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Nike Australia has announced the launch of its new brand campaign, which focuses on ‘No Turning Back’ moments in sport. The campaign calls on youth to play like there is ‘No Turning Back’, and celebrate the joy and creativity of playing sport.
The insight behind ‘No Turning Back’ is about reawakening the Aussie spirit of playing sport like there’s nothing to lose and embracing a ‘Just Do It’ attitude. The campaign sees Nike Australia join forces with its powerhouse of athletes and sporting legends to inspire young Australians to release their inner competitive spirit.
Four TVC spots hero the campaign, which places athletes in unusual ‘No Turning Back’ situations delivered in the irreverent and bold tone Nike is famous for. In the one of the ads, a young girl handcuffs herself to athlete Genevieve LaCaze in order to keep the pace in a race. In another, we see NRL player James Tedesco purposefully touch a priceless work of art, giving him no way but to dodge his way out of the museum.
The ‘No Turning Back’ campaign rolls out nationwide from tomorrow with TVC’s launching during the State of Origin broadcast, supported by experiential events, digital, in-store, OOH and PR.
The TVC films will be complimented by large-scale OOH formats across Australia, including the highly sought after Glebe Sydney silos and was projected on the side of the iconic MCG in Melbourne when the Socceroos took on Brazil last week.
Among the other Australian sporting heroes to feature in the attention-grabbing OOH is tennis star Nick Kyrgios, NRL hero Cameron Smith and footballer Tom Rogic.
Creatively led by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland- USA, the campaign was in development more than a year and shot in various locations throughout Australia.
Brant Hirst, Nike marketing director said: “Historically, competition was always just as important as winning. It’s what made Australia the most successful underdog-sporting nation. Nike’s ‘No Turning Back’ campaign was developed to awaken the naturally competitive spirit that lies at the heart of every Australian young athlete and inspire them to play like they have nothing to lose”.
To mark the launch, Nike Australia hosted a panel with some of Australia’s top athletes, both past and present, to discuss getting Australian inspired to compete. Led by Fox Sports news presenter Louise Ransome, sporting legends Andrew Johns and Steve Moneghetti were joined on by athletes including AFL player football star Kyah Simon, netballer Kim Ravaillion and skater Hayley Wilson, to share their own ‘No Turning Back’ stories.
Research conducted with 50 Australian sporting industry experts, professional and amateur athletes and young people uncovered the pressures Australian kids experience in sport. ‘No Turning Back’ has been designed to challenge Australians to change their current perceptions of sport, and reawaken their love for competing.
The ‘No Turning Back’ campaign will roll out across TV, digital, in-store, out of home and PR nationwide from June 21, 2017.
Client: Nike Australia Marketing Director: Brant Hirst Brand Communications Manager: Alex Tjioe Advertising Agency: Wieden+Kennedy, Portland USA Creative Director: Alberto Ponte & Ryan O’Rourke Director: Steve Ayson Team: Sara Philips, Alex Romans, David Chathas, Irina Tone, Barrie Wilhelmi, Simone Takasaki, Lisa Johnson, Ryan Craven, Luiza Prata Carvalho & Patrick Gulliford Media Agency: Mindshare


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Insurers need to invest more in co-creating products with brokers, particularly in the cyber sector, in order to help diffuse confusion among UK businesses.
The suggestion came from Anthony Baldwin, CEO of AIG
UK, who said at the recent Economist Insurance Summit in London that insurance products need to be more relevant.
“We need to be able to speak to the clients and say, ‘look you have cyber risk, it’s a business risk for you, and this is something you can avoid’.
“But it’s not something that can be avoided just with the right advice,” Baldwin said. “We need to be able to make the products more relevant and we need to think about co-creating new products [with brokers].”
Baldwin said one of the frustrations he hears from many clients is that there’s cyber products out there, but the products differ significantly from broker to broker. “So we need to start co-creating much more and show that our interests with our clients are 100% aligned.”
In terms of adoption, Baldwin said that cyber risk is generating a lot of interest but there is a very low level of take up, although that “is beginning to turn.”

domain: news


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By Travis Decaminada
Key Takeaway: Limited inventories and disrupted supply chains are reportedly causing shortages across numerous industries. These shortages may prompt some companies to reassess their business strategies.
By all appearances, the word “shortage” may define the summer of 2021 as many different industries are reportedly coping with severely limited inventories and restricted supply chains, reports the New York Times. Per the article, a major reason for these shortages has to do with just-in-time or lean manufacturing: a practice wherein manufacturers keep only a limited amount of resources, raw materials, or other necessary supplies on hand. Notably, when demand suddenly increases, and/or shipping lines are disturbed, companies practicing just-in-time manufacturing may have difficulty keeping up.
On the other hand, the potential benefits of just-in-time manufacturing may be attractive to some businesses, despite the risks. Companies can reportedly save money by reducing warehousing costs while at the same time gain a degree of flexibility; potentially allowing them to act faster in response to market changes. In the retail space, the practice allegedly frees up floor space for other products and allows the opportunity to stock and sell more bespoke goods as well. However, as noted, this practice may also leave manufacturers vulnerable to disruption, for instance, a global pandemic or a cargo ship shutting down the Suez Canal. Both of which can be blamed for the current shortages.
Some Affected Industries
The number of industries impacted by shortages appears to be growing, to list a few:
- Automobile manufacturers are reportedly coping with microchip shortages.
- Construction companies are reportedly having difficulty acquiring basic supplies.
- Sawmill closures are reportedly causing lumber shortages.
- Storms have reportedly caused some chemical plants to reduce their output. For example, chlorine for pools.
- Clothing brands and shoe manufacturers are reportedly having difficulty attaining raw materials.
- Increased demand for cereals and grains is reportedly causing disruption in the pet food industry.
The above list likely barely scratches the surface of which industries are or will be impacted by shortages. Whether or not companies will change their practices in response remains to be seen. Ultimately, this could prompt dramatic changes within some industries or companies, though other may simply move past it. Per the New York Times:
Some experts assume that the crisis will change the way companies operate, prompting some to stockpile more inventory and forge relationships with extra suppliers as a hedge against problems. But others are dubious, assuming that — same as after past crises — the pursuit of cost savings will again trump other consideration.


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Groupe Beneteau promoted Christophe Lavigne to president of U.S. brands, which comprise Four Winns, Glastron, Wellcraft and Scarab. The appointment is effective immediately.
Lavigne has been vice president of engineering and customer service at the U.S. manufacturing headquarters in Cadillac, Mich., for the last 11 years. In the new role, he will be responsible for leading all functional departments and driving the success of the brands.
“I have every confidence in Christophe Lavigne’s leadership and expertise to implement positive changes and ensure that our U.S. brands achieve their goals,” said Hervé Gastinel, Groupe Beneteau CEO, in a statement.


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Apparel and accessories
November 30, 2022
In the Balenciaga spring/summer 2023 campaign images, children are holding teddy bears that are outfitted with accessories reminiscent of adult bondage fetish wear. Image credit: Balenciaga
By Luxury Daily News Service
Spanish fashion brand Balenciaga apologized for its holiday campaign that included young children posing with sexually dressed toys.
Share your thoughts. Click here


