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Rabih Fakhreddine on how 7Management is taking over the region and soon, the world
Rabih Fakhreddine knows a thing or two about growth.
In the last eight months, the founder and CEO of 7Management has expanded his business to be one of the leading F&B and entertainment companies in the region. After years of success in Lebanon, the brand moved to Dubai and launched Seven Sisters with a bang, followed by Antika Bar. Since then, 7Management has opened one successful venue after the next, including The Theater, February 30, BO18, Café Beirut and, most recently, Lucia’s at Address Sky View.
Caterer Middle East sat down with Fakhreddine at one of his flagship venues, The Theater, to chat about his achievements so far and the global plans he has for 2022 onward.
He said, “I am very proud of the work we have done. We launched six venues in the last eight months and we have four new projects coming up this year in Dubai alone.”
Fakhreddine exclusively told Caterer, that Dubai can expect four more 7Management venues in 2022. He said: “A launch that I am particularly excited about, is a big one coming up in October 2022 on the rooftop of the Meydan Hotel. It will be the number one oriental lounge in the region. It will be massive. A capacity of 600 seats with a mega stage offering live performances. We are going to have a major partnership with the dance theatre group Caracalla, who will add a magic touch to the show.”
consider Dubai one of the dining capitals of the world. So there is no other
place we would first launch such a project. I believe this new Oriental lounge
will be one of 7Management’s top international brands.”
Fakhreddine was a bit more tight-lipped about his fourth upcoming project. “All I can say is that we are launching a very food-focused high-end Lebanese dining concept at Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab Hotel when it opens. This will be launched in collaboration with one of the most well-known and famous Levantine chefs in the region. I believe Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab hotel will be the hottest hotel addition to the city, and we are so lucky to get a location there.”
“It was our first venue that really mixed both great entertainment and good food. Since then, I believe, every one of our venues has achieved it,” a proud Fakhreddine added.
Fakhreddine said he learned a lot from the pandemic. “I discovered that customers are looking for a one-stop-shop. I call it the Netflix effect. They want everything available to them in one go.”
According to Fakhreddine, the live performances will showcase all the different Arab cultures including shows from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and more. “At this stage, we will portray all the colours and the rich culture of the Arab world,” he added. “It is something big that we’ve been working on for a while now. This will be the biggest project that we have launched so far and I am so glad to be launching it in Dubai.
Fakhreddine was also excited to share the announcement of Lucia’s By The Sea, a beach restaurant concept offering top-quality Italian cuisine by the sea. He said: “The success of Lucia’s was unprecedented. It was so well received by diners in Dubai, that we are already expanding the restaurant regionally, while also launching it on the beach on Palm Jumeirah. Another venue set to launch on the Palm is Seray, a fine dining Lebanese restaurant. Both Lucia’s and Seray will open in Q4 of 2022.”
After the success of Fakhreddine’s beachfront spot, February 30, he strongly believes in Palm Jumeirah as an F&B destination. He added: “We’ve studied the market well, and learned that there is no proper Italian restaurant in the area where we’ll open. So we believe that our festive Italian venue will do very well as a beachside concept. Guests can expect a gorgeous view, fantastic ambience, entertainment and most importantly, great quality food.”
Marrying dining and entertainment
Take one look at 7Management’s venues and you’ll see a pattern. A great location, top-quality F&B and phenomenal entertainment. “We started out in the entertainment industry back in Beirut. Whether it was February 30, Antika or Seven Sisters, we operated mainly as an entertainment destination. It is not easy to crack the food side of the business when your focus is entertainment, but I can proudly say that we managed to do that with The Theater.
And so Fakhreddine acted accordingly. “We launched the Theater with this in mind. I am so grateful for my team there. Within eight months, they managed to make it one of the top venues in the city, and just because we are on top, does not mean we will lean back.” He explained that creative director Guy Manoukian and the team will continue to plan more surprise performances, upgrades to the experience and fresh show ideas.
Moving on to February 30, Fakhreddine said its introduction was a big hit. He added. “We are doing more than 1,000 covers a day and our partnership with chef Reif Othman for the menu was so successful. Clients love the food there and they share this feedback with us all the time. To me, he’s one of the best chefs in town.
Lucia’s, 7Management’s latest addition, is the talk of the town, according to Fakhreddine. Located at Address Sky View, Downtown, the Italian venue opened its doors in mid-February and promises Sicilian and Capri-inspired Italian cuisine.
He said: “Chef Enrico Paiola did a great job on the menu. People are telling me that they love the food. I think we managed to launch the first festive Italian venue in Dubai. It has had excellent reviews and it’s fully booked every day. To me, the secret recipe is to truly understand what the customer wants and to try to come up with the concepts and brands that give them the experience that they are looking for.”
Big Expansion plans across Saudi Arabia
At the end of 2021, Fakhreddine entered the Saudi market with Café Beirut at Riyadh Boulevard and an Antika pop-up at the Oasis area, as part of the Riyadh season. He said: “Café Beirut is located on the boulevard in the heart of Riyadh, facing the Riyadh fountain with more than 200 seats both indoor and outdoor. It is a permanent venue, while Antika is currently a pop-up. It has indoor and outdoor seating and live entertainment to go along with great Lebanese food.”
According to Fakhreddine,
the two concepts were a runaway success. “Café Beirut has a lot of scalability
in Saudi Arabia. I see three more launching in Riyadh, maybe two in Jeddah and
one in Khobar in the near future.”
What Fakhreddine loves about Saudi Arabia is that the market so far doesn’t depend on tourists. He said: “It is 95 percent a local market and they are hungry for something new. Especially when it comes from the region.”
He added: “Back in the
1990s it was common to see international imports. They were mostly casual
eateries, then, in the early 2000s, came to a shift towards more homegrown
outlets. However, back then the focus was mainly on cafés. The café was where
people used to hang out. It was a socially acceptable venue to enjoy a night
out. Because of that, there weren’t many lifestyle brands and now that more
high-end concepts and lifestyle brands are launching in Saudi, we had to be a
part of it.”
Fakhreddine was already in negotiations to launch his venues in the Kingdom before the pandemic. He said: “7Management was approached by the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia so that we can expand our concepts there. And Saudi, as a market, has plenty of room for growth. I find it so unique. Saudi Arabia to me is the name of the game.
“Riyadh is evolving at a very fast pace. It is becoming more open to new ideas, more liberal and a place where a lot of brands want to be seen. Saudi’s F&B market is still so young, it has room for so much. I see it as such a powerful destination, that I am establishing 7Management KSA. Dubai will be the regional office, but we will definitely have a structure in the Kingdom. Over there, they generally love Lebanese concepts, music, and design. So I expect The Theatre, Antika and Seven Sisters to be opened in Saudi by 2025.”
7Management in Qatar, Egypt and more
“I am expanding aggressively in Qatar,” Fakhreddine said. “We are so excited for 2022 there. You have the World Cup and a big tourism boom taking place there soon. We currently have the number one nightlife venue there with Antika at the Kempinski Hotel in Qatar.
“We opened a year ago and
partnered with Al Fardan Hospitality. We are also opening Lucia’s and BO18, as
well as Seven Sisters. We are also in negotiations for Café Beirut.”
Egypt is also a big focus, with February 30 opening at the North Coast this season and Lucia’s and Cafe Beirut in Cairo due in 2023. Also next year, Lucia’s will open in Greece, 7 Management’s first venture into Europe. Fakhreddine said: “I believe that Athens is a market that has a lot of potential, we will do a lot there across our portfolio. We are also actively looking to have The Theater in London and Las Vegas in the next two to three years.”
There are also plans to launch Antika in Bahrain by the end of 2022.
Fakhreddine is very proud
that his homegrown concepts are getting demand from international hotels,
saying that it’s all down to such a successful 2021 and 2022 so far.
He added: “It was a great year, and we’re looking to grow the organisation in 2023. I’m working on the operational side right now, making sure we have the right talent because we have a big and fast expansion coming up.”
With no launches planned for the summer, Fakhreddine will be focusing on the operational side of venues that are already up and running and for 7Management as a whole. He added. “I’m getting ready for our international expansion. We’re also planning to announce our rewards program. As we have a big database across our brands, we will be launching a 7Management loyalty program, which will enable people to visit all of our outlets and benefit from rewards across the region.”
He also believes that Dubai will continue to grow. “The past six months have been great,” he said. “We thought after December 2021, the market would slow down, but our numbers overachieved by 20 to 30 percent. I have a good feeling about the future.”


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One of the big promises Microsoft made back when it first launched the Xbox One was the ability to turn any retail unit into a development kit. Now, after a couple of years of working on it, Microsoft is rolling out the feature but it does come with some fairly significant caveats.
The ‘Dev Mode' is coming as part of an Xbox Preview update but the guidelines as to how system resources are allocated reveal that there are some things developers can't do without an official kit when it comes to UWP applications.
Microsoft's guidelines for Dev mode on Xbox One show that in the current preview version, only 448 MB of the Xbox One's 8 GB of RAM is made available to UWP apps and games running on the console but that limit will grow to 1 GB in a future Dev Mode update. However, that limitation will be waived if you're running your app in the Visual Studio debugger.
On top of that, developers can only take advantage of 45 percent of the console's GPU and roughly 50 percent of the CPU. As Gamasutra points out, this could be a sign that Microsoft may want developers to use this new mode as a test bed while still debugging and developing titles on official kits. Graphics will also be limited to DX 11 with feature level 10, rather than the more up to date DX 12.
KitGuru Says: This is a feature that has been talked about since 2013 so this has been a long time coming. Are there any features from the Xbox One's initial announcement that you would like to see brought back? I must admit that looking back on it, I don't think a lot of Microsoft's original digital-focussed ideas were too bad.


