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A national toy chain which denied all knowledge of planning a store in Blackpool has revealed it will be opening at a former popular football centre after all.
And the move which will see a 23,000 sq ft Smyths Toys Superstore up and running in April will create 35 jobs.
The company denied in December that it was planning to move into the former DW Soccer Centre on Vicarage Lane despite having lodged plans with the council.
Parents and football coaches were left fuming when they were told at short notice that the centre was to close in the New Year.
Blackpool Council granted a request from Smyths for planning permission to turn the football centre into a ‘bulky goods retail shop’ in December.
A planning and retail statement submitted on behalf of the firm, which mistakenly described the unit as ‘vacant’, said: “Smyths Toys are expanding their operation across the UK and have a longstanding requirement for a store in Blackpool.”
But when The Gazette first contacted the company about the move, it denied all knowledge of the plan even though it was recruiting for aDuty Manager in Blackpool on its website. A spokesman said on December 22: “We regret we have no prior knowledge for a store opening in Blackpool.”
Today, however, Rob Guckian, from Smyths, which has 85 stores nationally, said: “Smyths Toys Superstores are pleased to announce a new store opening in Blackpool.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us and we cannot wait to welcome new customers to the store.
“We are looking for enthusiastic staff who are passionate about toys.”


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SARASOTA, FL (BRAIN) — Shaun Jackson, a former bike industry designer who co-founded the Eclipse company in the 1970s, died Tuesday after being injured in a small plane crash here on Saturday.
The private plane's pilot was killed immediately after the plane crashed onto the New College of Florida campus soon after takeoff. Jackson, 63, suffered severe burns and died Tuesday according to AnnArbor.com. Jackson was a professor in the School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Jackson co-founded Eclipse with Leslie Bohm. Eclipse made bike touring accessories including panniers and also had a line of motorcycle soft luggage. After leaving Eclipse, Jackson started his own design firm, Shaun Jackson Design.
According to his university biography, Jackson holds “more than 50 patents and has received national and international honors, including the prestigious IDEA award from Business Week.”
His firm Shaun Jackson Design Inc. “serves clients such as Apple Computer, Dell, Toshiba, General Electric Medical Systems, Herman Miller, Nike, L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, Harley Davidson, and Patagonia,” the biography said.
Jackson was in the bike industry when a handful of U.S. brands — including Blackburn, Rhode Gear, Specialized, Cannondale, Hind and Eclipse — were bringing a new level of design and marketing to the industry, remembers former Eclipse employee Mark Graff. "We had spirited but friendly competition," said Graff, now with Smartetailing.
Specialized founder and president Mike Sinyard recalled Jackson as being at the center of that community.
"He was really a great designer and he always had such a great way about him," Sinyard told BRAIN on Wednesday. "I remember when I was starting off in the business and he was always very kind to me and would give me different advice about how to do things and how to design things. He was always such a thoughtful guy with a big view of the world and always would have time for people."

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E-commerce, retailers, top cyberattack targets
New cybersecurity trends have emerged over the past year as criminals continue to broaden their scope of attacks. A new report by Trustwave has found that for the first time, the retail industry made up 45 percent of data breach investigations in 2012.
The report's findings signify a shift in cybercriminals' focus from mostly financial institutions to a more diversified target portfolio.
Perhaps not surprising, e-commerce sites were found to be the number one targeted asset accounting for 48 percent of all data breaches investigated, a 15 percent increase from the previous year. One reason for the growth in attacks is the value being placed on the aggregate of potentially vulnerable consumer and personal information by thieves.
Enterprise seem to agree. In a Deloitte Tech Trends Poll of 1,749 business professionals, 49 percent of respondents reported that consumer and personal information is at significant risk. Businesses are also continuing to invest heavily in increased cybersecurity, as more than one in four of respondents surveyed report their organizations were the victims of at least one cyberattack in the past year. At the same time, computer security experts continue working hard to stay a step ahead with the development of increasingly sophisticated encryption technologies.
“Nearly every industry, country and type of data was involved in a breach of some kind with cybersecurity threats,” said Trustwave's Abby Ross, adding that the report findings "indicate that cyberattacks are increasing as quickly as businesses can implement measures against them.”
It remains true that no technology is beyond hacking, although networks and applications running up to date security tools remain one of the best ways to stay protected from malware. Visit Thawte today to get equipped with an SSL certificate.


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India is pushing ahead with a move to create a digital cashless economy, with the government planning to allow the circulation of a digital version of the Indian rupee in 2020.
Sources in the government said a new electronic currency could be launched as soon as the end of the financial year, and that it would be pegged to the rupee, but not pegged to gold or gold-backed notes.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has previously said it was willing to let the country use its own digital currency, and its Deputy Governor Anurag Saxena said on Wednesday that he expects it will be a digital-only currency.
However, some economists are sceptical about the rupees potential to be accepted as a medium of exchange, as they tend to be volatile and prone to volatility in terms of exchange rate.
According to one report, the Indian central bank could also consider issuing gold-based currencies as well.
This comes as China, a major currency exporter, is pushing for a digital digital currency as part of its plans to compete with the US and other major economies for the global currency market.
According, in December the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) launched the first “digital currency” to be issued in the world, which was the People�s Bank of Taiwan (PBOT) bitcoin.
The PBOC also launched its first digital-backed banknote in 2018, and the first banknotes to be printed with gold in 2020 were also issued.
The RBI’s digital currency proposal has been criticised as a move that will put pressure on India’s banks and financial institutions to introduce more digital payment technologies in order to comply with regulations in the country.
India has been one of the few nations where the government has not issued a currency for more than five years.


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Event Debrief / World Retail Congress
The annual World Retail Congress is the biggest event on the retail conference circuit, bringing together leading global brands to exchange information on the latest trends impacting the sector. Sean Pillot de Chenecey, founder of consumer insights, innovation research and brand development consultancy Captain Crikey, shares his take on the top talks from this year’s event
A key issue at the World Retail Congress’ latest event, held in Dubai once again, was that the competitive situation is getting fiercer, whether it be on or offline. And whilst ‘customer experience’ has been a staple part of virtually every trend report since time began, this year it was highlighted as being probably the No1 point for retail brand differentiation. (JWT Intelligence highlighted this issue in its 2017 trend report, saying that consumers expect more out of bricks-and-mortar retail – whether it’s an experience, or a space worth visiting even when they’re not in the market for a specific product).
Other key trends highlighted by the organisers included next generation ecommerce, new wave technology and the vital need to gain a clear understanding of how to motivate ‘individualistic but connected’ modern consumers.
And ‘connecting with real people’ was a key element in a great speech given by Muji chairman Masaaki Kanai, who explained how their combination of simple, functional designs and social responsibility have translated into massive business success. His talk was a world away from those obsessively discussing the latest AI or VR offerings launched at CES 2017, as he explained ‘we are trying to spread our concept of a more simple, delicate and caring way of life around the world. As there is a better understanding of this concept, our business is growing – indeed more and more young people are moving towards us.’ Muji also values projects that promote sustainability and well-being. ‘Products are the main part of our business but we are also involved in recreational camps, constructing green houses, building green hotels, renovating old apartment blocks and interacting in all aspects of public life.’ He also told the audience they should reconnect with the planet more, by taking care to… look at the moon. His talk was absolutely captivating. The moon – bring it on.
Meanwhile, generational targeting – and a continued obsession with understanding millennial consumers – was a theme that continued over from previous WRC events, with warnings that retailers are competing with millennials’ love of experience and also their rejection of ownership over sharing, swapping and buying pre-owned products. Robin Lewis (author of The New Rules of Retail) posed the question ‘why would a millennial come to a building when they could buy your product while they’re climbing a rock?’ In his speech, he outlined a mindset shift from ownership to access had happened among younger consumers; and that priorities had changed from value to values, focusing not on what they own but what they do. He also said trust-based relationships, personalisation and cultural symbols had become important, while retailers needed to move from bigger to smaller. He added: ‘It's a high tech, high touch world and millennials want everything now.’
Elsewhere, Martijn Bertisen, director of retail tech for Google, gave a fascinating talk on Google Assistant ‘the layer that sits on top of all the Google products’ that allows you to have a conversation with Google and the products that they have: ‘a two-way dialogue… the sort of dialogue that you have with your friends.’ He demonstrated this by asking Google to give advice on the weather… the nearest shopping mall… illustrating a service intended to allow a far more natural interface with technology to ask questions about/gain information on the world around you that wasn’t available before. So you can ask it about travel reservations that you’ve made… traffic reports based on its knowledge of where you live… and request updates on your favourite team. Or simply ask it for reminders – hence Google Assistant nudging him to connect with his mother on her birthday – which he then did live on stage in front of 2000 people.
Re: other takeouts from his talk, he said ‘if technological change comes in decades – and we’ve just come out of the smartphone decade – you’d better get on the case. Show up when consumers want you, use the data and create the experiences that connect the physical and digital world. And be fast!’ He ended with a warning that ‘over the next decade everything around us will be transformed by machine learning. So think about how your brands can make it easier for consumers to navigate the complex world of information overflow. Think about creating immersive experiences, not just digitally, but in your store or in the consumers living room. And think about how you apply machine learning on top of data to make faster and better decisions for your business.’
I chaired an innovation session with BMW and Bacardi, and having spoken on brand experience at the last WRC (and it was interesting to note that, in one of the last speeches of the event, Mindy Grossman of HSN stated that she thought ‘customer experience’ was an overused phrase, and that the real trend in this area is ‘living a connected life of meaning through inspired product, innovation and technology’). This year I concentrated on another key issue; stagnating mass markets being replaced by fragmented niches of growth, where the much-hyped and long-heralded world of ‘Hyper Personalisation’ is proving key. This ranges from a mass of next-generation products and services for New Families & Households (where ‘what is a family’ and ‘what is a home’ become ever more key issues) to personalised experiential retailing that creates unique journeys for each customer, encouraging them to spend, spread the word and return. Meanwhile, we’re seeing unparalleled-personalised offerings c/o the beauty industry where (referencing Mintel’s ‘2025’ report) ‘30% of US women say they’re interested in trying a facial skincare product with personalised diagnostic tools’. (Hence connected face-masks that suggest your optimal beauty routine, and smart devices that monitor the local weather and pollution levels – and makes product recommendations based on skin monitoring.)
Meanwhile, according to WGSN ‘the media obsession with magic mirrors highlights the equal consumer obsession with being able to digitally view personal desired styles or colours before committing to an appointment’. So connected beauty devices are just one illustration of how technology is transforming beauty on a hyper-personalised level.
High-end personalisation is also thriving due to demands for ‘experiential luxury’, which as reported by Euromonitor illustrates the shift from ‘having to being’ particularly for Gen X consumers. This trend is also changing Millennial consumer expectations, as customers demand that brands fulfil or even predict their needs. Elsewhere ‘personalised learning’ also sees universities innovate with customised curriculums. And this is being driven in a totally glocal market way as well i.e. via Airbnb hosts being encouraged to offer personalised travel advise re: the best ‘secret places’ that their neighbourhood has to offer. (Which is why I once found myself on stage standing in front of a shot of the world’s finest bar, Genuine Liquorette in NYC).
It’s this issue of getting closer… getting personal… that’s improving the bond between consumers and brands. And the absolute key issue here (as ever) is emotion. Just look at some of the incredible personalised packaging options coming out of the small-batch brewing world for an obvious example. And it’s not just alcohol – Mintel report that 44% of Chinese consumers are interested in personalised packaging for carbonated soft drinks. All the above personalised offerings stand out against an issue mentioned earlier – the boring, stagnating and bland mass market that envelopes so much of the planet. The next generation of brands, particularly those aimed at difficult to engage younger consumers or the ageing hipsters of Gen X, are looking to deliver hyper-personalised offerings often via packaging; which many consider to be the key brand connector re: brand engagement or rejection for consumers who want everything to be accessible… but also to be customised and unique.
So getting closer and making a connection via hyper-fragmentation seems a really dynamic space to be in. From packaging that you can draw on to VR experiences built just for you to immersive physical retail offerings, linked of course by hyper-targeted communications, brands that ‘get personal’ do seem to be the future.
But the final word on WRC has to go to Alibaba, where Guru Gowrappan, global MD, pointed out how consumer behaviour is changing in an ecommerce driven environment. The spectacular success of its Singles Day generated $17.8bn in 24hrs in 2016, with 37% of those sales being for international (as in non-Chinese) brands. It even sold 100,000 cars in that 24 hour period. But the killer stat for me was the result of a ‘Superbrand Day’ that it conducted in liaison with Maserati, linked to the launch of its luxury SUV. As Guru Gowrapen said, the results stunned everyone when they sold… 100 Maseratis in 18 seconds. Nice.
The next WRC is being held in Madrid in 2018, by which time Alibaba will have shocked us with another set of amazing stats and a whole new array of issues will have impacted retail.
And that’s just one reason why the World Retail Congress never disappoints. You arrive thinking that you’re on top of all things retail-trend related, and leave with a completely fresh set of viewpoints.
Look at the moon or immerse yourself in next generation phygital retail? Or both? Or more? Your choice.


