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A town many people felt had been “forgotten” now has hope for new beginnings.
Skelmersdale was the pioneering “new town” and was given this status in 1961. It was built to offer people new life away from Liverpool’s post-war slums, but its history dates back even further with its name recorded in the Domesday Book.
Modern Skelmersdale is split in two with the new town dominating the landscape to the east and “Old Skem” representing a smaller portion to the west. Like many towns, Skem’s town center has been struggling for the past two decades, with the Concourse shopping center, known locally as the Conny, being the focal point of the town.
READ MORE: More major contract failings at the heart of Liverpool Council could cost millions
But a new development, now crowned Tawd Valley Center, hopes to bring a “bright future” with major retailers moving into units, including Lidl which opened on June 9 and B&M which opens on July 6. The ECHO visited Skem to speak to residents about what they hope the development brings and whether it puts the town back on the map.
‘Skem has been neglected for a long, long time’
Driving through Skem and up to the new supermarket which opened on June 9, a number of signs around the town direct you to the discount retailer chain. One reads “just a Lidl further.” Arriving at the car park a bigger sign outside the store reads “Skelmersdale just got a Lidl brighter.”
Parking up, I get out and chat to mother and daughter-in-law Jean and Leanne Downes who are just putting shopping into their car boot. When asked whether the new shops puts Skem on the map, Leanne told the ECHO not quite, but it does bring hope for the future.
The 38-year-old told the ECHO: “I do not think it necessarily puts us on the map, but definitely it’s good for the future. Skem has been neglected for a long, long time. Not just in terms of shops but in terms of usage of children’s services and that sort of stuff, I myself work in children’s services.
“I think it is good for the town and good for morale and to see we have been finally allocated some money. It’s good for the economy and good for the people. I mean we have got all these new houses being built and we needed something like this for a long term.
“We just need something now in the way of doctors and dentists and all that kind of stuff but every little bit.” Jean, 76, who has lived in the town for 41 years said the town “does need it”, however believes in time the buzz for the new stores will start to filter out.
She told the ECHO: “The thing is at the moment it is a bit of a novelty and so everybody is piling in and we came on Saturday [June 11] and there were just hundreds of people queuing up the aisles and I think that will start to pan out and people will think will I want to shop here or do I want to go back to Aldi. “
The 76-year-old added similar store Aldi, which is in The Concourse, is not very big and only open when the shopping center is. She said: “The trouble with Aldi is it is in the Concourse. So it is only open on Concourse hours, it is a long way in, it’s not very big. I have always liked it but I like the wide aisles.”
Leanne and Jean both agreed this gives more people choice and “value for money” but would like to see other stores come to Skem such as Marks and Spencer.
But more is needed, some say
Another customer, who was sorting her shopping just outside Lidl, said “it was about time” Skem got a retail park. The resident, who has lived in the town for 53 years said: “It’s about time we got a retail park because it’s either into Burscough or Wigan or something like that.”
Speaking to taxi drivers Brian Smith and Barry Smith, who aren’t related, they told the ECHO they think the new stores will bring “competition”. However they both agreed Skelmersdale needs more, such as a clothes shop.
Brian said: “What we need is a clothes shop. If you go over to the Concourse it is full of cafes and things like that. No clothes shops, nothing.” Barry, who has lived in Skem for around 30 years, agreed and said: “No men’s clothes shops. Dunnes is that still open?
“There are so many shops being shut in the Conner [Concourse]. Primark we have harped on about it for years. We could do with a Primark, saves people going to Wigan. We haven’t got a Primark or Matalan. “
The men also said Lidl, B&M and the town center development will also bring more people to the area and also brings business for the likes of taxi drivers. Brian, who has lived in Skem for 26 years, told the ECHO: “It brings more people here as well. We have picked up people from Burscough. “
Barry added: “Since Thursday, the car park has been pretty full. A lot of Skem people who normally shop at Asda or the Conner [have come to Lidl], but we have seen a lot of new faces. Thursday when it opened people were queuing up for 40 minutes. “
‘It will open it up’
Margaret Donnelly, who had just finished shopping with her partner, said she thinks the development “will open” Skem up. Like others the ECHO spoke to, the 73-year-old said there is a lack of range at the moment.
She said: “I mean this will open it up and I like the area for sitting when the weather gets nice and it will do for the students as well.
“We have got nothing here. We go to Aintree for Marks and Next, but there’s not much there because everyone is shopping online and we do not have apps or anything like that, so I can not really do anything online. ”
‘Many residents thought it would not happen’
Rosie Cooper, MP for West Lancashire, was one of those to open Tawd Valley Center in a formal ceremony. She said the opening of this development will hopefully lead to new leisure and wellbeing hub.
She said “” Skelmersdale has waited a long time, so it’s great to see that a new town center has finally started to appear. Many residents thought it would never happen but here it is, the first part – soon hopefully to be followed by a new leisure and wellbeing Hub.
“I will continue to push for more retail, family restaurants and everything else that new Skelmersdale Town Center needs.”
Councilor Yvonne Gagen, Leader of West Lancashire Borough Council, added: “This is a very important day, not just for the people of Skelmersdale, but West Lancashire as a whole. The new town center development will bring economic and social benefits for the borough’s communities long into the future and will greatly enhance Borough’s appeal as a great place to live, work and invest, providing increased opportunities for many. “
“This development is a significant step towards a future where everyone in West Lancashire will be able to take advantage of a positive economic outlook and vastly improved health and wellbeing outcomes. The people of West Lancashire deserve this and I’m delighted we have delivered it . “
West Lancashire Council said talks with a third retailer are in the final stages and the area opposite the retail park has been upgraded to include a new play area in Tawd Valley Park for families to explore. It added a new high street now links West Lancashire College with the rest of the town center.
Improvements will also be made to the public areas outside Skelmersdale Library to make them more attractive spaces for people to enjoy, the council said. Minister for Leveling Up, Neil O’Brien MP, said: ” Supported by £ 2 million from the government Growth Deal, Skelmersdale’s new and improved town center will help deliver opportunity and prosperity for all.
“With new retailers already opening up, the Tawd Valley Center will serve as a shining example of leveling up in action in West Lancashire.”
The town center redevelopment scheme has been a partnership between the Borough Council and developer St. Modwen, supported by the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership’s Growth Deal Fund. Construction partners for the project have been Caddick Construction.
The new town center complex is part of the regeneration plan for Skelmersdale. This also includes drawing up a detailed masterplan for the site of the former Glenburn Sports College, part of which has been set aside for a new railway station, the council also said.


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MacBook Air (2013) announced at WWDC 2013
Earlier this morning, there are two different events that have captured the attention of millions of people around the globe – at least from the tech perspective. First, there is E3 in Los Angeles that can be said to be the mecca of all video game news and releases on an annual basis, and for fans of the bitten fruit, you would have overcome your gaming cravings to tune in to what Tim Cook has to say at WWDC 2013 in San Francisco. Well, it seems that your patience to see what new hardware has Apple cooked up this time around has paid off, with Cupertino announcing that there is a new MacBook Air model in the market to keep up with the times.
Needless to say, the MacBook Air has been long overdue for a revision, and Phil Schiller, Apple’s head of marketing, took up the responsibility to unveil a couple of newer models. These will not be immediately available, although you will be able to place an order for them this coming Monday, with prices starting at the usual $999 point. Needless to say, you won’t find too many folks picking up the soon-to-be-obsolete MacBook Air between today and next Monday, as this is the chance to exercise patience and experience the proverb, “good things come to those who wait.”
Just what kind of hardware improvements will the new generation MacBook Air models bring? We are looking at an all day battery life, fourth generation Intel Core processors with faster graphics, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and flash storage which has been touted to be up to 45% faster compared to its previous generation. The 13″ MacBook Air will start from a new lower price of $1,099, which would certainly make it more accessible to the masses as Apple does their bit to fend off the growing Ultrabook market that runs on Windows 8.
We are looking at 9 and 12 hours of battery life for the 11″ and 13″ MacBook Air models, respectively, with support for next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi thrown in alongside the new Intel HD Graphics 5000 chipset which allows the MacBook Air to enjoy up to 40% faster performance for gaming and graphics intensive apps. Other hardware specifications include dual microphones, a FaceTime HD camera, a high-speed Thunderbolt port and a couple of USB 3.0 ports, with dual display support and video mirroring thrown in for good measure.

domain: news


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A big thanks to SMP DaiRenOh’s success!
This is a piece of great news for all Super Sentai Super Mini-Pla (SMP) collectors! Pre-orders of SMP DaiRenOh this year have been very successful and reached another milestone and to celebrate this new achievement in Bandai’s Super Sentai SMP line, Bandai is announcing another resale from its previous Super Sentai SMP lines.
Bandai Japan is going to resale another set of Super Sentai SMP lines that haven’t been included on previous resales last year. First on the list is a 90s classic Chojin Sentai Jetman‘s Jet Icarus and Jet Garuda, both of which are expected to release in January 2024. Next is the retro Sentai robo, the SMP Sun Vulcan Robo from Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan, and the Jaguar Vulcan, carrier of the Sun Vulcan robo, will be available as well. The Sun Vulcan SMP Collection will be available in November 2023. And lastly, Denji Sentai Megaranger‘s (aka Power Rangers in Space Galaxy) Galaxy Mega (Astro Megazord) and Delta Mega (Delta Megazord) will be available as sets and slated to release on September 20, 2023.
Chojin Sentai Jetman
Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan
Denji Sentai Megaranger
But the good news doesn’t stop there! There are rumors that Bandai Japan is expected to release Shodo Jetman and/or Tetra Boy this year. For the meantime, if you haven’t grab those SMP before, like me, now it’s our chance to get them once more.
Source: Bandai Hatena Blog


