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GUANGZHOU, China — The face of China’s longest-running trade fair has changed quickly in just a few years.
Where American and European buyers once made up the bulk of those in attendance, this year it was just as likely a customer came from the Middle East or Africa.
With the lower orders and fewer customers at the textile and apparel section of the Canton Fair, which ended Thursday, manufacturers and trading companies braced for continued hard times amid the global financial crisis. Yet, they said, there are some bright spots on the horizon coming from emerging markets, even as the U.S. and Europe continue to disappoint.
Still, many long-term export customers have continued to make purchase orders, and the wholesale closure of factories across the Pearl River Delta appears to have abated for now.
Though actual visitor numbers were only down slightly, the volume of orders placed at the fair dropped by 17 percent from last year, organizers said. State-run media quoted a fair official as saying it’s a sign of continuing trouble for China’s export economy.
“Statistics show that China’s exports will continue to decline in the next two quarters,” Wen Zhongliang, director of the fair’s business office, told the Xinhua news agency. “It may get better in the fourth quarter.”
Amid the decline, vendors and trading companies said they will weather the storm until the economy recovers. “Before the fair, we expected the worst,” Luca Chen, a marketing representative for a decorative lighting company in Shantou, said during the home products and toys phase of the fair. “It’s actually been a lot better than we thought, with more customers from new countries.”
Chen said new buyers this year have come from South America and the Middle East, but companies have few American buyers. The trouble, he and others pointed out, is China’s new export buyers often are looking for much lower prices than American and Western European companies. With already thin profit margins, manufacturers are being stretched tighter.
Others weren’t quite so optimistic, with one toy company representative saying, when asked how business was at the fair this year, “Look around,” as he gestured to half-empty hallways and exhibit booths. Nearby, exhibitors were selling off the display goods in their booths hours before closing time.
“Most of the factories in our sector of the toy industry have closed down and we plan to stay in business, but it’s difficult,” said Alex Lou, a sales representative for a plush-toy maker on the central coast.
Predictions have flooded in that the U.S. economy will pick up soon and American buyers will begin returning to China. Still, those buyers have not emerged and textile and apparel makers at the fair faced uncertainty and gloom after an already troubling year of mass factory closures and lost jobs.
The Chinese government has taken several steps to stanch the bleeding of the industry. But industry groups say thus far it has not been enough and only stronger global demand for Chinese products will return healthy growth to textile and apparel manufacturing in China. With many Western companies turning to superlow-cost alternatives like Bangladesh, the outlook for China’s industry remains grim.
In late April, the government announced final touches on a three-year targeted stimulus package designed specifically to boost the textile industry. The new measures include financial support to help firms stay in business and profit, the closure of factories that are “obsolete” and unprofitable and possible further increases in export rebate taxes that already have been raised three times in the past two years. The plan, intended to maintain and even increase growth in production in the industry by more than 8 percent annually (more for larger firms), also includes provisions to encourage energy efficiency among textile manufacturers.
In addition, the plan seeks to redistribute industrial capacity in a more planned way, targeting high-end and technical manufacturing on the eastern seaboard and lower-end, manual work to poorer interior provinces. (For more on the government’s plan, see sidebar.)
Industry insiders remain skeptical about the potential impact of the plan and other government measures, saying there’s not much anyone can do without international buyers. Domestic consumption and emerging markets simply cannot make up what is lost from American and European buyers who order higher-priced goods at larger volume.
“There has been no big difference,” since the government raised export tax rebates and made other moves to help the industry, said Zhai Xiaoping, director of Shenzhen Textile Association. “The situation is mainly determined by the overseas market, by their demand. Business cannot be improved only by changing export rebate taxes.”
Zhai said he remains pessimistic about the outlook for the industry over the next year, despite concerted government efforts to address the situation.
“The key point for our production and sales hinges on the economic recovery of foreign countries,” he said. “If their economies do not experience a major improvement, I do think we can improve.”
Textile and apparel factory managers from several different manufacturing hubs across China reported little to no pickup in their business in recent months. They predicted more tough times ahead as the global slump continues and many said they are hoping simply to ride out the crisis. With the slump, the market for Chinese-made goods continues to shift, often to countries that pay less for the same products.
“We used to have many American and European customers, but now we have none,” said Chang Yan, a marketing representative for a Shandong-based textiles company. “Our overseas customers now come from Japan and [South] Korea.”
On the whole, demand in the national market is decreasing, said Ling Liangzhong, who works for a textile maker in Jiangsu province. “But our company is doing OK,” he added.
In the long term, company and industry officials said the only real solution to returning the industry to its former production glory is a return of those once plentiful but now elusive American and European buyers.
“The government has already done almost everything it can,” said Zhai. “This issue cannot be resolved only by the Chinese government. It will be determined by the situation overseas.”
Breaking News: @louisvuitton's men's artistic director @mrkimjones is leaving the French fashion house after nearly 7 years. Jones joined Louis Vuitton in 2011, following a three year tenure as creative director of British luxury goods brand Alfred Dunhill. Jones is to exit Louis Vuitton after showing his fall 2018 collection for the brand in Paris on Thursday. Read the full exclusive story on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
For men’s fall 2018, @giuseppezanotti drew on elements from streetwear, sport, biker, combat and rock ‘n’ roll. Pictured here are a pair of shoes from the collection, featuring zippers, rhinestones, and silver hardware. Head to WWD.com to see a roundup of the accessories from Milan’s men’s fall 2018 shows. #wwdfashion (📷: Andrea Delb)
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of @ralphlauren’s snowboarding collection, the brand is mining its archives. The iconic brand is reintroducing vintage styles and dropping new designs for a color capsule that will be available in Ralph Lauren stores and @openingceremony on January 25. The capsule will consist of 10 pieces, including the Snow Beach Pullover, pictured here, which is a collector’s item that rapper Raekwon wore in Wu-Tang Clan’s “Can It Be All So Simple” video. #wwdfashion (📷: Tom Gould)
For @rochasofficial’s pre-fall 2018 collection, creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua channeled the sophisticated and intriguing Catherine Denevue in the film “Belle de Jour.” Polished collarless coats, midi skirts, suits and ’60s graphic motifs were all featured in the collection, adding a sense of discreet luxury. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdfashion
“We tried to produce clothing of that couture quality, but the most daunting part was that we only had a matter of days [to do it],” said costume designer Lou Eyrich, who recreated Gianni Versace’s iconic looks for @americancrimestoryfx. Eyrich searched online retailers and vintage shops for original pieces from the design house and for @penelopecruzoficial, who plays Donatella Versace. Head to WWD.com to read how she created the Versace world. #wwdfashion
Only three months after her stellar debut catwalk season, @kaiagerber has inked her first big design collaboration –– with @karllagerfeld. The collection blends Lagerfeld’s Parisian chic aesthetic and the model’s signature West Coast casual style via RTW, accessories, footwear and more. The #KarlLagerfeldxKaia collection will launch in September with a series of events. Get all the details on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews


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Kylie Jenner had everyone seeing double when her new Madame Tussauds wax figure was unveiled Tuesday evening. Since the figure looks so much like her, the reality star decided to play a little prank on her famous family to see if they could tell the difference.
E! News noted that the 19-year-old attended the event in Hollywood to unveil her figurine and shared a shot via social media standing side by side with the waxwork. While wax replicas don't always resemble the celebrities they are intended to, Jenner's was spot on, down to the star's signature pout, making it difficult to point out the real Kylie.
The inspiration for the figure was Jenner's look from the Manus x Machina-themed Met Gala in 2016. She explained that she donated the actual dress she wore that evening, which was a custom silver, beaded Balmain gown. The look was completed with heels and a black bob wig tucked behind one ear. At Tuesday's affair, the Kylie Cosmetics entrepreneur sported similar makeup she had done for the Met Ball and posed beside her figure in a black dress.
In her Instagram post, Jenner thanked Madame Tussauds for the creation and wrote, "go visit my girl tomorrow in Hollywood and see the actual dress I wore to the Met Gala last year!"In another post, she revealed that she tricked her family with the figure during a FaceTime call. Fans were told about the upcoming wax figure in February when she shared behind-the scenes videos detailing some of what goes into the process. The creation of a figurine takes several months to complete.
Jenner is not the first member of her family to be immortalized with a figure at the museum. Her older sisters Kendall and Kim Kardashian have their own figures displayed there, as does her brother-in-law, Kanye West. Kylie's wax figure, which is valued at $350,000, will be open to the public at the Los Angeles location starting on Wednesday.
The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star has been busy this summer with projects like her recently launched Kendall + Kylie swimwear capsule collection. Next up, Jenner will be heavily promoting her new reality series, Life of Kylie, which is scheduled to air on E! next month.
[Featured Image by Rich Fury/Invision/AP Images]

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Why your dog should do Banting
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Cape Town - The Banting diet can go to the dogs.
No, really – animal nutrition expert Paul Jacobsen from Vondi’s Holistic Pet Nutrition recently published a blog post on why canned meat and pellets are like fast food for dogs, and our four-legged friends would be much healthier on Banting.
“I am a huge supporter of Professor Tim Noakes and the Banting diet,” Jacobsen said. “I can find no reason why a Banting diet would not be perfect for dogs.”
He said the canned meat or pellets commonly fed to dogs failed to meet their nutritional needs by overloading either on processed carbs or acidic meat.
Advocating for carb-free canines, Jacobsen said the value of a good diet is all in the pH.
“The true judge as to whether a diet is ‘perfect’ for both dog and human is based on whether it is able to provide the correct pH balances, with a leaning towards alkalinity,” he said. “The Banting Diet, promoted by Professor Tim Noakes, fulfils this requirement.”
Jacobsen said the high-fat nature of the diet helped maintain correct pH, because fat did not significantly raise or lower acidity. In addition, in Noakes’s Real Meal Revolution recipes, the acidity of the meat is balanced out by alkaline vegetables.
“Looking at commercial pet foods in pellet or kibble form, it is quite clear why such diets cannot perform,” Jacobsen said. “The main ingredients are refined carbs – brewers rice, wheat and corn gluten, potato meal, soya meal and animal meals. Such refined carbs are rated as extremely acidic and their contribution way overrides any alkaline ingredients that may come from this diet.”
But it won’t do to feed your pet pure meat either, whether it’s raw or cooked.
“In the last few years, there has been a trend to feed our companion animals a high raw meat diet,” Jacobsen said. “Meat, too, is extremely acidic. Acidosis will lead to inflamed cells, reduce immunity and an array of health ailments like skin disorders, arthritis and the formation of kidney stones.”
A June study conducted by animal science researchers in California showed that dogs fed a diet of whole foods instead of kibble and cans experienced improvements in health.
“The recent landmark veterinary studies support what human nutritionists have been advising for decades – stay clear of heavily processed foods, and eat wholesome, balanced meals that are prepared fresh from the highest quality ingredients available, are lightly cooked, and have no preservatives. This same advice appears to be true for our canine best friends.”


