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A number of food distributors have banded together to oppose Woolworths’ proposed $552 million majority acquisition of PFD Food Services.
The National Association of Food Distributors of Australia, The Distributors, and Countrywide Food Service Distributors have together formed Independent Food Distributors Australia to represent the interests of the industry, and have begun a co-ordinated campaign against the supermarket.
The new industry body claims that the deal would give the supermarket a large share of the market and the ability to provide cheaper, private label groceries to childcare and aged care facilities.
“[The acquisition] would be a disaster for the industry and the consumer,” NAFDA chief executive Brad Lee said, according to the Herald Sun.
“Hundreds if not thousands of small, bespoke food producers who are currently supported would find it a significant challenge to be able to meet the supply criteria that Woolworths demands.
“For the consumer it would mean reduced range and a proliferation of private label across the out-of-home food sector.”
However, a Woolworths spokesperson said the food distribution sector is highly fragmented and that its investment in PFD wont reduce customer choice.
“We have no presence in food service right now, and believe our investment will not only help PFD grow its business, but also add to competition and lift service levels across the industry,” the spokesperson said.
Under the deal, PFD will continue to run as a separate business to Woolworths, and will retain its management structure.
PFD chief executive Kerry Smith told the Herad Sun the deal wouldn’t change the stake the distributor already has in the market, and that the industry would have the same amount of players.
“[The deal] allows us to continue to run our business and innovate in the food industry, but also secures the long term jobs of the  people we so proudly employ,” a PFD spokesperson said.
The IFDA is gearing up to make a submission to the ACCC, which recently said it will be launching a formal review of the deal.
The ACCC is accepting submissions until October 9, and will release its findings, or a statement of issues, on December 10.


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Dominic Fike has shared the full video for ‘Ant Pile’.
The star’s new album ‘Sunburn’ lands on July 7th, following his exceptional 2020 album ‘What Can Possibly Go Wrong’.
Emerging once more, his new album ‘Sunburn’ is out this summer, available digitally, and on standard CD and vinyl formats, alongside an exclusive CD edition with 60-page photo book on glossy paper stock, as well as deluxe and colour vinyl editions.
New single ‘Ant Pile’ is out now, a rising, soaring slice of alternative pop that finds Dominic Fike pivoting between childhood experiences and adult recollections. Wistful and evocative, it comes with a full in-depth video.
Tune in now.

domain: news


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AMBAC International rebranded its aftermarket division, AMBAC Aftermarket, to Zillion Heavy Duty Parts as of Jan. 1, 2024. Later in the year, AMBAC International hopes to make the rebranded division a fully independent, stand-alone company.
To facilitate this transition, AMBAC International formed a strategic partnership with the Heavy Duty Consulting Corporation in the form of a joint venture.
“Our commitment to domestic manufacturing, which includes manufacturing for the United States and Allied Defense Sector through our Department of Defense division, requires a focused strategy,” said Robert Isherwood, CEO of AMBAC International. “Partnering with the Heavy Duty Consulting Corporation has allowed us to position our aftermarket division as a stand-alone company in 2024, giving AMBAC International the ability to focus on its manufacturing roots.”
Zillion Heavy Duty Parts will continue to provide fuel-related parts such as injectors, pumps, and fuel accessories. However, it will also now offer aftertreatment and “under-the-hood-bolt-on parts” such as oil pans.
“The expansion of the product portfolio at Zillion is critical for the long-term success of this division,” said Scott Boltz, director of consulting services at the Heavy Duty Consulting Corporation. “Heavy-duty parts distributors are looking for suppliers who can provide them with a wide range of products with inventory available to ship when needed.”
As part of its debut, Zillion Heavy Duty Parts exhibited at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week in Grapevine, Texas, January 22-25, 2024, to network with distributors and display the new products that are now available from Zillion.


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The Justice Department is deepening federal antitrust scrutiny of the $213 billion U.S. meat industry, following complaints from farmers and meat buyers about industry pricing practices.
The department recently issued civil subpoenas to the four biggest beef processors, JBS USA Holdings Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., Cargill Inc. and National Beef Packing Co., according to people familiar with the matter. JBS and Tyson also are leading pork producers, and the department is seeking information on their activities in that market as well, some of the people said.
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Apart from cash prizes totalling more than US$120K, the regional winners will also gain exposure through a trip to Silicon Valley
Open to all tertiary students, the hackathon-style event runs on three tracks — data science, fintech and coding — the mastery of which is crucial to help the group embrace the opportunities of the gig economy.
The data science track challenges students to build predictive models and segmentation frameworks that target revenue and profitability. The fintech track requires students to reimagine banking solutions, while the coding track focuses on improving the mobile payments space. Hence, the name 3D Conquest, where ‘3D’ stands for data, digital and disruption.
Teams will compete at the country-level in November 2018 before proceeding to the grand finale in Kuala Lumpur in January 2019. Apart from cash prizes totalling more than US$120,000 for the ASEAN-wide competition, the regional winners will also gain exposure through a trip to Silicon Valley, as well as the opportunity to join CIMB upon their graduation.
Hamidah Naziadin, Group Chief People Officer of CIMB Group, said: “We envisage a future where customers can choose to co-create products and services that are perfectly tailored to their circumstances, through tools powered by data analytics and AI. This is why the group’s next growth phase, premised on people, customers and sustainability will have digital underlying all three pillars.”
“We strongly believe that through this competition, together with various initiatives including CIMB’s 3D Academy and HR development tools, where a total of RM111 million (US$27M) will be spent to equip our staff digitally, CIMB will be in good stead to reshape its DNA to become a data-first organisation,” Naziadin added.
The CIMB 3D Conquest is supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Big Community.
CIMB is Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider by assets. It offers consumer banking, commercial banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management and insurance products and services. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the group is now present in nine ASEAN nations — Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos.
The post CIMB launches contest to discover young digital entrepreneurs in ASEAN appeared first on e27.


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As 2024 kicks off, Google is changing things up in its employee lineup. This major change affects hundreds of workers from different areas, including the folks who handle Google’s gadgets, the core engineering squads, and the team behind Google Assistant. These job cuts are a part of a larger pattern we’re seeing with layoffs in the tech world. The economy’s a bit shaky right now and there’s a big move towards using more artificial intelligence, or AI.
Overview of Layoffs
The recent job cuts at Google mark a continuation of a strategy to streamline operations and focus on emergent technology sectors like AI. In a statement, Google emphasized its commitment to investing responsibly in its biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead. This reorganization involves aligning resources to product priorities and has led to role eliminations globally. The layoffs have notably affected the teams producing Google’s Nest, Pixel, and Fitbit devices, with a substantial impact on the company’s augmented reality team.
Background of Google’s Workforce Reduction
About a year ago, Google undertook a major workforce reduction, cutting approximately 12,000 jobs and reducing its workforce by 6%. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, expressed regret over this decision, acknowledging the impact on talented employees. He attributed these changes to a rigorous review of Google’s operations, with layoffs spanning across Alphabet, various product areas, functions, levels, and regions.
Broader Trend in the Tech Industry
Lately, Google has been laying people off and they’re not alone in the tech world. Big names like Meta and Amazon are also letting go of employees to deal with tough economic times. In 2023, Amazon slashed jobs within Twitch, Prime Video, and MGM studios. Even other tech players such as Xerox and Unity Software have revealed big cuts in their teams.
Google’s Strategic Focus on AI
Sundar Pichai is steering Google toward artificial intelligence to cut costs and keep up with the world economy. Since mid-2023, they’ve been changing things around, really honing in on AI that can create content. They’re doing this because ChatGPT from OpenAI did so well, and it’s clear AI is a big deal in tech now.
Impact on Google’s Product Lines
Google’s reorganization has led to job cuts in its Voice Assistant unit, and the hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit products. The majority of layoffs in the hardware division affected the augmented reality team. Despite these cuts, Google continues to roll out new versions of its Pixel Watch, a product that competes with Apple Watch and overlaps with some of Fitbit’s devices.
Union’s Response to Layoffs
The Alphabet Workers Union, representing over 1,400 workers at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has criticized the layoffs as “needless.” The union argues that the company’s consistent profit generation does not justify the firing of hardworking employees. This stance highlights the tension between corporate restructuring and workforce stability within the tech giant.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Google and Tech Industry
Lately, Google and the wider tech world are going through big changes. Companies, including Google, are focusing more on up-and-coming tech like artificial intelligence. This could mean more jobs in AI and similar areas, even though other jobs might get cut or changed.
These shifts highlight how important it is to be flexible and keep learning in tech. Workers might have to pick up new skills or polish their current ones to keep up with jobs that constantly change. At the same time, this gives newcomers a chance to jump into tech jobs with the right know-how for today’s tech scene.
For Google, these moves line up with what the market wants and where growth could happen. Although laying off people now is a big deal, it’s just one piece of a larger strategy that’s all about changing and coming up with new ideas. Google pouring money into AI and other top-notch tech will probably help set where it’s heading and guide the whole tech industry’s path. Learn more about Google’s job cut here.