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The CBDCs can help in reducing operational costs in physical cash management, foster financial inclusion, and bring further innovation in the payments system without risks
The digital wallet didn't even last a year but Meta says it will introduce new products such as digital collectibles
"UPI is operational now, and we are monitoring system closely," the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said.
Money transfer facilities such as NEFT and RTGS have also been extended to non-bank payment system operators such as Paytm, PhonePe and others
The payments startup is targeting to file for the draft IPO prospectus by May 2021 that may valve the firm at more than $1 billion. It is willing to hold a pre-IPO funding round, which may give it a valuation of about $700 million, a Bloomberg report has said.
Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in the email that Uber will "deprioritize" several of its finance-related projects, which included credit cards, a digital wallet and instant payments for drivers, the report on Thursday added.
WhatsApp’s acceptance and popularity among Indians is a key advantage for its payment offering Whatsapp Pay
One of the scammers, who identified himself as Deepak Mishra, claimed to be a staff of the restaurant, and way led the unsuspecting callers
Consolidation is unavoidable in India's payments space. Smaller firms like MobiKwik will struggle because India’s digital payments business is still dominated by cashback offers.
Walmart has truly unlocked value in PhonePe. But its success as a spin-off solely depends on how much money it manages to raise from investors, including Walmart, and for how long.
In its fourth investment in two years, Amazon has pumped in Rs 230 crore or $34 million into its Indian digital payments arm
It will offer features such as bank-to-bank, wallet-to-wallet money transfer and mobile recharge options right from the app itself.
"Idea Money has partnered with ShopClues to sell products through its Retailer Assisted Model (RAM) via local retailers. The partnership will help millions of on ground customers who may not have access to the internet, to make easy, convenient and secure purchase transactions," Idea Money and ShopClues said in a joint statement.
HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri on Friday criticised mobile wallet players as they operate on models that are not profitable.
While smartphone penetration is increasing in the country, there is a vast majority of mobile users who don't have access to Internet and still operate on feature phones. In this scenario, USSD based transactions become crucial in enabling digital payments.
After Airtel, Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank is set to launch its services in the first half of 2017.
According to a report in DNA, e-wallet companies charge customers when they transfer money from their wallet to banks. The fee ranges from 1-3 percent. The charges are for non-KYC users. Wallet biggies are taking steps to waive them off.
Markets watchdog Sebi is looking to allow investors to buy mutual funds through digital wallets in the wake of the government's plan of boosting digital transactions.
Before treading the digital wallet path, a user should know why or for what purpose he is using the e-wallet and choose the right one.
"There are lot of people who are unable to transact online because they don't have a debit or credit card. Through this partnership, we are enabling Oxigen wallet to generate a virtual Visa pre-paid card whenever they want an online transaction," Oxigen Services Chairman and Managing Director Pramod Saxena told agency.
Visa Inc has no plans to implement a "digital wallet" fee at this point, Jim McCarthy, global head of product at the payment network, said on Thursday.
Smart IT is driving modifications in every step of our travel: From the way we plan it, to the way we go through it, and what we do after it. The pace of innovation is frenetic. Here‘s a quick sampler of changes in progress.
EBay Inc shares hit a new low for 2013 on Monday as concern mounted about the impact of a new "digital wallet" fee on the company's PayPal business.


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If you're a parent you know how great an excuse having kids is for pretty much anything. Don't want to go to a particular event? Blame the kids. Want to go home early? Blame the kids. Want to spend less on tickets for a flight or amusement park? Lie and say your kids are younger than they actually are.
According to a recent poll, a third of parents have lied about their kids’ ages to get discount tickets on travel and events. And get this ... 1 in 10 parents have actually taught their child to lie if asked about their age before a specific traveling engagement or event.
The poll also found that dads are more likely to lie and ask their kids to go along with the fib than moms, but 25 percent of all parents think it's completely acceptable to do. They even make their kids look younger to really pull it off!


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Nike continues to draw in sneaker fans and activewear lovers.
The retailer reported revenue of $12.4 billion for its third fiscal quarter of 2023, beating analysts' predictions of $11.47 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates. The company also reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.79, compared with the $0.55 analysts expected.
Additionally, the company reported that revenue rose 14% compared with the year-earlier period.
For several years, Nike has worked to expand its ability to sell directly to consumers rather than through other retailers. This has included increasing its digital sales, building experiential stores and bolstering its loyalty program.
Nike Direct, the company's direct-to-consumer brand, sales rose by 17% during the holiday quarter to $5.3 billion, according to its quarterly report. Nike Brand Digital sales were up 20%.
But you'll still be able to find Nike products outside of the company's own stores and website.
In January, Nike CEO John Donahoe told CNBC that wholesalers remain "very, very important" to the company.
"Consumers in this day and age want to get what they want, when they want it, how they want it, and in our industry, they've been very clear they want a premium and consistent shopping experience regardless of channel," he said.
To that point, Foot Locker touted a "revitalized" relationship with Nike during its "2023 Investor Day" presentation on March 20, saying the partnership is complementary to Nike's direct-to-consumer strategy.
Nike reported its fiscal third-quarter results after the bell on March 21. The following day, shares declined slightly by almost 5% and ended the trading session at $119.50 per share.
Here's how much money you'd have as of March 22 if you had invested $1,000 into the company one, five and 10 years ago.
If you had invested $1,000 into Nike a year ago, your investment would be worth about $908 as of March 22, according to CNBC's calculations.
If you had invested $1,000 into Nike five years ago, your investment would have nearly doubled to $1,937 as of March 22, according to CNBC's calculations.
And if you had put $1,000 into Nike a decade ago, it would have more than quadrupled to $4,293 as of March 22, according to CNBC's calculations.
Remember, there isn't an infallible way to predict how the stock market may behave in the future. Just because a stock is performing well currently doesn't necessarily mean it will continue to do so going forward.
Instead of picking stocks to invest in one-by-one, a more hands-off investment strategy tends to make sense for most investors. A popular way to start is by investing in low-cost index funds such as the S&P 500, which is a market index that tracks the stock performance of the 500 largest, publicly-traded companies in the U.S.
Experts typically recommend this strategy because it can diversify your portfolio by adding exposure to a wide array of companies.
As of March 22, the S&P 500 declined slightly by close to 13% over 12 months, according to CNBC's calculations. However, the index has risen by about 49% since 2018 and grown by about 153% since 2013.
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Take a tip from successful Germans to rebalance economy towards higher exports, says BCC
The British Chambers of Commerce is calling for a ‘cultural change’ in our approach to international trade.
If export support matched that provided in countries such as Germany, Britain’s £100billion goods trade deficit could be offset, it says.
The BCC today released the results of an international trade survey. It highlights the untapped potential of businesses in the service sector to rebalance the economy towards exports.
Export lessons: Germany spends ten times more on its bilateral Chamber Network than the UK
The results, collated from more than 1,565 service-sector firms, showed that 18 per cent were on the verge of exporting.
John Longworth, director-general of the BCC, said: ‘The services sector could hold the key to unleashing the export potential of the UK – with its large trade surplus playing a significant role in offsetting the UK’s goods trade deficit.
‘This proves that the sector is strong, but if we can convert the remaining untapped export potential into a reality, it could go a long way towards eliminating the UK’s trade deficit by 2020.
‘We need a culture change in the UK when it comes to international trade. This means more investment, stronger language skills and a global mindset being instilled in people from a much younger age. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be matching the level of export support provided by our major international competitors, such as Germany, which spends ten times more on its bilateral Chamber Network than the UK.’
More than a quarter of service-sector exporters reported that language and cultural differences were a barrier to exporting.
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That's the ReNu, a portable solar panel designed for the mass market, for powering personal electronics like iPhones, music players, and desk lamps due to hit the shelves in June 2010. Reena Jana interviews Robert Brunner, Chief Designer on his tactics, and he shares 3 tips for innovation. Here's a snippet,
But they didn't ask them what they wanted in such products. They asked them more broadly about their experiences in conserving power.
Friends told them about the situations when they were acutely aware of power supply. For example, "when they used their laptops on planes, they started looking at power differently," Brunner said. "They paid more attention to the battery symbol on their screens." An investor had his own moments of not taking energy for granted: "He said he is most aware of power sources is when he is sailing," Thinking of such moments when people are focused on energy use, ReGen's designers paid particular attention to their products' charge-level displays, making them eye-catching and easy-to-interpret. By putting usage on display, the unobtrusive interface influences consumers' energy consumption habits with everyday home gadgets, and is hailed as one of ReNu's most innovative features.
It was being acutely aware of power shortages after his recent move to Kenya from Florida, that led Erik Hersman to uncover some solar powered alternatives available in the local market.
This is the ToughStuff solar panel that comes with accessories to charge mobile phones, radios and even fake D-cell batteries that take direct input from the panel to allow for flexibility of use such as at night.


