winnipeg.
Two weeks ago his company L2systems launched the Discover Winnipeg app, a one-stop smartphone resource for restaurants, events and attractions around the city.
“The main reason we did it is actually for the people here,” he said. “We have all the museums and all those activities, but me as a parent I want to see what there is to do every weekend and I want to see where can I go to have something to eat.”
Listingart said there’s been a couple hundred downloads already and the feedback has been instant and positive.
“I’m receiving a lot of emails every day from people I don’t know,” he said. “… Without any promotion, I can see people are finding it useful.”
He said the app will continue to evolve with new features like downloading to your smartphone calenar and sharing to social media in development. He said the app adds new events every day.
He said he approached Tourism Winnipeg a year or so ago but found that wasn’t going anywhere and decided to go ahead and do it himself.
“That’s why we offered to donate it to the city of Winnipeg. I went to Tourism Winnipeg and said I’m willing to do it for free,” he said. “It’s something that we need and we wanted to provide people with things to do.”


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Procter & Gamble posts $2.2 billion profit in 4Q
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Procter & Gamble posted a profit of $2.2 billion for the fourth quarter, a decline of 12 percent because of higher expenses. The Cincinnati-based consumer products giant saw net sales increase 5 percent during the quarter.
On a per-share basis, P&G (NYSE: PG) earned 71 cents during the quarter, which was shy of analyst consensus estimates of 73 cents, according to Thomson Reuters.
Quarterly sales grew to $18.9 billion from $18.1 billion, but results still missed the average analyst estimate of $19.1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign exchange, organic sales grew by 4 percent.
For the full year, P&G reported a 5 percent drop in net earnings, to $12.7 billion, or $4.11 per share, from $13.4 billion, or $4.26 per share. Net sales grew 3 percent to $78.9 billion from $76.7 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
Analysts had been expecting a profit of $4.12 per share and sales of $79.1 billion.
For the fiscal year that began on July 1, P&G said in a statement that net sales are expected to increase 2 percent to 4 percent, with unfavorable foreign exchange expected to cut into organic sales growth of 4 percent to 6 percent. Core earnings per share are projected to be between $3.91 and $4.01, up about 8 percent from $3.67 in the fiscal year just ended, the company said.
P&G manufacturers and markets some of the world's best-known brands, such as Tide, Pampers, Crest and Downy. It is the parent company of pet food maker Iams Co., which was founded in Dayton.
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Big Blue Hacker for Hire
For a fee, IBM hacks into customer sites to test security.IBM has quietly started a hacking-for-hire business service for its top customers, as part of its push to provide a total solution that includes security testing. The effort, which follows on the heels of similar efforts by banks to prevent physical break-ins, is aimed at making sure companies can block any intruders looking for corporate secrets or other data.
"We call this ethical hacking," says John Patrick, VP of Internet Technology at IBM. "We will break into their company for a fee, and for a subscription fee we will [further] try twice a month to break in."


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Google have introduced a new feature that allows users to track their movements on their phone – down to the very minute.
Your Timeline logs every location and distance an individual travels while carrying their phone. Although announced yesterday as part of a gradual rollout, the Timeline is already available to many users.
Available on android and desktop, users can scroll through a timeline of their activities (or locations) if they’ve opted in to store their Location history with Google.
To further up the experience, if users have been taking geo-tagged Google photographs, these will also appear on individual's timeline, hopefully spurring a clearer memory of each place visited. Users can also ‘name’ frequent locations (e.g. Mum’s house).
The company is marketing the tool as a “private map” allowing individuals to retrace their steps and “visualize your real-world routines,” according to Google product manager Gerard Sanz.
In a blog post, Mr Sanz reassures users they can “easily delete a day or your full history at any time,” but also that no-one – other than you – will be able to access the data.Reuse content


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By David Beckerman, SVP & CIO, The Pasha Group
By Vlad Yakubson, Head of Retail, Retail Apparel Group
The key to all the analytics, AI and future technology is the “how” to apply them in a personal way to relate best to the consumer.
A new beauty app is helping consumers professional beauty services and cosmetics advice.
Here we are discussing some of the best customer retaining tips that the enterprises can apply to enhance their customer experience management and boost sales in the future
Blockchain reinvents the customer experience and also offer consumer-facing opportunities to enhance the shopping experience. The advanced technology provides end-to-end transparency in the
By Alexandra Gray, Head of Research, Mirvac [ASX: MGR]
The availability of reliable expenditure data at a category level has been a step change in gauging the underlying spending patterns of our customers.
Data integration services should be used by companies to ensure that they can make the best use of resources.
By Jonathan Low, Ex-Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, honestbee
E-commerce has been cited as the “most dynamic sector” of Southeast Asia’s online economy.
Contactless technology has been utilized for over 20 years to help consumers make transactions in a comfortable, fast and secure manner. In the coming few years, contactless technology is expected to develop and be widely used.
By Matan Holander, VP Business Development
Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce has evolved at multiple levels. Evidently, understanding the unique purchasing preferences of the modern day buyers have become increasingly critical to the long-term growth of B2B merchants.
Ari POS streamlines the customer data transfer and thereby making the lives of retailers easier.
The retail industry is leveraging AI to foster a personalized shopping experience
To make an efficient innovation development, an advanced manager must create an ecosystem that will let the team to commune proficiently, work on ideas, and also share files collaboratively.
Cloud technology will be the driving force of the retail industry for its potential to enable businesses to compete better and become more agile.
The way of shopping has evolved. It is essential to take the safety of the employees earnest for a business to function properly
The changing expectations of consumers pose a burden of risk on retailers.
Access Control Systems are everywhere in the world now, staring from master keys to access cards. But the question is, how can it be helpful?