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By Kaleigh Rogers
There’s a well worn stereotype of a vape bro sucking on e-cigarettes because he thinks blowing thick clouds of vapor makes him look cool. In reality, the majority of vapers (even the cloud chasers) are actually smokers looking for a way to get off the sin sticks. But with strict new regulations introduced by the Food and Drug Administration this year, many in the industry are predicting that hundreds of businesses will be forced to shut down, and some vapers may resort to going back to their original vice: cigarettes.
“It’s very, very difficult to predict people’s behavior in theoretical terms until it actually happens,” said Dr. Michael Siegel, a tobacco researcher at Boston University who runs a fact-checking blog on public agency statements about vaping. “People are actually pretty bad at predicting their behavior, especially when it comes to addictive behavior.”
Siegel told me that, anecdotally, he’s heard from vapers who said they will switch back to smoking if vaping becomes too expensive or difficult to do. Unfortunately there’s no major studies measuring these attitudes. However there are some figures we can look at, which together paint a picture of a potential public health backlash of the FDA’s vaping regulations.
Part of the regulations require all vaping manufacturers to individually apply for approval for each product they make. That means every flavor of e-liquid, at every nicotine strength, must individually be approved through a time-consuming and costly application process. The FDA itself estimates each application will take 1,500 hours to fill out, and cost several hundred thousand dollars. Many small and mid-size vaping companies say this will put them out of business, which means the selection and variety of vaping products will be drastically cut as the regulations come into effect. Some advocacy groups estimate the industry could shrink as much as 98 percent.
While we don’t know for sure what effect this will have on former smokers who are current vapers, there’s some evidence it will push them back onto cigarettes. Two separate studies (one from a Yale researcher and another from Cornell) recently concluded that reducing access to e-cigarettes actually increases smoking rates in teens. Neither found a huge increase (both were less than one percent), but they’re early signs of a trend.
And a recent small poll, commissioned by e-cigarette company V2 whose data was collected by a company called SSI, asked 300 US vapers about their thoughts on the new regulations. If regulations made e-cigarettes more expensive or difficult to get, 18 percent of respondents said they’d vape less and smoke more, and 8 percent said they’d go back to smoking exclusively. If regulations banned e-cigarettes outright, 49 percent of respondents said they’d go back to smoking again.
Of course, these are small and few data points, but that’s the problem with e-cigarettes: They are still a relatively new technology, on which we have achingly scarce scientific data.
“What we do have is basic economic principles—increasing cost or decreasing availability causes substitution—and selected empirical evidence that both confirms that effect and that there is some degree of substitution between the two sets of products,” said Jonathan Adler, a law professor and the director of the Center for Business Law and Regulation at Case Western Reserve University. “If vaping is restricted, we would expect them to revert to other forms of tobacco products because—as former smokers—they’ve already demonstrated their preference for satisfying their nicotine craving over abstinence.”
While it’s certainly not conclusive that regulations will push all vapers back to smoking, the evidence is starting to mount suggesting at least some former smokers will fall back on old habits as regulations shrink the vaping market.


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Saudi Arabian franchise retailer Cenomi Retail has announced an agreement with Vienna-based coffee company Bieder & Maier Coffee to bring Vienna coffee houses to Saudi Arabia.
“We are extremely optimistic about the potential of Vienna Coffee Houses in Saudi Arabia through our new partnership with Bieder & Maier Vienna Coffee,” says Cenomi Retail CEO Günther Helm.
“Cenomi Retail is proud to bring this new offering to the Kingdom, providing an exciting new brand option for our consumers.”
The agreement follows the support from the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) and the Saudi Coffee Company (SCC) Bieder & Maier’s investment journey and development in the country.
“Through this collaboration facilitated by MISA, Saudi Coffee Company will bring forth unique coffee blends utilising Saudi coffee beans in mix with international beans to the Saudi and Austrian markets,” says SCC CEO Khalid AbuTheeb.
“This partnership is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, that aims to enhance the whole value chain of the Saudi coffee industry, in order to diversify the economy and increase the coffee industry’s GDP share.”
Bieder & Maier will source Arabica Beans from the Jezan Region and roast them to create a new blend.
“We feel very honoured announcing this partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and bringing coffee quality and cultures together,” says Bieder & Maier Vienna Coffee Founder and CEO Rudi Kobza.
“In this collaboration and the strengths of the involved partners we see a big potential for the coming years to serve coffee in Saudi Arabia because of its unrivalled quality.”


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Lately I barely have time to eat, let alone cook, and Progresso minestrone soup is a major staple of my diet. So I’ve been watching the attack ads that Progresso and Campbell’s have been running against each other in newspapers across the country (including the Times Union) with some amusement. So has Consumerist.
BrandWeek wrote about it a few weeks ago, with this explanation of the research method behind the ads:
“How did we do it? We went to store shelves, bought their soups, read their ingredient labels and added up the number of Campbell’s soups that contain MSG and that was a big number,” said General Mills rep Tom Forsythe.
Very stealth. And high tech.


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RUSSIA: Scrappage scheme not seen boosting sales
Car sales in Russia will remain flat this year after halving in 2009, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB) even though the government's new scrappage incentive is due to kick in during March.
The AEB appears to think the government support measures will fail to offset a lack of cheap car credit. It said it expects some 1.5m cars to be sold in Russia in 2010, almost unchanged from 1.47m last year, and that in turn was down 49% on 2008 when the country was on its way to overtaking Germany as Europe's biggest car market before the rouble devaluation effectively closed access to cheap credit.
Reuters noted that, in contrast, car sales in Germany, Europe's largest car market, rose to 3.8m in 2009 from 3.1m in 2008 thanks to the government scrapping scheme.
This year, new car sales in Germany are expected to drop 25% to between 2.75 and 3m after government subsidies to scrap old vehicles and buy new replacements ended.
The Russian government plans to offer RUR50,000 (USD1,700) vouchers to people to scrap cars that are 10 years old to buy locally made or assembled vehicles. Analysts and the AEB have said, however, that the measures are too small to offset the decline and will be hindered by bureaucracy.
The government has also offered to subsidise interest on car loans but the number of applications was much smaller than expected.
AEB said car sales fell 38% in December year on year - a better showing than the 46% fall in November, partly explained by a purchasing rush before the new year when car dealers offer big discounts.
Nine out of 10 models topping the list of best selling cars in Russia in 2009 were built locally. Renault's Logan was the best selling foreign car in 2009 with 53,869 units and AvtoVAZ's Lada Priora was the top local model at 99,473.
Separate data showed Russian consumer confidence rose to a one year high in the final quarter of 2009, thanks to a nascent economic recovery, but people remained far more pessimistic than before the credit crisis.
Russia's economy returned to growth in the third quarter of 2009 in seasonally adjusted quarter on quarter terms, after weathering its first recession in a decade. But the recovery is expected to be slow, with gross domestic product (GDP) unlikely to return to pre crisis levels before 2012.


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But my favorite use of literally happened the day before that, when an energy-efficiency expert on TVs Canada AM said of weather stripping, "It pays for itself, literally." I happily imagined a tube of caulk hopping off the shelf in a hardware store and sauntering toward checkout, a credit card at the ready. For reasons I can't explain, the caulk was whistling.
A month ago the Riverside ( Calif.) Press-Enterprise reported of a struggling 42-year-old professional golfer: "Steve Haskins has literally seen it all."
I think I know how he feels.


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It is not always tough to find men CEOs as it is tough to find women CEOs. In a recent conference staged at Stanford University, just six female CEO attended. That too the moderator could find them with much difficulty. It is a real shame. But in high-tech entrepreneurship, it seems that a new wave of female entrepreneurship is all set to erase the gender imbalance.
One good example of such women CEOs is Carol Realini. She started a company then sold it, started another public company and now currently is working on a third company. For this, she raised $140 million in five years. According to Realini, the scenario has improved in last 10 years for female entrepreneurs. Nowadays, women are taken seriously and it no longer said that women can’t become CEOs or raise money. Realini, CEO of Obopay, says “The challenge of being a woman CEO is, one, you’ve got to get in the game. So, you have to be willing to try.” She says that it is important to navigate into the world of venture capital in order to learn methods of raising money.
Entrepreneurs need to be smart and follow those who have become successful in their entrepreneurship. People need to ask for and be flexible and compromise with their private life for some length of time.
Challenges are for all – male entrepreneur as well as female entrepreneur. Realini says, “It is not about women. A man’s got the same challenges and a male entrepreneur, a black entrepreneur, a gay entrepreneur, they’re all going to have the same challenges.”
A paper by Oakland venture capitalist Cindy Padnos has revealed that women are positioning themselves as good entrepreneurs. More women are starting companies, making them public and bringing bigger returns to small investors.
This article was submitted by Rohit Arora, co-founder of Biz2Credit. Biz2Credit is a small business marketplace that connects entrepreneurs with financing options and advice to grow their business. Send all questions to