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LG has today announced the launch of its Laser Display, a short throw DLP display that projects 100in of full HD video onto a specially designed screen.
PlexConnect is a clever project: a free command-line tool that lets you view content from your Plex Media Server on your Apple TV--without jailbreaking Apple's set-top box. That scratches an itch for me; though I maintain a Mac mini media center, the...
Mobile printing has never been easier. For a busy office, reliable and easy-to-use tools are essential. Samsung's latest smart printers are equipped for wireless printing from mobile devices. Find out more about what is all about.
Sony has announced its 2013 range of BRAVIA LED TVs, with 17 models ranging from a $749 32-inch to the company’s existing $24,999, 84-inch Ultra HD behemoth. Almost all the new screens have built-in Wi-Fi, and several of the new TVs integrate NFC chi...
Not one to be upstaged by fierce rival Samsung, LG has introduced a swathe of new TVs onto the Australian market for 2013. The company is doubling-down on two new technologies -- Ultra HD, and OLED -- and isn’t afraid of showing off its commitment.
Samsung has jam-packed the Galaxy S4 with fancy features, but there’s one that stands out in making the new handset attractive to anyone who’s looking to buy a new phone and a TV in the near future.
Samsung has launched its 2013 line-up of LED and plasma TVs with massive fanfare, pushing new features that make its TVs easier to use, and more responsive to the content being watched on them.
Australian video-on-demand service Quickflix will offer episodes of Game of Thrones for online streaming hours after they are broadcast in the US, after a deal was sealed with the show’s creator HBO.
If you have an emotional attachment to your tech gear, then that's fine. But if you have tech gear that you want to throw out, be environmentally responsible and use a proper recycling service. TechCollect is hoping to break a record for e-waste coll...
SBS has re-launched its SBS 2 digital TV multi-channel, alongside a unique service that will stream entire original series online as soon as the first episode is broadcast on TV.
Police are urging TV buyers to be wary of deals “too good to be true”, with 250 Soniq TVs still missing after a burglary in Sydney’s south-west a fortnight ago.
The ACCC and BIG W have issued a national recall for a 50-inch plasma TV made by Vivo. The Vivo PTV50HD plasma’s stand “may break unexpectedly”, dropping the TV panel forwards. Any BIG W customer that has bought a Vivo PTV50HD has been urged to cease...
In the brightening light of renewed competition from established Smart TV heavyweights Samsung and LG, Panasonic has unveiled its 2013 range of VIERA LED-LCD and plasma TVs. The range is made up of a total of 25 models: 19 LED-LCD and six plasma. Siz...
Nielsen’s annual Australian Connected Consumers report reveals that a third of Australian households have a TV that can access the Internet -- slightly more than the number of homes with access to an Internet-enabled tablet.
LG’s next generation of Smart TVs will run webOS, the mobile operating system developed by Palm and HP.
At CES 2013, Samsung blew away attendees with a whole suite of new TVs. Its 2013 TV line-up includes LED, LCD, plasma, and OLED variants, and we’re sure that just like in previous years Samsung will cover a wide gamut of prices.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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Jennifer Bush knows a lot about Publix, having worked there 35 years.
Like, did you know that body weight scales have been in Publix stores since the beginning? The iconic green scales found in store lobbies are still a staple in Florida supermarkets, but they don't exist in Publix locations outside of the state. They've always been free to use.
Bush started working for Publix part time in the accounting department when she was still in high school in 1980, when company founder George Jenkins was still there. She worked in advertising and public relations, too, serving for some time as the company's spokeswoman. Now she's the manager of special projects and the company historian.
Bush loves working at Publix, a common theme among the grocer's 179,000 employees across six states. Publix's turnover rate is just 5 percent, compared to the retail industry average of 65 percent. It's what landed Publix on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list every year since it was first published in 1998. This year, Publix came in at No. 67.
Bush's love for her employer goes a little further than most.
In 2014, she and her husband, Anthony, found a safe in Georgia that dated back to 1873 and belonged to Jenkins' father. Her husband brought it home to Lakeland, where it was restored.
Jenkins was born in 1907 and grew up in Harris, Ga. There, he learned the tricks of the retail trade while working in his father's general store. He left for Atlanta to strike out on his own in the 1920s.
After months of online research, Bush's husband traveled to Georgia in 2014 to find out more about the old general store. Turns out, the building was in ruins. But Anthony Bush was able to locate the property owner, who agreed to donate a safe that remained in the building to Publix.
"It was amazing that we were able to save this piece of history and drive it back to Lakeland," Jennifer Bush said. "The safe was so heavy, it made permanent marks in my husband's pickup truck. We can't believe it made it back."
The 4,200-pound safe now sits in the lobby of the Publix headquarters in Lakeland. Bush passes it every day.
Bush and her husband — who doesn't work for Publix — went on this quest on their own time.
"It was a personal trip for us," Bush said. "But I think all of it was meant to be."
As the company historian, she has worked on several projects for Florida's largest grocery store chain. She helped get vintage Publix shopping carts from the 1940s into the Polk County History Center. She also restored Jenkins' old office to its original form from the 1970s. It includes his original Rolodex, his personal glasses and an old inventory machine. On the bookshelves in his office are the receipts from the first transaction after Publix installed ATMs. That was in 1982. There also is the first prescription written when pharmacies were added to the stores in 1986.
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WeWork, the coworking space startup, just filed paperwork detailing its financials with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering and boy, oh boy, does it throw away a lot of money.
In case you’ve been unscathed by the gig economy, WeWork basically operates on the idea of providing flexible workspaces to freelancers, remote workers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. Simply put, it’s a landlord who offers Kombucha on tap as an example of innovation. The startup is also another unicorn with a bloated $47 billion valuation after SoftBank threw more money at the company in January. In April, it rebranded as the We Company and filed its intent to go public. That said, today’s filing shed some light on WeWork’s financials and while it does boast lots of revenue, the losses are equally staggering.
In 2016, the company reported a $429 million loss on $436 million of revenue—a pattern that’s just deepened in the following years. It recorded an $883 million loss on $886 million revenue in 2017, and in 2018 lost $1.6 billion of its $1.8 billion revenue. In the first six months of 2019, it lost $689 million of its $1.5 billion. Altogether that’s something like $4 billion in losses. My dudes, where is all this money going? How many kombucha taps does a coworking space actually need?
There’s definitely some creative accounting at work with regard to WeWork’s financials. For instance, WeWork likes to use the dubious metric “community adjusted EBIDTA” which is basically a fancy made-up term to say it subtracts interest, taxes, deprecation and amortization, marketing expenses, general and administrative costs, development, and design costs from its losses. According to an Axios report, it also includes tenant feeds, rent expenses, staffing, facilities management. This is funky math that’s sort of like waving a hand in front of your face to say the startup isn’t losing money—it’s investing in the future. Potato, poh-tah-to.
Aside from billions in losses, the S-1 filing also raises new questions about CEO Adam Neumann and the We Company. First off, it lists two interviews Neumann gave to Business Insider and Axios in May as potentially violating the quiet period before an IPO. We reached out to WeWork about the issue, and a spokesperson politely declined the opportunity to comment.
More troubling is that the related parties section of the filing says Neumann and other executives apparently borrowed millions in loans from WeWork itself. (It’s all fine though. In a bizarre cookie fortune poem, page two of the filing dedicates the whole prospectus to the “energy of we,” which echoes bullshit Neumann fed Forbes in 2017 when he said, “Our valuation and size today are much more based on our energy and spirituality than it is on a multiple of revenue.”)
Added to that, Neumann recently cashed out upwards of $700 million ahead of the IPO. That’s weird because usually, founders wait until after the IPO to make bank. He also purportedly used his own personal wealth to buy properties, which he then leased to WeWork for several millions of dollars in rent. Neumann also reorganized the IPO structure to give a tax advantage to WeWork’s founders and other insiders over those who buy into the IPO.
None of this quite adds up. For instance, IWG owns a number of coworking spaces that are less sexy versions of WeWork and it’s valued at about $4 billion. That’s a lot, but it’s also a lot less than the $47 billion WeWork is supposedly worth. According to the Wall Street Journal, IWG also had twice as much revenue as WeWork in 2018.
WeWork’s ridiculous valuation was lambasted by Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at NYU Stern School of Business. “WeWork makes absolutely no sense. That is the perfect example of kind of this frothy market of consensual hallucination between the company and its investors,” Galloway told Business Insider.
WeWork’s just the latest money-losing, tech-adjacent venture to go public and disappoint. In May, Uber had the worst-performing IPO in U.S. stock market history. Lyft’s IPO was also bad. It would, however, appear that WeWork is at least somewhat aware that it’s cash-hungry and unprofitable venture might spook investors. That’s why its reportedly looking to drum up $4 billion in debt financing before its IPO. How will this all shake out when WeWork goes public? Who knows, but I’ll be sipping on some kombucha when it does.


