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Hello and welcome to the Telegraph Festival of Business 2016 liveblog, taking you through all the highlights from our sixth annual one-day conference.
During the course of today, our line-up of experts will be discussing the sizeable changes facing UK businesses following the vote to leave the European Union on 23 June.
Headline speakers come from across the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and beyond, including veteran retailer Allan Leighton, the Chairman of the Co-operative Group, through to Gavin Patterson, Chief Executive of BT.
Other well-known names include Rupert Soames of Serco and Nick Varney of Merlin Entertainments.
That's a wrap
Rounding off today's events, Group Business Editor James Quinn thanks the long-list of speakers in attendance.
Highlights of the Telegraph's Festival of Business 2016 include:
- The big business Brexit debate, chaired by Telegraph Editor Allister Heath
- Serco boss Rupert Soames: bidding for Government work is 'fiendish'
- Brexit will refresh the way we think and operate in business, says Co-op chairman
- Britain has a lot going for it, but all the hard work lies ahead, BT boss says
- Artificial intelligence the next ‘big bet’ for online retailers, say bosses
Interview with Dido Harding, CEO of Talk Talk
James Quinn quizzes the telecommunications chief on how companies can improve reputation in the face of difficult market conditions.
Asked about how Brexit has affected business, Mrs Harding says that companies, both pro-Brexit and Remain have to start listening to consumers.
"I personally believe that an open free-trading market is the future for our economy," she said, "But that is not what a lot of people of want, and we have to start listening and adapting to that."
Talking about a serious data hack at Talk Talk last year, Mrs Harding said it was the "nightmare that every business fears".
She says she received blackmail emails from people attempting to hack into their systems, adding that the experience had taught the company valuable lessons. "More than anything, it's taught us that you can never be safe from cyber attacks. I think it's actually saved my company, because we've really made an effort to restore trust in our brand.
"Everyone in the company has learnt that if you try to put things right, everything will work out. It's fundamentally changed the way our company operates."
Mrs Harding says that Talk Talk was right to take preemptive measures to warn customers, having notified potential victims that their data had been stolen as soon as the hack was discovered.
"The only way to prevent blackmail is to bring it out into the light," she says. "It's almost a taboo to describe cybercrime." She adds that if digital is to become the future of the UK economy, it must become civilised. "And that can't happen if we keep cybercrime hidden in the dark."
Discussing the poor performance of broadband infrastructure, Mrs Harding said the Government should be investing in fibre and replacing copper that was laid "100 years ago".
"People are understandably angry," she said. "That's why we're investing in relaying and putting down fibre to try and improve speeds across the country."
Panel Question: How will your companies market yourselves going forward
Nick Varney, Merlin: What we're finding in China now is that traditional forms of advertising don't work. It's such a digital, social media-led market. So our biggest focus in marketing is ensuring that we pick the right mediums depending on the market.
Kenny Wilson, Cath Kidston: I don't think anybody in Asia and Eastern Europe needs any more ads. What hasn't changed is good content, you still need great content, but more and more we're seeing demand for ads through social media. We've got middle-aged women wanting it through Facebook, and we've got young consumers interacting with us on Instagram.
Education has a role to play
Henrietta Royle says that she would like to see schools teaching kids more about personal finance.
"I think there's a lot of people in school's who philosophically don't understand or disagree with business," she said.
Mr Varney claimed that there was a "dangerous attitude" prevailing in Britain today towards business.
"We need to be celebrating business," he said, adding that there was a danger now that Government is increasingly comprised of "career politicians" with little experience in business matters.
How to increase British exports post-Brexit
This session, chaired by Telegraph deputy editor Allister Heath, will focus on how businesses can grow internationally as they increasingly turn to markets further afield than Europe.
Starting the discussion, Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments, talk delegates through a range of tips of going global, including the need for local legal expertise, strong lobby interests in the US and a sturdy liver for trade with Asian markets.
Joining him on panel are Hentrietta Royle, CEO of the BBA and Kenny Wilson, CEO of Cath Kidston.
Asked if franchising provided SMEs with a viable path for expansion, the consensus was mixed, with Mr Varney arguing that the time necessary to monitor brand quality reducing the prospects of success.
He added that tax breaks to tourists businesses could help UK SMEs maintain a competitive edge outside of the EU, while Mr Wilson said the Government needed to provide greater clarity and help maintain "brand British" around the world.
We must stop talking down our country and show the world how good we are, industry leaders say
The Government should negotiate the terms of leaving the EU as quickly as possible, the chief executive of Mitie has said.
Ruby McGregor-Smith, boss of the FTSE 250 outsourcing company, told a panel at the Telegraph Festival of Business: “If I had my way I would just do it now. The more you drag the conversation out, the more uncertainty you create for business.”
She added: “There is a sense of great freedom. When the daily uncertainty is over we can get on with it and look forward to it.”
Liam Halligan and John Mills, the latter a founder of JML and both campaigners for Brexit, told the panel that the Government should seal a deal based on World Trade Organisation rules as a “fallback position”.
Mr Mills said there should be different deals for each industry and Mr Halligan said that “before the French and German elections, the car and food producers will be hassling politicians to give the UK a better deal”.
Telegraph Festival of Business SME Award
Doug Gurr, UK Country Manager of Amazon, was tasked with presenting this year's award.
Speaking beforehand, Mr Gurr praised the vital contribution that SMEs make to Amazon's business, adding that 49pc of all Amazon shipping carried goods produced, sold and traded by UK small and medium sized businesses.
And the winner is... Little Dish.
Founded in 2006 by mother-of-two Hillary Graves, Little Dish is a fast-growing producer of healthy toddler meals, based in Kensington, west London.
Since 2010 the company has become a profitable, conscientious SME, devoted to creating affordable but nutritious products.
Congratulations to Hillary and her team, and her small army of 'tiny tasters'!
Argos a prime example of traditional companies embracing technology
David Wild believes Argos is one of the best models of a business attempting to move away from the traditional structures.
He points to their online sales - which now account for 70pc of all purchase transactions - as evidence that estate-heavy businesses are still able to go online-first if they put the right level of investment and infrastructure in place.
Physical banking a thing of the past?
David Wild is less convinced by Mr Halligan's proposal that drones could one day deliver our pizza to the front door.
However, Anne Boden, founder of Starling Bank, believes that the advance of mobile banking is gradually removing the need for physical banking.
"We're moving towards a world where your app is powered by HSBC and your banking is done by Barclays. Everything is changing, and I think the configurations could be quite different to how we currently envisage it. I think banking will have quite a small impact on people's lives. You could call it utility banking."
On the huge variations in consumer experience from bank-to-bank, Mrs Boden said she had "real sympathy" for banks who have extremely complex systems.
"Providing great consumer experience in so many fields is a huge challenge," she says. "With new online banks we want to do something very different. We don't want to compete across all sectors, we just want to do the main banking functions well."
In terms of security, Mrs Boden said that the big banks were vulnerable to cyber hacks and breaches due to their use of outdated systems which were built by people "who are now retired".
"For us the focus is remaining at the cutting edge, that's the only way you can minimise the risk of being hacked."
User-friendly technology is key
The consensus across the panel is simple: make apps and gadgets as user friendly as possible.
Anne Boden says the new Amazon Echo is the perfect example of complex technology presented as an easy to use gadget, thus incredibly popular.
David Wild says businesses must recognise that how users interact with your technology is pivotal to maximising the benefits that technology can bring to a business. He adds that while Just-Eat takes 15pc for all Dominos orders from the app, its simplicity and popularity makes the investment decision a no-brainer.
Domino's was daunted by emergence of Deliveroo and UberEats
The Pizza giant's boss David Wild said that when he first joined the company the board was "daunted" by the rapid advances in technology, but has since grown to embrace it.
Now, Domino's is following the path laid down by tech-first companies including Deliveroo and UberEats, which continue to nibble away at the traditional fast-food chains' market share.
Described by Halligan as a 'technical evangelist', Mr Wild said the epiphany came when he worked for Walmart in the US, which made him realise the vital importance of investing in technology.
"For me the lightbulb moment was when I worked with Walmart, when I saw everything Amazon were doing that we were not," he said.
"I will often order Deliveroo, and there are somethings we know we need to copy.
"I don't personally know how we will do that, but I know that it's key for us moving forwards and retaining a competitive advantage."
Breakout sessions resumes
Welcome back. The afternoon session of the Telegraph FOB2016 is about to begin,
I'll be covering panel chaired by Liam Halligan, an economics commentator for the Telegraph. Up for discussion today: how implementing new technologies can drive business innovation.
Joining Mr Halligan is Anne Boden, chief executive officer and founder of Starling Bank; Maddy Cooper, founding partner at Brilliant Noise; and David Wild, Domino's CEO.
Britain has a lot going for it, but all the hard work lies ahead, BT boss says
Large multinational companies are delaying placing orders with British businesses because of uncertainty caused by the EU referendum, the head of BT warned today.
Gavin Patterson, the company's chief executive, said that while much of the group's operations had not yet been affected by Brexit, "we're beginning to see some signs of the lack of certainty, the uncertainty if you like, beginning to slow down some of the bigger deals coming into the business".
He said: "I wouldn't in any way look at the last six months and say: 'Crisis averted'. I think all the hard work is ahead of us."
FOB2016 breaks for lunch
Following an hour of breakout sessions, attendees are now sampling the best cuisine that Blighty has to offer.
As for the journalists huddled in a darkroom downstairs, the fish and chips, ravioli and Chinese pork balls, are nearly as good as the level of today's debate...nearly.
Recap: BT has picked up more work from the EC since the Brexit vote
While BT boss Gavin Patterson is still gloomy about the UK's prospects outside of the EU, he says business on the domestic front is still going strong.
Adverse effects are mainly confined to the global services division, which provides telecoms solutions to large businesses.
However, at home, BT have noted some "very encouraging signs," including a networks deal with Michelin, the French tyres manufacturer with 230 locations around the world, the day after the Brexit vote.
"We've even won more work from the European Commission, since the Brexit vote, which seems another good sign."
Who would have thought it?
Serco boss: bidding for Government work is 'fiendish'
Rupert Soames, the chief executive of Serco, has hit out at the Government’s “fiendish” conditions for bidding for contracts.
Speaking at the Telegraph Festival of Business in London, he said: “The fundamental truth is that working with government is really laborious, it’s really cumbersome, they have absolutely fiendish terms and conditions, bidding for work is really difficult. It takes ages, the whole tendering process is very complex - and it has to be, because it’s with public funds.”
The FTSE 100 outsourcing giant works with more than 5,500 SMEs to which it channels services from the Government. Mr Soames said that 30pc of Serco’s total cost base goes to SMEs, which is about £400-500m per year.
He added: “What Serco does is act as that intermediary between them and, frankly, the ghastliness of doing business with the Government from a commercial point of view.”
Mr Soames also criticised Government cuts to the funding of prisons, which he said had affected conditions. Serco operates six prisons in the UK, as well as running transportation for prisoners. In the last few days there has been riot and break-out, both in Government-run prisons.
With the big Brexit debate now over, delegates are breaking off into smaller groups to discuss various topics, including:
- Ensuring essential talent in the workforce
- Marketing for success
- Minimising cyber security risks
- Increasing British exports globally
- Selecting the right financing model - navigating the complex options for optimum results
- Better business leadership
- Implementing new technologies to drive business innovation
Will Brexit see inflation surge?
John Mills says that the free movement of people has created a 20-year cycle of deflation, adding that Brexit will help alleviate current market conditions and employee exploitation. He says the reason why we don't invest enough in skills in young people is because of the "vast influx of unskilled labour" from countries including Romania and Lithuania.
Mr Halligan adds that monetary policy favours the "rich and elites", and that Brexit will force a seismic change in how policy is directed.
The consensus is that yes, there will be inflation, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
'Brexit - just get it over and done with'
Vicky Pryce believes the uncertainty and prolonged negotiation period is harming business. Rather than spend two years on lengthy consultation, she says the Government "should just get on with it" so that businesses can adjust to post-Brexit market conditions.
Liam Halligan says the speculation about an underhand Nissan deal is unhelpful
He adds that the company, which said before the June 23 ballot that it required significant reassurances from the Government in the event of a Leave vote, is just doing its job by being pessimistic, in order to extract greater concessions.
However, he played down the threat of big businesses taking leave. "Nissan threatened to leave if we didn't join the Euro remember," he added. "Look how that worked out."
Panel debate about Brexit
The Teleraph's Deputy Editor Allister Heath is moderating the discussion. On the panel are: Liam Halligan, Telegraph economics commentator; Ruby McGregor-Smith, chief executive of Mitie Group; John Mills, founder and chairman of JML; and Vicky Pryce, board member of CEBR.
The consensus is that Britain will leave the EU and the Single Market, but Vicky Pryce was critical of Whitehall, who she claims still doesn't have a plan for the transition.
She adds that the fall in sterling has been good for the stock markets and the economy short-term, but that the decline in industrial and manufacturing output shows the risks are there to see.
Liam Halligan argues that big business needs to stop talking down UK prospects outside of the Single Market, adding the MPs are "disgracefully" trying to reverse the Referendum result.
Rugby McGregor-Smith says as soon as Brexit uncertainty is over it will be "exciting times ahead", as businesses long delays in investment decisions will lead to a flood of investment when UK leave position becomes clear.
John Mills moves onto the deficit, and is surprisingly optimistic about the prospects of reduction following an exit from the Single Market. "For starters, it will help reduce our enormous trade deficit with Europe," he says.
BT chief Gavin Patterson: We're are beginning to see post-Brexit uncertainty creep in
While far from optimistic at the prospect of leaving the Single Market, Mr Patterson said that the unique "Britishness" of business in the UK will continue to attract international trade.
Moving on to the growing threat of cybercrime, following the news of an unprecedented hack of 20,000 Tesco personal bank accounts on Monday, Mr Patterson said that anyone who believed they were safe from cybercrime was "misleading yourself".
He warned British businesses of the dangers of not investing in preventative measures to combat the increasing sophistication of cybercrime, adding that all businesses - big and small - are vulnerable.
GSK boss Sir Andrew Witty talks Brexit, international trade and imports
Unfortunately Mr Witty is in India today attending a trade mission alongside the PM, however, he appears in a video interview with James Quinn to discuss the fallout following 23 June.
He says that innovation will help UK businesses and SMEs overcome challenges in the months ahead, and that investment is crucial to helping them sail through choppy waters. However, he adds that while stimulus is important, "stimulus for stimulus sake" is not good policy.
Brexit will refresh the way we think and operate in business, says Co-op chairman
The saga over the vote to leave the European Union should teach British businesses how not to communicate, Co-operative Group chairman Allan Leighton said today.
Mr Leighton, who was Asda chief executive before embarking on a "plural" career of non-executive posts, made the comments in the opening address of the 2016 Telegraph Festival of Business.
"Brexit was totally about people talking at people, telling them what was good and bad for them and what the consequences would be," he said.
"Brexit was all about listening to respond, not listening to hear. When people said 'I hear what you say,' that meant that they didn't hear what you said. It meant the opposite, so there was no listening; there was no talking with."
Panel session - what's next for tech?
Currently on the platform is moderator Rebecca Burn-Callander, author of Daily Telegraph Guide to Investing and freelance journalist.
Joining her is Alex Baldcock, group chief executive of Shop Direct; Adrian Blair, chief operating officer of Just Eat; Jenny Knott, CEO of ICAP; and Dr David Landsman, executive director of Tata Limited.
Up for discussion: chatbots, using tech to cut human costs, and... drones, the irritating, invasive, flying kind.
Q&A Jeremy Warner and Rupert Soames
Associate Editor Jeremy Warner is currently quizzing Rupert Soames Chief Executive of Serco.
Warner asks Soames about government outsourcing contracts to SMEs.
"The truth is that contracting with government is really challenging, they have fiendish conditions. And of course they have to be that way, because they are dealing with public funds.
"What Serco does is act as the intermediary between the SMEs and the Government, helping them navigate through the ghastly terms and conditions."
Asked about the recent difficulties in prisons, with two men escaping from HMP Pentonville yesterday, Mr Soames said that there is "no doubt" that subcontractors like Serco face significant challenges.
Jeremy tries to get some positive spin on Brexit, but Soames remains resolute. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens," he says.
Q to Allan Leighton - What was the biggest mistake of your career?
"Where do I begin?
"Even the best leaders get things wrong 30pc of the time, so it's important to recognise that."
He returns to the issue of Brexit, adding that politicians could learn a thing or two about learning from their mistakes.
Co-Operative Chairman Allan Leighton
First key speaker veteran retailer Allan Leighton opens by discussing diversity in the workplace.
"If you want talent you go where the brains are - 50pc are women, and we have to go after them. That's why diversity is important".
He says that Brexit taught us "how not to communicate", and described the referendum as a "democratic revolution" which was the public's way of saying "I have an opinion too".
The challenge now, Leighton says, is how businesses can turn Brexit into a "competitive advantage".
He says "radar" is a key skill he looks for in employees, their ability to understand what their customers are really thinking.
Rather than fret about the negative impacts of Brexit, he says businesses who can learn to make the most of the opportunities will thrive while the others remain bogged down in uncertainty.
What to expect - Group Business Editor James Quinn
Brexit means Brexit” – Theresa May’s words, shortly after entering 10 Downing Street for the first time as Prime Minister, could not have been clearer.
But although the UK's pending exit from the European Union is not in doubt, what is less clear is on what terms we will leave and, just as importantly, when.
The vote to leave the bloc raises a series of questions which were not answered in the polling booths on 23 June.
How quickly will Article 50 be triggered, and when will the UK leave the European Union? Once it has, what does our trading relationship look like with the rest of Europe?
And what of the rest of the world? How quickly can trade agreements be negotiated with fast-growing economies in which business wants to operate, and what can be done meanwhile?
For business, certainty is often cited as the most important factor when making investment decisions.
For some, the referendum result itself will have been the certainty they were looking for – as we have seen in recent investment decisions from McDonald’s in the fast-food sector and the pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline.
For others, there will need to be more clarity about what Brexit means for their own business.
From farming to financial services, from retailing to recycling, each industry will adapt in a different way as each begins to understand the challenges and the prizes that lie ahead.
Although certainty in some of these areas may be some way off, the Telegraph’s Festival of Business 2016 aims to enlighten business leaders about the best way forward.
By bringing together some of the best-known names in British business, along with leading politicians and thought leaders, this one-day conference aims to help those who attend understand what Brexit will mean for them, and help successfully find their way in the months ahead.
Speakers will include Sir Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, and Michael Spencer, founder and chief executive of the financial services leader ICAP and one of the best-known faces in the City of London. They will be joined by some of the brightest business personalities the UK has to offer, more of whom will be unveiled as we draw closer to the day itself.
Although the Telegraph Festival of Business will be heavily focused on Brexit and what happens next, it will not lose sight of its commitment to delivering practical solutions to issues that delegates are facing.
Through a series of interactive panels, focused on exports, technologies, talent and marketing, speakers will deliver real-life examples of how they are moving forward, and give delegates the chance to answer questions about how their own companies might benefit.
Together, our aim is to help British business to map out its route through Brexit, and make sure that the UK economy benefits as a result.