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With a philosophy that giving freely without expectation of immediate reward yields superior benefits in the long term, American Express Co. has recently been on a tear with its popular OPEN Forum community
for small-business owners.
Created in 2007 as a resource for the companies that AmEx hopes will drive future growth, the site now routinely tops 1 million unique visitors per month. The credit card company is fueling that momentum by introducing a slew of new features that meet members' demands for mobility and social media marketing.
In June, it gave members the option of applying Membership Rewards points to Facebook advertising purchases. At the same time, it introduced YourBuzz,
a free service that lets business owners monitor and contribute to discussions about their companies and markets in social media outlets.
The company recently introduced an Android version
of its free mobile app, building on the success of an iPhone app introduced last year. The site has had more than 1 million views from mobile devices in the past year, according to Scott Roen, VP- digital marketing and innovation for American Express OPEN.
With so much invested in OPEN, you might expect AmEx to be laser-focused on ROI. While the company does monitor metrics such as Net Promoter Score, its principal motivations are altruistic, Roen said.
"We did this to support small businesses, not to get new card members," he said, citing the motivation of "reciprocal altruism," a biology term that refers to an organism weakening itself for the benefit of another under the assumption that the favor will be returned. Procter & Gamble Co. has popularized that idea
as a driver of marketing strategy.
"We have to be disciplined to not try to push everything through a metrics lens because we would lose the benefits of reciprocal altruism," Roen said.
In that spirit, almost everything AmEx has done with OPEN has been aimed at making the resource more easily and freely available. In the past year the site has adopted Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter authentication, making it easy for members of those services to join up. User comments doubled shortly after LinkedIn was integrated and rose more than 60% when Facebook and Twitter were added recently.
The mobile apps are free, as is YourBuzz, which was developed in partnership with digital marketing services agency Clickable. "We saw a lot of small-business interest in reputation management and managing social profiles," Roen said. "YourBuzz was developed from the ground up" to meet that need. (AmEx declined to disclose membership figures.)
While financial results may not be the primary driver of OPEN investments, the company is gaining valuable insight into the needs of small-business owners. Last year's successful Small Business Saturday
promotion, which offered incentives to both consumers and smaller merchants to do business with each other the weekend after Thanksgiving, factored into a 28% increase in small-business revenue in the U.S. compared with the previous year. The associated Facebook page, with 1.5 million "likes," is one of the largest b-to-b destinations on the social network.
AmEx won't say how Small Business Saturday translated into credit card business, but it's gearing up to make the promotion an annual affair. Listening closely to the voice of an audience it wants to reach through a branded community gives AmEx a competitive edge. The company is running with it.


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The American Pharmacists Association has announced the selection of the 2014 Awards and Honors Program recipients.
Walgreens will get a "significant" ownership stake in a specialty pharmacy that treats people with cystic fibrosis under a new deal with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the two announced Tuesday.
The industry has lost a true “patriot of pharmacy practice.”
Three years after purchasing a minority stake in Honest Tea, an organic bottled tea company, Coca-Cola said it has exercised its option to acquire the remaining portion of the company.
Retail pharmacies aren’t the only ones embracing technology like pharmacy automation. The government is doing...
Humanity has come a long way since the days when people thought sickness came from...


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The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, is expecting holiday retail sales in November and December - excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants - to increase as much as 4.8 percent over 2017 for a total of $720.89 billion.
VC firm to step up investments after it stopped making fresh bets here three years ago.
India also saw several USD 100 million-plus mega deals this quarter, including USD 225 million by Udaan, USD 120 million by CureFit and USD 100 million by BookMyShow, it added.
The draft norms should be progressive to help promote startups, growth and create new jobs, says Niti Aayog's CEO.
The government in June last year announced a Rs 6,000 crore special package for the textile and apparel sector, which included several tax and production incentives.
Alibaba and Softbank are reportedly looking to park millions in the Gurgaon-based company. Why does this indomitable pair see a recipe for success in Zomato?
Orders have crossed 4,50,000 a day for food delivery startups and they’ve tightened their belts— they’re now looking forward to a feast after the funding famine of the past few years.
nkd claims, the product pod+ water bottles filters out up to 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, chemicals, etc. from the dirtiest source of water, using state-of-the-art technology, developed by NASA space programme.
With key markets being Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, and Goa, the company envisages a domestic and international expansion of the Project Series, the refurbished brand from PizzaExpress.
The operating loss in Amazon's international business was at USD 487 million during the year-ago period.
The findings come on a day when the rich and powerful are meeting here for the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual summit starting today.
The company's revenue grew by 17 per cent in the last three years to reach Rs 1,730.7 crore in FY17 and is looking at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 13-15 per cent in the next three years, the dairy product firm said in an investor presentation here.
The investment will allow BigBasket to further cement its position as the market leader in the grocery segment while allowing Paytm Mall, backed by Alibaba to get a significant foot in this market.
We have already hired 30-40 people in the past few months in the technology vertical and expect to bring in more 20-30 people on board in the coming months.
For the $26 billion Mondelez, the Indian business accounts for less than a billion dollar by revenue, but has been one its fastest growing markets globally
While modern retail is still a small part of overall retail market in India, e-commerce in specific is at a nascent stage.
SoftBank's mega bets on Internet and mobile companies account for 24 per cent of the total investment pie.
Editor's Picks ›
Ecomm firms lobbying hard, govt should probe their biz: CAIT / Consumer confidence inches up 2.7 percentage points in Jan: Study / Rakesh Kapoor to retire as CEO of Reckitt Benckiser by end of 2019 / Brick and mortar to see additional sales of Rs 10,000-12,000 crore in 2020 due to recent FDI norms - Crisil / Swiggy Ahmedabad head leaves, boycott by restaurants and hotels continue / Future Group to start "cloud kitchens" to supply hot meals / Lots Wholesale Solutions aims 5% revenue from private labels in 3 years / Companies eye rural offline expansion to drive growth / Fonterra Future Dairy appoints Ishmeet Singh as CEO / Amway enters booming herbal oral care market


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Trucking’s supply chain keeps improving but it’s still not perfect, and the stresses that come with inevitable fulfillment letdowns was a focus of the supplier panel Monday during Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue (HDAD), presented by MEMA and MacKay & Company, in Grapevine, Texas.
Moderated by MEMA’s Collin Shaw, Monday’s supplier representatives were Ken Hogan of Cummins Meritor, Houman "HK" Kashanipour of Alliant Power and Eaton’s Traci Melville. Shaw started the discussion by asking the panel how their businesses closed 2023 and how prepared they are for the year ahead. The trio agreed that 2023 was a good but uneven year, with business more “chaotic” in the first half, Hogan said, and more stable as it came to a close. HK described the fourth quarter as the industry “coming back to Earth” after a wild few years. Melville agreed, and said some of the efficiency improvements Eaton implemented in 2023 should help set the company up well in 2024.
And Melville said driving efficiencies into business is vital as the supply chain continues to heal. She said Eaton has worked carefully with its supply base to shore up fulfillment across all product categories and industries where it operates, cultivating additional vendors and using transparency in communication to make clear what is expected for the company to meet its lofty production goals. She said Eaton’s supply chain is unquestionably improved, but problems still arise. Melville said Eaton’s focus has been on having backup plans for whenever a product or vendor hits a snag.
“Every week there is some new supplier in distress, for whatever reason,” she said. “My big question market is what’s next?”
Hogan agreed. He said pressures to onshore supply chain in the wake of the pandemic is a good long-term goal but any significant “supply chain reversal will be challenging.” Additionally, though demand has eased slightly from historic highs, there haven’t been many opportunities for manufacturers and their vendors to use slow periods in the market to reset supply processes and implement major changes.
“In the last three or four years, everyone has had to work really hard,” Hogan said.
The supply chain hiccups haven’t been quite as exhausting in the remanufacturing sector, however, HK said, which has enabled his business and others with large reman operations to pick up market share over the last few years. He mentioned the simplification of logistics as one clear example where reman companies have had a leg up in recent times.
“We don’t have to worry about cores coming through the Red Sea,” he said.
Monday’s session also briefly touched on several other topics, such as workforce development, adoption of new technologies, sales and customer service practices and electrification and alternative power.
The panelists said the workforce challenges they and their suppliers are facing remains an unfortunate reality underpinning of supply chain disruptions. The panelists hated to use that as an excuse for delays, but acknowledged that with unemployment levels so low, keeping a plant operating at peak capacity is tough today. The suppliers said the entire trucking industry needs to work harder at improving trucking’s image, of showing people outside the industry how technologically advanced, financially stable and truly enjoyable the industry can be.
On the issue of new technologies, the panelists said proposing new innovations to OEMs has become harder because truck makers today are so driven by regulation and performance expectations that they struggle to deviate from plans. The panelists said that’s an area where the aftermarket can be helpful. By better focusing on the aftermarket — which the panelists said their companies must do — suppliers can release component innovations that improve customer experiences and, ideally, spur manufacturers to be more open minded to technologies brought to them by supplier partners.
Piggybacking on Mack President Jonathan Randall’s remarks from earlier in the day, the suppliers said collaboration from all stakeholder’s in a truck development and production will drive better customer experiences and loyalty.