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'Gangnam Style' Has Broken Justin Bieber's YouTube Record
Published 5:10 pm, Saturday, November 24, 2012
The insanely catchy Korean Pop song "Gangnam Style" has become YouTube's highest watched video ever, snatching the title away from Justin Bieber's "Baby."
At the time of writing "Gangnam Style" has amassed 805,055,375 views ahead of Bieber's 803,732,561.
Gangnam Style has achieved a pretty impressive feat, the video was only uploaded July 15, 2012.
Gangnam Style is projected to hit 1 billion views on December 16, 2012, according to ChannelMeter.
Just in case you're one of the only people on the planet who hasn't seen the video yet, check it out below:
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ThinkGeek’s latest addition to their iCade line is the 8-Bitty, a controller that’s wonderfully oldschool in its design.
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(Bloomberg) – Venezuela, a country experiencing what is considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere, is now facing a torment of another magnitude: Caracas food markets are turning into ghost towns.
In Guaicaipuro, near the city center, the long aisles of stalls stretch endlessly, with almost no shoppers in sight. In Quinta Crespo, food vendors desperately call for attention, yelling every time someone walks by. In the San Martín market, to the west of the city, some stalls are closed, while others have so little food that they could well have closed. Some have good supplies, but the prices are so high that prospective customers would just walk by. There is so little activity that some street vendors don’t even flinch, they just sit around playing on their phones, with no expectation for the day.
Although it appears that Venezuela’s economy may have finally bottomed out, signs of recovery are beginning to show after decades of a growing gap between rich and poor that leaves millions in the country in extreme vulnerability. The empty markets of Caracas are one of the striking examples of this gap, due to increasingly reduced access to fresh and affordable food.
There are many causes behind the rampant inflation in food prices in the country, but the most serious problem now is the fuel shortage that has intensified the problems.
In Venezuela, the country with the largest oil reserves, the fuel shortage is so acute that it has paralyzed the economy, forcing factories to close and people to queue for hours to fill their tanks. The tightening of US sanctions suffocated supplies coming in from abroad, and now the lack of diesel affects almost every aspect of the food supply chain.
Farmers do not have enough fuel to use the machinery they need to plant and care for crops. What little is grown in the western Andean region, the heart of production, has to be trucked 12 hours or more to the capital. Fuel is so expensive that transportation costs alone raise the price of vegetables by 200%, said Gerson Pabón, director of Fedeagro, a large association of food producers.
By the time shipments of spinach or potatoes reach stalls like Roberto Fernández’s in the Quinta Crespo market, the prices are so high that his customers can barely afford to eat.
“People used to buy by the kilo. Now, they only carry two, three products, ”Fernández said, adding that their sales have been cut in half this year. “The drop in consumption is disguising the shortage.”
One more burden that adds up is the ad hoc dollarization of the local economy. While it has nominally helped keep inflation under control, it is of little relief to the country’s poorest, who mainly have access to the bolivar, which has continued its huge downward spiral.
The country’s Ministry of Petroleum and Food Ministry did not respond to requests for comment sent through the Ministry for Communication and Information.
A kilo of tomatoes can cost US $ 1.50; potatoes and carrots are about the same, while peppers can cost almost $ 2. It’s an extremely high cost considering that the average worker earns about $ 55.50 a month, according to a February report by local analytics firm Anova, sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank. Meanwhile, retirees, common customers of municipal food markets, receive a monthly pension equivalent to less than US $ 3.
Seven years of economic collapse have led Venezuela down a sad path of dysfunction and disorder. Hunger is so ubiquitous in this once-rich nation that the country has been on the brink of full-blown famine, the United Nations World Food Program warned. The fallout from Covid-19 has likely pushed the problem well beyond 2019 levels, when around 9.3 million Venezuelans didn’t have enough to eat, according to the group.
Until now, Caracas was often protected from the worst of the crisis. The capital’s markets were like little islands of relief, supplying the poor and working class with fresh produce, meat and dairy. Now that last sanctuary is disappearing amid spiraling food inflation.
Recently, Marisol Méndez spent a Wednesday morning in the San Martín market looking for vegetables. With the dollarization of the economy during the past year, his salary, a combination of dollars and bolivars, reaches him less and less in the market where he has bought for 28 years. I used to buy 2 kilos of tomatoes and potatoes at a time. Now, hopefully he comes home with a pound. That day, he left empty-handed.
“I practically stopped eating meat, deli, and dairy. I buy a lot less vegetables. Vegetables are expensive here, ”said Méndez, 60, a manager of a food distribution company that supplies some of the market stalls.
Instead of fresh food, many Caracas people eat a mixture of carbohydrates and processed foods to avoid hunger.
“The Venezuelan diet is very monotonous,” said Marianella Herrera, nutritionist and professor at the Center for Development Studies of the Central University.
“We are creating a breeding ground for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, poverty-related obesity and food insecurity, even some types of cancer.”
Of course, the picture is different for the wealthy, who often earn in dollars or receive remittances from relatives abroad. The wealthiest and most connected in town can go to big box grocery stores where the shelves are full, and they also find ways to fill their tanks.
But for the poor, food inflation hits hard. In the month of May alone, the cost of food rose 22%, while the prices of fruits and vegetables increased 31%, according to the Caracas Cenda research group. However, even that level of price acceleration is lower than what has been seen in the past. A year earlier, food costs had risen almost 30%, while in May 2018 they were 84% up from the previous month.
In a recent interview, Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela’s oil minister, said that lines at gas stations will disappear when the country’s crude production quadruples by the end of the year. But that view is so optimistic that it tests all credulity, especially as the country faces some of the toughest economic sanctions ever imposed.
The diesel shortage means that food production in the Andean region has fallen 85% this year, according to Fedeagro’s Pabón. Trucks that haul what is typically produced are forced to pay for fuel on the black market, where they typically pay $ 3 a liter ($ 11 a gallon). This cost increases even more if the account is taken out in bolivars.
“Suppliers in the wholesale market say they pay for diesel in US dollars, so they charge us in dollars,” said Luisa Hidalgo, 68, who runs a food stand in the San Martín market. Its products have been reduced and now it sells mainly bananas and sweet pepper. But it could be worse.
“We don’t get a lot of dollars in this part of the city,” he said. “That’s why my neighbor closed. It could not be resupplied ”.
Original Note: Food Markets in Caracas Empty Out as Inflation Hits the Poorest
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- Green Growth
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09:48 | 25/09/2019
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized the need to facilitate the development of the mechanical engineering industry while addressing a conference in Hanoi on September ...
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Vietnam’s agro-forestry and fishery processing industry has bright prospects in both export and domestic markets, but needs further measures to tap its potential, according to ...
10:58 | 10/07/2018
The country’s industrial sector posted high growth of 9.28 per cent in the first half of the year, surpassing the rates of 7.01 per cent ...
10:14 | 18/09/2012
Vietnam’s industrial production for the year to date is being scrutinised by a GSO senior expert.


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COVINGTON, Ky. — A local toy store owner is hoping you can help bring joy to women and children in need this holiday season.
Stoney’s Village Toy Shoppe, located at 323 W. Sixth Ave., is hosting a “giving tree” that will support theWelcome House of Northern Kentucky, a Covington nonprofit that helps about 2,500 people experiencing homelessness every year.
“It’s a giving tree,” said Stoney’s owner Sandi Stonebraker. “They just pull the tag off the tree, bring it to me and I will ring it up and pull the toy off the shelf and get it sent to the Welcome House.”
Pictures of those toys are hung on a small Christmas tree outside the store. The tree, which is new to Stoney’s Village this year, was the brainchild of Terry West, who volunteers as a chef at the Welcome House during the week.
“Monday and Friday I cook meals for 30, sometimes a few more,” said West. “That gives them a home-cooked meal, food that they are used to eating.”
Kelly Rose, the director of marketing and development at Welcome House, said the toys purchased from the giving tree will go a long way with the children the organization serves.
“They are still children, they still deserve new toys and special gifts,” said Rose. “Whether it is for Christmas or their birthday, those things don’t stop just because you are experiencing homelessness.”
Stonebraker said she tried to pick toys that were small and containable.
“These children aren’t always in a permanent home,” she said. “I have the items that I thought would be appropriate on the tags on the tree so they can look them over.”
You can find STEM toys, puppets and board games nestled inside three fully stocked rooms at the toy store. Stonebraker said her store is known for having gifts that stimulate children’s minds.
Stonebraker is also asking customers to consider donating cash, so she can purchase toiletries for the women in the Welcome House shelter. For more information, contact Stoney's Toys online.


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Nonprofit Partner: Make a Wish Foundation
Launch Date: November 6, 2011[/box]
Back for a fourth year of their annual and hugely popular ‘Believe’ campaign, Macy’s is pulling out all the stops. Based on the iconic ‘Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus’, the campaign will again donate $1 to the Make a Wish Foundation for each letter to Santa received up to $1 million. Additionally, the partnership will grant 55 wishes across the country, offer a ‘double donation’ day on National Believe Day (December 9th) for letters received, sell 14 specialty celebrity ornaments and host a celebrity tree auction.
Macy’s has poured its heart and giving soul into this campaign and it shows. From the augmented reality features of this year’s in-store ‘Believe Stations’ via a ‘Believe-o-Magic’ app (see video below) to their national Santa Tour, this cause campaign is turning into a holiday tradition in and of itself.


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Cannabis delivery Trois Rivières is a service that has been popular in Canada for many years. This service is now starting to take off in the United States.
The main benefit of cannabis delivery Trois Rivières is that it makes it easier for consumers to get their hands on cannabis products without having to go out and buy them from a dispensary or dealer.
Trois Rivières has seen a rise in cannabis deliveries. This is due to the legalization of cannabis in Canada. It is easier to buy weed online and have it delivered than it is to go to a dispensary or smoke shop.
Cannabis delivery Trois Rivières is the best service for you
Cannabis delivery Trois Rivières has seen a rise in customers since the legalization of cannabis. The owner says that they have been getting at least five deliveries a day since legalization day on October 17th, 2018.
The legalization of cannabis has sparked a new industry in Canada. The federal government has set out a clear framework for the production and sale of cannabis, as well as the criminal offences concerning it. Cities are now looking at their options and how to regulate this new industry.
Trois Rivières is one of these cities that is considering a possible solution to the issue of cannabis delivery in their city. This article will cover the pros and cons of this possible solution, as well as explore some other solutions that have been proposed by Trois Rivières residents.


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Influencer marketing is on an upswing worldwide, with TAM projections revealed by The Influencer Marketing Hub indicating that the sector is expected to grow to $14 billion this year, with nearly half of marketers saying they are spending more than 20% of their budget on influencer marketing. Influency.me’s home market of Brazil is following this market trend. This is shown by Influency.me’s earnings, which grew by 145% over the last 12 months.
Influency.me – which leads the Brazilian market in technology and services for activating digital influencers – began its operations in 2018, when it launched its influencer marketing platform. Later, the company launched its professional services division and, as a result, began offering a complete solution in influencer management segment for brands.
There are currently more than 300 subscribers on Influency.me, including leading international brands. “We live and breathe technology. We’re very proud of what we’ve managed to build. Using the term ‘disruptive’ sounds cliché, but this is the level of innovation we’re creating here,” comments Rodrigo Azevedo, CEO and founder of Influency.me.
Influency.me technology is self-sufficient in generating data from millions of digital influencers worldwide. Such technology can observe the main social media platforms, identify the profiles of digital influencers, and obtain their analytics.
Other functionalities include: influencer search engine with +20 filters; IRS – Influencer Relationship Scoring, that automatically rate influencers by relationship level, campaign automation, social media monitoring and others.
Growth and more technological investment
Influency.me’s plan is to keep growing (and fast). This is what Azevedo affirms, “We grew 145% in the last 12 months, and we can do even more.” In order to continue growing, the startup seeks to raise a series A round of capital.
The influencer marketing industry around the globe will surpass 15 billion next year, and there are no signs of slowing down. Brands want their consumers’ attention. And that attention is on digital influencers, which may help explain the current frenzy in the sector. This is why Influency.me has bold plans for growth. “We’re going to invest our own resources and raise capital in the coming months. Our goal is to speed up innovation, marketing and sales even further. All this so that we can continue to grow at a fast pace,” emphasizes Azevedo.


