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MatchStix Photo Frames comes on Board
Bellamy Saia, the founder and creator of the Matchstix brand of products is pleased to announce an investment in Matchstix by American Pacific, parent of DesignTheSpace! Bellamy will continue to be involved in the business and will concentrate on the creative and artistic ideas that have always been her passion. The manufacturing and order fulfillment process will be handled in our woodworking factory here in Florence, Alabama.
"American Pacific has a deep woodworking and finishing experience dating back to 1959 and handcrafts wood products of the finest quality. I am delighted to partner with a company that can carry on the Matchstix quality and integrity," said Bellamy Saia.
Scott Beggs, President of American Pacific, feels the same way.
"We are thrilled to invest in Matchstix and partner with Bellamy and will work hard to help the Matchstix brand reach its full potential. Consumers love the authenticity of weathered, aged and reclaimed woods used to create rustic, distressed, and colorful picture frames, note and clip boards, along with other products. Everyone in our company is excited about Matchstix."
MatchStix will be on display to the industry to the market at the upcoming Gift and Furnishings Market at the America's Mart upcoming summer show July 10-13, in Booth 3-2-807. We look forward to seeing a lot of our customers there!

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Back in July a few people spotted an odd new Buy button next to certain product-related tweets in their Twitter timelines. Starting today this feature is officially in testing, the social network has announced.
For now, you’ll only see Buy buttons next to some tweets if you’re in the US. Even if you are, you might not get the new feature, as it will first be available for just “a small percentage” of users. Read more »
In a somewhat unexpected revelation from digital analytics leader comScore, two out of every three US smartphone users don’t download any new apps for their smartphones.
The study, which examines US smartphone trends, shows that under 35% of smartphone users install at least one app per month, and of those less than 11% install more than 3 apps per month. Read more »
Popular mobile messaging service WhatsApp crossed another major milestone recently. The company CEO announced on Twitter that WhatsApp is now service over 600 million monthly active users.
The CEO was quick to point out that it’s active users, that is, people actually using the service everyday, and not just registered users, which would be a bigger number but a lot of those people won’t actually be using the service. Read more »
LG today has taken a step forward in home audio optimization with the introduction of its new LG Music Flow system.
By combining its new Music Flow Player app and a wide range of new speaker units, Music Flow is set to help you easily create a robust multi-room home audio system, sans any wires. Read more »
Google’s Voice Search has come a long way since its inception, and the latest feature allows you to add multiple language support to your search queries.
Not only does this help multi-lingual users by adding up to five supported languages, but even has the ability to differentiate between them in the middle of your query. This means that you can start in English, then throw in a word here and there in another language and Google Voice will recognize it. Read more »
So AT&T won’t be the first to introduce mobile LTE mediacast streaming, that honor belongs to Verizon, but the carrier doesn’t plan on leaving its customers out in the cold.
The streaming will roll out in stages, with the more robust LTE coverage areas enjoying the mediacasts first. Read more »
We talked about the Bolt service a few days back. The app is now officially available on iOS and Android, but only in New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa for now.
Bolt lets you have a group of close friends that you can instantly send photos or videos to. Just tap on their contact name and it takes a photo and sends it. You can press and hold on the contact name to send a video. Just like with Snapchat, the photos and videos are not sent and are removed from your device when you swipe them away. Read more »
Starting next year Hilton will allow iPhone users to use their phones as hotel room keys. That means that you’ll be able to bypass the front desk of the hotel completely.
Currently as is iPhone users do have the Hilton app but upon walking into a hotel they’d still need to get a physical key with the app handling online check-in, reservations and such – Android users have the same deal going on but there’s no word on using your droid to unlock Hilton doors, although it should happen as well. Read more »
Microsoft has a new ad out and it pits Windows Phone 8.1′s virtual assistant Cortana against Apple’s own Siri in a fight to prove which is the best.
The assistants battle on the grounds of a Lumia 635 and iPhone 5s. Microsoft naturally picks its strong suits asking Cortana for things it knows it can do like set up a reminder for the next time a contact calls. Read more »
Snapchat’s incredible popularity has its competitors scrambling to come up with an equivalent service to engage the masses. Despite several attempts, no one has really managed to match Snapchat’s success.
After failing to acquire Snapchat, Facebook came up with the godawful Slingshot app, which I’m sure even Facebook employees aren’t using at this point, leave alone the average users. But Facebook has an ace up its sleeve in the form of Instagram, and so now they are using Instagram’s popularity to take on Snapchat. Read more »
Microsoft’s OneNote team has made its own ad, spoofing LMFAO’s Sexy and I Know It and transforming it into Click it an I Note it.
The video is not professionally made but it’s still fun to watch and does a good job of getting the attention the OneNote app wants. Underneath it all, the ad celebrates the fact that OneNote now has integration with the Microsoft Surface Pro 3. Read more »
If you have Facebook installed on your phone, then you’ve been harassed, at least once, to install the Facebook messenger application.
After you’ve caved in and gotten used to the intrusive chat heads feature, prepare for Facebook’s eventual monetizing of its popular app. Read more »
Google is currently updating its Maps app on Android devices to version 8.2. Upon release we saw the changelog and it had biking elevation info, voice actions in navigation, better My Places menu but Google didn’t say anything about the Explore Nearby page.
Explore Nearby has been sighted by a couple of users and it manifests via a shortcut right next to the GPS button in the Maps interface. When you select it you’re taken to a separate menu that gives you information on where you are, what’s the weather and lists points of interests, broken down by the time of day. Read more »
Amazon has made a new service official today. It’s called Kindle Unlimited and it provides all-you-can-read access to 600,000 books in the retailer’s portfolio, and it also lets you listen to thousands of audiobooks.
All of this costs $9.99 per month, hence why many people are calling it a ‘Netflix for books’. Read more »
Snapchat has added a new filter setting in the app called geofilters.
Now when you take a picture, just slide right and you will see a bunch of text filters that correspond to your location. You’ll only see filters for your location and it’s mostly just colorful text in fancy fonts and some images overlaid on your photos. If that’s something you’re into, then you have that option now. Read more »


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If you're used to getting free upgrades on Alaska Airlines, I have bad news. Alaska says it is selling more seats than ever up front, making fewer free ones available for frequent travelers.
In April, I noted Alaska was selling about a third of its first class seats, a major improvement from a few years earlier when Alaska admitted it was selling only one first class seat per flight. Unsold seats usually go to frequent fliers, at no charge.
Now, Alaska says it is doing even better. In the second quarter, Alaska sold 35.7% of first class seats, an improvement of 1.6 percentage points compared to earlier this year.
How is Alaska doing it? Two ways. First, it is selling more discounted first class seats in advance. You can now fly first class between Los Angeles and Seattle for about $500. Second, Alaska is selling more upgrades at the gate.
"We've been very pleased with our first class revenue performance," Chief Revenue Officer Andrew Harrison told investment analysts. "Upgrade sales at the gate increased 17%."
Harrison predicted Alaska will improve further later this year. "I still believe there's big opportunity to continue to invest in our product in the first class and increase that," he said.
Alaska announced a second quarter profit of about $230 million on Thursday. Here's some of what executives said on the conference call to announce results:
- Alaska now operates more than 1,000 flights per day, a threshold it only crossed on July 2.
- Seattle's airport is so crowded Alaska can't add more flights during peak times of the day. But the airline is getting more efficient with the space it has. The operations team in Seattle recently devised a system that allows Alaska to taxi side-by-side in opposite directions.
- In the second quarter, Alaska canceled just 0.5% of its flights, while 88.2% of flights arrived on time.
- Alaska has roughly 140 737s. Of those, it owns 80 of them free-and-clear, which is a high ratio for a big airline.
- About 59% of customers book through Alaskaair.com
- Alaska has about 51% market share in Seattle, the same as it had in late 2012. Why is that important? Because since 2012, Delta has been growing massively in Seattle, and it has tried to steal some of Alaska's share. Delta has grown in Seattle, but at the expense of other airlines, not Alaska.
- Alaska is taking delivery of 11 737-900ERs this year and 19 next year. It is retiring smaller Boeing 737-400s. The 737-400s carry 25% fewer passengers but burn roughly as much fuel as the 737-900s.


