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The wholesale market as a whole continues to slightly decline, down -0.26%, more than the 2017-2019 average, which was -0.21%, according to Canadian Black Book. The Canadian wholesale market for used cars was down -0.40%, compared to being down -0.22% last week. The truck/SUV market improved, but continued on a downhill path of -0.12% for the week, compared to the previous -0.22%, compared to the 2017-2019 average of -0.21%.
The US market exchange rate remains favourable for exportation, Arbitrage opportunities have continued to bring US buyers, causing a steady flow of vehicles south across the border. Gas prices are dipping slightly, but are still an influence on buyer behaviour, says the report. “Supply remains low while demand is high on both sides of the border. Upstream channels continue to tap supply before it can be made available at physical auctions.”
Only two segments of the car market made modest gains, with sub-compact cars up 0.27%, and prestige luxury cars up 0.04%. Mid-size cars were down the most, at -1.07%, with full-size cars down -1.02%.
For trucks/SUVs, there were only three slight price increases, with full size vans up just 0.45%, minivans up 0.34% and sub-compact crossovers up 0.16%. Compact vans declined the most, down a full -1.61%, followed by sub-compact luxury crossovers which were down -0.71% for the week.
The average listing price for used vehicles increased slightly week over week, as the 14-day moving average is just above $37,000. Analysis is based on approximately 120,000 vehicles listed for sale on Canadian dealer lots.
In other news, The Bank of Canada expects inflation to go “a little over” eight per cent for the month of June and stay in that range for a few more months, Governor Tiff Macklem told a business group in a webcast transcript released late Friday.
Bank of Canada increases policy interest rate by 100 basis points, continues quantitative tightening, and the Canadian dollar strengthened against the greenback on Monday, and the yield on benchmark government debt climbed. The loonie was trading 0.5% higher at C$1.2965 to the greenback, or 77.13 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.2899 to 1.3029.
With inflation and interest rates both up sharply, and gas prices at record levels, DAC reached out to consumers to get their input about how the economic situation may impact their intention to purchase a vehicle this year. Unsurprisingly, nearly half of respondents suggested that they are less likely to take the plunge into the vehicle market given the current economic concerns. Looking across the country, consumers from the Atlantic region and Alberta were the most hesitant, citing ‘less likely’ at 57.0% and 56.9% respectively.
While consumers seem to be echoing Elon Musk and his “super bad feeling” about the economy it should be noted that current consumer actions are showing a completely different perspective. Across the wide range of economic variables tracked by DAC, consumer spending is at record levels – often well above the previous highs of 2019. OpenTable reports restaurant reservations in Canada 15% above pre-pandemic levels, RBC cardholder spending data is tracking 30% higher than 2019, Statistics Canada retail sales data jumped yet again in the most recent month. One variable after another, shows consumers are (currently at least) spending at a torrid pace.
“When it comes to the outlook for vehicle purchases, future consumer behaviour is far from clear” commented Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC. He continued, “while such concerns are in some way moot until vehicle supply issues are resolved, they are critical for the future outlook of the industry.” As such, DAC continues to track a broad range of economic variables closely and each quarter publishes a vehicle sales forecast by segment, province, and powertrain type for the coming 5 years.
In a report released by AutoTrader.ca this week, it was revealed that auto prices are at record highs across the country. Used auto prices continued to gradually increase throughout the first part of 2022, which is “the opposite of the pricing trends observed in previous years before the pandemic. This trend is similar for new vehicle prices, which also continued to rise.”
Well-publicized inventory shortages due to global events, the pandemic, and material scarcity, which has pushed the demand for new vehicles into the used vehicle market, causing upward price pressure on both segments. Quebec’s prices are not as high as the rest of the country, but have been increasing more rapidly to catch up.
SUVs, minivans and trucks are experiencing the strongest increases as a result of “growing consumer demand for larger vehicles, with minivan prices increasing at the fastest rate given shortages in the segment.”
According to the study, the price of used North American vehicles has been stabilizing with increased levels of used inventory. AutoTrader predicts that, as vehicle production returns to capacity, it will ‘relieve pressure from car buyers switching to used, which will have a calming effect on price inflation for both new and used vehicles.”
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Quebec used car low inventory situation may have arisen from dealers outside the province purchasing inventory from Quebec, but the situation is slowly improving.
The top 10 most-searched vehicles over the study period were:
In general, prices have increased substantially year-over-year across the board, from Alberta, with the lowest increase at 32.9%, to Quebec, with the highest, at 43 per cent.
Used car prices have shot to record highs and wait times for new vehicles can now take months as chip shortages have slowed down production. All of that has Canadians rethinking their car buying plans, according to a new survey.
The latestBNN Bloomberg RATESDOTCA survey, conducted by Leger, found that four-in-10 Canadians said they have made changes to their purchasing plans, with 13 per cent saying they were delaying their purchase as a result of high prices. The online survey of 1,538 Canadians was conducted between April 8 and 10.
The price of cars has been an issue in Canada since last year. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a trend of more Canadiansopting to drive over taking public transit, which has increased demand and prices for vehicles. Supply chain shortages have also contributed to long wait times for new vehicles to be shipped to consumers.
The survey shows that Canadians are aware the current auto market requires making concessions. About 12 per cent of respondents said they changed or are expecting to change their choice of vehicle as a result of cost, while another nine per cent said they will change their choice because of availability. Another 25 per cent of respondents said they were planning to delay their purchase entirely due to cost or availability.
On the other hand, according to the survey, Canadian consumers are researching the vehicles they buy extensively before getting into the driver’s seat.
Two-thirds (68 per cent) of respondents said they factor in the cost of replacing and repairing a vehicle when they buy it, and how that impacts the insurance premium they pay on the car. The make and model of a vehicle can have a large impact on your monthly insurance costs — that’s because insurers look at how expensive a car will be to fix if it gets into a collision, as well as how often certain models tend to be involved in accidents. So, if your car is favoured by young people who love to speed, you’ll be paying higher insurance premiums.
Six-in-10 (61 per cent) respondents said that they consider a vehicle’s safety record or crash rating when they purchase a car, while half of respondents said they also consider the likelihood of accidents or theft.
While the majority of respondents were well informed about how the vehicle they buy impacts their car insurance rate, two-in-10 said they were not aware that factors like the cost of repairing a vehicle and its likelihood of getting stolen affected their insurance rate.
Shmuel, J. (2022, April 29). Canadians increasing budget or delaying car purchases amid high prices: Survey – BNN Bloomberg. BNN. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canadians-increasing-budget-or-delaying-car-purchases-amid-high-prices-survey-1.1759003
The pandemic has been a global event with unprecedented impact on our industry. We learned that in these times, our customers demand convenience, efficiency, and speed in the buying process. Online transactions have become an expected part of the purchasing experience. Through it all, dealers have embraced digital tools to create a smooth car buying experience.
The latest studies showed that nearly all the car buyers in the market start their research online, regardless of how they ultimately complete their purchase.
Fewer and fewer respondents completed each subsequent phase of the research process online. After submitting a lead form, the shopper either continues the process online or moves in-store.
The results showed that even though some purchasers end up buying online, the majority of them visited the store to complete their transaction.
Did you complete your entire vehicle purchase online?
How you can apply this your dealership:
Online research is one of the most important parts of the car buying process. A potential buyer needs to find the right vehicle, calculate payment estimates, and even start the credit application which is an important phase while they’re shopping for cars. There’s a higher chance to complete the sale when the applicants submit an application rather than just visiting your website or calling you for further information without filling out your online application.
This only can happen if you provide them with the right amount of information and convenience as they’re engaging with your website or your online inventory.
During the “research” phase, when consumers find a car on your website that they’re interested in, calculate payment estimates, and a credit application can play an important role until they finalize their purchase with you– whether online or in-store.
UNDERSTANDING THE ONLINE BUYER
“11.63% of respondents said they completed their last vehicle purchase online. This subset of customers was asked again if they visited the dealership for any reason at all, and 77.59% still had to visit the dealership for one reason or another. Meaning of the total survey respondents, a mere 2.56% purchased 100% online. When asked about their online purchase experience, their satisfaction level was above average, with a score of 7.97 on a 10-point scale. 39% said convenience was the driving factor.”
The good news is consumers are willing to pay more for their vehicle if the dealership offers the following portions of the deal online:
As the studies show, the customer needs to be able to structure their deal on your website.
Therefore, Ontario Underwriters are introducing an exciting new product to help you sell cars. We are offering our dealer partners an opportunity to add a link from their website (on other online presences such as Facebook, Kijiji, etc.)to a customized credit application. To Learn more about the product:
REYNOLDS&REYNOLDS. (n.d.). Car buying unfolded. Reyrey.com. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://www.reyrey.ca/en/cp/retail-anywhere-report?utm_campaign=RR-CAN-ENG-RetailAnywhere_SY22_Q1&utm_source=RA_Car_Buying_Stats&utm_medium=CAD_Mar22
As a general principle, the non-prime market did somewhat well over the course of the pandemic, due to government aid.
The help consumers received during the COVID-19 crisis led to increased purchases for vehicles and even power sports. There was an increase in value for many reasons, and the price for used vehicles actually jumped about one per cent month-over-month—for power sports as well.
With government aid, many consumers were able to save more and spend more on things like more expensive vehicles. Some of these consumers are subprime, and specifically subprime consumers buying vehicles that are more expensive today.
The problem with this, that will inevitably present itself before us in the near future, is that consumers that buy into these more expensive vehicles will have a much higher negative equity when they want to resell or repurchase a new vehicle and trade-in that vehicle.
The problem we have today is not related to consumers getting approved at credit, because the credit approval and the default rates have been great. There is no issue with the markets as it is today.
But every lender knows that what is coming soon are rising (general) inflation rates—and higher interest rates mean consumers that are in non-prime will be the first to be impacted due to having purchased a vehicle over market value.
The whole non-prime market will see this potential issue coming fairly soon, where people will want to get out of those very expensive payments. And when they return those vehicles to a store or to try to sell them, they will be losing quite a lot, because their interest rates are higher and the vehicle price is higher. Therefore, their negative equity will be much higher.
This is a problem we are creating right now—that we created as of around last November, December, and into January. These consumers are buying high with high interest rates, and we are creating an impact that—in a few months from now, or years, or maybe a year or two—will have a lot of people buying vehicles with huge negative equities.
So for now, dealers are happy to sell vehicles during what may otherwise be a difficult period, with the vehicle inventory issue and other pandemic-related challenges. The problem is that we are shoveling negative equities, and we are not going to see such a nice scenario in a few months from now.
There is something coming—there is a wave coming, or it is already here. And what I can say is that I’m certain about that.
If you become more selective on prime, then the non-prime segment will just grow by itself.
There will be more non-prime in the coming months and years because the interest rates will be higher. Therefore, consumers will be stuck with payments and it will be complicated and challenging for dealers that are not decoding non-prime, to cater to that segment. And the reason being is that the files will get more complex.
Dealers in the market will be choosing their consumers much more wisely, because they will not be able to afford issues with clients delaying payments since their interest rate will be high. They will become more narrow in terms of the actual prime consumers they want, which will raise the non-prime segment.
That’s the effect. If you become more selective on prime, then the non-prime segment will just grow by itself. There will be more non-prime consumers in the future, and with higher negative equities.
The challenge with that is that dealers need to secure the right inventory and the right employees to deal with the more complicated files that will result from this situation.
It’s not a simple prime approval—it will require expertise. Some dealers have that expertise, but I expect artificial intelligence technology to become a key or important player in this overall situation.
These types of tools, like predictive AI, are being adopted by some dealers to help with loan-matching and customer credit management, so that more consumers are approved, and dealers don’t leave money on the table.
And this year, dealers must investigate and implement this new technology, as well as prepare their non-prime processes for the coming months. Unprepared dealers will struggle with non-prime, they will pay a high price for experienced non-prime business managers, and their sales volumes will suffer as a result.
In the car industry we can be mystified when we see good finance applications are rejected. People just move on to the next deal and don’t give it much thought while they could make the deal work .
If a finance manager can understand why certain deals get rejected at first, it can help dealers find some hidden opportunities for rejected applications.
Automatic rejections from a lender are often accepted as: “Consumer does not fit the lender criteria.”, without more information. Sending the application from one lender to another until the finance manager closes the file, only hurts the applicant’s credit.
Lenders see a different credit bureau than the finance managers and have their own internal scoring system. A finance manager will rarely know the actual internal score of a customer with that lender.
Lenders might decline a file that is not structured based on that lender’s specific criteria. The decision made by the lender is 90 percent based on the data that the finance manager puts in their system. It is very important for dealers to have a deep understanding of credit in order to figure out if their clients will be declined or approved prior to submitting.
Dealers have to be aware that when you send a finance application, approximately 2 out of every 3 deals are decided automatically regardless of an approval or decline. These transactions may never be seen by a person.
For example, there was an applicant who applied for a car loan while under bankruptcy. On the credit bureau you could see a vehicle repossession happened nine months after the bankruptcy, but in fact it was included in the bankruptcy. The lender’s system was triggered to decline the application, however it was only bad timing and not another issue on the credit file.
Ontario Underwriters are confident that we can provide your customers the best finance option for their situation. Our licensed financial agents will consider each lender’s financing requirements when working on each deal. We know how to navigate your finance deals and help you to make the most out of each deal.
Doug Ives/The Canadian Press
Canadians hoping to buy a new or used vehicle in 2022 are in for the same kind of rough ride that 2021 turned out to be.
Continuing supply chain snarls and pent-up buyer demand mean consumers should brace for shortages, staggering price tags and months-long wait times for new orders, industry experts said.
In the new car market, buyers will likely find a dearth of both vehicles and financial incentives on the dealership floor, said David Adams, president of Global Automakers of Canada.
The chances consumers will walk onto a dealer’s lot and find what they’re looking for are slim. Instead, according to Mr. Adams, more and more consumers will have to place an order for the vehicle they want and wait weeks or months for it to arrive.
And with demand outstripping supply, deals will be hard to come by, he cautioned. As of January, Canadians were paying around $44,000 on average for a new vehicle, according to figures from J.D. Power.
Buying a preowned vehicle won’t spare Canadians from sticker shock either. As of mid-February, the average used-car price in Canada was $34,594, up an astonishing 47 per cent compared with the same period in 2021, according to figures provided by Canadian Black Book (CBB).
Normally, cars lose between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of their value in the first year. But with new-vehicle shortages diverting demand to the used-car market, one-year-old vehicles are now often selling for roughly the price of new ones, said Daniel Ross, senior automotive analyst at CBB. He expects that trend to continue into the spring and summer.
Frustrated consumers can blame a lasting mismatch between supply and demand for their woes, according to Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at IPC, an electronics manufacturing trade association.
Around the world, automakers are still struggling with a global chip shortage that has hobbled the industry for much of the past year. Semi-conductors, an essential component of electronic devices, are also a mandatory input for a number of new vehicles’ features, from infotainment modules to fuel management systems to backup cameras.
The shortage traces its origins to the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, when automakers around the world abruptly cut down production – and their semi-conductors orders – in response to what turned out to be a sharp but short-lived drop in demand for new vehicles.
When car sales bounced back and vehicle manufacturers rushed to increase orders from parts suppliers, they found they’d slipped to the back of the line for chip producers, which were also facing soaring demand for products such as laptops and servers from households and businesses adapting to remote work and schooling, Mr. DuBravac said.
While chip makers are producing at full throttle and new manufacturing capacity is coming online, persistently strong global demand for durable goods, many of which require semi-conductors, means the industry will likely take until late 2022 or early 2023 to catch up with the backlog, he said.
And chips are just one of the supply chain bottlenecks facing auto manufacturers, with the cross-border trade delays linked to Canada’s trucker convoy protests adding another disruption to an already strained logistics network.
Rising interest rates, which would make it more expensive for Canadians to finance their auto purchases, are unlikely to have much of a dampening effect on demand this year, Mr. Adams said. That’s because many consumers will be able to trade in their used vehicle for unusually high values, softening the financial impact of higher borrowing costs, he said.
For car buyers with a limited budget, the only options may be shopping for less popular models, such as large sedans, or older vehicles, according to Mr. Ross.
By Erica Alini, The Global and Mail
Even though the Emergencies Act invoked by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau halted the various border protests by truckers, some people in the Canadian automotive industry believe it will impact the relationship between Canada and the U.S. as trade partners.
David Adams, President of the Global Automakers of Canada, said beyond just the initial financial losses the Canadian automotive industry suffered, due to the inability of goods to cross the U.S.-Canadian borders, there is also the damage it may have caused in the business partnership between the two countries.
“The whole premise of investing in Canada is you have access to the United States, which is the largest market,” said Adams in an interview with Canadian auto dealer, adding the border impasse “probably caused significant damage internationally” for Canada.
Moreover, he wondered if the protests were part of a concerted effort to make it look like Canada is an untrustworthy trading partner.
In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association President Flavio Volpe said the border disruptions have “caused potentially irreparable harm to Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.”
The protests happened at a time when Canada was actively trying to stop the U.S. from passing controversial legislation by U.S. President Joe Biden that would provide financial incentives to build electric vehicles in America—something that could cripple the Canadian auto industry.
Though the bill failed to pass by one vote in December, the Canadian auto sector is concerned it could pass if it is tweaked.
Jeanine Lassaline-Berglund, President of Automate Canada and the Canadian Association of Mold Makers, said regardless of why the protests happened, it is one of the many things that has been piled on the manufacturing community to deal with as a result of on-going legislation to control the pandemic.
“When (the governments) call manufacturing an essential sector, it’s difficult to see our way through that without interruption,” said Lassaline-Berglund.
She said the protests and the fallout made it difficult on a manufacturing sector that is already feeling the impact of strained relations with their U.S. partners, customers and suppliers.
“We’re going to need to do some significant work through the manufacturing community with our government partners in building back relations with the U.S. if we want to get out of the mess we’re in,” she said.
The decision by Trudeau to step up the government’s reaction happened after various U.S. politicians publicly spoke about the need for Canada to end the dispute. Among those who voiced their opinion was Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood Randall.
Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell told CBC News the impasse is going to have an impact on relying on Canada for imports. “I’m going to be very blunt. It does,” she said. “We cannot let ourselves be held hostage to these kinds of situations. If this is going to become a new and regular situation, we’ve got to bring our supply chain back home. We can’t count on this bilateral relationship we have.”
Adams was critical of the length of time it took Trudeau to put legislation in place to end the protests. “The time to do this was probably a week or two ago, not three weeks into the dispute,” he said. “I think it seemed pretty clear after the first week that nobody was going to be doing anything any time soon. But if (the Emergencies Act) gets the protests sorted out, that’s a good step to take.”