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P&O ready to make bid for Cunard
Sunday 03 March 1996
The troubled cruise line is expected to be put up for sale if takeover talks succeed between its equally battered parent, Trafalgar House, and Norwegian shipbuilding and engineering group Kvaerner.
Erik Tonseth, Kvaerner's chief executive, is expected to decide this week on whether to make a pounds 900m bid, worth between 50 and 55p per Trafalgar share, after surprising the market with news of the talks last Tuesday.
Sources close to Kvaerner - which last year lost a hostile pounds 360m bid for UK construction and engineering firm Amec - said it was mainly interested in Trafalgar's engineering and contracting businesses and would want to dispose of its housebuilding, commercial property and shipping divisions.
Asked at the weekend if he would be interested in buying, Lord Sterling, P&O chairman, said that if Cunard were offered, "We would be prepared to look at it, at a price." P&O's two biggest rivals, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, might also be interested.
Sale of Trafalgar would be embarrassing for Hong Kong's powerful Keswick family, whose property arm, Hongkong Land, rescued the group in 1992. It would, however, mark an end to a disastrous involvement, which has seen more than pounds 200m pumped into a black hole - losses reached pounds 321m last year.
Cunard has long been up for sale, and any deal now could founder on the rocks of P&O's shareholders, who are already disappointed by its poor financial performance and want to avoid any further problems.
"It would be another nail in the P&O coffin," said one disgruntled fund manager. "There's probably not much we can do about it right now, though. They could probably get a bank to lend them the money without any equity backing." But it would hit the shares and make investors far less likely to respond the next time they are called upon.
Although Cunard has a well-known brand name, particularly in Britain and the eastern US, its assets are considered by many observers to be second-rate, out of date and accident-prone.
The flagship QE2 had a disastrous voyage 15 months ago, when it set sail in the middle of a refit, resulting in pounds 8.4m of refunds to angry passengers. Last week, more bad press came when fire broke out on the liner Sagafjord, leaving it adrift in the South China Sea with 500 people on board.
Industry insiders think Cunard's eight ships would probably fetch less than pounds 200m, and another pounds 1bn would have to be pumped in to bring them up to rivals' standards.
Its big advantage over P&O is its brand name and market share, plus the economies of joint marketing and administration.
However, P&O's shareholders fear that a Cunard bid would only delay long-promised returns from it own upgraded fleet. P&O's flagship Oriana and a small squadron of super luxury liners in the Princess class are only now starting to contribute to the bottom line. Re-equipping Cunard could add three years to the process.
"They keep telling us that things will get better soon, but buying Cunard would put 'soon' back a number of years," said one fund manager.
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On Tuesday afternoon, four Cuban goombahs were halfway into the third round of their daily dominoes game at Macabi Cigar Factory.
Heli Montoto slammed one of the white pieces on the table and taunted his partner, Jacinto Perez, "Put on your batteries, man."
The two had already lost two games to Adrian Lopez and Jorge Azze, two other middle-aged, tanned exiles with huge cell phone holsters on their belts. Earlier in the day, El Nuevo Herald eagerly announced in splashy, colorful graphics that sales of Habano cigars had dropped eight percent from last year to $360 million.
Cubans blame the economy and the global anti-smoking lobby for damping sales
But these guys had other theories. Of course. "The anti-smoking, the economy - those are all factors," Lopez said. "But the Habano is not what it used to be. It's the regime's fault." Azze chimed in: "It's always Fidel's fault."
Macabi Cigar Factory is a classroom-sized, vaguely emasculating shop on Calle Ocho, right next door to Versailles Restaurant. Inside, there are a few ass-battered leather couches, some wine racks, and the unmistakable vibe of a clubhouse. It smells of baked goods, ashes and cologne.
While these guys were passing the time fiddling with their Dominican smokes, the glitzy Habano Festival is taking place in Cuba through Friday. Habanos are, of course, Cuba's famed cigars - actually, the Holy Grail of stogies - and the festival is a trade show to introduce new brands, such as this year's Julieta, a slender smoke aimed at women. This thing is such a big deal for people who care about this stuff that Cigar Aficionado magazine calls it the "Coachella" of the industry, which either means the trade rag is painfully tone-deaf, or crusty punk kids have suddenly invaded Cuba hoping to smoke cigars and catch a Daft Punk show.
What's wrong with the Habano anyway? Ahnuld still likes it, Rush Limbaugh still likes it spiked with some painkillers. On this, opinion varies. Lopez, a 51-year-old construction products salesman, says the cigar's ashes are too dark, and that its outer wrapper is wonky. But his dominoes opponent, Perez, a boxy Cuban-American, argues that it's the blend; for a while there Cubans were randomly blending different types of tobacco, which resulted in a subpar product. But, since he's winning so far, it's ashen-haired Azze who drives the point home.
"A number of years ago I was in Oviedo, Spain with a friend, and he insisted on buying a box of Habanos," said the 55-year-old, nursing a pinky-sized stogie on the edge of his ashtray. "The owner of the store kept telling us not to buy it because her customers were returning them. If the regime's own clients don't like it, how the fuck do they expect loyalty."
To smoking amateurs (this Riptide reporter), these talking points sound perfectly legit. Oh yeah, too dark ashes are a total nuisance. So, we checked in with a higher order: Cigar Aficinado, the magazine that in 1994 put both Limbaugh and Fidel Castro on its cover. Habanos did have a low period through much of the 1990s, and especially between 1999 until 2001, when because of lack of fertilizers and insecticides, "at least one out of five cigars" was defective.
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But the Cubans have turned a corner since, the magazine says, thanks in large part to successful recruitment of many young workers to learn the cigar-making trade. The new Habanos, they have rhapsodized, "cater to the wants and needs we have as lovers of the leaf, and to the modern life we all aspire to." So, if no less an authority than Aficionado says quality isn't a problem any more, what's holding back our codgers in Little Havana? Like everything else around these parts, opinion on cigars comes laced with political arsenic.
As the game drew to a close, Azze, who fled Cuba when he was 8, admits that even if the Habano were legal in the United States, he wouldn't smoke it. He doesn't want to support the Cuban government. "We're the recalcitrants!' he said proudly.
"We don't smoke it for the same reason we haven't returned to Cuba," said Lopez, who was seven when he immigrated. "The regime always wants to blame a million factors, but they never look at their own problems." On that last round, they lost a game to Montoto and Perez.
Meanwhile, Cigar Aficionado's blogger in Havana, James Suckling, closed his latest with this bon mot: "Fired up the new Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill and it's a hell of a smoke."


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Trinidad3 Observes Veterans Day With New Release
Los Angeles-made denim brand Trinidad3 is adhering to its mission of serving veterans through its recent launch of the TANGO3 by Trinidad3 to observe Veterans Day. Founded by former United States Marine Corps sergeant Trinidad Garcia III and managed with Joe Lafko, the brand's managing partner and a USMC veteran, Trinidad3 is known for its made-in-America denim and its commitment to serving veterans after they arrive home. For the TANGO3 by Trinidad3 campaign, the brand enlisted the services of Navy veteran and Los Angeles Rams photographer for Will Navarro.
This latest launch of the TANGO3 by Trinidad3 brings a limited-edition athletic straight fit based on the Boyer Athletic Straight Fit, named for former Green Beret and Seattle Seahawks player Nate Boyer, who is also a spokesperson for the brand. The piece is offered in a heritage classic look stemming from a deep indigo rinse. Fabrication of the design relies on 92 percent cotton and 8 percent stretch with denim sourced in the United States.
For this launch, TRINIDAD3 opted to sell the piece at a lower price point, affording access to Los Angeles denim at a more affordable cost. Retailing at $99, the brand launched the TANGO3 on Nov. 10—the observance of the USMC's 246th birthday—and lowered the price to $75 for a limited time with the promotion ending Nov. 12.
Connecting consumers to a domestically crafted denim brand, Trinidad3 also provides financial support from its profits to veterans’ groups such as Merging Vets and Players. Extending the brand's reach for Veterans Day, Garcia III will visit Manhattan Beach, Calif.'s Manhattan Denim, located at 920 Manhattan Ave., Nov. 13 from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. to introduce the Fall line and meet with customers during an event that will offer light bites and drinks. Proceeds from every pair sold will benefit combat veterans through the MVP Foundation. Available in men's sizes 30-40, the TANGO3 by Trinidad3 is available at Trinidad3.com.


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A woman from Navi Mumbai was duped of Rs 15 lakh by a fraudster who offered her a part-time job of liking YouTube videos on WhatsApp. The cybercrime police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.
The scammer contacted the woman on WhatsApp using an international number and introduced himself as an HR representative of a digital marketing company. He offered her a lucrative opportunity to earn money by liking YouTube videos and subscribing to channels. He claimed that she would get Rs 50 to Rs 150 per like and that she could withdraw the money after reaching a certain threshold.
Read: Telegram Prepaid Task Scam Exposed [Pics INSIDE]
The woman agreed to join the scheme and started liking videos as instructed by the scammer. She received some payments initially, which made her trust the scammer. She was then added to a Telegram group where other members claimed that they had earned lakhs of rupees by doing the same work.
The scammer then created a fake website and asked the woman to invest more money to upgrade her account and get higher returns. The fake website showed her that her investment had doubled and that she could withdraw it anytime. However, when she tried to withdraw the money, the scammer asked her to pay more fees and taxes to complete the transaction. The woman kept paying until she realised that she had been cheated of Rs 15 lakh.
A rising trend of online frauds
The ‘like and earn’ scam is one of the many online frauds that target gullible people who are looking for easy ways to make money. The scammers use social media platforms like WhatsApp, YouTube, Telegram, etc. to lure their victims with attractive offers and promises. They use fake websites, apps, documents, etc. to create an illusion of legitimacy and credibility. They also use psychological tricks like social proof, urgency, scarcity, etc. to manipulate their victims into paying more money.
According to the cybercrime police, such scams are rising exponentially in India and have collectively cost hundreds of victims crores of rupees. The police have warned the citizens against falling prey to such scams and have advised them to be cautious and vigilant while dealing with unknown persons online.
How to avoid such scams
The cybercrime police have suggested some tips to avoid falling prey to such scams:
- Never pay an unknown person online. Once the money is gone to the scammers, it is very difficult to recover.
- Never share your personal or financial information with anyone online. Always check the name of the company, group or number on Google by writing cheating or fraud along with it.
- Never send money just for investment sake to unknown persons. Make sure to thoroughly check their official website, bank details, contact numbers, approvals of companies from regulatory authorities, before investing.
- Never believe in offers that sound too good to be true. Always verify the source and authenticity of any offer before accepting it.
- Never click on any suspicious links or download any attachments from unknown sources. They may contain malware or spyware that can compromise your device or data.
- Always report any suspicious or fraudulent activity to the cybercrime police or other relevant authorities.