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US semiconductor company Qualcomm should try to negotiate a sale to Broadcom following the latter’s sweetened $121 billion offer, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said.
Qualcomm has been seeking to walk a fine line between resisting Broadcom’s acquisition approach, which it says undervalues it and is fraught with regulatory risks, and demonstrating to shareholders and proxy advisory firms such as ISS that it is willing to engage to secure a better deal if possible.
In a report published late on Friday, ISS recommended to Qualcomm shareholders that they vote for four out of the six board director nominees that Broadcom has put forward for election at Qualcomm’s shareholder meeting on March 6.
Qualcomm shares fall as reports say Apple may scrap its chips
While this recommendation would fall short of Broadcom’s nominees winning a majority on Qualcomm’s 11-member board, ISS said such a vote by Qualcomm shareholders would offer a reasonable path to a negotiated deal that would deliver value.
“The tenor of (Qualcomm‘s) engagement leading up to the present raises questions as to whether the incumbent (Qualcomm) board is committed to playing its part in attempting to maximize the offer,” ISS said in its report.
Broadcom first unveiled an unsolicited $70 per share cash-and-stock offer in November, which Qualcomm rejected. It raised its offer to $82 per share in cash and stock on February 5 and offered other concessions, including paying an $8 billion breakup fee in the event regulators thwart the deal, which would be the technology sector’s largest-ever acquisition.
ISS said it did not recommend voting for all six Broadcom nominees because Qualcomm’s board would then be less inclined to drive a hard bargain with Broadcom in deal negotiations. ISS recommended that Broadcom nominees Samih Elhage, Julie Hill, John Kispert and Harry You should be elected as Qualcomm board directors.
Qualcomm on Friday called a February 14 meeting with Broadcom constructive and opened the door to more talks, but continued to reject the proposed deal.
As of Saturday afternoon, no new meeting between the two companies had been scheduled, according to people familiar with the matter. Broadcom and Qualcomm representatives offered no immediate comment.
The takeover battle is at the heart of a race to consolidate the wireless technology equipment sector, as smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung use their market dominance to negotiate lower chip prices.
Singapore-based Broadcom is mainly a manufacturer whose connectivity chips are used in products ranging from mobile phones to servers. San Diego-based Qualcomm primarily outsources the manufacturing of its chips which are used for the delivery of broadband and data, a business that would significantly benefit from the rollout of 5G wireless technology.
ISS said in its report that Broadcom’s latest $82 per share cash-and-stock bid, which Broadcom CEO Hock Tan has called its best and final offer, does not appear to be clearly superior to Qualcomm’s potential standalone value in the short term. ISS added, however, that the offer seemed to represent a reasonable starting point for negotiations.
Even though both companies “have adopted strategies that do not lend themselves to fluid negotiations,” a deal between them is possible, ISS said. It suggested that Qualcomm shareholders could gain greater exposure to the deal’s potential upside if they were to receive more of the combined company.
ISS also said it appeared more likely than not that Broadcom and Qualcomm, with their collective experience and resources, can find a reasonable path to regulatory approval, despite Qualcomm’s current concerns about antitrust risk.
Qualcomm is currently seeking to complete a $38 billion deal to acquire NXP Semiconductors NV, which is still pending regulatory approval. NXP shares ended trading on Friday at $118.50, significantly above Qualcomm’s $110 per share all-cash offer, as some NXP shareholders, led by activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, have called on Qualcomm to raise its price.
Amazon paid $90 million for camera maker's chip technology
Broadcom has said its acquisition offer is contingent on either Qualcomm buying NXP at currently disclosed terms of $110 per share in cash or the deal being terminated.
ISS said in its report that Qualcomm could negotiate provisions with Broadcom to close the NXP deal at a mutually agreed price, which would provide Qualcomm with the “next-best safety net of diversification” in the event the deal with Broadcom falls through.
China’s MOFCOM is the only regulator globally required to approve the Qualcomm-NXP deal that has yet to do so. With the start of the Chinese New Year public holiday this week, Qualcomm may now delay its decision on raising its offer for NXP until after the March 6 Qualcomm shareholder meeting.
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WASHINGTON — Economic activity and retail sales growth in October and early November expanded at a “measured pace,” stemming from disruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast and uncertainty about the fiscal cliff, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday its Beige Book report.
Businesses in New York and Philadelphia reported “weaker conditions” due to Hurricane Sandy, which slammed the East Coast at the end of October and caused “widespread disruptions” into November, the Fed said.
“Retail sales are reported to have been ahead of plan in October, but exceptionally weak in early November in the New York City area, mainly due to widespread power outages, store closings and accessibility problems for both customers and workers,” the Fed said.
The storm’s effects were limited in Boston and Richmond. Merchants in Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco said sales grew at a modest pace.
“Contacts in a number of districts expressed concern and uncertainty about the federal budget, especially the fiscal cliff,” the Beige Book said.
Retailers in Boston, Cleveland and Chicago said they were uncertain about holiday sales because of the potential for tax increases in conjunction with the talks in Washington over reining in the national debt and averting the fiscal cliff, generally defined as a package of sharp tax increases and deep spending cuts that will take effect at the beginning of next year if Congress fails to reach a deal to avert it.
However, some retailers in the regions covered by the Beige Book remained positive about the holiday season. Retailers in New York said they anticipated recovering lost sales from Hurricane Sandy during the holiday season. The holiday outlook for retailers in Philadelphia also “remained bright overall,” the report said.
“With the holiday sales season coming up — and with many residents in the region needing to replace destroyed or damaged property — all of the lost sales are expected to be made up in the weeks ahead,” the report said.
Retailers in Boston said they were positioning their businesses for increased Internet sales, while retailers in Minneapolis generally said they expect strong holiday sales. Merchants in Atlanta said they were bullish on holiday sales, based on the recent uptick in consumer confidence.
“Retailers [in Atlanta] anticipate a healthy holiday season and most shared plans to hire the same amount of seasonal staff compared with last year,” the report said.
From overseeing America’s fastest-growing speciality retailers to codifying cool, WWD talked to the women who are leading the way for the future of beauty. Check out our Instagram Stories to see how these women built today and are creating tomorrow. (📸: @hannah_khymych) #wwdbeauty
For @laperlalingerie's spring 2018 show, the brand chose to host their event at @thevenetianmacao. With Chinese megastars @bingbing_fan and @hubing in attendance, La Perla debuted a rock ‘n’ roll-inspired collection. The show marked the start of Sands Macao Fashion Week, which runs from October 19 to 24 — the city’s first such event. Pictured here are models backstage with glimmering eyes. #wwdfashion (📷: Cheuk-Yin To)
Trending for spring 2018: top stitch design. Gone are the days of stitch just for seams — designers are using the once-minimal detail to create strong decorative elements. (📷: Paola Testa; Styled by @andrew_shang) #wwdfashion
@tradesy is turning the concept of a showroom upside down with its new space in Santa Monica. Here, the company plans to hold events, art exhibits and a showcase rare fashion pieces like this Louis Vuitton boxing set. Get all the details on Tradesy’s first showroom on WWD.com. #wwdnews
Spotted last night at the @erdem x @hm launch event: Kate Bosworth, Rashida Jones, Kirsten Dunst and Selma Blair. The party, which took place in LA, also marked the opening of their pop-up shop. “I was interested in creating a collection that wasn’t in any way disposable. It was about pieces you’d create and keep forever, things that have a permanence to it,” designer Erdem Moralioglu said. #wwdeye (📷: Katie Jones)
Renee Zellweger in yellow in 2001 and again in 2017. Chosen as one of the 12 @pantone Leading Spring Colors (and dubbed “Meadowlark”), it only makes sense that the bright hue stands the test of time and is making a resurgence this season, seen already on stars like @blakelively and @gigihadid. (📷: Donato Sardello & @rexfeatures) #wwdfashion #tbt
Dior’s 70th anniversary celebration continues with a new exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. “Christian Dior,” which is scheduled to run through March 18, takes a look at the founders tenure from 1947 to 1057 and feature 40 designs. Pictured here is an evening gown from the Ailée, fall 1948-49 haute couture collection. #wwdfashion (📷: Brian Boyle)


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First Aunt Jemima, now Uncle Ben's: Rice brand plans to 'evolve' and change 'visual brand identity'
A second iconic brand plans to change its brand image in the wake of renewed calls for racial equality.
Hours after Quaker Oats said it would retire Aunt Jemima from packaging on its brand of syrup and pancake mixes because it's "based on a racial stereotype," the owner of Uncle Ben's rice announced it planned to make changes.
"As a global brand, we know we have a responsibility to take a stand in helping to put an end to racial bias and injustices," the Mars-owned brand said in a statement. "As we listen to the voices of consumers, especially in the Black community, and to the voices of our Associates worldwide, we recognize that now is the right time to evolve the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity, which we will do."
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Racial stereotypes:Eskimo Pie, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's and Cream of Wheat are changing. Are the Washington Redskins next?
The company said it didn't yet know "what the exact changes or timing will be, but we are evaluating all possibilities."
"Racism has no place in society. We stand in solidarity with the Black community, our Associates and our partners in the fight for social justice," Mars statement continued. "We know to make the systemic change needed, it’s going to take a collective effort from all of us – individuals, communities and organizations of all sizes around the world."
Cream of Wheat packaging under review:B&G Foods says Cream of Wheat packaging with smiling Black chef under 'immediate review'
Brand review for Mrs. Butterworth's:Conagra Brands reviewing Mrs. Butterworth's brand after Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's announcements
Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko


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$SJM 1Q16 Call: Net sales increased 47% to nearly $2Bil, driven by addition of Big Heart Pet Brands, & strong first quarter for Coffee. Excluding acquisitions and foreign exchange, sales grew 6%. May 1st launch of Dunkin' Donuts (R) K-Cup (R) in U.S. retail channels has exceeded our initial expectations, and drove large portion of the increase.
The latest earnings report by $VZ shows how it is losing customers despite offering the unlimited data plans, a record for the company.
$BEBE is closing down all its stores by the end of May.
$WFC agreed to hike its payout in a class-action settlement over unauthorized accounts by $32 million to $142 million for its retail sales practices. The settlement will now include customers who were impacted as early as May 2002.


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RESERVATIONS. ValuJet Airlines Inc. is hiring two companies to take over its reservations work as of Jan. 1. Amlease Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., will oversee 500 agents in Atlanta, while Foxtrot Aviation of Reston, Va., will oversee ValuJet’s 500 agents in Savannah. Company officials say they still plan to open a third reservations center, possibly in Newport News, which would initially employ 100 people and eventually 500.
DAIRY KING. The Dairy Queen at 17th Street and Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach is a 10-window, ”walk-up” operation. Normally, walk-up Dairy Queens don’t do high-volume business, but Richard Maddox’s DQ at the oceanfront isn’t normal. It’s the world’s largest walk-up Dairy Queen, he said, and this summer it became the Dairy Queen store with the highest gross sales in the United States. On an average summer day the Dairy Queen sells about $10,000 worth of ice cream and other food and drinks, Maddox said.
CIRCUIT EARNINGS. Circuit City Stores Inc. increased profit 11 percent in the third quarter, partly by improving its expense ratios, the company said. Earnings for the three-month period ending Nov. 30 were $31.4 million, or 32 cents per share. The company earned $38.4 million, or 29 cents per share, during the same quarter last year. Despite the profit gain, same-store sales were modest for the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer. Sales at stores open at least a year increased just 3 percent during the quarter.
NAVY CALLING. The Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) today selected AT&T; to provide personal telecommunications services to the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The license agreement, which has a ten-year initial term with five one-year renewal options, designates AT&T; as the provider of bachelor quarters (BQ) and transient lodging facility in-room phone services for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The agreement also calls for discounted long distance service for private residential personal use; pay phones; long distance phone centers; subscriber/non-subscriber calling cards; over-the-counter and vended prepaid debit telephone cards and brig/confinement facility pay phone services.