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Wooden Boat Co. owner juggles multiple businesses
Running a takeout restaurant during the pandemic sparked career highs and lows for Thompson Tran. “You know how glorious that (COVID) was for me? It reset the clock,” the Kitchener, Ontario entrepreneur recalls. His Wooden Boat Co. operation was the most profitable it had ever been.
With people in lockdowns or afraid to venture out, he changed his business model to pre-order only, Thursday through Saturday.
Business doubled despite being open only half as much. His offerings of Vietnamese sandwiches, fried chicken, and wood-fired pizzas regularly sold out. Better cash flow allowed him to buy more equipment and pay down debts. Still, he realized the good times would be fleeting. “I knew, from the moment I started making money, that this was not forever. I knew for a fact that once things got regular again, business would go down, and it did.”
His staff found new jobs, ingredient prices soared, and Tran knew he needed a change. After his second surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, his left hand did not recover as well as his right hand had. “The margins were still there, but the physical aspects were too challenging. I realized I couldn’t do this anymore.” Those challenges, plus fatigue from working 60-hour weeks, led him to shutter his restaurant this past summer.
Tran is far from done with the food industry. He juggles multiple businesses and looks forward to a future as diverse as his careers have been. Tran’s parents are Vietnamese. His father, who fought for the losing side in the Vietnam war, was imprisoned there for three years in the mid-1970s. The Tran family came to Edmonton, Canada, in 1979, where Thompson was born. They lived there for four years before settling in Langley, British Columbia, where Thompson was raised.
Like many immigrants, the family worked long hours at their tailoring business. Thompson learned to do serging — the process of seaming or stitching the edges of a fabric to prevent it from unraveling — and hemming at a young age. Those skills later came in handy when he was the only male teacher who could teach culinary arts and sewing in home economics classes.
Other jobs connected him to food. From age seven, he worked on farms in the summer, picking strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. He also helped to bale hay and perform other menial tasks. In 1995, the Tran family became co-owners of a Vietnamese restaurant. Thompson, age 14, washed dishes, bussed tables, and did some food prep five hours at a time, three days a week. “I loved it, he said. “It was really interesting.”
He couldn’t get as much exposure to the restaurant business as he wanted, however. His mother discouraged him from being in the kitchen, saying that was “not a place for a boy.” “At most, she would let me pick herbs.”
The family, not wanting to charge customers too much, didn’t understand margins. The restaurant was sold two years later.
Another passion, playing classical guitar, would influence his first career path. That led him to study music performance at university. Tran got more hospitality industry experience while studying at the University of British Colum- bia. He worked at a campus bagel shop, held supervisory roles, and was a cook at an arts club lounge.
Subsequent studies for a teaching degree taught him how to juggle multiple roles. He taught private music lessons. “I was teaching, and cooking and studying at the same time.” He also played guitar and keyboards and sang in the contemporary rock band Splitting Adam. The group released several recordings and won a Grammy nomination in 2010 before disbanding later that year.
Some of the band’s songs were used in a video game and NBC made-for-TV movies. Tran still gets royalty cheques. He started teaching at the 3,400-student New Westminster Secondary, B.C.’s second-largest high school. When the department head took a leave, Tran was called to co-lead the program with a colleague. That role was a less than pleasant experience. “It destroyed me,” he said. “Administrative work was so heavy.”
After that difficult year, he and his wife went on a 6.5-month world tour. While enjoying tapas at a pub in Grenada, Spain, he thought, “This (food preparation) is what I should be doing.” Returning to Canada, he switched to supply teaching plus cooking. “I was more passionate about food than I was about music.”
“It’s in my blood. Every single member of my family are entrepreneurs.”— Thompson Tran
He was able to teach students culinary skills in home economics classes. But he knew he wanted to become an entrepreneur. “It’s in my blood. Every single member of my family are entrepreneurs.” In 2014, he started The Wooden Boat Food Company as a catering firm in a commercial kitchen. See- ing other people making products and selling to retailers, he searched for a unique selling proposition. He realized that stores didn’t have Vietnamese sauces and discovered his niche. And he made an unusual barter along the way.
A friend who is an Asian Elvis impersonator and graphic designer produced the Wooden Boat logo and packaging design. Tran provided guitar lessons in exchange. Tran tested 10 versions of what would become Nuoc Cham sauce — the name translates as water dipping — with focus groups. Everyone picked the same formula as their favorite. Nuoc Cham is popular with second-generation South-East Asians. But Tran understood that he needed to target North American-born consumers. “I knew that none of the people in my life would ever buy it.”
The business was difficult in the early going. Tran didn’t pay himself for five years. Catering income paid for sauce packaging and inventory but not living expenses. Stores that bought the sauce were often late in paying. “My wife (a public health nurse) floated us,” he said. Educating consumers and doing marketing proved to be expensive. Retailers were receptive to putting Wooden Boat sauces on their shelves. That was only part of the battle.
“How do you get it off (shelves) into the hands of consumers?” Sampling was key to getting people to buy. Eight years later, two types of sauces are sold in 250 retail stores in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario. Most of these are independent. Sobeys, Canada’s second-largest supermarket chain, stocks Nuoc Cham in some of its stores. Tran still makes some products in B.C. and is considering working with a co-packer in that province. He did the paperwork to export to the U.S. But after starting a rentable commercial kitchen business and sharing his space, the details of the original plan were no longer valid.
U.S. sales could still develop. He is in talks with a US co-packer who has a buyer in Boston that wants to distribute Nuoc Cham. The product “is exactly where Sriracha (sauce) was 30 years ago (in terms of public acceptance).” It will take another ten years for Nuoc Cham to become a household name, he predicted.
He has resisted offers to private label his sauces for retail chains. Tran doesn’t want to give up the opportunity to promote his brand. Significantly ramping up volumes would also force him to invest in a new bottling line as well. “Profit and loss are really hard to control when you’re growing (rapidly),” he said. “Sometimes it’s better not to grow a lot.”
A few years after starting Wooden Boat, Tran moved to Kitchener with his wife and two children. They moved to develop a bigger market for his Nuoc Cham sauce and to be closer to his wife’s relatives. He found a warehouse for lease, originally for bottling and housing his products. A side venture making simple sandwiches to pay bills grew much more than he expected.
Customers started asking for catering and different styles of food. In 2018, he opened a 14-seat restaurant, with 70 percent of business coming from take-out. A second location followed, a collaboration with a St. Jacobs microbrewery. Tran had ten employees between the two places but wasn’t turning a profit.
Other business opportunities have arisen. Tran had one renter sub-leasing part of his space, then another asked, and then a third appeared. “Now I’m actually making money (that helps to pay for kitchen and equipment maintenance).” He has a handful of others waiting in line to use the kitchen for their business ventures. That could lead Tran to lease a second warehouse. He is doing catering or special pop-up cooking events in several southern Ontario cities, roughly bi-weekly. “I can do that. It doesn’t destroy my hands.”
His well-loved Wooden Boat gourmet pizza has led an investor to suggest Tran open a “hole in the wall” pizza shop. He would consider the idea if he could act as operations manager and hire a young chef who could buy into the business. For now, he will focus on the sauce business and rearrange warehouse space to become more efficient for more renters. He is also considering a return to full-time teaching, perhaps as early as September.
He wants to teach culinary arts to high school students, not college programs where people are about to enter the industry. “It really is about empowering them early on, so it (love of food) is innate.” He hopes he can get students to make better food for cafeterias than what is served in restaurants. “How cool would that be?”
However he divides his time between various ventures, quality food will continue to be his guiding principle. “I have never done anything to become rich.” His main goals are making a living, doing what he loves, and giving back to the community. Having grown up in a family that had to use food banks often, he understands the needs.