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Friday, March 25, 2011
Remembering Jerry Kreinik
Sad news from Kreinik thread company. Jerry Kreinik passed away March 23. You can read the obituary by clicking on this link. A good soul has passed.
Stash of Kreinik thread for temari
You can see I'm a fan! The company has always been very generous to me as a designer and author. I'm sure that's part of Jerry's doing.


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By Alexandra Burlacu | Aug 10, 2012 09:01 AM EDT
As we rapidly approach the highly-anticipated launch of the next-generation iPhone, rumors, leaks, and speculation are constantly surfacing and intensifying. While there have been plenty of leaked videos starring the alleged iPhone 5, a new video from iPhone parts supplier Etrade Supply has surfaced courtesy MacRumors and comes as the most detailed video so far.
In the new video and photo comparison with the iPhone 4S, Etrade Supply provided the exact measurements of the next-generation iPhone, detailing size and minor design tweaks such as a thinner panel, smaller home screen, larger and taller overall display, and the camera sensor relocated from the left to the center, just above the earpiece.
According to the 7-minute video that compares the new iPhone with the iPhone 4S, the new 4.065-inch panel is 0.1mm thinner, the home button is 0.3mm smaller, and the estate surrounding the home button area shrinks from 18mm to 15.40mm. This way, Apple could minimize the overall size of the handset while also increasing the size of the display.
Moreover, Etrade's analysis also suggested better light transmittance, as well as improved scratch resistance. Higher light transmittance should make the display brighter with less backlighting, which in turn should extend battery life. The display is also more scratch-resistant than that of the iPhone 4S.
"First of all let's see the display screen. From the picture, we can see that the iPhone 5 glass lens is 90.25mm long, 51.60mm wide, while iPhone 4S is 76.65mm and 51.60mm,"Etrade reported. "The display area enlarges from 3.61 inches t 4.065 inches. The LCD screen can be a little smaller, and that will be around 4 inches. What's important, the resolution ratio of iPhone 5 glass lens is around 16:9, which will be a big change for iPhone."
This video follows another video Etrade posted last month, allegedly showing the metal chassis Apple will use for the next-generation iPhone. That video showed several exciting features, including a unibody metal chassis, possibly made from Liquidmetal alloy. Other features included a larger body, indicating a 4-inch screen, seemingly unchanged widths, thinner design, smaller SIM tray, headphone jack relocated to the bottom of the device, a smaller dock connector, larger speaker grill, and seemingly unchanged on/off switch, volume control and mute switch.
Numerous reports have previously indicated that the next-generation iPhone will be taller, faster due to 4G LTE capabilities, while the 1GB of RAM will enhance overall performance. The new front panel for the iPhone 5 is 10 percent thinner than the iPhone 4S' panel and the glass provides 17 percent more viewing area for the display. The thinner glass also falls in line with a Wall Street Journal report that stated Apple will be using a touchscreen sensor integrated into the device's LCD panel, a technique known as "in-cell technology."
To sum it up, rumored/expected features so far include a 4-inch screen, 4G LTE capabilities, NFC (Near Field Communication) support, 1GB of RAM, a quad-core processor, thinner design, metal chassis, as well as a high-definition front-facing camera for improved video chat. Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone during a press conference on Sept. 12, and the handset it expected to arrive about a week later on Sept. 21.
© 2013 Mobile & Apps All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.


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“We are really lucky to be alive”
A woman on TikTok warns others about a popular laundry hack after waking up to find her house filled with smoke.
Decode and Demystify the Latest Gen Z Online Slang Terms with the new In The Know glossary.
The hack, which involves soaking small sponges in a mixture of fabric softener and water and then using it in place of a regular drying sheet, has been around for years. The hack is sometimes touted as a greener alternative to drying sheets, while saving you a few extra dollars.
Designer Jerome LaMaar cooks up what men should pack for a weekend getaway
But TikTok has become known for sharing new hacks and recycling old ones, and people are pretty confident what they watch without thinking about what could go wrong.
TikToker Hailee Clarke (@ haileeclarke87) devotes her life to cleaning tips and tricks. But in a recent video, which has since racked up more than 1.2 million views, she told her subscribers to avoid the laundry hack after waking up in a smoky house in the morning after trying it herself- same.
“Hindsight is a good thing! Clarke wrote in text overlay on TikTok. “I know it’s my fault, so no need for negative comments!” It is purely to help raise awareness.
“This is the first time that I use [the hack], and I’ve never had a problem with my dryer in any way, ”Clarke said. “We were woken up this morning in the smoke-filled house – the dryer had smoked and was on fire all night.”
Clarke filmed a bucket of sponges soaked in fabric softener and water before moving on to footage of her burnt washing machine and a load of destroyed clothes.
“I’m not really sure what happened, but it’s absolutely terrifying,” she added. “We are really lucky to be alive.
Clarke also clarified in the comments that the dryer hadn’t been running all night, but the fire had apparently slowly burned inside the dryer overnight.
Fabric softeners contain warnings that they may increase the flammability of some fabrics, although it is not known how the fire started.
To make the situation even more frightening, Clarke told Insider that the smoke detector in the house needs batteries, so if her daughter hadn’t discovered the fire when she did, who knows what would have happened. to the family.
Grateful that Clarke and her family were doing well, the commentators also thanked Clarke for sharing a failed hack attempt for the safety of everyone else.
“It’s actually really brave to publish a hack that has gone wrong,” someone said. “Cleanfluencers are known to silently shut down practices without explaining the risks.”
“It’s nice of you to put this in the knowledge that you’re bound to get nasty comments,” agreed another, “just to prevent it.” [from] happen to someone else.
“The fabric softener is highly flammable! It was crazy to try, ”wrote one commentator. “But if you don’t know, you don’t know! I’m so glad you are all doing well.
From animal print to flowers: are these cool new sneakers worth the investment?
In The Know is now available on Apple News – follow us here!
If you liked this story, go see this video of a woman’s revenge on another plane passenger dividing TikTok.
More from In The Know:
Instagram users ‘literally screamed’ after massaging airplane passenger’s feet
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Keurig launched his very first designer collaboration with Jonathan Adler
This couple moved into a tiny house in search of a connection with the outdoors
The post The woman claims she woke up in a smoke-filled house from the TikTok hack appeared first on In The Know.


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Microsoft has raised prices on a raft of products including laptops and tablets by as much as 15% in direct response to the collapse of the pound following the Brexit vote.
It is the latest price increase to hit headlines this week after audio firm Sonos revealed that it was raising prices in the UK by up to 25%.
A Microsoft spokesman said: “In response to a recent review we are adjusting the British pound prices of some of our hardware and consumer software in order to align to market dynamics.”
The tech giant’s Surface Book will now cost consumers £1,449, up £150 or 11.5%. A top-of-the-range Surface Book will now cost £400 more.
The company said the final prices of products sold through third parties would be determined by those outlets.
Those price changes came into effect on Wednesday and at a difficult time for consumers.
It comes just months after Microsoft announced it would raise the cost of software services in the UK by as much as 22% as a result of currency fluctuations.
A number of companies have introduced price hikes in a bid to compensate for the drop in the pound, which is trading 16% lower against the US dollar and over 10% versus the euro since the Brexit vote.
A weaker pound means import costs for many businesses have soared, which will be passed on to consumers.
Sonos jacked up prices in the UK by up to 25%, bumping the Sonos Play:1 speaker from £169 to £199, the Play:3 from £259 to £299 and the Play:5 from £429 to £499.
Meanwhile, Apple confirmed earlier this year that it would be raising the download prices in its App Store in the UK by 25%.
But it is not just tech consumers that are feeling the bite.
Vauxhall cars owner General Motors (GM) said in October that it had to raise UK car prices by 2.5% after the EU referendum result caused the British car industry to hit a “speed bump”.


text: Travel sports is the focus of an article in the latest editions of Seasons Magazines. J.P. DiTomasso is Director of Events at the Farmington Sports Arena. David Rocha is the owner of the new Fast Pitch Nation Park opening next week in Windsor. Visit seasonsmagazines.com to learn more and check out the publisher's newest magazine, Voice. Visit ctvoicemag.com to check it out.


