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Less than two weeks into existence, CNN’s paid streaming service, CNN+, has failed to attract even 10,000 daily users, according to CNBC, citing people familiar with the matter.
Putting this in perspective, CNN‘s cable network averages 773,000 total daily viewers.
CNN+ launched on March 29. The subscription news streaming service, which charges $5.99 a month or $59.99 annually, only became available on Roku on Monday and still isn’t on Android TV. Still, the paltry number casts doubt on the future of the application following the recently completed combination of Discovery and WarnerMedia into Warner Bros. Discovery. -CNBC
“We continue to be happy with the launch and its progress after only two weeks,” a CNN spokesperson told CNBC.
As we noted two weeks ago, the writing was on the wall.
This dramatic failure to launch comes after CNN+ lured talent such as Chris Wallace from Fox News and Kasie Hunt from NBC News.
The company hasn’t released an exact figure for the number of subscribers.
Axios, meanwhile, says ‘big cuts’ are in store for the streaming service due to such a low adoption rate.
By the numbers: The news giant was initially planning to invest around $1 billion in the service over the next four years.
- Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be cut from that original investment total.
- To date, around $300 million has been spent on the subscription service, which includes a sizable marketing investment.
- The new company’s leadership team still has yet to decide the ultimate fate of CNN+. CNN’s new boss, Chris Licht, will start May 1.
CNN expected to bring in around 2 million subscribers in the service’s first year, and 15-18 million after four years.
Who could have seen this coming?


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UPDATE: Target has reportedly lost $9 billion in market value since parents and outraged customers called for a boycott of a Minneapolis-based store once it displayed the ‘PRIDE’ clothing for children, merchandise many parents and shoppers alike deemed ‘inappropriate’ for the youth. The $9 billion loss was reported on NY Post:
A week ago Wednesday before the controversy erupted, Target’s stock closed at $160.96 a share, giving the big-box chain a market capitalization of $74.3 billion.
As of early trading on Thursday, however, shares of the company were trading off 1% at $141.76 — capping a weeklong tumble that has shrunk the “cheap chic” discount retailer’s value to $65.3 billion.
That amounts to a 12% drop that has shaved a whopping $9 billion off the company’s market capitalization.
Parents standing up for the soul of America have spoken out in numbers big enough to make Target respond to criticism and the store will now remove SOME of the LGBTQ merchandise that was linked to an allegedly satanic designer.
The store launched a Pride Collection in early May and immediately faced backlash from parents who claim the store is giving in to a ‘woke’ agenda and participating in ‘grooming’ of young people, in the sense that this stuff does not belong where children can see it. So many customers expressed their concerns and distaste for the merchandise that Target is now reeling some of the items off the shelves amid concerns for the safety of their own employees. However, it doesn’t seem like any employees are in danger, it’s just that parents want these items off the shelves and away from their kids.
According to a report on CNN, Target Corp (TGT) introduced over 2,000 products as part of its Pride Collection, featuring clothing, books, music, and home furnishings. Among the items were mugs with a “gender fluid” theme, calendars proclaiming “queer all year,” and children’s books titled “Bye Bye, Binary,” “Pride 1,2,3,” and “I’m not a girl.” Obviously, most parents were not interested in their children seeing this stuff because to many parents, at least those with any sense of morals or decency, this is considered ‘grooming’ when people or companies present this material to children.
In their statement, Target acknowledged that the introduction of this year’s collection led to threats that impacted the safety and well-being of their team members. They expressed their commitment to adapting their plans in response to these volatile circumstances, including the removal of items that have been at the center of confrontational behavior.
Target has been actively supporting Pride Month for over a decade. However, this year’s collection has resulted in an increase in confrontations between customers and employees, as well as incidents of Pride merchandise being discarded on the floor, according to Target spokesperson Kayla Castaneda.
Target’s decision follows a conservative backlash against Bud Light, prompted by Anheuser-Busch featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in their social media promotion last month.
The products being withdrawn by Target will be removed from all its stores across the United States and from its website, as confirmed by Castaneda. While several Pride Collection items are under review, the focus of removal is currently on the LGBTQ brand Abprallen, which has faced scrutiny due to its association with British designer Eric Carnell.
Carnell has encountered social media backlash for designing merchandise featuring pentagrams, horned skulls, and other Satanic imagery. A search on Target.com for Abprallen merchandise yielded no results.
Screenshots and social media posts indicate that Target previously sold a slogan sweater priced at $25, bearing the words “cure transphobia not trans people,” as well as an $18 tote bag stating “too queer for here.”
Target is also reviewing specific transgender swimsuits and children’s merchandise, but no decision has been made regarding those products yet. For instance, a swimsuit sold in the women’s section drew attention for its description as “tuck friendly,” implying its suitability for concealing male genitalia – something that is beyond disturbing and should never be in a store where children are present.

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UN confirms 87 of the world's largest companies have committed to emissions targets in line with 1.5C warming trajectory
Scores of major corporates have today committed to cutting their emissions over the next three decades to hit net zero emissions no later than 2050, in a move that will put world leaders under more pressure...
'Inevitable': Study warns basic climate policies could knock trillions of dollars off corporate valuations
New research warns 'inevitable' climate policies will destroy valuations for companies that fail to adapt, while creating huge opportunities for green trailblazers
US firm has inked deals with supplier for German retailer Edeka and Denmark's Salling Group to coat fresh produce with edible peel, keeping it fresh for longer
BusinessGreen talks to Apeel Sciences founder James Rogers about how his company's technology could slash waste and boost biodiversity across the global food system
Investor research group urges more corporates to push suppliers to deliver cost effective emissions reduction


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HP shakes the foundation of what’s expected of a gaming laptop with the HP OMEN X 2S, the world’s first dual-screen laptop, which has an easy-to-use six-inch 1080p touchscreen located directly above the keyboard, allowing players to multi-task like never before and changing how a gaming laptop is used.
Now why exactly does a gaming laptop needs a second screen? According to gaming industry insights, 82% of people use their mobile phones for messaging during gaming sessions, 61% listen to music, and 49% watch game related live streams, video content and browse websites.
The HP OMEN X 2S shakes the foundation of what’s expected of a gaming laptop, with multi-tasking capabilities for various activities and support with dedicated hotkeys. Watching how-to videos while playing, listening to the right song on Spotify while grinding an MMO, or keeping current with Twitch chat or Discord is no longer an alt-tabbing hassle.
It’s further bolstered by a real-time screen mirroring feature that can cut and magnify parts of the main screen – including copying the map portion of a racing game – to the second screen, ensures vision is centered and head movement more vertical than horizontal.
Both the Razer Project Linda and Asus ZenBook Pro 15 with Screenpad came up with similar ideas, though they had the display doing double-duty as a touchpad and second display. HP’s approach seems like a better idea in our eyes.
As you’d imagine, being first to market with something like this, the HP OMEN X 2S doesn’t come cheap, with pricing staring at $2,100 with an NVIDA 2070, Intel i7-9750H HC CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, 256 GB SSD, and a 144Hz display. Fully decked out, the price is close to $3,000.
The HP Omen X 2S is expected to start shipping in late May and should be in stores by June, while the 240 Hz option is expected to be available in July.


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Remember the shock at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, of encountering bare shelves in grocery stores? Shelves that should have held Lysol and other household cleaning supplies? Shelves completely empty of toilet paper, of all things, and people then "hoarding" toilet paper? Then there was a brief time when meat was in short supply ... and then we all hailed food manufacturing plant workers and truckers as "front line workers" keeping the goods coming.
The ongoing global supply chain disruption is becoming a bona fide crisis. Already, strains on the supply chain are prompting many of the nation's biggest food manufacturers to give a heads up to giant grocery store chains that they are going to have trouble keeping up with demand, CNN reports.
Basics, and popular items, too, like McCormick gourmet spices, Ben & Jerry ice cream and Sour Patch kids candy are, in all likelihood, going to be hard to come by, CNN says.
This news comes on top of increasing reports that parents who want to make sure Santa Claus comes through this Christmas, need to go out and shop for toys and even Christmas trees -- now.
As CNN puts it, "These latest trends mean that stores won't have all things for all customers heading into the holidays, and shoppers may not be able to find some of their favorite products, flavors or niche items."
It remains to be seen how extensive the supply chain disruption could become going into the holiday season. According to the WSJ, there are more than 467 cargo ships from China outside major U.S. ports.
Last week, Amazon surprised retailers by annoucing it was jumping onto the holiday sales bandwagon with Black Friday deals. These holiday bargain offerings traditionally have started the day after Thanksgiving--but in recent years, as competition among retailers has heated up, they have begun as early as Thanksgiving Day at many retailers.
© 2024 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.


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Toronto – Corus Entertainment Inc.’s Nelvana Enterprises has reached an agreement with Chorion to become the Canadian licensing agent for its successful Mr. Men and Little Miss brand, to include merchandise such as apparel and accessories, toys and novelty items, as well as live stage shows and character appearances.
Based on the classic 1970s book series by British author Roger Hargreaves that has sold over 100 million copies, the Mr. Men and Little Miss property has a global presence with both children and adults.
The animated television series, The Mr. Men Show, features an ensemble of 25 characters such as Mr. Bump and Little Miss Sunshine, and uses an innovative sketch comedy format. The television series has been sold in 18 territories worldwide and recently launched in Canada on Corus’ kids specialty network, YTV.
Mr. Men and Little Miss characters have already spawned an international fashion craze, which has been enhanced by the multitude of celebrities photographed wearing Little Miss Sunshine T-shirts.
“Corus Entertainment will put our full weight behind the Mr. Men and Little Miss brand,” said Mark Northwood, Vice President, Worldwide Licensing, Nelvana Enterprises. “This exciting TV series and consumer products property will benefit from the scale of Corus Entertainment in Canada, leveraging our proven expertise in merchandise licensing, live entertainment and the heft of our broadcast networks in Canada.”
“We are pleased to have the team at Nelvana Enterprises on board for the Mr. Men brand — they truly understand the breadth of the opportunity at hand.There’s a little bit of Mr. Men in everyone!” said Cheryl Gotthelf, SVP Global Brand Management (MMLM), Chorion.


