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Following Micheldever Tyres Services (MTS) establishment of Micheldever Fleet Solution fleet tyre operation a year ago, the company has developed both the depth and scale of its fleet tyre offering. One example of the practical application of MFS’s offering can be found in Auto Windscreen fleet. Shaun Atton, Auto Windscreens’ Head of Fleet and Facilities. Atton, who manages Auto Windscreens’ 354-strong fleet of vehicles across 64 UK sites, shared how the fleet support services provided by MFS work to bring “peace of mind” to the business:
While Continental’s General Tire brand may be best known for its off-road and all-terrain products, General Tire offers a wide range of road tyres. The Grabber GT Plus is the latest tyre to join the General Tire line-up. Replacing the Grabber GT, the Grabber GT Plus offers “a marked improvement in performance in all areas including economy and safety”, according to its manufacturer. Specifically, this means a 12 per cent reduction in rolling resistance and a five per cent improvement in mileage along with “enhanced wet-weather performance”.
Falken Tyre Europe will increase the prices of its entire product portfolio by nine per cent on 1 May 2022. Falken states the increase reflects global rises in costs for raw materials, energy, and logistics. This price rise does not affect UK Falken customers, where the brand is distributed exclusively by Micheldever Tyre Services. Like Falken, MTS is owned by Sumitomo Rubber Industries. A Falken spokesperson told Tyrepress that MTS would inform its customers of any price rise affecting the UK.
With multiple sources suggesting that the online tyre business broke new ground during 2020, but with data illustrating that trend less easy to come by, Tyres & Accessories caught up with Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) wholesale director Graham Mitchell in order to get a leading tyre wholesaler’s perspective. Starting by setting the company’s recent online tyre business performance into the context of its recent history, our interview looks to the future of the online tyre business and touches on the importance of search engine marketing in the tyre trade.
Falken Tire Europe GmbH has now announced in a letter to its business partners that it is implementing new price lists effective 1 January 2022 for both the Falken brand and for Sumitomo tyres. The price increases are considerable and extend well into the double-digit range. At the same time, the manufacturer is revising down certain price adjustments announced in September for the new year. However, both sets of price increases are limited to the German-speaking markets with Falken/Sumitomo Rubber representatives confirming to Tyres & Accessories that the price increases do not apply in the UK.
The complexity of the UK tyre wholesale sector has certainly ramped up considerably thanks to what may be termed an almost perfect storm of external factors relating both to the Covid pandemic and Brexit. With retail margins on consumer tyres already very fine, the wholesale sector has been key in keeping price increases under control, especially considering the spiralling cost of shipping. But as those in the sector know, the value wholesalers add within the distribution chain is a considerably wider subject than purely price. Arguably, the service dimension has never been more important than in the last 18 months, as retail businesses adapted to a market transformed by externalities. Tyres & Accessories asked Graham Mitchell, Micheldever Tyre Services wholesale director, about how the business is faring in 2021, starting with its performance this year.
80 guests became the first European customers to test drive the new GT Radial SportActive 2 and FE2 at GT Radial’s first Mira Drive and Ride event for almost two years. Potential new dealers, supported by select GT Radial Performance Centre (GTPC) owners, got back on track under Covid secure conditions over two days, during which GT Radial’s exclusive UK distributor over the last decade, Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS), presented the brand’s product portfolio. All attendees were invited to experience high speed circuits in the new BMW 5 Series of Giti Tire’s country manager – UK, Brian McDermott who put his own car on the redline.
Micheldever Tyre Services has almost doubled its sales of BFGoodrich tyres since becoming the brand’s official 4×4 wholesaler in the UK at the start of 2020. The agreement sees the Winchester-based business – which has established a wholesale distribution network of 15 sites around the country, supplying more than 6,000 retailers nationwide – stock a large selection of BFGoodrich’s All Terrain T/A KO2 and Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 ranges, helping to ensure excellent product availability throughout the year.
General Tire’s Altimax One S is the heritage-rich Continental group brand’s successor to the Altimax Sport, offering reliable dry performance, increased wet grip, and higher mileage due to its silica enriched rubber compound. The tyre is available in the UK from exclusive distributor Micheldever Tyre Services in a broad range of 15 to 20” sizes, approved for speeds of up to 186 mph.
Phil May, owner of Strood based RM Tyres, passed the million-pound milestone at the end of February, the peak of 12 months during which his company has seen an unprecedented increase in online sales. For all of the tyre sales processed by RM Tyres through TyreClick, 28 per cent have come in the past 12 months, an indication of the surge in consumers opting to buy their tyres online.
Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) reports that it is offers a “gripping” SUV proposition for retail customers in 2021, with a range of new products available to its tyre retailer network. According to the company, MTS supplies SUV tyres to over 6,000 customers, including a national network of over 250 independent 4×4 and SUV tyre specialists. Changes include new upgraded patterns, helping to bolster MTS’s range of SUV tyres – for both for on and off-road usage.
Falken Tyres will sponsor a series of television programmes on UKTV’s entertainment channel, Dave. The first national TV advertising campaign for the Sumitomo Rubber Industries global tyre brand was developed by the brand’s UK distributor Micheldever Tyre Services and its partner agency Spark Foundry. Falken idents will appear before and after selected programmes – collectively called “Characters on Dave” – between February and November 2021. These programmes include the popular entertainment shows QI XL, Travel Man, and Would I Lie To You?
Micheldever Tyre Service’s wholesale team covered almost 2000km by foot and bike in raising £11,000 for men’s health charities in November. The 28-strong team is sending the funs to organisations involved in providing support and raising awareness for prostate and testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. Various team members also sported newly grown moustaches for “Movember”. Readers can find the MTS team fundraising page here.
A couple of weeks after the end of the UK’s second lockdown, Tyres & Accessories spoke with Micheldever Tyre Services wholesale director Graham Mitchell. Since Mitchell was part of the panel in our inaugural “Kickstarting your tyre business” webinar in May 2020 at the end of the first lockdown, we thought it would be good to catch up at the end of the year and compare the differences between the first and second lockdowns. In short, while many shops closed during the first lockdown, the vast majority were open for business during the second. We also discussed 2020 as a whole and looked forward to 2021.


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Hurtigruten Expeditions announced its first-ever African itineraries as the expedition cruise line adds the Bissagos Islands and Cape Verde to a growing list of destinations.
Hurtigruten’s 13-day itinerary around the West Coast of Africa will highlight four countries, including Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal, with MS Spitsbergen based out of Dakar, one of Africa’s most bustling cities.
The expansion into Africa follows the cruise line’s recent announcement of year-round expedition cruises to the Galapagos Islands starting early 2022. Hurtigruten will also introduce a series of itineraries to the Canary Islands and Madeira for the 2022-23 seasons.
“2022 will be one of the most adventurous years for Hurtigruten Expeditions,” Hurtigruten CEO Asta Lassesen said. “We will start the year by launching our Galapagos operations in January, and at the end of the year, we will introduce our first African cruises. We are very excited about expanding to new unique destinations, which complements our Caribbean and South American expedition cruises and strengthens our global position.”
Hurtigruten’s first-ever African voyage will depart on November 27, 2022, with additional cruises departing from Dakar on December 9 and 21, 2022, and January 2 and 14, 2023.
Travelers booking sailings with the cruise line will explore Cape Verde and the Bissagos onboard MS Spitsbergen. The small expedition cruise ship provided an intimate and exclusive setting for less than 200 guests.

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WordPress.com, the fully hosted version of WordPress, has a received one of its biggest updates ever. Codenamed Calypso, Automattic, the company behind wordpress.com rewrote WordPress.com from scratch — everything is new under the hood. Here are the big changes.
WordPress.com is now fully separated from the WordPress core. WordPress.com is now an admin interface that interacts with the WordPress core just like any other third-party interface and app out there. It uses a REST API to fetch your posts, publish new ones, upload photos and more.
It’s a Single Page Application, meaning that you will get very few loading screens when you interact with the interface. It should work well on your phone and tablet as well — everything is responsive.
The code was also made is open source and is on GitHub. You can look at the code, fork it and reuse it as long as you comply with the GNU General Public License version 2.
25 percent of the web today runs on WordPress. With today’s move, Automattic proves that it is still aware of its environment and potential threats. It’s an encouraging sign for the future of WordPress.FOLLOW US ON:


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Eric Ries witnessed the dot-com implosion and has the failed company to prove it. His new startup's success shows he's learned from mistakes
Being a tech prodigy wasn't always easy for Eric Ries. He knew the Java programming language well enough as a high schooler to co-author two books on the subject, but couldn't be forthcoming about his age when it came time to find a publisher to back his work.
Still, getting an early start in tech paid off in other ways for Ries, 28, co-founder of IMVU.com, an avatar-creation and instant-messaging service that's lined up more than $8 million in venture funding. Unlike some other under-30 entrepreneurs who had yet to join the workforce when the dot-com bubble burst, Ries was there in the thick of it, and he has the failed company to prove it.
While pursuing a degree in computer science at Yale, Ries took cues from young techies in Silicon Valley who had no problem getting VC firms to back their software dreams. So he and a roommate started CatalystRecruiting.com, an online database of student résumés, and lined up their own slice of the VC pie. "In retrospect it was not such a good idea for investors to give money to kids who just barely knew what they were doing," Ries says. "They were just throwing money at these companies. But when the bubble burst we had no chance."
That project shattered, Ries set out for Silicon Valley after graduation in search of guidance and a chance to start over. He found both thanks to Will Harvey, then an executive at There.com, a 3D social networking site that preceded such virtual-life projects as IMVU and Second Life. Neither is sure how Ries' résumé ended up on Harvey's desk, but the two saw it as fate and dove headlong into the second wave of dot-coms, this one characterized by a consumer-oriented Web, where users create content and shape a site's direction.
Soon another lesson would begin. Ries describes There.com as a "traditional VC-model startup," characterized by high fixed costs, a focused marketing strategy—and an underdeveloped sense of what consumers want. "They start a marketing buzz and a beautiful PR launch," he says of the strategy too often pursued by startups, There.com included. Ries rattles off other hallmarks: blow through cash by bulking up on staff, hire a vice-president of marketing "and the burn rate keeps growing." The trouble is, "they never tested if there would be immediate consumer adoption," Ries says. Worse, the company couldn't easily adapt to change, he says. "It was rigid and top-down." Neither Ries nor Harvey lasted long.
For Ries, try No. 3 would be a charm. After losing their jobs at There.com, Ries and Harvey began working on their own startup, IMVU. This time, Ries says, the lessons stuck. "I knew I couldn't just be a tech entrepreneur," he says. "The tech strategy needs to be determined by the business strategy, not the other way around," he says. So the company's first meeting was all about determining culture and values. "Startups don't fail from lack of technology," he says. "They fail from lack of customers."
Early on in his tenure as IMVU's chief technology officer, Ries audited a class at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. The instructor, Steve Blank, was so impressed with Ries' attention to strategy and understanding of business R&D, that he called Shawn Carolan, a managing director at Menlo Ventures, and advised him to invest. Carolan describes Ries as the guy who would go out and read a business strategy book the moment someone mentioned it.
Menlo became a backer, as did Allegis Capital (IMVU also had angel investors). "In the consumer market you have to have humility to admit you don't know exactly what the consumer wants, so that you can be proactive and test features and make changes," Carolan says. "Eric has an unusual amount of humility and he is unique as a tech person in his ability to be strategic in his business."
Keeping Costs in Check
Part of that strategy was taking the product to the customer for testing as early as possible and keeping site development costs low. IMVU.com had a beta version up and running within six months. By contrast, there hadn't been a test of There.com in its first five years. To prove that the product resonates with customers, there is a small fee associated with participation, and so far, the test phase has met or exceeded the corresponding financial targets.
Additionally, Ries has helped keep expenses in check by adopting a low-cost, low-risk software development process that maximizes ways to improve the site. It's a smart move that sets IMVU apart, says Edward Castronova, author of Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games. "The fixed-cost element will start to go down with new software innovations, but the demand for the product will continue to grow exponentially," Castronova says.
Kind of like Ries' penchant for learning from early stumbles.


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2022 is a special year for SAP, with the enterprise software giant celebrating its 50th anniversary. This year’s SAP TechEd, November 15-16, offers a special review involving innovative technologies to mark the occasion.
An NFT (non-fungible token) drop offering 15 pieces of digital art designed specifically for the event and the anniversary will be made available via digital codes during the sessions.
“Those registered for SAP TechEd may participate in the NFT drop during the live event and collect 15 NFTs,” Marcus Krug, head of SAP Innovation Center Potsdam, explains. His team developed and implemented the NFT drop.
Registered SAP TechEd participants will receive access to a Web app, including a collector’s album for NFTs. “The album appears as a timeline of SAP’s history,” Krug says. “There’s a lot of fascinating stuff to learn about our company while being introduced to NFT technologies in a gamified way.”
In live keynotes, online or onsite workshops, virtual lectures, and breakout sessions, attentive participants will spot QR codes and short links in announcement windows that can be used to claim NFTs. After the event, participants can transfer the NFTs to their private digital wallets.
“And for those who discovered and collected all 15 NFTs, an additional surprise is waiting,” Krug says.
But what will participants actually be collecting?
What Are NFTs?
NFTs – non-fungible tokens – are digital assets managed by a blockchain network. Usually, they are representations of a digital or physical asset, very often artwork.
“Non-fungible” means the asset is unmistakable and cannot be reproduced. This process of creating the asset on the blockchain is called minting. A smart contract on a public blockchain ensures the unique value of a digital piece of art.
NFTs can be bought and sold online, often with cryptocurrencies. For this purpose, there are specific NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and Rarible on which thousands of artists and collectors are hosted.
The NFT drop for SAP TechEd was initiated by Juergen Mueller, chief technology officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, who had explored the emerging technology earlier in the year as a fun private project.
“It’ll be interesting to see whether NFTs gain relevance in the enterprise context,” Mueller says. “Already today, digital proof of ownership for digital or physical assets is useful for customer brand engagement with luxury goods such as jewelry or sneakers. On a broader scale, this digital proof of ownership could also be leveraged in the area of supply chain management to provide a single source of truth to all stakeholders.”
Usage scenarios such as the latter are still some time off. Still, NFTs are being leveraged for various digital and physical assets such as videos, sports highlights, artwork, and music.
15 Iconic Moments in SAP History as Digital Pieces of Art
The collector’s album is a Web application running on a standard Web browser for desktop or mobile.
When participants register for the NFT drop, the album shows placeholders already pointing to the most critical milestones in SAP history. The details become visible once the NFT has been collected via a QR code or link.
“In principle, the NFT drop is a technological elevation of the sticker album that most of us still know from childhood,” Krug says. “Duplicates may be swapped, of course.”
The 15 NFTs trace SAP’s path from a five-person startup in 1972 to a multinational enterprise with 110,000 employees in 2022. The NFTs from SAP TechEd cannot be sold or purchased.
“These NFTs are only available at SAP TechEd 2022, exclusively for participants,” Krug stresses. “It is a unique opportunity to win a lasting piece of SAP history, captured artistically.”


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Sony may have come up with the next big idea for merging smartphones and high-quality photography. The Japanese tech giant has created “lens cameras,” leaked in a series of press photos yesterday, that are essentially lenses with built-in sensors and processors that can attach to a smartphone. Once tethered, using NFC or Wi-Fi, the handset’s screen becomes a digital viewfinder.
The high resolution images were leaked by SonyAlphaRumors, following some very low quality mock-ups that showed up online last month. Making yesterday’s leak even more profound is the fact that Sony’s rumored 20MP “Honami” appears to be what the lens camera is attached to.
Sony’s lens cameras will be offered in two variations, reportedly dubbed the DSC-QX10 and the DSC-QX100.
“The [DSC-QX10] will be the pricier big boy of the bunch. It’ll hit shelves packing the same 20.2-megapixel sensor and Carl Zeiss glass found in/on Sony’s powerful RX100 Mark II compact,” stated PetaPixel. The RX100 Mark II is considered by many to be the crème de la crème of compact cameras, with its one-inch Exmor R sensor and f/1.8 lens.
“The [DSC-QX100] will be the smaller, more affordable option that will feature an 18-megapixel 1/2.3-inch sensor and 10x optical zoom,” PetaPixel continued. It will sport a 10x zoom lens, similar to the Sony WX150 point-and-shoot.
The RX100 Mark II and WX150 retail for $600 and $400, respectively – a possible indication of what kind of price point these lens cameras could carry.
Each of Sony’s purported lens cameras will be equipped with a Bionz processor, Wi-Fi/NFC connectivity, and a SD card slot. They will be compatible with both iOS and Android devices – not limited to Sony smartphones. It also appears that the lenses will mount magnetically.
With smartphone makers releasing high-megapixel, photography-oriented handsets like the 41MP Nokia Lumia 1020 and the Samsung Galaxy Zoom, the DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 could potentially fill the gap between strong phone-based cameras and professional full-sized shooters.
“With these new peripherals, Sony may finally be able to help amateur photographers close the distance on the image quality of a DSLR with a smartphone or tablet,” said TechRadar.
The Sony Honami, also referred to as the Xperia i1, is expected to debut at the IFA conference in Berlin next month. It is expected to include a 5-inch 1080p “Triluminous” display with X-Reality, a Snapdragon 800 CPU rated at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage with a microSD slot, and a large 3000 mAh battery with “Stamina Mode.”


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Concept Image: Ben Geskin
It looks like the internet has upped the ante when it comes to Note 10 leaks.
While we’ve seen a heap of info and renders so far, this appears to be the first actual imagery of a real life Galaxy Note 10.
This leak comes courtesy of TechTalkTV over on YouTube. They are claiming that these pictures were sent exclusively to them from a subscriber via Instagram.
The first thing that the images reveal is the name of the high end variant of the device on the boot screen. While the Note 10 Pro has been floated as a possibility up until now, these pictures ‘confirm’ that it will in fact be called the Note 10+.
This isn’t entirely surprising as it does follow in the footsteps of its previous naming conventions, such as the Galaxy S10+, but we’ll take it.
The images also confirm the render leaks that showed the Infinity-O cutout living at the centre of the device. It also backs up the rumour that it would be a single hole, as opposed to the pill shaped that can be found on the S10.
— TechTalkTV (@Mr_TechTalkTV) June 28, 2019
Pictures of the rear of the device also solidify the leaks that suggested that the camera lenses would sit vertically on the left hand side. Again, this is a change from the S10, which had a horizontal rear camera arrangement.
It seems that the Time of Flight and anti-flash have also been confirmed by these images.
Sadly, the bottom of the device is not clear in any of the pictures, so the rumour that the headphone jack has been removed can’t be confirmed.
You can watch the entire video here and keep up to date with all of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 rumours in our rolling round up.
As always, it’s important to remember that these may not end up being legit. We won’t know any actual facts until the device launches at Unpacked in New York on August 8.


