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Having a famous brother can sometimes be an advantage, but it is not necessarily the case. As a part of a new brand campaign called ‘Fair Go Bro’, created by Euro RSCG and One Green Bean, Virgin Mobile Australia has made an rather unusual move by promoting Doug Pitt, the brother of famous Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, as an actual celebrity.
After last year’s ‘A Fair Go For All’ campaign, the new campaign is seen as some kind of rebellion against the standard campaigns and TV spots featuring celebrities. Set to last until October, the campaign will have three phases, the main pillar of it being a website which has a simple premise – to get Facebook ‘likes’ from consumers, enabling Doug to become more famous. The first step in doing so is a new MTV Cribs-styled video called ‘Meet Doug Pitt, the second most famous Pitt in his family’:
The website will be updated every time Doug hits a fixed number of Facebook likes, showing his ‘transformation’ into a celebrity. It will also provide the consumers with Virgin Mobile deals and a chance to win some awards.
“With consumer engagement paramount to success, we wanted push the boundaries and develop a campaign that had social and mobile at the heart of it and is supported by a significant ATL campaign, rather than simply leading with a TVC. The first phase of the campaign centers around the website enabling consumers to engage and rally behind the cause before we introduce the TVCs, outdoor and print. We are really excited to launch Fair Go Bro, which is truly social and delivers consumer engagement at every point during the campaign, while also delivering our Fair Go message in a truly Virgin way,” says David Scribner, Virgin Mobile marketing director.
So, in order to help Doug Pitt to become famous, head over to fairgobro.com.au and click ‘Like’ – I’m sure that he will be a better celebrity than Kim Kardashian.
- 188 posts


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Tesco PLC (TSCO.L)
LONDON Companies in Britain must strive to rein in excessive executive pay, pay more heed to staff and make boards more diverse under a new "short and sharper" corporate code, published on Monday.
* Company chairs face effective 9-year term limit (Adds lawmaker comment)
LONDON, July 16 Companies in Britain must strive to rein in excessive executive pay and make boards more diverse under a new "short and sharper" corporate code, published on Monday.
LONDON Sainsbury's , the British grocer that has agreed to buy rival Asda, has defended its new chairman, dismissing a shareholder's suggestion that he might be tainted by a failed takeover deal during his time at Lloyds Banking Group .
* Wilson had been seen as potential successor to CEO Dave Lewis (Adds share price, analyst comment)
LONDON, July 10 Britain's biggest supermarket Tesco said its UK and Ireland boss Charles Wilson would be replaced by group chief product officer Jason Tarry after Wilson was diagnosed with cancer.
PARIS/LONDON A deal between Carrefour and Tesco to team up on global purchasing will help them not only cut prices but also expand their own-label ranges, tightening a squeeze on major brand producers such as Nestle and Kraft Heinz.
* Nestle, under fire from Third Point, clashed with retailers
PARIS/LONDON Europe's largest supermarket groups Carrefour and Tesco have agreed to form a global purchasing alliance to demand better terms from major suppliers in the latest attempt by the industry to drive down costs. | Video
* Suppliers concerned that they risk being squeezed hard (Adds further reaction)

domain: news


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“We are starting a company, not just a single business”
Restaurateurs Tom Halkidis and Russell Matthes are preparing to launch The Greyson, an ambitious new sports bar concept with an aggressive growth plan. The first outpost of the Greyson is working to open its doors by the end of this month in Palmetto, at 5045 96th St E. Two more locations are expected over the next year and a half: one in Palmer Ranch, to open in November 2023, and another in Sarasota, opening in September 2024.
“The Greyson is a unique semi-upscale-casual, family-friendly sports restaurant/bar,” read press materials provided to What Now by Russell Matthes. “Our contemporary industrial look and feel will provide an outstanding sports viewing experience for all guests. Our state-of-the-art audio and video entertainment package will have guests glued to their seats, while enjoying quality items from our diverse food and drink menu.”
Halkidis and Matthes bring decades of restaurant experience to the project. Tom Halkidis is a longtime sports bar franchisee, and he also has a background in real estate. Russell Matthes has managed and owned restaurants in Florida for more than 30 years and has been very involved in the Sarasota/Manatee Community. Together, the two are looking to make The Greyson a considerable sports bar chain, with the possibility of opening up the concept to franchising in the future.
“We are starting a company, not just a single business,” Matthes told What Now on Friday.
Stay up to date on Greyson news by following @thegreysonbar on Instagram.


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Samsung is speculated to make a lot of cash from sales of Apple’s iPhone X. Like, a lot. The reason is that Samsung supplies a number of the phone’s ..
Apple yesterday announced its new 2017 iPhone lineup, at Apple Park. The company debuted three new flagship iPhones as well as adjusted pricing for the entire product ..
The Android versus iOS debate is as controversial as Pepsi versus Coke. But like the two colas, Android and iOS today are more alike than they are different. So if one has to choose ..


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It’s hard to imagine now, but at the beginning of the current decade, Colin Kaepernick was primarily known for being a promising young quarterback. Even then, he seemed to relish an image as something of an antihero, emerging from the ignorant noise of his loudmouth, no-nothing detractors. This goes back at least as far as his first commercial, when a younger, much shorter-haired Kaepernick starred in a three-minute (!) spot for headphones, of all things. (Just imagine him trying to put those things on now.) We see Kaepernick getting off a bus, as thousands of feral-like fans try to viciously shout him down. Kaepernick, with a sense of cool not seen since The Fonz, ignores them all, stoically listening to a song titled, “I’m The Man.” Of COURSE you are, Colin.
At the time, this was a curious ad. Who in the ACTUAL world hated Colin Kaepernick? He was an emerging star, helping to lead his 49ers to the Superbowl in a rookie season- very marketable, and hardly the polarizing figure that this ad portrayed. Perhaps disappointed by his LACK of notoriety as his star began to fade in 2013, Kaepernick was spotted in public wearing a Miami Dolphins hat- something kind of weird for a quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers to do. Though somewhat obnoxious, it was far from the stuff of full-blown outrage. Still, there were a few 49ers diehards that took the bait, complaining about Kaepernick’s disloyalty- and, in an act of foreshadowing of much bigger things to come, disrespect. Finally, Kaepernick had his real life targets to ridicule, and ridicule them he did, posting a very sarcastic looking picture of himself holding up a Dolphins hat. Making less headlines on the field, Kaepernick seemed to relish the notoriety off the field.
Fast forward another three years to 2016. Barely on the public radar by this point, Kaepernick grew his hair out, generating his off-field persona as a social justice warrior for a community that, quite honestly, he was never part of. That’s not to say he doesn’t actually care about this community, as only he knows his true intentions- and to be fair, he has donated lots of money to causes he advocates. (This is something ALL successful pro-athletes, entertainers, and multi-millionaires in general should do, but that’s for another discussion.) But regardless of his intentions, the methods Kaepernick used were not exactly constructive towards advancing his newly adopted cause(s). Rather than bring people together to try working on practical solutions, Kaepernick deliberately stirred the pot, preaching to the choir of people who already believed what he was saying, while deeply alienating those who didn’t, with an incendiary press statement about the United States. While there are certainly plenty of issues to discuss regarding this country, including that of the troubling relationships between the police and the inner-city communities which they serve, Kaepernick’s initial statement- and this is for those who say Kaepernick’s protest is “only” about police brutality- was a far more sweeping condemnation about the country that made him a rich man, stating that he refused to “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” (I suppose it’s also too oppressive for him to vote, as he skipped the 2016 election altogether.) And while we’ve all spent WAY too much time already “debating” (actually, screaming at each other) about the merits and liabilities of kneeling, how about the fact that Kaepernick actually started his protest by sitting on the bench throughout the anthem?! (It wasn’t enough for him that he’d spend the next three hours doing that?) It was only after realizing it would be better PR for him to kneel, and the rest is history.
And what about the socks controversy? Before becoming the world’s most famous shoe salesman, Kaepernick sported some rather nifty socks, showing pigs wearing police hats. Kaepernick responded with his usual eloquence- seriously, he’s a smart man- along with his typical faux indignation, lamenting this distraction from “the real issues”. But come on- does someone as intelligent as Colin Kaepernick really not know that these socks would generate a “distraction”? It seems like a reasonable assumption that he went out of his way to purchase these statement-making socks- it’s not like they sell them at Walmart!
And hey, speaking of big, heartless corporations, enter Nike into the picture. Not afraid of exploiting controversies any more than they’re afraid to exploit third world workers- this is a company that once cynically used Tiger Woods’ infidelity to sell their products– they recruited Kaepernick to be the new face of their marketing campaign, under one of the most ironic marketing slogans in American history, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” For the sake of argument, let’s assume that everything Kaepernick stands for is pure and just, as are his motives. What exactly is he sacrificing? Already worth more than he’ll ever be able to spend in his life, Kaepernick’s unremarkable talent was simply not enough to justify the PR headache that any NFL owner surely would have had to deal with, had they signed him. Instead, he was signed by Nike, making far more than he ever would have as an (AT BEST) run-of-the-mill quarterback. And for this, he’s being compared to Muhammed Ali refusing to serve in Vietnam- or even ROSA PARKS?! Only in today’s America can this be done with a straight face, just as only in today’s America can this be consider “sacrificing everything”.
But give credit where it’s due- Colin Kaepernick has achieved the outlaw, antihero status he longed for, probably beyond his wildest dreams, while Nike’s sales have spiked upwards. By hitching itself to his wagon, Nike made a bold but savvy move- alienating Trump’s MAGA crowd, but becoming the hero of the left- a group normally associated with being AGAINST big corporations. Any boycott Nike will see from this PR stunt will likely be far outweighed by the sales they will generate, as early indicators seem to suggest. At the end of it all, the only “sacrifice” made will be of the Nike products that are being burned to a crisp by the misguided counter-protesters, thinking they’re making some sort of statement besides, “We’re not very intelligent.” They’d have been far better served donating those clothes to charity, and simply stating that they’re never buying Nike again. But that’s just not how things are done these days, in a highly politicized environment filled with venom, rancor, and silliness.
As for “The Man” Colin Kaepernick, we’ll likely never see him take another snap in the NFL again. That’s too bad, because had he done so, he’d likely remind us of the REAL primary reason why he’s not in the NFL anymore- quite simply, he’s just not all that good. Instead, he gets to be the martyr for a cause that he didn’t even expand beyond the base of people who already agreed with him in the first place. No matter. This whole thing is making Colin Kaepernick a rich(er) man, to the point where even HE will have to say, “God Bless America.”


