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These are not the best of times for owners and operators of businesses in the recreational and entertainment sub-sector as the high cost of living triggered by the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit or petrol has made most of their patrons cut back on spending such activities as alcohol consumption, eating out and engaging in amorous relationships.
The removal of fuel subsidy, which was announced by President Bola Tinubu on his inauguration on May 29, has seen an astronomical rise in the pump price of petrol from N187 to N586 and N616 per litre currently, and corresponding increases in the cost of virtually everything in the country, including food items and transport fares.
Pub owners, hoteliers, restaurateurs, fun spot owners, parks and gardens, and commercial s3x workers are now feeling the heat as many of their customers have significantly scaled down on their spending in order to survive the difficult times.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that many patrons of these and other similar businesses had limited their revelry in order to conserve their increasingly dwindling income, making Nigerians not live up to their former reputation as the happiest set of people on earth and one of the heaviest consumers of alcohol.
Visits to many pubs, joints, bars, hotels, and nightclubs in Lagos, Ogun, and Rivers states and the Federal Capital Territory revealed dwindling patronage of the outlets and the associated ventures as the number of patrons had considerably reduced, while ancillary traders and service providers complained of low sales and patronage.
A commercial s3x worker, who gave her name as Joy Bassey, told one of our correspondents that last year, she used to have clients pay for her flight from Abuja, where she is based, to Lagos, but that had now changed.
The PUNCH reporter, who posed as a prospective customer, reached out to her on Twitter for a romp.
The lady, who claimed she was a graduate, said, “I have to pay for most of my travels now. Clients will say whenever I am coming to Lagos, I should let them know and they will invite me to a guesthouse. They no longer send transport fares or book flights for me.
“The high cost of flights and cost of living generally has reduced the premium treatment I used to get.
“Even the pay has been reduced. I am a special babe as you can see. I do not charge anything less than N50,000 for a night. This was not how it was before. I got clients who paid more than N100,000. One client in 2018 even paid as much as N500,000 for just one weekend, and he still footed my hotel bills, feeding and travel ticket back to base. How do you think I pay my rent in this Abuja? But, this economy has ruined everything.”
At a popular bar along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos, on Thursday evening, a lady, who the receptionist said was simply known as Lizzy Baby, said she used to charge N20,000 for a night, but she would accept N10,000 as long as it was just for a night “because of the condition of the country at the moment.”
“Bros, pay 10k (N10,000). I no say na there you dey go. Economy bad, I know,” she said as she sipped her beer and puffed at a stick of cigarette.
From 7.10 pm to around 10.30 pm when our correspondent left the bar, only nine men and a lady came in to eat roasted meat and drink beer.
The receptionist at the bar, who gave her name as Tessy, said the business had slowed down from the end of 2022 till now.
“Our madam (boss) has sacked like seven of the sales girls/attendants this year alone. There are only three remaining. Before now, we used to sell only beers and other liquor. But now, in the morning, we cook rice, beans and soups. It is just a means to keep the business open,” she added.
Attempts to get her boss to speak were abortive, as she claimed to be busy inside the kitchen.
Another bar painted yellow and peach right beside the Blenco Supermarket on the expressway was dry when our correspondent visited around 10.35pm.
The bartender was not at his duty post and there was no music playing in the background as bars are known for their loud and boisterous music.
When the receptionist emerged from the dark opening inside, she said the beer available was not cold. She also noted the electricity units of the bar had just finished, adding, “As you can see for yourself, business is dull. This month (July) has been the worst month for us.
“On a Friday night, we do not makeup to N200,000. The situation is really bad.
“The problem is that the economy is so bad that people only save their money for food and nothing else. It is someone who has comfortably eaten that will talk of going out to the bar to drink with friends.
“Our performance this month has been the lowest considering the fact that we used to make more than N3m in one night even without organising any event. The economy has really hit us badly.”
Her boss, Madam Beatrice Ogeneme, who claimed to own three bars in Delta, Port Harcourt, and Lagos, said all her outlets performed poorly in the first two quarters of the year.
She stated, “I used to think that the workers were the problem, so I rotated them, but the performance has been the same. We get some up-and-coming artists to come to perform but, even on those days, we don’t get the money we are supposed to get.
“The situation is really bad, not just for us who own bars, but for guesthouse owners too.”
During a visit to a club close to the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, on Friday evening, one of our correspondents saw a half-empty room.
Asked why the hall was not full, the receptionist, whose name tag read as Marceline, said it had been like that for a few months.
A singer at the club, Gbemi Gbemi, said patronage had been poor for the past months.
“I have worked here for more than three years as a singer. We have never had it this bad except during COVID-19. Before, whenever I was singing, people would be spraying cash on me, but now, if not for you who gave me some cash this night, nobody here has even looked at my face despite all my singing. It is tough.
“Look at their tables; they are filled with smoothies, beer, and other cheap liquors. It was not like this. I know the economy is bad, but this is really the worst.”
Speaking to one of our correspondents, the supervisor of Akubueze Executive Bar and Lounge on Oremeta Street, Ojodu, Lagos, who refused to give his name, noted that business was ongoing on a small scale despite the consistent rise in the cost of living.
He added that customers have been visiting but there was a slight decline in profit margin owing to the rising cost of running the business, adding that he had not effected any major change in prices in a bid to stay competitive with competitors.
He added that one of the major challenges being faced was running generators from the evening till closing time around 11 pm with the rise in pump prices of petrol and diesel.
The owner of an open-air relaxation joint in Ojodu, simply identified as Lady T, told one of our correspondents that some customers would still patronise outlets like hers come what may.
She stated, “People that will come, will come. Things are not going very well in the economy though and we have not really increased our prices. For instance, we still sell cow leg pepper soup for N2,000 per plate as against N1,800, and we sell nkwobi for N1,700 as against N1,500. So, there have not been too significant changes in the prices.
“We still sell beer at the normal rate but the prices might go up as things are becoming more expensive. We have to go with what the economy is saying.”
An attendant at Empire Bar and Lounge in Ikeja, who preferred not to mention her name, noted that customers were still visiting the facility but at a reduced rate.
The Business Development Manager, Maracana Lounge and Bar, Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, Ayoola Kolawole, disclosed that revenue had dropped by about 60 per cent after the removal of fuel subsidy.
Affected by the economic realities, Kolawole stated that his workforce had been reduced from 21 staff members to nine.
He said, “Except if you are not in this country in the last three months you will say it’s not affecting your business. I can tell you that if we were doing 80 per cent in terms of revenue generation before the removal of subsidy, currently we are doing less than 20 per cent. There is low patronage and the cost of production is high and these are the two things that drive the business.
“We run on diesel and petrol. Before, we used to start running on the generator around 5 pm, but now we switch on the generator around 8 pm. We had to get rechargeable bulbs that will run till around 8 pm when we put on the generator. As a matter of fact, I am running that generator with faith because I still don’t know if customers will come.
“We retrenched almost every day. My staff strength when the going was good was around 21, but as I am talking to you, I only have workers left. In the last three weeks, I have retrenched 11 workers because the situation has forced us to do so and we don’t have a choice, because I can’t be paying people when I am running at a loss.”
Similarly, a supervisor at Hail Henrietta Hotel, Olubadan Estate, Ibadan, Tunde Adeyemi, lamented that he used to sell out 34 rooms during peak periods before the removal of fuel subsidy, but now sells less than 10 rooms.
He also said the management of the hotel recently had to cut down the staff size from 34 to 22.
He said, “The cost of running the business has increased so much that we have to adjust things. The use of petrol generators during the day time has been stopped except where we have customers who specially request for it. We still try to maintain standards, but we must also do things to remain in business.
“We also downsize staff members in order to meet up with the current realities. We had about 34 workers before, but we were forced to reduce the number to 22.
“The number of rooms we sell out has also been affected. Before the increase in the pump price of petrol, we were selling around 25 rooms per day at peak periods, but now the maximum number of rooms we sell out per day during rush hours is 10. I think everyone is trying to adjust and reduce what they spend money on. Some contractors that used to pass by and stop over to spend the night don’t do so again.
“Another problem is the increase in the prices of food items that we usually stock. We now travel out of town to buy low-cost items although it’s just a little different. Generally, the business has been greatly affected. We now sell less than 50 per cent of what we used to sell before.”
A supervisor at Q7 in Arepo, Ogun State, who gave her name simply as Anuoluwapo, said the increment in the prices of beers and whiskies had led to low patronage by customers who used to visit on a regular basis.
She said, “The problem of low patronage is because of the country’s economy. It’s someone who has eaten very well that will consider drinking alcohol.
“The patronage has dropped. It’s half of what we used to sell before that we now make. We used to sell a lot, but the reverse is the case now.
“We’re not happy that things are going on this way but that’s the reality now. We’ve been reaching out to our customers, but what we hear from them are lamentations of the hardship in the country. They tell us that when they’ve money, they’ll come.”
The manager of Genesis Cinema at the Ceddi Plaza in the Central Business District of Abuja declined comments on the matter.
However, one of our correspondents noted that the few visitors mostly went for the less expensive movie tickets and small-sized popcorn, and cheaper refreshments.
The manager of a guesthouse in the D/Line area of the metropolis said he was considering shutting down the place and converting the rooms to rented accommodation.
He said, “The cost of diesel alone is something else. I have seven rooms here. Each goes for N5,000 for overnight lodging and N2,500 for short rest.
“But the patronage is low. So, what I do is that if someone comes and says he has less than N5,000, even N3000 for the night, I will accept it rather than keep the room empty because some of them still buy drinks from us.”
Madam Jennifer, who runs a bar in Elekahia, Port Harcourt, said before now, she used to make between N15,000 and N20,000 profit daily but lamented that the situation had changed.
Beggars also lament
A middle-aged beggar with bandages on a deformed leg, who has created a niche for himself on the busy overhead pedestrian crossing bridge at Berger, Lagos, revealed that almsgiving had significantly reduced since the naira crisis at the beginning of the year and made worse by the removal of fuel subsidy.
He said in smattering English, “We thank God for everything. Sometimes, people have pity on me and give me alms and sometimes, they don’t give. I know that things are difficult everywhere.”
A beggar, who identified herself as Adijah Ibrahim from Jigawa State, told our correspondent that people were no longer giving alms to beggars again as they used to do.
She stated, “Before the removal of petrol subsidy people always gave money to us freely, but now, they don’t give us again. I’ve not eaten since morning; we’ve been here waiting for who’ll help us.
“We beg the government to give us money to go back to the North and start business so that we can stop begging because all of us here are from Kano and other parts of the North.”
A trader, Salisu Muhammed, who renders occasional help to the beggars, also lamented the hardship in the country.
“I’ve put my goods here since Monday, I’ve not sold anything and I’ve not been able to feed well. I’m tired of this hardship,” he said.
Aisha, a roadside beggar on the streets of Wuse, said she had to use her child to appeal to the emotions of passers-by to give her alms, noting that people were usually more sympathetic to her one-year-old son.
Commercial s3x workers, who usually hang around Casablanca, a popular spot in the highbrow GRA area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, also complained of dwindling patronage. The same goes for some of the nightclubs in that area.
Three commercial s3x workers, who claimed that they were students, said they could settle for N7,000 anytime from 9 pm till dawn instead of N20,000 previously.
A s3x worker in Abuja, Treasure, who spoke with one of our correspondents on the phone, said she previously charged between N30,000 and N70,000, depending on whether it was a short time or overnight arrangement, but would gladly accept N20,000 now.
Experts weigh in
Commenting on the development, an economic expert with a United Kingdom-based consulting firm, Dr. Kamsiyochukwu Obi, told Sunday PUNCH that the situation was bad for the tourism and recreational sector because of the tight economy of the nation at the moment.
He stated, “Fuel is now almost triple the former price. Children’s school fees have increased. House rents have increased as well. Transport fares have also skyrocketed but for most people, salaries have remained the same.
“It is when one is full of life and comfortable that one can say they want to go for a tour or grab a bite with friends. People no longer celebrate birthdays anymore. Even the rich are struggling to stay in that cadre.”
According to him, the nation has to do better to mitigate this suffering with better economic policies that are human-faced and not stifling.
“Most of the economic policies that are reeled out have actually proven to be good, but the timing and implementation have ruined everything. At the centre of all these policies are the citizens, and if they are not happy with them, then the government will begin to become unpopular and may lose the people’s trust,” Obi added.