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Kirk Marine has moved to a new location in 454 Commercial Centre, Eastern Avenue, across the street from Kirk Supermarket & Pharmacy.
The new location is the largest marine store in Cayman, said Rosalind Robinson, marketing manager.
The company was previously located at 51 Lancaster Crescent in Industrial Park.
Ms Robinson said the new, larger location has enabled Kirk Marine to offer a wider range of goods and services, including beach wear lines with brand names such as Pelagic, Salt Life and Platypus, with more to come. The store also offers more water sports goods, such as stand up paddle boards from YOLO Board.
Kirk Marine’s parts and service, fishing supplies, boats and engines and personal watercraft departments are also bigger and have a wider range of products, including being the authorised dealer for BRP – Sea-Doo and Evinrude.
Kirk Marine’s move is one of several changes that have occurred since George Town Estates Ltd. purchased 454 Commercial Centre, formerly known as the Thompson Shipping Building.
Michael Ewer, of UK-based Gold Leaf Property Investments and Cayman-based George Town Estates, said the Cayman company purchased the property in February 2008 from Thompson Shipping, which leased back its space until its new premises were completed in January 2011 at the Cayman Shipping Centre Building in Industrial Park.
On Eastern Avenue, 454 Commercial Centre has nearly 20,000 square-feet of space on two floors. In the spring, Kirk Marine agreed to lease terms and began refurbishing its new space, which comprises 80 per cent of the ground floor, with Beltina’s Special Occasions occupying the rest of the ground floor, which totals nearly 10,000 square-feet.
The erstwhile Thompson Shipping Building was also the former home of Cayman Shoe Shop, which moved to 90c Godfrey Nixon Way, in the building next to Island Electronics. The shoe shop held its official grand opening for the Godfrey Nixon location on 31 March.
With the first floor of 454 Commercial Centre occupied by two primary tenants, the second floor consists of office suites ranging in size from 300 square feet and up.
“Upstairs there is nearly 10,000 square-feet of office space with a central corridor and various cellular offices on either side. The layout is ideal for small- to medium-sized businesses and the offices are being offered by the landlord on short term “easy in – easy out” contracts”, Mr. Ewer said.
The landlord is currently in the process of improving the building, he said, and executed two new leases just last week. He said there are still up to 15 office suites available in a variety of sizes, and ‘all-inclusive’ prices start at $195 per week.


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CCC Says: "Nothing lasts and, given the transitory nature of the world, it shouldn't come as a surprise. This is especially true in the world of gamers. Attention shifts, systems are replaced, developers go out of business, memory cards die. Yet, such an assertion is never truer than when looking at game betas. Thanks to Steam's acceptance of Early Access titles, more people are getting a chance to sample the early builds of what will one day be promising titles, taking part in a formative experience.
It's a growing experience, to be sure. It provides a better understanding of game development, a greater appreciation for the people making the games, and a chance to make a difference in a game you love. Unfortunately, it also means save wipes."


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Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, or DMCC, announced on Wednesday the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Economics World Zone, Jafza's parent company.
The purpose of the memorandum is to enhance trade and explore new collaboration between Dubai's leading Free Zones by sharing best market practices and access to state-of-the-art technology through trading platforms such as DMCC Tradeflow.
Jafza companies will benefit from a range of products available through DMCC Tradeflow, the only electronic central registry for commodity ownership in the region, and its value added services including Sharia compliant commodity Murabaha mechanisms, inventory financing, as well as certified storage facilities through DMCC's 'warehouse inspections and ratings programme'.
Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC, said: "This collaboration with Jafza marks a natural next step in how DMCC seeks to collaborate with Free Zones to offer market participants access to technology and infrastructure they need to trade efficiently, - and how we deliver the future of strategic partnerships for the benefit of Dubai's economic growth."
Ibrahim Mohammed Aljanahi, Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer of Jafza, said: "The DMCC Tradeflow platform has gained the trust of registered companies due to the transparency of operations and safety of the information shared. Companies also have easy access to funding by registering on the platform that has contributed to their expansion and growth in local and regional markets."
He emphasised, "Jafza has joined hands with DMCC to provide our customers with the facility to promote their trade. Our customers can list their companies and commodities on the DMCC Tradeflow platform to finance their businesses without hurdles." - email@example.com


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Google, being the biggest web browser company, recently made an announcement about their new plan to replace cookies as a response to the privacy-first worldwide advocacy. They finally opened up to the public the use of a new mechanism that will provide user-privacy yet will still deliver the same effectiveness just like cookies in terms of ad targeting.
When it comes to the 360-degree view of the customer, it means having a complete view of who they are. It means being able to see every angle of a customer’s interactions from the company, may it be online or offline, from the onset of knowing the brand until the moment he contacts the customer service for assistance.
Individual ad targeting has become the standard for online advertising, which heavily relied on web cookies. However, the effectiveness of web cookies had faced obstacles with more customers demanding information privacy. Over the years, online users have been deleting the web cookies, limiting their use, and even employing ad blockers.
Over the years, cookies have become an essential element of the internet. Even have become the most used method in identifying the users online, providing a personalized browsing experience.
If you are running a website, you should take CRO more seriously as it qualifies potential leads to real customers. There’s no point running a website but are not converting website visitors into loyal customers.
Technical SEO is the glue that sticks all your SEO efforts together. You can have the best website design and the best content in the world, but if you’re not doing technical SEO, you’re not going to get a good ranking.
If you’re not doing A/B tests, then, you’re missing a big opportunity for your business to earn more money. But where to start and what is A/B Testing? Since businesses have different target markets, marketing campaign results could vary. That is why it is important to do AB testing to determine which of the strategies work best.
Let's dive into marketing funnels and one of the main models of managing the funnel with the system of ToFU, MoFu, BoFu. What audience belongs to what stage and how to use the strength of this system.
The latest study shows that only 3% of site visitors end up making a purchase. This leaves business owners and marketers to make the site visitors eventually purchase their products or services. The people who visit your site for the first time but leave without buying anything will be lost forever unless you can bring them back.


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It is important for all of these details to be ironed out early in the process because of the sheer number of loads Dipcraft sends to the facilities. If something is wrong, that’s a huge setback. “If they’re trying to nestle an existing panel, they’ll have problems with leakage if the overlaps aren’t done properly,” Tobias notes. The shape is the toughest item to figure out, and Dipcraft often requires facility owners to send a piece of existing panel, a drawing or a photo.
Composite ‘Masonry’ Replaces Concrete
Piggybacking on the green movement, Minneapolis-based VAST Enterprises is carving out a niche in what they describe as composite masonry, or building structures solely from laying in individual units. Founded in 2006, the firm uses composite pavers to replace concrete in landscaping, parking lots, driveways and patios.
Though the company is new, the technology is several years old and involves precision plastics from the automotive industry. CEO Andy Vander Woude had been working with concrete pavers when composite lumber became popular. “I wondered why there couldn’t be an engineered approach to composite products. Trying to make a recyclable product seemed like a good idea, and led us to develop a new product category in composite masonry,” he says.
The company’s products are made from a combination of scrap tires and recycled plastics. UV stability was important so products would physically hold up after time and keep their color. The company also tested compressive strength and flexural strength so the products wouldn’t crack under intense weathering conditions such as rain and ice. Finally, chemical resistance was an important factor, particularly against salt used to remove snow as well as pool chemicals.
Vander Woude says a major advantage composites have over concrete relates to shipping. “A concrete plant can only ship its materials 100 to 150 miles before the economics overwhelm the cost structure. Composites can go nine times that distance,” he clarifies. Other problems he points out with concrete include difficulty in cutting, and slow, block by block, labor intensive installation.
Like other composites manufacturers in infrastructure, VAST is dogged by the liability-based, risk-averse nature of the industry. “Any new material, whether green or not, has to go through a lot of work to convince customers that its product is truly going to look as great as they say and will be a solid foundation,” says Vander Woude.
The company counteracts this resistance by beefing up its education efforts. They communicate results of lab testing and real-world installations in hopes of getting people over a fear of using new building materials. And Vander Woude thinks the escalation of “green” importance plays right into the company’s hands. “It’s creating a counter-force that compels people to look more at new technologies, causing them to reach out and embrace new things,” he says.