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The marketing hurdles for a legal cannabis industry get higher by the day. As if dealing with decades of negative associations of stoner culture and drug wars was not enough, the industry now faces its first true post-legalization marketing crisis: vaping illnesses and deaths caused by toxic, untested ingredients in vape cartridges. With over 1,300 illnesses and 48 deaths as of December 5, and notwithstanding the fact that injuries appear to be isolated to black market and counterfeit goods, the public outcry is understandably getting louder by the day and the news headlines are getting bolder with resounding calls to action to eliminate and/or restrict use.
This unfortunate issue will now make a chief marketing officer’s already difficult job even more difficult, as consumer and governmental perception and trust is required to be rebuilt in broader and more express ways. Cannabis companies and their marketing teams will be required to strategically leverage their branding to incorporate basic elements of consumer trust and public safety. The opportunity remains seemingly larger than life with cannabis as the world’s fasted growing (literally) consumer product.
The retail industry for medical and recreational marijuana is projected to exceed $12 billion in a few months and reach $30 billion in three years. With the legalization of adult use cannabis (we, by choice, do not use the terminology “recreational,” as it’s media-inspired implication is irresponsibility and further stigma) in 11 states and D.C., with more likely to follow in 2020, a new age of branding wars is beginning to emerge as companies jockey to differentiate themselves in an effort to capture market share.
Branding will be especially crucial in an emerging industry where many consumers do not yet have a fundamental education on the differences between a multitude of various products and consumption methodologies. Jared Mirsky, the brand guru and founder of Wick & Mortar, one of the industry’s leading brand development companies told me earlier this fall at Canex in Jamaica, “Building a brand takes a substantial investment of not only money, but time and energy. There is no short cut. Creating the right name, logo, message, social media content and packaging is a creative marathon, the effort of which will provide the greatest and most valuable differentiation.”
One strategy being followed by numerous new entrants leverages “wellness” as branding strategy which focuses on the medicinal benefits of THC and CBD and includes products whose aim is to relieve pain, anxiety, depression, sleep issue, and sexual dysfunction — to name a few — along with beauty and topical skin care products. This branding strategy often targets women with packaging that is perceived as more “feminine” and includes lighter colors and fancier fonts reminiscent of traditional CPG packaging.
A recent article in Vogue suggested, “Taking a prescriptive-based approach to cannabis and offering it in a clean, well-lit space isn’t solely about jumping on the wellness bandwagon — it’s also a savvy way to attract more female consumers to an industry that’s historically catered more to males.”
One of the biggest marketing trends to emerge has been the focus on luxury cannabis brands such as Beboe, Lord Jones and Canndescent to name a few. These types of products portray themselves as elite, fashionable and expensive and are marketed to a demographic for whom cannabis is the latest sexy, must-have, “it” accessory.
For many luxury consumers, the foray into cannabis culture is less about actual usage and more about bragging rights for the cool factor. Whether it’s a $1,200 set of “cannagars,” $1,000 crystal bongs, $625 cases for disposable lighters, $60 pre-filled vapes or $20 candy bars, luxury consumers are all in.
Traditional lifestyle brands have also jumped onboard. Barneys New York opened High End, a discreet, luxury cannabis accessories shop, on the fifth floor of their Beverly Hills location; Devambez, a French stationary shop that has served royalty for almost 200 years is now selling luxury rolling papers; iconic interior designer Jonathan Adler has teamed with luxury cannabis accessories retailer Higher Standards to create cannabis-themed household items; and, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York is now carrying a full topical line as well as Can Be Done CBD products. Cannabis is now joining automobiles, fashion, fragrances and jewelry in the lux category. It’s not only uber-luxury, status-symbol items, either. The basic vape pen is getting its share of luxury treatment, with single-use, beautifully designed and packaged pre-filled pens starting at $60 from companies such as Select, Besito and Genius Brands; reusable pens and cartridges can now run hundreds of dollars.
An Affordable Alternative
Is there a safe option for a consumer who wants a reasonably priced, well-designed and safe vape pen? A new California company I was recently introduced to at the Hall of Flowers event at the Sonoma fairgrounds this year, has made accessibility its foundational mission, even as trends push toward luxury. The founders of Old Pal believe that too many brands have artificially inflated the price of a natural vape product. In an “ode to simpler times” the Old Pal brand has an unpretentious motto: “It’s just weed, man” and are positioning themselves as the anti-luxury brand.
Old Pal vape cartridges are available for what seems like an impossibly low price, $15. It keeps prices low by producing at large scale and only selling in licensed dispensaries.
The company launched in May of 2018, and by April of 2019 it ranked #1 in unit sales on Eaze, and by May #1 in revenue on the platform. Forty percent of Old Pal customers have made between two and 10 additional product purchases — the most of any brand on Eaze.
Should this make luxury brands nervous? The choices for a brand are always mass market, a la Wal-Mart/Costco, luxury, a la Neiman Marcus, or somewhere in the middle. The number of luxury brand consumers is and always has been, a mere fraction of the total cannabis consumers looking for a balance of value and quality, so there will always be a larger demand for products that are affordable and accessible. Old Pal is one welcome company working to level the playing field.
Editor’s Note: Updated with more recent vaping statistics.


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16:10 | 18/09/2014 Industry
(VEN) - The Agency for Regional Industry Development (ARID) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) in collaboration with Phu Tho’s Department of Industry and Trade to organize a conference on new documents to deal with industry promotion activities and some regulations on controlling administrative procedures in industrial areas for 28 provinces and cities in the northern region.
The conference focused on some newly-issued documents like Circular 36/2013/TT-BCT; Joint Circular 26/2014/TTLT-BTC-BCT or Circular 26/2014/TT-BCT.
Addressing the conference, ARID Deputy Director Phan Van Ban said to continue to improve industry promotion efficiency to adapt to new circumstances, many legal documents on industry promotion have been recently revised and issued. They also provided more specific regulations, decentralized management of industry promotion to local authorities and reduced administrative procedures.
Since this year’s beginning, ARID has organized three training sessions in three regions. In addition, the MOIT has also organized three conferences on industry promotion in three regions, through which they could review industry promotion implementation throughout the country and offer solutions to improve the efficiency of this activity./.


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Scottsdale-based Government Liquidation has been contracted to auction off the USS Long Beach, the U.S. Navy's first nuclear-powered surface ship, which was decommissioned in 1995.
The ship will be auctioned to a single buyer in a sealed bid for its 7.35 million pounds of reusable base materials. Since the auction is sealed, bidders will have one chance to submit their best offer. The winner will only be known to the government and Government Liquidation, which will not reveal the selling price, according to the company’s president Tom Burton.
Since most of its materials are metals, bids tend to be based on current commodity prices.
“If there are people who think commodity prices are rising, then we have had bidders who bid higher than the commodity prices,” Burton said.
The metals that will be scrapped consist of 900,000 pounds of aluminum and 100,000 pounds of copper. The rest is steel.
The entire ship is being reduced for scrap metal, so the buyer will have to collect the wiring, bunks, tables, chairs, and everything else taken from inside the ship. All materials sold on the online auction site must be picked up at the ship's current location. The USS Long Beach is being dismantled in Puget Sound, Wash. The entire process is expected to take two to three years, Burton said.
It might not take as long as projected, though. Government Liquidation previously auctioned off the USS South Carolina, which had 11 million pounds of materials, and took less than two years to dismantle and move, Burton said.
The government previously liquidated assets itself but decided to contract out the service 11 years ago, which Burton said is when Liquidity Services Inc. decided to create the subsidiary Government Liquidation.
“(Government Liquidation) has been referred to as eBay for the Pentagon,” Burton said.
The company has a contract with the Defense Logistics Agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Defense, and receives about 10,000 items each week and 25 million pounds of material each month, according to the company.
The company’s website sells an assortment of things from vehicles to computer equipment. Most auctions online start at $150. As a sealed bid auction, the Long Beach liquidation is unique for Government Liquidation.
Burton said he could not guess at who would buy the ship’s materials and what it would be used for. It could be a single company or a group that bids together.
“There’s no end to creativity with American entrepreneurs,” Burton said.
The auction begins at midnight Eastern time July 10 and closes at 8 p.m. July 12 at 8 p.m.


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Profit on the cards: Card Factory sees profits rise despite fall in like-for-like sales
Card Factory hailed a double digit rise in profit today as it was boosted by record sales for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Read more: Heatwave hit retail footfall figures in August
The high street retailer saw pre-tax profit grow 17.2 per cent year on year to £27.2m for the six months to the end of July.
Revenue grew 3.2 per cent to £185.3m despite a 0.2 per cent decline in like-for-like sales, thanks to Card Factory opening 25 new stores over the period, adding up to a total 940 branches.
Shares fell as much as nine per cent in early morning trading before climbing back as underlying operating profit dived almost 12 per cent to £24.5m.
Earnings per share grew 17.1 per cent to 6.38p, with the board planning to pay an interim dividend of 2.9p per share.
Why it’s interesting
Card Factory managed to bolster earnings despite reporting lower footfall on the high street, a common complaint among retailers this year, with Moss Bros blaming it for a £1.7m half-year loss last week.
But while everyday sales weakened, Card Factory found solace in improved commemorative day sales, with Valentine’s and Mother’s and Father’s Days lifting revenue.
Online sales accelerated by 85 per cent, and is on track to make a profit despite fierce digital competition from the likes of Moonpig, while the firm added more gifts and accessories to its in-store offerings.
Unlike many high street chains, Card Factory is expanding stores despite the downturn, opening seven trial stores in the Republic of Ireland, with plans to open 50 net new UK stores by the end of the year.
Read more: Orla Kiely shuts up shop
What Card Factory said
Chief executive Karen Hubbard said:
We have delivered solid interim results with overall sales growth, despite the weak consumer environment and particularly challenging footfall across the high street, driven by various factors. Profitability was impacted by lower like-for-like sales, but we continue to largely mitigate the headwinds we face through various business efficiencies.
Despite this difficult consumer backdrop, we have seen record numbers for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Father's Day both in terms of volume and value. This strong seasonal performance gives us confidence for the key Christmas trading period.
As expected, trading in recent weeks has remained challenging given the weak consumer environment, but we have seen continued growth in average spend and improved performance of redesigned Everyday ranges. The board is confident that the group will continue to make further strategic progress on new initiatives.
We remain positive about the growth prospects for the business over the medium term.


