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TruTrade cashless platform helps African farmers grow businesses
A cashless trading platform developed and operated by an Irish organisation is giving African farmers substantially better prices for their crops while encouraging the development of microeconomies that benefit women and their families.
The award-winning TruTrade initiative, developed by parent organisation Self Help Africa – which merged with well-known Irish aid organisation Gorta three years ago – uses a unique mobile-enabled trading and payments platform to secure fair prices for produce grown by farmers, many of them women, in sub-Saharan Africa.
Most farmers in the region eke out a living on underproductive land and are at the mercy of traders who travel through remote areas buying up small quantities of produce from individual farmers to fulfil contracts.
But, says Self Help Africa chief executive Ray Jordan, traders typically offer very low prices, knowing the farmers – many of whom are dispersed through remote regions, far from access to markets – have a narrow window in which to sell their produce before it goes off. Most have no choice but to accept the paltry prices offered.
“If you have a surplus – say, 10 bags of a commodity – you’ll sell rather than leave it to rot. The problem in Africa is that your transport is a bicycle and the market is 30 miles away,” he says.
“So how do you increase the profit to farmers, when the profits are disappearing into the hands of traders?”
With an interest in moving “outside the farm gate” – into initiatives that can help farmers increase their profit that go beyond simply improving farming methods – Self Help Africa/Gorta came up with TruTrade, a company majority owned by Self Help Africa.
Using a mobile platform developed for Self Help Africa by an African information technology company in Uganda, the company now operates to negotiate large contracts for commodities, then hires traders to fulfil the contracts. But the traders never negotiate the price, handle cash or make payments to farmers.
Instead, the farmers, who are each given their own identification number, are paid directly by TruTrade at a guaranteed price, using text notifications and cash transfers that go from TruTrade into the farmers’ accounts.
This is possible because bank accounts and transfers accessed via mobile phone are popular in Africa. The trade is entirely mobile- and software-enabled.
“We go to, say, a grain importer on the European market and say, give us a purchase order [for a specific quantity of grain]. Give us a purchase order for soybeans, and a quantity and a price you’ll pay,” Jordan says.
One importer they work with is Irish-operated Devinish Nutrition in Uganda, which produces grain-based animal feeds.
Once TruTrade has a purchase order, it goes to traders and offers them the opportunity to fulfil a far larger contract than they would if operating alone, for a guaranteed payment.
“Now, for the trader, I’m de-risking that operation. I’m giving them open-ended liquidity,” he says. “Now their only challenge is to source volume and quality.”
Arriving at the farm gate the trader arranges to buy an amount of produce, then sends a text through the TruTrade system noting that, say, farmer number 1234 will supply 20 tonnes of soybeans.
“We receive the text and wire the money to that farmer’s mobile account.”
TruTrade operates as a for-profit organisation, taking a percentage of the overall contract payment – say, 5-6 per cent – and offers 4-5 per cent to the trader, while the remainder goes directly to the farmer. Over the past three years, on average TruTrade has increased farmers’ premiums on crops by 25 per cent, Jordan says.
“What we’re doing is cutting out the middleman,” as well as the risk for TruTrade that any rogue traders might abscond with cash intended for farmers.
Since January, the organisation has recovered 100 per cent of the financing used to develop the TruTrade platform.
And the system has additional benefits, Jordan says. Now, a record exists for the transaction for a specific farmer in a specific location.
“So we’re giving farmers visibility and accountability in their supply chain,” he says. In the past, such small farmers, who are often women, had no visibility because the trade system was small-scale and transactions were in cash.
“So they can’t get loans or move their money through any financial institutions. But now, this system is effectively moving them into a digital transactional model.” The initiative has encouraged many more women to open mobile bank accounts and create a personal mobile and banking history. They are then able to take out small loans for sending children to school, or to further develop their farms, he says.
The TruTrade platform also brings benefits to traders.
“Traders get a guaranteed commission of around 4 to 5 per cent. They also get increased orders and we unlock larger markets.”
But what’s also exciting is the shift in who is working as a trader, he says. In the past, the role was overwhelmingly male.
“You don’t get a lot of women trading in sub-Saharan Africa, because of the danger of handling money alone,” he says. “But it’s not a security risk any more. It’s a collection business.”
He says TruTrade focuses on women, “as putting extra income in a woman’s hands has far greater benefits for her family than seeing that income in a man’s hands”. African women traditionally have been far less likely to have bank accounts “and as a result, are disempowered”. Some 70 per cent of agricultural labour in Africa is performed by women, he notes.
Recognising TruTrade’s role in bringing more women into trading and broadening the financial inclusion of women, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently chose TruTrade as a winner in the “women and technology” category of its Solve Challenge competition, which attracted nearly 1,000 entries from 103 countries.
The platform is primarily cloud-based, and hosted on Amazon’s Linux infrastructure. Jordan says it came about through trial and error over three years of development and use.
“As recently as 12 months ago, we had to scrap the original software platform and start all over again,” he says. That’s when they contracted it out to African developers, who produced the current platform with its integrated database of farmers.
The platform is now being used in Uganda and Kenya, most recently to open up a direct European market for avocado farmers. TruTrade negotiates a purchase order with importers in the Netherlands, and farmers, who typically were paid three to four Kenyan shillings per avocado, now receive 11 shillings (nine cent).
“We can also show the importers that we have the name of every farmer supplying those avocados,” providing enhanced traceability.
TruTrade is looking next at expanding into Malawi and Tanzania, which have well-developed mobile banking systems in place already.
“At our core, we’re not a technology company, we’re a self-help organisation in Africa,” Jordan says. “This is a stretch for us. But it’s working.”


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The sister restaurant of Okeechobee Steakhouse has debuted onto Jupiter’s culinary scene. The Lewis family and team are serving up American classics including juicy steaks, fresh seafood and housemade desserts. The in-house dry aging process that’s been a staple of Okeechobee Steakhouse for decades will also be used on all USDA Prime cuts at this new concept.
The bar will feature a variety of whiskies and an impressive wine list with more than 600 bottles. Taking over the former Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant location, this is the family’s first venture into North Palm Beach and the continuation of its brand expansion that also includes Okeechobee Prime Seafood, Okeechobee Prime BBQ and Okeechobee Prime Meat Market.
6390 W. Indiantown Rd., Jupiter; 561/277-9188; lewissteakhouse.com