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These days, online shopping is often at the forefront of discussion, as companies and consumers have adjusted to life in a world of COVID-19. However, it’s not enough to simply know that online shopping is happening. The question of where consumers go when shopping for products online illuminates a much larger trend.
CivicScience asked more than 2,200 Americans about their online shopping habits–specifically where they start when shopping for a product. As the data show, 47% of respondents start on Amazon, nearly the same percentage reported in a prior survey last June.
Loyal Amazon Fans
Unsurprisingly, those with a Prime membership are most likely to start their search at Amazon, as well. Whether this is due to the appeal of free shipping or the convenience of finding many items in one place, what is clear is that the Amazon loyalty runs deep.
That loyalty is especially strong among adults 25-54 years old, potentially due to the fact that younger Americans may have less buying power, and older Americans simply are not shopping online as much.
A Correlation With Increased Online Shopping
Another key factor for turning to Amazon first is the impact of the coronavirus. Those who report shopping online more and less, respectively, as a result of the pandemic are starting at Amazon. The fact that Amazon is the starting place for the majority of both frequent and less frequent shoppers illuminates the brand reputation Amazon has established, as well as the strong appeal of a site that appears to offer everything.
Amazon Appeals to the Brand-Loyal
While Amazon is known for its aggregation of countless brands across all sectors, what it may also be known for is its ability to make favored brands accessible. After all, those who say brand is more important than price are more likely to start their search on Amazon. This suggests that the site could be making it easier for brand-conscious shoppers to find all of their favorite brands in one convenient place.
Ultimately, Americans still, largely, begin shopping for products at Amazon. Although this has decreased slightly in the past six months, there are still several variables that increase the chances of starting there. While Amazon loyalty–such as having a Prime membership–can play a role, so does age, the various effects of COVID-19, and a consumers allegiance to particular brands. Make no mistake, Google is still alive and well, but for companies looking to catch the attention of online shoppers in 2020, Amazon is the place to be.
Our clients have access to consumer sentiment and behavioral trends that we don’t publish on our blog. Sign up for a demo to unlock consumer insights you can’t find anywhere else!


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RIS benchmarks the state of the retail supply chain, identifies technologies that are keys to success, and recommends ways retailers can build a supply chain of the future that ensures resiliency against the next major disruption.
The growing e-waste problem isn’t slowing down any time soon. If retailers act now to create and promote e-recycling programs while making their returns process more sustainable, they can dramatically reduce e-waste and environmental impacts.
Target has unveiled its new sustainability strategy, Target Forward, in which it aims to be a leader for creating and curating inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences by 2030 and commits to being a net zero enterprise by 2040.
Online retail sales in the U.S. may have broken new records during Amazon’s Prime Day, while Amazon said the shopping holiday was the biggest two-day period yet for its third party sellers. Learn how retailers can capture booming e-commerce sales.


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What’s trending this time of year? In a word, words
Friday, January 03, 2020
As a new year starts, you’ve heard about plenty “of-the-years.” They must be important. They get so much airtime and are shared ceaselessly on social media, a lot of times by the very brands that are being honored.
Besides the newsmakers of the year and the booming businesses of the year, a few other off-the-beaten-path declarations make the media rounds this time of year.
We apparently talk a lot, so much so that we have more than one Word of the Year. Or should that be “words” of the year? At least three dominant sources provide us the Word of the Year, but they don’t agree on what it is. For one of them, the Word of the Year is actually “words.”
Oxford Dictionaries, which brings attention to phrase that illustrates the mood, selected “climate emergency” as its prize-winner this year, as reported by The New York Times. It makes sense that a company of writers and editors would have their finger on the pulse of a noted dictionary. Those professionals are not alone in tracking such information, though.
Merriam-Webster, another dictionary company, tabbed “they” as its word of the year. We know this in part because news networks such as CNN thought it important enough to inform us. That network couldn’t get enough of words, apparently, because a week earlier, CNN had told us that “existential” was the Word of the Year, according to Dictionary.com. Communicators use a lot of words every year, so it makes sense to have room for three Words of the Year.
If words are too serious for you at this time of year, you can turn to cash. Australia led the field of nominees for the Coin of the Year competition, according to the Numismatic News. That’s not quite on the level of coverage given by CNN and The New York Times, but coins are something we can all wrap our heads — and hands — around. According to the website, a committee took two days to whittle the field of more than 1,000 nominated to 100, representing 10 categories.
Physics World got in the game, too, announcing its Breakthrough of the Year finalists. The leaders were identified through “hundreds of research updates published on the website” during 2019, Physics World reported.
It doesn’t end there. Wine & Spirits magazine puts forth its Importers of the Year, which the website says are based on award presentations. Curious about the horse racing photographer of the year? You can view his work on CNN’s website.
The public can even have a hand in the selection of one award. Musikmesse sought nominations for its “most unusual musical instrument of the year.” Given the company this declaration is among, it might not be the “most unusual announcement of an unusual announcement of the year.”
If you’re starting the new year feeling blue, you’re not alone. A lot of people might not be aware that annually we are granted a Color of the Year. This year — for 2020, that is — it’s Classic Blue. We know this because it’s touted by esteemed and established publications like The Washington Post and Time magazine, and the major networks. That’s a coup for the Pantone Color Institute, which picks the color of the year and disseminates the choice through the media.
If this kind of information makes you roll your eyes, or shake your head, feel free to express those emotions — maybe with one of Giphy’s Top 25 most-viewed GIFs of the year. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but Word of the Year can be contained in one choice, while GIFs need 25 selections.
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LIVERPOOL-BASED video games firm Playbox Games has become one of only a handful of firm's around the world to win approval from Nintendo to design games for its new Wii console.
The news followed a meeting between Playbox and senior Nintendo managers during a trade mission to Japan organised by the International Trade Centre for Greater Merseyside (ITC).
Nintendo's Wii is the fastest selling games console and the company applies strict criteria before it places games developers on its approved list.
Those on the list, including Playbox, get privileged access to the software used on the console.
Playbox is also discussing projects with another of the video game world's biggest names. Capcom, which created the best-selling Street Fighter and Resident Evil games, has recently made a visit to see the studio after a successful meeting in Japan.
Managing director Gary Nichols said recognition from both Nintendo and Capcom was "another great step forward" for Playbox. The company was only founded in 2004 and employs six full-time staff at its offices on the Liverpool Science Park.
It has outlined plans to become one of the leading independent game designers in Liverpool, having already worked with other major gaming companies, such as Sega, Sony and Telcogames.
Mr Nichols added: "Because Wii is such a new product, Nintendo is being fairly restrictive about the number of companies it's allowing to work on game development so getting approval is fantastic for us.
"After one meeting in Japan, Capcom travelled to Liverpool to see us and we're both keen to see what we can create together."
Nintendo sold more than 1.5m Wii consoles worldwide in the week after it went on sale at the start of December.
The trips to Japan took in a visit to the Tokyo Games Show and saw meetings arranged for Playbox by ITC trade adviser Margaret Bourke with the help of the British consulate in Osaka.
She said: "It was unusual to be given such access to such major names in the computer game industry but it illustrates the sort of connections which we can call on for Merseyside firms.
"Playbox has a lot of talent and momentum in its favour. We believe it's really important for companies like it to explore opportunities presented by the major international shows."


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Why 'antibiotic free' could be a dangerous USP
11th Oct 2016 / By Alistair Driver
NPA chief executive Zoe Davies has warned that the concept of ‘antibiotic free’ meat could have dangerous unintended consequences if it was mishandled.
In her October column for Pig World, which can be read here, Zoe outlines some of the key findings from a recent international conference about global antibiotic use in livestock at the Hague, in Holland.
She wrote that all the 30 or so countries represented had some kind of a plan as to how they were going to deal with the issue of antibiotic resistance (AMR) in humans and livestock.
“Of course the myriad of antibiotic stewardship plans that we heard about are only any good if they are acted upon, and many have challenges to overcome,” Zoe wrote.
For example, in the US, of the 500,000 beef farmers, around half never see a vet but the FDA has brought many products under veterinary control so they need a prescription. They are faced with the distinct possibility they really don’t have enough vets to write all the scripts, Zoe said.
She added: “In addition, they are only banning ‘medically’ important drugs to human health for use as growth promoters, which bizarrely at the moment don’t include colistin, while many others will continue to be used. Still, at least they won’t be able to purchase medicated feed from the local farm stores anymore!”
China, with 52 million sows, has a big task ahead to reduce the estimated 80,000 tonnes of antibiotics used.
“They have however committed in their action plan to strengthen the supervision of antibiotics, ban the use of critically important drugs and, as of March, have banned colistin as a growth promoter,” Zoe wrote.
The hotly debated topic of branding meat as ‘antibiotic free’ also came up at the conference.
One presentation showed that in the US, 780 million more birds would be needed to manage the demand for antibiotic free chicken as the current mortality rate was around 50 per cent higher than conventional.
She added: “Those birds would need to eat 6mt of feed and 3bn litres more water – so not a great environmental footprint! Mention was made of people euthanasing stock rather than treating them which of course would not be acceptable for large herds/flocks.
“The general consensus was that this USP being used by food service and retailers was dangerous and needed spelling out to them.
“Needless to say we’ve already started in the UK – fine for smaller contracts where people can manage with a good premium but certainly not something we would encourage as the accepted norm for retail!”