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Deutsche Hospitality has opened the new Steigenberger Hotel El Lessan in Egypt, which will operate under the Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts brand. The hotel is aimed at the upper end of the market.
The hotel offers 153 guestrooms, including 15 suites. All rooms feature a balcony with Nile and sea view. Facilities include a main restaurant called the Sea Lobby Bar; four conference rooms, including two large ballrooms; a gym area; and a large outdoor pool with a pool bar. Plans are also in place to open a roof deck restaurant.
“Egypt is one of our most important and strongest growth markets,” said Thomas Willms, ceo, Deutsche Hospitality, the umbrella brand of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts. “The Steigenberger Hotel El Lessan is the first luxury hotel to be launched in the region. We have achieved a further expansion of our local presence and have also been able to bring about a significant enhancement in the relevance of the Steigenberger brand.”
Photo: Courtesy of Deutsche Hospitality


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Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Monday started a new venture with entrepreneur Raj Kundra and his wife Shilpa Shetty.
In the new partnership, Akshay and Raj Kundra will launch a Best Deal TV, a celebrity-driven 24×7 home shopping channel.
The free-to-air channel will commence from March 18 and will be available across all major cable and DTH platforms as well as online.
The channel has inked endorsement deals with major A-list celebrities and top TV stars in the country.
It will also feature several categorised including Lifestyle, Home, Fashion, Health & Beauty.
At the launch, Raj Kundra said, “We are pleased to launch a new and unique home shopping channel on which our products will be exclusive, aspirational and above all, affordable.”


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Wow, who would've thought that these tiny plastic straws could be worth so much $$$$?
It all began when Yakult Singapore announced that it will no longer include straws in its products at the end of December 2018.
In line with their eco-friendly stance, the cultured milk brand encouraged customers to drink "directly from the bottle by removing the foil cap".
Now that the straws are no longer in the market, they seem to have acquired "vintage" status... or at least that's what these enterprising Singaporeans are saying:
Yep, people are actually selling these little plastic tubes on Carousell. Initially spotted by Singaporean portal Mothership, the straws are being sold for as low as SGD1 (RM3.03):
Some are listed for SGD88 to SGD200 for a brand new packet of five straws. Check out that convincing sales pitch though. :p
"The popular everyday probiotic beverage, Yalkult, were once packaged with straws. Today, they are nowhere to be found - succumbed to the growing trend of strawlessness.
$199 sounds silly now, but surely, this a collectable worth investing to share stories for generations to come."
And then there's this guy selling a "rare" Yakult straw for a whoppin' SGD1,000 (RM3,032) because "only got one left in Singapore"
We don't know about you, but there's no way we're gonna "invest" in plastic straws. On that note, if you'd rather sip from a cup, go for metal straws instead, ok?


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While speaking with a number of different restaurant operators across the country over the last few months, we’ve noticed a collective fear: rising labor costs. Franchisees turn different shades of red as soon as topics like minimum wages, increasing insurance premiums, and talent pools are broached, and most have no idea how to tackle these…
At some point, every successful business has to hire new team members. According to the National Restaurant Association, roughly 2/3 of a restaurant’s staff overturns each year – which requires a whole lot of interviewing, hiring, and training. If you want your newbies to thrive and positively contribute to your enterprise, it’s essential that your…
Retail has changed a lot over the last decade. So too have consumers. Retailers need a better way to improve their stores to keep customers engaged and shopping.
DTT is now DTiQ, delivering intelligent video-based solutions combined with advanced analytics, delivered as a unique managed services offering.
In the below interview, Alex Vance discusses building DTT’s Technical Support Department in an effort to create a better customer experience.
In the below interview, Kim Helms, DTiQ’s VP of National Accounts, discusses how she’s built successful corporate partnerships with some of the biggest brands in the hospitality industry.
Learn how Charles Gonzalez creates value and drives ROI for DTiQ’s customers in the below interview.
Today, with the launch of DTT’s redesigned mobile app and the announcement of increased Mac functionality for MyDTT™, the next evolution in loss prevention has arrived: accessibility.
I am the Director of Sales for the Petroleum Retail Market at DTiQ. This covers c-stores, gas stations, and cardlock locations.
Don Boyle has worked at DTiQ since 2007. During that time, he has provided managed loss prevention services to thousands of businesses in the hospitality, retail, and c-store industries. He is an expert at building loss prevention policies and best practices that prevent employee theft from occurring. In the below interview, he shares what he’s…


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H+M hopes the opening of its flagship Perth store this week will give a much needed boost to the CBD.
The Swedish fashion giant’s 3800sqm store spans two floors at the iconic GPO building overlooking Forrest Place.
Despite being famous for low prices — T-shirts are typically $15, jeans $29 and bomber jackets $60 — the retailer says it shouldn’t be seen as a threat to other city shops. Thursday’s opening comes at a time when shop vacancy rates are as high as 20 per cent in parts of the city centre as shoppers increasingly spend their money online.
Research last year showed the percentage of CBD shops that are empty has doubled since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, prompting calls for parking fees to be slashed.
“We do hope we can set an example for a more active and lively CBD,” H&M Australian country manager Hans Anderson said.
“I remember being in New York in the early 80s — it was not fun; and Melbourne was ailing at one point but is now a very vibrant CBD. I think we as a retailer have a mission — we have to try and keep these beautiful buildings alive and fill them with things that will attract the people.
“Time will tell, but it has worked in other big Australian cities so we are confident it will work in Perth also.”
It’s the 20th Australian store for the fashion behemoth which boasts 4300 outlets worldwide.
Mr Anderson said the brand had seen considerable growth in the past 12 months and suggested a third WA store was in the works.
“We do think there is room for more than two in the greater Perth area,” he said.
“A year ago we were nine stores (within Australia) and today, with the launch of Perth, we are 20.”
The GPO flagship is twice the square footage of the Joondalup store which opened in 2015 with huge crowds. It will also launch the retailer’s plus-size and homeware ranges.
“We’ve hired 130 staff. There’ll be more tills, more fitting rooms and with more space, clothes will be easier to access,” Mr Anderson said.


