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Not no, but hell no!:
So the news is all over the wire about the proposed hits to military resale that are loaded in the DoD FY 15 budget. Reduce the DeCA appropriation by $1 billion over the next three years ... raise the surcharge ... implement variable pricing ... in effect eliminate the benefit. Yes, the benefit! We see too many pundits talking about the "shopping" experience, the availability of other "shopping" alternatives. Lest we all forget, this is a benefit and it is not available outside the gate, and if DoD gets its way it will be eliminated.
This is indeed a strange scenario where DoD leadership has it wrong and the military family has it right. In three recent articles delivered in the military times publications they correctly teed up the discussion. First, the analysis of the impact of compensation as the problem in DoD is flawed at best if not false. Second, a survey of resale beneficiaries shows that for over 80 percent of the survey respondents the resale benefit is the number one benefit for the military family. It is valued and it is used. Finally, the most recent analysis shows that the cost of the resale benefit has in fact gone down in constant dollars and is an effective and efficient program.
But DoD is saying it is not important. It needs to be changed. The military family does not need it anymore. They have to take it down. There needs to be a new model developed that puts to burden of delivering the benefit on the backs of the military family. Am I missing something here?
So, we should ring our hands and prepare for end of an era. The end of a benefit that has exceeded every expectation for value, efficiency and effectiveness. DoD is going to take it down because they think they can. We vow not to let it happen. We vow to carry the message for the military family. We vow to make the analysis heard. Will we let this happen? ... Not no, but hell no!
Congressman Forbes speaks out in support of commissaries:
Forbes speaks in opposition to closing commissaries
Watch the Full Video
YouTube, Congressman Randy Forbes
Congressman J. Randy Forbes speaks on the House Floor in opposition to closing down commissaries, a system that is highly valued by the men and women who serve this nation, and represents a part of our commitment to taking care of our service members during and after their time of service to the United States of America.
MacDill families fear commissary closings
Read the Full Story
The Tampa Tribune, Howard Altman
For those who live on the base and the thousands of military retirees living nearby, the MacDill commissary offers about 30 percent savings over the cost of food and other items at civilian supermarkets. It also employs 103 people. But that benefit of service — and the jobs it generates — are in danger of disappearing.
Patrick B. Nixon
President, American Logistics Association
Senate panel to mark up bill repealing military pension cuts
The Senate Armed Services Committee will soon mark up a bill to repeal the $6 billion military pension cuts included in last month's budget deal. The Armed Services panel is the latest to push a proposal that would reverse the $6 billion pension cuts included in the December 2013 budget deal.
Robert Work said to be Obama's choice for Pentagon's No. 2
The White House is expected to announce that President Barack Obama will nominate Robert Work as the Pentagon's No. 2 civilian leader, according to U.S. officials who asked not to be identified in advance of an announcement.
Uniweb handles the tightest of storage challenges! Uniweb sliding retrofit panel attaches into your existing fixture using a main back panel and a sliding front panel, providing two layers of merchandising space. Upgrade your existing shelving and increase product facings in the same footprint… enhancing sales volumes! We Create Space!
Bypassing Congress on defense cuts
The Pentagon has learned that if it can't go through Congress to get what it wants, sometimes it's best to try going around. Two of the Defense Department's biggest long-term budget priorities — cutting troop compensation and closing bases — also happen to be politically radioactive for lawmakers sensitive about home-district economies and accusations of hurting the military.
Raises, BAH are likely targets of 2015 defense budget
The Pentagon's 2015 budget is likely to contain such belt-tightening proposals as reducing active-duty pay raises and housing allowances and instituting fees for Tricare for Life, officials recently told a Senate panel.
Platform, personnel cuts likely in FY 2015 Air Force budget
Air Force Times
This close to the March 4 submission of the fiscal 2015 budget request, getting specifics from service officials can be like pulling teeth. But a number of statements, both in public appearances and during interviews, provide a sense of direction for the Air Force's plans. The message: Expect to see big cuts to personnel and platforms.
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HASC race: Thornberry has edge in helping GOP candidates
One candidate to take the US House Armed Services Committee gavel next year has donated vastly more to GOP political candidates than his rivals, and sources say that gives him a major edge. Yet one of his likely competitors has posted impressive donation figures for the 2014 midterm election. Sources say that makes the HASC chairmanship race a lot more intriguing.
Lawmaker tries to block transfer of Guard Apaches and personnel cuts
In what is likely the opening shot in a looming battle between Congress and the Army, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., has introduced a bill that would freeze the Army's plans to transfer all of the National Guard's AH-64 Apache helicopters to the active-duty force and prevent most of the proposed Guard personnel cuts.
Reid readies bill repealing pension cuts
The Senate is gearing up to vote on a bill as early as next week that would repeal the $6 billion cut to military pensions as part of a larger veterans package, according to Senate aides.
Commissary Web Posts
The following commissary items were posted to the ALA Website as of 10 a.m., Feb. 7, 2014.
DP #6, CONUS Promotion & Shipper Quantities.
Father’s Day, Far East & Alaska Quantities.
NOTICES TO TRADE
Adds/Changes/Deletes for Week 14-06.
CRV Values, February 2, 2014.
New Items Activated in CAO, Zone 28 Test, February 4, 2014.
Performance Measures, New Items Added, 16-31 Jan 2014.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
March 5-7, 2014: 2014 Exchange Roundtable at Marriott Norfolk Waterside, Norfolk, Va. Registration is open.
April 30, 2014: 2014 DeCA/ALA Appreciation Day Golf, Ft. Lee, Va.
May 1 & 2, 2014: 2014 ALA Commissary Roundtable at Richmond Marriott, Richmond, Va.
DeCA sales and marketing jobs open for Industry
Defense Commissary Agency
The Defense Commissary Agency is advertising jobs which anyone may apply for.
For further information, or to apply for one of the jobs, click here.
- Supervisory Category Manager, 1 position. This is for a GS-14 position with a salary range of $99,633.00 to $129,518.00. Applications must be made not later than Feb. 10, 2014.
- Merchandising Specialist, four positions. These are for GS-13 positions with a salary range of $84,314.00 to $109,608.00. Applications for these positions must be made not later than Feb. 17, 2014.
In-store specialty delicatessen and bakery resale operations
Federal Business Opportunities
The Defense Commissary Agency is seeking responsible sources with current relevant qualifications, experience, personnel, and capability to provide the labor, management and assorted food products necessary to support in-store specialty delicatessen and bakery resale operations in 11 U.S. Military commissaries. Solicitation HDEC02-14-R-0004, which is unrestricted, is expected to be issued on or about Feb. 20, 2014.
• One Credential – Access to Nearly 100 Military Installations
• One Program – RAPIDGate®
• One Call – (703) 836-2201
• Contact: Mike Campbell, GM, Alexandria, VA & VP Government Sales
Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) Enterprise Business Solution (EBS):
https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=9974be49d8c3e5526941856956f2dc97. Via this link a draft Solicitation HC1028-14-R-0004 is provided for review and comments by industry. The Draft Solicitation includes the documentation describing the Defense Commissary Agency's (DeCA) Enterprise Business Solution (EBS) requirement. The requirement for this EBS effort is a modernization of DeCA's resale business operations. (Please refer to the Statement of Objectives found in the attached Draft RFP via the link). Industry is encouraged to review the documentation and provide comments no later than 9:00 AM, Central, on Tuesday, February 18, 2014.
An Industry Day/Pre-Solicitation Conference will be held to discuss the DeCA EBS requirement on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at the DeCA Headquarters (1300 E Avenue, Bldg 11200, Fort Lee, Virginia, 23801-1300). Additionally, One-on-One sessions will be held at the DeCA Headquarters between February 25, 2014 and February 28, 2014. Instructions for pre-registration for both events is detailed in the Pre-Solicitation Conference and One-on-One Industry Day sections of the Draft RFP. Pre-registrations for the Industry Day/Pre-Solicitation Conference and One-on-One Sessions are due no later than Tuesday, February 18, 2014, at 9:00 AM, Central. NOTE: The February 26 meeting at DeCA is really geared to software providers not our general resale industry members. Seating space will be limited.
$64,223 federal contract awarded to Computer Marketing Associates
Computer Marketing Associates Inc. in McLean, Va., won a $64,222.94 federal contract from the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Va., for the renewal maintenance support for Protegrity Defiance Security Manager software licenses.
Garden style indoor benches
Federal Business Opportunities
This solicitation is being issued as 100 percent set-aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. The solicitation is for garden style indoor benches to be delivered to Defense Commissary Agency commissaries in the Continental United States and overseas locations. However, for overseas locations, with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska, the contractor would only be responsible for preparation for overseas shipment and delivery to the port. A Firm-Fixed Price contract is contemplated.
Business reviews now available on the ALA Business Resource
Nearly 7 out of 10 people read online reviews before making a purchase, and in the business-to-business world, reviews are even more important in the decision-making process. To help in your purchasing decisions, we are pleased to announce that we've now incorporated business reviews into our ALA Business Resource. Now you have the opportunity to share your experiences with a company's products or services with your fellow colleagues, or read what others have to say about a potential future vendor. Visit the ALA Business Resource to search for qualified product and service providers and write a review.
Food trends lean toward health, fun
By Archita Datta Majumdar
So what will be cooking in 2014? Will be there be another surge of change in restaurant menus and grocery aisles to match health trends? Will fine dining rule or will there be more cookouts throughout the year? Leading food and beverage experts and industry surveys give us some interesting insights to what the 2014 food world will look like. It seems the year's food trends will be matching American diversity all the way with an eclectic blend of tastes and cuisines to offer a full platter.
What's in the 2014 farm bill?
The Huffington Post
The purpose of the farm bill is to balance the immediate needs of feeding the country with the long-term goal of ensuring a sustained food supply. In order to unite the interests of both urban and rural communities, the farm bill combines food assistance for our fellow country men, women and children in need, along with longer term agricultural policies.
Believe in Heroes campaign raises $16 million for Wounded Warrior Project
Acosta Sales & Marketing announced that the 2013 Believe in Heroes campaign raised $6,011,218 to support Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. A growing national cause marketing campaign that brings together thousands of CPG brands, retailers and consumers to support injured service members through the simple act of grocery shopping, Believe in Heroes has raised a total of $16 million for critical veteran programs provided by WWP since Acosta founded the program in 2010.
Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
Store brands 2014: Sales trends
Supermarket private label unit and dollar share reached 23.4 percent and 19.4 percent, respectively, according to Nielsen data for the 52-week period ending Nov. 23, 2013. In supermarkets, dollar sales increased 1.6 percent to nearly $61 billion. Fresh meat was the fastest-growing category in dollar sales, climbing 45 percent to $1 billion. Other top gainers included coffee, dairy dips/spreads, nuts and frozen dessert.
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Hy-Vee unveils 'Responsible Choice' seafood program
As part of the grocer's Seafood Procurement Policy, Hy-Vee has unveiled its new Responsible Choice program, in which select seafood products will bare a blue and green logo indicating they were sourced responsibly. "The Responsible Choice logo serves as a seal of approval that more and more of our seafood is responsibly harvested or raised, minimizing damage to the environment and other sea life," said Nate Stewart, VP of perishables at West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee.
Save Our Military Shopping Benefits Act Introduced ...
Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement after introducing the Save our Military Shopping Benefits Act (H.R. 3996) on Wednesday, February 5th:
The Military Times reported on the Save Our Military Shopping Benefits Act on February 5th, "Bill would block commissary closings, cutbacks."
- "Our military men and women rely on commissaries and exchanges on base to be convenient providers of essential, affordable groceries for their families. Closing these stores—which represent only three-tenths of one percent of the defense budget—would be a poke in the eye to our Armed Forces, and DoD should find other ways to save taxpayers money. It's unacceptable for the Obama Administration to support wasteful government spending while targeting for elimination benefits that servicemembers have earned, and that's why I introduced this bill to protect all commissary and exchange services through the end of this Administration."
The Save our Military Shopping Benefits Act [PDF], a two-page bill, would prevent the Department of Defense from closing or reducing operations of commissary stores and exchanges on military installations within the U.S. through 2016. It includes an exception for changes "required for upgrading or modifying an existing structure for safety or health reasons."
Ten original cosponsors—nine Republicans and one Democrat—joined Rep. Griffin in introducing the bill: Reps. Ander Crenshaw (FL-04), John Garamendi (CA-03), Tim Huelskamp (KS-01), Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Billy Long (MO-07), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03), Candice Miller (MI-10), Ed Whitfield (KY-01), Kevin Yoder (KS-03) and Ted Yoho (FL-03).
- Griffin said in an interview with Military Times. "We need to go after the waste and take commissaries off the table. That's what this legislation is about." ...
Military veterans organizations are ramping up efforts to oppose any reduction in the commissary benefit.
"The American Legion supports this bill, and we don’t want the taxpayer subsidy taken away," said Dean Stoline, deputy director of the legislative division of the American Legion.
Stoline noted that delegates to the Legion's 2012 national convention unanimously passed a resolution opposing any efforts "to dismantle or downsize the Defense Commissary Agency."
Coalition and Valued Associates in the News ...
The Military Times also issued a report on February 5th entitled, "Commissaries won't close, but prices may increase."
- "It's military families' purchasing power that will change," said Joyce Raezer, executive director of the National Military Family Association. "If you increase the surcharge and prices, you take away the savings, and you take away the benefit." ...
"This is a model to emulate, not decimate," said Patrick Nixon, president of the American Logistics Association, and a former DeCA director. "It's part of the solution, not the source of the budget problem. We challenge any program [in DoD] to ... show they can deliver more bang for the buck."
Coalition and Valued Associates Advocacy and Actions ...
We are hearing that the DoD budget will be sent to OMB next week (Feb 10th) and should be delivered to Congress on or around March 6th. Many of our Valued Associate members have already expressed growing concern, alerted their members to the possibility of commissary closures and the DoD budget proposal to drastically cut commissary funding, and have also encouraged their members to send letters to Congress and the President.
The Coalition plans to roll out another Call to Action alert to our members as soon as the President's budget is delivered to Congress. We will also share it with our Valued Associates and AFGE DeCA Council 172, who have been sharing our messages with commissary employees. We are also discussing the possibility of mounting an all out effort in March outside the commissaries to engage patrons directly. We will keep you posted.
In addition, we will be meeting with Members of Congress this month, and will be reaching out to some of our Valued Associate members to join us. On Monday, AFMC and others from the resale community met with the HASC Professional Staff who pointed out that if the Committee rejects what is in the President's proposal, then they will have to have their bill scored and offsets made, whether it is related to money or policy. In the meantime, we are still encouraging members to send letters to the President as well as their Members of Congress. Here is the link to our current Capwiz letters posted on January 28th. We will update them again later this month before sending out the follow up Call to Action alert.
Key themes we are messaging:
- President believes commissaries are an important benefit of military life and that closure of these stores "is not how a great nation should be treating its military and military families."
- Price increases are a cut in pay for military families and veterans.
- There's a face to the cuts – puts strain on military families' household income, especially junior enlisted families that live pay check to pay check, and fixed income retirees.
- The military communities' hard earned benefits are being eroding one by one. Cutting the commissary benefit is yet another "broken promise."
- Wait for the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to do the job given by the President and the Congress.
- Commissaries support all Administration major initiatives—military spouse and veteran hiring, small business, persons with disabilities, healthy eating, efficiencies, and accountability.
- Is a program that should be emulated not decimated.
- Only area of DoD compensation where costs are dropping.
- Military Times survey said it is the number one benefit – highly used by enlisted families.
- 64% of commissary employees are military connected.
Hampton Roads ALA Golf Tourney
Join us for the Hampton Roads ALA Golf Tourney at Sewells Point Golf Course in Norfolk, Va., on March 5.