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SAN FRANCISCO, United States– Threads, Meta’s challenger to depose Twitter as the go-to platform for celebrities, companies and governments, is now available on the web as it seeks to revive its underwhelming launch.
A web version of Threads is seen as key to attracting professionals and media types who are the most active users of social media and post mainly from their computers during working hours.
“Threads.net is now live for everyone. Let us know what you think,” posted Instagram head Adam Mosseri on Thursday, who also leads Threads.
Until now, Threads was accessible only as a mobile app on iPhones and Android phones.
“The Threads team is working hard to bring this experience to parity with mobile, and will be adding more functionality to the web experience in the coming weeks,” a spokesman said.
The rival to Twitter (now called X) was rushed out in early July by Meta, which invited its more than a billion Instagram users to download the app.
This helped Threads become the fastest downloaded app ever, crushing the previous record held by AI sensation ChatGPT.
But the initial excitement did not last, with usage by the early adopters falling steadily ever since and users calling out for a web version of the app and other tweaks.
Many of the celebrities who were given a privileged early access to Threads – such as Jennifer Lopez or American Football star Tom Brady – have posted only rarely.
X, owned by Elon Musk, still dominates as the platform for comment and news, but the chaos endured at the platform since the Tesla owner took over has eroded its success and sent users seeking alternatives.
One measure of usership, by company Similarweb, showed that daily active users on the Android version of Threads dropped to 10.3 million from the peak of 49.3 million.
In the week of the Threads launch early last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg cautioned the app would “take time to stabilize, but once we nail that then we’ll focus on growing the community.”
Threads is not available in Europe because parent company Meta is unsure how to navigate the European Union’s data privacy legislation.


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Malaga airport even before starting the high season, has recorded in April the highest number of passengers
With more than 1,2 million passengers coming to Malaga as their desired holiday destination, due the excellent weather and beaches in part, but also its varied tourist offer.
Regardless of the ash cloud which paralyzed the air traffic in Europe the last year, there have been registered a 16% more movements at Malaga airport, thanks also to the new low cost flights from and to Malaga airport.
Actually, it is much easier to find low cost flights to Malaga and the Costa del Sol. If you were thinking about coming to the south of Spain, there are many online offers for flights to Malaga, and also for cheap car hire in Malaga by Malagacar.com


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The continued saga of the ZX Spectrum Vega+
A timely cautionary tale for backers of new consoles.
In a week where the retro news has been dominated by announcements of new consoles from legacy names, we have had yet another reminder of how badly these things can go wrong for fans with yet more news about the utterly beleaguered ZX Spectrum Vega+ -- its makers, Retro Computers Ltd, have announced today that they intend to start shipping units out to the product's backers on June 15th. However, backers of the product are likely not holding their breath -- this is but the latest in line of a selection of proposed release dates for the product that go all the way back to October of 2016, and the resulting controversy surrounding the product has been a thorn in the side of the ZX Spectrum community ever since.
For those who might not be aware, the Vega+ markets itself as a handheld that plays ZX Spectrum games -- apparently when released, the machine will feature 1,000 of them built in. It comes complete with custom hardware and a case designed by the original Spectrum's designer, the late Rick Dickinson, and was originally pushed at a price point of £100. The system received funding through Indiegogo, achieving £512,790 -- over three times its goal.
However, since then everything has gone wrong. Days after the end of the crowdfunding campaign, two of RCL's directors -- Paul Andrews and Chris Smith, who were the makers of the original Vega plug-and-play console, left citing irreconcilable differences between them and the remaining director, David Levy, and they were replaced by Suzanne Martin and Dr. Janko Mrsic-Flogel -- both long time associates of Levy. The dispute between the former and current directors continues to this very day, both inside of courtrooms and online on social media -- one of many things that have cast a shadow over the product.
The other main thing, of course, is the complete lack of a product to show -- all that anyone has seen of the Vega+'s existence are a few prototypes, with no evidence at all of manufacturing beginning. Occasionally a person props up to say that they've just had a fabulous time playing on a Vega+ and are excited to see it arrive, but they bear no evidence aside from the same few stock images, and further questioning tends to get ugly. In 2017, RetroComputers' financial records were released and showed that the Indiegogo money has been spent, with nothing tangible to show for it, and Companies House have indicated that they are still yet to file their tax return for the 2017/18 fiscal year.
For many of the system's backers, this has been more than enough to ask for refunds from RCL -- and yet, only a percentage of the people who ask for refunds seem to actually get them. There was a substantial group of people who still believed in the product, but every passing update and piece of news on the system seems to deplete their number ever further. Websites such as www.zxvega.co.uk have been set up to chronicle what they see as the continued failings of RCL to release the product, and for many it has become clear that there will likely never be a product. Some believe that there was never any real intention to make a product.
This article only scratches the surface of the story, and many more articles like it are bound to appear -- after a long slowburn, major news sites such as the BBC are picking up on this technological controversy. Indiegogo themselves apparently gave RCL an ultimatum of the end of May to provide a meaningful update on the status of the product, or they would call in debt collectors -- it remains to be seen whether today's statement will be enough to keep the wolves from the door. The directors of RCL remain quite standoffish, denying that such an ultimatum exists and often categorising criticism of their business practices as attacks from trolls. Meanwhile, the system is still missing in action despite apparently being two weeks away from release.
One of the many frustrating things about the Vega+, really, is that it all should have been so simple. Just about any board and chip worth its salt can run games that originally required, at most, 128k of memory. It's a pretty simple thing to create your own Vega+ -- any Chinese handheld gaming device will do the job perfectly. Even the original Nintendo DS that's been sitting idle for a decade would comfortably handle Spectrum emulation with a flashcart and copy of ZXDS...so why go to so much trouble? Why attempt to create custom hardware, or insist on manufacturing in Britain, when any generic handheld made in Shenzhen could have done the job? Why indeed.
There are a thousand more questions to be answered about the ZX Vega+, most of which we will probably never know the answer to. One thing always sticks out in my mind -- at the time of the Vega+'s crowdfunding campaign, YouTube personality Pat Contri (Pat the NES Punk), after spending half an hour with co-host Ian Ferguson on their Completely Unneccessary Podcast dissecting the infamous Coleco Chameleon at the apex of that particular piece of vaporware's controversy, brought up the Vega+ and its endorsement by no less a figure than Sir Clive Sinclair, the inventor of the original ZX Spectrum, as a positive example of how things should be done. Little were Pat and Sir Clive to know...