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ALOR SETAR: The Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) foiled an attempt to smuggle 24,500 kilogrammes of glutinous rice flour from Thailand which were brought in without a valid permit at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) complex here last Saturday.
Head of Bukit Kayu Hitam entrance Mohd Sukor Shafie said the glutinous rice flour estimated to be worth RM103,000 was seized at 5 pm following a routine inspection carried out by the duty officer.
“We stopped a container and after we inspected the container found 2,450 boxes of glutinous rice flour weighing at an estimated 24,500 kilogrammes being brought into the country without a valid import permit.
“We surrendered the consignment to the Rice and Padi Regulatory Division for further action,” he said in a statement here today. - Bernama


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Gord Mood wonders if the sandwich-board saga that has merchants scratching their heads and London police investigating might fit right into the pages of the comics sold at his downtown shop.
Sixty of the sidewalk advertising signs were recently scooped up by city officials for breaching London’s signage bylaw — prompting some business owners to complain the move was heavy-handed and unnecessary.
Then, in the wee hours of Saturday, several were returned to downtown businesses, leaving owners surprised and wondering whether it was city officials who dropped them off under the cover of darkness.
Not so: city security and London police are now investigating a weekend break-in at the fenced-in city compound where the signs had been stored. And that has Mood and other core merchants wondering who returned them — and why.
“I guess there’s some kind of superhero vigilante out there,” said Mood, who owns the Richmond Street comic shop L.A. Mood.
That a sign-toting local Robin Hood was behind the caper is only speculation. But what’s clear is city officials aren’t taking the matter lightly.
Police and city security have been contacted, said city hall’s bylaw boss, Orest Katolyk.
“I’m concerned that somebody broke into a compound,” said Katolyk, who declined to divulge its location.
In a weekend interview with The Free Press, Troy Hutchison, who owns the Clarence Street record store Grooves, said security footage showed a person in an unmarked vehicle dropping off his sandwich-board sign at 1:36 a.m. Saturday.
“It’s very odd,” he said at the time.
The entire episode started earlier this month, when city officials confiscated dozens of the sidewalk signs as part of a bylaw blitz. Some merchants described the move as harmful to downtown retailers and other businesses.
Mood, a stalwart of the downtown retail community, couldn’t help but laugh at the latest twist.
“I’m a little shocked somebody would go to the trouble of doing that,” he said Monday. “But it certainly makes for an interesting episode.”
— with files from Azzura Lalani
Here’s a video posted by Grooves Records:


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Invoicing & Payment,
Spend Analysis & Benchmarking,
Supplier Relationship Management,
B2B Social Media: Online Supply Communities, Open Innovation, SM B2B Marketing, SM Customer Driven Support
Industry Groups: Construction, Defence & Aerospace, Education, Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing & Automotive, Public Sector, Resources, Retail & CPG/FMCG, Utilities
Categories / Commodities: Business Travel, Capital Equipment, Construction & Building, Electronic & High Tech, Fuels & Lubricants, Managed Print Services, Marketing & Advertising, Metals & Minerals, Office Suppliers, Services Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Transport & Logistics
Procurement People: Careers, Leadership, People on the move, Talent Management
Organizations in the News
Articles in category: Manufacturing & Automotive
Buyers have backed the use of charters that set out the “rules of engagement” in supplier relationships, according to a survey.
The SM Jury voted by eight to four in favour of charters, with members saying they promoted ethical behaviour and improved supplier relations.
Cristian Martin, procurement and contracts officer at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said: “It is important for suppliers to understand what standards your process is aligned to; everyone understands what everyone’s rights are. If you are not aligning to a standard, a charter would help suppliers understand your process better.”(Read Full Article)
The Veeder-Root Company has acquired FuelQuest, Inc. Located in Houston, Texas, FuelQuest is the recognized Software as a Service (SaaS) provider for retail and commercial fueling logistics applications. With over 15 years of experience in logistics software development and analytics, FuelQuest will combine with Veeder-Root's Insite360 Fuel business to provide a best in class, end-to-end solution for controlling wet stock from rack to nozzle.
The acquisition demonstrates Veeder-Root's commitment to supporting retail and commercial fueling customers' desire for increased control of their fuel purchases, deliveries, variance, flow, compliance and managed maintenance needs.(Read Full Article)
While effective supply chain risk management programmes recognise things don’t always go according to plan, they also aid businesses build a more resilient operation in response.
The risks of supply chain disruptions aren’t limited to first tier suppliers and customers. The ability to access information from every part of the trading network in real-time can help businesses identify and anticipate risks, as well as inform the range of decisions needed to mitigate them. That visibility fuels the approach behind collaborative planning and execution.
Here are three ways to improve risk management across a company and its trading partner ...(Read Full Article)
It means that the hundreds of thousands of farms that supply Nestlé with its dairy, meat, poultry and eggs will have to comply with tighter animal welfare standards. Nestlé said it is the first major food company to form an international partnership with an animal welfare NGO.(Read Full Article)
As companies pursue growth in an environment where operations risk is pervasive, and where supply chain risk has become a top priority, a robust risk management capability is key to designing and operating supply chains. A recent Accenture study of senior executives found that the majority believe supply chain risk management is important or very important.(Read Full Article)
Recent research from The Hackett Group claims that procurement’s ability to generate big savings is declining dramatically. Despite what you might think, that’s good news.
It’s not that savings are unimportant. Of course, they’re important, and they always will be. They are a large part of what organizations expect from procurement. But, as every CPO knows, they aren’t the only things procurement can provide.
For example, in manufacturing companies, procurement can identify suppliers who can suggest alternatives to new product designs that can accomplish the design intent more cost effectively.
(Read Full Article)
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has signed a R51-billion order for 600 new trains. However, all of these trains will not be delivered at once, which means Prasa’s refurbishment programme will have to run another 15 years. Irma Venter visited CTLE, where some of the coaches are being refurbished.(Read Full Article)
Oil firm Sasol is working to increase the number of local firms in its Mozambican supply chain, a conference was told. Benjamim Cavel, local content manager for Sasol in Mozambique, said the company had to “lead by example” and it was working with local suppliers to bring them up to the level where they can compete with multinationals.
Embattled telecommunications giant Telkom is eyeing significant procurement cost cuts as part of actions to return the group to sustainability. In the 2014 financial year, Telkom spent roughly R17-billion with suppliers, chief procurement officer Ian Russell said at an investor presentation earlier this week.(Read Full Article)
AsiaInspection, a global provider of quality control services for businesses importing from Asia, Africa, Southern Europe, and Latin America, maintains that supply chain managers should pay more attention to risk irrespective of region.
The Hong Kong-based consultancy has just released its 2014 Q2 Barometer, a quarterly synopsis on outsourced manufacturing and quality control indicating that supply chain transparency is far from adequate nearly everywhere in the emerging markets matrix.(Read Full Article)
Better supplier relationship management could significantly improve company profits, with "soft" benefits offered by suppliers worth more than the value achieved from price concessions.
OEM Profitability and Supplier Relations - which is based in part on data gathered over the past 13 years from the annual Working Relations Index Study published by consultancy Planning Perspectives - found the better the relationship an automotive manufacturer has with its suppliers, the greater its profits are.
It explained the relationship “quantifies the economic value of suppliers’ non-price benefits to the OEM”.(Read Full Article)
Despite crippling industry-wide strikes, uneasy foreign exchange rates and an uncertain post-election period, the building industry in South Africa is on the mend and is showing signs of recovering beyond several analysts’ expectations, Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa) director Nico Pienaar has asserted.(Read Full Article)
ACTIVITY in the manufacturing sector fell for the fourth consecutive month in July as a strike by metals and engineering industry workers limited production.
This was suggested by the Kagiso purchasing managers index (PMI), which indicates activity in the manufacturing sector. The index, released on Friday, fell to 45.9 in July from 46.6 in June — remaining below the desired 50 level.(Read Full Article)
A CASE study on South Africa’s aluminium sector has found that BHP Billiton’s special pricing agreement for its Bayside and Hillside smelters in the Richards Bay industrial development zone has now cost Eskom R11.5bn.
The parastatal’s huge deficit has significant import for industrial policy development in South Africa as a function of cost-benefit analysis in respect of the relative benefits of "state-led" or "state-facilitated" economic growth.(Read Full Article)
SAPPI’s share price fell 5.37% to R40.69 on Thursday despite the pulp and paper products group indicating it was on track to report a profitable 2014 financial year, as lingering debt worried the market.
The group has made $67m profit in the first three quarters of its 2014 financial year, from a $161m loss last year. In its third quarter ended June, Sappi’s net profit was $17m, the company reported on Wednesday.(Read Full Article)
Nampak, Africa's biggest packing firm, is considering doubling the capacity of its Nigerian beverage can factory to meet its fast-growing demand.(Read Full Article)
South African businesses have been called on to take advantage of opportunities in Angola.
A South African business delegation is in Angola at the Feira Internacional de Angola (FILDA) trade exhibition in Luanda.
“Energy, water, construction materials, telecommunications, chemicals, mining and distribution are all projects where foreign investment is needed,” said Joao Rocha of Termat Comecio Geral, a company that is on a mission to attract and promote South African goods and services in Angola.
Rocha was addressing the South African business delegation at FILDA on Sunday. The delegation of 27 representatives is participating in FILDA with the assistance of ...
Comprehensive Category Management
Spot buying individual categories at market lows or evening running reverse auctions at opportune times is not category management. And for that matter, neither is an event that covers the entire category. At this point you probably think that the doctor is losing it a little, because how could it not be category management if you are addressing the whole category?(Read Full Article)
The old assumptions driving supply chain design and strategy were focused on achieving the lowest possible cost of goods and the most efficient distribution to stores. Today, a new model is emerging, not driven by enterprise technology or supply chain innovations - but by customers. In the omnichannel retail world, almost every single store-driven assumption about supply chain is being challenged and getting replaced by a digital-driven future.(Read Full Article)
On 26 June 1974 - just over 40 years ago - a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum became the first item to be scanned at a supermarket checkout, a year after the retail industry adopted the GS1 barcode as a unified standard for identifying and tracking products. Today, barcodes are still an integral retail technology and part of the high street experience.
According to GS1, the not-for-profit organisation that monitors demand chain standards, the barcode has created huge efficiencies in the supply chain, enabling 21 per cent shorter lead times for warehouse operators, 42 per cent lower costs for ...(Read Full Article)
Samsung Electronics said it halted business with a supplier in China over suspected use of child workers, the first time it has taken such a step, after criticism that its monitoring of labour practices at suppliers was inadequate.
The decision, announced on Monday, comes less than a week after US-based China Labour Watch said it found "at least five child workers" without contracts at the supplier and called Samsung’s monitoring process to halt such practices "ineffective."
Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, said it conducted three audits since last year of the supplier, a wholly owned subsidiary of ...(Read Full Article)
As the National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa-led metal and engineering sector strike continues, vehicle manufacturers have started halting production at some plants as car component supply is interrupted. Toyota, which maintained full production for the first 14 days of the strike, owing to contingency build-up, was set to shut down two production lines on Tuesday.(Read Full Article)
A CONCERTED effort by the major platinum companies is needed to bring mines back into production as quickly as possible to restore confidence in the sector, says Derek Engelbrecht, who has retired after 22 years as head of marketing for Impala Platinum (Implats).
In addition to denting South Africa’s reputation as a reliable and sustainable platinum supplier, the strike by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union had reduced above-ground stocks of the metal, Mr Engelbrecht said in an interview marking his retirement.(Read Full Article)
Supply Managers are only heroes in those leading organizations that were forwarding looking enough to let Purchasers gain influence in both the inbound and outbound supply chain and raise the profile of the organization in the eyes of both customers and suppliers. Their new practices, global view, and risk mitigation not only raised their profile, but also the profile of the organization as a whole. They were given more respect and authority, and soon after were the heroes of their organization.
But not every organization had the foresight of these leading organizations and, as a result, it is still only ...(Read Full Article)


