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L’Oréal Paris Men Expert Freshens-Up Esports 2L’Oréal Paris Men Expert Freshens-Up Esports 2
The Australian esports organization has partnered with L’Oréal Paris Men Expert.
July 10, 2020
Australian esports organization The Chiefs Esports Club has officially partnered with L’Oréal Paris Men Expert, according to a report from EuropeanGaming.Eu. The brand will become a major partner of the club for the rest of 2020.
“We’ve all had late night gaming sessions and sacrificed how we feel the next morning to get one more game in,” says Nick Bobir, chief executive officer, The Chiefs. “L’Oréal Paris Men Expert is a perfect fit for gaming and esports culture to keep us going and feeling fresh. We’re excited to introduce such a prestigious brand to the industry and can’t wait to see the benefit for all our fans.”
The skincare, shaving, beard, grooming, hygiene and hairstyling brand will be providing their services to the esports club through the partnership.
“We are extremely excited to be partnering with The Chiefs in 2020 and introducing many of their fans to L’Oréal Paris Men Expert, a portfolio of skincare products designed to deliver an instant energy boost and set men up for success,” says Raajeet Garg, marketing director, L’Oréal Paris Australia. “Joining forces with The Chiefs is a testimony of building brands together and providing value for our fans and consumers.”
Read more about:L'Oreal
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The FDA estimates that 30% of Americans, including 40% of those between the ages of 18 and 34, have at least one tattoo. While tattoos can be an artistic way to express oneself, it is important to stay safe while getting inked up.
On June 12, the FDA furnished a novel manual regarding tattoo inks in the United States to prohibit microbial contamination. Colored liquid combinations are used to create tattoo inks, and depending on the ink, pigments inside are combined with water and may also contain a number of additional ingredients.
Some inks are said to contain pigments used in printer toner or auto paint, according to published studies, and no pigments for injection into the skin for aesthetic reasons have received FDA approval.
"With about 30 percent of people living in the U.S. having a tattoo, it’s imperative that the FDA take all necessary steps to help ensure that tattoo inks are free of contamination," announced FDA Chief Scientist Namandjé Bumpus.
He continued that these inks may include pathogens or other dangerous elements that can result in infections and severe damage.
The FDA has received complaints of patients getting infections from tattoo inks that were tainted, as well as allergic responses to the inks themselves. The FDA issued a safety notice in 2019 regarding certain tattoo inks that were bacterially tainted.
The FDA released a new recommendation in June 2023 to assist distributors and makers of tattoo ink in identifying circumstances in which tattoo ink may get contaminated with germs such as bacteria or mold. The draught guidance also offers distributors and manufacturers a number of protective tips.
The draught guideline is being provided by the FDA to assist tattoo ink distributors and producers in identifying circumstances in which tattoo ink may become contaminated with germs and taking preventative measures to safeguard public health.
Numerous reports of illnesses brought on by contaminated tattoo inks have been sent to the FDA, and further testing has revealed that many sealed tattoo inks sold in the U.S. are microbially contaminated. The FDA issued a Safety Alert in May 2019 warning people to avoid using or purchasing certain tattoo inks that are contaminated with germs.
"Unlike most cosmetics, tattoo inks are injected into the dermal layer of the skin and therefore have the potential to introduce harmful pathogens directly into the body. Because of this, it is particularly important for tattoo inks to be manufactured using methods to ensure a product is safe," states the director of the FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, Linda Katz.
She says the FDA's suggested actions give manufacturers the knowledge and tools necessary to assist in guaranteeing that tattoo inks are not contaminated. The FDA specifies these measures in the drafted advice.
Customers and medical professionals are urged by the FDA to report any negative effects of getting a tattoo. Under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, the maker, packer, or distributor of cosmetic items, including tattoo inks, whose name is on the label, is additionally obligated to report significant adverse events to MedWatch that are linked to the use of the product to the FDA.
- FDA. FDA Provides Draft Recommendations to Help Reduce Microbial Contamination in Tattoo Inks
- FDA. Draft Guidance for Industry: Insanitary Conditions in the Preparation, Packing, and Holding of Tattoo Inks and the Risk of Microbial Contamination
- FDA. Tattoos, Temporary Tattoos & Permanent Makeup
- FDA. Think Before You Ink: Tattoo Safety

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FASHION retailers, as battered as they’ve been over the last couple of years, have been pretty upbeat about the fall collections. One reason is the popular layering trend, in which designers have shown jackets over vests over sweaters over dresses, and putting together those looks in their stores will logically require customers to make multiple purchases.
One of those layers in particular has excited retailers, as it represents a potential revival of a category that was long ago ceded to dance-wear specialists and juniors chains at the mall. That would be leg warmers. Variations were shown at Rag & Bone, for men and women; at Michael Kors; in the first look of the Thakoon collection; at Derek Lam; and, with extra-long ones all over the runway, at Alexander Wang.
“Those Alexander Wang ones will be on the top of every cool girl’s hot list for sure,” said Beth Buccini, an owner of Kirna Zabête in SoHo.
Her partner, Sarah Easley, added that the look would be a natural complement to all the short skirts and dresses that designers are showing for fall. It did not appear to faze them that many of the guests who attended Mr. Wang’s show walked away with the impression that he had scoured for inspiration among transsexual streetwalkers. Ms. Easley pointed out that she often wears leg warmers to work out.
“I love the dance roots of them,” she said.
It has been so long since leg warmers were last in fashion — “Flashdance” was released in 1983 — that a new generation of young women might appreciate them with a fresh eye, as they have cottoned to other trends of the ’80s like neon sunglasses and slouchy sweatshirts and harem pants.
“It’s probably the last bit of territory of the ’80s we haven’t yet touched,” Ms. Buccini said.Continue reading the main story


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New Delhi36 minutes ago
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Automakers like Mercedes-Benz and Volvo are also now joining the electric vehicle race and are engaged in making electric trucks. This includes Europe’s Futuricum, a commercial vehicle brand that has partnered with DPD Switzerland and Continental Tires to develop and manufacture electric trucks.
In such a situation, now this team recently created a Guinness World Record for the longest distance covered by an electric truck without recharging. For the record, the partners used an e-truck that had been carrying goods for the past 6 months.
This e-truck was first modified by Volvo to make it an electric truck. Which covered a distance of 1,099 km without stopping on a single charge.
Completed 392 laps in 23 hours
The electric vehicle was driven on a 2.8-kilometre-long, oval test track at Continental’s in-house test center, Contidrome. Two drivers drove the e-truck and completed 392 laps in 23 hours. The truck had an average speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). This e-truck can cover a distance of about 300 kms every day.
The electric truck has a battery capacity of 680 kWh/h.
Mark Frank, Director of Strategy and Innovation, DPD Switzerland, said that the company is taking the decision to invest in electric mobility at an early stage. Adrian Meliger, CEO of Design Work Products AG, which works on the Futuricum brand, said that this electric truck has a battery capacity of 680 kWh, which is Europe’s largest truck battery. A truck weighing 19 tons produces more than 680 hp of power.


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Amwell Pet Supply is celebrating their third anniversary on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, with a store party for their customers. Not only is it a three-year marker for being in business, the store owner is proud to say they have successfully helped rescue and rehome hundreds of pets during their time in business.
Owner Hope Valenti is a member of CAPIC Cats rescue, and she showcases available cats and kittens for adoption on a daily basis at the store. She happily stated that 267 CAPIC cats have been adopted through the store to date. In addition, she and her team have taken in and successfully rehomed many different types of animals besides cats.
“We have successfully rehomed lots of animals in addition to CAPIC cats including parakeets, parrots, doves, fish, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, and many more,” said Valenti. “Animals have been rescued from being tied to trees and left abandoned to being found under sheds, in abandoned homes, or taken from shelters. Our staff simply loves all pets, and we find new loving homes for those in need. At Amwell Pet Supply, our vow is to help as many unwanted animals as we can find new loving homes.”
The store offers a variety of products for pets of all kinds – canines, felines, fish and exotic companion mammals. During the anniversary celebration, radio station ElectricFM will be broadcasting while shoppers enjoy samples, hot dogs, and snacks. Customers will find great deals on a variety of products including, Fromm, Blue, Wellness, Merrick, Triumph, Innova, Oxbow and many more.
Amwell Pet Supply is located at 434 Route 206 South, Hillsborough, N.J. 08844 Telephone: 908-359-5117
Read more here from the New Jersey Animal Rescue Examiner.