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Escalating concerns over the spread of the coronavirus are affecting every industry and sector, and retail and ecommerce are certainly no exception. This includes not only challenged supply chains in Asia and other affected countries but also things like runs on certain products in supermarkets and price clubs as consumers panic.
Softer-than-expected holiday sales drove Walmart’s Q4 2019 earnings below expectations, but strong ecommerce and online grocery sales provided buoyancy and optimism for the year ahead. U.S. ecommerce sales grew 35%, fueled largely by grocery pickup and delivery, propelling walmart.com to its highest quarterly growth of the year.
Prime Day saw 175 million items purchased by Prime members over the two days, according to Amazon, eclipsing its 2018 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined, while analysts pegged total GMV at $6 billion to $6.2 billion. See what other interesting statistics we found to paint a picture of the concocted “Christmas in July.”
During the past 12 months, several retailers have launched new scan & go pilots. Some are even calling this tired technology autonomous checkout, comparing it to systems from Amazon Go. But scan & go and autonomous checkout really have little in common. Here’s how the two tech-powered checkout processes differ.


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The members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) announced an update on its examination modernization project that was undertaken following the review of regulations under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA).
CUNA remains concerned about a very narrow definition of "bad faith" for patent assertion letters that would trigger enforcement actions under the Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill 30-22 this week.
A coalition of six Democratic senators introduced a data protection bill Thursday that would, in part, require companies that store sensitive personal or financial information on 10,000 customers or more to meet specified consumer privacy and data security standards to keep this information safe, and notify the customer within 30 days of a breach.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (4/30/15, UPDATED 10:55 a.m. ET)--The National Credit Union Administration this morning voted 2-1 to approve a rule to limit credit unions' use of associational common bonds to add to fields of membership.


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Compared to the U.S., Japan’s programmatic buying space is in its infancy. But to Rocket Fuel, this is the perfect time to stake a claim for its demand-side platform in that country, as the ad tech firm has been working on building a bigger global presence this year. But instead of just opening up its shop there and waiting for the programmatic market to catch up, Rocket Fuel has struck a strategic alliance with Dentsu digital marketing unit cyber communications inc.
“Although the concept of programmatic buying is still new in Japan, you have seen exchange players like OpenX expand their footprint there, so we feel this is the right moment to establish a leadership position,” said Richard Frankel, Rocket Fuel’s president and co-founder. “Over time, the opportunities around programmatic there are going to be tremendous. And the way to bring our technology to advertisers with the greatest efficiency and speed was to find a partner with the widest client base. By far, CCI is the largest digital player and their parent, Dentsu, is the largest ad agency in general. So that made obvious sense.”
With programmatic comprising a mere 2 percent of Japan’s total media buys, Frankel acknowledged that Japanese gains won’t significantly boost Rocket Fuel’s revenues in the near term. (Rocket Fuel says its compound annual growth rate exceeded 325 percent, and in 2011, the company grew revenue to $45 million as it achieved profitability.) But the connection with Dentsu through CCI could help it gain additional global brand clients.
“This week we’re having 200 CCI sales people being trained on how to sell programmatic buying,” Frankel said. “And they’ve been asking us to provide case studies showing how worldwide brands, particularly auto and packaged goods, are working with us and how they can apply that work in Japan. What we bring is our technology and CCI’s decision to partner with us is a validation of that. After all, there are native DSPs in Japan and certainly there’s a lot to choose from elsewhere. CCI’s stamp of approval will help us attract marketers rapidly.”
For the most part, Frankel expects the earliest adopters in the Japanese market will be the direct response players in travel, retail and finance, which is typical of most markets. Secondly, there’s a great deal of experimentation going on in Japan’s video ad space, especially in mobile video. Rocket Fuel plans to concentrate on developing that business heavily.
“Mobile RTB is functioning quite significantly both in the U.S. and Japan, though supply does far exceed the demand,” Frankel said. “The ad industry is still learning how to use that channel effectively. From Rocket Fuel’s perspective, all digital channels are similar. And we see our technology as a way for marketers to best employ mobile, social, video and display in general.”


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If Microsoft’s latest ad campaign goes well, the old image many people have of the company might be in for a change. The existing image of the company’s typical customer, made even more popular by Apple’s Mac vs PC TV ad campaigns, is that of someone on a work computer. Now that the Redmond WA software giant is ramping up its Windows 8 operating system for launch this year, it has launched a new ad campaign in an effort to give its brand image a facelift.
The company’s recent deal with Barnes & Noble, and its emphasis on the education market, could help Microsoft target the expanding college market for digital textbooks. This fits in quite well with the software giant’s new advertising strategy. The company is trying to repackage itself as “cool.” With the sleek Xbox entertainment console system and the sleek tiled design of Windows 8, it has the equipment to pull this off. The question is: will Microsoft succeed?
Its prospects look hopeful based on one factor: Windows 8. Windows 8 blends consumers’ experience of mobile devices and laptops. Indeed, the market is so curious regarding the new OS that Microsoft tweeted that over 1 million copies of Windows 8 Consumer preview within the first 24 hours of the beta’s availability. Additionally, Microsoft is buffing up the image of Internet Explorer. The company has been running ads touting the browser. The ad features a pulsing beat punctuated with very positive reviews regarding the browser’s beauty and simplicity. The ads attempted to turn a product that has been traditionally viewed by many consumers as having a low cool factor into a hot new product. The ad campaign even shows the software giant can poke fun at itself. A spot features a young guy undergoing therapy to stop his “addiction” of telling people to uninstall Internet Explorer. The campaign also features a complete website labeled “The Browser You Loved to Hate.” The site’s main navigation tabs piques readers’ curiosity and claims that the Internet Explorer is “good now” and follows up with “No, really.”
It looks like the advertising campaign is working since Internet Explorer just reversed a year of declining usage numbers. The browser’s market share is beginning to inch up again. It went up from 53.83 percent to 52.84 percent. This gain came at the expense of its rivals Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. While these numbers are not exactly something to write home about, they are substantial solely for the reason that this is the first time the venerable Microsoft browser has picked up market share in a year. Previous to these numbers, the browser was under a lot of pressure from Chrome.
Microsoft’s cool ad campaign goes beyond IE. Its Bing ads underwent a facelift this year by hitching its cool factor to professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce. The idea being that Bing is a search engine that puts you in the middle of the action. This is quite a change of direction for the search engine’s image. Previously, it wanted to be branded as a “decision engine.” Now, it is shooting to be the search engine that does things faster. According to an interview with the engine’s advertising director, the new ads are aimed at targeting Generation Y consumers which range in age from 18 to 34. Sharing the Explorer’s recent change in fortune, Bing also shows an increase in market share. It is now at 15.3 percent. In March of 2011, it only had a 13.9 market share.


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We’ve spotted an interesting looking, new fishing reel at the back of a UK sea angling magazine. There’s only a small picture to go on but the multiplier reels – which look to be manufactured predominantly for sea fishing – appear to be branded as ‘Akios’, a brand we haven’t heard of before. In fact searching for the brand online has almost drawn a complete blank. The only possible
link we could find is that the AKIOS trademark in the UK is owned by Sellfish Tackle Ltd – a company I had only linked with retailing until now.
Taking a closer look at the photograph it looks like the Akios range of reels is named ‘S-Line’. One of the reels in shot looks to be called the S-Line 757CS. The reel in question has a level-wind which begs the question whether Akios have ‘borrowed’ ABU’s naming convention of CS for level-wind, CT for without. We can confirm that there is a converted, level-wind free reel in shot.
Much like the Rocket Reel Company TG-F1 launched earlier this year, there appears to be a lot of design similarities with the latest ABU Ambassadeur range of multipliers, even down to the design of the star drag. One in shot appears to feature the newer version of ABU’s mag control with the knob at the bottom of the left sideplate.
We look forward to finding out more in July.
Reel specifications, price and launch date are now available : Akios S-Line Reels
|Fishtec||Free Gift with purchase + 10% Off for Fishtec Members||£5.95||from £80.99||Link|
[phpbay]akios, 3, “”, “”[/phpbay]


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Co-founder of Diapers.com is about to challenge Amazon
On stage at Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, Marc Lore said he was confident about his latest e-commerce upstart’s launch in eight days.
Jet is hoping to take on the brick and mortar warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco. As Lore explained on stage, for $50 a year, Jet members will be able to buy products like diapers, household goods and more at prices 10% to 15% below the lowest prices online. Lore adds that Jet will launch with 10 million products across all product categories.
Jet will also have to prove its reported valuation of $600 million to its investors. But Lore isn’t worried. “We saw an opportunity to innovate around price, no one was focused on disrupting lower prices in e-commerce,” he said.
Is Jet gunning for Lore’s former employer Amazon, which bought Diapers.com’s parent, Quidsi, five years ago for $550 million? Not true, he claims. His latest project is very different, he insists. The way in which shoppers save money is a key difference. Shoppers get lower prices based on what is in their shopping carts, and how products could be shipped more efficiently (and less expensively).
How will Jet evaluate success? The goal is to get to $20 billion in revenue by 2020, said Lore. Within the first year, he explained, the company should know whether they are on track to meet that benchmark. Jet is also going to be embarking on a massive marketing push timed for launch. The company will be spending $100 million of its war chest on marketing in the coming year, including TV commercials to air in September.
Watch more from this year’s Fortune Brainstorm Tech here:


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As one of the largest research agencies worldwide, we provide powerful insights on how to unlock the moments that will help you flourish
What are the five vital areas where brands need to be strong to survive or thrive?
How can banks redefine themselves for a digital age, creating moments that drive revenue and deliver a coherent brand experience?
Although adoption of digital payments has been driven by younger generations, it is the older consumers, with buying power and savings who present the greatest opportunity for banks to capitilise on.
Concept eValuate is a suite of concept testing solutions that identifies new product ideas with the most potential to succeed in market and generate top-line business growth.
The connected world has pushed touchpoints to the centre of the planning universe.
London, 4 April 2017: Global insights company, Kantar TNS, has launched eValuateNow on ZappiStore. Based on Concept eValuate’s validated methodology...
London, 28 March 2017: New figures released today have revealed a major shift in the way the world’s population is navigating its biggest cities.
Singapore: 14 February 2017 - Global insights consultancy Kantar TNS has appointed Stephane Sanchez as Regional Head of Customer Strategies, Asia...
©1998 - 2018 TNS, a Kantar Group Company - All rights reserved


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Next month, Lafferty will publish its next thought leadership report, titled Payments Power. Author Peter Kinahan argues passionately that banks must hold on to and develop their payments infrastructures rather than let fintech players run away with this business. Why the passion? Today's crop of news stories makes it plain.
For a start, the 'Bank of Tech' is coming. As we've pointed out recently, Facebook has quietly acquired an e-payments licence in Ireland for Europe. Ant Financial applied for an e-money licence in the UK. The tech businesses are, at the very least, deeply involved in the payments business. David Parker, head of banking for the UK and Ireland at Accenture tells the FT today that big tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon have a more intimate relationship with their customers. That's debatable. Google and Facebook have users, not customers, and their relationships with their users are closer to creepy than intimate. But they certainly have scale, and if they decide to jump into the remittances market, for instance, they could take out several existing businesses. "Banks would be justified in feeling endangered by Big Tech's inroads: in January, one in three global banking and insurance customers said they would switch their accounts to Google, Amazon or Facebook if they could, according to a new Accenture survey polling 32,715 people across 18 countries." Accenture recently announced it will hire 200 new staff in Dublin, where its offices nestle on the quays of the Liffey, surrounded by the very banks and tech companies vying for our custom.
However, there's reason to keep an eye on Amazon too. Alex Rampell, a general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, believes that in the longer run it will be Amazon, with its appetite for and experience in low-margin businesses, that will capture the internet payments market. "Amazon is the most formidable," said Rampell, speaking to Fortune magazine. "If Amazon can get you lower-debt payments or give you a bank account, you'll buy more stuff on Amazon." With its sideways move into "content", previously known as news (Washington Post) and entertainment (Amazon Prime), Amazon is hooking new customers with offers to watch gems such as Seinfeld for a couple of dollars a month. Rampell is betting that Jeff Bezos will do the same with banking and payments. There's a massive caveat here that has long been sounded by critics. Amazon's AI, which suggests books based on what you're already read, is really not that smart. "If you like this, then you'll like that" treats us as pretty dumb creatures. Still, Amazon may indeed be the one to watch.
But how will this play out outside of the wealthier nations? In Nigeria, 39 percent of people have access to the internet. That means that in theory, 61 percent of people have to pay bills and so on with cash or at a cash-in service of some sort, likely to be a physical location. Kudi is among the new businesses tackling that conundrum. It is basically a chatbot that installs inside Facebook Messenger, so users can send payments to a phone number for free. The internet part? With Facebook's Free Basics — aka internet.org — Kudi users can take advantage of the free Facebook platform, without incurring data costs. Kudi charges 100 naira as a fee for paying bills. "A few services have tried mobile apps but consumers are tired of installing and figuring out new apps," Kudi co-founder Pelumi Aboluwarin told TechCrunch. "Some aren't even that sophisticated to handle the nuances that accompany every new mobile app and will rather stick with those they already use. Messaging on the other hand is a more compelling interface as it works for people across generations. This is because everyone understood messaging right from the days of SMS and chat apps have been the most successful apps on the continent."
So it's appropriate to wrap up this morning's briefing with news that US megaretailer Target has declined to accept Apple Pay in its stores. There is scant consolation for Apple Pay in the fact that the retailer has allowed Apple Pay to be installed inside its Target mobile app, but it's a blow for Apple and Apple Pay. Target is one of the top ten or eleven retailers in the US, and a member of the ill-fated Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) group which also included Walmart, Best Buy and CVS. Amid speculation that MCX discovered that the implementation of a payments network was more work that it expected, the consortium folded and its members gradually started accepting Apple Pay. But Target is holding out and only accepting Apple Pay on its own terms and inside its own app. GAFA won't have things entirely its own way.
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While Oregon law explicitly states that “A woman may breast-feed her child in a public place,” the staff at a Portland Marshalls store are apparently not well-versed in local laws or their employer’s own policies. [More]
Earlier this week, we asked you to send along poorly-thought-out ideas that marketers have presented as great ideas for Mother’s Day gifts. Americans plan to spend a little more on their moms this year, and marketers want a part of it. [More]
When I was in first grade, the lunch lady at my school informed me that my parents had overpaid for my meals for the month, and sent the extra money home with me, as I remember it. I took it to my mom, who said that everyone should have a bank account, and that we could use that $18 or so to start one for me. And to add to that — she said that moolah could grow to a larger amount all by itself through a magical thing called “interest.”
Stores usually mean well. They just want us to expand the definition of what we think of as an appropriate gift for Mother’s Day. Instead of the traditional flowers, jewelry, and gift cards, they want us to consider buying our mothers a tablet computer. Or clothing. Or laundry detergent. Wait, laundry detergent? Isn’t giving your mother cleaning supplies completely against the point of the holiday? [More]
Amazon does business in many different countries, and knows how to market to people all over the world. The Amazon Mom program started a few years ago, providing special discounts and fast shipping on items needed for babies. Yet why is it called “Amazon Mom?” Most primary caregivers are mothers, but there are plenty of children being raised by single fathers or two fathers: don’t they buy diapers, too? [More]
No matter how many stories we write reminding people that every state has a law allowing nursing moms to breastfeed in public, some manager at a store will still screw things up and ask a mother to leave the store or cover up. The latest incident involves a Walmart in Oklahoma, where several woman recently staged a nurse-in to drive their point home. [More]
When someone is arrested, it’s not uncommon for local media reports to say something like “Bob Smith, of the 1900 block of Main St., was charged with…” but you don’t usually get that person’s full home address and Social Security number. Yet that’s what happened when a TV station in South Carolina posted the full, unedited police interview with a McDonald’s employee who’d been arrested for leaving her 9-year-old daughter at a park while she worked. [More]
Mother’s Day is almost here. The day to celebrate the woman who brought you into the world… Or to celebrate the woman who gave you children. Or both. Flowers are a lovely gift (in those instances where the recipient gets what you actually ordered) but they’re not exactly an original or personal gift and can be costly.
Here’s how to not suck at saying thanks to Mom with some frugal and creative ideas. [More]
Last week, we told you about IKEA apologizing to a mom in Ottawa, Canada, who claimed that an employee at the store told her she was being “disgusting” while she nursed her daughter and allegedly told her to “take it to the bathroom.” But now, IKEA is saying that after reviewing in-store footage from the day in question, it found no evidence that the customer was even nursing. [More]
UPDATE: IKEA says it has reviewed footage from the day in question and says it has found no evidence that any such incident occurred.
IKEA is having to do the apology song-and-dance after a mom in Ottawa claimed that she was treated rudely by a manager who told her she was “being disgusting” by nursing in the store and to “take it to the bathroom.”
When the mom of a 4-month-old asked the clerk at a Texas Victoria’s Secret if she could use one of the store’s fitting rooms to nurse her child, she was doing so out of courtesy, as Texas law allows mothers to breastfeed in all locations. She certainly wasn’t expecting to be told that she should feed her infant in an alley next to the store. [More]
Lies can get you in trouble. Even when you mean well, sometimes they catch up with you and you get stuck in an impossible position. That’s what John learned when he lied by omission about a Christmas gift to spare his mom’s feelings, and is now stuck with an expensive GoPro camera that he can’t return. [More]
Having one young child can be a hassle (or so I read on Facebook every day), but having triplets makes everything that much more complicated. So it was a great relief for one Consumerist reader when her local Kmart went out of its way to help her in her search for three car seats. [More]
If you never thought to double check that bottle you pick up from the prescription counter, here’s a story that will probably stick in your head the next time you’re getting a ‘scrip filled.
They say that first impressions are crucial and the folks at Disney are taking that very literally, having recently launched a campaign to begin marketing their products to brand new moms and to babies barely out of the womb.
This is a great video that makes fun of “Mompetitors,” those crazy moms who are as addicted to their kids as they are to one-upping other moms about what superior moms they are. What makes it even better is that it was made by a stay at-home-mom.
Some idiots try to profit off their babies by attempting to sell them outside of Walmart. And now there’s the woman in Syracuse who stands accused of using her baby to ward off Walmart loss prevention officers while she and her two alleged accomplices made off with their purloined loot.
A manager at a McDonald’s in Glendale, AZ, recently asked a woman to leave the building after she began nursing her baby in the restaurant. That manager is obviously not a reader of Consumerist, or else they would have been prepared for the inevitable backlash, which came this weekend in the form of dozens of moms staging a “nurse-in” inside the McD’s.