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Deere to buy carbon fibre boom supplier
from Real Agriculture
Deere & Company says it has signed a deal to buy the company that makes carbon fibre booms for John Deere sprayers. The agreement will see Deere acquire King Agro, a privately-held manufacturer of carbon fibre products with headquarters in Valencia, Spain and a production facility in Campana, Argentina.
7701 Las Colinas Blvd., Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063


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On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada declared a triumphant quarter-percent increase in its key interest rate and stated that this would be their final move to combat inflationary levels unseen since long ago. This is the eighth hike consecutively since March as they attempt to rein in rapidly inflating prices with these measures.
The bank’s key interest rate is currently at 4.5%, the highest it has been in almost 14 years!
This morning, the Bank of Canada will reveal its interest rate decision amidst widespread speculation that it is likely to choose a quarter-point raise. A news statement from the central bank declared that with the Canadian economy still surpassing capacity, its governing council has decided to increase interest rates yet again. The Bank of Canada’s headquarters located in Ottawa on Tuesday July 12th, 2022 was pictured by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick.
But if economic conditions remain as expected, the central bank has indicated that it will maintain its key interest rate at the current level.
Wednesday’s rate hike follows a period of decreasing inflation. In the summer, Canada’s annual inflation hit an apex of 8.1%, yet has since dwindled to 6.3% in December – indicative of slower economic growth over recent months and clearly presenting Wednesday’s rate increase as essential for market stability moving forward into 2021.
The Bank of Canada’s latest Monetary Policy Report, which they published Wednesday, contains the most up-to-date economic and inflation projections. As per the report, inflation is predicted to slow more than initially thought; it will descend to three percent by mid-2023 and ultimately reach its two percent target in 2024.
The recent decrease in inflation may be credited to falling oil prices as well as the mitigation of worldwide supply chain interruptions. Simultaneously, labor is still relatively scarce and both businesses and individuals maintain a heightened anticipation for rising inflation, the central bank remarked.
According to Statistics Canada’s recent labour force survey, Canada is at the brink of a historical low in unemployment with its December rate standing at five per cent. Previously, the Bank of Canada had warned about potential inflation due to strong wage growth; however now it claims these risks are on a decline as wages have leveled off.
Despite the Bank of Canada’s optimism at keeping interest rates unchanged, they made it clear that they will not hesitate to raise them if needed in order to return inflation back up to the two percent target. With high interests rates continuing their drag on our economy, this could lead to a softening of the labor market in ensuing months. “Governing council is prepared,” The central bank said, “to increase the policy rate should circumstances necessitate.”
Rising interest rates have already had a negative impact on the economy, particularly in relation to housing. However, in upcoming months we can anticipate more extensive ramifications as businesses and consumers reduce their spending due to higher borrowing costs.
As the process advances, it’s estimated that economic growth will stagnate throughout the first half of 2022 before rebounding at year-end. The Bank of Canada is forecasting a 3.6 percent boost in 2022 and an unimpressive one percent gain for 2023 — further demonstrating how this progress has been stalled by the pandemic.
The central bank has noticed that global growth is surpassing expectations, as people continue to spend money. The focus of the central bank remains on domestic prices and demand, however international dynamics have potential for inflationary effects. A case in point could be China’s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions; if this happens it may lead to a surge in world economic activity, plus rising commodity costs.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has created an environment of uncertainty and risk, according to the central bank. Additionally, domestically services price inflation could be stronger than anticipated if labour costs and heightened expectations become more established than initially projected. The Bank cited by saying “Services price inflation in Canada could be stickier than projected if elevated inflation expectations or increased labour costs prove more persistent than expected.”
Although inflationary pressures are a major worry for the Bank of Canada, an extreme global downturn could cause economic instability just as quickly.
Despite this, the risk of a serious global recession has fallen in recent months. This report from The Canadian Press was initially published on January 25th, 2023.


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2019 closed on a rather muted note for carmakers. While , who are generally able to lure customers on the basis of heavy discounting strategies, 2020 opened with a tepid January delivering a 6.2 percent year-on-year sales decline for the passenger vehicle segment, which topped off at 2,62,714 units.
While players such as Maruti Suzuki, Renault India and Kia Motors India were in the black with reasonable sales, the majority of the market is still down in the dumps due to weak consumer sentiment, lack of liquidity in the economy and buyers in the personal space preferring to hold back purchases for just a few more months to get the latest product once BS6 actually kicks in.
India Auto Inc did pin high hopes from the Union Budget (FY2021) announced on February 1, particularly the announcement of a vehicle scrappage policy but there were no direct benefits to the mobility sector. However, let’s have a look at some of the top performing models in January that helped their manufacturers remain afloat in such challenging times.
Coming in at first place, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire sold 22,406 units (January 2018: 19,073 / +17.47%). It started off the calendar year with a homerun and contribute significantly to Maruti Suzuki’s overall sales of 1,39,844 units in the month, which were flat compared to last year.
What aided the Japanese carmaker’s cause was the performance of its premium hatchback, the Maruti Baleno, which managed the No. 2 position and went home to 20,485 buyers (16,717 / +22.53%). The Baleno, which also retails as the badge-engineered Glanza from Toyota Kirloskar Motor, is luring customers with its design, features, and value-for-money price tag.
The Maruti Swift stood firm at the No. 3 spot to register sales of 19,981 units and remain flat (18,795 / +0.06%). The trio of Dzire, Baleno and the Swift tripped their own cheaper sibling Alto to the No. 4 position, clearly indicating the shifting dynamics in the entry-level Indian passenger vehicle segment. The Maruti Alto lost three spots from last year and went home to 18,914 buyers (23,360 / -19.03%).
At the No. 5 position, the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R recorded a noticeable growth, gaining four positions and selling a cumulative 15,232 units in the month (10,048 / +51.59%). Both the Alto and Wagon R are available in petrol as well as CNG variants in select cities.
If there was any example of novelty being successful, then there’s no one better than Kia Motors India’s runaway success in the Indian market. The Kia Seltos, at No. 6 position, sold 15,000 units in the month and is the model to be credited with keeping the segment alive in times of this dismal downturn. Month-on-month, Kia is inching up the sales ladder with January beating its last best of 14,005 units in November.
While the Maruti Eeco van made its entry into the list at the No. 7 spot and sold 12,324 units, its bigger cousin the Maruti Vitara Brezza lost three places from last year to land at No. 8. While this is not its peak performance, the Brezza still sold 10,134 units (13,172 / -23.06%). With the biggest roadblock for what was once India’s top-selling UV being its diesel powertrain (which has now been discontinued), Maruti Suzuki has launched a facelift for the Brezza which is available as a petrol-only model with a 105hp, 1.5-litre, four-cylinder engine. It would be interesting to see how it fares against the Hyundai Venue, Ford EcoSport and the soon-to-be-launched Kia Sonet.
Hyundai Motor India’s Grand i10 with 8,774 units (10,285 / -14.69%) and the Elite i20 with 8,137 units (11,749 / -30.74%) held the penultimate and last positions, respectively, in the tally. While the Grand i10 is expected to see the Grand i10 Nios completely take over once BS6 norms kick-in, the i20 is also due for a generational change and is expected to be launched this year.
With less than 40 days to go for the total transition to BS6, carmakers are in the process of updating their products with the latest hardware to curtail emissions. As some of them also align this opportunity to bring new models and completely refresh their existing line-up, will the customer finally get excited to spend on new motoring metal? We’ll know soon.


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From Government’s likely stake in Air india to GST Council meet, BS brings you up to date with the latest news
GST Council may lower rates for farm gear, electric vehicles next week
The GST Council may take up rationalisation of the goods and services tax (GST) rates for a handful of items at its meeting next week. These items include bio-diesel buses, electric vehicles and irrigation equipment.The GST Council meeting will be its last one before the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1.
Sebi curb: Price Waterhouse set to lose 75 listed firms to rivals
The hit on Price Waterhouse (PW) has opened up new business opportunities worth over Rs 1 billion for other auditing firms in the country.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had on Wednesday banned PW from auditing listed companies for two years.
Budget bonanza: Govt likely to do away with dividend distribution tax
The finance ministry is likely to do away with the dividend distribution tax (DDT) in the upcoming Union Budget. Sources in the know have said there have been considerable discussions on the topic among various stakeholders.At present, if a company gives dividend to its shareholders, it has to pay DDT of 20.36 per cent.
TCS Q3 net profit dips 4% to Rs 65.45 billion, meets Street target
The third quarter net profit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) dipped 3.9 per cent year-on-year to Rs 65.45 billion, while its revenues grew 2.7 per cent to Rs 317.7 billion as the software bellwether met Street expectations.
Govt likely to hold around a 26% stake in Air India after sell-off
India may not fully privatise its beleaguered airline Air India. While policy think tank NITI Aayog had recommended a 100 per cent stake sale, the government may hold on to around a 26 per cent stake to be sold later. A final call, however, would be taken by the group of ministers looking into the disinvestment process.
source-http://www.business-standard.com (January 12, 2018 12:06)


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If you’re a regular reader of AllCarsElectric then you’ll know that electric cars are much cheaper to run than gasoline cars once you’ve actually purchased them, but electric cars in Washington state are just about to get a little more expensive to run thanks to a proposed law which has just passed from the state’s Senate into the House.
SB 5251, first read on January 19 2011, proposes an additional $100 per year vehicle license fee on electric vehicles to help pay for the upkeep of the road infrastructure which to date, electric car owners have not directly contributed towards.
Traditionally, drivers of gasoline vehicles have paid towards the upkeep of roads through taxes on the gasoline they buy, but since electric cars do not use gasoline the old taxation method doesn’t work.
Before the launch of all-electric and plug-in electric hybrids like the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt, those electric cars which did exist on the roads of Washington state were free from any usage taxes for the roads.
2011 Chevrolet Volt drive test, March 2011
So why tax electric vehicles?
Fear: a future where electric car sales rise, lowering gasoline consumption and consequentially lowering level of funds available to keep roads in good order.
The premise is sound and most electric car owners seem more than happy to pay the additional charge. But is this tax too early for an industry yet to reach a stage of mass adoption, and are alternative taxation systems better?
One alternative to taxing electric cars at the point of licensing is to introduce pay-as-you-go driving. In a pay-as-you-go system, a tired system would charge drivers depending on how far they drove and the time of day they drove by utilizing a range of in-car technologies to record the trips made.
Brabus Tesla Roadster Sport Green Package
Examined as part of a report released last week by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), pay-as-you-go systems could allow electric car owners to continue to pay less for their road use compared to gasoline vehicles whilst still benefiting from the lower running costs of electric vehicle ownership.
While a metered road usage tax may benefit those gasoline and electric car owners who don’t use their cars very much it is unlikely to gain much public support since it would require tracking the movements of each and every car on the road.
In the meantime, electric car taxes seem the sensible alternative. Washington state may be among the first states to push legislation to enable electric vehicle taxes, but in a post-recession environment of lean public funds it certainly won’t be the last.


