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Aftermarket Consumer Spending Surges, Fueled By Light Truck Sales3
The aftermarket is a wide open world for owners. It’s the chance to create a unique vehicle, to express oneself for better, or for worse. The Specialty Equipment Market Association, better known as SEMA, has released their annual report showing 2015 will be a huge year for aftermarket companies.
In 2014, consumers spent a collective $36 billion on aftermarket products, an eight percent growth over 2013. And there are no signs of that number dwindling in 2015. Specifically, the resurgence in the midsize, light-truck segment has fueled aftermarket sales. For General Motors, that may be attributed to the reintroduction of the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and 2015 GMC Canyon.
GM is still having problems keeping up with demand for the two midsize trucks, and it seems many owners are taking their newly purchased trucks and immediately heading to the aftermarket scene. Particularly, off-road accessories and parts has risen eight percent.
Even though a substantial piece of profit is coming from light truck sales currently, street performance remains the largest category consumers are spending in. That means performance modifications for Corvettes, Camaros and more. And it should only grow with the introduction of the 2016 Chevy Camaro.
General Motors has been busy crafting their own strategy to keep more consumer spending inside of GM. A plethora of special edition trucks have been introduced for the Silverado, but more so for the Colorado. GM sees these special editions as a chance for customers to personalize their vehicles straight from the factory, passing up aftermarket companies.
With all of that news, it seems the 2015 SEMA show in Las Vegas will be a massive event, one which Chevrolet has also told us to keep an eye on concerning the 2016 Camaro. We’re expecting a slew of aftermarket support for the sixth-generation Camaro to be announced.
- Sweepstakes Of The Month: Win a 2023 Corvette Z06 Convertible. Details here.
We are so far having a good year.
The new models are a limited factor as so few parts are out yet. They will factor in though in the future.
This is excellent news for GM and the aftermarket companies . They realize that there is a market out there that doesn’t consider a vehicle as a meare appliance to get from point A to B . There is something to be said for individualality. I happen to be one of those people . When you drive down the road , who wants to look like all the others ?
Well the whole key to this is to give access to these products early on as the part MFG can tool up with new product closer to the release.
Some times like on the first Gen 1 Camaro the companies got early access and it really helped sales of the Camaro. But that does not always happen. I hope GM has gotten these cars and trucks around early as if not it can take up to a year to bring a new product to the market for a new car.


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The 2020 holiday season will probably be the weirdest one most of us have ever had, thanks to COVID-19. For one thing, holiday in-store traffic is predicted to be 25 percent lower than last year.
The flip side of that is that more than 7 in 10 holiday shoppers plan to make most of their purchases online, up from 51 percent last year, according to a recent CreditCards.com survey. However, that single shopping shift could throw the whole fulfillment cycle into a tizzy, putting as many as 700 million gifts at risk of not arriving in time for the holidays, according to SalesForce.
To avoid disaster, consumers are going to have to make some changes to find a new pandemic-led holiday shopping comfort zone. To help ConsumerAffairs readers get a head start on rethinking their shopping plans, Ted Rossman, industry analyst at CreditCards.com, gave us tips on how to save money on holiday shopping this year.
Tips for saving
There will be lots of ways to save money through online shopping, but it might take jumping through a few hoops. To get a better handle on what those hoops are, Rossman laid out the four most important elements consumers should start considering for the 2020 holiday season.
Use an online shopping portal. Rossman thinks that Rakuten, Dosh, and TopCashBack are great options for helping consumers save money. His reasoning is that retailers are willing to pay referral fees to these platforms when they bring in customers. “It’s targeted advertising, basically, and it means free money for consumers.”
Rossman may be onto something. When ConsumerAffairs checked out Rakuten, there were plenty of brands offering as much as 12 percent cash back. One brand taking full advantage of the situation was AT&T, which was offering up to $300 in reward cards with qualifying TV and internet when purchases were made online, plus up to $150 cash back.
One word of caution: ConsumerAffairs reader reviews of Rakuten run the gamut between “awesome” and “lesson learned.” But, to its credit, reviewers said Rakuten’s customer service team was proactive when it came to negative reviews in some cases.
Shop through your credit card issuer portal. From the credit card issuer’s website, consumers can click through to a retailer’s website and shop normally while enjoying some added benefits and discounts. You can enter store-specific coupon codes, as usual, for even more savings.
Take advantage of card-linked offers. “These are a close relative to online shopping portals, but better known by credit card brand names such as Amex Offers, Chase Offers and the Wells Fargo Earn More Mall. When you pay with the affiliated card, you’ll get money back,” Rossman said.
Check out your options for buyer protections. Take the time to find which credit cards offer the best extended warranties, purchase protections, price protections, and guaranteed return benefits.
If you have a good credit score, some credit card issuers are offering incentives to try and bring you into their fold. Rossman makes note of several signup bonuses available to consumers who meet the card issuer’s criteria. Two examples he gave were the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer signup bonuses, which were potentially worth $1,000.
The only concern ConsumerAffairs sees is that these cards have a high spending threshold. For example, new Capital One Venture card holders can earn up to 100,000 bonus miles, but they have to spend $20,000 in purchases within the first 12 months of opening their account to get those bonus miles. Nonetheless, if you’re spending the money anyway, Rossman says it makes perfect sense to take advantage of these rewards.

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Disney Cookabout nominated for Emmy award
20 October 2017
Disney Africa and Penguin Films are proud to share that Disney Cookabout has been nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award in the category of Best Non-Scripted Entertainment, following the announcement by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at Mipcom recently.
Disney Cookabout also received the 2016 SAFTA award for Best Children s Programme following the first season s run on SABC 2 and Disney Channel (DStv Channel 303) last year. The second season of the proudly South African series currently airs each Saturday and Sunday at 09h25 CAT on Disney Channel.
Disney Cookabout joins 28 nominees in 7 categories, from 16 countries for this year s awards, which will be presented at MipTV in Cannes, France on Tuesday 10 April, 2018.
Produced by Penguin Films for Walt Disney Television, Disney Cookabout is a comedic adventure game-show that uses food preparation, cooking and outdoor exploration to showcase local ingredients and a fun-filled approach to healthy eating.


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Taiwan slim DVD burner maker Quanta Storage expected to be hit by HLDS price cut
Jimmy Hsu, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES
Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS), the world's largest maker of optical disc drives, has lowered OEM quotes for slim-type DVD burners from US$33-35 in the third quarter of 2007, to US$30-33 this quarter, and this is expected to exert large competitive...
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The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted production and weakened consumer confidence, with all ICT sectors bracing for major declines in shipments. Digitimes Research has conducted analyses on three mobile device sectors, namely notebooks, smartphones and tablets in the wake of the outbreak.


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Despite the brutal reaction to his last New York Fashion Week show — which infamously included dehydrated models dropping in the heat — Kanye West may be gearing up to present a new Yeezy collection in February.
“He sounded great,” said a source who just spoke to West. “He said he was trying to put less stuff on his schedule and be a little bit more restful. He’s scheduling less meetings and he said he was feeling much better.”
We reported West was back in the studio after he was released from an LA hospital in late November following an alleged breakdown.
“He was still going 100 miles per hour with work. People were concerned that he was going right back to his schedule,” the source said. “He’s been trying to not take as many meetings.”
Fashion apparently remains a top priority for the rapper: He has been working on his Yeezy “Season 5” line, but also is “launching another apparel line,” the source said.
However, it’s unclear if West will present a Yeezy collection at NYFW in February.
A rep did not comment.


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The JOBS Act is officially law. Now it’s time for the legislation to change the world.
That’s what Cincinnati’s Candace Klein expects. Klein is founder and CEO of the peer-to-peer lending site SoMoLend and founder of Bad Girl Ventures, a micro-finance group for women entrepreneurs. And she’s been in the thick of the efforts in Washington, D.C., to get the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act passed.
“I truly believe this will change the world,” Klein said. “This will change the way small businesses have access to capital. It will change the way small businesses do banking.”
The law legalizes crowd funding in startups by investors who are non-accredited so that large groups of people can now invest or lend small amounts of money to a business. Startups will be limited to $1 million per year, though, and they will have to stick to portals that get approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The law makes it easier for emerging growth companies to go public. It also paves the way for sites like SoMoLend, which deals strictly in loans.
“When we launched SoMoLend in May 2011, the mission of the company was to allow for secure peer-to-peer lending,” said Klein, who is also a securities lawyer. “The first response back from my lawyers was, ‘This is illegal.’ I said to my lawyer, ‘First, you’re fired. That’s the C answer. The B answer is, there are loopholes. The A answer is let’s just change the law.’ We joined the movement in the summer of last year. And for the first six month, we built a platform with SoMoLend to allow for banks and small lenders to make the loans. This act makes our mission legal. We weren’t set up to just let banks and corporations lend.”
The law also opens more doors for small companies to get the funding they need to grow, said Jason Best, a co-founder of the organization Startup Exemption that has been pushing for the law for nearly a year and a half.
“I live in San Francisco now, but I grew up in a small town in Louisiana,” Best said. “I will guarantee you there’s no angel funding or venture capital within 200 miles of where I grew up. This opens up the opportunity for people to invest, whether it’s geography-based communities or based on communities of interest.”
Best, Klein and others in the industry have formed a working group to create a Self Regulating Organization, or SRO, required in the legislation to provide further protection to small business investors. The SRO will be made up of members of the crowd funding industry along with legal, securities and SEC experts. The goal is to establish a framework to protect and educate investors while working to eliminate fraud.
“Regulation is a good thing,” Klein said. “Rather than letting the industry just blow up with little direction and little support, it’s going to be very important that this SRO come together. For SoMoLend, it’s important to me that we do protect the borrower and the lender.”
And Best said that he thinks the industry would fail without common standards, guidelines and investor protections.
“I personally believe that crowd funding and the social web really creates Web 3.0 because you’re really combining social networking with financing,” he said. “We’ll be working in a very collaborative way with the SEC to ensure there’s good understanding of the value and the transparency that social media brings. The powerful disinfectant of sunlight will really be on our side with social media.”
As great as it is to get the law passed, though, forming the SRO and establishing regulations for the industry is where the real work begins, Klein said.
“It’s going to take a lot of effort now to ensure we create a socially responsible industry,” she said. “We’re going to need a lot of input from the small business community. And we want to hear from companies that will be affected by the legislation.”