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PORTLAND, ORE (BRAIN)—The Handmade Show might be heading to Indianapolis, Indiana next year, but Portland sure came up roses this year.
The Handmade Show was so well attended this year by Portlanders, the fire department had to drop by on Saturday because the Oregon Convention Center exhibit hall was at capacity. There were probably more bikes than cars being checked into the convention center parking garage.
Builders and manufacturers showed up in a huge way as well.
Chris King talked to BRAIN about getting back to his roots, unveiling a stainless steel road frame for the Portland masses. King reassured BRAIN this isn’t a “one-off.” Details and specifics on King frames being offered to consumers weren’t ready to be divulged just yet. You’ll just have to stay tuned.
Another company that knows a thing or two about sticking to its guns is L.H. Thomson. The Georgia-based company showed off for the first time a seatpost clamp. Due out in June, it seems to weigh about the same as a quality men’s wedding ring. Just some more CNC-machined brilliance from the masters. Should go for about $30.
The niches were out in full force as well. Shimano unveiled its 29er wheelset for the first time. White Brothers was highlighting its 650B fork. Vicious Cycles had out its 650B mountain bike, with owner Carl sporting a “27.5” pin on his shirt.
What else? Don Walker was again sporting the kilt with some formal wear above the waist. Raleigh's Reed Pike looked lost without his morning coffee early Friday morning at the Red Lion Hotel. Shimano’s Dustin Brady was badly in need of some sleep that very same morning at the Red Lion—and to think the show hadn’t even started yet.
What other place can you see industry icons Chris King and Richard Sachs cruising the aisles like kids in a candy shop?
Be sure to the read the March 1 Bicycle Retailer and Industry News for full coverage on this year’s Handmade Bike Show.