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For years, small-town stores have been shuttered by the likes of Walmart and Dollar General. Now communities are finding clever ways to fight back.
Independent home-improvement suppliers are defying the gloomy retail environment and making their mark on Main Street.
One Wisconsin resort town hopes Trump’s threat to ax J-1 summer work visas was just campaign bluster.
Looking for rare Mormon books in a shop run by a man who looks like Santa? You’ve come to the right place.
the best of the rest
- Fast Forward
When its lone factory closed, Viroqua rallied and transformed itself into a rural outpost of foodie cool.
- Rising Stars
Stacey Mosley’s platform, FixList, is like the Zillow of redevelopment, helping developers find properties ripe for regeneration.


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Data and security breaches have become so common they're almost considered the cost of doing business these days. Even the most careful businesses may not be able to prevent a breach that compromises customers' private information. And as embarrassing as a data breach may be, it can be particularly harmful to customers if their information falls into the wrong hands.
Unless you're doing business solely in Alabama, New Mexico, or South Dakota, you're legally required to notify customers about a security breach, and you may need to take steps to mitigate or remediate injuries caused by the breach. But state laws can differ on the definition of applicable breaches, the level of harm that necessitates notice, and the notice required, among other things. Here's a look.


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KEE Safety, a global supplier of fall protection solutions and safety railing systems, has announced a new venture that sees four of its Scottish-based businesses merge into one fall protection company.
The firm said this development will allow the company to create new employment opportunities, invest in new technologies and deliver a ‘more efficient and effective’ operation.
From September 1, the four businesses – Roof Edge Fabrications, The Roof Anchor Company, W.H. Maintenance and APS Safety Systems – will trade under APS Safety Systems Ltd and will operate out of a facility in Glasgow.
The APS Safety System team will combine employees from all four companies. Kee Safety said customers will have access to a larger product range, including fall protection systems, guardrails, walkway solutions and fixed access products.
“We are very excited about this merger,” said Brian McLean, general manager of APS Safety Systems. “Built on 10 years of success, APS Safety Systems’ reputation is based on quality and safety. This, combined with the ‘Separate People from Hazards’ philosophy that all Kee Safety companies abide by, makes us confident that this new structure will benefit existing and new employees, clients, and our supply chain and will allow us to continue our sales growth across Scotland.”


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A TOY shop is set to open in Hull, bringing 30 new jobs to the city.
Smyths Toys Superstore will be opening in Oak Road, off Clough Road, in August – and the company said it hopes to recruit new staff from the surrounding area.
A spokesman said: "We hope to provide some fantastic employment opportunities to the local community and are seeking motivated, enthusiastic staff."
The company applied for planning permission to open a new shop late last year but council officers recommended its application should be refused.
The site had housed a John Peters Furnishing store and previous conditions meant it could be used for selling furniture only.
Officers had argued the store should be classed as "out-of-town".
As such, they said city centre locations should take priority when considering applications from retailers specialising in so-called "bulk toys".
Officers suggested two alternative sites for the shop but the owners said they would abandon plans to open in Hull if they could not build on the Clough Road site.
They were concerned delivery lorries might find parking and traffic difficult in a more central location.
Councillors have now voted unanimously in favour of the new shop, provided only 50 per cent of floor space is given to bulk goods.
The Irish toy retailer will open a trading unit with an area of about 17,000sq ft.
Its spokesman said: "Smyths Toys Superstores is delighted to announce that we are bringing our own brand of fun to Hull.
"We look forward to offering the people here an incredible range of quality products, coupled with exceptional value and unbeatable service."
New jobs will range from retail assistants to management positions, with further job creation expected towards later in the year.
Smyths now trades from 60 stores across the UK and Ireland, employing more than 1,500 people.
It owns two other Yorkshire shops, in Barnsley and Sheffield.


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ALBANY -- Indian tribes and Internet sites expect to sell more tax-free cigarettes when New York state's cigarette tax jumps 39 cents a pack tomorrow, from $1.11 to $1.50 - the highest in the country.
"I guess it would be natural that if prices are higher in one area and lower in another, people would go for the lower price," Jerry Reed, a spokesman for the Oneida Indian Nation told The (Albany, N.Y.) Post-Standard. "So, yes, we would expect to see more business."
The Oneidas said they would not add the new tax to the price of their cigarettes, further widening the price gap between Indian and non-Indian retailers. The Oneidas charge $28 for a carton of brand-name cigarettes at their SavOn convenience stores. Beginning Wednesday, non-Indian retailers in Madison County will be required by law to charge $49.52, including sales tax. That means cigarettes will be about 43 percent cheaper at Oneida-owned stores.
Indian tribes in New York pay no taxes to the state on cigarettes sold in reservation stores. The Oneida Nation collects its own 5 percent tax on cigarettes and other items normally taxed by the state, but keeps that money for its government services, the report said. Non-Indian retailers must pay the full state tax on each pack.
The Oneida Nation also recently started selling cigarettes over the Internet. Brand-name cigarettes online are $33.50 per carton.
Shop owners on other New York reservations say they won't see a major windfall, but predict business will pick up. Larry Ballagh, a Seneca who sells tax-free cigarettes over the Internet, said his business rises when states raise their taxes.
"The state of Washington initiated a heavier state sales tax recently and we immediately saw a rise in sales in that area," he said. When New York doubled the cigarette tax two years ago, sales jumped as much as 20 percent.
James Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, estimated Western New York convenience stores lost 25 percent to 50 percent of their cigarette sales two years ago after the state increased the cigarette tax by 55 cents. He said smokers bought cigarettes at Indian reservations, over the Internet or across the border in Pennsylvania, where the tax per pack is 31 cents.


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Washington: British games designer Bossa Studios has released a new game online that allows gamers to perform heart surgery on Donald Trump and decide whether he has a heart of stone or gold.
In the game the Trump’s head is resting on a pillow wrapped in an American flag, one can caress Trump’s face, touch his famous mop, add some Trump and even rub a Trump steak in his face.
The player had an option whether to give Trump a heart of stone or heart of gold. After the heart transplant the game will be won successfully. They can also apply makeup to add even more luster to The Donald’s famous glowing skin during the procedure.
This is not the first time that game designers have been inspired by the American Presidential campaigns.
Richard Earl from Bossa Studios said that the game was launched on Thursday, and was designed to allow their fans to express their views on one of the most discussed politicians in the world.
He said. “We have had 6,000 votes so far. 2,500 gold hearts versus 3,500 stone hearts and over the past 24 hours it has remained a fairly constant 40/60 split.”
Earl said. “Since our initial launch of Surgeon Simulator in 2013, this Donald Trump update has been our most popular so far.”
“Its been exciting to start with Trump,” said Earl. He also said that they haven’t made any decision yet whether or not to include other politicians such as Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
So far 23,195 operations has bern carried out out of which only 5,460 have been successful. People have been posting comments on YouTube wondering if Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are about to become the “heroes” in a similar way.


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MEPs objected on Wednesday to EU Commission plans to authorize imports of products made from 2,4-D resistant DAS-40278-9 genetically modified maize and glufosinate resistant GHB119 genetically modified cotton.
The MEPs outlined:
Concerns over harmful herbicide residues
Calls for an overhaul of authorization procedure by Commission needed
They highlight concerns raised by independent research and member states, and repeat Parliament’s call for an overhaul of the EU’s GMO authorization procedure.
A resolution opposing the marketing of products containing maize DAS-40278-9 points to concerns raised by independent research about the risks of the 2,4-D herbicide, to which the maize is resistant, for embryo development and endocrine disruption.
Member States criticized the authorization procedure during the three-month consultation period before approval, referring to missing or insufficient data, contradictory statements and poor test design.
The non-binding resolution was adopted with 435 votes to 216 and 34 abstentions.
In a separate resolution, adopted with 425 votes to 230 and 27 abstentions, MEPs say that imports of products from genetically modified cotton GHB119 should not be authorised, as this would encourage the use of glufosinate ammonium-based herbicides (to which GHB119 is resistant) in the world, while glufosinate is classified as toxic for reproduction.
Another EU law that would enable any EU member state to restrict or prohibit the sale and use of EU-approved GMO food or feed on its territory was opposed by Parliament in October 2015. MEPs are concerned that this law might prove unworkable or that it could lead to the reintroduction of border checks between pro- and anti-GMO countries. They called on the Commission to table a new proposal.


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Mountain bikers wanting coveted gondola access to Bob’s Peak trails will be forking out $475 for the season.
Skyline Enterprises cableway will cart mountain bikes for the first time during a four-month trial period from January 24 to May 29 next year. Five hundred season passes are available.
Riders wanting a single lift up to trails in the Ben Lomond Reserve will be charged $30, a day pass will set punters back $70 or a three-day ticket $165.
Mountain bikers also have the option of a five-day pass for $250.
Kids prices are a little less, with under five-year-olds not allowed to bike on the Ben Lomond tracks.
The gondola will operate from 10am till 8pm, but bikers will have restricted access during peak dining times from 5pm – 6.30pm and will be banned from the gondola during the Easter period from April 22 to 28.
“With this new service we wish to ensure that our existing customer experience is not compromised and that our new bike customers experience acceptable service levels,” Skyline Queenstown general manager Blair Deasy says.
All 34 of the cableway cabins will be made bike compatible, with bikes self-loaded onto hooks at the bottom of the hill and unclipped at the top terminal building – but staff will be on hand to help.