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Here are this week’s top stories from Farm and Dairy:
Instead of purchasing herbal tea at the grocery, why not grow your own herbs and use them for homemade tea? Once herbs are harvested, dried and preserved, they can be used for tea blends.
Herbs can be planted in containers or alongside fruits and vegetables. Herbs can be beneficial to other plants, and they can even ward off pests.
The Federal Aviation Administration is accepting public comments until April 24 for the use of small unmanned aerial systems in agriculture. Farmers have some concerns about proposed FAA drone regulation.
The proposed regulations published by the FAA include a required certification process and exam, aircraft registration, maintenance and limitations on use.
Gardening doesn’t just have to be trowels and watering cans anymore. Innovative thinkers have developed countless garden technology tools, ranging from cell phone apps to plant sensors.
These tools may come in handy for tech-savvy gardeners who want to provide optimal conditions for their plants and also save time and money on materials and water.
Although seven members of the Beef Checkoff Enhancement Working Group have signed a memorandum of understanding, some stakeholders don’t approve of the proposed changes to the checkoff.
The United States Cattlemen’s Association and the National Farmers Union have both opposed the suggested enhancements to the national beef checkoff.
For several years, the idea of a hardwood checkoff in Ohio has been floating around. Some members of the Ohio Forestry Association question the need for the checkoff, while others are concerned about the number of exemptions.
The Hardwood Checkoff Committee is comprised of representatives from 15 lumber and forest product companies. Efforts to create a national hardwood checkoff have been opposed by the Virginia Forest Producers Association as well as the Missouri Forest Products Association.
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Sales of brokerage boats in the United States were up strongly in October as 2,198 boats changed hands, a 13 percent increase from October 2011, when 1,937 were sold.
Defying the usual seasonal trend, the October sales total also represented a significant increase from September, when 1,962 boats were sold. A surge in sales of boats under 55 feet was responsible for the increase, according to YachtWorld member brokerages reporting in their proprietary database, SoldBoats.com.
Despite these gains, slower sales and lower average prices paid among boats over 55 feet lowered the total value of sales by 7 percent, compared with October 2011, from $259 million to $242 million. Sales of smaller boats, which represent the great majority of transactions, were $13.7 million higher, but among the relatively small number of larger boats sold the aggregate price paid was down $29.2 million. Nonetheless, the total value of sales in October was higher than in September, August or July.
Particularly notable is that sales of boats in the high-volume end of the market — under 35 feet — were not only higher in October, but the boats also were selling at higher average prices.
Among boats under 26 feet, sales were up 6 percent, with 575 sold, and the total price paid was up 12 percent to $12.5 million. The average price increased from $20,500 in 2011 to $21,700 in 2012.
Among boats 26 to 35 feet, sales were up 17 percent, with 879 sold, and the aggregate price was $47.1 million, up 23 percent. The average price paid rose from $51,000 to $53,600.
In contrast, the average price paid for a boat that was longer than 56 feet declined from $1.9 million in October 2011 to $1.3 million this year.
A more detailed report summarizing recent U.S. brokerage sales will appear in the December issue of Soundings Trade Only.
— John Burnham
YachtWorld.com editorial director


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December 4, 2012, 8:02 A.M., Tuesday, New York local time — Android Jelly Bean and low supply from Nokia affecting the rivalry of the Nokia Lumia 920, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus! Surprise, Samsung’s old smartphone still selling well following Google’s software update and re-launched price tag.
Surprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the 2011 flagship Nexus device, is still selling well especially in Asia according to sources from third-party retailers. With a cheaper price tag of $350 off-contract and with unlocked SIM card slot, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is now more appealing especially in emerging markets like India, China and other major Asian markets. But apart from the new price tag, retailers are claiming that the surge of orders happened after the launch of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Google’s new mobile operating system, the Android Jelly Bean, is now running on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Google launched the Android 4.1 first, followed by Android 4.2 and 4.2.1.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is the stock out of the box mobile operating system of the new LG Nexus 4, Google’s latest flagship Nexus device which offers a quad-core processor, 2GB RAM and 4.7-inch IPS HD display with more than 300 pixels per inch.
Meanwhile, retailers also confirm that they’re shipping more Samsung Galaxy Nexus units than Nokia Lumia 920 due to underwhelming supply. For starters, the Nokia Lumia 920 with Windows Phone 8 is the latest flagship phone of the Finland-based company.
The Nokia Lumia 920 also features an HD IPS display with more than 330 pixels per inch. Also included is the new 8.7-megapixel PureView camera, dual-core Snapdragon Krait processor, 1GB RAM and new design.
According to Deutsche Bank analyst Kai Korschelt, Nokia is controlling the supply of the Nokia Lumia 920, and sold out or backordered stores were caused by low supply rather than overwhelming demand. The analyst shared, “anecdotal evidence suggests that many stores have only received 5-20 devices/store with wider carrier distribution delayed in some countries such as Germany & UK.”
Retailers claim they will start shipping more Nokia Lumia 920 units beginning this week, but independent charts based on sales are suggesting that more Samsung devices are being ordered and shipped every day. Also worth noting is the new HTC Windows Phone 8X that failed to beat its Android rivals.
Sony Xperia T, TX, V and others getting Android Jelly Bean, soon!December 18th, 2012
BlackBerry 10 leak confirms similarity with Android?December 18th, 2012
Apple iPhone 5 sales in China reaches 2 millionDecember 18th, 2012
Nokia Lumia 920 software update arriving soon, to fix the PureView cameraDecember 17th, 2012
Exynos “security flaw” affecting the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3?December 17th, 2012


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SENIOR WOMEN TO 8th AUSTRALIA-SOLOMONS BUSINESS FORUM
Three senior business executives of Solomon Islands are leaving the country to attend the Eight Australia Solomon Islands Business Forum and Trade Expo in Brisbane today.
Lilly Lomulo is the human resources manager of the Solomon Islands Tobacco Company Limited (SITCO) Regina Pokana is the Sustainability Manager at GPPOL and Lyn Fa’arodo, the Head of Retail Banking at ANZ Bank.
In a statement today, the Australian High Commission said it supports the three women leaders as a part of its commitment to improving women’s leadership in business.
SIBC News understands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and his delegation will also participate in the event before heading off to Taipei, Taiwan over the weekend.
Meanwhile, one of the country’s Businesses will feature as a Small and Medium-sized Enterprises case study at the Eight Australia Pacific Solomon Islands Business forum today.
Managing director and owner of Premiere Real Estate Julie Haro is a guest speaker and she will deliver a presentation of Premiere Real Estate as a case study.
Mrs. Haro says it is an opportunity to bring to the international forefront the struggles business women in Solomon Islands experience.
“I didn’t feel like going there being a very small SME and being run by a woman, but then I see it as an opportunity to bring further the struggles that women faced in doing business in the country. Not only that but going it’s not about Premier, it’s not about just a small our staff or the management or the board of Premier, what I carry with me is the heart of these women in terms of business.”


