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Shares of Apple (AAPL) are down 41 cents, or 0.3%, at $126.15, despite the apparent good news that supplies of its Apple Watch have slipped in their quoted delivery times on the company’s Web site, a sign it has sold out of the device a scant 6 hours after they went on sale this morning.
But the stock itself got some mixed views this morning. Raymond James’s Tavis McCourt cut his rating on the shares to Market Perform from Outperform, despite raising estimates, while Canaccord Genuity’s Mike Walkley reiterates a Buy rating, and raises his price target to $150 from $145.
Writes McCourt, ”We continue to believe comps in FY16 will be quite difficult, while early reviews on Apple Watch suggest it will fall far short of the “insanely great” benchmark, at least in this first iteration.”
McCourt raises his full-year fiscal ’15 estimates to $220.14 billion and $8.49 per share in net income, up from $220.06 billion and $8.13. He also slightly raises his fiscal ’16 estimates.
iPhone sales continue apace, he writes: “data points suggest iPhone demand remained strong y/y through March, especially in China, and is now starting to enter its normal seasonal slowdown in calendar 2Q (with still strong y/y trends).”
And he expects a bump up in the capital returns program to boost buybacks to $30 billion annually.
As for the dividend, “Although the company’s dividend yield is slightly below its peer group and the S&P 500, we expect this will be remedied in short order as Apple likely increases its dividend and share buyback very soon.”
Nevertheless, the Apple Watch is now “more risk than reward,” he writes,
Early reviews on Apple Watch suggest it will fall far short of the “insanely great” benchmark, at least in this first iteration [...] Although the financial impact of the Apple Watch is almost immaterial near term, we are concerned that relatively muted reviews so far could place added fear in investors’ minds about the company’s ability to launch successful new product categories.
His stock conclusion:
We believe the most likely scenario is a range-bound stock (rather than a meaningful pullback), as there appear to be few obvious investment alternatives currently given the strong U.S. dollar and slowing global economy, which is impacting growth at nearly every large global corporation.
Canaccord’s Walkley, raising his estimates, writes that “we anticipate continued strong replacement sales to existing iPhone consumers for the next several quarters.”
Walkley raised his 2015 view to $231.2 billion in revenue and $8.94 per share from a prior $224.19 billion and $8.53. He also raised his 2016 estimates.
Even the forthcoming Samsung Electronics (005930KS) “Galaxy S6″ won’t dent a large expansion of the iPhone base:
Our surveys indicated the iPhone 6/ 6 Plus smartphones were by far the top selling smartphones at all four tier-1 U.S carriers during the March quarter. While our recent surveys indicated strong initial interest for the new Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphones could slow iPhone premium tier share gains during the June quarter, our March surveys indicated another strong quarter of market share gains for Apple. Despite the upcoming launch of Galaxy S6 smarpthones, we have increased our June quarter iPhone estimates as we believe initial supply of Galaxy S6 devices could be limited, and we anticipate increased store traffic with the Apple watch launch should benefit June quarter iPhone 6 sales. Longer term, we believe the iPhone 6 upgrade cycle will result in the installed iPhone base reaching 500M during C2015, and this strong base positions Apple to drive strong sales of future iPhone products along with additional software, services, accessories, Apple pay, Apple Watch, and more. In fact, we anticipate initial strong demand for Apple Watch despite recent mixed initial reviews for the premium priced smart watch. Our 20M unit estimate for C2015 Apple Watch sales represents only 4% of the iPhone installed base purchasing the Apple Watch.
The New York Times’s Farhad Manjoo wrote in his review that he achieved “bliss’ only after three days of trying to figure out how the thing worked. Manjoo was a guest on CNBC’s “Fast Money: Halftime Report” this afternoon with Scott Wapner and team.
Manjoo’s comments led to the traders to roll their eyes about how hard this thing might be to use, given the learning curve of Manjoo, a techie, and prompted trader Steve Weiss to argue you should wait for the second version.
Also today mulling the prospect of complexity is market research firm Argus Insights, run by CEO John Feland, who is an MIT engineering grad and formerly an employee with Synaptics.
Feland has some experience with new products: he worked on something called the “Onyx,” when he was at Synaptics. Onyx was a prototype, which was turned into L.G. Electronics’s (066570KS) “Prada Phone,” largely viewed as a touch-screen device in mid-2006, six months before Apple’s introduction of the iPhone in January of 2007.
In a conversation with Feland late Wednesday, he told me that his company’s survey of consumers showed waining interest in the Watch. Argus makes money selling reports for a subscription fee to a variety of electronics parties, such as Best Buy (BBY), as well as coming up with custom reports.
The company’s main task is to survey customer feedback messages that they leave on Web sites such as Amazon.com.
Normally, Argus uses actual buyer comments to tell companies what’s working or not working with products already on the market — “Last year, we could have told Amazon three days after the Fire Phone went on sale that it was destined to fail,” he offers as an example.
However, for the Apple Watch, which obviously hasn’t been bought yet, Feland departed from his usual survey sources to instead aggregate and analyze data from Facebook, Twitter, and other social network channels, which is primarily “aspirational” expressions about whether people think they want the watch or not.
His main data points, expressed in the following three slides, are that Apple saw a significant spike in buzz, if you will, when it first talked about the Watch, in September, and then a very sharp drop from there in terms of mentions of interest.
By contrast, other wearables makes such as FitBit, and Pebble, saw a surge in interest during the ’14 U.S. holiday season. Pebble, in particular, “saw reviews come back big over the holiday, and then they had tremendous buzz with their Kickstarter campaign [for the "Pebble Time”].”
You can click on the slides to see them in detail:
The upshot of all of that, in Feland’s opinion, is that Apple has aimed too high with this first version of the watch, cramming too many functions into version 1.0.
He thinks this is a departure from the Steve Jobs ethos of focus and giving people very limited options in order to promote simplicity and avoid confusion:
What the Pebble interest shows for Apple is that there’s a market for people who want a simple, long-lasting device that does three simple things, as opposed to an over-designed Apple Watch. Apple have solved a lot of interesting problems, like navigating an ocean of apps on your watch, but do we really need an ocean of apps on our watch? Apple has always been great about giving you one way to do things. For Apple, the watch is a departure. They’ve got 8 different faces, 150,000 different bands, you can customize it to what you want — that’s not what you go to Apple for. It’s so different than the traditional brand story. Apple’s always been great with something different enough to redefine what the market means. The first iPod was a simple proposition, “1,000 songs in your pocket.” The first iPhone had no copy and paste. With the watch, they haven’t redefined the category. I think they haven’t focused. The question Apple typically answers for us is, What’s the point of view you should take for a given technology? Samsung gives us a bunch of “Coulds”, Apple always delivers a “Should.” With the Apple Watch, they have delivered a bunch of Coulds. Steve’s [Jobs] genius was in decision-making, sticking with what should be. It should have this one cool thing you never thought of that there is this blatant need for. You could always add 20 other things later on. Apple usually took a rifle approach, but with the watch, they’ve taken more of a shotgun approach.
Of course, reasonable minds can disagree. For an Apple aficionado’s view, see John Gruber’s lengthy examination yesterday of the watch, which he’s been testing, on Daring Fireball.
Gruber in fact argues the watch is precisely in the spirit of the iPhone introduction:
Both were introduced as three things in one. Steve Jobs, introducing the iPhone back in 2007: “The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device.” Tim Cook, introducing the Apple Watch: “In addition to being a beautiful object, Apple Watch is the most advanced timepiece ever created, it’s a revolutionary new way to connect with others, and it’s a comprehensive health and fitness companion.” An iPod, a phone, and an “Internet communicator”. A watch, a “new way to connect with each other”, and a health and fitness companion. The iPhone did more than just those things. Apple Watch does more than just these things. But with both devices, Apple framed our introduction to these fundamentally new products with similar “it does three main things” formulations. The reason seems clear: to simplify complex products, and to root something new and unknown in old and familiar contexts.
A report this morning from Oppenheimer & Co.’s Andy Uerkwitz dismisses any concern over initial complexity of the watch, arguing it is nothing less than the future of computing.
Apple shares today are down 11 cents at $125.50.
See also: Apple: BMO Slashes Watch Forecast on Tepid Survey Data, April 8th, 2015.
Here are some things going on today in your world of tech:
GoDaddy IPO surges
Shares of domain name registrar and hosting outfit GoDaddy (GDDY) are up $6.17, or 31%, at $26.17, on their Nasdaq debut, after pricing at $20 this morning, above an expected $17 to $19 range. The company is one of a handful of tech IPOs arriving, another being Etsy (ETSY), the hand-made goods marketplace, which last night set a price range of $14 to $16 for its IPO.
Twitter’s moment on video
Twitter (TWTR) stock is up 77 cents, or 1.5%, at $50.85, after Jefferies & Co.’s Brian Pitz initiated coverage with a Buy rating, and a $65 price target, writing that its “engagement” with users is improving and that it is primed to ride the wave of video, and video advertising, with newer products such as the “Periscope” streaming video function.
Bullish in chipland
In the world of semiconductors, shares of Maxim Integrated Circuit (MXIM) are down 4 cents at $34.77 despite an upgrade to Buy from Hold by Drexel Hamilton’s Rick Whittington, after raising estimates, and raising his target from $31 to $40, writing that “• Contraction in once key but lately contracting mobile was the culprit this last year but a prospective reversal could move estimates still higher.”
Whittington also raised his target on Buy-rated Xilinx (XLNX) to $50 from $45, writing “Industry checks indicate Altera (ALTR) has lost sockets especially in wireless base stations and comm. infrastructure in recent months to Xilinx.”
You’ll recall that there has been speculation starting Friday that Intel (INTC) will buy Altera.
Also in chips today, Credit Suisse’s Farhan Ahmad pounds the table for shares of Lam Research (LRCX) and Applied Materials (AMAT), concluding that both may see a jump in their markets because of increasing production of 3-D NAND flash memory chips, which are coming down in price versus conventional flash.
Elsewhere in chip equipment, Citigroup’s Amanda Scarnati initiates coverage of companies in the “consumables” segment of chip equipment, assigning a Buy rating to shares of Cabot Microelectronics (CCMP) and a Neutral rating to Entegris (ENTG), writing that “Increasing process steps on advanced nodes benefits consumables.”
Scarnati also assumed coverage of wafer maker SunEdison Semiconductor (SEMI) with a Buy rating, writing that wafer prices are going up. Cabot and Enters are both trading lower, but SunEdison is up 71 cents, or 2.8%, at $26.53.
Time to start counting Apple Watch
Apple (AAPL) stock is down 50 cents, or 0.4%, at $123.93, after Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster this morning wrote he expects something of a slow roll-out of the Apple Watch later this month, with perhaps 300,000 pre-orders starting April 10th and one million units sold in the first weekend. Munster expects sales could reach 50 million or more annually by 2017, perhaps 8% to 10% of the iPhone customer base.
In other Apple news, UBS’s Steve Milunovich, who also rates Apple a Buy, wrote a review of the latest Steve Jobs biography, “Becoming Steve Jobs,” concluding that it brings a lot of useful insights about the company’s business.
And Citigroup’s Jim Suva, who has a Buy on the stock, writes that the consensus ”underestimating both the continued demand for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as the demand for the higher memory density phones (128 & 64GB best-selling configurations rather than 16GB).”
Networking’s software transformation
In the world of networking, Pierre Ferragu with Bernstein Research offers up thoughts following a meeting with the Cisco Systems’s (CSCO) head of field operations, Chuck Robbins, writing that among other things, Robbins is “very positive” about the company’s place in the battle against the “white box” networking gear.
“Chuck very positively articulated the situation,” he writes. “Clients are not after 10% equipment price discounts but instead need solutions which can deliver better automation, flexibility, and running cost / TCO. ”
Speaking of white boxes, research firm Dell’Oro Group today announced that the category, also referred to as “Bare metal,” reached 7% of annual ethernet switch revenue in 2014.
As a consequence of the shifting nature of data center requirements, the firm concludes “the Ethernet Switch market continues to fragment as the Campus, Data Center, Small Medium Business (SMB), and Carrier Ethernet segments grow and contract in different ways.”
Elsewhere in networking, Amitabh Passi of UBS says something similar, after looking over the announcement this morning by Cisco competitor Arista Networks (ANET) that it will sell its “EOS” system software as a subscription to people who don’t want the usual up-front purchase, for $495 per month.
While Passi doesn’t officially cover Arista, he has some thoughts for Cisco: “We believe the Ethernet Switch market is increasingly adopting dis-aggregated models including those that a) provide branded OS’s on white box hardware (e.g. Dell, HP, Juniper) and b) offer subscription-based models to ease consumption of network resources.”
Cisco shares today are down 18 cents, or 0.7%, at $27.35.
On tap for earnings tonight is one of the first chip reports, Sigman Designs (SIGM). Analysts are modeling $53.2 million in revenue and a penny per share in net income for the fiscal Q4 ended in January.
UBS‘s Steve Milunovich today weighs in on the recently released biography of Apple‘s (AAPL) late co-founder, chairman and CEO, Steve Jobs, “Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart Into a Visionary Leader,” by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli, and finds that it “better covers and understands Jobs’ work” than did the prior biography, by Walter Isaacson, “Steve Jobs.”
Milunovich finds lessons for Apple investors, he writes:
Aside from the interesting history, investors should glean insights into how the past informs Apple going forward. First, it appears that Jobs knew what he was doing in picking Tim Cook at his successor and telling Cook to be his own man. Cook has maintained basic beliefs while tackling issues Jobs might have shied away from, such as capital return and worker conditions. Jobs’ sweet spot—clear in the failure of NeXT— was selling to consumers. Apple is fortunate that consumer technologies and economics now are driving the industry, providing adjacent market opportunities.
Among the insights he glans are that “Tim Cook has been the right choice,” for CEO, writing,
Cook had acted as CEO in Jobs’ absence, so it was no surprise when Jobs turned the reins over to Cook in August of 2011. The two were extremely close with Cook even offering his liver, which Jobs turned down (he eventually had a transplant). While many have been concerned that Jobs is irreplaceable and few would disagree, Cook has successfully moved the company forward in his own style. Soft on the outside, hard on the inside. Cook has emphasized collaboration and process even more than did Jobs, for example firing software head Scott Forstall ostensibly for not being a team player. Cook also has helped improve conditions for supply chain workers, shifted data centers to renewable energy sources, and addressed social issues, all of which it is hard to see Jobs undertaking with much gusto. At the same time, clearly Cook is a tough cookie. He was known as the Attila the Hun of inventory at Compaq and has been a tough negotiator in creating arguably the world’s best-run supply chain. He says he is good at shutting out the noise of Apple observers (like Wall Street). Kinder to shareholders. The book states that Steve hated stock buybacks and argued against it as a Disney board member. Cook instituted both a buyback and dividend. Jobs had seen Apple almost go out of business, didn’t have excess cash until the end of his tenure, and believed in reinvesting in the company. Cook has the luxury of being able to do both. Expectations for the upcoming capital return program are high as Cook recently said “We’re not hoarders.”
Second, Milunovich concludes that Jobs’s genius for the consumer put the company in a position to capitalize on consumer tech for years to come:
Apple never was a successful enterprise company with its primary customers consumers or artistic professionals. Since consumer products and economics now drive the industry, Apple is in a strong position to move into adjacent consumer categories. Furthermore, it has huge advantages of scale. Its supply chain is uniquely large and so important that observers guess that current operations head Jeff Williams might be Cook’s successor. This capability makes entering the auto business perhaps not as crazy as it sounds—Apple knows how to manufacture at scale and probably can learn what it does not know.
Specifically, Apple has room to move into the Internet of Things, more broadly, such as home automation:
The biography points out that the iPad maximized the iPhone instead of minimizing the Mac. The Watch minimizes the iPhone. We think its initial benefit will be around convenience and time-saving, which might not be immediately obvious. The first iPad sold 15mn units in the first nine months while we are looking for 16mn watches in the first six months. The longer-term killer app that seems initially to be missing may be the use of the Watch as the interface to the Internet of Things. That could include opening home, hotel, and car doors, navigating indoors, using Apple Pay and receiving ads and offers, and otherwise interacting with the world of connected sensors.
Milunovich sees a change in Apple’s willingness to embrace partnerships versus Jobs’s reluctance:
Current management seems able to distinguish between the vertical integration required of products but the benefits of platform economics, which require more partnership. Many of Apple’s software and services offerings, most notably iOS and Apple Pay, are multi-sided platforms that directly connect two groups and for which Apple takes a cut. This approach requires sharing economics and Apple not doing everything itself. Opening APIs for iOS 8 is another example. Cook has said his goal is iOS everywhere, permeating consumer’s lives through devices as well as application platforms like HealthKit, HomeKit, and CarPlay. The ecosystem is a more sophisticated and complex model than most tech vendors deal with.
Milunovich also thinks Apple’s forthcoming corporate headquarters building, a donut-shaped colossus sometimes referred to as a spaceship, was not a sign of peaking, but of Jobs’s legacy:
One of Jobs’ last acts was presenting the new corporate campus plans to the Cupertino City Council. He emphasized opportunities for casual interaction, thus the “spaceship” ring. He had been involved with the design of Pixar’s new HQ years earlier, also optimized for interaction. In fact, that complex was called “Steve Jobs’ movie” by employees, and the center structure is now officially called the Steve Jobs Building. Although there is the old saw about a company peaking when it builds a gleaming new home, Apple was due a central location and great thought has applied to propagate the culture and purpose of Apple.
Milunovich maintains a Buy rating on Apple, and a $150 price target.
The shares today are down 18 cents at $124.25.
CNBC hosts Carl Quintanilla, Simon Hobbs, and Sarah Eisen this morning hosted BTIG Research’s Walter Piecyk for a discussion of the speculative reports out from The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times saying Apple (AAPL) is working on some sort of live TV service with a collection of prominent networks such as ABC and CBS.
Piecyk’s overall take is that the company got fed up with trying to deal with Comcast (CMCSA) and the other distribution gateways, and its decision to go “over-the-top,” in Internet video speak, is a bad sign for the cable companies. Piecyk analyzes the market with BTIG’s cable analyst Rich Greenfield, who is the official media/cable analyst.
Said Piecyk, the “key number is 75 million iPhones sold last quarter, and an ecosystem of half a billion people” that Apple controls, which shows the company’s power to enter new markets. “But as far as the TV is concerned, it’s not a huge shock; this has been an area of interest for them for awhile now. And Verizon [Communcations (VZ)] has talked about over the top, Sony (SNE), there’s Sling TV [from Dish Network (DISH)], and so on.”
“It’s just a natural evolution of Apple trying to capture you more into their ecosystem,” he said.
Piecyk notes that some of the same Journal authors wrote a year ago at this time that Apple was working with Comcast on an over the top service, and that the latest rumors mark a sharp, surprising departure, as far as he’s concerned.
“A year ago, the same authors wrote about Apple’s initial attempts, and they were talking about partnering with cable companies. The idea was some sort of managed service, because Apple was worried about the quality [of video]. Obviously, Apple’s all about the quality.”
Continued Piecyk, “The article last night has nothing to do with managed services, and it could be a lot more disruptive. Maybe Apple wanted to do it earlier, they were frustrated with Comcast — which is nothing new — and it led them to the next step, which is full over-the-top.”
Hobbs asked Piecyk what it would mean for cable, and he said he and Greenfield were surprised by the change in tack, if true, at Apple. “Let’s look at the article a year ago, and how Rich and I looked at this evolution. This article is not about partnering, it’s about going over the top, and this could be a lot more disruptive.”
As for the rationale, Piecyk sees it very consistent for Apple’s goals and its power:
It’s about extending the experience. Sometimes, all you have to do is just listen to [Apple] management. There are lots of ways they are trying to make your life better, and maybe in your living room, with what little has happened with the set top, that’s one area where you experience frustration. With the car, they don’t need to make a car. But the beauty of Apple is, if someone says, We don’t want to deal with you, Apple’s cash is the ultimate gun they can put to someone’s head to say, Okay, we’ll go forward anyway. Look at Sling TV, they have no broadcast, and they got 100,000 subs very quickly, with no broadcast at all.
Hobbs pressed Piecyk on whether or not Apple would be making a television set, as has long been rumored, and as one analyst, Brian White of Cantor Fitzgerald, this morning opined.
In response to Hobbs asserting the report means there’s no TV set coming, Piecyk begged to differ. “What does the big picture look like here one year out?” he asked.
This has nothing to do with a new large TV, but this is the first part. If they can integrate things into the TV … If they can make a better TV, this can be the first step. Just because they’re doing one thing doesn’t mean they can’t evolve the product into an attractive television set. Just because they’re in the auto doesn’t mean they can’t evolve things there…
Apple shares today are up $1.97, or 1.6%, at $126.92, while Comcast stock is off $1.01, or 1.7%, at $58.74.
However, Canaccord Genuity’s Matthew Ramsey and Stephen Lee believe that the weakness is an opportunity, and upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy, although they brought their price target down by $2, to $30.
They write that Intel’s fundamentals have improved “dramatically,” and that while mobile losses are still heavy, Intel’s technology is muscling out rivals. Now, with investors’ expectations more realistically aligned with lower PC sales, that overhang is gone, and there’s an outside chance Intel might now even be able to beat expectations on that point.
From their note:
Resetting the PC bar: Intel lowered Q1/15 revenue guidance from $13.7B to $12.8B, citing slower SMB Microsoft (MSFT) WindowsXP upgrades, lower channel inventory levels across the PC supply chain, and unfavorable FX movements. As a result, we lower our Q1/15 PCCG revenue estimate from $8.2B (+3% Y/Y) to $7.3B (-8% Y/Y). Further, we now model PCCG sales to decline roughly 10% Y/Y in 2015 to $31.3B reflecting softer enterprise sales and lower ASPs. While certainly not good news, we believe the removal of unrealistic PC expectations actually makes Intel shares more investible and the Win10/Skylake refreshes during 2H/15 could even provide modest upside to lower expectations.
With PC exposure heading to <50%, strong DCG and IoT growth should emerge as primary stock drivers: We believe 15%+ DCG and 20%+ IoTG growth expectations are quite achievable for the next several years, growing non-PC sales to >50% of Intel’s revenue by 2017 and serving as the company’s primary growth drivers going forward.
Mobile results should improve in 2015/16; Apple (AAPL) iPhone socket an unlikely call option: With lower platform costs and gradual LTE and SoFIA revenue ramps, we anticipate lower losses in MCG in 2015 and materially lower losses in 2016. We believe LTE connectivity in PCs could emerge as an underappreciated LTE modem driver, but exclude an iPhone win from our estimates as we believe displacing Qualcomm (QCOM) is unlikely.
Intel was down 0.7% just after the open.
RBC Capital Markets’ Doug Freedman and Jeriel Ong have a note out on the impact on Intel. They estimate that the regions suggested by the report could represent as much as 30% of Apple’s total unit volume, as much as 70 million units. (Of course, that assumes that the smartphone would be a flagship product—they don’t believe that the chip was designed for a lower end product, but note that the 5s/5c did see segmentation, so it’s not impossible.)
Given this, they see this as a meaningful positive for Intel: “While existing thin modems could currently be selling for $18-$20, it would not surprise us if future phones had ASPs between $10-$15. Choosing the lower-end of this ASP range of $10, this could indicate a $450-$700mil revenue design win for INTC.”
He also writes that it represents an important growth opportunity, coming just after news that the company’s PC business is waning. From the note:
We also find it interesting that the news is coming out at a point in time when news about INTC’s PC business weakening is also coming out. For the last year, INTC’s PC business has averaged $8.6bil a quarter. Assuming two 5% declines to a new run-rate, that would also be ~$800mil, or about our estimate for the new modem business.
Though we estimate the margins with this modem business to be less than INTC’s DCG or PCCG business, the mobile market is a growth opportunity for INTC, while the PC market is largely viewed as a stagnant/flat market. The value of market share in the mobile market could be higher than the same revenue dollar in the PC market. Based on our analysis for our MRVL baseband business valuation, we concluded that a 1% gain in revenue share in the mobile market to be worth $700-800mil in market capitalization. Thus, we think this could add $1.5-$2.0bil in value to INTC, should the revenues materialize. However, given that INTC has no significant revenue share of this market, investors could assign even greater than $1.5-$2bil value to this win as it increases the likelihood of future design wins given that AAPL is at the high-end of the market.
Here are some things going on in your world of tech:
Not surprisingly, analysts have a lot to say about Apple’s (AAPL) event Monday, in which it revealed more features about the Apple Watch, due out next month, along with other updates to the MacBook Air and Apple TV.
The pre-event analyst notes were upbeat, and the Street seemed largely encouraged after the presentation as well, although there are a few Hold ratings out there and even some bulls were left wanting more.
Here’s a sampling:
Cantor Fitzgerald’s Brian White reiterated a Buy rating and $160 price target: “We are projecting Apple Watch to go down as the best selling, new product category (in first 12 months of availability) in Apple’s history. Our current model reflects Apple Watch units of 20.6 million in the first year on the market (vs. 19.5 million for the iPad).”
Citigroup’s Jim Suva reiterated a Buy rating and $135 price target: “We believe the key component makers for Apply Watch include: a) LGD (034220.KS; W31,350; 1) – the sole supplier of OLED display; b) TPK (3673.TW; NT$227.00; 1) – the sole supplier of touch panel (Apple Watch to account for 11%/12% of TPK’s 1Q15/2015 sales); c) Quanta (2382.TW; NT$79.20; 1): system assembly (Apple Watch to account for 8-9% of Quanta’s 2015 sales/profits). We expect Chinese battery suppliers to dominate Apple watch batteries owing to the simple design while TW battery packers such as Simplo (6121.TWO; NT$161.00; 3) are not expected to get share.”
Cowen & Co.’s Timothy Arcuri reiterated an Outperform rating: “Apple Watch event reaffirms our view v1.0 is more of a set-up for v2.0 this fall where our optimism is higher on price, battery and technology obsolescence concerns. AAPL fundamentals remain strong and more capital allocation is forthcoming, but the derivative implications (notably + Broadcom (BRCM)) are more salient. Relative to Fossil (FOSL), we remain +ve as new wearables platform may offer compelling alternative.”
FBR Capital Markets’ Daniel Ives reiterated an Outperform rating: “While the consumer adoption curve for the Apple Watch remains a major “hot button” question among tech investors, with the Street anticipating approximately 14 million unit sales in 2015, we believe today’s event could be a major door opener for wearable technology across the board as this next paradigm shift is likely set to take place across the consumer/enterprise landscape over the coming years. With the Apple brand/unmatched consumer base now behind it, we think the wearables category now potentially has a “silver bullet” product which can start to move consumers toward this new avenue of technology growth. To this point, the space is still in its early innings, and we believe the level of uptake of the Apple Watch (post its April 24 release date) is key for broader wearables adoption, as is the interest/development efforts around applications for wearable smart devices, in our view. We believe the use-cases for wearables will be driven largely by apps, and with a myriad of important consumer/enterprise applications (e.g., health, Uber, salesforce.com, etc.) set to work with the Apple Watch, we believe a surge of app development for wearables could be on the horizon. In a nutshell, with a massive number of use-cases (e.g., safety, tracking, entertainment, etc.) and major wearables competitors including Samsung, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple, and Google (GOOGL)), we think a ramp in the adoption of these devices could provide a major boost to demand in key areas of technology (e.g., cloud, mobile, social, cybersecurity, big data analytics, etc.) over time.”
RBC Capital Markets’ Amit Daryanani reiterated an Outperform rating and $140 price target: “Overall, we think Apple Watch lived up to expectations though battery life and limited app support (no facebook) are modest negatives. We remain comfortable that Apple Watch should sell 20m+ units in year 1, but suspect the mix will be skewed towards low-end. Beside the watch, the MacBook was the most incremental announcement and we were positively surprised by the new all-in-one USB-C connector and thinner/lighter form factor. While Apple Watch sales have yet to materialize, we are incrementally more positive on the MacBook product line.”
S&P Capital IQ’s Angelo Zino reiterated a Hold rating: “AAPL announces that pre-orders for the Apple Watch will begin April 10 (available April 24). Pricing for the 38mm/42mm Sport (rubber/aluminum) begins at $349/$399, 38mm Apple Watch (steel) $549-$1,049 (42mm $50 more), and Apple Watch Edition starts at $10,000. We still have battery life concerns given possible usage but are encouraged about the capabilities. We think AAPL’s brand and customer base positions it well to be a market leader in the wearables space. AAPL also announces the MacBook ($1,299 start price) and HBO Now, a streamlining service exclusive to Apple devices.”
UBS’s Steven Milunovich reiterated a Buy rating and $150 price target: “The Apple Watch meeting highlights included pricing information, availability in nine countries including China and Japan, and disclosure of an 18-hour battery life, not as poor as some feared. Although management again highlighted various applications, most emphasize improved convenience over pulling the phone out—there still is not a sense of a killer app. Cook has said the breadth would surprise consumers, and perhaps that is sufficient. Pricing was as expected for the low-end Sport, a bit lower for the Watch, and high at $10,000-17,000 for the Edition. There was no discussion of broader sales channels or watch upgradability. We were disappointed that none of Apple’s new “fashion” execs presented.”
Wells Fargo’s Maynard Um reiterated a Market Perform rating: “The Apple Watch’s battery life and applications were, in our opinion, largely as expected, if not a little disappointing. Additionally, given the timing of the event, the launch roughly a month and a half away was further away than we would have hoped. Nonetheless, we expect Apple die hards to drive launch demand. MacBook, in our opinion, was the show stealer with an attractive new industrial design. This may impact quarter end MacBook sales if consumers wait for the April 10th launch though may help ASP next quarter. While the 700 millionth iPhone sold update would imply units below our forecast, we would not take the number literally as the date of the number is unclear. Other key announcements include – Apple TV price cut, exclusive HBO launch, continued Apply Pay expansion and ResearchKit for advancing medical science. We adjust our valuation range to $120-130 based on 11-12x our FCF est vs our prior methodology against EPS.”
Apple is down 0.8% at recent check.
Among the interesting ways in which the Firefox OS software is storming the mobile world of Samsung Electronics (005930KS) and Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGL) is inspired design by seasoned veterans of the industry comfortable working at the edge of the industry.
One such fellow, George Arriola, was hanging around the Firefox booth on Wednesday here at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, just a few feet from the mammoth booth of chip maker Intel and yards from the giant booths of Samsung and others.
Arriola has serious chops: He worked on the iPhone at Apple, worked at Sony (SNE), and helped run another startup that had developed a fairly gorgeous-looking smartwatch in the form of an obsidian, chunky bangle that would have cost in the neighborhood of $1,200, but never shipped.
His latest venture is is Monohm, taken from the engineering term “ohm,” a measure of electrical resistance. Its product, currently in prototype, is a round, smoothly curving disk that has an elegant black display on one side and a beautifully crafted bowl of burled wood on the other. It runs the Firefox software.
Called Runcible, its name is taken from the nonsense word introduced by English writer Edward Lear. The term later morphed into a word for what we call a “spork” today, and was also used in various modern cultural contexts in different ways. “Yes, it’s whimsical,” Arriola concedes of the choice of name.
The idea of a thing that looks like a paperweight but makes calls and has a gorgeous display is the idea of something like a pocket watch: you will take it out when you want to do something with it, not when it constantly, obsessively prompts you to answer its endless stream of alerts pushed toward you.
“It’s the idea of pull, rather than push,” says Arriola.
In other words, form can influence behavior.
“There’s lots of writing from academics at Stanford and elsewhere about how we are drowning in interaction, constantly doing this,” says Arriola, giving an impersonation of someone completely engaged in staring into their phone, tapping away.
Runcible does all those things other mobil devices do, including texting, displaying Web sites, making and receiving calls (you use it with a bluetooth headset), but as an elegant object you slip in a pocket, you might not grab it constantly, he suggests.
It also does something no other phone does, or not usually: the aperture nestled in the middle of the burled wooden backside of Runcible takes round pictures. The images are masked in software to achieve the effect.
For the masking, and other photo features, Monohm has partnered with the creators of Litely, the most popular photo-taking app for Apple’s iPhone, to create special custom filters that can be applied to these round photos to what Arriola describes as beautiful effect. The brief demo he showed me did seem to present a very nimble photo editing engine.
Certainly, the insides of the prototype looked just as pro as many other products cracked open. The company is using electronic manufacturing services shop Rocket of Santa Clara, California, an outfit used by numerous companies in the Valley.
Can it change behavior? Will people even accept it?
The excitement of such unknowns is why one works on a startup, obviously, and Arriola seemed delighted with the trip he’s on.
Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: email@example.com.