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Location Sciences shares rise as it signs new master service agreement
Location data verification company Location Sciences has entered into a global master service agreement with “one of the largest” global advertising holding companies, it announced on Tuesday.
The AIM-traded firm said the deal followed the recent signing of a framework agreement with Horizon Media - the world's largest independent media agency - which represented “another significant step” towards increased market adoption of location verification software.
It said the signing of the agreement also followed multiple tests carried out in the fourth quarter of 2019 by certain advertising agencies within the advertising holding company's group using ‘Verify’, Location Sciences' location verification platform.
The company's directors believed that signing the master service agreement supported its strategy of pilot arrangements with advertising agencies, thus allowing customers to see the value of the Verify data and the significant improvements that could be made to performance.
Across the market, the company said it was continuing to see over 50% of inaccuracies and fraud in location advertising campaign data, which its platform was helping to clean up and improve.
“These agreements are pivotal for us as we operate in an emerging market,” said chief executive officer Mark Slade.
“Furthermore, they demonstrate that the relevant stakeholders in these large multinational agencies recognise the potential of, and back, our technology and capabilities.
“While we are still relatively early in our journey as a business, these agreements give us access to a large pool of location advertising spend.”
Slade said the key for the firm now was to keep building awareness of the benefits of location verification with brands, by leveraging the new agency agreements.
“The board remains focused on demonstrating how our technology solves a global problem in the digital advertising industry thereby driving performance and therefore return on investment to advertisers.”
At 1531 GMT, shares in Location Sciences Group were up 9.6% at 1.37p.


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The DSF Final Sale runs from January 31 to February 2.
PHOTO BY SUPPLIED
DUBAI – As another exciting edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) draws to a close, organisers Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) announce details of this week’s DSF Final Sale.
According to DFRE, shoppers can enjoy further reductions of up to 90 per cent on items across more than 3,000 retailers in Dubai’s malls during the DSF Final Sale.
Marking five weeks of sales, promotions and entertainment across the emirate, the DSF Final Sale, which runs from January 31 to February 2, will give bargain-hunters the chance to take advantage of unmissable deals on home, lifestyle, beauty and fashion brands.
The DSF sale is available at The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Deira, Dubai Festival City Mall, (Ibn Battuta Mall, Dragon Mart 1, Dragon Mart 2, Dubai Duty Free, ENOC, Mercato and Meraas, among others. GAD/Expat Media
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Abu Dhabi street to be closed for two months


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Hell on Two Wheels in India
What sort of auto market could be dealt the biggest blow in 16 years by a change in rules on banknotes? Ask Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Vehicle sales in December slumped 19 percent from a year earlier to 1.2 million, their lowest level since 2010. If that sounds like an outsized impact for a class of consumer goods that are mostly not paid for upfront in Western countries -- let alone bought with hard currency -- you can take it as a salutary reminder that India's isn't like any other automotive market.
The drop was overwhelmingly driven by vehicles that are so peripheral in developed markets, they're often forgotten -- motorbikes and mopeds.
In the U.S., the 501,000 two-wheelers sold in 2015 came to about 2.9 percent of total vehicle sales. Even in China, roughly three passenger cars are sold for every two motorcycles. In India, more than seven two-wheelers were sold or exported last year for every passenger car.
So when investors think about the country's growth to become the world's third-biggest automotive market by 2020, it's worth reflecting that about 90 percent of the increase in unit sales over the past five years has come from bikes, scooters and mopeds -- an extra 5 million, compared with less than 200,000 for passenger cars.
Why should this distinction matter? The main reason is embedded in those December sales figures: Just as the wider spread of vehicle finance gives the European and U.S. automotive industries a different character to that in China, so the importance of two-wheelers gives the Indian industry unique qualities that are easily underestimated. This tripped up no less an industrialist than Ratan Tata, who created an expensive white elephant for Tata Motors Ltd. when he bet the country's middle class would trade in their two-wheelers for the low-cost Tata Nano car.
The core sales demographic is (like India itself) less affluent, more rural, and has less access to the sort of finance products that make Western automotive markets as responsive to movements in interest rates as they are to shifts in selling prices.
Emissions rules have some unusual quirks, too: While passenger cars are being brought into line with current European clean-air levels by 2020, mopeds and three-wheeled auto-rickshaws still commonly use the dirtiest two-stroke engines -- a situation that ought to be a risk factor for manufacturers if rules are ever homogenized.
So if you're looking for bellwethers for the Indian industry, it could be worth paying a little less attention to Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Tata Motors and a little more to their smaller-cc cousins Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and Bajaj Auto Ltd. If you're impressed by Maruti's 18 percent year-on-year jump in sales volume in the September quarter, take a look at Eicher Motors Ltd., whose sales of Royal Enfield motorcycles were 42 percent higher in December than a year earlier.
Even without two-wheeler sales, the country's rapidly growing auto market would be a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, though, it's a mistake to forget that in India, small is still beautiful.
To contact the author of this story:
David Fickling in Sydney at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Paul Sillitoe at email@example.com


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- This event has passed.
Sensor and Digital Twins Conference
January 23, 2019 - January 24, 2019
Sensor technology has set its’ way to uplift the ability of IoT in today’s Information Age, championing the emerging scene of Industrial 4.0 into the industries masses. MarketsandMarkets states that the smart sensor market is expected to grow from US$18.58 Billion in 2015 to US$57.77 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 18.1 per cent between 2016 and 2022. The revolutionising sensor ability will bring infinite outbreaks of technological innovation in the future.
The fast-growing demands of automation and intelligence technology has shaped the sensor system to fulfil the gap of growth especially in IoT. Matthias Rebellius, CEO of Siemens Building Technologies says “Enlighted has a strong footprint in revolutionizing building intelligence by developing a multi-sensor-based IoT platform, using the power of data”. He mentioned strong footprint indicates that the sensor’s variants will be the forefront towards the integrated future for both enterprises and industrials.
Furthermore, the immense growth of automation has paved its way towards digital visualization that opens the door for greater possibilities, Digital Twins has made its way into the picture. The digital twins’ market was valued at US$1.82 Billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 15.66 Billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 37.87 per cent during the forecast period. The base year considered for the study is 2016, and the forecast for the market size is provided for the period between 2017 and 2023. The unique technology is arrayed to create disruption in numerous industries around the globe.
Digital twins drive the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) by providing a dynamic way to check and control assets and processes. Thomas Kaiser, SAP Senior Vice President of IoT, says, “Digital twins are becoming a business imperative, covering the entire life-cycle of an asset or process and forming the foundation for connected products and services. Companies that fail to respond will be left behind.” Hence, Digital Twins develop enhancements to existing products, operations, and services, and can help stimulate innovation into new businesses.
Championing the forefront innovations of predictive analytics and seamless asset maintenance through wide-ranging digital monitoring. Trueventus’ Sensor and Digital Twins conference provides the platform to acknowledge potentials in bringing significant values towards revamping the entire product value chain through digital layer, forming well-documented methods for producing and modifying the assets, making sure a long-term product life cycles, and to leverage data from numerous sources for business profitability.


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Ford Motor Co. says it is making passenger safety an even greater priority starting with its '07 lineup.
The auto maker will make standard a bevy of safety features and currently is working on cutting-edge technology, such as 4-point and inflatable seatbelts.
Side airbags, as well as side curtain airbags, will be standard equipment on 14 '07 models, including the upcoming Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX cross/utility vehicles. However, 4-point and inflatable seatbelts still are a ways off.
To develop the 4-point technology, Ford is relying on its experience in motor sports, says Stephen Rouhana, senior technical leader-Safety Research & Advanced Engineering.
“We've had crash recorders in CART cars, so we get the crash forces during the crash,” he says at a media event in Dearborn, MI. “You've seen those collisions. At 200 mph (322 km/h), a vehicle hits the wall and there are parts flying everywhere. Very often, you see someone get up and walk out of there.”
Rouhana adds that in the history of open-wheel racing there has never been a death caused by a chest injury.
In addition to studying the benefits of 4-point safety belts in high-velocity crashes, Ford says it has conducted extensive consumer research to ascertain the comfort and acceptance levels of new seatbelt design.
In 2001, the auto maker brought car cutaways with seats equipped with 4-point belts to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the Frankfurt auto show in Germany.
Before attendees tried the seatbelts, they were scanned and weighed, which provided a multitude of body dimensions for Ford engineers.
“We got all that information so we could do a correlation between age, gender, weight, height — all of those things,” Rouhana says. “(We also) looked at (the showgoers') acceptability, their perception of safety, their comfort and ease of use.”
From the data, Ford found 75%-80% of those queried said they would choose a 4-point seatbelt in their next vehicle. “That's overwhelming data for a consumer clinic,” he says.
But there are obstacles to overcome before introducing the seatbelts in production vehicles. To start with, 4-point belts are illegal under National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. guidelines.
The issue is a phenomenon referred to as “submarining,” which pulls the lapbelt upwards off the pelvis during a crash, Rouhana says. In racing, submarining is overcome through the use of a crotch strap, a solution not viable for the general public.
The problem of submarining has kept 4-point belts off the road, as researchers struggled to overcome the problem.
By utilizing dual-pretensioners on the lapbelt and force-limiting retractors on the shoulder belt, Ford has been able to overcome the problem, Rouhana says.
“It allows the upper torso to come upright somewhat, in a controlled manner,” he tells Ward's. “There's also a sheet metal ramp in seats today that controls the pelvic motion. A combination of those three things enabled us to reduce the likeliness of submarining.”
Rouhana says preliminary testing shows the use of 4-point seatbelts results in a 50% reduction of the force applied to the chest by a safety belt during a crash, which reduces belt-related injuries. This is especially important for older drivers. Ford's research reveals a 65-year-old's chest has 72% less crash tolerance for safety belt forces than those 16-35 years of age.
Women, who lose bone mass more quickly than men as they age, also are at increased risk of injury due to belt forces, Rouhana says.
Ford and development-partner TRW Automotive have yet to present their 4-point technology to NHTSA for approval, Rouhana says, adding there is no timetable to do so. However, he suggests such technology could be in production vehicles by 2010.
Meanwhile, inflatable seatbelt technology is showing great promise, he says. The belts, which are essentially safety belts lined with a thin airbag, would first be used in rear seats because they act in much the same way front airbags protect occupants.
Ford's inflatable belts are connected to the same sensors as front airbags, Rouhana says. When the signal is given to deploy front airbags, the inflatable belts react at the exact same moment.
The inflatable belts look similar to normal belts, although they are thicker. The belts inflate with compressed air, funneled to the shoulder belts through the lapbelt that does not inflate.
Because compressed air is used, instead of pyrotechnic devices utilized in standard airbags, the belts are inflated at a much lower pressure.
Tests show inflatable belts are more comfortable than standard seatbelts due to their increased thickness, Rouhana says, noting the advantages of inflatable belts are many, as they essentially bring front airbag protection to rear-seat passengers that often are children.
“We get rid of a lot of the dangers for children of frontal airbags and bring a much more benign airbag into the backseat,” Rouhana says.
“There's also a tremendous increase in (belt) area, so you have a larger area on the chest that crash forces are going through. When you have a given force and you increase the area, the pressure underneath goes down.”
Ford tests also show that inflatable belts, because of their thickness, restrain the chin of an occupant during a crash, which reduce the forces on the neck. The belts also lessen the likelihood the head will hit something in front, and they are beneficial in rollovers, Ford says.
“So we have multi-mode protection with a fairly simple idea,” Rouhana says.
Ford is developing its inflatable belt system with supplier Key Safety Systems. Like the 4-point seatbelt, the inflatable belts could reach production vehicles by 2010. However, no official timetable has been set.