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(Bloomberg Businessweek) — The havoc besetting global trade is lapping at the feet of Apple Inc. $AAPL The world’s most valuable company looks set to cut production targets for its new flagship smartphone, the iPhone 13, by 10 million units, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
— Read on www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/the-global-chip-crisis-is-a-blip-for-mighty-apple
Papi Chulo’s Take: It’s time to make @Bloomberg some inmate’s girlfriend. #GetFvcked @MichaelBloomberg. #furrealz


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In an era of wrist worn wearables and other emerging wearable technologies, the American Bar Association has published an article examining some of their legal ramifications.
The rise of ambient computing
AI-powered wearables include smart watches, fitness trackers, glasses, headsets, knee braces, ear buds, implanted devices, rings and other patient-centred wearable health devices. For example, Apple Watch has a built-in electrocardiogram monitoring heart rhythms and atrial fibrillation. Smart sweat sensors can detect dehydration and inflammation biomarkers in patients.
Digital health implications
Wearable health devices are useful in empowering users to monitor their own health and to broaden access to medical knowledge. They can be a relevant and helpful input in telemedicine enabling doctors to download information from patients. As the functions in wearables continue to expand, the interplay between wearables and digital health is facing increased regulatory scrutiny.
Some legal issues to consider arising from wearable technology include:
- Liability: Wearable manufacturers failing to detect a health risk could become liable if the user becomes ill or suffers harm. Software programs were previously considered a service or good rather than a product, so benefited from a lower liability than product liability. However, if wearable AI software programs cause injury – such as with autonomous vehicles and robotic surgeries – if there is a product defect it will likely be subject to product liability. Wearable manufacturers could be held liable for insufficient warning labels, punitive damages and class actions.
Apart from wearable manufacturers, a physician receiving data from a patient’s wearable could also be liable under medical malpractice if s/he fails to provide reasonable care to mitigate a pending health problem indicated in the patient’s data. To date there is minimal case law on a physician’s duty to monitor a patient’s wearable data.
- Privacy: wearable AI devices rely on large datasets. In the US, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law mandating national standards on privacy (and security) to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. HIPAA, however, only covers data streamed to the patient’s physician. Data not sent to the physician is not protected by HIPAA and therefore not afforded the same privacy protections.
- Security: Cybercriminals and hackers can target data storage. Wearable devices usually have fewer security protections and updated firewalls compared to a laptop, smartphone or web-based storage site. For example, MyFitness Pal was hacked in 2018, exposing the data of up to 150 million users subsequently sold on the dark web.
- Data accuracy: Data needs to be accurate to be reliable especially in digital health. False positives can lead to unnecessary testing and overtreatment and mislead physicians when making a diagnosis. In 2017, a Stanford study found seven wearable fitness trackers poorly estimated calories burned. FDA approval is not currently required for most wearables. FDA approval is only required for wearables used to diagnose or treat specific, identified diseases.
- Bias: AI-based algorithms used in healthcare, facial recognition systems, criminal sentencing and employment can produce discriminatory results when data collected and used to train algorithms are biased.
Wearable devices as medical devices
The more pertinent issue is arguably the regulatory classification of wearables. FDA approval is not currently required for most wearables. FDA approval is only required for wearables used to diagnose or treat specific, identified diseases. The FDA has cybersecurity guidance for wearables classified as medical devices: a device manufacturer must implement a risk management program.
The ABA paper suggests that the FDA should explore implementing regulatory approvals and monitoring for a wider range of wearables including those that measure wellness or lifestyle factors. But the ABA also suggests a more ‘light handed’ approach where wearable manufacturers would self-certify by answering questions about their product and make them available for consumers and physicians.
The regulatory position could be much stricter in Australia. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is responsible for classifying and regulating medical devices. Earlier this year the TGA consulted on amending classification rules for software-based products. Whilst the TGA does not regulate merely health and lifestyle apps or wellness devices, software products become a medical device when they are intended to perform a medical function such as providing information to monitor a disease, specifying a treatment or are controlling a hardware medical device.
Previously, medical devices with software have been self-regulated Class I devices. Amendments re-classify software under four categories to ensure they are subject to appropriate scrutiny and manufacturing safeguards: (i) software intended for screening and diagnosing a disease/condition; (ii) software intended for monitoring the progression of a disease; (iii) software intended for recommending treatment; and (iv) software intended for providing therapy via the provision of information. The new classification rules will now also consider the harm that could be caused by incorrect information and this can affect the classification of the software. Exemptions may also apply if the inappropriate use of software would not result in significant harm.
Apps meeting the definition of a medical device require TGA certification. For example, smart phone apps calculating insulin doses based on a patient’s blood glucose levels are caught by TGA regulations. Software, however, that merely enables individuals to keep track of their health information (e.g. asthma attacks, blood pressure) are not medical devices.
As wearables become more mainstream in digital health and with AI developments increasing their functions and use, the lines between software as medical devices and purely health and lifestyle apps are starting to blur. With the accelerating pace of medical technology post-COVID, treating a broad range of medical software-enabled devices in the same way as traditional medical devices could be the proverbial ‘square peg in a round hole’, and impair the process of innovation.


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Toyota Reports Increase in October Sales on Strong Truck Demand
The Japanese automaker says it expects the momentum to persist through the end of the year.
Toyota, Asia's biggest automaker, is claiming a larger chunk of U.S. retail sales.
“The first month of the final quarter of 2017 saw sustained strong sales for the industry, and we expect that momentum to continue through the last two months of the year,” Jack Hollis, group vice president and general manager, Toyota division, said in a release.
The Japanese company posted a 1.1 percent gain in U.S. sales in October, with a 2.5 percent rise in sales volume at its Toyota division serving to offset the 7.7 percent fall in Lexus sales.


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E-commerce sales up in spite of rocky times for retail industry
11 May 2018 - 09:44 by Simon Crisp
Last month saw a modest but reassuring 6.7 per cent increase in the number of sales made via safe shopping online in the UK, according to the latest statistics from the British Retail Consortium.
Twenty two per cent of all sales across the entire market were taken up by e-commerce activity, while bricks and mortar outlets suffered a 3.1 per cent dip compared with April of 2017.
Study spokesperson, Helen Dickinson, said that it was not surprising to see that there was a downturn in consumer spending over the course of the past month, with several factors contributing to this state of affairs.
Aside from the general economic uncertainty and consumer cautiousness, April’s sales were hit due to Easter taking place earlier than usual, thus tipping the balance in favour of higher spending in March instead.
Dickinson admitted that even with such obstacles taken into account, it was clear that the overall trend for the retail market at the moment is one of shrinking sales and an ongoing shift towards shopping online.
Even the power of the web has not been enough to ensure ongoing double digit growth in e-commerce activity. Were it not for the current instability that the UK is facing, it might be assumed that the online market was simply hitting a plateau as it matures.
The warmer weather did do a little to help fashion retailers and footwear outlets increase their sales in April, but such seasonal changes are inconsistent in their impact and difficult to predict.
Dickinson argued that retailers were doing more to ensure that they could continue to survive in the difficult market conditions they are facing at the moment, although she said that the next few years would remain rocky for the industry as a whole.


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Valentines Day is almost here and that means people are going to try and push relationships on those who are otherwise fairly happy with themselves. But that’s beside the point. According to Burger King, they’re putting their own spin on V-Day and hoping that it pays off big time.
The chain confirmed that 14 Feb – 16 Feb customers at four US locations will be able to trade printed photos of their ex for a free whopper.
The photo must be printed out and you actually have to put it into a “Breakup Box” upon arrival.
They are the Burger Kings at 35 Powell Street, San Francico; 545 N. Victory Blvd, Los Angeles; and 150 Everett Ave, Boston. New Yorkers can get their free Whoppers at the 327 W. 42nd St.


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Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mehdi Mirashrafi said good agreements have been reached with Armenia on the development of customs cooperation as well as the use of alternative routes for the transport of goods, Tehran Times reports.
Mirashrafi who visited Moscow on Sunday to attend an international customs conference noted that Iran has diversified its international routes so that no single route could impose a limitation on the country’s international trade.
Mirashrafi further pointed to the positive talks held with the members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) during the conference, saying: “The volume of trade between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union has taken an upward path, and with the agreements reached, we will soon see a leap in trade relations with the member countries of this union.”
Referring to the importance of land crossings for the export and import of goods between Iran and Russia, the official said: "Completing the maritime and road infrastructure and providing more customs facilities, especially in the Caspian Sea region, can increase trade [between the two countries]."
Earlier this month, Deputy Transport and Urban Development Minister Kheirollah Khademi had announced an agreement between Iran and Armenia for establishing new transit routes, as the two countries are facing problems in trade exchanges through Azerbaijan.
“The alternative transit route for Iranian trucks in Armenia will be asphalted within the next month, and there will be no need to use the previous route which passes through Azerbaijan and requires us to pay tolls to the country,” Khademi said.