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Fonix Mobile (LON:FNX) – masses of potential for this year and beyond
On Thursday of next week, this group will be declaring its full year results to the end of June. We already know that that they will show a good advance on the previous year’s figures.
However, what I am looking for is a good Trading Update with the finals, pointing to a continuation of the first half performance and prompting, I hope, an upgrading in broker’s estimates for this current year.
Fonix, which was set up in 2006, provides mobile payments and messaging services for its multitude of clients across the entertainment, telecoms, media, enterprise and commerce sectors.
Based in London, it is a fast growth business which is driven by blue chip clients such as BT, Global Radio, ITV, Bauer Media, Comic Relief and Children in Need to name just a few.
When consumers make payments, they are charged to their mobile phone bill. This service can be used for donations, cash deposits, content and ticketing.
The company’s service works by charging digital payments to the mobile phone bill, either via Carrier Billing or SMS Billing. The group also offers messaging solutions.
Revenues last year will have risen from £40.1m to around £45.1m, while adjusted pre-tax profits are estimated to have increased from £7.3m to £8.4m, with earnings up to 6.9p (6.1p), and a 5.2p dividend per share.
The end July Trading Update reported strong earnings growth and expansion into international markets.
It also noted that “With high levels of repeating revenue, a strong exit run-rate for FY21, new supplier connections in international markets and a growing pipeline of client prospects across all sectors, the Board continues to be confident in the growth potential for Fonix going into FY22 and beyond.”
In late April this year the group’s shares hit 190p at one stage, before falling back to 123p on the day that the Trading Update was announced. Since then, they have been up to 170p, before easing back to 161.5p last Friday night.
At that level I rate the shares as offering a very good upside, with that 190p mark being an early price objective.
By the way, I note that the company’s brokers, finnCap, have a 200p price earmark.
Let us hope that next week’s results statement will provide the fillip to get the shares running back up again.
(Profile 01.02.21 @ 136p set a Target Price of 170p*)
M Winkworth (LON:WINK) – property market still strong
I really like this little asset-light company which is only capitalised at £26.5m.
Set up in Mayfair in 1835, this group is a leading franchisor of residential real estate agencies. It enjoys a pre-eminent position in the mid to upper segments of the sales and lettings markets.
Winkworth’s franchise model allows entrepreneurial real estate professionals to provide the highest standards of service under the banner of a well-respected brand name and to benefit from the support and promotion that the group can offer.
In the middle of last week, it declared its interim results to end June. They showed its network revenues up 92% at £36.4m, while the group’s pre-tax profits were 330% better at £1.98m, with diluted earnings rising from 2.86p to 11.57p per share.
CEO Dominic Agace commented: “While the first half of this year was marked by an exceptional level of sales activity, it also vindicated our strategic expansion in recent years into the country, enabling us to service clients not only in the buoyant London market, but also Londoners and country dwellers seeking more space or a change in environment.”
He went on to state that “Our rental business remained strong, albeit on this occasion it was outshone by sales, and we are again encouraged by the number of applications from talented operators looking to work within our successful and well-balanced franchise model.”
Analyst Alastair Stewart at Shore Capital, the company’s broker, is estimating revenue income of £8.5m (£6.4m), profits of £2.8m (£1.5m), earnings of 13.3p (9.1p) and a dividend of 8.8p (6.7p) per share for the full year.
The group is cash-rich boasting £4.57m cash in the bank.
On looking at the current market strength I would suggest that his estimates could well be on the light side.
The group’s shares, which touched 213p on the figures, closed the week at 207p.
Still early days but they are getting ever closer to my price aim.
(Profile 19.07.21 @ 190p set a Target Price of 240p)
Severfield (LON:SFR) – gradually firming up
Following the early September AGM Update, analyst Toby Thorrington at Edison Investment Research considers that this structural steelwork group has made a positive start to the current year to end March 2022.
He is looking for its revenues to rise from £363.3m to £373.9m, while pre-tax profits could increase from £24.8m to £28.3m, lifting earnings from 6.6p to 7.5p and easily covering a 3.1p (2.9p) per share dividend.
Thorrington considers the group’s shares to be on a conservative rating and offering a useful 3.9% yield.
They closed at 80.8p on Friday night, at which level I still see more upward price action.
(Profile 12.09.19 @ 62p set a Target Price of 88p*)
(Profile 04.06.21 @ 79p set a Target Price of 100p)
National World (LON:NWOR) – share price busting new Highs
What a year this new media group has been enjoying. Over the Christmas/New Year period boss David Montgomery and colleagues concluded the acquisition of JPI Media Publishing, the rump of the old Johnston Press grouping
He and his management have since then made significant progress in their efforts to localise, energise, digitise and monetise relevant and unique content for its various titles to create a modern operating model for news publishing across its multiple brands and platforms.
In the six months to 3 July, the company saw its revenues come in at £42.1m, its pre-tax profits were £3.5m and its interim earnings were 2.4p per share.
Analysts Paul Richards and Brendan D’Souza at Dowgate Capital now have a price objective on the shares at 50p each.
They are expecting the group to use its cash facilities to add more interests into the company fold, while also pushing its growth going forward.
Since I profiled the company in mid-May this year the group’s shares have been a wonderful performer, peaking at 42.28p at one stage in the last few days.
They closed at 40p on Friday night, getting near to Dowgate’s aspiration for the shares.
Despite having risen 216% since my feature four months ago, there is still a lot more to go for so hold very tight.
(Profile 17.05.21 @ 18.5p set a Target Price of 25p*)
Augean (LON:AUG) – roll up, roll up, any more bids to come
Some takeover bids can be quick and not attract third parties to join the bidding.
However, the tussle going on at my well-favoured waste management group has been quite exciting.
Bidder after bidder have been approved by the group’s management, as new bids were made.
The latest is worth 340p a share from the original bidder Morgan Stanley Infrastructure. Its first bid was at 280p a share before Eleia countered higher.
Now trading at around the 350p level, holders should sit very tight – who knows what might happen.
(Profile 31.10.19 @ 158.5p set a Target Price of 200p*)
(Profile 10.06.20 @ 185p set a Target Price of 235p*)
(Asterisks* denote that Target Prices have been achieved subsequent to profile publication)


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Nowadays, 18th June is called "online shopping carnival", which means consumers will crazily go online shopping on that day. Surprisingly, a well-known retail giant opened a new retail store for the first time at Hangzhou on that day this year.
Currently, online shopping has become a shopping trend in our society, whether new retail stores could retain old customers and attract more new customers under such a competitive environment? However, it aroused our reflection that a host of customers gathered and even made long queues and retailers needed to double replenish their commodities at the opening day.
Deploying a specific plan, making online shopping drive offline shopping development.
The online big data accumulated by every merchant can help them select the high-quality products that have already been tested by consumers, assisting them to make the first round filtrating for offline consumers in advance, which will also solve the problem of those customers who have selection difficulty.
Online and Offline Interaction
Secondly, the new retail store can divide the characteristic area of the store according to the surrounding places and environment located at their business area, and further introduce intelligent technology service such as self-service ordering machine, face recognition payment and so on to enhance user experience. In this way, the new retail stores can not only form a better interaction with the surrounding consumer groups but also stimulate their consumption desire, creating a positive effect for new retail stores.
Amazon Store integrates intelligent technology.
Exploring new models in an all-round way
It is essential for merchants to make comprehensive research and construct a multifunctional system as doing a user operation such work if they need to transform their sales model from online shopping to offline shopping. Nowadays, the single online market channel can no longer fully meet consumers' requirements. Compared with the 24-48-hour service cycle of online stores, the 30-minute accessible cycle of offline stores will become consumers' new favor. Under such backdrop, new retailers can pay their attention at service content and form and make a scene layout, eventually creating a new experience place for consumers.
Telpo self-service ordering machine TPS700, supporting new retail development
Telpo self-service ordering machine TPS700 supports Android5.1and above, equipped with the industrial-grade main board, stable and smooth performance. The 21.5-inch high definition touch screen enables consumers to directly click the commodities on that screen. There is also included smart camera inside the machine, supporting customers to make a self-completed code scanning payment, and NFC payment.
The Self Service Kiosk Telpo TPS700
Consumers only need to choose their favorite payment method and point at the corresponding device, then they can successfully and easily complete the payment when they finish their choosing and ready to pay for them, which will save queuing and waiting time for consumers. By the way, as the machine containing a thermal printer, thus if a customer requires a receipt, they could print and keep it.
Tmall Intersport AR game
Based on intelligent technology as an entrance, it will connect businesses and consumers together. Businesses can accurately grasp consumers' shopping requirements and then conduct precise marketing to them. Whereas, each consumer can enjoy their own special VIP service and make them have a consumption feeling like treating at home, thus further promote intelligent consumption.
Telpo Retail Family
If e-commerce layout is the first part of retail development, then new retail may be the second part. No matter from the perspective of making a convenient consumption for consumers, or promoting the whole industry to operate efficiently at the business system, the new retail with online and offline linkage as the core will become a new industry trend. Telpo will stick to improve its technology and contribute itself to the development of new retail stores.
Tag: shopping, new retail, online, offline, intelligent technology, self-service, Telpo
Brief Introduction: Founded in 1999, Telpo is a professional smart terminals' provider and ODM service expert, covering the point-of-sale (POS) terminals, biometric fingerprint device, face recognition device, self-service kiosk, etc. Telpo has served for over 1000 customers abroad, including the platform operators, banks, software vendor, association, technology companies and even governments organizations. Telpo adheres to R&D and innovation, in order to provide more intelligent hardware for global partners.


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The Galaxy S21 Ultra received excellent reviews worldwide, thanks to its improved design, faster and more reliable performance, longer battery life, and better cameras. The new phone brings along two telephoto cameras (3x and 10x optical zoom), massively improving the zoom range compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra. However, the Galaxy S21 Ultra actually received a lower DxOMark score compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
In DxOMark’s camera review of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the phone received an overall score of 121 points. In comparison, last year’s Galaxy S20 Ultra received 126 points after being reevaluated with version 4 (the latest version) of the review process. Breaking down the score, the Galaxy S21 Ultra received 128 points in the photo segment, 98 points in the video segment, and 76 points in the zoom segment. The Galaxy S20 Ultra received 128 points in the photo segment, 106 points in the video segment, and 88 points in the zoom segment. According to DxOMark’s review, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is not as good as the Galaxy S20 Ultra in video and zoom quality.
We know that the Galaxy S21 Ultra has more reliable focusing, improved low-light images and videos, and a longer zoom range than its predecessor. But the phone still got a lower score than the Galaxy S20 Ultra. So, what actually went wrong? DxOMark wasn’t impressed with the two zoom cameras, and according to them, the new zoom cameras are not worth much over the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s single 5x periscope zoom camera. DxOMark says that artifacts and noise in images are pulling down the phone’s score.
In terms of video recording, the Galaxy S21 Ultra received a score similar to the Pixel 4a. Apparently, video stabilization is the phone’s primary issue. DxOMark only tested the 4K 60fps mode, though, and not 4K 30fps and 8K 24fps video modes. The company says that it didn’t test the 8K video recording mode because of its lower quality stabilization.
Overall, the Galaxy S21 Ultra not only received a lower score than its predecessor, but also last year’s flagship smartphones. It scored lower than 16 other smartphones, including the Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ (139), Huawei Mate 40 Pro (136), Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra (133), Huawei P40 Pro (132), Vivo X50 Pro+ (131), iPhone 12 Pro Max (130), iPhone 12 Pro (128), Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro (128), OPPO Find X2 Pro (126), Galaxy S20 Ultra (126), Honor 30 Pro+ (125), iPhone 11 Pro Max (124), Huawei Mate 30 Pro (123), iPhone 12 Mini (122), iPhone 12 (122), and the Honor V30 Pro (122).
Our own review of the Galaxy S21 Ultra revealed that it offers a more reliable camera performance compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Various other experts and reviewers share our views and say that the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the best smartphone camera right now, so it is up to you to believe DxOMark’s testing methodologies. What do you think about DxOMark’s Galaxy S21 Ultra camera review? Let us know in the comments section below.