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T-Mobile Super Bowl adBy Tom Dougherty
8 February 2021
T-Mobile TV ad: Missing an opportunity
I wish I could say the publicist-driven T-Mobile not-quite Super Bowl ad deserves its social media popularity. But like all but one of this year’s Super Bowl ads, it ruined its opportunity.
The phone carrier promoted a spot with Super Bowl champions Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, saying it was banned from being aired during the big game because they were participants. That prompted a great deal of social media action. Exactly what the brand wanted.
But why is the spot itself so lame?
“There are few opportunities for brands to rise above the fray. T-Mobile created one. But failed to take advantage. Be bold when those opportunities rise.”
We’ve often lamented that Super Bowl ads are a waste of money. And most are just trying to be entertainment. Not trying to create preference.
That was certainly the case this year. All but one – Amazon’s Alexa spot, which we wrote about here last week – were tiresome, boring and easily forgettable. Hell, the largest theme was simply CBS’s unveiling of its upcoming Paramount+ streaming service.
T-Mobile simply blew it
But T-Mobile had a chance to make some real waves. Because Verizon was the official sponsor of the Super Bowl, T-Mobile couldn’t actually air its Brady-Gronk spot during the game.
So it created faux social media outrage, saying it was banned. Quite an ingenious way to generate publicity.
I was hoping to write that the best Super Bowl ad never actually aired. But that wasn’t the case. At all.
In fact, it was just the same tired old thing. Celebrities acting in a strained sitcom situation. With a message – that T-Mobile works better – that isn’t even believable.
If the brand was going to take such as unique way to get noticed, why didn’t the TV spot itself take the same path? It does nothing to steal market share from the competition. It will be forgotten as you soon as you finish reading this. It has a life span of a whisper.
There are few opportunities for brands to rise above the fray. T-Mobile created one. But failed to take advantage. Be bold when those opportunities rise. Otherwise, they waste everyone’s time.
Click for the T-Mobile TV Ad Web Story
1 March 2021The Microsoft Surface ad still doesn’t get it The newest Microsoft Surface ad aims to replicate the brilliant I’m a Mac I’m a PC ads from years ago. You remember those spots. Starring Justin Long and John Hodgman, they compared the brands as personalities....
24 February 2021The General Insurance Company does the unthinkable Nearly all marketing and branding efforts fail because brands simply refuse to be honest with themselves. That’s why the brand refresh, as it’s calling it, from The General Insurance Company is so...
17 February 2021Why are local TV stations still branded by a number? There are many reasons why local TV stations are falling behind. But here’s one to consider. Why do they continue to brand themselves with an outdated number? I’ll give you an example. Here in North...