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Last summer viral marketers at Durex posted this wonderful photoshopped image of China’s glamorous First Lady 彭丽媛 Peng Liyuan and president 习近平 Xi Jinping watching a folk dance presentation near the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Southern Mexico. It was uploaded to Durex’s official account on Weibo, Chinese biggest microblogging platform, and was almost immediately deleted by the authors themselves, in fear to get the whole account blocked by the censor. Before becoming the target of Durex viral campaign, this photo was already spreading like a wildfire through Chinese web, because it shows the first lady snapping a picture with a white iPhone 5, just months after CCTV and the People’s Daily attacked Apple for allegedly providing Chinese users with an inferior after-sales service. Durex knew they were going to run into the censor, what they did not know is that the above image spur the attention of Chinese soft power think tank that suddenly understood the First Lady can attract a big amount of attention for local brands. Attention that advertising
dollars yuan can never buy. This is how Peng Liyuan decided to ditch her iPhone 5 and started being adept at promoting worldwide homegrown luxury brands.
Peng Liyuan, born in 1962, is also a Chinese contemporary folk singer and performing artist and her fame is older than her husband’s accession to power on 15 November 2012. Until that, she was actually much better known to the public than her husband. Since the 80s, she appeared on China’s state-run television, singing syrupy sweet folk tunes extolling the wonders of China’s rise. Only one year ago searches for Peng’s name on Weibo or Baidu [Chinese Google] were still blocked, in order to stop conversations buzzing over her wardrobe. Online shoppers were dissecting photographs of the first lady accompanying her husband as he was making his first trips abroad as China’s new leader. Peng’s high profile marked a contrast from that of her husband’s predecessor Hu Jintao’s wife. Former First Lady Liu Yongqing often accompanied her husband abroad, but remained a mostly silent supporter of her husband’s career. The wives of Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin appeared even less often in public and rarely travelled overseas with their husbands. After almost two years since Xi Jinping rose to power, Peng Liyuan’s behavior radically changed; even leading some critics to claim a Chinese victory over the States in the battle of first ladies. What in the beginning was an unintentional promotion of local as well as foreign goods is now a systematical boost of China’s image in order to strengthen its soft power abroad and to promote the made in China.
On March 2013 a photo of Peng stepping out of a jet on a state visit to Russia, wearing a dark trench coat and toting a leather handbag, went viral on Sina Weibo. Online fashionistas were fast to identify the purse and the coat as Guangzhou’s Exception. An Exception PR rep confirmed everything, immediately setting off a firestorm of interest in the brand. The choice of a low-key brand was certainly connected to her husband’s efforts in the anti-corruption campaign. But the choice of a Chinese high-end brand was almost certainly a deliberate, politically driven decision. In a country that is witnessing the transition from “Made in China” to “Designed in China,” Peng has certainly accomplished something for Chinese creativity.
China Daily reported that Peng Liyuan wore a pair of pearl earrings by the Zhejiang Ruans Pearl Co. during a trip to Russia and Africa. The company also created the pearls for State gifts so she donated a pearl gift box to the Women and Development Foundation in Tanzania.
Pehchaolin is the archetype of long-established Chinese cosmetics brands, when China’s first lady visited three African nations last year, she gave as gifts to local officials Pehchaolin beauty products. The move represented a revival of the classic brand both in supermarkets and online and has boosted sales of other domestic beauty products, including sales of Lanterns’ almond honey face whitening mask and Yongmei. Shanghai Vive, another cosmetics brand of long standing, has repositioned itself as a luxury brand, for personal care products.
Now you may want to know what she ditched her iPhone for. During her visit to Berlin last March she was spotted snapping pictures with her brand new Nubia. Nubia cellphone maker, ZTE Corp. has jumped to the occasion posting a photograph of Peng using its phone and saying: “The Chinese dream begins with using China-made goods.” Some bloggers questioned the appropriateness of the brand name, which sounds very much like “niubi” – a slightly vulgar slang term meaning “badass” or “kickass”. Not quite the dignified and low-key image Peng has been building these years.


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The Apple iPhone 7 is launching later this year and there are all kinds of rumors about the latest yet-to-come iPhone. The latest one however is that the state of the art device will not come with the traditional headphone jack. An article published in The Wall Street Journal claimed. The article cited people who were familiar with the matter as the source of the rumor.
It’s rumored that the iPhone’s lightning connector will double up as both a charging port and headphone connector. According to the article on WSJ, iPhone lovers should expect a thinner iphone 7 and better water resistance. One Jeff Orr (senior practice director at ABI Research) talked to TechNewsWorld and agreed that a headphone jack-less iPhone could not have come at a better time.
“It comes at a time when Apple needs to demonstrate it’s still an innovator, unlike the competition where there’s a lot of iterations on devices. I was hoping to see an audio solution, and part of that was the idea of removing the headphone jack.” He said.
It’s also rumored that the iPhone 7 might have a restyled antenna and might possibly be dark blue instead of the usual gray. The phone might also come with a dual-camera sensor—the very first for an iPhone. It will also come with 32 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB as storage options rather than the usual 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB of storage available for the company’s flagships for a while.
iPhone 7 design impact on consumers and manufacturers
What does a headphone jack-less iPhone mean for the folks who are waiting for it? Mr. Orr suggested that the move was an opportunity for Apple to leverage its assets. He said it was an opportunity for Apple “to tie together all its audio experiences.” These include its Beats headphones, Apple Music , services, content and content delivery systems.
However, for the consumers it could mean something totally different. While the tech world is moving more towards wireless headphones, some consumers are still die-hards for the traditional ones. Some consumers might weigh their options when it comes to having to charge their wireless headphones every now and then.
For headphones manufacturers, it means wireless is the way to go. It might not be an all-round nod from manufacturers because some have stuck with the traditional pieces. The move however, will certainly please tech savvy millennials who are a majority of Apple’s fan base. The iPhone 7 design will give Apple a chance to once more be an innovator. The move also means the new phone will be water resistant and catch up with the Samsung Galaxy 7 in that perspective.


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Supply: R.Danyliuk – Shutterstock
- A brand new report from the New York Federal Reserve’s Liberty Road Economics weblog categorised Bitcoin as one other type of fiat cash.
- The article is criticized by specialists for having incorrect ideas and arguments.
Underneath the title “Bitcoin Is Not A New Form of Cash,” an editorial for the New York Federal Reserve blog equates Bitcoin with fiat cash. Written by economist for the Federal Reserve Financial institution of New York’s Analysis and Statistics Group, Michael Lee, and senior vp Antoine Martin. Since its publication, it has confronted criticism from members of the crypto group.
The Federal Reserve’s stance has been infamous in opposition to Bitcoin. In a publication from the Federal Reserve’s Kansas Metropolis department, United States, it acknowledged that Bitcoin is neither digital gold nor a protected haven in financial crises. The publication makes a examine of the efficiency of three varieties of belongings: gold, treasury bonds and Bitcoin. It concludes that solely Treasury bonds have acted as a protected haven in occasions of disaster during the last 10 years.
Bitcoin isn’t a brand new type of cash?
In response to the publication, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies reminiscent of Ethereum, Litecoin and XRP, are cash however not a brand new type of cash, as has turn into standard. Quite the opposite, the editorial states that cash with the traits of Bitcoin has existed for hundreds of years, however what’s new about cryptocurrencies just isn’t of their intrinsic properties however of their trade mechanism. In that sense, they make a distinction between three varieties of cash and three varieties of trade mechanisms.
In response to the editorial the three varieties of cash are: fiat cash, cash supported by an asset and cash supported by an establishment. Bitcoin is a part of fiat cash, in response to the editorial. The authors outline fiat cash as these objects that don’t have any worth by themselves, however purchase it within the perception that they are often exchanged for items and providers. They make an additional distinction and declare that though paper cash of a $20 invoice, for instance, has no worth in itself it’s completely different from “pure fiat cash” as a result of it’s issued by a central financial institution. This reality offers it a attribute of “authorized tender” that Bitcoin or the opposite cryptocurrencies do not need.
Nevertheless, because the founding father of Citadel Island Ventures, Nic Carter, identified, the examine has a misguided definition of fiat cash. Carter stated he was impressed by the “ignorance, misclassification and abuse of language” from the New York Federal Reserve. Equally, Carter stressed that fiat cash is issued by decree:
fiat means ‘by decree’. nobody is decreeing or insisting that bitcoin be price something. nobody is imposing its worth on the level of a gun. I do know we’re in a submit structuralist period the place the which means of phrases doesn’t matter, however cmon. Do higher.
On the technique of exchanging cash, the editorial additionally makes a distinction between bodily, digital and trade by a trusted third celebration. Bitcoin enters a brand new class, in response to the editorial, digital transfers with out a trusted middleman. Due to this fact, it concludes the next about Bitcoin:
Bitcoin just isn’t a brand new kind of cash. As an alternative, it’s extra correct to think about Bitcoin as a brand new kind of trade mechanism that may assist the switch of monies in addition to different issues.
Final up to date on


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“This is the Real Meaning of ‘Bipartisanship’”
Yes, so no tax internet shopping harms some local retailers. The solution? Harm the internet retailers too. That’s government in one lesson. Hobble everyone.
Associate Professor of Economics, North Carolina State Univ.
At least until PINO Obama resumes White House tours (Daily Caller) Republican Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert introduced an amendment to
Donald Berwick, Obama’s nominee to head up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, made himself infamous earlier this year
What’s your take? (USA Today) A frantic race to name the next generation of American consumers may be nearing the