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Globe Telecom launched on Wednesday an online entrepreneurship website that aims to provide lessons on business management through the testimonials of various industry experts.
The website called Globe myBusiness Academy Online, was created to reach out to entrepreneurs across the country using the latest in digital technology, Globe executives said.
The online business academy will give new and existing business owners access to tips and get key business advice from seasoned business practitioners for free, they explained.
“Globe myBusiness’ vision is to enable all our entrepreneurs to thrive in their business. We have very distinguished partners. Entrepreneurs will be able to draw and bring insights,” Derrick Heng, Senior Adviser for Globe myBusiness, said in his speech during the launch in Makati City.
Globe myBusiness Academy will provide articles, live-streamed or pre-recorded workshops and webisodes from leaders in the food, tourism, education, finance, retail and manufacturing sectors, among others, that will provide guidance on aspiring entrepreneurs on how to succeed on their chosen endeavors.
The website is also envisioned to be a source of expertise and inspiration for startup owners and experienced businesspersons apart from offering solutions that ease the daily operations of various enterprises.
“We try to uplift these entrepreneurs by creating a community of learning through first-hand experience and valuable insights of industry experts and reputable partners,” according to Heng.
Globe myBusiness has conducted 53 entrepreneurship sessions in Metro Manila and other key cities nationwide last year. (PNA)
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Team Overwatch is preparing to congratulate the gamers with the Chinese New year.
I think the winter holidays are behind us? But the Overwatch team doesn’t think so: she’s getting ready to congratulate gamers with the Chinese New year.
Yet Blizzard did not disclose details. The company is allowed to only look at the two look that will get Mei and D. Va, also called a launch date of January 24.
Since Blizzard created the skins, then wait for a new batch of containers with themed junk that will fall only during special events dedicated to the year of the Rooster.
© 2017, z-news.link. All rights reserved.


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Foshan China 2019-09-25
On September 17, Foshan welcomed a group of important German guests again! Dr. Klaus Weichel, Mayor of Kaiserslautern Germany, led a delegation to Foshan to make an investigation on the economy and social development of Foshan and carry out cooperation and negotiation. At the Robotation Academy Foshan, the delegation held the opening ceremony of Kaiserslautern and Regional Economic Promotion Bureau, Foshan Representative Office.
The delegation took a photo with the representative of the Management Committee of Sino-German Industrial Service Zone (Sanlongwan) at Robotation Academy Foshan.
On-the-spot investigation of Foshan Enterprises
On the morning of September 17th, the delegation came to Guangdong Bozhilin Robot Co., Ltd.to visit and learn about the development of Foshan robotic industry. Dr. Zhou Xiaotian, Chief Executive of Bozhilin Robot introduced to the delegation the business scope and development of Bozhilin Robot.
Kaiserslautern introduced its industry advantages in the fields of high-tech and scientific research to Guangdong Bozhilin Robot Co., Ltd. and introduced its science and technology park project which is under construction.
Witness the opening of the Foshan Representative Office
In the afternoon of September 17, the delegation visited Robotation Academy Foshan and held the opening ceremony of Kaiserslautern and Regional Economic Promotion Bureau, Foshan Representative Office.
Dr. Stefan Weiler, director of Kaiserslautern Regional Economic Promotion Bureau and Zhu Xixiong, Associate Director of Sino-German Industrial Service Zone attended the opening ceremony.
Dr. Stefan Weiler, director of Kaiserslautern Regional Economic Promotion Bureau, said Kaiserslautern is a city that develops advanced technology and has many previous cooperation with Foshan in the robotics industry. He thought Foshan was an inclusive city, and a very good partner. The establishment of Foshan Representative Office is a beginning for more cooperation between the two sides in the future.


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Tata Digital Buy Majority In Online Healthcare
Tata Digital Buy Majority In Online Healthcare. Tata Digital, a one hundred in line with cent subsidiary of Tata Sons, has introduced that it’s going to accumulate a majority stake in virtual fitness agency 1MG Technologies. “The funding in 1MG is in step with the Tata institution’s imaginative and prescient of making a virtual atmosphere that addresses the purchaser wishes throughout classes in a unified manner,” Tata Digital stated in a statement.
Commenting at the funding, Mr. Pratik Pal, CEO of Tata Digital, stated, “The funding in 1MG strengthens Tata’s cappotential to offer advanced client enjoy and first rate healthcare merchandise & offerings in e-pharmacy and e-diagnostics area thru a technology-led platform.”
1MG become included withinside the 12 months 2015. It is a main participant withinside the eHealth area, allowing smooth and less expensive get entry to to numerous merchandise along with medicines, fitness & wellbeing merchandise, diagnostics offerings and teleconsultation. It operates 3 ultra-modern diagnostics labs and has a deliver chain protecting over 20,000 pin codes throughout the country.
Earlier this week, Tata Digital had introduced funding of as much as $seventy five million in health and fitness startup CureFit Healthcare, which operates famous fitness center chain CultFit. And closing month, Tata Digital had obtained approval from the Competition Commission of India to accumulate a majority stake in on-line grocery participant BigBasket.
Tata Sons has received a majority stake in on-line grocery vendor BigBasket, setting the Indian conglomerate in an immediate race with e-trade gamers Amazon, Walmart’s Flipkart, and Reliance.
The stake become sold with the aid of using Tata Digital, a unit of Tata Sons. Tata on Friday declined to provide similarly info at the deal, at the same time as BigBasket did now no longer right away reply to a Reuters request for comment.
India’s antitrust frame had in March accepted the purchase of as much as a 64.three percentage stake in BigBasket with the aid of using Tata Digital.
The deal comes as e-trade sales, specifically of meals and groceries, have increased in India because the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a huge shift to on-line shopping.
Tata, that has pursuits in merchandise spanning from salt to luxurious automobiles to software, has been making plans to release a “terrific app” in order to tie in all its purchaser businesses, in step with media reports.
Last month, BigBasket database of over 20 million clients had been allegedly leaked at the darkish Web. The leaked database reportedly protected e-mail addresses, telecellsmartphone numbers, and hashed passwords of affected clients. The information additionally allegedly carried bodily addresses and date of beginning of users. Although the database consists of consumer passwords in an encrypted form, a hacker claimed to have decrypted a number of the leaked passwords.
The alleged BigBasket database become reportedly placed on the darkish Web with the aid of using a hacker institution infamously referred to as ShinyHunters. Cyber-protection researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia informed Gadgets 360 that the leaked database is related to the breach that BigBasket itself showed in November closing 12 months.


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According to Statistics Estonia, in 2022, the construction price index increased by 17.8% compared with the average of 2021. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the construction price index increased by 1.9% compared with the third quarter of 2022. The rise in the index compared with the fourth quarter of 2021 was again record high at 16.1%.
The producer price index of industrial output, which expresses changes in the producer prices of industrial goods manufactured in Estonia for the domestic market and for export, increased by 0.3% in December 2022 compared with November 2022 and by 16.6% compared with December 2021.
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By Ralph Chris-izokpu
The Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons Sen. Basheer Garba Mohammed, has distributed a truck loads of food and other household items to the internally displayed persons IDPs in Dutsinma and Safana Local Government of Katsina State.
This was disclosed in a statement signed and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja by the head of press and public relations unit Abdul A. Onu.
Onu said, Mohammed also used the occasion to reiterated President Muhammadu Buhari concern for the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons, especially in this trying period occasioned by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The statement read as follows: “Hon Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed, has presented truckloads of food and household items to persons of Concern in Dutsinma and Safana Local Government of Katsina State.
“Performing the ceremony at the Dutsinma Local Government Secretariat, Senator Basheer reiterated the concern of President Muhammadu Buhari for the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons, especially in this trying period occasioned by the outbreak of the coronavirus,” the statement stated.
The materials distributed include; food items such as bags of beans, rice and assorted household items such as cooking materials. Others are drugs, wrappers and other clothing, mats and many others. The items were distributed to the beneficiaries on household basis under the protection of security agents.
He urged the beneficiaries not to sell the items, but use them judiciously for the wellbeing of their families.
Senator Basheer noted with regret that the dreaded coronavirus has penetrated Katsina State and advised the IDPs to always abide by the preventive measures being promoted by government at all levels, emphasizing social distance and hand washing as a welcome practice that the IDPs must learn.
“After the symbolic presentation of the items, the Commissioner practically demonstrated hand washing processes to the admiration of the IDPs and other dignitaries that witnessed the event, even as he encouraged social distancing practice all through the distribution exercise,” the statement noted.


