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Casella Wines, the Griffith-based company behind Australia's biggest selling export wine, Yellow Tail, says a shift upmarket through three acquisitions over the past two years has delivered extra credibility and clout, without any cannibalisation.
Since the turn of the century, Casella has stunned the industry by building a global success story from scratch in less than a decade by tapping into huge demand for lower-end mass market wine in the United States with its Yellow Tail brand.
With a distinctive label featuring a stylised wallaby, it is still notching annual sales of 12 million cases of wine and holds the title of the biggest imported brand in the US. Growth has been largely steady in the US over the past few years, with the high Australian dollar during the mining boom stretching the financial resources of Casella.
Despite Yellow Tail's success, some of the older hands in the more famous wine regions of Australia have long been scoffing at the upstart, lumping it in the basket of "critter brands" that used Australiana themes to help sell their products overseas. Many experts believe that did little to enhance the country's overall push to be considered a high-quality producer of premium wines.
But now Casella is going upmarket – in its own way.
Opening more doors
John Casella, the managing director of Casella, which is now known as Casella Family Brands, said a deliberate strategy to fill gaps in its portfolio at the higher end of the market through acquisitions, has paid off handsomely, with its new brands opening more doors with offshore distributors and retailers.
Casella bought Peter Lehmann Wines in late 2014 for $57 million to give it a strong presence in the Barossa Valley in South Australia, and then followed it up in late 2015 by buying Brand's Laira, a brand from the Coonawarra district in south-eastern South Australia that had been part of the McWilliam's Wines stable.
In July this year it added the Morris Wines portfolio of fortified wines from Victoria's Rutherglen district.
Mr Casella said the deals have fast-tracked what would have taken decades to create if brands had been started from scratch.
"We could have certainly created them but that would have been a long and drawn out process," he said. Brands at the upper end of the market generally have plenty of history and heritage behind them.
"They were ready and available."
Peter Lehmann spring clean
The Peter Lehmann Wines portfolio has had a spring clean, with the number of individual product lines being reduced.
"We always knew that taking over a business like Peter Lehmann Wines we'd have one or two steps back initially," he said.
Brand's Laira and Morris gave Casella a presence in other renowned wine regions.
"We've got a good clean flow of brands in the premium end," he said.
While there may be a bit of crossover, in general a buyer looking for a wine from a particular region wouldn't be torn between the brands in the Casella stable now. "There isn't that intense competition between them," he said.
Yellow Tail remains the biggest selling Australian wine brand in Australia's biggest export destination for the local wine industry. Figures from industry body Wine Australia show in the 12 months to June 30, 2016, exports to the US for all Australian producers reached $449 million, with mainland China at $419 million and Britain at $369 million.
No one-hit wonder
Mr Casella said that Yellow Tail has earned its stripes and is now so big it won't fall off the radar of wine buyers. It is also being regularly fine-tuned.
More than 90 per cent of Casella's sales are exports. Mr Casella said the entire company was likely to generate sales revenue of between $450 million and $470 million in 2016-17, with a small amount of sales growth anticipated.
"Fifteen years and it's growing in most countries so it just shows you the strength of the brand," Mr Casella said. Growth was getting harder to achieve in the US. Yellow Tail is among the big mass-market brands that have sprung from Australia, which also include Jacob's Creek, now owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard.
Australia's biggest wine company, the ASX-listed Treasury Wine Estates, which owns Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Wynns and 100 other brands in a bulging portfolio, has experienced huge success in China through its up-market brands in particular as chief executive Mike Clarke put extra marketing investment into making Penfolds into more of a luxury brand. Profits more than doubled in Asia for Treasury in 2015-16.
Mr Casella said China was a tough market because of the complexities of selling through online outlets and the fragmented distribution and retail channels.
"China has some challenges. It's very difficult to build a brand."
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EBay buying GSI Commerce
Published 4:00 am, Saturday, April 2, 2011
EBay goes shopping
EBay announced plans on Monday to buy GSI Commerce for $2.4 billion, giving it fresh ammunition in its battle against Amazon.com. GSI, outside Philadelphia, provides e-commerce and marketing services to more than 2,000 brands, such as Toys R Us, the National Football League and Polo Ralph Lauren. The company posted $1.36 billion in revenue in the past fiscal year, up 36 percent.
Dorsey makes comeback at Twitter
Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, returned to day-to-day operations of the San Francisco company. He's taking the role of executive chairman and will head up product development at the microblogging service. One of his goals is making Twitter "more approachable," he said Tuesday. "Mainstream relevancy is still a challenge." The company needs to keep attracting users - and to get people to spend more time on the site, says Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at eMarketer. That's key to spurring advertising revenue, which is less than a 10th of what Facebook generates.
Amazon introduces Cloud Drive
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Amazon introduced a service last week that lets users store music in remote data centers via cloud computing. The offering, called the Cloud Drive, lets customers play their songs on any computer, as well as phones running Android. The e-commerce giant is trying to get a jump on Apple and Google, which both have their sights set on the cloud-music market. But one hurdle is forging licensing deals with the record labels. With those agreements, the company wouldn't have to store separate copies of songs for each customer. The Cloud Drive also can store photos, videos and other digital files.
Google adds +1 feature to searches
Facebook has its "like" button. Now Google has a "+1" feature. On Wednesday, Google began letting users click a blue button to indicate their affinity for a company or product. The move is a bid to make Google's pages more social, which is seen as key to boosting ad revenue. Facebook could get almost a quarter of the U.S. display advertising market this year, according to eMarketer. That compares with an estimated 13 percent for Google. Meanwhile, the search giant's previous foray into social networking suffered a black eye last week. Google settled Federal Trade Commission claims that its Buzz feature violated the company's own privacy policies.
Whitman takes Kleiner Perkins job
Meg Whitman, who spent more than $140 million of her own money on a run for the governor's office last year, has joined venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a strategic adviser. Whitman, will work part-time for the Menlo Park firm, helping coach and mentor companies in its portfolio. Before turning to politics, Whitman was the head of eBay for a decade, building its market value to about $40 billion. Since her failed bid for governor, she is getting back to her business roots. She became a director at Hewlett-Packard in January and joined the boards of Zipcar and Procter & Gamble in February.

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American Airlines Cargo Formalizes Master Lease Agreement with CSafe Global
Dayton, OH Oct 8, 2015 – CSafe Global and American Airlines Cargo have finalized a master lease agreement that will allow the airline to offer leasing options for the industry-leading CSafe RKN via the carrier’s ExpediteTC° program.
“With ExpediteTC°, American Airlines Cargo offers an exceptional experience for customers who are shipping temperature-sensitive products. The addition of CSafe to our cold chain program provides customers with another option for their shipping needs,” said Tom Grubb, Manager of Cold Chain Strategy for American Airlines Cargo. “This technology is desired by our customers for accurate temperature management of delicate shipments in order to protect and maintain the efficacy of potentially life-saving products for patients.”
Mark Mohr, Director of Customer Support and Partner Management, spoke on behalf of the entire CSafe global team saying, “We are very excited to have reached this agreement with American Airlines Cargo. American Airlines has been transporting CSafe containers for nearly a year and this new agreement will offer our mutual customers leasing options via a partner that is already well established in the transport of temperature-managed products by air.”


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The world’s biggest dairy exporter Fonterra Co-operative Group has reported half year net profit of NZ$80 million ($54.8 million), following a loss of NZ$348 million a year ago when it booked a writedown on its stake in Chinese infant formula company Beingmate.
However, the New Zealand dairy co-operative said that it remains under pressure from a challenging environment in Australia.
“While it is good to see the cooperative back in the black, the cooperative’s earnings performance is not where it should be,” said Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell.
Revenue for the period fell 1 per cent to NZ$9.7 billion, with the company pointing to the drought in Australia, resulting in lower milk collections and strong price competition.
“Our three-point plan involves taking stock of our business and conducting a portfolio review, getting the basics right and improving our forecasting. We’ve made good progress so far and we will continue to take these steps in the second half to firm up our foundations and strengthen our balance sheet,” Hurrell added.
“The second half will also see us continuing the work on developing a new strategy to support a much-needed change in direction. We are doing the right things but it’s clear more is needed to lift our performance. We need to simplify and improve the Co-op so we can grow value.”
The dairy giant said it has begun a sale process for its 50 per cent share in DFE Pharma, a joint venture with Dutch cooperative FrieslandCampina.
“Together with our partner, we have grown DFE Pharma from relatively small beginnings into a significant and successful business. While continuing to perform well, ownership of DFE is not core to our strategy.”
The Co-op also said it has received strong interest in Tip Top and is “actively considering its options” for its shareholding in Beingmate.