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July 8, 2015
International Journal of Research in Marketing to publish study from assistant professor of marketing Sung Ha Jang
Kansas State University assistant professor of marketing Sung Ha Jang, along with co-authors Ashutosh Prasad and Brian Ratchford from the University of Texas at Dallas, recently had a paper accepted for publication in an upcoming edition of the International Journal of Research in Marketing.
The study, "Consumer Spending Patterns across Firms and Categories: Application to the Size and Share of Wallet," considers the problem of predicting consumer expenditures at competing firms when data is unavailable.
The paper contributes a methodological tool for more accurate prediction of size-of-wallet and share-of-wallet and better targeting of customers when expenditures at competing firms are unavailable. This is accomplished by considering consumer heterogeneity and asymmetric complementary and substitute interactions between expenditures.


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ChatGPT continues to make big waves in 2023. Companies like Google and Microsoft must be equally excited and terrified at the prospect of regular consumers using an imperfect chatbot to get answers to complex questions. But they might not be the only tech giants ready to respond to the emergence of consumer-friendly AI products. Apple is reportedly about to hold an AI summit for employees that seems directly connected to the ChatGPT arrival.
This will be Apple’s first in-person event since the COVID pandemic started. But Apple’s AI summit was being planned even before the pandemic hit, apparently. In contrast, Google and Microsoft hurried their public events in early February in response to ChatGPT.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman took to Twitter to claim that Apple will hold the in-person event at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple HQ. The keynote will also be available via live stream to employees who can’t make it. The media will not be invited to this Apple AI summit, however.
“On the heels of OpenAI, ChatGPT noise and Google [and] Microsoft AI launches, Apple is holding its (previously scheduled) annual internal AI summit next week. It’s like a WWDC for AI, but only for Apple employees,” Gurman wrote.
Gurman said that the event will be similar to Apple’s press conferences from before the pandemic, but for employees only. This might signal a return to traditional media events for future Apple product launches.
Apple should hold an event for its mixed-reality headset sometime this spring. Probably before the WWDC 2023 event in early summer. The dates for these events are still secret, and Apple is yet to confirm the separate launch event for the mixed reality headset.
We explained a few days ago why a smarter Siri could be the secret weapon of Apple’s mixed reality headsets, especially the more-distant AR products Apple might be working on. Apple reportedly wants users to rely on Siri to “code” mixed reality apps via voice.
This implies massive Siri innovations will be announced before then, as the voice assistant’s ability to handle human speech and execute complex tasks will require plenty of AI muscle.
The emergence of ChatGPT also shows how important conversational AI might be in the future, especially for wearable devices like mixed reality gadgets.
That said, there’s no telling whether Apple’s internal AI summit has anything to do with the mixed reality glasses. Or with ChatGPT.
But Apple is certainly in a position to react early to ChatGPT, especially if its own AI needs are similar. Like Google and Microsoft, Apple might have many AI products in development that it’s not willing to discuss publicly.
On that note, it’ll be interesting to see what transpires from Apple’s AI summit. Before next week when the event takes place, we should know more details about Microsoft’s and Google’s AI plans for the near future.
Microsoft will hold a ChatGPT-related press event on Tuesday. Google’s AI event follows on Wednesday. Google has already announced Bard, its ChatGPT alternative that will be available on Google Search in the near future.


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Roughly 60 manufacturers landed on the list, the most of any single industry. Some of the companies that saw the biggest gains in this category were Madison Industries, with a 38.8 percent increase in revenue over 2014, and Charles Industries, with a 19.8 percent increase. Find the data here.
Largest private firms | more Ford work? | hacker target
Gaining a third model would complement the Explorers and sedans that the Far Southeast Side customization shop already works on, and would mark a win for the operation, as auto facilities live and die based on the vehicles assigned to them, Crain's Micah Maidenberg reports.
The Chicago-based company's Great Lakes Coca-Cola Distribution unit has signed a letter of intent to acquire six Midwest beverage production facilities from the soft-drink giant. Crain's has details.
The Chicago-based aerospace giant is ramping up its push into the parts business, as a greater proportion of revenue on any single plane comes from the lifetime maintenance and parts needed rather than making the aircraft itself. It's all part of an ongoing effort by Boeing to cut costs and secure a new source of lucrative revenue. The Wall Street Journal has the story.
—Plus, Bloomberg reports on more 787 Dreamliner nightmares for the company.
Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration rolled out the names of those who will lead the state's new private/public economic development agency, but Crain's Greg Hinz finds it a curiously low-wattage list for what's supposed to be a very high-profile job. Missing from the board are representatives of firms such as Caterpillar, Abbott Labs, ADM and John Deere, the kind of heavy-hitting execs who dominate the board of the similar World Business Chicago.
As Chicago Real Estate Daily notes, low industrial vacancy is a positive sign for the economy, since rising demand for products pushes up demand for space from the companies that manufacture, store and ship them.
The Journal has a look at efforts by a software industry veteran to build a privately financed rail route through Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana that would allow trains to loop around the congested rail hub. Would it help end chronic traffic jams surrounding Chicago that mean it can take more than a day for freight trains to move through?
At USG, the Chicago-based maker of Sheetrock gypsum drywall and grid ceiling tiles, CEO James Metcalf described the first quarter as “the best quarter we've had in almost a decade.” More from the Journal.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examines the increasing cyber security risks facing manufacturers, including the loss of confidential data and trade secrets worth millions of dollars. While many companies don't pay nearly enough attention to protecting themselves from hackers, some are finding their customers are forcing them to tighten up security.


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According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), internet sales accounted for £660m a week in the country, out of total weekly retail sales of £6.3bn, excluding fuel.
The continued growth of internet retailing is stark, growing at 3.5 times the rate of the whole sector month to month. Internet sales rose 37.5% from October to November, with all retailing growing by just 10.2%.
The annual trend shows even greater growth, with retail sales growing more than 10 times more quickly. Compared to November 2009, internet retail grew by 36.6%, compared to all retail growth of just 3.4%.
Overall, the volume of retail trade grew modestly – by just 1.1% compared to November 2009 – but the value of items grew by 3.6% compared to the same period last year – the strongest growth since April.
The figures do not give a weekly breakdown, so the effects of the cold weather that began in late November cannot yet be judged.
Consumers were driven indoors by the recent cold weather, but another cold spell, predicted for the end of the week, may be disastrous for retailers this close to Christmas.
John Lewis, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Dixons all expect strong trading this Christmas, but some, such as JJB Sports, could suffer. The retailer claims the cold weather will push it to break its banking covenants.