HOLE SPONSORSHIPS WELCOMED to benefit HRALA's Scholarship Program!
Click here to register!
Please sign up by Feb. 15, 2014. Field is limited to first 144 to register.
CVS to stop selling cigarettes by Oct. 1
The Washington Post
CVS, one of the nation's largest drugstore chains, recently said it will stop selling cigarettes at its 7,600 locations in an expensive but calculated bid to boost its image as a full-fledged health-care provider rather than a simple purveyor of greeting cards and shampoo. Executives said the move will cost the company $2 billion a year in lost sales. But they are gambling that abandoning smokers will help them strike more profitable deals with hospitals and health insurers — and appeal to growing ranks of customers newly insured under the Affordable Care Act.
Radio Shack to close 500 stores
Prairie Business Magazine
U.S. electronics chain Radio Shack Corp. is planning to close about 500 stores within months, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The struggling retailer, which is due to report results for the fourth quarter later this month, said it could not comment on rumor or speculation.
Report: Target says vendor breach led to data theft
Chain Store Age
Target reportedly said a data breach at an unidentified vendor led to hackers obtaining phony credentials that allowed them to gain access to Target's systems and steal the information for 40 million credit and debit cards, as well as the personal data of about 70 million consumers.
NRF: Minimum wage hike would bring 'minimum opportunities'
Chain Store Age
In his recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said he plans to sign an executive order increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour for workers on new government contracts and asked Congress to approve the same increase for all workers — and the National Retail Federation is not happy.
Report: Poor tablet experience impacts purchase willingness
Chain Store Age
Almost 77 percent of consumers report that having a poor or unsatisfying experience while trying to use a website on their tablet will affect their willingness to purchase from that brand. Other tablet research from omni-channel commerce technology provider Useablenet shows that 70 percent of consumers say that the quality of photography and design of a tablet site influences their decision on whether to purchase
Amazon to offer Kindle checkout system to physical retailers
The Wall Street Journal
Amazon.com Inc. plans to offer brick-and-mortar retailers a checkout system that uses Kindle tablets as soon as this summer, people briefed on the company's plans said. In one scenario, the Seattle company would give merchants Kindle tablets and credit-card readers, the people said. Amazon also might offer retailers other services, such as website development and data analysis, the people said.
Target hackers used stolen vendor credentials
The Wall Street Journal
The hackers who stole 40 million credit- and debit-card numbers from Target Corp. appear to have breached the discounter's systems by using electronic credentials stolen from a vendor. The finding will help to start unraveling the riddle of how the software that carried out the attack got into Target's systems. It also underscores the risks companies face as they operate vast, interconnected business systems.
Conn's announces 4 new stores
Chain Store Age
Conn's announced the opening of four Conn's HomePlus stores, with locations in Albuquerque, N.M.; Amarillo, Texas; Chandler, Ariz.; and Shreveport, La. The new HomePlus store format showcases furniture and mattresses in addition to the leading brands and the latest technologies in consumer electronics and home appliances.
Obama promises 'opportunity for all' in State of the Union address
Retail's BIG Blog
President Barack Obama covered a wide range of issues with implications for retailers in his annual State of the Union address, calling for a controversial minimum wage increase but also promising action on tax reform, immigration, trade, infrastructure and other issues as he outlined steps to boost the economy, create jobs and yield "opportunity for all."
Take care of your customers or someone else will
Delivering outstanding customer service is more important than ever before in the face of today's increasingly informed and savvy consumer. However, improving customer service without increasing costs is challenging. In order to win in a highly competitive retail environment, retailers need to rethink their supply chain processes, retail delivery models and enabling technologies.
Millard 'Mickey' Drexler talks price, creativity, career
Women's Wear Daily
Millard "Mickey" Drexler was on a roll. During a wide-ranging discussion, the J. Crew Group Inc. chairman and chief executive officer, who was the guest speaker at the inauguration of the striking auditorium in New School's University Center in Manhattan, touched on the company's business, his career and the state of the industry.
Wal-Mart aims to match Amazon's service offerings
The Wall Street Journal
The head of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s e-commerce efforts predicted that the retailer would be able to match the service offerings of competitor Amazon.com Inc. within two years. In a private interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wal-Mart global e-commerce CEO Neil Ashe said that the company was continuing to build out new warehouses across the country used to distribute online orders.
Radio Shack breaks campaign in support of new positioning
In its latest brand-positioning shift, struggling consumer electronics retailer Radio Shack Corp. is emphasizing one of its longtime, core tenets: customer service. A new national advertising campaign called "Do It Together," from Austin, Texas-based GSD&M, aims to show how Radio Shack and consumers can collaborate to solve technological problems like connecting today's many devices.
Apple's retail stores key to tech giant's success
Revenue growth may have slowed last year at Apple's retail stores, but the division remains one of the world's strongest retail chains and a key strategic focus of the tech-giant's future. With revenue exceeding $20 billion for the fiscal year ended Sept. 28, Apple's bricks and mortar unit exceeded the total annual revenue at big name retailers such as Nordstrom, The Gap or AutoNation.
Retailers right-sizing amid 2014 uncertainty
Revelations of job cuts at leading retailers, the latest involving Sam's Club, are a reminder that pro-active expense control remains retailers' best friend when it comes to ensuring profitability when faced with a murky outlook for consumer spending.
Retailers have already installed hardware to read safer smart cards
The Dallas Morning News
Major U.S. retailers, including Wal-Mart and Kroger, already have checkout systems that work with the smart cards that are widely used internationally. It's harder for hackers to extract personal information and account numbers that are stored in a computer chip. But U.S. consumers don't have the cards yet, making the hardware unusable against the criminal world for now.
Retail CIOs look to break online and offline shopping barriers
CIOs at retail operations are expressing strong interest in consolidating their far-flung and often siloed IT systems in response to the dissolving barriers between the online and in-store shopping experience, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation and Demandware, a retail technology provider.
Merchandise returns account for nearly $270 billion in lost sales
Chain Store Age
Merchandise returns in 2013 cost U.S. retailers more than $267 billion in lost sales. That's one of the findings contained in The Retail Equation's 2013 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry study, which analyzes results from the National Retail Federation's annual survey on merchandise returns and the 2012 Canadian Retail Security Survey from The Retail Council of Canada National Retail Federation.
Sam's Club to cut 2,300 workers
Chain Store Age
Wal-Mart Stores is eliminating the positions of about 2,300 Sam's Club employees. The job cuts represent 2 percent of Sam's total workforce. Employees whose jobs are eliminated that cannot find another job with Wal-Mart or Sam's Club will be eligible for severance.
One-third of Americans will buy new TV in 2014
Chain Store Age
Almost one-third of U.S., consumers (30 percent) plan to buy a new TV in 2014 and of those, 32 percent said during Super Bowl sales, while 25 percent said during Black Friday. A new consumer survey from FatWallet also revealed price will have the most influence on TV purchases, with more than half saying they plan to spend less than $500, while one-in-four plan to spend more than $700.
Target offers few details in Congressional briefing; could face $1 billion fine
Chain Store Age
A Target representative reportedly offered few new details during a phone briefing with members of Congress about its holiday data breach. According to Reuters, Target official Isaac Reyes spent about an hour on the phone with members of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on the evening of Jan. 30.
Online retailers don't meet expectations for returns
Chain Store Age
In a study of the returns and refunds performance of the 25 largest online retailers, StellaService found that the majority of retailers evaluated aren't meeting consumer expectations.
Newly wary, shoppers trust cash
The New York Times
Like dieters vowing to trade cupcakes for carrots, a number of American shoppers are making a new pledge: cash only. The drumbeat of disclosures about credit and debit card breaches at major retailers (and hints of more to come) has unnerved consumers to the point where chatter online and at the water cooler is filled with people promising to curb their plastic habits.
Air intake filters reduce maintenance costs
Filtration + Separation
Keeping food and drink cold is a major cost for retailers. Poor maintenance results in up to a 10 percent increase in energy use. One of the major causes of refrigerator inefficiency or failure is dirty or clogged condenser coils. This results in restricted airflow throughout the system and will require the refrigerators to work harder and consume more electricity in order to maintain the optimum temperatures necessary to avoid food spoilage.
Record growth in the US wine market
By Archita Datta Majumdar
U.S. wines are taking both the domestic and world market by storm. An increase in exports as well as domestic sales figures point to this positive growth. Sales figures of all wines in the U.S. hit a record high in 2012 with a 2 percent increase in sales from the year before, at around $34.6 billion. These figures are a result of a staggering 360.1 million cases of both domestic and foreign wine sold across the country. The U.S. has fast become an important market for wine today and will be even more so in coming years.
Consumers likely to be frugal for Valentine's Day
Retail Customer Experience
On the heels of a healthy yet modest holiday shopping season, cautious consumers aren't quite ready to splurge on Valentine's Day this year, continuing to keep their budgets in check. According to the National Retail Federation's 2014 Valentine's Day spending survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, 54 percent of Americans will celebrate with their loved ones this year, compared to 60 percent in 2013.
Consumer spending rises
Supply & Demand Chain Executive
Despite flat incomes, Americans increased their spending over November and December by 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. During the same time period, income rose 0.2 percent in November. Economists are hoping that stronger economic growth will promote stronger employment and income gains this year.
Retailers to Congress: There's no end in sight for credit card breaches
The Washington Post
The testimonies from top retail executives affirmed what many security experts have long warned: There is no end in sight for the recent spate of cyberattacks. Real change would require all the actors in the payment card system — merchants, banks the issue credit cards and the card networks — to work together to replace the plastic in our wallets with something more sophisticated, such as a card with a computer chip.
Position of DVP Northern District currently open
Howard Seignman, District Vice President (DVP), Southeast District, retired from NEXCOM on Jan. 1, 2014, after 36 years of service. Kevin Comer, DVP, Northern District, will be transferring to assume responsibilities as DVP/Southeast District. No date has been established for this move.
The position of DVP Northern District is currently being advertised.
Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them for you!
AAFES facilities worldwide
The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is the 43rd largest retail organization in the U.S., with annual revenue of $10.3B and employing 40,622 civilian and military personnel. The Exchange operates retail and convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, theaters, vending and other businesses on military installations in all 50 states, five U.S. territories and more than 30 countries.
The Exchange is responsible for more than 2,817 facilities worldwide in more than 30 countries, 50 states and five U.S. territories. The Exchange operates 131 main stores, 174 Military Clothing facilities, 850 Specialty Stores (Troops Stores, Service Stations, Express Stores, Class Six outlets, bookstores, etc.) and 72 theaters. Plus the Exchange has more than 1,590 quick serve restaurants, such as Taco Bell, Burger King and Starbucks. Concession operations overseen by the Exchange add 3,509 more activities.
New Exchange Post is out!
Check out the NEW eVersion by clicking here!
2014 Exchange Roundtable revised agenda is now available:
Click here to view the updated 2014 Exchange Roundtable Agenda
Congressman Joe Wilson will join us in Norfolk for the Roundtable
Exchange Council Members,
Please help us spread the word and provide clarity around NEXCOM's "Big Idea Session" at the ERT in Norfolk. The intent is to have the vendors come in with an idea, a product, a concept, etc. to help drive the business in 2014. In talking with Tess, she mentioned she got this idea from the show "Shark Tank" where people come in with a quick proposed idea/product that they feel will do well. They are looking for input from the vendor community on any ideas they think will bring business into the exchanges of course they will be addressing your questions in the Break Out Sessions as well.
The Other Services are developing what they want to cover during their session and Ana Middleton and Mike Immler will be discussing strategic processes as well as taking your comments and suggestions if you would like a question to be asked and don't want to do it in person email firstname.lastname@example.org or text 817-201-9921.
AAFES Sales December 2013
VCS Sales December 2013
ALA Executive Briefing (archive link)
AAFES Press release Archive 2010-2014
AAFES sales flyers (to view click below)
(Click image above for special advertisements!)
Exchange Savings Tabloid Portal
EUROPE SALES FLYER (AAFES)
PACRIM SALES FLYER (AAFES)
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Savings Portal: See all the savings posted here by week from AAFES and DeCA
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Save the dates:
2014 Exchange Roundtable
All Day Event
March 5-7, 2014
Norfolk Waterside Marriott
Click here to view flier.
Why do I need to be there for this event?
Attend the March 2014 Roundtable in Norfolk to better understand The critical significance of the Military Resale Exchanges in a new Defense budget era and how you too can help by participating in an all-new panel and town hall format.
Military resale and VCS programs meet critical criteria for Defense and Veterans programs, providing a model to emulate, not a program to decimate. In short, we are all part of the solution to present and future challenges, to increase the benefit and not reduce the benefit for our service members and their families.
Exchanges, Canteens and Commissaries provide this model because it offers the ability to produce and support a highly valued benefit with high personnel support, retention, and compensation value, all at little net cost and a significant financial ROI return to the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration.
What will you do and how can you help support the tremendous sacrifice of our military personnel and their families? Please join us in Norfolk.
The headquarters hotel for this meeting is the Marriott Norfolk Waterside located at 235 E Main Street, Norfolk, VA 23510. The Marriot is offering a discounted group rate to industry attendees: $112 single, plus taxes. To take advantage of this discount, contact the Marriott at 1-800-228-9390 or 757-627-4200, and mention the "American Logistics Association 2014 Exchange Roundtable." This discounted rate will be offered through 5pm eastern, Feb. 12, 2014, or until the ALA room block fills. Hotel rooms are reserved on a first come, first served basis and attendees are encouraged to make reservations as soon as possible for best availability.
Government/Military Partner Reservations:
The Government Per Diem room block secured by ALA is reserved for those persons employed by AAFES (The Exchange), MCCS, NEXCOM, CGES, VCS, DOD or DeCA. The Marriott will require proper ID upon checking in. To reserve a room at the GPD rate, please complete the GPD Hotel Reservation Form and return it to ALA no later than COB Feb. 10, 2014. Reservations will be made on a first come first served basis and, once the GPD block is full, ALA cannot guarantee that a reservation at the GPD rate will be available.
Cancellation requests must be submitted in writing. Cancellations received by Feb. 3, 2014, will receive a full refund. Cancellations received between Feb. 4-21 will be subject to a $250 processing fee. No refunds will be issued for cancellations received after February 21st or for "no-shows". Cancellation refunds will be processed by original method of payment. All refunds will be processed post-meeting and mailed directly to the individual on the registration form. Cancelled registrations may be transferred to individuals within the same company, upon written request. Cancelled registrations may not be transferred to another ALA meeting. Any cancellations resulting due to a family or medical emergency must be submitted in writing by within three days of the start of the meeting to receive a refund.
Click here for the Industry Registration Form (for check payments only)
Click here for the GPD Hotel Reservation Form
Go to: www.ALA-National.org, sign in and CHECK OUT the information.
Marines raise money from their powerful 'brand'
The Daily News Journal
Over its storied 238-year history the Marine Corps has built a powerful brand. Only in recent years, however, has the Marine Corps and other services been able to capitalize on their reputations by selling agreements that allow businesses to purchase the right to use trademarked slogans or emblems on everything from coffee mugs and T-shirts to airsoft guns, which fire plastic pellets.
Yamada introduces veterans home oversight bill
Lake County News
Recently, Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, D-Calif., introduced AB 1580, legislation to establish new oversight processes for the appropriation of funds in the State's Veterans Homes. Specifically, this bill addresses issues identified in an October 2013 California State Auditor's report regarding the mismanagement of the Morale, Welfare and Recreation fund which helps support programs and activities for Veterans Home residents.
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063