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TechRadar has teamed up with Mobile World Congress as a media partner for the world's most exciting mobile phone trade show, MWC 2013.
To celebrate this partnership we are offering ten lucky readers a ticket to the show*, which take place in Barcelona on 25-28 February 2013.
Your exhibition visitor passes allow access to all exhibition halls as well as the GSMA Seminars and Featured Programmes areas and would cost 699 euros if you bought them - that's about £580.
So why MWC? Well - as the show guide puts it:
"The mobile ecosystem is expanding at lightning speed, with endless innovation and new applications of mobile technology. From contactless payments and augmented reality to embedded devices and connected cities - mobile technology is changing the landscape. The impact mobile will have on the world is limitless.
"Join us in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress 2013 as together we explore the new mobile horizon."
"Even the landscape of Mobile World Congress will look different in 2013. While the mobile world capital Barcelona remains our host, we're moving to a state-of-the-art new facility, Fira Gran Via."
To be in with a chance of winning a ticket to MWC 2013 go to our competition page.
Please note that this competition is only open to UK residents over 18 years of age. *Flights and accomodation NOT included. Getting to the show and arranging a place to stay are the responsiblity of the winner.


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Two of four Hollister businesses hit by Sunday fire destroyed
Attorney General Eric Holder speaks out for the first time about the George Zimmerman verdict. This as the Justice Department considers federal charges against him. Nikole Killion reports from Washington.
A fire at a shopping complex in Hollister tore through two stores, burning them to the ground, and damaged two neighboring businesses Sunday.


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A TikTok video showing a mountain of receipts has sparked a debate over whether Starbucks should continue its mobile ordering feature.
Short video posted by user @trumphobic, showing a receipt printer spewing out new orders like a pile of old stuff Orders lie on the floor. In a comment, @trumphobic said they had been stuck with the printer for several days, so the actual number of orders reflected four days. They also explained that they work in a licensed Starbucks in a furniture store and do not take orders via cell phone.
Their video has received 1 million views since it was uploaded on Friday.
However, commenters still see the pile of receipts as a sign that Starbucks should stop allowing customers to order online. Several bartenders wrote about their own experiences with Starbucks’ mobile ordering system and said they would feel overwhelmed with so many orders. Others said they would quit if they had a lot of orders.
One user wrote: “Starbucks should have a max number of mobile drink orders per hour or something bc I’m going out.
“STOP MY STORE TO SURPRISE ONE SURPRISE AT ME AND TELL YOU DID GONNA CALL THE CORPORATION FOR ME,” a second commenter said. “I LIKE, I’M SORRY, I AM NOT A MACHINE.”
“This is almost as bad as when a line wraps around a building and someone argues [with] me about adding drinks at the window,” a third viewer commented.
“As a Starbucks barista, quit right there,” said a third.
Although @trumphobic said their store doesn’t take orders on mobile devices, it did comment that it “agrees with EVERY COMMENT ONLY”.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @trumphobic via comment on TikTok and Starbucks via email.
Today’s Top StoryS
* First published: December 18, 2021, 10:53 a.m. CST
Alexandra Samuels is a national political reporter and Daily Dot contributor, where she started as a political intern in the summer of 2016. She enjoys all things Marvel. , stay up to date with the latest TikTok trends, go for long walks with your kids, and read murder mystery novels.
https://www.dailydot.com/irl/starbucks-receipts-mobile-ordering-tiktok/ TikTok Sparks Debates Mobile Ordering at Starbucks