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In 2015, Liverpool Cruise Terminal is looking set for another record breaking year as as many as 54 cruise ships are set to berth there which will bring in more than 80,000 international visitors into Liverpool.
Most of these ships will range from brand new vessels to cruise liners and will be making their first voyages down the River Mersey into the world-renowned port.
The twin climaxes of the season will be two very exceptional events to celebrate the Cunards Cruise Lines 175th anniversary. On the 25th May 2015, the Cunard fleet will arrive along the River Mersey in a unique parade for Liverpool and a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will make maritime history.
On the 4th July 2015, the Cunard crown jewel Queen Mary 2 will return back to Liverpool in observance of the Britannia’s transatlantic departure exactly 175 years prior. There will be a string of events across Liverpool praising the charisma and buzz of cruise travel and how a corporation born in Liverpool altered the culture of the entire world.
The mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:
“To have the three Cunard Queens back in their spiritual home on our beautiful waterfront will be nothing short of majestic.
“The growth of cruise calls is driven by a combination of factors, predominantly our city centre location and the sheer choice of quality experiences on the doorstep and in the surrounding region. This has again been underlined with Liverpool being named by the industry as the UK Port of Call for the second year in succession.
“I am absolutely delighted that Liverpool is once again making its mark as a great maritime destination.”
Angie Redhead, Liverpool Cruise and Operations Manager, said
“Our World class hospitality has ensured Liverpool is a firm favourite with international passenger along with the fantastic city wide support network behind our cruise operation.
“This is very important in a competitive industry where there are no second chances and a lot of destinations are vying for cruise business.”
Amongst the grand cruise liners making their first Mersey appearance in 2015 will be the brand new state-of-the-art P&O Britannia, Royal Princess, Mein Schif 4, Celebrity Silhouette, and the Spanish Pullmantur Horizon.
In the smaller ship class there are a few unique lines calling for the first time; such as the Le Boreal, and le Soleal from French organisation Ponant, and Marina and Nautica from the Oceania Cruise Line. In 2015, the city will likewise see a more distinct group of various nationalities than ever before.
During 2014 the city saw visits from 50 different vessels, which delivered 57,844 tourists to boost the local economy by around £4.49 million.
To honour these successes in 2014, a show-reel has been established that gives observations into life at a Cruise Liner Terminal and the background of passengers proceeding to the city. This can be witnessed at; http://www.cruise-liverpool.com/sunrise-to-sunset/.
To top off an amazing and outstanding year Cruise Critic.com, the cruise arm Trip Advisor and the most influential consumer review website in the cruise corporation worldwide, awarded Liverpool “UK Port of Call 2014”. This is the second year running that Liverpool has scooped the title.
Next year will also see the arrival of Regents Even Seas Voyager, which was the first ever ship to dock at the newly established cruise terminal on the 9th September 2007.
For more information on which ships are calling and when, go to www.cruise-liverpool.com/cruise-call-schedule.
Words: Daniel Smith


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New research, conducted on behalf of BENEO, reveals consumers are now even more focused on ‘positive’ ageing. The research, carried out by HealthFocus International, includes an exclusive analysis of the health-conscious 50+ age range.
Greek dairy company FAGE said due to increased sales volumes in Europe, it plans to increase production capacity by constructing a new manufacturing facility at the Riegmeer Hoogeveen business park in the Netherlands.
FrieslandCampina Ingredients has entered the plant-based protein market with two powder solutions developed in collaboration with AGT Foods, one of the world’s largest suppliers of value-added pulses, staple foods and ingredients.
The California State University, Fresno Foundation, in partnership with the California Dairy Innovation Center (CDIC), has announced the receipt of a $1.8m award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service.


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Facebook and Admax Network, Asia’s leading online ad network, announced that Admax has been appointed Facebook’s official advertising sales partner in Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. Admax will focus on providing sales and campaign support for Facebook’s premium ad solutions, as well as their marketplace offerings effective April.
“Admax has an exceptional understanding of the Southeast Asian market, and their solid on-the-ground presence will provide brands with strong local support to successfully implement their marketing campaigns,” says Stephen Dolan, Commercial Director, Facebook. “We are excited about this partnership and look forward to working with them to help brands engage with their customers on Facebook across the region.”
“Facebook provides advertisers with a very exciting platform for a wide range of marketing objectives, and combining this with the strength of our ad network presents a very compelling all-around solution for advertisers in these markets,” says Mathew Ward, CEO of Admax Network.
Heartiest congratulations to this partnership from AdLib!


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Industrial Mobile Robots Transforming Manufacturing and Logistics
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Jan. 26, 2017 – PRLog — Robotics Business Review will host a free webcast titled “Industrial Mobile Robots Transforming Manufacturing and Logistics” on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. Sponsored by Omron Adept Technologies, this webcast will provide insights on how industrial mobile robots are playing a significant role in transforming the manufacturing and logistics markets and introduce Omron Adept’s first industrial mobile robot product line.
This year, the supply chain industry is likely to be one of the biggest adopters of robotics, driven by the needs for efficiency and scale in e-commerce order fulfillment. The entire supply chain, from taking orders and factory production lines to packaging, warehousing, and delivery, is becoming automated.
The global industrial and logistics robotics market is expected to double from $16 billion in 2014 to $31.3 billion in 2020, according to WinterGreen Research. Similarly, Technavio Research predicts a compound annual growth rate of 33 percent between 2016 and 2020.
Numerous startups and major mobile robot providers are all vying to serve this market. How will they differentiate themselves and help manufacturing and logistics businesses keep up with automation?
The challenge is to find the best places to add robots and the best robots to use.
Omron Adept Technologies just announced the Mobile Robot LD product line for industrial use. Omron’s robots don’t require the markers that other automated guided vehicles do in warehouses or factories. How else does LD differ from other products, and what does this leading robotics company expect for the logistics automation sector?
In this webcast, Robotics Business Review Director Brent Watters will chat with Scott Wu, Omron Adept’s Senior Product Line Manager, about the LD’s capabilities, including the best uses for Omron mobile robots.
They’ll also discuss payload capacity, comparisons of the product line versus traditional manufacturing equipment, and the use of patented Acuity technology. In addition, they’ll chat about what considerations went into developing this product line and what Omron thinks the future might hold for the industry.
To register for this informative webcast, “Industrial Mobile Robots Transforming Manufacturing and Logistics,” please visit:
ABOUT ROBOTICS BUSINESS REVIEW:
Robotics Business Review provides business intelligence for the global robotics industry. Members enjoy exclusive insights into global trends, tracking of financial transactions, analysis of new technologies and companies, annual and quarterly research reports, access to the RBR50 Top 50 Companies list and much more. Visit RoboticsBusinessReview.com.
CONTACT: Sarah Kastrinelis;
Published at Thu, 26 Jan 2017 20:20:45 +0000


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Century-old cheese factory changes hands
The hand-over is almost complete for one of the oldest dairy manufacturing plants on the NSW south coast.
The National Foods company has sold the century-old ABC cheese factory at central Tilba.
The company has transferred the manufacturing operations to its headquarters in Melbourne.
However, the land, factory and shop business at Tilba has been purchased by two of the ABC's cheese factory employees who will continue to sell cheese under the Tilba Club brand.
National Foods' spokesman Ian Greenshields says his company shares the concern of people in the Tilba district at the loss of the factory.
"Look, it's been there for many, many years as everybody in the south coast knows. It's very sad when you have to close down a landmark like that, so we're just glad that we were able to just keep the shopfront going," he said.


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Diversified congomerate ITC Ltd has reshuffled the portfolios of some top executives in its hotel business in a move being seen as part of a succession planning process.
The company has elevated Dipak Haksar, currently chief operating officer of its hotel business, as CEO of the unit, according to information available on its website.
Nakul Anand (59), executive director and CEO of the hotel business till recently, will continue as director in a supervisory role, according to The Economic Times, which first reported the development.
Haksar (58) will be replaced by Ranvir Bhandari (55), the division's vice president of operations. The duo will be responsible for expansion and management of both ITC and WelcomHotels brands and will report to Anand.
Haksar began his career at ITC Maurya, New Delhi, in 1978. During his long tenure in ITC, he has held numerous positions managing both leisure and business properties at the country's second-largest hotel chain.
An emailed query to a spokesperson for ITC Hotels seeking details did not elicit any response by the time of filing this article.
The conglomerate has also named Arun Pathak, currently vice president of finance at the hotel business, as the managing director of an upcoming project in Colombo, its first overseas hotel project.
The changes are part of efforts to pave the way for a successor to long-serving chairman YC Deveshwar, 68, one of the most high-profile CEOs of a non-promoter company in India. Deveshwar is scheduled to hang up his boots in 2017.
Over the past few months, Deveshwar has elevated several executives to senior roles. In November, the group elevated Sanjiv Puri, 53, as director of the FMCG business. Puri would take charge from PV Dhobale, who is a director on the board of ITC and has been overseeing the group's FMCG businesses. Puri will be succeeded by B Sumant, 52, who will take over responsibilities as president - FMCG from April 1, 2016.


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Ingram Micro Cloud along with LogMeIn sets to aggressively support the customers’ remote work challenges of their partners.
In recent weeks, the need to adopt remote working by organisations worldwide has moved from something that employees do occasionally, to fully remote organizations almost overnight. Ingram Micro Cloud and LogMeIn are working together to support this new way of working by offering LogMeIn’s cloud-based products that make it easy to deploy unified communications and collaboration (UCC), identity and access management and customer engagement and support solutions to IT teams and end-users needing to maintain business continuity.
The partnership between the two companies leverages Ingram Micro Cloud’s extensive offerings and Value Software-as-a-Service, and its position as a leading distributor combined with LogMeIn’s integrated portfolio of remote work technology solutions that simplify how businesses and employees interact with each other and the world around them.
“This is a critical time for both businesses and their employees, and we are proud to partner with Ingram Micro to be able to offer our remote work solutions to those in need,” says Keith Bartlett, Director of Channel Sales, LogMeIn. “Ingram Micro’s partners are undoubtedly seeing strain across their operations to enable sudden remote working during the pandemic and we hope we are able to support a smooth transition by offering products such as GoToConnect, GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar to their partners.”
Scott Murphy, Director of Cloud, UCC and Cyber Security, Ingram Micro UK&I, said: “Offering more of LogMeIn’s products to our partners’ customers will help strengthen scalability for them during the present period, and help many businesses to continue to operate and recover after the Coronavirus crisis is over. Ingram Micro Cloud is delighted to offer our partners these kits from a strategic vendor to our cloud portfolio, and we are dedicated to helping our partners capitalise and maximise at this time.”