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Astra Security, a leading cyber security start-up has rolled out an industry first initiative of Publicly Verifiable Security Audit Certificates. This one of a kind initiative will help Astra Security’s customers to boost transparency and trust in their prospective clients and partners.
This newly innovated feature is part of the company’s recent product launch, Pentest Suite which is a turnkey software as a service (SaaS) solution that provides hacker style security testing for applications and fulfills regulatory compliance requirements for online businesses ranging from small to large enterprises.
Astra Security’s new pentest dashboard provides users with more options and information, such as 1500 test cases, collaboration with developers, CXO overview, downloading the pentest certificate, potential loss-based vulnerability categorisation and much more.
In the current scenario, several businesses are working together to offer unique services to their prospective customers. However, no matter how big or small an organisation is, they only want to associate themselves with a company whose security can be verified publicly and which complies with all the required cyber security norms.
Customers themselves are becoming more aware of security concerns and want to interact with only those businesses who have their security tested and verified. This makes it all the more important for the companies to safeguard the interest of their customers.
Further, seeing a constant rise in the cyber security attacks, businesses are becoming more self-aware and responsible towards fulfilling their duties to avoid any cyber-attack that could impact them. According to a recent report by RiskBased Security, in the Q1-Q3 of 2020, a total of 36 billion records were exposed due to data breaches and the use of malware increased by 358 per cent through 2020.
In addition, a recent survey conducted by IDG revealed that nearly 80 per cent of senior IT and IT security leaders believe their organisations lack sufficient protection against cyberattacks. These alarming stats highlight the importance for companies to partner with only those who are Publicly Verifiable.
Commenting on the launch of the new feature, Shikhil Sharma, CEO and Founder, Astra Security said, “We play a major role in keeping cyberspace safe, and the launch of Publicly Verifiable Security Audit Certificates has taken us one step further in our journey. We understand the needs of our clients in the current day and age, and we have yet again set an example of a customer centric approach by changing their needs into a solution. Understanding the current sensitivities, we aim to launch products that offer seamless experience to our customers.”


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4G is spreading, and Sprint/Clearwire have both announced new WiMAX coverage in Central Pennsylvania. The extended network - which promises data speeds of 3-6mbps - now covers Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster and York, and service will be available both from Sprint and Clearwire. That's good news if you live there and have been eyeing the upcoming Sprint HTC EVO 4G, the WiMAX-toting Android smartphone due later this year.
So, you're tempted by Sprint's HTC EVO 4G, and frankly who can blame you? If our all-too-brief hands-on play with the WiMAX-packing Android 2.1 smartphone taught us anything, it's that HTC have taken the best of the HD2, slapped on an arguably more alluring OS and created the sort of superphone we scoffed at Google for describing the Nexus One as. Plenty has been made of Sprint's 4G promises, but that got us wondering: exactly who will get to enjoy the HTC EVO 4G's WiMAX connectivity?
Sprint's WiMAX network has long been tipped to get its first 4G phone from HTC, sometime in the first half of this year, but there's now speculation that the carrier will also look to Palm for a device. ComputerWorld has been rounding up rumors about the possibility, with ailing Palm potentially looking to 4G for its market salvation. Problem is, most of the rumors seem to be little more than wishful thinking.
Interesting news out of Novatel Wireless today, with the company announcing not only that they've completed testing a new, WiMAX version of their popular MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hostpot, but that they're seemingly experimenting with wearable mobile devices. The new 4G WiMAX MiFi apparently achieved 18Mbps throughput, with a theoretical peak of over 30Mbps downlink and 10Mbps uplink.
One of the best things about MWC 2010 is that you can come across completely unexpected devices quite by accident. Moblic were discretely showing off their E7 WiMAX MID, with a sliding form-factor, QWERTY keyboard, 4-inch WVGA touchscreen and gaming controls. According to Carrypad, people at the booth didn't know too much about the MID itself - even the identity of the 600MHz processor is a mystery.
That Sprint have been working on a 4G handset isn't much of a surprise - after all, they have a steadily growing WiMAX network and we've seen leaked roadmap details tipping an HTC Android smartphone using 4G - but the carrier has now confirmed that the first device will in fact launch before the end of June 2010. Speaking to Forbes, the carrier's business market's president Paget Alves suggested that the Sprint 4G phone would be targeted at government and industrial clients rather than solely at consumers.
Early details of Intel's next-generation mobile processor platform, codenamed Huron River, have emerged well ahead of its expected launch in Q1 2011. According to Fudzilla, Huron River will be based around the 32nm Sandy Bridge process silicon, and be made up of dual- and quad-core processors supporting Intel Turbo Boost.


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Two of the most important figures in the economic world were united in their views on inflation while speaking on the final day of the World Economic Forum on Friday.
"We see a lot of this super-strong recovery that has outpaced supply, which was constrained," European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said in an online panel discussing the threat of inflation on the global economy.
Consumer prices have risen significantly over the past year in many markets around the globe. The eurozone inflation rate for December 2021 was 5% — a record high for the month. But the ECB has been reluctant to combat rising prices by raising interest rates, with Lagarde insisting that the current high inflation is the product of many factors, including temporary ones.
A combination of monetary and fiscal policies helped avoid massive layoffs during the pandemic and allowed the economy to bounce back more quickly than expected, she said.
"In a way, we are a victim of our own success," Lagarde said.
Meanwhile, wages in Europe have yet to start climbing. "We are not seeing this sustainable movement that would see inflation spiraling out of control," Lagarde said.
'The world must spend billions'
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva took a similar stance.
"If we look at the reasons for inflation, it is not just for central bankers to fight it," she said.
Changing labor markets and other issues are also feeding into rising consumer prices, issues that policymakers in other areas would be better suited to address, she said.
The IMF chief said pandemic policy would remain a top economic policy for global leaders this year and protective measures needed to be taken around the globe in order to avoid continued disruptions.
"My main message is to recognize that the world must spend the billions necessary to contain COVID in order to gain trillions in output as a result," she said.
Not everyone on the panel was in agreement, however.
"My fear is that the beast is out of the bottle. I don't think inflation will be transitory at all," Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said. "I think these supply-adverse shocks will fade away gradually. But there's no arbitrage on the western side to be exploited anymore. I think the central banks are sleeping at the wheel."
A chance to 'reglobalize'
Creating a global trade system more resilient to future shocks was the subject of a Thursday panel that included World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Pat Gelsinger, the CEO of the semiconductor manufacturer Intel.
A semiconductor shortage caused in part by a spike in demand for electronics has led to a major disruption to supply chains around the globe during the pandemic.
"What we saw is that we just got focused on the cost of supply chains and the optimization of that and we lost sight of resilience and what I would call a geographically balanced resilient supply chain," Gelsinger said.
The Intel boss listed ongoing initiatives to build a larger industry presence in both the United States and Europe. Up until the pandemic, these regions had relied heavily on computer chip producers in Asia. On Friday, Intel announced it will invest $20 billion (€18 billion) in a new chip facility in Ohio. The company also plans to announce a new European facility in the near future.
Okonjo-Iweala took a constructive view on the situation, highlighting the opportunities that these "supply chain snafus" had presented.
"This is a chance for us to integrate those parts of the world ... that have been left behind and not been included in globalization," Okonjo-Iweala said. She pointed to a greater shift in manufacturing to developing economies such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Ethiopia.
"I call it a way of reglobalizing, and using globalization and supply chains to solve some of the inequality problems," she said.
The World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda was a weeklong event that brought together leaders from business, government and society to discuss critical issues affecting the global population. The virtual event was held instead of the annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which had to be postponed to May because of the rise in COVID-19 cases, fueled by the omicron variant.
Edited by: Ashutosh Pandey