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Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems’ Digital Products Division yesterday announced that its Excite 10 LE, reputed to be the world’s thinnest and lightest tablet, will be available for purchase this Tuesday. The product is less than 1/2 inch thick and weighs a little over 1 pound.
The Excite features a 10.1-inch display and is powered by a 1.2 GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 multicore mobile processor. In addition, it’s equipped with dual-channel memory to offer smooth Web browsing and multitasking.
With an eight-hour battery life, the Toshiba tablet has front and back high-definition cameras, WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities and Android-friendly software.
“Excite 10 LE embodies what a luxury tablet should be,” said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development. “We have engineered this tablet with premium materials and components, given it elegant yet durable styling and more connectivity options than any other tablet in its class, while fitting everything into an astonishingly thin and light design.”
The tablet is priced at $530 for the 6 GB model and $600 for the 32 GB model. It will be available for purchase through select U.S. retailers.
Toshiba will also release a number of accessories for the tablet including, docking stations and cases.
Irvine-based Toshiba introduces new 7-inch tablet
DGWB chosen as PR agency for Toshiba America Business Solutions
Toshiba releases a trio of camcorders


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Report by egyptlastminute.com Egypt and Dubai seek joint marketing to promote two of the world’s popular Arab tourism destinations in various countries, including China and Australia.
The developments were announced during a meeting of senior tourism officials on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market 2012 (ATM-2010).
A Protocol of Cooperation between Egypt and Dubai for the joint destination marketing and promotion is also on the table.
The Egyptian Tourism Minister, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, called on Khalid A bin Sulayem, Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) at the Dubai Stand in the ATM-2012.
Abdel Nour has a word of praise for Dubai tourism’s success story and its emergence on the world map as a leading business and leisure tourism destination.
He said several destinations can benefit from its recipe of success and could be part of Dubai’s continuing journey of success through exchange of expertise and mutual cooperation.
Both sides highlighted the historically strong relations between Egypt and the UAE in general and Dubai in particular and strongly agreed for enhancing bilateral relations and joint cooperation, especially in tourism domain.
Speaking after the meeting, Abdel Nour said that he had extended invitation to Bin Sulayem to visit the Arab Republic of Egypt for a meeting in Sharm El Sheikh where the terms of agreement for joint destination marketing in places like China and Australia will be agreed upon.
He stated this agreement will enhance bilateral relations, and also, facilitate the enhanced air-connectivity between Dubai and Egypt.


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The consumer electronics colossal has been working on digital textbooks with publishers Pearson PLC, McGraw-Hill and Houghton Muffin Harcourt, a trio accountable for 90 percent of textbooks sold in US.
Amazon.com Inc and other device makers have made inroads into an approximate $8 billion market for electronic textbooks.
At the event, Apple launched tools to craft digital textbooks and demonstrated how authors and even teachers can make books for students.
Marketing Chief Phil Schiller said that it was time to reinvent the textbook, adding that 1.5 million iPads are in use now in education.
He said that “It’s hard not to see that the textbook is not always the ideal learning tool. It’s a bit cumbersome.”
IBooks 2 will be available as a free app on the iPad, starting Thursday. High school textbooks will be priced at $14.99 or less, Schiller said. “You’ll see textbooks for every subject for every level,” he added.


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Sourcebooks Ranks 31st on FAST COMPANY'S 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators
Fast Company announced its fifth annual Best Workplaces for Innovators list, honoring organizations and businesses that demonstrate an inspiring commitment to encourage and develop innovation at all levels. Sourcebooks, a women-led, entrepreneurial, independent publisher, came in at No. 31, for developing a culture of innovation that resulted in its books having a success rate more than 68 percent higher than the rest of the top ten publishers in the book industry.
Fast Company highlighted that, “[Sourcebooks] runs a Summer Sprints program – an inclusive, annual experiment that encourages all team members to participate and gain insights from various corners of the company. This three-month sprint project aims to increase awareness and sales of the company’s backlist titles, which typically experience a sales decline after 12 months on the market.”
Sourcebooks has created extraordinary success for its authors and retail partners by honing in on what readers want in innovative ways including developing data-oriented training experiences for employees around the fastest-growing areas of the business; using proprietary market-testing methodologies to calibrate how new books will resonate; a mathematical model developed in-house to ensure more accurate performance projections for each part of the business; and robust, centralized data access for all employees to empower them with even more industry knowledge, so they can make informed decisions in their work, whether they’re in marketing, sales, editorial, shipping and fulfillment, IT, administration, finance, or manufacturing.
“One of the key aspects of our investments in both data-centricity and growth mindset has been creating a culture that’s deeply experimental and where innovation flows at every level and in every department,” said Dominique Raccah, CEO and Publisher of Sourcebooks. “At any given time, there are hundreds of experiments taking place across our business.”
Driven by its mission that books change lives, Sourcebooks has positioned itself with other key voices in the publishing community’s response to the national book banning crisis and became the first independent publisher chairing the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) 2023 benefit.
Sourcebooks also held the sixth cohort of its BIPOC Editorial Training Program this spring, an innovative paid program that aims to bring more diversity into the industry workforce. “It’s incredibly exciting that our women-led organization is having such extraordinary impact,” Raccah said. “There are so many new ideas, experiments, and models coming from our teams in every corner of Sourcebooks! It’s not just about one big book or one big idea, but a collection of ideas, both big and small, created by lots of different team members. And at the center of it all is our commitment to our authors, and our passion for giving voice to powerful stories that will change lives.”
Developed in collaboration with Accenture, the 2023 Best Workplaces for Innovators ranks 100 winners from a variety of industries, including entertainment, biotech, consumer packaged goods, marketing, education, healthcare, and many more. Fast Company editors and Accenture researchers collaborated together to score nearly 1,000 submissions, and a panel of eight distinguished judges reviewed and endorsed the top 100 companies. The 2023 awards feature workplaces from around the world.
Interested in reading more about Sourcebooks? Read more here: “Get to Know Sourcebooks & Its Unique PRH Partnership.”


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Alex Mashinsky, the founder of borrowing and crypto lending platform, Celsius, on January 22, 2020, announced in a Twitter AMA (ask me anything), to implement compounding interest on crypto deposits. While making the announcement, Mashinsky said that from February 01, 2020, Celsius would implement the compound interest on the cryptocurrencies deposited in its wallet.
The Celsius Community has requested to introduce the compounding feature so that it could compete with BlockFi and other traditional financial services in the market. Celsius Network commented on the introduction of the compound Interest stating,
“You asked for it, and we delivered! Starting February 1, interest income on crypto deposits will officially be COMPOUNDING! That’s right-all the coins in your wallet will now be earning interest on interest!”
The AMA also announced about other changes that the Celsius Network would go through, like revamped loyalty tiers, ability to lending against EOS tokens, and collaboration with Korbit which was a South Korea-based crypto exchange.
According to a report, after the implementation of compounding interest, if a user makes their first deposit of bitcoin, then they would get APR (Annual Percentage Rate) of up to 8.1 per cent.
A report by a media publication stated that in August 2019, Celsius Network lent $2.2 billion against crypto and became the fastest-growing lender of the cryptocurrency. Later, by November, the overall loan amount was doubled and hit $4.45 billion.
The Crypto-lending platforms are slowly becoming popular among its consumers because it provides them with an opportunity to earn interest in their deposited assets. The platform also enabled the tokens so that it could be used as a guarantee against cash and stablecoin loans.
Celsius Network also offered different interest rates to its consumer for depositing a broad range of popular cryptos like Ether (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC) and coins such as Bitcoin Gold (BTG), ZCash (ZEC), Dash (DASH), and EOS. They could even get higher interest rates of up to 10 per cent on a selection of stablecoin.