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GBPUSD Rises As UK Inflation Ticks Higher
The UK has experienced a marginal pick up in it’s rate of inflation according to the latest data published this morning by the National Statistics Office. October numbers are showing that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has ticked up a point to read at 1.3% year on year compared to the 1.2% reading taken in September, the consensus estimate fully captured this rise to 1.3%. The month on month number came in at 0.1% as expected, this represents a moderate rise from the previous month’s flat 0.0% reading. The Core CPI reading has however not moved this month, this continues to read at 1.5% despite an expectation for a pick up to 1.6%.
Notwithstanding the gradual increase in the rate of the general price growth in the UK, the retail sector has undergone a slight fall in prices. The Retail Price Index (RPI) is now at a flat 0.0% month on month, this is down two points from September’s 0.2% growth and represents a greater fall than anticipated, consensus was for a reading of 0.1%. The year on year RPI has however managed to hold steady at 2.3% as was generally anticipated. Competition in the retail sector has lead to a certain amount of discounting ahead of the holiday period, Retail Sales are expected to be strong over this period and this is likely to place some upward pressure on prices over the next couple of months.
One aspect of Britain’s economy that is still steadily growing is the property sector. The latest DCLG House Price Index has clearly expanded on the month, the year on year measure is now showing a growth in house prices of 12.1% for the 12 month period, although this was largely anticipated it does represent a marked increase from the 11.7% recorded in September.
Sorry. No data so far.


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This year, the ICCA Congress transforms into a hybrid experience. With 800 attendees, 30 sessions, 40 speakers, 80 associations, and a six weeklong congress programme ICCA are reimagining the future of global events. As part of the interactive congress Road to Kaohsiung programme, Taiwan invites the global ICCA community to connect and explore new ideas, formats and technologies.
The Kaohsiung Protocol is a framework identifying significant trends and key strategies which will enable the international meetings industry to thrive, now and into the future. You can join a live event at a regional hub on 1–3 November. The hub locations are Cape Town, Kuching, Latin America, Luxembourg, Malaga, North America and Riyadh.
In the first half of the year, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) postponed or cancelled its trade shows considering the health and safety of exhibitors and visitors, as well as following the Central Epidemic Prevention Policy.
To provide the latest information about Taiwan International Trade Shows to domestic and international exhibitors and buyers, TAITRA launched a series of integrated online services. It is including Online 2D/VR Exhibition, Preshow Online Sourcing Meetings, Taiwan Trade Shows Webinars, TTS Insights Online Series (in Chinese). Online New Product Launches to meet exhibitors’ demand for international marketing and buyers’ procurement needs.
The exhibition organiser offers exhibitors participating in this year’s 19 trade shows online services. Exhibitors that have used the service are, for example, Taipei Cycle, Autotronics Taipei, AG Expo, Computex Taipei, Medical Taiwan, Foodtech Taipei, Bio/Pharmatech Taiwan, Taipei Pack and Taiwan Horeca.
Amid the human and economic toll inflicted by Covid-19, Taiwan’s response to the pandemic stands out as a model for the way forward. While most countries, including some of the world’s biggest economies with vastly greater resources at their disposal, continue to struggle with fresh outbreaks, Taiwan has managed to flatten the curve.
“Taiwan has responded on both humanitarian grounds and as a member of the global community. To that end, TAITRA has established the ‘Anti-Covid-19 Pavilion,’ an online platform that integrates more than 2,000 industries, manufacturers and medical institutions related to pandemic prevention,” says Walter Yeh, TAITRA’s President and CEO. “The Pavilion provides one-stop medical resources to the world for helping fight this pandemic.”
Taiwan’s government achieved early success in limiting the outbreak within its shores with a range of proactive measures, including educating the public and implementing stringent protocols around quarantining, testing and treating its population.
While some companies are intensifying efforts to produce safety equipment, such as face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE), others are offering a variety of technological solutions. These include thermal imaging devices to detect fevers, robots to assist healthcare professionals. These testing kits expedite results and harnessing cloud technology to deliver solutions such as telemedicine and remote learning tools, which are proving invaluable at a time when most of the world’s population is under lockdown.
Now, nearly eight months since the first case emerged in Taiwan, life has mostly reverted to normal, with bars, stores, restaurants and professional sport all open for business, albeit with the requisite precautions.
There are three key lessons to take from Taiwan’s experience and replicate them for an effective response, according to Walter Yeh. These are contact-tracing, testing and quarantine or isolation-treatment.
“Effective execution of these measures hinges on effective leadership and strong public health infrastructure. Taiwan is ready and open to provide insights into epidemic prevention. Other nations could learn from Taiwan’s success, and together, we can make this happen,” says Walter Yeh.


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POSTED: Thursday, September 27, 2012 - 9:30pm
UPDATED: Friday, September 28, 2012 - 3:33pm
It’s that time again.
The State Fair of Texas is almost ready…
And Thursday, the Texas Auto Writers Association gathered for a preview of the biggest auto show in the state.
Now there are a lot of reasons people come to the State Fair. ..rides, attractions…what are they going to fry this year.
But smart shoppers come to find their next car, because whatever you want, they’ve probably got it here.
The day started with the new Ram from Chrysler.
The entire Chrysler organization is on a roll, and Ram CEO Fred Diaz wants to keep it that way.
Next up, was the new Jeep Wrangler Moab package…and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trail Hawk.
One tasty rumor we picked up is that both Jeep and the Chevrolet Cruze compact will get small diesel engines soon.
At the Dodge stand, the new Dart was the attraction and the sleek compact is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, which means it will actually have decent handling.
The new Cadillac ATS was on display, along with a new compact SUV from Buick, the Encore.
Chevrolet showed us, and it’s about time, the new Impala. And it was worth the wait.
And the new Chevy Spark is the smallest car ever to wear the bowtie…and one of the most inexpensive.
Over at Ford, cowboys from the King Ranch pulled the cover off the new F-150.
This added to the gorgeous new Fusion and long overdue restyle of the Escape are just what Ford needed.
The new Avalon was the attraction at the Toyota display, and both Scion and Subaru share the platform for a pair of sleek sports cars, the FRS and BRZ. I know, I can’t keep them straight either.
And it wouldn’t be the State Fair without some just plain goofy machines, like the Texas VW Beetle.
And let’s be honest, nothing says Texas like a German compact.
And Chevy showed us the Sonic Boom. No, those aren’t rocket boosters, they are sound boosters. It is a rolling tinnitus factory.
All in all, a great show, and there are other attractions like old cars, sports cars, model cars and trucks carrying other trucks.
If you can’t find your next ride at the State Fair, I have no other suggestions.


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Your industry news - first
Citron Hygiene expands into Europe with acquisition of Admiral Cleaning Supplies
Toronto, Canada-based Citron Hygiene has expanded its global footprint and entered the European market with its acquisition of Admiral Cleaning Supplies in Leicestershire, England. This is Citron Hygiene's first acquisition outside of North America, making it an especially significant one. Admiral has been in business for 34 years and is one of the UK's largest distributors of the HORECA market (Hotel/Restaurant/Cafe).
It has two locations in the UK, approximately 80 employees and 7,500 customer locations.
"This is an exciting time for Citron Hygiene," remarks the company's president & CEO Peter Farrell. "In March 2017, we entered into the US market, and having this transaction closed July 2018, we are now in a new country and new continent. Breaking into the European market has been a big step for our global growth strategy."
Since establishing a partnership with Birch Hill Equity Partners, Citron Hygiene has acquired six companies (now seven) in an effort to increase its corporate footprint. The acquisitions in the US and Canada have enabled strong market expansion of Citron Hygiene's core service platforms of washroom hygiene, pest control, ware-washing and chemical services, to the most sophisticated of commercial buildings, public spaces, and local eateries.
Citron Hygiene plans to implement its washroom services platform in the UK in relatively short order: "Much like how Citron strives in 'building healthy spaces,' Admiral focuses on creating the clean, professional environments that support the health and wellness of building occupants," explains Peter. "Our businesses align and I look forward to this being a successful introduction to the UK."
Citron Hygiene intends to invest significant capital into the UK market. Andy Bottrill will continue to be the managing director of Admiral. Both he and Richard Adams will stay with the business and remain as part of the investment.
Citron Hygiene looks forward to future acquisitions in North America and the UK. In the meantime, Admiral customers can expect the same quality services they have been receiving while also seeing new products and services becoming available.
11th April 2019