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Short-Run Digital Jobs Must Be Finished With a Flourish
Digital technologies have been steadily transforming the printing industry during the past decade. To date, much of the innovation has centered around the presses — better quality, faster speeds, more bells and whistles. But as more jobs are moved to the digital platform, the finishing side of the business necessitated an evolution as well.
More commercial printers are looking to add digital departments to supplement the work they can do on their offset presses. Ranging from toner- and inkjet-based digital presses designed for jobs, such as variable data booklets, to grand-format presses to create stunning billboards and other large pieces. No matter what type of digital work commercial printers are looking to add, there is one thing they all have in common — they quickly realize the need for quick-turnaround finishing capabilities to handle those jobs.
Brad Phinny, COO of Slate Group based in Lubbock, Texas, notes that when his firm made the decision to add digital presses to its mix, it realized fairly quickly that it would also need to invest in finishing equipment that was designed specifically to handle short-run jobs. “We felt like we wanted to use the right tool for the right job,” he says. To that end, the company actually invested in several pieces that, Phinny notes, essentially meant creating a brand new, separate in-house finishing department specifically for their digital work.
The need for finishing equipment dedicated to the digital side of the house is something that Christopher Burnley, CEO of Hayward, Calif.-based Corefact, found as well. For him, it came down to sheet size, with his digital presses outputting work that either required him to divide up components to finish separately, or to upgrade his finishing department. “It was inefficient to have to bust the sheet first,” he says, “so we’ve been upgrading the equipment.”
Overcoming Finishing Challenges
Just having a separate finishing department with dedicated devices isn’t enough to overcome all of the potential challenges.
Paul Loy, VP of operations at Sheridan, which has facilities in Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Hampshire, points out that the challenges with finishing digital jobs start before the presses even fire up. Because most work done on these presses is short-run — sometimes with variable components — it’s important to group similar jobs and/or to minimize the overall offerings to keep the finishing aspects.
Dave Matheu, the digital department manager at Sandy Alexander Orlando, points out that substrate choice is another challenge they have to be aware of. “Sometimes, we’ll look at choosing different stocks that will fold or bind better,” he says, to prevent the job from being too thick to finish. The Orlando, Fla.-based facility has also experienced some issues with UV coatings and toner-based sheets, with the heat from the coating devices reactivating the toner and causing the sheets to stick together.
To overcome that, Matheu notes, they had to come up with a different process, printing one side, coating it, then printing and coating the other side. “That way when it’s going through the coater, it’s either a virgin sheet or already coated,” he explains. Doing it that way is a bit slower, Matheu adds, but it is still a faster turnaround time overall compared to their offset process.
Another challenge many shops might not consider is the training aspect. Burnley notes that one problem he has run into is that each piece of digital finishing equipment in his shop often requires specific training, and finding skilled operators can be difficult. “A lot of people don’t want to do light manufacturing, particularly young folks,” he says. “So finding people to staff these positions is our greatest challenge. On the equipment side, there aren't too many challenges there — it works well — it’s finding the people to do the work.”
He notes that one way they tried to get around that problem was to do more finishing in-line, but found it actually slowed operations down, rather than solving the underlying issue. So instead, they have focused more on providing incentives for people to come work in their finishing department, such as increased wages and more flexible shift schedules.
According to Phinny, the Slate Group got around the staffing issue by cross-training their existing finishing staff on the digital equipment, allowing them to move between the conventional offset and digital sides of the finishing house. He notes that in-line finishing proved to cause more issues than it would solve, due to all of the different specialty items and products offered by the shop. “It’s better for us to send the jobs to different locations for finishing, rather than relegating one piece of equipment to one process,” Phinny says.
Food for Thought
Matheu points out that when it comes to running digital jobs, one thing commercial printers should keep in mind is the sequence. While not a challenge, per se, he notes that by running various components of a job through finishing so they end up in the right order, shops can save themselves quite a bit of time.
“If you’re printing something with a sequence, the order it gets printed in becomes more important,” he says. “Planning can save a lot of time down the road.”
Loy notes it’s important for commercial printers to educate their customers exactly what effects digital finishing can bring to the table. “Customers want anything and everything, and it can be challenging to help them understand that in this ultra-short-run world, everything that was done for the long-run jobs can’t be done here,” he says. “As a printer, you have to figure out what you are willing to do with your [existing] workflows and equipment to not only serve your customers, but, at the end of the day, post a profit.”
That said, Jason Leonard, director of business development for Sandy Alexander Orlando, notes that one advantage commercial printers bring to the table is the ability to leverage their offset finishing equipment when the situation warrants it. For example, in the wide-format space, he notes that it “gives us a wealth of equipment a wide-format company doesn’t have.”
The unique ability of a commercial printer, with an established finishing department, to cross over jobs provides a powerful value proposition that dedicated digital operations just can’t offer, according to Leonard. Having the right tools to do the bulk of the short-run work, along with a willingness to experiment with offset finishing options, makes finishing in the digital realm far less intimidating — and far more lucrative — than commercial printers might have expected.
Finishing has evolved to meet the varied demands of on-demand digital printing, and it will only continue down this path. Manufacturers will continue to develop a wider range of higher-speed finishing options, accommodating shorter runs and wider sheets, with more features than ever before. For any commercial printer hesitating to jump into digital printing because of uncertainty around the finishing aspect, there has never been a better time than now to jump in feet first.
Toni McQuilken has been writing and editing for more than a decade. Her work includes B2B publications – both in print and online – in a range of industries, such as print and graphics, technology, hospitality and automotive; as well as behind the scenes writing and editing for multiple companies, helping them craft marketing materials, write press releases and more. She is a self-proclaimed "tech geek" who loves all things technology, and she knows that she is one of a select group of people who get to do what they love for a living.


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Pieter Van Der Griend Motorcycle Accident – It is anticipated that the first dealership will open in the Stouffville car center at the beginning of the month of August. The new Stouffville Hyundai dealership will be between 13,500 and 14,000 square feet in size and will provide customers with both new and pre-owned Hyundai automobiles. “(Our product range) will take care of the younger person who has to take care of their budget and the older person who has money but is budget conscious,” said Pieter van der Griend, co-dealer principal of Stouffville Hyundai.
“(Our product range) will also take care of the older person who has money but is budget conscious.” The other co-dealer principle is a man named Joe Zanchin. The facility is being built with consideration for the natural environment, in keeping with the company’s well-known reputation for the fuel economy and value of its vehicles. NEven though it will not be LEED certified, it will feature a lot of natural lighting and a technology that “senses where people are and turns off lighting accordingly,” according to Mr. van der Griend.
According to Mr. van der Griend, the lighting as well as the heating and cooling systems may even be altered from a remote location. Because of the varied population that resides in the Whitchurch-Stouffville area, Hyundai made the decision to open a dealership at the brand new auto mall located at the intersection of Highway 48 and Millard Street. The car dealership will initially recruit 11 to 12 workers to fill a variety of roles, including customer service, sales, and maintenance.
According to Mr. van der Griend, the number of employees will increase to between 16 and 18 once a year or two has passed. He remarked, “We’re looking first and foremost to the local community (for staff),” which is an indication that this is our primary focus. “We would like to contribute to the well-being of the neighborhood as well as the economy.”


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The world’s biggest retailer is in a frantic race to beat a small town in Maine before it imposed a size cap on retail stores.
Wal-Mart has an existing store on Route 1 in Falmouth, Maine, one of the main tourist route up the eastern spine of Maine. The current store in Falmouth is ‘only’ 84,000 s.f., or nearly one and a half times the size of a football field. But that’s not big enough for Wal-Mart, which now wants to expand into an adjacent property to enlarge its share of the retail pie in Falmouth.
This week, Wal-Mart revealed that it has signed a lease agreement with the owner of a mall to expand into space now occupied by a movie theater that is going out of business.
“We recently signed a lease with the landlord to expand the existing store in Falmouth,” a Wal-Mart spokesman told the Press Herald newspaper. “It is something that was just begun. We don’t have a timeline.”
But there is a timetable — and its urgent! Wal-Mart is in a big rush to get this expansion done before the town imposes a 75,000 s.f. cap on retail uses, which would void the Wal-Mart expansion. In fact, a 75,000 s.f. cap would make the current Wal-Mart into a non-conforming use, which would not affect its current operation, but would make it impossible to expand.
Wal-Mart wants to add 36,000 s.f. to their current store, bringing the total square footage up to 120,000 s.f. The new space would basically be adding a full line grocery to their current store.
Falmouth is community of just over 10,000 people north of Portland, Maine. In addition to having its own Wal-Mart, Falmouth shoppers can get to a Wal-Mart supercenter 13 mils away in Windham, Maine. The big losers in Falmouth if another grocery store is added would be the Shaw’s and Hannaford’s grocery stores currently in the town. Most of Wal-Mart’s sales would be captured from those two food stores.
Wal-Mart’s announcement was clearly timed to influence the December 13th meeting of the Falmouth Town Council, which will take up the size cap ordinance at that meeting. Wal-Mart is trying to present its expansion plans as a jobs proposal, which will add 30 to 50 ‘new’ jobs — but in fact the proposal offers no added value to the local economy, because Wal-Mart’s jobs will be transfers from existing merchants already operating in Falmouth.
If the town does not act soon, Wal-Mart will end up exporting more money out of Maine to Bentonville, Arkansas.
An 84,000 s.f. store is large enough for Wal-Mart to convert easily into a supercenter, without taking up more space.
The company has proposed superstores that size this year in other states, like Florida, and has been doing ‘in box conversions’ in states like Wisconsin. So the expanded space is not really critical to the success of the store — only to Wal-Mart’s desire to grab more market share away from existing businesses.
While this improves their bottom line, it will concentrate more of the food store market in one company’s hands, which is not good for the Falmouth consumer.
Readers are urged to call Tony Payne, the Chairman of the Falmouth, Maine Town Council after hours at (207) 781-5253 x 5314 and leave the following message:
“This is a message for Council Chairman Tony Payne: You are the head of the Alliance for Maine’s Future. You know that a strong Maine economy depends on the existence of many local merchants, with money spent recirculating locally.
Out-of-state big box stores extract capital from Maine, and leave you with less jobs than you started with. You also know that scale in a small town is important. There is no need for Wal-Mart to expand beyond 84,000 s.f. That’s almost one and a half times the size of a football field! I urge you to lead the Town Council to place a 75,000 s.f. cap on retail stores, and avoid suburban sprawl along Route 1. Thank you!”


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Tired of the constant weight fluctuations and inability to shed those last 5 pounds thanks to your social calendar and work obligations? Like many people, your commitment to maintaining a strong support system and working your way up the ladder at work may be taking a toll on your waistline. But here’s some good news: As awareness of the importance of fitness to one’s overall well-being continues to grow, many people are ditching the cliché work and social events that are typically centered around food and drinks in exchange for a healthier, more rewarding alternative—fitness parties.
Gyms across the United States are now offering fitness parties as a way to celebrate life achievements and milestones, such as bachelorette parties, birthday parties, college reunions and even divorce parties. Pole-dancing parties are among the most popular, with twenty- and thirty-something women most likely to give this increasingly popular trend a try.
“The class is a reason for friends to get together and shed inhibitions for an hour,” says Donna Cyrus, senior vice president of programming at Crunch.
Professionals are jumping on board this new trend, as well; instead of attending a typical dinner or cocktail hour, they’re attending fitness classes together. According to fitness and yoga instructor Magen Banwart, many business conferences are beginning to include yoga classes as a way to help attendees with stress management.
“It’s refreshing to see that so many people are opting to ditch taking in empty calories sipping on drinks with friends,” says ACE fitness expert Jessica Matthews, “and instead are choosing to celebrate special occasions in more active ways by seeking out classes that enable them to focus on their fitness, while inspiring friends and loved ones to do the same.
“There aren’t many places where you can go to burn calories, improve your health and fitness, and let your inhibitions go all while having fun with your girlfriends, but you can in a pole fitness class. It’s easy to see why this class format has become such a popular option for bachelorette parties. For many, breaking a sweat learning some sultry moves and boosting one’s self-confidence in the company of your closest friends is the perfect way to embrace an active lifestyle, while also celebrating some of life’s biggest milestones.”