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Rizon Studios has revealed a partnership with Evolution USA to form a global integrated brand licensing and management agency.
The deal will see Rizon Studios Licensing trade as Evolution Europe, with the new group trading as Evolution International.
Rizon Studios Creative will continue to operate in its own right, while also providing its creative services to the group.
The Evolution group of companies will work with brands across multiple territories, both directly and through a network of sub agents. The group will represent the Miramax portfolio and Dumb Ways to Die globally, plus internet hits Subway Surfers and Henri Le Worm.
"The decision to partner was an easy one, having worked with Evolution closely over the past year it became apparent that our combined competencies and experience provided the basis for a world class global brand management agency," said Dave Collins, CEO of Evolution Europe.
"With locations in London and LA, the partnership is perfectly placed to deliver strategic brand management and creative licensing to IP owners on a global basis."
Travis Rutherford, president of licensing, Evolution USA, added: "As a combined group, we will be able to offer a truly unique worldwide licensing solution to the industry – a globally thought out and executed solution, with one voice."


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You’d think the saying, “The more, the merrier,” would apply to the marijuana industry. The more you grow, the more you sell and the more money you make. But apparently marijuana growers in California are learning that’s not the case at all.
Hezekiah Allen, the executive director of the California Growers’ Association, says the state’s marijuana growers produce eight times more pot than is consumed in the state. This hasn’t necessarily been a problem so far, however a new law is set to go into effect in January that will ban California growers from exporting their crops to other states and that will leave producers with fewer outlets to sell their excess plants.
Allen says the new ban will have drastic impacts on the state’s marijuana industry. He said some growers will need to downsize and cut back on their cultivation, while others will no longer apply for a state license. He says some will even be forced to continue exporting their crops to other states, even though that will be against the law.
Allen made this announcement at a panel alongside Joseph Devlin, the chief of Cannabis Policy and Enforcement for the City of Sacramento, and Lori Ajax, chief of California’s Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. Devlin says the estimates he’s heard are that production is only five times larger than the amount of consumption, while a industry consultant in attendance said the number could be as high as 12 times larger.
Devlin and Ajax both agreed that California growers will need to start cutting back on production. And Ajax also stressed that unlicensed growers and people exporting out-of-state will face enforcement actions.
So if Californians want to keep their industry happy and healthy, they’re going to need to start buying a lot more weed.


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The year 2016 has witnessed whopping sales of $ 681 billion in online retail sales. Globally, it’s China which has the largest market for e-commerce worldwide followed by The United States.
Going by the reports of Forrester Research, it reveals that one-fifth of the total retail sales will take place online by 2021 in Asia Pacific. About 78 percent of this will happen over mobiles.
The main focus is however on Asia Pacific. According to Forrester, Asia-Pacific continues to be the largest platform for online retail sales. China alone accounts for nearly 80 percent of the sales in Asia Pacific and there are reports that it will become the first market to reach $ 1 trillion by 2021.
Meanwhile, the Indian market is said to increase its revenue and reach $ 64 billion by 2021. On the contrary, a forecast analyst at Forrester alert said India will take almost 10 years to reach the level as most of the population still resides in tier 3 cities.
Reports also suggest that internet and e-commerce sector is still small in India and also the population when compared to China. So, it is unfair to compare China and India.
Progress will definitely happen in India’s e-commerce sector.


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York said he doesn't see double coupons lasting much longer in any grocery stores. Stores are investing in lower prices, he said.
"I hope the customer understands we're moving those dollars to a place that's going to benefit more customers. Not everybody clips coupons, but everyone shops in the store," York said. "I think double coupons is something that's going to go away at some point. The industry is moving away from that."
York recommended Kroger customers use the company's digital coupons by visiting its website. Even though the coupons can't be doubled in value starting May 12, there are hundreds of coupons available online. Some digital coupons can be used during multiple trips to the store so customers get more value out of one coupon, he said.
Kroger runs promotions on its website, too.
"The hope is, as tablets become more popular and smartphones are used more, that customers will be able to download coupons in-store and use them in the same trip," York said.
The Kroger stores in Cincinnati stopped accepting double coupons earlier this year and it has been a positive switch so far, York said.
He said Kroger would continue to offer its fuel program, where customers can save up to $1 off a gallon at Kroger Fuel Centers, the $4 and $10 prescription program and weekly specials.
Reach Megan Workman at megan.work...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5113.


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After issuing sustainability commitments and renouncing fur and exotic skins, fashion brands are placing bets on a slew of new materials, ranging from mushroom leather to silk alternatives.
The material science industry is nascent but increasingly well-funded, with companies including MycoWorks, Bolt Threads, Modern Meadow and Natural Fiber Welding armed with a range of trademarks, material patents and manufacturing processes. All are vying to be the industry’s leader of new materials.
Over the past year or so, many have announced new funding rounds and key partnerships, ranging from Lululemon to Hermès. Modern Meadow, a startup known for biofabricated materials, recently raised $130 million in a Series C funding round led by Key Partners Capital; AllBirds invested $2 million in Illinois-based Natural Fiber Welding, which created a plant-based, zero plastic alternative to leather called Mirum, and already counts Ralph Lauren as an investor. Gucci-owner Kering, as well as Adidas, Lululemon and Stella McCartney, have joined Bolt Threads’ Mylo Consortium, a partnership that will develop and produce the company’s leather alternative in exchange for premier access to its materials.
Product announcements have also followed, the most notable being luxury giant Hermès’ partnership with California-based MycoWorks for a mycelium-based leather version of the “Victoria” travel bag.
On the surface, these announcements are exciting and seemingly lucrative, signalling an untapped, more sustainable era of luxury. Testing consumer confidence, however, with the aesthetic appeal, durability and environmental efficacy of products will be key for all companies moving forward, particularly with higher premiums and the promise of lifelong value that luxury brands promise with their products.
Strategic investments, new incentive structures and growing consumer excitement around sustainable materials show that a path to wide-scale adoption may be on its way. Growth, however, hinges on legacy brands’ willingness to take a risk, investing in materials that have not yet been sold in the mass market, moving beyond one-off collaborations or capsule collections to full-scale production runs and long-term partnerships.
They’re more open to thinking about incremental change and how they can shift away from things that are problematic within their supply chain.
“Before they were looking for some holy grail solution,” said Susan Schofer, senior vice president of business development at Modern Meadow, referring to legacy brands exploring bio-based leather alternatives. “Now they’re more open to thinking about incremental change and how they can shift away from things that are problematic within their supply chain.”
What’s at Risk?
A patented process for material alternatives compatible with brands’ supply chains could prove increasingly lucrative as the industry develops — though the patents won’t have real-world value until they prove their worth in the marketplace.
Scale still poses a significant issue: few companies have been able to move partnerships with brands beyond one-off collaborations or capsule collections — and many of those collaborations have yet to be released. Producing large quantities of materials like mycelium and plant-based leather alternatives also requires increased flexibility from brands on both cost and time. That also depends on the promised durability, performance and price of new materials over time. It’s unlikely the transition to new materials will happen in a few seasons or even years.
“Breakthrough technologies take time to scale and often come at a higher cost, especially when building a novel supply chain,” said Jamie Bainbridge, vice president of product development at Bolt Threads. “We are working to increase scale and supply so we can collaborate with additional designers and eventually meet price parity with leather.”
Still, as patent owners, these companies may have the power to dictate their future. While fashion could be the immediate beneficiary of the momentum in this space, material science brands have their sights set beyond it, looking at the market as an entry point into larger consumer products from automotive interiors to home goods.
It’s another matter though to talk about brands about price structure that actually makes them want to change their business in a meaningful way.
That could pose a challenge to luxury houses and retail conglomerates simply looking to acquire a company’s patent portfolio depending on what fits the needs of a brand or stable of brands, said Susan Scafidi, fashion intellectual property expert and director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham. Luxury brands will have to reckon with giving up some control over their supply chain, a process they typically own when it comes to leather goods, acquiring tanneries and other facilities to ensure high-quality materials. Material science companies will have to create cost incentives to encourage brands to adapt to a new supply chain.
“Even if Nike wanted to buy NFW [Natural Fiber Welding], we touch so many industries that are larger than footwear,” said Luke Haverhals, chief executive and founder of the company. “Why would we ever want to pigeonhole ourselves into something like that?”
Still, while many companies are confident in the processes and technology developed, they must find larger-scale solutions and mainstream success to make themselves worth buying in the first place.
“Anybody that wants to come up with a new material these days, it’s not hard to do,” said Haverhals. “It’s another matter though to talk about brands about price structure that actually makes them want to change their business in a meaningful way.”
Despite the risks, brands and investors — eager to impress a growing number of environmentally conscious consumers after making concessions on materials like leather, fur and exotic skins — are clearly willing to bet on the space. Even in the top echelons of the industry, brands have shown a willingness not just to work with these fabrics, but to throw their weight behind them.
No amount of magical material is going to fix this most urgent of issues.
The rise in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) financing may also contribute to the boom, with Chanel, Adidas, H&M and others all issuing hundreds and millions of dollars in debt over the past year to finance environmental initiatives, many of which include investment in alternatives to environmentally taxing materials.
There’s also a clear danger in using sustainability credentials to boost marketing. Making claims around a solution’s efficacy with new marketing terms and patented technology could provide companies another means of greenwashing.
“This emphasis on materials, while by itself is an important area of research, serves as a significant distraction from the heart of the problems in the industry when it comes to the environment: the current emissions at textile mills today,” said Maxine Bédat, director of New Standard Institute, a fashion think tank dedicated to environmental and social issues.
“The main problem is that this is an industry based on a business model of the most rapid forms of planned obsolescence, which is putting us on a crash course with our planet,” she said. “No amount of magical material is going to fix this most urgent of issues.”