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A spirit of volunteerism is one of the backbones of the Washington community. That’s according to resident Dave Stoufer. He was the guest speaker at this week’s chamber of commerce awards ceremony.
Keywords: Dave Stoufer, Volunteerism
Google Glass recently went on sale to the public for the first time on Tuesday. Would you like to own one?
call: (319) 653-2113


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Danone gave a higher sales goal for the first time in four years as it pledged to boost profitability at its fresh-dairy business, which represents more than half of the French company’s revenue.
The company said sales growth should exceed 5 percent by 2020 on a like-for-like basis. Emmanuel Faber, who became chief executive officer a year ago, is unveiling his strategy in a three-day seminar that ends Wednesday in Evian, France.
The fresh-dairy unit, which makes Activia yogurt and Actimel fermented drinks, has been weighed down by years of rising milk prices and a consumer slump in western Europe as buyers opted for cheaper private labels. The world’s biggest yogurt maker also has struggled to turn around its baby-food business in China and this year agreed to sell its Dumex brand in that market to a partner.
“We like the increased visibility,” Alain Oberhuber, an analyst at MainFirst Bank AG, wrote in a note to investors. “There may be earnings surprises by the end of 2016 as several European markets are starting to improve fresh-dairy profitability.”
The yogurt maker maintained its 2015 forecast for 4 percent to 5 percent sales growth. That outlook has come down since 2011, when Danone was forecasting expansion of 6 percent to 8 percent. The stock traded 1.1 percent lower at 63.95 euros as of 11:37 a.m. in Paris Wednesday, after gaining 2.3 percent Tuesday.
The fresh-dairy unit aims to widen its profit margin more than 2 percentage points on a currency-neutral basis by 2020 as its sales will rise 3 percent to 5 percent, Danone said in a slide presentation. The company expects its water and infant- formula units to reach sales growth of 7 percent to 10 percent, while the medical-nutrition business aims for growth of 6 percent to 8 percent.
Like-for-like sales are adjusted for acquisitions, divestments and currency shifts.


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Columbus, OH (PRWEB) January 13, 2014
Columbus, Ohio, Today, Contactability CEO, Lev Barinskiy announced the hiring of Michael Orefice to be Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. With the addition of Mr. Orefice, Contactability.com will be opening a West Region office in the first quarter of 2014.
In announcing the appointment, CEO Barinskiy said, “I am excited to have Michael join the Contactability team. His wealth of experience will help us to capitalize on all the things we have been doing over the past year since we sold our previous company, InsuranceAgents.com, to Bankrate.” Contactability was established to help small and medium sized businesses generate and connect with customers online. Contactability products include custom websites, lead generation, an online CRM and email marketing platform, as well as review generation and marketing services for local professionals. Contactability also works with over one thousand local insurance agents and generates warm transfer calls direct to their office and helps them manage their internet leads. Insurance agencies of all sizes use Contactability products to manage their internet leads as well as generate referrals and reviews from their existing customer base. Mr. Orefice comes to Contactability after spending the last 6 years working at two fast growing local SEO/online marketing firms. While there, Mr. Orefice oversaw their exponential growth and inclusion in the Inc. 500. Earlier in his career, Mr. Orefice held numerous marketing and finance positions within the wireless telecommunications industry, working for such industry leaders as Verizon and AT&T. He is considered an online and mobile marketing expert and though his effort has provided marketing products and services to over 50,000 businesses nationwide and in Canada.
“I am extremely excited to join the Contactability team, said Michael Orefice, “Contactability has the best online marketing platform I have seen. Its platform allows professionals and business owners to market their business online and manage all communications with prospects and clients in a single system at an affordable monthly price.”
Mr. Orefice has a BA from American University and an MBA from George Washington University. He has completed executive training at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and recently completed coursework via Cornell University’s E-Cornell program. Mr. Orefice is certified in Fitness Nutrition from the International Sports Sciences Association and is a passionate advocate of a vegan lifestyle and plant-based nutrition.
Contactability’s West Region office will be located in Orange County California and is expected to be open during the first quarter of 2014 to support the expansion of products and the addition of new channels of distribution. “I am excited about opening an office on the West Coast to support our expected growth. Once fully staffed, we expect to provide well over 200 jobs in the Orange County area. We are looking for experienced sales people and reseller partners, anyone interested should contact us,” said Mr. Barinskiy.


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Alltel achieves record customer growth for the fourth quarter, full year
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Alltel achieved record customer growth in the fourth quarter and for the full year, with the company adding more than 1 million gross customers for the first time in a quarter. Alltel also achieved records in total net customer additions and post-pay net adds in the fourth quarter, boosted by improvements in customer churn for the eighth consecutive quarter.
In 2007, Alltel completed its merger with an affiliate of TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners and ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
“While Alltel’s ownership has changed, our focus remains the same – continuing to strike the balance between growing value for our shareholders over the long-term while continuing to provide outstanding service for our customers,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Ford.
Among the highlights for the fourth quarter:
* Revenues were $2.3 billion, a 9 percent increase from the same period a year ago. The company reported a net loss of $525 million, due primarily to $619 million of pre-tax costs associated with the merger.
* Alltel added just over 1 million gross customers through internal growth, a 14 percent increase from a year ago. Internal net additions were 342,684, a 50 percent increase from a year ago. Post-pay churn was 1.34 percent and total churn was 1.81 percent, year-over-year improvements for the eighth consecutive quarter.
* Average revenue per wireless customer (ARPU) was $54.59, up 3 percent from last year. Data revenue per customer reached a new high of $6.74, a 63 percent increase year-over-year.
* Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $767 million, a 9 percent increase from the same period a year ago.
A table describing adjusted EBITDA and reconciled net income to adjusted EBITDA is included in the schedules accompanying this release.
Among the highlights for the year:
* Revenues were $8.8 billion, a 12 percent increase from 2006 and a new record for the wireless business. Net income was $183 million, which includes the impact of $653 million of pre-tax merger-related costs.
* Alltel added 3.6 million gross customers through internal growth, a 9 percent increase from 2006. Net customer additions through internal growth were 965,831, a 51 percent increase from the previous year. Post-pay churn was 1.28 percent and total churn was 1.79 percent, both improvements from the previous year.
* ARPU was $54.30, up 3 percent from 2006. Data revenue per customer was $5.87, a 67 percent increase from the previous year.
* Adjusted EBITDA was $3.1 billion, a 12 percent increase.
This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.
News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.


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Despite all the bad economic news going into Black Friday, online spending was up 1% over last year, according to comScore. Online shoppers spent $534 million, up from $531 million for Black Friday 2007.
One of the advantages for online shopping is sleeping in (and not trampling Wal-mart employees to death). Online spending peaked between 12-4pm with the 8am to 12pm slot following closely behind:
However, it's today's sales that may be the strongest indicator of the overall season. Cyber Monday growth rates are strongly correlated to the growth rate of the full holiday season.
Introducing... ClickZ Live!
SES Conference & Expo has merged with ClickZ to bring you ClickZ Live! The new global conference series takes on the identity of the industry's premier digital marketing publication, ClickZ.com, and kicks off March 31-April 3 in New York City. Join the industry's leading tech-advertisers in the advertising capital of the world! Find out more ››
*Super Saver Rates expire Jan 24.


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FDA Forward Momentum on “Healthy” Claims Continues
Do you produce food that you promote – or wish to promote – as “Healthy”? Do you have thoughts on the type of symbol that could be used to convey “healthy”? Would you like to provide input on the research FDA plans to conduct to determine consumer perspectives?
FDA is continuing to move forward on the development of a proposed rule that would update when manufacturers may use the “healthy” nutrient content claim on food packages. Most recently, FDA published a procedural notice seeking comment on consumer research on “healthy” symbol. And if you have any stake in the game, you have less than three weeks (by July 6) to make your voice heard.
Because this procedural notice is simply to inform the public of the consumer research FDA will be conducting and gather relevant insights that could enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected, FDA is looking for comment on:
- Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA’s functions, including whether the information will have practical utility;
- The accuracy of FDA’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
- Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
- Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.
It’s not FDA’s first attempt to gather comment on Healthy labeling from the industry or consumers – as FDA issued a Request for Information and Comments on the use of the term “Healthy” in the labeling of human food products back in September of 2016. And it won’t be the last as the eventual development of a rule will also need to undergo a comment period. But any food business with any stake in the “Healthy” labeling game is highly advised to follow the process and progress of FDA’s related activities, and make comment wherever applicable. While the final rule may not be exactly what you’d wish regardless, your perspectives will at least have been taken into account.
Modernizing food claims is one of the key elements of FDA’s Nutrition Innovation Strategy (NIS), with “Healthy” being a claim that FDA “believes is ready for change,” thus its goal to update criteria for the claim, as well as how to depict it on the package so consumers can easily find and understand it. While the NIS is also not new, having been announced in March of 2018 to “take a fresh look at what can be done to reduce preventable death and disease related to poor nutrition,” FDA is continuously taking action to implement the strategy.
Just this week, FDA issued a final rule to amend and modernize the standard of identity for yogurt. by allowing for greater flexibilities and technological advances in yogurt production. While stated a being a part of the NIS, FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint is evidenced as well, as technology is a key component of that initiative, and of FDA’s current activities in general.
With such initiatives being brought to the forefront of FDA, it truly seems that the activity lull of COVID-19 is on the rebound, and it is an endeavor of which the food industry needs to take note. Although food producers can continue to use the term “healthy” on foods that meet the current regulatory definition while FDA considers how to redefine the term, and the symbol being discussed would be voluntary for applicable packaged food products, there is a rule in the making that will, in all probability, have some very specific requirements. So staying updated on FDA’s activities and ensuring you understand the impetus behind any “healthy” claims currently being made on your products will significantly benefit you in the long run.


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Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, typically emails the entire company when something big happens. There have been few things as big, internally, as the news of Jony Ive leaving to start his own company, LoveFrom, but Apple retaining that company and Jony's services going forward.
Rene and Serenity dive into Apple's new titles for Jeff Williams and Johny Srouji, Phil Schiller's new App Store role, and continue the year in review with WWDC, iOS, OS X, watchOS, Apple Music, and Swift!
Apple has named Jeff Williams as its Chief Operating Officer, a promotion from the position of SVP of Operations. Phil Schiller is also being put in charge of the App Store across Apple's platforms, and Johny Srouji is becoming SVP of Hardware Technologies.