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The onslaught of COVID-19 has precipitated a more intensified focus on the relevance of preventive health in our everyday lives. The scarred memories of the virus even after it is long gone would necessarily play on people’s minds effecting a life-changing shift to preventive health as a part of larger lifestyle adaptation strategy. With Covid-dictated postponement of routine medical visits and a vastly-improved healthcare-related knowledge among lay people, nutraceuticals would come to constitute a critical ‘peacetime weapon’ as opposed to ‘wartime weapons’ of regular drugs and medicines. Attesting to this, an interview with 50 leading doctors reveals that there has been about 20% increase in prescription for nutraceuticals. That there are already nearly 4,000 nutraceutical startups including 375 focused on active nutraceutical ingredients (ANI) in the country is a hugely promising sign.
How nutraceuticals are a weapon for preventive health Nutraceuticals are widely known to boost immune systems and serve as supplements to the regular diet in order to tide over the nutritional deficiencies of the body. They are also a precautionary answer to several lifestyle diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs), each of which is preventable in nature. For instance, to ward off diseases of cholesterol and heart, edible oils have been increasingly used as a high PUFA food. What is noteworthy is that several nutraceuticals provide protection against degenerative processes and even cancer of various kinds.
India’s ‘first-mover-advantage’ for nutraceuticals: the numbers & the ranks say it all Lying at the intersection of food, medicine and technology, nutraceuticals have expanded the frontiers of drugs and medicines going beyond into dietary supplements and functional food and beverages space. As such, it envisages a multi-disciplinary approach involving agritech, chemical engineering, biotechnology and drug manufacturing technologies, among others.
The extraordinarily vast agricultural base: Agri-tech & food processing new stars on the horizon
With 127 agro-climate zones in India providing a fertile ground for plant-based edibles, our food/agriculture base is phenomenal. While ranking among the 4 largest food producers in the world, it is the largest producer of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric black pepper and coffee. Then apart from being the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, it is also the biggest producer, consumer, and exporter of spices in the world. Furthermore, India is the second largest producer of staple food. In recent years, drawing on this enormous base, the sector has witnessed the rise of over 450 agri-tech startups attracting investments from some of the top global venture capital funds.For domestic investment, the IIM Ahmadabad-based Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship has notably invested in a startup aimed at facilitating precision agriculture for nutraceuticals with an eye on supplying high quality raw material with bioactive ingredients intact to the nutraceutical manufacturers. An EY report says that India’s agri-tech industry has the potential to touch $24 billion in the next five years. At the same time, the food processing industry is the fifth largest sector of the country's economy contributing to 13% of GDP and 10% of exports and is estimated to attract an investment of $33 billion in the next 5 years.
‘Renaissance’ of Ayurvedic and herbal products setting the stage for nutraceuticals Building on a rich heritage of Ayurvedic and herbal product consumption, a part of our food and culture since time immemorial, the recent decade has seen an upsurge of new-age branded Ayurvedic and herbal nutraceuticals and supplements offered by both healthcare and FMCG companies. Being among the most biodiverse countries in the world, India hosts over 8,000 medicinal plants used for preparing herbal medicines and is one of the largest suppliers of herbal extracts and raw material for the dietary supplement market worldwide. Incidentally, a major portion of medicinal herbs exports goes to other rich biodiverse countries such as the US and China underlining the exclusivity and the uniqueness of our plants. Additionally, with a large army of over 8,35,000 organic farmers, India is also the second largest exporter of organic products, signalling our potential for nutraceuticals.
The colossal pharma manufacturing & research base: ready-for-nutraceuticals India is not only the largest provider of generic drugs globally, but also supplies over 50% of global demand for various vaccines. With 1400 WHO-GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) approved pharma plants, 253 European Directorate of Quality Medicines (EDQM) approved plants, and the largest number of US-FDA compliant pharma plants outside of USA, it boasts of a formidable pharma manufacturing base. In terms of facilities, the country has more than 3,000 pharma companies with a network of over 10,500 manufacturing facilities. These same facilities could be tapped to produce nutraceuticals given that the foundational infrastructure for production of both drugs and nutraceuticals would not differ much with the latter using several of the same technologies as the pharma industry. With Contract Research and Manufacturing Services (CRAMs) gaining traction, India has emerged as a global hub for low-cost high-end research services aided by an impressive pool of skilled manpower. The country has 108 large contract manufacturers in nutraceuticals. That India also has a thriving biotechnology ecosystem worked by over 2700 start-ups and 2500 companies is another huge advantage. The recent drive to scale up domestic manufacturing of APIs and medical devices has been noteworthy and could well be replicated for nutraceuticals too.
Given the increasingly narrow profit margins on pharma products, some companies have even begun to downsize their pharma portfolio in favour of a more expanded nutraceutical portfolio. Although the profit margins on nutraceuticals are lower than pharma products, the R&D component on pharma involves far more investment than nutraceuticals.
The growing role of food and FMCG companies Not only has there been an increased collaboration between the FMCG and the pharma sector, several FMCG players have even set up research centers to scientifically validate their nutraceuticals products. A few have even steered their product development programmes based on first-hand research and identification of micronutrients deficiency among target populations.
The way forward First, although the government has periodically streamlined regulations defining nutraceuticals and other related substances, prescribing standards for fortification in terms of quantity of nutrients and mandating carrying of detailed information about their composition and claims, these regulations need to be further tightened as well as elevated to international standards.
Second, government could support through subsidies for land and utilities for building of huge incubation parks for nutraceuticals. Telangana government taking a step in this connection must be emulated elsewhere.
Third, companies taking initiatives on nutraceuticals must be incentivized through policy, tax support and subsidies. For instance, the GST rates on nutraceuticals products could be brought down to 12 from 28 and 18 percent.
Fourth, export/import duties must be rationalised in a way that allows room for local ingredient manufacturers to develop.
Fifth, nutraceuticals could even be compulsorily included as part of diet for midday meal programmes for public and municipal schools.
There are a few large companies supply nutra ingredient to some of the best nutraceuticals companies in the world and government should draw upon that success to encourage newer players. In sum, if India can be the ‘pharmacy of the world’, nothing can stop it from becoming a nutraceuticals manufacturing powerhouse supplying to the rest of the world.
At present, it has nearly 8,300 beds across 28 hospitals. Negotiations between Manipal and Emami had started in 2018 and, last year, Manipal had agreed to buy AMRI for ₹1,800 crore. But the Kolkata-based Emami Group backed out from the agreement, causing Manipal to initiate arbitration proceedings.
The Union Health Ministry stated in Parliament today that there is a 71 per cent increase in medical colleges from 387 before 2014 to 660 as of now. Indicated that 101,043 seats are currently available, up from 51,348 in 2014, of which 52,778 are in government medical institutions and the remaining 48,265 are in private medical colleges.


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Japan Set for Recovery
By: Briony Davies
Posted: August 7, 2006, from the August 2006 issue of GCI Magazine.
page 4 of 4
With forecast sales growth of 12% to 2010, the future is brighter for Japanese cosmetics and toiletries due to the recovering economic climate. However, the market remains mature and highly competitive. Euromonitor International believes that innovation is key to sustaining expansion of the market. As consumer confidence increases, premium products with multiple benefits will fare well, and could take share from mass brands. The aging population will be a boon for manufacturers, as many Japanese are due to reach retirement in the next five years. These consumers will be increasingly keen to pay for products that cater specifically for their needs. Cosmetics and toiletries players cannot rely on this group, however, and must continue strategies of widening their consumer base to include ’tweens, teens and men.
Observation of developments in other mature markets, such as the increased demand for natural products, will enable companies to secure sales. Noevir Co. Ltd.’s research department has found that brown sugar has an antiaging effect and increases cell renewal activity. Following this finding, brown sugar could be the new hit ingredient in cosmetics and toiletries in Japan. Market entry for new players will prove a struggle, as cosmetics and toiletries will continue to be dominated by domestic manufacturers over the forecast period. With deep understanding of local consumer behaviors and long-term experiences in Japan, the current leading manufacturers will keep on performing well. Their strong distribution networks and marketing strategies also are advantages with which foreign manufacturers will find it hard to compete.


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China imported a new record amount of barley in November this year as feed makers sought cheaper alternatives amid slumping corn imports.
Barley imports into China topped 1.53 million tons last month, surpassing the previous record of 1.51 million tons in September 2021, according to data from China Customs.
China’s November barley imports was up 38% year on year and was almost 16% higher from the previous month.
As barley imports spiked during November, corn and sorghum imports slumped. Corn imports in November this year plunged 36% on the year to 790,000 tons, reaching the lowest level since May 2020. The volume nearly halved month on month.
For sorghum, imports in November totalled 530,000 tons down more than 36% from the previous month, but still more than doubled year on year.
Feed grain imports into China all rose sharply in the past two years as the world’s largest hog producing country shrugged off the impact of African swine fever (ASF) and rapidly rebuilt its herd to pre-ASF level.
Corn, barley, and sorghum are commonly used as a key ingredient of energy source in animal feed. As the price of one type rises, feed makers would typically swap for others as a cheaper alternative.
Though wheat has not been a predominant choice in animal feed use given that China prioritizes the grain for rationing, the crop was a popular substitute to corn this year as feed markers blend them with low quality corn to meet national inspection standards.


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It is commonly stated that family meals help maintain positive eating habits among children, but a recent study debunks that long-held finding.
Drinking just one sugar-sweetened soft drink a day can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 22 percent, a new study suggests.
If Mayor Michael Bloomberg's soda ban does pass, it may do more harm than good, according to a new study.
With more than one-third of obese adults in the United States, there appears to be some good news in the obesity battle. American consumption of soda has been on the decline since 2005, and fell to its lowest level last year since 1996.
The consumption of sugary sodas has been linked to 25,000 deaths in the United States in 2010, and 180,000 worldwide, according to a new study released Tuesday.
A state supreme court justice overturn the New York City ban on sugary drinks sold in containers larger than 16 ounces.
The move has been controversial and drawn attention from the nation.
A new study found that sugar intake may be the leading cause of type 2 diabetes.
New York City Mayor Bloomberg asks for a state-wide ban on selling sugary drinks in containers holding 16 ounces or more.
About 75 percent of Californians believe that regularly drinking sodas like Coke, Pepsi, and mountain Dew can increase in a person's chances of being overweight and two-thirds (68 percent) of the voters say that they'd support soda tax if the proceeds go for improving kids' health at school, according to results from Field Poll announced on Thursday.
Move aside coffee, tea, milk and orange juice. Mountain Dew is introducing to the world "a new way to do mornings" with Kickstart, a bubbly fruit-flavored Mountain Dew beverage made with 5 percent juice, B and C vitamins and "just the right amount" of caffeine.
Fruits drinks and diet sodas that have been sweetened with artificial sweeteners raise the risk of diabetes type-2 in women than those that have regular table sugar, according to a study based on more than 60,000 French women.
Soda tastes great, but drinking too much of it can lead all sorts of problems like depression, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or blood poisoning and severe tooth decay and a 25-year-old Australian man with dentures is a classic case in point.