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After a long weekend, Wall Street traders will return Tuesday to the first of several economic reports that could derail the market's recent uptick.
This "is a big week for economic reports, and that is going to be the driver for the market," said Christopher Johnson, director of quantitative analysis at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "It'll be one of those weeks where one number could throw a wrench in the works."
On Tuesday, the Conference Board releases the May consumer confidence index. Analysts expect the index to fall to 96.5, from 97.7 in April.
On Wednesday, the Institute for Supply Management will release its manufacturing index, which measures the strength of the industrial sector. It is expected to fall to 52.2, down from 53.3 in April, a reflection of higher raw material prices.
On Friday, the Labor Department reports on the number of jobs created in May, a figure likely to set the tone for much of the month's trading.
Analysts expect the unemployment rate to hold steady at 5.2%, with 180,000 net jobs created -- a good showing, but less than the surprisingly strong 274,000 jobs reported in April. That report, released May 6, set off worries that strong job growth would lead to higher consumer demand and, in turn, inflation, and that roiled the markets and left stocks mixed for the session. A middle-of-the-road report is likely to get the best reaction on Wall Street.
"The biggie ... will be the unemployment data," said Al Goldman, chief market strategist at A.G. Edwards & Sons.
Last week a strong GDP report helped Wall Street overcome worries about economic expansion and paved the way for a second straight week of gains. For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.7%, the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.8% and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.4%.
From Times Wire Services
The Week Ahead
* Conference Board issues its consumer confidence index for May.
* Jurors to begin deliberating in the case of two former top executives at Tyco International Ltd. accused of stealing $170 million by hiding unauthorized salary and bonuses and by abusing company loan programs.
* Institute for Supply Management issues its report on activity in the manufacturing sector during May.
* Commerce Department reports on construction spending for April.
* Automakers release sales figures for May.
* Sentencing for John and Timothy Rigas, convicted in the Adelphia Communications Corp. fraud trial last summer.
* Nation's largest retailers announce sales figures for May.
* Labor Department reports on weekly jobless claims.
* Commerce Department reports on factory orders for April.
* Institute for Supply Management issues its report on activity in the service economy during May.
* Labor Department reports on employment for May.


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While it is becoming increasingly clear that Congress is unlikely to act on privacy legislation this year, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they fear consumers will lose trust in e-commerce and other online activities.
“Enough is enough,” Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said during a hearing on Thursday of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. “We have 240 million Americans who use the Internet every day. Each of these 240 million are entitled, in my opinion, to a right of privacy,” Barton said.
“At some point, the hearings have to come to [an] end and we need to move ahead,” agreed Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
Even some industry players say lawmakers need to provide basic privacy protections. “Consumer trust is critical to the adoption of online services,” Microsoft Associate General Counsel Michael Hintze told the panel.
Still, after four hearings on the issue, subcommittee Chairwoman Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., said she still has more questions and may hold another hearing on privacy, perhaps in November. “Despite everything that I have heard in our previous hearings, I still remain somewhat skeptical right now of both industry and government,” Bono Mack said.
While Bono Mack has not ruled out legislation, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is among those lawmakers who oppose any congressional intervention, saying the private sector is better equipped to respond to consumer’s privacy needs quickly and in a way that does not hamper the growth of online advertising. She said data should be treated as a natural resource open to the free market to explore.
Representatives for the online advertising industry said personalized ads are important to help pay for free content on the Internet. Spending on e-mail and Internet marketing is expected total $30 billion this year and generate $639 billion in U.S. sales, Direct Marketing Association Executive Vice President Linda Woolley said. She and other industry officials say consumers prefer ads based on their interests, which are compiled by tracking consumers as they surf the Web.
Woolley also said industry has responded to concerns over privacy by developing a self-regulatory program that uses a clickable icon placed on online ads that leads consumers to a website where they can opt out of being hit by targeted online ads.
Privacy advocates, however, note that the program does not allow consumers to opt out of having information collected about them as they surf the Web. World Privacy Forum Executive Director Pam Dixon said consumers want clear, easy-to-understand information about what data is being collected about them and how it is being used, as well as a choice on whether they want to be tracked online.
“We support legislation that would protect consumers,” Dixon said. “The reality check is we don’t see any likelihood of that happening in the near future.” Given this, Dixon said industry self-regulatory efforts need to be improved and consumers should be given a permanent role in helping to craft such programs.


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U.S. motorists hoping to squeeze out one last trip before the Labor Day holiday and school begins are finding pump prices that have surged to their highest level this year on tighter gasoline supplies.
Consumers tend to get a break from steeper fuel costs as peak vacation travel ebbs. But strong demand and a series of refinery outages have pushed the national average retail price to $3.86 per gallon on Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association—7 percent higher than a month ago. In California and Washington, prices have surged above $5 a gallon.
National retail gasoline prices will average $3.90 a gallon this month, predict analysts at Goldman Sachs.
Martin Jones, a vacationer from Massachusetts, filled up his Toyota Corolla during a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Mr. Jones said he was relieved prices were not close to the $5 a gallon level of last summer.
“Or I won’t be able to make long drives like this as easily,” Mr. Jones said.
Retail prices in the U.S. Midwest jumped as much as 21 cents a gallon in Ohio and 16 cents in Michigan in the last week on earlier-than-expected maintenance at a BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana.
Irving Oil’s 320,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in New Brunswick, Canada, and Delta’s 185,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania, will be down for much of September and part of October, affecting about 9 percent of the product supplied in their regions.
“It is fairly abnormal to see prices going up” at this time of the year, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at price tracker GasBuddy.com. “We tend to see prices declining going into the fall.”
Weekly U.S. gasoline stockpiles have remained below the five-year average of inventories throughout this year, setting the stage for price spikes if refining capacity is disrupted. Total U.S. gasoline stocks this month fell to 216.4 million barrels, the fifth decline in six weeks, according to U.S. government data.
At the same time, record heat levels in Texas have likely led to a sharp 2 percent slump in U.S. refiners’ product yields over the past few weeks, Goldman Sachs noted on Sunday. Small changes to the yield often add up to a meaningful decline in product availability, the bank added.
Peak hurricane season is still ahead with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last week raising its outlook for storms due in part to record warm sea surface temperatures. Hurricanes can result in damage to or closures of U.S. oil refineries, particularly along the Gulf Coast.
By Laura Sanicola and Shariq Khan


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BMW has announced that it will be joining the FIA World Endurance Championship with a factory GTE program from 2018 onwards.
The Bavarian marque will join Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford and potentially Chevrolet in the global series, and will contest the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time since 2011, when it competed with the M3 GT2.
BMW is believed to have evaluated an LMP1 and Garage 56 project over the last 12 months before deciding on a GTE assault as part of its expanded global motorsport program.
“Starting with the 2018 season, we want to further expand our activities in GT racing and compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship," said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.
"This obviously also includes our return to Le Mans, which we are particularly looking forward to. The way the WEC has developed so well makes us confident that there is a big future for GT racing.
"This is also the motivation behind our further expansion in the customer racing sector. Our range is already spearheaded by a successful representative, in the form of the BMW M6 GT3."
More details about the GTE project will be announced at a future date. A track testing and development phase of the new car, which could be centred on the M5 or M6 model, is expected to begin next summer.
The 2016-spec BMW M6 GTLM is only legal for racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at present, and is expected to remain in the series next season due to the importance of the US market to BMW. A GT3 version of the car also races in the Blancpain GT Series.
BMW has a long history of competing at the Le Mans 24 Hours, having first raced there in the 1930s.
Throughout the 1970s BMW entered 3.0 and 3.5 CSLs with customer teams before supplying the legendary M1 and M1 Procar in the 1980s.
The company got its first taste of success at La Sarthe when it supplied 6.1-litre V12 engines to the McLaren GTR, which took victory in 1995.
The company won the race for the only time as a constructor in 1999 with the BMW V12 LMR design, which was designed and developed in conjunction with the Williams Grand Prix team.


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- News tagged "apple"
Saturday, 12 Nov 2016
To help ease the transition to USB-C, especially for customers who are buying the late-2016 MacBook Pros, Apple has cut prices on several USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 accessories until the end of the year.
Thursday, 10 Nov 2016
Are you ready for another shocker? A research firm has just shared data showing that sales of Apple's new MacBook Pro notebooks in its first five days have already surpassed that of many other notebooks released this year.
Wednesday, 9 Nov 2016
DigiTimes reports that Apple is placing aggressive orders with its suppliers for the new Macbook Pros.
Monday, 7 Nov 2016
Despite widespread criticism, Apple has said that it has received more online orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other model before it.
Sunday, 6 Nov 2016
The HyperDrive USB Type-C Hub can be inserted into the Thunderbolt 3 slots on the new 2016 MacBook Pro, giving the notebook a HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, and another USB Type-C port in return
Saturday, 5 Nov 2016
2017 will mark the iPhone's 10th anniversary and there are high hopes that next year's iPhone will be chock full of new features. To this end, reports are saying that Foxconn is working on enabling wireless charging for the next iPhone.
Wednesday, 2 Nov 2016
Sources told AppleInsider that the Apple's AirPods are still on track to be available before the end of the year.
It is no surprise that the iPhone 7 has more demand than the iPhone 6s, but will it be as popular as the iPhone 6?
Apple released the developer preview of iOS 10.2 today, which includes some new wallpapers, a new widget for the Videos app and, among other things, a Harambe emoji.
Tuesday, 1 Nov 2016
Priced at S$268, the Powerbeats3 Wireless sports 12 hours of battery life and has a Fast Fuel feature that gives you 1 hour of playback with just a 5-minute charge.


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Yesterday’s (3/12/14) meetup at the HP Vertica Cambridge office was a huge success. With some pretty phenomenal networking (and quesadillas) we packed the top floor with people buzzing about everything Big Data and HP Vertica. After the introductions, our VP & GM Colin Mahony kicked off the presentations, sharing with us his passion for analytics, data warehousing, and the exciting news that HP Vertica has made it into Leaders Quadrant of the Gartner Magic Quadrant. Following that, the rest of the team demoed several of the new and exciting innovations HP Vertica has to offer. On a final note, dont’t forget to sign up for the upcoming HP Vertica Big Data Conference 2014 coming this August!
We wanted to thank everyone for showing up last night, both new friends and old, and can’t wait to do it again soon.
Below are some of the snap shots that yours truly took of the festivities, see you again next time!