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Anand Mahindra, chairman of the automobile company Mahindra Group, tweeted about the injured shoe doctor in April. He also wrote that This man should be teaching marketing at the Indian Institute of Management…”. “The hospital of injured shoes” who were injured by the Mahindra were so impressed with the idea that they sent their team to this person.
This man should be teaching marketing at the Indian Institute of Management… pic.twitter.com/N70F0ZAnLP
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) April 17, 2018
Anand Mahindra gave a new update on Wednesday in this case. He tweeted that he was very impressed with this idea of Narsi Ram. He sent his team to meet Narsi Rama and has invested in the idea called ‘Hospital of injured Shoes’.
When the team asked Narsi Ram what he wanted, they said that they just want a shop like a booth as a help. So, Mahindra has designed a studio, which is itself a ‘shoe hospital’
Remember the cobbler Narsi Ram with the innovative banner ‘Zakhmi Jooton Ka Hospital?’ Our team had contacted him & conveyed my interest to invest in him.He said he wanted a good kiosk. This is what our Design studio in Mumbai came up with:Great work guys! Will be delivered soon pic.twitter.com/wDgKDPoeHr
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) August 1, 2018
Anand has designed this studio with his company Mahindra. Engineers have tried to improve this studio in every way. For example, after repairing shoes, these studios will survive after rain, they will be protected from hard sunlight.


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Apple Music to Livestream Select Concerts, Starting With Harry Styles This Friday
Apple today announced that it will begin livestreaming select concerts through Apple Music, starting with a Harry Styles performance this Friday at UBS Arena in New York. Apple Music subscribers will be able to watch free of charge around the world.
The concert series is named "Apple Music Live" and is reminiscent of the "iTunes Festival" (later rebranded as the "Apple Music Festival"), a free annual concert series that Apple hosted and streamed live from London between 2007 and 2016. In a tweet, Apple promised that it will stream concerts from some of the world's "favorite artists."
Styles' concert will be available to stream via the Apple Music app starting Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, with encore streams of the performance on May 22 at 12 p.m. Eastern Time and on May 26 at 5 a.m. Eastern Time, according to Engadget. It is unclear if any "Apple Music Live" concerts will be available for on-demand replay.
Styles will be releasing his new album titled "Harry's House" on the same day as the performance.
Introducing #AppleMusicLive, a new concert series with your favorite artists.@Harry_Styles kicks it all off live from New York on May 20, only on Apple Music. https://t.co/K9ZnrDiWKT pic.twitter.com/IUx3WQ1I4f — Apple Music (@AppleMusic) May 17, 2022
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American Influencer Association Hosts Launch Event in NYC sponsored by Symrise
The American Influencer Association, which aims to educate, inspire and advocate for the diverse global community of social media influencers, launched with a cocktail reception kicking-off New York Fashion Week, on Wednesday, February 6th, at The Doubles Club in New York City.
Hosted by Christopher Crellin, Founder and CEO, American Influencer Association & Awards; Christine Ledes, Founder and President, American Influencer Association; Melissa Shea, Founder and CEO, Fashion Mingle; and George Ledes, Founder and Publisher, This Week with George Ledes and TheBeautyInfluencers.com; the well attended event was sponsored by Symrise – the leading edge global fragrance company.
A panel discussion on Luxury, Lifestyle & Loyalty featuring Emmy Award-winning lifestyle and wellness influencer Daphne Oz, cohost of The Dish on Oz —a weekly series on The Dr. Oz Show; along with other beauty, fashion and lifestyle influencers and experts including Harper’s Bazaar’s Ann Caruso; The Uncommon Magazine’s Walter Harvin; Influence Marketer Jeff Katz; and CreatorIQ’s Jon Kroopf, was moderated by actress and influencer Renée Willett.
The fragrance influencer known as @JeremyFragrance – who recently broke a Kickstarter campaign record raising more than $850,000 in just 30 days to launch his first fragrance, Fragrance One – Office for Men, was in Germany celebrating his birthday, but sent a congratulatory video. Jeremy will also appear in an educational video produced by Yellowbrick for the American Influencer Association later this year.
Guests included: Coty’s Edgar Huber, Andra Mielnicki and Simona Cattaneo; Estee Lauder’s Daniel Rachmanis and Damon Burrell; Symrise’s Achim Daub; Peter Price; FIT’s Virginia Bonofigliio; Gloss Genius’s Danielle Cohen-Shohet; Creator IQ’S Nate Harris; Yellowbrick’s Rob Kingyens; Fragrance Foundation’s Linda Levy; Erica LaSala, The Sexiest Beauty’s Heather Fink; Laubahn Perfume’s Stacey Bresnahan; Sky Advertising’s Phil Kaminowitz; Kamil Schuetz; Brandsway Creative’s Kelly Brady; Film Director Foad Farid; Buchwald’s Scott Kaufman; Fashion Illustrator Danielle Final; Whitney & Meredith Schott; Eldonie Mason; Connie Chi; R. Couri Hay; Vinnie Potestivo; Batsheva Weinstein; David Melnik; Stylez; Liana Zavo and others.
Product for gift bags were donated by Bond No 9, Elysée, Maybelline, Mugler, Hanami, One Ocean, Peter Thomas Roth, The Sexiest Beauty, Spritzing to Success by Annette Green, and Symrise.
Sketch Artist Danielle Final and Bennett Sobel charmed guests with Fashion Week sketches they could take home.
The American Influencer Association will connect its members with established brands and industry leaders for the purpose of providing educational seminars, professional certification, exclusive networking events, and career advancement opportunities.
The organization also plans to vet its members for fake followers, fake engagement and other criteria, helping to bring some standards to this ”wild West” of an industry — currently estimated at $2 billion and expected to grow to $10 billion by 2020.
“We plan to be like the ‘Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval’ for influencers,” stated Christine Ledes, President of the American Influencer Association. “Its an enormous undertaking, but one we hope will not only be of great service to the emerging community of social media influencers, but to the brands who support them, and ultimately, the consumers who trust in them as well,” she continued.
Introductory membership to the Association is now available at
www.AmericanInfluencerAssociation.org and includes:
Invitations to member-only networking events with brands and industry leaders
Access to online influencer certification courses by accredited universities
Subscriptions to AIA News and The Beauty Influencers – the official newsletters of the American Influencer Association & Awards with a combined circulation of more than 125,000
Alerts to AIA Radio podcasts featuring interviews with top influencers and brand representatives
And, the opportunity to be nominated for the American Influencer Awards which honors the greatest contributors on social media each year.
For more information, please visit: www.AmericanInfluencerAssociation.org
And follow us on social media @aiaawards
Folllow our Panelists and Sponsors:
Daphne Oz @daphneoz , Ann Caruso @ann_caruso, Walter Harvin @soberyungwalter, Renée Willett @reneewillett, Fashion Mingle @fashionmingle, Symrise @symriseAG, CreatorIQ @CreatorIQ
For additional information, please contact: Christine@AmericanInfluencerAssociation.org


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It seems that Huawei recently posted an update confirming that the Huawei Watch 3 will be one of the products to come with HarmonyOS pre-installed. With that being said, it should come with several notable features such as mobile payments, as well as access to certain apps that are available on the Huawei AppGallery.
Other than that, we can expect Huawei to unveil other products that will come with HarmonyOS pre-installed, such as smartphones, tablets, IoT products, and many more. If you want to find out more information, best to catch their live stream that will be happening on 2 June 2021 on their official website.
What are your thoughts on the Huawei Watch 3 coming equipped with HarmonyOS? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


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By Tim Gray
December 22, 2004
The German government hopes Wi-Fi will pave the way for safer and less congested roads, but first it is looking for a little help from the automobile industry.
The country has awarded several car manufacturers grants to create a car-to-car wireless data network that could conceivably evolve into the world’s first automobile Internet. The idea is to link vehicles with each other in order to pass on information about traffic, bad weather, accidents and other hazards.
BMW, Audi, Daimler Chrysler, Volkswagen, Renault and Fiat have all received funding from Network on Wheels (NOW), a project run by the University of Mannheim and Karlsruhe Technical University, and partially funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research.
NOW is expected to be a major contributor to the already established European Car-2-Car Communication Consortium (C2C CC), which consists of several of Europe’s largest carmakers, as well as Siemens, NEC Deutschland and the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communications, according to C2C CC Administrator Karl-Oskar Proskawetz.
“This type of cooperation is important,” Proskawetz said. “Especially for standardization purposes there has to be cooperation between government and non-government agencies.”
The idea is to use 802.11a and IPv6 wireless technologies to create ad hoc wireless networks between vehicles. Information then could be relayed between travelers, improving safety and efficiency of travel, he said. At the same time, the technology would be used in developing new on-board information services and applications.
The C2C consortium must first discover what works based on wireless LAN components, said Proskawetz, then move to establish a European standard for wireless car-to-car communications.
Continent-wide standards are an important aspect of the program, given the frequency that Europeans cross borders in their vehicles, Proskawetz said.
“We are looking for ways to link temporarily link vehicles with others, from all over, for the purposes of sharing information,” he said, adding that the program would not be efficient if a continental model was not developed.
The C2C Communication Consortium is a non-profit organization that recently extended its charter to 2006. Proskawetz said it is likely the group will need even longer before any product could be brought to market.
“There is much still to do,” he said.