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According to a Populus study commissioned by price comparison website comparethemarket.com, one in ten people have been the victim of a cyber-attack on their credit or debit card in the last year. Furthermore, in the majority of cases (62%), money was successfully removed from the account, with an average of £475 stolen. Across the UK this equates to more than £2.1bn being stolen in total in the last 12 months, and a staggering 4.5 million credit and debit cards being cancelled.
The survey reveals that of those unlucky enough to have been defrauded in the last year, nearly a third (31%) said the hack occurred when making an online payment, while one in ten (10%) had their card duplicated at an ATM machine. A small proportion (8%) had even been hacked when making a contactless payment.
Despite the risk of falling victim to cyber-attacks, the results show that some are still not taking small steps that could help to protect their money online. For example, a quarter (25%) admitted to using the same PIN number and password for all of their cards and online accounts. According to the research, 53% do this for ease of use, while 42% do not want to have to remember more than one number.
However, ‘getting hacked’ acts as a wakeup call for many:
41% of people that were hacked in the last year said they were considering changing or had changed their bank or credit card provider
49% said they now check their bank accounts more regularly
33% never give bank details over the phone
29% admit to paying for more items with cash and making online transactions less frequently
Luckily, customer service and fraud departments appear to be acting decisively in response to cybercrime. The vast majority of respondents (89%) said they we satisfied with the way their bank or credit card company had handled the crime, with 68% stating they were very satisfied. The majority (71%) said their bank or credit card provider had been the one to alert them to the security breach, while a third (33%) said they were contacted within 24 hours of the hack occurring.
Jody Baker, head of money at comparethemarket.com, said:
“We’re constantly being warned of the dangers of cyber-attacks but it is still a shock if it happens to you. Most of the transactions we make now are digital and our research suggests that over a quarter of people carry as little as £10 in cash. With so many of us shopping and banking on the internet, combined with a rise in contactless payments, it is more important than ever to be vigilant when managing your money. It is a good idea to regularly check your bank statements for any unusual activity as criminals often make small but regular thefts which are harder to spot than larger one-off purchases.”
Visit http://www.comparethemarket.com/media-centre to find out more.