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The China Peak ski resort is having a great year so far, thanks in part to a new $2 million snowmaking system.
Crews say it used to take a couple of weeks to open ski runs.
Now, with machines at full blast, runs can be ready for skiers and snowboarders in just a couple of nights.
In the video above, Action News got an inside look at how it all works.
China Peak's new snowmaking system helps it open ski runs in days
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More help is to be extended to those who were badly hit by last December’s floods, by North Lincolnshire Council.
It is nearly four months since over 500 properties were affected by the floods and many people are still out of their homes.
The council has recognised that many need additional help and has put in place further support schemes on top of the £300 flood relief payments and council tax discounts announced at the end of last year.
The council has created four new flood support schemes that include:
1. Council tax relief – eligible properties will qualify for 100 per cent discount for up to nine months followed by an additional 50 per cent discount for three months. The discount applies until December 5 2014 or on reoccupation if this is sooner. A new council tax bill will be sent out automatically to reflect changes.
2. Business rate relief – all eligible businesses will receive 100 per cent rate relief for three months. Initially businesses affected by the floods only received an exemption from business rates if they were covered under statutory exemptions. As most were covered under statutory exemptions, a local scheme was not introduced.
Under the new scheme all eligible businesses will automatically receive a minimum of three months rate free period.
3. Repair and renew grant – grants of up to £5,000 will be made available to flooded homeowners and businesses to help with flood prevention work. This will help towards affordable insurance.
North Lincolnshire Council officers will visit as many flood affected properties as possible to discuss the grant with those affected. For those currently away from their property a visit can be arranged by calling Liz Webster on 01724 2970004.
4. Business support scheme – discretionary grants of up to £2,500 will be made available to Small and Medium Enterprises whose businesses were affected. Qualifying businesses will either have been flooded or suffered a significant loss of trading as a result of flooding.
An application form and further guidance is available on the council’s website www.investinnorthlincolnshire.co.uk/business-flood-support/. For more information, contact the Economic Development hotline on 01724 297330 or email firstname.lastname@example.org.
Coun Liz Redfern, Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “We will continue to support those affected by the floods as much as possible to help people get back on their feet. The floods drastically affected many peoples’ lives. The Government funding has enabled us to provide these additional support schemes to help with business recovery and help eligible residents and businesses make their properties more flood resilient.
“These schemes are in addition to the financial support we have already provided, such as the £300 grant for every household and business rate and council tax relief.
“The funding will hopefully help many people see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you would like more information about the flood support schemes don’t hesitate to get in contact with us on 01724 297000.”


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Dispatch: Exploring Puerto Vallarta’s Magical Side
PHOTO: The main square in Talpa de Allende. (Photo by Janeen Christoff)
Puerto Vallarta has long been known for its funky, eclectic side and nowhere in the region is that more on display than in the seaside town of Sayulita, which is the latest town in the Puerto Vallarta area to be awarded status as a pueblos magicos, or magical town. It is the first beach town to enjoy such an honor and the first town to receive the status not due to its historical significance but due to its vibe.
Magical towns are assessed on a yearly basis and receive money to maintain the city’s historical significance. Towns cherish the honor – one that can be lost – and the designation also drives tourism. Many of these towns are fairly remote and reaching them is easiest on a tour, with a guide and a driver — one to provide insight into the culture of the town, the other to make the experience of getting to these remote destinations more enjoyable and relaxing.
Vallarta Adventures has been in operation for more than 20 years and it makes sense that they would take clients to some of the area’s most hidden treasures because that’s how they got their start.
“We began as a company by offering tours to Marietas Islands and Puerto Vallarta’s hidden beach,” says Gareth Price, commercial director for Vallarta Adventures. “We only had one customer at the beginning, and we had to give them their money back. But now, the hidden beach is one of our most popular tours.”
In my own experience, the first time I ever visited one of Mexico’s magical towns was with Vallarta Adventures more than 10 years ago on one of their air adventures to San Sebastian del Oeste. It was one of my most memorable tours – I loved meeting the locals and hearing them tell stories, tasting the locally grown coffee and enjoying the opportunity to have a home-cooked meal.
Vallarta Adventures no longer operates that air adventure. New roads and highways have reduced travel times and made these magical towns more accessible by cars and vans. Now, the company has expanded its offerings beyond just this far-flung destination and offers a new tour to two more magical towns – Talpa de Allende and Mascota – the tour has been operating for two months.
“This experience represents what my parents fell in love with when they came to Puerto Vallarta,” says Price.
Every stop offers visitors a glimpse into the local, everyday life of Mexicans living far off the beaten path of tourism. Guests sample local, handmade pastries, traditional Mexican coffee and visit a cheese factory created by an industrious high school student – and that is just in Mascota.
Leaving Mascota, visitors begin to see an increasing number of people walking along the sides of the road, heading to Talpa de Allende. Talpa is a pilgrimage town and many visit its cathedral in hopes of receiving cures and healing blessings.
On our journey, we were visiting during one of the peak seasons for people to make this pilgrimage and we were able to witness processions march through the city streets to vibrant music and into the cathedral where they were blessed by a priest.
Guests also visit one of the candy factories that line the cobblestone backstreets – yes, there are samples – and have ample time to walk around the square and make purchases in local shops – the area is known for its shoes.
On the way back to Mascota, there is a scenic stop at Villa Cantabria, where you can see views of the town of Talpa, nestled in the valley, flanked by extinct volcanoes. The journey winds up back in Mascota, where guests are served an organic meal made from locally sourced ingredients before heading back to Puerto Vallarta.
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Eicher Motors profit falls 6% in Q3: Stocks
Eicher Motors profit falls 6% in Q3
India’s largest auto-mobile company Eicher reported a 6.42% year-on-year drop in combined profit for the quarter December 31 on Thursday. while, their sales increased up to 1%.
Royal Enfield makers said, “the company profits came at Rs 498.70 crore compared with the Rs 532.95 crore in the same quarter previous financial year. Sales rise 0.95% to Rs 2,350.45 against Rs 2,328.25 crore.
Here’re the important points you need to takedown:
Margins shrink for this quarter they came at 25.2%, which was 430 basis points, Which was lower than 29.5% that the company reported in the same quarter last financial year.
Royal Enfield company sold on a average of 189, 143 motorcycles in the quarter.
But a reduction of 2% from 193, 164 motorcycles sold over the same period in the last financial year.
“We’re focused on our long-term strategies. We have improved our business network in order to reach further accessibility. We are working for a period of time on product portfolio to achieve the new BS- VI emission norms.
While the commercial vehicle company continues to face challenges due to slowdown of there sales. Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) remains profitable.
The net profit of VECV dropped to Rs 30 crore compared with Rs 76 crore in previous financial year. It sold 12,391 trucks and buses in this quarter, a reduction of 27% from 16,936 trucks and buses sold over the same period in the last financial year.
The company facing a tough and challenging situations, showing no signs of recovery except for some pre-buying.
This is one of the worst phases for CV industry. But, our main focus is on long term initiatives. We’re hoping that the industry will start growing after some period of time led by the investments in infrastructure.
At the same time, we are focusing on cost management and improving productivity, said by Vinod Aggarwal, MD and CEO VECV.
Strengthening distribution network:
Royal Enfield is the first company to strengthen the distribution of there network through out India and across the world.
During the last Financial year, Royal Enfield opens seven new large showrooms and 250 new Studio Format stores in India that takes to the total of 1,400 retail touchpoints.
Not only in India, the Royal Enfield opens a new stores in international markets like:
- France and
- The UK
Increasing its overall touchpoints to about 675 stores including 67 exclusive stores. This network expansion happened because of branding and marketing initiatives, that leads sales in outside the India.


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The central government has raised customs duty on a whopping 400 items in last two years, according to Indian Express report. The items like mobile phones, almonds, cell phone parts, apple, solar panels etc. However, the centre’s move has marked clear cut departure from the policy of lowering import duty that has been followed by previous governments. Prior to this, customs duty on non-agriculture products had decreased from 150 per cent in 1991-92 to 40 per cent in 1997-98 and subsequently, to 20 per cent in 2004-05 and 10 per cent in 2007-08, the report says.
While allegations were raised that tariff hike is “protectionist” in nature, the Union Ministry of Commerce has rejected all charges. The government had reportedly imposed customs duty on 29 US products on June 20 this year but later postponed. Experts say this would have a bearing on the WTO-mandated “bound rates”. Bound rates are the customs duty rates committed by a country to all other members under the most favoured nation principle. Breaching these rates could effectively put a country at risk of being branded as “protectionist” as per the WTO norms, which prohibit discrimination by use of tariffs by its 164 members.
However, industry players and within sections of the government itself have criticised a few tariff hikes in the last two years. The implementation of the duty hike on solar panels from September 2017 was opposed by both the New and Renewable Energy Ministry. Various trade and industry associations engaged in cashew nuts had sought withdrawal of the imposition of the duty of 5 per cent.
However, an official in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that hectic parleys have been started between India and the US on the issue of tariffs and that India would “stay compliant with all its commitments under the WTO”.’ India has also reduced import duties on some items. These include a cut in the import duties on palm oil with effect from September 23, 2016, from 12.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent for crude palm oil of edible grade, and from 20 per cent to 15 per cent for refined palm oil of edible grade. Import duty on wheat was reduced from 10 per cent to Nil with effect from December 8, 2016, but this was subsequently increased to 10 per cent in a little over three months, the report says.
Source : Fianacial Express


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- Strategy and Management
- 1 min read
Siemens to launch startup incubator in India
Siemens is also setting up a digital services and consultancy arm, with India at the core of it with a 4,000-strong team of ‘internet of things’ (IoT) and software experts.
German conglomerate Siemens is launching a startup incubator, Next47, in India, with an aim to invest a significant part of its $1-billion investment fund for startups globally.
The Munich-headquartered company is also setting up a digital services and consultancy arm, with India at the core of it with a 4,000-strong team of ‘internet of things’ (IoT) and software experts.
“US and China are our largest markets but India is very important to us,” Roland Busch, COO of Siemens AG, told ET during a visit to India.
“Our people in India are serving the international market. Indian market itself is a large and fast-growing one. India wants industrialisation to have a higher share of GDP from industry. All this is tailor-made for us and it makes sense for us to invest here.”
ET was the first to report, in February, that the engineering and technology company had plans to set up a base in India for incubating technology startups and was scouting for opportunities to invest in startups in the country. “We have now increased the intensity with which we are screening the Indian startup market,” said Busch.
Siemens has identified digital business as a key driver, with India at the core of it. The company expects the business to grow 10% globally and its Indian business to outperform the local market, driven by opportunities arising from the government’s push to digitisation and smart technology.
Besides, the company aims to leverage India’s manufacturing sector’s increasing investments in technology to improve efficiency from existing capacity instead of making capital expenditure on new capacity.
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MANAMA, May 16 – The conclusion of the stalled Doha Round free trade talks is "vitally needed" in the wake of the global financial crisis to revitalise world economy, World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy said on Sunday.
"The Doha Round at this moment of the crisis exiting is a vitally needed, and to be frank, a very low cost global economic stimulus package," Pascal Lamy told participants at an economic forum in Bahrain.
"Estimates suggest that the implementation of this round… would inject to the tune of 300-400 billion dollars a year into the global economy," he told participants at the Bahrain Global Forum.
The Doha Round negotiations launched in 2001 were due to be concluded in March but previous deadlines have been repeatedly missed.
The talks have focused on dismantling obstacles to trade for poor nations by striking an accord that will cut agriculture subsidies and tariffs on industrial goods.
Discussions have been dogged by disagreements over issues including how much the United States and the European Union should reduce aid to their farmers and the extent to which developing countries such as India, China and South Africa should lower tariffs.