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What will happen to the U.S. Dollar?
By Alejandro Sarmiento and Robby Sain
We have heard time and time again that we live in an unprecedented era. Outside of the social alterations COVID has induced, it has also sparked financial volatility to an extent comparable to the nation’s worst economic downturns. With soaring unemployment, historic fluctuations in the securities market and essential relief coming through stimulus grants… the list doesn’t seem to end. This economic fallout of the pandemic has brewed the perfect storm of free money and an uncertain future, begging the question: what will happen to the U.S. Dollar?
In terms of the economic background, the nominal value of currency usually follows one of two paths – a deflationary or inflationary path. The former occurs when supply outweighs demand, and thus, the prices of goods and services decline to entice consumption. The latter is deflationary’s reciprocal – demand must outweigh supply, leading to rising prices. Both paths entail negative ramifications; for instance, deflation is adverse for those paying debts (lower salaries, fixed payments), whereas inflation is adverse for retirees (fixed income, higher prices). Deflation is often considered worse than its counterpart, given that it discourages consumer spending, thus lowering business profitability – a consequence that may eventually spiral into an economic collapse.
The United States has experienced an inflationary history (~2% inflation per year) with regard to the dollar’s value. Japan, a nation that from 1991-2001 was caught in a deflationary storm, is a suitable contrast. Prior to this cycle of deflation, Japan experienced a history of rapid economic growth, growing at a rate of 3.89% (with regard to GDP) compared to the United States’ 3.07% in 1980. By 1990, during Japan’s infamous “Lost Decade”, growth had slowed to a mere 1.14% – an annual incline well below that of similarly industrialized nations. This was largely due to missteps by the Bank of Japan (BoJ – Japan’s central bank) in response to its ongoing real estate and equity bubble.
Japan has historically facilitated growth by functioning as a net-exporter (via balance of payments and trade surpluses), and thus feared inflation. Concerned about an inflationary horizon, the BoJ slowed Japan’s money supply and increased interest rates, both of which plunged the nation into a liquidity trap. In a liquidity trap, consumers lower spending most often due to deflationary concerns: a caveat which – as aforementioned – could induce economic collapse. To reverse this, a nation must boost the flow of money by increasing monetary supply for consumers and businesses, to thereon encourage spending; Japan accomplished this in 2001, and the impact of sustained deflation was mitigated.
Similar to Japan, the United States – as a result of COVID – has experienced economic disruption. Unemployment soared with over 20 million Americans out of work, and businesses and small shops closed. The result was both a decrease in supply and demand, neither of which explicitly outweighed the other. The U.S. however, has adopted policies similar to that of Japan – seeking to boost consumer spending to offset its earlier market crashes. In providing relief via stimulus grants, and lowering interest rates to historic lows, the United States government and the Fed made consumer borrowing easier than ever. Given that the U.S.’s inflationary history, consumers saw this as an opportunity to spend money now, with the expectation that prices will inevitably increase in the future. There resultantly emerged a boosted flow of money in the United States economy – an end-goal Japan strived to achieve during the Lost Decade. Since demand rose nation-wide due to the aforementioned policies (while many industries still remained depressed – e.g. entertainment), it is evident COVID has produced a current inflationary atmosphere for the U.S. It is important to note this is not fixed, however. With Coronavirus cases once more spiking, the future holds all but a certainty regarding the economic implications of COVID. For now, it is imperative we stay safe and together, work to transition our economy to a pre-pandemic, non-unprecedented state.
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Revenue Will Grow Even Without Increased iPhone Sales.
Evercore ISI research company said Apple investors underestimate the power of Apple, in particular when it comes to the services of the company from Cupertino. According to preliminary data, by 2024 the revenue of this unit will more than double.
Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani noted that Apple services “still remain an underestimated leverage.” He also added that these products should increase ARPU (average revenue per user) and maintain a steady growth in company revenue.
In 2019, Apple stepped up its subscription-based services business. The company began offering new services such as video streaming, games, news, and credit cards. If you add them to existing services, you get a very large potential source of income.
Evercore has confirmed the target price of Apple shares at $ 360 (they currently cost about $ 317). Until fiscal year 2024, Apple’s revenue from services may grow at a constant total annual growth rate of 19%. As a result, as already noted, the income from services by that time will exceed $ 100 billion.
Published data show that in 2019, Apple’s revenue from services amounted to about $ 46.3 billion, which amounted to almost 18% of the company’s total revenue.


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Kiwi winery Invivo is well known for bringing the wine and art scenes together, and its latest effort involves a range of limited edition graffiti wine boxes produced by Kiwi and British street artists.
Invivo is out to target a younger audience of wine enthusiasts, and what better way than through bespoke designs from prominent New Zealand art collective (and two times world street art champions) TMD Crew (The Most Dedicated)?
Following the series of designs by TMD Crew, a British range will be produced by DWS (Da Wild Stallions), an East London-based group, who've already brought out the spray cans to paint boxes at a live event.
The limited edition boxes will be on display at Invivo outlets in New Zealand, the UK, Japan and Canada.
Since launching in 2008, Invivo has partnered with the creative industries many times over through Creative New Zealand, a range of artists, galleries and musicians as well as iconic New Zealand fashion designers Zambesi.
Elsewhere in wine and art land, last year Cloudy Bay teamed up with stencil artist Flox (Hayley King), who created a mural to help launch its 2011 sauvignon.


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- RuPay is a combination of two words – Rupee and Payment. RuPay Card is an Indian version of credit/debit card. It is very similar to international cards such as Visa/Master.
- Government has instructed state owned banks to issue RuPay debit cards to their customers. This looks like a clear indication to promote these cards
- National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) initiated the launch of RuPay card in India. It was done with the intention of integration of payment systems in the country. It has also tied up with Discover Financial Services firm for promoting this.
- It was created to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India’s desire to have a domestic, open loop, and multilateral system of payments in India. RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions, and competes with MasterCard and Visa in India.
- NPCI maintains ties with Discover Financial to enable the card scheme to gain international acceptance.
How does RuPay Card works?
- RuPay debit cards are similar any other debit cards that you might hold now.
- The card can be accessed in the 1.45 lakh ATMs and 8.75 lakh POS terminals across the country. It will also be accepted on 10,000 e-commerce websites. All major public sector banks, including SBI, have started issuing these cards to all their customers.
- The card also comes with a high end technology chip named EMV (Europay, Master Card and Visa) especially for high end transactions. It also has an embedded micro processor circuit with information about the card holder.
How is it different from Master/Visa Card?
- The first major difference is the RuPay is India’s own domestic card with its own payment gateway.
- Since every transaction through RuPay will take place within India, the banks will have to pay less service charge to the payment gateway as compared to Visa, MasterCard and others. For e.g. If a person does a transaction of say Rs. 2,000 then banks will have to pay around Rs.. 2.50 when RuPay is used whereas for the same transaction amount, Visa or Mastercard will charge Rs. 3.25.
- Technically , transactions done through international cards is processed in foreign country which involves higher charge which helps in generating profit for Visa/MasterCard whereas RuPay transactions would happen domestically so charge would be less.
- It is a domestic product with less transaction costs compared to visa debit card which has processing in foreign countries.
- In case of international cards banks have to pay entry fee to be a part of their network which is not the case with RuPay card i.e. no joining fee for the banks.
Other Features of RuPay Card
- RuPay also provides a unified “Kisan Card”, issued by banks across the country under Kisan Credit Card, enabling farmers to transact business on ATMs and PoS terminals.
- RuPay cards got a major boost through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana as RuPay cards were issued to all Jan Dhan accounts. In spite of the critics saying most accounts are dormant, RuPay cards are now widely used by Jan Dhan Card holders.
- PUNGRAIN (Punjab Grains Procurement Corporation Ltd), pays commission agents through the RuPay Debit Card, and developed a commission agents network called the Kisan Arhtia Information and Remittance Online Network (KAIRON) with the help of the National Payments Corporation of India.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank in partnership with RuPay rolled out an initiative for financial inclusion, where the dairy farmers across 75 cooperative societies of AMUL in regions of Burdwan and Hooghly of West Bengal will be able to get their payments directly into their account on the same day of sale of milk.
- The same model is planned to be adopted in the state of Gujarat where 1200 cooperative societies comprising over 300,000 dairy farmers will be the part of the programme.
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MOBILE WALLET TRANSACTIONS
Interoperability pits payment banks against mobile wallets
Some payment banks have taken up the matter with RBI arguing that move will directly hurt their business models.
Faircent.com integrates UPI for escrow deposits
In addition to this new payment feature, the platform also supports payments through NEFT, RT...
Rail passengers from UP, Haryana, Rajasthan & MP can now book unreserved tickets on mobile
The north central railways region of the Indian Ra...
Digital citizen payments take off as banks lend a hand
Services will include direct benefit transfers, tax and fee collections and payments for public transport.
Amazon’s move to offer UPI-based service hits data localisation hurdle
Multinationals keen on entering payments space in India are now waiting for more clarity from RBI.
GoAir puts 1 mn seats up for sale at Rs 1,099 starting fares
Besides, customers can avail an extra five per cent cashback of up to Rs 250 on payment through Paytm.
Discount on digital payment at petrol pumps cut to 0.25%
Oil companies have now informed the petrol pump operators that the discount has been cut to 0.25 per cent, they said citing mobile text message sent to petrol pump operators.
Mobile wallet payments bounce back in April
According to RBI data, in April wallets showed 279 million transactions against 268 million in the previous month.
DMK Cadre outside Kauvery hospital become easy targets for pickpockets
As Chennai police received complaints of purse snatching and missing cell phones, a team was formed just to nab the gang targeting the emotionally vulnerable DMK cadre.
Here’s how ICICI Prudential Life is leveraging digital to demystify insurance
ICICI Prudential’s working credo is anchored in this pithy observation. And it has profound implications on the life insurer’s business model as it tries to limber up for the digital age.
Soon, pay with your phone on IGI metro
DMRC is going to modify automatic fare collection (AFC) gates at all the stations of Airport Express Line to make them QR code enabled.
Big event thieves who targeted PM rallies, concerts around India nabbed
The team of 6 men who used to steal wallets, smartphones and valuables at big events like auto expo, concerts, rath yatra got busted finally.
Softbank, Yahoo JV launches digital payment service in Japan with Paytm
With this partnership the company will be installing QRcode based payment solutions to digitise consumer retail payments in Japan by the second half of 2018.
Amazon India celebrates wallet success with cashbacks to users
The American ecommerce giant recorded a “126% growth in transactions and 68% growth in unique users” in its Indian payments business in 2017, according to a senior company executive.
US payment firms face off with rival Paytm in lobbying against data storage rules
The tussle between Paytm and other companies highlights the fierce competition that has gripped India's crowded digital payments market which is expected to grow tenfold to $500 billion by 2020.