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After the Internet Archive made over one million books available for free for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, powerful publishers sued. Now, it's fighting back.
Apple News+ could fill just a fraction of the tens of billions in annual revenue that the media industry has lost to tech giants.
The Vengabus is coming.
Rather than hash things out in a boardroom, both sides are recruiting hearts and minds.
The great indie purge is coming.


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HOTEL AND FLIGHT BOOKINGS
Plan your luxury travel now: It is the best time to book in 2021
You may not be ready to travel yet, but may want to start booking.
Calling travel a reward in the current climate remains a tough sell. But getting on a flight for business isn't dead, it's just changed
Khelo India: Controversial order asking Gulmarg hotels to cancel pre-bookings of tourists revoked
The move had drawn sharp reaction from the ...
52% millennials keen on flying out of country for holiday this summer, says survey
Most people would prefer to go to foreign destinations with fewer Covid-19 cases.
India’s hotel bookings recover with the news of the vaccine; sector records 15% higher bookings YoY in December: RateGain report
According to the report, India’s recovery was above 100% for all the weeks of December. It was observed that Indians booked last minute travel mostly to travel during the end of December and first week of January. Popular destinations such as Goa, Shimla, and Jammu still figured in the top 10 destinations for the first month of 2021.
Back to hotel rooms: Mumbai travellers bid goodbye to 2020 with staycations
This has helped hotels recover from the loss of footfalls overall.
OTAs report 20-25% month on month jump in holiday bookings ahead of new year
Goa, Mahabaleshwar, Pondicherry, Coorg, Shimla and Manali are the top picks within India, while Dubai and the Maldives continue to be the most popular international getaways for the year.
Travel companies, hotels launch new offers to boost sales
From Special Bubble holidays which promise end-to-end tailored services to 72-hour flash sales offering complimentary nights and up to 40% off at select five-star hotels, more promotions are being rolled out by chains and travel companies as the holiday season approaches.
Being stranded in Germany at the start of pandemic reminded Vishy Anand of the summer of 2010
The 5-time world chess champion was stuck for in Germany after the pandemic grounded international flights in the spring.
Growth in bookings witnessed for Diwali season: Report
There has been a 40 per cent growth in daily check-ins during this year's Diwali season as against the average bookings made in October this year, the report said.
Planning a holiday in next few months? Avail these discounts on flights, hotels, travel packages now
Here are some deals by top travel firms, websites and aggregators for holidaying in the next few months. Book your holiday before it’s too late, says ET Wealth.
Airbnb joins vacation-rental sites seeing surge in summer demand
Since the pandemic began, the percentage of bookings on Airbnb within 200 miles has grown from a third in February to more than 50% in May.
Coronavirus outbreak: February hotel bookings witness sharp fall
States like Delhi/NCR, Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were the worst affected, according to the startup which provides travel solutions to leading hotels and online travel agencies.
Coronavirus impacts tourist bookings in Ladakh
Ladakh, known as the cold desert, is a famous international tourist destination attracting large number of visitors especially interested in mountain expeditions and longer solitary stays. In 2019 also, there was dip in tourist arrivals in Ladakh due to Lok Sabha election, erratic flight services and late opening of Leh-Manali highway.
Amazon books a flight to the super app zone
Amazon may soon start selling airline tickets and allow food orders via its platform.


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Ford opening SYNC AppLink, increasing smart phone usability in cars
This week is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, next week is the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, so where are the automakers? This week they're in Vegas, because cars are becoming mobile consumer electronics devices, and next week they'll be in Detroit, because cars are still cars. On Tuesday, both Ford and GM announced software developer programs with API's allowing application developers to develop apps for their respective cars.
The Ford program works through the SYNC and AppLink features of Ford cars. SYNC provides a communication protocol (connectivity) and voice control between a bluetooth cellphone and a Ford automobile, while AppLink provides voice commands allowing drivers to control smartphone apps without the need to pick up their devices. The developer program opens these features to a broader range of developers, who can apply via the developer.ford.com website.
“When we first introduced SYNC in 2007, there was a need for an appropriate way to connect and control cellphones and digital music players in the car due to the massive consumer adoption trend,” continued Thai-Tang. “Offering voice control so drivers can keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road has proven to be popular with our customers. Now, with an even faster adoption rate of smartphones, there is a need for a renewed focus on voice control for the unique capabilities of these devices, especially for the use of apps.”
In other words, Ford believes "hands on the wheel and eyes on the road" is important for safety as technology evolves to bring mobile computing device and smart phone wizardry into our lives.
Also at CES, GM announced their own developer API program; GM opens door to 3rd party infotainment apps in 2014 vehicles
Ford says the smart phone market is growing rapidly, with more than half of Americans using smart phones of some kind that can run apps of some kind. Globally there are a billion smart phones currently, expected to grow to 2 billion by 2015.
Currently, Ford's SYNC AppLink provides voice control of mobile apps including popular services like Pandora personalized radio, Stitcher smart radio, NPR News, iHeartRadio digital radio and Scout personal navigation.
“The car presents an all-new opportunity for developers, especially the millennial market, and we’re looking forward to seeing what results,” said Thai-Tang. “Engaging innovators outside of the company is a key part of our strategy to be consumer-driven in all aspects of our business, helping us not only satisfy what’s going on today, but setting us up for innovative solutions to the challenges coming in the future.”
Developers desiring to enable AppLink support for their smart phone apps must register at developer.ford.com and download the AppLink SDK. The SDK contains code libraries and documentation for APIs enabling two-way communication between mobile apps and the vehicle including voice commands from the driver. Once a developer implements AppLink in their app, it is submitted to Ford for evaluation and approval. Once approved Ford will provide a distribution license, after which the app is submitted to the relevant app marketplace.
Ford currently has three categories of AppLink applications: News and Information, Music and Entertainment, Navigation and Location.
Along with opening the SYNC AppLink developer program, Ford has announced several new AppLink apps from the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Kaliki, Amazon Cloud Player, Aha Radio, Rhapsody, Greater Media, Glympse and Becouply.
The program will be launched in Europe and Asia later this year. In the meantime Ford has announced a collaboration with Sina to enable the Weibo mobile app to use AppLink in Ford vehicles, providing news, weather, microblogging and location-based services. Sina is a mobile media company serving China and Chinese expatriates around the world. “Our Developer Program is open and available to anyone around the world,” said John Ellis, global technologist for Ford Connected Services. “A key advantage of our approach is the ability to quickly have relevant apps and services to support the launch of AppLink in Europe and Asia, by making it easy for local developers to tell us what the most popular and important apps are to suit the buyers in that region.”
The SYNC AppLink developer API program is unrelated to the OpenXC developer API program that Ford announced a year ago. Where SYNC AppLink focuses on voice control of smart phone apps, the OpenXC program focuses on retrieving data from the CANBUS through the OBD-II connector. These are targeted at different goals, problems, and offer different services. On their website, Ford describes the OpenXC program as a "non-production open source interface, designed to attract top developers to experiment with DIY projects in Ford vehicles." The SYNC AppLink program is targeted at production use, by commercial partners who are selling commercial-grade smart phone applications.


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BENTON HARBOR, Mich., April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Whirlpool Corporation announced today that due to decreasing call volume it will consolidate its U.S. contact center network, resulting in the closure of its Yakima, Washington contact center, impacting 160 employees. Approximately 50 jobs will be added to each of the company's two remaining U.S. contact centers located in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and Cleveland, Tennessee. Whirlpool expects the Yakima facility to close during the second quarter, 2011.
"This is difficult news to share, and we arrived at the decision only after a thorough analysis," said Kathy Nelson, vice president, Consumer and Appliance Care. "Whirlpool Corporation is always looking for ways to improve its operations, and several initiatives have reduced the number of calls received. These include a better and more streamlined experience for consumers and improvements in product quality. By reducing the number of U.S. contact centers from three to two, we can increase our efficiencies while maintaining our award-winning customer service."
Following its evaluation, the company determined that its existing contact centers had sufficient capacity to support its U.S. and Canada consumers. "This is no reflection on our Yakima employees, who have worked hard to help serve the needs of our consumers," added Nelson.
Whirlpool will provide outplacement and other support to Yakima employees during the transition period.
About Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of more than $18 billion in 2010, 71,000 employees, and 66 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. Additional information about the company can be found at www.whirlpoolcorp.com.
SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation