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As businesses continue to reopen in Montana, one small business owner is concerned that path to financial recovery will not be as quick as the economic downfall was at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.
When I spoke with the owners of Electric City Coffee Bar & Bistro back in April, they said that they had seen sales drop by nearly 50% from one week to the next, and then again the week after that. That led to the tough decision of having to furlough some of their employees until the pandemic had eased and the economy was in a better spot.
Now, Electric City has about half of their staff back at work, but sales are still down by more than 50% compared to pre-pandemic life.
“I think Montanans are approaching this with some really good common sense, but they’re still very cautious,” said Electric City Co-Owner Thad Reiste. “Today, our sales are doing really well for the coffee shop that we are, but on average, people just aren’t coming in like they used to be, and I think this is going to last a while.”
It's a tough crossroads for small business owners like Thad and his wife Heidi. The pandemic has hurt their business financially, and while they are glad to see things reopening, they understand that people are still going to be cautious. That means that the trickle of people back into restaurants, bars, and cafes could be slow.
As far when things might get back to normal, Thad estimates that it will be later rather than sooner.
“I’ll bet this is going to be at least two years from now before this thing is under control, and there’s either a vaccine or there’s some way to combat this virus,” he said. “Until that happens, people are going to be cautious and the economy is going to be slow, and even that said, it’s still going to take time to drag the economy out of the slump that it’s in. Hey, the market is doing really good, but there’s stuff in our future that doesn’t look so good.”
He also said that he doesn’t expect that we’ve seen the worst of what 2020 has to offer economically just yet. The current unemployment program that is paying $600/week is set to run out at the end of July. Reiste is concerned that once people don’t have that money coming in, those that are still unable to work will be suffering even more, which will be bad news for the economy. Less money going to people means less money going into the economy, and so on and so on.
Asked for a rough estimate on a timeline, Thad gave a bit of a laugh and replied “Two, maybe five years before it’s ever what it used to be.”
One thing that has been reassuring for the coffee bar is the support that they have received from both the Great Falls community and the Great Falls Development Authority. They received a bridge loan from the GFDA, and then almost immediately after that they received the much anticipated disaster relief money from the federal government. They were also informed that they qualified for payroll protection, which should help them continue to pay some employees when unemployment relief from the government runs out this summer (if it is not renewed.)
“When people see unemployment go away and the economy maybe dips a little bit more in the summer and no tourism, hopefully, the payroll protection will help carry us through that,” said Reiste. “So, it’s out there, it’s coming and the relief is available, it just takes time.”