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Yesterday, September 15, a new spring production plant was launched in Beloretsk in the presence of Radiy Khabirov, Head of Bashkortostan, Sergey Kogogin, General Director of KAMAZ PTC, Pavel Yakovlev, General Director of the Automobile Plant URAL, and Boris Myagkov, Deputy General Director for Civilian Products of the Uralvagonzavod Concern.
The project is to supply Russian vehicle manufacturers with high-quality auto components at competitive prices uninterruptedly. The quality of springs produced at the modern high-tech spring production plant will meet European standards, new types of springs and semi-springs of complex shape will be manufactured there too. Investments in the project amounted to 500 million rubles.
“We are once again excited at the success of Ural Spring Factory. It is pleasant that here are the heads of Russia’s top three automotive engineering companies with us today: KAMAZ, URAL and Uralvagonzavod. We hope that these enterprises will become the main users of the products manufactured here,” said Radiy Khabirov, Head of Bashkortostan, in his welcoming speech. “This project was included in the list of priority investment projects a year ago, and our Ministry of Industry is supporting its implementation. This innovative enterprise offers good working conditions. I hope the management of the plant will continue to take care of their workers who should receive a decent salary.”
“It is very pleasant that such strong and, at the same time, compact production facilities where modern technologies are applied appear in Russia,” noted Sergey Kogogin, General Director of KAMAZ PTC. “I expect that we will be able to get here products necessary for modern vehicles, and stop importing them. I wish success to the initiators of the project. This country finds support exactly upon such obsessed, in a good sense, people who want to change the Russian industry for the better.”
Being on a working trip to Naberezhnye Chelny, Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, has visited KAMAZ PTC.
Rustam Minnikhanov, accompanied by Sergey Kogogin, General Director of KAMAZ PTC, and Nail Magdeev, Mayor of Naberezhnye Chelny, visited the production sites of KAMAZ.
The guests saw a large-scale reengineering project under way at the KAMAZ press and stamping plant: there is a new modern production facility built to produce frames with high corrosion resistance and strength properties for a new KAMAZ truck line.
This production facility has three lines: an automatic line producing frame side rails, a line painting frame side rails and frame parts, as well as a frame assembly line. The quality of the frames is now higher thanks to the modern equipment and tools. An automated component transfer system will deliver components to the desired position timely and transmit data on the current remainder on the assembly line. The new technologies will enable to produce frames for all KAMAZ vehicles produced by the company. The new production is 70% automated. The production capacity is 65 thousand frames per year.
The president also examined the cab assembly line and the main conveyor of the automobile plant. He also met with the workers of the plant. The KAMAZ employees managed to ask the head of the republic their questions. In particular, the workers were interested in the issues of development of their enterprise, including export promotion.
The president noted that KAMAZ is known not only in Russia, but all over the world. At the same time, trucks, especially those of the new K5 generation, are competitive. “We are actively working with other countries: with Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. There are certain prospects in working with Turkey,” said Rustam Minnikhanov. “A lot is being done for the development of your company. The government and the president support you. But the most important thing is that KAMAZ, due to its properly structured work, is in no way inferior to its foreign competitors.”
KAMAZ PTC summarized its production results for August (with only 11 working days due to corporate leave) and for the first eight months of 2021.
The plant produced 1,962 assembly kits in August and 27,029 units in total since the beginning of 2020, which is 23% more than a year earlier (21,916 units were produced for the same period last year).
In August, the engine plant and JV CUMMINS KAMA produced 2,339 engines and power units, 29,563 units since the beginning of the year (compare with 24,369 units for the same period last year). Spare parts were shipped for 1.15 billion rubles in August and for 19.89 billion rubles for eight months (last year’s result is 15.27 billion rubles).


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A bill introduced in the House aims to improve the nation’s supply chain by providing recruiting and retention incentives for truck drivers and increasing shipping capacity.
On January 24, Congressmen Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and Jim Costa of California introduced the Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking Act, or SHIP IT, which aims to provide recruiting and retention incentives for truck drivers, and to increase U.S. transportation capacity.
According to Land Line, the SHIP IT Act, or HR471, would allow states to issue special permits for overweight vehicles and loads during emergencies. It would also allow truck drivers to apply for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act grants. The bill would sweeten the attractions of working as a truck driver through targeted and temporary tax credits. It also aims to streamline the CDL process, making it easier for states and third parties to administer CDL tests. Additionally, the bill would seek to expand access to truck parking and rest areas for commercial drivers.
Under the bill, current truck drivers who logged at least 1,900 hours in a year could be eligible for a $7,500 tax credit, depending on their income. New truck drivers could be eligible for a $10,000 tax credit.
Read more: What Makes Supply Chain Workers Stay
“Americans experienced a slew of freight disruptions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Johnson said in a news release. “Last year we addressed ocean shipping reform, and it’s clear that updates are needed for other parts of the supply chain. The SHIP IT Act will bridge gaps, keep costs down for consumers, and make it easier for shippers to move products across the U.S.”
Costa said the bill is necessary to ensure that the nation’s supply chain is running smoothly. “We need to recruit, train and retain truck drivers to keep our supply chain moving, while also updating best practices to improve trucking to fit our modern economy,” he said.
The Shippers Coalition, the International Dairy Foods Association, the National Milk Producers, Consumer Brands Association, and heavy-duty suspension manufacturer Hendrickson expressed support for the bill.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association appreciates some aspects of the bill but believe it needs some tweaking.
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Blackstone Executive Vice Chairman Tony James says he's less optimistic now than before that the U.S.-China trade war could be resolved, but even a smaller deal could help...World Economyread more
The massive market transformation this month that some on Wall Street called a "once in a decade opportunity" might have just been a one-off technical move because of taxes.Marketsread more
The Pentagon will deploy U.S. forces to the Middle East on the heels of the attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced...Defenseread more
CNBC did a deep dive through the most recent Wall Street research to find stocks that analysts say are underappreciated.Marketsread more
Shares of MasterCard are up 46% this year, and 1120% since 2011, getting a boost from the strong U.S. consumer.Investingread more
CNBC sat in on an "empathy training" at Amazon PillPack's Somerville offices, which is part of new hire orientation.Technologyread more
Trade with China is the 'big unknown' for the Federal Reserve as it decides how best to support the U.S. economy, says Council on Foreign Relations Director of International...Futures Nowread more
Lobbying experts said the visit is likely an attempt to be in lawmakers' ears as they consider legislation that would impact Facebook.Technologyread more
Yardeni Research's Edward Yardeni believes the U.S. economy is picking up steam.Trading Nationread more
Iran's audacious drone and cruise missile attack on Saudi Arabia's oil producing facilities has provided a critical test yet for the Trump administration's foreign policy. A...Politicsread more
It might sound counterintuitive, but brick-and-mortar store-killer Amazon may be boosting parts of the real estate market.
The e-commerce giant has "made the warehouse sexy," Raj Dhanda, president of private equity real-estate firm Black Creek Group, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. Big and bulky warehouses have rapidly become the "hottest" component of commercial real estate, Dhanda said.
During the first half of the year, investment sales in the industrial real estate sector totaled $23.8 billion, according to real estate investment firm Jones Lang LaSalle. That translated to growth of more than 20 percent.
JLL predicts that "another wave of large-scale industrial portfolio transactions will lead second-half activity." More than $12.5 billion in industrial deals are slated to close before the end of the year, the firm found.
Amazon isn't the only e-retailer that needs distribution centers — more and more are looking to scoop up spaces outside of metropolitan markets to plant their fulfillment facilities.
In turn, rents in the industrial sector have climbed around six to seven points, according to Dhanda. His team has noticed more activity in second-tier markets around Dallas, Denver and Nashville, Tennessee.
Publicly traded real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are one way investors can get a piece of the commercial action, particularly warehouses. Dhanda said he's noticed more investors turning to real estate in a search of assets that aren't tied to the typical ebb and flow of the stock and bond markets.
Share prices of industrial REITs Prologis, DCT Industrial Trust, EastGroup Properties are up more than 22 percent each this year. The price of another REIT, First Industrial Realty Trust, is up about 10 percent.
"As retailers reconfigure their supply chain to accommodate the shift in consumer behavior, the requirement for warehousing space will increase substantially," Stag Industrial CEO Ben Butcher told CNBC earlier this year. "This is true incremental demand, not a displacement of existing demand for warehouse square footage."
Butcher's industrial REIT has seen its stock climb over 17 percent in 2017.
Jefferies has added to the argument for industrial companies, estimating that purely e-commerce retailers will need three times as much warehouse space as brick-and-mortar retailers, presenting huge opportunity for warehouse landlords.
While mall and shopping center stocks have cast a shadow over REIT equities this year, dropping on talk of a so-called retail apocalypse, there are hardly enough warehouses to keep up with industry demand, Dhanda told CNBC.
"What we've seen in 18 months is outsized returns for these industrial warehouse logistics assets — up 20 percent this year," he said.