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The Swiss aftermarket specialists at FAB Design have recently pulled the wraps off their latest creation, an upgrade package for the McLaren 12C Spider.
According to the tuning company, the McLaren 12C Spider in question is now coming with a new body kit which makes its exterior design even more appealing. The model in question has been named the Terso and it’s getting new side skirts, a fixed rear wing, a new rear apron, new front and rear bumpers and an orange exterior color, along with new 20-inch alloy wheels painted to match the exterior color and wrapped in Dunlop high performance tires.
The interior design of the McLaren 12C Spider Terso signed by FAB Design hasn’t been left aside either by the Swiss company and the tuner has added a two-tone leather upholstery, aluminum trim, Alcantara, carbon fiber insertions and much more, which will most likely be appreciated by its future customers. Besides these visual upgrades, the guys at FAB Design are also offering a power boost for the McLaren 12C Spider Terso. The British supercar in question is now getting 680 HP and 715 Nm of torque, which is helping the 0 to 100 km/h acceleration, which is now made in 3 seconds, and the top speed, which is more than 340 km/h. More details on the model will be announced soon.
Source: FAB Design


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Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Thursday.
- Uber and Lyft drivers across the world went on strike on Wednesday over pay, conditions, and the firm’s “orgy of greed.” The strike came ahead of Uber’s IPO, which promises to make investors such as founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick richer by potentially billions of dollars.
- Google took a major shot at Apple’s iPhone camera while announcing its new $US400 Pixel smartphone. “What other smartphone cameras try to do with expensive hardware, we can deliver with software and AI – including high-end computational photography,” said Google VP of product management Sabrina Ellis.
- Facebook is loosening its ban on crypto ads as rumours swirl about its blockchain project. Advertisements on the social network about blockchain technology and industry news will no longer require pre-approval.
- Disney took a $US353 million write-down of its stake in Vice, its second huge impairment on the investment in the last year. Disney wrote down another $US157 million of its stake in the September 2018 quarter.
- Amazon revealed it was a target of “extensive” fraud impacting seller accounts. Hackers broke in to about 100 seller accounts and took the loan money intended to be used for business and startup costs.
- A Slack director is in hot water with the SEC for saying the company, which just filed to go public, “will be one of the most important tech companies in the world.” His comments appeared to violate “quiet period” rules that govern companies that have filed to go public.
- Waymo’s top scientist and CTO said that Elon Musk’s approach to self-driving cars is “very risky.” On Wednesday at an event at Google’s developer’s conference, I/O, Waymo executives said that Musk’s decision to leave out lidar from Tesla’s autonomous approach was a risk factor.
- A US senator introduced a bill to ban “loot boxes” in video games, the Washington Post reports. “Social media and video games prey on user addiction, siphoning our kids’ attention from the real world and extracting profits from fostering compulsive habits,” said Sen. Josh Hawley in a statement.
- Employees at NPM, a startup that provides a crucial service for 11 million software developers, have signed an open letter demanding better working conditions. In March, NPM faced a backlash from employees and users for its handling of the layoff of 5 employees.
- A week after the sudden departure of Bob Muglia, new Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman replaced two key executives with veterans of his previous employer. One analyst echoed speculation that Slootman was hired to lead Snowflake to an IPO, sooner rather than later.
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The days of multiple, expensive mobile data plans are over, with the launch of ‘Shared Data’ between 2degrees devices on May 7, 2012.
Mobile data use on the 2degrees network has increased by more than 200% over the last year as more customers use multiple devices to stay connected wherever they go. 2degrees has also found that almost three-quarters of New Zealanders (72%) have unused data at the end of the month.
2degrees Chief Executive Eric Hertz said ‘Shared Data’ started from a simple principle: you should get what you pay for.
“Pay Monthly customers can now cover up to five mobile devices from one data plan, allocating their data to any smartphone, tablet, USB modem or gaming device that uses the 2degrees network. Unused data no longer goes to waste,” he said.
Mr Hertz said data can also be shared with any other 2degrees customer – including Prepay customers.
“This means your family, friends or colleagues can use the same data quota without needing multiple, complex plans,” he said.
A 2degrees nationwide survey found that nearly half of all Kiwis own multiple mobile devices, which connect to the Internet.
However, almost three-quarters of those surveyed believe their data plans do not offer good value for money.
The survey also found that fewer than 50% of New Zealanders think mobile data plans are simple to understand. With users’ spend on mobile data averaging more than $50 a month, the demand for better and fairer mobile data is clear.
2degrees is the first mobile company to address this issue.
Mr Hertz said Shared Data is free to all 2degrees Pay Monthly customers for the first six months. In addition, everyone joining would get 1 GB of Bonus Data free every month for one year, so that would always have plenty to share.
Editor’s Note: 2degrees Mobile Limited is the sponsor of the ‘Best Small Business’ Category of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards 2012. The Company sponsored the Best Small or Medium-Sized Business Category last year.


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Brits are being urged not to pour bottles of Baileys down the sink as many rid the house of alcohol for Dry January.
The aftermath of Christmas could see many homes laced with bottles of the Irish cream liqueur - with manufactures recommending to drink it within six months of opening.
But with thousands of people opting to veto the booze this month, you might be tempted to get rid of any alcohol crowding your cupboards.
Often, the first thought may be to pour the contents down the sink and recycle the bottle avoid unwanted mess.
However, plumbing experts have issued a post-Christmas warning that Baileys can wreak havoc on your pipes under the sink.
Alex Saunders, head of Southern Water's wastewater network in the UK, warns: "Something like Baileys, which has a cream content could add to problems.
“No one likes a nasty surprise over the festive season and a blocked drain is no different."
Kevin Began, director of Blockbuster Drainage explained that: "it will collate in the 'U' bend under the sink due to its thick consistency and prevent liquid from passing through to the external drainage.”
It can also cause it to "set in the small bore pipework and cause blockages,” he added.
Hot cooking fat, oils and sauces have the same effect when poured down the drain, causing blockages.
A better option is to pour the cooled liquid into a "sealable container and dispose of it in your general waste bin”, Kevin said.
Jamie Woodhall, UK Technical and Innovations Manager at Rentokil Specialist Hygiene, said: "You should only pour water based products down a sink, or those that are water soluble.
"Flushing unsuitable products down domestic or commercial drains can lead to expensive drain blockages and overflowing sinks as well as increasing the risk of contamination, since grease sludge can harbour pathogenic bacteria."
He added: "Top culprits for blocking drains in homes and commercial spaces are products that contain grease, fats and oil; expanding foods such as rice and pasta; flour; coffee grounds; and paint.


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Tecno Spark 9 will be unveiled by the company for the Indian market on July 18. Tecno Mobile claims the Tecno Spark 9 to be the first smartphone under Rs. 10,000 segment to offer up to 11GB of RAM. The upcoming smartphone packs 6GB of physical RAM along with up to 5GB of extendable virtual RAM. It also features 128GB of onboard storage. This entry-level handset will target the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment. It will have to compete with the Redmi 9 Activ, Realme Narzo 50i, Oppo A15s, among other handsets, at this price point.
Tecno Spark 9 price, availability in India
Tecno Mobile shared a tweet on Friday announcing that the Tecno Spark 9 will launch in India in July 18. It will be priced under Rs. 10,000. A microsite on Amazon has also confirmed that this smartphone will come in Infinity Black and Sky Mirror colours.
Tecno Spark 9 specifications
Tecno Spark 9, as reported before, will offer a 6.6-inch HD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, the Tecno Spark 9 packs an octa-core MediaTek Helio G37 SoC. It features 11GB of RAM (6GB physical RAM + 5GB virtual RAM) and 128GB of internal storage. The smartphone houses a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery and boots Android 12 out of the box.
The camera specifications of the smartphone have not been revealed yet. However, the design images indicate the Tecno Spark 9 to feature a square camera module on the back. This module houses a dual-camera setup along with a prop camera, one LED flash, and a fingerprint sensor. It also sports a water-drop style notch on the front for the selfie snapper.
The post Tecno Spark 9 With 11GB RAM, 5,000mAh Battery to Launch in India on July 18 appeared first on Technology News.