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Hospitality businesses in England were able to reopen outdoor spaces today for the first time in months and outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow in some areas didn't dampen operators or their guests' resolve to enjoy their new freedoms.
Ellenborough Park in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, opened 16 self-contained rooms today and an extensive outdoor dining offer including a Tattinger Horsebox bar and the Cedar Pavilion pop-up tent, with five bespoke dining carriages being installed this week.
"You couldn't write it, the first day of outside dining we get snow in April!" said general manager Marwan Hemchaoui. However, he said the wintery conditions didn't affect bookings with more than 40 booked for lunch and dinner today, and about 100 for lunch on Saturday, along with an additional 30 for afternoon tea.
"We called to reconfirm the bookings and I think people are just relieved, they just want to get on with it and get out," said Hemchaoui. "We're so excited for a very busy summer."
The pub garden of Swan Inn in Swinbrook, Oxfordshire, was covered in snow this morning; landlord Steve Cook said it highlighted the "insanity" of the decision to only allow outdoor opening.
"The outside tables and chairs were drenched. Had it not warmed up it would have been impossible for staff to work outside," Cook told The Caterer.
"We had a few early cancellations, but it has turned into a beautiful day and we're pressing on. It could have been a disaster financially. We spent £15,000 on a new awning which is still on the ferry and won't be here for 10 days. We also spent thousands on food and getting the menu ready. We've got over 1,000 bookings this week, so we need the weather to hold."
Meanwhile, breakfast service at Riding House Café in London's Fitzrovia was full by 10am, with quite a few guests popping Champagne corks, according to founder Adam White. "It's been a great atmosphere," he told The Caterer.
Sister site Rail House Café in Victoria (pictured), which has 139 outdoor covers, opened for lunch and both sites are fully booked for the next two weeks.
White added: "Westminster City Council has been really supportive, which has made a great difference. We've got a lot more seats outside. They've given us the licence to use the parking bays again and extended our outdoor area. They're saying yes wherever possible, which is great. We have enough seats outside to have a decent restaurant atmosphere."
Angus McKean, licensee at the Red Lion in Barnes, London, said: "I did expect the worst with the weather but we've got the heaters out and guests have got blankets on, I think people are just happy to be out.
"Everyone has stuck with their bookings and we've had a lot of walk-ins too and are fully booked tonight which is unusual for a Monday. It's been an emotional day. Catering is so all consuming when you're open and it's been all or nothing in lockdown, but it feels great to be back."
Richard Gladwin reopened Sussex and Nutbourne restaurants in London today and said both were "super busy" and people were "desperate to get out and everyone is in a good mood". Richard Green, owner of 28°-50° Wine Bar & Kitchen in Covent Garden added that business was "wonderfully busy".
"The staff were excited to be back and straight back into a busy lunch shift, saying it feels like only yesterday that they closed! The guests are very excited and relaxed, enjoying shopping in Covent Garden and a glass of Champagne with lunch," he added.
Meanwhile, the sun was out in York for Galtres Lodge hotel, which was able to open its ‘secret garden' to host a small wedding and is fully booked this evening, while its alfresco pavement space opened for walk-ins.
"We only have a limited number of outside tables, meaning that no-shows were a huge concern for us," said owner Rebecca Hill. "We decided to take a £10 per table deposit to secure a booking, and this is then taken off the bill at the end of the meal. This doesn't seem to have put people off booking and we have not had any no-shows today so it seems to be working!"
She added: "The general feeling amongst guests has been great, everyone wants to have a good time so they're super happy and relaxed. [And] the team is really excited to be back at work; we are a very small workforce so we know each other well and have missed one another's company."
The sun was also shining on Birmingham's Vietnamese Street Kitchen, which finally opened outdoors today having originally been due to open in November. Owner Oliver Ngo said people were queuing outside his restaurant half an hour before it opened, on which tables were "full immediately" and the venue is booked up until next Monday.
But the restaurant can still only utilise 40 outside covers of its 140 total. Ngo said: "If I could open the whole restaurant it would help big time. Staff are still part-time rather than full-time, I'm still doing probably a quarter of the covers that I can normally do, but everything's moving along. I can't complain. I see the light at the end of the tunnel this time."
However, many operators are yet to reopen with just two in every five licensed premises estimated to have had space to open outdoors today. Outdoor hospitality in Scotland and Wales are hoped to reopen on 26 April, while businesses in Northern Ireland are still yet to receive an indicative reopening date.
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A common theme in all EU speakers’ presentations was a clear commitment to Free Trade as the only means to maintain Europe’s economic position: to facilitate growth, wealth, and respect of EU democratic values, and to help foster stable and reliable political relations for the European Union. EEIA (European Exhibition Industry Alliance) and AUMA (Ausstellungs-und Messe-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft, Association of the German Trade Fair Industry) have launched a new “Exhibition Industry EU Dialogue” event format in Brussels, with 50 participants from all over Europe coming together for this first event.
EEIA and AUMA co-organised the event, which was open to all AUMA, EMECA (European Major Exhibition Centres Association) and UFI (The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) members from Europe. The EU Dialogue event took place in the European Parliament and was hosted by MEP Istvan Ujhelyi, Vice Chair of the Committee on Transport and Tourism. The aim was to gain and discuss fresh insights on recent EU policy areas, programmes and the latest political developments. “We wanted to create synergies between various meetings by offering participants the chance to meet and have a shared dialogue with EU representatives, at a single occasion in Brussels”, explained Gerald Böse, CEO Kölnmesse, Chairman of the UFI European Chapter and Member of the AUMA Executive Committee. María Martinez, Member of the Management Board of IFEMA Madrid (Institución Ferial de Madrid) and EMECA Vice President, added that “this open dialogue exchange with representatives from different EU institutions and players within the exhibition sector, right in the heart of democratic Brussels, helps both sides to achieve deeper mutual understanding and supports the communication of our industry’s goals and needs”.
The first part of the event was dedicated to the EU’s approach to tourism and new “Destination Europe” initiatives such as the EU-China Tourism Year 2018. Istvan Ujhelyi (MEP) and Iuliana-Gabriela Aluas (European Commission DG GROW) explained the EU’s visibility and promotion strategies, designed to increase the number of international travellers to Europe. The exhibition industry representatives made the point that, not only does the exhibition industry play an important role in attracting international business travellers with high spending budgets, it also creates positive economic impacts at local, regional and national levels. Furthermore, the exhibition industry was recognised by the EU representatives as an innovative sector and they invited it to participate as a key industry in the activities.
The second part of the event was dedicated to SME internationalisation and economic diplomacy. Philippe de Taxis du Poët (European Commission DG GROW) explained the background of the increasing EU efforts in this field to support European companies, especially SMEs, to successfully internationalise, whilst promoting European values and democratic rules. The EU encourages complementarity with Member States’ programmes to achieve greater effects. On a practical level, DG GROW supports SMEs with a number of programmes, which were outlined by Jean-Marie Avezou (European Commission, DG GROW). He mentioned the Enterprise Europe Network as the central support network, along with numerous more targeted programmes. Given the complexity and high number of initiatives, the Commission is aiming not only at being more transparent, but also at making its help for companies simpler and easier to access. Exhibition participants emphasised that Trade Fairs are the natural starting point for internationalisation, and the Commission agreed that more Trade Fair initiatives should be implemented. Barbara Weizsäcker (EEIA) explained the synergies created in the “Business Beyond Borders” (BBB) project which has just launched its first out of ten business matching events at trade fairs at Genera in Madrid. Through the integrative approach and the partnership between Eurochambres and the European exhibition organisers right from the planning phase onwards, BBB has achieved an impressive participation rate and conferred numerous benefits on participating companies, up to and including diplomatic representation.
The third and final part of the event, the EU’s trade strategy and latest developments concerning Free Trade Agreements, was presented by Lutz Güllner (European Commission, DG TRADE). He stressed the fact that in view of the globally integrated production and value chains protectionism does not make sense.
This was followed by spotlights on several regions of strategic importance. Jean Blatz (European Commission, DG Trade) referred to the loss of 35-40% of the market with Russia in the last years due to protectionism, while stressing Russia’s importance on trade and its role as a strategic partner.
The UK Ambassador, Angus Lapsley, praised the EU as the most constructive player on the global trade scene and confirmed that the UK is committed to remaining constuctive in the future, whatever the final UK exit agreement entails. Susan Danger (AmCham EU), who represents US companies committed to trade in Europe, added that their priority was to maintain transatlantic relations with a strong and united EU. Instead of focussing on the problems, she called for a positive narrative and a joint effort to concentrate on the EU’s assets and achievements.
Dinner speaker Elmar Brok, MEP and long-standing Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Trade, warned that only a strong EU will be able to give the proper answers to citizens and take strong decisions for the economy when uncertainties arise from outside. In his view, single Member States will not be in a position to successfully negotiate trade agreements with economic powers like the US or China.
Trade Fairs and exhibitions offer innovative and effective platforms for trade every day in Europe and worldwide. “The European exhibition industry is a key service industry for businesses of all sectors, and we strongly believe in a successful future under democratic rules and with open and fair markets” concluded Barbara Weizsäcker (EEIA), speaking in the name of all those present at this event.
It was agreed that the Exhibition Industry EU Dialogue generated significant interest and that the cooperation will be continued in the future.
About EEIAThe European Exhibition Industry Alliance represents over 400 European exhibition organisers and venue operators in Brussels to the European institutions and stakeholder. These trade fairs and exhibition players are organised in UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry and the European Major Exhibition Centres Association EMECA. For more information please follow our link on the top right. About AUMAAUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, represents the interests of organisers, exhibitors and visitors on a national and international level in dealings with parliament, ministries and other organizations, informs exhibitors and visitors about exhibitions worldwide, supports the international marketing of the German organisers, conducts marketing pro trade fair. Additionally, AUMA maintains the Institute of the German Trade Fair Industry, improves the transparency of the trade fair market and coordinates the German participations at foreign fairs. For more information please follow our link on the top right. About Business Beyond Borders Business Beyond Borders, is a new European Commission initiative to help businesses, in particular SMEs and Clusters, to operate internationally with the ultimate goal of increasing economic growth within and outside Europe. Support will be provided to companies participating at international fairs by establishing a series of Business to Business (B2B) and Cluster to Custer (C2C) matchmaking events and by supporting the development of the companies’ activities in target markets (Australia, South Africa, India, Chile, Iran, among others). For more information please follow our link on the top right.
From left: Barbara Weizsäcker (European Exhibition Industry Alliance), Gerald Böse (Chairman of the Global Association of Exhibition Industry UFI, European Chapter), Carine Sire (Regional Manager Europe, UFI) María Martinez (Vice President of the European Major Exhbition Centres Association), Dr. Peter Neven (AUMA Managing Director)
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From left: Gerald Böse (Chairman of the Global Association of Exhibition Industry UFI, European Chapter), Barbara Weizsäcker (European Exhibition Industry Alliance), Istvan Ujhelyi (Vice Chairman of the EU-Commitee on Transport and Tourism), Iuliana-Gabriela Aluas (European Commission DG GROW)
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From left: Dr. Peter Neven (AUMA Managing Director), Barbara Weizsäcker (European Exhibition Industry Alliance), Elmar Brok (Member of the European Parliament and Chairman of the Commitee on Foreign Affairs)
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Link: “Investigation reveals tracking by EdTech of millions of Australian school students during COVID lockdowns”
The global advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) analysed 164 educational apps and websites used in 49 countries, running tests on the code and attempting to track where the data of hundreds of millions of children worldwide ended up.
The HRW findings show that 89 per cent of the educational technology, or “EdTech”, products used globally could put children’s privacy at risk.
Despite international privacy obligations, the products requested access to students’ contacts and locations and monitored their keystrokes. The data was sent to nearly 200 ad-technology companies.
Parents and schools had little choice but to adopt these products to ensure their children kept up with classmates. Opting out could mean repeating a year.