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Updated Feb 8, 4pm: Both Mitford Pond and Tim Bannister Memorial Rink (East End) are closed due to poor ice conditions. Check rink status anytime at 403-851-2552.
Reminder: Always stay off storm ponds, creeks and rivers.
Local businesses are being invited to participate in Proudly Cochrane, a marketing campaign the Town’s Economic Development office launched in the fall 2015.
The invitation is going out with new businesses licences. More...


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It's no secret that current generation of the Chevrolet Corvette (C7) is going to exit with a bang thanks to the resurrection of the ZR1 nameplate. The question now is: How much power will the new 2018 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 have?
We've spied a prototype of the new 2018 Corvette ZR1 entering GM's Milford Proving Grounds. It was sporting a big wing--though, much smaller than the Dodge Viper ACR's wing--and massive rubber wrapped around Ferrari-style pentagram wheels.
ALSO SEE: 2018 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 spy shots
With 707-horsepower Dodge Hellcats roaming the streets and an upcoming 2018 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 with likely more than 700 horses, one has to wonder much how power a new ZR1 will have.
The C7 Corvette Z06 already has 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque and it can barely put it all to the ground. While we all love to say there's no such thing as too much power, the reality is there's only so much power that is usable. At some point, you run into the limits of physics.
Obviously, the new ZR1 will have more than 650 horsepower as it needs to sit above the Z06 in the Corvette lineup. It'll likely be powered by a uprated version of the Z06's supercharged LT4 V-8 engine.
Let us know how much power you think it should have by casting your vote below in our latest Twitter poll:
How much horsepower does the new 2018 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 need to have?— MotorAuthority (@motorauthority) August 29, 2016
In case you forgot, the ZR1 will be the last hurrah for the C7 platform. Chevrolet is working on the new C8 as we speak and it will likely be a mid-engine setup with a new LT5 V-8 engine.


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That's another new Guinness World Record for the Patrol/Armada.
Big as it is, the Nissan Armada and its overseas cousin the Patrol aren't about to set any lap records at the Nürburgring. Not even in Nismo spec. But the oversized sport-ute has set another kind of record.
180 Nissan Patrols recently assembled in Dubai in a giant formation, setting a Guinness-certified world record for the largest synchronized car dance. Think of the synchronized swimmers you might see at the Olympics. Only instead of aquatic athletes in swimsuits and bathing caps splashing around in the water, imagine a bunch of full-size SUVs in the desert, tracing the giant, moving shape of a falcon.
Publicity stunt? No doubt. But it's not the first time Nissan's pulled one like this with the Patrol. A few years ago it set another record for scaling a hundred-meter-tall sand dune in under five seconds. And two years before that, it pulled a 170-ton Antonov cargo jet (the world's heaviest aircraft) 164 feet along the runway of the nearby Sharjah International Airport.
"At Nissan we are committed to bringing our customers 'innovation that excites,' and we are thrilled to have broken yet another Guinness World Records title with the Nissan Patrol," said regional vice president Kalyana Sivagnanam."
"What makes this achievement even more special is the fact that everyone who took part in the record-breaking attempt was Nissan staff," added managing director Juergen Schmitz. "It was a great privilege to give our employees the opportunity to take part in this landmark achievement."
Closely related to the Armada and Infiniti QX80 we get in America, the Nissan Patrol is now in its sixth generation, on the market now for nearly nine years. But it's not slowing down any time soon. Since 2011, sales have quadrupled to the point that it now stands as the best-selling full-size SUV in the UAE.


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Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag has a 'narrative connection' to another Ubisoft game via a hidden Easter Egg, the game's director has revealed.
Speaking to CVG at E3, Ubisoft's Ash Ismail wouldn't confirm specific details on the link, but said that fans would be pleased by the secrets hidden across Black Flag's vast Caribbean sea.
One possible connection is Ubisoft Montreal's Far Cry series, which has twice been set on a tropical island and more recently featured its own Assassin's Creed Easter Egg.
Another possibility is the upcoming Watch Dogs, though when questioned on the subject lead story designer Kevin Short declined to comment.
It's worth noting that the Easter Egg in question could be anything from a fan service-filled mission on the Rook Islands to a Watch Dogs logo on a barrel - and the latter is far more likely.
Last week Ubisoft released a new Assassin's Creed IV trailer and batch of screens.
The publisher has confirmed an Assassin's Creed 4 release date of October 29 in the US and November 1 in the UK.
Despite the positive reaction to the game so far, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in a recent investor call that he doesn't expect Assassin's Creed 4 sales to beat those of its predecessor
For more on the seafaring adventure, check out our first Assassin's Creed 4 preview.


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The retailer doesn’t say how many units were sold in total, but it did say that it was selling 150 phones a second. Multiplied by 180 seconds that’s 27,000. Keep in mind that the phone was also available on Nokia.com, so the total will be higher.
More Nokia 6.1 Plus units are on the way, the next sale on Flipkart will be on September 6 at 12 noon local time. Nokia.com should be restocking as well, but there’s no info on when that will happen.


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M-commerce accelerator Upstream has launched a new HTML5-based gaming platform that lets users pay a weekly subscription fee in exchange for access to a library of ad-free games, according to Business of Apps.
Gamedom, which was developed in partnership with game distribution platform GamePix, will offer users access to more than 100 game titles across 10 categories, for an average of $1.10 (1 euro) per week.
Gamedom is targeting emerging markets, where the cost of phone data and app downloads is a barrier to app use for many smartphone users. By using a business model that mimics that of popular subscription-based video and music streaming service providers like Netflix and Spotify, Gamedom will likely be particularly popular in emerging markets, where the high cost of data and low GDP make downloading apps too cost prohibitive to drive growth. For now, Gamedom is available only in Brazil and Nicaragua, but Upstream is working diligently to bring the portal to other emerging markets, such as Qatar and Nigeria.
In these markets, the traditional app store model is causing friction for a number of reasons:
- Apps are expensive. In Brazil, for example, the average cost of an app (~$3 USD) equates to 14.2% of a user's daily income, according to Trading Economics.
- In-app ads eat up too much data. The ad-laden interface of many freemium apps can be a drain on monthly data caps. In emerging markets, the cost of data accounts for a large share of users' weekly wages, making it impractical to use these apps.
- Apps take up space on users' phones. This is particularly true in emerging markets, where low-end devices with less memory are more popular.
Subscription models lower the cost barrier that many consumers in emerging markets face. Emerging markets are quickly embracing the subscription model, according to a separate study by Upstream. About 39% of consumers in developing markets, such as Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, and South Africa, use some form of subscription to access mobile digital services.
Moreoever, users can pay through carrier billing, which offloads the need for users to input their payment information, instead paying through their monthly data bills. This also increases the platform's reach. In-app payments often require a credit or debit card. Historically, payment cards haven't been widely used in developing nations because the infrastructure to accept these cards simply didn't exist, notes BI Intelligence.
A subscription-based app distribution platform is the next logical step from traditional app store distribution models, such as the App Store. Although Upstream doesn't yet plan to bring Gamedom to developed markets like the US or UK, it makes sense that a distribution platform that leverages the subscription service would gain traction in these markets, just as Netflix and other content streaming service providers have.
Such a service would not need to be purely subscription-based; it could make sense to offer a tiered service, similar to Hulu's, which reduces ads as consumers pay more. This would benefit app publishers, which would be given a cut of the fee in return for making their apps available on the site, rather than having to compete against larger companies for users' attention in the App Store and Google Play store.
Over the past eight years, developers have flocked to create mobile games as smartphones became a mainstream consumer device. Technological evolutions including faster processors, larger screens, more input points, and better overall graphics capabilities, combined with dropping prices, brought the ability for gaming via smartphone to audiences larger than ever before.
In that growth and through that transition, smartphones as a gaming arena experienced its own evolution. More developers flocked to this medium, and the gaming sections of app stores became saturated. While mobile gaming apps using an up-front paid downloading model, wherein consumers paid a typically nominal fee to download an app, flourished in the early days of mobile gaming, the deluge of apps led to a change in monetization strategy.
More apps started using the free-to-play (F2P) model, wherein a consumer can download an app for free, and is then later monetized either via in-app purchases or in-app advertising. Since that transition, most consumers have been conditioned to expect quality mobile gaming apps for little or no cost.
Jessica Smith, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile gaming that examines how the mobile gaming market has been affected by the transition to F2P monetization.
It also takes a close look at how saturation in the mobile gaming category, combined with the standard F2P model, has led to numerous issues for developers, including spiking marketing costs, the premium on acquiring users who will spend heavily within a game (called whales), and the impact that it's having on mobile gamers who do not spend in-app. The report then identifies innovations in mobile app marketing and engagement that seek to alleviate the issues of F2P and inadequate monetization in the fact of mounting marketing costs.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
- The mobile gaming app market is so big it makes other app categories seem small by comparison. Mobile gaming apps accounted for 20% of active apps in Apple's App Store in March 2016, according to AppsFlyer. That's more than double the second most popular category, business apps.
- It's only going to keep growing as quality smartphones become more accessible and more consumers look to their smartphones for gaming. In the US alone, 180.4 million consumers will play games on their mobile phones in 2016, representing 56% of the population and a whopping 70% of all mobile phone users, according to estimates from eMarketer.
- This quick growth is resulting in numerous growing pains. Saturation in the market has led to the dominance of the free-to-play (F2P) monetization model, which in turn has led to sky-high marketing costs.
- As marketing costs for mobile gaming apps has skyrocketed, so has the tendency for apps to focus on the very small segment of players who spend money in-app. This has resulted in game mechanics that optimize the amount of money being spent by this small user group, which can often alienate the large swath of users who do not spend money in-app.
- There are numerous new solutions coming to market that offer developers and publishing houses a diverse selection of monetization models which combine in-app purchases with other methods.
In full, the report:
- Sizes up the current mobile gaming app market and its future growth trajectory.
- Examines the role of free-to-play (F2P) games in the greater mobile gaming ecosystem.
- Identifies the major threats and opportunities inherent in the current mobile gaming market and in peripheral markets such as marketing.
- Explains the current monetization conundrum wherein the vast majority of revenue comes abysmally small segments of mobile gamers.
- Presents new approaches and solutions that can help mobile gaming apps monetize without alienating swaths of mobile gamers.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
- Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you've given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the world of mobile gaming.