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Rumblings of a new Nvidia Shield device have been going on for a few months now, and today that trend continues with more details on Nvidia’s Shield follow-up.
The Global Certification Forum has posted an entry to its website for an Nvidia Shield product that’s described as a “notebook/tablet.” The device, which was certified on June 27, is listed as having cellular connectivity.
A mysterious Nvidia tablet popped up in some benchmark test results back in May that may be this new Shield tablet. Codenamed “Mocha,” the device is said to have a 7.9-inch 2048×1536 display, quad-core Tegra K1 processor, 7-megapixel rear and 4.8-megapixel cameras, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Android 4.4.2 is said to be powering this mysterious Mocha.
While Nvidia hasn’t made any official statements regarding a new Shield device, we wouldn’t be surprised if such a product were in the pipeline. It’s likely that Nvidia would include its new Tegra K1 chip in whatever new mobile hardware that it’s cooking up, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it threw in a super high-res display to compete with other recently-released tablets.
Now we just need to wait for Nvidia to come forward and spill the nitty gritty details on its new Shield device. Here’s to hoping that, now that the new Shield has been certified, an official announcement isn’t too far off.


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A proposed county-wide ban on carry-out plastic bags gained a little more traction this week as Windsor became the second city in Sonoma County to endorse the idea.
The council unanimously agreed that discontinuing use of the plastic bags, which are ubiquitous at grocery stores, is good for the environment and reducing litter.
But council members also decided there should be a “disincentive” for using paper bags — basically a nominal charge — so that consumers don't simply switch to paper.
Ultimately, the goal is a widespread consumer shift to reusable bags.
“Once you're in the habit, it's easier to do — to bring your own bags,” said Councilwoman Debora Fudge. “I'm super excited to support this today.”
“It's an idea whose time has come, an issue communities will really rally around,” predicted Councilwoman Cheryl Scholar.
The Sonoma County Waste Management Agency, which is proposing the ban, is making presentations to the nine cities in the county, all of which would need to endorse a unified county ordinance.
Petaluma this week expressed its support for the proposal.
Still to be determined is whether the ban should extend to department and drug stores and whether smaller retailers should be exempted.
There have been recent failed legislative attempts in Sacramento to ban carry-out plastic bags statewide and charge for paper.
Meanwhile, other jurisdictions have gone ahead with their own bans, including Marin County, San Francisco, Fairfax, San Jose, Palo Alto, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Los Angeles County.
Mendocino County supervisors in April authorized an environmental study as part of a move toward banning plastic carry-out bags.
A trade group spokeswoman for plastic bag manufacturers on Thursday said that bans are misguided.
“We support recycling as a viable alternative to taxes on plastic bags and bans,” said Allyson Wilson, a representative for the American Chemistry Council.


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Wednesday, September 4, 2019
China's Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) has kicked off volume production of 64-layer 256Gb TLC 3D NAND chips, according to indsutry sources.
YMTC's 64-layer 3D NAND technology is based on the company's in-house developed chip architecture dubbed Xtacking.
YMTC has improved gradually its 64-layer 3D NAND process yield rate, the sources indicated. With improvement in the process yields, the company is expected to grow its 64-layer 3D NAND flash output to 100,000-150,000 wafers monthly in 2020, the sources continued.
YMTC is expected to output 100,000 wafers monthly at its factory site in Wuhan, said the sources, adding that the monthly output is likely to climb further to 150,000 units in the future.
YMTC is already engaged in the development of 128-layer 3D NAND process, the sources noted. The company disclosed previously plans to skip the 96-layer generation and move directly to 128 layers.
YMTC plays a key role in China's memory ambitions. State-owned Tsinghua Unigroup, the parent company of YMTC, is also constructing a factory site in Chengdu to house 12-inch fabrication lines for 3D NAND wafers, the sources noted. The new site is expected to come online in 2021-2022, with initial production capacity of 100,000 wafers a month.
Tsinghua Unigroup also plans to expand its factory site in Nanjing with additional capacity designed for the production of 3D NAND flash, the sources said.
YMTC was founded in 2016 by Tsinghua Unigroup, which owns 51% of the company. China's National Semiconductor Industry Investment Fund (known as the Big Fund) and Hubei Local IC Funds are the other shareholders.
Copyright © 2019 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved


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2018 was a dire year for the network of independently-owned comic book stores that form the backbone of the distribution channel for periodical comics in the United States. Diamond Comic Distributors, the singular distributor for the comic store market, after initially estimating a modest growth in sales for the previous year, issued a correction that overall comic and graphic novel sales fell by about 1% in dollars and nearly 6% by volume compared to 2017, and graphic novel sales through comic stores - a growth segment for the trade book market - fell 8.2% (dollars)/9.7% units.
That means that local comic shops are clinging to the shrinking market of print periodicals - that is, individual issues of comic books published monthly-ish by companies like DC Entertainment, Marvel Entertainment and Image - while losing their share of the booming market for trade collections and graphic novels to other outlets like book stores and Amazon.
Lots of factors account for the decline, including the lack of many true blockbuster hits last year; the self-defeating tactics of large publishers to extract maximum revenue out of a small and unrepresentative group of hardcore collectors; falling costs of digital back issues via subscription services and sales, making it less necessary for readers to follow every series in real time; and general headwinds facing many small, urban-based businesses, such as rising rents and labor costs, which put a pinch on their ability to order extra copies. In the comic book direct market, orders from the distributor are usually non-returnable, which puts huge pressure on retailers to not over-order titles that might not be salable (prices for recent back issues of most comics are near zero), but not under-order on titles that might end up being sleeper hits. Even small miscalculations can be the difference between a good month and catastrophe.
According to the industry site ICv2 (disclosure: I am a contributor), "Comic stores are getting hammered from two directions. First, sales of the graphic novel categories that comic stores are best at are shrinking across channels. Neither Marvel nor DC have been putting out comics that are capturing the public imagination for the past couple of years. Collecting them into graphic novels isn’t making the content any more appealing. As a result, sales of superhero graphic novels are plummeting."
Milton Griepp, ICv2 publisher and a longtime industry analyst, further adds that comic stores, which draw most of their customers from adult superhero fans, are missing out on the biggest trend in comics over the last few years: graphic novels for kids, teens and young readers. Griepp observes that Dav Pilkey's kid-oriented Dog Man series has sold over half a million copies in the book channel in a single month last year. But most comic shop owners - unless they have young kids themselves - have never heard of it, or don't consider it "comics" in ways that would appeal to their existing customers.
To make matters worse, one comic publisher that had a blockbuster year in 2018 doesn't distribute to comic stores at all. That would be Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform that enables creators to raise funds to publish their work independently and sell it directly to supporters.
Kickstarter has been a godsend to independent comic creators and small presses for years, but according to UK-based industry analyst Thomas Bidaux of ICO Partners, successful comic-based Kickstarters raised $15.3 million in 2018, up from around $12M each of the last three years and by far the highest amount since platform metrics became available in 2011. That's a 25% jump in a key metric year-over-year, numbers that any other publisher in the space would kill for.
That revenue was generated by 1456 comic based projects that got funded through the site (up from 1281, itself a high-water mark, in 2017). Comic projects got funded at a nearly 70% success rate, indicating that creators are doing a better job than ever finding their audience and mobilizing fans to support crowdfunded work.
While creators often overprint Kickstarter projects and sell extra copies on the open market after supporters have received theirs, there is no easy, well-established method to get Kickstarted projects listed in Previews, the catalog issued by Diamond that retailers use as the basis for their non-refundable preorders. Even Kickstarter titles that get listed in Previews tend to get lost in the voluminous back pages of the guide, where retailers have to have sharp eyes and a keen sense of their customer base before they roll the dice on a self-published title. That goes double for expensive, deluxe graphic novel projects that do well on Kickstarter, and triple for those kinds of projects with subject matter that falls outside the superhero-centric interests of comic store shoppers.
The comic publishing industry, including trade books, periodicals and digital, does about $1 billion annually, according to industry estimates. But it's the medium of origin for the properties that power multi-billion dollar entertainment franchises across multiple screens, and characters who account for tens of billions of dollars of licensing revenue across apparel, toys, games and other merchandise.
This inverted pyramid of value has always rested on the weakest points: hard-pressed creators who struggle to make ends meet during the long lead times to write, draw, package and distribute their work, and the uncoordinated network of small, local businesses that connect comics to customers. Both are resilient beyond all reasonable expectation, able to survive through market conditions that would kill most other kinds of businesses. But that resilience is not without limits, and if the trends of 2018 continue, those limits will surely be tested this year.