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- Volkswagen, the world's largest carmaker, returned to profit in the third quarter, thanks to surging demand for luxury cars such as Porsche and Audi in western Europe and China.
- But VW's chief financial officer, Frank Witter, warned that "the coronavirus remains a central problem."
- VW said although its full-year 2020 profit would be "severely lower" than in 2019, it would still be in "positive territory" after a second-quarter loss of 1.7 billion euros ($1.99 billion).
- A series of cost-cutting measures launched earlier this year helped VW's performance during the third quarter.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Volkswagen has returned to profit in the third quarter, as surging Chinese demand for luxury cars helped offset a 1.1% drop in vehicle deliveries due to the COVID-19 crisis.
VW's return to profitability came amid a spike in coronavirus cases in Europe that prompted the French and German governments to order their countries back into strict national lockdowns on Wednesday.
"The coronavirus remains a central problem," VW's chief financial officer, Frank Witter, said in a conference call with reporters. "This situation now is anything but relaxed."
The German carmaker reiterated it expects to post a profit for the full year, saying that its business "recovered noticeably" in the quarter as sales in China of its premium vehicles, including Audi and Porsche sports cars, rose 3%.
Due to market volatility the carmaker would not issue a more specific full-year profit forecast, Witter said. During the third quarter, VW's performance was aided by a series of cost-cutting measures launched earlier this year.
VW said its net liquidity rose to 24.8 billion euros ($29 billion) from 18.7 billion euros ($21.85 billion) at the end of the second quarter. Excluding one-time items, its third-quarter operating profit was 3.2 billion euros ($3.84 billion), down from 4.8 billion euros ($5.61 billion) a year earlier.
VW reported a 5.4% adjusted operating return on sales in its automotive division, rebounding from minus 5.8% in the second quarter. However, this was below the 7.4% it recorded a year earlier. Revenue fell 3.4% to 59.36 billion euros ($69.35 billion).
The company said while its full-year 2020 profit would be "severely lower" than in 2019, it would still be in "positive territory" after a second-quarter loss of 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion).
In a note to clients, Philippe Houchois, an analyst at financial services company Jefferies, described VW's results as a "solid performance with strong cash but relatively muted in the context of the (auto) sector recovery".
The auto industry has rebounded well from lockdowns that closed production plants and dealerships.
Last week Daimler AG reported a record 24% jump in Chinese demand for its Mercedes-Benz cars, boosting its margins in the third quarter.
Italian-American car maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group both posted solid results this week, ahead of their planned merger next year.


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Each day TFO Canada publishes a sample of trade news on the Canadian import market along with any new, updated or changed regulations and legislations regarding international trade; countries in which TFO Canada offers services and on the export sectors which it promotes.
10 Reasons to Reject ProtectionismFriday, October 23, 2009 > 12:08:34
Decades of multilateral effort and untold resources have been devoted to freeing up global trade flows. Enter a severe recession, and suddenly all that effort is at risk. Protectionism, the arch enemy of international trade, is in vogue again. There are at least 10 reasons to spurn the movement.
1. International trade was a key driver of global output in the last economic cycle. The world economy grew at an average pace of 4% since 1999, but at the same time, exports expanded by 6.5%. As a share of GDP, trade increased from under 40% in 1990 to 65% in 2007. Why undermine that record?
2. The same phenomenon is a key job generator. As trade has become an increasingly larger part of the global economy, the number of trade-related jobs has also grown. By the numbers, jobs directly connected to international trade likely rose much faster than the rest, now accounting for at least one-third of total employment, up from just 20% in the early 1990s. Should we mess with that success?
3. Technology has made trade with every part of our planet feasible, enabling exploration of efficient business solutions worldwide on a scale that has never been possible before in human history. Moreover, recessions tend to urge this process forward. Taking these facts together, it is possible that protectionism has never been more of a threat to world prosperity than it is today.
4. Protectionism never happens in isolation. It breeds further (retaliatory) cost-hiking protectionism.
5. Firms shielded by protectionist walls tend to become less productive and efficient over time.
6. The resources required to enforce protectionist measures could be better employed elsewhere.
7. Many multinational firms make most of their sales outside their home country. These sales are put at risk by retaliatory measures provoked by their home country’s protectionist trade actions. More than ever, ‘us-first’ trade policies actually put at key risk a substantial number of good jobs at home.
8. Recent high profile protectionist measures were enacted to maximize the domestic impact of anti-recessionary stimulus measures. That might make sense if only a few economies were engaged in stimulus, but most have joined the fray, negating the perceived need to disrupt trade flows.
9. Protectionism is essentially antagonistic, creating unnecessary bi- and multi-lateral tensions.
10. Who bears the cost of a country’s own protectionist measures? The very ones it is purporting to protect – it’s own consumers. These are the ones that have to pay the higher costs of tariff-protected goods and services, eating up income that might have been invested in the domestic economy, or spent on other home-grown products. A recession-prolonging inefficiency tax that makes little sense.
The bottom line? The list goes on. Sadly, protectionism will likely always sell well in an economic trough, but its scant, temporary benefits, weighed against the incalculable gains of globalised trade, hardly register. Our hope? That when the economy recovers, these policies will be fast forgotten.


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The rumored Google Pixel Buds Pro could be revealed as soon as Google I/O on May 11, going by the rumors so far. But aside from a few tidbits of information and speculation, we don’t have much of an idea what features the next-gen wireless earbuds could have.
However, tech journalist and commentator Mishaal Rahman tweeted it would not surprise him if the Pixel Buds Pro, which may also be considered third-generation Pixel Buds, come with spatial audio tech and head tracking support, given the work Google has been doing there with Android 13.
Rahman also noted that there’s BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) audio support in Android 13 now, which could also be a feature of the Pixel Buds Pro. And we think Rahman may be onto something here.
This would absolutely not surprise me given Google's work on spatial audio + head tracking support in Android 13, especially their secrecy around the latter. Plus, there's BLE Audio support in Android now too. https://t.co/yJHcKCF4dyMay 3, 2022
While the original Google Pixel Buds and the Pixel Buds 2 impressed us, they missed out on winning a spot on our best wireless earbuds list. So there’s still some scope for improvement, especially if they were to take on the likes of the AirPods Pro.
Spatial audio, which basically aims to make music and movie audio more immersive by creating 360-degree soundscapes, is one such feature. The AirPods Pro and AirPods Max support spatial audio, so it’s an area where the Pixel Buds and other wireless earbuds could muscle in on.
The audio tech also needs content mastered in 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos surround sound formats to work. But if Google could give the Pixel Buds Pro some tech to up-mix audio sources — not beyond the realms of possibility give Google’s AI work — then it could bring something extra to the wireless earbuds table.
Head tracking support could be used to offer some fitness monitoring features, say detecting when someone is walking or running and bypass the need for a smartwatch, though the Google Pixel Watch is supposedly on the horizon. And such tech could also aid with spatial audio to ensure that sound is always coming at the earbuds’ wearer from the correct direction even if they move around a lot.
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BLE audio, on the other hand, promises to deliver improved audio quality over wireless connections, thanks to more efficient data packaging and transfer, as well as establish better and multiple connections between earbuds and their host device. So if the Pixel Buds Pro have that standard of Bluetooth, they could offer notably improved sound quality over their predecessors.
If Google is indeed working on new wireless earbuds, and it nails the audio formula, as well as introducing new smart features, then the Pixel Buds Pro could offer a pair of impressive wireless earbuds worth stopping and listening to.
Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.