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The official twitter handle of Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning pleaded with US billionaire, Elon Musk, for free ventilators to tackle coronavirus in the country.
Musk, who is the founder and Chief Engineer, SpaceX, had on Tuesday, through his verified twitter handle, announced that his company had free ventilators for hospitals within Tesla delivery regions.
He tweeted: “We have extra FDA-approved ventilators. Will ship to hospitals worldwide within Tesla delivery regions. Device & shipping cost are free. Only requirement is that the vents are needed immediately for patients, not stored in a warehouse. Please me or @Tesla know.”
Responding to the tweet, the finance ministry wrote: “Dear @elonmusk @Tesla Federal Government of Nigeria needs support with 100-500 ventilators to assist with #Covid19 cases arising every day in Nigeria”


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Two-way winner for Somerfield duo
The new bosses of troubled supermarket chain Somerfield will trouser two years' pay - £1m for chairman John von Spreckelsen, £800,000 for chief executive Alan Smith - if it is taken over during their first 12 months.
That looks highly possible. The shares have crashed from 244p last year to 75p after the group lost £14.5m in the 12 months to April.
Von Spreckelsen, hired from rival Budgens, got £288,000 to cover benefits given up when he switched jobs. Smith, lured from Punch Taverns, collected £310,000, according to the latest accounts.
Von Spreckelsen has been granted 2.8m options in Somerfield at 69p a share which can be exercised from 2003. Smith received 2.3m at the same price.
The supermarket group looks one of the weaker players in the sector as Wal-Mart piles on the pressure. But von Spreckelsen is credited with turning round Budgens.


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The restyled 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage will be unveiled in Thailand on November 18.
The Mitsubishi Mirage city car has been available in Canada since the 2014 model year, and will get its second facelift for the 2020 model year as the current-generation model soldiers on.
With Mitsubishi having announced that from 2020 onwards, every model in its lineup will offer some sort of electrification, we’re scratching our heads as to what that means for the little Mirage. Yet, the automaker has just released a teaser image of what the 2020 model will look like, as the official reveal will occur in Thailand on November 18.
From what we can see, the 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage will adopt the brand’s Dynamic Shield corporate visage, characterised by two wide, curved chrome strips that underline the headlight clusters and extend down into the bumper.
We can also spot some lower-body cladding, giving the city car a much sportier look, although they’ll likely reserved for the higher-end trim levels. The car’s front end appears to be slightly longer as well, although we’ll have to wait until the official reveal to confirm that.
In North America, the Mirage is equipped with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine that produces 78 horsepower and 74 pound-feet of torque, matched to either a five-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable automatic transmission. We’ll see if there are any changes to the car from a mechanical standpoint, which we doubt, as the Mitsubishi has the advantage of being the most fuel-efficient, non-hybrid car in Canada.
We’re also curious to know if the Mirage will participate in Mitsubishi’s electrification push. After unveiling the e-Evolution Concept, the Engelberg Tourer and the MI-TECH in the past year or so, it’s clear that the company is heading towards a future filled with plug-in hybrid and fully electric SUVs and crossovers.
The Mirage is the only car left in Mitsubishi Canada’s lineup, yet despite its age and reputation for offering underwhelming performance, sales have increased by 12% year-over-year during the first eight months of 2019.
A couple of weeks ago, Mitsubishi Canada announced that the Mirage G4 sedan will not return for 2020, leaving the Mirage hatchback as the only remaining model in the lineup, which will continue to rival the Chevrolet Spark, Nissan Micra and Fiat 500.


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The Securities and Exchange Commission revealed on Friday that it had begun trying into Elon Musk’s purchases of Twitter inventory in early April and whether or not he correctly disclosed his stake and his intentions for the social media firm.
In a regulatory submitting, the company stated it had approached Mr. Musk on April 4. At the time, Mr. Musk, who’s the world’s richest man, had simply turn out to be Twitter’s largest shareholder with a 9.2 p.c stake in the corporate. Mr. Musk additionally filed a securities doc that indicated he deliberate for the funding to be passive and didn’t intend to pursue management of the corporate.
Ten days later, Mr. Musk supplied $54.20 a share to purchase Twitter outright. Twitter later agreed to promote itself to Mr. Musk for roughly $44 billion; the transaction is anticipated to shut in the following few months.
In a letter to Mr. Musk dated April 4, the S.E.C. questioned whether or not he had disclosed his stake on the proper time. The legislation requires shareholders who purchase greater than 5 p.c of a firm’s shares to disclose their possession inside 10 days of reaching that threshold. In regulatory filings, Mr. Musk has stated he crossed that threshold on March 14, however didn’t make his purchases public till April 4.
In its letter, the S.E.C. additionally questioned whether or not Mr. Musk was really a “passive” investor, provided that he had already publicly criticized Twitter’s content material moderation insurance policies and tweeted suggestions about how the social media firm needs to be modified.
Filing as a “passive investor” whereas secretly planning to take over a firm is “fraudulent,” some authorized consultants have stated. Such instances are not often prosecuted and are troublesome to show, they’ve added.
The S.E.C. declined to remark. Mr. Musk didn’t reply to a request for remark. A lawyer for Mr. Musk declined to remark.
The Federal Trade Commission can also be trying into whether or not Mr. Musk violated disclosure necessities by failing to notify the company of his sizable stake in Twitter. Investors sometimes should notify antitrust regulators of enormous share purchases to give authorities officers 30 days to evaluate the transaction for competitors violations.
Mr. Musk, who can also be the chief govt of the electrical automobile firm Tesla and the rocket maker SpaceX, has beforehand tangled with the S.E.C. He confronted an investigation from the regulator in 2018 when he introduced on Twitter that he deliberate to take Tesla non-public and that he had secured financing for the deal.
The S.E.C. charged Mr. Musk with securities fraud as a result of, it stated, the transaction he referred to was unsure and funding had not been locked down. Mr. Musk and Tesla settled for $40 million. Under the phrases of his settlement with the regulator, Mr. Musk should run his tweets by a Tesla lawyer in the event that they comprise materials statements in regards to the carmaker. Last month, Mr. Musk tried to finish the tweet approval association in courtroom, however a decide denied his request.
A shareholder lawsuit towards Mr. Musk over his tweet claiming he deliberate to take Tesla non-public is ongoing. Mr. Musk additionally faces a lawsuit from Twitter shareholders over his delayed disclosure about his purchases of the social media firm’s inventory.