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2023 Honda HR-V Grows in Size, Specs to Come
As if the 2023 Honda HR-V hasn’t been teased enough. The wraps are finally off, yet we still know little about the mechanicals.
HReV Up Your Engines — Honda Announces HR-V Reveal Date
“Early morning, April 4, shot rings out in the Memphis sky” — so goes the lyric from one of my favorite ’80s rock songs, U2’s great “Pride (In the Name of Love), referencing the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., which of course took place on a fateful spring day.
Now that I’ve burned that lede from the list of possible references to be used someday, let me pivot to something that’s happening this coming April 4 — something much less serious than the death of a civil-rights activist.
The wraps come off the 2023 Honda HR-V.
The Right Spec: 2022 Honda HR-V
Sketches of the next bite-sized Honda surfaced this morning, showing a vehicle with an admittedly big gob but wearing proportions that are a smidgen less awkward than the machine which has been around now for very nearly a decade in some markets. If this were pre-pandemic times, we’d be bleating that a Right Spec would help buyers select the best of what’s being cleared out of dealer lots in favor of the new rig. That’s hardly the case these days.
Nevertheless, it’s entertaining to learn where the different trims land in terms of desirability. Let’s find out what’s on tap for the final model year of this HR-V generation
Honda Teases New HR-V With Gaping Maw
The teaser game continues.
Honda has sent the automotive press two teaser images of the next-generation HR-V small crossover.
Buy/Drive/Burn: Affordable Japanese Subcompact Crossovers in 2021
In our last edition of Buy/Drive/Burn, we took a look at three subcompact American CUVs competing at the $25,000 price point. Most of you seemed to agree they were all terrible, but the Trax edged out the Buy in the comments.
Let’s see how you feel about the Japanese competition.
The Possibility of a Hotter Honda HR-V Emerges
Suffice it to say no one was talking about Honda’s HR-V subcompact crossover until this news broke. It sells well, quite well, but the little ute — like most subcompact crossovers — may as well be invisible.
What are people suddenly talking about? The emergence of an HR-V Sport on the other side of the Atlantic, boasting a turbocharged 1.5-liter VTEC four-cylinder that’s good for 180 horsepower — just like the one found in the Civic Sport.
Another Model Loses Its Manual Transmission
There’s probably no shortage of eyeball rolling over this headline, as manual transmissions wouldn’t be fading out of the marketplace if buyers actually desired one.
Once upon a time, a stick-shift guaranteed better fuel economy, but those days are pretty much gone. It was also a great way to reduce the entry price of a particular model, but automakers’ thirst for larger margins and fewer configurations means what few base, stick-shift models roll off the line are often hidden from consumer view in the real world. This only serves to sink popularity even further.
The ongoing trend has apparently reached the Honda HR-V, which undergoes a mild refresh for the 2019 model year. As part of this update, say goodbye to the six-speed manual in Honda’s smallest ‘ute.
Honda's Largest and Smallest Crossovers Go Under the Knife for 2019
Despite early reviews featured on this site, ones that surely didn’t please Honda PR, the Honda HR-V subcompact crossover is a hit, has always been a hit, and that’s really all that matters to the automaker. American buyers quite enjoy the HR-V, so Honda felt the little ute deserved a mild makeover for the 2019 model year. It isn’t the only Honda-branded crossover to enter 2019 with a new face, however.
The three-row Pilot, always an upright, strong-selling foil to Toyota’s Highlander, sees its own refresh for 2019.
2016 Honda HR-V Review - The Farm Girl's Daughter
It’s no secret that Honda strives to offer a “Goldilocks-just-right” option in just about every segment — not too big, not too small; not too cheap, not too expensive; not too flashy, not too bland, and with a dollop of practicality on top. This formula has led to a lineup of sales successes with few exceptions. Oddly enough, Honda’s new-to-America HR-V is one of those exceptions.
Based on numbers from GoodCarBadCar, the Jeep Renegade is outselling the HR-V at a clip of 1.4:1 so far this year. Even Buick shifted more Encores — just — than Honda sold HR-Vs.
What gives? Have subcompact CUV shoppers forsaken Honda? Is the Renegade that good? Or is there some other explanation?
The 2016 Honda HR-V Is Honda's Worst Current Product
Every week, I’m driving something different. Just yesterday, I shuffled out of a Fiat 500X Trekking AWD into a Mercedes-Benz GLC300 4Matic for a true back-to-back nine-speed automatic transmission comparo. (Mercedes-Benz wins.)
But in the real world with real money, our family vehicle is a 2015 Honda Odyssey. It’s not our first Honda; it likely won’t be our last. I consider the Accord to be the best midsize sedan on the market. I managed to enjoy a week with the new Honda Pilot despite a troupe of electronic gremlins. I believe the Integra GS-R is the ultimate expression of all that was right with the auto industry. Yet I am not remotely close to succumbing to the notion that Honda can do no wrong.
Crosstour? It’s ghastly and expensive. CR-Z? Sadly, it’s boring and not terribly efficient. Second-gen Insight? A lackluster response to the all-conquering Prius.
HR-V? Quite successful, but also loud, uncomfortable, slow, overpriced, and frustrating.
Could Force-induced Euro Civic Give Honda N.A. Turbo Fits?
Honda Europe announced Monday their engine lineup for the new, 10th-generation Honda Civic, and it’s completely different than the engines we will get in North America.
The Civic will once again be a global product with the same architecture and design employed in both North America and Europe. Under the hood though, the compact will be powered by 1-liter and 1.5-liter VTEC turbo engines on the Old Continent. In North America, we get the choice of a new 1.5-liter turbo engine — which is different from the one in Europe — or the legendary K20 2-liter naturally aspirated four cylinder.
However, with automakers downsizing their engines across all products, could that European 1-liter turbo three-cylinder engine end up in our Honda Fit?
Hyundai May Bring Subcompact Crossover, but It Won't Be Creta
Hyundai is looking to jump into the subcompact crossover fold in the States with the Nissan Juke, Honda HR-V, Chevrolet Trax and everyone else, but it won’t be with the Creta, Edmunds is reporting.
The Creta recently went on sale in India, but executives in America told Edmunds that it wasn’t the right fit for U.S. buyers.
“We have decided to wait a little bit longer to get the right vehicle,” said Dave Zuchowski, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.
Mazda Says 2016 CX-3 Will Start Under $20,000 (Kinda)
The new mini crossover from Mazda will start at $19,960 (not including $880 destination) when it goes on sale after next month, the automaker reported Thursday.
That puts the CX-3 in leagues with the Chevrolet Trax, Nissan Juke, Honda HR-V and Jeep Renegade as sub-$20,000 crossovers in an increasingly crowded and competitive segment.
Like the rest of its competition, it’s not hard to hike the CX-3’s final price up in a hurry.
While You Were Sleeping: Subcompact Crossover Meth, Rare Cars Are a Drug and Saturn Dealer Wants His Money Back
They’re potent, popular and can’t be stopped. Everyone wants to buy one. Every dealer wants to sell one. Just like the crack-like epidemic of SUVs in the ’90s, the subcompact crossover is the blue meth of today.
Here’s what happened overnight.
Honda Continues Shift Toward SUVs, Crossovers With 2016 Pilot Production
With the 2016 Pilot leaving the assembly line starting Thursday, Honda continues its progress toward more SUVs and crossovers over passenger cars.


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Indian Super League Growth will Lead to Sales of Merchandise
The Indian Super League has received strong acceptance among owners, fans and sportsmen resulting in increased promotion and investment in the league. Given this promising scenario, the potential for companies and brands to evaluate this sporting domain has risen significantly. Apparel and footwear companies are expected to increase their sales of licensed apparel, footwear and other fan merchandise; as fans are more likely to spend going forward.
Watch on YouTube


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For drivers of electric cars, going green is starting to take more green.
A growing number of states are imposing new fees on electric vehicles as officials scrounge for ways to pay for infrastructure projects they say are long overdue. At least five states, including California, passed bills targeting the cars this year, bringing the total number with fees on the books to 13. The charges generally range from $100 to $200 a year.
“Safe and smooth roads make California a better place to live and strengthen our economy,” Gov. Jerry Brown said in a statement when the bill passed this spring. “This legislation will put thousands of people to work.”
The passage of the fee in California — home to one of the most prominent names in electric vehicles, Tesla Motors — underscores the shift in sentiment toward the technology. Many states initially encouraged drivers to make the switch to cleaner cars through tax incentives and other measures. But now, cash-strapped and pothole-ridden, states are asking the eco-friendly to pay up.
“We see this as a concerning trend,” said Gina Coplon-Newfield, director of the electric vehicles initiative at the Sierra Club. “We certainly want to see funding raised to support roads and bridges and transit. … But penalizing electric vehicle drivers is not the way to solve this problem.”
The shift comes just as Tesla gives the green light for its first mass-production car, the Model 3.
Proponents of the fees say the issue is one of fairness. Since 2013, 24 states and the District of Columbia have moved to raise their gas tax, including five states just this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In California, a 12-cent hike in the gas tax is expected to pay for nearly half of the state’s $52.4 billion infrastructure package to repair roads and alleviate congestion.
But since electric cars don’t need gas, those drivers don’t pay the tax — even though they use the same roads as traditional cars. California’s new $100 annual fee on electric vehicles will go into effect in 2020 and is expected to raise $200 million over the next decade.
“This landmark legislation offers counties real hope to catch up on a significant backlog of deferred maintenance,” California State Association of Counties President Keith Carson said in a statement. “We’re finally going to be able to start fixing potholes, improving pavement and making sure our bridges are structurally sound.”
But environmental advocates worry the fees could curtail electric vehicle sales. Edmunds.com estimates the cars account for just 0.6 percent of the auto market. Sales growth has slowed dramatically, from 227 percent in 2013 to just 5 percent last year, according to the data.
In addition to the fees, the Sierra Club counted seven states that have eliminated rebates for purchasing an electric vehicle. Coplon-Newfield said sales plummeted in Georgia after the state enacted new ownership fees and got rid of the incentives.
Also facing extinction: a $7,500 federal tax credit for buying an electric car. The credit expires once manufacturers sell 200,000 vehicles, and major automakers such as Tesla, General Motors and Nissan are on track to hit that limit within the next few years. But advocates are concerned that the credit could wind up on the chopping block even sooner amid sweeping efforts to simplify the tax code.
Genevieve Cullen, president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, said her organization is willing to help fund infrastructure projects. But she said the current fees are arbitrary. She pointed to the debate in Vermont, where a recent state government report instead recommends postponing electric-car taxes until they make up 15 percent of vehicles on the road. The report projected that would happen in 2025.
“Everyone needs to pay their fair share, but the fact is that we think it’s premature to impose fees on a technology that’s contributing to so many other national, state and local goals,” Cullen said. “As part of a comprehensive fix of infrastructure funding, let’s put everything on the table. … But in the meantime, to create impediments to a new technology that has a lot to offer seems not the best solution.”
Source: Tech CNBC
States yanking electric-car incentives and slapping on new fees to pay for infrastructure