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Shops slashed prices at fastest rate in 7 years in January as customers count their pennies despite economic upturn
Retailers slashed prices at the fastest rate in at least seven years to tempt consumers into parting with their money during the January sales as tough trading conditions persisted despite the improving economy, industry figures showed today.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said shop prices in early January were 1 per cent lower than at the same time a year earlier, the biggest annual decline in any month since the survey started in 2006 and the ninth consecutive month of falling prices.
That followed a 0.8 per cent slide in prices in December reflecting widespread discounting by British retailers - particularly among clothing, furniture and electrical retailers.
Price crash: Retailers slashed prices by 1 per cent overall in January compared to the same month a year earlier as market conditions remain ultra competitive
The BRC figures come a week after official figures showed Britain's economy grew 1.9 per cent last year, the fastest rate since 2007. But the Office of National Statistics data also showed wages have stagnated since 2010 while households have had to fund higher spending by cutting savings.
Despite heavy discounting by retailers sales have been buoyant.
Official data showed British retailers had the fastest annual sales growth in more than nine years in December, fuelled by strength from smaller stores as some major chains reported a difficult Christmas holiday period.
Tesco and Marks & Spencer, two of the biggest names in British retail, posted heavy falls in sales in the run up to Christmas, although fashion chain Next enjoyed strong sales.
‘January is always a key month for sales and promotions, but discounts have been deeper and more widespread than last year and we are seeing this trend continuing,’ said Helen Dickinson, the BRC's director general.
‘Hard-pressed families will also have benefited from the lowest levels of food inflation in almost four years.’
The BRC's measure of shop price inflation does not include online retailers or costs such as energy, transport and housing, which feed into the broader official consumer price inflation measure targeted by the Bank of England.
Inflation has fallen sharply in recent months and hit the BoE's 2 per cent target in December for the first time since 2009. But consumer prices are still rising much faster than wages, which Labour leader Ed Miliband has said is among the main causes of a ‘cost of living crisis.
The BRC said non-food prices fell by an annual 2.7 per cent in January compared with a 2.3 per cent decline in December, while food prices rose 1.5 per cent, down from the previous month's 1.7 per cent increase.
The BRC sales figures come as it emerged the owner of Argos and Homebase has become the latest retailer to tap its suppliers for a contribution to help pay its costs.
Home Retail Group has sent letters asking for a 2 per cent rebate on goods supplied after the end of this month as it joins a growing number of retailers expecting partners to chip in.
Troubled department store chain Debenhams introduced a rebate just before Christmas, dubbed the Santa tax.
NBrown, which owns the High and Mighty brand, told suppliers last week to give back 2.5 per cent of sales from spring 2012. It said the cash was needed to help fund its ‘ambitious growth plans’.
But Home Retail, one of the winners over the festive period after a boost in online sales, has not taken such an extreme approach, choosing not to apply its rebate retrospectively.
A spokesman said: ‘Payment is made in accordance with pre-agreed terms and reflects the markets in which we and our suppliers operate.’
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DATATRAC: Drug Stores and HBC Chains – May 2016
• AmerisourceBergen announced that David Neu, Exec VP Retail Strategy and President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy, will retire in the summer of 2016.
• Birchbox has named Terre Layton as Global VP of Product Management and User Experience. In addition, Fran Gaitanarous was named as VP of Creative.
• Diplomat Pharmacy announced that Jennifer Hagerman had been promoted to the company’s VP Education and Quality.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. announced Helayna Minsk was recently named group VP Walgreens Global Brands.
Mergers and Acquisitions
• Diplomat Pharmacy announced the planned acquisition of TNH Advanced Specialty Pharmacy.
• General Nutrition Centers, Inc. announced plans to sell 84 company-owned locations to Sun Holdings which currently has over 600 franchise locations, mostly in the restaurant industry.
• Benzer Pharmacy announced that it had received specialty pharmacy accreditation from the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC).
• CVS Health launched a new flagship line of more than 2,500 health and wellness products under the CVS Health banner.
• GNC Holdings announced that its board of directors is considering a possible sale of the company.
• Smith Drug Co. announced that it would be partnering with Diplomat Pharmacy to offer its customers specialty pharmacy services through the Diplomat Retail Specialty Network.


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Net absorption in the Houston retail market went into the red for the first time in over a decade at -872,000 sq. ft. in the second quarter—down from 1.4 million sq. ft. in Q2 2019.
Occupancy drops to 93.8%
Net absorption in the Houston retail market went into the red for the first time in over a decade at -872,000 sq. ft. in the second quarter—down from 1.4 million sq. ft. in Q2 2019. Leasing activity—which is comprised of both new leases and renewals— included 1.1 million sq. ft. of signed deals, down 40.6% from this time last year. The overall occupancy rate decreased by 50 basis points quarter-overquarter, and 60 basis points year-over-year at 93.8%. The retail market saw overall average asking rates increase by $0.35 per sq. ft. quarter-over-quarter to finish at $18.11 on a triple-net basis. A year ago, average rates were at $17.33, representing a 4.5% increase.
Houston economic indicators
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that pandemic-induced declines in economic activity for Houston slowed in May as the economy reopened, and some signs of recovery began. Leading and coincident indexes logged modest improvements, but Houston’s energy sector continued to shed jobs ahead of record-setting lows for drilling activity in the U.S. in June. Unfortunately, June also saw a return to sharp growth in COVID-19 hospitalizations. This increase has put a damper on the recovery as policy efforts to contain the virus and voluntary social distancing likely contributed to a reduction in area mobility and engagement.
From the landlord side we are seeing fairly normal activity in the way of tenant interest throughout various markets from a variety of different users. As national big-box anchor tenants are shuttering, we are seeing a healthy level of activity from other users that are re-purposing these larger vacancies; the majority of these being entry-to-market discount soft good users, building supply, and or different fitness concepts that see the untapped potential here in Houston market. From the tenant side I am seeing that the overall deal flow is taking longer from initial interest to lease execution. It’s been this way for the past 18 months, and I am unable to my finger on it. There has been a significant increase with construction costs, and I believe landlords are starting to take notice of this trend, offering more aggressive tenant improvement packages, increased build-out time, and additional abated rent to help offset some of these fixed costs that the tenants can’t avoid!
Supply and demand
The Houston retail market realized negative net absorption for the first time since 2009 at -872,000 sq. ft., while delivering 761,000 sq. ft. during April, May and June of 2020. Of the 2.5 million sq. ft. of new construction delivered so far in 2020, 71% has been leased, and of the 2.7 million sq. ft. still in the pipeline, 61% has been spoken for. Strong population growth, above-average job growth, and a gradually recovering energy industry had all underscored Houston’s solid fundamentals. The new rooftops and jobs had driven demand for retail, which led to an occupancy rate at or above 94.0% for the last five years, prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Real Capital Analytics data reports quarterly retail sales volume for Q2 2020 in the Greater Houston area at $177.2 million, down compared to this time last year at $282.4 million sq. ft. The primary capital composition for buyers in 2020 was made up of 69.3% private and 24.2% institutional investors. For sellers, the majority was 67.6% private and 25.9% user/other investors.
The volume of square footage signed during the second quarter—which is comprised of both new leases and renewals—was at 1.1 million sq. ft., down from the previous quarter’s 1.6 million sq. ft., and 1.9 million sq. ft. this time last year. One-fourth of the leasing activity took place in the Northwest submarket, followed by the West submarket at 21%. The largest deal signed in the second quarter was Floor & Décor’s 91,110-sq.-ft. retail lease at 20738-20740 Gulf Freeway in Webster. The tenant has agreed to take occupancy within the 353,270-sq.-ft. Clear Lake Center in the fourth quarter of 2020. Other tenants in the retail power center include at home, American Freight, and Tuesday Morning.
Port Houston managing through pandemic
The Journal of Commerce reported that the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the United States-China trade war are having negative effects on U.S. containerized imports and exports. Many ports are registering year-to-date declines in both categories in early 2020, meanwhile expecting a cautious rebound from importers in the second half. Most recent, the Gulf ports increased their market share by 1.9% points to 10.8% of U.S. containerized imports and exports. Port Houston, which has benefited the past year from a surge in resins exports, outperformed other top 10 ports with a 14.1% increase in outbound container volume. In the past few years, resins manufacturers have invested billions of dollars to expand production of resins and other plastics in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Natural gas is still plentiful and inexpensive, with billions of dollars of investment in these facilities to continue producing plastic, according to Port Houston. U.S. resin exports through the busiest Gulf Coast gateway jumped 30% year-over-year in the first quarter, according to PIERS.
Average asking rents
The Houston retail overall triple-net average rates are at $18.11 per sq. ft., an increase of $0.78 from $17.33 a year ago. Rent growth has varied across Houston’s submarkets, and with additional space likely coming available in Houston, tenants may have more leverage than at any time in the last decade with regards to negotiating rental rates, terms, tenant improvements and concessions.. The Inner Loop ($27.60 PSF) and West ($21.16 PSF) submarkets currently have the highest annual overall average rate, followed by the Southwest ($18.04 PSF) and Northwest ($17.93 PSF). With the rising costs to developers that are bringing new projects with high quality space to the market, rental rates could remain elevated.
Pent-up demand resulting from COVID-19 boosts home sales
According to the Houston Association of Realtors, a burst of homes going under contract in May after COVID- 19-related stay-at-home orders expired led to a surge of closings in June, driving home sales volumes back up to levels considered more normal for summertime in Houston—and even beyond 2019’s record pace. Single-family homes sold in June compared to a year earlier translated to a 15.7% jump—a strong rebound from two straight months of declines brought on by coronavirus and ongoing strains in the energy industry. The coronavirus seems to have driven consumer interest in real estate through virtual open houses and virtual showings, while providing an additional incentive to buy through all-time low interest rates.
Director of Research
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Amazon in Etna offers summer tour opportunities
School might be out of session, but Amazon’s Etna fulfillment center is offering a creative activity for residents to avoid the summer heat and keep learning – free behind-the-scenes tours.
Anyone who wants to see the magic firsthand that happens after clicking “buy” on Amazon can browse times online at www.amazon.com/fctours and book a tour that fits his or her summer schedule, according to a news release. A fulfillment center tour will give attendees a special chance to see:
•How Amazonians pick, pack and ship customer orders that are delivered throughout Ohio
•How Amazonians use state-of-the-art technology to locate specific items among millions of products
•A warehouse the size of 14 football fields packed with products and state-of-the-art technology
•Miles and miles of conveyor belts whizzing packages across the fulfillment center
Since the public tours program’s launch in May 2014, Amazon’s fulfillment centers have welcomed tens of thousands of visitors each year, including students, families, elected officials and nonprofit organizations.
The Etna site started hosting public tours this past February and is one of 23 unique fulfillment centers in the country to offer them.
Visitors must be six years or older. To book a free tour of Amazon's Etna fulfillment center, visit www.amazon.com/fctours.