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Mitek Systems, a global leader in digital identity verification technologies, has unveiled its latest innovation, MiControl.
This comprehensive fraud management console enhances Mitek’s Check Fraud Defender, offering a significant leap in the detection of check fraud for banks and financial institutions. MiControl aims to mitigate losses while elevating online security for consumers, showcasing Mitek’s commitment to bridging the physical and digital worlds securely.
The development of MiControl responds to the persistent challenge of check fraud, which remains prevalent despite the surge in digital payment methods. Financial institutions process billions of checks annually, and the rate of check fraud has been on an upward trajectory, it said.
Mitek Systems, recognized for its digital access solutions, facilitates safer and faster digital transactions. The company’s technologies are instrumental in verifying identities, ensuring secure mobile check deposits, and supporting the digital initiatives of nearly all U.S. banks and thousands of global enterprises. Mitek’s commitment to innovation is evident in its products, designed to meet rigorous regulatory requirements while reducing risks associated with digital transactions.
MiControl, Mitek’s newest offering, is engineered to enhance the productivity of fraud analysts in detecting check fraud. By integrating advanced visualization tools and customizable business rules, MiControl reduces the time needed to evaluate suspicious checks from as much as ten minutes to approximately 90 seconds. This efficiency gain is crucial for financial institutions seeking to minimize losses and protect their customers from fraud.
Additional features of MiControl include its ability to combine check and fraud data intelligence, further streamlining operational efficiency. The product’s visual dashboard offers an intuitive interface for fraud analysts, facilitating quick and accurate fraud detection decisions.
Mitek VP of Digital Banking Strategy, Kerry Cantley, emphasized the benefits of MiControl, stating, “MiControl combines check and fraud data intelligence to achieve operational efficiency.
“It provides bank fraud analysts with more information to make their decisions and presents it all in an easy-to-use visual format. Processing checks through these additional levels of protection via MiControl’s visual dashboard allows banks to make fast and accurate decisions to better protect their customers.”
Keep up with all the latest FinTech news here.
Copyright © 2024 FinTech Global


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We cannot recommend a $650 blender with such a glaring design flaw.
A bigger screen, a whole new design, and the promise of Apple Pay. What else does Apple's newest iPhone offer? Scott Stein tells all.
Dropbox's design chief arrived at the online storage company with his stylish and popular email service, Mailbox. Now, as Dropbox evolves, he's helping it design a way into every facet of our digital lives.
The smartphone is the first of three devices rumored to employ Samsung's new design language.
Cliff Bleszinski's new studio, Boss Key Productions, will be rolling out its first free-to-play title through Nexon.
In addition to its Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, 1080p display, and 13-megapixel camera, Motorola's second-gen Moto X features custom design options that now include leather backings.
The esteemed Australian designer has already been working with Apple design guru Jony Ive for months ahead of a presumed wearable launch next week.
In its competition with rival car-sharing service Lyft, Uber has a complex system in place that involves paying contractors to recruit Lyft's drivers, according to a report by The Verge.
Slated to arrive on September 3, the Asus smartwatch could be the most affordable Android Wear watch yet.
The Google-backed mobile and cloud startup puts Scott Croyle in charge of design and product, and adds him to its board.


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Zamen | زامن
Second-Generation Apple Pencil Rumored for March of 2017
Apple could be planning to introduce a second-generation Apple Pencil this year, according to rumors out of the Asian supply chain. The new Apple Pencil could be unveiled at an event rumored to take place in March, where it would be shown off alongside the next-generation iPad Pro
Prospective features for a second-generation Apple Pencil aren't known, but a previous report from Bloomberg has suggested Apple is considering new iPad features that would let the Apple Pencil to work in a larger range of apps, a function that could be introduced with the new accessory through software updates.


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Last year was a bad one for bitcoin. The electronic currency lost 80 percent of its value in 12 months, dropping from $14,200 per bitcoin to $3,200.
Other so-called “cryptocurrencies” tumbled, too. Ethereum dropped from around $1,300 to under $100. Litecoin collapsed to $23 from around $250.
The bruising losses don’t mean the end of cryptocurrencies. Ferrari-driving speculators are gloating less, for sure, but many more technologists remain committed to the new money and the ingenious systems that run it.
Satellite companies like Viasat are interested, too, because electronic currencies help people send money around the world at little or no cost. That’s a big help to people working in the U.S. or Europe, who may need to send money back to their families back home. And home is often in places like rural Latin America, where satellite is the only way to get online.
Crypto is one of many financial technologies helping people move money more efficiently. In Africa, millions of people who have never set foot in a bank branch are saving money and paying bills with their phones. Africa has fewer bank branches per person than anywhere in the world (5 per 100,000). But some 100 million people there were using mobile financial services in late 2017, according to McKinsey, the consulting firm. M-Pesa, a leader in the business, has expanded from Kenya to other African nations and even India.
Even so, some 2 billion people still have no bank of any kind, not even on their phones, McKinsey says. Some people think cryptocurrency will help extend financial services to them, especially in places where basic security and a stable currency is lacking.
First, what is it?
To understand their power, let’s take a look at what a crypto-currency is. We’ll use bitcoin. It was the first cryptocurrency to hit the market, and it remains the largest in terms of total value (17.5 million bitcoins in circulation X $3,650 per coin = $63.8 billion).
Bitcoin is a perplexing thing, but so are most currencies. The only reason a paper dollar has any value is because most everyone in the world agrees that it does. The dollar was backed by gold until 1973. Now, it’s propped up by faith in the U.S. government alone.
Bitcoin is the same, and different. It’s the same in that it derives all its value from public perception. There are no vaults full of gold backing bitcoin. It’s different, though, because instead of being made of paper, it’s made of data. It exists in computers only.
So why do a bunch of bytes have so much value? Because people can buy bitcoins, hold them securely, and prove that they own them, thanks to some amazing computer encryption (hence the name). And, unlike dollars or euros, bitcoin is much more mobile. You can send it in an email to someone else without paying fees to a bank or Western Union.
Best of all, say the bitcoin believers, the number of coins is limited. There will never be more than 21 million bitcoins in the world. If it wished, the U.S. Treasury could print trillions of dollars tomorrow, diminishing the value of ones already in circulation.
Not so with bitcoin. The “blockchain” technology that runs it allows only 21 million coins, forever. Because it’s scarce, proponents say bitcoin is like gold that you can send from your phone.
Big deal, you say. You can do that with Venmo, Square, and PayPal. True, but they require the help of banks to keep ledgers of who owns what money, and banks charge fees.
There is no Bitcoin Bank with a big ledger. The blockchain keeps track of who owns what, and the blockchain runs on computers everywhere in the world, all connected by the internet. Give the blockchain some of your computer power and you can be rewarded with bitcoins through “mining.”
Each bitcoin is harder to mine, though. In 2009, when bitcoin started, you could unlock them with a Mac laptop. Now, you need a supercomputer.
A better way to move money?
So why do people still like these beaten-down bits? Because they make money move without friction or fees. Imagine you work in the U.S. and send money home to Mexico. Cross-border transfers are expensive. For Mexico, Western Union charges $10 for $300, with a fee on the other end, in Mexico, of 10 percent, too. With bitcoin, it’s close to zero.
But what about the huge fluctuations in the price of bitcoin? What if I buy one-tenth of one for $300 and it’s worth $200 the next day?
This might be the biggest problem with bitcoin, and one that a company called Tether Ltd. is trying to solve. Its cryptocurrency, also called Tether, is pegged to the dollar. The link sticks because tether has a dollar in the bank for every Tether. Tether is backed by dollars, just like the dollar used to be backed by gold.
So, using Tether, you can work in the U.S., get paid in dollars, turn those into Tethers, and send them to rural Mexico, where Viasat’s Community Wi-Fi, for example, provides affordable satellite internet hotspots within range of over 1.3 million people. There, your relatives turn Tethers into pesos, all on phone or computer.
The idea is catching on. About 15 percent of people sending money abroad use cryptocurrencies to do it, according to a December report by Clovr, a cryptocurrency company. The combination of cryptocurrencies and satellite is a powerful one in places where banks are scarce and the wired internet doesn’t exist. Together, they can make money fall from the sky, literally.