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Fed up restaurateurs and restaurant workers are preparing to march on NYC Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office on 28 September in protest of strict Covid measures, which they feel are placing the city's independent restaurants and bars in jeopardy.
Fox Lifestyle Hospitaity Group, who are behind the march, are demanding that the Restaurants Act gets passed, that outdoor dining in NYC gets extended beyond 31 October, and that restaurants are able to have 50% indoor dining, instead of an initial 25% in order to align with the rest of NY state.
The group, which owns restaurants such as White Oak Tavern and Sapien Foods in NoHo issued a statement saying: “Winter is coming, and we do not have a comprehensive plan for independent restaurants.” Highlighting the real threat to local businesses and livelihoods, it said: “It’s been estimated that 2/3 of NYC restaurants will permanently close — that’s your neighbourhood bar, favourite date spot, where you spend time with your family and friends, all gone.”
"We are diverse, hard working, innovative, community-oriented citizens, relying on these jobs for our livelihoods. Most of us are 1st or 2nd generation immigrants. This is why we are marching - to feed our families, to honour the dreams of mom and pop businesses and to keep NYC alive."
The march is due to take place on 28 September at 11 a.m., in front of 330 E. 38 St., finishing at Governor Cuomo’s office at 633, Third Ave.
This is the second such march, with dozens of industry workers having already marched on City Hall on 14 September in protest over Covid-19 restrictions.
Bottura's Modena bistro has launched an online food shop and delivery service in Italy, featuring dishes from the restaurant as well as produce from like-minded producers and restaurants in the Emilia Romagna region.
The pandemic has taken takeout and delivery to a whole new level, and while concepts like the 'makeaway' continue to rise, so does the art of meal packaging for restaurant brands across the world. In the UK, Fine Dining Lovers spoke to some top restaurants at the forefront of the trend.
The pandemic has caused all kinds of disruption for the hospitality industry, but some of the top restaurants in Los Angeles are rising to the challenge with their high-end delivery offerings. Here's a round-up of the best.


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Trade Me has announced they will ban the sale of ivory and other animal parts of endangered species including rhinoceros, tigers, lion, leopards, jaguar, cheetah, elephants, gorilla, chimpanzee, red panda, dugong and manatees.
The ban will come into effect on September 17. It will become a breach of Trade Me's terms and conditions for selling any item made of or containing ivory, regardless of age or size. There are only two exceptions - pianos with ivory keys manufactured before 1975 and bag pipes with ivory parts manufactured before 1975.
Earlier this year, Trade Me was urged to ban the sale of all endangered animal products by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
IFAW's "Click to Delete" survey found 20 products were advertised on Trade Me that were banned from international trade, including 17 ivory figures, jewellery, a tiger claw and marine turtle shells.
SPCA Auckland executive director Bob Kerridge said: "Trade Me's decision to ban the sale of ivory is an excellent ethical choice. Allowing the sale of ivory is out of step with international trade and this ban is exactly the sort of action needed globally to help save the elephant from extinction."
Trade Me said that the ban "feels like the right thing to do" and that the company consulted experts including advocacy groups and the Department of Conservation in making their decision.
The company also read the recent decision of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee that recommended a resumption of the 1989 international ivory trade ban.
The select committee decision was the result of a petition led by Auckland school teacher Virginia Woolf, which called for a complete ivory trade ban in New Zealand.
Ms Woolf said she was "greatly heartened" by Trade Me's decision, and that she was "encouraged that they are acting responsibly and helping to close the loopholes in New Zealand's domestic ivory trade".
These sentiments were echoed by Sir Stephen Tindall, who along with Mr Kerridge had signed an open letter to the government calling for an ivory trading ban.
"Trade Me should be commended for its decision to ban ivory sales," he said. "They are setting an excellent precedent for other New Zealand trading houses to follow suit."
Other agencies allowing ivory trading in New Zealand include antique shops and auction houses. Webb's Auction House reported in 2012 that the market for ivory continued to boom, with competition driving prices well in excess of estimates. Webb's Auction House's top 10 highlights for 2013 included a pair of nineteenth century rhinoceros horns, sold for $797,300, a single rhinoceros horn, which achieved $86,770, and a rhino horn walking stick, which sold for $19,930.
Webb's Auction House noted that the rhinoceros horn artifacts are highly sought-after by the domestic Chinese market and that the interior decorative arts department has seen a considerable rise in new patronage from local Chinese collectors.


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SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Spot acetone prices in China’s domestic market may weaken further on poor demand, as downstream plants are either shut or running at reduced capacity.
At midday, spot discussion prices in east China stood at around yuan (CNY) 5,600/tonne, down by around 16% from the beginning of the month, according to the China editorial team at ICIS.
Domestic producers are facing inventory pressure as acetone plants continue to run at relatively high rates while demand has been sluggish, market sources said.
Some producers are eager to cut prices to relieve high inventory pressure, while some are considering reducing output amid continued price weakness, industry sources said.
In east China, sellers had cut their offers over the past three consecutive weeks by a total of 14% to CNY6,100/tonne EXW (ex-works) on 19 April.
Prices may continue their downtrend with limited deals being concluded, market players said.
Production at downstream solvent plants is being curtailed by ongoing environmental inspections at Chinese factories since the middle of March, thus reducing the demand for feedstock acetone, industry sources said.
But the slump in acetone prices has not translated to better stronger margins for downstream isopropanol (IPA) producers.
The margins for acetone-based IPA for Chinese producers currently stand at CNY300-400/tonne – less than half the CNY1,000/tonne margin for propylene-based production, according to industry sources.
Import arrivals will also play a role on how domestic prices in China will behave, a Chinese trader said.
China has imported about 35,000-40,000 tonnes a month of acetone in January and February, official data showed.
Market sources said the import volumes will likely decline in the coming months amid increased demand from Europe and the Americas.
China's February acetone import volume at 36,648 tonnes represented a more than twofold increase from the same period in 2017, according to the latest China Customs data. March data will be available later this month.
Focus article by Yoyo Liu
Picture: Acetone is a key ingredient in nail polish removers (WestEnd61/REX/Shutterstock)
($1 = CNY6.89)


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Blog: Green steps to offset sourcing risks
Leonie Barrie | 16 April 2012
Environmental groups are calling on 48 apparel brands and retailers including H&M, Nike, Wal-Mart, Levi's, Adidas, Gap and Marks & Spencer to make greener purchases after accusing them of sourcing clothing from suppliers who illegally discharge polluted water in China.
A report noted more than 6,000 environmental violations by Chinese textile enterprises, including secret discharge pipes, direct wastewater discharge, improper use of wastewater treatment facilities, and pollutant discharge amounts in breach of authorised standards.
Sportswear giant Nike, meanwhile, is asking the International Labour Organization (ILO) to investigate two recent mass fainting incidents at its Cambodian supplier Sabrina (Cambodia) Manufacturing. The ILO Better Factories Cambodia programme is currently looking into the causes of a spate of mass faintings in the country.
And fashion retailer H&M Hennes & Mauritz has reiterated its commitment to buying 100% of its cotton from more sustainable sources by 2020. The company confirmed the pledge in its 2011 sustainability report, which was released last week. The more sustainable cotton sources will include Better Cotton, organic cotton and recycled cotton.
The European Union (EU) is also helping Pakistan to support the development of a sustainable cotton supply chain from the farm to final product - including links with leading retailers and brands. The four-year scheme - which is called SPRING (sustainable cotton production in Pakistan ginning SMEs) - is being funded under the regional Switch Asia initiative, and will be implemented by WWF-Pakistan.
The Indian government is allowing the shipment of another 1.9m bales of cotton after reviewing applications that had already been registered before it introduced a ban on raw cotton exports last month. The registration certificates of around 1m bales have been revalidated for export, with another 0.9m bales due to be cleared by 17 April.
Meanwhile, cotton ending stocks in the US are forecast to decline to 3.4m bales, thanks to reduced production and "very strong" export shipments in recent weeks.
The complex array of risks and variables faced by the international apparel supply chain are detailed a new report from just-style. The report, 'Risk analysis of the apparel supply chain in 2012', was compiled after the supply chain was confronted with a "perfect storm" of cost elements in 2010 - but it warns that real-life scenarios are considerably more complex than a cursory analysis might suggest.
Fresh from their disappointment at seeing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal abandoned last month with an executive order by President Donald Trump, the US apparel and footwear sector...
With the ultimate aim of ensuring all the cotton in its products is sourced sustainably, value clothing retailer Primark is adamant that having a business model focused on offering the lowest prices o...
Last week we marked the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States by taking a closer look at what's at stake for the textile and apparel trade – especially his promises t...
Continuing our look at what lies ahead for the apparel industry and its supply chain in 2017, the panel of industry experts consulted by just-style last week tackled likely shifts in the sourcing land...
- China leads US apparel sources with falling prices
- Hard hit Turkish industry is not knocked out
- Vietnam grows share of US apparel imports in 2016
- US apparel sector braces for potential cost hikes
- "Power of the many" drives change at Otto Group
- US Q4 in brief – Chico's FAS, TJX Companies
- Bangladesh crackdown has cost garment sector $100m
- Adidas and Burberry recognised for sustainability
- VF Corp sees Q4 and FY earnings tumble
- Macy's will "do the right thing", says Lundgren
- When Things Go Wrong - A Practical Guide to Managing Common Problems in Apparel Sourcing
- Outdoor performance apparel 2016: A broader perspective
- Technical textile markets: product developments and innovations, December 2016
- Southeast Asia strategic sourcing review – a focus on Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar
- Global market review of lingerie – forecasts to 2022