domain: news


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UBS aren’t noobs or newbies, but when it comes to claiming lackluster interest in an Apple product, is this the same OldBS as usual?
Analyst firm Telsyte is making big predictions for the smartwatch, wearable computing market in its latest Australian Smartwatch & Wearable Devices Market Study 2015.
Respected analyst firm Ovum says that while reports of Microsoft and Windows' 'imminent demise are somewhat over exaggerated', it notes that the somewhat tardy software maker still has a lot of work to prove that Windows 8 will rate.
Nice Article.. this article explore everything.. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful blog.I have gained a lot of knowledge from[…]
One of Australia’s very woke CEOs leading a business that has ripped off Indigenous people, accused of overselling to seniors,[…]
Thank you for the data shown on this article. It's a bumpy ride for Australia but on the other hand,[…]
I am really not surprised that the ABC has resorted to monetising its data.When the Coalition Government is doing everything[…]
Thanks Peter! A story well worth reporting.A tiny step in a better direction except that 2035 will be far too[…]


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Winnipeg, Canada — A child safety analysis of the two largest mobile app stores has found the platforms have easy‑to‑bypass age restrictions, inconsistent enforcement of app age ratings, and largely unsuitable age ratings. These findings, among many others, published today by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) raise significant concerns for the protection of children/youth online, and for families who use age ratings to gauge safety.
C3P analysts looked at app age rating enforcement for two age groups: children under 13, and youth 13‑17. The results showed notable safety shortfalls in both Apple and Google’s mobile app stores, including an inconsistency in enforcement, lack of consistency in age ratings across both stores (and the app’s actual terms of service), chatroulette‑style apps being widely available despite Apple publicly stating it would remove these type of apps, and promoted apps being shown to children and youth that are rated older than the age associated with the user’s account.
C3P analysts also found the term age rating in itself to be misleading. While it would appear to connect to the age when a child can safely use a particular app, it is in fact based on the content the app developer claims you can expect to see in the app.
“Apple and Google are placing the responsibility solely on parents to determine what is safe for their family, yet parents are not offered useful information, leaving them with the incorrect impression that the risk to their child is limited or even non‑existent,” says Lianna McDonald, Executive Director of C3P.
These gaps in protection have the most profound impact on youth 13+, who are considered “adults” online with the ability to easily access adult-only content, mingle with strangers, and interact in spaces with little to none of the safeguards that exist offline for their age.
“Liquor stores are not allowed to look the other way when someone underage tries to buy beer; tech should not be permitted to hand off their duty to protect children online to parents, or the youth themselves. Tech companies, especially those who have publicly committed to safeguarding children, such as Apple and Google have, need to shoulder their share of the responsibility,” says McDonald.
Stemming from these findings, C3P has four recommendations that could be voluntarily adopted by mobile app stores, or mandated by governments, to increase the online safety and protection of children and youth:
- Provide transparent information on how age rating criteria are reached and monitored
- Enforce age rating listed in mobile app stores
- Ensure mobile apps promoted by mobile app stores match the age of the user
- Standardize age ratings to ensure consistency across mobile app stores
To read the full report findings and recommendations, visit protectchildren.ca/ageratingMedia relations contact:
1 (204) 560-0723