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The brains behind a device that alleviates menstrual cramps could reasonably expect strong demand for his product. But when Zvi Nachum developed the technology in 1998, he struggled to turn his creation into a profitable business.
Zvi, an Israeli inventor who got the idea from seeing his wife and daughter suffer with period pains, worked with Beilinson Hospital – now known as Rabin Medical Center – in Petah Tikva, Israel, to research and develop the device. Like a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit, it sends vibrations that travel faster to the brain than pain, reducing or blocking the uncomfortable sensations caused by menstrual cramps.
Unfortunately for Zvi, the product was ahead of its time. “The technology wasn’t available to develop a device small enough for women to wear discreetly on their stomachs,” says Chen Nachum, Livia CEO and Zvi’s son. “You couldn’t expect them to carry something the size of a radio cassette player, which it was back then.”
The small number of advertising channels was another reason to put Livia – the name given to the device following its rebranding in 2015 – on hold during the late 90s and early 2000s. “Marketing opportunities today are very different to what they were 20 years ago,” Chen says. “You can now reach so many people worldwide. Back then, you had to advertise through TV, radio and magazines, which was incredibly expensive.”
After nearly two decades, Zvi teamed up with his tech entrepreneur son to have another crack at making Livia a success. “We carried out a market research project to see if this was a viable business,” Chen says.
The duo created a mock advert to promote the device on Facebook. People clicking on the ad were redirected to a website where they could ‘buy’ Livia for US$149 (£114) – even though the product didn’t exist. The image showed a new, smaller prototype that Zvi was still developing. When ‘purchasing’ the device, Facebook users reached a payment window telling them the item was out of stock.
“I ran that experiment for two weeks to see if we could sell 30–40 units,” Chen says. “We sold 54 in just the first week, showing there was demand for it. Our initial budget when we started working together was $5,000 (£3,826), some of which I’d spent on the Facebook ad, so we pitched the idea to friends and family and raised $200,000 (£153,000).”
Most of the capital was spent on 20 prototypes, which Chen sent to magazines, newspapers and websites such as Cosmopolitan, SheKnows, BuzzFeed, MailOnline, The Next Web and Seventeen. “I couldn’t test it,” says Chen, “so I mailed it to women who could to see if the device worked. They would either say ‘it’s great’ and sales of Livia would skyrocket, or call it crap and I’d know not to waste my time with this venture.”
The feedback was generally positive, with some media outlets giving Livia rave reviews. From there, Chen and his father launched a crowdfunder on Indiegogo in 2016, raising $1.7 million (£1.3 million). They then began mass production as part of their plan to distribute the device internationally. Getting approval to sell in the US, Canada and Europe from the FDA (Food and Administration), Health Canada and European Economic Area respectively was a major breakthrough – and Zvi and Chen’s biggest challenge.
“The regulations are very tough and it’s difficult to get approval,” Chen says. “We want to distribute Livia in China; we have the channels and distributors in place but we don’t have CFDA (China Food and Drug Administration) approval. You have to start investing in a market before acquiring the certificate that allows you to sell there. Getting approval is a really lengthy process, which screws up your timeline and your ability to push forward.”
Chen estimates that the business has sold nearly 100,000 devices – “way more than I expected” – since 2016. In that time, he and Zvi have developed and upgraded their website, established a network of distributors in France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada and China, and opened a warehouse in the US from which customers get the product within three days of ordering.
“We used to distribute from Israel, but that took three to four weeks,” Chen says. “That timespan makes a big difference for a woman who can get the product quickly when close to having her period.”
Livia’s growth was recognised at the 2018 Real Innovation Awards. Zvi won the If At First You Don’t Succeed category, which celebrates an organisation or individual who recovered from a setback with their venture by using that disappointment to achieve a successful outcome. The company also won the Gold for Women’s Wellbeing at the 2018 Edison Awards.
The father-son team are now working on the second iteration of Livia, which will provide women updates on their ovulation calculator and menstrual cycle through their mobile phones or tablets. They are also developing another device that increases the intensity of the vibrations for endometriosis sufferers.
“Livia has more than 20 levels of intensity, with level 8 being high enough for most women,” Chen says. “But users with endometriosis can get to level 24 and still need more, so our new device will help alleviate their discomfort.”
Few people had heard of the company when Zvi first launched Livia in 1998. But it’s now making a name for itself more than 20 years later – proof that persistence really does pay off.
The Real Innovation Awards 2019 is under way, nominate now.
The Real Innovation Awards is an annual ceremony celebrating business innovation around the world, hosted by the London Business School’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE).


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Oh, what a five years it has been!
On October 20, 2009, Warren Buffet (via a recorded video interview) helped us launch a new way to talk about “What’s Next” in an ecosystem that was just beginning to pay attention to the power of the mobile device, the cloud and data in transforming how consumers shopped and paid for their purchases. That mantra was one that MPD’s Founder, David Evans, had been talking about for a while and introduced formally to the payments community on September 15, 2008 at a Brookings Institution forum on emerging payments. The occasion that day was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launch of the American Express charge card. After Ken Chenault delivered his address, Evans described a world that would be forever changed by the mashup of these three powerful forces.
Today we celebrate not only the 5th birthday of PYMNTS.com but the launch of a mobile payments scheme that has helped to galvanize and make very tangible that conversation: Apple Pay.
[By the way, if you think that organizing dozens of merchants, the major card brands and hundreds of issuers was tough to pull off, you have no idea how hard it was for Apple to coordinate their launch with our birthday.]
Thinking back to the launch of PYMNTS.com five years ago, I’m reminded of just how different our focus was from everything else that was in the space covering payments at that time. It’s amazing to think that only five years ago, the news about payments was dominated by stories on what “flavor” of card the card issuers were introducing, what new rewards partners they were signing up, and what the networks were doing (or not) with interchange rates.
There wasn’t much, if anything, in the media at the time about the innovators who were looking at and using mobile, the cloud and data to change the world of payments. No one ever talked about the blurring of the on and offline worlds and how it would transform retail and commerce.
Or how important digital accounts would be to the future of commerce.
Or how software platforms and apps and ecosystems – not hardware – would drive innovation in payments and commerce.
And how the players who could knit all of that together would be the ones to win the day.
We saw an opportunity to give those innovators a voice, a way to tell their story, their way. Interestingly, the innovators we profiled that day – the new guys as well as the existing players with new ideas – are all still innovating (even though some of them have been acquired and are now part of larger organizations.)
But giving innovators a platform to talk about how they were changing the status quo in payments wasn’t the only reason we launched PYMNTS.com.
Our work in this space convinced us, unequivocally, that mobile, the cloud and data would redefine the payments and commerce experience. You know the old Wayne Gretzky quote about if you want to win, then skate to where the puck is going not where it’s been? Well, we knew that the future belonged to those who saw where the payments puck was going, and we wanted to give visibility to their ideas, their perspectives, and their vision for the future of payments. We were skating there and we knew from the work that we were doing, so were a lot of innovators.
So, off we went.
When we got started, Jack Dorsey and Square and mPOS was just getting started too. In fact, he was one of the first innovators we interviewed. Now mPOS is on its way to being “just POS” as mobile devices are being used not only as card accepting devices for merchants that have never had them, but by the largest retailers who want to deliver a more personalized consumer experience. Today, PYMNTS.com tracks and rates more than 140 players in the space and provides monthly updates on where this part of the ecosystem is going and have talked to dozens and dozens of innovators who are transforming this space in unique and interesting ways.
And, speaking of people we’ve talked to, we’ve had the good fortune of talking to the most innovative minds in payments and commerce. We’ve broken news and made news with the CEOs and founders of the most promising new ventures and the captains of industry who have guided the future of payments over the last five years and who have placed their own big bets on where’re they think the next five decades will take us and them.
We’ve also shared our own points of view about the future, perspectives grounded in our work in the industry and the “economic DNA” of the two-sided market methodology we use to understand and deconstruct the complicated two-sided nature of payments and commerce. That methodology was pioneered by Jean Tirole whose work on two-sided markets among other things was recognized by the Nobel Prize Committee when they awarded him the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences last week. [We thought they were going to wait for our birthday to announce but they jumped the gun by a week.] We think it gives us a rigorous but pragmatic approach for evaluating this innovation, comment on it and, hopefully, start conversations about it around the payments ecosystem.
It’s why we think bitcoin is overblown, why Google Wallet was doomed from the get-go, why Clinkle and Coin weren’t ever going to be serious contenders, why Softcard/Isis should be put out of its misery, why CurrentC/MCX has a tough slog ahead of it, why acquirers are at risk of becoming dumb pipes unless they change, why issuers should (with a few exceptions) should give up on having their own mobile wallets, why digital accounts matter a ton, why terminal manufacturers ought to milk the asset today and look for new things to do come next decade, why Apple Pay will probably have as much of a slog as every other new payments scheme even if it is Apple, why consumers will decide how this whole thing shakes out, why the things that wrap around payments is what will get those consumers to adopt a new way to enable those transactions.
Looking ahead at the next decade, we also know that this year, 2014, was another inflection point in payments. The relentless string of cyber-attacks starting with the Target breach, the move to EMV in the US, launch of Apple Pay, the massive diffusion of the mobile phone worldwide, the emerging middle class worldwide, Alibaba IPO, and pending spin-off of PayPal will make the road ahead much, much different than the road we’re on now. Looking back, nothing will ever be the same.
Five years later, we’ve changed too.
PYMNTS.com is now a team of more than 20 people, two daily newsletters that we produce 6 days a week, several offline events (including The Innovation Project which this year will knock your socks off for sure so mark your calendars – March 18-19, 2015) and big plans for the future.
But what we value most is our good fortune to be able to travel the road about innovation in payments and commerce with you. We’re truly grateful for your support, the insights you bring to our readers, and the sense of community you bring to our work. Five years later, like a lot of innovators in this space, we feel that we’re just getting started. And we can’t wait to see where the journey we started five years ago takes us and you and payments and PYMNTS.com.
Thank you, again, for all that you do to make what we do so interesting and worthwhile.
And Happy Birthday PYMNTS.com!