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EU says 71 percent of all wireless data traffic in Europe is transmitted through Wi-Fi
The European Commission (EC) has called for more spectrum to be made available for Wi-Fi networks after a study it conducted found that such networks accounted for 71 percent of all wireless data traffic delivered to smartphones and tablets during 2012.
It is a trend that the Commission expects to continue and the figure could rise to 76 percent by 2016, something that not only reflects the growing demand for data among Europeans but also the cheaper costs of using Wi-Fi as opposed to mobile networks.
While the EC recognisesd that 3G and 4G networks are essential for mobile activity, it laments the expensive spectrum licenses required by operators to run such services and the significant prices paid by smartphone users.
EU Wi-Fi popularity
“Wi-Fi is a huge success,” declared European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes. “It’s a win for everybody involved. I will make sure the European Commission helps to spread use of Wi-Fi through extra spectrum and lighter regulation.”
The EC wants to make the spectrum from 5150MHz to 5925MHz available for Wi-Fi services and remove the red tape preventing the wider use of offload services and networks in public locations, such as small cell infrastructures.
Small cells are essentially small mobile phone towers or base stations, and are typically installed in retail locations or on street furniture as a way to increase the capacity of the mobile phone network in that particular location.
The EC believes the wider use of Wi-Fi and small cells would allow consumers to save money on mobile data, reduce costs for operators and extend network coverage into hard to reach places such as large buildings.
“Systems where you share your Wi-Fi network with others are a great example of how we can crowd-source a better internet for everyone,” said Kroes. “Everyone in Europe should be able to benefit from internet when they are away from home and work.”
Last week, Kroes criticised national governments for not doing enough to accelerate the rollout of 4G services in the EU, claiming three quarters of Europeans have no access to LTE services, while rural 4G is all but absent.
In response to this latest study, she has called for governments to continue making the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands fully available for mobile use and to consult on future licensing options for 3.5GHz and other frequencies.
EU states are currently obliged to make the 800MHz band available for 4G services, but less than half have done so, with the EC “reluctantly” granting nine countries final extensions to the deadline. The UK finished clearing the spectrum of television transmissions earlier this week.
What do you know about UK mobile operators? Find out with our quiz!


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First it was announced that Disneyland Resort was closing due to concerns about the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Now, it is confirmed that Walt Disney World will also follow. In addition, Disney Cruise Line will also be ceasing sailings. Details are as follows:
In an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with the closure of our theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort, beginning at at the close of business on Sunday, March 15, through the end of the month.
Disney Cruise Line will suspend all new departures beginning Saturday, March 14, through the end of the month.
The Walt Disney Company will pay its cast members during that closure period. The hotels at Walt Disney World will remain open until further notice. The retail and dining complexes, Disney Springs at Walt Disney World and Disney Village at Disneyland Paris will remain open.
Domestic Walt Disney Company employees who are able to work from home are being asked to do so, including those at The Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Television, ESPN, Direct-to-Consumer, and Parks, Experiences, and Products.
We will continue to stay in close contact with appropriate officials and health experts.
If you would like more information about the latest about closures and cancellations due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), please click here. In addition, we’ll share those details here on the blog.


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Fri, Apr 12, 2013 | 21:26 BST
Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition retail version delayed into June
Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition was expected to be released on disc April 30, but it has been delayed to June 4 according to Major Nelson. The tweet he posted said the reason for the delay was to “include the very latest content.” The disc version was to include Update 9 which was recently released, and it wasn’t said whether the delay was to include Update 10 which is in the works now. We’ll let you know when we hear more about it.


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Editor’s Pick “I am not an unfair person,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told lawmakers yesterday. “Apple is not an unfair company.”
The head of the Irish agency designed to promote foreign investment in the country strongly denied that Ireland is a tax haven. But when questioned by Ireland’s RTE News, he could not deny that Apple has paid an effective tax rate of just two percent, much as Senator Carl Levin said yesterday in hearings on Capitol Hill.
How much would you donate to charity to have a private pitch meeting with your favorite venture capitalist?
“Eighty percent of the world’s purchasing power lies beyond our borders,” Portman said. “But we’re living with an international tax code that’s a relic of the 1960s.”
“Apple has real operations in real places with Apple employees,” Cook said. “We pay all the taxes we owe, every single dollar. We don’t only comply with the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law. We don’t stash money on some Caribbean island.”
What time is it — about five months before fall, 2013? Then it must be time for testing iWatch.
“Apple has not ‘conspired’ with anyone, was not aware of any alleged ‘conspiracy’ by others, and never fixed prices,” the company stated in a reply to the suit.
Sometimes there is method to the Cupertino madness.
Apparently, coffee with Apple CEO Tim Cook is a big deal. Even bigger, perhaps, than a new 2013 Lamborghini.
That fits both with Apple CEO Tim Cook’s announcement during the company’s recent earnings call that Apple would not bring out any new products until the fall, and with recent rampant rumors of new iPhone models.
Sharp, Japan Display, and Samsung rival LG Electronics are tooling up for Apple iPhone 5S production runs which will begin in earnest in June, according to a report out of Japan.
There’s a reason the rich get richer, and wealthy corporations get wealthier. They’re smarter than the rest of us, and they have more financial tools at their disposal.
In a global smartphone market that Android has been expanding at a breakneck pace, a bright spot for Apple has been increasing market share in the lucrative U.S. domestic market. A new report from the Yankee Group says that’s going to continue, and that Apple is winning the slow way, via customer loyalty.
The proceeds of the auction will benefit the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. Other notables and celebrities who are auctioning off experiences for the RFK Center include Elon Musk, Peyton Manning, Alec Baldwin, and Jay Leno.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is auctioning off a coffee date with him that will last up to an hour via CharityBuzz, a company that asks notable people to auction their time off for a good cause.
The first part of Tim Cook’s answer was exactly what Wall Street wanted to hear. The second part, not so much.
Apple’s doing well in China, Apple CEO Tim Cook said today on the company’s earnings call, growing at 18 percent on a “sell-through basis,” he said.
“We’ve accomplished a tremendous amount,” Tim Cook said today in his Apple earnings conference call, adding that the company has “set many sales records.”
Apple investors did not get the shot in the arm they were hoping for this afternoon as the company released its second quarter numbers. At least, not from Apple’s actual sales results.
Apple plans to return an additional $50 billion of its cash hoard to shareholders in a massive share repurchasing program, the company said today.
Apple reported its second quarter 2013 results today, with revenue of $43.6 billion and income of $10.09 per share. Analysts had expected revenue of $42.5 billion and income of $10 billion. Apple’s guidance had been between $41 and $43 billion.
Interestingly, the articles acknowledge a political tinge to the recent spanking Apple has been taking in China, saying that Chinese networking and mobile companies Huawei and ZTE “have long been restricted in the US markets under security and other accusations.”
The major Chinese complaint is that Apple’s warranties on computers run for one year, while Chinese law states they should be at least two years.
The good news: Mark Zuckerberg is almost universally loved by his employes. The bad news: Marissa Mayer didn’t make the cut.
Investor Warren Buffet, recently the world’s richest man, seems to think that Apple stock is going to do just fine.
Purpose of the call? To tell investors why each Apple shareholder should get perpetual preferred stock, for free.
First the iPad Mini, then the iPhone mini? It makes some sense linguistically, but it could also make some sense financially.
Since December of last year, Google stock is up 20 percent. Since December of last year, Apple stock is down 20 percent.
With 88 percent of Apple’s supply chain in Asia, only 11 percent of Apple’s suppliers are in its home country of the United States, and even fewer — seven percent — of Apple’s suppliers are in Europe and the Middle East.
Ready for some hard-core speculation built solidly on rumor founded squarely on innuendo?
Guest Post Why I think Apple’s infinite loop is turning gradually finite.
President Barack Obama’s state of the union address focused on innovation, jobs, education, health-care … and green technology.
“I’m very proud that we’re out front, that we’re changing people’s lives, that we’re doing what’s right and just in moving the ball forward,” Cook said today. “I don’t mean to gush, but it’s how I feel.”
“If I ever feel I’m dropping down from an excitement level, I go in a store … it’s like a Prozak,” Cook said. “It’s a feeling like no other.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook poured cold water on the cheap iPhone rumors today at Goldman Sachs’ Technology and Internet conference in San Francisco. Sort of.
Speaking at Goldman Sachs’ Technology and Internet conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company was the “center of innovation.”
The Apple CEO has a lot to say to investors. His company’s stock has been ravaged by Wall Street in the past year, causing the company’s valuation to drop over $200 billion in the last half-year.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has a busy day ahead of him on Tuesday.
As Steve Jobs went “thermo-nuclear” on clones, Tim Cook wanted to cool it.
It’s been an interesting day. Apple reported record revenue of $54.5 billion and record quarterly profit of $13.1 billion, then saw its share price drop 10 percent.