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Pluto TV Lines Up Episodes of ‘South Park’
New titles from parent ViacomCBS pushes streaming service over 100,000 hours of content
ViacomCBS’s Pluto TV streaming service said it is getting ready to air select episodes from the first 10 seasons of the long-running animated Comedy Central hit South Park.
ViacomCBS and South Park’s creators sold the streaming rights to all 23 seasons of the show to HBO Max reportedly for more than $400 million.
Cartman, Kenny and friends are just a few of the characters heading to Pluto TV from ViacomCBS, which has been buttressing the ad supported streaming service with material from the library.
Pluto TV: Everything You Need to Know
Starting July 14 throughout the summer, Pluto will be adding 40 CBS and Comedy Central properties to its menu.
Shows coming to Pluto include Survivor, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Amazing Race, Beverly Hills 90210, Jag, Melrose Place, MacGyver, Scorpion and Moesha.
“Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service in America and is distinguished by both the quantity and quality of its content,” said Tom Ryan, CEO and co-founder of Pluto TV. “With over 100,000 hours of unique content in the US alone, now supplemented by these iconic ViacomCBS franchises, Pluto TV is one of the broadest and deepest streaming services in the world, and guaranteed to offer something for everyone, on any device, for free.”
Last month, Pluto TV streamed ViacomCBS properties including The Twilight Zone, The Thomas John Experience and a Star Trek marathon featuring episodes from Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Discovery; the original Star Trek, Star Trek Enterprise and Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
It also ran the first two season of Yellowstone, leading up to the season three premiere on Paramount Network.
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Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.


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Facebook has tapped Gary Briggs -- most recently chief marketer of Google’s Motorola Mobility unit -- as its first CMO. As AdAge reports, Briggs will be replacing Eric Antonow, who, as vice
president of product marketing, has overseen Facebook’s marketing efforts since 2010. “The change in title reflects an expanded scope for the role,” AdAge writes.
Read the whole story at Advertising Age »


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Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows: It’s “crazy” what we pay for items in games like Fortnite
Matt Sanders (aka M. Shadows) is the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. But he’s much more than just a famous metalhead: he’s also a gamer, a CryptoPunk, and one of the minds behind the band’s 2014 dungeon crawler RPG called Hail to the King: Deathbat.
On the last episode of Decrypthis gm podcast, Sanders shared his perspective on video games leveraging crypto and NFTs – and took a strong stance against so-called “experts” facing Web3 technology.
“I’m a gamer, so I understand digital goods,” he said of his early affinity for purely virtual assets. “I understand there is a lack of it.”
Sanders was a relative early adopter of crypto, saying he bought Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin around 2016. But he was also early adopter of NFTs, falling in love with the early CryptoPunks community.
“This was a very sophisticated, forward-thinking group of people,” he said of the CryptoPunks Discord server. “I honestly learned a lot from them. And I became friends with many of them in real life.”
Sanders has immersed himself in crypto and gaming – and sees the two as a natural fit. Like many NFT advocates, he is not content to pay big bucks for digital items in the closed, “walled garden” ecosystems of traditional online video games.
“It’s crazy that we pay the money we pay for the skins,” he said of cosmetic items in non-crypto games such as battle royale shooter Fortnite.
Like many gamers open to the possibilities of NFTs and crypto in video games, Sanders believes that making such valuable items easily tradable and transferable takes the stakes of gaming to the next level. He raised the possibility that someone could try to exploit such economies, but predicts that technological solutions will be developed.
“It could be terrifyingly cool,” he said of a possible high-stakes blockchain game, “or it could just be what our kids do.”
He echoed a sentiment shared by top crypto game industry players like Gala Games, Solana and Magic Eden: The next generation of tokenized games actually need to be fun, and no amount of crypto rewards or incentives can make a bad game good.
“You have to have a good match first. It can’t be, ‘Oh, we’re an NFT game, and here’s our game,'” Sanders said. “It has to be, ‘This is a great game and everyone wants to play.’
He’s also not the biggest fan of crypto jargon like “Web3 gaming,” arguing that such terms can create confusion and branding issues. Instead, the singer wants to see content and utility brought to the fore. Still, he didn’t mince words when asked about the broader backlash against NFTs in gaming.
“There’s just pushback everywhere,” he said, adding that the mainstream media has harpooned all crypto with “experts” who don’t actually understand the technology.
“People are storytelling, narrative-based things, right? They need a story, they need to have a narrative, they rally behind things, and they’re very tribal,” Sanders argued. “What’s happening now is that everything works against this narrative of “This might help you.” And so it has become so strong that it just has to be some very nice utility items.”


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Sign up for the PlasticsToday NewsFeed newsletter.
May 19, 2016
2 Min Read
Much is made of the abundant opportunities for deployment of engineering plastics in electric vehicles but there is another related area that presents promising opportunities: The requisite charging infrastructure. Covestro (Leverkusen, Germany) is one materials supplier with its finger on the pulse of this growth market.
Charging stations extensively use plastics such as polycarbonate/ABS alloys.
Local governments are working hand-in-hand with the private sector to develop an extensive electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout China. In February this year, for example, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang asked the private sector to invest in charging posts at gasoline stations to serve an estimated five million EVs he thinks will be driving up and down city streets in just five short years.
Beijing’s Development and Reform Commission (BDRC), meanwhile, is calling for the setting up 435,000 charging spots to support the estimated 600,000 electric vehicles that will be on the capital’s roads by 2020. According to official state media, the plan is to be sure that there’s always a charging station within 1 km of any spot in metropolitan Beijing and surrounding districts like Tongzhou and Yizhuang.
And drivers are being enticed to purchase electric vehicles through $15,000 worth of registration rebates. Production of electric vehicles hit 330,000 units last year according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and the Chinese government said it wants electric vehicles sales to hit 3 million annually in 10 years.
Michelle Jou, President of Covestro’s Polycarbonate Business, detailed some of the work the company is conducting in the electric vehicle and charging infrastructure market segments at the recent Chinaplas show in Shanghai. Specifically, customized PC/ABS alloy grades have been developed for charging stations. Up to several kg of these plastics is required for each charging station according to Jou. “The materials need to endure 10-20 years of use in the field, and have good impact and chemical resistance.”
Jou also sees more opportunities for polycarbonate solutions at future car OEMs such as Apple and Google, who are not constrained by existing assembly plant infrastructure. “Disruptive technologies and non-traditional designs will present more opportunities for polycarbonate in glazing as well as LED lighting,” says Jou.
Covestro is also boosting polycarbonate polymerization and compounding capacity at its Shanghai production site, By 2017, the company will have capacity for 500,000 tonnes/yr on a compounded basis.
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What’s more hair-raising than election season, murder hornets and accidentally un-muting your mic on Zoom? Halloween at Nebo, of course.
In times like these, the spooky celebrations must go on. Every year, we at Nebo take this haunted holiday way too seriously, and this year was no different. Our team kept the spirit of Neboween alive (or should we say undead?) with a virtual monster mash of pumpkin carving, scavenger hunting, creepy costumes and bloodcurdling good times.
Check out how we celebrated the scariest day of the scariest year ever.
This year, the world changed forever--including the world of advertising and marketing. Brands and agencies are being held responsible in ways we never have before. Consumers are demanding that we uphold the interests of the greater good. It started with COVID-19. Then, the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Movement raised awareness of how systemic racism impacts our world, and called for us all to play a role in society beyond commerce.
How have marketers and brands risen to the call? Execs and inclusion and diversity managers from Twitter, Starbucks, Facebook, Brookdale Senior Living, Nebo and Hawkeye Agency gathered this week to answer that question. In a webinar hosted by American Marketing Association Atlanta, Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association and Nebo, these experts discussed the ways in which brands are becoming a force for good, from reimagined hiring processes to tying corporate pay to diversity initiatives.
Going Beyond Brand Awareness with CTV
In the ever-distracting world of electronics, it can feel impossible to capture users’ attention. Often, we’re competing against multiple screens and outside influences, which makes capturing a user's attention with CTV and getting them interested in a brand they might not have heard of before that much more difficult.
But the outlook isn’t all bad for brand awareness marketing. In fact, we have more opportunities than ever to reach the people who would benefit from our services and products. With the right audience insights, data collection, keen storytelling and cross-screen targeting, we can turn the tables on our distracted culture and use it to our advantage.
Brace yourselves. More changes to Instagram are coming, and this time, it’s going to bring some major updates that might take a while to get used to. We’re talking about all the Instagram shopping features that are slowly being released to the masses.
During the last year, Facebook has made drastic changes to its Ads Manager’s targeting options for advertisers, particularly for those serving ads in the housing, employment and credit industries (HEC).
These changes are the result of settlement agreements with leading civil rights organizations, who brought multiple lawsuits against the social media platform regarding discrimination. Originally announced in March of 2019, the platform stated that these changes were being made in an effort to do more to protect against discrimination in these three specific indistries.
Today, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about HEC ad regulations and how they could affect your Facebook campaigns.
When millions of people began creating Facebook accounts in 2006, they could never have imagined how much of their personal data would be collected over the years.
Today, more and more people are becoming aware of the fact that their personal data is indeed collected and sold by social media platforms such as Facebook. In more recent years, people are standing up to the social media giants to communicate that they want their data protected.
What sparked this change in perception and caused people to fight more for their privacy?