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Talk of Jaeger Sale Leaves Brand’s Destiny in Question
LONDON — For a brand in the doldrums, Jaeger is certainly getting a lot of attention. In late January, Coats PLC quietly sold its Jaeger and Viyella businesses to Richard Thompson of Riverhawk Investments — and now it looks as if Thompson...
LONDON — For a brand in the doldrums, Jaeger is certainly getting a lot of attention. In late January, Coats PLC quietly sold its Jaeger and Viyella businesses to Richard Thompson of Riverhawk Investments — and now it looks as if Thompson is already preparing to flip them.
Thompson acquired 117 retail outlets, 230 concessions in the U.K. and Europe, and 50 franchises worldwide for a nominal fee of 1 pound — or $1.60. Under the terms of the deal between Coats and Thompson, however, Coats has retained the long-term lease of Jaeger’s flagship on Regent Street, and Jaeger’s U.S. business.
Now, industry sources close to Jaeger say Thompson is ready to sell the brand to the textile entrepreneur Harold Tillman, owner of Baird Menswear Brands, and the Viyella business to the knitwear firm Harris Watson Holdings.
Thompson did not return calls on Friday. Tillman could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Harris Watson Holdings declined to comment.
As reported in September, Coats had been looking to sell its fashion retail division, which included the Jaeger and Viyella businesses, to focus on its core thread businesses, which make threads for apparel, footwear and industrial use. In the first six months, Coats’ fashion division posted a loss of $12.5 million on sales of $94.8 million. Dollar figures are converted from British pounds at the current exchange rate.
Coats blamed the losses on the Jaeger business, which has suffered from problems with fit and design. Jaeger will release its full-year results this month. The net asset value of both Jaeger and Viyella is $75 million.
It is unclear whether Bella Freud, who designs a capsule collection for Jaeger, will continue working with the brand. Freud, whose contract expires in June, could not be reached for comment.
Sources said no one within the company has been paid since the sale, and everyone is shocked about the prospect of another sale.
"What’s been going on at this company is disgusting," said one source.
Meanwhile, the fate of Jaeger’s U.S. business is unclear. Last October, WWD reported that the 120-year-old British brand was working toward creating a broader market appeal, with North America an important part of the plan.The vertically integrated company has 35 shops in the U.S. and Canada combined, along with a handful of specialty store accounts that carry Jaeger’s women’s collections.
A Coats spokesman said the company is in a quiet period and could not comment on its strategy. Coats will release its results on March 25. Ian Welham, chief operating officer for Jaeger North America, issued a similar statement.
There have been reports in New York that Jaeger is planning to rent its flagship at 818 Madison Avenue, between 68th and 69th Streets, as well as its other stores in the U.S.
Jaeger has kept such a low profile in the U.S. that some retailers didn’t even know it still existed.
"We are part of a group of 12 specialty stores that includes Saks Jandell in Washington, D.C., Auers in Denver and Maison Weiss in Jackson, Miss.," said Bob Benham, chief executive of Balliet’s, an upscale specialty store in Oklahoma City. "Jaeger is a name that just never comes up. Honestly, I didn’t know they were still around because they have no presence in this part of the country."
Janet Brown, owner of an eponymous specialty store in Port Washington, N.Y., said Jaeger never progressed beyond its traditional roots. "It was a classic in the Burberry vein, but it never got modern. I don’t know anybody that carries the brand."
In May 2001, Jaeger jump-started its image campaign in the U.K. with a fresh focus, including an updated signature line and an exclusive and edgier capsule collection designed by Freud, accompanied by a new marketing and advertising campaign and a revamped store design that bowed in Leeds, England, and is being rolled out across the U.K.
Last fall, Jaeger unveiled its first store prototype outside the U.K. at the upscale NorthPark Center shopping mall in Dallas.
The 1,500-square-foot unit was designed by David Collins, and first-year sales are planned at $750,000, Welham said at a cocktail party held last month to christen the new store.
Jaeger’s Madison Avenue store, which opened in 1973, is on track for sales of $1.5 million this year, Welham noted.Jaeger has produced apparel since 1884, when its first shop opened in London with a collection of wool items. It evolved into a luxury brand, with many styles cut from cashmere, silk and camel hair.
@chanel and @pharrell dropped what’s being dubbed as the world’s most exclusive sneakers yesterday. The Adidas Originals NMD Hu, which Williams designed in collaboration with Chanel and @adidasoriginals, has a waiting list of over 120K people who pre-registered online at chanelatcolette.fr –– and only 500 pairs are on sale. The singer predicted the resale value of the shoes could reach $40K. Read the full interview on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdfashion (📷: Dominique Maître)
@imanshumpert is diving deeper into his creative endeavors and relaunching his clothing line, Post 90s, and is helping to raise money for the hurricane victims in St. Maarten with a jersey he’s designed with his brother. The Cleveland Cavaliers player talked to WWD about kneeling during the national anthem, working with fashion brands and how he wants to be more than an @nba player. Read the interview on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: George Chinese)
Not only does #TheProfit return to CNBC tonight, but @marcuslemonis has launched @shopmarcus, a new shopping and lifestyle retail experience in Aspen and Chicago, with more locations to come. The retail stores offer in-store stylists and a variety of contemporary womenswear selections.
“It’s life, I’m going to face it,” @mingxi11 sighed. “I fell, but you know, I think the most important thing is that I get back up. I had the love, the help from my sister — the girl next to me Gizele [Oliveira] — she’s so nice. When I went backstage everybody was trying to comfort me like ‘Oh Ming, it’s OK.’ I’m really, really touched. I think it’s them who gave me the courage to go back on stage for the finale,” Xi told WWD of her fall at the @victoriassecret fashion show. (📷: David Fisher) #wwdfashion #vsfashionshow #victoriassecret
@louisvuitton tapped @therealpeterlindbergh for its latest city-centric photo book, which is part of a series called Fashion Eye. The primarily black and white book captures the spirit of Berlin in 57 images shot between 1989 and 2019. “Berlin is an inspiration for me, more than a city. I mean @millajovovich is simply Berlin!” said Lindbergh. #wwdfashion
“You know, I think audiences expect a certain performance so I have to deliver to them what they’re expecting to a certain degree. But I’m also a different actor and a different person, I have my own spin on the character,” says @noahegalvin of his takeover of the leading role in “Dear Evan Hansen” following the departure of @bensplatt, who originated the role. Read WWD’s interview with the 23-year-old actor on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
For pre-fall 2018, @etro created richly-colored wonderland, using tapestries, textiles and wallpapers from the Eastern world at large. The line featured floral and graphic prints and jacquard motifs, like this two-piece look featured here. #wwdfashion (📷: Giovanna Pavesi)
@kith is moving into children’s. The men’s and women’s streetwear brand has launched Kidset, a Kith kids line located in New York at 64 Bleecker Street. The line includes mini versions of staple Kith pieces like the Astor bomber jacket and the Kith box logo sweatshirts, along with a wall that can display up to 120 pairs of shoes from @adidas, @newbalance, @timberland and more. #wwdfashion
“I just wanted to create this fully rounded character, but I do think what excited me most was just the opportunity to give a group of people representation that I feel needs it. I like to do characters in projects that stand for something and Karolina definitely does, so that was really exciting to me,” @ginnygardner says of her new role in @hulu’s “The Runaways.” Gardner plays Karolina Dean, a queer superhero, which is a rarity for @marvel. Read more about Gardner’s character on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @dandoperalski)