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A senior executive for the German car-maker has admitted it "totally screwed up" by deliberately circumventing the clean air rules on diesel cars, which meant some models were releasing as much as 40 times the level of legally allowed emissions.
The allegations circling "defeat devices" have affected 482,000 vehicles in the US to date and manufacturers across the world are now all under pressure to rule out any exposure to the rigging of emissions testing.
However, according to the Transport & Environment group, "there is strong evidence that similar illegal devices are also used in Europe by both VW and other manufacturers".
The lobby group's clean vehicles manager, Greg Archer, also believes the fallout from the scandal could be more keenly felt in Europe.
"Diesel cars are niche in the US, and in most of the rest of the world, representing just one in seven cars sold worldwide. But in Europe, over half of new cars are diesels," he explained.
According to Mr Archer, 7.5 million of the 10 million diesel cars sold globally last year were bought in Europe, and the costs for manufacturers could run into billions of pounds.
Following a 19% fall in VW's share price on Monday, its stock fell a further 13% further on Tuesday amid reports it was to set aside billions of euros to cover the cost of the scandal.
Contagion spread to other manufacturers on fears they could become implicated.
However, Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the UK's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, has signalled this is likely an isolated case.
He explained: "The EU operates a fundamentally different system to the US - with all European tests performed in strict conditions as required by EU law and witnessed by a government-appointed independent approval agency.
"There is no evidence that manufacturers cheat the cycle. Vehicles are removed from the production line randomly and must be standard production models, certified by the relevant authority - the UK body being the Vehicle Certification Agency, which is responsible to the Department for Transport.
"The industry acknowledges, however, that the current test method is outdated and is seeking agreement from the European Commission for a new emissions test that embraces new testing technologies and is more representative of on-road conditions."
On Monday, Volkswagen's share price plunged sharply, and the company's chief executive apologised for breaking customers' trust.
Martin Winterkorn added: "We will co-operate fully with the responsible agencies, with transparency and urgency, to clearly, openly and completely establish all of the facts of this case.
"Volkswagen has ordered an external investigation of this matter. We do not and will not tolerate violations of any kind of our internal rules, or of the law."


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Once a week, something truly amazing happens: three of the media's most respected authorities on mobile technology converge to unleash dazzling quantities of expertise on an unsuspecting, unprepared public. It's a ritual that sets off a shockwave throughout the industry — a chain reaction that fundamentally alters the fabric of our wireless existence, the way we think, feel, and talk about phones. And you're never the same again.
This is The Verge Mobile Podcast, beginning today at 4:30 Eastern Daylight Time.
Set your watch by it.


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Cross-posted by Forbes.com at On the Docket
The Department of Justice’s highly anticipated decision on Google’s $700 million purchase of flight-data software company ITA Software is imminent. DOJ has made, and Google has complied with, two requests for information, and in December, Google put Justice’s antitrust regulators on the clock by invoking a federal legal provision requiring the government to act within 30 days. That clock struck midnight three weeks ago.
DOJ’s decision is obviously of great importance to the merging parties, concerned competitors (Kayak.com, Expedia, Bing Travel), and consumers (who spent $80 billion in online travel purchases in 2009). But the decision will also have broader implications for how this administration approaches competition in the online space, as well as on how it may apply a controversial part of antitrust officials’ new Horizontal Merger Guidelines.
It is unlikely that DOJ will approve the merger as the parties proposed it last July (i.e. not without conditions). Antitrust enforcers reportedly share at least two concerns expressed by some of Google’s competitors as well as Members of Congress: 1) a Google-controlled ITA will refuse to continue licensing the software relied upon by travel search websites, will put restrictions on the software, increase the licensing price, or fail to provide updates; 2) Google will utilize its dominant position in Internet searches to push competitors’ offerings down the list of search results.
The unifying theme of these two concerns is that Google/ITA could engage in future exclusionary conduct in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Merger Guidlelines note that, “Enhanced market power may also make it more likely that the merged entity can profitably and effectively engage in exclusionary conduct,” and that “rival firms may provide relevant facts . . . in cases where the Agencies are concerned that the merged entity may engage in exclusionary conduct.” Some commentators have criticized this section of the Guidelines, with two antitrust attorneys stating, “to the best of our knowledge, the Agencies have never challenged a horizontal merger that was otherwise unobjectionable” on the grounds of possible future exclusion. They and other experts also argue that if merged entities do engage in exclusionary conduct, federal antitrust authorities have sufficient tools, including Sherman Act Section 2, to stop such behavior. Such after-the-fact enforcement actions, merger opponents counter, would involve years of litigation during which time technological change would quickly outpace any possible remedies.
DOJ’s opposition to the proposed 2008 Google-Yahoo search alliance, and its ongoing concerns with the terms of the Google Book Search lawsuit settlement, reflect that it is willing to challenge potential competitive threats in the online space. But over the past several years, federal antitrust officials have not fared well in court when suing to block mergers. It’s not surprising, then, that DOJ is reportedly looking into attaching a variety of approval conditions that could address future exclusionary conduct.
DOJ’s conditioned approval last month of the Comcast-NBC joint venture last month may offer some clues on how federal officials might do the same with Google-ITA. Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney noted in her remarks on January 18 that the conditions were added to “ensure that the transaction will not chill the nascent competition posed by online competitors” and that the antitrust laws offer “critical protection to . . . consumers in the digital age.” The settlement‘s conditions aim to prevent Comcast from refusing to licence programming and other content to competitors and prohibit Comcast from imposing contractual terms on content owners which would limit their ability to negotiate with Comcast’s competitors. While the settlement did not reference Sherman Act Section 2, the conditions address the type of exclusionary conduct that the above-referenced Merger Guidelines’ provision contemplate.
A Wall Street Journal story relates that some within DOJ have doubts whether compelled licensing could work to alleviate concerns over post-merger exclusions on ITA software. Expedia outside counsel Thomas Barnett, who prepared a case against the Google-Yahoo ad agreement when he was DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General for antitrust, has no doubt played up these concerns in meetings, and was quoted by Reuters as saying it would be difficult for any conditions to protect licensees and their intellectual property.
DOJ’s actions with regard to possible Google manipulation of travel search results could have ramifications well beyond this merger. European competition officials are probing whether Google downgraded some web businesses’ in Google search results to weaken potential competitors for advertising. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, antitrust lawyer Gary Reback asserted that the Federal Trade Commission had also begun an investigation into Google’s search practices, and then backed off at DOJ’s behest, since DOJ was looking into manipulating search results as a theory of harm in the ITA merger context. Imposing a condition which prevents actual or perceived gaming of travel search results could prove more complicated than addressing the software licensing issue, considering the shrouded and complex nature of Google’s search technology. In an opinion piece for Huffington Post, former FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour asked, “How could an auditor determine that Google was not disproportionately favoring its own businesses, if the ITA deal closes?
There have been no press reports on the status of DOJ’s deliberations for over a week, which could reflect determined settlement efforts among the parties. It’s likely that quite soon, DOJ will file a legal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Whether the complaint lays out a consent decree reflecting that the parties have settled, or is a formal challenge to the merger, either outcome will be something everyone who does business on or uses the Internet should watch closely.


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Sony releases Firefox OS software for developers
- 27 February, 2013 15:59
Sony Mobile will provide an experimental version of the Firefox OS on one of its smartphones so that advanced developers can try it out and start working on applications.
Earlier this week, Sony said it is evaluating the Firefox OS platform for use on future smartphones. To show its current progress, the company is now providing an experimental version to run on the Xperia E, it said in a blog post on Wednesday that also details how to install the software.
The OS is being pitched as a better alternative to Android for low-end smartphones in developing markets and is built for applications written using HTML5.
The first phones using the OS are all powered by Qualcomm processors and will be offered by Alcatel One Touch, LG Electronics and ZTE starting this summer, according to Mozilla. Huawei Technologies also said it will also come out with products later this year.
Sony is taking a more cautions approach, and has said it will "investigate emerging technologies such as the Firefox OS platform to extend Sony's premium product portfolio to a wider customer base" with Telefónica, which is a big proponent of Mozilla's OS.
The software isn't intended for daily use, and has several limitations. For example, there is no radio connectivity, which means developers cannot make any phone calls or use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Also, the touch sensitivity is not fully calibrated, according to Sony.
The Xperia E has a 3.5-inch screen and is powered by 1GHz processor, which is the same spec as ZTE's first Firefox OS-based smartphone, the Open.
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2012 Honda CRF250L Announced for Europe But Not For America … Yet
Honda announced it will introduce the new CRF250L to Europe this year. North American availability has not been confirmed, though it appears the new dual-sport, which shares a similar engine to the Honda CBR250R, may soon be announced for these shores.
While there’s no official word on the Honda CRF250L in the U.S.,the liquid-cooled dual sport has already appeared in North America, appearing last weekend at the Montreal Motorcycle Show. A member of the ADVRider forum reports Honda Canada only received the CRF250L recently and the price is expected to be about CN$5000. That puts it close to the price of the ABS-enabled CBR250R.
Official specifications have yet to be announced, though Honda did confirm the CRF250L uses a twin-tube oval pipe steel frame, inverted forks, ProLink rear suspension and aluminum swingarm.
Honda Canada should make a formal announcement shortly, and hopefully American Honda will soon as well.
[Source: Honda, ADVRider]
2012 Honda CRF250L – New Dual Sport with CBR250R Engine
More by Dennis Chung