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Australia has the right legacy strengths, technological capabilities and skilled population to become a global innovation leader. However, support gaps at the grassroots are holding us back from reaching our full potential.
A network of capability platforms like business makerspaces along with a changed mindset can address this.
The government excels in supporting existing enterprises in their pursuit of innovation and we have initiatives within formal structures like universities and business incubators to support grassroots development. But despite this, we still lose many of our youngest and brightest innovators to more established overseas ecosystems.
The story of Dr Shi Zhengrong, an Australian solar scientist, highlights the consequences of neglecting grassroots innovation and investment in Australia. After developing solar panels at the University of New South Wales, Dr Shi sought better investment and production conditions in China.
At its peak, his Suntech empire was valued at US$16 billion and was headquartered in Wuxi in China, rather than Australia.
Australia’s inability to capture the full potential of technology, often nurtured in our excellent research facilities, is frustrating. Our struggle to foster innovation at the grassroots of manufacturing is usually justified through high cost of domestic labour and our geographic isolation – but these are old excuses.
We now have a better understanding for why Australian manufacturing startups struggle.
Part of the problem is that the government’s low risk tolerance and high eligibility thresholds for grant funding result in small to medium enterprises and digital-only software app startups getting a larger share of the funding pie, leaving manufacturing startups neglected.
Another problem is that universities and corporations rarely support innovators operating outside their formal structures, meaning good ideas are often suffocated by bureaucracy.
Even incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces, which are great contributors to Australian innovation, are generally not equipped to cater for manufacturing innovation.
Although Australia’s design and engineering expertise is world class and positions us as a technology leader, the lack of support in grassroots manufacturing creates an innovation gap.
Business makerspaces like Space Tank Studio provide a platform to bridge this gap by helping innovators bring their concepts from the prototyping bench to business. Over 10 years and a thousand startups, we have learned how to nurture manufacturing startups into iconic Australian brands, and to unlock the potential of advanced manufacturing through innovative product design.
Business makerspaces play an important role in the startup space. Like accelerators, incubators and universities, they help entrepreneurs grow.
Their point of difference is that they provide an inclusive, street level, walk-in space where technology and manufacturing resources are made available to founders to help them build physical product development businesses.
At Space Tank, for example, we do this by putting tech in the hands of next generation builders. By leveraging economies of scale across studio tenancy, technology and training services, we can offer affordable DIY access to a wide range of technology and equipment, including 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, wood and metal workshops and co-working fabrication spaces.
Innovators can rent studio space or get casual day passes and once inducted on OH+S procedures, they can use any equipment they need to test concepts, create prototypes or begin small batch production runs.
Space Tank addresses skills and education gaps by providing tailored training courses and business networks. With a community of skilled professionals in engineering, design and entrepreneurship, Space Tank serves as a hub for mentorship and guidance, helping startups overcome technical challenges, refine product designs and develop scalable processes.
Through collaboration and skill sharing, startups can learn from each other, tap into networks of industry expertise and explore resource sharing initiatives.
We host events on relevant advanced manufacturing topics and invite presentations from successful manufacturing entrepreneurs to provide inspiration and share insider knowledge.
We also provide training to individuals of different abilities, making education more inclusive for those without formal qualifications or affiliations with universities or large companies.
In its 10 years, Space Tank has supported over 1,000 niche manufacturers and applied tech startups at the grassroots including Jaunt Motors (a global supplier of electric vehicle conversion kits) Bastion Cycles (world-first customisable carbon fibre and 3D printed titanium bicycles) and Cutthroat Knives (Australia’s most recognisable bespoke kitchen knives).
Other young innovators have worked on robotic 3D printing, drones combating mosquito-borne diseases, therapy orthotics, automated solar shades and micro satellite launch systems among others.
Crucially, however, business makerspaces provide a more accessible, individualised support than can be found anywhere else in Australia.
Enabling a wide range of talents from different disciplines to come together builds interdisciplinary networks and encourages mentorship, peer learning, and rapid idea-sharing. This leads to innovative solutions and more responsive skills development compared to bureaucratic processes found in universities and large corporations.
Members use what they need and give back to the community where they can. This immediate access to enabling resources and networking effect results in much faster iteration cycles than if they were burdened by bureaucratic processes found in universities and corporate incubators.
By offering safe, effective and scalable support for grassroots innovation, business makerspaces can help entrepreneurial manufacturers stay onshore.
Capability platforms take advantage of technology through facilitating the interaction with people, process, and management. They provide the framework for networked relationships to embed learning into targeted problem areas.
By definition, they are a succinct explanation of how business makerspaces operate and why they can improve the state of Australian innovation.
A unified policy involving support for capability platforms and innovation programs can nurture thousands of young innovators into commercially ready enterprises.
Capability platforms like business makerspaces can be used to support the needs of independent grassroots innovators who are separated from formal structures like universities, companies and app-centric incubators.
This is a proven approach in Germany and America but needs to be tailored to meet Australia’s unique problems and opportunities.
Australia’s cohort of young innovators (comprising of digital natives, university graduates, designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs) possess tech-savviness, a hunger for change and a keen understanding of consumer needs and future trends.
Creating a national network of capability platforms to support them can produce much higher outcomes than backing SMEs alone. This is because investment in SMEs reaches a limit in terms of innovation outputs, technology transformation and employment.
In their efforts to scale-up, SMEs often try to capture all the value internally, diminishing shared economic outcomes. Using capability platforms to invest in young innovators directly leads to greater whole-of-sector development.
Business makerspaces offer a portfolio approach to fostering grassroots innovation. With minimal risk support, policies can be prototyped, allowing the government to implement small batch funding parcels to test initiatives and target industry weaknesses.
This nimble approach creates faster feedback loops for learning and iteration of policy design. Thus, helping government to discover the safest and most effective way of supporting grassroots innovation sectors and broaden innovation capacity across the whole startup ecosystem.
The adoption and development of such capability platforms, both for manufacturing and product services, will create ripple effects in technological innovation, job creation, export potential and industry transformation, driving overall technological progress and new market opportunities.
In the future, capability platforms like business makerspaces, will likely also have a role to play in helping government funders and investors prioritise support for startups with the highest potential for success.
An entrepreneurial mindset
Our mindset is critical to how we position innovation within an economic context. By shifting our mindset from primary industries to talent and ingenuity, Australia can transform from being a ‘lucky country’ to becoming a ‘smart country.’
To achieve a national innovation and entrepreneurial mindset, we need clear policies in place to support innovators from the ground up. This should include initiatives to support manufacturing innovators who operate outside formal structures and who lie below current funding thresholds.
The perception of manufacturing matters in relation to our innovation mindset. The Australian innovation ecosystem discriminates against manufacturing startups due to outdated perceptions of risk, slow speed to market, cost of goods and services and geographic isolation.
Although improvements in prototyping and advanced manufacturing technologies have made it faster and cheaper to produce physical products in Australia, it is true that manufacturers will not always fit the typical startup mould. They require tangible infrastructure and may scale at a slower pace than digital-only startups.
It is incumbent on government funders and investors to see past this and recognise the potential of great manufacturing startups or risk having them fall through the cracks or go offshore.
The media compounds invisibility for manufacturing startups. Advanced manufacturing stories are featured on platforms like Manufacturer’s Monthly, but they focus on SMEs. Startups are notably absent, reinforcing the notion that grassroots innovators are perceived differently.
Inclusive media messaging can change traditional perceptions. To tap into the potential of young innovators we need stories and language that resonates with them and encourages them to reclaim Australian Made.
Language, like ‘applied technology’ has surfaced within our innovation and design ecosystems. It refers to the merging of digital and manufacturing realms to create and commercialise physical technologies.
Applied technology symbolises creativity, speed, scalability and connectivity and is gaining momentum over the last five years.
By shifting towards ‘smart country’ economic policies, being more inclusive of manufactures in startup funding grants and showcasing applied technology entrepreneurs in media coverage, we can begin building a world class national innovation and entrepreneurial mindset.
Australia’s bias toward investing in SMEs and software apps is harming its innovation potential. Supporting innovation at the grassroots in Australia, particularly in manufacturing, will drive broad economic growth, fostering a culture of risk-taking and addressing regional disparities.
Capability platforms can filter and support our most promising grassroots innovation talent.
Business makerspaces play a vital role in supporting grassroots innovators and entrepreneurs who do not align with university, business and app-centric startup ecosystems.
By bridging skills gaps and providing inclusive access to affordable technology, capability platforms like business makerspaces are harnessing our young innovation potential and growing new iconic Australian Made innovations.
Investing in and supporting a national network of capability platforms like makerspaces can help lift our innovation index by leveraging Australia’s largest latent cohort of innovation talent.
Holger Dielenberg is Founder and Director of Space Tank Studio, Australia’s first independent and privately funded business makerspace and product development incubator for manufacturing startups. As a recognised leader in Victoria’s startup scene, Holger works closely with government, industry organisations, equipment suppliers and universities to develop better recognition and support for young innovators who operate outside of formal institutions.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.


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By Soren Billing
Brand consultancy chief says region should follow lead of firms like Emirates.
Brand consultancy Wolff Olins has claimed the region will be home to the next generation of global brands, as it opens its third global hub in Dubai amid an uncertain economic outlook.
The brand consultancy behind GE, London 2012 and Sony Ericsson said companies with a strong brand will be better placed to weather an economic downturn.
This means companies in the region will have to move beyond thinking of their brand as just a logo, managing partner Abed Bibi said.
“During the boom we only saw logos, and I used to call it sushi branding; you don’t know what is inside until you taste it. The brand must stand for something,” he said.
After an extended economic boom on the back of record oil prices, regional markets have matured, he believes.
“Branding is no longer just about a logo and advertising. Those days we think are gone.”
Bibi declined to name any weak brands in the region (“They might be my client one day”) but said Emirates is an example of a strong, global Arab brand.
Asked about launching in such an uncertain economic environment, he invoked the story of Leo Burnett, the advertising executive who created the Marlboro man and Tony the Tiger.
Burnett borrowed $50,000 on his life insurance and mortgaged his home to launch his advertising agency during the Great Depression.
When word got out that the newly launched agency was giving out apples for free to visitors, a newspaper columnist joked that it wouldn’t be long before Burnett was selling apples on the street.
Today there is a bowl of apples in the reception of every Leo Burnett office around the world.
“There are always opportunities, regardless of whether the market is going up or down,” Bibi said.
Wolff Olins, part of global advertising holding company Omnicom, employs 180 people in London and New York.