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The labour market report offered no clear picture, as seekers of jobless benefits in the UK unexpectedly rose while the unemployment rate nudged lower. Traders now focus on BoE Governor Mervyn King’s press conference today for a glimpse into BoE monetary plans and the central bank’s key forecasts for the economy.
In the US, FOMC minutes of the latest monetary policy meeting will be watched for clues on future course of action in the US. Meanwhile, Greece managed to successfully complete its short term debt auction yesterday, thereby preventing a near term default.
Pound Sterling – UK Markets
The latest employment report from the UK offered a mixed picture. Data revealed an unexpected jump in claimant count for October, while the unemployment rate slipped to 7.8% for September. Against this backdrop, tomorrow’s retail sales figures will be closely watched for further cues regarding the British economy.
In the midst of mixed domestic data, traders are expected to remain glued to BoE Inflation Reports for cues on how the QE programme could unravel. Apart from economic forecasts, traders are also expected to keep a close track of BoE Governor Mervyn King’s press conference for insights into the future course of monetary policy in Britain.
Sterling weakened against the Euro in yesterday’s session after Greece managed to raise funds in order to prevent a debt default. However, a greater than expected jump in UK inflation figures offered support to Sterling against the greenback. Apart from crucial domestic cues from the UK, traders are also expected to pay attention to important economic data releases in the US during today’s session.
US Dollar – US Markets
The greenback is trading flat against the Euro and Pound, as concerns surrounding the “fiscal cliff” in the US were offset by receding worries over Greece. Greece has managed to avert a default following yesterday’s successful debt auction.
Retail sales data slated for release today is expected to provide insights into the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the US economy. Meanwhile, minutes of the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting will be closely followed for indications on the “operation twist” plan, which is set to expire at the end of the year. Today’s factory price inflation figure and tomorrow’s CPI reading are expected to provide a clearer picture over price trends in the economy, following the Fed’s decision to inject additional stimulus.
With worries about the “fiscal cliff” coming to the fore, US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, has cautioned that a delay in sealing a deal would create more uncertainty in the markets. Meanwhile, the US budget deficit soared as spending outpaced revenues.
Euro – European Markets
The Euro staged a recovery against its peers and breached the 1.27 mark against the US Dollar in yesterday’s session, as Greece successfully auctioned its short term debt, thereby averting the possibility of a near-term default. Additionally, the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicated that Germany was open to the idea of making its contribution for Greece’s aid through a single payment.
Meanwhile, a persistent logjam between Troika officials has turned attention towards the region’s policymakers’ meeting scheduled next week. The deepening debt crisis in the Eurozone appears to be taking its toll on core Eurozone nations, as data revealed an unexpected fall in German economic confidence for November. Tomorrow’s GDP figures from Germany and France are expected to provide more clarity on this front.
Among major releases today, the currency markets will be closely watching the Eurozone’s industrial production figures for September. Elsewhere, a flurry of economic releases from the other side of the Atlantic is expected to provide direction to risk appetite.
Other Currencies – Highlights
The Kiwi Dollar underperformed most of the high yield currencies in today’s session, after data revealed that the nation’s retail sales unexpectedly declined 0.4% for the third quarter - following a 1.3% increase in the previous quarter - broadly due to a drop in supermarket and grocery store sales and in sales of motor fuel. The weak retail sales data and elevated levels of unemployment in the island nation offers room for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to lower its benchmark interest rate in next month’s monetary policy meeting.
Meanwhile, data revealed that non residential bond holdings in New Zealand remained unchanged at 62.4% for October. Today’s manufacturing data and tomorrow’s consumer confidence readings are expected to provide further direction to the Kiwi Dollar. Additionally, key economic releases from the US and developments from the Eurozone are also expected to influence the kiwi in today’s session.
British Pound Gathers Strength on Strong Retail Sales Data
Euro Weakens as German Economy Contracts in Q2
Dollar Rises after the US Delays Tariffs on Some Chinese Imports


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Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton channel their mother-in-law Princess Diana often, from wearing her jewelry to donning similar styles. But as it turns out, Harry Styles is also a style fan of the late princess. According to Harper's Bazaar, Harry Styles wore a sheep sweater when he stepped out in New York prior to hosting Saturday Night Live on Nov. 16. And surprise — that cozy sweater is a full-on Princess Diana style moment. The magazine credited Rachel Seville Tashjian for calling out the potential inspiration behind Styles' sweater, and the look definitely appears to be a twinning moment with the late royal.
The magazine reports that Princess Diana wore a long sleeved sweater with a similar design to a polo match in 1981. While Styles' look doesn't feature the subtle addition of a black sleep the way Princess Diana's jumper did, the two pieces are difficult to look at together and not see similarities. As for the mind behind Styles' sweater, Vogue reports that the piece is from Lanvin, and no, the label didn't also create Princess Diana's. According to an archived People piece, her black sheep sweater was by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne.
According to People, Harry Styles fashion account, Harry Styles Fashion Lookbook, lists the singer's sweater as costing a cool $1,190. That's if you can even get your hands on it given that the piece is part of the label's Spring 2020 collection.
While Princess Diana's sweater is obviously no longer available, there is some good news for fans of her '80s look. Muir and Osbourne are still designing knitwear in London.
While it's been over 35 years since Princess Diana wore one of their pieces, Muir and Osbourne still offer animal-themed knits. Now, their focus just appears to be on dogs. The pair have an entire section of their site dedicated to dogs on sweaters, and yes, they are are cute as they sound. Plus, the pieces won't cost you near $1,200. The Muir and Osbourne dog sweaters retail for around $160-$192 depending on the style, and they do offer international shipping.
Harry Styles isn't the only Princess Diana style imitator outside the royal family. Back in Aug, Hailey Baldwin channeled Prince Diana's iconic athleisure style from the '90s donning oversized sweatshirts, baseball caps, and bike shorts for a spread in French Vogue. But she wasn't done there. According to Teen Vogue, Baldwin has continued to channel the late royal in her personal style as well. On Nov. 13, the same day Styles' sweater made headlines, Baldwin donned yet another Princess Diana-inspired athleisure look when she headed to the gym.
While Styles may be fashion star in his own right (he did host the Met Gala), Princess Diana's style is still clearly one of the most enviable.


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Customer Service Already a Priority at 407 ETR
TORONTO, November 12, 2004
407 ETR announced today that customer service levels have improved significantly in the past two years and that it is surprised the Ontario Government has appointed a task force to review complaints.
“Customer service is a priority for 407 ETR. We want our customer service to be as fast and convenient as the highway itself,” said Enrique Díaz-Rato, President and Chief Executive Officer of 407 ETR. “Our customers are important to us and we want to serve them well.”
Complaints about 407 ETR must be put into context. For example, the Government has said that it receives 50 complaints per month regarding 407 ETR – which represents only 30-thousandth of one per cent (or 0.00003 per cent) of the 1.5 million bills sent on an average month.
According to its own statistics, 407 ETR receives approximately 0.2 complaints per 1,000 customers – far less than benchmarks for comparable industries. Similarly, the number of abandoned calls to 407 ETR’s call centre is about 1 per cent, compared to benchmarks of between 3 and 4 per cent at other equivalent companies in North America.
In the past two years, 407 ETR has taken a number of steps to improve customer service, including:
- Hiring over 220 customer service staff to manage and resolve customer questions.
- Investing $47 million on a new computer billing system to replace the system that was designed in the 1990s and which the company inherited from the Government of Ontario after the 1999 privatization.
- Establishing a Customer Advocacy Group, following the ISO 10018 Complaint framework, to resolve escalated complaints.
- Maintaining an average waiting time to speak with a 407 ETR agent to less than 30 seconds for over 20 months.
"I firmly believe that we offer customer service levels that are equal to – if not better than – comparable industries, including utilities, government and other private-sector companies," said Mike Miller, Chief Customer Operations Officer for 407 ETR. "In the future, we are committed to working even harder to make more improvements to benefit our customers."
407 International Inc. is the sole shareholder, operator and manager of 407 ETR, which extends 108 kilometres east-west, just north of Toronto. 407 International Inc. is owned by a consortium comprised of Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, Macquarie Infrastructure Group and SNC-Lavalin.
- 30 -
For more information, contact:
Dale A. Albers
Manager, Public Relations


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Japan’s Sega Sammy Creation Inc is confident its products will soon be seen on more casino floors, following the installation of its first “mega machine” in Macau earlier this year.
The company installed its first Sic Bo Bonus Jackpot cabinet (pictured), with four progressive levels of jackpot, in the casino at Venetian Macao, with a total of 30 playing stations. The massive main cabinet is 4 metres high and 3 metres wide, and it can accommodate up to 100 stations.
“There has been very positive feedback on the performance of this machine,” said Shunsuke Nakamura, Sega Sammy Creation’s general manager for public relations.
“We want to expand the installation of this machine to other casinos in Macau,” Mr Nakamura told GGRAsia during the Macao Gaming Show.
The three-day trade show, taking place at the Venetian Macao, runs until Thursday afternoon.
Sega Sammy Creation – a subsidiary of Japan-based Sega Sammy Holdings Inc – was established in June 2013 as a gaming machine manufacturer, with an initial focus on supersized products. The company has said previously that it also plans to introduce slot machines to the market.
The Sic Bo Bonus Jackpot machine was the first to be approved by regulators in Macau, said Mr Nakamura. “We are trying to increase sales in the Macau market. We do have other products awaiting regulatory approval – once they’re approved, it would help expand our portfolio,” he added.
The Sega Sammy Group has decades of experience in consumer and arcade games. That experience has been crucial to develop original products for casino floors, focusing on design that is appealing and optimising the user interface, said Mr Nakamura.
Following the first installation in Macau, the firm “will focus on collecting opinions and the feedback from customers in order to improve the performance and experience of our products,” Mr Nakamura added.
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”We expect Goa to quickly become a US$1 billion market as it transitions to land-based casinos (from US$150 million today), which is still just a fraction of India’s total GGR potential of US$10 billion to US$17 billion”
Analyst at Union Gaming Securities Asia