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Jersey Mike's Subs Opens Third Tucson Location
May 07, 2018 // Franchising.com // TUCSON, Ariz. - Jersey Mike’s Subs, known for its fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs, opened in Tucson on May 2. Franchise owners and siblings Bob Gregory and Rosey Gregory held a grand opening and free sub fundraiser from Wednesday, May 2 to Sunday, May 6 to support Tucson Medical Center/Children’s Miracle Hospital.
The new restaurant, located at 4874 S. Landing Way, circulated coupons throughout the community offering a free regular sub for a minimum $2 contribution to Tucson Medical Center/Children’s Miracle Hospital.
“Jersey Mike’s is a unique brand in that we have a culture of not only providing exceptional products and customer service, but also a culture of giving back to the community in which we live,” said Bob Gregory. “We welcome everyone to our new location in Tucson.”
The Gregorys are exemplary Jersey Mike’s franchise owners who share the company’s commitment to quality products and exceptional customer service, and who are dedicated to giving back to the local community. Since 2010, Jersey Mike’s locations throughout the country have raised more than $34 million for worthy local charities and have distributed more than 2 million free sub sandwiches to help numerous causes. This year, the company’s 8th Annual Jersey Mike’s Month of Giving in March raised over $6 million for more than 170 charities throughout the country.
About Jersey Mike’s
Started in 1956, Jersey Mike’s now has 1,500 restaurants open and under development nationwide. In 2017, Jersey Mike’s was named the country’s fastest-growing Limited Service Chain and fastest-growing sandwich chain in the 2017 Nation’s Restaurant News Top 100.
The growth is fueled by passionate Jersey Mike’s fans who crave their subs made Mike’s Way® with the freshest vegetables - onions, lettuce and tomatoes - topped off with an exquisite zing of “the juice” - red wine vinegar and olive oil blended to perfection. Jersey Mike’s premium meats and cheeses are sliced on the spot, piled high on in-store baked bread and served up with a helping of neighborly banter from a dedicated and high-energy team.
The restaurant’s hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. You can contact this location directly at (520) 822-8417.
SOURCE Jersey Mike’s
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The 2020 honda crf250r is the model that gets the most attention with updates to the engine and transmission. Honda have announced details of their 2020 crf off road and trail bike ranges with updates including more power upgraded chassis components and new colour kits.
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Is it a growth industry?
Each year more and more people become aware of the benefit of having insurance propelling the industry’s growth. Since the privatization of the industry in 2000, 24 new companies have begun operations in India, emphasising the potential our country holds. In fact, the insurance industry has grown at 9.2% in the financial year 2015, considerably outperforming the country’s GDP growth.
But the growth story of insurance goes beyond financials. It’s a story of creating a nationwide footprint that has created jobs for over 100,000 people across the length and breath of India. It is a story of ensuring timely availability of medical care, of improving standards of healthcare, of giving people courage to buy homes and of giving businesses a safety net. It’s a never-ending cycle of evaluating customer needs, innovating products, outreach programs and partnerships. Most of all, its an unseen, but essential cog in our country’s march towards the future.


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Karbach Will Keep You Cool This Summer
KARBACH BREWING CO.
Local Hero Award winner: Brewery
New faces have entered the Houston brewery scene in recent years with their fizzy pop-top cans and frosty long-neck bottles, quickly transforming Houston into a hotbed of cool experimentation, but few have commanded such insider respect and consumer admiration along the way as Karbach Brewing Co. Though it would be romantic to cite mere luck to Karbach’s unparalleled success, owners Chuck Robertson and Ken Goodman and brewmaster Eric Warner brought impressive pedigrees to the table when they launched the Karbach Street brewery in 2011.
Robertson and Goodman had previously founded the C.R. Goodman distributorship in the ’80s, which distributed more than 60 beer brands before they sold the company in 2008. Warner, on the other hand, had received a formal brewing education in Germany, going on to lead Colorado’s tremendous Flying Dog Brewery as its brewmaster and then CEO for a decade.
Marketing and Promotions Coordinator David Graham, the brewery’s first official employee, says the marriage of technique, attention to detail and a genuine affection for craft brew helps attract its nearly 2,000 to 3,000 visitors every week. “There was definitely this feeling in the beginning that we were creating something great here,” he says. “When you bring people into your place of business and let them taste all the great things you’re working on, the word gets around.”
Indeed the word did get around. Karbach’s original three-year plan aimed for 3,000 barrels in year one, 6,000 in year two and 9,000 in year three. However, in year one the company produced 8,100 barrels, followed by 19,000 in year two and 32,000 in year three. In 2013, The New Yorker magazine cited the brewery as the second-fastest-growing craft brewery in the United States, growing 1,112% from 2011–2012. Popular libations like the Karbach Hopadillo IPA have developed cult-like fandom, while more novel brews like the Karbachtoberfest and Mother in Lager have seized awards from the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup.
In Summer 2015, the brewery unveiled impressive new digs, with a 19,000-squarefoot, sprawling facility that includes a brewhouse, tasting room, event space and, best of all, a restaurant space—thanks to a game-changing, new law that allows breweries to sell beer for on-site consumption. With the addition of the restaurant space, the brewery was able to embrace local by featuring such Texas goods as R-C Ranch’s Wagyu beef, Harvest Moon’s microgreens, Blue Horizon Seafood’s Gulf Coast seafood, D'Artagnan Foods’ wild game and more. A farmers market has even worked its way onto the Karbach schedule every Thursday evening from 5pm–9pm.
And though beer ingredients like hops and yeast don’t usually come up in discussions of local, Graham emphasizes that Texas pride isn’t just about the Earth-bound ingredients.
“We’ve created a lot of jobs here and turned Karbach into a destination for both locals and visitors,” he says. “I think it’s impressive that Texas craft breweries have banded together to build each other up instead of tear each other down. That says a lot about the industry’s support of each other.”


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According to Export Gov, Malaysia’s e-commerce sector benefits from the implementation of programs under the National e-commerce Strategic Roadmap’s (NeSR) with the National e-commerce Council (NeCC) on the driver seat.
It comprises of various ministries and agencies with a mission to double Malaysia’s e-commerce growth rate to reach a GDP contribution of US$53 billion by 2020.
With a dynamic economy and ready infrastructure for digital technologies, Malaysia recorded 25 million social media users, 40.24 million mobile subscriptions, and 24 million use social media on their mobile devices per January 2019.
The high numbers directly resulted in Malaysia boasting 16.53 million online shoppers (account for 50 per cent of the population) and 62 per cent of mobile users using their devices to shop online.
Gov further concludes that Malaysian online shoppers are motivated by price advantages, product range, and the availability of reviews. They look for free shipping, convenience, and exclusive deals offered by online stores.
Also Read: These 7 homegrown e-commerces are on track to put Thailand on global map
With that being said, Lazada.com.my and Shopee.com.my come in strong with zero per cent commission and free shipping module and zero per cent transaction fees respectively, which instantly put both on top for online shopping choices among Malaysians.
However, when it comes to local e-commerce startups, these 9 names offer Malaysians a different take on online shopping with their better understanding of the market.
GoShop sets different precedence for e-commerce in Malaysia by offering premium and trusted products from categories like beauty, health and wellness, home appliances and kitchenware, living, sports and leisure, digital, and many more.
The startup is based in East Malaysia, with Sabah and Sarawak-concentrated customers. CEO Grace Lee said that the startup has a dedicated warehouse established in East Malaysia since December 2017, as reported in The Borneo Post.
Go Shop, established in 2014, is operated by Astro GS Shop Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Malaysia’s integrated consumer media group, Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (60 per cent) and GS Home Shopping Inc (40 per cent). It describes itself as Malaysia’s 24-hour lifestyle shopping destination where products and services are demonstrated, sold on multiple platforms including TV, Astro Go, online e-commerce, and mobile commerce to offer an anytime-anywhere retail experience.
Go Shop believes that its live product demonstration on TV allows for a three-dimensional experience of their products. “Our customers can relate better with the products and how these products suit their lifestyles,” said Lee
Mudah.com, which means “easy” in Malay, was founded in 2007 as a buy and sell online platform.
Mudah offers a range of diverse categories – from cars, electronics, properties, jobs, sports, collectibles, toys, books, and computers, amongst many others.
Recently, under the leadership of CEO Gaurav Bhasin, Mudah entered into a partnership with Lendela, a Singapore-based loan comparison company, allowing the latter to offer their services on the Mudah’s platform. According to Fintech News Malaysia, the partnership allows Mudah’s customers to apply for loans directly on Mudah and to bring more transparency and ease-of-use to borrowers while reducing risk and cost for lenders.
Lelong has been around since 1998, making it one of the few firsts that spotted the e-commerce potential in Malaysia. It is a C2C platform that allows users to sell and purchase second-hand items.
Founded by Tan and Kwok Wei and headquartered in Selangor, it offers products from gadgets to fashion and accessories in an online auction marketplace approach. Lelong, alongside Lmall.my, is operating under its parent company Interbase Resources, which also manages online marketplace Superbuy.my and e-payment platform Netpay.my.
Just last year, Lelong announced that it has acquired digital marketing agency Mataris Agency for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 2001, i-Pmart belongs to the i-Pmart Group of Companies. It focusses mainly on the international market since 2005, selling mobile phones and electronic parts online.
It is the holder of ‘MSC status’ in Malaysia, which makes it a part of the country’s ‘Multimedia Super Corridor’ initiative to promote Malaysia as a regional center for world-class technology businesses.
Also Read: Key challenges and opportunities in Malaysia’s e-commerce scene
i-Pmart was founded by its CEO Mart Tang, and it just recently added bitcoin to the list of accepted payment methods to provide the option for its worldwide shipping to China and US, Coindesk has learned.
i-Pmart is also a big seller of litecoin mining equipment, selling GPU-based rigs both to advanced users to self-assemble with the ‘Savvy Pack’, and a ‘Newbie Pack’ for beginners that includes the option to have i-Pmart assemble, host, and even operate the hardware for them.
With the online halal (permissible, lawful for Muslims) industry on the rise with an estimated US$1.6 trillion worth in 2018 and Malaysia with one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, an e-commerce that ensures this is poised to succeed.
Zilzar was founded by the Malaysian prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, at the World Islamic Economic Forum. The name means an earthquake in Arabic, as shown in an article by The Guardian.
Zilzar offers a platform for businesses and consumers to sell halal products and services to each other with entrepreneurs as its core market.
Consumers on Zilzar are allowed to trade products from prayer beads and electronic Qurans to hijabs and films. All its sellers and products are verified by certification bodies around the world.
Its chief executive Rushdi Siddiqui said that Zilzar is going after Alibaba’s suppliers.
“Technology is a great equaliser. Aid has not helped Muslims in emerging markets and Zilzar was trying to feed them; now it’s time to teach them to fish,” said Siddiqui.
Halal products should not contain alcohol or pork traces or promote gambling.
Online fashion and beauty retailer FashionValet emerges as a frontrunner when it comes to the local success story.
FashionValet carries over 200 brands and 10,000 products from fashion designers and celebrity brands in Southeast Asia.
The company was founded in 2010 by local celebrity Vivy Yusof and Fadzarudin Shah Anuar, offering a wide range of ready-to-wear garments for women, accessories, and handbags. It works by offering a simplified shopping experience and a customer service team to assist online shoppers.
In 2016, FashionValet raised Series B round financing from Start Today Co., owner of Japan’s leading online fashion mall ZOZOTOWN.
Focussing on selling Korean cosmetics online for Malaysia consumers, Hermo was founded in 2012 by Ian Chua and PS Chong, who is the VP of Merchandise, before adding Ian Mok a year later as its current COO. The company is based in Johor Bahru.
Inspired by the hassle women around them have to go through to pick out beauty products, Hermo was born.
The first funding Hermo raised was a seed and angel financing from Singaporean investment firm Crystal Horse Investments and Malaysian angel investor Tan Swee Yeong. In 2015, it secured a US$2 million Series A round led by Gobi Partners.
Also Read: 6 Singapore-bred e-commerces that tread ahead among fierce competitions
However, in 2017, Gobi Partners announced that it has sold its stake in Hermo to Tokyo-listed istyle inc, a market design company that operates the Japanese cosmetics e-commerce site Cosme.com.
Gobi said it sold its stake because of istyle’s ability to build international companies and its positioning in North Asia, something that Hermo wants to do.
Also offering health and beauty products, HiShop is Hermo’s local competition. The company stated on its official site that it guarantees direct sourcing from the official brand distributors.
HiShop works with beauty advisors, seeking to give access to customers’ beauty choices and decisions. It also has built a beauty community that offers privileges such as rewards and exclusive beauty events invite.
Another local online fashion startup is Poplook, modest wear-focussed e-commerce. It offers workwear, maternity, plus-size, children wear and, more.
Poplook was founded in 2009 as an online-only fashion label but has since expanded into the brick-and-mortar market with two physical stores in the Klang Valley.
According to Star2, Poplook, which recently showed its collection at the 2019 Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week, believes that what they offer is also a way to embrace the Malaysian culture of helping others and growing together.
Nine local players, multifaceted product categories offered. Although Lazada and Shopee remain monopolising the market, the presence of the local players excites the monotone market.
It’s sure still a long way before the local startups can catch up to be in the same caliber of the international e-commerce players, but the journey to get there is a learning curve on its own for the watching eyes, especially after an ambitious mission for investing more in tech by Malaysia’s Oil and gas company Petronas setting up a US$350 million venture capital fund to invest in technology startups around the world.
The post These 9 Malaysian e-commerce startups are on the fast track of growth, offering localised solutions appeared first on e27.
#Zilzar #Hermo #E-Commerce #HiShop #Malaysia