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NHLANGANO: Mathokoza Sikhondze the National Coordinator for the Coalition of Informal Economy Associations in Eswatini (CIEAES) said about 30 street vendors were kicked out from the Nhlangano City Centre for monies owed to the City Council.
Eswatini, a tiny Kingdom situated in Southern Africa has about 70% of the population living below the poverty, some of the citizens including women survive through subsistence farming.
In an interview with this publication, Sikhondze revealed that street vendors from Siyezama Traders Association have been kicked out from Nhlangano city centre for permit rental arrears.
“You will remember that last year the country was in a lockdown for a period of 3 full-months, which means the vendors didn’t generate any income during that period. But now the Town Council is demanding permit renewals for the whole 12 months. The vendors normally renew their permits every 3 months at E325 per individual, but this time they were in arrears due to the COVID 19 pandemic. They had anticipated that they would at least pay rentals for 9 months but the Town Council told them to pay 12 months rentals or face eviction and they were even not given notice As I speak these vendors are now languishing at home since they can’t afford the permit renewals”,he said.
Sikhondze added that the livelihoods of these vendors depended on their businesses, he said the Town Council was also not honest since it usually makes verbal agreements with the vendors which later changed without notice.
Apollo Maphalala, Nhlangano Town Chief Executive Officer (CEO) could not be reached for comment at the time of compiling this report as his mobile phone rang unanswered.
Nhlangano Town Council kick out street vendors


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Come October 8, Team 17's heavily-armed annelids will be making the leap to Sony's Vita handheld in Worms Revolution Extreme. Like its predecessors, Worms Revolution Extreme focuses on teams of worms attempting to kill each other in ludicrously over the top, turn-based fashion. The new Vita game...
Worms Revolution Extreme was announced for Vita today, and will launch on PSN in Q3 2013. The game will include a single-player campaign with 47 missions and 25 puzzles, with a series of environments such as "Sewer, Farmyard, Spooky, Beach, Mars, Funfair or Medieval." Worms Revolution Extreme...
Posted on Jul 23rd 2014 7:30PM
Posted on Jul 23rd 2014 9:00AM
Posted on Jul 22nd 2014 1:00PM


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“Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), the new holding company for Google, introduced its first share buyback and beat Wall Street’s profit forecast on Thursday, helped by solid progress in mobile and video advertising, sending the stock to its highest-ever level in after-hours trading,” Deborah Todd and Steve Trousdale report for Reuters. “Revenue and profit well above analysts’ average forecasts, along with the unexpected buyback, was welcomed by Wall Street, which is now betting on further growth.”
“The results come at a pivotal time for the company as it navigates the transition from desktop to mobile, where ads are generally less profitable, while facing growing competition from rivals like Facebook Inc.,” Todd and Trousdale report. “At the same time, it is moving into a new corporate structure that will put more visibility on parts of Alphabet such as its secretive research arm, Google X. Next quarter will be the first in which it reports results under that structure.”
“Company executives touted strength in mobile search for the strong results. ‘Search traffic on mobile phones have now surpassed desktop traffic worldwide,’ said Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google Inc.,” Todd and Trousdale report. “Shares of Alphabet rose almost 9 percent in after-hours trading to $741, easily a record. At that level, the company’s market value would be around $500 billion, making it the second-most valuable company in the S&P 500 after Apple Inc.”
“The announcement that Alphabet would buy back up to $5.09 billion of its Class C shares came as a surprise. Mature technology companies such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have come under intense pressure in recent years to give back more cash to investors,” Todd and Trousdale report. “The company said the number of paid clicks, in which advertisers pay only if a user clicks on the ad, rose 23 percent, compared to an 18 percent increase in the previous quarter. Cost-per-click, or the average price of online ads, fell 11 percent in the quarter. ‘Our value proposition to markets of all sizes is simple. Google can help you show the right ads to the right people at the right moment,’ Pichai said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Google continues to utterly dominate online advertising.


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Stuck on Game Of Thrones? We've got you covered!
Don't panic! Our cheats will see you through.
Ubisoft is celebrating a third week at No.1 for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, becoming only the third game in 2012 to hold the top spot for three weeks or more - the previous two being FIFA 12 and FIFA Street.
Games of Thrones, the video game based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, is set for release in early June, Koch Media has announced.


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Artificial intelligence is already all around us, but is more often used by consumers than by big business. Think Microsoft's Cortana, Google's Google Now, and Apple's Siri. Salesforce believes it is time to bring easy-to-use artificial intelligence to business apps on a grand scale.
API aggregation service SumAll has released a new GitHub API integration allowing businesses to track team productivity and better monitor the full bug tracking development lifecycle. The new integration is a clear example of the value that aggregating various APIs into one visual data layer can bring to the enterprise and to small business.


text: Marriott International Inc. is buying Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. for $12.2 billion to create the world's largest hotel company, beating other suitors, which reportedly included Hyatt Hotels Corp.Marriott is paying $2 a share in cash and 0.92 of its own stock for Stamford, Connecticut-based Starwood, the companies said in a statement on Monday. The new group will operate or franchise more than 5,500 hotels with 1.1 million rooms worldwide."This is an opportunity to create value by combining the distribution and strengths of Marriott and Starwood, enhancing our competitiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace," said Arne Sorenson, Marriott's president and chief executive officer. "Greater scale should offer a wider choice of brands to consumers, improve economics to owners and franchisees, increase unit growth and enhance long-term value to shareholders."The deal is the largest takeover of a hotel company since Blackstone Group bought Hilton for $26 billion in 2007. Starwood has been exploring options including a sale since the February departure of longtime head Frits van Paasschen amid criticism he failed to increase the number of properties carrying Starwood's brands quickly enough. Starwood hired Lazard Ltd. to advise it in April. CEO Adam Aron has been leading Starwood on an interim basis.At least three Chinese companies were pursuing bids for Starwood, according to a person with knowledge of the matter in October. CNBC reported on Oct. 28 that Hyatt was holding takeover talks with Starwood."The economies of scale really matter in the lodging business because higher volumes on the reservation system can drive business to less-occupied properties on a given night," said James Corl, a managing director at real estate private equity firm Siguler Guff & Co. "Reservation-system scale drives both occupancy and rate, and that helps cash flow and operating margins."The hotel industry in the U.S. is in its sixth year of recovery from the recession and is facing supply surges in cities including New York and Seattle. In the Americas, revenue per available room—a measure of profitability used by the lodging industry—increased 6.6% this year through September, according to STR Global. Revpar rose 7.6% in Europe and 2.9% in the Middle East and Africa, while it fell 0.2% in the Asia-Pacific region, the lodging-research company said.


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Hackers Cracked Amazon’s CloudAdded: Monday, August 4th, 2014
Category: Recent Headlines Involving File Sharing > Current Events
Tags:ET, p2p, Torrent, Piracy, Peer To Peer, Network, Hackers, Internet, BitTorrent, Google, utorrent, bitcomet, extratorrent, 2013, www.extratorrent.cc
Apparently, the digital thieves found out a way to break into Amazon’s cloud and infect it with DDoS malware. Security experts found out that the hole was thanks to a flaw in distributed search engine software Elasticsearch, a popular open-source search engine server. The software in question was developed in Java, and it is known that Java allows apps to perform full-text search for different documents via a REST API (representational state transfer application programming interface).
The Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is not the only one which uses Elasticsearch: the search engine server is commonly used in many cloud environments, such as Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine and other platforms.
According to the engine’s developers, versions 1.1.x of Elasticsearch support active scripting via API calls in their default configuration. However, the authors failed to explain why this doesn’t require authentication. This is how the malware creators have broken into the system.
Apparently, the developers decided not to release a patch for the 1.1.x branch, but starting with version 1.2.0, dynamic scripting was disabled by default. In the meantime, Kaspersky Lab has discovered variants of Mayday, a Trojan program for Linux used to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks, and one of them was caught running on compromised Amazon EC2 server instances.
According to Kaspersky Lab researchers, Amazon was not the only victim of the intruders. They also break into virtual machines run by Amazon EC2 customers by exploiting the CVE-2014-3120 vulnerability in Elasticsearch 1.1.x, because it was still being used by some organizations in active commercial deployments despite being superseded by 1.2.x and 1.3.x versions.
Security experts saw the early stages of the Elasticsearch attacks. They also found out that the intruders modified publicly available proof-of-concept exploit code for CVE-2014-3120 and installed a Perl-based Web shell with its help. This is how the hackers got a backdoor script which allowed remote attackers to execute Linux shell commands over the Internet. According to the information from the security specialists, the script downloads the new version of the Mayday DDoS bot, dubbed Backdoor.Linux.Mayday.g.
Posted by: Date:
Monday, August 4th, 2014
|posted by (2014-08-04 12:39:23)|
|Eventually, as we rely more and more on cloud based services, this will be an everyday occurrence.|
|posted by (2014-08-04 18:56:59)|
|Hackers can crack only those things has loop holes, having OS & protocols loop holes. my system is open for hacking, hack it....||
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“Teikametrics, the Retail Optimization Platform (ROP) that helps brands and sellers accelerate profitable sales growth on Amazon, announced that it has hired Srini Guddanti, a veteran Amazon executive who helped grow the retail site’s digital advertising operations into a $10+ billion business, as its new chief product officer (CPO).
Throughout his 14-year tenure at Amazon, Guddanti held leadership roles across every crucial function of the company’s ecommerce ecosystem, from retail finance, to Amazon Prime, to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Starting in 2016, Guddanti served as Director of Worldwide Sponsored Ads Growth & Customer Success at Amazon, working directly with Paul Kotas, SVP of Worldwide Advertising, to accelerate global adoption of Amazon’s Sponsored Products ads. While in this role, Guddanti managed a global team of 700+ employees across 11 countries.
“Srini played a pivotal role in turning Amazon’s Sponsored Ad business into the company’s second fastest-growing business unit,” said Alasdair McLean-Foreman, CEO of Teikametrics. “With Srini’s deep, long-standing knowledge of Amazon’s ad products and retail ad marketplaces, he is the perfect person to lead Teikametrics’ product team as we expand our functionality and market reach.”
As Teikametrics’ CPO, Guddanti will apply his decade of e-commerce insider knowledge to guide the company’s evolving product roadmap and drive continued marketplace advertising success for brand owners across all channels and platforms. This is particularly important given Amazon’s ongoing shift towards third-party sales, leading the retail site to forge partnerships with technology companies that can support this broader ecosystem. Guddanti’s arrival, and his familiarity with Teikametrics from his tenure at Amazon, underscores that the Teikametrics approach aligns with Amazon’s vision for the future.”