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Installed since 1970 in Boulazac, in the suburbs of Périgueux, this vast factory of ordinary appearance has the monopoly of the printing of stamps used in France. But it manufactures just over a billion a year today, three times less than ten years ago.
Star production: the Marianne of ordinary stamps. It is always printed in intaglio, the most noble process using a mild steel plate – the punch – engraved in hollow and upside down using a chisel, through a microscope.
It was the turn of the red stamps – for mail theoretically distributed the next day – to come out when AFP visited the workshop. The respectable printer of the 1960s produces 3,500 sheets of 100 stamps per hour, regularly fed with a brush of homemade ink with the delicious appearance of strawberry coulis.
“It’s still the flagship product,” says Olivier Zuzlewski, the director of the establishment.
Less chic but undoubtedly more spectacular: heliogravure, in the studio next door. A huge machine allows stamp booklets to be printed quickly, on both sides. The strips of sticker paper are gently perforated along the way, just enough so that the stamps can detach from the background without it ending up in pieces.
“It takes an hour to make this reel”, describes the master printer Damien Lavaud, after having checked that the stamps of the day, a series on famous paintings which will be marketed in September, are in conformity. “It’s 4 km long, there are almost a million stamps!”
Whatever the printing technique, phosphorescent bands invisible to the naked eye allow sorting centers to authenticate stamps and identify prices.
– Digital stamp –
A little everywhere, reels and stacks of stamps, inspected every week by a bailiff. Everything is monitored and secure. And the visitor is asked not to be too curious, in case his eye wanders on a series intended to be released on the other side of the world in six months.
Because the Périgord printing works also manufactures stamps intended for around twenty countries, such as Monaco, Japan or Morocco.
“We offer our know-how internationally,” explains Gilles Livchitz, director of Philaposte, the department that oversees philatelic activities.
“You have to win tenders,” he says. “We have to fight!”
Fortunately, the strategic market for collectible stamps, which are much more profitable, “is holding up”.
“With a stamp sold for 1.16 euros which remains on an envelope and makes it travel, there is a very small margin left for the La Poste group”, explains Mr. Livchitz. “With a stamp from the philatelic program, there remains a good margin for the La Poste group if it is put in an album and is kept.”
“Philately remains the number one collecting hobby in France”, even if enthusiasts are aging, adds Mr. Zuzlewski.
Year in and year out, the Périgord printing press produces around a billion stamps for France, including 50 to 60 million for philately, and 200 million for foreign countries, he says.
Philaposte makes it a point of honor to maintain the various printing techniques and pass on know-how, underlines the director of the establishment. But to maintain activity despite the drop in the number of stamps — and keep the 400 employees — the company is diversifying into the printing of secure documents: passport pages, checks, automobile vignettes and even bottle labels for great vintages.
“The method for making the stamps has advantages”, remarks Mr. Zuzlewski: “On the first page of the passport, there is intaglio.”
“We have taken a nice turn! The site is certified, secure. We give our customers confidence,” says Gilles Livchitz, who refuses to talk about money.
It must be said that La Poste soaps the stamp board itself. It will launch next year a digital model which will replace them: it will be necessary to retrieve an eight-character alphanumeric code online, which it will suffice to copy on the card or envelope.


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(Corrects company name in first paragraph.)
March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Carl Icahn proposed to buy Dell Inc. in a deal that would value the company at $15 a share, including a cap, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The proposal would also give Dell shareholders the option of holding onto their stock, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Carey in New York at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Edelman at firstname.lastname@example.org


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The state training agency FÁS has forecast that unemployment could exceed 8% by the end of 2009 and it warns that a further downturn is likely in 2010 if there is no significant improvement in the economy.
In its latest quarterly report, FÁS economist Brian McCormick says the Irish recession has coincided with what he called a 'dramatic reversal' in the fortunes of the Irish labour market. This is expected to worsen in the short-term.
He also finds that in the first half of this year, wages did not keep pace with inflation - except in banking and finance.
The economist also predicts a net rise of 27,000 in emigration next year. He says that while the Live Register has risen by 42% since the end of 2007, the Border region has fared worst, with redundancies up 84% to date this year.
He also says that the slacker labour market has led to a 41% fall in the number of EU accession country citizens coming to Ireland seeking work. However, while inward migration has slowed, 61,000 PPS numbers had still been issued to euro zone migrants by the end of September.
Overall, vacancies notified to FÁS have fallen across almost all occupations by an average of 24% year on year.
Worst hit are transport (down 50%), information technology and construction (both down 43%), and retail sales vacancies (down 26%)·
FÁS expects employment in Ireland to fall by 0.2% this year, but by 3.8% in 2009. Employment in construction expected to be down 19.4%.·
It says lay-offs in the house-building sector are being compounded by redundancies in the commercial sector as the demand for office and retail property dries up.
The agency also expects employment in services to fall by 1.3% next year due to the drop in construction, the credit crisis, and waning consumer confidence.
There has also been a 39% fall in the number of new apprentices entering the workforce since January - with construction related apprentices down 54%. This fall coincides with a rise in unemployment among 15 to 19 year olds.
Mr McCormick also cautions that the current economic turmoil has made forecasts more tentative than usual. He says that in the absence of a significant upturn in the world economy, a further contraction in labour demand is the most likely scenario for 2010.