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- 3 min read
Blockchain to evolve KYC protocols in payments amidst ballooning AePS frauds
Can blockchain evolve KYC (Know-your-Customer) protocols in payments amidst rising Aadhaar enabled payment system (AePS) frauds? Can banks and other financial institutions make use of blockchain-based KYC checks to ensure legitimacy of transactions? Research findings by BIS research help us decode this :
A recurring challenge in the domain of cross-border payments is the scope of Know-your-Customer (KYC) procedures for financial institutions and other regulated entities.
A report by BIS suggests that DLT can be used to reduce risk of suspicious transactions and in identification of beneficial owners through embedded RegTech.
Financial institutions’ ability to assess and investigate the full route of a transaction across multiple intermediaries, which could in its entirety be classified as a suspicious transaction, is limited.
"Assessments of ultimate beneficial owners are particularly challenging (i.e., costly) in times where links between individuals and entities are created through alternative modes of corporate control such as tailor-made derivatives, smart contracts, and private DLT platforms, respectively," said the report.
Despite the wide-ranging interest in DLT payment systems, research so far has focused on technical concepts only and lacked legal details.
“Blockchain-based KYC verification can be an alternative to traditional KYC verification methods. This is because DLT has the capability to enable businesses consolidate information from multiple service providers into a single database. This eliminates the need for a third party to validate the knowledge’s veracity,” Rajagopal Menon, vice-president, WazirX told FE Blockchain.
What is Distributed ledger Technology?
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is a digital system for recording the transaction of assets in which the transactions and their details are recorded in multiple places at the same time.
According to the report by BIS distributed ledgers are characterized by minimal or nil central administration and no centralized data storage.
Coupled with cryptographic solutions, these features reduce the risk of data manipulation, thus solving the problem of trusting third parties, and specifically data storage service providers.
Can DLT facilitate Financial Inclusion?
By reversing the function of DLT-based client diligence, DLT could result in granting financial identities to customers who do not have them for multiple social and economic reasons. In this case, DLT could actually improve financial inclusion.
The research report by BIS highlighted that what may provide solutions to customer identification issues is DLT’s inherent feature of locking in information and making it transparent continuously.
The data stored via DLT could be turned into a client identification tool based on the financial transactions the clients enter into along with the additional user data taken from their cell phone and e-commerce transactions.
While the identity-creating data collection function is at the core of many systems (including India’s Aadhaar and Deutsche Bundesbank’s Amplus), few payment systems make explicit use of DLT for this purpose.
The report however highlighted that the main promising feature of a DLT-based identity platform is that the identity is stored on an immutable platform, which makes it more difficult to manipulate the ID, which can turn out to be a boon especially with rising numbers of Aadhaar enabled payment systems (AePS) frauds.
Loopholes in Aadhaar enabled payment systems (AePS)
AePS allows consumers to withdraw cash after biometric authentication from micro ATMs operated by BCs.
A surge in AePS transaction volumes had been witnessed. 403 million approved AePS transactions were reported by NPCI in April 2020 compared to roughly 172 million in March 2020.
AePS however comes with serious risks of being cheated which are increased when banks refuse to disburse small amounts to their customers and send them to BCs instead.
Chances are of financial frauds by business correspondents as well, knowing or unknowingly, which might result in a higher number in POS whereas the receiver might receive a lesser amount.
In its September 2018 judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar authentication can be made mandatory only for benefits paid from the Consolidated Fund of India.
Aadhaar based payment frauds are ballooning with black market aadhaar data and fingerprints cloned using household supplies.
The Telangana state police also issued a warning in this regard after a spate of instances of AePS fraud in Haryana, Jharkhand and other parts of the country.
"AePS fraud has been happening for a few years now. The Supreme Court, in its judgement, had clearly ordered banks to not link Aadhaar to bank accounts. But by forcing this linkage, people are being made vulnerable to AePS fraud," Data security expert Kodali Srinivas reportedly said.


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Samsung Exynos 880 5G processor launched for mid-range smartphones: Here are the features
This might also prove to be an important 5G processor for Samsung since we could see it coming in several mid-range handsets in the coming months.
Samsung is adding another Exynos chip in its already robust chipset portfolio with the Exynos 880. The highlight of this processor is that it has a 5G modem and ‘AI capabilities' for non-premium smartphones. This might also prove to be an important 5G processor for Samsung since we could see it coming in several mid-range handsets in the coming months.
“Capable of supporting 5G's sub-6GHz, the Exynos 880 offers an upload speed of 1.28Gbps, and a download speed of 2.55Gbps that can be lifted to 3.55Gpbs with E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity that combines 5G and LTE capabilities,” says Samsung.
The chipset also uses its AI capabilities when it comes to smartphone cameras and virtual assistant features. It has a neural processing unit (NPU) and digital signal processor (DSP) to improve the response times and security.
mobile to buy?
Also read: Vivo Y70s with Samsung's Exynos 880 5G chipset launched
On the camera front, the Exynos 880's ISP supports up to five sensors and can process three sensors concurrently, claims Samsung. It can also support six cameras with maximum resolution of 64-megapixels and a dual-camera rating of 20-megapixel for each camera. Exynos 880's multi-format codec supports 4K 30fps video recording and playback, with HEVC, H.264 and VP9.
It has eight cores in total including two Cortex-A77 cores for intensive tasks and six Cortex-A55 cores for handling light-weight functionalities. While the Cortex-A77 cores are clocked at 2GHz, the Cortex-A55 cores are clocked at 1.8GHz. All this comes along with ARM Mali-G76 GPU.
It also supports FHD+ (2520x1080 pixels) resolution display, LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.1/eMMC 5.1 storage. The 8nm chipset supports Bluetooth v5.0, GPS, GLONASS, Beiduo and Galileo.
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Sometimes, when discussing Portland radio with Maine small business owners, I am reminded of “Dug” the talking dog from the movie “Up.” We will be chatting about all of the proven benefits of radio advertising, when all of a sudden the business owner will be distracted and blurt out, “Facebook” or “Pandora” or one of the hundred other new-and shiny competitors for consumers’ attention. This is the same way Dug was distracted every time a squirrel came into view.
I understand how easy it is to have your head turned by the sexy new kid in school. But despite the avalanche of new media, according to new research by Jacobs Media, radio still dominates the battle for the ear. This is awesome news for Maine small business owners who depend on Portland radio for marketing to new and existing customers.
According to the study, radio is still used by 92% of all consumers during the week. This number is consistent with other findings by Nielsen and Edison Research. As a matter of fact, this number is the same in 2015 as it was in 1999 before most of the new media was born. Below is a graphical representation of how media consumed last week:
Radio Still Dominates All Age Groups
Younger consumers have been the first adapters of most new forms of media. They were the first to latch on to Facebook, iTunes, Pandora, Twitter, and texting. But despite the inclusion of new technologies into their media diet, members of Generation Y (aka, Millennials) have a voracious appetite for traditional AM/FM radio. The Jacobs study finds that radio reaches almost the same percentage of Gen-Y as Baby Boomers like me.
Radio: Keepin’ It Local
With all of the shiny and new media seducing the ears of Portland radio listeners, how does radio retain its king-of-the-hill status? The answer is one word: “Local”. According to the Jacobs study, 81% of consumers say local programming is really important to them. Which is perfect for Maine small business owners who depend on local customers for their survival as well.
During the past several months, other studies on how consumers use media have reached the same conclusion: Traditional radio, despite being 95 years old, not only holds its own against the distractions of new media, it dominates. Learn more about this research by clicking on the links below:
- Portland Radio Remains Top Of The Heap Despite Digital Competitors
- Portland Radio Owns The Road…Good News For Maine Small Business
- Portland Radio Still Fills Maine’s Ears


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15 January 2021 | News
John Rim, newly appointed President and CEO, has unveiled a multidimensional business plan for the company
Image credit- prnasia
Samsung Biologics set forth its dynamic growth plan for the next decade at the 2021 Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference recently. John Rim, newly appointed President and CEO, has unveiled a multidimensional business plan for the company to further expand as a major player in the biopharmaceutical industry, bolstering its rapidly expanding CDMO business with a greater global footprint, continued advancements in its biosimilars subsidiary, and ultimately new drug development.
"Our next decade will be marked by increased business expansion and portfolio diversification. While continuing to achieve best-in-class CDMO services and become a champion in the biosimilars business, we will also lay the groundwork for novel drug development, to ultimately become a full-service biopharmaceutical company," said John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics on Wednesday in his presentation at the Main Track of the conference, held virtually this year due to COVID-19.
To support the company's long-term vision, South Korean firm Samsung Biologics announced plans to secure manufacturing facilities overseas in addition to outlining its global CDO R&D Center in multiple locations. Rim noted that product diversification from mAb/fusion protein manufacturing to encompass future modalities such as vaccines and cell-gene therapies are also being studied, and the company is further venturing into new business models for its growth roadmap.
Samsung Biologics signaled a strong year in 2020, signing over $1.7 billion in CMO contracts – a record-breaking figure – and opening the company's first overseas CDO R&D center in San Francisco.