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Home markets in the UK, Netherlands and Germany proved particuarly challenging during 2011, but the comany said it responded well to the growing market demand for meat from the BRIC countries.
CEO and chairman, Uwe Tillmann: “In 2011, Vion paid high purchase prices for pigs and cattle. Unfortunately, the prevailing economic conditions prevented us from consistently transferring these increases to Vion Food’s sales markets. As a result, our financial results in 2011 were disappointing.”
Vion said that the stagnating economy and restricted consumer expenditure had clearly impacted on performance. It said that the imbalance between supply and demand and highly competitive pork market had made it difficlt to pass on the high pig prices and increased input costs, while beef activities had also felt the pressure.
It said that improvements in operational cost efficiency will remain a key focus in order to achieve sound returns.
However, there were a number of successful development in added value food and ingredients products in 2011, in pork, beef, chicken and convenience products such as hamburger concepts and Hackplus®, the hybrid meat product. These were launched in partnership with suppliers and customers and aimed to capitalise on key trends of quality, health, sustainability and animal welfare.
The ingredients business performed below the level of 2010, but the company reported that this was as expected in a challenging market, and renewed its commitment to innovation and investment in the market. It strengthened its positon in the global gelatine market by acquiring Eastman Gelatine, and the remaining shares in Rousselot Gelatinas do Brasil SA. Banner, the industry leader in gelatine-based softgels for pharmaceutical usage, showed excellent results.


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Tesco, the world's third-largest supermarket chain, will install high-tech screens to scan customers' faces in order to target them with individualized advertising that matches its customers' age and gender, AFP reports.
Also the largest retailer in all of Britain, Tesco will install the screens at the tills of its 450 British petrol stations, according to Amscreen, the digital advertising firm that developed the technology.
Even Amscreen's chief executive, Simon Sugar, conceded that the technology is "like something out of 'Minority Report.'"
However, he is apparently willing to overlook that in order to "change the face of British retail." He told The Grocer Magazine that the company wants to "expand the screens into as many supermarkets as possible."
AFP has more on the technology that will scan customers' faces:
The screens detect the faces of shoppers approaching the tills and identify their gender and approximate age. They then display adverts targeted at that demographic group.
Privacy campaigners blasted Tesco's decision to use the "OptimEyes" technology and called on the retailer to inform customers when they are being scanned in this way.
"Scanning customers as they walk through the store without customers ever giving permission for them to be scanned in that way... There's a huge consent issue there," said Nick Pickles of the campaign group Big Brother Watch.
But Amscreen insisted its technology is "non-intrusive" and "meets with privacy and data protection requirements".
The screens apparently don't identify shoppers, rather they "estimate whether a person is male or female and which one of three age groups they belong to."
A spokeswoman also told AFP that the screens "do not use eyeball scanners, facial recognition or identify individual customers in any way."
Would you be OK with the technology at your preferred retailer?


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Credit, debit cards ‘increase impulsive food purchases’By ANI
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
WASHINGTON - A new study has revealed that people are more likely to buy unhealthy foods when they pay using credit or debit cards.
“Two factors contribute to this intriguing effect,” write authors Manoj Thomas (Cornell University), Kalpesh Kaushik Desai (State University of New York, Binghamton), and Satheeshkumar Seenivasan (State University of New York, Buffalo).
“First, there is a correlation between unhealthiness and impulsiveness of food items: Unhealthy food items also tend to elicit impulsive responses. Second, cash payments are psychologically more painful than card payments, and this pain of payment can curb the impulsive responses to buy unhealthy food items,” the authors said.
The authors conducted an analysis of actual shopping behavior of 1,000 households over a period of six months. They found that shopping carts had a larger proportion of food items rated as impulsive and unhealthy when shoppers used credit or debit cards versus cash.
In follow-up studies they found that the vice-regulation effect of cash payment is due to the “pain” of paying in cash, and that the effect is stronger in consumers who are chronically more sensitive to the pain of payment.
The authors suggest that there may be a connection between rising obesity and changing modes of payment.
The study has been published in the Journal of Consumer Research. (ANI)


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Streaming television services have long struggled with providing sports channels to their customers.
However, Roku, a streaming provider with content from the likes of Disney, Netfilx and HBO, has added WatchESPN as a new channel.
Until now, sports networks have restricted use by making streaming TV users verify a cable subscription.
The revolution is not complete, unfortunately. Non-subscription customers will be able to view news clips, with premium content still restricted.
“WatchESPN on Roku TV provides a one-stop destination for sports fans with live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network, SEC Network and much more for customers who receive ESPN’s networks as part of their subscription from an affiliated provider. Those without a cable subscription can access the latest news clips,” reads Roku’s announcement.
According to the company, Roku will soon also add Disney shows and films to its lineup.


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Airbnb recently announced a major policy update prohibiting the use of security cameras inside guest homes. This move prioritizes guest privacy and is expected to redefine the landscape of property rentals in Indonesia and Bali. The decision marks a significant shift in the operational dynamics for property owners across the region.
A bold move for guest privacy
Indonesia and Bali are popular destinations for travelers who seek beauty, culture, and relaxation. However, there have been concerns about the privacy of guests staying in Airbnb accommodations. Reports have surfaced on social media about hidden cameras being found in private areas. To address this concern, Airbnb has updated its policy to prioritize the privacy of guests. This new policy prohibits the installation of security cameras in interior spaces, including common areas where they were previously allowed under strict disclosure requirements.
Adjusting to a new era of rental management
Property owners in Indonesia and Bali need to review their security measures due to a recent policy change. Previously, indoor cameras were allowed in common areas to provide owners with a sense of security. However, the new privacy-centric approach means that owners must find alternative ways to secure their premises without violating guest privacy. This may include greater reliance on outdoor security measures and the adoption of non-invasive technologies, such as noise decibel monitors, which are permitted under the new guidelines.
Ensuring compliance and enhancing appeal
The revised policy includes more stringent guidelines for outdoor security cameras. Property owners are obligated to disclose the presence and specific locations of any outdoor cameras while ensuring that they do not infringe on private areas such as outdoor showers or saunas. This degree of openness aims to establish confidence between hosts and guests, emphasizing the significance of guest privacy.
Property owners in Indonesia and Bali need to adapt to the new privacy standards, not just to comply but also to increase the attractiveness of their listings. By embracing these standards, owners can position their properties as safe and respectful havens for travelers. This commitment to guest privacy can make their offerings stand out in the competitive Airbnb market in Bali and Indonesia.
As the implementation date of April 30th approaches, property owners in these beautiful destinations are encouraged to review their current security arrangements and make necessary adjustments. By aligning with Airbnb’s enhanced privacy measures, they can contribute to a safer and more enjoyable experience for guests. This will ensure that the enchanting allure of Indonesia and Bali remains untarnished by any privacy concerns.