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The contract goes into effect in March.
CPC already has a credit facility from Iran for seven months of crude purchases or around 700 million dollars. Each month CPC imports around 100 million dollars of crude, de Mel said.
The first four months is interest free and the balance 3 months comes at LIBOR plus 0.5 percent.
The Trafigora contract allows CPC to buy diesel at two US cents below benchmark prices, de Mel said.
"That means there are no shipping or other charges," de Mel said. "Otherwise if you normally take, the premium today is around 1.10 cents per barrel.
"The premium means, including shipping and whatever additional charges. So we are basically saving 1.12 cents a barrel."
CPC's 50,000 barrels a day refinery is to be closed on January 21 until March. But de Mel said the utility has already stocked up on refined products including 250,000 tonnes of diesel..Corrected/Trafigura


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COVID-19 is fueling rental demand in the U.S. that it became a factor, in some way, to the successful stock market debut of Airbnb. On December 10, 2020, the famous vacation rental company went public. It raised US$3.5 billion from its IPO on the NASDAQ and pulled off one of the largest IPOs this year.
Despite a horrific environment and reduced travel trends, Airbnb shares opened at $146 per share and closed at $144.71. Still, the closing price was 113% higher than its IPO price of $68. After the highly successful debut of Airbnb, Warren Buffett said, “I wish I’d thought of it.”
The legendary investor refers to the house-sharing platform; he lamented not coming up with the business model a few years ago. Buffett is a mentor to Airbnb’s CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky. However, the Berkshire Hathaway chief has words of wisdom to his followers regarding high-profile IPOs.
Not always a smart investment
Warren Buffett is not a big fan of IPOs, even if people have gotten rich. He believes it’s all hype and an unnecessary gamble. Ironically, Berkshire Hathaway invested in Snowflake’s IPO in September 2020. In fewer than three months, his conglomerate’s gain is nearly 200%.
Buffett cautions investors that just because a strategy works for one investor doesn’t mean it’s a smart investment. He adds, “You don’t want to get into a stupid game just because it’s available.” In 2016, he advised his followers not to worry about what’s really going on in IPOs. There’s no reason to let that affect a person’s investing strategy at all.
The triumphant debut of Airbnb stunned its CEO. Chesky was stunned and humbled, although he realizes the challenges ahead. He said in a Bloomberg TV interview, “The higher the stock price, the higher the expectations, the harder we’re going to be working, obviously.”
Airbnb has an advantage over or faring better than hotels because the nature of its service is more flexible. Hosts have started deep-cleaning protocols and opening their homes to longer-term stays. Currently, the US$97.39 billion company has more than four million hosts.
Red-hot tech stock
The tech sector is ruling the TSX and has been red-hot for most of 2020. It’s outperforming the general market by a mile. The year-to-date gain is 57.67% versus the TSX’s 2.56%. Lightspeed POS (TSX:LSPD)(NYSE:LSPD), in particular, is one of the sector’s top performers. Investors are winning by 115% thus far. You’d better include this stock in your 2021 buy list.
Lightspeed’s IPO two years ago was a huge success, too. The market debut of this $8.7 billion company that provides point-of-sale services to small- and medium-sized businesses was well received. Management has since forayed into the e-commerce market as part of the platform’s expansion.
The work-from-home trend that emerged from the lockdowns was a boon to Lightspeed. With the growing need for restaurants, retail stores, and other businesses to have online presence, Lightspeed’s platform became the solution. Expect the company to report higher e-commerce revenue after the holiday season.
No change in investment philosophy
Warren Buffett’s investment in the Snowflake IPO is one of his intriguing moves in 2020. However, his investing philosophy hasn’t changed. He will always prefer proven and profitable, if not undervalued companies whose businesses he understands.


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It’s Friday night, and you’re hungry, what food are you going to indulge in? The greens and salads you’ve been putting into your body all week? No, you want something that’s going to touch the sides, something that’s going to send you into the weekend contented.
Well, if the food that you choose to indulge in is a juicy cheeseburger then researchers from McMaster University in Canada have some good news for you. They have proposed that regularly consuming unprocessed red meat and cheese can reduce your risk of an early death by improving the wellbeing of your heart.
More than 218,000 adults from more than 50 countries around the world contributed to the McMaster University study. The participants were given a "dietary quality score" based on the foods they ate and their association with lowering the risk of death – so things like fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, dairy products and meat.
Once the researchers had established the participants' diets, they were divided into five groups based on their dietary quality score.
The researchers found that eating a moderate amount of dairy and meat every day as part of a balanced diet can drastically reduce the risk of dying prematurely. However, they did point out that you can’t just eat cheeseburgers for the rest of your life and be healthy. As is usually the case, you need a balanced diet, but unprocessed red meat and cheese can be part of that.
“People who consumed a diet emphasising fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, dairy products and meat had the lowest risks of cardiovascular disease and early death,” said Dr Andrew Mente, principal investigator at McMaster’s Population Health Research Institute. “Thinking on what constitutes a high-quality diet for a global population needs to be reconsidered.”
The NHS currently recommends that adults who eat more than 90g of red or processed meat a day should try to reduce their intake to 70g a day. That’s because eating a lot of red and processed meat can reportedly increase your risk of developing bowel cancer.
Our advice: everything in moderation.