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Australia’s major banks are angling to have ordinary working hours extended across the weekend with a view to make rostering more flexible – and it’s e-commerce that is to blame once again.
ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank, GE Capital and Westpac have submitted a joint application to an award review by Fair Work Australia. The application argues that proposed changes would promote “flexible and efficient modern work practices in a way that has proper regard to the considerations of productivity and employment costs”.
The proposal comes as a result of the banks seeking to alleviate the mounting pressures to respond to demand for real-time payments and round-the-clock service. However, the move has prompted concerns from the unions who say the application is the first step down the path of cutting pay as well as the loss of the weekend entirely.
The National Secretary of the Finance Sector Union (FSU), Leon Carter said the application was the phase one of a two-step plan to abolish penalty rates for working on the weekend.
“In the second round they will go after the money,” Carter told The Australian Financial Review. “These people have no credibility when it comes to protecting, let alone advancing, people’s conditions.
“Our industry already has the highest level of unpaid overtime in the economy. We’re not going to stand by and watch hard-won conditions eroded just because the industry wants to increase its already enormous profits at the expense of ordinary workers.”
The financial institutions made the application through Ashurst Lawyers to change the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2010. They have all rejected the FSU’s claims that they are seeking to remove penalty rates, with a spokesperson for ANZ even saying that the bank was “happy to support the amendment as part of the broader joint application” but that it won’t change anything because the institution already has an existing agreement in place for weekend work.
While the banks currently deny they plan changes to weekend penalty rates, the Australian Retailers Association and the National Retailers Association are seeking to have them reduced by half. The retail award currently entitles workers to 100 percent loading on Sundays, which the retail groups say is preventing some stores from opening and competing with online retail.
A Productivity Commission report in December found that the retail sector has one of the highest relative labour costs in the world, a fact that the NRA and ARA have been quick to jump on.
After the disappointment of seeing the proposed changes to the GST threshold rejected by the Productivity Commission last year, it seems bricks-and-mortar retailers have reviewed their tactics. Now, instead of asking the consumer to pay more for the pleasure of shopping, they will be demanding their staff get paid less.
The question is: will dismantling the weekend direct the struggling sector towards long-term profitability?
If retailers chase this brand of logic to its ultimate conclusion, they will also end up keeping stores open all night in order to keep up with online competitors.


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Amazon stock Sales for the three months ended in June grew 7% to $121.23 billion, which become better than Wall Street’s predicted $119.09 billion. It represented Amazon’s third straight area of single-digit annual revenue growth.
Amazon shares rally after robust 2d zone and guidance
Amazon’s 1/3-quarter forecast advised income increase ought to reaccelerate, to among thirteen% and 17%. The agency stated it projects revenue this sector of $125 billion to $a hundred thirty billion, while analysts were expecting a sales forecast of $126.4 billion, in keeping with Refinitiv.
Amazon and Apple suggested upbeat consequences in an in any other case gloomy earnings season for tech organizations. Facebook figure Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft all introduced disappointing consequences for the quarter, as many years-high inflation, growing interest fees and different macroeconomic pressures weighed on their organizations.
Wall Street cheered Amazon’s earnings record, with one analyst calling the e-commerce large “a port within the macro storm,” because it thus far seems to be weathering the various headwinds tough its tech peers.
“All in, Amazon furnished buyers with a totally clean 2Q profits, inside the midst of excessive macro-related profits volatility across tech,” Deutsche Bank analysts led by way of Lee Horowitz wrote in a note to clients Friday. The firm, which continues a purchase rating on Amazon stocks, upped its price goal to $175 from $155.
Several analysts stated the effects signaled Amazon is making development on price headwinds that have forced the company in recent quarters. Amazon has confronted excessive prices related to labor, supply chain, power and transportation, in addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, amongst other elements. CEO Andy Jassy stated Thursday the agency maintains to paintings through “the greater controllable prices.”
“With a a success 2-day Prime Day occasion in July and mgmt [management] discussing cease demand issues in its middle companies, we see Amazon nicely positioned to supply a sturdy sales increase narrative in 2H’22 [the second half of 2022],” analysts at Goldman Sachs, led by means of Eric Sheridan, said in a research observe Friday. The firm saved its buy score on the shares.


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Welcome back to Tech Chronicle. I may not be a unicorn, but if you subscribe to this newsletter, you’re in for some rare and pointed insights.
WeWorking the language
If WeWork weren’t one of the biggest office tenants and landlords in San Francisco, I’m not sure we’d pay much attention to the travails of the New York company and its CEO, Adam Neumann. But it’s 2019, the investing public’s money is potentially at stake as it contemplates an initial public offering, and so we are forced to contemplate the fall of a CEO so loose with rules and proprieties that he reportedly got bounced from a private plane when the pilot discovered he was traveling internationally with a cereal box full of marijuana.
It is odd that Neumann — who stepped down Tuesday as CEO of his company, though he remains chairman — and WeWork are associated with Silicon Valley, considering the thousands of miles that separate him from Northern California’s startup hub. But the definition of “tech” has been stretched, geographically and epistemologically, like a linguistic rubber band by louche self-promoters like the WeWork founder.
WeWork’s S-1 uses the term “technology” 93 times. The company went as far as leasing space in Salesforce Tower for a “West Coast headquarters” where it houses its own software engineers and designers, developing what it calls “purpose-built technology” to run its locations. It even hired a YouTube veteran, Shiva Rajaraman, to run this operation, giving it the reputation-by-resume veneer investors look for.
Let’s get this straight: WeWork is a real estate company. It rents offices and desks. It does so on more flexible contract terms than most traditional landlords, which startups find appealing and, increasingly, so do larger companies.
This is not a worthless endeavor. It’s just not worth $47 billion, the value SoftBank assigned to it in January when it pumped another $2 billion into the 9-year-old company. The market will eventually find the right value to pin on WeWork. It may take brutal layoffs before that happens.
It’s easy to see why entrepreneurs desperately try to spin their businesses as tech. Investable cash is sloshing around the world, trying to find a home where it will grow in value. Some of that lands in venture capital and private-equity funds, which have to put it to work.
At the same time, truly great tech companies are capital efficient. Google raised $36 million as a private company; it’s now worth $845 billion. That’s great for Google’s venture capitalists and co-founders, but it doesn’t solve the sloshing-cash problem.
So money goes into what I call “fauxtech”: companies like WeWork, and Impossible Foods, and SoFi. Fake burgers are something, but they’re not tech. SoFi is an old-fashioned lender dressed up as a startup. These businesses may need capital to beef up distribution or sign up customers, but losing money doesn’t magically turn a food or finance operation into tech.
I’ve argued before about why we need to stop parroting problematic terms like “platforms” that serve to obfuscate what companies actually do. Airbnb rents out homes. Uber provides rides. Twitter lets strangers mock you on the internet. Before you call something “tech,” try stating its real business in plain English.
If we had refused to accept WeWork as anything but a real estate play from the get-go — if the private-money marketplace had rejected collective delusion — the company would be smaller today. Perhaps even profitable. It wouldn’t be a tech company. But isn’t that better than being a laughingstock?
— Owen Thomas, email@example.com
Quote of the week
“They have an app my cat could have written.” — Oracle founder Larry Ellison, speaking to a small group of entrepreneurs about Uber (spoiler: He’s not a fan of WeWork, either)
Facebook holds its big Oculus Connect conference in San Jose Wednesday and Thursday.
What I’m reading
Maureen Dowd talks to Disney’s Bob Iger about, among other things, why he didn’t buy Twitter. (New York Times)
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Dustin Gardiner looks at privacy crusader Alastair Mactaggart, who’s preparing a new sally against Big Tech. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Marc Gunther digs into the mysterious collapse of San Francisco’s ZeroDivide Foundation. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Tech Chronicle is a thrice-weekly newsletter from Owen Thomas, The Chronicle’s business editor, and the rest of the tech team. Follow along on Twitter: @techchronicle and Instagram: @techchronicle