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2020/1 (thus far) has been a tough year for small businesses and their leaders must find a method to secure a successful recovery. The new normal of working from home and a lower amount of staff has been adopted but also comes with challenges for some businesses.
Technology is the main support structure in making sure business operations continue as normally as possible. The adoption or increase in usage of technology has become vital as the government restrictions reduce. Now, businesses need to move their focus from the immediate term solutions and start looking towards medium and long term priorities.
Investing For The Future
Investing in technology can be costly and even more so during a pandemic, where businesses are trying to reduce their expenses and are hesitant to spend on new technologies. On the other hand, the right technology can assist in rebuilding businesses during this time. For businesses that operate traditionally, without any digital processes, are now being forced to realise the great benefits that tech can provide. For example, greater scalability and efficiency can be achieved now and in the long term.
The cost of new technology is more than just the price tag, consideration needs to be put in to the long term costs too. Will the new technology pay for itself over time? For example, technology that automates tasks will save a lot of time and reduce the number of mistakes that are made by human error. It will also streamline processes and ultimately cut business costs in the long run. Cloud computing also usually works out cheaper in the long term than running computing locally. SaaS typically uses monthly payments instead of lump sums upfront which makes trial runs easier.
“Half (53%) of small business owners surveyed before COVID hit found that adopting technology resulted in ‘somewhat big’ or ‘big’ increases to their profitability”
There are a vast amount of choices to be made and making the right choice is not a simple task. You need to think of where to start. A deeper look into what is required for your business and specify requirements that will narrow down the options.
The Team Journey
An annual survey on small businesses shows an increase of approximately 50% in cloud accounting adoption since 2017.
“Despite this, half of the small businesses said they could do more with their current IT set-up. Adopting new technology is the first step, teams need to embrace it too. New technology isn’t something that business leaders can implement unilaterally; the reasoning should be explained to employees. Make sure the whole team knows what success looks like from the start”
The introduction of new systems can be quite a tedious process. So for things to run smoothly, ensure you are using layman terms and that you are providing training and support personnel. Then, create champions to train and onboard other employees to use the new system. With any change in an organization the change it will create some disruption during the transitioning process. This is a small price compared to the savings and efficiency that will be gained in the long run. A way to help overcome some resistance and disruptions, involve the employees in some decision making and allow them to give recommendations.
The world of technology is and will forever be a mechanism to assist the recovery of a business in times like the current pandemic. Some SMEs are only adopting technology now in 2020 for the very first time in their organization and the others built on their existing technology. For most organizations, the COVID-19 environment has led to organizations implementing innovative solutions which goes to show that whatever the situation, we can always adapt.


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Concerns around how the legalization of marijuana for adult use may prompt an increase in the number of young users have been floated by both parents and health researchers since talks on legalization began a decade ago. Critics against the policy change have even gone as far as to issue warnings with no evidence to back the claims. However, new research has found that the legalization of marijuana does not cause more young individuals to try using the substance.
The study, which was conducted by researchers at Michigan State University, found that legalized marijuana retail sales did not increase the number of underage individuals who consumed cannabis. The researchers cited existing studies on the use of alcohol among the youth to highlight the importance between prevalence and incidence. Research from 2016 and 2018 shows that a big proportion of youth in the United States did not drink alcohol until they could legally. The researchers theorized that the same trend could be true with marijuana.
For their study, the researchers used public data of individuals aged between 12 and 20, then those aged 21 and above, obtained from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. They analyzed the data using the event study model in an attempt to evaluate the causal effect legalization had on marijuana use. This is in addition to projecting levels of cannabis use if legalization hadn’t been enacted.
They discovered that legalizing adult-use marijuana did increase first-time marijuana consumption — but only among individuals who could use the drug legally once the policy change was enacted. In their report, the researchers noted that they observed no evidence of an increase in use among underage individuals.
The lead author of the study, Barrett Wallace Montgomery, stated that by contrast, the number of individuals aged 21 and above who were trying marijuana for the first time after adult-use legalization could double or triple.
NORML, a marijuana advocacy group, stated in a recent blog post that the study’s findings were consistent with previous research, which had shown that adult-use legalization wasn’t linked to increased access or use among young individuals.
The study was partly funded by the National Institutes of Health and its findings were published in the “PLOS One” journal. The study claims to be the first one designed to assess incidence of use as a result of the legalization of adult-use cannabis. Prior studies have centered on prevalence, trying to measure the effect legalization has had on how much marijuana individuals use or how often they use it.
Marijuana industry actors such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) will be pleased to see that independent studies are confirming what they knew all along —rather than increasing underage access, creating legal markets would limit how easy it is for youth to get their hands on marijuana.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/NUGS
CNW420 spotlights the latest developments in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry through the release of two informative articles each business day. Our concise, informative content serves as a gateway for investors interested in the legalized cannabis sector and provides updates on how regulatory developments may impact financial markets. Articles are released each business day at 4:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Eastern – our tribute to the time synonymous with cannabis culture. If marijuana and the burgeoning industry surrounding it are on your radar, CNW420 is for you! Check back daily to stay up-to-date on the latest milestones in the fast -changing world of cannabis.
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The post 420 with CNW — New Research Finds Legalization Hasn’t Increased Number of Teens Trying Cannabis appeared first on CannabisNewsWire.


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Kroger Rolls Out Smart Grocery Stores Through Microsoft Partnership To Take On Amazon
The largest operator of grocery stores in the U.S. is not taking Amazon's expansion into the grocery market lying down.
Kroger Co. has debuted a grocery store concept using personalized self-checkout technology through a partnership with Microsoft, Bloomberg reports. The first two stores to feature the new tech, one in Cincinnati and one in Redmond, Washington, were chosen because of their proximity to Kroger and Microsoft's respective headquarters.
Depending on the success of the initial rollout, Kroger could expand the concept (hosted by Microsoft's Azure cloud system) to its 2,780 stores across the country. The main component of the technology is "digital shelves," which use cameras and sensors to track inventory and shoppers that use Kroger's self-checkout app. The shelves also have LED screens that display ads and prices that can change on demand.
The general idea is for shoppers to make a grocery list using the app, which will then guide them through the store aisles displaying icons personalized by the shopper underneath the items on shoppers' lists. Similar technology would help speed up the process for employees who gather items for grocery pickup and delivery as well, according to Bloomberg.
Using the data gathered by Microsoft and the Kroger app to predict a shopper's age and gender, the smart shelves would also be able to tailor ads to such groups. Kroger also plans to offer more specific targeting based on customer preferences for those who opt in to the service.
Personalized grocery shopping sped up through data gathering is what makes up the crux of Amazon's cashierless store concept, Amazon Go, as well. Amazon also has announced plans to expand both the size and quantity of its Whole Foods stores, all of which offer free two-hour grocery delivery to Amazon Prime customers within range. Grocery chains like Kroger are feeling the pressure, but require extensive cloud computing and data collection networks to keep up with Amazon — services that few besides Amazon can offer itself.
In addition to Kroger, Walmart and international grocery conglomerate Ahold Delhaize have partnered with Microsoft to avoid dependence on Amazon, Bloomberg reports.


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Investments from MJC Inc. and Lidl US top the list of major economic developments that came to Bartow last year, pushing the total number of new capital investments in the county to an estimated $147.9 million.
Those investments are expected to keep 110 jobs in the county, as well as create an additional 304 jobs in Bartow over the next few years. The numbers were unveiled by the Cartersville-Bartow County Department of Economic Development (CBCDOED) Tuesday at their annual economic progress report at the Clarence Brown Conference Center.
MJC Inc. — which primarily designs and manufactures heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems — was founded in 1989 and is based out of Acworth.
"We are excited to be able to welcome MJC in Cartersville, as they have purchased and are renovating their facility at 415 Grassdale Road," said Cartersville-Bartow County Department of Economic Development Executive Director Melinda Lemmon. "They will continue to create custom HVAC equipment in that facility."
According to broker NAI Brannen Goddard, MJC Inc. bought the 168,000-square-foot warehouse for a little more than $4 million last October.
Lemmon said there is no official timeframe for when the renovated MJC facility in Cartersville will open, nor an exact estimate for how many jobs it will bring to the community.
"MJC is part of several smaller projects that will be reported in aggregate," she said. "There aren't job and investment specifics with that, but we are glad to welcome them to the existing industry family in Bartow County."
Lidl, a grocery chain based out of Germany with more than 10,000 stores in Europe and the United States, announced last June they will build a regional distribution center in the Highland 75 industrial park off Cass-White Road. The facility is tabbed at $100 million and is anticipated to create 250 jobs over the next five years.
"Obviously, the marketing strategy for them is get the retail stores in Georgia up and running and then the distribution center that will serve them will be carefully coordinated with that timeline," Lemmon said.
The BCDOED's final investments tally also includes jobs created and retained by the Georgia Department of Transportation District 6 Headquarters in Bartow and expansions at Anheuser-Busch, Toyo Tire North America and Vista Metals.
2017's new investments sum is slightly lower than 2016 ($155.7 million) but an increase over 2015 ($93.1 million.)
Since 2004, the Bartow-Cartersville Joint Development Authority — which directs the CBCDOED — has supported 157 projects, which combined, have resulted in more than 12,000 new jobs and more than $5 billion in new capital investments in the county.
Lemmon said that Bartow posted its highest employment rate in well more than 15 years in the fourth quarter of 2017.
"Our overall labor force, just in Bartow County, has exceeded 50,000 people," she said.
To sustain growth, Lemmon encouraged businesses to begin thinking in terms of "labor draw areas" — not just in-county residents, but the potential commuters in contiguous counties as well. She said Bartow's labor draw area — which includes the county, plus Cobb, Cherokee, Floyd, Gordon, Paulding, Pickens and Polk — is home to nearly 800,000 workers and an estimated 29,000 people unemployed and actively seeking employment.
"Our labor force drives an average of 28 miles to and from work everyday, so if you do a 30-minute drive time, for conversation's sake, you're picking up this workforce," she said. "There are some creative things we can do in helping our companies connect — the actual hands-on connections are still going to have to be through the Department of Labor and through our staffing services, but I'm very excited that, strategically, we can help our employers think a little differently about how to find particular skill sets."
- A Story in Every Stitch: Fundraising drive underway for 'Pathways to Freedom' sculpture
- Helping Hands: Community resources help mend a fractured Bartow family
- Red Top's Hills of Iron returns Saturday
- Business class hotel coming to conference center
- Teens Pay Tribute: Instead of protests, there was a time of quiet reflection and remembrance.