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Langton Capital – 2015-09-11 – JD Wetherspoon FY numbers, pub trading & other:
A Day in the Life:
Follow us on Twitter at either @langtoncapital or @brumbymark.
I had a senior moment yesterday when I came to write down the word ‘frayed’ as in ‘frayed nerves’ or ‘the cloth was frayed’ etc.
A simple enough word you may suggest but I really couldn’t remember how it was spelled. Was it fraid or fraide or frade or freyed or frayed? Well of course it was the latter but it brought home to me the fact that 1) writing at stupid o’clock in the morning is a challenge in the best of circumstances and 2) English is a very weird language. On to the news:
JD Wetherspoon – FY numbers:
FY Results: 52w to 26 July 2015:
JD Wetherspoon has this morning reported full year numbers for the 52w to 26 July 2015 and our comments thereon are set out below:
LfL sales growth for the whole year has come in at 3.3% with total sales including new openings +7.4%
Profit before tax is £77.8m, down from £79.4m last year with EPS held at 47p (2014: 47p)
The full year dividend has also been held (at 12p).
Trading for the first 6wks of the current year are +1.4%
More on Trading:
Chairman Tim Martin reports ‘I am pleased to report a year of progress for the company, with record sales and free cash flow.’
Sales at the bar were +1.2% LfL in the year, food was +7.3% (impacted by breakfasts, further day-slots etc.) and machine income was down by 2.8%
Operating profit was down by 3.8% with operating margins down from 8.3% to 7.4%
Balance Sheet, Debt & Other:
Net interest was covered 3.3x by pre-exceptional operating profits
Some £106.3m was invested in new pubs and extensions to existing pubs during the year
The company opened 30 new pubs during the year and exited from 6
Free cash flow after maintenance capex was £44.8m
During the year the group bought back for cancellation 3.6m of its own shares at a total cost of £26.9m
Year end debt (including bank borrowings and finance leases, but excluding derivatives) was £601.1m versus £556.6m last year
As at the year end, the company had £240.9m of unutilised banking facilities and cash balances
JDW is ahead of the curve and, re the “living wage”, it says that it has increased the minimum hourly rate for staff by 5% in October 2014 and by a further 8% at the end of July 2015.
It says ‘both decisions were taken without the knowledge that the government was about to announce a new minimum wage, now called the “living wage”.’
Re current trading, JDW points once again to the VAT disparity on food between pubs and the off-trade but comments that ‘in the six weeks to 6 September 2015, like-for-like sales increased by 1.4%, with total sales increasing by 5.2%.’
Langton View: JD Wetherspoon had already commented upon a slowing performance throughout FY15. With that in mind, these numbers are in line with expectations but do suggest that the slowdown has continued into the first few weeks of FY16.
Chairman Tim Martin does acknowledge that the economy is slightly better and trading is currently ahead of last year. He says ‘a number of factors likely to influence our trading performance this financial year are difficult to quantify at this early stage. Positive aspects include an increase in pub numbers, a better economy and slightly lower interest rates; less favourable aspects include heightened competition from supermarkets and restaurant groups and increased staff, repairs, bar and food costs.’ Overall, Mr Martin concludes ‘we continue to anticipate a trading performance similar to, or slightly above, that achieved in the last financial year.’
There is no comment on suggested margins for FY16 but, as the previously-announced reduced prices for coffees, drinks and breakfasts feed through, these could remain under pressure.
The Living Wage will increase costs perhaps less for JDW than for some other operators and it will also put more money in the pockets of would-be JDW customers.
Overall, JDW should earn around 48p in the year to July 2016 and perhaps 51p in the following year. This implies that the group’s shares are trading on a current year multiple of around 15x with a 1.7% yield.
This is not cheap, per se, but bulls may focus on the fundamental strengths of the group and what looks should be higher margins next year whilst bears will suggest that the group may fail to deliver.
We would suggest that any material weakness should present a buying opportunity. Indeed the company itself could buy back more shares. The Living Wage should be a net positive and trading is set to improve a little in the coming year. The group is a superlative operator, it has focused on accommodation, drink, food, further day-parts, coffee and a host of other growth areas and we remain supportive of its shares.
Pub, Restaurant & Drinks Producer News:
• Real ale is now being served in 70% of pubs in the UK thanks to growing numbers of micropubs, according to Campaign for Real Ale. CAMRA research shows that British breweries have grown by more than 10% for the third year in a row.
• Pub and bar operator TCG is introducing a Sunday roast offer to six more sites following a 20% uplift in food sales across its five trial sites. TCG chief operating offer Nigel Wright said of the trial: ‘Key to the success has been our focus on quality, freshly-cooked food, backed with intensive training to ensure that we exceed customers’ expectations. The teams in all trial sites have quickly adapted to the new cooking and presentation styles required and are now serving Sunday roasts that look and taste great, while still delivering excellent value to our customers. ‘
• JW Lees’s The Parrswood in East Didsbury reopens today after a £900,000 refurbishment.
• The Deltic Group has acquired Play in Hereford and intends to continue operating the club in its current format. Commenting on the acquisition, Deltic Group’s chief financial officer Russell Margerrison said: ‘Tactical acquisitions have always been a key part of our strategy and Play fits well with our existing portfolio. Hereford is a thriving county town and we’re looking forward to working with the team to further develop the business.’
• Home Retail CEO John Walden is ‘optimistic’ this year’s Black Friday will be less disruptive than last year.
• ASK Italian, Carluccio’s and Zizzi are the latest restaurant chains to integrate mobile pay-at-table technology across restaurants. The brands will have signed up to Mastercard’s Qkr! With Masterpass app – which allows users to share and pay restaurant bills – by the end of 2015. GBK and Prezzo signed up to Paypal’s mobile app last year, while in June Bookatable.com became the first online booking service to introduce the pay-at-table function.
• Google has stepped into the competitive mobile payments space by making its Android Pay available at more than a million US locations. The tech giant will look to take on Apple Pay in the mobile payment arena, which continues grow rapidly as consumer cash use declines. The market is estimated to be worth $1tn, or £650bn, in 2017.
• Global food prices fell by 5.2% in August, the steepest drop in seven years, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). All major commodities fell and the price of wholesale milk has now tumbled 20% in the past year. The European Commission is to provide €500m of funds to help the continent’s farmers.
• Casual Dining Group has announced it is to remove all administration fees for customer tips made by credit card or cash. The group, which recently acquired Las Iguanas and La Tasca for a c£105m, said the changes would come into force by the end of November
• Krispy Kreme shares fall on warning of slow sales of packaged-food products. Revenues $127m v estimates of $132m. EPS was 15c v 19c estimate. Co said it expected its packaged-goods business to remain “softer than planned” for the rest of the year. The shares fell 12% yesterday, the largest drop since June 2014.
• McDonald’s Japan sales rose on a LfL basis in Aug for the first time since early 2014. Sales +2.8% LfL.
Holidays & Leisure Travel:
• Travel spend grew 7% and transactions were up 28% in August as consumers booked more trips to escape the British washout. Travel spend grew 8.1% over the summer, compared to 3.2% for the same period last year, according to the latest data from Barclaycard. A host of UK domestic companies have noted a tough August.
• London Gatwick had the busiest month in its history in August, with more than 4.53 million passengers travelling through the airport. The 3.7% year on year increase means the airport has now had 30 months of consecutive growth. Travel to the North Atlantic was a key driver in this history-making month, seeing growth of 9.5 per cent on passengers flying to the US and Canada
• Average load factor at Stansted hit a record high of 93.5% in August as more than 2.2 million people used the airport. This represented a rise of 9.7% over the same month last year, making it the busiest August since 2008 and the fourth month in a row in which the airport has seen more the 2 million passengers.
• Heathrow’s CEO has warned the government that delaying its decision on airport expansion is costing the UK £1bn a month. Heathrow also recorded its busiest ever month in August, with passenger numbers up 4% to around 7.3 million people. A recent poll commissioned by Heathrow found that 50% of residents from 12 constituencies close to the airport are in support of expansion.
• Uber has suffered another setback after it emerged that a government body has already ruled its drivers are employees, not independent contractors. The distinction is important because employees are entitled to more benefits.
• International football tourists has netted £684m for the British tourism industry, growing 15% since 2010. A report by VisitBritain found that Old Trafford and The Emirates were the most visited stadia with 109k visits. Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium was in second place, while visits to London’s Wembley have almost doubled since 2010
Finance & Markets:
• Bank of England holds rates at 0.5%, QE at £375bn. Vote was 8-1 on rates, unanimous on QE. The Bank reiterated that it sets monetary policy in order to meet the 2% inflation target that it has been set ‘in a way that helps to sustain growth and employment.’
• Bank reports re holding rate that ‘12mth CPI inflation rose slightly to 0.1% in July but remains well below the 2% target rate.’ It says ‘around three quarters of the gap between inflation and the target reflects unusually low contributions from energy, food, and other imported goods prices. The remaining quarter reflects the past weakness of domestic cost growth, and unit labour costs in particular.’ Pay will be given a boost via the NLW but the Bank says ‘although pay growth has recovered somewhat since the turn of the year, the recent increase in productivity means that the annual rate of growth in unit wage costs is currently around 1% – lower than would be consistent with meeting the inflation target in the medium term, were it to persist.’
• Bank points to strong Sterling as a further reason for holding rates at 0.5%, says it is dampening inflation rate.
• Bank cautious on UK growth, says it ‘noted in the August Report that the risks to the growth outlook were skewed moderately to the downside’. It adds ‘in part [this reflects] risks to activity in the euro area and China.’ It says recent developments ‘have increased the risks to prospects in China, as well as to other emerging economies.’
• ECB will extend bond-buying programme beyond Sep 16 as it attempts to drive up inflation + rekindle growth suggests Reuters poll
• RICS has suggested UK house price inflation could hit 6% this year. At the start of the year, it expected a 3% rise.
• Halifax reports UK house prices up 2.7% in Aug alone. Prices had fallen by a revised 0.4% in July, however
• World markets: UK lower yesterday, Europe also down. US up in later trading but Far East mostly lower in Fri trade
• Oil price up a bit at $48.75. Still firmly below $50 – at least for the moment.
Retail Roundup from Nick Bubb:
BDO High Street Sales Tracker: the weekly High Street sales index organised by BDO remains a good guide to Fashion trading momentum and sales have been poor in recent weeks (which BDO blame on consumers spending on holidays abroad), but last week burst back into life, on the back of the autumnal weather, Bank Holiday and “back to skool” trade. Overall Fashion store LFL sales in w/e Sept 6th were up by 9.3% (the best performance since early January) and total BDO LFL Store sales (including Homewares and “Lifestyle” retailers) were up by 9.1% last week, with total Non-Store sales (including some Online-only retailers) picking up strongly, with LFL sales up by 32.6%.
News Flow Next Week: After the news overflow that was “Super Thursday” yesterday, next week is, mercifully, much quieter, but there is still quite a lot going on. Tuesday brings the Kingfisher interims, the Ocado Q3 and a Pets At Home Investor and Analyst Day. Wednesday brings the JD Sports interims and the BRC Annual Dinner and then on Thursday we get the French Connection interims and the ONS Retail Sales figures for August.
Director Buying Watch: It was good to see that Trevor Strain, the FD of the embattled Morrisons, took advantage of the weakness in the share price yesterday after the interim results to buy 58,453 ordinary shares at 169.8p. His total shareholding following this purchase is 97,794 shares.
World Retail Congress Watch: We flagged yesterday that the prestigious World Retail Awards were held last night in Rome and, inter alia, “Store Design of the Year” went to Fitch Design for Hamley’s Moscow store. Marks & Spencer won “Retail Advertising Campaign of the Year” for its “For Every Milestone” campaign. The “Young Retail Entrepreneur of the Year” award went to Nitin Passi, the founder and CEO of the Online fashion retailer Missguided and mighty Primark was the winner of the “World Retail Award for Retail Transformation and Reinvention”, whilst Primark CEO Paul Marchant picked up the “Outstanding Leadership” award.
Nick Bubb – firstname.lastname@example.org
This was produced for distribution yesterday afternoon: So the trading day is grinding to a close. We’re another day older but are we any wiser? After a day of intensive head-scratching, pen flipping and gossip, we have been considering the following:
Current pub & restaurant trading, August etc.
• The CGA Peach Tracker doesn’t encompass the whole industry but, as it covers perhaps a third of operators & it would be impossible to encompass all of the independents in any case, it’s a very useful steer. We would suggest that the take-away points are:
o Overall Growth: Growth slowed in August (to LfL 0.6%). This is, as mentioned, down on July but it is still ahead of the CPI which last seen was only 0.1%.
o New Build: Total sales were up by 4.3% (against 0.6% LfL) suggesting that around 4% of new capacity has been put on. This is impacting rental values (esp. in London), plot values and the like. Capacity cannot go on rising (in excess of population growth) indefinitely.
o More on New Build: The Tracker quotes Paul Newman, head of leisure and hospitality at Baker Tilly, as saying ‘we are seeing a number of well-funded, emerging young brands posting market-beating sales and we expect the larger operators to find it increasingly hard to maintain historic rates of LFL growth in the face of such stiff competition.’ This theme was explored by Langton in recent presentations, available on request.
o London v Provinces: London LfLs were +1.0%, somewhat better than the regions at 0.5% (and the whole country at +0.6%). London pubs performed more strongly (at the LfL level) than did London restaurants.
o Pubs v Restaurants: Pubs performed more strongly than restaurants. Drink led pubs were up 2.8% in LfL terms. This is partly because beer gardens got more use in what was an average August (2015) v a poor August 2014.
o Holidays overseas: The Tracker echoes comments from WTB and GOAL this week to the effect that many would-be customers appeared to have taken their holidays overseas. Interestingly Homebase this morning refers to ‘weaker overall market conditions in August’.
Random information, hopefully not all of it useless (re most leisure operators etc.):
• Commodity prices: Terry’s Chocolate Orange-lovers beware, orange juice & cocoa the only soft commodities showing any signs of life. Grains dirt cheap, meat prices down, coffee for free.
• Sterling up a little yesterday. Various bets still being placed on who amongst the developed nations will be the first to put rates up. Betting is still on the US, perhaps by only one eighth of a percentage point but maybe as early as later this month.
• Morrison’s recovery ‘will take time’. Should be no surprises there though the group’s shares are currently down a short 4% presumably on investor disappointment.
• Morrison’s C-Stores: Exiting at half entry cost isn’t something to be proud of but a mistake is a mistake and, if you get married in Vegas, it might be better to get divorced quickly rather than limp along for a couple of decades. It’s probably better not to take that analogy an awful lot further.
• Overseas holiday companies. Surely TCG and TUI shares should be rising a little. Both companies will update on Q4 trading later this month and, if GOAL, WTB, the Peach Tracker, Homebase, the BRC and others are to be believed, late demand out of the UK for overseas holidays has been very strong.
• Restaurant Group: Great stock, etc., but it’s not cheap & the companies above have suggested that August was not good & that shopping centres performed poorly.