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If you’re congratulating yourself for finally becoming the type of environmentalist who carries reusable tote bags and straws, it’s time for a wake-up call: The plastic items we toss daily without a second thought — such as coffee cups, plastic water bottles and bags and the packaging of processed foods — are killing our oceans. And if current trends continue, there will be more plastic than fish (by weight) in the ocean by the year 2050.
While the convenience factor of plastic is difficult to resist, most of the single-serve beverage packaging, plastic shopping bags and to-go containers from your favorite restaurants can’t be (or isn’t) recycled. Instead of biodegrading, these items end up in our water supply, and eventually, the ocean, where sunlight and tides break them down into microplastics. Fish eat these particles, which means we do, too. Scientific American recently reported that ingested microplastic particles can physically damage organs and leach hazardous chemicals that can “compromise immune function and stymie growth and reproduction.” In other words: Ingesting microplastics can make us sick.
Enter #BreakFreeFromPlastic and the nearly 1,500 organizations worldwide that currently participate in the movement. Their collective mission is to fight plastic pollution on a global level. And not just in our oceans and water supply. “A lot of our groups are working on corporate campaigns and on mobilizing grassroots communities against the same companies which climate activists have been going after for decades,” said Shilpi Chhotray, senior communications officer at #BreakFreeFromPlastic.
Where did plastic come from, anyway? Over 50 years ago, plastics entered our world and literally changed the way Americans live. In 1869, a New York firm offered to award $10,000 to the first person who could create a synthetic polymer as a substitute for ivory, a material that was in short supply and threatening the billiard ball business — not to mention decimating elephant populations, who were being slaughtered for their tusks. Today, 300 million tons of plastic are produced annually, and 12 million tons of plastic waste is dumped into the sea every year.
Thanks to the power of advertising, we’ve been purchasing single-use plastic products with reckless abandon since the 1950s. Since then, a staggering nine billion tons of plastic have been produced, but only around 9% gets recycled. “A lot of it is attributed to our culture of convenience,” said Chhotray. “Plastic packaging is not easily recycled: Most of it has been landfilled, incinerated or shipped overseas, and we have been creating a disproportionate amount of waste that’s ending up in developing areas of the world.”
And our appetite for plastic isn’t going away: According to a report from the Center for International Environmental Law, low natural gas prices in the United States have made the material cheap and abundant. By 2025, production for materials required to make plastic, such as ethylene and propylene, is expected to increase 33-36%.
While most of our plastic ends up in southeast Asia — traditionally a dumping ground for much of our waste — a goal of the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement is to tackle our pollution crisis with a holistic approach. “#BreakFreeFromPlastic is not just about the environment: We’re very much about social justice and equity, and that’s where our movement is so unique,” Chhotray said. “It’s about the grassroots communities and the faces on the front lines of that crisis, and giving them a voice.”
#BreakFreeFromPlastic’s U.S.-based movement mobilizes small NGOs and disenfranchised populations to spur grassroots action, and works to hold big oil companies — such as Exxon, Dow and DuPont — accountable for the environmental and health issues caused by their manufacturing practices. “We’re connecting the dots between environmental justice, climate change, human health, and plastic pollution,” Chhotray said.
And it seems that #BreakFreeFromPlastic is gaining traction: While some cities have already banned plastic bags, and several others require a fee for using them, at least 95 bills were introduced this year alone related to reducing the use of plastic bags.
The good news: It’s easy to get involved on an individual level. To that end, the movement is encouraging 31 days of action this month, ranging from ways you can kick your tote-bag schlepping up a notch to smaller (but ultimately more impactful) actions that have the potential to create real change. Finding out about plastic bag laws in your local community and encouraging schools to go plastic-free are two ways to start; participating in Lonely Whale’s #HydrateLike campaign is another.
Encouraging average consumers to #BreakFreeFromPlastic can inspire individual momentum, but Chhotray hopes it can also lead to lasting and collective change by the organizations that manufacture it in the first place. “We’re so inundated with plastic right now, no amount of beach cleanups will help,” said Chhotray.
Last year, #BreakFreeFromPlastic mobilized organizations and committed individuals to hold the largest producers of plastics in the U.S. — namely, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle — accountable for the environmental impact created by the items they produce and sell. A 2018 global brand audit found that 75% percent of all beach, street and park cleanups contained products made by Coca-Cola; those three companies are responsible for 14% of branded plastic pollution produced worldwide. And petrochemical companies might be the most guilty of all, since Exxon Mobil introduced plastic bags to the U.S. in the first place, in a weird premonition of their eventual ubiquity. “These oil industries were banking on this happening,” said Chhotray. “They knew exactly what they were doing back in the ’70s.”
Inspired, angry … or both? Volunteer for a brand audit in your local community, advocate for plastic-free July on social media using the hashtag #BreakFreeFromPlastic or sign up for action alerts via email.


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BLUETTI Opens First Flagship Store in Munich, Germany for Hands-on Experience
MUNICH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#BLUETTI–To enhance the user experience, BLUETTI, a top-three solar generator brand, has opened its first physical storefront in Munich, Germany, on November 4.
This so-called WOC X BLUETTI store is set up as a physical hub of what the brand represents online. It showcases BLUETTI's entire product range, from the latest releases to iconic models, along with other accessories. Customers can get a real feel for products before making any purchases. However, it does not currently offer repair services.
BLUETTI's new inventions, the AC500&B300S and EP600&B500, are already displayed there. Both are modular in design and substantially updated in capacity and capability. With a 5.000W output and 16 outlets, the AC500 can be used as a solid backup power source on the go or in the house. Sporting a max capacity of 80kWh, the EP600 can be integrated into existing solar systems to cope with the current growing energy crisis. This easy-to-install home backup solution is now being inquired about by most shoppers.
Other classic models, the all-rounders: AC200P and AC200MAX, the all-in-one home guardians: EP500 and EP500Pro, and the portable EB series are on the shelves for a closer look and a try-out. The hot-selling EB3A tips the scale at around 10 pounds and can power 9 gears together. Many like the EB3A were sold out immediately as people swarmed into the store on its opening day. BLUETTI is now stocking up to meet the increased demands.
Drop by and get your hands on customizable power solutions.
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday: 10 am ~ 7 pm (except holidays)
Location: Thomas-Wimmer-Ring 3, 80539 Munich, Germany
With over 10 years of industry experience, BLUETTI has tried to stay true to a sustainable future through green energy storage solutions for both indoor and outdoor use while delivering an exceptional eco-friendly experience for everyone and the world. BLUETTI is making its presence in 70+ countries and is trusted by millions of customers across the globe. For more information, please visit BLUETTI online at https://www.bluettipower.eu/


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” Even in 2018, the fact about marijuana usage is being silenced by significant platforms,” states Joshua Young, creator of the channel StrainCentral. “Social network does not desire us to exist and propaganda is destroying society’s views on a safe plant. Simply as High Times has actually done given that the ’70s, we’re here to supply a voice for the unmentioned, and to promote this present of the earth.”
With High Times TELEVISION, audiences will have the ability to access a wide variety of videos from trustworthy, experienced individuals, all on one user friendly platform. In an age of false information and contwinuously altering guidelines and laws surrounding marijuana, that type of gain access to might be a lifeline in addition to a source of home entertainment.
In addition to StrainCentral, content developers Ruffhouse Studios, Stoner Mother, CustomGrow420, High Increase TELEVISION, That High Couple, and The Green Market Report are currently on board with High Times TELEVISION. Doug Benson’s “Getting Doug With High” and Now This Weed will likewise stream brand-new, initial material on HTTV.
Initial material will vary from academic videos about the growing, harvest, and processing of marijuana plants, to behind-the-scenes video of High Times occasions, to vlogs from influencers in the marijuana area.
The platform will benefit audiences and content developers alike as High Times is partnering with video streaming company Unreel to generate income from videos through digital advertisement networks like Google Advertisement Supervisor and Roku. Material developers in the marijuana area who have actually had their work eliminated and prohibited now have a brand-new platform. HTTV provides a location to stream videos that were erased from other platforms, and a welcome the home of stream and generate income from brand-new material.
High Times is thrilled to reveal the launch of its brand name brand-new online video streaming channel, High Times TELEVISION. Established partially in action to streaming platforms like YouTube and Facebook limiting or prohibiting marijuana material, HTTV will function as an indispensable resource for cannabis-related news, education, and home entertainment.
” HTTV permits society to see real insight into marijuana usage and its users, and offers us developers with the methods to maintain the battle,” Young states. “In a time where YouTube is demonetizing, and Instagram is purging our pages, High Times is a safe area.”
High Times CEO Adam Levin, likewise acknowledges the requirement for dependable sources for cannabis-related details and material:
High Times‘ brand-new channel means to please that appetite, guaranteeing that we can reach our faithful audience any place they might be, on whatever platform they utilize.
High Times TELEVISION is now survive on tv.hightimes.com. It’s likewise readily available as an app for iOS, Apple TELEVISION, Android, and Roku.
Simply as High Times has actually done given that the ’70s, we’re here to offer a voice for the unmentioned, and to promote this present of the earth.”
” The substantial need for mobile-friendly premium video consists of a genuine cravings for the cannabis-related material that social-media websites are all frequently obstructing. High Times‘ brand-new channel means to please that appetite, guaranteeing that we can reach our devoted audience anywhere they might be, on whatever platform they utilize. It’s another method to serve our fans.”
” While High Times has actually developed an effective customer base throughout print, social and digital media, it’s insufficient to simply produce material for those platforms,” he states.