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Developer Young Horses has announced that Bugsnax & The Isle of Bigsnax, a major free update for the base game, will launch with an April 28, 2022 release date. Plus, in addition to arriving on its launch platforms of PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC, Bugsnax & The Isle of Bigsnax will also arrive on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, and Xbox Game Pass on April 28. That is a whole lot of Bugsnax to munch on.
The free update will add about three hours of new content to the game, including a new story and quests involving a jungle-themed island that has risen from the sea. And yes, there are giant Bugsnax now. To start playing the new content, you just have to talk to the character Snorpy after completing his associated sidequests. You will discover new mechanics like “volatile shrink spice” as you play. Additionally, you can customize your hut now with furniture and accessories, and there also… Bughats now. (You’ll see in the Bugsnax & The Isle of Bigsnax release date trailer.)
Young Horses says there are also “juicy surprises” beyond what has been announced today, which is easy to believe, considering the developer shoved some pretty shocking surprises into the ending of the base game. Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC players will know that same shock when Bugsnax & The Isle of Bigsnax arrives later this month.


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While the Australian mining boom is now receding in the rear view mirror, one mining sector that is still attracting enthusiastic investment is the lithium mining industry.Western Australia currently produces about 30% of the world's lithium supplies, and 20 new companies are scrambling about the state trying to take advantage of the boom in "white oil". WA Business News has an article on the evolving market for the metal, looking at producers in Australia and South America - A Window opens for lithium hopefuls. The investment frenzy may have already reached a peak locally however, with some investment columnists warning there aren't any bargains left in the sector - Ten years on, lithium may as well be uranium and This 'new gasoline' could burn eager investors. An increasingly precious metal.
SQM, Chile’s biggest lithium producer, is the kind of company you might find in an industrial-espionage thriller. Its headquarters in the military district of Santiago bears no name. The man who for years ran the business, Julio Ponce, is the former son-in-law of the late dictator, Augusto Pinochet. He quit as chairman in 2015, during an investigation into SQM for alleged tax evasion. (The company is co-operating with the inquiry.) Last month it emerged that CITIC, a Chinese state-controlled firm, may bid for part of Mr Ponce’s controlling stake in SQM, as part of China’s bid to secure supplies of a vital raw material. The focus of CITIC’s interest appears to lie on a lunar-like landscape of encrusted salt in Chile’s Atacama desert. It is a brine deposit washed off the Andes millions of years ago, containing about a fifth of the world’s known lithium resources. (Even more are in adjacent Bolivia but they are mostly untapped). Just weeks before, CITIC had bought a stake in a Hong Kong electric-vehicle maker that uses lithium-ion batteries, indicating its growing interest in clean-energy technologies.Bolivia’s lithium boom: dream or nightmare?. Lithium production will clearly need to expand given the pre-sales for the Tesla 3 are now approaching 4000,000 vehicles and projected sales would consume all of world's lithium production at current levels - Rising Lithium Prices Threaten to Short-Circuit EV Market. The Chevrolet Bolt is also due out on the market this year, putting further pressure on supplies. New Method Of Extracting Lithium From Natural Brine Yields 99.9% Purity.


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After a yearlong investigation, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser today filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court to block the $24.6 billion proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons, two of the largest supermarket chains in Colorado.
Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. today announced that it has agreed to acquire United Grocery Outlet ("UGO"), an extreme value, discount grocery retailer operating throughout the Southeastern United States, from affiliates of Gen Cap America, Inc. and current and former UGO management.
The Kroger Co. shared additional insights about how the company lowered prices in previous mergers, bolstering its commitment to bring more consumers across America lower prices and more choices following its proposed merger with Albertsons Cos.
This Tally expansion follows the company's investment in other food technology solutions Upshop Magic™ and Flashfood.
Ship-to-Home was the only segment to grow year-over-year as sales climbed to $1.5 billion in January, up 7.8% compared to a year ago.
FBM helps perishable businesses reach profitability by scaling faster via more cost-effective, reliable, and robust solutions for storage, fulfillment, and e-comm.
Hy-Vee is integrating Instacart's fulfillment capabilities for same-day delivery into its owned and operated websites and apps.
Leading omnichannel grocery retail group Ahold Delhaize USA has announced a new agreement with local commerce platform DoorDash to make an additional on-demand grocery delivery marketplace available to customers at each of its local omnichannel brands – Food Lion, Hannaford, Giant Food, The GIANT Company and Stop & Shop.
Costco Wholesale Corporation announced today that Richard Galanti has confirmed his intention to step down as Chief Financial Officer, effective March 15, 2024.
The Kroger Co. today announced that Gary Millerchip is stepping down as senior vice president and chief financial officer to assume an executive role at another public company.


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The week that was: China is set to overtake the US as the world’s largest trader; firms delay listing.
| Jan. 17 2014
The week that was: Beijing continues to restrict shadow banking practices; top economic planning agency approves more coalmines; a 13.
| Jan. 10 2014
The week that was: Foxconn to manufacture for BlackBerry; Tencent to debut WeChat TV; and Volkswagen becomes the most popular.
| Dec. 27 2013
The week that was: luxury retail in China slows down as the government’s anti-corruption measures take effect; over.
| Dec. 20 2013
The week that was: China’s exports do better than expected, local officials get new evaluation criteria, and e-commerce.
| Dec. 13 2013
China Round-up: Thaw in the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Bitcoin Ban, and the Apple-China Mobile Tango
The week that was: the Shanghai Stock Exchange will finally end the IPO freeze; British Prime Minister David Cameron.
| Dec. 6 2013
Starting this week CKGSB Knowledge is launching China Round-up, a weekly blog that summarizes for you the most.
| Nov. 29 2013


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Virgin America airlines will operate its last flight under the brand on April 24, 2018. The date was announced in an internal memo to its staff, which was obtained by aviation intelligence company FlightGlobal.
According to the memo, from April 25, 2018 onwards, consumers who try to book a flight through Virgin America’s website or app will be redirected to Alaskaair.com.
"We have taken an important step closer to complete our merger with Virgin America by combining our flight inventories into one," the memo states.
Takeover and rebranding
Last year, Alaska Airlines acquired Virgin America in a takeover that was worth US$4bil (RM16.35bil).
After 10 months of research for a strategy that would appeal to its largely US West Coast consumer base, they have decided to adopt Alaska Air Group's brand and logo.
Before its full retirement, Virgin American flight attendant and photographer Molly Choma had been capturing behind-the-scenes moments of flight attendants working in the galley preparing meals, performing safety drills during training, and taking a break during their flight service.
The photos are posted on Instagram with the hashtag #TheSecretLifeOfVirgins. – AFP Relaxnews


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Intel has published a new Product Change Notification (PCN) document confirming that its 300 Series chipsets have entered the discontinuation/EOL phase. What this means is that we can say goodbye to the Z370, H310, B360, B365, H370, and Z390 desktop platforms, which were introduced as part of the original Coffee Lake (LGA 1151) generation back in 2017 and 2018. Intel’s mobile QMS380 chipset is also getting the axe.
“Market demand for the products listed in the ‘Products Affected/Intel Ordering Codes’ table below have shifted to other Intel products,” a description reads. “The products identified in this notification will be discontinued and unavailable for additional orders after the ‘Last Product Discontinuance Order Date.'”
The discontinuation of Intel’s 300 Series chipsets isn’t all that surprising, as the company began distancing itself from their respective processors—the 9th Gen Core (Coffee Lake Refresh) Series—just last month. Intel will reportedly unveil its 500 Series chipsets during next week’s all-virtual CES 2021 conference.


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Here’s something holiday travelers can be to be thankful for this week: consumer gas prices are still low, and dropping. According to AAA, gas prices in Texas average $2.32, which is about 30 cents less than a month ago. But it’s a different story for those who rely on diesel to get around. Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData, says diesel prices are up because of demand.
“So, demand for diesel is strong, the economy is chugging along, we’re seeing a lot of goods being transferred around the country by these vehicles, so that’s a good thing, But because of that, because of export demand, we’re seeing inventories relatively in check,” Smith says.
In a nutshell, that means that because the economy is doing well, there’s higher demand for diesel to fuel the vehicles that transport all the things people are buying.
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– How Texas energy companies are moving more of their materials around by truck and train, adding to the demand for diesel
– What explains the difference in price between gasoline and diesel
– How light sweet crude oil is contributing to a gasoline glut, and thus lower prices
Written by Caroline Covington.