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Truly Hard Seltzer sales boosted the Boston Beer Company’s fourth quarter revenue to an all-time high of $301.3 million, but it wasn’t without cost, as profits took a hit due to expensive third-party contract production.
“Contract just comes in at a higher cost,” chief financial officer Frank Smalla explained during a call with investors and analysts.
Boston Beer, whose brands beyond Truly include Samuel Adams, Dogfish Head, Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard, is working to increase capacity at its breweries to accommodate the increased demand for Truly, as well as “a comprehensive program to transform our supply chain” that could last up to three years.
Additionally, the company is investing in improvements at third-party contract manufacturing facility City Brewery. However, Smalla said the high-cost contract production will continue as long as volume demand for the product is high.
“There will be a relatively high component in Q1 that’s going to contract at a higher cost, and that will negatively impact the gross margin,” he said. “What you will see at the same time is also that shipments will outpace depletions, because we’re building this up, and that will run into the middle of Q2, which is when we start decreasing this inventory again.”
Truly and Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw were early entrants into the hard seltzer category, which topped $1.5 billion in off-premise sales last year. Those brands are now facing increased competition after Anheuser-Busch InBev launched Bud Light Seltzer with a high-profile marketing campaign in January, and Constellation Brands’ Corona Hard Seltzer is expected to launch next month backed by a $40 million budget.
“The first assault has happened,” Boston Beer CEO Dave Burwick said.
Asked how the segment has performed after Bud Light Seltzer’s rollout, Burwick ticked off declining market shares for several of Truly’s competitors, while noting that Bud Light Seltzer has already claimed about a 10 share of the seltzer category.
“What we’ve seen over those last six weeks is … White Claw’s share decline by 9.4 points,” Burwick said. He added that A-B’s Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer and Natural Light Seltzer, as well as the catch-all bucket of all other seltzer brands, each declined by tenths of a point.
Truly, however, bucked those trends, gaining about half a point of share in the weeks since Bud Light Seltzer’s launch, Burwick said.
Burwick credited Boston Beer’s moves to support the brand in the fall, including a reformation of all 13 flavors, new advertising featuring actor Keegan-Michael Key and a sponsorship deal with the NHL.
“We feel like we put ourselves in a position to compete now that the bigger guys are coming into the market,” he said.
Samuel Adams Seasonal Performance and Boston Lager Challenges
Other product reformulations in the last year included revamped recipes for two Samuel Adams seasonal offerings, Summer Ale and Cold Snap.
“They both have performed extremely well, and we have more plans for that later in the year,” Burwick said. “The seasonals piece we’re actually quite pleased with.”
Dollar sales of the Samuel Adams seasonal family increased nearly 1%, to $92.9 million, for the 52 weeks ending January 26, according to market research firm IRI. By comparison, in the same time period, Boston Lager dollar sales declined 7.6%, to $54.5 million.
In an effort to boost the challenged Boston Lager brand, the company is continuing to develop its new “Toast Someone” campaign.
“We need to make this brand relevant to 30-somethings,” Burwick said. “The campaign that we launched a couple years ago, we found that it really reinforced what Sam stands for in the minds of our current drinkers, but [it was] … not persuasive enough with non-drinkers or new drinkers to bring them in.”
Boston Beer founder Jim Koch reiterated that the company remains committed to its flagship beer brand and the craft beer industry.
“Yes, the growth is very strong and attractive in hard seltzer, but we are the Boston Beer Company,” he said. “Beer is our middle name, and craft beer is the foundation and heritage of the company, so we continue to invest behind Sam Adams at kind of historical levels.”
Sales Headcount Addition
To support all of Boston Beer’s brands, Burwick announced plans to add 120 people to its sales organization to focus on “making more calls on bigger customers.”
“With the Dogfish Head merger, we took a hard look at how we go to market, who are the customers we’re calling on,” he said. “As the world shifts to a more off-premise world and a hard seltzer world, we saw a bunch of opportunities to change how we do things.”
The news sales jobs amount to a 30% increase in “feet on the streets” and hiring is underway, director of communications Jessica Paar wrote in an email to Brewbound.
“We’ve already begun interviewing and hiring candidates across all divisions, for both the on- and off-premise channels and all classes of trade,” she added.
Twisted Tea Investment
Although Twisted Tea garners less attention than Truly, the brand continues to grow double-digits, with its household penetration rate growing by 31%, to about 1.1 million households last year.
In 2020, Boston Beer will increase spending behind Twisted Tea by 50%, with a new ad campaign, updated packaging and geographic programming.
“We’ve got a lot of investment, a lot of support, so all those things together, we feel really confident that we can continue to grow Twisted Tea at the same rate, if not better,” Burwick said.
Wall Street’s Reaction
After Boston Beer reported earnings Wednesday, the company’s stock (SAM), which finished the day at $429.92, began to fall in after hours trading. As of press time, the stock price was down around 6% or 8%.
Analysts who cover Boston Beer noted its strong revenue growth of 34% and depletions growth of 25% in Q4, pushing revenue to $1.25 billion, as Brewbound reported Wednesday. However, the increased demand and capacity has added gross margin pressure for capacity constrained Boston Beer.
As Credit Suisse’s Kaumil Gajrawala put it, “growth stories often lead to lumpy margin results,” which was definitely the case for Boston Beer. However, the view from Credit Suisse is that “category growth overwhelms short-term margin contraction or market share shifts.”
RBC Capital’s Nik Modi noted that although the company continues to drive top-line growth, its capacity constraints have weighed on profitability. Modi lowered RBC’s full-year earnings per share estimate due to third-party contract production’s drag on Boston’s gross margins, which is unlikely to subside until Truly’s volume stabilizes.


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UAE – Today Telr the award-winning online payment gateway has announced its new partnership with in the leading BNPL company in the UAE and KSA, tabby. Telr launched its “Buy Now Pay Later” solution and services as a result of this partnership. Empowering Telrs’ Merchants with yet with another payment method to accelerate their ecommerce business and enhance their market position.
The ‘Telr buy now, pay later” service enables online shoppers in UAE and KSA to make instant and interest-free installments when they complete their online purchases. The payment can be made 14 days after purchase or in installments; giving online shoppers the freedom to pay for their goods in 4 interest-free payments, billed every month. This payment method will give online shoppers the freedom to purchase to make larger purchases more frequently and increase their purchasing power at any given time. The solution provides a smooth integration with Telr merchant sites while allowing customers to checkout seamlessly.
To date, the buy now, pay later solutions; have helped merchants increase their conversion rate, allowing them reach more potential customers, with a boosted average transaction value, and an increased number of repeat purchasers, thus ensuring a healthier cashflow for their businesses.
In addition to removing the financial barriers for online shoppers around the world, the buy now pay later solutions have opened the doors for new shopping trends while allowing the reach to overlooked market segment such as the millennial segment, thus reflecting positively on the customer experience.
Khalil Alami, the CEO of Telr, said: “we believe that payment solutions are the key to acquire new consumers, increase conversion rate, and tap into a rapidly growing retail trend. The right payment method can have a powerful effect on merchants’ sales and customer lifetime value. As a result, we constantly work on enriching our payment methods and make sure to provide our merchants with the latest payment methods and technologies.” Alami added: “We constantly work on every pain point merchants are facing in the ecommerce world and bring in the best solution on the table.”
Hosam Arab, the CEO of tabby, “we believe the best way to empower merchants is to empower their customers. We are so excited to partner with Telr and provide their merchants easy access to flexible payment solutions that remove pricing as a barrier and drive sales.”


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“We are United as one, and the lonely city is not alone.”–Yadong Yang, general manager of ESound Med
Recently, various media have reported that there is an urgent shortage of medical protective equipment in medical institutions. ESound Med has actively assumed social responsibility and made every effort to do a good job in novel coronavirus’s epidemic prevention work to maximize the supply of epidemic prevention materials.
The company maintains price stability, never bid up prices, resolutely resists acts that disturb market order, actively cooperates with relevant state departments to do a good job in epidemic prevention and control, and ESound Med does its best to contribute to epidemic prevention.
ESound Med has the courage to assume social responsibility, responded positively to the call, and joined Xiaomi, a famous enterprise, to assist Wuhan medical protection products to start a war to stop the epidemic.
On the first day of the Lunar New year this year, the company’s overtime workers arranged production on 24-hour shifts, meticulously producing protective equipment, and the managers also gave up vacations, strengthened quality control, and made every effort to ensure the quality of medical masks and other protective products. Fully reflect the “ESound Med focus on quality, concentrate on making good products” spirit of enterprise.
When they learned that major hospitals in Hubei were in urgent need of medical supplies such as medical masks and medical gloves, People of ESound Med knew very well that soldiers who went to the battlefield could not do without guns. Medical personnel who went to the front could not do without medical protective products. “the company is always concerned about the situation of the epidemic area, does its best to ensure the continuous supply of medical materials, and will give priority to sending it to the hospital.”
Yang Yadong, general manager of ESound Med Co., Ltd., said, “We are United as one, and the lonely city is not alone.”
As long as we work with one heart and one mind to build prevention and control dams, we will certainly overcome the epidemic.
At the same time, protective products such as medical masks are urgently needed for epidemic prevention. ESound Med calls on middlemen not to bid up prices, not to take the opportunity to hoard goods, so that medical staff can wear face masks.


