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Minna Technologies announces the release of its Merchant Solution, supporting subscription-based businesses with their need to retain, grow and acquire customers. Today’s announcement marks Minna’s expansion into the merchant community, providing global subscription-based businesses with the ability to recover revenue from previously canceled customers who currently manage their subscriptions through their retail bank app.
Today, about 20% of users can cancel subscriptions using their banking app, where Minna is available. Banks in Australia, the United States, and the UK have adopted consumer protection regulations to support subscription payment management. However, customers can cancel and their bank card may be blocked. This protects the customer from any future unintended payments. Many customers try to resubscribe. According to Experian insights, nearly 80% of those who do try to return do so within 3 months of canceling, but can’t due to the blocked card. Subscription businesses who want to offer the best customer experience will encounter friction because of this.
This announcement is made in several categories, including streaming, gaming and software, which have higher cancellation rates worldwide. Kantar Analytics reports that 1.5 million streaming subscriptions in the UK were cancelled in the first quarter of 2022. Half a Million people attribute the cancellations to money-saving. Although 58% of households have at least one streaming platform, this is only 1.3% less than the 2021 end, these terminations show that viewers are more selective about choosing to subscribe to multiple services.
Tiama Hanson Drury is Chief Product Officer at Minna Technologies. “We are thrilled to allow the 20% of consumers who cancel with Minna to more easily return to the subscription service when it suits them and to enable subscription businesses to more personally retarget these consumers with suitable offers. Not every cancellation is a desire to sever ties with the merchant – often it is a call for increased flexibility or personalization. By keeping the channel open, merchants have the chance to evolve the customer relationship and reacquire the consumer.”
Erica Katsambis, Minna Technologies VP Sales, Partnerships and Solutions for Subscription Businesses, notes: “We have seen the rise of new subscription personas. From the ‘lost, confused and angry’ who are disengaged and canceling via their bank, to the ‘savvy’ consumers switching subscriptions regularly or those consumers happy to try out many new subscriptions, they all demand more from their subscriptions. To retain customers, grow your customer base and avoid unwanted churn, it is crucial to diversify and enhance digital channels and functionality. We are intrigued and keen to work with merchants looking to innovate through the next wave of subscription management.”
Minna’s UK-based client, Lloyds Banking Group, announced in April that over 1.2 million subscription payments have been stopped since the summer of 2021, as technology puts customers in further control of their spending. A majority (47.1%) of the regular payments were cancelled for popular TV, film and music streaming services. This is because households are taking a closer look at their discretionary spending as the cost of living rises.
Minna’s new “Unblock” feature, which is free to Subscription businesses, facilitates communication between banks and trusted subscription businesses to seamlessly unblock bank cards. This feature is being implemented in areas where banks are confident that no wrongful reattempted payment will be taken by businesses. This seamless cancellation/block removal of the card eliminates inefficiencies that could have been caused by long-term, blocked payments.
The Unblock feature is just one of many solutions that the merchant community will have to use to solve problems throughout the subscription lifecycle. It also provides a way to prevent cancellations.
Minna is currently working with nine international retail banks to embed their subscription management technology into the digital banking infrastructure. The technology allows banking clients to manage their subscriptions from within the bank infrastructure, serving over 20 million customers.


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Major Nelson has announced that Devastation, the 2nd dlc pack for COD: GHOSTS, will release on April 3rd. Included in the pack will be the usual four maps along with The Ripper -a new tactical weapon. Allowing us to switch between AR and SMG, the Ripper will be able to be used successfully on a […]
As in Shaq FU! Big Shaq Daddy is back to whoop some ass in Shaq FU: A Legend Reborn. It’s been nearly 20 years since Shaq Fu originally released along with the ridiculousness that followed (the game was awful). Things have changed. Shaq and the team at Big Deez Productions promise an all new, amazing […]
Today Major Nelson has announced a new bundle for the Xbox One. Available in the U.S. starting next week, the Xbox One console will included a free code for a digital copy of Forza Motorsport 5. Originally a launch day title, Microsoft is showing its gratitude to fans for making Forza 5 the fastest and […]
Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division has gotten two more screen shots revealed in advance of its release. We still don’t have a release date yet, but it is still scheduled for a release of later this year despite rumors of a possible delay. As we have seen with previous screen shots, these two show off […]
A new trailer for Watch Dogs has revealed the release date of May 27th. It’s a story trailer showcasing Aiden Pierce in new action. Check it out now!
Ubisoft is releasing Child of Light on April 30th. In case you haven’t been following it, we get to control Aurora in the land of Lumeria. Our mission is to steal back the sun, moon and stars from the Queen of the Night. In advance of its launch, we got some new details on a […]

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How to keep new online customers after COVID-19
Alternative payment methods such as digital wallets and eCash are key to the 18% of consumers that have spent money online for the first time during COVID-19 coming back after the end of the pandemic.
As we have already discussed in several articles on our blog, we know that consumers have not only started shopping online more during COVID-19 (for understandable reasons – particularly non-essential shops being closed for much of the past three months), but also that shoppers who have never shopped online before have experienced online retail for the first time. According to Paysafe’s latest research report Lost in Transaction: The impact of COVID-19 on consumer payment preferences 18% of all consumers have made an online purchase for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
These new target customers present a huge opportunity to online businesses moving forward. But to convert these consumers from shopping online out of short-term necessity into long-term customers that genuinely prefer to shop online, businesses will have to address the concerns these consumers have raised.
Concerns about security are critical
To better understand these issues, we asked consumers about their current attitudes to online spending. Consumers’ beliefs that their financial data was at risk and as a result they might be victims of criminal activity when shopping online were the key takeaways from our research.
Almost half (48%) of all consumers said that they did not feel comfortable entering their financial details online to make a payment, especially when they did not have any experience buying from the business previously. And this isn’t a decreasing problem for merchants. The same percentage (48%) of consumers said that they were more concerned about being a victim of fraud now than they were this time last year.
68% of consumers said they were more likely to shop with an online retailer that already had their financial details securely stored.
Only a third (34%) of consumers said that they held more trust in online payments than in-person payments. This is preventing many from embracing online shopping and digital services in anything other than essential circumstances. So for online retailers, addressing this hurdle is paramount to sustained long-term success capturing these potential new customers.
Diversifying the checkout is key
But what can online retailers and service providers do to give consumers greater peace of mind? Firstly, consumers appear overwhelmingly in favour of stricter security protocols when sharing their financial details. Three quarters (76%) of consumers said that they would like online checkout security to be tighter than it is currently, and 59% said that they feel anxious when they are not asked to provide any security information such as a password when making an online payment.
But more importantly, consumers seem much more comfortable with the security of alternative payment methods. Three quarters (75%) of consumers said that they preferred to use a digital wallet such as Skrill or NETELLER to make a payment to an unfamiliar merchant, than share their card details. And 56% said they felt more comfortable purchasing online with a prepaid card where their financial details were not shared.
So for businesses, integrating these alternative payments methods into the checkout is an ideal solution. But doing so they can move away from being reliant on consumers being comfortable making card payments and capture some of the potential new business available due to the exposure eCommerce has received during COVID-19.
eCash solutions also have the potential to drive and capture new customers online and should be strongly considered by online businesses. 40% of consumers said that they would buy products online with cash if it was easy to do so, and 36% said that they would shop online more if they could make payments with cash. This is particularly relevant for businesses marketing to younger consumers; 56% of consumers aged 16-24 said that they would buy products online with cash if it was easy to do so, and 55% said they would spend more money online if they could do so with cash.
Understanding how to keep new online customers will be a key issue for eCommerce and mCommerce businesses as we begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is clear that evolving the checkout to make these potential customers more comfortable with online payments has a key role to play; online businesses that embrace alternative payments and give the customer more choice as to how to pay in a way they feel most secure will reap the benefits.


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Goshen, N.Y. – Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus has announced that the Goshen Chamber of Commerce’s popular Farmers Market has moved from the Goshen Village Square to the County’s Government Center.
“We are excited to partner with the Goshen Chamber of Commerce to host the Goshen Farmers Market, which is an institution in the village,” Neuhaus said. “The Goshen Farmers Market and other markets throughout Orange County are important to our farming families, providing us with fresh, healthy produce to ensure a sustainable Orange County. I hope residents will continue to support our local farm stands and markets this summer.”
The Goshen Farmers Market, which will be located at the corner of Main and Erie Streets, will open for the season on Friday, May 29th. The Market will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every Friday until October, 30th rain or shine. A special hour of shopping for seniors has been added from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Barbara Martinez, Executive Director of the Goshen Chamber of Commerce, said that market hours will be extended to 5:00 p.m. when Orange County is no longer observing Governor Cuomo’s New York PAUSE. Patrons are encouraged to social distance and wear masks as the County continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martinez also suggested that residents visit goshennychamber.com for COVID-19 specific guidelines for the market.
“We are extremely grateful to have the support of County Executive Neuhaus,” Martinez said. “Recognizing the importance of the farmers market and the need to provide a safe environment for our vendors and our customers, he stepped up and made it possible for the Chamber to provide some semblance of normalcy to the community. We look forward to another amazing season on the county property.”
Read Full Press Release HERE