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US Consumer Price Index, Retail Sales
Market participants look ahead to the release of a duo of economic reports on inflation, and retail sales due Friday for signs of continued improvement in the U.S. economy, which could strengthen the Federal Reserve’s case for a more aggressive outlook on US monetary policy.
Analysts expect consumer prices rose 0.2% in December from 0.1% in the previous month. rose 0.2% in October, compared to an 0.1% rate in the previous month. In the 12 months through November, consumer prices are expected to have risen 1.7%.
Inflation is one of the key measures the Federal Reserve’s considers when undertaking monetary policy decision. Inflation has lagged the US central bank’s target of 2%.
Economists forecast retail sales rose 0.4% in December, well below the 0.8% growth in the previous month.
Ahead of the reports, the dollar traded sharply lower against its rivals.
Wall Street Unofficially Gets Earnings Season Underway
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) report earnings Friday before US markets open amid a recently rally in financials as investors bet that financials are set to benefit from tighter monetary policy and recent tax-reform measures. Investors are eager for an update on how tax-reform could potentially boosts banks’ lending businesses and spur corporate deals.
Baker Hughes rig count
The weekly instalment of drilling activity from Baker Hughes on Friday, will provide investors with fresh insight into U.S. oil production and demand, after the number of active drilling rigs fell last week.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
At Thursday’s settlement price, crude futures rose 23 cents to settle near a three-year high of $63.80 amid investor expectations that global oil demand growth, and ongoing OPEC cuts will reduce excess supplies.
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Server shipments and revenue grew for the first time since 2011 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a trend likely to continue in the second half of the year, according Gartner.
Apple fans may not be the only ones waiting for a new iPhone later this year -- semiconductor industry revenue will get a boost from it too, according to Gartner.
IT research firm Gartner has cut its forecast for global IT spending by about one-third for this year, blaming a tougher competitive environment and subsequent pressure on vendors to lower prices.
Most mobile applications will collect and analyze information about end users by 2015, a trend that raises both rewards and risks for enterprises, according to analyst firm Gartner.
Shipments of servers from Chinese vendors grew at a fast clip while the top server vendors in the U.S. tumbled during the first quarter of this year.
All the hype around big data last year didn't drive big growth in the worldwide BI (business-intelligence) and analytics market, according to research firm Gartner.
Worldwide IT spending this year will rise 3.2 percent to US$3.8 trillion, driven by rebounding device sales and strong growth in the enterprise software category, according to analyst firm Gartner.
Mixed news for hardware and some disappointing software vendor financial reports this week appeared to put a dent in confidence in the IT sector.
Though tech spending in the near term is not expected to increase at the heady rates of the dot-com era, industry insiders appear confident that the sector will trend upward this year.
Enterprises finally started opening their pocketbooks for external storage systems in the final quarter of last year, but economic uncertainty and the appeal of public cloud services continue to hold back the market, according to research company Gar...
Despite some shadows cast by Lenovo and Cisco earnings, IT stocks have had a strong week overall, with Nasdaq tech stocks reaching their highest point since the third quarter of 2000, during the dot-com bust.
The highly customized ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems in place at companies around the world are looking a bit long in the tooth, to the point where by 2016 it will be common practice to refer to them as "legacy" software, according to ana...
By 2017, the typical mobile user will share their personalized data stream with 100 applications and services every day, with wearable devices and Internet-connected appliances fueling the use trend, according to Gartner.
Mobile developers hoping to cash in on a blockbuster app have bad news from researcher Gartner: More competition and higher demands from users will make it even more difficult for developers to make money from smartphone and tablet applications.
After a year in which tech stocks boomed but overall IT spending barely eked out single-digit growth, market forecasters are adopting an air of cautious optimism for 2014.
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Centrica's £2bn cash call for British Energy buy
British Gas owner Centrica is to tap shareholders for £2.2billion to fund the acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in British Energy.
The stock dived 23¾ p or almost 8 per cent to 282½ p after it launched the rights issue at 160p a share, with investors entitled to three new shares for every eight they hold.
Energy buy: British Gas owner Centrica is trying to raise £2.2billion to fund its British Energy stake
Centrica said the funds were needed to buy the stake in British Energy, the nuclear-power giant set to be bought by French energy supplier EDF in a £12.5billion deal.
Chairman Roger Carr said: 'Assuming we reach agreement with EDF regarding Centrica acquiring a 25 per cent interest in British Energy, the proceeds of the rights
issue will be directed towards this opportunity, with the balance being funded with additional debt and, possibly, asset sales.'
Centrica also said operating margins at British Gas were improving, but gave no indication as to whether this could lead to lower household energy bills.
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Copyright FOURIN, Inc. 2023
Overview of Turkey’s Automobile Market in 2021
The automobile industry of Turkey (Republic of Türkiye) in 2021 was affected by the shortage of semiconductor supply and rising raw material prices, so the number of automobiles produced shrank by 1.7% from the previous year to 1,276,140 units. Vehicle sales fell by 2.9% year-on-year to 772,722 units. On the other hand, automobile exports recovered to 937,005 units, up 2.2% year-on-year, due to strong demand in Europe. Vehicle production fell for the second year in a row in 2021. Passenger vehicle sales decreased 8.4% year-on-year to 782,835 units, while commercial vehicle sales increased 11.4% year-on-year to 493,305 units, with pickups, medium-duty trucks, and heavy-duty trucks each posting double-digit growth.
Turkey: Recent Developments
・In April 2022, Ford started mass production of the E-Transit BEV van at a local joint venture.
- The company plans to invest 2 billion EUR for mass production of the E-Transit, and plans to increase the annual production capacity of the Turkish plant from 455,000 units to 650,000 units. The plant will also have a line to assemble at least 130,000 batteries per year.
・In April 2022, Korea's SK Innovation announced plans to build a lithium-ion battery plant jointly with Ford and Turkey's Koç Holding.
- It is planned to be built near Turkey’s capital Ankara. The annual production capacity is expected to be 30-45GWh.
- It will be supply BEV vans produced at Ford's Turkish plant. Production will start in 2025 at the earliest.
・In April 2022, Mitsubishi Motors announced that it will launch the Colt, a compact hatchback manufactured by Renault's Turkish plant, in Europe in the fall of 2023.
・In October 2021, Turkey approved the Paris Agreement.
- The government plans to accelerate efforts such as the CO2 emission reduction plan announced in July 2021 and the climate law.
・In January 2022, the base price, which is the basis for calculating the tax amount, was changed in order to respond to the actual increase in the special consumption tax due to the rise in automobile prices triggered by currency depreciation and inflation.
- Due to the rise in automobile prices, most models that were previously subject to the minimum tax rate are now subject to higher tax rates.
- However, the pace of inflation is fast, and the industry requires regular changes to the base price.
- This change is expected to have the effect of reducing automobile prices by approximately 3% to 16.7%, depending on the applicable tax rate.
- In addition to the existing three tax rate categories of 45%, 50% and 80%, new categories of 60% and 70% have been added.
・According to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s announcement in March 2022, the real GDP growth rate for the full year 2021 was 11.0%, exceeding the government’s target of 9.0%.
- The rapid increase in exports accompanying the recovery of demand from the pandemic, the rise in household final expenditure, and the accompanying recovery in investment in machinery and equipment contributed to this increase.
・Regarding the economic outlook for 2022, among local economists, there is a tendency to believe that economic deterioration is inevitable due to inflation triggered by currency depreciation, rising energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the sluggish tourism industry.


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Pre-Budget Expectation By Anirudh.A.Damani, Managing Partner, Artha Venture Fund
On the eve of Union Budget 2022 announcement, every stakeholder part of the Indian startup ecosystem including micro and small enterprises across all sectors is intently waiting for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to usher in some good news for the sector. Given the lasting economic damage caused by the unrelenting global pandemic, the startup ecosystem is hoping to receive respite by way of supportive policies to alleviate some challenges brought by Coid-19.
The 2021-22 budget had several positive measures for the startup ecosystem and this year too, we hope that the government comes up with similar policies. Some of the major areas that entrepreneurs and investors are expecting the 2022 Union Budget to announce tax relaxations, additional startup friendly policies, measures to boost ease of doing business to name a few.
Anirudh A Damani, Managing Partner, Artha Venture Fund gave us his views on his expectations and hopes from the Union budget 2022.
"Considering the 3rd COVID wave we are under, it would be interesting to witness this Indian budget. The government must acknowledge the tremendous role played by the startup ecosystem in delivering goods & services to the farthest reaches of the country in crippling conditions of the various lockdowns.
The government could earn valuable tax revenues on selling these investments through recognized platforms
Our startups have empowered India's global image, and every recognizable Global VC now wants to be associated with the Indian ecosystem. Furthermore, Indian startups currently employ more than 6.50 lakh people and indirectly employ lakhs more.
Therefore, one of the essential demands requested from the government is to reduce the tax burden for founders, employees, and investors when they sell their startup investments. It is unfair for these stakeholders to pay 2x the tax applicable to listed investments.
Second, it would be a blessing if the budget would rationalize the GST (Goods and Services Tax) slabs to improve compliance. The Good & Simple Tax promotion should implement in reality what it intended to be in spirit!" says Anirudh.
Last year, the government had extended the eligibility for claiming tax holidays by a year to March 31, 2022, for all startups, in a bid to incentivize them. In order to boost funding, last year's budget had also extended the capital gains exemption for investment in startups to March 31, 2022.
"Third, individuals have tax benefits to set off long term capital gains against real estate assets. If those benefits could get extended to the individuals investing in startup funds where SIDBI/DPIIT is an investor, it would significantly boost the local participation of investors in the startup ecosystem.
Fourth, I also believe that the government has attempted to simplify fundraising for startups and fund managers. However, the various processes that a startup or its investments must undergo to issue, buyback, or sell securities (debt or equity) are super complicated.
Fifth, it is simply impossible for anyone to scale a business quickly and raise multiple rounds without violating a law. The government should simplify this process and make it easy to enter and exit startup investments. Hyper growth startups requiring multiple valuation certificates create unnecessary complications during fundraising. When SEBI(Securities and Exchange Board of India) recognizes fund managers to have the expertise to deal with such complicated instruments why is there a need for getting an additional stamp from merchant bankers? These requirements increase deal costs & timelines and must get done away with immediately!" says Anirudh.
He further adds, "Lastly, there is a long-standing demand and need to develop a secondary market for selling startup investments without listing them on exchanges. Creating such a market would encourage more investors to go back to early stage startups and help startups incentivize employees with ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)that could easily get converted into cash when required! The government could earn valuable tax revenues on selling these investments through recognized platforms!
Suppose there could be a budgetary allowance towards the creation of such a market. In that case, it could further increase the inflow of foreign and domestic capital into the VC (Venture Capital)industry!"
2021 was a watershed year for Indian startups with $24.1 Billion being invested in varied startups. We also saw a record number of startups turn unicorns and go the IPO way successfully. India today boasts of the third most lucrative startup ecosystem in the world and the scope of its growth is stronger than ever. We must now wait and watch how 2022's Union budget supports this burgeoning sector.
Anirudh A Damani is the Managing Partner at Artha Venture Fund. Previously, Anirudh led the alternative investment arm for his family office, Artha India Ventures. He invested in high yielding renewable energy projects and into early stage startups with high growth potential.
In 2018,he set up India's first MicroVC Fund, Artha Venture Fund. The company's goal is to fund and build game changing ventures from India! At Artha India Ventures, Anirudh invested in category defining startups like OYO Rooms, Purplle, Tala, Now Floats, Coutloot, Mobilewalla, Rapido and others.
Before this Anirudh was an entrepreneur in the energy space in the US. He worked with some of the largest energy companies in the world, like Suez Energy, Direct Energy, Constellation etc.
Anirudh is an alumnus of Austin College and Cathedral & John Connon School in Mumbai