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Doctor prescribes global expansion for Scottish seaweed firm
Scottish seaweed supplement manufacturer, Doctor Seaweed, has announced plans for global expansion after attracting interest from major retailers in Europe and North America.
The company, known for its sustainably harvested seaweed products, is already sold in the UK through retailers like Boots, QVC, and Holland and Barrett, and has recently expanded its reach to Italy. It is now in talks to establish a presence in Germany, Scandinavia and the USA.
Founded by marine biologist Dr. Craig Rose, Doctor Seaweed offers six different varieties of seaweed supplements under its ‘Weed & Wonderful’ brand, each tailored to address specific health benefits such as thyroid health, menopause symptoms, and immune support.
Dr. Rose established the company with a £25,000 funding secured through the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans scheme and Virgin StartUp.
The business initially began as a supplier of seaweed ingredients to food and nutrition manufacturers under its PureSea brand, sourcing exclusively from the Isle of Lewis coast. The Hebridean species of seaweed used is globally renowned for its high nutritional value, purity, and its status as the only plant-based source of iodine.
The clear waters of the Western Isles provide optimum conditions for the seaweed to grow, and it is harvested sustainably to ensure it regrows and retains its natural health benefits.
Dr Rose said: “I’ve always had a passion for healthy and ethically sourced ingredients like seaweed – and it’s great to see more and more people reaping the benefits of this superfood.
“The global trend of supplements and wellness is showing no signs of slowing down, and the prospect of expanding further into Europe and across the pond is really exciting.
“Finance is a critical component of our expansion plan, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without the initial support and guidance we received through the Start Up Loans programme and Virgin StartUp.”
Approximately two-thirds of UK consumers take vitamins or supplements daily, with many looking to wellness practices as a means of boosting their immune system following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Barry McCulloch, senior manager, UK Network, Scotland at the British Business Bank, said: “The Start Up Loans programme was designed to support entrepreneurs like Craig with access to funding through alternative avenues, helping smaller businesses with a low environmental impact to thrive.
“Our mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for purpose-driven businesses such as Doctor Seaweed.”
Andy Fishburn, managing director at Virgin StartUp, added: “It’s been a real pleasure to support Craig on his start-up journey as Doctor Seaweed has gone from strength-to-strength.
“From using his initial loan to invest in technology that processed the seaweed ingredients, through to securing sales with some of the biggest food manufacturers in the UK, it’s great to see a sustainable British business perform so well and be ready to expand globally.
“We’d love to see Craig join Virgin StartUp’s community of mentors in the future and share his learnings with new founders who are just getting up and running.”


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Sizing Up the Atemoya Craze
Taiwan's Heavenly Gift in Peril
Taiwan has emerged as the world's biggest exporter of the custard apple-like fruit, the atemoya. But mindless competition among Taiwanese trading companies and dependence on China is threatening the riches derived from this heavenly gift.
Taiwan's Heavenly Gift in PerilBy Jenny Cheng
From CommonWealth Magazine (vol. 578 )
"The scorching heat of the Taitung summer pounds away, but for those who can withstand it, a treasure awaits. Going south from Luye, through the Wuling Green Tunnel, one arrives in Taiwan's biggest atemoya-growing area – the area of Banchiu in Meinong Village in Taitung's Beinan Township. The area's other specialties are its renowned Banchiu ices and millionaires.
Welcome to the '800 Club'
"Everybody here is a member of the 800 Club," says Chuang Cheng-hsiung, the head of the Agricultural Production and Marketing Group for atemoyas in Taitung Area Farmers' Association, in a robust voice to the CommonWealth Magazine reporter while pointing toward four farmers sitting down at home.
So what is the 800 Club? It refers to people who have incomes of NT$8 million a year, a rather surprising designation for farmers who grow nothing other than atemoya.
The fruit, known literally as "pineapple sugar apple" in Chinese, is member of the "Annonaceae" family of fruits that look like the top of a Buddha's head and include sugar apples (also known as sweetsops), soursops, custard apples and cherimoyas.
The names are often used interchangeably, but it is the atemoya – a cross between a sugar apple and a cherimoya– that has emerged as the star of the group for its smooth and juicy white flesh.
Of the 35-person production and marketing team led by Chuang, five belong to the 800 Club, and the others make over NT$1 million a year. The car parked in his garage is not a small delivery truck as one might expect but a Mercedes-Benz that shares its space with fertilizers and farming tools.
In fact, atemoyas have helped Taitung create nearly 1,000 millionaires in Taiwan dollar terms.
Lu Po-song, the head of the Banchiu branch of the Taitung Agricultural Research and Extension Station, says atemoyas can fetch up to NT$70 per 600 grams, or about NT$117 a kilogram, and a hectare of the crop can generate income of about NT$600,000. The Chulu Farmers' Association increases it savings by NT$100 million to NT$200 million a year because of the lucrative fruit.
A look at Taiwan's trade statistics explains why atemoyas have created so much wealth for the sparsely populated Taitung County, one of the country's least developed areas.
Beginning in 2008, atemoyas first surpassed pineapples and then vaulted past mangoes to become Taiwan's most important fruit export (Table 1). In 2014, the country exported NT$580 million (US$19.07 million) worth of atemoyas, more than Australia, Spain, Thailand or Hainan Island, to remain the world's biggest shipper of the product.
So how has Taiwan emerged as the world's biggest exporter of the fruit? Much of its success has been a gift of nature.
Rift Valley Climate a Perfect Fit
"You grow things in their most suitable environments. The climate here is most suitable to atemoyas," says Tsai Hui-tun, the former head of the atemoya marketing group, explaining Taitung's chief advantage in growing the crop.
When the fruit was first introduced to Taiwan, it was mostly grown in Yilan and Taichung. But Yilan's relatively cool weather was less than ideal for growing the fruit, and the texture and quality of the atemoyas grown in Taichung could not match that of the Taitung product once the southeastern county got into the act, which is why atemoyas eventually took root there.
As was evident even in Taiwan, finding the ideal growing environment for atemoyas is not easy.
Lu explains that Thailand's climate is too hot, and China's climate is too cold, with frost absolutely unacceptable. The climate of the Rift Valley, which runs north-south down the center of Taitung County between mountains that hug the coastline and Taiwan's central mountain range, is very diverse and allows the fruit to thrive. The closer farms are to mountainsides and the bigger the variation in temperature from day to night, the better the quality of the fruit.
Though members of the 800 Club are highly opinionated, the one thing they all agree on is that "the atemoya is a gift from heaven."
Beyond divine intervention, however, agricultural science has also contributed prominently to the change in the fruit's fate.
Lies that Translated to Quality
When Taiwan first introduced atemoyas from abroad in 1965, the variety chosen was a summer fruit. The Taitung research station discovered, however, that the summer variety was difficult to commercialize because it went bad or rotted easily, suggesting a short shelf life.
The station later adjusted the fruit's main growing season to the winter, and it has been regularly harvested from November to April since then.
To change the atemoya's natural growing season, farmers had to tell the fruit's trees two lies.
The first was to create the illusion that the growing season began in the middle of the summer rather than during the winter, Chuang explains. To be able to begin harvesting the fruit in December, farmers took to pruning their trees in July to fool them into thinking that life was at an end. The trees responded by gradually blossoming and bearing fruit over the next few months.
The second lie was to extend the trees' exposure to daylight. "Stay awake. Don't go to sleep. You have to keep blossoming," is what farmer Wu Tung-lung told his trees. Some farmers have illuminated the trees with lights to extend the harvest season to May and increase production.
Aside from cultivation techniques that rely on lying to the trees, artificial pollination has also been critical to growing the fruit successfully.
Lu says atemoyas can be difficult to pollinate because the flower demonstrates its male parts two to three days later than its female parts. Things were made worse when environmental changes more than two decades ago resulted in a decline in numbers of the flowers' natural pollinators – beetles. This combination posed a challenge to maintaining crop yields.
But in 1995, the research station guided farmers in developing artificial pollination technology, leading to soaring harvests and a more consistently round fruit.
With higher yields, however, came plummeting prices because of an excess in supply.
Lu recalls that only in 2003, the year when the price farmers got for their atemoyas fell to a paltry NT$20 to NT$30 per 600 grams, did the government begin considering export opportunities.
In 2004, a first batch of 18 metric tons of atemoyas was shipped by air to Singapore, but demand there was limited, forcing Taiwan to look elsewhere.
Japan and South Korea were other markets high on the list of potential targets, but quarantine issues could not be overcome.
Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia eventually emerged as the main target markets, but total exports still only amounted to 100 to 200 metric tons per year.
The key to the explosion in exports from 18 metric tons initially to the nearly 10,000 tons a year at present came in 2005.
That year, the National People's Congress ratified the "Anti-secession Law," putting into law the People's Republic of China's right to use "non-peaceful means" if Taiwan were to formally declare independence. Chinese President Hu Jintao and KMT Chairman Lien Chan met in Beijing, and after the meeting China announced that 12 categories of Taiwanese fruit exports to China would be tariff-free, opening its doors wider to trade with Taiwan.
Later that year, China's Ministry of Commerce issued a list of 18 types of fruit that could be exported to China, with 15 types, including atemoyas, exempt from import duties.
Suddenly, carton after carton of fruit was shipped to China to fill "political orders" meant as a sign of Beijing's good will, forging an unprecedented milestone for Taiwan's agricultural exports.
For most fruit, however, the success was short-lived. Only atemoyas and pineapples experienced substantial growth (Table 2) after the first batch of tariff-free fruit was exported to China in 2006, according to Council of Agriculture statistics. By 2014, atemoya exports were more than double pineapple exports.
A Complete Supply Chain
Over 98 percent of the atemoyas Taiwan exports go to China, but it took a few years for the fruit to gain traction in the Chinese market before taking off in 2009.
That was when Taiwan truly built a complete value chain for exporting the fruit across the Taiwan Strait that deliver the product to consumers' hands in a timely way.
As atemoyas ripen, they need to be individually wrapped to prevent attacks by the Oriental fruit fly. From wrapping the fruit to fertilizing the crop to harvesting, the process is very labor-intensive.
Producers and exporters have 14 days in which to complete the process, starting with deciding when to harvest it to processing it in controlled temperatures and then storing and transporting it and getting it on store shelves. The process must be completed within 14 days because that's about how long it takes for atemoyas to ripen after they've been harvested.
Northern China is the main market for atemoyas, and getting the fruit from a warehouse there to the end user takes four to five days. The region's winter cold also increases the number of days needed for the fruit to naturally ripen, creating a challenge for exporters.
"We have to get it into the hands of the consumer at just the right time," Lu says with pride at having succeeded in the task.
By mastering the 14-day window, Taiwan has been able to sell atemoyas to places as far away as Xinjiang in China's far west.
The combination of climatic, technological and management advantages have made it possible for Taiwan's atemoyas to develop a dominant position in China's market and fetch the relatively high price of NT$250 per piece.
But traveling this favored export path has been anything but smooth sailing.
The Temptation of Pesticides
"Please. Absolutely, absolutely do not abuse pesticides. I beg you, please pay attention to this," a sweating Chuang implores the 35-members of his atemoya marketing group at a noon meeting.
Aside from the intense heat, there was also a palpable anxiety and agitation at the regularly scheduled meeting because of the high stakes involved. At the beginning of this year, Taiwanese mangoes and pineapples were found by Chinese authorities to have excessive levels of pesticides, resulting in the suspension of mango and pineapple exports to China and huge losses for Taiwanese farmers.
To Chuang, atemoya farmers could not, and had no reason to, repeat the mistake made by pineapple and mango farmers.
The former group head, Tsai Hui-tun, stressed that, "the use of pesticides should be truly controlled. Every farmer should use a serial number (for their produce) to give them the necessary protection."
Beyond the misuse of pesticides, there was another concern among the farmers at the meeting that was not brought up.
The Scourge of Chaos
The high export quantities and attractive prices have earned Taiwan the reputation as the world's top atemoya country but also triggered a "Warring States Period" among 10 to 20 trading companies fiercely competing against each other. Their primary concern has not been price but whether they can get their hands on the goods.
To ensure supply, the trading companies have paid cash on delivery of the fruit, a departure from their more typical practice of paying farmers only after collecting payment from the overseas buyer. To ensure the best price, farmers opt for early or late harvests to have fruit to sell when supply in the market is limited.
After paying a high price for the fruit, however, the trading companies engage in fierce pricing competition when trying to sell atemoyas in China.
'Taiwanese Killing Taiwanese'
Lin Chih-chung, the chairman of one of Taiwan's three biggest atemoya exporters, Charng Chern Co. Ltd., observes that local trading companies drive up prices to buy as much product as they can and then battle each other again by driving down the price to sell the fruit in China.
"Everybody fights to the death. With Taiwanese killing Taiwanese, the Chinese see us as idiots," says a frustrated Lin.
Sheu Fuu, a professor in National Taiwan University's Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, worries that if traders are allowed to continue this senseless competition, Taiwan's atemoya empire could quickly decline.
"Chinese customers complain about 20 to 30 percent of the atemoyas Taiwan sells in China. Once a trading company is hit by complaints, it tries to sell its fruit in another province. China is a big place so they mess around, but the brand is still Taiwan,"Sheu says.
Out of 10 trading companies that did the business last year, nine lost money, which could lead to plummeting prices in the future that could destroy the Taiwan brand, Sheu observes.
Sheu also notes that the volume and value of atemoya exports over the past two years have remained relatively flat, indicating that new markets are not being developed. If trading companies remain short-sighted and go their own way, the atemoya "blue ocean"– or uncontested market space – will quickly transform into a "red ocean."
Of particular concern is that Chinese capital may be behind the infighting among Taiwanese traders.
Lin Chih-chung, who has exported atemoyas for a decade, discovered that after the opening of the mini three links in the early 2000s, China began investing in Taiwanese trading companies.
"They deliberately used Chinese capital and with no more than NT$200 million a year they can completely screw up your agricultural system," he says indignantly, accusing Chinese capital of being the culprit behind the driving up of prices at the farm. Even a NT$3 increase in price can create volatility and "electrocute you to death," Lin says.
This over-reliance on China and cutthroat competition among domestic trading companies could imperil the atemoya's reign as Taiwan's most important fruit export.
As trading companies engage in mindless bloodletting, turning a blue ocean into a red ocean, farmers and scholars both feel "integration" has become a must.
Taiwan may now be the world's biggest exporter of atemoyas, but for this advantage to be parlayed into further export growth amid globalized competition, people will have to come together.
The key will be the integration of trading companies once the fruit has been harvested and developing end-use marketing channels. Otherwise, the dark clouds shadowing these bountiful crops will never dissipate and potentially threaten the sustainability of this success story.
Translated from the Chinese by Luke Sabatier