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The business value behind online gaming is immeasurable. Taiwan Mobile has actively staged itself in the online gaming industry. On Nov. 9, Taiwan Mobile announced its attainment of "League of Legends" agency rights in Taiwan, from January 2023. "League of Legends" is a multiplayer 5v5 online game with a whopping player base of 180 million players throughout the world.
This also marks the fourth Riot gaming title that Taiwan Mobile has attained the agency rights after "Legends of Rune Terra," "Valorant" and "League of Legends: Wild Rift.""Taiwan Mobile has a long-term strategy that matches the desire of Riot Games players who care for gaming experience and treasure a sustainable management of the game," Taiwan Mobile Vice President Daphee Lee said.
"We are honored to have won the agency rights to 'League of Legends'-- a globally popular and the most representative and iconic online game in the gaming industry," Lee said.
"This does not only mark a milestone for Taiwan Mobile's commitment to the development of the gaming industry, but also represents a great leap for it to streamline and synergize the games with Taiwan Mobile's existing corporate assets, so as to bring an overall outstanding gaming experience for the players," she said.
"As we focus on becoming the world players' centric gaming company, be it in or not in the game, we are glad to bring an immersive and meaningful experience to the players. We believe that as this cooperation progresses, a best gaming experience will be provided to Taiwanese players," Alex Kraynov, managing director of Riot Games in charge of the Asia-Pacific market, said.
Taiwan Mobile will start its agency of "League of Legends" from January 2023. Apart from providing the same gaming experience as that for players in other regions, a series of online and offline activities will be held to invited heroes to go toe to toe with one another.
What's more, Taiwan Mobile has also been promoting the participation in amateur E-sport events at schools around Taiwan through its three existing agency of Riot Games titles -- "Legends of the Rune Terra","Valorant" and "League of Legends: Wild Rift."
Taiwan Mobile has hosted over 70 "Valorant" and "League of Legends:Wild Rift" amateur competitions on campus, drawing the participation of more than 1,000 teams.
Taiwan Mobile will continue to host school competitions for amateur players, to scout for future E-sport gamers to allow Taiwanese E-sport professionals to shine in world tournaments.
"League of Legends," an online multiplayer battle arena game, has had attracted over 180 million players across the world since its debut in Taiwan in 2011. "League of Legends" has maintained its high popularity, being the focus of many players at the world championship.
Apart from being an immensely successful game for many years, 2021 saw "League of Legends" expand its IP into animation in the title "Arcane," which even won the award for the "best animated show" at the 74th annual Emmy Awards.


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SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has responded to Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang's offer to roll out a unified e-payments system for Singapore within 18 months, if the Government gives it the green light.
"Make me a proposal and I will study it seriously," Mr Lee tweeted on Wednesday (Aug 23).
During his National Day Rally on Sunday, Mr Lee said Singapore lags behind other cities such as those in China, in the area of e-payments. There are too many different schemes and systems for e-payments that “don’t talk to one another”, he added.
Razer - a gaming hardware company - has an e-wallet system and gaming credits that function like digital currency for in-game purchases.
Mr Tan said Mr Lee's reply via Twitter showed that the Prime Minister was "serious on the Smart Nation initiative".
When Singapore's PM responds on ideas through Twitter you can be sure they're serious on the Smart Nation initiative. Kudos. https://t.co/QhyrgII4zj— Min-Liang Tan (@minliangtan) August 23, 2017
The CEO of online marketplace Carousell, Siu Rui Quek, also joined in, saying the Singapore start-up would be glad to participate as well.


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Tech Nation adds Hopin and Oxbotica to Future Fifty list
The latest entrants are startups that have thrived during the pandemic
Tech Nation has announced the latest entries for its annual 'Future Fifty' programme, selecting a cohort of startups that have responded well to the pandemic.
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The Future Fifty is for late-stage digital businesses and the 15 new entrants include virtual events platform Hopin, geospatial app What3Words and autonomous car firm Oxbotica.
The programme reflects the growth of the UK tech sector and the "funnel" which takes companies from seed to billion-dollar valuations. It was initially launched in 2013 and around 202 companies have so far taken part in the programme, collectively raising $36 billion in venture capital investment, with 11 going on to become publicly traded companies. This include the likes of Deliveroo, Darktrace, Wise and Revolut - the UK's single largest tech company, valued at £23 billion.
The new entrants include companies that have surpassed unicorn status this year, with the UK reportedly seeing 20 startups breach the $1 billion mark in 2021. Hopin, for instance, has seen its valuation rise to $7.75 billion since March 2020. Other companies selected to join Future Fifty include Cazoo, Cognism, Double Eleven, Form 3, Huma, Multiverse, MYPINPAD, STATSports, Strike, Tessian, Wagestream and Wolf & Badger.
In total, new joiners to the programme are planning to increase their headcount by an average 60% in the next 12 months. Japan is the top country companies are planning to expand to, followed by Canada, Germany, South Africa and China. "The companies selected to join this year's Future Fifty programme are a shining example of the UK's entrepreneurship, innovation and resilience," said Gerard Grech, founding chief executive, Tech Nation.
"The UK tech sector is the cornerstone of our economic growth, the 15 companies joining Future Fifty 10.0 collectively employ over 5,000 people and have raised almost $1.6bn in venture capital investment. Based across the UK, nurturing the growth of these scaling late-stage tech companies is critical to future proofing the UK's economy'.
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HANNOVER, Germany – Investing in future vehicle technologies is a tricky business, but mega-supplier Continental sees rubber tires rolling confidently into the future even as it invests billions helping automakers develop autonomous and electrified vehicles.
CEO Elmar Degenhart tells reporters here in a former tire plant turned into a technology center that it is likely new ownership models and self-driving cars eventually will reduce the number of vehicles in major cities, but he says overall miles traveled are expected to increase as the disabled and those too young or too old to drive become more mobile.
In other words, in the future there might be fewer vehicles on the road but they will log more miles and require many more replacement tires.
And long after steering wheels are optional on vehicles, rubber tires still will be standard equipment.
Backing up Degenhart’s optimism, Continental spent half of a 2-day technology preview for the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show briefing journalists on how future tires will remain relevant by being connected, substantially improving the range of electric vehicles, and might even be made from dandelions in five or 10 years.
Continental started out 140 years ago as a manufacturer of rubber parts. It didn’t invent car tires, but it did produce the first one with a patterned tread in 1904 and now manufactures 150 million units annually, making it the fourth largest tire manufacturer behind Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear, says Gerrit Bolz, head of process development and tire assembly.
More importantly, Continental’s €40.5 billion in total revenue last year ranks it among the world’s top four auto parts manufacturers.
The best car in the world – autonomous or not – isn’t worth much without a good set of tires to enable it to drive properly, but company officials acknowledge that most consumers (and Wall Street analysts) find tires boring. So despite its bullish outlook, round black doughnuts now account for about 26% of the company’s total revenue, down from almost 50% 15 years ago.
Even so, the company’s passion for the tire business has not waned. Just last October it acquired Indiana-based Hoosier Racing Tire, which supplies tires for racing applications around the world.
Nikolai Setzer, executive board member for Continental’s tire business says, “The acquisition of Hoosier is an exciting next addition to our product portfolio and will support our growth strategy, especially in the ultra-high-performance segment.”
Like most big suppliers, Continental has been broadening its product portfolio in the past decade to include more components related to high-efficiency powertrains, interiors, advanced driver assist systems and connectivity.
It recently was announced Continental would be the system integrator for collaboration between BMW Group, Intel and Mobileye for automated driving. As a system integrator, Continental will play a key role in the industrialization of the platform for other automotive manufacturers and bringing the joint solutions to market more quickly.
But the supplier still prides itself on the variety of rubber it sells, from bicycle and motorcycle tires all the way up to heavy-duty truck tires and elaborate hand-cut prototypes for concept cars. It even makes Conti-branded soles for Adidas athletic shoes.
Continental engineers brag they offer 20 different sets of factory installed tires for picky Porsche Macan CUV buyers, including winter, summer and all-season in different sizes and performance capabilities.
In the 1980s, exactly one set of tires was available on the Land Rover D90 SUV.
Contrary to what many uninformed consumers may think, the average tire is a highly engineered part that is as complex and conflicted as a Shakespearian character. Every improvement in one area seems to impair a positive characteristic in another. For instance, enhancing grip for better handling hurts wear; reducing rolling resistance to improve fuel economy increases stopping distance on wet pavement.
Thousands of New Materials Tested Every Year
Continental has about 8,000 employees working to solve these conundrums with chemistry, physics, tread patterns and endless computer simulations. Thousands of new materials and compounds are tested every year in the company labs here to make tires wear better, improve vehicle performance and be impervious to road hazards.
Their work already has yielded run-flat tires that can survive 50 nail punctures and special “silent” tires that make the interior of the latest Audi A7 quieter.
Grip and safety always will be of utmost importance, but new priorities are being added to Continental’s to-do list for future development, engineers say.
Lots of work is being done in materials research and adding sensors to tires, but reducing rolling resistance while preserving grip and controlling excess noise will get up to 50% of tire research and development resources in the near term. Tires that roll more easily have “huge potential” for improving EV range, Continental officials say.
However Continental’s Bolz says he is “skeptical” of work being done by some competitors in the areas of spherical and airless tires. He says such projects are great at garnering attention, but Continental is not pursuing research in this area because the designs present potentially insurmountable damping and noise issues.
But connected tires definitely are on the menu, and so is lightweighting. Tires already have air pressure sensors, but they will be capable of capturing and transmitting much more information in the future about road surface conditions, traction and vehicle dynamics. Embedded sensors can “do much, much more (than now), but we won’t talk about it,” says one executive.
Another key area of research is more sustainable and environmentally friendly sources of natural rubber, still a major component in vehicle tires.
Andreas Topp, head of materials and process development, says natural rubber cannot be completely replaced with synthetic rubber in a tire, because the natural material has specific qualities that can’t be replicated.
Continental chemists claim to be the first to develop a rubber compound based on dandelion latex and the first to succeed in cultivating a type of dandelion that produces large amounts of the latex on which natural rubber is based.
Unfortunately, while the material offers great promise, officials say it will take five to 10 years to create the economies of scale necessary to productionize the material.
Continental also is experimenting with making lighter, thinner tires, but as always, there are potential negative consequences to these moves. Replacing traditional steel belts with super strong aramid (Kevlar) belts could dramatically reduce weight, but the material costs three times as much as steel belts, a deal breaker in today’s cost-competitive market.
One bright spot on the horizon in terms of cost and wear is the fact that self-driving cars likely will be easier on tires. That’s because they will accelerate and stop more smoothly and gradually than humans.