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Mikhail Prokhorov bought 80% of the Nets in 2010. A couple years ago, he tried to sell his stake, but decided to keep it. Then, he bought 100% of the franchise and its arena. After last season, he said he was selling 49% of the team.
Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, while focused on selling a minority stake in the franchise, has warmed recently to the possibility of offering a controlling slice of the team, sources close to the situation said.
The change of heart comes after the initial reaction to the minority stake sale was weak — and with interest in the Houston Rockets sale heating up, one source said.
The Rockets’ sale could shake out potential Nets buyers, and Prokhorov selling a controlling stake could also help. It’d cost more money than the 49% he’s offering now, but people with the money to buy an NBA team tend to value control.
This might be a good time to sell for Prokhorov, who lost a ton of money as the team paid major luxury tax for an all-in championship pursuit that flopped spectacularly. The NBA’s popularity is rising, and the league is reaping huge revenue from its national-TV contracts.
However, he shouldn’t assume the Rockets’ sale price will predict the Nets’. Buyers might prefer a good team with James Harden and Chris Paul to a bad one short on young talent after years of mismanagement. At least Brooklyn’s payroll is now tolerably low.
The big loser here: Leslie Alexander, who’s trying to sell the Rockets. The supply of NBA teams now available might have just doubled, and unless there’s no overlap in demand for those franchises, that can only drive down Alexander’s eventual sale price.


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Protectionist Trump threatens China; India will be watching
Presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump has vowed to pull the US out of multilateral trade pacts that ship American jobs abroad and slap China with a string of tough trade measures to bring it to heel.world Updated: Jun 29, 2016 22:12 IST
Presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump has vowed to pull the US out of multilateral trade pacts that ship American jobs abroad and slap China with a string of tough trade measures to bring it to heel.
In a major policy speech on Tuesday, Trump promised to roll out a set of protectionist measures that rattled the country’s trade establishment, the US chamber of commerce.
Though he didn’t mention India, which has an annual bilateral trade with the US of more than $100 billion, New Delhi would have followed his speech with a mix of misgivings and cheer.
Nothing in the speech came as a surprise. Trump has been railing against multilateral pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
And he has been scathing in his criticism of China, accusing it once of “raping” the US economy through manipulative trade practices such as currency devaluation to attract importers.
On Tuesday, Trump doubled down on all of that, arguing “globalisation” has “left millions of our workers with nothing but poverty”, ruined cities and “wiped out our middle class”.
Referring to the vote in Britain to exit the European Union, which he supported, the real estate tycoon said, “Now it's time for the American people to take back their future.”
He spelt out a seven step policy, topped by exiting the TPP, President Barack Obama’s ambitious trade project that is in the process of being ratified by its 14 member nations.
Trump would also renegotiate NAFTA, the US-Canada-Mexico trade deal, to get a better deal — “And I don't mean just a little bit better, I mean a lot better.” Else he will pull out.
And then China - his administration will declare the country a currency manipulator, retaliate with punitive tariffs and taxes, and bring trade cases against it in the US and WTO.
Trump’s openly anti-globalisation rhetoric so worried the American trade establishment that the powerful US chamber of commerce pushed back in real time on Twitter.
His proposals, the chamber argued, would cost 3.5 million US jobs. It added, “Under Trump's trade plans, we would see higher prices, fewer jobs, and a weaker economy.”
From India’s perspective, Trump’s emphasis on correcting trade imbalances could be worrying. India, which is among the top 10 US trade partners now, enjoys a two-to-one surplus in goods trade.
With this imbalance, said Rick Rossow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, India “runs a risk of becoming targeted, at least during campaign season, much like China is today and Japan has been in (the) past”.
But, he added, India will be cheered by Trump’s opposition to the TPP, because, as studies show, “India may suffer from increased ‘trade diversion’ as other competing economies were more closely stitched together”.
Milan Vaishnav of Carnegie said New Delhi will be concerned about Trump’s preference for bilateral pacts, which goes against India’s “longstanding position” to push for a global trade accord through the WTO.
First Published: Jun 29, 2016 21:36 IST


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Warner Music Group's Record Store Crawl Returning to Cities Nationwide
The first crawl kicks off on Record Store Day, April 13, in New York City.
Warner Music Group announced on Thursday (March 14) that its series of Record Store Crawl events will be hitting cities across the country for the fourth year in a row.
The first crawl kicks off on Record Store Day, April 13, in New York City, with other events taking place in various cities, including Los Angeles, Austin, Nashville and Chicago, throughout the rest of the year. Record Store Crawl attendees will be treated to live performances as they’re taken by bus to a sampling of each city’s best record stores to shop and drink to their hearts' content -- all with food, alcohol and swag bags featuring exclusive vinyls and other limited-edition gifts.
Up-and-coming acts Hollis Brown and Sophie Auster are slated to perform at the New York event, while other Warner Music artists including Skating Polly, Run River North, Betcha and Chief White Lightning scheduled for stops in other cities.
Tickets can be purchased at the event’s website, with additional performers and perks expected to be announced soon.
Check out the complete list of Record Store Crawl dates below.
Record Store Crawl dates:
4/13 – New York, NY
6/1 – Minneapolis, MN
6/22 – Seattle, WA
6/29 – Rochester, NY
6/29 – Birmingham, AL
7/20 – Orlando, FL
7/20 – Los Angeles, CA
8/10 – Portland, OR
8/24 – Nashville, TN
8/25 – Austin, TX
10/5 – Phoenix, AZ
10/19 – Chicago, IL


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,BIMB Securities Research said: “We believe the new and transformed KPS will fulfil its value-creation plan to enhance businesses and thus realise a sustainable, long-term earnings growth.”
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KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor state-controlled Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (KPS), which is transforming into a manufacturing-based entity, is expected to double its return on equity in the next three years.
BIMB Securities Research said the group is looking to fulfil its value creation plan to enhance its businesses, translating to earnings growth.
Notably, KPS has also disposed of some low-return companies.
“The group is currently undergoing a business transformation that has resulted in significant change in the make-up of the company.
“We believe the new and transformed KPS will fulfil its value-creation plan to enhance businesses and thus realise a sustainable, long-term earnings growth, ” it said.
Given the group’s transformation, BIMB Securities Research expected its core earnings to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% from the 2020 to 2023 forecast bolstered by stronger contribution from its manufacturing segment which represents 83% of revenue.
“The manufacturing segment, especially plastic moulding, will ride on the demand wave for consumer electronic products globally in tandem with advancement in technology, ” it said.
KPS earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) margin level is between 9% and 11%, above its peers.
BIMB Securites Research reckoned that the market has overlooked KPS due to its fragmented and low-return businesses.
It argued that the group deserved a re-rating on higher price-to-earnings (PE) valuation which would reflect its new business and earnings growth potential from the manufacturing segment.
The stock is trading at 11 times 12-month forward PE, below sector peers at 20 times PE.
“With earnings predicted to soar driven by manufacturing and higher-than-industry average ebitda margin, we believe KPS deserves a re-rating, juxtaposed with recent establishment of at least 30% dividend payout policy, ” it said.
The group has announced a dividend payout policy of a minimum 30% of its profit after taxation and minority interests.
As such, the research house is keeping a “buy” call on KPS with a target price of RM1.60, valuing the stock at 18 times price-to-earnings ratio of 18 times on 2021 earnings per share of 8.9 sen.
Besides that, BIMB Securities Research said the group is also a sustainability believer as it adheres to sustainability standards across its subsidiaries through the establishment of the sustainability framework by integrating the United Nations sustainability development goals.
“This includes the high usage of forest stewardship council certified kraft paper, increase in usage of biodegradable and environment friendly chemicals, adoption of energy efficiency and waste management, ” it explained.