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SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Have a cellphone? You're a target for thieves in San Francisco.
Last year, 1,500 cellphones were reported stolen in San Francisco.
"Better than 50% of our robberies involve cellphones," said Police Chief Greg Suhr.
The trend is hardly unique to San Francisco. Millions of phones are stolen worldwide each year. What may be unique - or at least unusual - is San Francisco's proposal to deal with the problem. District Attorney George Gascon has launched a campaign to make stolen cellphones ineffective.
About The Bay: Finding A Solution To A Rampant Type Of Crime
"The value of the phone can be completely eliminated if you put a kill switch on it, so that as the phone gets reported stolen the phone will no longer be operable," he suggested.
If a stolen cellphone doesn't work, thieves would have a much harder time making a buck at a pawn shop, which is where many cellphones end up.
"People come in every day with iPhones, the 4, the 5, with pictures of people that are obviously not them on there, they don't even try (to remove them) most of the time," said a man who runs a shop selling used electronics - one that authorities say is perfectly legal - in San Francisco's Mission District.
"We have a good number of people who started using our company for normal income," said the man, who didn't want to provide his name. "They got pretty savvy about what phones they could steal.
At any given time, he said, there are dozens of phones for sale in his shop.
"People will be like I'm getting a new one when it's a phone that was released two days ago. They come in, they have no idea how to use the phone and they say they got it from their girlfriend, or something like that," the shopowner said.
Chances are, it's stolen - and was probably swiped in an instant.
"It all happened so fast and I was just like what happened? I was really sad afterwards," a woman named Kate described her experience.
She was texting and didn't notice somebody was following from behind, reaching over her shoulder to grab her phone.
"My phone was in my pocket and I went to tie my shoe and I felt somebody grab my sweater and I just thought it was some rude person. But it turns out that they took my phone," Anna recounted what happened to her on a BART platform. "It was in my pocket, I didn't think you know, I know not to have it out and flash it around."
"What I would suggest for everybody is to put passwords on your phone because that way they can't do anything, even if it is a SIM card phone. Because nobody wants to buy a locked phone," suggested the man at the Mission District used electronics store.
Authorities in San Francisco do think the additional step of a "kill switch" is necessary.
"The phone can still be repackaged, right?" pointed out Gascon. "What we're talking about is creating a situation where the phone will never work again."
"The value of the phone could be completely eliminated if you put a kill switch on it," he continued. "So, as soon as the phone gets reported stolen the phone will no longer be operable.
San Francisco would not be the first to employ such a crime-fighting tactic.
"Australia and the United Kingdom, specifically, they call it bricking," said Suhr.
The term "bricking" refers to the phone's uselessness; in essence, it's nothing more than a brick in your hand.
Civil rights advocates are questioning the concept of a kill switch, warning that it has the potential to infringe on a person's liberties. Wireless carriers have also been wary and thus far generally cool on the idea.
Gascon met last month with wireless service providers and has also spoken to major electronics firms about kill switch technology. But, Gascon has reportedly received a cool reception, all around.
You can hear Mike Sugerman's About the Bay reports on Mondays at 6:40am, 7:40am and 8:40am on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)


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Omnicom Media Group (OMG), the media services division of Omnicom Group Inc, has received the highest scores in the retail media, commerce media, intelligence and insights, and optimisation criteria; as well as in the operations and innovation roadmap criteria, in an analysis of global media agency groups conducted by research and advisory firm Forrester.
The ‘Forrester Wave: Global Media Management Services’ analyses the seven most significant global media management service providers against a 19-criterion evaluation across three categories: current offering, strategy, and market presence.
Designed to help CMO professionals select the right provider for their needs, the report assesses the media groups under four designations: Leaders, Strong Performers, Contenders, and Challengers.
With the highest possible scores in six criteria, and with the highest score in the current offering category, Omnicom Media Group is one of the two providers, among the seven evaluated, to earn designation as a “Leader” in the report.
Describing OMG as “a good fit for advertisers that require bespoke, technology-literate, global media teams” the report also noted that “… the agency scales consumer empathy and understanding into quantifiable attention metrics against which advertisers can plan, buy, and measure. To achieve this vision, the company deploys its Omni audience planning portal to power better audience, client, and employee experiences.”
The report also states that “OMG’s strength lies in initiatives to innovate its Omni portal, such as customised client workflow integrations, audience data integrations; marketing automation partnerships with Google; and efforts to unite media, e-commerce, and shopper tactics.”
This finding is borne out by a steady drumbeat of product and partnership announcements from OMG in 2022, including a multi-year agreement with Affinity Solutions to integrate retailer purchase transactions into Omni; an enterprise-wide partnership with Firework, the livestream commerce and shoppable video platform, to deliver livestream shopping solutions directly to Omnicom clients’ websites; the programmatic marketplace for point-of-purchase screens; and the Supply Chain IQ Score, which gives media planners day-to-day visibility into SKU inventory data at the physical store, digital shelf, and inventory-in-transit levels, enabling media investment to be shifted away from low inventory products in real time.
Most recently, OMG was in the news cycle at last month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, announcing a series of first-mover strategic partnerships with retail media networks including Walmart Connect, Instacart, and Kroger Precision Marketing.
“As the only agency group to have earned the highest possible score in all three of the criteria that we believe best represent the future of media investment and management - retail media, commerce media, and intelligence & insights - and as a group that also received the highest possible scores in two criteria that we think are critical differentiators in selecting an agency partner –operations and innovation road map – OMG is clearly a leader in today’s marketplace,” said OMG CEO Florian Adamski. “More importantly, as we continue to expand our capabilities and automate our infrastructure, and to build new products and partnerships, we are assuring that we and our clients will remain leaders - today, tomorrow and beyond.”


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SemiQ has expanded its portfolio of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices with the release of a second-generation SiC power switch, a 1.2kV 40mΩ SiC MOSFET.
SemiQ has expanded its portfolio of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices with the release of a second-generation SiC power switch, a 1.2kV 40mΩ SiC MOSFET that complements the company’s existing 80mΩ SiC MOSFETs and SiC rectifiers at 650V, 1.2kV, and 1.7kV.
SemiQ has engineered this MOSFET to provide the best trade-off of conduction and switching losses to benefit the widest possible range of applications.
SiC MOSFETs bring high efficiency to high-performance applications including electric vehicles (EV), power supplies and data centers, and are specifically designed and tested to operate reliably in extreme environments. Compared to legacy silicon IGBTs, SemiQ’s MOSFETs switch faster with lower losses, enabling system-level benefits through reduced size, weight and cooling requirements.
“Many thanks to those employees, associates, supporters, and vendors who have worked tirelessly to build and qualify our latest SiC Power MOSFETs,” said Michael Robinson, President and General Manager of SemiQ.
SemiQ’s new 1.2kV 40mΩ SiC MOSFET is available in TO-247-4L and TO-247-3L packages and will soon be available in multiple module packages.


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With every intention of leveraging the increasing number of online grocery shoppers, Amazon is planning to re-launch KiranaNow, its online grocery store, in a few weeks. Amazon’s KiranaNow webpage has a teaser poster that reads, “We are launching an improved KiranaNow experience for our customers shortly! Stay Tuned for more information.”
Amazon is reportedly planning a hybrid sales model, where customers can also pick up their orders, apart from the inventory-based mode of operation. This might be required to rake in the moolah.
Experts at Kotak Institutional Equities say, “At the current scale of 10,000-20,000 orders a day, the inventory-led model seems to have a better margin profile. However, if the scale rises by 10 times, the inventory-less model could yield better margins as delivery costs could reduce dramatically.”
Amazon’s approach to the new KiranaNow
Amazon has reportedly tied up with leading supermarket chains in Bangalore including Big Bazaar, Amex, Reliance Fresh, and Nature’s Basket. Amazon employees familiar with the developments have said that the company plans to have about fourteen collection points in the city.
However, Harish HV, a partner at Grant Thornton, a consulting company opines, “Tying up with local merchants may result in quality issues. When placing orders on Amazon, people would expect reliability, quality, etc. But if because of the partners they don’t meet that expectation, it would reflect badly on the overall business. Naturally, when a big player enters, it may kill other smaller players.”
What are the problems blocking the way?
High rate of attrition among the delivery personnel is a major cause for concern in the hyperlocal industry. And KiranaNow’s new launch requires a sizeable number of delivery personnel.
“Right now we require 130 delivery boys for 14 collection centres around Bengaluru. Kirana Now will pay anywhere between R10,000 and R16,000 including incentives to delivery boys,” said an employee who did not wish to be named.
Great possibility, thought and planning required
Amazon has picked a growing field of grocery shopping to expand its operations. Likewise, rivals like Flipkart, Paytm and Snapdeal are also exploring options in the online grocery vertical. However, one has to tread carefully, because dealing in perishables is always a tricky ball game.


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Key West, Florida, has been the focus of a new report on the disappearance of the famous Key West Key West beachfront.The Associated Press and The Associated Journal, a Pulitzer
How do you plan to keep your vacation on the beach? Key West Key West resorts are now open to the public and you can rent their rooms, restaurants, and swimming pools, and even have them for the week!
Key West’s Key West Resorts has now been officially opened to the world, with the resort already taking guests from around the world to enjoy its many amenities. The resort’s Key


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Foursquare users have checked in over five billion times since the app launched in 2009, but soon that’s all about to change with a dramatic update.
Today, the company announced that Foursquare will shift to being all about local discovery, and a separate app called Swarm will be for checking in to locations.
Swarm will include functionality users are already familiar with, including push notifications to let you know when friends are nearby. It’s expected to launch on Android and iOS “in the coming weeks” with it eventually heading over to Windows Phone.
“We built Swarm because you’ve told us how often you still have to text your friends: “where are you?” and “what you up to later?” We wanted to build a quick way for you to know these two things for all of your friends.”
As evidenced by the logo pictured above, Swarm will still be part of Foursquare, just as a separate entity.
We’ve seen the rise of local search/discovery services like Yelp over the past several years, and that’s exactly what the Foursquare app will soon focus on:
“We believe local search should be personalized to your tastes and informed by the people you trust. The opinions of actual experts should matter, not just strangers. An app should be able answer questions like ‘give me a great date dinner spot’ and not just ‘tell me the nearest gas station.’ We’re right now putting the final touches on this new, discovery-focused version of Foursquare. It’ll be polished and ready for you later this summer.”