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UAE – Mubasher: Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Tel Aviv Chamber of Commerce have inked a strategic agreement to enhance cooperation in a number of sectors of mutual interests, according to Dubai media office.
Tel Aviv Chamber of Commerce was represented by the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce.
Dubai Chamber and Tel Aviv Chamber will cooperate in organising virtual events and business delegation and mutual visits, hosting a joint business forum, and supporting new businesses and startups.
Moreover, the public and private sectors across the Middle East will benefit from the partnership, which will provide new investment opportunities for cross-border collaboration in different economic fields.
The President and CEO of Dubai Chamber, Hamad Buamim, said that the agreement will set a framework for bilateral economic cooperation and mutually-beneficial partnerships.
The President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce and Tel Aviv Chamber of Commerce, Uriel Lynn, remarked: "It will build cooperation for two-way trade in areas, such as high-tech, tourism, aviation, investment and real estate, and more specifically, cyber, clean-tech, irrigation, ag-tech, digital health care, and much more."


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ActionCOACH Expands Into the New Territory of Kenya in the Midst of the Recession
ActionCOACH Lemmie Maloiy has taken ActionCOACH to Kenya.
Las Vegas, NV, --(PR.com)-- When ActionCOACH Lemmie Maloiy decided to move back from Perth, Australia to his hometown in Kenya, he took his ActionCOACH practice with him.
As part of the successful business coaching firm Business Success Excelerators Pty Ltd (BSE), which represents ActionCOACH in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Mr Maloiy is now ready to take the proven and tested ActionCOACH tools, systems and knowledge to a brand new territory.
"The business environment in Kenya is conducive to the growth of the ActionCOACH brand," Director of Franchise Sales and Marketing Jodie Shaw said. "Kenya has a robust small business sector – which is critical to the economic success of the region."
Mr Maloiy also foresees many opportunities for business coaching in Kenya.
"With Kenya's small-and-medium sized enterprise (SME) sector starting to develop, there is a massive opportunity for ActionCOACH to flourish in the region," he said. "Business coaching is a new concept but has the potential to form a symbiotic relationship with the SME market. The biggest opportunity I see for the Kenyan market is the education provided by ActionCOACH and the expertise which comes with each and every coach that carries the ActionCOACH badge."
Expanding ActionCOACH's operations in Kenya will take the company closer to its goal of operating in 120 countries by December 12th, 2012 ("120 by 12/12/2012").
At a time when confidence in business is at an all-time low, ActionCOACH is making huge strides in the business world.
"While the global financial crunch is on, it is good to see that the small-to-medium sized market in Kenya is still vibrant," Mr Maloiy said. "The going will get tough, but the signs that this could be the key to keeping the economy afloat are evident."
Mr Maloiy points out how in any growing economy, the middle class greatly influences the direction of the economy due to its sheer numbers, and believes that change in Kenya will come from the small-and-medium sized business sector.
"My passion lies with this business sector because of its immense potential for growth - this growth will spur a plethora of different activities that will directly reflect on Kenya as a country," he said. "Education and empowerment of the business owners in this sector will go a long way to foster this growth."
Mr Maloiy is confident that the system developed by ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars is specifically for small-to-medium sized business and covers all aspects of the business world, from finances to succession planning and believes this diverse aspect is hard to beat.
"The niche I plan to carve out is that of a business educator," he said. "Education is the key to empowerment and I think with the right knowledge, business owners can flourish and take their businesses to the next level."
Business Coaching is a growth industry and is the second fastest growing industry, behind IT. ActionCOACH enjoys the largest slice of this lucrative and growing market.
A practice development research revealed that 58% of businesses use a Business Coach. This same study also found that a business can increase profit margin by an average of 46% by using the services of a certified Business Coach.
ActionCOACH is the world's number one business coaching and executive coaching franchise, with more than 1,000 offices in 26 countries.


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Monthly Archives: December 2012
UK chip maker ARM has jointly developed a new security standard for smartphones that by-passes the need for other devices like bank card readers and secure ID tags, while also also allowing content to be shared more easily between handsets.
Trustonic, a venture with partners Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient, has been in gestation since April this year and is said to allow the new security standard to be incorporated into every level of a smartphone, from the chip and OS through to applications. Continue reading
More and more retailers are bringing their online shops to the offline world using QR Codes. In 2012, over 300 virtual stores were published worldwide in 2012 and over 2,000 have already being planned for 2013. With the rise of mobile devices, retailers are starting to offer ultimate shopping convenience. Retailer chains and supermarkets are addressing the time challenges and online mind-set of the modern world, by bringing their products to their customer on mobile devices in a virtual store. Continue reading
Rating: Dutch Shop2Mobi says they’ll be massive in 2013
Here’s an interesting take on the dilemma for traditional bricks & mortar style retailers trying to drive more traffic from the mobile internet. How do you get shoppers to visit you? Well, Shop2Mobi, thinks it has found the answer by enabling retailers set up a QR code store online. The company’s offering has effectively been operating in ‘stealth’ mode for two months with 300 virtual stores having been published worldwide in 2012 and over 2,000 have already being planned for 2013. Continue reading
Chinese manufacturer Huawei looks set to do a Crocodile Dundee on smartphone rivals by introducing a new model with a huge 8.5 inch display.
News and images of the new model have been leaked on Twitter and, if true, should allow Huawei to trump other manufacturers with the suitable riposte ‘Call that a phone…?’ before unsheathing their own monster. Continue reading
Rating: it’s nothing to do with SMS
When the authors of the ZMS app for Android and iOS , inZair, described the product as, “Set to revolutionise smartphone messaging,” – they managed to confuse us here at GoMobile Towers. We thought the product (because of the name) was revolutionising the text/SMS market. The blurb talked about ZMS users specifying the time and/or the location that recipients receive their text, picture, video or voice messages. Initially, we thought that would enable us to trigger an SMS when we reached a particular venue, for example. Sadly, this ability only applies to those with the app loaded and the app creates a ‘ZMS’ rather than an SMS or MMS. Continue reading
ZMS will allow users to choose when and where recipients receive messages for the first time
December 14th 2012. Tech start-up, inZair, has launched its messaging application which will transform how people communicate on their smartphones. ZMS, which is available on Android and iOS , is a free to download app which gives users unprecedented control over how they communicate, by specifying the time and/or the location that recipients receive their text, picture, video or voice messages. Continue reading
by Pearlie Davis, a staff writer for Andgeeksh
Today’s business owners need to be mobile in order to help their businesses grow and run more smoothly. That means working out of the office—and that means they need to connect back to the office when they’re on the road, travelling, and dealing with staff and clients half way around the globe using mobile tools. The days of business filing away paper documents and meeting one-on-one with clients and contractors to conduct business are long gone. The current business landscape demands that businesses be mobile –as far as browsing, shopping, buying, meeting and marketing goes. So here are four mobile tools that effectively increase business productivity – on the fly. Continue reading
All eyes now on Vodafone to see how cost of expansion impacts pay-outs
News that Dutch telecoms group KPN is scrapping its final dividend this year and reducing 2013 pay-outs sent its share price plummeting 13 per cent on early trading in Amsterdam today [17th December 2012] in what may prove an omen for rival UK operator Vodafone. KPN is diverting dividend payments into expanding its network, having only last week spent €1.35 billion on acquiring new spectrum in the Netherlands in a government auction. But today the operator, nearly a third of which is owned by Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim, was paying the price for its dividend cuts as investors headed for the hills, wiping millions off the company’s value. Continue reading
Rating: We think a dinghy variant could prevent loo water damage
In another illustration of the way the US Patents system works, Jeff Bezos – a muti-millionaire as a result of founding Amazon, has supposedly filed a truly daft patent. It is an air bag that will trigger as you drop your handset to prevent it from damaging the device – particularly the screen. The patent is clearly aimed at iPhone users. At around £50 a pop to replace a cracked screen, it’s widely estimated that Apple fanboys have wasted millions keeping their smartphones alive. GoMobile News cannot see the point of this invention since – amongst other things, the air bag would be redundant if Apple simply had used Gorilla glass on its smartphones like Nokia does. Continue reading
UK chip maker Imagination Technologies has upped its takeover offer for MIPS, trumping yet again bidding rival Ceva.
Only last week Ceva looked set to win after putting $90 million on the table, but today [17th December 2012] it was revealed that Imagination might be back in the running by increasing its offer to $100 million.
But the revised offer, if accepted, is likely to drag down Imagination’s cash position though at stake is MIPS vast library of patents in the mobile field. Continue reading
BlackBerry maker RIM is expected to reveal yet another round of losses when it reveals its third quarter results on Thursday [20th December 2012], casting a shadow over next month’s crucial product launches.
Wall Street analysts are expecting a loss of $182 million (£112 million) compared with a loss of $235 million in Q2. Sales are expected to slide to $2.7 billion from $2.9 billion. Continue reading
Britain’s top brass are today [17th December 2012] expected to unveil plans to sell off military airwaves in a move that could simultaneously boost exchequer coffers and bolster the amount of 4G spectrum available.
Experts believe that as much as £1 billion could be raised from auctioning Ministry of Defence airwaves, adding to the £3.5 billion that Chancellor George Osborne hopes to accrue from the current 4G auction. Continue reading
Rating: The Peoples’ Operator sends SIMs out Before Xmas
Having been at the original launch of the UK MVNO, The People’s Operator (TPO), GoMobile News finally received its SIM card in the Post (mail). Which is interesting because it’s almost a month after the actual Press event (November 19th 2012) and we signed up immediately. But, hey, it is just in time for Xmas. One thing which we can confirm, however, is that TPO is definitely hosted on the EE network. That’s good news because you shouldn’t need to unlock a an Orange or T-Mobile handset. Continue reading
Rating: This time it is on a bar mat
There’s a common theme running through GoMobile News‘ coverage of QR code based campaigns and that is the best examples of such promotions almost always can be found in pubs. So step forward the Ship in New Cavendish Stree in London’s W1 district where we discovered the world’s most sexist bar mat. Once again it is part of bus company, Eurolines’, ‘See What You’re Missing in Europe’ campaign. Previously Eurolines was behind this story ‘GoMo uncovers world’s first sexist QR campaign‘. Continue reading
Meanwhile UK parent embarks on £1.5bn share buy-back programme
Vodafone’s Dutch offshoot has splashed out €1.4 billion on licensing new spectrum to underpin its 4G ambitions across the region. Valid for 17 years, Vodafone Netherlands has acquired six tranches of spectrum in the 800, 900 and 1800 MHz bands. Like the UK, the Netherlands has lagged behind in 4G roll-out, despite the fact that more than half of the country’s mobile users have smartphones. Up until now it has also had only three mobile operators with their own networks – KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone – who in turn allow other operators to use their airwaves. But with the trio’s own licenses due to end in February 2013, the Dutch mobile market is expected to go into overdrive as 4G spectrum becomes widely available. Continue reading