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We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. […]
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
This has been long time coming – and by long I mean a few months as apparently Google has recalled most of their engineers from China leaving behind skeleton staff in September last year – and yet vastly overdue. The move is surprising as the world got accustomed to ‘business’ justifications for dealing with totalitarian states – size of the market, encouragement of progress, which in turn breeds freedom, benefits to the oppressed, er, markets. Blah, blah, blah.
In as much as progress is encouraged by competition and customer sophistication, this argument is valid. In as much as these need to evolve in a framework based on the rule of law, lack of corruption, some respect for property rights and notions of individual rights and freedom, it clearly doesn’t apply to countries like China. During the Cold War, the detente of the 70s and its aftermath have shown that trading with the communist countries does not have marked impact on their political ruling class. Actually, it does as they are the ones who benefit from any foreign investment and trade. Both Coca-cola and Pepsi were widely available and I do not recall any tangible improvement to dissidents’ existence. Fair enough, Google is in business of information distribution and filtering, which is far more relevant to any regime opposition, however, what with compromise and censorship, it has ruled itself out that ‘game’ some time ago. As for technology transfer and indigenous competition they certainly had a constructive role – Baidu, the local search engine has most of the search market, having learnt much from the likes of Google.
A cynic might say Google has not much to lose by exiting China, the revenue from that market was ‘immaterial’ by their own account. Let the cynics have their moment. There are enough people and companies who worship Google as the ultimate modern corporation, or simply as a success story, and the signals this move would send can only be good. And long overdue.
I am not holding my breath for other companies to follow. There is no comment from Yahoo or Microsoft as yet but I suspect this quote by Tang Jun, former President of Microsoft China sums up a lot of thinking in the business world right now.
For Chinese netizens, it does not matter whether Google quits from China or not. But this was the most stupid decision they had ever made since giving up China was giving up half of the future world.
Mr Tang Jun is right, of course. The Chinese government and its business champions are hardly going to notice and bother even less. They have been hoovering up some of the best software engineers the Western businesses have made redundant in the last couple of years and growing their own breed too. All of the search engines in China have helped the Chinese government to censor speech, some of which we covered here before. Other companies, namely Cisco’s Panopticon Chinoiserie, have assisted in more active ways, though last year, the government tried, but failed, to force computer manufacturers to install a censorship program on their new PCs called Green Dam. Perhaps there is hope but, for now, count me among the cynics.


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Blue Star launched
the fourth generation, 100 per cent inverter Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air-conditioning system. A VRF system is a sophisticated and intelligent system that cools large multi-zone spaces with varying heating and cooling needs through smart controls. VRF technology was introduced in Japan and has been widely accepted for its advantages such as high power savings up to 50 per cent compared to conventional air-conditioners. This new product from Blue Star is built to suit Indian conditions with 100 per cent cooling capacity even at 43 degree Celsius.
“Blue Star VRF IV Plus is a landmark indigenous introduction to Indian HVAC market and will set benchmark for our competitors,” said B Thiagarajan, Executive Director & President– AC&R Products Business, Blue Star Ltd. Blue Star plans an export worth Rs 500 crore by 2018 to SAARC countries, Middle East and South Africa, that have similar weather conditions such as India. The company has
invested Rs 30 crore on research and development out of which Rs 20 crore has been used to develop VFR technology. Blue Star also has plans to shift manufacturing units to south, shutting down few plants in north India.
The global air-conditioning market, comprises of a range of products such as chillers, VRF systems, packaged/ducted systems as well as room air-conditioners, stands at a cumulative value of USD 90 billion. The VRF market contributes to 9 per cent of the global market. The Indian market is estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crore, out of which 6 per cent comprises of VRFs.


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If a new report that has cropped up on the web world is to believed, Datsun Go sales in India is well on track to write a success story. As per this new report, Nissan India has managed to sell more than 5,000 units of the Datsun Go since the car was launched in India in March, 2014. (CLICK HERE for Datsun Go Launch Report)
Nissan Motor India’s president, Kenichiro Yomura, have also said that many Nissan India dealers have expressed interest to open exclusive Datsun showrooms in India. Yomura further added that the company will make a decision on this by the end of this month.
The new Datsun Go hatchback was launched in India in March this year and the new car is being sold in three trim levels. The car is available for a starting price of Rs. 3.12 lakh, ex-showroom New Delhi for the base D variant. Here is the variant wise price list:
|Variant||Ex-Showroom Price (CITY)|
The Datsun Go in India is available in four colours – White, Silver, Sky & Ruby.
The new Datsun Go hatcback is powered by a 1.2 litre petrol engine that bestows the Go with decent power. Throw into the mix some spacious interiors, modern design, and an attractive price tag, and the Datsun Go comes across as a really lucrative option for prospective B Segment hatchback buyers in India.
Stay tuned to Motoroids for more updates on Datsun Go sales in India.


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10 July 2020, 12h17
Taking into account the current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports promotion show will be, as never before, compiled and broadcast in a single program.
Agenda: football and indoor sports
Hat-trick from Gonçalo Ramos seals quarterfinals for Portugal
Club Brugge-Benfica: tickets are temporarily sold out
Benfica-Sevilla: ticket sales


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New research from US global social marketing platform Kenshoo Social, has found that organic posting is the most popular social media tactic, but paid advertising is the most successful.
Results from a new study on social media marketing, commissioned by Kenshoo and conducted by Forrester Consulting, found that most large marketers are more likely to implement free, ‘organic’ tactics; such as creating branded pages and content, than to use paid ads. However, it is paid advertising on social networks which is actually the most successful tactic.
Engaging Target Audience
Forrester interviewed 105 large social advertisers (social media and advertising professionals whose companies spend over $100,000 per year on social media ads) in the US, to evaluate how marketers are using social media advertising, with the goal of educating marketers on how to choose the most effective social media advertising objectives and tactics.
Chief marketing officer of Kenshoo, Aaron Goldman, said with billions of people around the world actively connecting on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, marketers have eagerly turned to social media to engage their target audiences.
“Today, most marketers include some type of social advertising in their programmes, but the options available to them have increased exponentially, as has the ability to measure the effectiveness of their outreach,” Goldman said.
The study found that the most popular tactic was maintaining branded pages on general social networks, business networks and microblogs. However, branded pages alone did not make an effective social marketing strategy, according to Kenshoo.
The study also noted that more than half of large social advertisers use ad rotation, but only one third use granular targeting to reach the right audiences. Most of those who do target primarily use basic criteria like demographic targeting.
The survey measured the tactics of satisfied social advertisers and found that different paid social strategies drove different kinds of success. Social advertisers who paid to promote their branded content were most satisfied with the awareness they created; while those who bought standard social ad units were happiest with their ability to drive purchases.
Brand-focused social advertisers and response-focused social advertisers ‘must deploy the tactics proven best for meeting their specific objectives’, Goldman stressed.
Advanced Tech Platforms
“This research study demonstrates the importance of using advanced technology platforms to create highly-targeted campaigns at scale, leveraging a portfolio approach across promoted content and standard ad units to achieve overall business goals,” Goldman added.
“Furthermore, marketers must connect the dots across paid, owned and earned media placements to understand the impact of each touchpoint along the path to conversion.”


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The simple sniff of new cell phones noticeable all around is more grounded than any new auto smell. Those on Apple’s side are hypnotized by what its new cell phone or even cell phones will be called. Those on Samsung’s side have throbbing loins at the possibility of a non-dangerous Galaxy Note 8.
For sure, in prodding this new cell phone, has Samsung backpedaled to a bit of jabbing of Apple’s more delicate parts? I ask on the grounds that the Galaxy Note 8 mystery promotion discharged Monday abandons itself open to hostile to Apple elucidation.
The New Galaxy Note 8
It’s a basic thing that compares words that don’t have any significant bearing to Samsung and its new cell phone and those that do. So “talk” is not a Samsung idea, “act” is. Might this be a touching change of Apple’s consistent buildup machine and even its overstatement large occasions?
At that point there’s the differentiation amongst “refresh” and “develop” the last being the word that depicts Samsung’s new cell phone. Would this recommend Apple’s new cell phone will be a greater amount of a refresh than a genuine development?
What about “closed” versus “open”? Now that is most likely a reference to Apple’s walled plant. Being set against Samsung’s open display in which anybody can play. On “take after” versus “lead”. Well, many have felt that Apple is giving others a chance to lead the pack, while attempting to culminate what those others get off-base.
Be that as it may, the one that appeared like the greatest delve in this advertisement was “think” versus “do”. Apple’s celebrated slogan is “Think Different”. This was a hidden needle being stuck into an Apple rib. Samsung didn’t react to a demand for input. We can hold up, at that point, to perceive what the organization does.


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His arrival follows the departure of Alison Cannon, marketing director of Grampian’s chicken division at the end of December to set up her own consultancy business.
Knibbs joins the executive board, reporting to chief executive officer David Salkeld, and will be responsible for developing and implementing the company’s marketing strategy. He was previously commercial head of Leeds United FC.
Other posts held before that include chief executive officer for Bulmers North America and national field sales manager for Mars’ Masterfoods.
Kirsty Taylor has joined Grampian Country Food Group as managing director of its Tesco business unit. Taylor was previously marketing director at Golden Wonder.