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Would a Federal Tax Credit Get You to Buy a North American Made Car?
DETROIT - Look for the Obama administration to propose a tax credit for Americans who buy an American-sourced car. The proposal could come as early as this week, my source says. It's likely to emerge as a detail in Obama's economic incentive program currently being tossed around Capitol Hill.
The tax credit would cover any car or light truck assembled in North America, including those by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Why include them? The idea is to help component suppliers. If one large supplier goes under, it could take the entire system with it, and several suppliers are nearing that critical point.
Foreign and domestic Tier 1 suppliers sell to General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler, as well as the Asian and German automakers I've mentioned above. Foreign suppliers typically build North American factories to serve those foreign and domestic assembly plants on North American soil. Many of the largest parts suppliers are staving off bankruptcy.
The U.S. market is running at roughly 10-million annual sales these past few months, and the Obama administration hopes to "jump-start" demand to about 12-million units. Incremental, but important. Consumer confidence is the biggest problem for the auto industry, not lack of liquidity and credit. There's enough credit in the system for 75- to 80-percent of the potential market. And some car companies are cutting deals with credit unions to make auto loans easier.
Meanwhile, there's a proposal in North Dakota's state assembly to offer tax credits to residents who buy GM, Ford or Chrysler cars and trucks. North Dakota is a rare state with a budget surplus. The proposal has taken some heat from dealers of import brands, and some state politicians have talked about extending the tax credit to all brands.
Will such a proposal be enough to jump-start the U.S. auto industry? I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet it'll do more for the auto industry and the economy than former President Bush's $600 tax rebate last year.
So the question is, will a tax credit get you into a new-car showroom?


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IMPACT Park County has kicked off the inaugural Park County Start-Up Challenge with the opening of the application period Jan. 30. This starts the annual tradition of a challenge to promote and encourage entrepreneurship in the Big Horn Basin.
Applicants will compete for a portion of about $50,000 in seed capital funding.
IMPACT 307 is a business development program of the University of Wyoming’s Office of Research and Economic Development. It is a not-for-profit business incubator system that provides startup and early-stage companies with the expertise, networks and tools necessary for the development of successful businesses.
The free application for the Park County Start-Up Challenge is simple and straightforward. Interested entrepreneurs answer a few questions describing their business ideas, products or services; the markets they plan to serve; and why they believe customers will opt for their offerings over other options available to them. A link to the online application tool can be found at www.impact307.org.
Applications will be accepted through Friday, Feb. 24. A panel of community judges, many of them entrepreneurs, will select the top 10 for a semifinal round. Five finalists will be chosen to work with IMPACT Park County to further develop their plans and prepare a presentation for Pitch Night, which will be held Thursday, April 6, in Cody.
For more information, call John Wetzel at (307) 272-0085 or email email@example.com.


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WatchUGot is a fast growing startup that is looking to combine the fun of internet challenges, with the spirit of charitable giving.
Tucson, AZ, October 05, 2018 — Viral internet challenges are exploding in popularity. The Drake-inspired “In My Feelings” challenge is just another chapter in the long story of a visible internet trend.
Of course, internet challenges are not a new thing. For years they’ve persisted as videos on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube; some were even around during the days of MySpace. While some of these challenges tend to involve questionable antics, many can have very positive results on the community or the world as a whole.
Arguably, the most successful internet challenge ever was the 2014, “Ice Bucket Challenge” which sought to raise money for the study and treatment of ALS. Through this challenge, it’s estimated that YouTube videos of the challenges were viewed 1 billion times . That may sound like a lot until you learn the Facebook video submissions had over 10 billion views themselves. The results were an estimated $220 Million raised for the cause as people posted their challenges across all video mediums on the internet.
However, while the success of the “Ice Bucket Challenge” is undeniable, it didn’t come without a little bit of pain as well. Many people claimed that after they were challenged, they didn’t know where to donate the money to because the platforms they were being challenged on didn’t have any actual information on how and where to donate. Additionally, some participants noted that they had a hard time keeping up with what social media platform they were challenged on, and how and where to respond.
But what if there was one place to do both of these things? One social media app built specifically for internet challenges, that integrated with a payment system to link those challenges to the appropriate charities? This is where WatchUGot comes in.
WatchUGot is the world's first mobile application dedicated to hosting the medium required for internet challenges (pictures, videos, etc.), as well as facilitating all the transactions from user to charity.
Founded by two engineers dedicated to helping the world in a fun and innovative way, WatchUGot (or, WUG, for short) officially launched its Minimum Viable Product in July of 2018. The app is quickly establishing a loyal following as the founders look to expand their product into key markets such as university fraternities and sororities who can use the product to launch fun challenges to raise money for the charity of their choice. Additionally, the WUG team aims to create a product with a vast array of user-friendly features and functions including gamification and a blockchain-backed payment system to make it easier to make donation and in-app purchases.
While the team is still in the early stages and prepping for big growth and funding plans, the marriage of internet challenges and charitable donations all in one place seems like a no-brainer. WatchUGot is already available on both Google Play and Apple App store, and while there are still plenty of plans to grow, the founders won’t be shy in wanting consumers to show them WatchUGot.
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The Epipen fiasco would have been completely avoided if the FDA didn't have the position that it alone, among all regulatory agencies, is qualified to evaluate generic drugs and devices. The sensible thing, which is not being done because the FDA is protecting its turf, is to recognize generic drug approvals from other advanced countries such as the European countries and Canada. The Epipen has a de-facto monopoly due to FDA foot-dragging.
The FDA, ad nauseam, trots out the Thalidomide tragedy to prove that everyone else in the world is incompetent, but the world has changed since 1957, and people can and have learned from their mistakes. Now it's the FDA that's incompetent, introducing needless delays in approving drugs that have already been fully vetted elsewhere.