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‘I had to really gain confidence in what I could bring as the CEO of this company,’ says Julia Hartz, co-founder of online ticketing platform Eventbrite. ‘It’s not an easy thing to take your husband’s or your co-founder’s job... and it wasn’t handed to me. I raised my hand for it.’
Hartz set up Eventbrite in 2006 with her husband Kevin, already a serial entrepreneur at the time, and CTO Renaud Visage. Since then it has processed over 200 million tickets, supporting over two million events in 2015 alone, across 180 countries. It’s on track to become profitable this year.
The idea’s very 21st century: ‘Democratising ticketing’, to find a self-service market between the large ticketing providers, which had been ‘defined by high fees, bad customer experience and little or no tech innovation’ and casual birthday parties.
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Popularity Of Asian Flavours Soars In The US
Wednesday, September 20th, 2017
Exotic flavours are in, and with american consumers being unfamiliar with Asian cuisine, flavours like sambal, rendang and turmeric seem to be gaining traction. By Manik Mehta
With their taste buds craving for exotic food varieties, American consumers are discovering the pleasures of the Asian culinary diversity.
According to McCormick, a US spice company which markets all kinds of spices from Asia, Latin America and other parts of the world, the American consumer is increasingly going for spicy foods such as sambal, rendang, haldi (turmeric) and srirachan-flavoured dishes.
In its annual Flavour Forecast Report for 2016, also touted as the ‘spice horoscope’ in food circles, McCormick has forecast trends that will captivate consumers in their quest for new food varieties. Asian foods and spices are projected to figure in the list of favourite foods.
Besides healthy herb mixtures that will include, for example, chia seeds blended with bold flavours, the average Joe Smith is moving toward spicy, tangy dishes. The red fiery sauce Sambal, made from chilies, rice vinegar, garlic, and more, is expected to figure well in US food culture in the future. Sambal is supplied by a number of Asian countries, but Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia lead the pack.
Rendang curry is a Malaysian dish made from chilies, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and turmeric. McCormick believes that American consumers will become adventurous enough to try out dishes from Malaysia such as the rendang curry. Experts say that Delivery.com had discerned a 70 percent surge in orders for the rendang curry between 2014 and 2015 over the earlier corresponding period.
The interest for Asian foods and spices was also evident at the New York Fancy Food Show (NYFFS) 2016, held in June this year in New York, which has become a platform for suppliers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to foray into the lucrative US market, the world’s biggest market, in value terms, for specialty foods.
ASEAN Expansion Into US
The ASEAN suppliers’ keen interest in the US market is understandable: according to the US Specialty Food Association (SFA), total US specialty food sales in 2015 hit a record value of US$120.5 billion. SFA reported a 21.2 percent increase in specialty food sales from 2013 to 2015; retail accounted for 78 percent in specialty food sales and the food service sector the remaining 22 percent.
Exhibitor contingents from ASEAN member states such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam showcased at the NYFFS a wide range of products from ready-to-eat frozen foods through biscuits, cakes and other bakery products to spices, fruits and vegetables.
With over 47,000 specialty food professionals attending the show, ASEAN exhibitors vied with each other to attract the buyers; they also faced fierce competition from other Asian food suppliers who already had a strong foothold in the US Asian ethnic food market and now want to break into the mainstream market.
The example of India illustrates the point. Once described as a traditional ‘curry supplier’, India has over the years climbed up the supply chain ladder by adding sophisticated frozen and other fast-food varieties—ranging from ‘diabetic rice’ of low glycaemic content through spices and snacks to ready-made curry-based food products which have become very popular among mainstream consumers besides, of course, catering to the two-million financially strong Indian diaspora and other Asian communities in this country.
Another element that is making inroads into the US market is the ‘Sri Racha’ flavour —Americans spell it as ‘Sriracha’—that is evident in a variety of food products such as potato chips, popcorn, nuts, sauces, etc.
Indian suppliers have also, cleverly, devised ways to increase their market share. The ’Malaysian Paratha’—a white fluffy fried bread that goes well in the roti-channai combo and supplied as ready-to-eat frozen item by Malaysian suppliers—is very popular in the Indian and the South Asian diaspora in the US. However, this delicacy is also being supplied by Indian food suppliers.
Tapping Onto Opportunities
The SFA maintains that the top five emerging cuisines are Mediterranean, Latin, Greek, Spanish and Thai. Malaysian company, Hua Huat of Johor Bahru, is keen to penetrate into the US market which offers good business potential for its products such as biscuits, chocolate wafers, etc. According to Kelvin Ong, Hua Huat’s export development marketing manager, US is a “good market with tremendous growth potential for our products which are already visible on the shelves of the Hispanic and Asian markets.”
He discerns a demand in the US for organic, gluten-free and non-GMO products. “With rising health consciousness, Americans are increasingly paying attention to nutrition. This will also fuel demand for organic products,” he said.
In an interview, Louise Kramer, the communications director of the US Specialty Food Association, provided some useful insights for ASEAN suppliers while tapping the huge US food market. “Even during the last severe recession, American consumers were buying specialty foods. In general, I can say that young consumers, for example, are the main driver of consumption of specialty foods. One out of three food dollars is spent today on specialty food,” she said, adding that the “crossover cuisine”—the fusion variety—has become a trend here.
In her view, Thai flavours, for example, have been quite popular. She cited the example of children being given seaweed snacks today in their lunchboxes instead of potato chips which contain saturated fats and cholesterol. Indeed, rising health consciousness is changing consumer food habits. Thus, Asian seaweed does have sales potential in the US market.
ASEAN suppliers of ready food products should also note that vegetarianism and vegan diets are becoming increasingly popular in the US particularly among young people. Ms Kramer said that as such, Indian cuisine which is ‘vegetarian friendly’ is quite popular in the US.
An enterprising young Malaysian female chef, Auria Abraham, is gradually moving into the mainstream US market with her small food company called Malaysian Kitchen offering sambal, coconut jams, and more. Ms Abraham, who hails from Serembam, is presently focusing on producing and selling two spicy Malaysian sambal varieties—the hot-chili sambal and the lime-leaf sambal. She also sells green and brown kaya with sambal.
“Americans are more open than any other nation to foreign cuisines and are familiar with Asia’s culinary diversity. However, Americans are intrigued by the colourful packaging of Malaysian food products and names of dishes, and want to know more about them. Malaysia and ASEAN will have to do some savvy marketing to establish themselves in this lucrative food market,” she said.
The Appeal Of Southeast Asian Flavours
Malaysian food is becoming increasingly popular and will continue to make inroads into the American market. “This encouraging trend is gauged from the responses received from buyers and consumers to our food-promotion campaigns conducted under the Malaysia Kitchen USA programme,” Muhd Shahrulmiza Zakaria, Malaysia’s trade commissioner in New York said.
According to him, Malaysian cuisine has been listed amongst the top five trending flavours in the US for two years in a row (2014 and 2015), based on a survey by the National Restaurant Association, a US restaurant and food service trade association.
The ‘Malaysia Kitchen USA’ programme, aimed at promoting Malaysia’s food exports, has created a new wave of exciting and flavourful range of food and beverages in the American market. While the first phase of the programme was aimed at creating a buzz about Malaysian cuisine, capitalising on the presence of around 80 Malaysian restaurants in the US, the second phase called “Bringing Malaysian Food to Every American Home” was aimed at promoting more Malaysia-made food products as well as beverages into the American market.
As a result, Malaysian food brands such as Julie’s, Lingham’s, Mamee, IEFI, S&P, Hernan and Delicoco, are prominently visible in Asian ethnic stores.
Martin Ang, director of Perfect Food, said his company has also adapted its marketing strategy to the rising health consciousness of US consumers who are increasingly turning their backs on traditional fat-rich, and high sugar and sodium food products. The company’s oatmeal-based products are popular in the US market.
Simon A. Eugster
Trends discerned in the US market suggest the rising popularity of turmeric, the spice that lends the strong, yellow colour to curry, and is increasingly used in foods by the American housewife. Turmeric’s attractiveness is further enhanced by reports and studies suggesting it has medicinal properties that are helpful in combatting a number of ailments, including arthritis; turmeric is also coveted because of the fragrance it adds to the food.
Besides being used as a spice, turmeric is sold in various forms. US-based company Rishi’s offers turmeric ginger chai, the Republic of Tea supplies turmeric cinnamon tea, while Feridies sells turmeric-flavoured peanuts and Vosges produces ginger-turmeric dark milk chocolate. Experts describe these trends as “tomorrow’s common products.”
Other food novelties that appear in the market include beet hummus, dessert hummus and lentils—they were also showcased by several exhibitors at the NYFFS show—and these can also be supplied by a number of ASEAN countries which, backed by savvy marketing, can carve out a sizeable share of the lucrative US market.
Indonesia and Thailand are also aggressively marketing their food products in the US, with shows like NYFFS serving as a platform for them to come into contact with local buyers. Thai suppliers have been offering frozen sea foods among other things, while Indonesians are pushing their organic products, including spices, artisanal, coco sugar, chili sauce, non- GMO varieties and Sunria rice.
Reza Pahlavi Chairul, Indonesia’s trade attache in Washington, said Indonesia has a ‘huge advantage’ in producing and exporting natural commodities as well as value added products. “We have Indonesian producers, companies and brands, that are committed to produce natural and organic products,” he said. Indonesia’s food and beverage exports to US amounted to US$3.4 billion (accounting for 17.5 percent of Indonesia’s total exports to US).
Safety And Legitimate Claims Still A Priority
US is the world’s largest market for organic food products. The country’s organic food industry has been booming, posting new record sales of US$43.3 billion in 2015, up 11 percent over the previous year’s level and exceeding by far the mere three percent growth achieved by the overall food market, according to the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA) 2016 Organic Industry Survey.
This specialised segment is inherent with good business opportunities for Asian suppliers who will, however, need to ensure that the food they supply is indeed organic— not just certified—and pass the vigorous tests that these products can be subjected to in the US market.
Previously, so-called organic food products, including green tea, supplied by certain countries were found to contain pesticide residues. Such practices can destroy the overall reputation of a country which can acquire the dubious distinction of being called a supplier of contaminated and health-hazardous products that do not conform to the claims on their labels.
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Snowshoe Magazine would like to congratulate the Airlite Inflatable Snowshoes company and its owner, Rick Stafford, on winning first place at the Arctic Innovation Competition in Fairbanks, Alaska.
The Arctic Innovation Competition was created in 2008 by University of Alaska Professor Dr. Ping Lan. Lan’s areas of specialty include developing methods to stimulate and share innovation and new ideas. The AIC is an extension of Lan’s research and is based on the principles of stimulating innovation in our community and around the world.
“There were 212 entries from Alaska and around the world,” said Stafford. “The Airlite Inflatable Snowshoe company took the $10,000 first prize.”
The Airlite is the world’s first and only full-size inflatable snowshoe that’s extremely tough, lightweight, puncture resistant, and flexible.
“These snowshoes are first and foremost designed as an emergency use item to give a stranded person a better chance of survival and are not intended to replace standard snowshoes in all situations,” explained Stafford. “They are a repeated use item and tough enough to be a part of almost anyone’s recreational equipment. This product has been tested to -30 degrees Fahrenheit.”


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Skyward / SKP Appoints Senior Director of Sales – Northeast
From the 6/8/20 issue of the GreenSheet (Auto Care Week):
Skyward Automotive Products / SKP has announced the appointment of Mike Jacabbaci to the position of Senior Director of Sales – Northeast. Jacabacci is the past owner of Woodbury Automotive, a large replacement parts distributor in the Northeast that was one of the first members of Federated Auto Parts. Jacabacci was a longtime Federated board member.
“I have known and worked with Mike for over 35 years,” said Jim Murphey, President of Skyward Automotive Products. “Mike is well-known and respected in the aftermarket. His experience and knowledge of the industry from all aspects will be a great asset to the SKP management team.”
Access to the full press release can be found here (paywall):