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This is how much the upcoming Xperia 1 V will cost in China.
The new Sony Xperia 1 V smartphone launch is still a few hours away, but thanks to a new report, we already know how much the new Sony handsets will cost.
According to ZACKBUCKS, the Xperia 1 V handset will be priced at 8,000 yuan… which roughly converts to $1155, £916, or ₹94,800.
To compare, that’s a $445 drop compared to the $1600 launch price of 2022’s Xperia I IV.
It’s not clear as of now whether this price drop will be reflected in other markets, but we should be hearing about this pretty soon.
Sony in a teaser video has revealed that it will be unveiling their 2023 flagship Xperia phones today ie. May 11 at 1PM Japan time.
Expected specs of Sony Xperia 1 V include 6.5-inch OLED 4K display, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, 16 gigs of RAM, and 5000mAh battery.
As is obvious from the teasers — camera and imaging will be the USPs of the new Xperias (as always), but Sony fans are also keeping their fingers crossed on a possible design change. Xperia 1 models have stuck to the same design for four straight years.
We will be adding more information about the phone after the official launch, so stay tuned!


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FM AdFocus Awards jury announced
Entries to the FM AdFocus Media Awards close on August 30
The names of the jury members for the 2019 FM AdFocus Advertising and Media awards have been announced.
This year a host of the industry’s most prominent leaders are included. Members serve a two-year term. This maintains continuity while ensuring a fresh perspective.
New members for 2019 include Brenda Khumalo, Lesego Kotane (MD, King James II), Michael Oelschig (MD, Cerebra), Mmapula Mokoena (head of marketing, Yalu SA), Nkgabiseng Motau (co-founder and chief creative officer, Think Creative Africa), Oresti Patricios (CEO, Ornico Group), Suhana Gordhan (creative director, FCB Africa), Tumi Rabanye (head of strategy, The Brave Group), Matjie Pride Maunatlala (head of marketing, TFG), Nontokozo Madonsela (group CMO, Momentum Metropolitan Holdings), Candice Goodman (MD, Mobitainment) Gill Randall (CEO, SPARK Media).
Mokoena says: “Being new to the FM Adfocus Awards judging process, I’m a blank canvas, expecting to see how SA talent and skill will translate into answering the various business challenges with advertising that not only resonates with consumers but also inspires them to take action.”
Maunatlala’s expectation for this year’s AdFocus Awards is that it should be “a showcase of businesses that have delivered value for their clients, as well as proof that innovation is not reliant on big budgets,” she says. “I am also looking forward to … brave work underpinned by purpose that can inject collective national positivity.
For my journey, I am looking to soak up meaningful moments with industry leaders. I am more than excited to contribute to celebrating and improving our industry.”
Goodman is particularly keen to judge AdFocus Awards submissions “that show real benefit to business, not only those that excel from a creative point of view,” she says. “I am excited to see how technology enables innovation. I hope and expect to see AdFocus Awards entries that showcase how we can solve local problems with local solutions, and how doing good is good business.”
For Randall, it will be “really comforting if the latest evidence-based knowledge about effective media planning is incorporated as part of the evaluative process,” she says. “The current obsession with digital and its role has diverted the attention of a lot of industry people and created a false reality of what needs to form part of a good strategy.”
Chair of the AdFocus Awards, Phumi Mashigo (founding MD, Ignitive) says awards ceremonies such as that ofAdFocus are crucially important because they enable the industry to showcase its best work.
“They remind decision-makers that the absolutely vital advertising industry still exists, making businesses succeed, more than 155 years after it was formally established. This is why the most successful start-ups in Silicon Valley spend on average 80% of their funding on brand building.”
The big take-out
Entries to the FM AdFocus Media Awards close on August 30.
Details of the members of the main advertising jury for 2019 are:
- Brenda Khumalo;
- Bridget von Holdt, business director, Burson Cohn & Wolfe;
- Koo Govender, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network, SA;
- Lesego Kotane, MD, King James II;
- Makosha Maja-Rasethaba, partner: head of strategy (Jhb), M&C Saatchi;
- Matjie Pride Maunatlala, head of marketing, TFG, Foschini division;
- Michael Oelschig, MD, Cerebra;
- Mmapula Mokoena, head of marketing, Yalu SA;
- Monalisa Sibongile Zwambila, founder and CEO: Riverbed;
- Nkgabiseng Motau, co-founder and chief creative officer, Think Creative Africa;
- Nontokozo Madonsela, group CMO, Momentum Metropolitan Holdings;
- Oresti Patricios, CEO, Ornico Group;
- Phumi Mashigo, founding MD, Ignitive, and AdFocus main jury chair, 2019/2020;
- Ruth Kolevsohn, founder & CEO, Coachability;
- Sharon Piehl, MD, FleishmanHillard;
- Sibusiso Sithle, co-founder and chief creative officer, The Odd Number;
- Suhana Gordhan, creative director, FCB Africa; and
- Tumi Rabanye, head of strategy, The Brave Group.
Details of the members of the media jury for 2019 are:
- Ashish Williams, CEO, Mediacom;
- Candice Goodman, MD, Mobitainment;
- Carmen Murray, CEO of Boo-Yah!;
- Gill Randall, CEO, SPARK Media;
- Koo Govender, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network, SA;
- Monique Claassen, head of media and digital insights, Kantar;
- Nikki Lewin, MD, Alphabet Soup;
- Phumi Mashigo, founding MD, Ignitive, and AdFocus jury chair, 2019/2020;
- Rob Smuts, CEO, RMS Media; and
- Tanya Schreuder, group MD media brands, Dentsu Aegis Network.
Entries for the FM AdFocus Media Awards close on August 30 and entries for the FM AdFocus Advertising Awards on September 6. To enter, register on the adfocus.co.za website. (People who registered in 2018 will need to register again for 2019.)
“AdFocus is not only about competition. It is about inspiring one another, raising the bar for ourselves and our clients, and ushering in the next big thing in the world economy,” says Mashigo.
For further information contact Danette (Breitenbach) Capper, AdFocus Awards co-ordinator, on email: firstname.lastname@example.org or 082-494-4174.


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A roundup of who’s been hired, fired or maybe just jumped ship in media land over the past few weeks.
Condé Nast is looking at ways its brands can monetize live events as traditional print advertising continues to struggle.
Merida joins from ESPN where he was senior vice president and also editor-in-chief of The Undefeated.
The Des Moines, Iowa-based company plans to focus on its magazine business, which publishes titles such as People and InStyle.
Condé Nast’s new internship program lists only one editorial opportunity at digital-only publication Glamour, which no longer has a fashion team.
It’s the first publisher to join the digital bank’s tree-planting initiative in a bid to become carbon neutral.
“Sometimes they make us feel like we’re taking more dramatic action than we are,” said Allure’s executive beauty director Jenny Bailly.
Meredith, Condé Nast and Hearst have all released diversity reports over the past few months.
Home decor, bookazines and food are among the categories that have performed well in print and online.


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Online retailer ModCloth announced it will open a pop-up shop between July 30 and August 17 in San Francisco's Union Square. Slightly different than the average pop-up experience, items cannot be purchased in the store, but shoppers can try on items and make online purchases for at-home delivery.
The motivation behind the initiative was a massive response to ModCloth's recent LA IRL event, which had more than 5,000 consumers in less than 24 hours, SFStation reported. "There's a lot of love for the brand, and our customer is eager to engage in new ways," said Susan Koger, co-founder and chief creative officer of ModCloth.
The pop-up store will include limited edition, San Francisco themed t-shirts, stylist services, the option to reserve a fitting room online, and exclusive accessories and home goods that can be bought on-site. In addition, purchases over $150 are shipped for free.
ModCloth joins the growing list of online retailers opening physical showrooms, including Warby Parker and Bonobos.
A big week for the retailer, ModCloth, after 13 years, also announced the launch of its first full line of branded apparel, Women's Wear Daily reported. The collection contains more than 98 pieces ranging between $35 and $150, in sizes XS to 4X. The line will be revealed at the 2,250 sq. ft. pop-up shop.
Until now, ModCloth has sold apparel from outside vendors, with an occasional in-house collection. The move is part of a fresh start for the retailer after a rough 2014, which included the stepping down of CEO Eric Koger and the assumed leadership of CEO Matthew Kaness. The company also laid off 120 of its 500 employees.
-See this SFStation article
-See this Women's Wear Daily article (subscription)
ModCloth opens Los Angeles showroom
ModCloth names former Urban Oufitters exec as CEO
Flipboard Partners with Retailers to Add Shopping Feature
Online retailers Warby Parker, Bonobos add more stores
Warby Parker opens Chicago concept shop


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I am writing in support of MJ Byrnes for reelection to the Wilmington School Committee.
I have known MJ for many years, first as a parent and now as a school committee member, and have seen her excel in both roles.
MJ is dedicated, caring, involved, and present in her role as school committee member.
She has a focused interest in our Special Needs population and is well versed in the details of what goes into an IEP, something extremely important to many parents.
She has represented us well and will continue to do so. For this reason, she has my vote.
NOTE TO CANDIDATES & CAMPAIGNS: Got announcements, press releases, letters to the editor, etc.? Email firstname.lastname@example.org.
Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email email@example.com.