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The hotels group said Cheung Ping Kwong, who was last year sacked as chief executive of the joint venture Idea Valley Group, sold development land in Guangdong province and a landscaping business.
It followed the earlier sale of the West Coast Resort Hainan Hotel and a development project in Dongguan from under M&C's nose.
Cheung set up Idea Valley Group before entering a partnership with M&C.
After he was sacked, he stormed the offices and sacked employees before selling the assets.
M&C said its interest in all the assets sold by Cheung was now £14.7 million.
It said it was "seeking to void all unauthorised sales made by Cheung" and "taking measures to safeguard the remaining assets".Reuse content


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New Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x slated for worldwide launch March 1, 2007
At the 2000 Invensys Classic, 47 touring professionals, mostly longtime users of Titleist wound golf ball products, made a dramatic switch. They converted to a larger core, multicomponent golf ball called Pro V1. It was a prototype ball the Fairhaven company was touting as an evolution in technology; one that would mark a paradigm shift in the golf ball category.
Seven successful years later, both on Tour and at retail, one could argue Pro V1 and Pro V1x are the most successful golf-related products of all-time.
According to independent statisticians Golf Datatech, Pro V1 and Pro V1x on-course market share was larger than the combined brand shares of Bridgestone, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, Top-Flite and Maxfli in 2006. Titleist will begin shipping its new Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls through its worldwide retail and distribution chain beginning March 1.
“Whether the focus is on optimizing performance at the highest levels of the game or improving the performance for aspirational golfers seeking to achieve a competitive advantage and advance their games, golfers will soon experience New Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls that are better than ever from tee-through-green,” commented George Sine, VP, golf ball marketing and strategic planning, Acushnet Company in a press release.
“Consistent with our proven new product blueprint that has been inherent throughout our 75-year history of golf ball leadership, with the New Pro V1 and Pro V1x we have improved upon their benchmark performance.”
Among the improvements to the new three-piece Pro V1 and four-piece Pro V1x is a Staggered Wave design for more densely packed dimples and new Alignment Integrated Marking (AIM) side-stamp for easier alignment off the tee and on the greens.
Distributors agree: SUMO Saturday an overwhelming success
According to two major Canadian retailers Nike Golf’s unique consumer unveiling of their latest driver products – SUMO and SUMO2 – was not only a success for their respective chains but also garnered praise from golfers who lined up to sample the Swoosh company’s latest wares.
Along the lines of a J.K. Rowling ‘Harry Potter’ book launch, SUMO Saturday attracted lineups at retailers throughout North.
“For us, it was (sic) very, very successful promotion right across the country, said Murray Bozniak, VP of GolfTown in an interview this week. “I think a lot of golfers were anxious to try it (SUMO2) and Nike did a good job in getting their product out on the market first and introducing it the way they did.”
Paul Curry, GM at Surette’s Golf Central was equally impressed by the turnout and feels the driver itself is going to appear much more to the mid- and high- handicap player.
“It’s going to be as effective as other technologies that have been around for the past few years,” said Curry. “There’s definitely a buzz about it. We had people who came in as much out of curiosity as anything. Some people who tried SUMO didn’t like the sound at first but it seemed to grow on a few of them. Others kind of grumbled about it and really didn’t change their mind. It’s a look and a sound that’s not going to be for everyone but the turnout we had indicates people want to try it and find out for themselves.”
Neither Curry nor Bozniak could divulge sales numbers as a result of SUMO Saturday but Bozniak did point out that the promotion, held all across North America, could become more common within the industry.
“Product launches have changed a lot,” said Bozniak, “and the events surrounding those launches are also taking on a different look. The customers we had in our stores were very appreciative of the effort Nike Golf made and frankly so were we. They’ve been great partners for us.”
ClubLink acquires Ottawa’s Eagle Creek
ClubLink Corporation’s course portfolio has expanded once again, this time in the nation’s capital where it already has a solid presence. The King City-based company has announced the acquisition of Eagle Creek Golf Club, a course designed by former U.S. Open Champion and CBS golf analyst, Ken Venturi.
Eagle Creek will be ClubLink’s 28th member golf club next year and will be operated by Canada’s largest owner, operator and developer of member golf clubs as a Platinum level member club.
“Given ClubLink’s long history of enhancing the reputation and appeal of its golf course properties, I couldn’t be happier than to have ClubLink acquire our course,” said Eagle Creek vendor, Andre Lacasse in a press release announcing the deal.
Said Robert Poile, president and CEO of ClubLink in the same release: “We believe that Eagle Creek enhances the fine cluster of courses that we have developed in the nation capital region and demonstrates our continued commitment to this important market.”
Callaway company introduces new X Junior Set / Square-shaped FT-i and FT-5 to debut Feb. 15 Callaway has expanded their X brand of product to junior golfers.
The Carlsbad, Calif., company have announced the introduction of its Callaway Golf X Junior Set, specifically for young golfers in the age range of eight to12 and/or between 4’2” and 4’11” in height.
The X Junior set includes six clubs including a 16 degree driver, 24 degree fairway metal, 5, 7 and 9 iron, a 56 degree SW, an Odyssey 2-Ball putter and bag.
The X Junior Set will be made available in both left- and right-handed models and will have a suggested retail of $275 (US). It will be available starting Feb. 15, 2007.
Cleveland Golf unveils W-series women’s line
Cleveland Golf is making a strong statement with their Hi-Bore product in the marketplace and has expanded that line to include the women’s category.
The company has introduced their W-Series line of women’s equipment which, according to Cleveland, incorporates the playability benefits of its HiBore technology into a women specific set.
Featured in the W-Series: the new HiBore XL Driver; HiBore Fairway Woods and Hybrid and HiBore irons.
Canadian Tour reaches deal with Iberostar Resorts & Hotels
The Canadian Tour quietly continues its resurgence. Led by the strong leadership of Commissioner Richard Janes the Tour has announced the formation of the Iberostar Riviera Maya Open as part of the Canadian Tour’s International schedule.
“To be included in a stop on the Canadian Tour is truly an honour for Iberostar,” said John Long, VP of sales and marketing for Iberostar Hotels and Resorts Caribbean in a press release.
“This agreement will solidify our reputation in the international golf community and position the Riviera Maya as one of the most desirable golf destinations in the world.”
The tournament will close out the Mexican swing of the Tour May 14-20 at the Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club.
“We are extremely proud to have the opportunity to partner with a renowned company such as Iberostar and bring our players to a world class resort club,” said Janes in the release. “This golf course will be a wonderful test and an ideal way to end our international schedule for the season.”
‘The ClubMaker’s Art’ the Definitive History of Antique Golf Clubs
For anyone who has even a passing interest in antique golf clubs, their lineage and how they were fashioned Jeffery Ellis’ ‘The Clubmaker’s Art’ has proven the definitive historical account of these grand pieces of golfing treasure.
‘The ClubMaker’s Art’ the Definitive History of Antique Golf Clubs
First published in 1997, the book has received widespread acclaim including a ‘Top 10 Golf Book of the 20th Century’ by Golf World Magazine. Travel & Leisure Golf named it one of the top 25 golf books ever written and was awarded Great Britain’s Murdoch Medal for outstanding achievement in golf literature.
A run of 5,000 copies sold out in 2000 and recently have been seen on Amazon.com fetching upwards of $750 (US).
Ellis though, wasn’t satisfied.
Adding several more years of research the author has unveiled a second edition consisting of – are you ready for this – 1,250 pictures, 860 clubs and two volumes in a slipcase.
“As the years went by I kept coming across more and more clubs and information,” said Ellis. “It became apparent to me that I needed to revisit the project and move forward with a second edition.”
For those who appreciate vintage clubs there isn’t a more definitive or complete work on these wonderful antiques. More info can be obtained at www.clubmakersart.com.