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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- What's bound to please women this Mother's Day?
Power tools, according to some retailers.
With women comprising half of residential customers at stores like Home Depot and Lowe's, and a home-remodeling market that reaps $125 billion a year, retailers, tool-makers and others are embracing the idea that women are a serious force in the home-improvement market.
From True Value's Web site, where products for "handy-mom" share top billing with "gourmet-mom," to Rubbermaid's women-focused Tough Tools -- the site includes images of women showing men how to get the job done -- companies have ramped up efforts to attract the female do-it-yourselfer's dollar.
Women hosts on home improvement shows are legion, including Lynda Lyday on the call-in show "Talk2DIY," Amy Devers on "DIY to the Rescue," and Jodi Marks on HGTV's "Fix It Up!"
And Harry Harrison, male host of HGTV's "Help Around the House" generally works with female homeowners. Even magazines are popping up, such as the new Woodworking for Women, which promises "Woodworking ... It's not just for men!"
"I keep an eye on five to 10 industries. This is the second most advanced one," outdone only by financial services companies in its marketing to women, said Martha Barletta, author of "Marketing to Women" (Dearborn 2003) and chief executive of TrendSight, a marketing consulting firm based in the Chicago area.
Doing the math
The industry, including retailers, manufacturers and television-show producers, is "doing back flips because it's suddenly becoming apparent that women are a much bigger factor in the home improvement decision than they realized," Barletta said.
"Ace Hardware did a study and found that their women customers spent 50 percent more than their male customers," she said. "If women are half of the customers and they're spending 50 percent more, it doesn't take much to do the math."
"We know that women make 85 percent of the home-improvement decisions," said Chris Ahearn, a Lowe's spokeswoman. That realization led to new stores that are brightly lit, with wide aisles and products within easy reach.
"Our stores are also very uncluttered and extremely clean," Ahearn said, making for a "shopping environment that's very attractive to women, and men don't mind either. While women are more discerning shoppers, men like all the same things women do."
Are we there yet?
While most agree that Lowe's has excelled at gearing towards women, other retailers are "straddling the issue," Barletta said.
"Lowe's is saying, 'We know where the money is, we get it, we're fixing it,'" she said. While Home Depot has made strides, company executives make comments such as "we don't want to alienate men, so we don't want to change (our stores) that much," Barletta said.
Ace Hardware has made some store design changes, but the company's Web site makes few references to women and tools, and the Mother's Day "gift ideas" page shows a kitchen cart, copper bowl, garden bench and cooking pot.
As an industry, "they're getting the idea. It doesn't mean there isn't more good stuff that they could do," Barletta said. "They don't have the marketing savvy of a retailer like Target. There's a lot more they could be doing in terms of promotions and services. They're still focused on product."
For example, to appeal to time-starved women, she said, stores could offer regular delivery of potted plants, timed to seasonal changes.
Others agreed that the industry has more to do. "We're just scratching the surface," said Lynda Lyday, co-host of Talk2DIY and a union contractor for 13 years.
She's writing a home repair guidebook, will launch a women-friendly tool line in the summer, and has plans for a construction-work clothing line.
"Look at what the food network has done for men getting involved in the kitchen," she said. "Men aren't closet cooks anymore. You don't even have to be a metrosexual to have the right appliances in the kitchen. It's become quite fashionable. That's starting to happen with women and tools."
A new generation of women-friendly tools is emerging also. Barbara Kavovit launched her Barbara K product line a year ago, selling her tool kit in Bloomingdales and Macy's as well as more traditional hardware settings. The company pulled in $2.5 million in the second half of 2003, she said.
"Women really want to be able to fix things around the house" she said. "They've taken on so many roles in the 21st century: They're career-oriented, their heads of households. This was a natural extension."
Recently, when her child asked her to hang up his basketball hoop, "there I was, 8 o'clock at night with my hammer and nails," Kavovit said. "It builds self-esteem. Independence is sexy, and to be able to be independent in all facets of your life is important to women today."
Tomboy Tools is setting a different tack, selling its tools direct to women, a la Tupperware parties, through home-based remodeling workshops. "We saw triple-digit growth for 2003," said Sue Wilson, president of Tomboy Tools, founded in 2000.
Like the Barbara K and Rubbermaid products, Tomboy Tools are made with rubberized grips and ergonomic designs aimed towards women's hand size.
But pink, by all accounts, is to be avoided. Originally "the hardware industry really perceived that what women wanted were not serious tools," said Sue Wilson, president of Tomboy Tools.
"They didn't really understand that we as women homeowners are taking on serious home repair projects," she said. "We need tools that will help us get those jobs done."


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What the Heck are GMOs?
If you haven’t heard the term GMO or Genetically Modified Food – chances are you might this week with social and conventional media covering marches scheduled on May 25th all over North America to protest GMO creator Monsanto. But many people are still confused as to what GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are. GMOs are plants and animals whos DNA has been altered with bacteria, viruses or other DNA from plants and animals in an attempt to obtain a desired trait or characteristic. They have existed fairly quietly in our environment over the last 20 years but have received lots of attention in North America over the last few years with pockets of U.S. trying to get their governments to include labeling on food that contain GMOs. Currently it is up to consumers in Canada and the U.S. to navigate grocery isles and read ingredients on fresh and packaged food to determine if it contains genetically modified ingredients or grown from genetically altered seeds.
With all of the controversy surrounding GMOs, you might wonder why they originally infiltrated our food system at all. Back in the 70s, a major biotechnology company manufactured a herbicide called Roundup but when it was used on farmer’s crops, both the weeds and the crops suffered. To solve this problem, the biotech company created genetically modified seeds that allowed the crop to survive when the herbicide was sprayed, marketed as a time saver for farmers to reduce or eliminate weeds. Fast forward into the 90s and genetically modified soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola were introduced. When Roundup was used, only the resistant (genetically modified) survived. This has resulted in a huge increase of chemical herbicide being used over the last ten years.
Foods that are labelled ‘organic’ or ‘made from organic ingredients’ cannot contain any GMO ingredients. According to the website Non GMO Project, high risk crops from the U.S. that are grown with GMO seed are:
- Alfalfa (first planting 2011)
- Canola (approx. 90% of U.S. crop)
- Corn (approx. 88% of U.S. crop in 2011)
- Cotton (approx. 90% of U.S. crop in 2011)
- Papaya (most of Hawaiian crop; approximately 988 acres)
- Soy (approx. 94% of U.S. crop in 2011)
- Sugar Beets (approx. 95% of U.S. crop in 2010)
- Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash (approx. 25,000 acres)
- ALSO high-risk: animal products (milk, meat, eggs, honey, etc.) because of contamination in feed
Common Ingredients Derived from GMO Risk Crops:
Amino Acids, Aspartame, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin C, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Ethanol, Flavorings (“natural” and “artificial”), High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Lactic Acid, Maltodextrins, Molasses, Monosodium Glutamate, Sucrose, Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), Xanthan Gum, Vitamins, Yeast Products.
Buying only organic food can get expensive but there are other ways to ensure food quality for your family. Get to know your local farmers! Ask questions and find trusted food sources by visiting small farms or Farmer’s Markets. You might also consider planting a garden this summer. I’ve always considered growing a food garden outside of my comfort zone thinking it’s too hard but we have planted over seven items this spring and the kids have loved every step of growing food. Visit local seed specialists that sell heirloom seed packets and enjoy the feeling of pride that comes with growing your own food.
This weekend on May 25th, millions of people will be marching to protest Monsanto’s dominance over the food industry. Hopefully after reading this article, you’ll know why GMO food is such an important topic and why GMO food labeling has so much energy as a grassroots movement in Canada and the U.S.