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ON a recent Friday evening, a man walked into Smoking Culture in Greenwich Village, a store whose sign promises to fulfill “all your smoking needs,” and asked for a pack of Newports.
Jane Karilov, 22, who was alone behind the counter, shook her head. Looming over her on all sides were handblown glass contraptions and electronic devices for consuming what Ms. Karilov referred to as “tobacco product.” But, she said, Smoking Culture did not sell cigarettes.
“Try down the street,” she suggested, directing the man to the east, past the International Shisha pipe shop and the Pink Pussy Cat sex-toy boutique.
If you want cigarettes, go to a place that sells newspapers. If you’re seeking the accouterments of more furtive adult pleasures, though, then West Fourth Street near Avenue of the Americas, where Smoking Culture opened two years ago, remains a shopper’s Mecca, a sort of diamond district for the latex and water pipe set. Glass pipes, hookahs and electronic cigarettes lined the wall cases. A poster for a product called the Incredibowl offered salutations “from one bud to another.”
Business was slow because of the back-to-school season, but would soon pick up, Ms. Karilov said. “Once they get in, get their classes, get their books, that’s when they come in,” she said, referring to college students.
She showed off a display case of German glass pipes costing around $700 (with Ms. Karilov, prices are negotiable). Her philosophy of retail is you get what you pay for.Continue reading the main story
“Some women go to Gucci; others come to us, you know what I mean?” she said. “They don’t care about what they wear. They care about what kind of glass they use.”
Not everyone is quite so discerning. A customer named Dan, 28, wearing yellow shorts and sandals, popped in to replace a broken pipe. “Something durable,” he told Ms. Karilov. She brought out samples of locally blown glass pipes — “pieces,” in her parlance.
“How do you feel about red?” she asked.
Dan, who did not give his last name, settled on a short pipe with an orange and blue swirl and completed the purchase by credit card: $35, plus tax.
“My fiancée’s not too into me having stuff like this and spending money on it,” he said. “So I have to spend as little as possible.”
Ms. Karilov turned away two teenagers who could not produce proof that they were 18. The pipes are legal for sale to adults, though the state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, brought lawsuits this summer against 16 paraphernalia shops for selling synthetic drugs like bath salts.
Another customer, who gave his name as Fred and his age as 19, made the trip from Staten Island, where he lives with his parents and attends the College of Staten Island. He tried not to be too angry about the girl who broke his last glass pipe.
“I was a little mad, of course,” he said. “That’s like killing a family member there.”
But nothing a few well-spent ten-spots wouldn’t fix. He, too, settled quickly with Ms. Karilov.
Home life, he said, was smooth but not permanent. Once he figured out what he wanted from college, he might transfer to Albany or somewhere else.
“My parents are aware of what I do,” he said. “They understand it and respect it. I do good in school, so there’s really no need for them to have anything against it.”
In turn, he said, he did not smoke in the house. He waited a beat. “The backyard,” he said, and laughed at his own joke. Friday night at Smoking Culture was starting to find its rhythm.Continue reading the main story


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LCO turned manufacturer John Perry builds unique natural fertilizer licensing model
Envision a product that evokes images of happy children and scampering puppies while utilizing cutting-edge technology to achieve results that are both green and sustainable.
Most of the clients of BioGreen services are homeowners although most licensees also do a fair number of commercial properties and golf courses, too.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BIOGREEN.
It sounds like a can’t-miss formula, and John Perry, founder and president of BioGreen USA, Inc., and his licensees hope that proves to be the case.
Perry started in business with a traditional spraying service in Reno, Nev. However, to set himself apart, he based his business model on not using conventional fertilizer, instead relying on products from a small Idaho company that specialized in the agricultural market.
From there, he chose to focus on developing his own turf-related products, and began manufacturing in 2007. (The manufacturing business relocated to Kearney, Neb., in 2010 to cut shipping costs due to its centralized location.)
“Today, we’re a product manufacturer operating a business model for license,” Perry says. “We have what would be similar to a franchise except we don’t charge anything to become a BioGreen licensee. We also co-brand with companies so that they don’t have to change their existing image.”
The benefit of that approach, Perry explains, is that many people who contact him already have relationships with companies that build sprayers or trucks or other industry-specific units, which they can continue to use.
“They can also determine how they want to spend money on advertising in their area,” he says. “Because we’re the manufacturer of the products they use, we don’t have to charge additional fees because they’re buying direct from us anyhow.
Marketing help available
“Ultimately, it makes them more competitive in the marketplace.”
The company’s bold message is evident as its service vehicles also serve as mobile billboards and tout the product’s environmentally friendly nature.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT TREVISAN/BIOGREEN CHARLOTTE.
Not that BioGreen doesn’t assist in advertising or marketing. The company has its own in-house facilities for print design, audio recording and television production. It’s also developed a presence in trade magazines, as well as at national tradeshows, and is a member of numerous nursery and landscape associations.
It’s BioGreen’s own advertising that sold Lance Pignato on the concept. The owner of the Stuart, Fla.-based Florida BioGreen had owned his own lawn spray company for several years before selling it and relocating to Georgia and a new career as a builder/developer in 2002.
Then, the bottom dropped out of the housing market.
“I headed back to Florida to make ends meet and pay my bills,” Pignato explains. “One night I was lying on the couch watching the Outdoor Channel, and I saw an infomercial for BioGreen. I went to the computer and inquired about it, and as soon as I hit the ‘send’ button, my phone rang.
“I’ve been involved with BioGreen ever since.”
Pignato says for him, a large part of BioGreen’s appeal is that its products represent a new technology – and one that doesn’t rely on foreign oil, chlorine or other harsh chemicals to get the job done. He compares it to what’s going on in the automotive industry with cars getting greater gas mileage while being better for the environment.
BioGreen licensees are encouraged to maintain the existing relationships they have with their other suppliers and to choose their own equipment. Even so, the BioGreen message is still boldly evident on licensees’ service vehicles.
“It’s the same way with fertilizer technology,” he says. “We’ve got something that’s cleaner, that’s more efficient, that grows a healthier plant, a sweeter plant, and one that’s more resistant to weed and insect pressure, as well as drought.”
Regulatory issues on the rise
Perry says when he first began to look into natural fertilizers it was seen as a fringe idea that few people took seriously. Today, thanks in part to legislation focusing on fertilizer use on turfgrass, that has changed.
“People are seeing problems, or they have to face legislative changes in how they can fertilize,” Perry explains. “Minnesota has had a zero phosphorus requirement for close to eight years now. Florida limits the amount of nutrients that can go down annually, and certain counties there are making it even tighter.”
In those cases, BioGreen offers products formulated specifically for blackout periods so licensees can continue to operate. In total, the company offers about a dozen different products, which are sold strictly through the licensees.
“Our core includes our 5-0-1 Pro Turf Nutrition, which is used generally by the golf industry and sod growers,” says Perry. “Most of our sprayers use that one, too. Another is our 20+ Micros, which is a higher nitrogen blend. Then, there’s our 0-0-2, which has a complete micronutrient blend and does a really good job of feeding the soil and replenishing nutrients that can get lost easily.”
For sprayers willing to sign up with BioGreen, each licensee is given an area that’s easily defined – based on population density – and required to commit to a product purchase schedule that includes a five-year stepped-up purchase program.
If they meet those goals, they become perpetual licensees.
Pignato, for instance, services all of St. Lucie and Martin counties and the northern half of Palm Beach County on Florida’s southeast coast. In his case, however, he says the opportunity to offer a new product was at least as attractive to him as the protected territory.
That, and how excited people have become over BioGreen.
Initially, Pignato says clients hired Florida BioGreen based on its reputation as a good company.
“At that time, the issue of being all-natural didn’t really come into it,” he says. “But, as we’ve gone along, people see these big trucks wrapped in the blue and green colors of BioGreen, and the graphics say that it’s all natural and bio-based. People started picking up on that, and they also realized their lawn does look better than the neighbor’s.”
Pignato estimates that at least 90 percent of his business comes from word-of-mouth, and today many of those calls mention the natural aspects of BioGreen’s products. The vast majority of them are single-family homeowners, although he says he also has several landscape companies who also use his services.
The other area where BioGreen is making a name for itself is on the golf course. Perry says he prefers his licensees sell BioGreen products directly to course superintendents, and Pignato says at least in his experience not one who has started using BioGreen has cancelled.
BioGreen licensees sell product directly to golf course superintendents. The company manufactures natural fertilizers that are specially formulated for home lawns, golf courses and sod farms. Its plant is in Kearney, Neb.
Perhaps the best testimony to BioGreen’s quality is that its licensee and client numbers have continued to grow despite the recession. Perry says the company is seeing an annual growth rate of approximately 110 percent, and he expects by the end of the decade to be in all corners of the United States, with possibly international locations, as well.
Other plans include adding a retail component to the operation and beefing up the company’s numbers in the agricultural industry, where BioGreen is enjoying some remarkable success both with row crops and pasture grasses.
“The time will come, absolutely, when the products will be available on a more national scale,” says Perry. “However, I wanted to make sure our spray services were well-established, well-known and well-branded before we pushed more into the retail market.”
It’s then that Perry expects the green side of BioGreen to really become apparent.
“A lot of our clients still have no idea that what we’re doing is positively effecting the environment,” he says. “They like our service and our results, but they don’t know it’s a green product, and they certainly don’t care they’re using 90 percent less nitrogen or any phosphorus.
“Right now, we’re changing the face of fertilization without anybody knowing it.”
K. Schipper is a writer and editor specializing in B2B publishing. She is a partner in Word Mechanics, based in Palm Springs, Calif. Contact her at [email protected].