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Coup de théâtre in the soap about the acquisition of fashion brand Tom Ford: suddenly it seems like not French Kering, but American Estée Lauder will emerge victorious. The acquisition sum of 2.8 billion dollars would make this deal the biggest in Estée Lauder’s history.
An end to the to-and-fro game around Tom Ford seems to be in sight: according to the Financial Times, Estée Lauder is on the verge of acquiring the American luxury brand from the eponymous designer. The acquisition sum would be 2.8 billion dollars (including debts), the FT reports.
For Estée Lauder, it would be the biggest deal in its history, even though the group has already made a number of big acquisitions recently. Just last year, for instance, the group paid a billion dollars for Canadian beauty holding Deciem. However, the Tom Ford acquisition is particularly important for Estée Lauder, as the group is already a licensee of the designer brand’s successful perfumes and personal care products. Especially in China, sales are doing particularly well.
Step into fashion
It seems that Estée Lauder is now on track to beat Kering, a former employer of designer Ford. The French group was also aiming for the brand and until last week, it seemed that the Gucci owner would beable to reel in Tom Ford for three billion dollars. However, it now seems that the negotiations have broken down on certain, unspecified issues.
An official deal and announcement are, however, still pending. What is particularly striking is that the cosmetics group would also take over Tom Ford’s apparel business, a sector in which Estée Lauder is not yet active.


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One of the features of the Google Pixel 3 is its Night Sight mode, which for those unfamiliar is a camera mode that when activated, will be able to take some pretty stunning low-light photos, the likes of which were previously not available on smartphones. This resulted in many other companies following suit with their own mode, like Samsung’s Bright Night.
Samsung is finally letting users remap the Bixby button (aka Bixby Key) to launch other applications. We explain how to set it up, and even update Bixby if needed in easy steps.
note 9There seems to be an increase in spam calls these days, where many people are reporting that they are seeing an increase in the number of calls that they are receiving from strange numbers from a variety of countries. Given that these numbers are constantly changing, it makes it rather difficult to block them.
If you’re a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 owner who might have been feeling a little bummed that there was no Android Pie update for you in 2018, not to worry because it looks like Samsung is pretty eager at kickstarting 2019 with some good news. According to reports, it appears that the stable version of Android 9.0 Pie is being rolled out to Galaxy Note 9 owners starting in Germany.
It has been a couple of years since Samsung offered a white color option for the Galaxy Note series. The company launched the First Snow White color for the Galaxy Note 9 only a couple of weeks ago. It was initially only available in Taiwan and it didn’t say if this color would be released in other markets. Samsung today revealed that yes, it will be available outside Taiwan as […]
If you own the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and you’re encountering freezing issues with the camera app, you’re not alone as previously Note 9 owners have been reporting the problem as well. The good news is that it looks like Samsung is aware of the problem and is working on a fix for it.
A couple of months ago, we saw a speed test that compared the iPhone Xs Max against the Galaxy Note 9. For those who haven’t seen it, the iPhone Xs Max pretty much blew the Note 9 out of the water largely thanks to its A12 Bionic processor, and also an upgrade in RAM in which it seemed to play a role in its victory.
The other day the folks at PhoneBuff ran a battery test that compared the iPhone Xs Max against the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. On paper the Note 9 had a larger battery which is why it wasn’t surprising that in their test, they found that the Note 9 managed to trounce the iPhone Xs Max in terms of battery life.
Battery life on Apple’s iPhones have never really been known to be particularly good. While they’re far from terrible, Apple’s iPhones aren’t known to have long-lasting battery life, and if you were hoping the iPhone Xs Max would prove the exception, it doesn’t really seem that way, especially in the video above.
Samsung often limits the color options available at launch for its flagship smartphones and it was no different for the Galaxy Note 9. The company’s latest phablet was only available in Lavender Purple and Ocean Blue at launch in the United States. Midnight Black wasn’t offered but Samsung has now confirmed that it will soon be available to customers in the country. It has also introduced a new color for […]
The other day a video compared the speed of Apple’s new iPhone Xs Max against that of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, in which it was clear that the victor was Apple’s new iPhone. Now a new speed test has surfaced, this time by the folks over at PhoneBuff in which it seems to confirm the results of the earlier test.
With Apple’s new iPhones, Apple introduced the A12 Bionic chipset and also bumped the RAM from 3GB to 4GB. So the question is, with the new hardware how does the iPhone Xs Max fare against the likes of 2018’s flagship smartphones from the competition? As it turns out it can more than handle its own.
The dedicated Bixby key has been a constant on Samsung’s flagship smartphones since the Galaxy S8 and it won’t be going away any time soon. There have been settings and options that could be used to disable Bixby on these devices but one of those options was removed from the Galaxy Note 9. This made it impossible to fully disable Bixby on the device so that accidental presses didn’t bring […]
Diane Chung, a real estate agent based in Long Island, has filed a lawsuit against Samsung claiming that her Galaxy Note 9 caught fire. The ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 damaged Samsung’s reputation quite a bit due to its battery defect that resulted in the product being discontinued merely weeks after it was released. Chung claims in her lawsuit that something similar has happened with the Galaxy Note 9.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is available in several different color options, but in case you wanted yet another color option to choose from, then you might be interested to learn that a render posted onto Slashleaks seems to suggest that a new silver variant of the phone could be in the works.
The Bixby key is present on all Samsung flagship smartphones since the Galaxy S8 came out in 2017. The button summons Samsung’s digital assistant and can’t be remapped to do anything else if you don’t use Bixby. While it was previously possible to completely disable Bixby on the device so that a button press wouldn’t achieve anything, that hasn’t been possible on the Galaxy Note 9. However, it seems like […]
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 ReviewEditor's Pick
Like clockwork, Samsung releases its Galaxy Note 9 to push the envelope of the whole Galaxy Series 9 for the remainder of 2018. The Galaxy Note continues to be the company’s technologically leading smartphone with an emphasis on things that require more power and battery: productivity, creativity, multimedia and even games/VR.
When it comes to comparing phones against each other, it’s hard to leave Apple’s iPhones out of the equation. This is because many often rightfully wonder how Apple’s expensive iPhones hold up against more affordable Android options. For those wondering about the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and how it fares against the iPhone X, wonder no more.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 does not come cheap and seems to be part of today’s flagship phones which are priced at the $1,000 mark. This means that if you were hoping to get more than one unit, maybe one for yourself and the other for your friend or partner, it’s going to cost a pretty penny.
When it comes to smartphones, the difference in price between the models with more memory tend to be rather expensive. Take for example the iPhone X in which the price jump from 64GB to 256GB is $150, when in reality if the iPhone had supported microSD cards, that cost would be considerably lower.


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Lexus has updated its ES hybrid sedanAugust 7, 2020
Outwardly, even cosmetic changes were not noticed, but the work of the power unit was modernized. Also, the novelty has received a number of updates in terms of security.
Japanese premium car maker Lexus has revealed an update to its new 2021 ES sedan. The information was released on Friday, August 7th. Externally, no changes were made, which is logical for the recently presented car. But in terms of technology, the engineers have changed a few things. The main innovation is the lithium-ion battery for the ES 300h hybrid version. After installing it, the car became more economical in terms of fuel consumption, and the range increased.
Recall that the ES 300h hybrid is based on a 2.5-liter gasoline engine capable of delivering 178 hp. at 202 Nm of torque. The motor power did not change after the upgrade. The novelty also received a number of security updates. Surround cameras and a blind spot monitoring system are available as additional options.
An infotainment complex with a screen enlarged to 12.3 inches will also become available to buyers.
For the basic version of the Lexus ES in the Japanese car market asking $ 56,800
- Tesla Model 3 electric cars will be equipped with batteries without cobalt
- Bis Industries will launch the Rexx dump truck
- Nissan has begun restructuring its business
- Fiat is preparing to release a new version of the electric car 500 EV
- Audi’s new technologies will make roads safer


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"another logical step in an era which already saw people using high-tech passports, and phone banking and smartphone credit card payments."
"delighted South Australians will be the first in the country to benefit from a statewide roll-out of this leading technology"
"Digital South Australian drivers' licences will be available on a State Government smartphone app"
"This might be your saviour the next time you forget your wallet at home!"
"the digital licence has also spurred ‘a whole bunch’ of innovation from the community looking to commercialise it"


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Intel today released some more information about their future processors "Penryn" and "Nehalem" in a conference call. The first one will replace the current generation of Core 2 Duo processors and will be released before this year is out. The latter is the successor to the Penryn and will be released in 2008/2009. The Nehalem contains a lot of interesting features, as we have found out today. An intergrated memory controller as well as an integrated graphics core will both be present in this processor.
Before we explain the new technologies inside these processors we need to rerun Intel's strategy to you. SOme time ago now INtel introduced its "Tic-Tac" model, indicating that they wish to implement a new production process every two years, but also a new processor architecture every two years. This basically means that a new architecture will be introduced in one year, and in the following year that architecture will be introduced on a smaller production process. On this smaller process the next architecture will be introduced roughly a year after the introduction of the smaller process and so on.
This tic-tac model has been implemented within Intel for about two years now, in 2005 the 65nm proces was introduced with the Presler and Yonahprocessors, based on Intel's Pentium D and Pentium 4. In 2006 the very successfull Core 2 Duo was introduced, a completely new architecture but still on the 65nm production process.Logically at the end of this year the new revision of the Core 2 Duo is planned, produced on 45nm. This new revision is codenamed Penryn. We already published an article on the new 45nm production process earlier, and this article will explain more on the other enhancements within the Penryn.
At the end of 2008 the next architecture will be introduced, still using a 45nm production process. This generation is codenamed Nehalem and is what the Core 2 Duo was compared to the Pentium D. We can't wait to see what it can do.