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The Internet search leader unveiled the experiment, called ''Fast Flip,'' Monday at a conference hosted by TechCrunch, a popular blog.
The service is meant to duplicate the look and feel of perusing a printed publication. The stories are displayed on electronic pages that can be quickly scrolled through by clicking on large arrows on the side instead of a standard Web link that requires waiting several seconds for a page to load. Readers can sort through content based on topics, favorite writers and publications.
For now, Fast Flip will only show the first page of a story. Readers who want to continue will have to click through to the publisher's site, where the display reverts to a traditional Web page.
More than three dozen publishers, broadcasters and Web-only outlets have agreed to share their content on Fast Flip. The participants include two major newspapers, The New York Times and the Washington Post, as well as large magazines like Newsweek and BusinessWeek.
The publishers providing the stories to Fast Flip will get most of the revenue from the ads that Google intends to show in the new format. That's a switch from Google's main search page and its news section, where the Mountain View-based company keeps all the money from ads shown alongside headlines and snippets from stories.
Fast Flip is the latest step that Google has taken to improve its relationship with newspaper and magazine publishers, many of whom have railed against the company for profiting from their articles without sharing the wealth.
The acrimony has escalated as a three-year decline in the print medium's ad revenue accelerated during the past year. The newspaper industry's ad sales plunged 29 percent during the first half this year while Google's crept up 4 percent.
In another example of cooperation, Google recently offered to help newspaper publishers set up a system to charge readers for access to parts of their Web sites.
While the notion of Google funneling more sales to publishers is appealing, news executives also want to ensure that Fast Flip doesn't become too popular. Publishers still want readers to come to their Web sites, where they can sell ads without giving Google a piece of the action.
''It's a balancing act,'' said Martin Nisenholtz, who oversees The New York Times Co.'s digital operations. ''(Fast Flip) has a richer interface, which is part of its appeal. But creating a powerful new aggregator is not in the Times' interest.''
The Times Co.'s online operations are among the newspaper industry's most successful, with Internet ad sales of $136 million during the first half of this year.
Fast Feed won't be a big moneymaker right away. As a test service, it's starting out in Google's ''Labs'' department, a part of the Web site that doesn't get heavy use like the main search engine and the standard news section.
Google, though, is hoping Fast Flip will make reading online more enjoyable. If that happens, Google should be able to show more ads to more people, with most of the money going to publishers, said Krishna Bharat, the inventor of the search engine's news section.
''The publishing industry is facing a number of challenges right now, and there is no silver bullet,'' Bharat said. ''We think increasing the viewing engagement is part of the solution.'
By: Google Inc. is testing a new format that is supposed to make reading online stories as easy as flipping through a magazine, a shift that eventually could feed more advertising sales to revenue-starved publishers.


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Likteņdārzs. Charity Auction art exhibition
11.03.2015 - 20.03.2015
Likteņdārzs (The Garden of Destiny) charity auction art exhibition will be opened from March 11 at the gallery Daugava at 1 Ausekļa Street, Riga. On exhibition will be paintings, graphic art works, photography, ceramics, sculptures, eminent authors’ manuscripts and theater costumes.
This year marks the fifth Likteņdārzs charity auction and it will be possible to purchase 70 pieces of art with proceeds going to the Likteņdārzs project. This year’s works were especially selected to reflect the national symbols of Latvia and the Latvian Renaissance period. The digital catalog of the works on display can be viewed at http://izsole.liktendarzs.lv/.
The exhibition will run until March 20 when the works will be auctioned off at the Daile Music House. Admission to the auction on March 20 is by invitation only starting at a 50 EUR donation. We invite you to purchase your invitations in a timely manner at the Daile Music House, by email at firstname.lastname@example.org or by telephone at 2947 6146 or 2549 5544.
Liena Baklāne. The Hazel Tree. 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 60x60
Uldis Briedis. Trespasser at the Border. July 28, 1989. Ventspils. Negative film/ink print, 38x70
Gunārs Krollis. The Stranger from the Isle of Miadima. 1984. Paper/etching, aquatint, 64x50


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Departures of foreign passengers via Keflavík Airport were 101,000 in March.
Last week’s highlights
Departures of foreign passengers via Keflavík Airport were 101,000 in March. This is 13% fewer than March 2016, but 2016 is the year that is closest to 2022 in terms of the number of foreign tourists. Overnight stays by foreigners were 15% lower than in March 2016 yet the turnover of foreign payment cards in Iceland was only 3.5% lower (at a fixed exchange rate) in March this year than in March 2016.
Domestic payment card turnover increased by 12% in real terms between years in March, of which turnover in retail outlets abroad increased by 110% and turnover in retail outlets in Iceland by 0.4%. The turnover of foreign payment cards in Iceland was seven times higher in March than in March 2021.
The week ahead
On Tuesday, Registers Iceland will release the capital area housing price index for February.


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One of our Top 20 Blockchain Stocks is ready for a major breakout. In terms of chart structure this is a perfect bullish setup. According to us this blockchain stock will go many times higher in 2019 and beyond.
As we saw this year blockchain stocks are highly correlated to cryptocurrency prices. Admittedly, it was our belief early this year that cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks would decouple. For blockchain stocks that have crypto mining as their core activity it makes sense of course that there is a strong correlation with crypto prices. However, for a company like BTL Group or none pure play blockchain stock Overstock it does not really make sense.
Since January 2018 the crypto crash brought cryptocurrency prices and market caps down with most crypto prices down +80%. Some blockchain stocks came down with a similar percentage, several even much more, some went bankrupt or appeared to be fraud.
Moreover, as said in our article Where Are Those New Blockchain Stocks In 2018 it is clear that Bloomberg’s estimate that more than 50 blockchain stocks would come online this year is horribly wrong.
The ‘good news’ is that every correction comes with a cleanup effect. Blockchain stocks that have no value will be out of game. The ones that deliver value are now so cheap, trading at major bottoms, that they will become multi-baggers once the new crypto bull market gets traction, presumably in 2019 and 2020.
In other words this is a great time for smart investors to pick up value at significantly under priced rates.
This is the quote from InvestingHaven’s blockchain & crypto investing research last week, exclusive to their premium crypto subscribers:
We are convinced that all blockchain stocks in our top 10 selection are in a strong buy area. With crypto prices starting a recovery, and with clearly bottoming chart patterns on the blockchain stocks charts, combined with continued ‘RISK ON’ sentiment in broad markets and especially general technology stocks, it is clear that our top blockchain stocks are all in a strong buy area. Just a little bit of patience is required on blockchain stocks before going long in an aggressive way.
There is one particular blockchain stock that we like very much.
It has a very clear and outspoken, even textbook fashion, bullish chart setup: a bullish triangle. The blockchain stock, which we prefer to mention by name in order to respect premium crypto subscribers, is shown below. It is trading in Australia, is a nano cap with exploding revenues.
The reasons we get so excited about this blockchain stocks? First, it respected its long term support, and former resistance became support in a textbook fashion. Second, the correction was significant but as strong as many other blockchain stocks and crypto prices. Third, this company works together with our #2 favorite cryptocurrency. Fourth, fundamentally, this company has a great outlook, as its revenue continues to explode and business activities continue to grow!
It is no coincidence that several of our top blockchain stocks have somehow similar setups, not necessarily exactly the same triangle bullish setup but rounding bottoms. We are convinced that times will get much better, but now is the time to pick up value at discounted prices.
As the crypto market started its recovery a couple of weeks ago we know for sure that blockchain stocks will follow suit. It is a matter of time, and picking out the blockchain stocks that survived and show signs that they will thrive is what smart investors are doing. InvestingHaven helps by selecting its favorite blockchain stocks, and offering it is a starting point for crypto investors.


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1 MIN. DE LECTURA
(Corrects second paragraph to reflect same-store sales growth of 1.9 percent, not 1.8 percent)
SAO PAULO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - GPA SA, Brazil's biggest diversified retailer, on Tuesday reported net revenue of 15.094 billion reais in the third quarter, up 4.4 percent from the same period of last year.
Net revenue at stores open for more than a year, a gauge of recurring sales activity for retailing companies, rose 1.9 percent, the company said in a statement. GPA is controlled by France's Casino Guichard Perrachon & Cie. (Writing by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)


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Good news and bad news for Ford Motor Company, Mustang sales are up 124% in January compared to the same month from 2014 but month-to-month sales were down 8%. The month-to-month decline has to be concerning for Ford with the launch of an all-new Mustang and we are only four months into sales/deliveries.
Why the decline in month-to-month you might ask? One word, “Weather”, yes the cold temps and snow have blanketed much of the country and even a massive blizzard hit the Northeast shutting down several states for days. This would be my guess for the decline as it makes the most sense. Lets tap the brakes and see what happens in February before we say the 2015 Mustang is a failure. Keep reading for a complete breakdown of January’s sales figures.
Sales of the Ford Mustang for January of 2015 were 8,694 compared to 3,881 from January of 2014 showing a 124% increase in sales from the previous year. Year to date Mustang sales are 8,694 compared to 3,881 for 2014, which is a 124% increase from the previous year.
Month to Month sales declined surprisingly as December 2014 sales were 9,511 compared to January sales of 8,694 which is a 8% increase.
Taking a look at the competition, the Chevrolet Camaro sold 4,991 units and the Dodge Challenger sold 4,592 units for January.


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Honda BR-V – A Powerful Blow to New Players:
Pakistani government has recently announced lenient policies in favor of the new players from the automobile market. In response, different auto manufacturers from France and other countries have expressed their interest for investment in the country.
Such developments have caused serious concerns for the existing players like Honda and Suzuki. Suzuki was so quick in launching a new model of Vitara 2018. Vitara is a game changer sports utility vehicle. The 4th generation 4×4 car received warm welcome from elite class buyers from all around the country. Such a situation has provided motivation to Honda to adopt the similar tactics to save its clientele.
Active in the race for survival, the Japanese automobile giant in the country has announced the launch of an extremely powerful, luxury car for the adventure lovers. It has a lot of innovative features to attract the attention of potential buyers.
The new BR-V may serve as a serious blow to the new entrants. In fact, the launch of Honda BR-V is a part of the company’s preparations for competitive environment after the entry of new players.
Honda BRV Price in Pakistan:
Despite being a top-line luxury, the Honda BR-V price in Pakistan is not going to be that much high. It is simply against your expectations. Quite amazingly, the price is just around 2.3 million rupees. So, it is half as expensive as the cheapest Audi.
On the other hand, the least expensive brand from Audi is as costly as 4 million rupees. If this be the case, which one you would like for yourself? Definitely, Honda’s BR-V. It is, in fact, a car with taste.
The comparison of Honda BRV price in Pakistan with that of Audi shows that the latter is meant for the elite class only. Generally, the price of different Audi brands ranges from 4 million to as high as 45 million rupees. Can middle class buyers go for that? Surely not.
Can BR-V Save Honda’s Clientele:
Do you think the Honda’s strategy to launch BR-V can help the company in saving its clientele? For this, you need to carry out an in-depth analysis of the local market. The specs standards and pricing of BR-V indicate that car has the potential to save the company’s clientele in the country.
No doubt, the buyers will also entertain the new players. In other words, the new brands, like Audi, are going to distract the buyers and make a sufficiently high number of sales. But, on certain logical grounds, it can be said that the sales of Honda’s vehicles will remain intact. Do you know how?
Firstly, the buyers are gradually growing in number. At the same time, the buying capacity of people has also increased. Secondly, even the luxury car brands from this company are affordable. Such facts and figures suggest that Honda is moving in the right direction to save its clientele in the country.