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Inflation in Turkey increased in August after falling for two consecutive months, official statistics revealed on Thursday.
The annual inflation rate rose to 7.14 percent in August from 6.81 percent in the previous month, the Turkish Statistical Institute said.
The Consumer Price Index saw a 0.40 percentage point increase in August from July.
“When new data was examined, we saw that both monthly data at 0.4 percent and annual at 7.14 percent were over the forecast at 0.1 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively,” economist Eren Can Umut from Meksa Securities said.
“Since the recent sharp depreciation in Turkish lira increases the cost of production, it is normal to see a surge in prices,” Umut said.
In August, the highest monthly increase was 2.05 percent in hotels, cafes and restaurants, while the largest monthly decline was 4.32 percent in clothing and footwear, according to the report.
The highest annual increase was 14.26 percent for hotels, cafes and restaurants, the report added.Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.


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Since Carnival didn’t delay the departure of cruise immediately following a 55-year old woman’s murder on board the Elation, it’s apparent the cruise line is trying to resume business-as-usual as quickly as possible. Our question is, “What will happen with Elation cabin # R24,” which is the cabin number the incident took place in.
There are undoubtedly thousands of upcoming Elation cruisers asking the same thing, and they’re probably double checking their itineraries to see if they’ve booked the cabin in question.
Carnival has a few options. One would be to permanently close the room. While they would potentially lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenues over the lifetime of the ship, they would also avoid unhappy customers. If Carnival did nothing, and a guest learned about the cabin’s history half-way through a cruise, we believe some guests may be very displeased.
The other option would be to disclose what happened to anyone booking that particular room. This option could hamper Carnivals’ attempt to move past this event as quickly as possible, and customers may be so turned off by the prospect they choose to book on a completely different ship – or worse, another cruise line! While there are many destinations that advertise and even charge premiums for rooms that have disturbing pasts, that avenue would not be advised given Carnival’s “Fun Ship” image and recent timing of the event.
What do you think Carnival should do with the room? Would you stay in Elation cabin R24?


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By Niki McMorrough and Joanna Lewis
Covid has accelerated societal shifts within luxury audiences, who now demand greater authenticity and a meaning beyond profit from the brands they bond with. This means that brands are now judged not just on their words, but also their actions. It’s not just about the end product, but also the way it is brought to the luxury market.
This means that marketers need to collaborate closely with product teams to provide their customer knowledge, values, needs and insight at the start of the product development process, to ensure that the product is developed and produced in a way that resonates with the luxury consumer. When the whole business understands the passion points of their audience, luxury brand marketers can ensure that in 2022 they will be promoting brands and products with a higher meaning, to an audience who look beyond the end result.
Relevance’s commercial director, Niki McMorrough, offers a quick-fire summary coupled with visual real-world examples, to inspire luxury digital marketers in the post-Covid dawn.
Read on to discover the top five luxury marketing trends 2022, find out why they are important, and what other brands are already doing in this space.
Customers are tired of global homogenization and need greater justification for travel in light of the climate crisis. Why should they travel for an experience they can get at home? Some examples of luxury brands bringing localized and unique experiences are:
- Fashion designer Stella McCartney celebrated her global #StellaCommunity by setting up local business pop-ups in her London flagship store to celebrate the return of non-essential retail in England following lockdown.
- Mandarin Oriental strives to ensure that each Mandarin Oriental property has its own unique personality, to celebrate local culture and customs, ensuring a unique experience at every venue.
- Ferrari created an Instagram page specifically for the American market.
You may have only just heard of the Metaverse, but it’s been gathering pace, waiting for its tipping point. It came this year in the form of immersive open source gaming universes Roblox, Fortnite and Decentraland, and the ability to prove digital ownership via Non-Fungible Tokens. Now that these building blocks are in place, the race to build the Metaverse is on, with tech giants investing significantly. Brands have already started experimenting with using the Metaverse to distribute and promote existing and new products. Some great luxury brand examples include:
- Instead of a real-life catwalk show, Balenciaga created their own game ‘Afterworld: Age of Tomorrow’ set in a dystopian 2031 to launch their Fall 2021 collection, as well as a phygital (physical + digital) limited-edition collection that customers could buy in Fortnite and the real-world.
- Dress X is a company selling digital versions of current fashion collections, for influencers to ‘wear’ on social media without ever seeing or touching the real thing.
- Zed Run is doing big business in digital race horses, while other companies have sold digital real estate, art and more.
- Anime, comics and games platform BiliBili is tipped to be the next big opportunity for Gen Z luxury in China. Fendi promoted its Peekaboo Bar while Louis Vuitton promoted its League of Legends virtual collection.
According to the 30% Club, 30% of women are now on executive boards but, according to the Harvard Business Review, only 2.3% of venture capital funding went to female-led startups in 2020. This is despite the Pipeline’s Women Count 2020 report highlighting that mixed gender boards are 10 times more profitable than all-male teams.
Wealthy women and people of color are therefore on a mission to promote ethnic and gender equality, and many have launched their own foundations such as Lady Gaga’s Born this Way foundation, Beyonce’s Beygood and Lebron James’s Lebron James Family Foundation.
Brands need to ensure their internal teams reflect the racial and gender diversity they show in their marketing. Organizations that have made a good start include:
- Estee Lauder is leading the way at #19 of Forbes’ female-friendly companies 2021. Zalando and Hermes made their way into the top 100, but luxury as a whole is lagging.
- Wheels Up, a private aviation company, hired the accomplished Stephanie Chung to be their chief growth officer.
- The iconic Harlem-based designer Dapper Dan not only collaborated with Gucci for collections and an entire atelier, but has also been a strong force for standing up for inclusivity within the brand.
- The Britely: “The Britely is a community that celebrates bright lives and bright minds, connecting a diverse group of people from different backgrounds and industries that impact the city of Los Angeles.”
- Chanel’s Culture Fund, which seeks to champion equality of voice.
To Millennials, Gen Z and Alphas, the environment is not just a cause, it is their future. Therefore, they will reject brands that don’t show true commitment to the environment.
Sacha Newall, founder and CEO of MyWardrobeHQ, points out that “car marques have embraced resale for generations without diminishing their value by their own resale offering; indeed, managing their own re-commerce allows brands to control the presentation and the price of resale—this is a solution MyWardrobeHQ is now offering to the fashion industry.”
Max Bittner, from Vestiaire Collective adds: “There is somewhere between half a trillion and a trillion dollars’ worth of luxury goods in people’s closets, and probably half of it is unworn. Resale is a fundamental solution to the enormous environmental challenges that we face.”
Gen Z and millennials find buying ‘pre-loved’ and ‘re-selling’ second nature, and it won’t be long before Gen X and Boomers catch up. So, luxury will become defined by its residual value, which can go up, as well as down due to scarcity, cult and promotion. Some examples of luxury brands putting ethics before aesthetics include:
- Anya Hindmarch’s I am a plastic bag initiative, which went to great lengths to develop a luxurious fabric from reused plastics, worthy of a luxury product.
- Jo Malone’s healing through horticulture uses the wonders of nature to improve mental health and wellbeing.
- Apple showed their commitment to sustainability by removing in-box accessories from a selection of their iPhones to help meet their environmental goals. According to Apple, removing accessories such as chargers and earphones means smaller and lighter packaging.
- Chloé have successfully achieved their B Corp status.
- Rent The Runway (rental), The Real Real (pre-loved).
- StockX – auction house for preloved items.
As our frame of reference expands beyond planet Earth, the need for global collaboration crystallizes. Indeed, Jayne Poynter co-founded Space Perspective—a six-hour journey that reportedly offers the safest and most accessible trip to space—out of a strong belief that human society will be improved when thousands, or even millions, of us have experienced the quintessential astronaut experience of seeing Earth from above.
“It profoundly changes your perspective and behavior; for example, many astronauts get involved in social and environmental causes,” Poytner said, adding that space travel “will have a huge positive impact on society.”
Don’t forget, our urgent need to explore space is intrinsically linked to the climate crisis, so always aim for a net-zero model.
- Partner with a consumer space experience provider:
- Under Armour collaborated with Virgin Galactic to create consumer space flight suits. Can your brand authentically elevate the customer experience on these pioneering space offerings, too?
- Tesla collaborated with SpaceX to create the Starman stunt, launching a Tesla into orbit. Musk owns both companies, but it still counts as a collaboration.
- In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, Vans created a NASA Space Voyager capsule collection.
- Unistellar & Nikon have collaborated to enable people to see space in a new light, unlocking the future of telescope technology, allowing consumers to better explore, observe and understand outer space.
Relevance can help ultra-luxury brands reach and resonate with High-Net-Worth-Individuals by profiling your target audience to create actionable insights about their wants, needs, behaviors, personalities and values. Our full service strategic, creative and technical marketing support can also help high-end brands to deliver, measure and refine their marketing campaigns to these wealthy audiences. If you would like to learn more about our 360 digital marketing services, contact our team today.


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Get ready for the Nashville Wine and Food Festival!
Corkdorks Wine, Spirits, Beer will present this year’s festival will be located at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in the area behind the Nashville Farmers’ Market. It will run from Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 20. You can enjoy more than 150 wines from 30 wineries around the country, and food from some of the area’s top restaurants. Chefs and wine makers also will present demonstrations. There will be live music, a beer garden, cigar lounge, cocktail lounge, local vendors, and much more!
Since 2014, the annual Nashville Wine and Food Festival has brought the community together around local artisanal products and world-class wineries, all with a goal to benefit the Nashville Symphony. In addition to great wines and food, this festival also seeks to educate attendees and will feature food demonstrations from local chefs and wine seminars by winemakers from all over the country. The event will serve as a more intimate affair where consumers can interact with chefs, wine makers and food artisans.
Tickets are now on sale. General admission tickets can be purchased for $85. For more information on the 2017 Nashville Wine and Food Festival and to buy tickets, visit http://www.thenashvillewineandfoodfestival.com.