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The aggressive moves by intermodal providers to keep business with lower pricing come after North American domestic intermodal demand fell 10 percent between March and September.
Schneider National news and analysis. Get the latest news about Schneider National and the trucking industry.
31 Oct 2022
The JOC Intermodal Savings Index shows intermodal contracts saved shippers a lot of money in the third quarter, but spot rail rates saved very little, especially on short hauls in the eastern US.
28 Oct 2022
Hub Group and Schneider National sidestepped questions about intermodal contracts for 2023, a far different approach than the two companies took a year ago when the pricing power was on their side.
27 Oct 2022
Schneider says the peak season will be muted because shippers moved inventory into warehouses earlier this year, but the weaker volumes do not necessarily mean steep rate cuts for shippers in 2023 contracts.
04 Aug 2022
Intermodal discounts declined in the second quarter both sequentially and year over year as shippers were able to negotiate lower spot and contract truckload rates with motor carriers.
30 Jun 2022
Union Pacific Railroad will temporarily re-align its domestic intermodal network in Northern California to accommodate a construction project meant to expand container capacity in the region ahead of Schneider National bringing more volume in 2023.
08 Jun 2022
Acquisitions are a tool with which profitable large carriers such as Schneider National and Heartland Express are expanding their footprints and their portfolio of services, despite market headwinds.
02 Jun 2022
Union Pacific Railroad and Schneider National have engaged intermodal shippers in recent weeks to discuss their new partnership and attempt to dispel any concerns about service disruptions during the transition from BNSF.
16 Mar 2022
J.B. Hunt Transport Services will grow its box fleet by 40 percent to 150,000 containers within three to five years as it seeks to win market share from Union Pacific Railroad and its intermodal partners.
02 Mar 2022
As container lines pull back on inland point intermodal (IPI), US importers are rethinking their landside delivery plans and containerized freight is moving further inland before being deconsolidated.
14 Feb 2022
Schneider wants intermodal customers to know that service will remain strong on BNSF Railway this year ahead of its transition to rival Union Pacific Railroad in 2023.
19 Jan 2022
Schneider National will leave BNSF Railway in 2023 to partner with Union Pacific Railroad, the third major container-owning intermodal provider to leave BNSF since mid-2021.
12 Jan 2022
Competition in 2022’s truckload market will be for space, not for the lowest rates, as shippers race to get their goods on trailers and carriers compete for drivers who are increasingly opting to stick closer to home.
06 Jan 2022
While most shippers are concerned about whether there will be enough chassis and fluidity in railroad terminals in 2022, they are also bracing for a steep increase in contract rates.
03 Aug 2021
US retail sales, excluding autos, are rising faster than inventories, even where inventories are increasing, and that’s putting more pressure on over-stressed supply chains and trucking capacity.
07 Jun 2021
Top trucking and intermodal providers are raising penalties on shippers who do not promptly unload and return 53-foot trailers or containers.
07 Jun 2021
Housing, energy, and manufacturing are generating intense demand for flatbed transportation at a time when a shortage of materials is disrupting supply chains.
13 May 2021
The US Commerce Department has reaffirmed a large antidumping duty on Chinese-made chassis in a final determination that will impact the transportation of international and domestic containers.
06 May 2021
The JOC Intermodal Savings Index hit a new record in Q1, but rising spot intermodal rates and surcharges could reduce savings in Q2.
07 Dec 2020
Intermodal executives want to address the chronic congestion issues in 2020 with railroads and BCOs, but universally accepted solutions are hard to come by.
03 Nov 2020
Capacity remains king in the US truckload market, as larger carriers face challenges hiring company drivers and owner-operators seek independent opportunities.
10 Sep 2020
Contract truck rates are rising because shippers are struggling to find available capacity and asking carriers what it will take to get their freight moving.
07 Jul 2020
Intermodal shippers are increasingly putting pressure on 3PLs to waive container fees as a precondition for business amid the coronavirus-linked recession.
23 Jun 2020
BNSF Railway has unveiled a five-day per week train service between Seattle and CSX’s Ohio hub about an hour south of Toledo.
23 Apr 2020
Freight visibility provider Overhaul, fresh off a $17.5 million funding round in March, is partnering with Schneider’s broker division.
06 Apr 2020
The 50 largest US trucking operators in the United States saw revenue growth throttle back considerably in 2019, but 2020 is shaping up to be even worse.
10 Mar 2020
Large US truckload carriers that engaged in mergers and acquisitions and expanded specialized services like dedicated trucking fared much better in 2019 than those that relied more on traditional dry-van business, according to JOC's 2020 Top 25 US Truckload Carrier Rankings, prepared by SJ Consulting Group.
13 Feb 2020
Non-asset intermodal providers want railroads to be more lenient on container charges and late fees when bidding for shipper business in order to become more competitive with the likes of J.B. Hunt Transport Services.
05 Feb 2020
Amid weak intermodal volumes in 2019, the JOC Domestic Intermodal Savings Index shows spot and contract savings are lower than historical averages, although the year closed stronger for shipper savings on the spot market.
31 Jan 2020
Trucking companies and brokers expect low rates to persist a while longer despite a surge in December and early January, and there’s no consensus as to when, or if, a sustained turnaround will take hold later this year.
29 Jan 2020
Railroads and intermodal providers say there will be more volume in 2020 than last year, although shipper demand will not fully recover until the second half of this year.
05 Nov 2019
As spot intermodal rates begin to save shippers more money than earlier in 2019, shippers are seeing reduced savings on contract business.
31 Oct 2019
Top intermodal providers had few positives in describing the current state of the market with little to no seasonal uptick in container volumes on rail.
12 Sep 2019
Schneider National says it’s not worried about Amazon purchasing branded 53-foot containers because the intermodal provider believes only a small group of companies have the scale to insource.
09 Sep 2019
The Journal of Commerce has learned Amazon has acquired 53-foot containers, signaling an intention to tender intermodal volume directly to Class I railroads without an intermediary and marketing itself as an end-to-end supply chain solution for small retailers.
05 Aug 2019
The long-term outlook for truckers, and their shipper customers, is blurred by the fog of trade wars, but 2020 will bring changes.
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As the cryptocurrency industry continues to seep into the mainstream, neo-banking platform Revolut has rolled out crypto staking services for its users in the United Kingdom and European Economic Area (EEA), allowing them to earn profit by locking up their cryptocurrencies in a wallet.
Indeed, Revolut, which offers financial services through its mobile application and Revolut card, now enables users to lock their digital assets for a specific period of time, receiving returns on their locked balance, the challenger bank said on February 7.
According to Revolut, customers will this way be in a position to earn up to 11.65% annual percentage yield (APY), with variations in the “payout, cadence, and required minimum time to stake,” depending on the selected token.
For the moment, the staking feature is only being launched for four tokens – Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), and Tezo (XTZ) – with the possibility of staking one’s existing balance or purchasing and staking the acquired balance.
Commenting on the announcement, Revolut’s crypto general manager Emil Urmanshin expressed his team’s enthusiasm and explained that introducing staking was an important step for the bank:
“We want to enable users to do more with their crypto – with withdrawals and deposits, as well as earning interest on their crypto through staking. Staking is the first milestone on our 2023 roadmap, and we’re really excited to help users put their crypto to work and earn returns on their balances at Revolut.”
Revolut’s other crypto accomplishments
Notably, the bank’s recent addition is not the first of its crypto-focused efforts. In June 2020, it moved to grant users legal control over their crypto assets, enabling Bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals in April 2021, and continuously expanding its crypto trading support over the years.
In August 2022, Revolut listed job ads for 13 crypto-related positions, as part of its plans to grow its crypto workforce by 20%, bringing in employees in Europe, the UK, and the United States over the ensuing six months, as Finbold reported at the time.
At the same time, the neobanking platform ensured regulatory approval to offer crypto services to millions of its users in Europe, as it was selected as the crypto-asset service provider (CASP) for the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC).
The development was followed by the bank slashing its crypto trading fees by 20% as of October 3, 2022, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto with fees ranging “from 2.50% to 1.99% or EUR 0.99, whichever is higher.”
More recently, in November 2022, Revolut announced the introduction of a crypto card in the UK, allowing residents in that country to purchase everyday items using Dogecoin (DOGE), which it listed in June 2021, as well as receive a 1% payback for purchases made using one of nearly a hundred supported digital assets.


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On August 13, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released two additional lists of products that will be subject to a 10 percent tariff on approximately $300 billion worth of imported Chinese goods, pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The first set of tariffs will go into effect on September 1, 2019 as announced by the president on August 1. Some products have been removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security, and other factors, according to USTR.
The second set of tariffs for certain products from China, including, but not limited to, cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain footwear and clothing will be delayed to December 15, 2019.
List 4A: Effective as of September 1, 2019 (See Annex A)
List 4B: Effective as of December 15, 2019 (See Annex B)
USTR will introduce an exclusion request process for products subject to the additional 10 percent ad valorem tariff.


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Yes, you’ve heard the phrase and you’re familiar with the good-natured USA vs. Canada rivalry — but a small group of people from Bellingham, Wash. are taking it to another level.
A community page on Facebook named “Bellingham Costco needs a special time just for Americans” has collected more than 2,000 likes on the social networking site and has generated some nasty comments.
“You all been there. its [sic] hard to find a parking spot. Them Canadians can be rude. The lines are crazy. We aren’t on a vacation and have an RV to hang out in like those Canadians. We just want to go shopping, not go on an adventure. Costco used to have special opening hours for preferred customers. Why cant [sic] they do that for us loyal American customers?” the page’s description reads.
But it doesn’t stop there — comments on the page take stabs at Canuck driving and parking skills and apparently we buy too much milk — which lead to the nickname “milk piranhas.”
But never fear, the page user cleared the air by publishing this post on July 20, one day after the page was created:
“Even tho [sic] some of these pictures are offensive and there may be some offensive comments. In no way do we hate Canadians,” it read.
The user again clarified Friday: “To our Canadian friends on here that think we hate you: You have to look at the root of the problem. Bellingham has laws that keep big box companys [sic] from expanding. The overcowding [sic] in this small slow paced town has agitated people,” it read.
“The people are only looking at the surface and pointing fingers at our beloved Canadians ... the surface problem is overcrowding and the root problem is expansion.”
Ken Oplinger, president of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the page is “a complete pipe dream.”
“This is not something that would ever happen — frankly some of the comments that were made on there crossed the line of what was appropriate,” he said. “If I was a Canadian [and their plan materialized] what it would tell me is that I wasn’t welcome there and I was a second-class shopper.”
Oplinger insisted the page does not reflect his community.
“Unfortunately, there’s a couple of people who have misplaced some concerns they have about crowds at Costco,” he said. “[These are] just not things the majority of people in Whatcom County would support.”
And much to the contrary, Oplinger said Canadians play a big role in helping their economy and retail stores need their business.
“All those Canadians who come down south and shop — they’re paying [our] taxes and it helps our government provide services to those that live here,” he said.
“So if we have to wait in line a little bit longer — we’re OK with that.”