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Powerful retailers unveil a code for all seasonsFebruary 2009
A group of multinational retailers has produced the first part of what it hopes will become a single global standard for ethical supply chain management.
The companies, including Carrefour, Hasbro, Ikea, Hewlett-Packard, Tesco and Wal-Mart, have finalized a ‘reference code’ covering areas such as freedom of association, health and safety, working hours and discrimination.
The document has been produced by the Global Social Compliance Programme (GCSP), a project started in late 2006 to formulate a single code to replace the plethora of supply chain-related standards (EP8, issue 9, p1). Other documents will follow, including on how to audit supply chain ethics and measure auditor competence.
Intended for the whole supply chain, including sub-suppliers and sub-contractors, the reference code contains best practice standards on aspects such as overtime payment, worker representation and working hours – stipulating, for instance, that suppliers must recognize trade unions and allow collective bargaining.
In addition, it contains a long list of international standards with which suppliers should comply, such as International Labour Organization conventions on equal remuneration and freedom of association.
The GSCP was formed by Comité International d’Entreprises à Succursales (CIES), a Paris-based global network of 400 companies in 151 countries. Retailing members have combined annual sales of more than $1.19trillion (£1.3tn), employ 6.4 million people and run 200,000 stores worldwide.
CIES hopes its programme will become the main ethical supply chain vehicle for businesses in all areas, not just in retailing.
Veronique Discours-Buhot, Carrefour’s sustainable development director, said that while many supply chain codes are of a high standard, their proliferation is leading to confusion among suppliers and ‘is not improving conditions for workers in global supply chains’. She said the new reference code ‘can provide a new foundation to drive convergence’.
However, some critics, in both businesses and NGOs, have claimed the project, far from simplifying the field, will just add one more code to the collection.
The programme has 23 company members and is overseen by a board of eight companies. An advisory board that includes NGOs such as the International Federation of Human Rights and the Global Union Network has been formed to ‘challenge’ the executive board ‘and to help monitor and evaluate progress’.
GCSP reference code
The code stipulates, among other things, that suppliers should:
not retain workers’ identity documents, such as passports and identity cards
base all terms and conditions of employment ‘on an individual’s ability to do the job, not on the basis of personal characteristics or beliefs’
avoid excessive use of fixed-term employment contracts
compensate workers for all overtime at a ‘premium rate’
not allow employees to do more work than 48 hours a week regularly, excluding overtime
Already a member? click here to login


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Resumption of live pig exports from Indonesia’s Pulau Bulan to Singapore could take a year
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has indicated that it could take up to a year for Indonesia’s Pulau Bulan to resume live pig production and exports. Singapore halted imports of live pigs from the island after African swine fever (ASF) was detected in some pig carcasses last month. The affected carcasses, part of a consignment of live pigs from Pulau Bulan, were removed from the abattoir line.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) confirmed that Indonesia had experienced an ASF outbreak on a farm in Pulau Bulan. In response, SFA authorities are continuing to assess the situation, acknowledging that food supply disruptions can happen periodically. They are working with the industry to diversify import sources and strengthen food resilience.
SFA also noted that Mexico was recently approved to export chilled pork to Singapore. Alvin Kwek, President of the Meat Traders’ Association in Singapore, stated that its members have activated over 20 sources of chilled and frozen pork from various countries. They have sufficient frozen pork stock to last for months should there be any disruptions to the supply chain. He urged industry players and consumers to be open to alternative supply sources and consider using chilled or frozen pork from different countries.
Meanwhile, the SFA encouraged consumers to explore other protein options. According to Indonesian authorities, the ASF outbreak in Pulau Bulan resulted in the death of 35,297 pigs out of a total herd of 285,034. The outbreak was detected on April 1 and confirmed on April 28. The island is situated within the Riau Islands and is near Batam Island.
ASF poses no danger to humans but is fatal for pigs. China has been grappling with the disease for years, with the initial wave during 2018 and 2019 killing millions of pigs, leading to a steep decline in meat output that affected global markets. China is also experiencing a recent surge in infections this year. The source of the Indonesian outbreak is yet unknown, but local veterinarian authorities have informed WOAH that factors like humans, vehicles, feed, flies, and wild boar may have played a significant role in introducing ASF on the farm. The investigation commenced following the detection of the disease in imported pigs by Singapore’s SFA, reports Channel News Asia.
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December 5, 2017
Starbucks is opening its largest location to date on Wednesday in the Chinese city of Shanghai. In fact, the store is so huge that it’s offering tours around the place with an augmented reality app.
The post Starbucks’ plushest coffee shop yet serves up AR with its drinks appeared first on Digital Trends.
Source: Digital Trends VR


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Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. has signed a share purchase agreement with Engro Corporation in Pakistan to acquire 51% of the shares in its subsidiary Engro Foods Limited, in partnership with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC)...
WH Group, China’s largest pork company and a major shareholder in Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co, which acquired Smithfield Foods for US$7.1 billion in 2013, has successfully floated on the stock exchange of Hong Kong (HKEx).
Asia’s role in the global spirits market has surprised analysts over in recent months, with moves to curb extravagance in China, Suntory’s acquisition of Beam in January and Emperador’s winning bid to acquire White & Mackay each causing a stir.
Chinese pork producer WH Group, which last year bought US pork giant Smithfield Foods, hopes to raise more than US$5bn in what would be the world's biggest initial public offering for a year when it lists in Hong Kong later this month.
The announcement today by Australia’s Bega Cheese to sell its stock in Warrnambool leaves the way clear for Lion to follow suit, while Canadian dairy company Saputo should now be free to take over the New South Wales cheese and butter business.
Canadian dairy giant Saputo looks a step closer to gaining control of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB), after one-time takeover rival Bega Cheese agreed to sell its stake in the Australian dairy processor.
Canadian dairy giant Saputo has been ordered by the Australian Takeovers Panel not to process any acceptances received under its latest bid for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB), following a complaint by rival bidder, Murray Goulburn.
By calling it a “great transaction” for shareholders, farmers and agriculture in the United States, Smithfield Foods chief executive Larry Pope couldn’t have been more ebullient now his shareholders have rubber-stamped Shuanghui’s takeover of the American...
New Zealand-based infant formula manufacturer, Synlait Milk, has launched an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in the hope to raising around NZ$120m (US$93m) to fund a series of "growth initiatives."
After a quiet beginning to 2013, M&A activity is heating up in China’s beer market, as Carlsberg said on Monday it was considering upping its stake in Chongqing Brewery, intensifying the fight among global brewers for production assets there.
ThaiBev said today that its concert party aims to takeover Fraser & Neave (F&N) in a S$9bn deal, as rumors abound that the former’s billionaire chair still craves control of Asia Pacific Breweries (APB).
Fraser & Neave (F&N) announced today that shareholders will vote on the firm's proposed sale of its interest in Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) to Heineken on September 28, and hailed the offer as its 'best opportunity' to realize...
A Hong Kong stock Exchange disclosure has revealed that investment
company Castlerigg International has bought a strategic 10.01 per
cent stake in China's Harbin Brewery, a move that looks likely to
put more pressure on international...


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Earlier today, Microsoft released a new video entitled "Best Games" on YouTube to promote both the Xbox One and the upcoming games for it.
The 30-second video contains voice over dialogue from the "Rocky" movie with Sylvester Stallone quoting the words, "Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It will beat you to your knees if you let it. Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"
Whether the quote is a clever way of Microsoft showing how they are battling hard after so many setbacks over the past year with the console is anyone’s guess, but it’s an interesting way to promote the console.
The promotional video highlighting games comes just after Microsoft announced the forthcoming closure of its Xbox Entertainment Studios. The studio, which planned to bring flagship original video content to Microsoft's Xbox consoles, will still release its slate of shows and movies in development, such as "Halo: Nightfall." Microsoft also recently announced that sales of the Xbox One have doubled since it release a $399 version of Xbox One without Kinect.
The video itself promotes a host of games such as "Halo: The Master Chief Collection," "Sunset Overdrive," "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" and "Assassin’s Creed Unity," all of which are due out later this year on the Xbox One.


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Driving relevance means driving growth. Join global brands and industry thought leaders at Brandweek, Sept. 11–14 in Miami, for actionable takeaways to better your marketing. 50% off passes ends April 10.
You may sell toys to parents, but you actually market to their children. That was Hasbro’s modus operandi before late 2012, when the maker of Monopoly, Nerf, Play-Doh and many other toys and games got serious about data, eventually transforming its advertising and social media strategies. Indeed, company research showed Hasbro had not adequately been paying attention to “kids of all ages,” meaning moms and dads.
“We started really understanding where consumers were shopping,” said Ginny McCormick, vp of integrated media and promotions at the Pawtucket, R.I.-based


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We know you boomers love yer RVs, but the fact is that sales are down and the industry is going to have struggle through. Two RV companies — Monaco and Country Coach — just declared bankruptcy. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), the fine people who lent a gorgeous RV to yours truly last fall, predicts 2009 will be a rough RV year:
As the current recession is expected to affect all sectors of the economy, RV shipments are expected to be lower in 2009 as well. Credit restrictions are causing RV buyers to delay purchases and RV dealers to keep inventories low. Sales in 2009 will be affected by stringent credit standards, falling employment, and continued declines in household wealth and home prices.