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Customizable news feed for Android
Stay updated on all the breaking industry news that might be of interest to you with LinkedIn Pulse, a very original news feed aggregator owned by the biggest professional social network and where you can select sources and view publications directly on your Android device in a logical and organized way.
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Hi, I’m Lauriane Guilloux. I grew up surrounded by gadgets and technology and everyone who knows me assumes that it will always be one of my greatest interests. I’ve evolved hand-in-hand with PCs, laptops, video gaming consoles, smartphones,...


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With the first three stages starting in England, the whole island country has gotten into the spirit of the Tour de France, with a whole host of special products and novelties being created for the event.
BikeRadar has pulled together all the latest news in this TdF round-up.
Tour de France King o’ t Mountains beer and jersey launched
Larger cyclists’ bikewear-maker Fat Lad At The Back has released a special King o’ t Mountains beer. It has partnered up with Ilkley beer producer Wharfedale, and the two companies have rebranded the brewery’s flagship Wharfedale Blonde Ale into the King o’ t Mountains Blonde, which will be served at many pubs across the Yorshire Dales and Tour route for stages 1 and 2.
Meanwhile, Fat Lad At The Back has also released a special King o’ t Mountains Limited Edition jersey and a Flippin’ phrase book containing typical words and phrases that may be overheard around the race through Yorkshire, with translations into French, Spanish and Italian.
World’s biggest cycling jersey
Sky has produced the world’s biggest cycling jersey as a message of support for Team Sky ahead of the Tour.
A giant 25m x 25m Team Sky jersey was created by Sky employees in Leeds and unfurled outside the Civic Hall in Leeds. The scaled replica of Chris Froome’s shirt is as large as two tennis courts and took 85 people just to hold it.
fi’zi:k unveil three new saddles for the Tour
fi’zi:k has shown off three new saddle designs that will be used by its sponsored teams at this year’s Tour. Seven pro teams currently use its saddles, including Team Sky, and all are committed to using the latest designs over the next few weeks.
Two of the saddles (the Arione R3 and Antares R3) are constructed from fiberglass thermoplastic composites while the third saddle (the Aliante Gamma) is made from carbon-reinforced nylon. All three feature an eye-catching reflective element on a black Microtex cover.
The Arione R3 is for the most flexible riders and weighs 185g, and the Antares is for those with medium flexibility, weighing 195g – both cost €210. Meanwhile, the Aliante Gamma is 259g, €169 and is designed for less-flexible riders.
Globalstar satellite phones to be used during the Tour
It’s been announced that the Tour organisers have selected the Globalstar GSP-1700 satellite phone for their communications during the three stages to be held in the UK. Members of the organising team as well as support and emergency crew will all use Globalstar’s flagship satellite phone to speak to each other.
The satellite phone system was apparently chosen because of its reliability across areas where mobile reception is limited or non-existent.
Gavan Murphy, director of marketing at Globalstar Europe, said: “The Tour de France has to run its operations like clockwork and reliable communications in any location is critical. This is one of the world’s greatest sporting events and we are delighted that our state-of-the-art satellite network and handsets are helping the organisers stay connected.”
Giant hillside bike on show in Sheffield to promote science in sport
The University of Sheffield has created a giant hillside bicycle, likely to be seen when the tour passes through Sheffield at the end of stage 2 on Sunday.
The artwork has been created using eco-friendly paint in a field close to the Tour’s route and is designed to highlight the health benefits of cycling as well as the Krebs cycle – the process by which mitochondria turn food and oxygen into energy.
Brooks England celebrate the Tour with limited edition Ochre saddles
Bicycle saddle manufacturers Brooks England has produced a range of Ochre (yellow!) saddles to celebrate the tour.
The range of seats is on display in Brooks’ new flagship store on Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London.


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Travel trade & hospitality industry will have to face the major brunt: TAAI on GST hike on hotel room rates
The association in a statement said that imposing 12 per cent GST on hotel rooms priced below INR 1,000 is the biggest jolt to both travel and hospitality industry. "Hospitality offered below INR 1000 drives the system and an increase at that level will take employment and business opportunities from many," said TAAI President Jyoti Mayal.
"We were looking at the government to do away with taxes and extend support to our industry which is yet to revive from the long crises. However, with the increase, travel trade and hospitality will have to face the brunt majorly. Imposing 12 per cent GST on hotels priced below INR 1000 is the biggest jolt to both travel and hospitality industry. Hospitality offered below INR 1000 drives the system and an increase at that level will take employment and business opportunities from many," she said.
While, Jay Bhatia, Vice President, TAAI specifically pointed out the increase in cheque payments from Nil to 18 per cent. He said, "We the people in the travel industry work at the grass-root level. And, till today, in tier II and III cities the preferred mode of payment by a financial instrument like cheque. An increase in taxation of making and receiving payments will add a burden on both the agent and traveller, which may perhaps push travellers to move away from registered and legitimate agents to illegal business operators which is a matter to worry."
Referring to the increase from 12 per cent to 18 per cent on items such as printing, spoons, forks, machines for cleaning eggs, fruits and other products, Bettaiah Lokesh, Hon. Secretary-General, TAAI said that the hike in taxation on such items would certainly lead to the increase in serving and servicing the end product. "We do agree that there are a few points which are appreciable like exemption on the transport of passengers by air to and from NE states, renting of truck/ goods carriage etc. However, overall recommendations made give the impression of increasing taxation burden on the businesses exorbitantly," he mentioned.
Further to long pending request to permit Input Tax Credits for Tour Operators booking hotels in other states vide, IGST, still remains unresolved at Government’s level at the GST Council. "To our understanding, GST was introduced to have uniform taxation and easy filing, and in addition, to have a better understanding for both service provider and receiver regarding the taxation’s slabs. However, the increase and introduction of a tax on items directly related to travel trade and tourism, we see it as a negative sentiment spreading in the businesses," highlighted Shreeram Patel, Hon. Treasurer, TAAI.


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This past December at PSX 2016, Housemarque and Sony announced the upcoming top-down voxel shooter Nex Machina. The game then seemed like it would be a PS4 exclusive title, but that isn’t the case. Today, Housemarque is revealing Nex Machina will launch on PC this coming summer.
From what the studio is saying about the game, it will release simultaneously on PS4 and PC. This marks the first time Housemarque has launched a game on PC since their 1999 title Supreme Snowboarding. Housemarque’s Outland game is available on Steam, but it’s a port that arrived three years after its original launch.
Ilari Kuittinen, who is the CEO of Housemarque, expressed his thoughts regarding today’s announcement. “It’s amazing and humbling to be able to get back to our roots in PC development, where we started almost 22 years ago,” Kuittinen said.
Housemarque previously wasn’t talking about a release date for Nex Machina and that’s not changing. The developer is confirming their hopes to launch the game this summer. Again, Nex Machina will arrive on PS4 and PC, seemingly at the same time. To celebrate the PC announcement, Housemarque released a new 4K trailer for gamers to enjoy.
The studio is saying Nex Machina will be a “controller focused” game. However, they are “fine-tuning a mouse and keyboard control scheme” for PC gamers. Mikael Haveri, who is the head of publishing at Housemarque, spoke about working on the PC version of the game.
“Working on the PC build has come with its own set of challenges, but our friends at Nvidia have helped us realize that Housemarque magic on the PC as well,” Haveri said.
Housemarque went onto tease upcoming news regarding Nex Machina in the “days and weeks” ahead. We Write Things recently had the chance to speak with Haveri about Nex Machina. You can catch up on our coverage here. Housemarque’s Nex Machina will launch this coming summer on PS4 and PC. Stick around here at We Write Things for more on Nex Machina.
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- Xbox One Executive Calls $499 Xbox One X Price ‘An Incredible Value’ - June 20, 2017


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Hoping to jumpstart years of lagging milk sales, a multinational packaging company's offices in the Slovak and Czech Republics have combined forces and launched an extensive media campaign to raise the public's awareness of this dairy product.
At a press conference in Bratislava on April 30, Jonny Olsson, managing director of the Swedish company Tetra Pak Grafobal's Slovak office, said "the milk message has disappeared" over the last several years, as the public is bombarded with trendy advertisements pitching other drinks.
"We want to get people to try milk again," Olsson said. "There are so many messages out there that people have forgotten about milk." Olsson said that milk's nutritional value should make it more attractive than more popular items such as soft drinks.
However, Olsson did say that Slovaks had not come to terms with the rapid increase in milk prices after 1989, when a liter of milk rose from approximately 2 Sk to 13-15 Sk today. Also in that time, milk consumption in Slovakia has halved, Olsson said, using statistics Tetra Pak Grafobal compiled from surveys and focus group polling. "Our research shows that people want to buy milk, but they're hearing about so many other products that they're forgetting about it." Slovaks on average consume about 70 liters of milk annually, Olsson said.
The media campaign is centered on a 7 million Sk TV and radio advertising buy, Olsson said, to be complemented by 1 million Sk in print advertising buys. The campaign kicked off in mid-April and will run in its first phase through the end of May, while the second phase will be launched in September, deliberately timed to target families sending their children back to school. The Slovak public relations firm ProPublicum is managing the Slovak end of the media campaign.
According to Olsson, Tetra Pak's operations in the Slovak and Czech Republics had 2 billion Sk in turnover in 1996, around a 25 percent increase over 1995. Tetra Pak Slovakia sold 165 million packages on the Slovak market last year, Olsson added.
8. May 1997 at 0:00 | From press reports of TASR and SITA