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Apple is reported to have put NAND flash supplies under considerable strain by placing an order for 100 million 8Gb NAND flash chips with Samsung Electronics.
Taiwanese website Digitimes was the first to report on the issue. Sources told Digitimes that NAND supply will remain sparse until the end of May. NAND prices are expected to continue their upward trend on the back of this huge order. This is because NAND flash chip manufacturers are not keen on increasing production.
According to Daniel Amir, an analyst with Lazard Market Capital, Apple’s gargantuan order comprises both 16Gb and 8Gb NAND flash chips. Amir believes Apple’s order for 16Gb NAND is a harbinger of 32GB iPhones being around the corner. The same analyst had reported last month that industry insiders had told him that 32GB iPhones would become available in June, 2009.
ATI’s latest in their Radeon HD line has finally been confirmed as the HD 4890 X2.
While initially AMD maintained the notion that there wasn’t a market for anything beyond the HD 4870 X2 because of the card being absolutely top of the line, they’ve still gone ahead with the 4890 X2.
Reportedly, the new graphics card will have two GPUs running at least 1GHz per core, and depending on the SKU a customer buys, they can expect 2GB or 4GB of memory. Unfortunately, that’s the most specific information currently available.
No word yet on pricing or availability on the new powerhouse, but it is expected that Nvidia will follow this up with a new ultra high-end offering of their own.
Google, never one to sit idly by while there are small improvements to be made on their own web-based email client, announced this week that they would be releasing a new, experimental feature that would allow users to insert images into an email rather then sending them as attachments.
The new feature, aptly named “Inserting images,” will allow users to send email messages with inline images that show up at an exact, user-defined location inside the body of the message. Once you enable the feature in the Labs tab in Gmail’s settings, you’ll be all set to go. So be sure to check it out and let us know what you think!
It wasn’t long ago that numerous tech news sources (including us) reported on Time Warner’s miniscule bandwidth caps, and it would seem that all this press caught the attention of some higher ups within the ISP.
Landel Hobbs, Time Warner Cable’s Chief Operating Officer, wrote a lengthy reply to those that had reported on the matter. “Some recent press reports about our four consumption based billing trials planned for later this year were premature and did not tell the full story,” he states. “With that said, we realize our communication to customers about these trials has been inadequate and we apologize for any frustration we caused. We’ve heard the passionate feedback and we’ve taken action to address our customers’ concerns.”
The post continues to paint a picture where the ISP is stuck in a situation where the growing demand of the Internet causes them to charge such enormous rates and cap users at such small amounts of bandwidth. The post divulges, “…at Time Warner Cable, consumption among our high-speed Internet subscribers is increasing by about 40% a year.”
Strangely enough, at a later point where Mr. Hobbs is dissecting the reasoning behind a very small, very cheap 1GB capped plan for $15 a month he mentions, “Our usage data show that about 30% of our customers use less than 1 GB per month.” Hm.
Self-contradictions aside, the reasoning behind capping the bandwidth does hold some water, it’s just unfortunate that they should come at such colossal prices. If you’re interested in reading the whole message, be sure to check it out here.
It's been a little over a year when we first heard about Intel's Anti-Theft Technology (ATT, of no relation to the telcom), which purports to give LoJack for Laptops a run for its money. Fast forward to today and it looks like Asus will be the first to implement the security scheme, who just announced plans to equip some of its notebooks with Intel's ATT.
"With the incorporation of Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection technology in Asus P30 and P80 notebooks, professionals can now conduct their businesses with greater assurance and without the fear of dire ramifications in the event of theft or loss," said Mr. Henry Yeh, GM of Asus Notebook Business Unit. "This added security capability in our P Series commercial notebooks makes it the definitive mobile companion for the professionals of today's fast-paced market."
According to Asus, users who have their compatible P Series notebook stolen can send a "poison pill" remotely. By doing so, the notebook is rendered inoperable and shuts down. The embedded security chip also allows for tracking the notebook, and if the stolen laptop is ever recovered, a local passphrase or recovery token brings the PC back to life.
Compatible notebooks are available now, Asus says.
British songwriter and producer Pete Waterman, now 62-years-old, could never have predicted that the Rick Astley hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" would become a phenomenon some 20 years after he co-wrote it, so it must have come as some surprise to see the song get 150 million plays in 2008 alone. He also couldn't have predicted that so much 'air play' could earn him so little money, yet that's exactly what has happened.
"There was I sitting at Christmas thinking, 'I must have made a few bob this year with the old Rickrolling'," Waterman said at a press conference to mark the launch of a website campaigning for a fairer deal for songwriters whose music is featured on YouTube. "I rang my publisher and they said 'You'll be all right,' until I saw the royalty statement. £11. If 154 million plays means £11, I get more from Radio Stoke playing Never Gonna Give You Up than I do from YouTube."
In U.S. currency, Waterman's royalty payment converts to just $16, which hardly seems fair given how much exposure the song has received. The PRS for Music organization doesn't think it's fair either and wants Google and YouTube to pay higher royalties to songwriters for use of their work online.
"We absolutely believe that artists and songwriters should make money from the use of their material," a YouTube spokesperson said. "We previously had a license with teh PRS to enable this to happen and we are very committed to reaching terms so that we can renew our license."
Looks like Waterman got screwed, but we found a way he may be able to collect on those royalties after all. If you're reading this Waterman, click this link.
It looks like iTunes' new variable pricing scheme isn't just shuffling money around inside everyone's wallets, but also has the iTunes Top 100 chart playing a game of leapfrog. The losers in this new game? The higher $1.29 tracks.
According to Billboard, on Wednesday the iTunes Top 100 chart had 40 songs priced at $1.29 and 60 with the original $0.99 price point. The songs selling for $1.29 slid, on average, 5.3 places on the chart, while the $0.99 tracks gained 2.5 chart positions. The trend continued on Thursday, with 53 songs priced at $0.99 rising an average of 1.66 places and 47 songs priced at $1.29 losing an average of 2 chart spots.
So far the changes have only been in chart position, but as Billboard points out, "a general idea of incremental changes in revenue can be reached. By looking at the unit sales of the most recent Soundscan top track downloads chart, the difference between chart positions can offer a view into how moving up and down the chart impacts revenue."
Thoughts on how the variable pricing structuring is affecting chart positions? Hit the jump and sound off!
The upsurge of netbooks in the past several months serves as proof positive that users are more concerned with mobility than they are raw power, and so one could argue OCZ is taking a certain risk by releasing Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) SO-DIMMs. But lest we forget, desktop replacements have become surprisingly affordable as of late, which was underscored by Gateway's P-7811FX notebook, and enthusiast-oriented notebook memory may just find a niche audience.
"XMP is for performance what 3D is for games, and the introduction of the profiles allows on-the-go enthusiasts to make the most of their Intel mobile platforms," commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology development at OCZ Technology. "As a result of our involvement with Intel from the very beginning of the mobile XMP concept, today we are releasing 2GB high performance SO-DIMMs designed as a no-compromise solution to complement Intel's mobile computing platform for the ultimate user experience."
OCZ claims it's XMP-ready memory will boot at its rated specs (DDR3-1066MHz, CL6-6-6-16) on any Intel Core 2 Extreme or Centrino 2 system without any tinkering.
No word yet on when OCZ's XMP PC3-8500 notebook memory will be available or at what price.
No one has been more critical of Microsoft's first attempts at responding to Apple's "I'm a Mac" ads than myself, and I still contend that those quirky commercials featuring Jerry Seinfeld missed the mark wider than Brett Favre in a critical game (you Jets fans still steaming over a 3-interception, 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins know what I'm talking about). Judging by the comments in those earlier blogs (see here and here), either expectations were disparingly low, or other PC users really did find a certain charm in talking about chewy computers or watching Bill Gates do a geriatric robot.
This time around I'm more than willing to give credit where credit is due, and it belongs to Microsoft for its latest offensive against Apple. Microsoft has finally zeroed in on the high price tags that accompany Macs, and it isn't letting up. The first ad featured a woman named Lauren on the hunt for a 17-inch laptop under $1,000, and not surprisingly, she wasn't able to find one in an Apple store. "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person," she concluded. Not long after, a second ad emerged, this time upping the ante to $1,500 and featuring a member of the opposite sex who surmised that "Macs, to me, are about the aesthetics more than they are the computing power. I don't want to pay for the rent, I want to pay for the computer."
See what happens when a mother-and-son duo take on Microsoft's "Laptop Hunters" challenge after the jump.
Ever wonder what happens when you take a Jensen #75 and connect it to a lego Technic motor using a rubber band? Neither have we, but thanks to YouTuber twdunbar, we now know, and it's pretty damn cool. Using the parts just mentioned, twdunbar fashioned together a Steampunk-inspired USB charger for his iPod, but it can also be used for other devices.
"The motor is being driven and so it acts like a generator, which feeds into a voltage regulator circuit to give a continuous 5V to the iPod (or any USB device)," twdunbar wrote on his YouTube video page.
Check out the video here, and if you're into the whole Steampunk thing, drop these links into your browser:


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Government announces winners of next tranche of funding from the Clean Bus Technology Fund, which will see almost 3,000 buses upgraded to cleaner technologies by 2020
Local councils across the country have received fresh funding to clean up emissions from local buses, after the government released more cash from its Clean Bus Technology Fund. The fund, which has...
French utility snaps up charge point provider for undisclosed sum as it beefs up plans to become a 'leader in green mobility'
As energy giants rush to invest in charging networks, London Mayor sets out plan for flagship charging hubs across the capital as part of EV Infrastructure Delivery Plan
US retail giant commits to sourcing all its electricity from renewable sources by 2030
Report estimates 35 per cent of meat will come be cultivated in labs and 25 per cent will be vegan alternatives


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The Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) Council shares facts and stats that show that Direct Marketing is alive and well! Here are some of our favorites:
- A Direct Mail Information Service report highlights that over three quarters of direct mail is opened by the recipients – 63% read the contents
- Targeted directed mail boasts a 4.4% response rate compared to emails response rate of .12%
- 74% of B2B Marketers rate direct mail as very effective!
- A case for pairing email marketing with direct mail: a study by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) stated that marketing email volumes reached an all-time high during the first half of last year, with more than three million of the messages being sent monthly on average
Direct Marketing Services is helping credit unions utilize the power of both email and direct mail marketing, helping credit unions gain bottom line results, enhance member relationships, and leveraging member data for enhanced, full-service marketing!
Explore our case studies on how credit unions have seen real results! From increasing auto loans over 2 times the previous year’s total, to an ROI of $1,036.12 in new lending dollars for every marketing campaign dollar spent, the direct marketing proof is in the results!