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Jan 20, 2011
Centiv Services, LLC, a leading provider of automated in-store and on-premise marketing solutions, has named Mike Glennon as Vice President, with a focus on beverage alcohol clients and national accounts.
Jan 07, 2011
Centiv Services, LLC, an industry leader in providing marketing automation software solutions has announced today that Jay Buford will take on the role of Executive Vice President of Account Management.
Nov 08, 2010
Centiv Services Acquires Graphic Express Menus out of Clifton, NJ. This acquisition will allow for greater reach into the hosipitality segment for Centiv Services.
Oct 27, 2010
Centiv Services, LLC to expand into Europe.
Sep 01, 2010
Centiv Services to Launch Instant Impact 3.0
Aug 30, 2010
Centiv announced it has been named one of America’s 500/5000 fastest growing private companies for 2010 by Inc. magazine. The Inc. 500/5000 ranks privately held companies according to overall revenue growth over a three-year period.
Aug 18, 2010
Centiv Services, LLC, a leading provider of automated in store and on premise marketing solutions, has named Max Wunderle as Senior Vice President of Sales heading up its eastern operations, headquartered in Rye, NY.
Aug 18, 2010
Chicago, Ill—August 17, 2010—Centiv Services, LLC, a leading provider of marketing automation solutions has named Mathew Freitas as Vice President of the Western Region.
Sep 23, 2009
Running a direct mail program can be a frustrating and time consuming process. That’s not the case, however, for customers of Centiv Services, a leading provider of Marketing Automation Software for Fortune 1000 clients.
Aug 05, 2009
Centiv Services, a leading provider of marketing on demand technology and in-house print production, has announced the relocation of its Headquarters to Chicago’s landmark, the Willis Tower, known until recently as the Sears Tower.


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- 2 min read
Korean vendors to set up $1 billion supply chain for Kia in Andhra
Korean consortia of auto component manufacturers are set to make approximately USD 1 billion investment in a supply chain for an integrated plant being set up by Kia Motors in Andhra Pradesh, according to an investment transaction lawyer involved in the project.
The Koreans consortia is in the final stage of discussions with Andhra Pradesh government for setting up a vendor eco-system to support the Kia integrated plant, said Advocate TM Kumar of IPN Associates LLP, which is helping Kia in implementing the USD 1.1 billion plant.
"Kia's USD 1.1 billion investment is progressing with land levelling of the 600-acre site for the plant," said Kumar, who is working on automotive industries in India through the Hong Kong office of an international law firm, Ashurst.
Also Read: Kia Motors hires ex-BMW designer as style head
The vendor-based supply chain will be set up in two phases, similar to Hyundai Motors' 80-vendor support in Tamil Nadu.
Both Hyundai and Kia are international brands of South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Group.
Hyundai had developed its own vendor supply chain over the years to keep final car manufacturing cost down and competitive in the Indian market.
Eighty per cent of some 2,000 components in each Hyundai car are made by the Tamil Nadu based vendors as part of its indigenisation programme.
Kia's first car will roll out the end of 2019 with over 50 per cent of the components made by the supply chain vendors in Andhra Pradesh.
"The supply chain will have 18 vendors with over 9,000 employees," said Kumar, an investment transaction lawyer.
Also Read: South Korea's Hyundai launches new Genesis sports sedan in SUV-driven market
Speaking at the Institute of South Asian Studies' symposium yesterday, Kumar elaborated to the need to indigenise car manufacturing with locally made components for such imports would be expensive and raise costs.
Hyundai now produces 6.72 lakh cars a year from Tamil Nadu while KIA aims to produce 3 lakh cars a year from Andhra Pradesh, starting with 1 lakh units in the first year.


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From inventor Dean Kamen, the revolutionary device is poised to make a comeback.
The electric uBox, with its 3D-printed components and distinctive aesthetic, is aimed at next-gen car buyers.
The Michigan facility will focus on fully autonomous cars, something Toyota previously shied away from.
The $5.5 million investment is yet another sign that connected cars are the way of the future.
Toyota's system dynamically moves driver information around to the optimal spot.
The Prius Prime can park itself and show you Doppler weather radar, but its hybrid features aren't too exciting.
Project Blaid will help navigate indoor spaces by providing users with information about their surroundings.
The problem is, it's not street legal.
Thanks to its combination of performance, technology, and utility, it's easy to see why the Toyota RAV4 is such a popular crossover.
By balancing new tech with tried-and-true performance, the fully redesigned 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4x4 retains its leading position in the midsize truck segment.
With a comprehensive set of apps, configurable interface, and smartphone-based connectivity, Toyota's Entune infotainment system is better than ever.
Design has thus far restricted satellite tech in cars, but a partnership between Toyota and Kymeta could change that.
Toyota Research Institute is slated to begin operations this upcoming January with a staff of approximately 200.
The free rides will last for 15 minutes. Time travel not included.
Toyota is eyeing a fleet of hybrid and fuel-cell cars by 2050, but is not investing in electric-only vehicles.
The company showcased a Lexus driving at 37mph without human interference.
Toyota promised a 10 percent improvement in EPA estimated miles per gallon (MPG) on the new Prius.
The goal is to boost the R&D of intelligent vehicle and mobility tech that could make roads safer in the future.
The 2015 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited is a standout vehicle not only because of its impressive fuel economy, but also for its sleek external styling, upmarket interior, and excellent technology.


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Sensex recovers 70 pts on easing inflation
Key Indian equity market indices opened in the green on Friday on the back of India's annual retail inflation easing to 4.31 per cent for September from 5.05 per cent in August.
Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex recovered about 70 points in early trade on Friday after investors indulged in fresh buying taking cues from encouraging retail inflation
numbers for September, despite weaker revenue guidance by TCS and Infosys for the current fiscal.
A higher trend on other Asian bourses, helped trading sentiment improve, brokers said.
The 30-share barometer was trading higher by 69.68 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 27,712.79 with oil&gas, capital goods, PSU, realty and auto sectors leading the recovery.
The gauge had plunged 439.23 points in Thursday's trade after a slew of global factors such as weak Chinese export data and Fed rate hike talks unnerved investors.
On similar lines, the NSE Nifty rose 22.70 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 8,596.05.
Shares of country's largest software exporter TCS today rose 2.12 per cent to Rs 2,377.95 after the company yesterday reported an 8.4 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Ra 6,586 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.
Infosys fell 2.09 per cent to Rs 1,030.05 after it reported a consolidated net profit rise of 6.1 per cent to Rs 3,606 crore. Revenues of the company grew 10 per cent to Rs 18,070 crore for September 2016 quarter.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.63 per cent while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.07 per cent in early trade.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.25 per cent lower in Thursday's trade.
|Dr Reddys Labs||1,984.15||+53.05||+2.75|
|Bank of Baroda||139.35||-2.75||-1.94|
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Poppermost Games reveals that they have a timed exclusivity deal with Sony.
Poppermost’s SNOW is shaping up to be fantastic free ski video game if the recent open beta is anything to go by. The game is currently available to play in an Early Access format on Steam but other than that the developers are also working on a PlayStation 4 version. GamingBolt recently spoke to to Poppermost Games and asked them whether there are any plans to release an Xbox One version in the future or for that matter why isn’t an Xbox One version considered for now.
“We currently have an exclusivity deal with Sony and will investigate a potential release on X1 once this exclusive period is over,” an executive from Poppermost Games said to GamingBolt. So it seems that the game may release on the Xbox One but as of right now there is nothing planned.
The developer also revealed that they don’t have the resources to work on an Xbox One version. “The reason why we haven’t looked into an X1 releasesis because of bandwidth reasons. We are only ten people working on SNOW and need to focus on fewer platforms as we still developing new features and adding content.”
SNOW is due sometime later this year for the PS4 and PC. Stay tuned for more news and updates.