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Photo: NY Post
McDonald’s temporarily shut down its stores in Ukraine six months ago due to the Russian invasion. Now, the fast-food chain giant is beginning to reopen in some parts of the country.
“We have decided to institute a phased plan to reopen some restaurants in Kyiv and western Ukraine,” the corporate senior vice president of international operated markets, Paul Pomroy, said in a note uploaded to the company’s website on Thursday.
McDonald’s owns almost 110 locations in Ukraine. Despite the shutdown, the giant has compensated its workers in the country.
“Over the next few months, we will begin working with suppliers to get products to restaurants, making the physical properties ready to serve customers, bringing restaurant teams and employees back on site, and implementing enhanced procedures and protocols to support the safety of our people and customers,” Pomroy stated.
The measure was made after discussing it with Ukrainian officials, security specialists and suppliers, said Pomroy.
McDonald’s is among the countless companies that halted operations in Ukraine because of the brutal conflict. In the note, Pomroy emphasized that other firms have resumed their businesses in Kyiv and western Ukraine.
McDonald’s Withdrew from Russia, Does Not Plan on a Reopen
The Ukraine-Russia conflict has completely pushed McDonald’s to shut down its restaurants in Russia. The giant publicly revealed it was suspending Russian operations in March. Ultimately in May, the company announced its sale of the Russia locations.
It said at the time that the “humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald’s to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values.”
The giant has said it has no plans to rejoin the market.
McDonald’s sold hundreds of its Russian restaurants to a local franchise operator, who has begun to reopen them with a new brand – “Vkusno & Tochka,” translated in English as “tasty and that’s it.”
The giant’s withdrawal from Russia is the end of an era. It began its venture in Moscow in 1990, opening its first-ever restaurant.


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Kocks successor named
Dirk Grosse-Leege, currently group spokesman for German railway operator Deutsche Bahn, will succeed Klaus Kocks as Volkswagen group's head of communications.
Kocks resigned last autumn following a disagreement with then-VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch. Kocks finally left VW on January 1.
As VW's chief spokesman, Kocks gained notoriety on several issues - notably for his fierce defense of the company against charges that VW purchasing chief J. Ignacio Lopez stole thousands of confidential documents from General Motors.
Bernd Pischetsrieder, who took over as VW chairman on April 1, took his time to find Kocks' successor.
Grosse-Leege, 37, won't take up his new position until September 1. For the time being, Stephan Grühsem, the 39-year-old head of Volkswagen's brand communication team, will continue to act as Kocks' temporary replacement.
Once Grosse-Leege arrives at VW, Grühsem will become the top public relations executive at Audi. Grühsem will replace Rainer Nistl, who is retiring at age 58. Nistl had a good working relationship with Franz Josef-Paefgen, the former Audi boss who now runs Bentley, leads VW group research and is in charge of motor racing activities. But Nistl has reportedly clashed with Martin Winterkorn, the new head of VW's 'sporty' group that includes the Audi, Seat and Lamborghini brands.
Finally, Hans-Gerd Bode, currently working in Grühsem's department, will succeed Grühsem as head of VW brand communication.
Undrivable, but desirable
In a world where children are increasingly obsessed by computer games, the simple pleasure of a owning a scale-model toy car is in danger of losing its attraction.
But Burago has come up with a clever solution: Make exciting models of cars that do not exist.
The Italian company, which has spent the last 30 years making toy versions of actual cars, asked Giugiaro Design to pen a series of 'dream models.'
The first car, a sporty coupe, is called Prima ('first' in Italian). Burago plans to introduce at least two specially designed scale models a year.
But the year's most desired toy car could be a 'dream model' that has already been seen in reality: The Alfa Romeo Brera coupe, derived from the concept that Italdesign-Giugiaro showed to critical acclaim in March at the Geneva auto show.
Sources say that Mattel of the USA, also Ferrari's official scale-model maker, acquired the rights to reproduce the Brera.
The small-scale Brera should begin appearing in toyshops in September.
Astra-nomical sales gains
German sales of the Opel Astra are expected to rise sharply in the next few months - although the increase will likely have a lot to do with the popularity of a certain seven-seat compact minivan.
The Astra, which was once a bestseller, is now No. 5 in Germany. To prevent the model from falling any lower in statistics issued by motor vehicle agency Kraftfahrtbundesamt (KBA), Opel will no longer record the sales of the Astra and the Zafira compact minivan separately. The Zafira, which was launched in 1999, is based on the Astra.
An Opel spokesman confirmed to sister publication Automobilwoche: 'From now on we will only give a single number code to the KBA.'
Enzo's 250 million gift
Piero Ferrari, son of Ferrari founder Enzo, won't sell any of the 10 percent of Ferrari SpA shares he owns at the initial public offering - or IPO - that is planned for later this year.
'These shares were a birthday gift from my father,' said Piero. 'In addition to a clear economic value, for me they also have a strong emotional value.
'For this reason, I won't sell any shares in the IPO because I want them to go to my father's grandchildren.'
Piero said his father would have been delighted by the IPO, because 'it proves our company is today a unique mix of technology and luxury cars.'
Fiat group owns the remaining 90 percent of Ferrari. The Prancing Horse's IPO will be coordinated by three banks, two from Italy, Ubm and Caboto-IntesaBCI, and one from Germany, Deutsche Bank.
The IPO is expected to value Ferrari as whole at around 2.5 billion.


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(CelebrityAccess) — With the music industry on a forced hiatus due to coronavirus, veteran music exec Steve Gerstman has taken the opportunity to convert one of his passions into a new business venture.
Gerstman, who is best known for his long career in A&R and music merch, has spent much of his time away from work painting and creating prints, and now, he’s launching a new art gallery to provide a platform for his art.
Along with the gallery, Gerstman also launched a new website that will allow fans to buy his original works and prints online. To mark the launch of the new online gallery, customers who sign up will be entered to win one of Gerstman’s prints for free.
“As you know, the touring business has been “postponed” for the immediate future. I am taking this time to launch a new art gallery,” Gerstman said. “I’m so excited to take this next step with my art business, thanks to the support of my followers and collectors like you,” he added.
The new website is located at: https://www.stephengerstman.com/


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This February, United Lens Company (ULC) will be attending the Photonics West Exhibition at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. The conference, put on by the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) from February 16-18, will include a series of presentations and workshops from pioneers in lasers and optics for the biomedical, medical device, and semiconductor industries.
The Photonics West Exhibition has been the premiere networking event for lasers, photonics, and optical glass leaders and academics for over 20 years. The 2016 convention will host over 1,250 companies and 20,000 participants to share research and ideas on emerging industry trends. The full 2016 Exhibition Guide is available online for a preview of this year’s breakout sessions, luncheons, and awards.
Every year, ULC looks forward to learning from other industry leaders at the Photonics West Conference. Our team will be stationed at booth #2037, where we look forward to meeting with customers and conference attendees face-to-face to share information on our latest glass products, services, and industry findings.
To celebrate our centennial anniversary in 2016, we will also be giving away credits towards your next ULC order. All customers need to do is stop by our booth at Photonics West and fill out a quick survey to receive a coupon for money off of their next purchase order. We encourage interested participants to register for the exhibition online to share with us in this exciting opportunity.
ULC is your one stop solution for laser optic machining, polishing, coating, and molding. We are proud to celebrate 100 years of service to our customers and we hope to meet with you in person at Photonics West booth #2037.


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Aviate, the contextual Android homescreen application Yahoo bought for $80 million in January, has rolled out an update today which introduces a smart “Listening Space” that allows users to more easily find their music applications in one section, while also being pointed to relevant information about their music, including bios and recent tweets from the artist, upcoming shows nearby, and more. It also adds the ability to listen to top tracks in Spotify.
The update was announced on Yahoo’s Tumblr blog, which noted that the feature was something current Aviate users have been demanding.
Explains Yahoo, Aviate is able to detect the song you’re listening to as you begin to play it, then delivers the related information in the “Listening Space” section.
For those unfamiliar, Aviate is something of an Android launcher, but one where the smartphone apps presented to you change as you go about your day. For example, in the morning, you might see a weather application and your preferred news and finance apps, and while out-and-about, you may be presented with apps like Google Maps, Foursquare, or Yelp.
Following the acquisition, Yahoo explained that it envisioned using Aviate’s technology to deliver content in ways that are “smarter and more personalized” to end users. The new “Listening Space” falls under that same general paradigm of wanting to make a particular experience more info-rich and contextual, but the new feature in and of itself is something which competes with other standalone mobile apps like Shazam or Soundhound.
However, what’s really interesting about the new “Listening Space” is something that’s glossed over in the announcement: it’s also serving as an app discovery service which will drive traffic to the Google Play store by encouraging new app downloads. App recommendations are something Aviate had in the works already, and in this particular case, it seems that Aviate will work to recommend “related music apps” to end users who don’t already have other popular music apps installed on their Android phone.
Though Aviate’s user base is today relatively small (Google Play says between 500,000 and 1 million downloads), over time, these sorts of recommendations could really impact an app’s user base size and rankings.