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Absa offers free app banking – no data required
Absa Bank customers will no longer have to ensure that they have an active data bundle to transact via the online application, the bank announced on Thursday.
The Barclays-owned group said that it had concluded deals with network operators to offer its customers reverse billing.
“The agreement that Absa has signed with Cell C, MTN, Telkom and Vodacom allows the service providers to charge data costs back to Absa rather than our customers, allowing them to enjoy the full benefit of banking from their mobile device and buying airtime even if they have depleted their pay-as-you-go or monthly contractual data allocation,” said Jan Moganwa, chief executive of Customer Solutions at Absa Retail and Business Banking.
Free data could boost the bank’s ability to convince its nine million customers to conduct mobile application banking.
The banking application has had more than 500,000 installations on smartphones, according to the Google Play Store.
Read the full story in Business Tech here:


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Like Jesus Christ (and Bugs Bunny at the end of Space Jam: A New Legacy), E3 has risen from the dead. With the help of Reedpop, the ESA is primed to bring back the major event that many had written off as unnecessary, especially with more companies pivoting towards digital presentations. Why bother if Todd Howard isn’t at a booth porting Skyrim onto things you give him like it’s his autograph?
The simple answer is that E3 is the lone force saving us from wildcard titans like Nintendo.
Since 2013, Nintendo has been making its presence known with a 30-40 minute direct full of its biggest annual announcements. When it first announced it was ditching in-person press conferences, after multiple years of fumbled live Wii motion control demonstrations, people were stunned. Surely Nintendo couldn’t compete with Microsoft or Sony if Reggie Fils-Aimé wasn’t prepared to leave mid-presentation to fight you in the parking lot for not owning a 3DS.
That move actually worked out pretty well. The concept of digital Direct was bold but still managed to stay in the framework of E3 by posting their presentation alongside other significant shows and keeping a large presence through massive, detailed displays for upcoming games. It became just as major an event as a live press conference, as people knew they’d get at least one exciting game or Smash character from it.
When Covid started disrupting E3s however, Nintendo decided to embrace the chaos with more sporadic mini Directs mostly meant to spotlight 3rd party partners. There was no Zelda, no Mario — only Bakugan. It was an understandable move during the pandemic as Nintendo struggled to get big first-party titles out at its usual pace. But that chaotic streak has only grown as Nintendo is now in the habit of firing off random streams, like a t-shirt cannon being fired at a music festival trying to distract the crowd when the headliner is running late. Now June has passed and the only update we got about Nintendo’s 2022 lineup is that Xenoblade Chronicle 3’s battle system will be a nightmare for anyone with ADHD.
Nintendo is the biggest offender when it comes to unorganized stream cadence, but others are following its lead. Microsoft and Sony both host their own digital streams, which have slowly succumbed to chaos. Sometimes you’ll tune into a Sony State of Play to see God of War Ragnarok. Other times, you’ve just tricked yourself into watching 20 minutes of updates for VR games. Without E3, we’re looking at a disordered world where you just constantly have to watch live streams to keep up with what’s happening. A world ruled by Geoff Keighley. I don’t fully understand what he does and I’m scared to ask.
Look, E3 is cringe. It’s an event where marketing execs make Elijah Wood give the performance of a lifetime monologuing about how much Monster Hunter means to him despite never playing it. But at the very least, it forces game companies to do one bullshit presentation a year so they can justify why we keep giving them money. It’s the one time of year these corporations have to dance like monkeys for our amusement and I refuse to let them worm their way out of it.


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Stylists who braid and weave hair styles that are highly popular among African-American women in Charlotte and across the state now have to answer to a new set of state licensing regulations.
As of July 1, natural hair stylists who braid, weave and lock hair, but don't cut or use chemicals, must begin the process of getting licensed to work in a hair salon, according to a state law that passed last year. They have until June 30, 2011, to be licensed or face penalties.
Hair braiding and weaving is especially popular in the African-American community. Some styles, for instance, require that braids be tended to every few months by a natural hair stylist who is skilled in creating tiny microbraids. And depending on the quality, sew-in weaves can cost anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars, said Monica Williams, a licensed aesthetician who is well-known in the local beauty community.
"(Natural hair) is considered an art form with African-American women," Williams said. "These traditions have been passed on from grandmother to granddaughter, mother to daughter. It's something we've done in our culture for years."
Before the new law, anyone with the skill and know-how could braid and weave hair. Now, natural hair styling becomes a regulated industry.
Natural hair stylists in South Carolina must also be licensed by the S.C. Board of Cosmetology.
Many natural hair stylists said the license law is a good thing. They say it will provide more accountability for clients, many of whom have suffered botched weave jobs or too-tight braids that resulted in scalp disease and alopecia, or hair loss.
Some hair salons, like Lockstar in Charlotte, self-instituted mandatory licensing months ago to ensure safe hair practices.
The state law requires all natural hair stylists to pass a test to be eligible for the license.
Current stylists can choose to study on their own or go through 300 hours of training for the test. Starting next July, new natural hair stylists entering the business must go through the 300 hours of training.
The test, which has practical and written components and is administered by the state Cosmetic Art Board, examines competency in sanitation of hair supplies, health issues like identifying scalp disease and proper disposal of items, and proper technique for hair braiding and weaving.
"This was an unregulated area of service to the public and it had become a concern to the health and well-being of citizens," said Democratic state Rep. Earline Parmon from Winston-Salem, who sponsored the state law.
After the one-year "grace period" ends next summer, state inspectors who visit salons will write civil penalties for failure to comply.
But many natural hair stylists are from African countries and may not know English well. Some stylists argue it could be difficult for those stylists to pass.
Jackie Green, a stylist at Tisun Beauty Salon inside the giant Tisun Beauty Supply store at 5420 N. Tryon St., found out about the new law several months ago.
"I think it's good - it weeds out the people who are just trying to capitalize on hair braiding, and it rewards the ones who care about proper hair care," said Green. She herself is a past victim of a sew-in-weave-gone-awry that resulted in some temporary hair loss.
Because Green doesn't cut or color, she is not yet licensed, though she plans on studying and taking the test soon.
Robbin Matthews, 28, was getting a sew-in weave from a stylist on a recent afternoon. She had received a bad infusion, a method of hair extension, from another stylist in Charlotte. The result: Some of her hair came out from her scalp, and her actual hair had to be cut to get all the infusion clips out.
"A lot of people don't know how to do natural hair," said Matthews, who works as a student adviser.
There's a good chance some mom-and-pop natural hair salons will go out of business because of the law, said Lashawnda Becoats, style editor of the news website qcitymetro.com. But she still thinks the law is reasonable.
"You could be a cake person making money by baking cakes from your kitchen, but you shouldn't be doing that either (if you aren't) licensed," Becoats said.
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text: RedEaredSlider writes "The Daily, the digital publication designed specifically for Apple's iPad, is now available on the App Store. The publication's launch came during a press event at New York's Guggenheim Museum. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and Apple Vice President of Internet Services Eddy Cue were joined by The Daily's Editor-in-Chief Jesse Angelo. The Daily, which copies the look and feel of a newspaper or magazine, is aimed at embracing the multimedia capabilities of Apple's iPad. Rupert Murdoch said that The Daily offers 'unthinkable innovations' to the world of publishing."


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France is officially the 14th country to legalize gay marriage. Saturday, President Francois Hollande signed a bill that Parliament had passed in April, which gives same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.
The Food and Drug Administration is currently embroiled in a surprisingly heated culinary standoff — pitting French cheese-makers (and American cheese-lovers) against regulators, all because of one very small problem: cheese mites.
Cheese mites are microscopic little bugs that live on the surfaces of aged cheeses, munching the microscopic molds that grow there. For many aged cheeses, they're something of an industry nuisance, gently brushed off the cheeses. But for Mimolette, a bright orange French cheese, they're actually encouraged.