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17.09.12ReleasesAir Max Speed Turf
ARTICLE BY Sneaker Freaker
Nike Air Max Speed Turf (49ers)
With the NFL season underway the football releases keep rolling out, this time around Dan Marino's '90s Nike Air Max Speed Turf steps up to receive a 49ers uniform. With menacing black, fearsome red and champion status gold across a white base, this release is sure to cover some yards and rack up a swag of touchdowns come their release day October 10. Thanks to sneakernews.com for the info.


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BEIJING, Feb. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 9-10, 2019, Smartshare (SSP) will hold an offline meeting in Taipei and Taichung with founder Frank Chen planned to be in attendance. The meeting will focus on the changes in data validation and privacy security in the decentralized Internet of Things (IoT) and introduce Smartshare (SSP) IoT ecosystem products. Southeast Asia is the first region to be promoted to outside of mainland China, and is also the region that orders the most hardware products, making it a key region for Smartshare (SSP) to expand its community.
Smartshare (SSP) is an intelligent and trusted decentralized blockchain technology platform designed to reshape the value of IoT and data as well as enhance IoT's economic value by using Smartshare (SSP) Token to realize the value quantification and circulation of terminals and data within the platform.
Smartshare (SSP)'s intelligent hardware consists of CCTV's Dengdeng Robot, Three Papa's Air Purifiers, X-KEY and the self-developed Sleep Shells. Users can obtain Smartshare tokens by contributing their data when using these products, which can then be redeemed for products within the ecosystem. Currently, there are 200,000+ terminal data uplinks with plans to use mobile phones as terminals that users can use to upload exercise data.
In an IoT system, various monitoring devices collect real-time objects or processes that need to be monitored, connected, and interacted with, and establish stable and safe links between objects and objects, objects and people, and objects and networks. Requirements are high to prevent criminal attacks that could result in economic losses. In addition to strict legal and policy regulations, applying decentralized IoT systems and technologies can also provide significant protection.
Smartshare (SSP) is working to solve the data value problem of IoT terminals, realize user's data rights and value transactions through decentralization, and protect the data value of users and devices. It enables entities to exchange value on the Internet without requiring trust, enabling purchase of sensor measurement data.
The expansion of technology and products has enabled more and more users to join the Smartshare Chain. From November to December 2018, Smartshare (SSP) held six offline events in Southeast Asia, encouraging everyone to treat IoT data security seriously and maintain data rights. In last year's campaign, Smartshare (SSP) expanded its community in Southeast Asia, provided deep coverage and application to the IoT industry, and applied blockchain technology to more new businesses. This event in Taipei and Taichung is the second round of community meeting in the global road show. Smartshare (SSP) plans to build a global community in Southeast Asia, North America, Japan and South Korea.


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Supply chain issues causing bikes shortages this holiday season
SALISBURY, Md.- With Christmas quickly approaching, gift ideas may be on your mind, and if a bike is on the list of things to buy, you may want to buy it now.
The president and owner of Salisbury Cycle and Fitness Inc. said while supply chain issues are improving with bike products there’s still an issue.
We’re told usually it takes the manufacturer 60 to 90 days to fill orders, but now, it’s running from 400 to 700 days leaving the shop to order bikes in advance, and with Christmas right around a corner, the owner has a message to those looking to give bikes as gifts.
“Well, when people see a bike they want, they better get it because the supply chain is just not caught up yet, even in the big box stores don’t have them,” Buz Carragher, the owner of Salisbury Cycle, said. “A lot of people are looking for their kids’ bike and they’re trying to adjust to the price structure because it’s a shock to see the price increase.”
We’re told bikes have gone up about 30%, and the shop will likely see an increase of another 30% by the first of the year.


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TMNT return dated for September
The return of New York's favourite (only, surely?) pizza-loving, martial arts-touting turtles has been scheduled for September 25th in Europe - that's when TMNT Smash Up will be hitting the Wii exclusively.
The Turtles reboot is set to be published by Ubisoft, and it'll be all about fighting in what appears to be a Smash Bros. style.
This is the first Turtles game for quite some time, and there's been a reasonable amount of community interest so far.
More on this Wii release soon.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III is coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 after all
- Tomonobu Itagaki's Devil's Third gets a release date
- Adr1ft is coming to PC and consoles at the end of the summer
- EA gives the new Mirror's Edge a name – Mirror's Edge Catalyst
- ZombiU PS4 and Xbox One port reportedly in the works
- Mike Bithell's Volume to be released this August
- Gearbox's new shooter Battleborn gets a pre-E3 trailer
- Steam Controller launches in October, Steam Machines arrive in November
- Gears Of War devs Black Tusk change their name to The Coalition ahead of E3


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It’s time for your Daily Hit of financial cannabis news for June 25, 2018.
On The Site
If any other company released any news today, then it went basically unnoticed because the FDA approved GW Pharmaceutical’s (GWPH) cannabidiol drug Epidiolex. The news was expected sometime this week, so it was nice of the FDA to just get it out of the way on Monday. According to the press release, this is the first FDA-approved drug that contains a purified drug substance derived from marijuana and it is also the first FDA approval of a drug for the treatment of patients with the Dravet syndrome.
Even though the FDA has now approved the use of Epidiolex as a real treatment for these diseases, it doesn’t immediately change the status of cannabis as a controlled substance. The FDA did not say in its release whether it had delivered a recommendation to the DEA regarding Epidiolex and its schedule status.
However, in GW Pharmaceutical’s statement, the company said it would have to be rescheduled before it could be made available to patients. “Rescheduling is expected to occur within 90 days. Access is expected to be similar to other branded AEDs and EPIDIOLEX is expected to be available to appropriate patients by Fall 2018.
Marapharm Ventures Inc. (MRPHF) announced that it has entered into a Letter of Intent dated June 21, 2018 to purchase all the shares of Full Spectrum Medicinal Inc. Marapharm will have until September 30, 2018, to conduct due diligence on Full Spectrum, with a view to negotiating the terms of a definitive agreement in order to complete the transaction. The company did not provide a valuation for the proposed transaction.
In Other News
Harvest One Cannabis Inc.
Harvest One Cannabis Inc. (TSXV: HVT) has signed a binding Share Sale Agreement with Australian-based MMJ PhytoTech Limited for the purchase of 100% of Israeli-based PhytoTech Therapeutics Ltd. The transaction will be a combination of cash and shares. Upon completion, $1 million in cash and $7 million in Harvest One common shares issued at the then 10-day volume weighted average closing price, will be paid to MMJ.
Cronos Group Inc.
Cronos Group Inc. (CRON) announced that it entered into a strategic distribution partnership with privately owned pharmaceutical wholesaler Delfarma Sp. Zo.o. Founded in 2004, Delfarma was the first company in Poland to introduce international parallel import of medicinal products from European Economic Area countries. Delfarma distributes directly to over 5,000 pharmacies and more than 200 hospitals, a distribution network that reaches approximately 40% of the Polish domestic market.
Hiku Brands (HIKU.CN) announced that it has been granted permission for ten stores by the Province of Manitoba. Four of the stores will be located in Winnipeg and one in Brandon, all of which will be opened under our award-winning cannabis retail brand Tokyo Smoke, winner of Cannabis Brand of the Year at the 2017 Canadian Cannabis Awards.
Hiku is actively working with various regulators, provincial and municipal governments in the Province of Manitoba to obtain the necessary permits for our proposed Tokyo Smoke stores and will ensure location specific permission prior to announcing our chosen locations. This announcement is in addition to Hiku’s announcement on June 22, 2018 on the update for Alberta retail storefronts which detailed how Hiku has filed applications for more than a dozen storefronts in Calgary and are at the top of the list to be considered in each of those locations following Calgary’s first come, first serve approach to licensing. As previously announced, Hiku has also entered into a letter of intent with Oceanic Releaf Inc., a late-stage applicant under the ACMPR in Newfoundland & Labrador, pursuant to which Oceanic and Hiku are working with the government on the approval for Oceanic of up to 5 additional stores in that province.


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Dubai-based marketplace for certified vehicles CarSwitch.com has secured an additional $1m investment led by Dubai Angel Investors and boutique venture capital firm Glowfish Capital.
The firm will later launch a broader series A closer to the end of 2018 as it looks towards regional expansion outside the UAE.
In the past 16 months, it has received over $2m in investment, during which it grew more than 600%, interacted with 20,000 used car sellers in Dubai and partnered with several franchise agencies to market their new cars.
CarSwitch aims to disrupt the $50b regional car market by cutting out high-cost middlemen (dealers) and offer sellers and buyers more value and convenience.
For used car sellers, the platform takes on inspecting, warranting, photographing, advertising, collecting calls, filtering prospective buyers, attending test drives and handling paperwork.
For buyers, it provides the results of the 200 point inspection online.
The platform also assists buyers and sellers with insurance, financing and transferring ownership.
It was founded in 2016 by ex-McKinsey & Company consultants Imad Hammad and Ali Malik.
CarSwitch now sells a car in less than three test drives on average, with a 90% satisfaction rate, according to founder and CEO Imad Hammad.For all the latest business news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.
Subscribe to Arabian Business' newsletter to receive the latest breaking news and business stories in Dubai,the UAE and the GCC straight to your inbox.