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We came across a couple of articles about Realme 5i and now it is confirmed that the company will launch the device on January 6 and the images, as well as specification details of the device, are also listed on the retailer’s website. So, without wasting any time let’s check out all the available details of the upcoming Realme smartphone.
The company has announced the launch date of the fourth member of the Realme 5 series on its official Vietnam Facebook page. Well, this further confirms that the company will launch the device in the market of Vietnam.
That’s not all, the devices also listed on a retailer website of Vietnam and that offers images as well as specification details of the upcoming Realme 5i smartphone.
Going through the listing, the upcoming device will come with an 8 megapixel front facing camera and the smartphone will also have 4GB of RAM along with 64GB of internal storage. Having said that, the device shares the specification with the Realme 5. Moreover, the listing also reveals that the device will available in Green and Blue colours.
Speaking about the pricing details, the smartphone will cost VND 4.29 million. So, let’s wait for the official announcement on January 6 for the availability details and other important factors of the smartphone. We recommend you to stay tuned with us for the latest updates at your fingertips.


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Independent catering company CH&Co has named Stuart Lawson as group chief executive officer, reporting to chairman Tim Jones.
The appointments aims to allow Jones to commit more time to existing senior client relationships, developing strategies and seeking new areas for business development.
Lawson joined the company as a non-executive director last October. His primary objective in his new role will be to drive the firm into the next phase of growth.
A qualified accountant, Lawson's early career included various finance roles with drinks firm Diageo, before chief executive positions with retailer Alldays and and pubco SFI Group and five years as a managing director / partner at KPMG.
Caroline Fry, co-chief executive of CH&Co's business & industry arm, and Alison Tyler, co-chief executive of the commercial arm, will report to Lawson.
Tim Jones commented: "Stuart will bring a new impetus to the business and add considerable value to the exceptional work that Caroline and Alison deliver year after year. They have been instrumental in successfully building our business and now Stuart will help us realise our potential for further growth.
Lawson added: "It's an exciting time to be a part of CH&Co and I am delighted to be taking up this new opportunity. The company has established a first class profile in the workplace, at visitor attractions and at some of the nation's most prestigious venues.
"It is now expanding its national presence and onto the high street. I am looking forward to helping this talented board move an already-successful business into the next phase of development."
CH&Co founder Robyn Jones will continue to work closely with husband Tim to develop the business further.


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Discount clothing chain Primark is sticking to its guns as a bricks-and-mortar retailer with plans to expand the store count by about a third while most rivals focus on e-commerce.
Parent company Associated British Foods Plc said Tuesday it expects Primark to deliver much improved margin and profit this current fiscal year and announced a plan to raise the store total from 398 to 530 outlets over the next five years, with much of the expansion planned for the U.S.
Primark is one of the few big clothing chains that has decided to forgo online sales, and now it’s pushing on with store expansion in its five newer markets: the U.S., Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. That made it particularly sensitive to lockdowns, losing 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) of sales last year when stores were closed. However, the chain’s rock-bottom prices allowed sales to recover quickly when shops reopened.
The stock rose as much as 5.8%.
Although Primark is not planning a transactional website, the chain is investing in upgrading its website to showcase more of the clothing range and provide customers with information on available stock levels in their local stores.
The chain aims to have 60 stores in the U.S. in five years, up from 13 now.
Solid growth in AB Foods’ other divisions, including grocery, agriculture, ingredients and sugar, in the year to Sept. 18 means the group will return 320 million pounds to shareholders in total via ordinary dividends and a special payout.
“These results illustrate the robustness of ABF’s diversified model,” Chief Executive Officer George Weston said in a phone interview. “We are actually ending a year during a pandemic with more cash on the balance sheet than ever before.”
The conglomerate’s sugar division outperformed, helped by a mix of strong volumes, higher prices in Europe and Africa and cost savings.
AB Foods said it is recording significant increases in energy, commodity and supply chain prices but is working to offset these with cost savings. It warned it could have to increase food prices in its grocery business, however.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.


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In 1996, Anne Taylor and Roger Ossian launched A & R Marketing, a custom screen printing and embroidery company, located in Campustown. For the past 27 years, they have served the business and Iowa State community with apparel marketing needs.
Thinking back to those early days, Ossian said “the company took off immediately.” When they first incorporated back in 1996, they became a licensed vendor of Iowa State products within a few days and over the past three decades, have worked with nearly every college and hundreds of student organizations on campus.
Their original location was on Hayward Avenue, then in 2010 they moved to their current location on Welch Avenue. In between that time, they opened the retail store of the company, Dogtown University, where they specialize in Iowa State vintage logo apparel.
The name of the retail store has historic roots to campus. For many years, the Campustown area was popularly known as “Dogtown” by students and staff. The name was grounded in the lore that students were not allowed to bring cars to school, but rather had to walk or “dog-it” to get around. At the time, small economic centers sprouted up near college campuses to serve the needs of students, many of which were named “Dogtown.” For years, the name was popular with students before Campustown became the norm.
Custom screen printing and embroidery continue to be the number one driver of business for Taylor and Ossian, but the retail store full of ISU gear is how most people know their company. They have a wonderful relationship the Iowa State and love calling Campustown their home.
“One of the misconceptions of Campustown is that it is only for students,” said Taylor. “We encourage everyone to visit the shops and restaurants of Campustown and to embrace the energy that a university has.”
With the fall athletic season upon us, consider visiting Dogtown University and updating your ISU gear. Dogtown University is located at 217 Welch Avenue in Campustown.
In 2022, YSS, focused on creating hope and opportunity by putting kids first, launched its Ambassador Program with Gabe Kalscheur as their first-ever YSS Ambassador.
Kalscheur, a member of the Iowa State men’s basketball team at the time, engaged in volunteer activities such as helping at the local YSS youth shelter and residential treatment facilities, meeting with youth in YSS programs, and making appearances at YSS fundraisers and events.
“I’m excited to partner with YSS and use my platform to give back,” said Kalscheur in a 2022 press release. “I believe in YSS’s mission and the important work they do to empower youth in Ames and across the state.”
Headquartered in Ames, YSS is one of Iowa’s oldest and largest youth-serving nonprofits—ideally positioning the organization to collaborate with Iowa State student athletes such as Kalscheur.
The YSS Ambassador Program collaborates with the We Will Collective, which compensates ISU student-athletes with donated funds while helping the athletes use their name, image and likeness to benefit the community. “Working with YSS has been the perfect match for our mission of keeping the Cyclones thriving by doing great things in the central Iowa community,” said Brent Blum, executive director of the We Will Collective.
YSS creates opportunities for Ambassadors to get involved throughout the year, allowing them to use their influence to bring awareness to the organization’s mission and support local youth and families in need. In 2023, the Ambassador Program expanded to include three ISU athletes: Jaylin Noel (football), Nyamer Diew (women’s basketball), and Tamin Lipsey (men’s basketball).
“YSS has a strong history with Iowa State, with dozens of student athletes volunteering each year to help our youth and families. The YSS Ambassador Program is the perfect evolution of this partnership,” said Andrew Allen, President & CEO of YSS. “I was amazed by Gabe’s impact and how much our youth looked up to him. This year, we are building on that success and expanding the program with three new YSS Ambassadors who, like Gabe, are ready to get involved and give back,” Allen said.
304 Main St.
Ames, Iowa 50010
Phone: (515) 232-2310
About the Ames Chamber
Centrally and conveniently located in the heart of the Midwest and Iowa, Ames is known for its healthy, stable economy, flourishing cultural environment, and the world-renowned Iowa State University.
With over 700 members, the Ames Chamber of Commerce strives to make Ames a better place to live, work, and do business by strengthening the economic vitality and the quality of life in the Ames community.


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UPI has achieved the double milestone of one billion transactions as well as has crossed 100 million users. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) which launched the domestic payments platform three years ago and operates it as well aims to take the fund transfer system to other countries such as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
UPI, which has over 141 banks on board right now, has emerged as a major payments alternative to debit, credit and e-wallets. In September alone, the UPI-based recorded 955.02 million transactions worth over Rs 1.61 lakh crore as compared 918.35 million transactions a month ago, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data stated. On a year-on-year basis, UPI transactions have increased 2.3 times or 135 per cent. UPI is a payment interface of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.