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Samsung shows off new Galaxy in Big Apple
The tech world is abuzz with excitement as Samsung gets ready to unveil the latest in the Galaxy series. The Unpack event, as it is called, will take place tonight at Radio City Music Hall, New York. It is widely believed this will be the global launch of the Samsung S IV, the follow-up to its widely popular SIII, which was launched around the world last year. The company has been teasing the market with shadowy images of what the new phone will look like.
Much of the focus from the global press which has been invited to the launch, including the T&T Guardian’s own Laura Dowrich-Phillips, will be the features of the new phone. While there is the belief that the new phone will not break new ground in innovation, speculation is that it will be an upgrade to the SIII with a larger five-inch screen, a 13 mega-pixel rear camera and an improved eight-core processor. There are also reports about a new eye-scroll feature and an unbreakable, flexible screen. While the new phone is cause for excitement, the real significance of the launch is that it is being held in New York City.
Last year, with Apple filing patent infringements against Samsung in US courts, the SIII was launched in the US after many countries, including Trinidad and Tobago. The location of today’s launch shows how far Samsung has risen in the smart phone landscape. In 2012, Samsung surpassed Apple as the world’s largest maker of smartphones, controlling 30 per cent of the market versus Apple’s 19 per cent. But in the high-end market, sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note still lag far behind Apple’s iPhone, the best-selling smartphone globally. With this latest launch, Samsung is going all out on the marketing, releasing teaser videos online and placing billboards in major cities across the world. The Wall Street Journal, citing research firm Kantar Media, said this week that Samsung outspent Apple in marketing in the US last year, sinking $401 million in its promotional efforts here versus Apple’s marketing budget of $333 million.
• For live updates from the launch, follow the Guardian and Metro Magazine on Twitter @GuardianTT and @MetroMagazineTT.
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PC Sales Persistently Declining: 10 Reasons Why
Where's the Innovation?
It's hard to find innovation in the PC business today. The laptops and notebooks on the market these days all look the same. What's worse, their features, including applications and hardware add-ons, do nothing to excite computer buyers these days who seem to be paying closer attention to the latest tablets and smartphones. Innovation appears to be dead in the PC market. That's a major reason why the market is in such trouble.
The PC market is in a state of steep and worrisome decline. According to research firm IDC, a total of 89.8 million PCs were shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter, down 6.4 percent compared to the same period in 2011. That drop was worse than the 4.4-percent estimate and underscores the increasing trouble PC makers are having as they try to make their sales pitch to would-be customers. It was the first time in five years that the PC market had experienced a decline in shipments. Several comments have been made on why the PC market is falling. Some say that it's due to the economy. Others argue that the PC market is in trouble because of the increasing popularity of tablets. Either way, the PC market is experiencing something that so far, vendors haven't been able to address. The longer this goes on, the harder it'll be for PC makers to stem losses and turn around the trend. The first step in determining how to address the problem, however, is identifying the many issues surrounding it. That's the goal of this eWEEK slide show. But a more difficult task for PC makers will be to figure out how to reverse this slide.


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Teen Caloundra model makes catwalk debut at sellout fashion festival
02nd Sept. 2019 4:09 AM
Every time she posts on Instagram, almost 200,000 people see it.
04th March 2018 2:03 PM
Nevaya Adkins taking strides to world runway.
14th Sept. 2017 10:09 AM
COAST beauty Aquila Bergstrom is feeling confident heading into today's Miss Universe Australia Queensland final.
27th April 2017 5:04 AM
GIGI Hadid says social media has taken the dumb model stereotype away.
15th May 2016 12:05 PM
THE Instagram model who quit social media earlier this month has spoken out about the dangerous dieting she endured for the...
17th Nov. 2015 1:11 PM
CHRISTINA Aguilera wants to unveil her post-baby body in Playboy.
15th Aug. 2014 6:08 AM


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e& buys majority stake in Careem super app for $400 mn
Ride-hailing is old news. The Careem super app is branching out and leaving the nest.
The UAE’s e& (formerly Etisalat Group) has bought a $400 million, 50.03 percent stake in Careem’s super app, according to a filing made by e&.
As part of its expansion, Careem’s ride-hailing business will be fully owned by Uber under Careem Rides, a separate entity from the super app. The super app will be owned by e&, Uber, and Careem’s three co-founders, with co-founder Mudassir Sheikh operating as CEO. Careem users will still be able to access ride-hailing services through the Careem super app.
In a note posted on the Careem blog today, Sheikh said the investment would “turbo-charge our super app vision and restart our entrepreneurial journey to build the preeminent technology platform of our region.”
In his blog post, Sheikh said that a range of new products “have been cooking” in past few years, hinting at potential launches and announcements in the near future, likely outside of the ride-hailing space.
Careem was founded as a ride-hailing app 11 years ago and acquired by Uber in January 2020. It has since expanded to add services including food delivery, courier services, digital payments, and bike rentals, among others.
Careem is widely considered to be a Middle East startup success story, and its growth strategy follows a larger trend towards super apps in the Middle East. Last week, VOIP platform BOTIM released its own Arabic-language AI chatbot, modeled after Chat-GPT, as part of its move towards becoming what it calls an ultra app.


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NORTHAMPTON, England, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A thief in England was caught on camera attempting to steal a venetian blind by sticking it down his pants and up through his sweater.
Surveillance footage shared by Northamptonshire Police shows the man standing in an elevator as the stolen blind sticks up through the hood of his sweatshirt.
The man reportedly entered the store at about 2 p.m. on Sunday before sticking the blind down his pants and attempting to leave the store without paying.
Staff from the store followed the man out of the store to a nearby canal path where he dropped and damaged the blind before running off.
Police are seeking the man and have encouraged residents to provide any information about his identity or whereabouts.


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A big report from the Wall Street Journal is out, and they have details that Nintendo is close to closing a deal with Illumination Entertainment to make a Mario Bros. Movie! Nintendo closed a deal with Universal Studios earlier this year for a theme park, so it makes sense that they’d go this direction.
Mario Bros. Movie
Illumination, which made “Minions,” “Despicable Me,” and the “Secret Life of Pets,” has reportedly been talking to Nintendo about this for over a year. Honestly, there’s a good reason for that long amount of talks. There’s no way we can forget the original Mario Movie, and other attempts to bring Nintendo’s characters to different screens haven’t been super successful.
Anyway, since they’re closing talks, there’s no official information yet. Nintendo and Illumination have declined to comment, so we’ll have to wait and see what’s going to happen.
I’d be pretty thrilled for a movie like this, considering the love I have for Nintendo’s characters. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!


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Burberry, a London-based luxury designer house, apologized for featuring a hoodie with a noose in its latest fashion collection.
The hoodie didn't go unnoticed, and Burberry model Liz Kennedy handed down a scathing assessment of the fashion house for its inclusion of the offending article of clothing in its latest show.
What are the details?
Kennedy took aim at the hoodie sweatshirt, which debuted during London Fashion Week.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Kennedy revealed how she'd expressed her concerns over the hoodie prior to its show debut, but was dismissed. She also said the sweatshirt brought up painful memories of a suicide in her own family.
Suicide is not fashion. It is not glamorous nor edgy and since this show is dedicated to the youth expressing their voice, here I go. Riccardo Tisci and everyone at Burberry it is beyond me how you could let a look resembling a noose hanging from a neck out on the runway. How could anyone overlook this and think it would be okay to do this especially in a line dedicated to young girls and youth. The impressionable youth. Not to mention the rising suicide rates world wide. Let's not forget about the horrifying history of lynching either. There are hundreds of ways to tie a rope and they chose to tie it like a noose completely ignoring the fact that it was hanging around a neck. A massive brand like Burberry who is typically considered commercial and classy should not have overlooked such an obvious resemblance. I left my fitting extremely triggered after seeing this look. Feeling as though I was right back where I was when I was going through an experience with suicide in my family. Also to add in they briefly hung one from the ceiling (trying to figure out the knot) and were laughing about it in the dressing room. I had asked to speak to someone about it but the only thing I was told to do was to write a letter. I had a brief conversation with someone but all that it entailed was "it's fashion. Nobody cares about what's going on in your personal life so just keep it to yourself" well I'm sorry but this is an issue bigger than myself. The issue is not about me being upset, there is a bigger picture here of what fashion turns a blind eye to or does to gain publicity. A look so ignorantly put together and a situation so poorly handled. I am ashamed to have been apart of the show. #burberry. I did not post this to disrespect the designer or the brand but to simply express an issue I feel very passionate about.
What did the company say in response to the outrage?
Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti told Fortune in a statement that the company is sorry for the hurt and offense that the article of clothing may have caused.
"We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection Tempest," his statement said.
Gobbetti added, "I called Ms. Kennedy to apologize as soon as I became aware of this on Monday and we immediately removed the product and all images that featured it. Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake."
"The experience Ms. Kennedy describes does not reflect who we are and our values," Gobetti's statement concluded. "We will reflect on this, learn from it and put in place all necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again."
Is Burberry Promoting Suicide? | Liz Kennedy Speaks Up www.youtube.com


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Read from the experts about the latest printing news, varying from screen and digital printing, laser cutters, printing inks, packaging and more.
Explore FESPA's global portfolio of events, exhibitions and conferences aimed at the international print trade.
FESPA is a global federation of 37 national associations for the screen printing, digital printing and textile printing community.
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Konica Minolta has added the new MGI Jetvarnish 3D Evolution to its industrial printing product portfolio.
Xeikon has canned its Trillium liquid toner programme, which it first revealed more than five years ago.
Wide-format print specialist Mimaki has moved to further enhance its range of solutions with the launch of the new CF22-1225 flatbed cutting plotter.
UK-based Projects and Print has bought a 3.2m Agfa Anapurna RTR3200i LED 6-colour printer with Asanti workflow to coincide with premises expansion.
Aimed at signage and graphics providers, the Pro 24f LED flatbed printer can print fine imaging text on boards and is ideal for POP, retail, display graphics and gig-based works.
Sawgrass Technologies and Technotape International have announced the launch of a new production solution designed for 3D sublimation.
Financial Data Management (FDM) has boosted its digital capacity with a new Heidelberg Versafire CV 80 press to cater for growing demand for short-run, high-quality jobs.
Through the HP Office Pink Ream social marketing campaign, International Paper (IP) is supporting the fight against breast cancer.
UK-based Oasis Graphic specialises in the production of large format digital printing for use at exhibitions, retail environments and for workplace branding.
Mimaki has a new LA series of wide format, heat-assisted laminators and laminating film to complement its new UCJV series LED UV printer/cutters.
Students at the University of Greenwich have been making the most of its investment in two Canon Océ ColorWave 700s by using them to produce work for the annual exhibition or work.
MS Printing Solution’s new Impres soft signage printer will come bundled with Caldera’s GrandRip+.
Mimaki’s exclusive UK and Ireland distributor, Hybrid Services has announced the appointment of, Brett Newman to the newly created role of chief operations manager.
2017 marks the year Trotec Laser celebrates its 20th anniversary, growing from a start-up to a world market leader in laser machines for cutting, marking and engraving.
Digital and wide-format printer Fantasy Prints has invested around £315,000 in its first EFI Vutek machine to boost capacity.
A calculated risk with a near-£2million investment has paid off well for fast-growing Retail Print Solutions (RPS) since the acquisition of two Durst wide format printing systems.
Gauzy's switchable window film is currently used in architectural applications and is under evaluation for automotive applications.
EFI has been on the acquisition path again, this time picking up Escada Systems, which provides corrugator control systems for the packaging market.
Ricoh’s first UV flatbed printer has been unveiled and it is said to be optimised for industrial decoration printing
Antalis has launched a printable, self-adhesive wallcover fabric developed to allow for damage free removal and repositioning.
Just choose your country in the list below and we'll find your local association