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India offered a $1 billion credit line to Sri Lanka due to the rising economic crisis.
Furthermore, in mid-2021, Sri Lanka also received $200 million as aid from Bangladesh.
The introduction of organic farming, economic mismanagement, and many factors conclude the Sri Lankan crisis.
A series of bomb blasts in April 2019 severely crippled Sri Lankan tourism.
The Sri Lankan crisis
With scarce foreign exchange shrinking to one month’s export cover, India offered Sri Lanka a $1 billion credit line.
Earlier this year, Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka’s credit rating to CC.
In 2021, the current account deficit was 3.8% of GDP.
While the decade-long violence caused economic instability, recent events such as a switch to organic farming, Chinese debt, corruption, and the pandemic contributed to the Sri Lankan crisis.
Additionally, the bomb blasts of April 2019 left 277 dead, along with eight suicide bombers.
The attack on Sri Lanka crippled its tourism, which accounted for 10-12% of GDP.
Moreover, as the country struggled to recover, the reduction in VAT added to falls in revenue.
However, in 2021, Sri Lanka somewhat recovered, but tourism failed to recover, and inflation soared.
Furthermore, the introduction of organic farming while banning chemical fertilizers led to imports, increasing the external payment crisis.
India must step up for Sri Lanka
In 2010, the Chinese made a deal with the then Rajapaksa government to develop a port on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, Hambantota.
However, the port completion took seven years, and China ended up owning 70% of the port.
The 70% Chinese ownership came about as the total cargo volumes did not suffice the capital invested.
Nevertheless, India refuses to let China take over expanding parts of the Sri Lankan territory.
India already offered a $1 billion credit line to Sri Lanka as aid.
In addition to the credit line, India must also provide Sri Lanka with policy advice and investment from Indian entrepreneurs and build a supply chain between the two economies by exporting tea and information technology services.
Additionally, India can benefit greatly by supporting Sri Lanka in the long run.
What does the Sri Lankan crisis teach us?
Sri Lankan Tamils account for 15% of the population.
Therefore, oppression from a fiendish majority could lead to lost opportunities for economic growth.
The lost opportunities via civil unrest, loss of internal cohesion, and dependence on a single external benefactor lead to a debt trap.
However, Sri Lanka can avoid a debt trap by increasing domestic tax revenue and reducing government expenditure.
With Sri Lanka as a tourist hot spot, the $1 billion aid from aid could help the country get back on its feet.
India is obligated to look out for the country as a friendly neighbor.


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16. April 2015–
Berlin-based FinTech startup Number26 raises a €10 million A round led by Thiel’s venture fund Valar Ventures, Rocket Internet buys Munich-based Volo.
Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures invests in Number26
Berlin-based FinTech Number26 announced a €10 million Series A round led by Peter Thiel’s venture fund Valar Ventures. Swizz entrepreneur Daniel S. Aegerter as well as existing investors Earlybird and Redalpine also joined the round.
Rocket buys Munich-based restaurant delivery service Volo
After announcing its €6 million investment in Belgium-based Take Eat Easy, Rocket Internet announced today that it acquired 10-month-old Munich-based Volo which operates in the same space. The team will soon move to Berlin, where Rocket Internet is based. Further financial details of the deal remain undisclosed.
After launching in Munich in October 2014, Volo expanded to Berlin and Frankfurt. The German cities Hamburg, Cologne, and Dusseldorf will be up next. Volo plans to also launch internationally soon: nine countries — including Italy, Spain and Sweden.
COBI raises more than $4 million in its first post-Kickstarter round of funding
Frankfurt-based bike startup COBI claims to develop the world's smartest connected biking system. It has now announced to have completed one of the largest financing rounds ever for a bike startup. More than $4 million came from European investors Capnamic Ventures, Iris Capital and Creathor Venture, as well as private investors from COBI's seed round. The fresh capital will be used for production and the development of the distribution, marketing and customer service units.
Image: Part of the COBI Team, COBI


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Lamborghini Set an all-time delivery record in 2021, and nearly all of its production capacity for 2022 has already been talked about. According to a recent report, it plans to maintain momentum by releasing four new models in 2022, including updated variants of its best-selling products.
Talk to British magazine Car, Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann revealed that 2022 will be the last year the company launches only cars powered by internal combustion engines; everything that happens after that will be a mixture or electric. We’re not there yet, though, and Lamborghini has some interesting non-electric products in its development. We will see two evolutions of Huracán, the executive confirmed and we guess that a model inspired by rally that our spies had detected the test in the snowy regions of Europe. It looks like the V10-powered coupe will take inspiration from The concept of Sterrato (pictured) launched in June 2019.
At the other end of the Raging Bull spectrum, the best seller Urus Will receive Its first major update since its launch in 2017. The catch is that Winkelmann says that “the upgrade will be split in two.” Could a hybrid model be used? Time will answer.
Those are the four new models Lamborghini will unveil in 2022 – unless the company has other surprises. Enthusiasts wait AventadorThe successor will need to be patient as it doesn’t expire until 2023, according to the same report. When it lands, it will pack dip into the mixture The powertrain is built around a new naturally aspirated V12 engine. Separate reports claim that the model will be its own thing; it will not borrow styling cues from Sián introduced in 2019 or from Countach was born and sold out in 2021.
“And then, in 2024, we’ll have the next Urus and Huracán products, [and they’ll be] The plug-in hybrid cars, Winkelmann said. Car Which engine will power the Huracán’s replacement, but the publication surmises that the model will ditch the posh V10 and downsize to a V8. Interestingly, the eight-cylinder engine is said to be developed in-house. It will have a 10,000 rpm red line and be capable of burning synthetic fuel. Unverified reports suggest that the total output of the hybrid system will be in the range of 850 hp.
Looking further ahead, the first battery-powered Lamborghini will join scope in the second half of the 2020s as the fourth model line. Here again, details with the factory stamp of approval are few and far between. We know EVs are in the planning stages.
“We’re still in the strategic planning process, we’re still in the aggregating stage of all the numbers. We’re looking at volume, we’re looking at geographic distribution, we’re looking at it. financially, all of this, but we have a pretty good idea of where this is going to end up. I’m pretty confident we’ll find a good solution, a good way to do it,” Winklemann summarizes.
He predicts that points like “setup, driving experience, brake, suspension and power-to-weight ratio “will be more important for EVs than it is for today’s Lamborghinis. What this will look like in showrooms has been published. A previous report. there claim that the battery-powered bull would take the form of a four-door sedan with 2+2 seats, but nothing is set in stone.


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China buys more than half of the semiconductors manufactured in the world and yet only produces less the 10% of their own demand. Recently there have been a lot of announcements out of China about large scale investments in semiconductor manufacturing. The Chinese government for example has announced plans to invest $161 billion… Read More
Japan emerged as the largest supplier of consumer electronics in the 1980s. The Japan surge was driven by lower cost labor than in the U.S. and Europe as well as innovative products from companies such as Sony, Toshiba and Panasonic (formerly Matsushita). By the 1990s much consumer electronics production shifted to South Korea… Read More
In last 3 decades of semiconductor market, the largest growth in IC sales was at 33% in 2010. At that time global recession had started due to financial crisis and in 2009 oil prices fell more than 30%. It appeared that oil prices were negatively correlated with semiconductor market growth. Today again there is another sharp decline… Read More
I just read Daniel Nenni’s blog titled “Is Silicon Valley Gridlock a Good Sign for Semiconductors?” Dan, there is no definitive answer to this, I mean in terms of semiconductors. Let me call it Semiconductor Gridlock in Silicon Valley. Yes it’s good because Silicon Valley promotes research, brings up innovative technology and… Read More
As they have done for the last few years, Atrenta held its fifth annual user group meeting at the Shin Yokohama Kokusai Hotel on September 13. The attendees are a mixture of customers and other interested members of the semiconductor supply chain. There were nearly 90 people there representing 48 different companies in Japan.
The… Read More
Production of electronic equipment (including computers, communications, consumer, etc.) has been sluggish over the last year in all key regions of the world except China. The chart below shows three-month-average change versus a year ago for electronics production in local currency through April 2013 (May 2013 for China).… Read More
In the 1980s, Japan was seen as the leader in the semiconductor industry. Their quality was higher, especially in memories, and the US was worried about falling behind. In fact Sematech was created in 1987 by the US government and a consortium of 14 US-based semiconductor companies primarily to pool investment on common problems… Read More
When I started in this business, we were at 3 micron HMOS. A few other things are close to that size. A red blood cells is about 9 microns, a human hair is about 100 microns. And in a bizarre “only in Japan” video, people compete to plane the thinnest shaving off a plank of wood. It turns out the answer is 9 microns. That’s… Read More
Electronic Design and Solutions Fair (EDSF) was held in Yokohama Japan from Wednesday to Friday last week. It was held at the Pacifico Hotel, somewhere I have stayed several times, not far from the Yokohama branch of Hard Rock Cafe and, what used to be at least, the biggest ferris-wheel in the world.
Atrenta was one of the many companies… Read More
The 1st Atrenta Technology Forum in Japan (well, it used to be the user group meeting, so it’s only the first in a very technical sense) is next week on July 19th from 1pm until 5.15pm. It will be held in the Shin-Yokohama Kokusai Hotel (how to access it here).
In the unlikely event that non-Japanese are reading this blog, here’s… Read More