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CCAD Fashion Show helps school, students step into spotlight
(Page 2 of 3)
This year’s show is set for May 11, commencement eve, on a parking lot behind Design Studios on Broad, the newest academic building on the growing campus.
Last year, the college moved the show to the evening, added dance parties and raised ticket prices.
Students have always served as models, but this year those from other majors also are handling photography and designing promotional materials. After donated services from area companies, expenses total about $100,000, including tent, runway and audio-visual system.
Another change this year is that not every piece from the students’ academic projects made the show. A jury of fashion designers, merchandisers and buyers for retail chains chose 54 looks.
“We’re giving the students a very real-world, business-like experience, which I think has elevated the quality of the garments in the show,” Sweeney said.
Rachel Kaplan, a Hilliard student with five pieces in the show, said she’s wanted to attend CCAD and become a designer since she was 10 years old.
After several years as an intern, Kaplan will start this summer as a designer for New Albany-based Abercrombie & Fitch Co. She’s designed casual dresses and knit tops for the retailer, so for the show she wanted to show her versatility by making couture gowns.
The show has influenced academics, said classmate Rachel Cass. The junior class now does a mini-collection.
“The professors are pushing us more,” Cass said.
With a chance to be spotted by a retailer or major label in the show, fashion students have expenses beyond tuition and books. Kaplan spent $3,000 on silk, lace, sequined chiffon, leather and accessories for her collection, sewed each piece and hand-beaded a gown. Cass, with six designs in the show, says she lost track but spent $2,000 to $5,000 on silks and knits.
Carrie Ghose covers health care, startups and technology for Columbus Business First.
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Facets Creative appoints new CEO and Executive Creative Director
September 2017 – Following on from an announcement by Michael Aldridge, Chairman of the Board, at the Company of Master Jewellers’ (CMJ) AGM in August that its subsidiary companies would be reviewed to ensure their sustainability, effectiveness and profitability, the decision has been made to appoint Lynton Heath as CEO and Executive Creative Director of Facets Creative.
The digital side of the Facets Creative business will continue to be headed up by Steve Jones.
Lynton has strong credentials and a wealth of experience holding posts at five top 10 global agencies as an award-winning Senior Creative Director including Ogilvy & Mather, McCann, MullenLowe, FCB and Leo Burnett. He also founded his own agency in South Africa which later merged to become Lowe Bull Truth (part of MullenLowe, London).
Lynton has worked on many high profile global brands including Unilever, Nescafe, Nestle, Wonderbra and Mercedes Benz, and has also specialised as a Senior Digital UX Copywriter, Content Editor and Manager. He has achieved many awards and accolades in New York, London and Cannes for his campaigns.
More recently Lynton has worked in the UK as a senior digital copywriter and content editor for City & Guilds, London and Marie Curie.
He was introduced to CMJ and brought in as a consultant to work with the marketing team on a project. While working with CMJ, Lynton has had the opportunity to be involved with Facets Creative and has been instrumental in completing an audit of the agency.
Lynton will take up the new post on 9 October 2017.
“I’m very excited about this upcoming challenge to take Facets Creative to the next level. I believe the agency has some very talented people and, with the right resources in place, has enormous potential,” Lynton said.


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Stop by 6978 Soul Food this week and enjoy smothered pork chops, chicken, catfish and more at a 15 percent discount.
The West Side eatery, located at 6978 W. North Ave., is one of several participating in the first Chicago Black Restaurant Week (CBRW).
Created to bring awareness to black-owned eateries throughout Chicagoland, the week of discounts will run through Feb. 13, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Lauran Smith, a local PR expert, created CBRW because she had concerns that African-American owned eateries are not very well known. Positive exposure is always a good thing, and her ultimate goal is to expose these establishments to everyone.
There are quite a few hidden gems owned by African Americans, and we would love for you to get to know just who they are, Smith writes.
To see a full list of the Chicago restaurants, click here.
Thanks to Austin business owner Malcolm Crawford for tipping AustinTalks off to this story. He runs Sankofa Cultural Arts & Business Center with his wife Stacia and also heads the Austin African American Business Networking Association.


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The Natura & Co specialist beauty retailer commissioned a Censuswide nationwide survey amongst 2,000 individuals in early August to identify key self-care trends arising during the COVID-19 lockdown across the UK. Respondents were asked to share details of their current self-care activities versus February; time and money spent on different activities was then analysed.
Findings showed that the most popular self-care activity for UK consumers during the first COVID-19 lockdown had been watching TV or films. This was closely followed by listening to music or podcasts; baking and cooking; reading; gardening; and running. Within the 7.5 hours of dedicated time to self-care activities each month, consumers dedicated one hour to beauty.
Self-tanning spend up, makeup purchases down
Zooming in on the beauty self-care window, findings showed the average monthly expenditure on beauty in the UK had dropped during COVID-19 lockdown, with €639m (£572m) less spent on haircuts, eyebrow and nail grooming, massages, spas, makeup and hair removal. An earlier report from GlobalData suggested the UK beauty industry would see a total value decline of €1.8bn (£1.7bn) in 2020.
Self-tanning spend, however, was up and had seen “the biggest increase in spend on beauty” during lockdown, according to findings. The average monthly spend for self-tan products across the UK soared by €31m (£28m), with an additional €0.47 (£0.42) spent per person, per month. Average time dedicated to self-tanning during lockdown also increased by eight minutes.
This compared to a €1.55 (£1.39) monthly drop on makeup per person, representing a €105m (£94m) average loss per month across the UK. Consumers were also dedicating less time to makeup – down by 23 minutes. Makeup did, however, rank third in terms of time spent on beauty activities still, with an average of one hour and 20 minutes dedicated to this per person, per month.
Luxury bath time up, haircuts and styling down
The Body Shop survey findings also showed that UK spend on luxury bathing products was up €0.37 (£0.33) per month, per person, equating to an extra €24m (£22m) in spend across the UK. Importantly, consumers had also dedicated an extra 15 minutes to luxury bathing during lockdown – the biggest increase seen for a beauty-related self-care activity.
In fact, having a luxury bath or shower ranked as the top beauty activity among consumers – in terms of time spent – with consumers averaging two hours per month on this activity.
Across the UK, 70% of consumers indulged in luxury baths, or showers, as a self-care activity during COVID-19 – more marked amongst consumers aged 25-35 who spent the “most amount of time in the tub per month”.
Money spent on haircuts and styling, by comparison, was down an average of €4.50 (£4.03) per person, per month, resulting in a drop of €305m (£273m) in monthly spend across the UK.
A spike in cosmetics work
Findings from the report also showed UK consumers had spent more on ‘cosmetics work’, including treatments like Botox and teeth whitening. On average, spend was up £0.35 per person, per month with an additional five minutes dedicated to these activities. Total average monthly spend on cosmetics work was up €27m (£24m) across the UK; just behind the rise in spend on self-tanning.
The Body Shop said it planned to publish further research that had global implications in January 2021.


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Uber to Lease Cars Directly to Its Drivers
Car services like Uber and Lyft changed the game when they showed us how good getting a ride could be from someone other than a taxi. Not only were the cars clean and the drivers friendly, but the technology component meant not having to hail a cab and knowing exactly where your driver is. Well, Uber is looking to raise the bar once again, by leasing directly to its drivers. Today, Uber announced a new pilot program that will allow UberX drivers to lease new cars directly from the on-demand ride company. According to Fortune, the service is called Xchange, and will allow drivers to get competitive rates and lease in a way that cuts out the middle man–very much the Uber way. RELATED: A D.C. Uber Driver Took Passengers on a Wild Ride
Uber had previously launched a limited leasing program for its drivers. It was a partnership with General Motors and Toyota, and nearly 20,000 drivers took place in it. Xchange takes that concept to a new level, by issuing the leases not through any automaker, but through a subsidiary of Uber that is owned and funded by Uber.
RELATED: Blake Griffin's Uber Driver Offered Him Something Uber-Weird
The Xchange program includes unlimited mileage, the option to lease pre-owned, and free routine maintenance. If you are an Uber driver, or thinking of becoming one, and want to take advantage of the leasing program, expect to pay about $100 a week for a 2013 Toyota Corolla for a 36-month lease term. If you want to up to a 2013 Toyota Camry, it will cost you about $120 a week for 36 months.
The program is currently being rolled out in Los Angeles, San Fransisco, and San Diego. Cities in Maryland and Georgia will also be given the opportunity to participate. We’ll be watching the rollout of this program to see how it expands and how well it is received by Uber’s drivers.
RELATED: Lucky Uber Riders Get Picked up in a McLaren 650S


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Unleashing Bernie Madoff
Last week Keith Dobermann, the Tennessee Citizen Action consumer watchdog, announced the first contender for “The Worst Legislation in Tennessee!” It’s week #2 and this time Keith has a story to tell:
A Chihuahua hits it big and decides to invest his money with Beagle Madoff. Uh-oh. Will Tennessee’s Consumer Protection Act protect Chihuahua’s investment from Beagle’s “Ponzi” scheme? Keith reports, you decide!
Don’t forget, at the end of 5 weeks, you can vote for your choice of the worst of the worst.* The winner will be announced at our “The Worst Legislation in Tennessee!” event at the LeQuire Gallery the night of October 21.