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Updated: May 27, 2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic dominating the news cycle, we will take the next 3 weeks to share tips provided by noted health professionals on ways to protect yourself from coronavirus, starting with your fingernails.
According to the Center for Disease Control, the novel coronavirus can be spread from person to person through droplets in the air, skin-to-skin contact, or through bacteria picked up by our fingers... or under our fingernails.
FARGO YOUR NAIL SALON FOR A DIY MANI
In the past few days, as the virus has grown into a global pandemic, health experts and officials now recommend cancelling all non-essential appointments and outings and urge citizens to practice social distancing. That means skipping the salon or spa indefinitely. Many responsible beauty brands and retailers, from small-town salons to Glossier stores nationwide, have already taken preventative measures by closing their doors in the interest of public health.
That doesn't mean your manicure has to suffer — if you have nail clippers, a file, and polish, you can simply DIY your own. Not only is the at-home mani a surefire way to stop you from scrolling through Twitter, but it'll also help you make the most of your time on the couch. A few weeks of practice could turn you into a nail-art pro.
written by MEGAN DECKER
MARCH 16, 2020 11:25 AM


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Gumi, Inc has fully revealed the new male character for the upcoming international version of Phantom of the Kill that it teased at Tokyo Game Show. He’s called Zero and comes with a squad of brand new “Killer Princes.”
These are to be the male counterparts to Tyrfing and the “Killer Princesses” and are only part of what has been designed specifically for the international version of the strategy RPG. Another part of it is a focus on the dark apocalyptic regions seen in later parts of the current Japanese version of the game.
With these new heroes comes new missions, stories, and optimizations. That includes Facebook integration so you’ll easily be able to save file transfers. There will also be a World Selection features so you can play exactly what you want.
“We know players in the West have already been finding ways to experience the game, so when we confirmed it for a Western launch, we wanted to add an extra layer of gameplay, story, and art,” said executive producer Jun Imaizumi.
Phantom of the Kill’s international version is set to launch on iOS and Android later this year.


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A Diablo II Resurrected Alpha test could very well be inbound as a Korean test date was briefly leaked through the South Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC).
At first spotted by Blizzard forum user “낙타 가 낙타 낙타”, the ‘leak’ penetrated quickly RedditApparently, the Korean Game Management Committee briefly registered a testing schedule for the upcoming title in Korea. According to the now-deleted schedule, the test will take place from April 9th until April 13th with Blizzard allowing up to 19,999 testers ages 18 and up.
Fortunately, don’t forget the Internet and website Inven.co.kr (as caught by eagle-eyed Blizzplanet forum user ‘Flam744) managed to take a screenshot of the schematic before drawing it. We have included this screenshot below.
Other than this schedule, no further details about this alleged Alpha were revealed. It’s worth noting, however, that the Diablo II: Resurrected internal alpha client was updated yesterday, and a new subdomain was reportedly added to the diablo2.blizzard.com website last week.
Diablo II Resurrected was officially announced at Blizzard’s BlizzConline event in February this year. As confirmed by the game’s lead producer Chris Lena, a multiplayer stress test begins after a single-player alpha. Those interested can still sign up for the games technical Alpha here
Diablo II: Resurrected is scheduled for release on PC and Xbox Series X / S, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch later this year. For PC players, see the game’s official system requirements here. If you’re interested in an early comparison video comparing the original Diablo II with the upcoming remastered version, check out this article here. We’ve also included the comparison video below for easier viewing.
Check all Gaming News here: Gaming Ideology


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The Art Gallery of Ontario has signed on as one of the 151 galleries and museums across the world featured on the Google Art Project, having contributed 58 pieces to its vast online collection.
“It’s very much about creating an engaging personal experience,” said Virginia Vuleta, the AGO’s deputy director of IT and news media services, “as opposed to the act of physically visiting a gallery which is very much a social experience.”
She says that when Google approached the AGO last November regarding the Art Project, the gallery assembled a small team and tasked the curatorial staff to pick out artworks they thought were most representative of the AGO.
The site, originally launched in February 2011, released its second version Tuesday. Now, it offers high-resolution access to more than 30,000 pieces including paintings, sculptures and architecture from about 40 countries.
“You can pick and choose your favourite pieces, curate your own collection, then share them with friends,” said Google spokesperson Wendy Rozeluk, “and If you like a particular artist, you can easily see their work in galleries across the world.”
Some of the international galleries, such as the Palace of Versailles, also offer a 360-degree interactive tour powered by the same technology that’s behind Google Street View, where you can explore rooms and zoom-in to observe fine details of each artwork. Although the AGO’s content doesn’t currently offer this function, Vuleta said she is interested in Google looking into that for future versions of the service.
Most of the pieces will also offer details about the artist and even the floor and section of the museum in which it is displayed.
Vuleta also said the educational implications of the Google Art Project are extensive, allowing teachers to create their own teaching guides and even, as she recalls someone suggesting, offering virtual scavenger hunts for students.
“It’s easy to get sucked in and lost as you explore and discover new pieces,” said Rozeluk. “It will be exciting to see where it goes next.”
The next step for the AGO according to Vuleta, is continuing to add curator-selected content as well as starting to ask visitors what kinds of artwork they want to see online in future versions.


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U.S. Trade Gap Narrowed to 10-Month Low in October
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in October to a 10-month low of $43.5 billion despite imports from China hitting a record high, the Commerce Department said Friday, also revising its estimate of the September trade deficit to $44.2 billion from $43.1 billion.
The October trade gap narrowed 1.6 percent from September instead of widening, as most analysts had expected. Both imports and exports declined in October, in a possible sign of weakening demand both in the U.S. and abroad.
Still, the smaller trade deficit suggests more domestic demand is being met by U.S. production — a positive sign for fourth-quarter economic growth.
Imports and exports of capital goods set records in October, indicating that businesses are gearing up operations.
U.S. imports to the 27-nation European Union rose 1.0 percent in October to $23.4 billion, while imports from the EU increased 6.3 percent to $31.4 billion.
“Exports to Europe are bound to weaken substantially, while imports will pick up steam as U.S. companies rebuild inventory after the unexpected decline in the third quarter,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York.
U.S. imports fell 1.0 percent to $222.6 billion, led by a $3.7 billion drop in industrial supplies and materials imports. Also contributing to the decline were lower oil prices, down from a May peak of $108.70 to $98.84 per barrel in October, its fifth consecutive monthly decline.
The drop in the overall trade deficit “will prove temporary, because oil prices have risen significantly since October,” Shepherdson said.
Despite an overall decline in imports, the U.S. increased imports of capital goods and food, feeds, and beverages to records in October. Imports from China rose to a record $37.8 billion, while imports from Japan increased to $12.3 billion, the highest since April 2008.
Don’t Miss: Moody’s Downgrades Big Three French Banks
Exports fell by 0.8 percent to $179.2 billion, led by a $1.3 billion drop in industrial supplies and materials shipments. U.S. exports to China increased to $9.7 billion, the highest since December of last year. The U.S. trade gap with China was unchanged in October at $28.1 billion.


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After a flurry of AI-related announcements at I/O, Google unveiled the Pixel tablet and its decidedly Nest Hub dock. We were lucky enough to get our hands on it, but weren’t too impressed with the dock. Ahead of the tablet’s commercial availability, smart home accessories maker Wasserstein launched a new docking station for Pixel tablet dockbringing a key feature that Google missed – tilt.
Google’s dock for the Pixel tablet performs a few essential functions. It holds the tablet in place, charges it, works as a speakerphone, and activates hub mode on the tablet. However, by design, the dock eliminates the ability to tilt the tablet for better viewing while standing.
That’s where the Wasserstein adjustable stand for the Pixel tablet comes in. The stand has a pill-shaped base topped with a ball joint holding a platform where Google’s dock fits. The design shares an uncanny resemblance to the company’s existing line of adjustable stands for the Google Nest Hub and others. Interestingly, the ball head allows two movements: tilt (up-down) and swivel (left-right).
With 40 degrees of tilt, you shouldn’t have to strain your neck to read the display when it’s knee-high on a bedside table. The pivot can be useful if you put the shelf in a central location, like on a kitchen island that you use on both sides. Just be careful not to accidentally wrap the docking station’s power cord around the base.
Wasserstein says the new stand is Made for Google certified, uses premium materials, and can fold flat if you need to move it or travel with it. If you think the dock design is an eyesore, we’d be half tempted to back you up. It’s hard to argue against the minimalist design of the Google dock if that’s what you’re looking for. Additionally, the tablet’s LCD screen should have decent viewing angles anyway.
This new Pixel tablet accessory will ship in July 2023 and is available to buy now, at a pre-sale price of $25, down from the original list price of $40. Wasserstein’s product page says it will start shipping the stand in July, nearly a month after the tablet began in-store availability on June 20 this year.
Google Pixel tablet
The Pixel tablet is the first tablet from Google to share the brand with the Pixel line of smartphones. It comes with a docking station that enables hub mode while serving as a charging stand.