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Startup Grind Lagos will be hosting Venture Capitalist and Founder of Ingressive – Maya Horgan Farmodu this month of September. This is in line with their theme “Funding your Grind – Valuating and seeking investment”.
“Apart from knowing the various ways to seek the needed investment, entrepreneurs must learn the various valuation techniques so as not to sell themselves short,” says Uwem Uwemakpan, Chapter Director for Startup Grind Lagos.
It would feature an interactive session where each entrepreneur will be given the opportunity to talk about his/her business for 10 minutes. This entrepreneur will be chosen via parameters to be posted on their social pages, @startupgrindlag.
According to Blessing Abeng, the Chapter’s Co-director, “The goal of Startup Grind Lagos is to build a network of vibrant and informed entrepreneurs that will help fuel innovation and economic growth.”
This year, many top entrepreneurs and personalities have been hosted like Audu Maikori, Nimi Akinkugbe, Chris Kwekowe, Bassey Eyo, Muyiwa Oludayo, Muyiwa Matuluko, Oluyomi Ojo, Edidiong Uwemakpan, Pheelz Mr producer (Philip Kayode Moses) to mention a few.
This event is proudly supported by Connectnigeria.com, Cranium One, Lagos Startup Map, Chudy of Whaletown Media, NMD Studios, The Afropreneur and Einsteinette Limited. Tickets cost N1000 when purchased online and N1500 at the event venue.
VENUE: Cranium One
ADDRESS: 1, Towry Close, Off Idejo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
DATE: Saturday, 30th September 2017.
TIME: 3 —5 pm
For more information, contact on twitter: @startupgrindlag or visit the website: StartupGrind.com


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Semiconductor stocks are one of Barclays’ inflation hedge offerings.
Sefa Ozel | E + | Getty Images
LONDON – Canadian chip maker Alphawave is listed on the London Stock Exchange, avoiding the technology-centric Nasdaq stock market in New York.
The four-year-old company, which makes chip technology that can accelerate the flow of data through networks, announced Thursday that it plans to raise around $ 500 million in an initial public offering on the main London Stock Exchange.
Alphawave was founded by Tony Pialis, Jonathan Rogers and Raj Mahadevan in Toronto and plans to set up a research laboratory in Cambridge, where the chip designer Arm is also based.
BlackRock has pledged to buy shares valued at $ 390 million with an equity value of up to $ 4.5 billion, while asset manager Janus Henderson has agreed to buy shares valued at £ 85 million, or $ 120 million .
It’s a rare example of a North American tech company crossing the Atlantic to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and a potential rebound for the UK stock market, which is in the spotlight after grocery delivery company Deliveroo hit a disastrous listing late last month would have.
“We made the decision to come to the UK because of the incredible technology and ecosystem of the semiconductor industry,” CEO Pialis said in a statement.
“The strong research base in the UK – and our new R&D headquarters in Cambridge – provide an excellent foundation for the next level of our global growth. There is a deep pool of knowledge, experience and talent.”
A number of big names in the chip industry – including Arm, CSR and Microelectronics – were previously listed on the London Stock Exchange, but many of them have been sold to overseas firms in recent years.
Alphawave’s IPO could pave the way for local AI chip company Graphcore, which is slated to go public later in the year.
Unlike many technology companies today, Alphawave claims it has been profitable since its first year of operation. It is said that total bookings are nearly $ 200 million. Some of the largest tech companies in the world have signed up as customers, including Samsung and TSMC. The company believes its overall addressable market opportunity for its current products could increase to $ 1.5 billion in 2025.
Alphawave has hired Barclays and JPMorgan to coordinate the listing, while BMO Capital Markets will assist them as bookmakers.
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Obscure Japanese PS1 game Aconcagua soon available in English
In 2000, Sony released a game called Aconcagua for the PlayStation 1. An adventure game set in the aftermath of a plane crash in the Andes, it has spent the past 22 years only available in Japanese. So far!
Hill-who we covered last year for his work on racing lagoon– will release an English patch on July 11 that will finally make the game playable for, well, anyone who can read this post.
I’ll be honest, I had never heard of this game until today, and a quick search reveals that it’s not exactly considered a classic (a 29/40 of Famitsu is never great, even back then), but as racing lagoon, that’s not really the point here. The thing is, this game is interestingand hardly any of us have ever had the chance to play it, so it will be cool to have to check it.
Aconcagua puts you in the role of a number of characters (you can swap between them), after only five people (including a journalist and a political leader) survive a plane crash in South America caused by a terrorist attack. It has a third-person perspective and has you wandering atop a snowy mountain solving puzzles and helping other survivors get down to the bottom without being murdered by said terrorists.
Here are some images of the original Japanese version: note that it already contains a lot of English, but only for cutscenes and voice acting; the text you needed to play the game was entirely in Japanese:
Here’s the trailer for the English patch, showing that the subtitles have now been translated:
You will be able to get the patch when it is released here.


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Chevrolet will launch a new fuel-efficient small car in 2009. The as-yet-unnamed model will be about the size of the Cobalt and built off the next-generation Delta front-drive platform, which is being unimaginatively called “global compact vehicle architecture.” Power will come from a turbocharged 1.4-liter, direct-injection four-cylinder engine. It’s expected to come in at about 150 horsepower, with highway fuel economy likely to be more than 40 mpg. The current Cobalt will be sold alongside the new car for at least a few years.
Get the Best Deal on a Chevrolet Cruze
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(Fairfield, Calif. – December 30th, 2013) – Just in time for the New Year, Harbinger is donating over 7,000 pairs of weightlifting gloves to active US troops around the world through a partnership with Operation Care Package. The retail value of the company’s sizable donation exceeds $200,000.
A favorite among military service members, Harbinger weightlifting gloves are sold on base, in many exchange stores around the world. The company’s popular FlexFit and Pro gloves are two of the glove styles being donated to troops. “We’re very proud to support our troops in their efforts to stay fit while serving our country,” says Chanin Cook, Harbinger’s Director of Marketing, “We know the holidays are particularly hard to spend away from home, and hope Harbinger gloves bring smiles to the fitness enthusiasts amongst our soldiers in the new year.”
Operation Care Package is a volunteer 501(c)(3) public charity, dedicated to the mission “that no Hero serving our Nation should be forgotten”. Every month, they send care packages all over the world to America’s Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen. With the help of individuals and businesses across the United States, Operation Care Package has been able to support thousands of military personnel around the world. For more information, visit http://www.operationcarepackages.org/
Founded in 1988, Harbinger produces innovative, high-performance fitness gear including gloves, belts, straps, wraps, jump ropes, resistance cables, balance trainers and mats. Harbinger products, including Harbinger fitness, Action Wipes and the new HumanX line, can be found in gyms, health clubs, sporting goods and specialty fitness retailers worldwide. For more information, visit www.harbingerfitness.com.