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NFDA has now launched the pilot phase of the Electric Vehicle Approved (EVA) scheme. EVA is a set of standards for retailers, developed by NFDA and endorsed by the Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) who will certify retailers in the EV sector. The slots for the free pilot phase will be allocated to ensure a fair geographical representation of the UK. Read more in today’s news and to sign up for the pilot, please email email@example.com.
A recent update from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) shows that the number of cars failing emissions tests has grown significantly since the new MOT introduced stricter emission rules on 20 May 2018. Taking many of these vehicles off the road has also helped improve air quality. Please find more details in today’s news.
Bookings for the NFDA Spring Ball are now open! It will be taking place on Saturday 11 May 2019 at The Grove Resort, Hertfordshire. The evening provides a unique opportunity to network and enjoy an evening of good food, fine wine and first-class entertainment. For ticket information and to book your place please email firstname.lastname@example.org
NFDA is your trade association: we represent, you benefit. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our member helpline on 01788 538303.
Sue Robinson, NFDA Director


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|Go to - FDNC NEWS FORUMS > Australian Business & Financial News > Big Windfall for Coles and Woolworths|
|Posted by: Charles Jul 4 2018, 01:44 PM|
| Coles and Woolworths to rake in $71m from sale of 15¢ reusable shopping bags
The West Australian
Wednesday, 4 July 2018 8:24AM
Some describe the ban as a money-making move
Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths appear set to rake in around $71 million in gross profit from the sale of their 15¢ heavy duty plastic carriers following the ban on single-use plastic bags.
Queensland University of Technology’s Professor Gary Mortimer has calculated the big retailers are also saving $170 million a year by not providing shoppers with free plastic bags.
Prof Mortimer says he has sourced an online provider of heavier bags at 9¢, rather than 15¢.
“But if you are buying in bulk, you would get a cheaper price,“ he told News Corp Australia on Wednesday.
The well-flagged ban on single-use plastic bags, which came into force on Sunday, caused anger among some shoppers at Woolworths, which stopped using them a week ahead of the ban.
The West Australian reported on Saturday that an abusive customer put his hands around the throat of a Woolworths employee in a case of plastic bag rage.
The shocking incident in Mandurah late last month was among dozens of abusive incidents involving retail staff.
Woolworths WA general manager Karl Weber said police had been contacted and the worker was being supported.
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association assistant secretary Ben Harris said the union had been told a worker was assaulted by an irate customer after being told there were no single-use plastic bags.
“A male customer in the self-serve area swore loudly at a female worker,” Mr Harris said. “She provided him with some complimentary bags and apologised.
“He made a mistake by scanning an item twice, the worker came to help him remove it and he walked up behind her and put his hands around her throat.”
The supermarket later announced it would hand out free reusable bags until July 8 as its customers get used to its ban.
There have been a number of stories relating to customer anger over the banning of single-use plastic bags - including one man who loaded his laden shopping trolley into the back of his SUV.
The media has given people plenty of advance warning over the ban and it didn't take much to prepare for a minor inconvenience.
I do the grocery shopping for our household and have been using our own carry bags for a number of years. I must confess to using single-use plastic bags when shopping for the odd item outside our regular shopping day. Now I have a canvas bag in the car for that eventuality.
I can understand anger over the profits the big two will make from this change, but not the anger over the actual change.
It is to be hoped the profits are returned via lower prices - but I'm not holdiong my breath.
|Posted by: Flin Jul 4 2018, 05:14 PM|
|Who originally said the mantra that Wollies has secretly adopted, "Never give a sucker an even break"?|
|Posted by: Pool Jul 5 2018, 08:06 AM|
| This reminds me of every article thats made about how unfair it is when a new speed camera is installed.
Like its the camera's fault that ppl r speeding.
No one will learn to bring their own bag unless they pay...... Maybe woollies and coles should be made to donate the money and not profit from a new law
Ireland was among the first countries to face up to this challenge. As a result of the 15 cent fee (raised to 22 cent in 2007), annual bag usage dropped from almost 350 to 14 per person by 2012, and plastic bags now account for only 0.14 per centof total litter compared to 5 per cent in 2002. Revenues flowed to a fund to support waste management, litter prevention and other environmental initiatives.
or maybe ppl should just get behind less waste.
|Posted by: Bear Jul 5 2018, 05:56 PM|
| Coles and Woolworths to rake in $71m from sale of 15¢ reusable shopping bags.
This is just another rort as these bags are not being reused to the extent we are led to believe.
War On Waste: Plastic Bag Myths.
|Posted by: Pool Jul 6 2018, 07:45 AM|
| Its only a rort if ppl keep buying the bags....
Ive been shopping a ALDI's for years and I don't think I've ever seen anyone buy one of their plastic bags... if someone forgets bags they will load up their arms and stumble to their car ,rather than spend 15c, Aldi also supply their empty boxes if someone forgets their bags.
When the habit of getting a one use bag is broken, very few will buy bags. (if observations at Aldi r correct)
Also this Is just projecting that wollies will make 70 million....
One of the big things that ppl didn't like about Aldi was the fact u have to supply your own bags.
Now that u have to do the same at coles and wollies, I can see lots of ppl now going to Aldi's as there is no extra inconvenience and its a lot cheaper.
So I can see wollies and coles loosing a lot of customers and money because of this new law.
|Posted by: Charles Jul 6 2018, 09:51 AM|
| Very good points Pool.
People will soon find their own solutions to what is a minor problem. Past generations shopped without using plastic bags and there is no reason why the current generation can't.
The issue that saddens me is the anger displayed by some customers over a temporary inconvenience. That anger is directed at staff members who are often very young and have no control over the issue.
|Posted by: Alicia Jul 6 2018, 10:44 AM|
|I refuse to shop at Coles and Woolies for various reasons, so I shop at IGA. Our local IGAs all have boxes available for their shoppers. I find boxes are better to pack things in and transport to the car.|
|Posted by: Flin Jul 6 2018, 03:03 PM|
|Put a couple of plastic laundry baskets in the boot of the car. Handy to carry your shopping into the shack.|
|Posted by: lee Jul 6 2018, 03:29 PM|
| being 60Km fro the supermarket we take about half a dozen cooler type bags. They work summer or winter.
I just go to the car before the stuff goes through the checkout. A pain to carry them around the shopping centre,
|Posted by: Bear Jul 6 2018, 11:07 PM|
| This may save you a few trips Lee - a once a year shopping spree.
|Posted by: lee Jul 7 2018, 01:00 PM|
|They don't even like gophers in there.|
|Posted by: Phillip J. Jul 7 2018, 02:34 PM|
|I still see ladies with their long shopping trolley being pulled behind them. They seem to work. I also remember how much my mother was able to squeeze into a string bag. I have about 40 Aldi bags in the boot, after having gone there without a bag, on numerous occasions! The guy up the road, (apparently) removes ALL the excess packaging from the various products, and leaves it at the checkout! Also, I would suggest that the big shops won't reduce their prices, even though they're allegedly saving in excess of $70 million a year!|


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This article is more than 1 year old
Samsung cops COVID-19 coronavirus crunch and gets run over by Huawei in handsets for first time
Between football, new gaming consoles, Indian low-end-handsets and cloud computing, life is complex for Korean giant right now
Samsung Electronics this week reported droopy results for its second quarter and has been beaten out by Huawei in the global handset shipments stakes for the first time.
As usual, the tech giant's chip and memory business held strong thanks to solid demand from data centres and OEMs as large swathes of the globe rushed to work and study from home. Memory profits were helped along by increased demand from data centres and operators migrating to 5th gen V-NAND.
Mobile device sales dropped again due to the extension of lockdowns in the manufacturer's big markets, such as India, where users rushed to buy low-and mid-tier phones, dampening demand for Samsung's products. Samsung expects sales to pick up in the third quarter with the launch of new devices.
The postponement of big sporting events such as the Tokyo Olympics and the Euro 2021 football tournament meant punters didn't rush out to buy new TVs and hurt Sammy's display business.
Overall, Samsung brought in $44.3bn in sales, down six per cent year on year. Operating profits jumped 23 per cent to $6.8bn largely thanks to chip and memory sales.
The biz is cautiously optimistic about the rest of 2020, predicting its mobile and consumer electronics businesses to recover while also warning that "risks remain due to persisting uncertainties from COVID-19 and growing competition."
Samsung expects stay-at-home workers to keep demand for server memory high. The imminent launches of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X were also predicted to boost memory sales.
The South Korean monster sees PC sales slowing as companies increase their spending on cloud solutions. It expects low-end laptops used by students studying at home to remain strong, however.
The results [PDF] come as analyst firm Canalys said Huawei has for the first time topped Samsung's mobile device market share globally. New research says a 30 per cent drop in Samsung's Q2 handset shipments to 53.7m compared to a year ago was the culprit. Huawei also dropped, but only by five per cent, to 55.8m devices.
“This is a remarkable result that few people would have predicted a year ago,” said Canalys senior analyst Ben Stanton. “If it wasn’t for COVID-19, it wouldn’t have happened. Huawei has taken full advantage of the Chinese economic recovery to reignite its smartphone business. Samsung...has seen its core markets, such as Brazil, India, the United States and Europe, ravaged by outbreaks and subsequent lockdowns.” ®