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Numerous sources have told WWD that the Spanish fragrance and fashion house will reveal as early as Thursday that it has acquired the brand.
A Puig spokeswoman declined to comment on Wednesday, following swirling reports launched by Bloomberg.
One source told WWD that BDT Capital will also take a share in Charlotte Tilbury, and that its celebrity makeup artist founder is to retain a meaningful stake in her brand. Charlotte Tilbury Beauty chief executive officer Demetra Pinsent is also expected to maintain a position in the business.
The source pegged the brand’s purchase price at around 1.2 billion pounds, making the acquisition worth about five-times revenues. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are said to be in the high $20 million range.
In fiscal 2018, Charlotte Tilbury’s sales rose 34 percent to 100.9 million pounds, while EBITDA was 3.8 million pounds, up from 2.8 million pounds in the previous year. Net profit after tax was 3.5 million pounds, according to Companies House, the official register of U.K. businesses.
Speculation about a pending deal had emerged months ago, with Unilever, The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., L’Oréal and Shiseido cited as front-runners.
According to a source, Charlotte Tilbury went into the sale process looking for a valuation of up to 3 billion pounds. WWD first reported that Tilbury was looking into a deal in 2019, and added investment bank Jefferies to work with Goldman Sachs on a deal early this year.
For Puig, the upsides of acquiring Charlotte Tilbury are manifold.
For one, it would give the Spanish beauty group a further push into color cosmetics, a product category the family-owned company first dipped into, with great success, after acquiring the Christian Louboutin beauty license in March 2018.
Puig, which mostly trades in the fragrance space, would also welcome a brand that has a swiftly growing skin-care business. Sources estimate skin care makes up about one-third of Tilbury’s sales. That share could rise to 50 percent by yearend, spurred by the successful launch of the Magic Serum Crystal Elixir for $80.
Several sources say the Tilbury web site has performed very well, which is attractive to investors, especially as brick-and-mortar retail closed worldwide due to the coronavirus. The brand’s sales online have more than doubled since last year, one source said.
Another source said during lockdown, online sales have been up 20 percent week-on-week.
Further, it’s believed Puig sees Tilbury as someone who can develop other lines, potentially a lifestyle concept. That’s a similar strategy Puig planned for Dries Van Noten when it acquired the label two years ago and at the time said the brand might be expanded into categories such as homeware.
Puig’s fragrance portfolio, which in 2019 generated estimated sales of 1.81 billion euros, up 3 percent year-over-year, is a mix of owned and licensed labels, such as Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne, Penhaligon’s and Comme des Garçons.
The Puig business hit some hurdles of late — not only as the domestic travel-retail channels dried up during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also as a couple of brands have left or are about to exit its stable.
In 2018, Puig’s fragrance license with Valentino was discontinued by mutual agreement. And on Jan. 1, 2021, Puig’s fragrance license with Prada, which began as a partnership in 2003, comes to an end.
Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, a rapidly growing hybrid skin-care, makeup and scent brand, was launched in the U.K. in late 2013.
Tilbury herself is not just identifiable by her flaming red hair and penchant for sky-high pumps, but has personified a new generation of beauty entrepreneurs who are rewriting the rules of marketing and are as adept at building online communities as making in-store appearances, as comfortable spearheading next-generation product development as reading a P&L.
Her brand — best known for Magic Cream, priced at $100, and Pillow Talk Matte Revolution Lipstick, at $34 — successfully represents the convergence of all of Tilbury’s worlds, creating “looks” (and attendant products), based on her work. So The Rock Chick — heavy on black kohl and mascara — was based on her friend Kate Moss, while The Golden Goddess translated Sienna Miller’s glow appeal.
Tilbury’s products are frequently merchandised with “look” suggestions that guide buyers to which products they can use to create various beauty moments.
“Designers tell you what tops to wear with what skirts and shoes,” Tilbury told WWD Beauty Inc in a 2016 interview, “but no makeup brand tells you what eyes to wear with what cheeks and what lips, and puts it all together in an easy format. What women want is time-effective, easy-to-use, easy-to-choose products. We are all time-poor. We want quick, efficient products.”
Tilbury relishes staging rollicking events with her retailers. “We live in an era where you can’t not be disruptive,” she said in the same interview. “We live in the digital era and to stay relevant, everyone has to change.”
Her motto? “Give a woman the right makeup and she can conquer the world,” she told WWD Beauty Inc. “I’m incredibly ambitious and hard-working, and I’ve had a vision of that since I was a young girl. This is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
In 2017, Charlotte Tilbury Beauty took on a new minority investor, Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. Welsh-born billionaire Sir Michael Moritz, a partner at Sequoia Capital, joined the board of the beauty brand.
Sequoia, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif., was an early investor in Google, Alibaba and WhatsApp. Tilbury’s other minority investors include Venrex Investment Management, run by Mark Esiri.
Charlotte Tilbury has won scores of industry awards, including the 2015 Beauty Inc Indie of the Year prize. The brand regularly scoops CEW U.K. Awards for a variety of its products.
The company is also widely recognized for its social, community-based marketing strategies, and is big on innovation, introducing the augmented reality “Magic Mirror” to Westfield London and the brand’s Covent Garden shop, launching a virtual reality perfume experience involving Moss, and creating the “Hot Lips x Women for Women” lipsticks. A percentage of proceeds from the sales go to the Women for Women charity.
During an interview in May 2019, when Marc Puig, Puig’s chief executive officer was discussing the company’s overall 2018 results — net profits rising 6 percent to 242 million euros and stable sales at 1.93 billion euros — he also talked about the makeup category and the Christian Louboutin brand.
“We are eager to, step by step, gain experience and territory in that category,” said Puig. “So far the potential of the brand, the evolution and progress we’ve made is beyond our expectations.
“And in the near future there will be some of the brands in our portfolio that will enter the color-cosmetics cosmetics category, too. We want to do it right — not necessarily big up front,” he continued.
The Carolina Herrera makeup brand was introduced in March. It began with a range of lipsticks and compacts that comes in packaging so sculptural and precious it can double as jewelry.
Puig has been honing its focus on niche brands, as well. In 2018, for instance, it increased its stake in the Eric Buterbaugh Los Angeles fragrance business. It also holds a stake in the Brazilian high-end beauty maker and retailer Granado.
For more from WWD.com, see:
WATCH: The Secrets Behind RMS Beauty’s Success