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Now through June 19, Popeyes is selling its 2-piece Signature Chicken for just 59 cents, the same price as when Popeyes first opened in 1972. To get the deal, you need to order the chicken through the Popeyes mobile app and spend at least $5. The deal is not available through on-line ordering apps.
We reported in May that Popeyes would be opening a location across from the Clarksburg Outlets.
Popeyes has made plenty of recent moves within Montgomery County, recently opening new locations in Briggs Chaney, Downtown Silver Spring, and Gaithersburg. The fried chicken chain announced in April that it is set to open more than 200 new locations in the United States and Canada this year with additional locations in several other places around the world. Over half of the new Popeyes locations that are scheduled to open in 2022 will feature double drive-thrus, but it’s still unclear whether or not the new Clarksburg location will have a drive-thru.


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Bunge introduced Whole Harvest™ USDA certified organic soybean oil and Non-GMO Project Verified milled ancient grains at the 2016 SupplySide West (October 6-7) and IBIE (October 8-11) shows in Las Vegas.
Bunge’s chefs served samples such as okonomiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake made with millet and soybean oil; as well malted sorghum muffins and quinoa croissants.
“Organic, non-GMO, and clean label will continue to be key growth drivers in the US food market, which is why we’re excited to help our customers leverage these trends across many categories from savory snacks to bakery,” says Mark Stavro, senior director of marketing, Bunge North America. “Our new offerings will help food companies introduce organic oils and non-GMO milled ancient grains into more food applications than previously possible.”
Bunge’s introduction of Whole Harvest™ USDA certified organic soybean oil expands upon the brand’s existing range of Non-GMO Project Verified soybean oil, canola oil and pan sprays.
“Soybean oil is the most commonly used oil in the US, and by providing a scalable organic choice for this popular ingredient, we’re helping our customers meet increasing demand for organic products,” says Anthony Williams, vice president of sales and marketing, Bunge North America oils. “Whole Harvest™ organic soybean oil goes one step further than most other organic oils — not only is it expeller pressed, but it’s also minimally refined, which provides even more choices for our customers to use when responding to the clean label trend.”
Bunge’s new line up of Non-GMO Project Verified milled ancient grains — including millet, sorghum, and quinoa — adds to its range of Non-GMO Project Verified milled corn and rice ingredients. In this area, the company is differentiating its ancient grain portfolio by utilizing its milling capabilities to offer a wide variety of ingredients that perform across many food applications.
Wade Ellis is vice president and general manager, Bunge North America milling.
“What sets our ancient grain portfolio apart, in addition to being Non-GMO Project Verified, is that it includes flours, meals, grits, and extruded products — both whole grain and refined — that help our customers get ancient grains into as many foods and beverages as possible,” he adds. “The recent completion of Non-GMO Project Verification at our Danville, Ill., facility, the world’s largest corn dry mill, means we can now offer a diversified Non-GMO Project Verified platform at significant scale to help brands of all sizes grow with the non-GMO trend.”
About Bunge North America
Bunge North America (www.bungenorthamerica.com), the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), is a vertically integrated food and feed ingredient company, supplying raw and processed agricultural commodities and specialized food ingredients to a wide range of customers in the animal feed, food processor, foodservice and bakery industries.
With headquarters in St. Louis, Bunge North America and its subsidiaries operate grain elevators, oilseed processing plants, edible oil refineries and packaging facilities, and corn, wheat and rice mills in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.


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The internet marketing landscape continues to twist and turn its way into prosperity. Marketing departments understand their tried-and-true tactics no longer generate the level of ROI most executives expect from their teams. This generates demand for alternative methods to drive profits higher. Brafton reported on Nielsen’s Q1 Global Adview Pulse Lite study that noted paid advertising investments increased at a much slower rate of 1.9 percent year-over-year to start off 2013. This metric further suggests that brands have begun to show interest in other marketing areas, focusing on building sentiment before demanding more website conversions.
Another report from Nielsen, “2013 Online Advertising Performance Outlook,” found that 63 percent of marketers plan to increase resources for online brand advertising, with 20 percent saying their budgets will grow by more than 20 percent. In fact, marketers are transitioning their budgets to embrace digital channels. Forty-eight percent of brands will shift dollars from television into online video content creation, and almost 70 percent will boost spend on social media marketing and mobile content marketing.
Even with higher allocations for online marketing, brands face frequent challenges with how to measure content ROI, despite an increase in use of analytics software for stronger campaign tracking. Sixty-nine percent of marketers indicated they want improved clarity around the ROI from brand advertising, and they use content analytics to gauge sales (78 percent) and brand lift (55 percent). When brands see conversions rise in tandem with sentiment toward products and services, they often feel more confident in decisions to distribute resource toward somewhat new, experimental marketing practices.
As marketers focus on cultivating web real estate to inspire loyalty and awareness, digital channels that broadcast custom video content or networks that spark social chatter can become companies’ greatest allies. The more high-quality and engaging media brands pump onto the ‘net, the more likely they’ll reach their audience and continue to get their names in front of impressionable prospects.


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Hungary: Economic sentiment deteriorates in July
July 28, 2013
The GKI-Erste economic sentiment index fell to minus 15.5 points in July (June: minus 14.8 points), marking a halt to the improvement seen in the past two months. The decline was driven by deterioration in business expectations.
Consumer sentiment rose from minus 37.3 in June to minus 35.3 in July. According to the GKI-Erste index, consumers were less pessimistic about job prospects and the country's economic outlook. FocusEconomics panellists expect total consumption to contract 0.6% this year, which is up 0.2 percentage points from last month's projection. For next year, the panel sees total consumption rebounding to a 0.8% expansion.
Business sentiment deteriorated in July, dropping to minus 8.6 points (June: minus 6.9 points). The worsening was due to the industrial and service sector, while expectations for trading and construction companies improved. The decline in confidence in the industrial sector reflected a worsened assessment for stock of new orders in the next period. Confidence in the service sector fell amid a more negative evaluation of the general business climate and sales. Prospects for employment weakened in the industrial and construction sectors but improved in others.
Panellists expect fixed investment to fall 2.3% this year, which is up 0.1 percentage points over last month's estimate. For next year, the panel sees investment expanding 0.5%.


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His Ocean Drive palazzo may still need finishing touches, but Gianni Versace's new Jeans Couture boutique in South Beach is up and running.
The Miami flagship opened last week with a huge outdoor block party. Throngs of the designer's groupies packed into the 3,000-square-foot space filled with Versace's more casual clothing and his new home things -- rugs, dishes, cushions and the like. Even the boutique's next-door neighbor, ABS, got into the spirit by featuring safety pin Versace knockoffs in its window.
Among those fans on hand, plenty of them in Versace, were Nick Scotti, Victor Alfaro and his twin brother, Pablo, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia and Isabel de Bourbon, Eighties icon Dianne Brill, Kenny Scharf, Kal Ruttenstein and Billy Norwich.
On New Year's Eve, the Raleigh became the most exclusive spot in all Miami -- literally -- when the phones went out. From 6 p.m. on, all calls to and from the hotel fell on deaf ears and busy signals, until 1994 -- and a repairman -- finally came to the rescue.
Down the road on New Year's Eve, South Beach's young at heart showed up for the party that Thierry Mugler threw outside the Century Hotel. He asked guests to "dress like a whore," a request guests interpreted pretty loosely. Mugler donned toupee, tinted sunglasses, gold teeth and chains -- an authentic Miami Beachcomber. Other looks ranged from chaps in chaps and girls in bikinis to the outright outre. Not everyone was dressed to the pavonines, though -- Isabel and Ruben Toledo played it down, as did John Epperson. As Lypsinka, he would be entertaining the troops the next night at Starfish, Miami's restaurant of the moment, and decided to take New Year's Eve off.
@zacposen's go-to holiday gift? Cookies! "I'll usually bake cookies and send them as a gift," said the designer, who recently released his cookbook "Cooking With Zac: Recipes from Rustic to Refined." Get the recipe for his Brown Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies via link in bio 🍪🍪🍪 #wwdeye #cookingwithzac
For @monsemaison’s pre-fall 2018 collection, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim honed in on the brand’s many signatures — men’s wear, which was tweaked and feminized through deconstruction, proportion play and lots of bare shoulders. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: George Chinese)
On Friday night, @yohjiyamamotoofficial received the Design for Asia Lifetime Achievement Award in Hong Kong. The 75-year-old designer has been celebrated for many years and is best known for his dark and avant-garde tailoring. “In my long career, in design, architecture, [I’ve been to] so many parties, this is the very first time that I have such a warm feeling, I really appreciate this,” Yamamoto said. #wwdfashion (📷: @dominiquemaitre)
Discovery is collaborating with British pop artist @philipcolbert on a new line of clothing and accessories called Discovery Shark. The collection, which will launch next summer for Shark Week’s 30th anniversary, features a whimsical line of women’s and men’s bomber jackets, sweatshirts, bags and more. #wwdfashion
“I’m always a big champion of a female rapper, and I’m glad to see a new voice that feels unique and authentic that’s coming up, and I think we’re going to see more great things from her,” said @itsjeremyscott about @iamcardib, who performed at @moschino’s Art Basel Miami Beach party last night. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
@janellemonae’s “What’s Your Frequency?” room in @refinery29's #29Rooms made its debut this week at the opening of the Los Angeles art exhibit. “It’s about the ongoing conversation around mass surveillance, the weaponization of technology and cultural uniformity. My space was created so that we can come together and talk about the complexities of our humanity,” said Monáe. #wwdeye (📷: @bucknerphoto)
@pantone announced their Color of the Year 2018: Ultra Violet. Nearly 20 months after the musician Prince’s death, fashion is having a purple moment. Varying shades of purple appeared on spring or fall runways, from @christopherkane to @calvinklein. @gucci’s Alessandro Michele bathed his fall runway in ultra violet-colored light at one point. Pantone 18-3838 is meant to “push the boundaries of what inspires us to look upward and outward to the future.” #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @kukukuba)