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10 Most Successful Startups Of 2020
Published: August 27, 2021
2020 was the death of many businesses around the world. Restaurants closed their doors and small retailers all over did their best to try to adapt. While it was a sad ending for many businesses, these 10 companies were able to succeed in the difficult COVID climate. From Doordash to Allbirds sneakers, these startup companies came out of 2020 stronger than ever.


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A new push by the beverage industry is slowing the expansion of soda taxes in California and elsewhere.
California cities pioneered soda taxes as a way to combat obesity, diabetes and heart disease, but the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday bowed to pressure from beverage companies and reluctantly banned local taxes on soda for the next 12 years.
It follows similar bans recently passed in Arizona and Michigan. Voters in Oregon will decide on a statewide ban in November. The American Beverage Association, which represents Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and others, has backed the moves after several cities passed taxes on sugary drinks in recent years.
California’s ban is part of a last-minute maneuver to block a beverage industry-backed ballot measure that would make it much harder for cities and counties to raise taxes of any kind. The ABA said in a statement the legislation is about keeping groceries, including drinks, affordable.
Lawmakers approved the proposal despite deep reluctance.
“This industry is aiming a nuclear weapon at government in California and saying, ‘If you don’t do what we want we are going to pull the trigger and you are not going to be able to fund basic government services,’” said Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, which has a soda tax.
The Legislature’s action drew a strong rebuke from public health advocates who view soda taxes as a crucial front in their efforts to contain obesity and the health complications it causes.
But local government officials, terrified by the prospect of having their hands tied on all future tax increases, reluctantly backed the legislation.
“I’ve been in politics a long time, and sometimes you have to do what’s necessary to avoid catastrophe,” said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who is pushing a local sales tax increase that would be at risk if the ballot measure passed.
The governor said only a handful of communities are looking to tax soda, but the ballot measure would affect all 482 cities in California.
“Mayors from countless cities have called to voice their alarm and to strongly support the compromise which this bill represents,” Brown wrote in a memo explaining his decision.
The California measure bans any new taxes on groceries including beverages through 2030, but allows four cities in the San Francisco Bay Area to keep soda levies already on the books.
The beverage industry has used aggressive campaigning to beat back soda taxes and other measures. But some soda tax efforts are now receiving better funding. Former New York City Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire who unsuccessfully tried to limit the size of sugary drinks sold in the city to 16 ounces, has funded some local efforts.
Philadelphia, Seattle and Boulder, Colorado also have taxes on sugary drinks.
After Brown signed the legislation, the California Business Roundtable withdrew a ballot measure that would have raised the threshold for any tax increases by local government.
Nancy Brown, chief executive of the American Heart Association, asked for a meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown after The Sacramento Bee reported beverage industry lobbyists dined with Brown and his wife Anne Gust Brown at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento this month.
A spokesman for Brown, Evan Westrup, said the governor did not negotiate the deal and the dinner was unrelated.
Public health officials said taxes are the most effective tool they have to discourage people from drinking soda, sports drinks, sweetened coffee and tea, and other sugary beverages.
Beverage companies spend billions promoting their products that public health professional can’t match, said Kristine Madsen, a physician and associate professor of public health at University of California, Berkeley.
She led a study that found a 20 percent reduction in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in low-income neighborhoods in the year after the city’s tax took effect. Sales in grocery stores dropped 8 percent — a figure that was not fully offset by higher sales in neighboring towns.


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Mariner Software has released a beta version of Montage 1.3, a screenwriting application designed for Mac OS X. You can sign up for the beta at the company’s Web site.
The new Montage beta added the ability to export Montage scripts to Screenwriter (.sex), improvements have been made in importing Final Draft, as well as other bug fixes and enhancements.
Montage 1.3 is expected to be released in November and will sell for $139.95. It will be a free upgrade for all Montage 1.0 customers.


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PA elected officials join Delaware River and boating stakeholders to discuss riverfront development initiatives while cruising on SureShade’s Shady Lady demo boat There’s no better way for elected officials to see the development opportunities along Philadelphia’s Delaware River on a hot, sunny August day than cruising under the shade on SureShade’s Shady Lady demo boat.
SureShade's Dana Russikoff Brings Industry Advocacy and Manufacturing Expertise to NMMA Marine Accessories and Components Division (MACD) as Newest Board Member SureShade, the U.S. designer and manufacturer of patented retractable sunshade systems for the marine industry, is pleased to announce that National Marine Manufacturer Association (NMMA) has appointed Dana Russikoff, SureShade’s business leader and co-founder,
U.S. Congressman Boyle with SureShade co-founders Dana and Ron Russikoff on Sea Ray 54DA SureShade participates in American Boating Congress (ABC) and BoatPAC recreational boating industry’s political action committee meetings in DC to support local and national boating issues Each year leaders in the boating industry embark on Washington DC for American Boating
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – July 26, 2016 - SureShade, the U.S. designer and manufacturer of patented retractable sunshade systems for the marine industry, was presented with an official citation from the office of Philadelphia City Council for recognition of SureShade’s hard work, dedication and distinguished service to the city of Philadelphia. Presented by Jonathan Todd, Director
Discover Boating on the Delaware Initiative Teams with Marinas, Yacht Clubs, Marine Businesses and Associations to Promote Recreational Boating on the Delaware River The SureShade team is proud to support National Marina Day on the Delaware, an event uniting Delaware River marinas and marine businesses to celebrate the boating lifestyle on Saturday on June 8,
As a technology station sponsor at both RNC and DNC events, SureShade supports the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s bipartisan commitment to growing the U.S. recreational boating industry The boating industry's trade association, National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), will represent its boat and marine manufacturer members at both the RNC and DNC conventions in an effort


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Tess Vigeland: Hertz is maneuvering to drive a hard bargain. The world’s biggest rental car company historically focused its attention on the higher-paying business traveler. But now it’s aiming to grab a bigger share of the vacation rental market. It’s buying the Dollar-Thrifty Automotive Group for $1.2 billion.
As Marketplace’s Bob Moon reports, consumers will still have plenty of rental-car brands to choose from, but just a few major corporations will hold the keys.
BOB MOON: In case you hadn’t noticed, the rental car business has been consolidating for years. Avis and Budget are operated by one company. And not too long ago, Enterprise bought National and Alamo. Now, Hertz is snapping up two more of the bigger names, Dollar and Thrifty.
Neil Abrams is a rental car industry consultant.
NEIL ABRAMS: This is the last piece of the puzzle, the mosaic, that will become the U.S. rental industry. You’ll have three corporations running the eight major brands.
So why maintain all those brands? It turns out a rental car company isn’t that much different than, say, a cereal company.
ABRAMS: Kellogg’s owns a lot of cereal brands. They offer different values, different experiences to different customers, and it’s no different in the rental industry.
Not everyone, for example, needs the speed or convenience the Hertz Number One Club offers. But Dave Kilduff, who follows the industry for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, says Hertz still wants to compete in the less demanding leisure market.
DAVE KILDUFF: You know, Hertz has to gear up for that businessman that comes in on Monday and Tuesday, and they put a lot of structure, and you have to have a lot of people and planning for that. You know, you’re not going to get that with Dollar-Thrifty. So it’s a different level of service. It’s still a good service.
And it’s still going to be cheaper, to appeal to leisure travelers. Analysts say that market remains competitive, and if anything, combining the back-office expenses might actually help Hertz hold the line on prices.
I’m Bob Moon for Marketplace.
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Generous support from listeners and readers is what powers our nonprofit news—and your donation today will help provide this essential service. For just $5/month, you can sustain independent journalism that keeps you and thousands of others informed.