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An announcement that could send shockwaves through the South African wine industry is imminent as leaked documents from the South African Wine and Liquor Board show a large number of wines have been rejected by the Board this year due to the new phenomenon named Hipster Taint. According to the draft document provisionally titled “Foulness from SA’s New Wave of Winemaking”, the Board has identified numerous elements in modern wines that deem them unacceptable for consumption and as not meeting the Board’s accepted guidelines in terms of purity, cleanliness and varietal characteristics.
The draft document does not mention names or South African regions, but alludes to “an avant garde, guerrilla approach to winemaking by individuals clearly wishing to overthrow the status quo, yet in the process eschewing principles of untainted health and hygiene regarded as non-negotiable in maintaining South Africa’s rigorous standards in terms of wine quality”.
Indicators of this disregard was this year found in wines containing, among other, higher than accepted levels of facial hair particles, recognisable aromas and flavours scientifically proved to have originated from checked flannel shirts as well as remnants of fresh tattoo ink.
Many of the samples fingered with so-called Hipster Taint also contained the easily-detectable presence of surfboard wax, while Bree Street organic coffee and craft beer residue were also commonplace.
According to a spokesperson from the Board, official comment is premature as the samples have been sent to the University of Montpellier in France for verification and opinion.
“Of the over 8 500 samples submitted for approval this year, it has been evident that this so-called Hipster Taint has surpassed TCA, VA and oxidation as the leading grounds on which wines are rejected,” she said.
“But whereas the three faults named are product and science related, Hipster Taint is entirely tied to the physical condition of the people manning the wineries, and therefore 100% avoidable. The sooner we officially identify Hipster Taint as a real threat to wine quality, we can work with the responsible parties to eradicate it before it becomes a real problem. This would apply regulating the physical condition of the persons whose wines show discernible traces of Hipster Taint.”
Prodded for further opinion on the potential backlash from those riding this wave of trendy winemaking, she said that winemakers must realise there are rules to be played by.
“Image of and reputation for quality are non-negotiable for any country’s wine industry,” she said, “and producers who do not realise this should rather go over to making craft beer, open a coffee bar or run a perfumed wax candle factory. It is too early to show what the reaction is going to be should the report be stamped ‘official’, but we would expect a ‘Wine Drolle Must Fall’ march, as well as insults written in oxidised Tannat scribed on our office walls. ‘Jou Ma se Downy Mildew’ springs to mind.
Should new regulations to avoid Hipster Taint be necessary, they would be implemented in 2016. “Not a moment too soon,” the spokesperson said. “Our selection panels are still recovering from this year’s onslaught, with two individuals having to be hospitalised after showing allergic reactions to beard gel and leather man-bun holders.”
- Lafras Huguenet
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It is expected that payments with cryptocurrencies can be made very soon in Switzerland, this as part of the agreements between government entities and two startup companies.
Startup companies Worldline and Bitcoin Suisse will make significant efforts to launch a project that helps Switzerland set up a cryptocurrency payment platform.
According to the data provided by both companies related to the project, it was known that this initiative has as its starting point the European country for the development of the tool capable of allowing the use of digital currencies for the payment of goods and services.
After the system has been tested and properly established, it is expected to seek to expand it to the rest of the European continent.
Two of the largest and most important companies in the continent are working together to develop the project.
Worldline is a company dedicated to the area of payments and market services in Europe. On the other hand, Bitcoin Suisse functions as a financial intermediary.
This company, based in the same country, will allow access to the necessary assets for payments. In this way, the intention of the alliance will be to help merchants and consumers to introduce digital currencies in the commercial sector.
Since the acquisition of Six Payment Service by Worldline at the end of last year, all its infrastructures now belong to the payment services company, which granted the project as central facilities for the development of payment methods and platforms with crypto.
According to the statement issued by both companies, for this project, it was openly commented that the main objective of this association will focus on “strengthening the leadership position of Switzerland as a strong center in the crypto financial services industry”.
In this regard, Marc Schluep, who is CEO of Worldline, gave his opinion on this project. He was enthusiastic about the recent partnership.
“Through cooperation with Bitcoin Suisse, merchants can benefit from an entirely new offering without taking any conversion risk. Bitcoin Suisse has developed extensive technical experience and internal financial crypto through its more than six years of trading experience, brokerage, and cryptocurrency storage. After a successful launch in Switzerland, Worldline will launch its new cryptocurrency payment service in Europe”.
On the other hand, Arthur Vayloyan, CEO of Bitcoin Suisse, said he was proud of the alliance and also said that it is a big step for the crypto market.
“Our partnership with Worldline is a major step forward on the journey to bring crypto payments into broader adoption. Bitcoin Suisse is proud to serve as the processor of cryptocurrencies in Worldline’s payment service system. We applaud them for their pioneering spirit in taking this monumental step and pointing the way forward for others”.
Switzerland has been one of the few countries in the world that have supported the so-called “crypto-revolution”, even to the point of carrying out concrete actions, such as the statement of the Central Bank of the country itself, which issued its opinion declaring its support for cryptocurrencies.
In addition, Switzerland seems to agree with the incorporation of Libra, the cryptocurrency that Facebook plans to launch in a few months, into its economy.
By María Rodríguez


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K-Pop in the Metaverse is spun out of pixels and battles in a virtual universe
Kpop in the Metaverse: During the pandemic, many industries saw drastic technological advances, including K-pop. Numerous new ventures for K-Pop companies, notably online concerts, and virtual fan engagement events have already been organized K-Pop Labels. Recently, MAVE, a South Korean girl band, achieved viral success less than two months ago with their first music video, garnering nearly 20 million views on YouTube and paving the way for eventual international triumph.
At first glance, MAVE looks like any other idolized K-pop band—except they only exist in virtual form. Its four members – SIU, ZENA, TYRA and MARTY – live in the metaversetheir songs, dances, interviews and even hairstyles created by web designers and artificial intelligence.
K-Pop in the Metaverse: Use of virtual technology
The k pop The industry is known for its cutting-edge technology, including the metaverse. Especially during the pandemic, digital technology has helped people stay connected. This also applies to the entertainment industry as offline concerts are put on hold. metaverseWith its virtual reality aspect, it has become one of the possible answers to reconnect artists with fans – albeit via the digital world.
In terms of the Metaverse application, there are a growing number of Metaverse-related projects/groups in K-pop. One of the most famous examples is the group Aespa, which was introduced as a group with virtual counterparts (ae). In addition to the actual members, Aespa consists of 4 virtual avatars that represent the members. Since then it has become a central aspect from which the concept of Aespa was derived.
Businesses and parts of the South Korean government are considering creating metaverses; This summer, banks in South Korea invested in Metaverse asset funds, and the country’s Ministry of Science and ICT is allocating trillions of won to boost tech companies including Metaverses. Millions of South Koreans have invested in digital land grabs in metaverse. In early November, the Seoul Metropolitan Government also announced plans for their Metaverse assets.
A mainstay of K-pop’s push into the metaverse is the growth of virtual performances and artists that may seem new, but stretches back almost two decades: A cyber singer named Adam created and released the 1998 album No Love Like This. Numerous other digital performers have popped up in recent years, such as popular League of Legends girl group K/DA, voiced by various pop artists including K-pop stars, and this year’s virtual girl group Eternity.
In March 2022, Blackpink’s virtual avatars hosted a fan event on the avatar-based social media network, with a reported 46 million users attending the event to receive digital autographs from the group. The following month, SK Telecom launched its “K-pop Metaverse Project” on its augmented reality app Jump AR, which allowed fans to create their music videos based on the music and dances of girl group Weekly. The group also hosted a virtual “in-person” event in May.
In September 2021, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced plans to invest a whopping $7.5 billion in digital technologies by 2025; 9% ($2.2 billion) of that will go to “metaverse-related” technologies. The country will use some of those funds to develop its own K-pop metaverse, according to a report by London-based analytics and consulting firm GlobalData.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the country plans to develop 220 metaverse companies by 2026, supported by 40,000 industry experts. This would make the country the fifth largest Metaverse market in the world.


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Let’s hoist a glass of Stolichnaya to some of the top Fortune 500 industrial giants in a Russian mood these days. Boeing, BP, Cargill, Caterpillar, Chevron, Cisco, Dow Chemical, Exxon Mobil, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, International Paper, Medtronic, Microsoft, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble all are considering investment projects in Russia now that it has joined the World Trade Organization.
Their goal, of course, is to kick their way through the door to the “R” in the BRIC upstarts of emerging nations and its rapidly expanding $400 billion import market.
It’s certainly not a done deal, and even when the U.S. and Russia clear away the political hurdles that block normal trade relations, endemic Russian corruption and poor infrastructure won’t be solved overnight. But the establishment of normal trade relations with Russia could mark one of the most significant steps in U.S.-Russian commercial relations since the end of the Cold War.
“The step to join the WTO was a signal to the world and within Russia, too, that the reformers have taken a step forward and won the battle with the hard-liners,” said Randi Levinas, executive vice president at the U.S.-Russia Business Council. “So now the challenge is to keep strengthening their hands within Russia.”
Any progress on boosting U.S. exports to or investment in Russia depends on congressional passage of permanent normal trade relations, or PNTR, a bill already marked up by the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee in July, but awaiting further action in the jam-packed session leading up to the election.
“None of Russia’s service commitments under WTO apply to U.S. companies and firms until we have PNTR,” Levinas said. “Without it, as former Ambassador to Russia Susan Schwab said, we don’t have much street cred.”
Lauren Airey, director of trade facilitation policy for the National Association of Manufacturers, said exporters of all sizes would benefit from PNTR with Russia. “More than 80 percent of the approximately 5,000 U.S. companies that currently export to Russia are small or medium-sized firms,” she said. “Small and medium-sized businesses account for nearly half of all U.S. exports to Russia. These businesses exported $2.1 billion of goods to Russia last year.”
Larger U.S. companies such as PepsiCo and International Paper, which already have investments in Russia, are solidly behind passage of PNTR because it will help them export more from the U.S. “They are all geared up to get PNTR,” Airey said. “U.S. exports are drawn by U.S. investment overseas. It enables open markets more than just exporting from here. That’s one of the important ways to increase our exports to those markets.”
The investment-hungry industrial companies listed above are all members of the Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade, affiliated with the business council, which, along with the NAM and other U.S. companies, is pushing hard for PNTR passage. “Our ability to engage with Russia on a multilateral and bilateral basis depends on removing them from Jackson-Vanik and keeping our businesses on a level playing field with others. This will strengthen and encourage them to move forward with more reform in Russia,” Levinas said.
Jackson-Vanik is a Cold War relic passed as part of the Trade Act of 1974 to punish the Soviet Union for restrictions on the emigration of Jews. While long outdated, it requires annual certification that Russia does not restrict emigration as a condition of conducting normal trade relations. That process itself violates WTO rules, which require unconditional trade relations.
Congressional inaction on PNTR would give Russia an excuse to postpone lowering tariffs or removing non-tariff barriers on imports from the U.S.
Congress is likely to further complicate progress toward normal trade relations by coupling passage of PNTR with another provision called the Magnitsky bill, which would punish Russian officials allegedly involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a tax lawyer working for the Hermitage Capital investment company, who died in custody in Russia in 2009, sanctions that have outraged Russian government officials.
“The Senate and House versions of the PNTR bill will have to go to conference and be paired with the Magnitsky bill,” said Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “My guess is that everyone has accepted that there will be PNTR and the Magnitsky Act.”
However Russia responds to passage of the Magnitsky bill, Aslund predicts passage of PNTR this year could result in a doubling of U.S. exports of goods and services to Russia from $11 billion in 2011 to $22 billion in 2017.
Unlike China, which joined the WTO in 2002 to gain access for its low-cost goods to markets in the developed world, “Russia is a high-cost producer and now a manufacturer, so it wanted to join the WTO in order to import more efficiently,” Aslund said. “The big gain for the Russian economy will come from more foreign direct investment and basic competition, in particular.”
Because of its oil and gas exports to Europe, Russia has a massive and persistent current account surplus of more than $100 billion, so it’s eager to enable more imports from Europe and Asia, its two largest trading partners — and the U.S., if politics permit. “They already have larger (foreign exchange) reserves than they really want at around $500 billion, so they are happy to reduce them.”
The U.S. runs a trade deficit with Russia — $26.3 billion in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — so WTO membership and passage of PNTR could help rectify the imbalance. U.S. exports of goods to Russia in 2011 totaled only $8.3 billion, but were up 37.9 percent from 2010. The U.S. imported Russian goods worth $34.6 billion in 2011, up 34.6 percent year-over-year.
The main U.S. exports to Russia last year consisted of nuclear equipment, 26 percent; frozen meats such as poultry and pork, 16 percent; and vehicles, 14 percent. Russia exports little in manufactured goods to the U.S., which mostly buys its oil, aluminum, iron ore and steel and uranium.
Passage of PNTR also would help pave the way for the bilateral investment treaty with Russia that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative negotiated in April and that has received preliminary approval from the Obama administration. “When you have these new bilateral agreements, you do see new investment, because that’s a way for companies to get their products into that market,” Airey said.
After stagnating for two years in 2009 and 2010, the number of foreign direct investment projects in Russia grew by an estimated 16 percent last year, representing an increase in the value of FDI to $43 billion, according to Ernst & Young.
U.S. companies view Russia’s requirements under the WTO to open its import market to U.S. goods as the step toward pursuing more investment. “What you are looking at in terms of FDI is certainty, transparency and accountability,” Levinas said. “WTO membership is a first step to that.”
Still, Russia faces a significant hurdle in meeting WTO requirements for free trade because of the long-accepted practice by its customs officials of seeking bribes in order to not hold up import shipments. “In the beginning, it’s going to disrupt the bribe system, especially with customs,” said one shipping executive who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. “They can hold up a shipment for as long as they want to for an infraction or a theoretical infraction.” Over time, WTO rules will take hold, “because people will be going to jail, in addition to fines,” he said.
Russia will have to enforce WTO rules because the growth potential of its import market is so large that many exporters will be able to bring them to the attention of their Russian trading partners or file complaints with the WTO’s dispute-settlement mechanism. If Russia does not move to enforce the WTO rules, other countries can retaliate.
Related: Terminal Velocity .
“There will be a lot of cases against Russia in the WTO dispute-resolution settlement,” Aslund said. “This is the very point of WTO. There will be suits about property rights and probably about state enterprises. These cases will force Russia to become more law-abiding.”
The effort to enforce the new trade rules will be worth it for U.S. companies, “because Russian growth is stronger than in many emerging markets and certainly stronger than in our traditional markets,” Levinas said. “You’ve got a highly educated population, and great infrastructure and industrial needs.”
The Russian consumer market also offers an enormous opportunity for U.S. consumer-products companies. “P&G already does a huge business in Russia, a country where incomes are rising, and you’ve got consumers that are very choosy and do their homework,” Levinas said. Russia’s middle class, she said, represents a far larger share of the population than in other emerging markets such as China or India.
In addition, Russian demographic changes present a growing market for U.S. health care and pharmaceutical firms. “Look at the aging population and what that means for companies like Medtronic, which has made huge inroads into the import market,” she said.