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Volvo Cars has signed a licence agreement with patent pool Avanci. Earlier this week the connected cars patent pool announced new licensors including Acer and Hewlett Packard. But even with a fast growing number of members, some premium auto brands such as Daimler are resisting taking an Avanci licence.
5 December 2019 by Mathieu Klos
Including the new licensee Volvo Cars, the total number of auto brands licensed through the Avanci patent pool has increased to 14. So far, it is mainly the BMW Group and its sub-brands, and the VW Group including Audi and Porsche, that have taken licenses.
On Monday, Avanci announced four new patent owners as members of the patent pool. Acer, Hewlett Packard, Intellectual Discovery and Longhorn IP are pooling their patent portfolios with the licensing platform.
According to Avanci, 36 patent holders are now licensors, including Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, Unwired Planet and ZTE. Earlier this year Sisvel, Orange, Deutsche Telekom and others joined the pool.
Avanci is now licensing most 2G, 3G and 4G patents in a single agreement. These patents cover wireless technology and are standard essential patents (SEPs). This technology plays a significant role in the automotive industry and Internet of Things (IoT).
In recent years, Avanci has seen a number of car manufacturers forced to take a licence. This is due to mobile phone companies accusing the car manufacturers of patent infringement. In April 2019, Audi and Porsche agreed to take a global licence for connected cars patents following protracted negotiations.
A partial agreement with parent company Volkswagen followed in May. Sources claimed that VW had accepted a licence for 2G and 3G patents. There was speculation that a licence for 4G patents was under negotiation. However, neither VW nor Avanci confirmed this.
Meanwhile, Volvo Cars has agreed on the full package including 2G, 3G and 4G essential patents.
Two members of the patent pool are currently litigating against Daimler at the German patent courts. In April, Nokia filed ten patent lawsuits at the regional courts of Düsseldorf, Mannheim and Munich. The Finnish company accuses Daimler of infringing its SEPs, and is demanding damages and the rendering of accounts. Nokia has filed four lawsuits with the Regional Court Mannheim. The Regional Court Düsseldorf and the Regional Court Munich will each hear three complaints.
At the same time, Japanese electronics company Sharp has sued Daimler several times in theRegional Courts in Mannheim and Munich over connected cars patents. Sharp accuses Daimler of infringing five SEPs.
Both disputes are connected to the licensing disputes between car makers and the Avanci patent pool. As a result of the claims, Germany has become the go-to country for connected cars claims.
Avanci sees itself as a provider of simple licensing solutions for industries such as the automotive sector, in which mobile communications are becoming increasingly necessary.
Some car makers such as Daimler, however, vehemently reject the pool’s licence offers. Above all, the question of which company in the production chain should take the licence currently seems to be the main point of contention between the patent pool, and the automotive industry. (co-author: Laura King)


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China's big data advantage isn't enough
(Bloomberg View) -- The digital world relies on data, and no one produces more of it than China's 1.4 billion internet users. The vast wealth of information these users emit has helped Chinese tech companies become some of the world's best, and led to speculation that China will inevitably dominate future technologies, such as artificial intelligence. But this is almost certainly mistaken. Data, it turns out, isn't destiny.
Even in the digital age, data may have a declining utility. Tech companies already have millions of users. To believe that China will have a significant advantage due to its population size requires us to believe that each additional user adds as much to an informational ecosystem as the first one. If that were true, then India -- with nearly as many internet users as China -- should be just as likely to be the next world leader.
In reality, a data set's usefulness can face diminishing returns to scale. Twitter Inc., with some 300 million active monthly users, faces nearly no data disadvantage against WeChat, with 1 billion users. Although a larger sample size will generally include more significant correlations, the probability of finding statistical significance at 1 billion users but not 300 million is effectively zero. Plus, larger populations tend to be more susceptible to false positives.
Tech companies, moreover, don't crunch data in simplistic ways. They commonly use a technique called clustering, for instance, in which users are lumped together based on their commonalities. Rather than relying on blunt-force statistics, clustering separates people into refined groups that can be more precisely targeted. This leads to more efficiency and better results. Often, the sophistication of the clustering model is more important than the size of the data set.
Perhaps most important, humans still matter. A huge data set isn't worth much without skilled workers to distill it and extract insights. Dating sites are continually updating their algorithms to account for what people say they want in a partner, for instance. But it turns out that what they don't say can be just as important, if not more so. Algorithms are poorly suited for understanding such behavior. Past a certain point, more data is useless without people who can make sense of it.
In this world, China faces some steep challenges.
One is attracting talent. Although China has a burgeoning tech scene, high-level data scientists are in short supply. The Communist Party has been struggling to lure tech workers from abroad, despite offering generous incentives. This is largely due to China's internet restrictions: In addition to blocking popular sites such as YouTube, the government also prevents access to software libraries like Github and academic sites like Google Scholar. Given a choice, top technologists will look elsewhere.
Another concern is privacy. Because China's privacy laws aren't strictly enforced, tech companies can monitor their users intensively, offering them an advantage in everything from optimizing ads to assessing credit risk. As one executive put it, these companies "know where you've traveled, what movies you saw, what restaurants you ate at." This intense surveillance may be a growing liability, however. A significant consumer backlash is building in China, driven partly by ubiquitous fraud and identity theft. And Chinese tech companies are running into stiff resistance when trying to expand into more privacy-conscious markets overseas.
This raises a final concern. Chinese tech firms are largely confined to China, where they're protected from competition. This gives them a dominant market position and other advantages. But a platform that censors searches for Winnie the Pooh simply isn't going to be competitive overseas. Google and Facebook Inc., with much more international experience, have proven adept at understanding a global audience and picking up on diverse socio-cultural norms. Extracting ever more data from local users won't help Chinese companies compete at that level.
Data is the lifeblood of the digital world. But learning how to use it requires human talent, insight and creativity. In that race, China's tech giants still have a ways to go.


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There’s no denying the fact that the PlayStation 3 has power. What it doesn’t have are a ton of good titles and high sales figures. The latter is no doubt tied to the former, but unless the sales start to pick up, Sony may have trouble finding developers that want to produce good titles.
Apparently Sony has been practically begging third-party developers to continue working on new titles for their flagship console. The problem is that the PS3 isn’t exactly the easiest console to work with, and with slow sales, developers aren’t turning a high enough profit to justify creating new games.
Hopefully the holiday season will see a turn-around for the PS3. The recent price drop will no doubt help with the sales. If there is money to be made, developers won’t be quite as hesitant to devote time and resources towards creating new titles.
Playstation 3 developers being begged to stay? [via crunchgear]


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French auto parts supplier Valeo is launching new products and opening new factories on the hope that the present sluggishness in the Indian market will give way to a revival in the ensuing months.
However, other smaller tier-III suppliers, which supply to companies like Valeo, are waiting for big orders from car and SUV making firms to resume. With no clear indication on production patterns and new launches expected only after August, several suppliers are holding back investments.
Arvind Saxena, director (sales and marketing), Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), said, “Next six-seven months are (going to be) challenging from the industry perspective because there is nothing which can bring in a substantial change in demand. Car is bought on need but mostly bought on sentiment, so right now there is no general optimism in the market.”
Hyundai is holding back multi-crore investments scheduled for setting up a diesel engine plant, following flip-flops by the government on issues relating to the fuel’s deregulation. The Korean car brand is also launching only one new product in the market this year in addition to a face-lifted sedan.
P R Dhaamodharan, group president and MD, Valeo India, said, “Of course, when the market goes down, everybody will feel the pressures. The last few months have not been encouraging. However, we are here for a long innings. The second quarter should usher in some revival.”
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers has predicted a volume growth of 13 per cent for the next financial year, but some manufacturers like Maruti believe that the realistic growth should be around 10 per cent.
With the current market slide in demand, car companies are playing safe by introducing products only towards the festive period of the year. Several new vehicles comprising sedans and SUVs are slated to come only after August this year.
Ford’s all-new global compact SUV Eco-Sport will be made available towards the end of the year, while Nissan’s new multi-seater van Evalia will come in August. Others including General Motors Chevrolet Sail and a new multi-purpose vehicle will be launched in the second half of the year.
Lowell Paddock, president and managing director, General Motors India, said, “Where we would wind up (this year) is difficult to say. There is lot of anxiety as far as the state of Indian economy is concerned. We do not know which way will inflation go.”
The industry is looking towards the next festive period for a revival in sentiments led by an expected easing of interest rates on vehicle and other consumer loans in the coming months. High interest rates and jump in fuel costs have put brakes on vehicle demand. SUV segment market leader Mahindra & Mahindra too will launch products from the SsangYong portfolio after June.
To capitalise on the lack of interest by its competitors, car market leader, Maruti Suzuki, will introduce two new models including the multi-seater Ertiga in April and a compact version of the Swift DZire sedan launched this month.
German car maker, Volkswagen, will not launch any new vehicle but the face-lifted version of the Touareg, also in April, followed by the refurbished Beetle. While the focus for car makers has been the compact segment in the past few years, no new budget small cars are expected for launch this year.
Two-wheeler manufacturers are, however, keen to get their new products rolling in order to keep the momentum in demand high. Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, TVS Motors and KTM have lined up a slew of launches spread over the next six months.
Unlike the passenger vehicle segment (including cars and SUVs), whose growth has remained flat 1.80 million units in the nine months ended December, the domestic two-wheeler market has grown by 15 per cent, recording sales of nearly 10 million units during the same period.