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Fingerprint Cards AB, a Swedish biometric sensor manufacturer, and Trustonic announced today that they are collaborating in an effort to bring FIDO Ready authentication to connected devices at a faster rate. The FIDO Alliance, of which both companies are members, is dedicated to the development and implementation of universal online strong authentication specifications and its members collaborate to make this possible.
This specific collaboration will have FPC touch sensors – the FPC1020, FPC1021, and the FPC1150, the company’s new home button sensor – working with the Trustonic ‹t-base Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), allowing mobile device OEMs to easily offer secure fingerprint authentication on smartphones and tablets.
According to the press release, this collaboration will affect phones and tablets whose makers have already selected FPC sensors in their designs, launching as early as this coming autumn.
“Traditionally, biometric sensors would feature their own processor, which has proven to be expensive and time-consuming in getting products to market,” says Trustonic CEO, Ben Cade. “…our collaboration with Fingerprint Cards will help drive the adoption of biometric sensors into the next wave of connected devices. For service providers and consumers, this offers greater convenience and a higher level of trust in payment services and enterprise security.”
Fingerprint Cards CEO Johan Carlström adds: “By using Trustonic’s industry-leading TEE to protect our fingerprint sensor driver, FPC can now help OEMs to rapidly deploy FIDO-compliant robust biometric authentication to cater to the growing demand for value-added services on connected devices.”
This year, FPC has been in the news with a number of design wins for its new line of touch sensors. In July, the company announced the first design win for the FPC1021 capacitive touch sensor. Mass production of the phone is planned to begin this October with a target sales volume projected at 3 million units.


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Dashmote’s recent Food Delivery Insight Report Europe - H1 2023 targeting the European food and beverage brands by showcasing the latest trends on food delivery. As an extension of the ‘fastest growing branded sweets’ section of the report, this article identified the key markets of three leading ice-cream brands under the Unilever umbrella - Magnum, Coretto, and Ben & Jerry's, by analysing their penetration and growth rates across Europe.
The ice-cream market in Europe is rich in product offerings. In 2021, sales of frozen processed dairy and desserts in Europe exceeded 16 billion USD , with Unilever being the market leader and the largest ice cream manufacturer. While Unilever’s ice creams are largely available in retails, each of its key brands has carved out their most prevalent food delivery markets across various European countries.
Based on Dashmote's data analysis, Ben & Jerry's exhibits the highest level of presence among three brands. This American-born brand has made a significant impact on the European ice-cream scene with its quirky flavours and commitment to social responsibility. Ben & Jerry’s is most prevalent on food delivery platforms in Spain, boasting a noteworthy penetration rate of 19.6%. This statistic underscores the fact that nearly one in every five digital storefronts on Spanish food delivery platforms offers Ben & Jerry's products. The brand's notable penetration is also observed in Ireland at 14.1% and the Netherlands at 14.0%.
Magnum, renowned for its premium quality, made its initial foray into the European market during the late 1980s. This esteemed brand has achieved substantial penetration in its top three markets: the Netherlands at 11.5%, the United Kingdom at 7.3%, and Portugal at 5.7%.
Cornetto, another addition to the European ice cream landscape, brings the essence of Italian gelato to its offerings. However, it maintains a relatively modest penetration rate among the three prominent brands in Europe, with its primary markets being Italy at 4.1%, the United Kingdom at 3.4%, and Portugal at 2.3%.
Dashmote's food delivery report highlights the remarkable expansion of two prominent sweet brands, Magnum and Cornetto: Magnum has positioned itself as one of the fastest-growing sweet brands in Belgium. Similarly, Cornetto has emerged as one of the rapidly ascending sweet brands in Greece and Romania.
Taking a closer look at Magnum's growth trajectory, it is noteworthy that the brand experienced its most substantial surge on food delivery platforms in Portugal, registering an impressive digital storefront growth rate of 48.5% over a six-month period spanning from Q3 2022 to Q2 2023. Belgium closely follows with a significant Magnum growth rate of 45.4%, while Germany showcases a commendable growth rate of 40.7%.
Cornetto, despite its relatively modest prevalence as described in the previous section, is swiftly making strides. The brand witnessed a remarkable 176.6% growth in digital storefront listings in Denmark, coupled with a noteworthy 92.7% growth in Germany. The United Kingdom also demonstrates Cornetto's robust growth, with a substantial 69.9% increase in digital storefronts.
In contrast, Ben & Jerry's, owing to its extensive digital storefront presence, experienced more measured growth among the three brands. The top three growth markets for Ben & Jerry's are Portugal, with a growth rate of +21.8%, Austria (+13.9%), and Ireland (+13.1%).
According to Dashmote's report, it's noteworthy that Ben & Jerry's has emerged as the third most prominent franchise in Denmark. In an innovative move, the brand has adopted the concept of a ghost kitchen—an operational setup dedicated to preparing dishes exclusively for delivery. Unilever, the multinational consumer goods conglomerate, is actively expanding its virtual ice cream shop presence. To accomplish this, Unilever has entered into multiple partnerships, with the aim of proliferating its Ice Cream Shop concept across a broader array of locations.
The rationale behind this strategic move stems from logistical challenges faced by Ben & Jerry's in storing its products at local brick-and-mortar stores. In response, the global brand has adopted a ghost kitchen model, leveraging cold cabinets to ensure that its ice cream products are delivered punctually and in pristine condition through platforms like Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Dashmote's data reveals that this innovative business model has yielded significant success within the food delivery market, with Ben & Jerry's Denmark serving as a prominent exemplar of this achievement.
Dashmote is dedicated to assisting enterprises in overcoming obstacles and achieving success in the digital market space. As the foremost provider of big data and AI analytics solutions in the food and beverage (F&B) sector, we enable companies to make informed strategic choices by offering thorough analysis and invaluable insights into the food delivery market and F&B trends. Interested in taking your online business to the next level? Feel free to reach out to our team at firstname.lastname@example.org. Together, we can establish a robust online footprint for your Food & Beverage enterprise.
If you find this article valuable, you may also be interested to check out our latest food delivery report. Download a FREE report here: https://dashmote.com/insights-report-eu-2023-h1/
Follow us on LinkedIn @Dashmote to stay up-to-date with the latest food delivery data insights on a global scale.


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ARE our economists giving us the true picture of the national economy? Or are they applying blanket on its darker side?
As an economic journalist then, I used to attend the 'Brown Bag' talks at Bank Negara. At the end of every question-and-answer session, we were advised what and not to write. We did understand the whole situation - and that we must always paint a good picture.
However, when the whole world is reeling from then economic downturn, do we still need such blankets and good picture?
A good picture will augur well in attracting more foreign direct investments (FDIs) but the words that go around about how bad the situation is at Labuan Offshore Financial Centre and other offshore facilities worldwide, should be well perceived and looked into.
The fact that more and more workers are being retrenched is not a good economic sign. We have to admit that Malaysia is NOT SPARED of the global economic crisis. Even the American cant practice the economic tools its prescribed for other countries.
Its nothing wrong to speak the truth about the economy. If we are doing not so bad, just say so. If we are much affected, say it out. The people are more wise these days to distinguish the elements of subjudice in our newspaper reports about the economy.
It is good that the pump price of fuel has gone down in tandem with the current crude oil price (USD43 per barrel). However, the people are still fighting for survival. The price of consumer goods which shot up over the hike in oil price mid this year, has yet to come down.
Inflation and recession are already felt. We cannot deny this facts. The middle and low-income groups are feeling the pinch. Although the government has and will introduce new economic package to stabilise its adverse impacts, the result is still not felt.
US financial package of USD17 billion to salvage its three carmaker companies did not have any impact on the markets worldwide, not even on the Wall Street. Injecting monies to ailing companies will only cause the economy to dismantle its fundamentals.
We may have pride on strong exports growth but we also look into the reciprocal value with each trading partner. Not all will surrender their trade deficit easily now when their economy, too, are badly affected.
Countries like Japan, China and even Vietnam are subscribing to day-to-day monitoring of their economy although they are quite 'okay' in the sense that their federal reserves can sustain at least 12-month defered imports, a duration that the IMF forecast as enough for the world economy to recover again.
Malaysia is of no exception, we should say. With the price of commodites like rubber and palm oil continue to dive, the majority of our people are finding it more difficult to save at least a ringgit everyday. In some cases, not enough to make ends meet.
We belong to the world economic pattern that formulates global trade, price and supply. We cannot find a big escape but to manage our macro-economic imbalances accordingly and try to tailor it to domestic needs.
Yes, of course our economists are doing a hell of a job to keep the economy at bay but at the same time, they should be more open to talk.


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The State Fair of Texas and its neighbors in South Dallas have not always had the most harmonious relationship. However, the last few years have seen a shift in the dynamics, with the Fair now donating tens of thousands of pounds of produce to South Dallas nonprofits and working with community leaders to help solve the shortage of fresh food in the area.
South Dallas falls under the United States Department of Agriculture’s definition of a “food desert.” This term is defined as an area with greater than 20% of the population living below the poverty line and more than one-third of residents living more than one mile from a major grocery store. These conditions lead to a lack of readily available fresh produce and healthy food options.
“As much as we need more grocery stores and options, I also think that there is a need to support local farms and gardens,” says Froswa’ Booker-Drew, the Fair’s director of community affairs and strategic alliances.
Booker-Drew began working with the Fair in 2016, the same year they started the Big Tex Urban Farm program. “When I started at that time, we really began focusing on listening to community needs,” she says.
That first year on the job, Booker-Drew helped turn 100 shipping pallets into raised plant beds. Since then, the Fair has invested almost two million dollars into the farming program.
In 2018, under the Director of Horticulture, Drew Demler, the Fair built a massive hydroponic addition to the Farm. This set-up allows the Farm to grow more produce faster, which means more food for their non-profit partners. By 2020, the hydroponic system helped Big Tex Farms produce approximately 26,000 pounds of fresh food.
Besides growing food for the community, Demler and the farm program are working to educate the community and help folks grow food for themselves. They have helped establish five community gardens across South Dallas, including the TR Hoover’s Learning Garden, which feeds 100 families a day.
During the fair Demler could be found at the “Innovations in Agriculture” exhibit, teaching fairgoers how to build their own growing systems and the importance of food sustainability.
“And I love to be able to answer their questions and be able to interact with them, so that’s what I like the best, the interaction with people,” Demler says. “I think it’s important for all of us to kind of take back control of our food system for not just our physical well-being but our mental state. I think that healthy people are happy people.”