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MILAN — Alessandro Benetton’s investment fund 21 Investimenti has acquired a majority stake in Contemporary Bags, the Italian company controlling the Gianni Chiarini Group.Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.Florence-based Gianni Chiarini Group produces and distributes the Gianni Chiarini and GUM brands' handbags and accessories collections. In 2016, Gianni Chiarini Group posted revenues of 35 million euros, or $38.8 million at average exchange. Exports account for 60 percent of the group’s total business.Following the deal, the group’s founder Gianni Chiarini will retain a significant stake and continue working in the company, while Cristina Cortesi is to be appointed its chief executive officer. Most recently, Cortesi held the role of managing director of Bulgari’s accessories business unit.“The Gianni Chiarini Group features all the characteristics, which 21 Investimenti looks for when it invests into a project. The group embodies all the typical values of Made in Italy: high-end design and quality, excellent craftsmanship, and attention to customers’ taste and needs,” Benetton said in a statement. “The group has a huge growth potential on international markets. To reach our ambitious goals, we established a high-profile managing team. We are strongly focused on creating a relevant player in its market able to offer innovation and attention to customers, especially Millennials.”According to Benetton, 21 Investimenti will expand the presence of the Gianni Chiarini and GUM brands in new markets through new distribution channels, collections, and customized marketing and communication activities. A series of flagship stores are also expected to open in key locations.Through this acquisition, 21 Investimenti is expanding its portfolio of brands positioned in the mid-market. Last July, the private equity company acquired Italian footwear label Philippe Model.
Exclusive: @isabelmarant and @lorealmakeup have teamed up to create a capsule makeup collection. "She is rather natural in the day but doesn't have time to go back home before going out [in the evening] and redo her entire beauty look," said Marant on the 5 products included in the collection, which will launching in September. Read @jenniferbethweil's interview with the designer on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdbeauty
After 17 years, Tomas Maier is leaving @bottegaveneta. “I am deeply grateful to him and I personally thank him for the work he accomplished, and for the exceptional success he helped to achieve,” said François-Henri Pinault, head of parent company @kering_official. Head to WWD.com for more on his departure. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: Davide Maestri)
@shaymitchell is no stranger to teaming up with beauty brands, but she’s made her latest partnership official: She’s signed with @buxomcosmetics as global creative brand ambassador, WWD learned exclusively. Mitchell and Buxom will collaborate on campaign development, social media strategy and content and new product and shade development. Read more on WWD.com. #wwdbeauty (📷: @clint_spaulding)
Today we’re at the WWD Retail 20/20 Forum where industry leaders will be talking about the future of shopping for fashion, footwear and beauty. Tune in on Instagram Live at 9 am and 3:30 pm to hear from two of our speakers –– @therealreal’s Rati Levesque and @bandier’s Stephen Ippolito. #wwdsummits (📷: @elizaflorendo)
Seen last night at @coach’s launch party for “Life Coach,” an interactive pop-up in Soho: @joansmalls. Open now, visitors of the pop-up can engage in themes of “creativity and self-expression,” through tarot, carnival games, live performances and art. See the rest of the party pics on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: @vnina)
“We figure there’s enough cynicism to go around the world right now let’s go out there and be ourselves, let’s be enthusiastic, let’s have positive energy, which is something I think a lot of people really want and need right now,” said musician @joshgroban ahead of hosting the Tony Awards with @sarabareilles. Read @leighn’s interview with Groban on how he picked his look for the night, his next record and more on WWD.com. #wwdeye #tonyawards (📷: @vnina)
“Rock as an attitude and not a uniform. Street as a style and not just clothing. Sportswear as the new normality,” @paul_surridge said of his first @roberto_cavalli men’s wear collection, previewed here. The British designer joined the brand as the creative director in May 2017, and is gearing up to unveil his debut for the label with a runway show at the Florence Charterhouse on June 13 at #PittiUomo. Head to WWD.com to read more about his collection and see more sneak peek photos. #wwdfashion (📷: @simonelezzi)


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Money spent by importers of sport goods on brand promotions and appointment of brand ambassadors cannot be subjected to import duty, the Supreme Court has said. The ruling came in the backdrop of revenue officials issuing notices to several dealers who had imported golf kits, badminton and table tennis rackets and had roped in brand ambassadors, including PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal.
The tax department had approached the top court after a tax appellate tribunal rejected the revenue department’s contention.
“We find no merit in this appeal,” the SC said in an order pronounced on July 1.
The tax department had claimed that several multinational companies were undervaluing imports and that marketing spend is nothing but a mandatory requirement embedded in the cost to hoodwink Indian authorities. S-ET


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Short call: Wall Street trader Eric Yip is betting shopping malls will collapse
Eric Yip spent his childhood working in his parents’ store at a shopping mall in a small New Jersey town. The family sold homewares and T-shirts from the Burlington Center.
In the early 1980s, the 103,000 sq ft retail complex had more than 100 stores and was the heart of the community, credited with creating a development boom in the town.
Today, though, just a handful of shops remain and it is virtually silent.


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The holiday season keeps rolling right over retailers, as Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears announced this week that it was shutting down 89 stores (53 auto parts stores, 30 hardware stores, 4 full line stores), and terminating 2,400 workers.Some analysts blamed “difficult weather conditions,” but you don’t need a Farmer’s Almanac to know that big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot are the difficult weather pattern that pounding Sears. At the same time, Office Depot, based in Florida, added another 1,600 workers to the body count, as the office store said it would nail shut 70 stores. A couple of days later, Ann & Hope, a New England based discount store heaped 1,400 jobs on the dump, consolidating its operations. The Boston Herald stated the obvious: “In recent years the New England institution has taken a beating from such national chains as Target and Wal-Mart.” Between last week and this week, the retail aisles are piled high with 52,400 unemployed workers, victims of retail saturation. Now you know why Santa’s coat is red.
Wondering what’s going on here? Are all these retailers, like the 47 year old Ann & Hope, shedding jobs because of bad weather? Keep in mind one of my favorite quotes from Tom Coughlin at Wal-Mart: “At Wal-Mart we make dust, our competitors eat dust.” These layoffs are the work of the Great American Dust Machine, as this nation moves closer and closer to the “one country, one store” retail nightmare.


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Android OS Install Base Projected to Surpass Windows By 2016
It's no secret that PC sales have been in a slump, and as computer shipments stagnant, so too does Windows. However, Microsoft's banking on a big reception for Windows 8, not just on the desktop, but in the mobile sector as well. With so much emphasis placed on the touch interface, one could argue that Microsoft has already begun to transition to mobile, and if that strategy works, it could put a wrinkle in Gartner's predictions.
That's a big if. After less than four years on the market, Android has positioned itself as the No. 1 smartphone operating system with an install-base that encompasses two-thirds of the market. Android's also popular in the tablet sector, albeit not as much as iOS, which dominates the category with Apple's iPad line.
Either way, Microsoft faces an enormous uphill battle, and it begins tomorrow when Windows 8 launches to the general public.


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After going on a hiatus since January 2016, Akiko Higashimura will resume her Princess Jellyfish manga in June.
Masami Tsuda, creator of Kare Kano, will end her Hinoko manga which runs in Hakusensha’s Ane LaLa magazine. The manga will end in two chapters.
Yuri!!! on Ice is getting an anime film. Not much is known other than it will not be a compilation.
MegaHouse has show the new Victor Nikiforov figure that is now available for preorder (although it’s sold out CDJapan and will not be restocked!). The figure is 1/8 scale, 21cm and will sell for 10,800 yen. It will be released in October.
The DIVE!! novels, which are getting a TV anime this summer, are also getting a new manga adaptation.
Orange by Ichigo Takano and Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura, among others, have been nominated for the 2017 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.
Rejet, an otome game creator, is releasing musical CDs in a project called Corpse Heart: Undead Musical. According to Anime News Network, “The protagonist encounters them at the ”Midnight Black Magic School“ in the U.K. where princes of corpses gather together. They have only one purpose: to find the unknown princess ”Jewel Heart.“ The girl who possesses a trembling heart (”jewel“) can allegedly bring them back to life. The annual ”Easter festival“ begins, starting the search for the princess. The princes of the dead begin their battle for you.” The first CD will be on sale July 26.


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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'Beer News & Releases' started by Todd, Jan 9, 2019.
“…the Brewers Association indicate that Hangar 24’s production was flat in 2017, at 34,640 barrels, down from a peak of about 37,000 barrels in 2014.”
Another indicator of the challenging conditions for larger, distributing craft breweries.
It appears that some of the strategies of Hangar 24 are:
· Saving money by reducing staff: “Speaking to Brewbound, Cook said the decision to lay off six of the company’s 13 brewery employees was aimed at “right-sizing”...”
· Having their largest selling beers be produced by another brewery: “For his part, Cook said that shifting production of Hangar 24’s higher volume brands — Orange Wheat, Betty IPA, Aventura Mexican-style lager, and Peak Blonde — to Gordon Biersch will create “economies of scale”...”