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Vietnam coffee grows in quality
Vietnam has become the world's second-largest producer of coffee beans. Now it is looking to improve the quality of its harvests, not just for export, but also for coffee drinkers in Vietnam, who are used to low-quality instant coffee.
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The Trump-Kim summit
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met in Singapore, where the two talked one-on-one and signed an agreement that included the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Diving into interactive digital art in Tokyo
Tokyo has a new museum, and it is interactive. Mori Digital Art Museum: teamLab Borderless features exhibits full of lights, mirrors and projectors that offer seemingly endless ways to explore .
Mercari hits record startup valuation in Tokyo debut
The flea market app Mercari has begun trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers market.The stock opened at 5000 yen.
AirAsia aims to fly to U.S. west coast via Japan by 2020
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China's steady buildup on Woody Island
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- Fabio Panetta, Executive Board member of the ECB, identified the digital euro as one of the bank’s four priorities.
- According to Panetta, the digital euro will be essential to meet consumer demand and maintain Europe’s sovereignty.
- He praised the proposed CBDC as a “simple, cost-free, risk-free and reliable” pan-Eurozone means of payment.
Fabio Panetta, member of the board of directors of the European Central Bank (ECB), hailed the digital euro project as “a simple, cost-free, risk-free and reliable digital means of payment” that would be universally accepted in the euro area. Speaking in Frankfurt on 22 October, Panetta named the digital euro as one of the four key strategies that the ECB will adopt in the future.
These strategies, which he said respond to the changing payments landscape in Europe, include the continued provision of cash, the development of the pan-European retail payments infrastructure, uniform oversight of electronic payments technology and the digital euro.
(Wire) Central banks are adapting their policies to ensure that payments remain efficient and inclusive, said board member Fabio Panetta. Authorities must be ready to respond to the ongoing transformation of European payments.
European Central Bank moves towards adoption of CBDCs
Panetta made these comments during an opening speech at the ECB conference entitled “A New Horizon for Pan-European Payments and the Digital Euro”.
Giving an overview of the current transition of digital payments in Europe, Panetta revealed that cash transactions had increased from 54% of the total transaction value in 2016 to 48% in 2019.
It also revealed that over the same period, cashless transactions increased from 19% to 24% in volume and from 39% to 41% in value. These changes, he said, are part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that Europe needs a new payment strategy for the future, with no cost and no risk to consumers.
In his view, the growing importance of cashless transactions, driven by card payments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the need for card payment systems that interact seamlessly across borders. In this context, Panetta believes that the Digital Euro, a Central Bank (CBDC) digital currency proposal or BinBot to be issued by the ECB, will play a key role.
Panetta’s comments reflect the thoughts expressed recently by a number of senior ECB officials.
BeInCrypto reported in September that ECB President Christine Lagarde described the digital euro as a potential complement to cash. Speaking to the Franco-German Assembly, Lagarde suggested that the CBDC could facilitate the emergence of a European “digital single market”.
Panetta’s word of caution
Panetta made a point of stressing that the journey towards the digital Euro is not yet over. He pointed out that while this would offer several advantages, it could also pose challenges involving cybersecurity and unforeseen consequences for monetary policy, banks and the financial stability of the Eurozone.
Describing the steps the ECB is taking to mitigate potential risks, Panetta said:
“As the issuer of our currency, the Eurosystem is carefully considering the economic, technological, societal and strategic implications of the possible issuance of a digital euro. We have recently published our report on the digital euro and launched a public consultation. We will carefully consider the feedback we receive, so that if and when developments around us make it necessary, we will be ready to issue a digital euro that meets the needs of Europeans”.


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Expanded WTM Technology and Online Travel programme revealed
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, has organised a high-profile line up for its expanded Technology and Online Travel seminar programme including speakers from lastminute.com, Google, Yahoo!, TripAdvisor and British Airways.
The TOT programme takes place throughout Tuesday November 8 in the Platinum Suite 1 for the first time. The programme profile has been increased by its move to the Platinum Suites, reflecting the 40% increase in the TOT region on the exhibition floor for WTM 2011.
The sessions – which are hosted by travel technology consultancy Genesys Senior Partner Paul Richer - will now be able to accommodate 250 people compared to previous years where the maximum number was 180.
Google Head of Travel Nate Bucholz and Yahoo! UK & Ireland Account Manager Jon Myers will kick off the programme in the Search Engine Update session at 11am. They are joined by Stickyeyes Sales Director Paul Hill.
The Content Counts session, which outlines what content should be on a travel website, includes the opinions of 3rd Planet CEO Terence Mak and Frommer’s Unlimited EMEA Director Giles Longhurst. It is followed at 2pm by Making the most of Social Media including TrustYou CEO and Co-founder Ben Jost, PR company Four BGB’s Debbie Hindle and a representative from TripAdvisor.
lastminute.com Head of Mobile David Slocombe and BA Technical Innovations Manager Chris Carmichael are taking part in the Mobile Development seminar at 3.30pm alongside Foutune Cookie Media Managing Director Justin Cooke.
The day is rounded off by Richer’s Online Essentials session at 5pm, which will look at how to monetise social media and mobile platforms.
World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “The Technology and Online Travel seminar programme has always been one the most popular, with many sessions standing room only.
“Furthermore, there is a full programme of content in the Technology Presentation Theatre on the exhibition floor.
“This year’s programme is as strong as ever with many high profile speakers taking part. We anticipate the programme will be even more popular this year with a 40% increase in floor space for the TOT region


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Verendrye, Enerbase bring electric car charging station to Minot
Verendrye Electric Cooperative and Enerbase are celebrating having one of the first electric vehicle superchargers in North Dakota.
These companies are forward thinkers in this effort to bring a fast car charger to Minot.
For this project the two companies got the approval for a grant from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality to pay for 80 percent of the cost of the project. The project is estimated to cost $72,000
The companies scheduled an open house and ribbon cutting starting at 2 p.m. today at the Enerbase Travel Plaza at 4750 Hwy. 83 North. During the event those attending can see how the charger works.
The charger is made by Chargepoint. It has an ouput of 62,000 watts which means it can charge a car to 80% in as little as 30 minutes depending on the type of car.
There aren’t many level 3 chargers in North Dakota – all owned by Tesla – but now Minot residents will be able to say there’s one right here.


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Honda CEO Takanobu Ito to be replaced by Takahiro Hachigo in a surprise move
Honda Motor Co CEO Takanobu Ito would step down by the end of June, the Japanese automobile giant said on Monday. Ito, 61, will be replaced by managing officer Takahiro Hachigo. Ito has managed the operations of Honda Motor Co for six year and he was under pressure as Honda had to issue multiple recalls. Since 2008, Honda has recalled 14 million vehicles worldwide.
Due to quality issues Honda issued several recalls for popular Fit hybrid subcompact. Ito’s tenure as CEO was quite challenging as the company underwent lower production, failed Honda Civic launch. Ito changed many things at Honda and the way company functioned. He also introduced several cost-cutting measures at Japan’s third largest automobile company.
Honda release informed that Ito will remain a member of the board. He will also be an adviser to the company. The outgoing CEO and his successor will hold a press conference in Tokyo today.
Honda also cut its profit forecast for the second time. The company is still recalling vehicles due to Tataka airbag issue. Due to mounting recalls, Honda’s fresh launches have been delayed as well. The company is also facing issued with quality and this has dented its image in Japanese and many overseas markets.
Hachigo joined Honda in 1982 as an engineer. He was part of the team developing Odyssey minivans that were launched in the U.S. in 1999. He was promoted to managing officer last year.
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There is a skills shortage storm brewing and UNITE national officer Adrian Jones believes that we are heading for a national crisis – too few lorry drivers and an increasing demand and necessity for the work.
“The UK is sleepwalking into a driving crisis and we face the genuine prospect of being unable to move goods around the UK, just at the time when Brexit means it is essential that our transport network is operating efficiently in order to keep the economy afloat.”
Too few drivers on the road could potentially mean a stagnating economy, after all if goods can’t get to shops – they can’t be sold.
A skills shortage exists as young people don’t seem to consider being an HGV driver as a career at all – with only 1% of HGV drivers being under the age of 25.
Perhaps this is linked to the negative stereotypes that are attached to being an HGV driver or the ill-health that many HGV drivers experience as a result of their career.
Reliance on Europe
Many drivers come from European countries which is great – a more cosmopolitan and diverse country is fantastic. But at a time when the uncertainty of the future of people movement caused by Brexit, the industry cannot afford to grind to a halt. Of the 250,000 drivers in the UK it is estimated that up to 60,000 are from the EU.
With an aging population of lorry drivers and increasing health issues, what is the solution?
A keener focus on health, well being and working conditions will only lead to good things for the industry – improving stereotypes and the health of drivers across the board. While we’re talking about health, check out our latest post on how to lead a healthy haulage life here.