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Travel agents can look forward to a robust six months in terms of customer bookings, say several consortia, host and franchise executives Travel Agent spoke with. Additionally, although the bookings for travel in the current year would typically already be done, agents can still expect to see a significant number of last-minute vacations reserved for travel before the year-end.
However, the news is not entirely positive. While all executives agree the number of clients booking will likely increase through the first quarter of 2010 and beyond, prices will remain low as tight booking windows remain prevalent.
Counting on Pent-Up Demand
According to Cruise Planners’ co-founder and CEO Michelle Fee, expectations for the fourth quarter are “pretty good,” especially considering the fact that positive trends, last-minute bookings in particular, began to kick in around June. In fact, Fee adds, Cruise Planners is already seeing its 2009 numbers starting to look strong.
But the company is still counting on the last-minute booking trend to help make 2009 a solid year. Where in a normal year bookings for the current year would usually be done by now, because the booking window remains within a 90-day range, Fee says the company expects to see quite a bit of business before the year ends.
Part of the reason for the sudden onslaught of last-minute business is pent-up demand, Fee adds. Consumers have gotten tired of hearing about economic uncertainty and unemployment and have reached the point of just needing to live their own lives.
Not content to sit back and hope that business picks up, Cruise Planners is pushing holiday season travel to try and stimulate 2009 business, and planning a week-long World’s Largest Cruise Night event to perk up both fourth-quarter business and 2010 first quarter bookings.
“We’re hopeful that this big push can finish off the year, so we will promote some 2009 business,” Fee says. “But World’s Largest Cruise Event is what really helps us kick off 2010.”
Trends Extremely Positive
The only way to look into the future is to look at the past, Dwain Wall, senior vice president and general manager of CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., tells Travel Agent, adding that the companies have seen the last 20 weeks’ trend “extremely positively [and] in the right direction.”
Among the positive trends Wall cites are an increase in both bookings and sales over last year, year-over-year. Bookings are up 15 percent over the last 20 weeks and the last three weeks’ sales are up 9 percent over last year. In addition to the increase in bookings and sales, Wall says the companies are also starting to see the booking window expand slightly, which he says is an indication that people are finally starting to make vacation decisions.
However, like the other agency groups Travel Agent spoke with, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. are still seeing a large number of close-in reservations, a trend, Wall says, is not going away any time soon. Currently, about 35 percent of all CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. bookings are for 2009 departures, though that number shrinks every week by a couple of percentage points, Wall adds.
CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. are trying to take advantage of the holiday season to push for any last-minute business, running some specialty holiday marketing promotions. But because the opportunity to sell 2009 business decreases each week, the companies are working hard to stimulate first-quarter bookings by planning a “major” World’s Largest Cruise Night event and are anticipating a much better Wave Season than last year.
While booking trends look positive, Wall adds that he expects pricing to remain low through the first quarter of next year. But he adds, “If the booking window continues to expand, you will see the cruise lines get a little more bullish in terms of increasing their prices.”
Ensemble Travel Group expects to see a “teeny” bit more business in the early part of this year’s fourth quarter, according to President and CEO Jack Mannix . Additionally, this year’s fourth quarter is expected to be better than last year’s, especially because it was around this time last year that business fell off the cliff.
But more importantly, Mannix adds, fourth quarter is expected to be a good push off for 2010, though he says he does not expect business to come booming back.
“We don’t have any expectations at this stage for 2010 that it’s going to come blowing back,” Mannix says. “I think it’s going to take us a while to recover, but I do think that it will be a better year.”
Hoping to bring in any remaining 2009, and early 2010 business it can, Ensemble is running a second round of its Vacation Therapy marketing campaign, which ran for three months earlier in the year. The campaign highlights 48 different supplier offers and has, so far, been well-received.
Ensemble agents are already seeing bookings for early 2010, which Mannix says is much more encouraging than it was a year ago for first quarter 2009.
Part of what’s driving current and future bookings is a sense of increased consumer confidence, as well as people feeling that they’ve gone too long without a vacation.
But although Mannix expects bookings to trend upward, he maintains a cautious optimism, particularly because he anticipates that pricing will remain low. The rubber has not met the road yet, Mannix says. In the first six months of 2010 the travel industry will continue to see a reasonable number of people traveling but relatively poor revenues associated with that travel.
Close-In Bookings Prevent Forecasts
Filomena Andre, CTC, vice-president of sales and marketing for Signature Travel Network, is not as optimistic about the future as the other executives Travel Agent spoke with. Though she says she expects to see some signs of relative improvement in 2010, she is quick to add that the year will be as challenging as 2009.
In particular, booking patterns will continue to be erratic and the close-in booking trend will carry well into 2010. This will hold especially true for mass market and premium cruise lines, as well as for tour operators who have not yet been successful in promoting future departures.
Fourth-quarter business for holiday departures is expected to improve over the coming months, Andre says, as hotels begin to offer “unprecedented” values. Signature is taking advantage of this trend, promoting close-in bookings for holiday cruise sailings, as well as land vacations.
On a positive note, Andre adds that time-sensitive promotions that offer great values for luxury cruises departing next year are creating a sense of urgency, and so Signature agents do expect to see an improvement in luxury cruise bookings made in the fourth quarter for travel later in 2010.
However, according to Andre, consumers have become accustomed to waiting until the last minute to get the best deals. This mindset, she says, will carry into fourth quarter and into next year, preventing the booking window from expanding significantly. Because the booking window will remain tight, Andre adds that future sales are impossible to forecast at this time.
Positive Signs for First Quarter
Based on forward booking patterns, consumer surveys and anecdotal evidence from supplier partners, Roger E. Block, CTC, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, says he expects the fourth-quarter booking window to remain extremely short. Additionally, pricing, particularly for cruises, will remain competitive.
However, he adds Travel Leaders franchisees are starting to see some positive trends for the first quarter, with forward bookings on the rise. He attributes the forward bookings to an increase in consumer confidence.
In accordance with the tight booking window trend, a recent Travel Leaders survey found that many consumers are planning a vacation for the fourth quarter of this year. But Block says savvy travel agents should promote spring and summer vacations to these customers when they book their end-of-year break. Though he doubts the bookings will be made in the fourth quarter, Block sees a strong possibility for January and February bookings.
Unlike Signature’s Andre, Block is hopeful that the packaged tour industry will do a good job of advertising limited lower price inventory to bring in bookings for summer Europe vacations. He expects to see this begin toward the end of fourth quarter and continue into the first quarter of 2010.
But while the trends are positive, Block stresses that the travel industry is not back to where it was in 2007, nor will it get there in 2010. Although agents will see a firming of yields, prices will continue to stay low, at least relative to where they were two to three years ago.
Looking Forward to Wave Season
John Lovell, vice president of sales and industry relations for Vacation.com, is optimistic about fourth quarter, though he does not expect to see a hefty rebound in yields. But consumer confidence is stronger than it was in the first half of the year and Lovell anticipates that booking trends from now through January will be stronger than this time last year.
With inventory still available for most travel verticals, including products that lend themselves well to the holidays, such as river cruising, Vacation.com members are continuing to promote fourth-quarter vacations. And a substantial number of consumers are expected to make close-in bookings.
However, Lovell does not expect the strong finish to 2009 to offset the rest of the year’s weak performance. “I’m bullish for the future but I think it’s a little late in the year to make up any of that,” he says.
Looking further ahead, Lovell says customers will continue to come back, and he is looking forward to a more traditional Wave Season this year. Considering there was essentially no Wave Season last year, Vacation.com members should definitely see a year-over-year increase in Wave bookings within the next six months.
But like the other executives Travel Agent spoke with, he also believes the majority of clients will continue to book close-in and a gain in yields will not immediately mirror the gain in customers. However, Lovell is confident that as customers continue to come back, the yields will slowly follow, though not within the first quarter of 2010.
The fourth quarter of 2009 looks good for Virtuoso, although it will not offset the weakness of the previous three quarters, Kristi Jones, president of Virtuoso, tells Travel Agent. But member agents are starting to see an uptick in sales, both short window bookings, as well as future reservations. Revenue remains low due to the depressed pricing, however.
At the network’s recent conference, a significant number of agents, responding to a member poll, said their completed transactions were higher than they were in January. According to Jones, several cruise line partners have told the network that their bookings for travel in the fourth quarter of 2009 are “off the chart,” a fact she attributes to the aggressiveness of Virtuoso’s Return on Life campaign, as well as training and the group’s override agreements.
But she adds that the main reason Virtuoso will be able to do so well in the fourth quarter is the close-in booking window. People are calling, booking and sailing within two weeks, which she adds is almost unprecedented.
Agents also said their future bookings were higher, so much so that some departures for 2010 have already sold out. However, there is still much more availability for the coming year than would be typical in a fourth quarter.
“Consumers respond fast to the market and when they can call and still get the suite they want or the hotel room they want, they [will] continue to [go for] short booking windows,” Jones says.
Luxury cruise lines are stabilizing faster than other travel products though and Jones says she has heard from some suppliers that they are going to start testing the price elasticity of the marketplace. This is partly because, of all their clients, the affluent consumer has been the first to jump back into traveling.
For 2010, Jones says all indications point to a shift in the booking window, which will expand, especially in the luxury market, as availability tightens and prices rise. One thing that will remain unchanged in 2010 is clients will continue to want to feel that they’re getting value. How they define that value, Jones says, is what she thinks will change, going beyond just low prices.


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Emma Barry to reveal to FILEX delegates what will happen NEXT in fitness
The FILEX Convention, Australasia’s leading fitness convention, has Emma Barry – a published author and consultant to boutiques, budgets, fit-tech start-ups and club-in-a-club – delivering their keynote address on Saturday 2 May on what is to happen next in fitness with a deep dive into what will shape the future of the industry including global trends and tech.
“Emma Barry is fluent in what happens NEXT in fitness. She’s always been on the cutting edge of fitness herself, and now we’re lucky enough to have her share what’s in her crystal-ball with us!” says a FILEX Convention spokesperson. “Emma’s a founding member of Les Mills International, former Director of Programming for Equinox, and consultant to the fastest growing value-based chain in Europe, Basic-Fit. She has inhaled senior roles in group fitness programming, product development, global training and people & culture.”
The NZ-born, LA based sought-after speaker will be presenting four other business and leadership focussed sessions including a presentation at the FILEX Business Summit on Thursday 30 April 2020. From Building a Fierce People Culture to 8 Entrepreneurial Hustles, Emma will cover key ground for those wanting to be in the know when it comes to the latest and greatest tips and news on the industry.
And in a first for FILEX, Emma will also be hosting the FILEX webinar in January. Emma will be uncovering industry insights and offering a taster of what delegates can expect at her industry leading Convention sessions. To take part in the complimentary webinar delegates are directed to simply subscribe to the FILEX newsletter at www.filex.com.au with key webinar details to be emailed out in the coming weeks.
FILEX 2020 is set to be the freshest one yet, with the announcement of three keynote speakers for the first time in the Convention’s history. The third keynote speaker is yet to be announced but organisers say “as per the 2019 event delegates can be sure to have their socks blown off with a closing keynote to leave you on a high and motivated to hit the ground running the moment you leave the event”.
In addition, brand-new to FILEX in 2020, will be the FILEX Big Workout. Organisers say the Saturday morning event will be an adrenalin pumping, endorphin releasing, massive smile creator rolled into an hour of power before the second day of the Convention commences. Delegates can expect to join FILEX’s best coaches and trainers using the latest and greatest functioning training equipment and tools so they can experience new ways of training and coaching their crew.
Early bird registrations are selling fast, with only 83 left to sell delegates are making the most of the payment plan option available. A FILEX spokesperson said “our payment plan allows delegates to secure their ticket earlier before the price rise and allows them to pay off their registration in manageable instalments”.
The three-day event, powered by Fitness Australia, offers 12 CECs and begins on Friday 1st and runs through until Sunday 3rd May and is co-located with the Fitness Show B2B. The event is preceded by pre-convention summits on Thursday 30 April with delegates having the option to choose from either the Business Summit or The Ultimate Trainer Summit. The trainer summit attracts an additional 5 CECs for 2020 which is an increase from the previous year.
Be part of the first ever FILEX Big Workout! Find out more now at filex.com.au/filex-big-workout


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MOLD’S Community Window Project, which displays artwork by Mold residents, has proved to be a big success.
The project makes use of vacant retail units in prominent locations in the town to showcase the work of various community groups.
Artwork by members of Flintshire Disability Forum, Tandem Cymru and Art at the Town Hall is currently on display.
Groups can display their work in the community windows of the Daniel Owen Precinct and High Street for up to eight weeks.
For details, call 01352 751819, email email@example.com or visit Mold Town Hall.