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Goal stated it has misplaced a whopping $400 million in earnings this 12 months because of arranged gangs of shoplifters who’ve been systematically stealing products from its bargain retail outlets.
“At Goal, year-to-date, incremental scarcity has already lowered our gross margin via greater than $400 million vs. ultimate 12 months,” Goal CFO Michael Fiddelke stated on an income name previous this week, which was once cited via Yahoo! Finance.
Fiddelke added that “we predict it is going to cut back our gross margin via greater than $600 million for the entire 12 months.”
A Goal spokesperson advised Yahoo! Finance that the “shrinkage” which the CFO referred to was once attributed particularly to “arranged retail crime.”
Fiddelke stated that there are “a handful of items that may power shrink in our industry and robbery is without a doubt a key driving force.”
“We all know we’re now not on my own throughout retail in seeing a development that I feel has gotten an increasing number of worse over the past 12 to 18 months,” he stated.
“So we’re taking the suitable movements in our retail outlets to lend a hand curb that development the place we will be able to, however that turns into an expanding headwind on our industry and we all know the industry of others.”
In September, the CEO of Ceremony Help stated that the drugstore chain was once confused with a $5 million year-over-year build up in “shrink” — a time period within the retail trade which means that losses associated with robbery, fraud, or administrative mistakes.
Ceremony Help CEO Heyward Donigan advised analysts that the issue was once specifically acute in New York Town.
“I feel the headline this is the surroundings that we function in, specifically in New York Town, isn’t conducive to decreasing shrink simply based totally upon the entirety you learn and notice on social media and the inside track within the town,” leader retail officer Andre Persaud stated.
As The Put up has reported, NYC-area Ceremony Help retail outlets were bombarded with robbery this 12 months — with shoplifters lightly taking pieces from cabinets in undeniable view of cameras.
For instance, the Ceremony Help on the nook of 8th Street and fiftieth Side road in Hell’s Kitchen misplaced greater than $200,000 in stolen products over only a two-month span. The retailer closed in February.
Further reporting via Thomas Barrabi
Supply By means of https://nypost.com/2022/11/16/target-blames-organized-crime-for-400m-loss-in-profits/


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Nannies, reporters, bloggers, photographers, babysitters and parents are invited to attend.
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) November 22, 2013
On December 7, Nanny Magazine will host a party at Little Beans Café to celebrate the launch of the only magazine for American nannies. The night will provide a fun setting with mingling, music, wine and desserts for nannies and childcare workers to meet with industry leaders and Nanny Magazine staff to celebrate the benefits this publication will offer. Nannies, reporters, bloggers, photographers, babysitters and parents are invited to attend.
January’s inaugural issue of the magazine, featuring an exclusive interview with the authors of the popular novel "The Nanny Diaries" and other articles nannies simply can't find in other magazines, will be available for all attendees. The theme for the January issue is "Love." Many articles within will tackle the complex topic of loving a child who is not your own. For a sample of what's to come, visit Nanny Magazine's free online Mini Mag (http://nannymag.com/nanny-magazine-preview/).
Nanny Magazine's launch party is sponsored by Sittercity.com, Care.com, College Nannies + Tutors, First Class Care and private donors. To RSVP to the party or to find out more about time, location and dress code, visit http://www.nannymag.com.
About Nanny Magazine
Nanny Magazine is the only magazine just for nannies, and will launch bimonthly print publication in January, with free articles published online twice weekly. To subscribe for yourself or a nanny in your life, visit http://www.nannymag.com.


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I am not a no-government-intervention sort of conservative, and generally support a reasonable amount of government regulation and other minimal/judicial intervention in the economy. However, for the life of me I cannot see the benefit of doling out billions to Chrysler Canada Inc.
Any money we give Chrysler Canada, including loans, will be lost. Chrysler was in deep trouble long before the current recession hit. Way back in early 2007, Daimler-Chrysler, the former parent company tried to unload the Chrysler portion of their operations.
Obviously Daimler saw that Chrysler was not likely to turn the corner as they did the last time they had to be rescued by the United States government with USD $1.5 billion in loan guarantees to avoid bankruptcy.
Daimler knew that this time, there was not then and is not now a Lee Iacocca sitting in the wings ready to lead a rescue and return the company to profitability. And so Daimler sold off some 80% of it holdings in Chrysler. Then, in Oct. 2008, Daimler announced that its stake (about 20%) in Chrysler had a book value of zero dollars after write offs and charges.
Chrysler reported losses of USD $1.5 billion in 2006. It then began to lay off thousands employees from 2007 on. None of this has turned their operations around.
Chrysler is a goner. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s and Premier Dalton McGuinty’s governments should put the money aside to assist directly those families and individuals who are all going to lose their jobs rather than wasting it trying to save this company.
And as far as Chrysler’s recent attempt to blackmail our province and country—tell them to get stuffed!


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Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold 17 million copies since its Oct. 26 release, parent company Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. said in a Nov. 7 earnings release.
That surpasses the total lifetime sales tally for the original Western open-world game Red Dead Redemption, released eight years ago, in 2010.
Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick said in the release that the game sequel is the label’s “first game built from the ground up for the current console generation. Red Dead Redemption 2 has received outstanding reviews, with numerous critics awarding the title a perfect score. The title is now tied with Grand Theft Auto V as the highest rated title on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a 97 Metacritic score.
“A massive commercial success, Red Dead Redemption 2 has set numerous records, including achieving the biggest opening weekend in the history of entertainment, with over $725 million in retail sell-through during its first three days. Red Dead Redemption 2 sold-in more units in its first eight days than the original blockbuster Red Dead Redemption sold in its first eight years….
“As a result of our strong second quarter performance and outstanding early results from Red Dead Redemption 2, we are raising our financial outlook for fiscal 2019…. Looking ahead, we have a strong development pipeline across our labels and are exceedingly well positioned for long-term growth and margin expansion.”
On a subsequent earnings call with analysts, Zelnick noted that Red Dead Redemption 2 is a “collaboration among all of Rockstar Game studios worldwide, including more than 2,000 team members.” The game, he continued, “features the deepest and most expansive Rockstar world to date.”
Take-Two reported strong results for its fiscal second quarter 2019 ended Sept. 30, 2018. Net revenue grew 11% to $492.7 million, as compared to $443.6 million in last year’s fiscal second quarter. Recurrent consumer spending (virtual currency, add-on content and in-game purchases) grew 12% and accounted for 49% of total net revenue.
The largest contributors to net revenue in fiscal second quarter 2019 were NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K18, Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K Online 2, Dragon City and Monster Legends, and WWE SuperCard.
Digitally-delivered net revenue grew 18% to $358.4 million, as compared to $302.9 million in last year’s fiscal second quarter, and accounted for 73% of total net revenue.
The largest contributors to digitally-delivered net revenue in fiscal second quarter 2019 were Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K18 and NBA 2K19, NBA 2K Online 2, Monster Legends and Dragon City, and WWE SuperCard.