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Real estate website provider Placester has launched a program aimed integrating the tools and services of various tech vendors into its platform. Vendors who join Placester’s “Industry Partner” program will be able to put their products at the fingertips of tens of thousands of real estate agents who use Placester’s platform.
- Tech vendors who join Placester's 'Industry Partner' program can put their products at the fingertips of tens of thousands of agents.
The premier event for luxury agents and brokers
Luxury Connect | Oct. 16-18 | Beverly Hills


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Razorpay, an Indian converged payments solutions company, has announced the public launch of Payment Pages, which allows anyone to use Razorpay to start accepting payments online. This means that if you want to sell goods online or ask people for donations for a cause, you can use Razorpay Payment Pages to accept payments online. You can either embed Razorpay Payment Pages on your website or host it on Razorpay’s website to start accepting payments.
Payment Pages was in beta until now and it was being used by around 700 merchants, Razorpay CEO Harshil Mathur told Gadgets 360. “The total time to go live (on Payment Pages) is less than five minutes. Putting the basic information is really simple. It will generate a shareable link,” he said, highlighting the fact that it’s going to make things easy for any businesses or charities looking at setting up online payments. “We already have 700 businesses live on it and most of them got onboard organically,” he added.
Razorpay’s focus has always been on ease of use. With Payment Pages, Mathur said that remains the case. “Customers get a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor — it’s a dashboard product,” he added, stating that the target market is small and medium enterprises (SME), educational institutions, and charities.
One big competitor for Razorpay Payment Pages is Instamojo, which has been offering this service for a few years now. Instamojo’s growth has been powered by small-town merchants but Razorpay’s offering is likely cater to a different market. “We are now working on utility companies and insurance companies. A lot of small companies don’t know how to handle this (online payments),” he added.
Razorpay aims to have around 10,000 customers using Payment Pages by the end of this financial year. You can set up an online store via Payment Pages for free, but Razorpay takes a standard 2-3 percent cut on each transaction.


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Apple will launch their 2021 batch of smartphones called iPhone 13 series later this year. The 13th generation Apple iPhones may come in 4 variants, just like last year, including iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, and the iPhone mini. We already have details about the upcoming iPhone 13. Check them out below and also download the latest iPhone 13 wallpapers.
Currently, we only have details about the regular iPhone 13. David at @ xleaks7 in collaboration with coverpigtou (source below), has put out the details such as image and video renders of the 6.1 incher iPhone 13. The product showcasing here is a Red version featuring dimensions – 146.64 x 71.5 x 7.56 mm. The front camera notch seems a little smaller than last year. It will feature upgraded processor, and some tweaks here and there.
There are two Apple events coming in the next couple of months. One is the Apple Event held on April 20, 2021 where the OEM will showcase new iPad Pro 2021 or even the iPad Mini. Later on June 7, 2021, there’s another WWDC (Developer Conference) event where Apple will introduce iOS 15 along with new products. The iPhone 13 may release in Q4 of 2021 like every year.
Download iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max Wallpapers
Here you will find the new Apple iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro wallpapers in high resolution as shown in the video above. We have also listed some stunning concept wallpapers from various artists.
- Download iPhone 13 wallpapers from video
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Wallpapers Concept
Thanks to 9TechEleven, you will find some iPhone 13 concept wallpapers.


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Maruti Alto is about to receive its highly awaited generation change, which should help it become an even stronger rival to the likes of Renault Kwid and Datsun redi-GO
Maruti Alto is one of the most successful hatchbacks available in the Indian market at the moment. While the hatchback had undergone its first generation with not many changes, Maruti Suzuki has shortened the life cycle of the car since. It is now due to receive the new generation updates. Recently, Maruti has commenced testing on the prototype model of the new-gen Maruti Alto. Recently, the 2021 Maruti Alto was seen undergoing testing in full disguise.
In earlier reports, it was suggested that the new Maruti Alto would adopt the hatch-cross design approach like the Renault Kwid. However, as the current spy images indicate, it is unlikely to be true. Instead, Maruti Suzuki will keep the traditional look of a small-footprint hatchback with straight-forward design. This decision is reasonable since Maruti Suzuki has already offered the Maruti S-Presso as the hatch-cross model of the line-up.
According to the spy images, it seems that Maruti Suzuki has adjusted the proportions of the Maruti Alto a bit, which is expected to bring in a better interior space. The front and rear overhangs appear to be longer than in the current avatar. In general, the 2021 Maruti Alto is likely to make some notable improvements in terms of rear room and boot space.
2021 Maruti Alto is expected to see a huge improvement in terms of interior comfort
The next-gen Maruti Alto is expected to come with a revised interior as well. However, there is no image of the interior available at this point. It is likely that Maruti Alto will receive inspiration from the WagonR and S-Presso. To keep up with the current trend, the Maruti Alto is likely to get a touchscreen infotainment system which is becoming more popular in the entry-level market.
As far as the mechanical updates are concerned, the Maruti Alto will likely to be built on the HEARTECT modular platform. The same platform is widely used on the Maruti’s range of small cars. The application of the new platform will play a significant part in helping the new Alto come to terms with the new safety norms while keeping the kerb weight under control.
In terms of the powertrains, the Maruti Alto is expected to keep the current engine options. However, the existing 0.8-litre and 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engines are likely to undergo some modifications. Both manual and AMT gearbox option will be available on the new-gen version. And we won’t exclude the chance of an all-electric Maruti Alto.


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The carrier - the last major U.S. network to get the iPhone - promises the device will come to customers in a "new affordable, unrestricted and hassle-free way" via its new "Un-carrier" data plans.
For $99.99 down plus $20 monthly payments for 24 months, qualifying T-Mobile customers can pick up the phone. The device will be compatible with T-Mobile's LTE network, which today is now available in seven major markets.
The iPhone 5 will come with no annual service contract plus unlimited talk, text and web.
T-Mobile's new look
CEO John Legere called the partnership T-Mobile has forged with Apple in working to get the iPhone "the start of a long relationship." The iPhone 5 helps "fill a huge voice in our device portfolio," he added.
Select markets will also welcome the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, with the iPhone 4S selling for $69.99 down at $20/month for 24 months and the Four going for $14.99 down at $15/month for 24 months. These devices won't run on T-Mo's LTE.
T-Mobile's iPhone 5 will include HD Voice nationwide, making it the only carrier to do so. Through its Simple Choice plan, customers can also turn the phone into a hotspot, nabbing an additional 500MB of 4G data for tethering to iPads, Macs and other devices.
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There's also unlimited simultaneous surf and talk.
The iPhone 5 on T-Mobile will support HSPA+ on AWS bandwidths and 1900 GSM frequencies as well as the 4G its so highly proud of.
For a carrier known for its openness to unlocking, it may come as a bit of a surprise to know that the phones signed up for with T-Mobile - including the iPhone 5 - will stay locked to the carrier until the device is fully paid off.
Furthermore, if customers get a phone they're not entirely happy with, they can trade it in at fair market credit for the device.
Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook. A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.
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The German premium sports manufacturer is touting a teaser in regards to the secret – for now – celebration for the 30 years anniversary of the M5 model.
The M Power blog is at the moment in a nostalgic mood, seeking to celebrate with us all five previous incarnations of the Autobahn-beating sedan and then end it all “with a surprise.”
To start the proceedings and kick-off in a smoky manner the celebrations, they outed a video of the current generation M5 doing some donuts. Then, before revealing the surprise, the BMW guys will chronicle all five generations – although most probably we’re in for a special edition of some sorts.
The first M5 was originally revealed in 1985 with a range topping 3.5-liter six-cylinder packing 282 horsepower (286 PS) – which was rather much for the period. Of course, besides being the most expensive BMW, the M5 also claimed to own the title of the fastest four-door sports sedan in series production. Now, the 4.4-liter M Twin Power Turbo V8 outs 560 hp and reaches an electronically limited 155 mph top speed, after first hitting 62 mph in just 4.2 seconds.


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In honor of the hand-shaking, deal-making, sanity-taking event that is the RECon retail conference — here is some good news about the country’s malls.
A new survey conducted by Glimcher Realty Trust shows that consumers still prefer the shopping experience that only the bricks-and-mortar stores can provide.
“The way consumers enjoy the mall has changed,” says Michael P. Glimcher, chairman of the board and CEO of Glimcher. He presented the findings of the survey during this year’s RECon, according to reports from the event.
RECon is the annual global retail event hosted by New York City-based International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Every year, retailers, developers, brokers and others in the industry around the world flock to Las Vegas for the conference.
“Today, the mall is a destination, offering more than just retail,” Glimcher continued. “While shopping will always be the primary reason people go to the mall, the survey supported our notion that going to the mall is about the experiences — whether that’s having a salad and a glass of wine with your girlfriends or enjoying a movie on a Friday night. People want a mix of retail, restaurants and entertainment.”
Fifty-five percent of respondents to the survey stated that it was the experience of being at the mall that made it their choice, versus shopping online.
Seventy-four percent of respondents said that the ability to try on clothes and accessories are key to their decision to go to a store, versus simply logging on. Store variety was cited as the prime motivator for 49 percent of survey respondents.
Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher (NYSE: GRT) develops, owns and manages regional malls, open-air centers and fashion outlets throughout the country.
The survey is based on responses from 3,333 adults ages 18 and older between April 11 and 12. C&T Marketing Group conducted the survey for Glimcher.
The survey also shows that despite today’s time-crunching culture, consumers will drive up to 30 minutes to get to the mall. And they stay anywhere from 1 to 5 hours.
Half of all shoppers surveyed stated they prefer to shop both at the mall and online. However, 30 percent of the respondents stated they were mall-only shoppers.
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