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- Danielle Wightman-Stone |
Personalised jewellery brand Merci Maman has named Jean-Michel Ledru as its new chief executive officer, replacing its founder, Arnaud de Montille, who will take on the role of chief financial officer, effective immediately.
Ledru, previously head of EDHEC’s Business School corporate incubators and programme director of its MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, was chosen for the role because of his “significant experience” in helping structure and nurture the growth of multiple businesses.
“The combination of his experience, drive and culture makes him an ideal fit for Merci Maman's next stages of growth,” stated the jewellery brand in a statement.
Béatrice and Arnaud de Montille, founders of Merci Maman, said: “Jean-Michel is a people and customer centred individual with a strong history of creating highly engaged teams, which ideally suits him to Merci Maman's strong culture. He has excellent business experience and the drive to help us take the company to the next level of growth and development.
“Jean-Michel has been involved in the company as a member of the Board and has been collaborating with Béatrice since 2015 when she was appointed patron of EDHEC’s MSc in Entrepreneurship led by him. We are very pleased to continue building this strong relationship with Jean-Michel and we look forward to working with him over the next few years to continue the exceptional growth of our business."
Commenting on his new role, Ledru, added: “I am very happy to join the team and the great adventure of Merci Maman! With the founders and the management team we have the ambition to continue the strong growth of the company, and to accelerate its international development whilst keeping the values of the brand which structure the team and to which our customers are so attached.”
Merci Maman is a Franco-British brand, founded in 2007 in London by Béatrice and Arnaud de Montille on their kitchen table, and now employs a team of 40 with 3 offices in London, Paris and Berlin. In April, the brand won a second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category, after demonstrated steep year-on-year growth in overseas sales rising by 118 percent overall, selling in France, Germany and the United States.
Image: courtesy of Merci Maman


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The Utica, N.Y.-based company posted profits of $5.8 million, or 20¢ per share, on sales of $202.3 million for the three months ended September 30, seeing profits shrink 19.1% while sales grew 6.4% compared with the same period during the previous year.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 46¢, just in line with the consensus on The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $198.5 million.
“We are pleased with our strong global performance in the third quarter, which reflects continued execution against our strategic plans. We believe we are well-positioned to continue to deliver above-market revenue growth and attractive returns to our shareholders,” prez & CEO Curt Hartman said in a press release.
Conmed adjusted its full year guidance, now expecting to see adjusted sales growth of between 6.5% and 7%, compared to previous guidance of between 6% and 7%. The company said it still expects to post adjusted diluted earnings per share of between $2.15 and $2.20.
Shares in ConMed rose 4.8% today, closing at $6.40.
In August, ConMed posted second quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations and lifted its sales growth guidance for the remaining year.


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fptechnoAug 22, 2013 10:21:41 IST
German automotive parts maker Continental AG
Daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung cited unspecified sources as saying Continental aims to unveil the two pacts at the Frankfurt Car Show in September.
Self driving cars getting closer to reality now!
Continental is already in an alliance with U.S. network equipment maker Cisco Systems
Google has been working on self-driving technology since 2010, including testing a fleet of self-driving cars along California roadways.
A raft of automakers including GM
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.


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Google is building an App Store for its business-focused Google Apps software, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Spreadsheets, etc., the WSJ reports.
Through the store, Google Apps customers could purchase add-ons for the Web apps, increasing Google’s feature set (and revenues) without increasing the complexity of its base products.
This as Google tries to disrupt several Microsoft businesses, including its Office and Windows giants, and its Exchange email business.
Google could announce the App Store as soon as March, the WSJ’s Jessica Vascellaro says. Like the App Stores flourishing in the mobile industry, Google could collect a cut from sales while passing the majority of revenue along to developers.
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D&H Distributing is Now Carrying OSD Audio
OSD Audio has reached a distribution deal with D&H Distributing, effective Oct. 1. The deal, the companies said, covers OSD Audio’s outdoor and architectural speakers, amplifiers, and accessories.
“D&H is recognized as one of the leading consumer electronics distributors in the country, and they are a great partner to have,” Doug Turner, OSD Audio’s Vice President of Sales, said as part of the announcement. “Their reputation and reach in the consumer and small- to medium-sized business markets will help OSD broaden our customer base.”


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New York City has released maintenance costs for its city fleet in 2018, and the city refers to the cost difference between its electric cars and gas-powered cars as “dramatic.”
A New York City Fleet Newsletter this month reveals the cost comparisons in depth. It compares maintenance costs of all-electric cars, hybrids, and gas vehicles during the past year, and finds that all-electrics come out on top:
“NYC Fleet has more experience with electric vehicles than most, so we took a look at last year’s maintenance costs with the DCAS client fleet to see if these service benefits are materializing. Right now, servicing costs with our all-electric vehicle models is dramatically less than with gas, hybrid, or hybrid plug-in models. In general, our hybrid models also achieve benefits from gas models, though the most dramatic results in this report are with the all electrics.”
The newsletter takes a closer look at 10 models: three all-electric models, four hybrids, and three gas cars. The three all-electric cars — the Chevy Bolt, the Ford Focus Electric, and Nissan Leaf — were lowest in annual maintenance costs, ranging from $204 with the Bolt to $386 with the Focus Electric.
A few of the hybrid vehicles cost the city more than $1,000 in maintenance in 2018, and gas vehicles like the Ford Fusion and Focus checked in with a maintenance cost average of $1,621 and $1,805, respectively.
The newsletter notes the typical reasons for maintenance savings in the newsletter — regenerative braking, no oil change, spark plugs, or transmission fluids — but also says that stolen mufflers and catalytic converters have become an issue for the fleet’s gas and hybrid cars.
While the city notes that its EVs are still early in their expected life cycle of “ten or so years,” the newsletter concludes:
“All early indicators are that we are achieving the fuel, emissions, and maintenance benefits of this exciting transition away from the internal combustion engine.”
Quartz asked the city to send annualized costs of the car models, and posted a comparison of the Nissan Leaf, Toyota Prius, and gas-powered Ford Fusion. Even factoring the higher purchase price and the cost of an EV charger, the Leaf had the lowest overall costs over a nine-year period.
While EV owners won’t be surprised by these findings, the country’s largest city hailing these results in an official newsletter is the sort of indicator that alludes to widespread EV adoption in the coming years.
New York City has a webpage dedicated to fleet sustainability, claiming its fleet “is the greenest in the nation.” The city now operates more than 1,224 on-road EVs and plug-in hybrids.


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On December 18, 2007, the Dutch independent authority regulating postal and electronic communications services (Onafhankelijke Post en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit — OPTA) imposed a fine totaling one million euros on three Dutch companies operating under the name DollarRevenue. These small businesses had surreptitiously installed spy- and adware on over 22 million computers belonging to Internet users in the Netherlands and elsewhere. This practice allowed them to spy on consumers’ online behavior and triggered pop-up windows with advertising material. This is the first time that OPTA has imposed a fine on the distributors of undesirable software and this action was welcomed by EU Telecoms and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding in a press release on December 19, 2007.
For additional information, please consult these press releases (in English) at: http://www.opta.nl/asp/en/newsandpublications/pressreleases/documentasp?id=2459


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The Blackberry Playbook featured some pretty decent hardware when it first launched back in 2011, but unfortunately interest for the device did not seem to pick up and the tablet has since been relegated to a sales item where retailers are offering it on the cheap. That’s not to say that RIM has completely given up on the Playbook. In fact there have been several leaks (here and here) that indicated that the tablet could be in for a refresh with 4G on board. No word on when that will launch, but thanks to Anders Jeppsson, an employee at RIM, it looks like “something wonderful” for the Playbook will be happening later today.
Unfortunately if you were thinking of a hardware upgrade, that’s pretty much out of the question as Jeppsson has indicated that the “something wonderful” will be arriving in the App World. Not to mention considering that Jeppsson’s job at RIM is that of Head of Gaming, that narrows it down even more. Could it be Angry Birds Space that made a brief appearance on the Playbook before getting pulled? We guess we will have to wait and find out, so check back with us later for the details.


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Slashing staff hours helped car parts chain Halfords boost profits by about 12% in the first half of the year.
Cutting full-timers' hours to ensure more staff are on at busy times lobbed £4m off the firm's annual wage bill.
However, its total workforce grew by 600 in the past year due to the addition of parttime staff. This, plus savings from a new distribution depot are set to push full year profits up 15% to £135m.
Half-year takings at its main Halfords stores fell 4.5% and its Autocentres chain by 0.8%. The firm is to fight back with price cuts for Christmas.


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As recently as 1994, Pacific Sunwear of California was a largely regional chain with most of its 90 stores on the West Coast. But then the company underwent an aggressive expansion, and today it stands at 650 outlets. Now the firm plans to add 300 more stores during the next three years, and 1,000 locations nationwide by 2004.
The Anaheim-based chain, which also runs stores under the PacSun name, built its reputation by keeping up with what’s hip and cool in teenage sportswear, accessories, and footwear. But the $700-million company has also learned it’s had to stay current with the technology it uses for its supply chain, with some 400 suppliers.
This year, as part of an effort to get a better grip on its supply chain, the firm upgraded its enterprise resource planning system, adding an E-procurement function. It also installed the Web EC E- commerce middleware system from SPS Commerce. Finally, later this year, the firm plans to implement the PkMS, warehouse package management system from Manhattan Associates.
The company’s ERP system, the SVi Retail System, from SVi Solutions (formerly Island Pacific Systems Corp.), “functions as the core of everything we do,” explains Ron Ehlers, the chain’s vice president of information services. The system runs on an IBM iSeries mid-range server, the class of hardware that Big Blue had tagged the AS/400 until last year, and Pacific Sunwear has been using it for merchandising, sales audit, and financials since the mid 1980s.
But the retailer’s rapid growth forced it to take a hard look at its infrastructure.
Last year, a consulting team from Deloitte & Touche reviewed the firm’s operations and recommended that it upgrade its supply chain.
“The key thing we were looking for was to make improvements in the efficiencies of the supply chain,” says Ehlers. Specifically, the firm wanted to integrate all of its electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions: invoices, outgoing purchase orders, and advance shipping notifications (ASNs).
The company uses the EDI format to send its vendors electronic purchase orders. It then receives an ASN and an electronic invoice. By adding SVi’s E-procurement module and the Web EC middleware, the store chain has automated the purchasing process with its suppliers.
“What we’ve done is set up an integration program between our SVi system and their Web electronic commerce platform,” says Ehlers. “We are literally going to get 100 percent of our vendors participating and communicating with us electronically.”
Already there have been tangible cost savings. Frank Schools, Pacific Sunwear’s vice president of finance, says he monitors the SVi system on a weekly basis in order to see where inventory and the gross margin are heading.
Schools says the weekly review is done “so merchants/buyers have complete understanding of the numbers we report. The data is very straightforward, and we can query into the data and take it down to a detailed level, if we want to.”