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Bitcoin’s price is continuing on a downward spiral as the trading market loses volume and sellers step onto the scene. In the past week, the cryptocurrency lost over $1,000 in value, dipping below $8K and marking almost a full month of negative price swings since the start of March when the price neared $12,000. As the market signals indicate, the price correction might be coming to an end as buyers step on the scene.
One of the strong reasons why Bitcoin is suffering right now could be the recent bans from major social networks and Google who have tightened rules on cryptocurrency-related advertising and banned all crypto-adds. The latest company to join Facebook and Google is Twitter which banned crypto-ads on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.
Per the new advertising policy of Twitter, within the next 30 days all ads related to Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) but also cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets will be banned. Reportedly, while the ban on ICOs is definite, Bitcoin wallets and exchanges that are publicly listed with major stock markets will be exempt from it.
Buying Interest Increases
Since Wednesday, Bitcoin’s price dropped down from the $9,000 mark only to climb up during the weekend and start going down again on Sunday. The lowest price point during the past 7 days was $7,797.28 and it was hit on Tuesday morning, while the highest price point during that time was hit in the early hours of Saturday when Bitcoin reached a price of $8,982.55.
The trading volume was also relatively low during the past week, showing lowered interest in trading Bitcoin. The 24-hour volume was mostly between $5-6 billion during this period but has since declined to the current $4.9 billion. The market capitalization has also declined, amounting to $134 billion at the time of writing.
Our technical analysis shows that the market is turning bullish, with short-term signals showing a pro-buy mood. Out of 12 technical oscillators, 6 are pointing upwards to indicate a buying interest and 6 out of 12 moving averages indicate the same trend. With the SMA 100 down below the SMA 200 with a wider gap, the path to least resistance is to the downside. However, should the buying trends continue, we might see a much-needed push towards $8,400.
Reddit Stops Taking Bitcoin for Gold Memberships
Another major player in online social interaction – the Reddit forum – has likewise decided to stop accepting Bitcoin, although discussions in its r/btc subreddit are still a healthy part of its community. As spotted by Mashable, the online forum has stopped accepting payments for its gold memberships via Bitcoin.
Reddit has always been a supporter of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. The forum has two types of memberships, Regular and Gold, with the latter giving users access to various advanced features like no ads, custom avatars, themes, as well as the option to create private sub-forums for only gold members. Until a while ago, one of the accepted payment methods for the premium membership was Bitcoin but since last week the list of payment options has been limited to PayPal and credit cards.
While the exclusion of Bitcoin comes at a curious time, according to reports it has nothing to do with Reddit turning on the cryptocurrency but more with changes in the terms of service of Coindesk Commerce – Reddit’s Bitcoin merchant service. As commented by a Reddit admin, it is a combination of bugs in Bitcoin payments and a change in the terms of service of Coinbase that led Reddit to drop the payment option.


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AMI and Others Urge President to Lobby Leaders on Biotech Food LabelingTuesday, April 24, 2001
AMI and eight other U.S. farm and food groups urged the President to lobby Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretian and other heads of government to reject proposed labeling guidelines for foods produced by biotechnology. The heads of state are now gathered at the Third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. The April 18, 2001, letter to President George W. Bush noted that Canada will host a meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) in Ottawa May 1-4 where participants will decide whether to accept proposed guidelines for labeling foods derived from modern agricultural biotechnology. This "production method" rationale for labeling is in conflict with the long-standing U.S. science-based policy that food labeling should be mandatory only when there are significant changes in compositional, nutritional or intended use of foods derived from modern biotechnology. It is expected that EU countries will push hard in next week's meeting to establish Codex standards for the labeling of products of biotechnology.


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iSuppli offers the most compelling coverage of the latest trends, products and forecasts impacting the electronic display industry in one place. Not only will you find iSuppli's latest research and reports, but you will find press coverage of the electronic display industry across multiple mediums.
Specifically, this section focuses on the latest information and study into 3-D TV, touch screen displays, television research, OLED screen, liquid crystal displays, flexible displays, plasma TV technology, PC displays, TV trends, home theater systems, home cinema projectors, electronic billboards, LED display signs, LED signage, electronic display signs, cell phone displays and iPod/iPhone displays.
Specifically inside the LED industry, iSuppli offers the latest news on LCD panels featuring the technology, demand for the panels, LED panel pricing and latest LED models available on the market. iSuppli is constantly updating its coverage of the LED industry based on its latest research and technology trends happening in the market.
You will also find the latest headlines and research into the electronic display industry on pricing, market share information, forecasting, technology trends, cost models and emerging applications.


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Dollar General names new chief executive officer
NASHVILLE — Discount retailer Dollar General has named a new chief executive officer.
The Tennessean reports that Todd Vasos will replace Rick Dreiling on June 3.
Vasos joined Dollar General in December 2008 as executive vice president, division president and chief merchandising officer.
He was promoted to chief operations officer in 2013. Prior to joining Dollar General, Vasos served in executive positions with Longs Drug Stores Corporation.
Dollar General plans to open 730 new stores this year as it expands its footprint into Maine, Oregon and Rhode Island.
The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company reported a net income of $355 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to $322 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.


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Leading Taiwanese tech firm Asus unveiled a hybrid device which combines a laptop, tablet and mobile phone Monday in what it hailed as a "world first".
The launch came the day before Computex - Asia's biggest technology trade show - opens its doors in the capital Taipei.
(Also Read: Computex 2014: Asus Unveils New Transformer Pad Tablets With Intel SoCs)
Asus chief Jonney Shih showed off the Transformer Book V in front of a packed house of hundreds of industry leaders, experts and media from around the world.
"In each of the modes, we offer an uncompromised experience, no matter whether for communication, productivity or entertainment," Shih said.
In a further attempt by the company to diversify into the mobile market, the device has five modes - as a laptop and detachable tablet running both Android and Windows operating systems, and as an Android phone.
The five-inch phone docks into the tablet and promises speeds up to four times faster than 3G. As a laptop, one "hardware button" switches between the two operating systems.
Asus made its name making motherboards but is now the world's number three tablet seller, with a five percent share, and fifth in the PC rankings.
The Transformer Book V was met with applause from the audience.
"I like that it's a five-in-one - it's a case of convenience, having everything in one device," said Antonin Lee of Taipei-based YouTube channel Techalook.
But it also has its limitations, Lee said.
"It's not for someone who wants a high-end smartphone or hardcore gamers who would need something more powerful - it's more for the mid-range user. It's about convenience rather than performance."
The Asus launch followed Taiwanese rival Acer's announcement of its first smart wearable Friday, the Liquid Leap wristband with fitness tracking, phone and SMS notification and music control, which will be sold together with its Liquid Jade smartphone.
Acer will also unveil these new devices at Computex.
Traditionally a PC-focused show, this year's Computex is reflecting the surging market for smart gadgets, with a new SmarTech area including sections devoted to wearables, intelligent vehicle systems and security.
"In recent years technology has shifted drastically, especially in the field of the Internet of Things - this year the hottest technology for Computex is IoT," said Walter Yeh, executive vice president of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), which co-organises the show.
IoT sees everyday objects from home appliances to cars linked to the Internet and able to communicate with other devices, providing an extensive flow of personal data.
A fifth of exhibitors will be from the IoT sector, said Yeh, with wearables making the biggest waves.
"Wearable technology is this year's fastest growing category with 59 exhibitors from abroad and Taiwan," he told a pre-show press conference Monday.
There's also growing faith among Taiwanese firms, said Li Chang of the Taipei Computer Association, as exports of ICT products grew 8.6 percent year on year in the first four months of 2014.
(Also Read: Computex 2014: Asus Refreshes Its Fonepad and MeMO Pad Tablet Lineups)
"We polled around 350 exhibitors and their confidence in the outlook for the industry is rising, and that's based on concrete export figures," Chang told AFP.
Computex is set to attract 130,000 visitors over four days and will see the launch of 40 new products this year, with Microsoft, Intel and Ford among the leading global brands attending.


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The holiday season is upon us, and with it an unwanted visitor: stress. It’s really no surprise considering the extra money being spent on gifts, family dinners being planned, and extra holiday activities.
But not all of us are affected in the same way. According to a new survey from Coupons.com, men are twice as likely as women to feel downright grumpy during the holidays.
And talk about grumpy: “More than 15 percent of men identified the most with Ebenezer Scrooge, stating that the amount of money they spend each year increases and puts them in a bad mood,” the survey said.
Overall, 65 percent of people surveyed said the financial strain associated with gift purchases is the most stressful part of the holidays. (If gift giving is stressful for you, you may want to join the 1 in 10 American families that have a no-holiday-gifts policy.)
Notably, men were more likely than women to consider holiday travel to be the most stressful part, with 1 in 4 men calling it the No. 1 source.
Perhaps that’s because more men appear to put real effort into holiday budgeting, with 35 percent of men reporting that they make a detailed holiday spending plan, compared with 23 percent of women.
Overall, 47 percent said making a gift-giving list is the best way to prepare and to avoid stress. On the other hand, some people never learn: “Surprisingly, 1 in 5 people stated that they never prepare for the holidays and that each year, it sneaks up on them,” the survey said.
Here’s some wishful thinking: Fifty-four percent said they’d love to have a personal assistant or chef to help them with their holiday preparations.
Finally, 9 in 10 respondents said they shop with coupons during the holidays (although 10 percent of men indicated they didn’t know how to find coupons and other deals). And 99 percent said they have no guilt using coupons to get a better deal on holiday gifts.
I tend to get stressed out during the holidays, though it’s not usually over spending money on gifts. I oftentimes feel anxious about having family in town and wanting to make sure that everyone has a happy holiday. I have a big family with lots of big personalities, so it can be challenging at times.
Do you get stressed out over the holidays? What stresses you out the most? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.