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SINGAPORE — Singapore and Indonesian leaders yesterday welcomed the growing economic partnership between both countries, as they pushed for greater cooperation in the area of infrastructure development and digital economy.
Discussions on boosting economic, trade and investment links between the two neighbours featured prominently at the Leaders’ Retreat between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Istana yesterday.
“Since our last Leaders’ Retreat, cooperation projects have been progressing, including investments and skills training, digital economy and initiatives to support regional growth and development in Indonesia,” said Mr Lee at a press conference after he held talks with Mr Widodo.
“Both leaders noted the strong existing cooperation in trade, investment and tourism, with Singapore being the top contributor of realised investments in Indonesia in 2016 amounting to US$9.2 billion (S$12.4 billion), and the top source of visitors to Indonesia in 2016 with 1.47 million visitors,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement in the evening.
Both countries were also ready to start negotiations on a new Bilateral Investment Treaty, “which will further strengthen economic cooperation and investment flows”, the statement said.
It added that the leaders also discussed cooperation in investments and skills training, particularly in the Kendal Industrial Park (KIP) which they jointly opened last year during their first retreat. To date, KIP has attracted 32 confirmed tenants with committed investment totalling US$475 million and the potential to create employment for up to 4,000 workers.
“They welcomed plans to set up a polytechnic in KIP to upskill local workers, which will increase labour competitiveness and improve the attractiveness of KIP as an investment destination,” said the MFA statement.
Speaking at the joint press conference, Mr Widodo said Singapore has become Indonesia’s main partner in trade, investment and tourism, adding that the establishment of the Indonesia-Singapore Investment Council last July will further boost ties between the two countries’ business communities.
He also stressed the importance of digital economy, saying: “This is no longer an option. It is now imperative. This will be a priority for Indonesia and Singapore. If we can combine ... investment, technology with talent and youth market potential, then the digital economy cooperation will make Indonesia as well as Singapore’s economy even stronger.”
Mr Widodo added that Batam is an ideal location for this, with the development of a digital cluster and a start-up incubator.
Speaking later at a Singapore-Indonesia investment forum, Mr Lee said there is strong potential for future collaboration in other sectors, such as infrastructure development in the transport and energy industries, as well as the digital economy. He also said there is great potential to grow tourism between the two countries further, especially with the “right infrastructure and improved connectivity.”
The MFA statement also said Mr Lee and Mr Widodo discussed a new frontier in bilateral collaboration in the digital economy sector, noting that they welcomed the recent establishment of two start-up “Launchpads” – EV Hive landing pad by East Ventures and SGInnovate, and BLOCK71@Jakarta by NUS Enterprise and Salim Group, an incubation facility for more than 20 start-ups from Singapore and Indonesia. “Through these platforms, start-ups from both countries can network with one another, access cost competitive co-working spaces, and scale-up their business,” MFA said.


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Earnings increased again significantly, up a third from 2010. Ocean and air freight volume growth was substantially higher than market. These results demonstrate another year of strong, steady progress for Damco, the logistics arm of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group.
Madison, NJ – February 29 - Global logistics and freight forwarding company Damco has released 2011 results which demonstrate continued strong growth towards becoming a major player in the global logistics industry.
Damco’s Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) improved by 29% in 2011, rising from USD 75 million in 2010 to USD 97 million.
Productivity improvements lowered the overhead expense ratio and drove the EBIT return on sales from 2.8% to 3.5%. Return on invested capital (ROIC) rose from 22% to 26% for the year. Total revenue grew to USD 2.8 bn from USD 2.7 bn in 2010, with reduced freight rates masking the strong increase in underlying business.
“We are pleased to have delivered such strong results, despite the softening market in the second half of the year. Taking our market leading expertise in Retail and Lifestyle to other industry sectors is clearly resonating with customers”, commented Rolf Habben-Jansen, CEO of Damco.
The traditional annual Q3 peaks in Europe and North America did not materialize due to weakened consumer confidence resulting from US budgetary concerns and the Eurozone crisis. Europe and North America posted lower results in 2011 compared to the prior year.
Growth markets come through
The ongoing focus on accelerating Damco’s expansion in growth markets led to improved results across key parts of South and Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
“More than 60% of our employees are in growth markets and the strength of our business in places like China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Africa allows us to challenge and win against even our largest competitors, which puts us in a good position when growth in Europe and the US slows”, Damco CEO Rolf Habben-Jansen said. “Our acquisition of NTS, the Chinese air freight forwarder, further demonstrates our commitment to growth markets and building a strong air freight platform to complement our supply chain management and ocean forwarding services”, he added.
Airfreight tonnage rose 47% in 2011 compared to the prior year, mainly driven by the acquisition of NTS in August. Like-for-like airfreight volume growth was about 5% above market. Damco’s ocean volume also grew strongly at 15%, some 9-10% ahead of the general market. Supply chain management (SCM) volumes however declined 3% from last year mainly due to reduced imports handled for Damco’s large US retail customers.
Global commercial initiatives implemented during the year resulted in Damco winning more large customers within targeted industry segments. New sales secured during 2011 had a total annualized gross profit of approx. USD 250 million. Customer satisfaction ratings improved for the fourth year in a row to the highest level yet.
Damco plans to again grow volumes significantly faster than market in 2012, while also further improve profitability. “We will continue to focus on providing our customers with exceptional service, taking our supply chain management expertise to targeted industry verticals and further strengthening our products. We will also launch some new and differentiated services”, said Rolf Habben-Jansen, Damco CEO.
Damco is one of the world’s leading third party logistics providers specializing in customized freight forwarding and supply chain solutions. The company has 10,800 employees in over 280 offices across 90 countries and representation in a further 30 countries. In 2011, the company had a net turnover of USD 2.8 billion, managed more than 2.5 million TEU of ocean freight and supply chain management volumes and air freighted more than 110,000 tons. Damco is part of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group. www.damco.com


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Dubai: UAE private sector business are raking in new orders, with the June numbers being at the highest level since 2019. Just as vital, companies took in more fresh hires for a 14th successive month, according to the latest PMI data from S&P Global.
“The health of the non-oil private sector has now improved in each of the past 31 survey periods,” says the report, adding that the second-half of the year could offer equally sound prospects.
Most of the new jobs were being added in the sales divisions. What’s more, new job creation should retain its current solid footing.
"The extent of the inflows in new work was such that backlogs of work continued to rise in June despite a ramping up of activity, further job creation and an expansion of purchasing activity,” said Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“This should therefore support further increases in staffing levels in the months to come as firms try to keep on top of workloads.”
In June, sectors such as retail and travel and tourism booked another round of growth, helped by the activity during the Eid holidays. But market sources say activity remains on a high across other sectors too, with the tech and associated categories engaged in new hiring and boosted by project wins.
The UAE PMI for June was up to 56.9 from May’s 55.5, with the reading tracking activity across the private sector on metrics such as orders received, cost of operations, new hiring, etc.
“The index signalled a substantial strengthening of business conditions and one that was the most pronounced since June 2019,” said the report.
Businesses haven’t reported an easing on their cost of operations, and in fact, input prices rose for a firth straight month. The inflation rate was also a its highest point across the last 12 months.
“Both purchase prices and staff costs increased at sharper rates than in May,” said the S&P Global report. “The rise in purchase prices was mainly linked to higher raw material costs, while wage inflation was attributed to positive business performance and the hitting of individual targets by some workers.”
- S&P Global report on UAE's June PMI
Business owners remain reasonably assured that the strong order inflows will more than offset the cost side of things. There was a noticeable pick up in orders towards the end of the second quarter, and which should see these business through a busy summer.
“The rate of growth was substantial and quickened to the fastest since August last year,” the report adds.
According to Harker, "Some of this growth was predicated on the offer of discounts to customers, however, which may not be sustainable in the long-term given that input costs are rising."


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With the country plotting to reopen, Starbucks is hyped up on caffeine and ready to lead the charge.
The coffee shop chain has closed all of its stores and converted to drive-thru and delivery only, but CEO Kevin Johnson told employees Thursday that Starbucks is working on a plan to open its doors again.
“With governments, health care professionals, businesses and citizens all working together, there is evidence many markets have in fact ‘flattened the curve’ and are now beginning to see a decline in the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases,” Johnson said in a letter to employees, obtained by Business Insider.
“This is prompting many to define the next steps that will appropriately prioritize health concerns while, at the same time, take thoughtful and measured steps to serve our communities."
Johnson said Starbucks plans to resume normal operations by June and “exceed public health requirements."
“Not all decisions are financial, and in a crisis like this, they must be secondary to the health and well-being of our partners and customers,” he said.
Johnson joined President Trump’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Group on Tuesday, which includes representatives from industries including agriculture, banking, construction, energy, food and beverage, hospitality, retail, technology and sports.
“These experts and innovators provided extremely productive feedback on how to safely reboot our economy,” Trump said at a press conference Wednesday after a call with the business leaders.
“They provided valuable insights on how to move forward, including on the role of protective gear, where we have tremendous amounts of protective gear coming in, robust testing and the future use of therapies and treatments. They also underscored the crucial importance of strong supply chains and communications infrastructure.”
Latest coronavirus updates: Click here for our roundup of the most important developments from NYC and around the world.


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« February 2013 Table of Contents
Trade Tracker: China import value drops
Almost one quarter of all U.S. seafood exports head to China
February 01, 2013
The dollar value of the seafood trade between the United States and China has decreased slightly over the past few years. The No. 2 country of origin for U.S. seafood imports behind only Canada, China sent more than $1.7 billion worth of seafood to the United States from January through November 2012. That dollar amount is down about 2 percent for the same period of the previous year, which reached more than $1.8 billion. More than 15 percent of all seafood imported to the United States comes from China. Tilapia, Pacific salmon and cod are among the top imports, respectively. Approximately 40 percent of imports from China enter through the ports of Los Angeles or Boston.
China is the top destination for U.S. seafood exports, followed by Canada and Japan. In fact, 22 percent of all seafood exports from the United States are destined for China. From January through November of 2012, the United States sent more than $1 billion worth of seafood to China, a year-to-year decrease of 1.4 percent. Top seafood exports are classified as frozen fish, Pacific salmon and cod. More than half of the seafood sent to China departs from Anchorage, Alaska. Other top ports of departure are located on the U.S. West Coast. Zepol Corp. of Minneapolis provides up-to-date U.S. trade data through several subscription tools: TradeIQ™ is a U.S. Customs import bill of lading database utilized to find information about competitors, suppliers, prospects and the products that they use, market or transport. TradeView™ provides U.S. Census data to visualize the U.S. import and export market. ComplianceMonitor™ is a comprehensive tool that proactively alerts users of essential U.S. import trade compliance information. For more information, visit www.zepol.com.
Find other SeaFood Business Trade Tracker articles here.