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DIB votes to end Pensacola's Downtown Trick or Treat
The Downtown Improvement Board voted Tuesday to end the annual Downtown Trick or Treat.
The vote came after the DIB's Special Events Committee recommended the board end the event.
DIB staff told the board some merchants were spending up to $1,000 on candy but were not seeing any benefit in sales.
The committee will work to possibly organize a Day of the Dead event in 2018.
More than 50 business along Palafox Street participated in the Downtown Trick or Treat in 2016, according to the DIB's website.


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A call for free parking in the run up to Christmas for Berwick and the other market towns in Northumberland has been made.
Coun Peter Jackson, leader of the Conservatives group, tabled the motion at Northumberland County Council’s full meeting yesterday.
He hopes it will avoid a repeat of last year’s confusion which led to some shoppers being issued with parking tickets.
Coun Jackson’s motion stated: “Market towns and their local businesses lie at the very heart of Northumberland’s economy. Yet, for many years, some of those towns have suffered from the effects of an unfair car parking policy.
“There is evidence that charging for car parking does distort trade and drive shoppers away from our high streets. It is also evident that the Christmas shopping period is absolutely vital to the survival of many businesses in our market towns.
“So, during December 2013, this Council resolves to reinstate free car parking during the days before Christmas in Berwick, Alnwick, Hexham and Morpeth with a view to providing an immediate boost to local trade.”
The free parking would be from December 16-25 in off-street car parks. Time restrictions would still be in place.


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Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) has done a remarkably poor job as a retailer since Sears and KMart merged. The company has suffered such poor results that it has begun to close stores. It has not been entirely explicit about what it will do with the real estate that it owns. Some is valuable. Some locations no longer have a Sears of KMart store.
Sears Holdings said it would hire a real estate specialist in an attempt to mine the value of the assets.
The company announced:
David Lukes has joined the company in its real estate business unit as president, real estate development. Mr. Lukes comes to Sears Holdings from Mall Properties, Inc. where he served as president and CEO of the privately owned $3 billion real estate firm.
In this new role, Mr. Lukes will lead the company’s effort to further develop certain of its real estate assets, including those real estate assets that are no longer in use as retail stores. Jeff Stollenwerck, president of the company’s real estate business unit, will continue in that role and oversee the traditional corporate real estate functions for Sears Holdings.


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Governance Research Digest - December 2012
The “Canada and the Green Economy” report explores how the country deals with five aspects of green economic thinking, including governance and measurement, and what Canadian business and the accountancy profession can do to facilitate the transition. The report draws on information from experts at two green economy roundtable events held in Toronto and Vancouver this year.
- The green economy and the accountancy profession will play critical role in ensuring the preservation of the country’s natural resources for the future generations.
- Government policy was cited by 50 percent of respondents as the most important driver of the green economy, followed by consumer demand (46 percent), new market opportunities (36 percent and pressure from investors (32 percent).
- Some 46 percent of delegates surveyed said the adaptation and transition from existing business models is the most critical challenge posed by the green economy for business in the next five to 10 years.
- Clarity about global and national frameworks and targets was chosen by 35 percent of those surveyed, followed by consumer engagement (31 percent) and access to investment (29 percent).
- The report includes case studies on the following companies: Walmart, Better Place, Loblaw, Domtar and Vancity.
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)


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The coming of fifth-generation cellular technology (5G) is bearing down, bringing with it a paradigm shift regarding what can be accomplished on mobile networks… Average download speeds are expected to about 1 gigabyte per second (GBps), which is as much as 100 times faster than what is currently available.
Rumors about Apple’s upcoming iPhones abound, and many believe that the company will be holding a product launch on Sept. 10 that will include updates and new versions of its most popular devices. One of the more recent reports suggests that 5G won’t be available for the products expected to debut next month.
By most accounts, the rollout of 5G technology is only just beginning, so Apple won’t be missing the boat. The most comprehensive wave of the speedier wireless technology isn’t expected to launch until 2020 or beyond, so Apple will have plenty of time to perfect its 5G-compatible devices before the biggest upgrade cycle begins. Apple does plan to release 5G-ready devices in 2020, according to Bloomberg.
MacDailyNews Take: Exactly.
We’ll hear a lot of noise from the very vocal super-minority about how “Apple’s fallen behind” by not offering a radio that can communicate with a network that isn’t available to pretty much everyone yet, but that’s all it’ll be: meaningless noise that won’t affect regular people’s iPhone purchases. Late 2020 is the beginning of the 5G revolution, not 2019. — MacDailyNews, August 22, 2019


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Ad spending is expected to grow 6.4% this year and reach $240 billion due to an economy buoyed by a new stimulus package, the decline of COVID-19 and the return of sports.
- How a developer skills platform adapted to support remote hiring during the pandemic
- Ad of the Day: Dove reverses selfie edits to highlight dangers of social media
- Earth Day 2021: brands from P&G to Apple take action on climate change
- WPP commits to hit net-zero across its entire $60bn supply chain
- Why Etsy, Parachute and Aesop are offering an ‘opt-out’ from Mother’s Day marketing