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November 16, 2011 |
AHMEDABAD: An employment system for girls in Tamil Nadu is threatening to waylay the country's $11-billion garment export industry, with several international retailers distancing themselves from supply chains that involve the allegedly exploitative scheme. India has often drawn flak from welfare organisations for poor vigilance against child and forced labour. In the latest sign that the West is serious about labour issues, multinational retailers, such as GAP , Walmart , C&A, H&M , Primark, Mothercare and Tesco, have instructed their Indian suppliers to stop sourcing raw material from textile mills that employ girls under 'Sumangali', a contractual arrangement that labour watchdogs say involves unfair practices and amounts to bonded labour . The development could have serious ramifications for the domestic apparel industry , which earns 80% of its business from Europe and the US. "We are aware of a number of new sources that continue to show the existence of child labour and forced labour in Indian garment production.
May 29, 2013 |
NEW DELHI: India today opposed linking trade with core labour standards stressing the problem should be tackled through an "open and constructive approach". Addressing the second regional workshop on child labour for SAARC countries, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Kodikunnil Suresh stressed the scourge can be addressed only when there are efforts to strike at the root cause of child labour and convergence welfare schemes. "India has been opposing linkages between trade and core labour standards in various international fora.
June 24, 2014 |
NEW DELHI: Labour and employment minister Narendra Singh Tomar will meet trade union leaders on Tuesday, morning, the first such meeting with employee representatives since the NDA government came to power. The meeting, officials said, would be used by the minister to discuss the challenges and the way forward in the world of work, and assumes significance as the government has decided to press ahead with long-overdue amendments to outdated labour laws like the Factories Act of 1948.
June 19, 2002 |
JAIPUR: Union Labour Minister Sharad Yadav on Wednesday said proposals to amend the existing labour laws were under consideration and asserted that the interests of workers would be fully protected while making any changes to the laws. "Changes in the existing labour laws are being discussed. The interests of workers will be fully protected while making any such amendments," he told reporters. Yadav said the West was wrong in its assessment about child labour in India. "Child labour is not a very big problem in India.
July 30, 2009 |
NEW DELHI: US-based clothing and accessories retailer GAP Inc plans to increase its sourcing requirements of textiles and clothing from India in the near future. The retail chain headquartered in San Francisco imports products worth a billion dollars annually from Indian manufacturers. In an open statement, Stan Raggio, Gap Inc's senior vice president of international outsourcing, said, "We will continue to source from India. We work closely with many stakeholders and receive valuable and important help from the local NGO community that assists our ongoing effort to ensure that our products are manufactured in a socially-responsible way. Our efforts in this important area will continue.
June 11, 2013 |
COIMBATORE: With more and more apparel units addressing the issue of child labour, global buyers like Walmart and Zara have preferred to expand their merchandise sourcing from India which may fetch more business of USD 3 billion in 2013-14, garment industry body AEPC said today. The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said that factory-compliant manufacturing in India has surged with new and unprecedented export orders in the current season. "In the present volatility in international buying, brands have preferred expanding their merchandise sourcing from India.
May 23, 2011 |
AHEMDABAD:Indian garment industry defended itself against charges of child labour and said the report giving it a clean chit was prepared by a professional agency and not by the government as believed by the US labour department. Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) is an autonomous body , and not a government agency, the US was told on May 20 in Washington , the day Indian textile industry officials asserted there were no instances of child labour in the garment sector.
July 16, 2010 |
NEW DELHI: Faced with the possibility of the US blacklisting Indian apparels for use of child labour, the textile ministry is working on informal grading of textile units. It has teamed up with exporters to persuade factories in Delhi and Mumbai to adopt global practices, a government official has said. To convince the US government about its seriousness towards eliminating child labour, the ministry will also set up dedicated cells to investigate cases of suspected child labour in the industry.
October 23, 2011 |
Lights and crackers, sound and smoke, gold rush and assorted dried fruits...Diwali is the time for all these. But scrape away the festivities and below lies the sordid tale of child labour and pollution. We skim across history and geography to bring you the firecracker story. HISTORY OF FIRECRACKERS Nearly 2,000 years ago: Chinese discover crackers by accident. Folklore says the Chinese burnt bamboo to mark the Lunar New Year. As the bamboo caught fire, air caught in the bamboo shaft expanded and burst.
March 30, 2008 |
LUCKNOW: The world-renowned Bhadohi carpet industry of handwoven carpets is struggling to keep pace in the global market in the face of stiff competition posed by machines and international brands. The carpets produced at cottage industries in the city, which once comprised 85 per cent of the total carpet export, have now come down to 50 per cent with rugs produced in other parts of the country fast catching up, All India Carpet Manufacturers Association Shaukat Ali Ansari said.


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The opening date of Derby's new Greggs store has been pushed back.
The new branch was set to open off Swarkestone Road, near to its junction with the A50, on the outskirts of Chellaston, in November.
But the opening has now been pushed back to early next year due to 'unexpected delays in the readiness of the store'.
A spokeswoman for Greggs said: “Our new shop in Chellaston will be opening early in 2020 and we will share more details in the near future.”
Greggs specialises in savoury products such as pasties, sausage rolls, vegan sausage rolls and sandwiches, as well as sweet items such as doughnuts and vanilla slices.


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In 2014, Vietnam accepted defeat when Vietnamese businesses could not meet the electronic components for phone production offered by Samsung Group. Over time, Vietnam has demonstrated its ability to rise up the supply chain, becoming an important manufacturing hub in the tech industry.
According to the Vietnam Import-Export Report 2021, in 2021, the number of domestically produced phones will reach 233.7 million units, up 7.6%, the production value of phone components will reach VND 580.8 trillion, up 29.5% over the same period in 2020.
Although Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas have experienced a stressful Covid-19 epidemic in 2021, the technology supply chain in the North is not much affected. Electronics exports hit a record $108 billion in 2021, equivalent to 32% of total exports.
Electronics exports contribute the most to Vietnam’s total exports. Source: HSBC
Much of the success of the tech industry is due to Samsung’s years of foreign direct investment (FDI), according to an HSBC report. Over the past two decades, Samsung Group has poured about 18 billion USD into Vietnam. Currently, Samsung has six factories and one research and development (R&D) center, including two phone factories in the North that supply half of Samsung’s phone production.
In 2021, Samsung Vietnam recorded a 14% increase in revenue, mainly thanks to a 4-fold increase in sales of folding smartphones.
Thanks to that, Vietnam’s smartphone market share globally has increased significantly. Although more than 50% of the world’s smartphones are manufactured in China, Vietnam has won 13% of the market share, quickly rising to the position of the 2nd largest smartphone exporter in the world.
Vietnam ranks second in the world in terms of smartphone exports, just behind China. Source: HSBC
In 2021, Vietnam’s export of CBU mobile phones reached a turnover of over 33.1 billion USD, up 14.9% compared to 2020, accounting for 57.6% of the export turnover of the commodity group. Export of phone components and accessories reached over 24.4 billion USD, up 9.1% compared to 2020, accounting for 42.4%.
However, exporting phones and components faces some difficulties due to supply chain problems. The negative impact of the epidemic led to a global shortage of semiconductor chips. This has affected the production of phones in general and products using chips in particular.


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Online consumers expect A+ service
June 27, 2013,
Panel members discussing e-commerce retailing were Lenny Kharitonov, left, Unlimited Furniture Group; Mike O’Hanlon, Wayfair; Patrick Cory, Cory Home Delivery, and Tony Haslin, Lovesac.
During a panel discussion at Furniture/Today's annual Logistics Conference, retailers who sell home furnishings via e-commerce said consumers don't realize that a piece of furniture usually can't be picked up at a distribution center by the next FedEx or UPS truck.
"Amazon.com has driven customer expectations to higher levels, and that puts pressure on us," said Tony Haslin, director of logistics at Lovesac, which sells furniture online and at some 50 traditional retail stores.
Mike O'Hanlon, vice president of corporate and business development at online retailer Wayfair, agreed, saying his customers expect delivery to be free as well as fast.
"Our customers don't care if it's furniture. They want it right away," O'Hanlon said, noting that furniture is his company's "biggest challenge and biggest opportunity."
Joining O'Hanlon and Haslin on the panel were Lenny Kharitonov, president and co-founder of New York based Unlimited Furniture Group, and Pat Cory, CEO of Cory Home Delivery.
Cory, whose company handles furniture deliveries for several e-commerce retailers, said consumer expectations need to be altered so they won't come to expect FedEx-or UPS-like service for shipments of large, bulky items such as furniture.
"A lot of education has to take place," Cory said. "(Consumers) don't realize ... that we may have to repair an item before delivering it because the packaging isn't good."
Kharitonov said his company doesn't offer next-day delivery like Amazon.com, but said delivery time is "about the same as it would be from your local furniture store."
"In the future, I think stores will be a hybrid (of e-commerce and brick-and-mortar). The most successful retailers are going to be the ones who can do both," he said.
Haslin said furniture presents special challenges for e-commerce retailers such as Lovesac since consumers can't see the product in person before buying it. That's why many of his furniture customers wind up speaking to a customer service representative on the phone before finalizing the deal.
"It's a leap of faith when you're buying a room full of furniture without having touched it," he said. "But we have a 60% to 70% conversion rate when someone speaks to a live person."
O'Hanlon acknowledged that many of Wayfair's furniture customers have shopped in brick-and-mortar stores before making their purchase. "Most people don't buy it sight unseen," he said.
| News Editor, Furniture Today


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Tim Cook to be feature of NBC profile next week in 'first of its kind' interview
It was announced on Friday that Apple CEO Tim Cook will be the subject of a special interview with NBC's Brian Williams, with the profile scheduled to air on Rock Center next Thursday, Dec. 6.
At the close of NBC's Nightly News on Friday, Williams announced that he had spent the day with Cook for an exclusive one-on-one set to air next week, marking the first in-depth TV interview the CEO has granted since taking over the reins from late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.
"Unlike the man he replaced, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook was able to walk all but unrecognized across the central floor of Grand Central Station," Williams said. "Once we got to his Apple store that changed, of course, as devoted fans approached and treated him like a rock star.â
A preview of the interview will be aired on Thursday's edition of the Nightly News before the entire profile is broadcast at 10 p.m. eastern on Rock Center.