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Mr. Deepak R. Joshi, the principle Executive Officer of the Nepal Tourism Board, has been awarded the best IIPT Champions in Challenge Award for 2018 from
Mr. Deepak R. Joshi, the principle Executive Officer of the Nepal Tourism Board, has been awarded the best IIPT Champions in Challenge Award for 2018 from the International Institute for Peace Through Travel at the #ITCMS (International Travel Crisis Management Summit) in London, UK.
The CEO was honored with the award for his continuous effort and success in bouncing back and bringing tourism to the forefront in Nepal. His leadership through the nation’s crisis phase has been recognized and appreciated by not merely the international travel trade fraternity but additionally by important councils just like the IIPT.
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Mr. Joshi and the complete Nepalese Tourism fraternity have already been putting hard work into not merely the betterment of Nepal’s tourism, but into taking Nepal&rsquo also;s tourism to an increased level internationally.
This is really a big moment for the Nepal Tourism Board, the Nepalese Tourism industry, and Mr. Joshi who’s a global Tourism Peace Ambassador now.
Click here to read this and other similar articles on eTurboNews


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Here is a little something I thought was interesting. Micron Technology Inc, choosing a tougher trade weapon than the rest of the US semiconductor industry has used so far, filed an antidumping petition against seven Japanese producers of a widely used variety of computer chips.
The petition seeks duties on Japanese-supplied 64K Dram chips – dynamic random access memory chips capable of storing 64,000 bits of information – equivalent to 94 per cent of their current US prices. Such a severe penalty would wipe out much of Japan’s recent gains in the US market and give distressed US suppliers a lift.
By striking directly at imported Japanese chips, Micron Technology of Boise, Idaho, broke from the ranks of other US chip makers, which so far are backing an earlier Semiconductor Industry Association petition to improve member access to the Japanese market. ‘We also support the SIA petition, but different companies have different philosophies and this is the way we’ve chosen,’ said Larry Grant, Micron’s legal counsel.
The association chose a market opening rather than an attack on curbing imports because some of its members, such as Motorola and Texas Instruments, produce semiconductors in Japan, some of which could be shipped back for use in the US. Micron Technology is not an association member and has more flexibility in fighting Japanese competition.
In dumping cases, the Commerce Department must rule whether sales are being made at less then fair value, and the US International Trade Commission must rule whether the domestic company is being injured. Both findings must be affirmative for penalty duties to be assessed.
If Micron is successful, other US manufacturers may take anti-dumping actions.
In California’s Silicon Valley, speculation is running high that one or several companies will soon file additional anti-dumping complaints against the Japanese makers of Eproms, an acronym for erasable, programmable read-only memory chips. Two major Eprom makers, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, were named recently in a well-publicized Hitachi memo to its distributors to undercut Intel and Advanced Micro prices.
In Toyko last week, US trade negotiators informed Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry of the US Semiconductor Industry Association’s charges. The association alleged that supply arrangements among leading Japanese electronics companies which both produce and use semiconductors keep US products out of Japan.
Akio Morita, the chairman of Sony, speaking of the Electronic Industries Association of Japan, called the US group’s charges ‘unjustified,’ and Japanese diplomats claimed that the San Jose, California-based trade body misrepresented the US share of the Japanese market. ‘Counting the production of Japan-based US companies, the US share is closer to 19 per cent than the 11 per cent the SIA claims,’ said a Japanese embassy spokesman in Washington.
While the association’s petitin does not promise any certain results, Micron’s anti-dumping action triggers an investigatory process with a set timetable for the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission to act. The Japanese companies cited are Fujitsu, Hitachi, Masushita Electric, Mitsubishi, NEC, OKI and Toshiba.


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Miitomo's Latest Update Adds Much-Needed Social Improvements
While Nintendo’s first mobile game Miitomo received a fairly warm reception, the most notable lobbied complaint is the stinted social features. In an attempt to remedy those complaints, Nintendo has updated Miitomo with new ways to add friends, including e-mail, iMessage, and other ways to invite. Additionally, Nintendo has added a few more fixes, optimization, and quality of life enhancement
And while all these features are sorely needed, a recent notification on Miitomo (seen below) suggests that those playing on iOS devices may have to wait a bit longer. Supposedly the game is crashing on certain iOS devices when attempting to use the new features — though I haven’t been able to replicate the crash yet. Either way, an update that will remedy this issue is being pushed soon, according to Nintendo.
Check out the full list of new features below:
• Added feature for inviting friends via e-mail, SMS, etc.
• Friend requests and blocking can now be done within comment and heart lists.
• When posting Miifotos in the comment list, existing Miifotos can now be edited and posted.
• An “Answer” option has been added to “All answers.”
• Implemented bug fixes and speed optimizations.


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It may be hard to believe that after several decades of being popular restaurants for lunch and dinner, Olive Garden and Red Lobster have hit a downward trend in business. This news came out recently, and it’s placed both restaurants in a bit of a panic to revamp to prevent a disastrous slide to possibly much worse. Expect to see a step-up in TV ads soon to entice people back to these restaurants that used to be filled to capacity most nights of the week in many towns and cities.
Yes, my own local Olive Garden used to be so crowded for lunches and dinners more than a decade ago that you’d have to wait in the waiting room for close to an hour just to get a table. For many, the food seemed too good to pass up, including at Red Lobster where obtaining supposedly substantive seafood for cheaper was basically hiding the fact that the food was processed. And the same goes for Olive Garden where far too many didn’t notice until being told.
It’s possible more awareness about processed foods has led people to realize that Olive Garden was really faux Italian food, no matter how good it might have tasted. In reality, the good taste was ingredients that just made the food taste more addictive, something we see in many snack foods to entice people to keep eating more and buying more sooner than later.
All you have to see are some of the comments about people who’ve been to an Olive Garden in recent years to see how they scoped out the processed food issue. While the new marketing recently at Olive Garden has been on playing up their “fresh” food, some say that much of the food is pre-made and provides only a generic Italian taste. Nevertheless, you can’t fault Olive Garden for striving toward fresh food and also providing dishes with lighter calories in their rebranding efforts.
It’s clear, though, those who eat out are onto the fakery behind some restaurants that try to bring an essence of a certain ethnic food without being truly genuine. At the same time, many smaller and real Italian and seafood restaurants are still attempting to go up against the big guns in many cities. This time around, they may prosper as people seek out legitimate recipes from independent restaurants.
A Renaissance for the Small Business
Ever since Google added new features that helped people locate local businesses easier, it seems the small business has had a huge boost nationwide. If it’s not entirely that reason, it’s helped people seek out independent restaurants that they otherwise might miss in their own town and cities. Many of those businesses have been brave enough going up against the chain restaurants, and many have failed as a result. When you can find a restaurant that serves real homemade-style Italian food and seafood, you know you’ve found something unique.
In my own hometown, several independent Italian restaurants have existed for years and managed to hang on thanks to finding a loyal force of customers. It’s possible those who sought out real Italian food experiences at Olive Garden finally found the indie places and helped them stay in business even longer. One in my hometown is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and provides affordable prices for legitimate Italian recipes from Chicago. Compared to the more expensive prices at Olive Garden, you can see a picture of what’s happening in America this year.
Local and independent restaurants and other businesses may finally see the renaissance they deserve so we can get back to the days when Ma and Pa operations were on every street corner before corporate chains took over. As some corporate operations continue to underestimate what the people really want, at least many Americans realize they’ve been duped in their food hunts. Now they know they were long missing out on cooking you could once only find at a prominent chef’s home.


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Facebook has cancelled all of its major face-to-face conferences, events and gatherings through June 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg disclosed. Facebook's decision mirrors a similar move at Microsoft, which has also canceled all major conferences through mid-2021 -- including the company's popular Microsoft Ignite and Inspire events.
In Facebook's case, Zuckerberg said the company is "canceling any large physical events we had planned with 50 or more people through June 2021. Some of these we will hold as virtual events instead and we'll share more details on that soon. Similarly, we're extending our policy of no business travel through at least June of this year as well."
Channel Partner Summits: The Challenge Ahead
The Facebook and Microsoft event strategies raise key questions for channel-centric technology companies -- many of which depend on annual events and regional gatherings to drive partner engagements and sales leads.
Dozens of channel events have been canceled through at least August 2020, but some events have been rescheduled for later in 2020. Other planned F2F gatherings have shifted to virtual event formats hosted on the Web. Still digital conference organizers need to carefully avoid these missteps.