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Cumberland County’s TV Bandit Arrested
The man accused of stealing four TVs from a Walmart in Cumberland County has been arrested.
State Police say tips following their initial post on Facebook lead them to arrest 33-year-old Donald Knight of Winslow Township around 8:30 Thursday in Millville.
Cops say Knight walked into the Deerfield Township Walmart on January 25th, put two flat screen TVs in a cart, and simply walked out without paying for them. Knight returned to the same store on January 28th and did the same thing again. The four TVs are valued at around $1,000.
Knight was released pending court.


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Last month, Secret Flying brought you an amazing Error Fare deal from Italy to Brazil for only £155 return.
It was also possible to fly in Business for only £653 return.
Although TAM Airlines have not publicly announced whether they will honour or cancel tickets, it seems many customers have had their itinerary changed, and in some cases cancelled, in the past few days.
However, do not fear!!
It seems that TAM has honoured this Error Fare, despite these unfavourable changes.
The transatlantic flights will now be operated by LAN. For some customers this change has happened seamlessly with no changes made to their itinerary. Unfortunately, other customers haven’t been so lucky.
If major changes have occurred, please contact the airline and OTA you booked with to ensure your ticket is valid.


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Spike Island is celebrating the ending of England’s lockdown restrictions with a brand refresh and a relaunch of its creative co-working space – which it hopes can play a role in supporting Bristol’s small businesses out of the pandemic.
While Spike Island’s public gallery spaces were forced to close for the majority of the last year during the three lockdowns, in addition to rescheduling its exhibitions programme for when the restrictions lifted, the team has also been busy refurbishing and redesigning its co-working space, Spike Design.
Director Robert Leckie says: “Although Spike Island is best known for its galleries and artists’ studios, the building has also been providing affordable workspace for small creative businesses since 2007 in our co-working space, Spike Design. We have a long history and experience of supporting Bristol’s cultural and creative industries.
“As we navigate out of the pandemic, we recognise that people may feel differently about how they want to run their business. We have used the last few months to refurbish the workspace and we are relaunching it with a new name to reflect the fact that it’s not just for designers – we get a broad range of creative industry businesses in here. It will now be called Spike Island Workspace.
“We believe that we offer the most flexible and affordable creative workspace in Bristol, and we look forward to seeing familiar faces and new ones joining us to grow their business and be part of our dynamic community. We’re excited to support Bristol’s creative businesses and play an important role in the recovery of the city’s vibrant arts and creative sector.”
The newly named workspace relaunches with a new brand identity, including a new logo designed from gestural letterforms – almost pencil sketches – to honour the history of the workspace, along with a playful and warm colour scheme to compliment the architecture and atmosphere of this unique workspace within a former tea packing factory. This rebrand coincides with a wider project aiming to bring clarity to the many different aspects of Spike Island’s offer to the creative sector.
Spike Island Workspace memberships are only £165 per month (ex. VAT) with just a two-month minimum term. The price includes 24/7 access, business rates, internet and utilities, kitchen facilities, and there is the option of additional storage. The workspace aims to be accessible for all, with level access from the main entrance, disabled street parking, disabled access toilets and showers.


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Soon after joining Dior in February 2018, chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari set out on an ambitious project: renovating the French luxury house’s Avenue Montaigne flagship.
Pre-pandemic, the flagship was the top-selling Dior store in the world. Renovating would mean closing it and relocating teams. Beccari, bullish on the plan, did just that. The flagship’s boutique, haute couture salon, ateliers and offices closed, and employees were dispersed across 29 other sites in the neighbourhood. On 6 March, it reopens after two-and-a-half years.
The new, 10,000 square-metre Dior flagship now houses a gallery space, the restaurant Monsieur Dior and Pâtisserie Dior, two eateries both led by buzzy French chef Jean Imbert, three gardens, a 200-metre guest suite and more. Offices have been relocated (and will be reunited under one roof on Avenue des Champs Elysées when the new headquarters open); otherwise, all the pieces of the original store are back in play. The flagship store carries all categories, including ready-to-wear, leather goods and jewellery. Beauty gets nice play in the store, marking a new step in bridging the brand’s fashion and beauty businesses. In short, luxury customers and fans of Dior can eat, sleep, wear and work out in Dior.
Beccari calls the flagship a “game-changer”. “We don’t regard it as a boutique, we see it as a complete experience,” the executive says. Dior stressed the “architectural tour-de-force” orchestrated by Peter Marino, the architect in chief.
LVMH doesn’t disclose sales for individual houses. Christian Dior Couture generated €6.5 billion in 2021, and Parfums Christian Dior, led by president and CEO Laurent Kleitman, €3 billion, according to HSBC estimates. With Louis Vuitton, Dior has led the post-pandemic rebound at parent company LVMH.
With the standalone La Suite Dior, the house has made its first entry into hospitality. Also designed by Marino, it offers perks for guests including the opportunity to keep the boutique open through the night for 24/7 access.
The exhibition “Christian Dior: Designer of dreams”, which attracted more than 800,000 visitors at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2017 for the 70th anniversary of the house before travelling including to the Brooklyn Museum in New York from September 2021 to February 2022, gave Beccari the idea of adding a gallery—one of the largest exhibition spaces dedicated to fashion in France.
With a separate entrance, 13 rooms and a dedicated shop and café, it showcases the house’s archives with a scenography by Nathalie Crinière. “Each room tells a story,” says Olivier Bialobos, One Dior chief communications and image officer and director of Dior Maison.
“It’s important to continue to make people dream. It brings desirability to the house,” Bialobos says.
This article was originally published in Vogue Business.


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BDX president and CEO Tim Costello explained to builders there is a real ROI in home technology.
For builders who have been hesitant to start featuring tech in their homes, or those who could expand their offerings, the 2017 TecHome Builder Summit Keynote Address explained the rationale for builders to justify their investments in developing a tech strategy.
On Monday, Dec. 4, Tim Costello, the president and CEO of homebuilder digital marketing company BDX, delivered the remarks, detailing where the market is, where the opportunity is and where builders should be going in the future.
“If you don’t offer smart home technology options, you’re really late,” Costello said. “Figure out what you’re going to do for smart home options and get on the train because it is too late from a consumer perspective. You should have been there years ago. If you aren’t there, you need to get on that train.”
As Costello described, the adoption of tech is growing among homebuyers. Half of all American households currently have a smart product, and 41 percent say it is essential or a high priority for their home to have technology.
For them, it’s not solely about having the tech itself, but it’s about creating a lifestyle and improving the ownership experience of the home. That is creating a new mindset among buyers that tech no longer is a luxury.
“There is no room to escape this general fact that today’s homebuyer expects to be offered home technology and expects the builder to be conversant in technology and they expect it will be a standard option within homes,” Costello explained.
The emerging control system of choice for the home is voice, and Google, Amazon and Apple have firmly cemented themselves in that space. Currently, 36 million consumers are using voice devices and 70 million households will have at least one voice control device by 2022.
Voice devices will help create the lifestyle homebuyers are craving, but they also can be used to help solve problems that are not being solved now. Costello says identifying what those solutions are could increase the value builders deliver to the end consumer.
“If you want to think about where is this going, what’s the next wave,” he asks. “The next wave is figuring out how apartments and how homes solve problems that are 10 to 100 times more valuable than the problems that we’re solving today.”
So, what are those potential solutions? How can builders do more than just offer pieces to a smart home and use them together to create a better lifestyle for homeowners? What can builders do to keep up with the rapid rate of change within home technology to deliver their clients the best options?
Stay tuned to TecHome Builder for more details from Costello’s Keynote Address for his answers to those questions and more.


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Following the usual tradition experts from IHS iSuppli have analysed components of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and have counted how much manufacture of new smartphones costs for Apple company. So cost of components and works for release of the basic 16 Gb version of iPhone 6 has made 200 dollars.
It is necessary to mention that this cost does not include other expenses, for example, for researches, development, software, marketing and logistics. But if we compare the prime cost and retail price of new iPhone, the gain from each sold device will make up 69 %.
What about iPhone 6 Plus – its manufacture costs Apple only 16 dollars more than iPhone 6. One more interesting fact that the company has found out is that Samsung is still actively participating in the process of new iPhone release. According to IHS iSuppli the Korean manufacturer produces about 40 % of A8 chips which are used in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. So you can postpone a war but never a lunch.


text: Joe Barter, LLC is an online business that offers its members access to thousands of free classified ads and to the best deals and discounts. Since 2006, Joe Barter has committed itself to helping "average Joes" survive and even prosper in a lean economy. The company was profiled in a New York Times small business article of 7/17/08. Joe Barter also works with the Boy Scouts of America, newspapers, churches, schools and other organizations to generate fundraising revenues. The redesigned Joe Barter 2.0 website at www.joebarter.com will debut by the end of the year. Tom Daley, owner and president, said, "Our business targets 'average Joes' and we're working with community leaders, concerned businesses and some great partners to help them."