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Dip sparks Pizza Express shares slide
DEPRESSED sales of Pizza Express's familiar range of American Hots, Sloppy Giuseppes and Venezianas have continued to slide over the summer, the restaurants chain has admitted.
News that like-for-like sales in the core Pizza Express chain fell 4.4% in the first 12 weeks of the financial year sent the shares tumbling 34p, or more than 12%, to a six-year low of 247p.
The shares have lost nearly three-quarters of their value this year. Finance director Paul Campbell said the 37-year-old chain is still being hit by intense competition and aggressive discounting from rivals in London such as Caffe Uno and Ask. Sales are weakest at the 130 restaurants within the M25 and are slightly up in the provinces.
Campbell added that the worst performers were restaurants that were close to major London tourist attractions. He said that a £13m refurbishment programme over the next two years should restore sales growth at the older, more tired outlets.
The company's other restaurants brand, Cafe Pasta, did much better, increasing like-for-like sales by 8.5%. Retail sales of pizzas to supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Waitrose also did well.
Campbell said other sales-boosting initiatives under way included a major revamp of its familiar menu. The revamp will be launched in the coming months.
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Trinidad-based company Davis Ecolife is offering a range of renewable energy solutions for homes and small businesses, including their Eco Pod unit:
With utility rates set to increase in Trinidad and Tobago, one company is providing a viable option for homeowners through the use of renewable energy.
Local company Davis Ecolife Limited put their Eco Pod on display at Grand Bazaar to show the viability of solar-powered energy for the home.
The Eco Pod, which features energy-efficient solar powered and LED lighting systems, is the first product of its kind on sale in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Eco Pod features a 10-kilowatt all-in-one solar system which the company says provides more than enough energy to power the modern home or small business, including air conditioning units and entertainment systems.
The more efficient gel type battery recharges in the daytime for use at night time, the company said.
For existing homeowners and businesses looking to switch over to renewable energy, Davis Ecolife also provides a range of other renewable energy solutions.
The company also provides energy-saving products such as LED lighting, along with solar panel solutions, wind turbine solutions and, hybrid systems (wind and solar) street lighting, solar garden lamps and solar park lighting.
Although other Caribbean countries such as Barbados, Dominica and Jamaica have begun using renewable energy, Trinidad and Tobago has been slow to convert to renewable energy sources.
As such, the company said it is looking to branch out into other Caribbean countries.
[Image: Davis Ecolife via LoopTT]


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Pfizer will sell nearly 500 vaccines and drugs at cost price to the poorest countries
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced on Tuesday (January 17th) that it will sell nearly 500 of its vaccines and medicines at cost to poorer countries, expanding on a previous commitment to reduce global health inequalities.
|Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines.|
In May 2022, the group had indicated, as part of an initiative announced at the Davos Economic Forum, that it would supply 23 of its vaccines and patented medicines available in the United States and the European Union to 45 poor countries. – the equivalent of 1.2 billion people.
“Pfizer will now expand its offering under the agreement to include off-patent products, bringing the total of products offered from 23 to approximately 500.“, the company said in a statement.
These are all products for which Pfizer has worldwide rights, she said.
Selling at cost means that only manufacturing costs and transport expenses will be charged in the countries concerned.
Among the medicines and vaccines concerned, there are products “curing or preventing many of the greatest infectious and non-communicable disease threats facing low-income countries today“, such as antibiotics or chemotherapy, the company added.
“We believe that this expansion of our product offering, combined with continued efforts to help address the barriers that limit or prevent access, will help us realize and even accelerate our vision of a world in which everyone world has access to the medicines and vaccines needed for a longer and healthier life“, said the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, quoted in the press release.
As Pfizer launches other drugs and vaccines, they will also be included in the agreement.


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BGF-backed businesses feature in Tech Track 100
Three BGF-backed businesses have featured in this year’s Sunday Times Tech Track 100, a recognition and celebration of the UK’s fasted growing private tech companies. BGF is proud to sponsor the initiative for the third year.
UKCloud, formerly known as Skyscape Cloud Services, which provides cloud infrastructure services to the UK public sector, takes the top spot this year, after being named as one of Tech Track’s ‘Ones To Watch’ in 2015’s rankings.
Since BGF’s initial investment of £4m two years ago, UKCloud has experienced rapid growth, increasing revenues from £3.7m in 2014 to £32m in 2016. Read UKCloud’s CEO Simon Handsford and founder and Chairman Jeff Thomas on how they’ve built the business in our Two’s Company series.
Also featuring in this year’s Tech Track rankings are BGF-backed Bullitt, a designer and manufacturer of branded electronics (43), and M Squared Lasers (95), which builds lasers and phototonic optical instruments.
BGF Ventures’ partner Simon Calver, former CEO of Lovefilm and Tech Track ‘alumnus’, shares his thoughts on the significant impact that a Tech Track placing can have on a growing tech business here.
BGF is proud to be sponsoring Tech Track 100 for the third year running. Huge congratulations to all of the companies that featured in this year’s list; what a great achievement!
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Renaissance has endured a tough past 12 months, and recent financial reports suggest circumstances haven't improved.
Even after the non-continuing distribution business was stripped out of the financials, the Auckland-based retailer and educator's revenue still shrunk 13%.
Fearing worse was the company's bottom-line, plummeting from a $1.96m profit in the past six months ending 31 March 2012 to a staggering $3.125m in 2013.
Revealed today in an interim reported issued to the New Zealand Stock Exchange, Renaissance blamed retail as the main factor in falling revenue.
"Retail has been the main reason for the poor performance in the first half of 2013," the report read.
In the half year to March 31 retail made an operating EBIT loss, before impairment of goodwill, of $511,000, comparing with a profit of $164,000 in the same period last year.
"There have been issues, a combination of management and overall Apple supply and demand," Renaissance says.
"Before Christmas we were severely constrained for Apple stock. This was a worldwide phenomenon for Apple.
"After Christmas we have not had the benefit of new models to boost sales.
"Nonetheless we have lifted unit sales in all categories except iPhone."
Chairman's Interim Report
Speaking on behalf of the board of directors, chairman Colin Giffney was quick to express his disappointment at the results, stating:
"The result for this period is bitterly disappointing after everything we have been through.
"At the AGM at the end of March we expected to be able to put a proposal to shareholders in the near future.
"To date this has not been possible. We continue to work on different proposals and we will revert to shareholders as soon as we can."
The report says Apple revenue for the period was down 26%, with the company achieving lower per unit sale prices in all Apple product lines and unit sale prices of the iPad, since the advent of the ‘mini’ are down 28%.
When Apple announced their results for the quarter to March 31 Renaissance says it noted that revenue in “the rest of Asia” was down 20% on the immediately preceding quarter.
Apple does not share their results for New Zealand so a direct comparison is not possible claims Giffney, but when Apple sales are down, sales of third party products follow.
The company's average gross margin on Apple product declined from 11% in the first half of 2012 to 8% in the first half of 2013. Apple dropped its margins on mini iPads when they were introduced, contributing to the gross margin decline.
On top of that, many competitors use Apple product as a loss leader to attract customers to their store with Giffney insisting it has been a "tough environment."
"Over the period we have consistently missed budgeted revenues," he says. "We re-forecasted after December and we have missed those numbers.
"Retail has our full attention and we are working through solutions.
"The simplest analysis is that the overheads management needs to run the retail business are too high by comparison with our Apple-only international peers.
"Our retail division is work in progress and we are working systematically through options.
"We decided that we should write off the goodwill attributable to the retail division because the forecasts that had sustained that value at the full year have clearly not been met."
To read the full report click here
What do you make of Renaissance's financial report? Tell us your thoughts below


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With more than 300 implementations at leading global enterprises across industries—including life sciences, telco, financial services, media, consumer packaged goods, retail and technology—Anaplan and Deloitte are accelerating delivery of new predictive solutions to help customers develop more agile forecasts that drive nimbler business operations.
“As a globally strategic alliance to Deloitte, we are thrilled with the customer impact and momentum Anaplan is gaining in the marketplace. Our joint efforts with Anaplan are delivering nimble, continuous forecasts and insight-driven outcomes that give customers the competitive edge necessary in today’s increasingly dynamic environment,” said Dave Couture, Managing Principal, Technology Strategy and Partnerships, Deloitte.
Anaplan and Deloitte’s intelligence-driven solutions are designed to help customers balance disruption and recovery; predict and protect revenue; optimize workforce and sales plans; and reduce risk. Powered by the Anaplan platform, these solutions bring added intelligence and automation to the planning process to help operational leaders efficiently and strategically align plans with financial priorities. Now available to joint customers on the Anaplan platform, these Deloitte solutions include:
- Deloitte PrecisionView — leverages data aggregation technologies with predictive analytics and AI/ML capabilities to model forward-looking scenarios, drivers, and forecasts systematically and accurately.
- Deloitte DigitalMix — a set of end-to-end integrations designed to pass data between best-in-class cloud-based sales planning, pay and execution platforms to help transform the ways organizations plan and execute their sales strategy
- Deloitte Trend | EX — leverages global economic data, predictive leading indicators, and AI/ML capabilities to track and analyze economic, consumer and COVID-19 trends; run scenarios and forecasts; and analyze impact on business performance.
- Deloitte StrategyAccelerator — leverages direct data feed integration to support client and Deloitte teams through strategic initiative definition, detailed planning, financial modeling, day-to-day execution, and performance tracking.
- Deloitte Enterprise Business Planning (EBP) — incorporates NextGen supply chain planning capabilities to enable companies to simultaneously plan, monitor and react resulting in faster and more effective decision making.
“We are proud of the tremendous growth of our global strategic alliance with Deloitte,” said Frank Calderoni, Chairman and CEO, Anaplan. “As business leaders work to navigate continued volatility and disruption, we believe our momentum underscores the value and innovation we deliver to our joint customers to help them optimize performance and turn change into advantage.”
As Anaplan’s 2020 Global Partner of the Year and an Anaplan customer, Deloitte internally leverages the connected planning platform for continuous forecasting and agile scenario modeling across several of its leading member firms, with use cases across financial planning and analysis, sales capacity planning and sales performance management as well as workforce planning.
To learn more about the value Anaplan and Deloitte are delivering to business leaders, join Deloitte for a keynote session with joint customers at Anaplan’s Digital Connected Planning Xperience on September 15