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Islamic fintech could reduce poverty and unemployment. It could reduce the scourges with the help of instruments such as easy payment and settlement solutions, remittances, person-to-person (P2P) lending, crowdfunding, and prudent investments.
According to Islamic finance scholars, Islamic microfinance that is shariah-compliant could be used to mitigate poverty or reduce the unemployment rate all over the world. Qard-Al Hasan could be used for charity and Murabaha that requires buying and selling a commodity as well as Profit & loss sharing Mudarabha or Musharaka tools known where the investor is exposed to credit and market risk of the transaction along with the entrepreneur. These are the tools Islamic fintech could use to alleviate poverty and unemployment all over the world.
On the current Shariah Compliant fintech funds that could support the ecosystem and activities of Islamic crowdfunding. Zakat, Waqf, Sadaqat Takaful Technology fund could be used to ensure that people are enabled to fulfill their daily needs. The aim is to lift people from poverty in a way they can invest. Islamic Microfinance experts believe that Islamic fintech could support these initiatives.
Speaking on the guidelines released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria for crowdfunding and how it would attract investments into Nigeria, the Islamic microfinance scholars called for broader regulations that would take into consideration the unique types of Islamic pooled funds or collective investment schemes alleviate poverty from the world.
They stressed that the draft regulation for Crowdfunding issued in 2020 by SEC which required SMEs to be established for two or more years, before accessing crowdfunding opportunities was a bad regulatory decision and could harm viable small and medium-sized businesses.
The lecturer cited Malaysia as a country that has an enabling regulatory environment for startups, which Nigeria could emulate to attract new investments.
He called on Nigeria to develop an Islamic crowdfunding platform for startup companies, which could provide funds in sectors like agriculture. Muhammad suggested a Qard-al Hassan model should be considered which would combine two characteristics such as being a charity and being independent and it will be placed under nonprofit crowdfunding. He concluded that Qard-al Hassan could work perfectly for start-up companies in Nigeria.
Looking at Islamic fintech operations for crowdfunding in 2020 and the prospects for 2021, Muhammad believed that Islamic fintech in Nigeria could tap into the population that is financially excluded and provide services to them that increased their financial participation.
He noted that from available statistics, Nigeria with over 126m internet users from 92.7m in 2015 provides immense opportunities for the growth of Islamic fintech, especially given the fact that the country has an impressive family and friends network and is adopting technology effectively.
Giving his perspectives on how Islamic fintech could support Nigeria’s quest at improving financial inclusion, he said that Islamic finance was a fast-growing segment of global finance, serving a population of over 2bn Muslims. He said the role of Islamic finance in growing MSMEs was undeniable.
He saw fintech as an emerging concept that uses technology to disrupt financial services, operations, businesses model, and customer engagement while financial inclusion can be seen as a process to ensure the accessibility, availability, and usage of formal financial services. According to Muhammad, this shows that every member of society should participate in the economy and use financial services at an affordable cost based on their need.
He said, since 2012 the National Financial Inclusion Strategy that targeted 80% financial inclusion by 2020, as in 2018 saw only 63.2% of the 99.6m adult population having access to financial services.
The Islamic fintech expert acknowledged the fast growth of fintech companies. According to him, in 2019 the financial technology companies raised $135bn across 2,693 deals globally for their innovation. He concluded that Fintech will play a vital role in promoting financial inclusion.
He said regulation is one of the challenges facing crowdfunding in Nigeria and advocated better understanding/ awareness of Islamic Crowdfunding. He added that crowdfunding could be used to raise funds and drive enterprise development.
The Co-Founder Islamic Knowledge Foundation in Nigeria called on the government to educate people on the model in the country and strengthen the domestic cyber-security framework to tackle internet fraud.
Originally published on www.proshareng.com
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Maharashtra plans 18 clusters for export of chemical-free fruits, vegetables
The Maharashtra Government, along with APEDA, plans to set up over 18 clusters in the State for export of chemical-residue-free vegetables and fruits. The clusters will also ensure that the agriculture products meet the phytosanitary norms of developed countries.
Phytosanitary measures are for the control of plant diseases and pathogens. Without residue-free and phytosanitary certifications, Customs clearance at foreign ports is not possible.
Uttarakhand imports 240 Merino sheep from Australia to improve breeding
The sheep have been imported at a cost of Rs 8.5 crore
The Uttarakhand government has imported 240 Merino sheep from Australia under the National Livestock Mission to improve sheep breeding in the State and increase production of quality wool.
High quality germplasm will be made available to sheep breeders through use of modern artificial insemination in sheep and embryo transfer technology.
Through use of technology, the State government aims to increase high quality wool productivity from 558 metric tonnes at present to over 1,000 metric tonnes.
Pashu kisan Credit Card Yojana: Eligibility, Benefits, Loan Amount, Necessary Documents & Methods to Apply
The past few decades are witnessing an increase in animal husbandry businesses across the country. Recently, the Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department along with the Ministry of Fisheries had released the 20th Livestock Census Report. This report has revealed that the animal husbandry business in the country is increasing and growing rapidly. In view of these reports, the central and state governments are taking important steps to further increase the animal husbandry business across the country.


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TAIPEI -- In the sweltering Asia summertime of mid-June, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. urgently dispatched a team to Japan to visit some of the company's equipment suppliers. Why, it wanted to know, were these companies saying they could not deliver vital machines on time? TSMC is the world's largest chip manufacturer, and its suppliers had always bent over backward to provide what the powerful company was demanding, but for the first time, it was being met with apologetic messages.
The situation was highly sensitive. TSMC is in the midst of a $100 billion expansion, spurred on by governments in the wake of last year's alarming shortages of crucial chips. But the Taiwanese giant has found its own supply chains to be plagued by bottlenecks, affecting items that range from lenses so precise they could focus a laser beam on a pingpong ball on the moon, to apparently mundane valves and tubes.


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Last year was the second-most difficult in the past five years for salary increases in South Africa, according to a BankservAfrica report released on Wednesday - meaning at the current rate, it would take 180 years to double a salary in real terms.
BankservAfrica's Take-home pay Index tracks about 3 million salary earners via about 4 million monthly payments made into the national payments system.
The overall data shows that real take-home pay increased by just 0.4% in the SA economy in 2018.
With inflation averaging 4.6% for 2018, the average employee's increase was above the price level changes as measured by the inflation basket, according to Shergeran Naidoo, head: stakeholder engagements at BankservAfrica.
A total increase of 1% after tax and pension in take-home pay over five years indicates that, in essence, salaries were adjusted just for inflation on average, according to Mike Schüssler, chief economist at Economists.co.za.
In December 2018 the average banked real-take home pay was R14 094, showing a 0.5% year-on-year (y/y) change and a slight improvement from November, according to Naidoo. The nominal value was R15 045 or a 5.5% change y/y.
The average real take-home pay for the whole of 2018 was R13 990 per month for the person receiving their salary via a bank account. Before inflation, the average was R15 018 per month.
"The worst year for real take-home pay was 2016, where there was a 1.1% decline in take-home pay after inflation, while all the other years showed an increase of which 2018 was the smallest," said Naidoo.
According to Schüssler, the weak economy is not helping South Africans get salary increases, although the average increase for 2018 was just above inflation.
Some salary increases were above 7%, which, after tax and inflation, would have resulted in an estimated 1.8% increase in real after-inflation terms.
"Many private sector firms remain under pressure, resulting in less-than-inflation increases. Many employees are struggling to maintain their standard of living," said Schüssler.
He added that take-home pay did at least result in higher retail sales, as retail inflation was just about half the headline inflation rate for 2018.


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- Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson says investors shouldn't be bothered by President Donald Trump's criticism of Amazon; he recommends buying shares.
- Based on a survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers, the firm found that just 5 percent of Americans see sales tax as a critical factor when deciding where to shop.
- "Nothing can be certain, except death and taxes … and more Trump tweets on Amazon," analyst Michael Olson writes. "Sales tax collection changes would have limited impact."
Tax changes at Amazon would have "limited impact" on the e-commerce company's profits despite a steady barrage of negative tweets from President Donald Trump, Piper Jaffray told clients Tuesday.
Though revisions to the company's tax policy remain unlikely, analyst Michael Olson told clients that even if the president were to have his way, changes would have little impact on how consumers use Amazon.
"Nothing can be certain, except death and taxes … and more Trump tweets on Amazon," Olson wrote in a note. "We believe sales tax collection changes would have limited impact on consumer use of Amazon and could actually help Amazon's relative competitive positioning in domestic e-commerce."
Based on a survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers, the firm found that just 5 percent of Americans see sales tax as a critical factor when deciding where to shop. Major changes to Amazon's tax policies, therefore, would likely produce a muted response from consumers, Olson explained.
The survey found that features such as fast and free shipping, product selection and website trust were significantly more important to shoppers.
Based on the results, the analyst again advised investors to buy shares of Amazon and reiterated his 12-month price forecast of $1,650, implying more than 20 percent upside for the stock.
The president's extraordinary criticism of Amazon has centered on the company's policy of not collecting state and local taxes from the vast majority of its third-party sellers. The practice, Trump alleges, puts "many thousands of retailers" out of business, unable to survive against Jeff Bezos's ever-growing consumer titan.
The president underscored his feelings toward the company in a tweet Monday morning, saying: "Our fully tax paying retailers are closing stores all over the country … not a level playing field!"
Amazon already collects state sales taxes on products it sells directly, but the company does not collect state sales taxes for its third-party platform outside of a handful of states. The third-party business represents roughly half of Amazon's unit sales, according to Piper Jaffray.
Despite widespread belief on Wall Street that the president's disapproval represents mere "chatter," Amazon's stock has fallen more than 8 percent in the last week alone amid a broader market sell-off.
Axios reported last Wednesday that Trump was considering changes to the retailer's tax treatment, in part because of anger over how Amazon has hurt the commercial real estate industry because of its negative effect on brick-and-mortar retailers.
Still, Olson remains bullish on shares, noting the president's second major criticism — that the United States Postal Services loses "a fortune" from delivering Amazon packages — is unlikely to produce discriminatory rates for the company.
"We find it unlikely that the Post Office will materially raise rates for Amazon deliveries," Olson added. "Amazon would likely shift to alternative shipping options (perhaps both internal and external)."
Many would argue, however, that Amazon has been a positive for the postal service, which has suffered from bleak finances for more than a decade as other means of communication replace first class mail.


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HTC EVO 3D Announced for Sprint
First it was LG and now its HTCs turn to join the 3D bandwagon. You heard the rumors before. Well now it's official. The EVO3D will come with a 4.3 inch glass-free 3D display, 1.2Ghz Dual Core CPU, WIMAX connectivity, 1.3MP front facing camera and dual 5MP rear cameras for 3D effects and 1080p video playback. It runs Android 2.3 with the latest Sense UI. Dimensions wise it seems to be the same as the old Evo and weighs the same too. With 3D being the stand out feature, the phone comes with a dedicated 3D on/off button besides the camera button to toggle the 3D effects on/off. No announcements on the official release date but it's probably coming around summer time.