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- Police Beat
- The Forecaster
FALMOUTH — When the town’s food pantry started, it was a small operation behind Town Hall with two rooms and a hallway.
But in the face of ever-increasing demand, the pantry has nearly doubled in size to accommodate the needs of families from Falmouth and beyond.
Manager Nancy Lightbody said the pantry reopened on June 1 after a brief hiatus for renovation and refurbishing. The nonprofit organization expanded into space provided by the town.
“There’s a huge need (for this expansion),” Lightbody said. “We serve over 300 families a month.”
The Falmouth Food Pantry served more than 90,000 meals in 2014, a 24 percent increase from the previous year; Lightbody said the annual percentage increase has been about the same every year. Besides Falmouth, the pantry serves families from Portland, Westbrook and Cumberland.
Clients can collect food twice a month from the pantry, which is open eight days a month according to a schedule posted online (Portland clients are limited to once a month). The amount of goods clients receive depends on family size. Lightbody said more than 30 percent of Falmouth clients are senior citizens.
The pantry now has four rooms, including a waiting room with benches for clients, who must check in and then be shown around by a volunteer.
Food storage is divided between the other three rooms, with one used for special items not usually donated, which have to be purchased using cash donations. These items, which also require special client eligibility, include things like dish soap, laundry detergent, cooking oil and fresh milk.
A large back room contains cereals and pastas, as well as baked goods from Hannaford, Wal-Mart and Mr. Bagel. It also has toiletry items like tooth brushes and tooth paste.
“We never used to be able to put it all together,” Lightbody said. “It’s really a blessing.”
A final room, which Lightbody said “used to hold everything,” is used mainly for canned items, many of which come from the state’s Emergency Food Assistance Program. A new refrigerator and freezer are also in this room, which Lightbody said will allow the pantry to keep produce longer.
“We used to have to give (expired produce) to the cows or to compost,” Lightbody said, because the fruits and vegetables would spoil quickly. Now with the refrigerator, produce can be held longer, and meat can be kept in the freezer.
Renovations also included replacing carpets with new flooring, painting the walls, and installing new lights.
The renovations cost approximately $50,000. More than $39,000 came from a grant from the Community Development Block Grant program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In April 0f 2014, the Town Council unanimously approved contributing $10,800 from unassigned funds.
There will be a formal reopening ceremony on June 8 from 5:30-7 p.m. And although all the renovations will be complete by then, Lightbody said she’s sure clients will, politely, let them know what still needs fixing.
“We always learn from them,” she said.
One of the well-stocked walls of the refurbished and expanded Falmouth Food Pantry, behind Town Hall at 271 Falmouth Road.


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Among the simplest things that vendors can do to help improve the cybersecurity of their products is providing better transparency, especially regarding the third-party components contained in their technology, says Rob Suárez, CISO of medical device maker Becton Dickinson.
As Russia masses troops on its border with Ukraine, the White House says Russian disinformation campaigns have been aimed at destabilizing Ukraine's government, while experts have seen a surge in "cyber intrusions" against infrastructure, banking and government targets in advance of a potential invasion.
A new playbook, commissioned by the Food and Drug Administration, aims to help medical device manufacturers in developing and evolving threat modeling as an approach to strengthening the cybersecurity and safety of their products.
Federal regulators and Philips issued advisories pertaining to several security vulnerabilities in certain patient monitoring and medical device interface products from the manufacturer. Exploitation could allow attackers to access patient data, launch denial of service attacks and more, they warn.
Chipmaker Intel has issued a security advisory for two high-severity vulnerabilities in the BIOS reference code in Intel processors that may allow privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerabilities have a high CVSS v3 score of 8.2.
The expanded recall of insulin pump devices due to vulnerabilities that pose the risk of injury or death to patients and a recent malpractice lawsuit alleging that the effects of a ransomware attack led to a baby's death are the latest warnings of dangers posed by security issues in medical gear.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a new best practices document for healthcare industry stakeholders and government agencies to use when communicating medical device vulnerabilities to patients and caregivers.
Several security vulnerabilities in infusion pump products from B. Braun could collectively allow malicious actors to modify the dose of medicines delivered to patients, says Douglas McKee, a security researcher on a McAfee Enterprise team that recently discovered the flaws.
The Biden administration unveiled a package of supply chain and critical infrastructure security initiatives following a meeting at the White House with tech executives and others. Companies such as Google and Microsoft also promised billions in spending on cybersecurity over the next several years.
Security specialists are offering preliminary feedback on Microsoft's sneak peek at the new security measures to be included in the Windows 11 operating system, which is slated for release in December.
A severe vulnerability in a system on certain Qualcomm chips, which has been patched, potentially could have enabled attackers to remotely control Android smartphones, access users' text messages and listen in on conversations, according to a new report from Check Point Software Technologies.
Intel and AMD are disputing the findings of researchers from two universities who say they've discovered new attacks on Intel and AMD processors that can bypass most of the defenses put in place earlier for similar "Spectre" and "Meltdown" attacks.
In light of the global shortage of semiconductors, President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday requiring a federal review of supply chain risks for these chips. Also to be reviewed: supply chain risks for information and communications technology and the pharmaceutical industry.
Bloomberg has stood firm on its controversial story from two years ago asserting that China implanted a tiny chip on motherboards made by Supermicro. But rather than proving its contention in a follow-up, it may have inflicted more reputational damage upon itself.


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As per a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), Apple not only manufactures some of the most expensive smartphones in the world, but it also somehow entices iPhone users to have the highest phone bill in the US. Yes, iPhone users have the highest phone bills in the US. According to the statistics mentioned in the report, iPhone users pay relatively higher cell phone bills on average than all other smartphone users, as 60% of iPhone users spend over $100 per month on their cell phone bills whereas 10% spend $200 or more. On the other hand, only 53% of Android users pay $100 or more per month with 7% paying $200 or more. When it comes to Windows Phones, 56% of users pay over $100 every month in phone bills.
According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, this spending has less to do with the usage habits of smartphone users:
“We think it has to do with their data plans and carriers, rather than their usage habits. They are all on expensive data plans, unlike Android users, some of which are on prepaid or unsubsidized plans with regional carriers.”
The findings, in fact, are not really surprising for many people because of the well-known fact that the two largest wireless telecom providers in the United States i.e. Verizon and AT&T also charge their users the most. Plans on Verizon usually start at $100 per month with the provision of the line access for $40 and 2 GB of data for $60 while AT&T starts its individual customer plans at $60 per month and provides $40 for 450 minutes and $20 for 300 MB of data with the inclusion of no text messages.
Figures of the last year’s report from October to December 2011, however, were quite different as at that time only 6% of iPhone users were paying bills less than $50 whereas comparatively, a higher percentage (13%) of Android users were paying less than $50 bills.
The iPhone, when given a higher subsidy, will resultantly eat into operators’ profit margins. Carriers are charging more for iPhones but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are making more money from users. The iPhone has been given higher grants than other smartphones in its class as a result carriers offer more expensive plans to make some money from their iPhone users – which is less than what they make through Android smartphones.
The iPhone users who are paying less than $50 phone bills are most probably carrying prepaid connections or they are using some family plans that allow them to get such low bills.


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JOHANNESBURG – JSE-listed manufacturer Bell Equipment reported an 8 percent revenue increase to R4.04 billion in the year to June, thanks to its diversified geographical footprint and despite a sluggish South African economy.
Bell, which declared a 20 cents a share interim dividend, similar to that of the last financial year, said profit rose 14 percent to R152.3 million.
Leon Goosen, chief executive of Bell, said South Africa remained a primary market for the group, where the full product and service line was positioned for eventual market recovery.
The group attributed the growth to its occupying a strong and diversified position globally, which helped in countering the more difficult operating geographies. “During the period under review the South African economy remained weak and we saw trading conditions deteriorate further on the back of prolonged economic uncertainty and a lack of much anticipated economic stimulus.
“We acknowledge the current volatility around the global and local economy and the impact this can have on commodities and understand the knock-on effect on our business,” Goosen said.
Headline earnings per share improved by 25 percent to 164c per share. Cash generated from operations increased to R203m from R135.2m the previous year. Goosen said the group experienced modest growth in revenue in markets other than South Africa.
“However, global demand was not as strong as anticipated,” Goosen explained, which he said led to higher than planned inventory and debt levels as well as an increase in financing costs. Production volumes have been decreased in line with expected demand.
Goosen said that while the South American market was a small market currently, the group was expanding its footprint in terms of trucks, forestry and sugar handling equipment.
The group benefited from southern Africa Bell’s partnerships with other global original equipment manufacturers, which it said positioned it well as a full range material handling supplier for when the market recovers.
In Africa the Bell African dealer network experienced stronger sales, particularly in Botswana and Tanzania.
Bell Equipment shares closed unchanged at R10 on the JSE on Monday.


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HashKey Capital’s report lauds Thailand as the crypto hotspot of 2023, citing trading volumes reaching $116 billion from January to October. Despite high trading volumes, crypto payments are still outlawed in Thailand, causing uncertainty in the retail sector. The government’s proposal to tax overseas income could impact crypto traders earning abroad and bringing funds into the country. The report also highlights ongoing efforts to reclassify crypto as an investment product, potentially aligning it with stocks and subjecting it to securities regulations. Thailand’s central bank remains anti-crypto, threatening crackdowns and leaving the retail sector uncertain about the future of cryptocurrencies in the country.
- FSTB Consultation Paper: Regulating OTC Virtual Asset Trading Under New Licensing Regime
- SFC issues guidance for tokenisation of SFC-authorised investment products and intermediaries engaging in Hong Kong tokenised securities-related activities
- US Sec Brings Action Against Kraken For Securities Law Breaches
- Rumoured That The US Doj May Fine Binance Us$4 Billion In Settlement Of Actions
- Panel discussion on Regulatory Clarity in Asia’s Crypto Hubs: Hong Kong and Singapore