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Samsung Group announced that it has reshuffles many of its top-level executives for Samsung Electronics Co. and other core units, promoting seven executives to vice chairperson and CEO posts.
The annual reshuffle affected 15 CEO-level officials, with the group's chief planning officer, Lee Hak-soo, being promoted to the rank of vice chairman.
Lee Yun-woo, Samsung Electronics' president in charge of semiconductor operations, acquired the post of vice chairman in the same company.
Five senior executive vice presidents, including Kwon Oh-hyun of Samsung Electronics and Lee Chang-ryul of Samsung Heavy Industries, were promoted to CEO posts.
Meanwhile, Yun Jong-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, was given expanded control over the company's home appliance business. Hwang Chang-gyu, Samsung Electronics' president in charge of its memory chip business, had his supervisory role expanded to the company's entire semiconductor business.
Je Jin-hoon, president and CEO of Samsung Capital, was appointed as chief of Cheil Industries, while Ahn Bok-hyun, president and CEO of Cheil Industries, moved to Samsung BP Chemicals Co. (Yonhap)
to Daily News


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3AW announcer Denis Walter has been awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the performing arts and broadcast media in yesterday’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Walter has hosted the 3AW Afternoon program since 2008 and has been a singer and entertainer for 45 years. He was Chief Newsreader of the WIN Television Network for 16 years and was a regular presenter on the Nine Network from 1990 to 2002.
In addition to his dedication to the broadcast industry, he has always been active in the wider community with 30 years of performances at Carols by Candlelight and support for Carols by the Bay in Geelong.
Walter has been ambassador for a range of organisations, including The Austin Hospital, the Make a Wish Foundation, Geelong’s Barwon Health Foundation, Neighbourhood Watch and a patron and supporter of numerous others.
Walter said he was very humbled by the honour. “I am proud and more than a little humbled by this honour after 45 years in the industry. I’ve been fortunate to work across many areas of media and entertainment, from television news to my music career and now the treasured role as 3AW’s Afternoon host,” he said.
3AW operations director Stephen Beers said the station was thrilled Walter had been recognised for his dedication and services to the industry.
“Denis Walter has been involved in the 3AW family for decades, he works tirelessly on his program and on his passions and interests such as the carols. It’s wonderful to see one of our own honoured in such a way. Well deserved, ” he said.
From Friday, December 4, Snapchatters and Bitmoji users will be able to pair with their own Bitmoji avatars with Levi’s casualwear apparel. The Levi’s x Bitmoji designs will also appear across a variety of experiences on Snapchat including Chat and games, on the Snap Map and in Lenses. All products will be available for purchase […]
John Chaplin (pictured), former Chief Product Officer of Hogarth Australia and Co-founder of award winning digital agency Fusion, has launched a new digital product design company, Diagram. Based in Sydney, Diagram are a collective of creators and makers who partner with individuals, agencies, startups, business and industry to design and build considered, elegant digital products. […]
After announcing the mega acquisition of workplace chat company Slack yesterday, tech giant Salesforce has made a raft of announcements as part of this year’s annual Dreamforce event, which has been held virtually. Headlining the announcements was news of Salesforce Hyperforce, which comes as a reimagination of the company’s platform architecture built to securely and […]


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Dear Startup Investor,
Buck Jordan here to talk to you about a sector that’s experiencing a mega boom: travel.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’d know that I’ve been keeping my eyes on travel data and forecasts for a while. In fact, back in December, it was one of three areas I mentioned as focuses for investment capital entering 2022.
Well, a lot has happened since December – perhaps nothing more substantial than the enormous Omicron wave.
Thankfully, this variant proved to be much milder compared to previous ones, and, increasingly, it looks like the pandemic is starting subside thanks to high vaccination rates and natural immunity. Also, better therapeutics – like Pfizer’s incredible COVID-19 pill – have beefed up the medical tools at our disposal to address COVID-19 infections more quickly and effectively.
All this good news explains why the CDC rolled back mask mandates for 70% of the United States just a few days ago. In addition to the U.S., countries like the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, India and others are dropping PCR test requirements for tourists.
So, what does the prospect of the pandemic’s end and easing of travel restrictions mean for the travel sector? Well, the CEO of Expedia recently summarized it well in an interview with Bloomberg: “Summer 2022 will be the busiest travel season ever.”
Early data from the industry backs this up. For example, the World Travel and Tourism Council forecasted that U.S. travel and tourism would be 6.2% higher in 2022 than it was pre-pandemic. Even more incredibly, the council’s data also shows that summer 2022 bookings are already 80% higher than 2021 levels.
The coming travel boom offers a ton of opportunities for angel investors to make smart investments. However, I’m focused on three areas I feel stand to most directly benefit from this growth in travel.
Earlier this month, I wrote about how I think remote work is here to stay.
Working from home during the pandemic has broken the taboo and stigma around not working from the office. The genie is out of the bottle on this one, and there is no putting it back.
Now, I do believe most companies will transition back to a hybrid work model where people spend a few days a week at home or a few weeks a year working remotely and the rest of the time in the office. However, all kinds of companies are allowing full remote work or hybrid work, from tech companies like Shopify, Box and Google to traditional companies like Siemens, REI and Deutsche Bank.
The permanence of remote work represents a whole new wave of demand in a post-pandemic world. When travel fully returns to normal, there will be millions of workers staying in destinations all around the world working remotely for a week or two at a time.
There are so many new kinds of services that this global group of remote workers will need, from medical insurance to tax tools and much more. Catering to these remote workers is a compelling area for startups looking to build new products. For example, Wander is a new startup that caters to remote workers by offering luxury rental homes around the world.
The Airbnb Effect
One of the biggest milestones for startups during the pandemic was Airbnb’s enormous IPO in December 2020.
This IPO capped years of rapid growth for the company, as it’s helped dramatically increase the number of people staying in apartments and homes when travelling instead of hotels. Airbnb is now a category-defining company, and it has only continued its rapid growth since the aforementioned IPO.
Airbnb is truly a platform business, where multiple parties get together to exchange value. This includes hosts, guests, Airbnb experience guides and more. These businesses typically offer people multiple ways to participate in their platforms – and make money in the process.
One novel way to take advantage of shifting lodging preferences is to invest in apartments and homes. Of course, buying a second apartment or home to rent on Airbnb is not something most people can just do at the snap of their fingers. It’s expensive, requires tons of research and management, and the housing market is extremely competitive.
However, crowdfunding has grown a lot in the last few years, and you can now invest in real estate through platforms like Republic. On these platforms, you can invest with much smaller ticket sizes (instead of buying a whole apartment) and still participate in the upside of this trend.
For example, you can invest in a portfolio of beach rental homes in North Carolina or a membership-based eco-living platform. In the past, other projects have included luxury rental apartments in Mexico and more.
At its core, investing smaller stakes in great projects is the very essence of crowdfunding.
Camping and Glamping
Remote work isn’t the only new habit we picked up during the pandemic. Many of us started camping for the first time since we were kids (or ever).
While camping grew a lot before the pandemic – it increased 68% in the 5 years leading up to 2020 – this growth only continued during the pandemic, as we tried our best at socially-distanced vacations. In fact, in 2020, the number of first-time campers increased five-fold relative to 2019, and the number of households that own an RV increased by 2.6 million.
This new habit figures to stick around post-pandemic for many people, shifting demand away from traditional hotel stays and toward more outdoorsy vacations.
Fortunately for us, as with any trend, investment opportunities arise.
This year, we have a record summer of travel ahead of us.
We’ve all been waiting for the pandemic to come to an end and travel to get back to normal. Many of the new habits we’ve picked up during the pandemic will stay with us, and the travel industry will have to adapt.
This offers opportunities for angel investors and entrepreneurs to play a part in travel’s evolution. Why not enjoy traveling in more ways than one?


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MN Molding Co. Doubles Its Footprint, Will Hire Up To 75
Advanced Molding Technologies is adding a 36,000-square-foot facility adjacent to its existing plant in Circle Pines—bringing its total square footage to more than 84,000 square feet—and it plans to hire up to 75 new employees.
President and owner Brett Nelson told Twin Cities Business that the injection molding company had outgrown its current space after adding approximately 50 employees in the past year and doubling its sales over the past two years.
Nelson said in a press release that the company has “experienced substantial growth in our four primary markets: medical, construction, consumer products, and precision automotive.”
The new facility will consist of a roughly 8,000-square-foot cleanroom—an area of the facility that protects the manufacturing process from contamination—dedicated to medical device assembly. The facility will also house a mold manufacturing shop as well as packaging and distribution services. Eight molding machines will be added to the facility during the next eight to 10 months, the company said.
Nelson said the company plans to open its new facility by December 1. He added that the company plans to hire 50 to 75 new employees in the next 18 months.
Last year, Advanced Molding Technologies underwent a 16,000-square-foot expansion to add four new molding machines and a packaging line.
The privately held company manufactures, assembles, and packages medical device, automotive, and electronics molds. Founded in 1999, it currently employs approximately 175.


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Weekly Illinois Products Farmers' Markets now underway
June 1, 2022
The 2022 Illinois Products Farmers’ Market has a family friendly atmosphere with an array of vendors, a different food truck each week, cooking demonstrations and free live entertainment. Back again this year are drawings for Garden Illinois plants, drawings for $10 in “Market Cash” and chances to win an AARP Illinois Products basket each week.
The Illinois Products Farmers’ Market will be held every Thursday from 3:30 - 7 p.m. through Sept. 29, excluding June 9 and the two Thursdays during the Illinois State Fair. It's located at The Shed on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Sprin...