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The TAIEX yesterday rose 0.24 percent to 12,118.71 points to close out the Year of the Pig with a 22 percent gain.
On the last trading day of the old lunar year, global investors sought to take advantage of Taiwanese tech firms involved in the 5G as well as a recovery in the technology product cycle.
The showing reversed a decline of 4.69 percent in the Year of the Dog, and the local bourse could see further momentum after it reopens on Jan. 30, analysts said.
“In the absence of major external shocks, the local bourse might climb higher after the Lunar New Year holidays, led by the improving outlook for heavyweight tech firms,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said.
Turnover on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday tapered off to NT$113.32 billion (US$3.78 billion), as a significant number of investors stayed on the sidelines for fear of downside surprises from abroad, Huang said.
Huang said he did not see any threats on the horizon.
Foreign institutional investors and proprietary dealers increased holdings by net NT$5.14 billion and NT$884.03 million respectively, while mutual funds slashed positions by net NT$224.87 million, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Electronics stocks moved higher early on before some investors started moving to the sell side, but buying rotated to financial stocks to keep the TAIEX above 12,100 points.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) closed unchanged at NT$333 after hitting a high of NT$335.5.
Other tech heavyweights that saw their gains capped included iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), which ended unchanged at NT$92.3, off a high of NT$93.4; and Largan Precision Co (大立光), a supplier of smartphone camera lenses to Apple Inc, which fell 0.2 percent to end at NT$4,975 after hitting a high of NT$5,015.
DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Co (南亞科技) rose 1.19 percent to end at NT$85.2.
Taiwan is home to contract electronics makers for Apple, Tesla Inc, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Intel Corp, which are due to release their earnings results for last year while the local market is closed for the long holiday, analysts said.
CTBC Investments Co (中信投信) said it is looking at encouraging figures and guidance now that the US and China have sealed a partial trade deal and plan more talks to iron out remaining differences.
CTBC Investments said it expects corporate profits among local firms to grow 7.4 percent this year, but electronics firms might outperform with a 13.4 percent pickup.
The launch of 5G devices would be a catalyst for companies in the supply chain, while others would continue to reap the windfall from trade rerouting, CTBC Investments said.
Trade tensions have prompted Chinese technology firms to cut dependence on US suppliers and shift orders to local vendors instead, it said.
Companies providing components for iPhones series should perform well this year, as Apple is to roll out more affordable versions in the first half of the year and high-end models, including 5G gadgets, in the second half, CTBC Investments added.
Additional reporting by CNA
NOT ALL GOOD: Analysts warned that other data for last month might be less rosy due to the virus and analysts expect the PMI to contract again next month Chinese factory activity saw surprise growth last month as businesses went back to work following a lengthy shutdown, but analysts said that the economy faces a challenging recovery as external demand has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, while the World Bank said that growth could screech to a halt. China is slowly returning to life after months of tough restrictions aimed at containing the virus, which put millions of people into virtual house arrest and brought economic activity to a near standstill. The strict measures saw a closely watched gauge of manufacturing plunge to its lowest level on record in February,
The output of the global smartphone industry this year is to contract by 7.8 percent on an annual basis as the COVID-19 pandemic ushers in a global recession, Taipei-based market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report on Monday. The global production of smartphones is expected to fall to 1.29 billion units, as the pandemic dampens demand for consumer electronics, leading to a decline in shipments across Europe and North America, TrendForce said. With consumers delaying smartphone purchases and thereby lengthening the device replacement cycle, overall prices would suffer a setback that is expected to negatively affect the profitability of smartphone
ELECTRONICS Lite-On delays sale of unit Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) yesterday said it would postpone the sale of its solid-state drives (SSD) business to Kioxia Holdings Corp, formerly known as Toshiba Memory Holdings Corp, due to disruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the Taiwan-based electronics components supplier struck the deal with the Japanese firm, agreeing to sell the unit for US$165 million. Citing unfinished integration work due to the pandemic, Lite-On has deferred today’s closing date until further notice, adding that the delay would not have a negative effect on the unit’s operations. AUTO PARTS Hiroca approves dividend Automotive interior parts supplier Hiroca
ALL ABOUT STRATEGY: The company is optimistic, saying that its gross margin should increase year-on-year, but it is scaling back on its plans to expand capacity Quang Viet Enterprise Co (QVE, 廣越), which makes down jackets and garments for sportswear and outdoor brands including Adidas AG, yesterday said that revenue might drop 5 to 10 percent annually this year as some customers trimmed orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That would mark its first revenue decline since 2016. Quang Viet posted record-high revenue of NT$16.26 billion (US$537.45 million) last year, up 22 percent from 2018. Down jackets made up 40 percent of it revenue last year. North Face Inc and Patagonia Inc are this year likely to reduce orders by 20 to 30 percent from a


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Isaacs: Industry Future ‘Very Much Online’
Industry veteran Gavin Isaacs, the former CEO and vice chairman of Scientific Games who recently joined iGaming and sports betting platform supplier SBTech as non-executive chairman, commented in an interview with SBC News that the most significant evolution for the industry in the near future will be expansion in the internet gaming sector.
“The industry landscape today is changing faster than ever, and the future is very much online,” Isaacs said. “You shouldn’t underestimate the big suppliers on the land-based side, as they’re going to play a significant role in shaping how things evolve, but there are some great companies out there such as SBTech that have already made huge progress in all the key regulated markets, and that are going to continue to make huge inroads across new and emerging jurisdictions such as the U.S.”
Speaking of the decision to join SBTech, Isaacs commented, “I had run several large land-based gaming companies and asked myself whether I wanted to do it again. After a great deal of thought, I felt that I needed to look to the future and assess where I could make an impact within an area where I believe the industry is heading, and that is online with sports initially being the main driver.”
Isaacs added that SBTech was one of the sports betting platform suppliers to enter the U.S. market earliest. “The company entered the U.S. very early on, as soon as the PASPA legislation was repealed,” he said. “It has signed several significant strategic partnerships with brands in New Jersey and Mississippi, and it has several others in the pipeline ready to announce.
“The potential is huge, and SBTech is investing significantly in its technology and infrastructure on the ground, to enable it to maximize this long-term opportunity. Being based in Las Vegas and having worked here for several years across many of the industry’s largest suppliers, I will be able to use my knowledge of the U.S. market to support and grow the company’s U.S. expansion.”


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Commercial, Distributed Energy Resources - August 10, 2022
Starbucks, Volvo Add EV chargers
Starbucks, in partnership with Volvo Cars, announced the first Starbucks stores where new EV chargers will be available to customers and members of the public.
Four charging stations have been installed at the first Starbucks location in Provo, Utah by ChargePoint and additional places to charge will be positioned along a 1,350-mile route from the Colorado Rockies to the Starbucks Support Center in Seattle.
These charging stations are among the first that are online and available along the proposed 1,350-mile route. By the end of the year, up to 60 DC fast chargers will be installed at up to 15 Starbucks stores approximately every 100 miles along the route.
“Access to EV charging should be as easy as getting a great cup of coffee – and now, it can be,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer in a statement. “We look forward to continuing this partnership with Volvo and ChargePoint, exploring new ways to enhance the Starbucks Experience and inviting customers on our journey to become a resource positive company.”
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LONDON -- Jaguar Land Rover has no plans to ditch sedans despite disappointing sales, CEO Ralf Speth said.
Sedans will play an important part of the automaker's future electrification plans, Speth told reporters Thursday after JLR announced plans to cut 4,500 jobs to return the company to profit.
Jaguar's XE midsize and XF large sedans have performed poorly compared with the brand’s SUVs, leading to speculation that they might be axed from the range.
Global sales of the XE were down 21 percent to 28,402 in the first 11 months of 2018, while XF sales fell 23 percent to 29,563, JLR figures show. Jaguar sales were up nearly 1 percent, helped by the launch of the E-Pace compact SUV.
“At the moment SUVs are in very high demand and their relative growth rates are strong, but we already see it leveling out,” Speth said.
He said the XE competes in the largest premium sector globally, one that includes the BMW 3 series, Mercedes C class and Audi A4.
The XF’s sector was also "huge," he said. "That means you have to be in these segments to be competitive and achieve the right volume to generate economies of scale," he said.
The popularity of the sedan is likely to return once tougher CO2 targets in Europe and China come into force. “Whenever you think you go away from sedans, you have to consider new CO2 regulations,” he said. “By 2030 and 2040 you are looking for reductions in the order of magnitude of 40 percent. That means from a pure physical point of view the concept of a sedan is far more favorable than SUV,” he said, referring to the increased aerodynamic efficiency of the sedan shape compared to the taller SUV.
Jaguar will keep the sedans but might change the shape of the vehicles and increase the electrification for future models, Speth said without being specific.
Critics have described the design of the XE and XF as looking too anonymous compared with German rivals. Speth would not comment on whether Jaguar would be switching to an all-electric brand, as has been reported within British media.
JLR is cutting 10 percent of its mainly UK-based workforce to help deliver 2.5 billion-pound ($3.2 billion) savings in the next 18 months.
Speth would not comment on speculation that the automaker plans to shut Castle Bromwich, the plant in Birmingham, central England, that builds the XE and XF.
Max Warburton, an analyst at Bernstein, a bank, wrote in a note: "We suspect the closure of Castle Bromwich may now be inevitable."
IHS Markit expects that the next-generations of the XE and XF will be built in JLR’s new plant in Slovakia from 2023. JLR has not commented on future production locations.