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SANTA BARBARA — The marketing industry has been thrown in to turmoil by a collection of digital privacy scandals and regulatory responses that have changed the nature of ad targeting.
But it will recover as one which executes similar opportunities on a different basis.
That is according to one of the arch deal makers responsible for stewarding billions of dollars in ad-tech M&A activity in the last few years.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, LUMA Partners founder and CEO Terry Kawaja describes the impact of the “tech-lash”, the GDPR and CCPA legislation providing a response, and how ad-tech is refocusing from indiscriminate targeting to truly understanding real users.
“That has basically put us in a world now of a lot of uncertainty,” Kawaja says. “We really don’t know what’s going to happen. What shape is the regulation going to take and what restrictions will that put on marketers?
“If the cookie’s gone, what replacement identity opportunities and platforms will there be and what technology will that necessarily need to utilise? And can you even scale it if it’s only based on first party data?”
Kawaja notes that GDPR, Europe’s regulation limiting use of citizens’ data to a strict opt-in basis, prompted a big dip in ad-tech deals. But he says deals picked up again once people figured out how to negotiate the new rules.
Alongside all that, the rise in subscription content is causing some ad buyers to fret that good inventory may be drying up.
But Kawaja remains optimistic.
“I think there is no question that consumers do, when provided the facts around the implicit trade-off they have between free content and utility versus seeing ads, that they will in fact opt in for that,” Kawaja says.
“We’ve seen it with GDPR. The consents are (showing) low single-digit-opt out, and so I think the net (result) of all of this focus will be to change the implicit value trade-off to an explicit one where consumers understand the premise and opt in.”
This video is from a series leading up to, and covering, the Xandr Relevance Conference in Santa Barbara. This Beet.TV series is sponsored by Xandr. Please visit this page to find more videos from the series.


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The decision by Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz to step down is fueling speculation of a 2020 presidential run. There is no need to speculate on Schultz’ enduring impact on the rules of corporate behavior.
After announcing his decision, Schultz didn’t spare his criticism of President Donald Trump, the “political class” and Democrats. “My concern is for the country,” Schultz said in an interview with CNN Money. “I think we can do much better. I think the political class as a whole has been reckless.”
No one could accuse Schultz of being a timid businessman. He traveled to Italy in 1983, became enamored with Italian espresso bars and launched a US version in Seattle in 1984.
“Starbucks started hosting Facebook promotions in 2009, before most restaurants had even figured out this was a space they needed to be in,” Forbes reported. “While most brands were still experimenting with mobile payments in 2014, Starbucks was generating double-digit transactions from the channel.”
Commercial success put Starbucks on the map, but arguably Schultz earned his iconic status by what he did for his employees and what he viewed as his communities. Schultz often said Starbucks was in the “experience” business, not the “coffee” business.
Under his aegis, Starbucks offered health benefits for employees – and extended those benefits to employee domestic partners 11 years before domestic partnerships were recognized in the United States. Employees can receive reimbursement for earning a college degree online through Arizona State University.
Struck by the challenges facing returning US military veterans, Schultz committed Starbucks to hire them and their spouses. Since making the pledge in 2013, Starbucks says it has hired more than 15,000 veterans and military spouses, exceeding the original commitment of 10,000 hires. Starbucks has renewed the pledge to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses by 2025. The coffee giant also plans to dedicate more than 100 military/family stores where veterans and military spouses can connect with peers facing similar transitional challenges.
“We strive to bridge the divide between the 1 percent of Americans who have served in the US military and the 99 percent who have not,” says Starbucks on its website.
After a recent incident in Philadelphia when a Starbucks manager called police to remove two black men, Schultz undertook a company-wide effort to provide employees with anti-bias training. The four-hour training affected employees at 8,000 company stores, which were closed for an afternoon. Schultz took a beating on social media and was greeted with skepticism that a single training session could alter deep-seated, often unconscious bias.
Schultz lets criticism roll off his back. When a Starbucks shareholder expressed disappointment at the company’s support for gay marriage, Schultz shot back, "Not every decision is an economic decision."
“As a business leader, my quest has never been just about winning or making money,” Schultz says. “It has also been about building a great, enduring company, which has always meant striking a balance between profit and social conscience." It’s worth noting the value of Starbucks’ shares since the company’s initial public offering in 1992 has risen 21,000 percent.
Schultz seems unlikely to slip out of sight. Americans may see him on the political stump advocating his brand of leadership in a global environment.
Gary Conkling is principal and co-founder of CFM Strategic Communications, and he leads the firm's PR practice, specializing in crisis communications. He is a former journalist, who later worked on Capitol Hill and represented a major Oregon company. But most importantly, he’s a die-hard Ducks fan. You can reach Gary at email@example.com and you can follow him on Twitter at @GaryConkling


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Now Imported Tilapia (Furro/ Wass” in our Dinner Tables and Restaurants!!!!
As “Chalo or Kobo” — the traditional Gambian delicacy — are now threatened with extinction:
Alagi Yorro Jallow
Mamudu: I am perplexed and still amazed how farm raised tilapia (‘furro or wass’) from China manages to pass through customs and phytosanitary controls at our ports. It is just recently that the USA banned farm raised fish and shrimp imports from China due to drug residues and poor aquaculture practices like feeding salmonella laden pig and geese manure to fish.
Mamudu: How Chinese fish got past veterinary control services at the port of entry in the Gambia, then found its way into dinner tables in Bakau, Banjul, Brusubi, Pipeline and in rural Gambia is puzzling. The country’s border control officials are corrupt beyond repair. They can pass snake venom as human food if you can part with the right amount of money. If we can eat farm raised tilapia from China, despite the ongoing health concerns, then Gambia’s phytosanitary standards must be concern for the Health department.
Mamudu: The Gambia imports frozen tilapia, frozen mackerels, sardines, prawns and salmons among others imports frozen tuna, octopus, frozen whole tilapia fillets from China and lobsters caught in the, lakes and the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The country has a large exclusive fishing zone with potential to produce tons of fish annually estimated at about billions of Dalasis. However, it is yet to optimally utilize the opportunity.
Mamudu: Fishing is the mainstay of river-side communities in Badibou, Niumi, Kiang and Jarra. It has fueled the economy and provided employment for decades, but these days overfishing, a lack of infrastructure and cheap Chinese imports have hit the industry hard. The Gambia’s fish stocks have been ailing and its main competitor are European Union and China, one of the world’s largest economies and leading fish producers. The increased demand from Gambia’s fish-hungry population means the country is relying on frozen farmed imports. The traditional tilapia delicacy leads the way in the decline in the Gambia fish population while government gives fisheries no respite.
The Gambia’s Fisheries ministry has failed to save its country’s diminishing fish stocks. Majority of Gambians depend on the fish caught off shore for their basic protein needs, but because of the river waters are becoming increasingly overfished by European trawlers. Many species, including “Chalo or Kobo” — the traditional Gambian delicacy — are now threatened with extinction.
Mamudu: I was livid when I discovered from a restaurateur who confirmed that they were purchasing their tilapia fillets from suppliers, who were sourcing their tilapia from global markets including China. The Gambian in me couldn’t accept this scenario. This restaurateur (name withheld) revealed that they serve approximately 5000 meals per day, fish fillets in various forms (grilled, battered and fried, curried etc.) were popular options and accounted about 10% of sales about 1200 fish meals a day. He added that “the tilapia fillets were of a specific size (approx. 225-250gms per fillet) and the customers had come to expect that size as a brand standard, deviations from the size met with disappointment and/or anger from customers”. Digging into the numbers, according to the restaurateur, one fish gives you 2 fillets. The restaurant consumed about 1200 fillets per day, which translates to about 600 tilapia fish…daily that the restaurant served.
Mamudu: Armed with the numbers. Is it possible to get suppliers that could supply the restaurant and other eateries with local tilapia fillets 1200 per day or more,365 days a year? Now the reality hit, why they couldn’t find a single local fish processor/supplier who could consistently fill this order of tilapia rather from China.
Mamudu: How can the Honorable minister of Fisheries delved into the debate of local vs import fish tilapia, logistics, infrastructure (refrigeration, roads etc.)
1. The local vs imports debate independently of building local supply chain capacity.
2. Passionate building local capacity that reacts the demands of the market.
3. Create avenues to fund local scalable fish farmers/processors then revisit the debate.
Mamudu: The Gambia government need to take the responsibility of enabling sustainable incomes and livelihoods for their citizens. The governments also need to tackle overcapacity, the destruction of fisheries, ecosystem preservation, as well as control and surveillance. In fact, a reduction of the fishing activity for some years would help restore stocks to a level enabling fishermen to catch and earn more income than they currently do, without depleting the resource in the long term