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American model Gigi Hadid and Chinese model Fei Fei Sun pose together on Vogue Hong Kong’s first cover, which hits newsstands on Sunday 3rd March.
The cover tells an ‘East meets West’ story, crafted by photographer Nick Knight and Vogue Hong Kong’s Fashion Director Anya Ziourova.
Blending the local with the international is a core focus for the editorial team. Mixing art and fashion from both within Hong Kong and from across the world and major fashion capitals, packaged up into content that celebrates both existing traditions and future-looking innovations, is what readers can expect inside the first issue.
A particular highlight, according to the team, is a special photo essay collaboration with Stanley Wong, Hong Kong’s famous creative director and artist.
“Hong Kong is a vibrant city with a dynamic fashion and art scene; it has its own style and voice. We tried to create a new Vogue which could convey this distinctive voice and swirling energy,” says Karina Dobrotvorskaya, executive director editorial development at Condé Nast International.
Vogue Hong Kong launched its Instagram account, @voguehongkong, on 28 January with a series of short films starring some of the region’s most famous actresses.
“This magazine is a tribute to our beloved city, which has long embodied an international outlook anchored by Chinese tradition. Our platform is a showcase for both Hong Kong and international creative talents working together to make a publication and website that is as cosmopolitan and energetic as our home,” says Vogue Hong Kong's editorial director Peter Wong.
Publisher Desiree Au has hopes of propelling the brand into a realm where it can bring about change.
Au remarked: "Beyond our beautiful photoshoots and insightful articles, we want Vogue to be an advocate for gender equality, diversity and empowerment, which are important to enriching the fabric of our society."
For more about Vogue Hong Kong, visit voguehk.com.
Condé Nast International is a member of FIPP.
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text: HARTFORD - Two Cuban citizens have admitted their roles in the theft of $500,000 worth of merchandise from an outlet store in Lee, Mass., along with similar burglaries in six other states. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut and the FBI said Alionis Perez, 40, of New Jersey, and Yoandrys Cue, 30, of Florida, pleaded guilty to the thefts that took place between August and November 2013. Perez, Cue and other conspirators stole high-end leather goods valued at $500,000 from the Michael Kors outlet in Lee. Prosecutors said the thieves used a stolen van, which they dumped in Staten Island, New York, before returning to New Jersey with the merchandise. They also stole more than a million dollars worth of watches from Fossil stores in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Other burglaries occurred in Missouri and Kansas. Perez pleaded guilty to a separate conspiracy involving break-ins in Kansas and Tennessee. Perez faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, while Cue faces 5 years. Each could be fined $3.6 million, and ordered to pay $1.865 million in restitution. Sentencing is scheduled for mid-August.


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Google is getting into the restaurant delivery and home services businesses – nope, not in the U.S., but rather in parts of India. The company has quietly launched a new app called Areo which currently only works in Bangalore and Mumbai, India, allowing users to order meals from nearby restaurants or schedule appointments with local service professionals, including electricians, painters, cleaners, plumbers, and more.
Areo popped up on the Google Play Store on April 12, 2017, where the company briefly explains how the product works. The idea is to consolidate both food delivery and home services in a single app, where you can search for dishes or restaurants – even filter by vegetarian options – or book appointment times with local pros. Users can also pay in the app, the description indicates, via card, netbanking, or cash on delivery.
With Areo, Google is basically acting as the middleman – that is, it’s not running its own food delivery or home services business, but is rather working with service providers in the area.
Launch partners include UrbanClap and Zimmber on the home services side, and Freshmenu, Box8 and Faasos for food ordering, The ET reports. For payments, it’s working with TimesofMoney’s DirecPay, but not Android Pay, oddly, they also discovered.
Google said it isn’t yet charging its partners for the service, but rather characterized Areo as an experiment.
This isn’t Google’s first time in the delivery space, however. The company continues to operate its rapid-delivery service Google Express in the U.S., which delivers items from stores like Costco, Walgreens, Toys R Us, Petsmart, Whole Foods and several others. That service has had its ups and downs, however, as Google rethought the model. For example, last fall Google announced it was killing the part of the business that would deliver perishables.
Google also isn’t the only major tech company to try to make ordering home services something that can be done from your phone. Amazon, too, operates a Home Services business where customers can search and book with area pros for things like home theater installation, home improvement, assembly, house cleaning, lawn care, and more.
The Areo app is live on the Google Play Store, but only available in the above cities in India. Google has not announced its plans to bring it to other markets at this time.


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Consumer brands and mobile service providers in Asia could unlock an annual revenue opportunity of as much as $6 billion by 2019 through the sponsorship of mobile data services, says a new study from Syniverse.
In the sponsored-data model, companies sponsor usage for specific content on behalf of subscribers of various mobile service providers, allowing subscribers to access this content without being charged for the usage.
The survey conducted by Syniverse among 3,500 people in seven countries across Asia finds that consumers are generally willing to accept the branding of content, advertising and promotional material in return for free data.
The results are as following:
Sixty-two percent of respondents said they would accept the branding of content and advertising in return for free data.
Forty-nine percent of respondents would be willing to accept coupon offers from sponsors.
Respondents also would be willing to accept offers from a wide range of sponsoring organizations, with 42 percent saying they would accept offers from entertainment providers.
Thirty-one percent of respondents would be willing to accept offers from bars, restaurants and cafes.
Twenty-nine percent would be willing to accept offers from travel companies.
“Content providers, mobile service providers and consumers have been stuck in a no-win situation when it comes to mobile data usage,” said Mary Clark, chief marketing officer, Syniverse. “Consumers want to use more data along with richer mobile engagement, and operators and content providers are missing out on the revenue that this usage could deliver.”
The results of this study underline the business case that should motivate operators and their partners to consider sponsored-data plans as a way to drive revenue as well as consumer engagement, Clark added.
The research, conducted in partnership with Strategic Economic Engineering Corp (SEEC) finds the market value of the sponsored data will be $6 billion a year by 2019.
“Our analysis shows that the sponsored-data model has the potential to substantially affect consumers’ behavior favorably for all parties involved,” said Sam Brown, founder and CEO, SEEC. “The key to unlocking this potential, however, will be the ability of sponsors and operators to work together to hone highly personalized offers that meet individual user expectations and requirements for engagement.”
According to Syniverse, sponsored data offers considerable benefits for all involved, enabling content providers to enjoy increased use of their services, providing mobile operators with a new source of revenue, and offering consumers cheaper access to content.
Further results from the Syniverse study uncovered a number of other insights about Asian consumers’ receptiveness to sponsored data.
Access to sponsored-data plans could significantly affect consumers’ content consumption and open a substantial revenue opportunity for sponsors and mobile operators:
Data-intensive content, such as subscription video services (which are currently the most costly services to access), would see increases in usage of 40 percent.
The same access would increase consumption of subscription-based music services by 25 percent.
Other services expected to see moderate increases include free video services, voice and video calling services over data networks, and online games.
Consumers are most willing to accept sponsorship for reduced or free data costs from the following types of sponsoring organizations: Entertainment providers (42 percent of respondents); Bars, restaurants and cafes (31 percent of respondents); and Travel companies (30 percent of respondents).
Consumers are also most willing to accept sponsored branding or advertising in order to gain free access to or use of the following: Websites, for mobile Internet browsing (43 percent of respondents); social networking applications and services (41 percent of respondents); and free Web-based video services (38 percent of respondents).


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Compared to an influential diet for promoting human and planetary health, the diets of average Indians are considered unhealthy — comprising excess consumption of cereals, but not enough consumption of proteins, fruits and vegetables, said a new study.
The findings by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and CGIAR research program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) broadly apply across all states and income levels, underlining the challenges many Indians face in obtaining healthy diets.
“The EAT-Lancet diet is not a silver bullet for the myriad nutrition and environmental challenges food systems currently present, but it does provide a useful guide for evaluating how healthy and sustainable Indian diets are,” said the lead author of the research article, A4NH Program Manager Manika Sharma.
“At least on the nutrition front we find Indian diets to be well below optimal.”
The EAT-Lancet reference diet, published by the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, and Health, implies that transforming eating habits, improving food production and reducing food wastage is critical to feed a future population of 10 billion a healthy diet within planetary boundaries.
While the EAT-Lancet reference diet recommends eating large shares of plant-based foods and little to no processed meat and starchy vegetables, the research demonstrates that incomes and preferences in India are driving drastically different patterns of consumption.
The study, a comparison of the Indian diet with the EAT-Lancet reference diet’, co-authored by A4NH’s Manika Sharma and Devesh Roy with IFPRI’s Avinash Kishore and Kuhu Joshi, was recently published in the BMC Public Health.
Using consumption data from the 68th round of the National Sample Survey (2011-12), they compared diets across Indian states and income levels to the EAT Lancet reference diet.
The study compares differences in calorie consumption across income groups, urban and rural sectors, and geographical regions.
The findings show a disparity in overall calorie intake between income groups: the richest 10 per cent of households consume more than 3,000 kcals per person per day while the poorest 10 per cent consume only 1,645 kcals per person per day.
On average, the Indian total calorie intake is approximately 2,200 kcals per person per day, 12 per cent lower than the EAT-Lancet reference diet’s recommended level.
“But we find it intriguing that despite lower calorie consumption levels, obesity is still rising in India,” co-author and IFPRI Research Analyst Kuhu Joshi said.
The researchers offer sedentary lifestyles as a potential cause of the phenomenon, showcasing the complexity of the links between diet, lifestyle and health.
Compared to the EAT-Lancet’s recommendation for a well-balanced diet, most Indian households’ diets concentrate heavily in some food groups and lack others.
While the EAT-Lancet diet recommends that about one-third of daily calorie intake should come from whole grains, they make up 47 per cent of the average Indian diet.
In the poorest rural households, that number is as high as 70 per cent.
Meanwhile, the average Indian’s caloric intake of fruits is less than 40 per cent of what the reference diet recommends.
Fruits, vegetables, and animal source foods are generally more expensive and inflate more quickly than processed foods and grains, the researchers report.
Therefore, the EAT-Lancet reference diet, which consists largely of fresh produce, poses a steep cost for the average household in India.
“Low affordability is only a part of a bigger picture, however,” said IFPRI Research Fellow Avinash Kishore.
“We were surprised to see that even the richest households do not consume enough protein rich foods, fruits, and vegetables.”
In comparison, the researchers found that urban households in the highest income group consume almost one third of their total daily calories from processed foods such as bread, bakery products, refined wheat flour, sweets and chips.
Processed foods account for 10 per cent of daily caloric intake in both urban and rural areas.
The researchers point to other relevant factors such as a lack of availability, accessibility, awareness, and acceptability as possible explanations for their findings.