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|A VinFast auto showroom in Hải Phòng City handed over a new electric car to buyer. — Photo coutersy of VinFast|
HÀ NỘI — Domestic auto-maker VinFast has announced that it had worked with several domestic banks to launch a “green credit package” with special preferential interest rates for buyers.
The package is applied to those who want to borrow money from MB Bank, VietinBank, or BIDV to buy electric cars from VinFast.
With a total value of up to VNĐ3.5 trillion (US$149 million), borrowers will get a preferential interest rate of 8 per cent for the first 18 months only.
The package will last from August 1 to December 31, 2023 or until VinFast announces to stop it. — VNS


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In what is decidedly a proud moment for Mahindra & Mahindra, it is learned that the office of President of India has taken the delivery of a Mahindra Alturas BS6 SUV.
Reported to be the first unit of the car, the delivery of the BS6 model of the Mahindra SUV in India was received by the Joint Secretary to the President.
Based on the picture that has surfaced on the interwebs, the black coloured Mahindra Alturas G4 seems to have received no customisations -- at least not the kinds that would be visible externally.
The Mahindra Alturas G4 BS6 was launched in India earlier in April, with prices starting at Rs 28.69 lakh (ex-showroom, pan India). The company's flagship SUV is available across two variants, namely, 2WD and 4WD. Compared to its predecessor, the 2020 model of the Mahindra SUV in India doesn't feature a world of changes.
It still gets the same silhouette and design as before and gets very limited changes, including a BS6 engine.


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Spanish meats company Campofrio has posted a EUR25.4m (US$30.52) loss for 2005, up 36%, hurt by the sale of its Polish unit and slumping European markets.
Campofrio, owned 22% by US peer Smithfields, said revenues rose 7.3% to EUR911m. In a statement, the company said it sold Polish subsidiary Morliny for EUR50m to an undisclosed buyer. The unit’s sales were not added to the group’s sales, pressuring the bottom line.
Processed-meat sales in key markets in France and Russia declined during the year, also hurting the bottom line, Campofiro said, adding that exports to the European Union (EU) fell 21%.
Campofrio said its Spanish unit reported a pretax profit of EUR45.7m, despite weak sales and surging raw-material prices.
The news comes as Campofrio is set to build a pig factory in Moscow, Russia, as it continues to grow its business in that market.
Meanwhile, archrival El Pozo said it will invest EUR185m to expand its business in Spain and abroad by 2011. El Pozo did not specify where it will expand but said the European market was a priority.


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A 10% dive in operating profits at the Hard Rock café chain helped dent the half-year performance of parent group Rank, but analysts remain optimistic despite the figures.
The group's Deluxe brand, the world's number one in film processing and number two in video duplication, also dragged on performance, with profits down 16%.
For the group overall, profit before tax and exceptionals fell 9% to £77.4m in the six months to the end of June - but this was broadly in line with expectations.
Good performances from Rank's gambling operations helped buoy up its results. Profits rose 14% to £55.7m, as Rank's Grosvenor casinos and Mecca bingo halls benefited from laws relaxing opening hours and allowing alcohol on gaming floors. But the group said numbers at its London casinos had been slightly down over the summer.
Rank is optimistic that it will benefit further from government proposals to change the gaming laws by scrapping membership rules and raising limits on gaming machines. Rank said the changes could be through as early as 2005.
Despite Hard Rock's poor showing, chief executive Mike Smith said there was no plans to unload the brand. It had been, like every other operation in the leisure sector, hit by Sars, the Iraq war and the slump in tourism. Merchandising sales had been particularly affected. But although profits were down £1.4m at £13.3m, food and drink sales at the 105 Hard Rock cafés were rising, said Mr Smith.
He added: "Hard Rock is a globally recognised brand. And it's a brand that other people are prepared to invest in [through franchising]."
He said he expected performance to pick up in the second half and beyond as the Hard Rock brand diversified into the hotel and casino business with new joint ventures in the United States on native American reservation lands in Florida, where gaming laws are more relaxed, and in Chicago.
He added that Deluxe' s performance was also on track to improve in the second half, when video sales normally rise. The film business in general should benefit from blockbusters such as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
He said the gaming business performance had been largely driven by Rank's provincial casinos. "We anticipate further strong growth from provincial casinos, our Belgian casinos where machines are now permitted and our rapidly developing internet offer."
Paul Leyland, a Seymour Pierce analyst, said: "Hard Rock's managed cafés continue to suffer from weak international travel volumes. We also believe recovery would be muted by a tired merchandise brand. However, the brand is now being leveraged into more sustainable areas for growth...
"Equally, the Hard Rock brand has delivered a much more rapid maturity profile for UK casinos and demonstrates the potential for a volume, entertainment-led offer. I rate it as buy."
Cazenove said: "We still believe that no value is being ascribed to the potential profit uplift from future gaming deregulation or the considerable scope for leveraging the Hard Rock brand in casinos and hotels. This is an undervalued stock - buy it."
Shares in Rank, which have lagged behind its UK sector by 15% in the past six months, fell 1p to 272p, valuing it at £1.6bn.


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2015 was a defining year for the automotive industry for better and for worse with massive recalls and security breaches, but also with the prospect of the software defined car and the ever evolving user experience fueled by connectivity and over-the-air (OTA) capabilities. With the new year fast approaching, this is a good time to look at the predictions for the automotive industry for 2016 to learn what is in store for the cars hitting the road, and for the ones currently in the development phase.
Mahbubul Alam: Automotive Industry Predictions for 2016
more iot news
17/10/2017 - 11:12
17/10/2017 - 11:10
Want to keep up to date with the latest IoT news and discussions, and get interesting viewpoints and expert analysis on IoT developments?
17/10/2017 - 11:06
Larry Dignan: Do you own your data and have free rein? The answer in an Internet of things, cloud world may surprise you


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Western Digital, Toshiba announce BiCS4 QLC flash
Up to 2.66TB per package.
Jake reports back from the zombie frontlines of Killing Floor 2's co-op shooting action.
In the second of our Rezzed 2016 bits, we look at Black and White Bushido, Jake's game of the show.
Can the follow-up to the excellent Arena headset live up to expectations?
BioWare has given a few details on the next batch of downloadable content for Mass Effect, as well as hints about the sequel.
Electronic Arts has detailed, priced and dated the release of the downloadable content for Mirror's Edge.
Crafty coders have updated the mobile phone version of Quake 3 for Nokia phones so that games can now be hosted from a handset.
Last week, we were out in Taipei City at MSI's inaugural Master Overclocking Arena to watch the Liquid Nitrogen flow freely while some of the world's top overclockers competed for a share of the $6,000 prize fund. Here's what happened on a short and rain affected trip to Taiwan.
We're heading out to Taipei to report on MSI's inaugural Master Overclocking Arena competition.


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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
We've moved! Come join us at our new show page.
(CNN) – The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday took a first step toward potentially eliminating most trans fat from the food supply, saying it has made a preliminary determination that a major source of trans fats - partially hydrogenated oils - is no longer "generally recognized as safe."
Chef Mike Isabella, of Graffiato and Kapnos restaurants in Washington, D.C., and a Top Chef alumni, said he does not use trans fats in any of his restaurants.
"Even if we wanted to preserve stuff, we do more of a classic style, preserving, pickling, smoking, curing," said Isabella. "I'm definitely not planning on ever using it."
But Isabella is a chef of fancy restaurants, where food is served immediately. Trans fats help preserve food, often significantly prolonging shelf life.
"Sugar is also a natural preservative, butter is a fat, a natural preservative. A lot of that stuff we're using in the foods is natural preservatives that will keep the products longer," said Isabella. "If you know how to work with it and use it, you don't need to use something synthetic that's not really even food."
When something is deemed unsafe, it doesn't seem unreasonable to ban it, especially given children may be choosing certain foods when parents aren't around. There is also an obesity epidemic in the United States.
But Josh Barro, politics editor of Business Insider, said the government should not be telling people what they can and cannot eat.
"Eating 4,500 calories a day isn't safe, and smoking and drinking too much aren't safe," said Barro. "The government generally takes the right approach to those sorts of things, which is that we do things to discourage people from smoking or drinking too much, but we say if adults want to make these informed decisions they're allowed to."
Since 2006, the FDA has required that food labels include artificial trans fat content.
"That's been working. Consumption is down about 80% over that period. So consumers have been making informed, healthier choices," said Barro.
Foods that typically contain high amounts of trans fats are cheap, packaged, and often highly convenient.
"It's really saving you some time, a couple of pennies here and there, but it's not like something major where this (packaged food) tastes so much better than what you can make at home," said Isabella. "Trans fat doesn't make things taste better."
For more of our interview with Mike Isabella and Josh Barro, check out the video above.