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|Zara, H&M report high revenues in Vietnam
In the first six months of 2018, revenue in Vietnam of the Indonesian retail operator Mitra Adiperkasa, - the operator of Zara retail stores in Vietnam, reached VND950 billion (US$40.87 million), doubling the figure recorded in the same period of last year, according to the company's financial statement.
Generating revenue of over US$40 million from the two Zara stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam has become the second largest market of Mitra, only behind its base in Indonesia.
In addition to Zara, Mitra also franchises other international brands such as Starbucks, Burger King and Topman in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, H&M with four stores posted revenue of VND322 billion (US$13.85 million) in the January - June period, of which, the fast fashion brand reported revenue of VND175 billion (US$7.52 million) in the second quarter, up 16% month-on-month, reported The Leader newspaper.
For a population of nearly 100 million, of which the majority is at young age with a steady growth of income per capita, Vietnam is considered potential market for fashion retailers.
In addition to Zara and H&M, other brands such as Uniqlo and Forever 21 are also planning to enter the Vietnam's fashion market.
Mitra opened its first Zara store outside Indonesia in Ho Chi Minh City in September 2016, three months later, its second store was launched in Hanoi.
By the end of 2017, H&M marked its entrance into the Vietnamese market with the opening of its first store in Ho Chi Minh City. The brand currently has four stores in the countries, of which two stores are in Ho Chi Minh City and two in Hanoi.


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Historically, budgets in Pakistan have been interpreted differently by different stakeholders. All governments claim the budgets presented by them are pro-people and pro-growth. The opposition parties always find these budgets to be “anti-poor.” The masses complain that the expenses that pinch them the most (i.e., electricity tariffs, petroleum prices, cost of living, cost of transportation etc) are never dealt with transparently. The story of the budget 2021-22 reads familiar.
One of the salient features of public policy measures is that there are always some beneficiaries. Conversely, the best possible public policy will cause some stakeholders to do less well. The objective of the public policymakers should be to ensure that the beneficiaries of their policies outnumber those losing out. Let us look at the federal budget’s good and bad sides.
Good news first: the government has abolished a dozen withholding taxes. It has reduced the general sale tax (GSTs), regulatory duty, import duty, additional import duty, federal excise duty (FED), and value-added tax for many industries and sectors. Some of the beneficiaries (subject to conditions) of the above-mentioned measures include manufacturers/importers of cars up to 850cc and those of electric vehicles, manufacturers of medical and surgical apparatus, local fruit juice manufacturers, paper industry, wood industry, yarn industry, shoe industry, machine-made carpet industry, ready to use supplementary foods (RUSF) and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) producers/importers. The list goes on to include telecommunication services, warehouse services, travel and tour services (domestic air travel), and oilfield services etc. Duty and tax benefits for these industries will reduce the prices of some of the goods and services of these industries.
Another good news is that through this budget, the government has tried to enhance the purchasing power of the citizens (based on their eligibility for different initiatives). To this end, it has increased the salaries and pensions of government officials by ten percent. After three years, it has raised the minimum wage. There is a large allocation also for the government’s flagship social protection programme, Ehsaas (through which cash is disbursed to targetted beneficiaries). There are plans to provide loans to the agricultural sector, urban households and small and medium entrepreneurs.
The third good news is that the health sector is on the policymakers’ radar. Provision of funds for procurement of Covid-19 vaccines, and allocations for measures to contain Covid-19 are steps in the right direction.
The fourth good news is the allocation of a substantial amount for subsidies. However, a large chunk of this amount will be spent on payment to independent power producers.
The fifth good news is a promise by finance minister to end FBR’s discretionary powers, the introduction of third-party audit and confidence-building measures to reduce the trust deficit between tax collectors and citizens. The corporate sector will benefit from reduced taxes. However, these will not directly benefit the masses.
Now let us turn to some of the potentially bad news. The proposal to give FBR officials the power to make arrests for tax evasion is not consistent with the stated objective of building trust between the taxpayers and the FBR. The government will do well to be more consistent in its messaging to the people.
The government plans to fetch an additional Rs 85 billion (12 percent higher) through custom duties, an additional Rs 579 billion (30 percent increase) through sales tax, and an additional Rs 81 billion (29 percent increase) through FED. It also plans to fetch an additional Rs 392 billion (22 percent more than last year) through taxes on income. One may argue that tax on income will pinch those who have income above a certain threshold and will not affect the masses. However, Rs 745 billion is to be collected through indirect taxes. The indirect taxes are regressive and hurt the low-income earners more.
These taxes will raise the price of sugar (Rs 7 per kg GST added in the retail prices), processed and packed dairy products (subject to GST now), online shopping, LNG, silver, gold jewelry, tyres, and many other items.
The elephant in the room is energy prices which are linked to the crude oil prices in the international market. These are nominally determined by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (in case of oil and gas) and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (for electricity) and not discussed in the federal budget. The sale price of petrol to the consumer includes refineries’ costs, oil marketing company’s and dealer’s margin, inland freight equalization cost, general sales tax (which is shared with the provinces), and petroleum levy (which is the federal government’s revenue). The upper cap for petroleum levy is Rs 30 per litre in the case of petrol. Government compromises on income to be collected through petroleum levy to safeguard the domestic consumers from an abrupt increase in petroleum prices globally.
The prices of crude oil are increasing. Currently they are hovering around $74 per barrel (almost double the low a few months ago). The OGRA has been recommending an increase in domestic prices of petroleum products. The prime minister rejected the OGRA recommendations for several weeks until the prices were raised earlier this week.
For the next year, the government has budgeted a Rs 600 billion collection through the petroleum levy. Currently, the levy charged is Rs 4-6 per litre. To meet the ambitious target of Rs 600 billion, it will have to be increased significantly. Meanwhile, crude oil prices are expected to touch $90 per barrel by the end of 2021. Fuel inflation will, in turn, trigger cost-push inflation.
Likewise, the electricity tariffs will likely be revised upwards to contain the so-called energy circular debt. The tariff revision will include a ‘rationalisation’ of subsides.
The subsidies will likely be diverted mostly to lifeline consumers.
The budget has many pro-growth measures. The down side is that while these may increase purchasing power, inflation will be hard to contain. The lower-middle-income and middle-income groups will bear the brunt of inflation as well as the impact of diversion of subsidies. The poor apparently have nothing left to lose; the rich are largely immune to the price-hike shock.
The writer heads the Sustainable Development Policy Institute. He tweets at @abidsuleri
This article was originally published at: https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/851486-general-impact
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint or stance of SDPI.


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Over the past year, the most searched car on AutoTrader.com has been the Ford Mustang.
You'd think that in a down economy, with many consumers shifting their tastes in a more practical direction, that people would be browsing for less-expensive cars and trucks. And yes, Ford's F-150 and Toyota's Camry both make the top five most searched cars for AutoTrader in 2010. But the fact that the Mustang is generating such search traffic on a major consumer shows that the car is still a hit.
And for those that were wondering, the Chevrolet Camaro came in third.


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With a new Chinese aquatic products export protocol in place, Turkey’s Ambassador to Beijing Abdulkadir Emin Onen said that a potential $ 250 million market has been opened for Turkish aquaculture producers.
China’s General Administration of Customs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was in Ankara in early September. During the visit, a protocol was signed aimed at boosting the export of fishery products from Turkey to China such as rainbow trout, river trout, tuna, and bluefin tuna. According to officials, the protocol is valid for 5 years from the date of signing.
Onen said in a statement on the subject that in the past year Turkey’s exports of aquaculture products were worth 80 million dollars, while China’s imports were some 250 million dollars. “So the door was opened to a potential $250 million market for Turkish producers” he added. Onen cited the initiative of cherry and pistachio exports from Turkey to China earlier this year, followed by poultry exports, fishery products and milk and said the government continues its efforts to begin exports of citrus products.
Written by: Aquaculture Magazine Staff


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The holiday shopping season is here and we're seeing so many great gaming laptop deals.
Black Friday is almost over and the PC gaming deals are disappearing soon. All of these great sales across gaming PCs, monitors, keyboards, mice and even gaming chairs are almost over.
You can pick up the Dell S3422DWG QHD monitor for just $429 at Amazon, but be quick because it won’t be around for long.
The Alienware m15 R4 with RTX 3080 graphics just got a massive $810 price cut, which takes its price down to $1,999.
Dell's 32-inch,165 Hz monitor sports similar specs to its S3220DGF with improved quality-of-life features.
At Newegg, get $100 off the Asus ROG Swift PG259QN esports gaming monitor, taking the price down to just $599.99!
Right now at Amazon, the 8TB Samsung 870 QVO SATA III SSD is down to $682.29 after a significant $167.70 price cut.
On Black Friday, our favorite gaming keyboard, the Patriot Viper V765, has dropped to its all-time low price of $59.99.
We’re knee deep in Black Friday season and you can find a bunch of impressive Corsair HS70 gaming headset deals!
Users can currently take home the Dell XPS 13 base model for just $636 at the official Dell website.
Black Friday is here and the MacBook deals are starting to roll in across the range of M1-armed MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs.
MSI's L65 Leopard 10SFK-062 gaming laptop is down to just $1099 -- a steal considering it comes packed with an Intel 10th Gen Core i7 CPU and RTX graphics.
Powered by any model of Raspberry Pi, Picade is an easy to build arcade cabinet kit to emulate classic consoles and computers.