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Huawei Mate Xs 2 promo revealed ultra-light design
Today, Huawei has published the new promo posters for the upcoming Huawei Mate Xs 2 foldable smartphone, which discloses some design details. We are just two days ahead of the Huawei Mate Xs 2 official launch event, which is set for April 28 at 19:00, and the company releasing warm-ups to create excitement among the consumers.
According to the latest Huawei Mate Xs promo posters, this foldable flagship will use innovative ultra-light material for a lightweight body. Further, it has dual-rotor eagle wing hinges that make the phone screen flatter after unfolding.
That’s not it, the phone will have a composite reinforced structure screen to provide a strong display screen. On this matter, a digital blogger mentioned that Huawei Mate Xs will use a composite laminate structure to add a layer to the screen. So, it is expected to be the flattest foldable phone.
About Huawei Mate Xs 2:
Huawei Mate Xs 2 is reported to arrive with a hole-punch display with very low bezels in corners. Further, it is likely to be equipped with Kirin 9000 processor with 4G connectivity, pre-installed HarmonyOS, and will pack with a 4500mAh battery that supports 66W fast-charging.
As per the first official teaser, Huawei Mate Xs 2 will feature the horizontal foldable hinge with an outer fold design as well as offer a large display for a better experience. Also, Huawei’s CEO Richard Yu said that the upcoming Mate Xs 2 will be beyond everyone’s imagination of folding phones.
Previously, the Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) founder and CEO Ross Young said Mate Xs 2 will arrive with major changes in display quality with LYPS display, 120 Hz, and will be priced at 2500 USD.
Check the promo posters here:
New Huawei GOA-AL80U gets 100W charger certification
A new Huawei phone with model number GOA-AL80U has received 3C certification in China with 100W super fast charger and it could be the Huawei Nova 11 Pro smartphone.
According to the information, Huawei GOA-AL80U has 20V/5Ak, which outputs 100W of super fast charging. A week ago, a similar model – GOA-AL80 received 3C certification.
It has a maximum output of 100W (20VDC, 5A) and also backward compatible with 66W (11VDC, 6A) and 10W (10VDC, 2A) charging outputs.
The charger model is HW200500C00 and it is the same charger used in Huawei Nova 9 Pro and later in Nova 10 Pro. Currently, there’s no proof of the identity of this upcoming smartphone tier but it could be the upcoming Huawei Nova 11 Pro. As it’s the only candidate for providing such fast charging output for the consumers.
Huawei Nova 11:
Past input reveals that Huawei could a new press conference on April 17 to launch Nova 11 series, Watch 4, and other smart devices for consumers.
A report shows that Huawei Nova 11 series will consist of three models – Nova 11, Nova 11 Pro, and Nova 11 Ultra. These phones will pack different specs, while the top ones will have ultra-grade technologies.
Huawei Nova 11 devices will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 4G chipset and improved network technologies.
Furthermore, these upcoming Huawei Nova devices will also bring satellite communication technology, which could be the first in mid-range smartphones.
Huawei will also upgrade the camera section with a high-quality lens. However, we need to know more information about the camera section of this midrange lineup.
Huawei phones are as valuable as iPhones: Report
Huawei phones are made with the long-standing build quality. Despite two years of launch, Huawei Mate 40 Pro shows that it’s as valuable as iPhones for consumers.
The latest conversation came to light after people on Weibo started a discussion on research by a Chinese firm, BankMyCell. The study shows that iPhone’s depreciation rate is only half of Android’s.
The report is bundled from the year 2021 to 2022, it shows that iPhone retains its value the most. Meanwhile, Android’s value declines the fastest over 1 year of purchase. It even goes down by double digits within two years.
However, users are sharing different opinions on this matter such as: “What’s so good about depreciating Android in the smartphone industry?”
Some of those people said that the value of iPhones is indeed high. But there’s one Chinese smartphone company that can match Apple’s value retention rate and it is Huawei including the Huawei Mate 40 Pro.
According to the handheld smartphone platform, the second-hand price of the Huawei Mate 40 Pro is currently up to 7450 yuan (1082 USD). As a phone launched in 2020, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro is powered by an “out-of-print” Kirin 9000 chipset and supports 5G.
Additionally, some bloggers said that their Huawei Mate 40 Pro 5G has been used for more than a year. Yet, it can still sell for 3500 yuan (508 USD), which is comparable to an iPhone.
The Kirin is not available on new flagship devices nor the 5G connectivity. Also, the demand for this premium smartphone remained unchanged even after the Huawei P50 series and later Huawei flagship models.
Not only that, it has the fastest and smoothest user experience among all phones released in the same timeline. Therefore, Huawei Mate 40 Pro became the valuable choice for consumers in the Chinese market over Apple’s iPhones.
Huawei Mate 40 Pro specs:
The Mate 40 Pro packs a 6.76-inch display with an OLED panel and FHD+ (2772 x 1344 pixels) resolution. It has a 50 MP ultra vision camera system. There’s a wide front camera setup for better face recognition technology.
Huawei Mate 60 series to use IMX9 super large camera sensor
Huawei could equip its next flagship phone, Mate 60 series with a super powerful IMX9 series camera sensor, says a tipster related to this matter.
According to the information, Huawei started testing IMX 9 series sensor and speculated that the Huawei Mate 60 series could equip with this new super large camera tech. The tipster also mentioned that Huawei’s former subsidiary – Honor is also preparing a new device with the same sensor.
Despite having no clue about the IMX model, we can assume that the sensor may be IMX 989 because it’s the only 1-inch sensor that made it up to smartphones at the moment.
Looking at the advantages, the sensor allows smartphones to carry more room in the camera module as compared to predecessors. On the other hand, the size intake more light to capture bright images with fast readout speed.
The SONY IMX 989 also has a high dynamic range to enable better low-light performance and accurate color reproduction in photographs. While the use of Quad Bayer color filter array improves light sensitivity and reduces image noise.
With this sensor, the smartphone can perform fast autofocus with a combination of phase and contrast detection.
Huawei P60 series:
The latest Huawei P60 Pro is using IMX888, which is a 1/1.43-inch in size. Despite using a less powerful sensor, Huawei has optimized the entire image processing algorithm and improved the output manually.
The effect can be seen in ultra aperture photography. This reflects that Huawei is already using 1-inch sensor quality with IMX888 on Huawei P60 Pro. So, we can also come to the conclusion that Huawei Mate 60 could further empower the capabilities of the IMX9 series beyond stock features.
A past leak reveals that the Huawei Mate 60 series may launch in Q3 2023. It could be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and better camera specs. However, Huawei is yet to announce an official launch date.
Read more in the article linked below.


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PSA/Peugeot-Citroen's China joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp. began construction of its fourth assembly plant -- a factory intended to serve the country's western regions.
Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co. will launch production at the Wuhan plant in 2016. The 12.3 billion yuan ($2 billion) facility will build up to 360,000 vehicles a year, according to a statement from PSA.
The factory will mainly produce SUVs and MPVs, which are in strong demand. The vehicles will be produced for the Peugeot, Citroen and Dongfeng car brands, the automaker said.
Established in 1992, Dongfeng Peugeot currently has three plants in the central China city of Wuhan with a combined production capacity of 600,000 units a year.
In September, Dongfeng Peugeot sold 64,138 vehicles in China, up 37 percent. It aims to sell 700,000 vehicles this year.
PSA also has a joint venture with China's Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Headquartered in the south China city of Shenzhen, the partnership expects to produce 200,000 vehicles next year.
Changan-PSA produces and sells Citroen DS models. Since September 2013, the partnership has sold 15,000 DS5 and DS6 models.


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Zunroof gets a South India boost to solar business
Delhi-NCR-based solar power start-up Zunroof expects to harness the South Indian market to drive even higher volumes going forward.
Delhi-NCR-based solar power start-up Zunroof expects to harness the South Indian market to drive even higher volumes going forward. While the company entered the South Indian market in October 2018, launching operations in Bengaluru first, it is now present in most big cities in the region.
“We have added Mysore, Kochi, Chennai and Hyderabad over the last seven months and we now have a presence in 10 states across India and over 64 cities,” said ZunRoof founder and chief executive officer, Pranesh Chaudhary. The company is already present in most cities across North India.
The southern operations of the company already contribute one-third of the firm’s monthly installations, while the North Indian market accounts for another third. “The remaining comes from the rest of India,” Choudhary said, adding that the company does around 300 installations per month in total. South India had contributed less than 5 per cent of monthly installations in January.
Launched in 2016 by Chaudhary and co-founder Sushant Sachan, Zunroof offers customers a wide variety of services in the home solar energy segment. Chaudhary said the B2C start-up focuses on both aspects of a home solar power system: Generation and Consumption.
“On the generation side, we divide our services into three parts: design, delivery and diagnostics,” Chaudhary said. The company offers an app through which customers can be given customised recommendations depending on their power needs, size of the house and even aesthetic aspects of the installations.
“We have even added a virtual reality module in-app to give customers a better idea of how the system will turn out,” Chaudhary said. Once an order is placed, Zunroof uses it’s delivery and installation partners to get the system in place. According to Chaudhary, a one-AC household requires a 4-kilowatt plant on average, which costs around Rs 55,000 per kW without any customisation or accounting for state-specific subsidies.
On the consumption side, it has created an inhouse IoT device which taps into the same app and gives the customer real-time analysis of the system, including servicing recommendations, how different appliances are using power, etc. “The system is still in a beta phase, but it will be launched fully soon,” he said. Going forward, the firm expects to hit 1,000 monthly installations a year, with the South Indian market contributing half of all volumes by the end of this year.
Series A next year?
Zunroof founder Pranesh Chaudhary said that the company might go for a Series A round some time next year, but added that they are sufficiently funded now. The company had raised $1.2 million from the Godrej Group just a few months ago.