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Fix Up Or Trade Up
Three Idaho operations share their advice on when it’s time to fix up or trade up
By Leslie Danielson
Every year manufacturers provide new technology that exceeds expectations and helps logging contractors stay in the game. While many contractors have increased the longevity of their machines, they still haven’t discovered the fountain of youth.
Deciding when it’s time to buy is a concern contractors are faced with regularly, but many have configured a system that works for them. With diligent crews and financial systems in place, they draw the line between fixing and trading up.
Smaller companies such as Kuhlman Logging of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, may be finely tuned when it comes to the mastery of trading up. Ron Kuhlman has been in the business long enough to know what works for him and his crew. Having been in business for over 30 years, Kuhlman has found it is not always cost-beneficial for his operation to buy brand new equipment.
“In the early years, we couldn’t afford new, not all at once,” says Ron, “so we tried to find good used equipment from a reputable contractor we knew.”
This allowed him to gain steady work and an upstanding crew that has been with him 25-plus years simply by running one side of his mechanical logging crew with five employees, using only equipment that is necessary for the job. By doing this, Ron is now able to stay ahead of the game and buy new every year.
“By keeping debt down and not having payments all at once, I have been able to update one at a time.” Ron attributes this to the non-stop efforts of his logging crew, emphasizing, “I couldn’t do it without them.”
Erik Machado, an operator for Kuhlman Logging, manages a 2010 320 D Caterpillar processor with 7000 Log Max XT head and credits his high production to the like-new equipment that Ron keeps in supply.
“Generally new equipment keeps morale and production high; there is less time out of the machine fixing problems and increased time in the cab,” say Erik, who keeps production running smoothly. When small issues arise for Kuhlman’s crew, some mechanical knowledge is beneficial. “We know how to work on our machines,” notes Erik. This keeps the daily grind moving, with minor issues obsolete and the crew high in output.
Kuhlman says it is a matter of how serious the issue is and adds, “I am too small to have my own mechanics.” He often uses his go-to mechanic out of Plummer, Idaho, to fix any major issues, explaining that the guy has been with him since day one.
Steve Henderson, owner and operator of Pinecreek Logging of Deary, Idaho, is an expert when it comes to keeping his machines in line and ready to go for the work that lies ahead. The effort of four full- time mechanics keeps the outfit running at optimum efficiency for the company’s 48 employees.
With the perpetual operation of six sides, consisting of two line machines, three cutto-length, a feller buncher side, and their support equipment, such overhead can create heavy demands for keeping things fixed.
“We generally choose fixing equipment,” says Steve, “Keeping equipment in good shape to reduce breakdowns is less costly than replacing with new.” Which he credits to his mechanics who are on hand regularly to handle issues so the company can avoid any possible downtime. By keeping the equipment updated and maintained, the company is able to stay efficient and continue to get the job done without being obligated to buy new.
Even with steady servicing, most machinery will not last forever, so Pinecreek Logging’s approach to updating is about balance. “We don’t initially buy new; we try to buy better used equipment,” explains Steve. The company did, however, recently purchase a new Timber Pro PL 735B feller buncher with 2014 Quadco hot saw, which requires little effort to sustain its brand new condition, providing a break in their daily upkeep requirements.
As for the heavier utilized equipment, Steve points out that they don’t necessarily replace certain pieces more than others; however, he does note, “High hours on any piece of equipment warrants consideration for replacement.” The results of Pinecreek Logging’s maintenance prove that new is not always better — it’s all in how you treat and service your equipment for what lies ahead.
When it comes to integrating, buying new, and fabricating repairs as necessary, Danielson Logging of St. Maries, Idaho, works with both to stay ahead of minor complications throughout the year. Bob Danielson’s tight knit crew of 40 (including three full-time mechanics) stand ready to fix issues as they arise to support the company’s 40-plus pieces of equipment. Bob explains, “It is necessary for me to have mechanics to fix issues as soon as possible to keep production running.” To ensure a smooth year of reliable equipment, Bob says, “Each machine gets a run through every year in the spring to prevent future issues.”
When equipment starts to show that it is only worth so much to further maintain, the line has to be drawn. “If a machine with higher hours is having major component issues such as the undercarriage needing replaced, or an engine overhaul is needed, I know it’s time to update,” explains Bob. When cost benefits do not add up, the company is faced with making the difficult decision to purchase. Buying new also poses its challenges, and when finances are tied up, Danielson Logging uses alternative ways to buy its machines. “It’s hard to put that much money down,” says Bob. “Often we use rent-to-own programs to get into a machine right away.” This allows the company to continue production without providing a major chunk of change to keep things operating.
This year Danielson Logging did purchase a 2014 2454 John Deere log loader with 7000 Log Max XT Extreme head, which came with essential factory options that Bob says are great to have in this particular machine. “These new pieces of equipment are what saves us when times are tough,” he says. For Danielson Logging it is crucial to have key pieces that are reliable for the operation to keep in motion.
It takes a special blend of industrious crews, on-hand mechanics, quality equipment, and profitable job opportunities for contractors to endure in the business. Staying competitive takes all of these key aspects to keep the industry alive and running. Whether choosing to fix issues or avoid them all by buying new, it is up to the proprietor to look from all sides of the table and decide what will ultimately work best to keep the industrial machine running.
This page and all contents ©1996-2015 Logging and Sawmilling Journal (L&S J) and TimberWest Journal.


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The legend goes that Har Prasad Nanda came to Delhi from Lahore with only Rs 5,000 and two cars. And yet he chose to stay at the iconic luxury hotel, The Imperial, to revive his business contacts. And the rest, they say, is history. In January this year, Nikhil Nanda, managing director of Escorts Limited, grandson of late superstar Raj Kapoor and visionary HP Nanda, shared an emotional note on his feisty and ambitious late grandfather, HP Nanda, who, if alive, would have been 96. He called him 'tomorrow's man', with a visionary and instinctive approach to decision-making.
From being virtually penniless to building Escorts as one of India's leading trading houses, Nanda tapped into the need for India to be self-reliant in food and established Escorts Agricultural Machines Ltd to market tractors and farm implements in 1948. Automotive expert and author Murad Ali Baig, who worked with the company for 18 years, recounted an incident for a news report, in which he stated that when Escorts engaged Ricardo of England in 2012 to suggest improvements to its Rajdoot motorcycle, Ricardo reportedly said, "This is such a beautiful piece of engineering, please don't change it." As the economy opened up, Escorts decided to explore newer areas and sectors, but by this time HP Nanda had withdrawn from active business, following the death of his wife in 1990.
Nanda's two sons focused on different areas of the business. Anil focused primarily on auto components while Rajan led Escorts into software and telecom. The brothers have since parted ways, but the iconic Escorts lives on as a flag-bearer of innovation.


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Multiple Hero dealers told FE that retail volumes have taken a sharp dip in December, after strong festive season sales in October and November where it sold a record 1.2 million units. In fact, inventory levels today have climbed to five weeks and in some extreme cases even six weeks, from a three-week normal.
The company has been caught in a tricky situation as it had pushed huge volumes to dealers in October and November anticipating the festive rush. While sales were good then, stocks are still lying with dealers and with sales being tepid in the current month, Hero needs to dispose of them.
Sales in December are generally low, as customers dont want products with a manufacturing date of the previous year in a new calendar year.
When contacted, a company spokesperson said the company keeps running activities targeted at its customers, such as referral programmes for Goodlife members and for customers coming for service at its authorised channels. The current initiative of Rs 1,000 Loyalty Bonus is in line with these programmes which are applicable only for our existing customers. It added that Finance, exchange and loyalty initiatives are not discounts but are efforts aimed at brand building and relationship building.
Hero, which has traditionally resorted to marketing campaigns like its recent five-year warranty programme to push sales, is expected to contribute 60% of the loyalty bonus offer. The rest will be borne by the dealers, who feel that their margins are now under tremendous pressure. In comparison, rival Honda is offering a Rs 2,000 exchange bonus on the Dream Neo and Yuga, besides a lower 2.99% interest rate.
I have a margin of Rs 1,150 on the Splendor, which is the biggest chunk of my sales. Now, I have to fork out a further Rs 400 from this margin towards the loyalty bonus. The last time I remember such a discount from Hero was five years back. Inventory is so high that theres no space to even unload trucks, a major North Indian Hero dealer said.
Additionally, the company is offering financing schemes like low down payment of Rs 5,555, both through a tie-up with HDFC and its captive finance arm.
An analyst with a broking firm said, The situation is very tough for all two-wheeler and car makers. Dealer inventories, which are normally at three or four weeks, have climbed to five or six weeks. The situation is same for most companies.
Hero MotoCorp has seen strong festive season sales this year, with October retail volumes being the highest ever for any month. High demand from the rural market following a normal monsoon helped the company despatch 18% more vehicles in October at 625,000 units, while November despatches rose 5.6% to 530,000 units.
Hero, which has a 41% market share across two-wheelers, saw its total volumes for April-November FY14 rise 3.8% to 4.0.5 million units. In the same period, the two-wheeler industry saw a 5.8% rise to 9.77 million units, driven by high scooter demand, while rival Bajaj saw a 14% drop to 1.47 million units and Honda rose 30% to 2.26 million units.
On Tuesday, the Hero MotoCorp share on the BSE closed down 1.39% at Rs 2,132.85. The benchmark Sensex was down 0.32%.


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The start of the year ushered in a wave of good news about a hot stock market, higher wages and an active home sales environment. At the same time, housing prices have continued to rise, and the low inventory situation and affordability crunch has been particularly hard on first-time buyers struggling to get into the market. Nevertheless, buyer activity is easily outpacing seller activity in much of the country, culminating in relatively quick sales and low supply. Demand definitely remained strong this month.
New Listings were down 4.2 percent to 544.
Pending Sales increased 18.8 percent to 411.
Inventory shrank 6.5 percent to 2,193 units.
Prices were still soft as Median Sales Price was down 3.4 percent to $280,000.
Days on Market increased 14.2 percent to 169 days.
Months Supply of Inventory was down 10.4 percent to 6.0 months, indicating that demand increased relative to supply.
Unemployment has reached pre-recession levels, and Americans remain optimistic about finding quality employment.
*This matters because job growth and higher paychecks fuel home purchases. Unfortunately, that won’t matter for potential buyers if price appreciation outpaces income growth and if mortgage rates continue their upward trend. Sellers are getting a generous number of offers in this market. The worry for sellers then becomes that there will not be a generous number of homes to choose from when they become buyers.