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- In the latest effort from lawmakers to convince the federal Food and Drug Administration to regulate e-cigarette advertising, three Democrats have pulled together a campaign with old advertising for traditional cigarettes.
- The lawmakers claim that e-cigarettes are using the same tactics to attract youth that traditional cigarettes used before ads were banned in 1971 from TV and radio airwaves.
- E-cigarette brands are using sex-appeal from Jenny McCarthy, the "tough guy" persona from Stephen Dorff and sponsoring big events like NASCAR, music festival Bonnaroo, and fashion weeks—all similar tactics used for traditional cigarettes before legislation prevented it.
The similarities between the cigarette ads of yore and today's e-cigarette ads are startling because they are classic strategies. The same similarities could be drawn between the advertising campaigns of a lot of different products. The lawmakers' message will be pretty powerful if they can convince the FDA that e-cigarettes are bad for consumers' health. Until that happens, e-cigarette advertisers are smart to run crazy without ad restrictions.


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If expensive data plans kept you away from mobile Internet, then this Datawind phone worth Rs 1,999 is for you
Affordability has truly become the motto of every sphere industry in India and off late things are just getting started. With net neutrality and free Internet being talked up, in the end, users will benefit from changing dynamics of Internet sphere. Besides, the consumers will also get the right kind of products which augurs well for the growth of the sector. ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ are some of the initiatives that get attached in this respect and major interest from brands across the globe have been registered.
While Lenovo has the cheapest 4G phone in the country for shade above $100, others are merely looking to consolidate the position of 2G/3G ecosystem for the time being. And you can count on Datawind to be part of the 'others' in this aspect.
The makers of cheap yet controversial Aakash (Ubislate) tablets are now ready to enthrall consumers with affordable phones equipped with free Internet support. Teaming up with Reliance, Datawind has announced slew of PocketSurfer 2G and 3G phones starting from Rs 1,999. The phones are nowhere close to competition in terms of hardware, so we won't be talking about them in detail. Let's just say, these phones are entry-level, made for lower-rung cities who might get captivated by the prospect of free Internet.
Free Internet with catch
Datawind is relying on Reliance to provide the arms to its dream of 'free Internet' that assembles as part of ‘Digital India’ mission. The internet.org was also inducted into the market with the same telecom operator. Suneet Singh Tuli, president and CEO for DataWind, has confirmed that talks with other telcos have also taken place; those other telcos are nowhere to be seen in the scheme of free things.
Under the one-year free Internet plan, Datawind will be paying up for all data consumption made during this period. But what happens when the one year of your quota is over? Well, we are yet to find an answer to that.
Datawind might have played the smart game by going for dual-approach for selling its PocketSurfer smartphones. Not only are they counting on the online shopping boom in the country by teaming up with Naaptol, but there’s the traditional seller element to their strategy which has borne out of their decision to partner with likes of Spice Hotspot and other notable offline sellers. Datawind has primarily made its numbers by selling in the other cities of India, which is why their means of selling the phone, both online as well offline, could deliver good results.
‘Making in India’ on the agenda
In addition to the announcement of the free-Internet project, Tuli managed to get everyone’s attention by stating the prospect of setting up its production unit in the country over the next 90 days. “We hope to generate 1,000 new direct & indirect jobs in India within the next year as we work with electronics manufacturing services companies in India,” Tuli said at the launch event. The plight of Internet penetration in the country is a well-documented subject by now, but it’s fascinating to see the methodology of brands like Datawind to promote their products merely by advocating for the government projects that are yet to gather steam.
AdvertisementIt’s a noble initiative on Datawind and Reliance’s part but turning dreams into reality takes more than just promise and that’s where both the brands will have their hands-full over the course of the year. They just have to make sure it doesn’t end up being another ‘Aakash’ saga.
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Paris Saint-Germain is undoubtedly one of the wealthiest football clubs on the planet. Yes, they may have just been outdone after Newcastle United’s takeover. Still, until that moment, it was probably between them and Manchester City competing for the title of the wealthiest football club in Europe.
When you have owners with unlimited wealth who can consistently pump massive amounts of cash in for transfers, wages, and the like, it raises the status of a club. Doing so means that companies and brands will want to get in on the act via sponsorship deals and marketing agreements, something that PSG is regularly the subject of.
If you’re a football club that is challenging on multiple fronts domestically and in Europe, and you can pay the big bucks, it means you can attract the world’s elite footballers. As we have seen recently with Mauricio Pochettino’s side, they were able to recruit Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player of all time. And there are a lot of commercial benefits that come with being a club with the means to complete transfers of this magnitude.
Messi arriving at PSG, saw the club agree on deals with eight new sponsors almost immediately, with leading fashion brand Dior one of those keen to strike up a partnership. And as well as the new agreements, existing ones were quickly brought to the table for renewal, with the likes of Nike and Coca-Cola moving fast to extend the deals they already had with the club.
What is also becoming commonplace is for brands to use football clubs such as PSG as a vehicle to propel them into the mainstream. For a long while, cryptocurrencies were an underground product. And, to crack the mainstream, they needed to be able to be seen on the biggest stages of them all.
Crypto.Com has dipped into the market with multiple sports, teams, and more recently. And last year, they struck up a deal with PSG to become their principal crypto partner. As a result, they now have a roster to play with where their sponsorship agreements are concerned, and this approach has been repeated many times before, like for example, sports betting site Bwin, who sponsor various teams and a league.
It’s a mutually beneficial relationship for companies and teams such as PSG. The former get the exposure, and the latter receive financial incentives that can help them to balance the books, so to speak. Many have often complained about PSG spending more than they should. But it’s offset by income from sponsorships and partnerships.
And, if they continue in the same vein, on and off the pitch, they will only become an even bigger attraction for those looking to strike agreements on the commercial front. Manchester United has been at the top of the commercial game for decades, but PSG could be about to steal their title, becoming an even more significant money-making enterprise.


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Port of Oakland sets all-time record for imports in a month
The Port of Oakland last month set an all-time record for import cargo, handling the equivalent of 84,835 loaded 20-foot import containers. That was the most for a single month in its 90-year history, breaking the previous record of 84,023 containers set in March 2015, the company said in its press release.
The Port said that July import volume increased 5.4 percent over the same period a year ago. The surge comes at the start of peak season when shippers transport additional cargo ahead of holiday and back-to-school sales.
The Port attributed the cargo increase to the economic health of its core market in Northern California and Western Nevada and to the continued strength of U.S. consumer spending.
The Port reported that import volume through the first seven months of 2017 increased 3.7 percent. It added that the number of vessels visiting Oakland during that period declined 7.6 percent. The Port said shipping lines are transporting more cargo to Oakland on fewer but larger ships.
About the Port of Oakland:
The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport, and 20 miles of waterfront. Together with its business partners, the Port supports more than 73,000 jobs in the region and nearly 827,000 jobs across the United States.