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SAN FRANCISCO — Counter to the expectations of many industry watchers, Oracle, the worldâs largest maker of software for businesses, is not planning a global computing system to rival Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, the other big global cloud companies.
While it has built out a network of 20 data centers, largely filled with Oracle equipment, it now plans to go after customers by offering faster updates of its core products, new ways of customizing applications and a much younger, retooled sales force.
âWeâve made our investments,â Mark Hurd, co-chief executive of Oracle, said in an interview. Compared with A.W.S., he said, âthe place we like is one of higher profit margins.â
Besides applications, Amazon sells raw computing and data storage, which are generally lower-margin businesses. Oracle is expected Tuesday to announce better security inside its cloud because of changes from its proprietary hardware, but wonât sell access to the machines on their own.
Oracleâs better margins, Mr. Hurd said, will come from selling large-scale software that can be customized by its buyers to suit local markets and products. He hopes to lower his sales costs and bring in younger companies with salespeople recruited straight from college and given crash courses in selling Oracle cloud products.
In the last four years, he said, the company has hired 1,000 graduates a year. âWe train them in products, sales skills and processes,â said Mr. Hurd. âTheyâre selling within a year, with a much lower cost of sales.â
Oracleâs sales force, some 30,000 people globally, is considered among the most aggressive and highly compensated in the tech business. Now, Mr. Hurd said, âwe have to do some brandingâ to entice the kind of smaller companies and start-ups the new sales team is chasing.
The ease of modification and the faster sales force illustrate how, while still far apart, Oracle and A.W.S. are becoming more like each other as cloud computing goes mainstream.
For its part, a few weeks ago A.W.S. dropped all pretense and made a direct bid for Oracleâs customers. A.W.S. even put up a thinly disguised picture of Oracle founder and executive chairman Lawrence J. Ellison.
Mr. Ellison, by contrast, was unusually low-key in his presentation on Sunday, when he kicked off Oracleâs annual customer event. He said Oracle no longer paid attention to IBM or SAP in cloud computing, and compared unfavorably to Oracle both Salesforce and Workday, two leading cloud applications companies. For him that was pallid fare.
What he did say was that virtually all of Oracleâs applications have been updated to the cloud — a minimum to go after A.W.S. on cloud applications — and cloud systems for running global manufacturing systems and doing e-commerce.
A.W.S. has some of those commerce capabilities, but canât match that complex manufacturing application. It probably doesnât want to â yet. While Amazonâs cloud origins are in helping start-ups that want to do things cheaply, Oracleâs cloud strategy is to enable the biggest companies in the world to move into the cloud.
âWe donât have anybody chasing us,â Mr. Hurd said. âWe donât have anybody doing what weâre doing.â
That may not be completely the case. SAP, Oracleâs top competitor for business applications, has its own offerings and is also has products running on A.W.S.
Oracle does have a way for its legacy customers to gain the flexibility, and possibly cost savings, of cloud computing, however. Amazon may offer to take their data and compute for less, but most companies are conservative and will likely stick with what they know if they get most of the new capabilities.
There may also be harsher pragmatism in the decision not to compete with A.W.S. or Microsoft with a bigger cloud: Itâs prohibitively expensive.
If Oracle were to go after A.W.S. and Azure, something IBM is pursuing, it would probably cost more than $ 1 billion a year just to keep pace with the leaders. And that is if they could find the talent to build such facilities.
Safra Catz, the other chief executive at Oracle, recently said cloud margins at the company would soon double. The big costs are behind them and wouldnât be if Oracle kept in the chase.
âWeâve crossed the chasmâ from the old world to the new, Mr. Hurd said. But with Oracleâs stock off about 15 percent this year, investors seem unsure if the new world is so profitable. Still, the historically feisty company does seem willing to join in todayâs fray.


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People remember a brand mainly for its products, but when you also discover the projects, the results and the characteristics that make a company unique, then you can say that you know it more closely and appreciate it across the board. It is up to the press office to identify on which institutional news you can focus and how to disseminate them to increase the brand’s authority.
In recent years, Arredo3 has invested with great foresight in the Industry 4.0’s digital technologies, obtaining important results, which have led to a considerable growth in turnover. Given these performances, we wondered how this path could be brought to the attention
of the media and after collecting some information in a press release, we presented it to a list of selected editors, meeting in person the directors, journalists and editorial coordinators. With each one we evaluated the best way to give voice to the company: in some cases the interview turned out to be the most suitable tool; in others we have integrated what was already present in the press release with some new information and images in addition.
A wide press review shows now this brand enhancement action, which we have summarized here with some of the main contributions appeared on Ambiente Cucina, Corriere della Sera – L’Economia, DDn, La Nuova Venezia, Pambianco.it, Progetto Cucina.


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Calabar — The Executive Director and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr David Adulugba has said that export business is very critical to Nigeria's economic survival.
He said Nigeria should encourage the exportation of other commodities aside from oil.
He warned that no nation can survive on consumer status for long, stressing that export business can impact positively on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
He said that most developing countries have repositioned their export sectors for prosperity.
"It is a proven fact that export business is critical to a nation's health as it impacts positively on the GDP. This is because it catalyses economic growth; creates a strong base for technological development; encourages economic specialisation; and ultimately high rate of investment," he said.


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A startup heavily backed by Hollywood is wagering that you're ready to set aside YouTube and TikTok to watch star-studded short videos on your phone — for a price.
The company behind this billion-dollar bet is Quibi, which is preparing to offer movies, shows and other short-form video designed for viewing in short bursts on mobile devices. It's an enormous gamble, especially considering that several earlier efforts in mobile entertainment — most notably Verizon's ill-fated Go90 service — fell flat.
Founded by former Disney studios chief and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and helmed by former Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, Quibi is heavy on big ideas and Hollywood muscle. It has backing from all the major movie studios and entertainment companies, $1 billion invested in original programming, and star power in the form of creators and producers from Steven Spielberg to Chrissy Teigen.
Quibi plans to launch April 6. It will charge $5 a month for an ad-supported service, and $8 a month for an ad-free version.
Company executives argued at CES that Quibi will offer the first entertainment platform designed exclusively for the phone. In an interview at CES, Katzenberg said it represents the first time "professional storytellers" have tackled the problem of delivering a high-quality viewing experience on mobile.
But the big question is whether a subscription service like Quibi can attract mobile viewers — particularly younger ones — already immersed in an ocean of free-to-watch short video on YouTube and other social-media services. It will also go up against roughly a half-dozen other paid streaming platforms from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu to Disney Plus and upcoming services from WarnerMedia and NBC Universal.
During the keynote, Quibi previewed shows including "Don't Look Deeper," a sci-fi show starring Don Cheadle and Emily Mortimer, and "#Freerayshawn" a crime thriller starring Laurence Fishburne as a cop and executive produced by "Training Day" director Antoine Fuqua. Shows and movies, as well as other material like news and weather, are designed to be watched in "quick bites" of 10 minutes or less.
"'Paid premium short form (video)' has never been in the same sentence, it has never really been proven," said Seth Shapiro, managing partner at Pacific Strategy Partners. "That's the challenge." Among other things, he noted, it's already possible for people to watch those other services in the same quick bites Quibi plans.
Quibi executives at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas showed off technology on Wednesday designed to make video viewing on the phone easier. For instance, it will let you watch full-screen video whether you hold the phone upright or sideways.
Filmmakers deliver two edits to the company, one vertical, one horizontal, and Quibi stitches them together with one audio track. Some creators have incorporated that feature into their productions, as in one show in which horizontal viewing delivers a traditional picture — but turning the phone upright displays a view from the main character's phone camera.
Advertisers, at least, are on board. Quibi said it has sold out its $150 million first-year advertising slots to blue-chip companies including Procter & Gamble, Anheuser Busch, General Mills, Google, T-Mobile and Walmart. Ads will appear before shows and aren't skippable.
Jeff Wlodarczak, principal analyst at Pivotal Research Group, says he understands why advertisers are flocking to the product. Millennials can be hard to reach, he said, and when a brand places ads on YouTube or Snapchat, they never quite know what kind of video they might end up next to.
Quibi offers a safe place for advertisers by delivering a known quantity "as opposed to people doing something stupid on YouTube," he said.
That advertising model will stick around, Whitman said. Quibi guarantees that all creators own their own intellectual property, and can repackage it and take it wherever else they want after seven years. It brought creators in, but it also means that Quibi needs both subscriber dollars and advertising revenue to stay afloat.
The company just closed on another $400 million equity funding round from investors, Whitman said, and has a plan to be profitable "soon."
Others have tried short-form content, mostly in ad-supported form. Facebook Watch features original shows with episodes as short as 12 or 13 minutes, but none have garnered much buzz or mainstream attention so far. Verizon pulled the plug on Go90 in 2018, roughly three years after it launched; several concurrent efforts have also shut down. Meanwhile, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have all been experimenting with short-form offerings, many of them in comedy.
Quibi is "either brilliant or tone deaf," said Tim Hanlon, CEO of Vertere Group. "I just don't know what the answer is and I don't think anybody does."