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Forget drones. The latest delivery craze is on-the-ground robots — like the ones that will deliver your next order from Postmates.
Robots from Starship Technologies will deliver food to Postmates customers in Washington, D.C. and DoorDash customers in Redwood City, Calif. as part of a new pilot program announced Wednesday.
The robots — small, "droid-style" robots that roll along on the sidewalk — will be used by the delivery apps mainly to fulfill smaller, local orders. Starship Technologies is focused on building robots for 15- to 30-minute local delivery in a two-to-three mile radius. The robots drive autonomously but are monitored by humans.
The on-the-ground robot delivery systems will face less regulatory oversight than Amazon's ambitious drone deliveries, for example.
D.C.'s city council passed the Personal Delivery Device Act last June, with some lobbying from Starship. The law allows small on-the-ground delivery devices, like Starship's, to operate throughout most of D.C. The city can't allow drone deliveries because of a federal no-fly zone.
Starship tested its delivery robots in D.C., Redwood City and Fayetteville, Ark. in late 2016.
"While some companies have pursued autonomous technologies by flouting local laws, Starship has already received approval to test their robots," DoorDash Chief Product Officer Stanley Tang said.
The delivery companies are interested to see how customers react when a robot shows up instead of a human.
“We’re very excited about robotics and how we can better utilize the technology to enhance our already strong delivery fleet,” Postmates' Senior Vice President for Business Holger Luedorf said in a statement. “We know there is still a long way to go, but we’re excited to team up with Starship on this pilot program and see how the robots are received by our customers and merchant partners.”
Tang said that DoorDash expects the robots to fill in for the orders human workers avoid picking up because they're too small or too close and won't lead to as much of a tip. DoorDash also plans to use robots to deliver from restaurants to a central hub where deliverers could pick up food and take it the rest of the way to a customer.
The delivery robots work for more than just food. Starship, which is headquartered in London and runs its engineering out of Estonia, has already launched similar partnerships with Europe's Just Eat as well as Hermes Parcel Delivery, consumer electronics retailer Media Markt, Swiss Post and the Finnish food delivery startup Wolt.
The robotics company just raised $17.2 million in seed funding this month.
“DoorDash and Postmates are championing on-demand local delivery, sharing Starship’s vision to save customers time and money,” Starship Technologies CEO Ahti Heinla said in a statement.


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Retail FDI by the back door?
Recently at a real estate conference in Mumbai a speaker explained that an economic downturn is the best time for slum redevelopment as the process becomes easier. If you are wondering how the two are connected, the Speaker had a perfect ploy. In Mumbai, just as in any other metro cities, slum dwellers face the heat of inflation more than anyone else. The odds are ranged against them as the cost of living is comparatively high even while their incomes shrink due to layoffs in manual labour market, especially in the construction sector. During these tough times if a real estate developer presents the idea of redevelopment the slum dwellers lap it up as they get lump sum money to tide over their day-to-day cost of living.
In a Marathi TV channel a few slum dwellers from Chunabhatti in north Mumbai even went to the extent of saying that they have curtailed their daily meals as they cannot afford to make so many rotis as they had earlier. The cost of living for the poor has gone through the roof and there is no fallback. It is in this background the outrageous comments by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram gain significance. The only category of community unperturbed by inflationary pressures is the ultra-rich with Swiss Bank accounts which seems to be UPA government’s only constituency left.
Many of the industry observers are keenly watching the situation arising out of the soaring inflation. Are inflationary pressures being deliberately used to bring foreign direct investments (FDI) through the back door? Because one of the main arguments of the government is that organised retail can bridge the gap between the farmer and the marketplace and hence the traders and middlemen will lose out if the Walmarts and Tescos of the world set their feet on Indian soil. The retail chains will buy directly from the farmers and hence the ’procurement price’ will go up as a result. Also, the retail chains will bring down the selling price as they will make do without all the middlemen. Be that as it may, why should the poor or the middle-class today become a guinea pig for government’s ploy to bring in foreign investments into retail sector? During the 90s, Mumbai city suddenly suffered a series of power outages to prove the government point of view that there is a severe shortage of power. That was only a ploy to bring in the scandalous Enron to India.
To mock at the poor by saying that people can afford buying ice-cream costing Rs20 but cannot afford the steep hike in food prices is as ridiculous as it can get. Even for a moment if we consider P Chidambaram’s statement to be justified, will the Union Home Minister start saying that eating fruits is a luxury (which it has actually become these days) and poor people don’t deserve fruits? Or is it that the Union Home Minister wants poor people to give up ice creams so that they pay a bomb for foodgrain?
Chidambaram’s statement not only reveals the government’s insensitivity to the pain of inflation and how poor households are cutting down on consumption of rotis to make their ends meet, it borders on sadism to watch with glee how poor people pay for food grain, vegetables, fruits or ice cream. If Chidambaram was trying to create a wedge between the middle class and poor people who try to eke out a living in the government-created disastrous economic situation, then all we can say is that he is too clever by half. The grim inflationary pressures on food grain and essential commodities have hit the poor people more than it has affected the middle-class. The middle class has given up on their monthly family visits to restaurants and restricted birthday celebrations to home-made food and desserts. But the poor has given up on their staple diet as prices of grain, vegetable, fruits and pulses have tripled in their last one year. If the statement was targeted at the Swiss Bank account holders and corrupt minister in the Union cabinet it would have been more apt.
After the furore that Chidambaram’s statements created, probably the Congress high command thought it fit that a clarification was in order. But Chidambaram’s clarification was even more hare-brained. He said that his statements were only a matter-of-fact! There has been no evidence of government procurement prices going up that have resulted in prices of farm produce tripling in the last one year so much so that the poor have to give up a meal a day. Second, most of the food grain and vegetables that end up in the market has no bearing on government procurement prices as the dealings are done directly between the farmers and the middlemen. Third, and most importantly, has the inflation in food prices resulted in any decline in farmer suicides, if one were to believe Chidambaram’s spin? Anywhere in the country today farmers are in a desperate situation. Most of the subsistence farmers are counting their days. And then comes along the Union minister’s spin.


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When S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was released for the PC back in 2007, the gritty first-person shooter won over a cult following for its godforsaken, post apocalyptic art style and terrorizing atmosphere. This fan base stuck around through spin-offs like S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, so it was no surprise that when a report came through last December apparently detailing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's cancellation, the anguish was palpable.
That all changes now though thanks an announcement direct from Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. A posting appeared on the company's official Facebook page stating the following:
"The Stalker team is extremely happy! Why? Because we are continuing work on Stalker 2 after the holidays."
So it appears that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is living up to it's name, and, unbeknownst to gamers, has been with us all along. But while the game still has a pulse, a solid jolt from a defibrillator wouldn't hurt either. Speaking to Edge, GSC spokesman Oleg Yavorsky said that while a development team is indeed on hand to make the game, they still lack the adequate funding to move the process forward:
"We are still in the process of seeking funding to back up the project. We are hopeful things turn out well eventually. The team really wants to see STALKER continue."
Needless to say, there couldn't be much more encouraging news for the series at this point. Trouble first blipped up on the radar last October when the studio floated around the prospect of always on DRM. That was soon forgotten about, however, after the shocking report in December seemed to suggest that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was all but six feet under.
As awesome as a new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 would be for hardcore PC shooter fans, and, perhaps more importantly, the fledgling central Ukrainian video game industry, money is the ultimate arbiter of what gets made and what doesn't. The game's December cancellation reports were no fluke; there's clearly quite a bit of instability going on at GSC. If a financier can't be found for the project in the near future, it's unclear as to how long the development team will be willing to stay in place.
Ranters, what do you think S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's chances are of getting produced? Are you part of the original game's ardent fan base?
Pending a green light, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is slated to release later this year for the PC.
Follow me on Twitter @Brian_Sipple