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Crypto investment same as casino and gambling?
Being the second largest internet market, India has gained a large number of cryptocurrency investors, and it can also be confirmed that currently there is no law regulating the market. However, after the official Crypto Taxation Bill was passed on April 1, 2022, a 1% TDS on every transaction followed by another 30% profit tax has been implemented, as noted by Kripteu Magazine.
In line with recent developments, the GST Board has appointed a legal committee whose task would be to pass the proposal to impose around 28% Goods and Services Tax on cryptocurrency investments in the country. Indian authorities plan to consolidate crypto investments under the same roof as lotteries, casinos, racetracks and betting.
“There are various aspects of cryptocurrencies – transactions involving cryptos, cryptos used to make purchases, cryptos being received as payments. All of these aspects are under review and will be discussed by the laws committee,” sources told CNBC.
What about Crypto exchanges operating in India?
CNBC’s sources said that currently crypto exchanges in India are considered intermediaries because they “sell crypto from foreign exchanges to people in India. So it’s a service, and currently it’s is at 18% GST and classified as an intermediate service. They will have to be classified separately under a new heading, under the list of services,” the sources said.
“Thus, each transaction will be subject to 28% GST, if accepted by the GST Board,” the unnamed sources added.
The proposal will be presented at the next GST Council meeting in India, while the legal committee will review and discuss various aspects of cryptocurrencies.


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Apple unveiled a new line of iPhones with a speedier chip, a new titanium body, and enhanced gaming capabilities.
The biggest surprise about the upcoming iPhone 15, which will be released on September 22, is that prices were left unchanged, suggesting a general decline in smartphone demand.
The event at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, takes place in the midst of lingering economic uncertainty, particularly in China, Apple’s third-largest market, where it faces challenges from expanded restrictions on using its iPhones in government offices and the first new flagship phone from Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) in several years.
While Apple avoids the terms artificial intelligence or AI, the technology drove several new features. Huawei raised its second-half shipment target for the new Mate 60 series smartphone, which has satellite capability, by 20%, the nation’s official Securities Times reported on Tuesday shortly before the Apple event.
According to an Apple executive, the business uses machine learning to identify people in the frame. It enables users to instantly or later convert a photo into a portrait in the Photos app.
Apple also unveiled new watches, including the Series 9 Watch, which has a function called “double tap” that enables users to conduct actions like answering a phone call by tapping their thumb and finger together twice without touching their watch.
According to Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, it employs machine learning to identify minute variations in blood flow when a user taps their fingers together, freeing up the other hand for other activities like carrying a cup of coffee or walking a dog.
The 48-megapixel camera on the iPhone 15 Pro and other models will both be brighter, and their batteries will be made entirely of recycled cobalt.
Roadside help can now be requested using the satellite connectivity of the iPhone 15 according to Apple. In the US, it is launching the feature in conjunction with the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Both the iPhone 15 and the charging case for the AirPods Pro are getting USB-C charging cables, according to Apple. The change complies with European authorities’ demands for USB-C and permits the use of the same charging cables currently in use for iPads and Macs.
“I was expecting Apple to try and spin the all-USB-C decision in a certain way, but they didn’t they were very matter-of-fact in the way they talked about it,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Creative Strategies. Because of the quicker throughput for data transfer, she claimed that the change “added some difference to the iPhone Pro. People who utilize the tool for professional photography will find that useful, according to Milanesi.
Additionally, Apple claimed that the iPhone 15 Pro can record “spatial videos” by utilizing two cameras to record a three-dimensional video. According to Apple’s marketing executive Greg Joswiak, such videos will be watchable on the Vision Pro headset when it launches early next year.
The Pro is lighter and more durable than earlier variants made of various metals thanks to the usage of titanium.
The stable prices, according to TECHnalysis Research’s Bob O’Donnell, were unexpected.
“I believe that both Apple and the carriers are aware that it’s become more difficult to persuade customers to update as a result of consumers feeling the financial strain and the absence of significant advancements. Maintaining constant prices ought to contribute to that, he said.
The price of the iPhone 15 is $799, the iPhone 15 Plus is $899, and the Pro series is $999. The Pro Max has the same costs as last year for the same tiers of storage, starting at $1,199. Apple provided a $1,099 iPhone Pro Max variant with less memory the previous year.
Although the worldwide smartphone industry has shrunk from shipping 294.5 million total phones to 268 million in the second quarter, Apple still depends on the iPhone for more than half of its sales. Apple’s smartphone shipments decreased the least of any other major manufacturer, from 46.5 million to 45.3 million, according to Counterpoint Research’s data.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 for outdoor activities offers additional diving and cycling features, as well as what Apple claims is its brightest screen ever. On September 22, the Series 9 watch will go on sale for $399, and the Ultra 2 watch will start at $799.
Apple’s head of environmental affairs, Lisa Jackson, announced that the business will no longer utilize leather in any of its products. The company is replacing some of these items with a fabric dubbed “FineWoven,” which it claims has a suede-like feel.
The presentation was centred on Apple’s efforts to become carbon neutral by 2030, including the introduction of watches with less carbon.


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Newsday: $5M renovation underway at Plainview shopping center getting T.J. Maxx
By Tory N. Parrish
A $5 million renovation is underway at a Plainview shopping center, to which off-price store T.J. Maxx will relocate this year.
The renovation work at Woodbury Plaza on South Oyster Bay Road will include a new facade, signs, walkways and other improvements, said Robert Delavale, vice president and director of leasing for Breslin Realty Development Corp., the Garden City company that co-owns the shopping center with Manhasset-based real estate firm Colin Development LLC.
The $5 million renovation project began five months ago, said Wilbur F. Breslin, chief executive and chairman of the board at Breslin Realty.
“The renovation would entail the entire shopping center, which would have been the second time since I bought the center in 1979 that we’ve redone the center. … The facade [and other renovations] will be completed by Sept. 15,” he said.
The first renovation of the shopping center was done in the early 1980s, Delavale said.
T.J. Maxx will become the largest anchor in Woodbury Plaza when it moves into the 24,000-square-foot end unit at 401 S. Oyster Bay Road that home decor store Bed Bath & Beyond vacated in January. The T.J. Maxx is currently across the street in a 30,000-square-foot space in Woodbury Shopping Center, at 410 S. Oyster Bay Road in Hicksville, where it has been since 1997.
“We anticipate that our T.J. Maxx store … in Hicksville will relocate to the Woodbury Plaza this fall. We have approximately 70 associates who work in our current location and they are expected to transfer to the new location,” said Bethany Crocetti, spokeswoman for The TJX Companies Inc., the Framingham, Massachusetts, company that owns T.J. Maxx.
Both the Plainview and Hicksville shopping centers are within the Town of Oyster Bay.
Built in 1955, the Plainview shopping center is a 102,000-square-foot development. It has gone more high-end in the past few years with the addition new tenants, such as the 2020 arrivals of The French Workshop, which is part of a Queens-based artisanal bakery chain of three shops, and Trek Bicycle Store, which is owned by a Waterloo, Wisconsin-based retailer, Delavale said.
Other existing tenants include Bath & Body Works; clothing stores Loft, Gap and Banana Republic; and grocer Trader Joe’s.
The change in the tenant mix helped spur T.J. Maxx’s decision to relocate from across the street, Delavale said.
“I think, No. 1, because we have a much superior tenant mix to complement their merchandise. I think we have more visibility and I think it had something to do with … the physical layout of their existing store,” he said.
Crocetti did not detail why T.J. Maxx was relocating, beyond saying, “We are always assessing and reviewing our real estate strategies and our decision to relocate this store reflects that thinking.”
Josam Associates LLC, a Smithtown-based entity that owns Woodbury Shopping Center, did not return a Newsday request for comment.
In January, Michael Levin, president of Josam Associates, told Newsday that discount grocer Aldi was considering leasing two-thirds of the space T.J. Maxx occupies after the off-price store vacates.
On Friday, Aldi said it did “not have any information to share about a potential Aldi store opening in Hicksville.”