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Sahara India Parivar's infrastructure and reality brand Aamby Valley City has initiated an OOH campaign to create buzz around its two-month sky diving event.
Sahara India Parivar's infrastructure and housing brand Aamby Valley has launched an out of home (OOH) campaign in Mumbai and Pune to promote its two-month sky diving event in the Aamby Valley City in Maharashtra. The event began on December 15, 2012 and will continue till February 16.
The campaign is executed by Milestone Brandcom. Speaking to afaqs!, Nabendu Bhattacharya, founder and managing director, Milestone Brandcom, says, "The brand wanted us to create something that invites people to visit Aamby Valley City and experience sky diving. It is aimed at those people who have enough money but are not able to visit abroad where they can experience it."
Vivek Kumar, chief executive officer, Aamby Valley City and Hotel Sahara Star, says, "The communication objective for the OOH campaign was to create hype and grab as many eyeballs as possible, thereby luring the target audience down to Aamby Valley to experience this exciting event."
The campaign targets people in the SEC A+ category. Bhattacharya says, "The brief was to create an experience on the billboard so that people go and check it at home."
Milestone Brandcom has erected 20 billboards and 35 kiosks and gantries across posh locations in Mumbai, such as Marine Drive, Linking Road, Juhu, Mahim, Pune-Mumbai Express Highway and Pune city.
The infrastructure and housing company has collaborated with Art of Extreme, a globally renowned organisation in sky diving sport, to bring the entire experience to India. The instructors will accompany the participant to a height of 10,000-15,000 feet and freefall with the participant to ensure safety. The jump is only available to people above 18 years of age.
Aamby Valley City is located amidst the Sahayadri mountain range in the Western Ghats and is spread across 10,600 acres.
Milestone Brandcom is an OOH advertising and media company that has operations in 42 cities across India and provides services in more than 1,000 towns. It currently executes OOH media duties for 75 established brands in India such as Tata Photon-Docomo, Colors, McDonald's, Binani Cement, Axis Bank, L'Oreal, HDFC Mutual Fund, Dish TV, DSP Blackrock and Franklyn Templeton.


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|Bid||17.50 x 900|
|Ask||17.51 x 1800|
|Day's Range||16.54 - 17.60|
|52 Week Range||13.58 - 30.63|
|Beta (3Y Monthly)||0.97|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||21.78|
|Earnings Date||Mar 4, 2020 - Mar 9, 2020|
|Forward Dividend & Yield||0.80 (4.80%)|
|1y Target Est||17.54|
Is Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) a good stock to buy right now? We at Insider Monkey like to examine what billionaires and hedge funds think of a company before spending days of research on it. Given their 2 and 20 payment structure, hedge funds have more incentives and resources than the average investor. The […]
It's been a good week for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) shareholders, because the company has just released its...
Abercrombie (ANF) misses earnings and sales estimates in third-quarter fiscal 2019 on unseasonably warm weather in September and ongoing disruptions in key international markets.
For many, the main point of investing is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But the main game is to...
All three major U.S. stock indexes again set record highs as U.S.-China trade negotiations continue ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Abercrombie pinned flat sales on Brexit, Hong Kong, global warming and other macroeconomic factors beyond its control.
Abercrombie (ANF) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of -8.00% and -0.70%, respectively, for the quarter ended October 2019. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?
Shares fell as much as 8% after the company also reported its first same-store sales drop in at least eight quarters at Hollister, a brand that has powered much of the retailer's growth. Abercrombie joins a growing list of American retailers that have called out months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong for causing store closures and hurting revenue from the Asian shopping hub. Abercrombie has in the past relied on Hollister to generate the bulk of its revenue with its denim and Gilly Hicks lingerie collections, but the surfwear-themed brand is no longer attracting as much demand from younger customers.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Tuesday it had net income of $6.523 million, or 10 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter to November 2, down from $23.9 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 23 cents, below the 24 cents FactSet consensus. Sales rose to $863.5 million from $861.2 million, but were also below the $868.0 million FactSet consensus. Same-store sales were flat, compared with a FactSet consensus for growth of 0.3%. "Continued U.S. momentum was offset by challenges across several of our key international markets as well as a complicated global operating environment, which weighed on overall results," Chief Executive Fran Horowitz said in a statement. The operator of the Abercrombie and Hollister clothing brands said it now expects fiscal 2019 sales and same-store sales to be flat to up 1% and for fourth-quarter sales and same-store sales to be flat to up 2%. The retailer is expecting China tariffs to shave about $4 million off gross profit in the fourth quarter and $5 million in the full year. About 25% of the company's merchandise in fiscal 2018 was sourced from China. Shares rose 1% in premarket trade, but are down 19% in 2019, while the S&P 500 has gained 25%.
JLL Retail President and CEO Greg Maloney joins Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi to discuss what to expect from Black Friday sales on The First Trade.
Each of the three major U.S. stock indices hit record highs and closing highs Tuesday after China signaled trade negotiators were pacing toward a deal, and a batch of retail earnings came in mostly stronger than expected.
Abercrombie and Fitch shares slip after the retailer missed earnings estimates on the top and bottom line. Yahoo Finance’s Akiko Fujita and Emily McCormick break it down on The Ticker.
Abercrombie & Fitch saw same-store sales rise 3% in the third quarter, despite reporting mixed earnings. Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi and Alexis Christoforous break down what Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Fran Horowitz had to say about the retailer.


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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s 50th Annual Spring Plant Sale will gather the best of four local nurseries in one location.
The public sale will be held on Saturday, April 8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UT Arboretum at 901 South Illinois Avenue (Highway 62) in Oak Ridge.
The “Members Only” sale will be on Friday, April 7, from 5-7 p.m. Memberships may be purchased at that time for this “early bird” shopping opportunity. Checks and credit cards will be accepted. [Read more…]


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They’re a physical commodity, but they’re also a meme — popularized by celebrities, shared endlessly on Twitter and Instagram and Vine, discussed to death by the chittering idea factory that is the English-language internet. ... One of those factories is Gaoke (or “High Tech”) Times, a midsize plant situated on 120,000 square feet in a Bao An industrial park. ... churn out 600 boards in a day, for customers in the U.S., U.K., Dubai, and Australia. ... In the two decades Gaoke has been here in Shenzhen, it has made desktop phones, then DVD players, televisions, mobile devices, and eventually tablets, which today are the largest part of its business. ... About six months ago, at the request of some of the company’s existing tablet customers, Gaoke had started manufacturing them. New product crazes present struggling businesses and eager entrepreneurs alike with an opportunity to leave behind glutted markets, and the nature of China’s booming electronics business is to be adaptable to the whims of a global market. ... Fang Zuoyi estimated that there are at least 1,000 factories in the Shenzhen area making hoverboards. ... It starts when a (typically) Western company, eager to cash in on a product made popular by the social internet, contracts a Chinese factory to make it. From here, the idea spreads throughout the elaborate social networks of Chinese electronics manufacturing until the item in question is being produced by hundreds and hundreds of competitors, who subcontract and sell components to each other, even as they all make the same thing. It reaches its saturation point quickly. It moves from product to product without sentiment. And it is proof that our never-ending digital output, our tweets and Vines and Instagrams and Facebook posts, has the power to shape the lives of people on the other side of the world.
For the teams of students involved in this year’s RoboMasters tournament, the stakes were clear: 350,000 RMB (roughly $53,000) in prize money, more than four times the average salary of a Chinese worker. Winners achieve celebrity status among the 6 million fans who watch the action stream live online, as well as a shot at landing a job at at DJI, the Chinese drone maker that created this competition. Over the last two years the company has hired around 40 engineers out of the tournament. ... For DJI, the stakes are reversed. It is battling to win top talent in some of technology’s hottest fields: computer vision and autonomous navigation. Over the last three years, the company has emerged from obscurity to become the market leader in the booming consumer drone market, setting the pace for innovation in the category. ... The city became the heart of the world’s supply chain for consumer electronics. But while it conquered the business of manufacturing for others, the quality of products designed and engineered in Shenzhen were largely inferior to those with roots in the West. Over time, however, that dynamic began to change. ... DJI epitomizes that evolution. In 2006, Frank Wang, an engineering student obsessed with remote-control helicopters, started Dà-Jiāng — which roughly translates to "without borders" — Innovations Science and Technology Corporation. His target market consisted of professionals who used remote-control aircraft for filming and photography, and hardcore hobbyists who built their own flying machines for fun. At the time, everyone built their units from scratch, there was no casual consumer market, and few people used the word "drone." ... Like many early Shenzhen companies, at first DJI made just a single component: flight controllers. ... PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that the drone industry will grow from a few billion dollars this year to more than $120 billion by 2020.
Deng Xiaoping created the city from bucolic nothing in 1980 as the pilot of his special economic zone project. These zones were meant to create safe places for Western companies to do business—and they worked. Even though China is not the boom-country it was two years ago, favorable trade policies and cheap skilled labor lure companies and entrepreneurs from across the globe to Shenzhen’s nimble factories. Before the SEZ, there were some 30,000 people in the area. Today, Shenzhen’s population is north of 10 million, and its port is one of the busiest in China. You already know this: Your iPhone is made here. Everything is made here. ... As of 2013, there were 22,000 permanent foreign nationals living in the city, and nearly 8 million others visiting every year. The expats range from the manufacturing-industry vet with a house and a spouse to the fresh-off-the-plane Kickstarter romantic with a pocketful of pledge cash to the English teacher who can’t tell a diode from a dinner plate.