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Amid reports of the News of the World cell phone hacking scandal, many mobile users might be wondering if their own phones are vulnerable. How easy is it to hack someone’s phone? Despite the recent hubbub, the news is pretty heartening: with advances in mobile technology have come advances in mobile security. But not all cell devices are free from invasion.
“No system is 100 percent foolproof,” said John Walls, vice president of public affairs with CTIA, a non-profit advocacy organization that represents the interests of the wireless communications industry. “Then again, the systems that are in place are very good and provide high levels of protection for consumers. You have to protect the customer to the best of your abilities — the customer and the integrity of the service is all they have.”
But why would anybody hack someone else’s phone? News of the World reporters performed these tasks to get the story — no matter what. The hacking procedure went like this, according to The New York Times Magazine: Reporters used a technique called “double screwing,” which involved calling the same number at the same time. The first caller would make the line busy, leading the second caller directly to a voice mail prompt. After entering the voice mail password, the second caller gained access to the person’s messages. According to the Times, simple codes like “1111” would crack it.
But this is not the only way to hack voice mail. Previously, Walls said, hackers could access people’s voice mail by calling their cell phone service providers to ask to set a new voice mail password. If simple codes didn’t work, News of the World private investigators relied on this method to access passwords, wrote the Times. That was before the advent of multiple passwords and security questions. Now, only the customer who has set these codes has the ability to make changes to the voice mail settings, even to the person’s general cell account. Wireless carriers also keep a limited pool of personnel who can access customer information, so as to prevent the information from getting into the wrong hands.
But there are other ways to hack voice mail. Kevin Mahaffey, chief technology officer at Lookout, a San Francisco-based company that develops smartphone security software, explained two behind-the-back techniques.
One involves accessing a person’s voice mail through another person’s voice mail. The two have to be contacts in the same network. By calling one person’s voice mail, the hacker can use a code to bounce to another voice mailbox. The advantage here, said Mahaffey, is that the owner of the phone is not made aware of the hack — just like in double screwing. With a crack at the password, the hacker gets in.
The second involves caller ID “spoofing,” which uses a trick to make a cell phone carrier think that an outside call to a phone’s voice mail is actually coming from the phone itself, as in dialing *86 on your own device to get your messages. The difference here is that these spoof attacks specifically target mobile users who have not set a voice mail password. Spoof calls provide straight access to voice mail, but if you have a password, this could never happen, said Mahaffey. Mahaffey also said that most mobile operators have fixed this issue, but that nobody knows the extent of this problem today.
Beyond wireless providers, the responsibility to keep the networks clean also lies in the hands of wireless customers. Walls advises that cell carriers use a password-prompted screen lock, which requires that you enter a pass code to get to the phone’s home screen. Also, choose your passwords wisely: don’t pick a password that a hacker can find on your Facebook profile, like your birthday, said Mahaffey. Never store these passwords on your phone, and be sure not to open any SMS messages coming in from unknown numbers, which, Walls said, contain content that, when opened, can install malware and spyware onto your cell.
This adds a new dimension to the hacking problem. Marc Fossi, manager of research and development for Symantec Security Response, said that the recent development of cellphone technology has made mobile devices into small computers. “They’re susceptible to the same attacks that many computers are,” said Fossi.
Mahaffey defines malware, which can affect computers, as software that works with malicious intent. If it’s installed onto your smartphone through a dodgy e-mail or text message, the bug plays a nasty fly-on-the-wall role. It can gather any information that passes through your phone as it flies from app to app. Not only can this include information about your call history and messages, but also financial information if any mobile apps are linked to a credit or debit account, said Mahaffey.
Spyware, on the other hand, falls into a murkier territory. Not all spyware is malware, said Mahaffey, but some of it can be. Spyware works through apps that take any data from your phone, such as contacts, browsing habits, text history and location, without consent. Your information could get uploaded onto an app’s contact list without your approval, for example.
Luckily, there are solutions to prevent this from happening. Be sure to keep your apps up to date. New software that fixes old security flaws can keep hackers at bay. Stay away from e-mails, texts and apps from unknown, untrusted sources. Stay safe on public wifi networks that are not secure by avoiding online shopping or banking. Finally, you can install security software onto your phone that protects you from harm.
“It’s important that we don’t end up in the same position on our phones as we did on the PC,” said Mahaffey. “There’s an opportunity for mobiles to be much better.”


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- China’s iron ore importers have expressed interest in abandoning the USD and switching to Chinese yuan.
- They also noted that they would adopt digital yuan as soon as it became officially available.
- Blockchain-based international payments have been on a sharp rise in China, as many partners start to accept them.
Due to all the tensions between the US and China, it appears that Chinese iron ore importers are interested in alternative ways of handling payments, instead of having to rely on the USD. And, with China expanding the usage of its digital yuan, iron providers appear to be quite interested in shifting towards this new technology.
Iron Providers Want to Switch to Yuan First, and Digital Yuan Second
Blockchain technology is advancing rapidly in China, especially with the country’s recent appreciation and endorsement of it. Now, the Chinese iron ore sector seems to be among the first movers towards this blockchain-powered, cross-border platform, and would rather conduct deal in yuan (RMB) than in USD.
China Economic Net claims that some of the world’s biggest ore providers have requested the adoption of blockchain platforms for their businesses. They would use it to sell their materials to China’s companies directly.
Meanwhile, they also wish to adopt digital yuan as soon as it becomes officially available and make transactions that would not depend on the USD.
Major Firms Already Use Blockchain for Cross-Border Settlements
Recently, two companies, Rio Tinto Group and Ansteel Group International Economic and Trade Co. completed a massive $14.44 million-large international settlement. They did it by using blockchain technology. Rio Tinto representative stated that this would serve the company’s customers in China better, as they can now also purchase small quantities and easily pay in RMB.
Furthermore, recent reports also noted that the cross-border payments and receipts paid in RMB increased by 36.7%, going up to RMB 12.7 trillion, or $1.83 billion.
International blockchain-based payments have been surging in China, particularly in the city of Qingdao, after a pilot platform’s implementation. Now, the companies involved with the process continue to make trades with international partners, including those in Asia, as well as those in North America.


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What is Threads? All your questions about Meta's new Twitter rival, answered
July 7, 2023
NEW YORK (AP) — Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live.
The app, billed as the text version of Meta's photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries — including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan. Despite some early glitches, 30 million people had signed up before noon on Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Threads.
New arrivals to the platform include celebrities like Oprah, pop star Shakira and chef Gordon Ramsay — as well as corporate accounts from Taco Bell, Netflix, Spotify, the...


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The key to marketing privacy is data, namely personal, identifiable, or aggregate data about a person and how businesses gather, use, exchange, and then forget about it. The right to privacy, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), is “the right to be left alone.”
How important is privacy to consumers?
According to the MAGNA and Ketch poll, consumers are concerned about privacy, but they aren’t as concerned about privacy compliance requirements as, say, the entire digital marketing sector.
The Virginia Consumer Privacy Data Protection Act was unknown to 90% of poll respondents (VCDPA). People are paying attention to corporations that are labelled for poor privacy practices, even if they are not closely tracking government-imposed privacy standards or how businesses comply with them.
Even if they don’t understand the terminologies as well as we do, consumers are concerned about how firms handle their data, with only 5% saying they have no major worries.
While customers are more aware of how corporations use their data and have some worries, they are still mostly in the dark about a company’s privacy practices, which makes them sceptical. According to a recent BCG/Google survey, nearly 60% of consumers believe corporations sell their data, despite the fact that most organizations do not.
Privacy initiatives marketers should know about
Some privacy regulations have already been enacted, like the EU’s GDPR, Australia’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) law, and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
GDPR: The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation came into force in 2018 and expands consumer privacy rights by, among other things, giving consumers the right to know what personal data is being collected about them, the right to have that data erased, and the right to object to its use.
CCPA: In January 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which was passed into law in 2018, took place. Californians are given the right to know what information is gathered, why it is gathered, and how it is gathered. Customers also have the option to revoke their consent and exercise their right to be forgotten (e.g., have their data deleted).
CDPA: The Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act is expected to go into effect in 2023. It, like the CCPA, allows customers far more control over how firms access and utilize personal data. It also emphasises data security, which means that businesses must take reasonable precautions to secure consumer data against unauthorized access, destruction, use, alteration, or disclosure. Marketers should be aware of the following distinctions between CCPA and CDPA.
ADPPA: The American Data Privacy and Protection Act, which is expected to be passed in 2023, would allow consumers the right to learn more about personal data, including how firms gather, use, and share it. It allows Americans the opportunity to opt out of targeted advertising and provides “strong safeguards” for kids, limiting the collecting and sharing of data about minors.
What does this mean for marketers?
GDPR, CCPA, and ADPPA, among others, impose strict limits on what, how, and why data is collected. Consumers are also becoming more worried about how firms utilize and exploit their personal information. More control and transparency are desired. They wish to reclaim control of their data from firms such as Google and Amazon.
Marketers should be more aware of consumer attitudes about data, particularly what information they are ready to share in exchange for benefits like discounts, freebies, and ease, in addition to the most recent privacy laws.
As a result of all of this, marketers must adopt a privacy-first, open, and rigorous strategy to data usage and privacy. Having your own data rather than relying on second- or third-party data for marketing efforts means you’ll have more control over client data collection preferences and utilization.
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Food-delivery and restaurant discovery app Zomato is jumping on to the grocery bandwagon as the category sees a major uptick amid the Covid-19 outbreak.This is a major step towards diversification and a move to keep demand high at a time when most businesses are registering a slowdown.
The Gurugram-based food tech major is also talking to online grocery retailers Grofers and Bigbasket for a partnership to sell grocery essential products on its platform and the pilot service will be launched in Delhi-NCR.
Zomato’s foray into the grocery segment comes at a time when online grocers are witnessing high volume growth in orders largely due to panic buying taking place post stay at home orders issued by the authorities. Meanwhile Online food ordering has taken a hit in the past week with order numbers falling by as much as 20%.
Deepinder Goyal-led Zomato has been contemplating for the past few months over getting into the grocery segment, especially after its rival Swiggy started grocery delivery early last year and has been ramping up its diversified delivery services.
Last year, Swiggy launched Stores to deliver groceries, medicines, vegetables, meat and everyday essentials by aggregating local stores across cities. Later in September, Swiggy tied up with Jumbotail to set up dark stores to facilitate hyperlocal deliveries.
Offline stores which work with Grofers will be listed on Zomato’s app. Consumers can then place an order on Zomato and deliveries will be fulfilled by them.
Besides its own efforts to expand beyond food-delivery, the Naspers-backed company acquired subscription-based delivery business under Supr Daily in 2018, which is largely used to ordering milk, breads and everyday essentials.
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