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Is shutting your website to go mobile a wise decision?
Myntra’s decision in favour of a mobile app-only presence was based on the fact that by April, nearly 90% of its traffic and 70% of its business was coming from mobile phones.
June 29, 2015, 08:09 IST
BENGALURU: When Myntra decided to shut its website last month to exist only as a mobile application, its bold gamble triggered a frenzied debate among Indian startups — should they too kill their web avatars to focus on delivering a great experience on smartphones, as that’s where most Indians are nowadays. Shamik Sharma, chief technology officer at Myntra, certainly believes so, asserting in an ETtech.com discussion on the web versus mobile debate that India is fast developing into a mobileonly market.
His co-panelists - Alok Goel, former CEO of Freecharge; Amit Somani, managing partner at Angel-Prime; and Brij Bhasin, principal at Rebright Partners — too emphasised that consumer internet companies in India must focus on mobile strategy, although they were more tempered on whether startups should be shuttering their websites.
Myntra’s decision in favour of a mobile app-only presence was based on the fact that by April, nearly 90% of its traffic and 70% of its business was coming from mobile phones, said Sharma. “It isn’t about the money but just the realisation that if we don’t build (a mobile-only product), somebody else is going to build it and whoever builds that is going to be the winner,” he said. India has more than 900 million mobile phone users, second only to China which boasts of 1.3 billion mobile subscriptions.
(In pic: Brij Bhasin, principal of Rebright Partners, Alok Goel, ex-CEO of Freecharge, Amit Somani, managing partner of AngelPrime & Shamik Sharma, CTO of Myntra) Currently, only 15% of the mobile phone users in India are smartphone users, but that number is set to increase, according to veteran analyst Mary Meeker’s internet Trend Report 2015. With 232 million internet users, India is also the third-largest internet market, with nearly 65% of the country’s internet traffic coming from mobile phones, according to Statcounter.
For new startups, a well thoughtout mobile strategy has become a must, the panelists said. “On the consumer side, if the entrepreneurs don’t have a mobile strategy or mobile product, then we are not even interested to have the (funding) conversation really,” said Somani of AngelPrime, an early-toseed stage investor. “Definitely, if you are doing anything where you are not in mobile, then it is a huge red flag right now.”
While many startups tend to focus only on mobile apps, a mobile web presence is also important, said Bhasin, principal at Rebright Partners, a Japanese seed-stage investment firm.
“From our portfolio in South East Asia region, about 70-80% of traffic is mobile but that is mobile web, not as much is on app-only,” he said.
For Goel of Freecharge, the mobile payments firm Snapdeal acquired recently in India’s largest consumer internet buyout, the essence of the web versus mobile debate is customer centricity. Goel was also former COO at online bus ticketing company redBus.
“Mobile-only is not all about shutting down your desktop site or mobile web version,” he said, “but it is more about thinking about innovative strategies in which you are using mobile in a way that you add value to the customer’s life.”
Airtel and Vodafone Idea are closely monitoring Huawei’s global situation and may opt for other telecom gear vendors or devise a plan 'B' to avoid any future network-related challenge if the situation doesn't ease for the Chinese vendors in terms of supply chain issues due to curbs imposed by the US government.
BSNL Board has approved Chinese ZTE and Finnish Nokia for the proprietary migration of as many as 49,300 2G and 3G sites to fourth-generation (4G) worth about Rs 2,300 crore as the state-run telco seeks the fastest route to offer next-generation services.


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More than 130 shiny, pristine Corvettes in a rainbow of colors, and from different car generations, lined the parking area between the shops of Pinnacle Hills Promenade Mall on Saturday (August 22) at the 19th annual Summer’s End Corvette Car Show, put on by the NWA Corvette Club.
Car owners from as far away as California, Wisconsin, Nebraska, New Jersey and Texas showed off their Corvettes to a wide audience of car enthusiasts, families and couples. Corvettes on display ranged from a vintage 1957 model to a brand new 2015, 7th generation Corvette, with over 700 horsepower.
Jon Simmonds, Chevrolet of Fayetteville’s expert on the Corvette, said the Corvette is unique because of its history, innovations and because it is “the American sports car.”
According to Richard Peak, vice president of the NWA Corvette Club and co-chair of the event, each Corvette owner paid $40 to register their car for the show. He said the money raised, plus additional donations, will benefit two local charities: The Elizabeth Richardson Center (www.ercinc.org), which “enhances the quality of life for individuals with disabilities;” and the Chase Family Foundation (www.chasefamilyfoundation), which helps veterans, shut-ins, and women and children in domestic violence situations. The foundation also helps provide pet food to people who can’t afford to feed their pets.
Peak said last year the Corvette Club wrote checks to three charities for a total of $17,500. This year the Club is hoping to be able to give away $20,000. Each year, club members vote on different charities to support, Peak said. They look at the needs the charities meet, and only help those charities from Benton and Washington counties that don’t receive federal or state money.
“We do all we can to raise as much money as we can for our charities,’” Peak said. “Charities are first and foremost. That’s the only reason we do this, besides the camaraderie.”
Peak said area car club members make friends from all over the country through the event and hear back from many of the attendees who are complimentary of the show.
“They call it the premier car show of the Midwest,” he said. “Every year it gets better and better and every year we make so many friends.”
The car show, sponsored by Chevrolet of Fayetteville and Everett Chevrolet, began on Friday (Aug. 21), with a cruise to tour Core Brewery in Fayetteville; and then on to Tontitown Winery and Vineyard for samplings there. Complimentary hamburgers, hot dogs, a cash bar, live entertainment and a silent auction rounded out the evening.
On Saturday morning (Aug. 22), the Corvette ladies enjoyed a private fashion show at the Promenade Dillard’s with giveaways ranging from a $200 purse to a $250 gift certificate. During the day, local car club members judged the Corvettes entered in the show, while attendees watched remote control Corvette car races and chatted with Corvette owners.
Saturday night, registrants were treated to a private Hawaiian party, which included cocktails, dinner and an awards presentation.
The NWA Corvette Club, established in 1996, is one of the largest Corvette Clubs in Arkansas and has about 100 members, according to their website.