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By Gurdip Singh Posted 8 July 2009 8:45 am GMT
BASF is leading a pilot project to encourage consumers to use biodegradable bags for waste and compost in Thailand.
The pilot project, which will run from July to December in the Samut Songkhram Province, is aimed at encouraging consumers to use biodegradable bags to collect household organic waste and produce high-quality compost that will serve as organic fertilizer for the purpose of soil improvement.
BASF has joined Thailand’s National Innovation Agency (NIA), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ or German Technical Cooperation) and the Thai Bioplastics Industry Association (TBIA).
“Biodegradable plastics present an important contribution to efficient biowaste management. Additionally, as a secondary raw material post-composting, it can also be used to provide an economical and ecologically viable utilization possibility — fertilizer in this case,” said NIA director Supachai Lorlowhakarn.
NIA has a plan to develop the bioplastics industry in Thailand, which was approved by the cabinet on 22 July 2008.
For the production of the biodegradable bags, TBIA will compound starch with BASF’s Ecoflex resin, a biodegradable, compostable polyester.
“Thailand has an abundant supply of renewable resources, such as tapioca for the production of starch. As such, starch will be an important raw material for the bioplastic industry development in Thailand. The pilot project is another step to build up the domestic market and elaborate on the application of bioplastics for the entire life cycle,” said TBIA chairman Somsak Borrisutthanakul.
The pilot project was launched in conjunction with the BioPlastics Asia 2009 forum, held 11-12 June in Bangkok.


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AT&T is broadening its efforts to tap into the burgeoning connected-car market by inking a multi-year agreement with Airbiquity. The union will help AT&T provide a single technology for global vehicles.
AT&T will use Airbiquity’s Choreo, a cloud-based services-delivery platform that facilitates end-user registration and device management. Choreo lets OEMs pick various telematics offerings to create a complete feature set, making it straightforward to develop a range of offerings for various vehicles and models.
The agreement highlights the role of globalization for the evolving telematics world. As connected vehicles become more common, automakers want to consolidate their offerings.
“Going forward, OEMs want to offer a worldwide footprint, not a number of regional options,” said David Jumpa, Chief Revenue Officer at Airbiquity. “Telematics developed so rapidly that decisions were often made regionally. One automaker has five suppliers for six regions. That makes it harder for them to provide support.”
Though Airbiquity is a small company compared to AT&T, it’s got a bigger footprint in automotive. Airbiquity works with OEMs including Nissan, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, and it has arrangements with a number of companies throughout the telematics field. Partnerships have become a major factor for connected vehicles, since no one company currently offers everything needed to address vehicle connectivity.
“The IT suppliers have no experience in connected vehicles, but they need to work with Tier 1s, wireless carriers, and the operating system guys,” Jumpa said. “We have experience that lets us compete with large companies like IBM; we have brought 5 million vehicles up.”
Global telematics revenues are predicted to soar to roughly $20 billion by 2018 after hitting $8 billion in 2013, according to Juniper Research.
Continue reading »


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The international DMC network Global DMC Partners (GDP) has announced its latest partnership with Pure! MICE, a part of Pure! Travel Group, a new DMC partner serving Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia. Pure! Travel Group specializes in tailor-made experiences for leisure travel with Pure! MICE dedicated to meetings, events and incentive groups.
“We are proud to add such a reputable, socially and environmentally responsible organization to our ever-growing network,” said President and CEO of Global DMC Partners Catherine Chaulet. “The Pure! team creates truly unforgettable experiences while respecting nature, heritage and local cultures. We look forward to the creative events that we will be able to offer with their talent onboard.”
The team of professional hospitality experts at Pure! Travel Group prides itself on creating enriching, intercultural experiences focused on continuously exceeding the expectations of their customers. Particularly focused on environmentally sound, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental areas, an official sustainability policy and code of ethics is the basis of their undertakings. The company maintains its TourCert responsible tourism certification.
“We are very excited to be a part of Global DMC Partners’ prestigious network,” said Bram Evers, Founder of Pure! MICE, a Global DMC Partner. “We look forward to expanding our offerings to more clients so that we can share authentic experiences in our beautiful part of the world. For example, for incentive and post-conference travel, we offer experiences such as top-notch birdwatching in Ecuador, unique hiking in Chile’s Patagonia, and bucket-list destinations such as the Galapagos and Machu Picchu.”
Global DMC Partners (GDP) is a global network of independent destination management companies (DMCs) and specialized event service providers.


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Sainsbury’s and Asda to merge, overtaking Tesco
UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has agreed to buy Asda from US supermarket Walmart. Together, Sainsbury’s and Asda will have a market share of 31% of the UK grocery sector, ahead of rival Tesco. The supermarkets claim that the merger will allow them to lower prices by 10% on many items.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour’s shadow business secretary, said, “A Tesco/Sainsbury’s-Asda duopoly [would have] unrivalled power to dominate, dictating choice and prices for consumers”, while Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, raised concerns about the effect on suppliers, saying, “Those at the top of Sainsbury’s and Asda should give reassurance that cost savings won’t be achieved simply by milking their small suppliers for all they’re worth” (read more here).
Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon said, “I have no concerns at all about the size of these retailers in terms of my ability to regulate them” and suggested that the merger might cause Asda to improve its treatment of suppliers, in line with Sainsbury’s standards (read more here).
Dan Crossley of the Food Ethics Council said in a blog post, “The promise of ever cheaper prices - while at first sight may seem appealing - hides issues of who or what is being exploited in order to be able to deliver those lower prices” (read more here).
Read coverage from the BBC, the Guardian and Sky. See also the Foodsource resource How do food systems link multiple issues and concerns?
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering just over 10 million square kilometres or 6.8% of the global land area, but it is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of around 740 million people or about 11% of the world's population. Its climate is heavily affected by warm Atlantic currents that temper winters and summers on much of the continent. In the European Union, farmers represent only 4.7% of the working population, yet manage nearly half of its land area.


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Amazon fears it could run out of warehouse workers in the US within two years, according to leaked reports.
First reported by Recode, the retail & logistics behemoth said in an internal research report: “If we continue business as usual, Amazon will deplete the available labor supply in the US network by 2024”.
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Work continues on providing confectionery manufacturers with new fats and oils that streamline ingredient labeling, enhance health benefits and promote sustainability.
December 10, 2013
Within fats and oils, the challenge to deliver health benefits while still retaining taste and functionality continues to be an issue.Read More
DFA of California bestows honor on recently built plant in Madera, Calif.
December 4, 2013
This new facility, which is partially powered by solar energy, allows Ready Roast to significantly increase its processing volumes and capacities.Read More
Growing middle class fuels nation’s love for chocolate.
November 20, 2013
With 143 million consumers, Russia is one of most important markets for confectionery worldwide — and the largest market in Europe.Read More
Fourth-generation family-owned company adds 12,000 sq. ft.
November 20, 2013
The new addition adds close to 25 percent more floor space, which will expand both office and manufacturing areas.Read More
Health benefits, coupled with spicer options, propell growth in nut consumption.
November 18, 2013
"Consumers are very well informed these days and they view confectionery products containing nus as a healthy way to indulge their sweet tooth," says Lucas Schmidt, industrial sales manager at HGO/Westnut.Read More
Facility to feature more space for packaging lines, help company with long-term growth.
November 13, 2013
Theegarten-Pactec is embarking on a new construction project in an effort to meet demand for smaller projects and more automation.Read More
Starch suppliers respond to specific ingredient demands from manufacturers, consumers.
September 16, 2013
“Organic compliance is still a niche market,” says Wen Shieh, technical leader for Cargill’s Texturizing Solutions. “Yet it is a market that traditional moulding starch will not be able to meet the regulations.”Read More
Hans Arthur (John) Faerber was a true innovator in the confectionery industry
August 7, 2013
As the story goes, goes, when John (Hans) Faerber — NID’s founder — first became interested in starch moulding, he quickly realized that the traditional means of handling the trays and starch just weren’t good enough. And so, he created something better.Read More
Move allows the Probat Group to supply broader range of cocoa and chocolate processing equipment.
July 3, 2013
“With this acquisition, the Probat Group continues the expansion into an additional field of technologies directed to the processing of food that is made for the enjoyment of people by its flavor and taste,” Abbing added.Read More
Company to show off its latest technology during the show
May 10, 2013
At the forthcoming edition of Packology, IMA Industries will present new solutions for packaging within the food and cosmetic industries.Read More