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In the last three months, amid the pandemic, Pepper has on-boarded 150 enterprises and SME customers and is growing 25% month-on-month. It has generated over $6,00,000 in revenues since inception.
Content marketplace, Pepper Content, on Tuesday said it has raised $4.2 million as part of its Series A funding, led by Lightspeed India and angel investors across India and the Silicon Valley.
These include Beerud Sheth, founder, Upwork, Balaji Srinivasan, chief technology officer at Coinbase, Gaurav Munjal, founder, Unacademy, Utsav Somani, partner, AngelList, among others. According to Pepper Content, the company plans to use the funds to foray into newer content categories such as video and audio, expand into new geographies including Southeast Asia, while continuing to scale up its current product portfolio for customers and creators alike.
Three-year old, Pepper, is a content creation platform that connects creators to organisations. The company’s vision is to enable creators to leverage their strengths in the best manner, by helping them connect and collaborate with businesses looking to solve their content marketing needs flexibly.
Currently, over 30,000 creative professionals such as content writers, graphic designers, language specialists, and editors have applied to be part of Pepper Content, which works only with the top 10% talent. Further, Pepper’s curated creators have generated more than 1,00,000 content pieces through the platform, earning $4,00,000 in creator fees in the first two years.
Pepper today works with over 400 customers, including commerce platforms such as Amazon and Swiggy, financial services, and insurance companies such as Max Bupa, Paytm, and Edelweiss, and healthcare and software firms.
“Our mission is to disrupt the entire content creation industry at scale and create a stronger, high quality, and more organised ecosystem for content creators. Imagine us being able to build virtual content teams for any company globally, by providing them a product that simplifies content operations and gives the customer the ability to strategize, create, distribute and manage all their content projects at one place," said Anirudh Singla, co-founder, and CEO at Pepper Content.
In the last three months, amid the pandemic, Pepper has on-boarded 150 enterprises and SME customers and is growing at 25% month-on-month, in terms of revenue and creator growth.
“We are proud to partner with Anirudh and his team with a vision to use the Pepper market platform to enable any company around the world to source content on-demand, with high quality, and at scale. Not only is every company a software company these days, but every company is a content company," said Dev Khare, partner at Lightspeed India.
Pepper has generated over $6,00,000 in revenues since inception and is on track to achieve an annual revenue run rate of $1 million.
Ref: live mint


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Friday, August 08, 2014
News this week: A new homeware products show will be launched in Indonesia later this year. Zuchex Indonesia 2014 will be co-organised by Tarsus subsidiary companies, Tarsus Dyandra in Indonesia, and Turkey-based Life Media. The inaugural show will be held at the Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC) from 13th to 15th November.
The inaugural show will feature more than 150 international brands showcasing the latest kitchenware, small domestic appliances, porcelain and ceramics, storage solutions, cutlery, cookware, bakeware, barware, tableware, glassware and other housewares.
Life Media, established in 1995, is the organiser of housewares shows Zuchex Turkey and Ideal Homex in Istanbul. The company joined Tarsus Group in 2012 and also publishes trade magazines in Turkish and English focusing on housewares, lifestyle, and gift products.


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China has lowered its economic growth forecast to “about 7 percent” in 2015 at the opening of its annual meeting of parliament, the National People’s Congress — the nation’s biggest yearly political event — which started on Thursday and generally lasts about 10 days.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday that China will set its official 2015 economic growth target, or gross domestic product (GDP), at “about 7 percent”, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reports.
China’s GDP target of 7 percent for 2015 is the lowest growth target in over 15 years, according to Bloomberg.
In 2014, China’s economic growth expanded by 7.4 percent, its slowest rate in 24 years and was the first time since 1998 that its growth rate fell short of the government’s official target.
As China adjusts to a “new normal” of slower but more sustainable growth, a 7 percent economic growth target will be set as a floor, or the minimum growth that the nation needs in order to fend off deflation and to keep employment strong enough so that it can push on with key reforms.
On Wednesday, China’s Central Bank, The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), cut the interest rates at its short-term lending facility (SLF) for its local branches. Overnight lending rates were cut to 4.5 percent from 5 percent and seven-day lending rates were be cut to 5.5 percent from 7 percent.
In February, India revised the way that it calculates its gross domestic product (GDP), and now – based on the new calculated data – the nation’s economic growth now surpasses the traditional Asian powerhouse of China.
In addition to China’s lower GDP target for 2015, there were a number of 2015 estimates, alongside a raft of proposals that were announced on Thursday in an effort to support the nation’s economy:
*Premier Li says 2015 GDP growth target around 7 percent
*Premier Li says 2015 2015 CPI target around 3 percent
*Premier Li says sees 2015 budget deficit at 2.3 percent of GDP
*China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) says to target total trade growth of around 6 percent in 2015
*Premier Li says 2015 M2 growth target at around 12 percent
*Premier Li says will set up deposit insurance system
*Premier Li says to keep renminbi at appropriate and balanced level
*Premier Li says to float yuan more freely
*NDRC says China targets 2015 fixed asset investment growth of 15 percent
*Premier Li says China to push forward yuan convertibility on capital account
*NDRC says China targets 2015 retail sales growth of 13 percent
*Premier Li says China to quicken cross-border yuan payment system
*Premier Li says aims to create over 10 million new jobs in 2015
*Premier Li says will launch Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Exchange connect pilot at appropriate time
*Premier Li says will keep economic growth within reasonable range
*Premier Li says will deepen reforms of state-owned enterprises
*Finance Minister says China budgets 2015 national fiscal deficit of 1.62 trillion yuan
*Premier Li says will push fiscal, price reforms
*Premier Li says will increase international market share for Chinese railways, electric power, communications, aircraft
*Premier Li says will broaden use of forex reserves
*Finance Minister says China budgets 2015 national fiscal revenue up 7.3 percent
*Finance Minister says China budgets 2015 national fiscal spending up 10.6 percent
*Premier Li says will allow more domestic private banks to be set up
*Premier Li says will forward interest rate reforms
*Finance Minister says will continue with active fiscal policy in 2015 and appropriately step it up
*Premier Li says to build additional 7.4 million units of public homes in 2015
*Finance Minister says to enhance management of local government debt
*Premier Li says will boost domestic consumption
*Premier Li says modernizing agriculture is key to reform
*Premier Li says will stabilize housing consumption
*Finance Minister says will strictly control fiscal risks
*Premier Li says will invest 1.6 trillion yuan in railways, water
*NDRC says will reduce taxes across the board
*Premier Li says will ensure unemployment rates does not exceed 4.5 percent in 2015
*NDRC says will expand pilot for replacing business tax with value added tax
*NDRC says will keep monetary policy not too loose or too tight
*Premier Li says will improve local government debt-raising mechanism
*Premier Li says will cut current energy intensity by 3.1 percent
*Premier Li says will increase imports and exports by 6 percent
*Premier Li says will halve the number of industries in which foreign investment is restricted
*NDRC says expects 2015 retail sales to grow by 13 percent
*NDRC says will raise pension benefits for retirees by 10 percent
*NDRC says will encourage more mergers, shut outdated capacity in oversupplied sectors
*NDRC says will roll out guidelines for intergration of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region
*Premier Li says downward pressure on the economy is intensifying
*Premier Li says economy faces greater difficulties in 2015, versus 2014
*Premier Li says will aim for zero growth for consumption of coal in key parts of China
*Premier Li says will expand trial project for electricity pricing and transmission reform
*NDRC says will replace coal usage with alternative energy sources in heavily polluted areas
*Premier Li says in principle to lift pricing controls for all goods and services that are competitive


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HD remakes of three Metal Gear games will make their downloadable debuts on PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace later this month.
HD remakes of three Metal Gear games will make their downloadable debuts on PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace later this month, according to a press release from publisher Konami.
On August 21st, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD Edition and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD Edition will be available to purchase for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, which includes both games in one bundle, will be available through Xbox Games On Demand.
One week later, on August 28th, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will be available for PS3 and 360, and the HD Collection will be available on PS3.
Beginning last year, each of these games saw a retail release, roughly coinciding with the franchise's 25th anniversary. Earlier this week, Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of Liberty received a patch that brought trophy support.
The cyborg ninja-infused Metal Gear spinoff, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, is set for release in 2013, but Konami released gameplay footage from the E3 demo recently. Revengeance will also make an appearance at Gamescom later this month, and Polygon will be there to bring you all the news from Cologne, Germany.
- Contest: Want to go to the Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls launch party on March 24?
- Polygon Daily Off-Topic: Prepare to Die (Tues 11 Mar)
- Why no wireless chat with Xbox One Headsets?
- Mobile Marketing Tips
- Anime, Cartoons, Comics! Plight Vol. 2, No. 5: The where I yet again break the rules
- This is why we can't have nice things.
- Post your Polygon Daily/Weekender headers here (March 2014)
- More Pokémon Discussions: Redux
- Owen Good, joining Polygon as senior reporter, weekends
- Prepare for Titanfall (Xbox One)


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After experiencing the thrusting presence of the Audi R8, Indian roads are all set to feel another speed giant. This time the BMW Roadster Z4 sports car will make its way into the Indian car market. Expected to launch by late 2009, it will add 10 dealers in cities such as Coimbatore, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Ludhiana.
The two-seater Roadster Z4 comes with a folding hard-top which can run up to 250 kmph. Compared to the price of the Audi R8, it will carry a little catchy price tag of Rs 50-60 Lakh.BMW is witnessing a good market share in India and recently it has also exceeded its competitor Mercedes-Benz in the sales graph. Besides this car, the company is also planning to introduce three more new models in India in order to keep pace with the growth momentum. BMW is looking forward to grasp the Indian car market. And if it continues the strategy to launch models with prices comparatively lesser than its rivals, it will surely get a complete hold of the lucrative Indian car market.


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WELCOME TO The chemical REPORT
Feature market insights and perspectives from top C-Level executives, elite technology influencers and thought leaders from your company here. This signature initiative has garnered immense support...
ExxonMobil | April 18, 2022
ExxonMobil said it is undertaking early front-end engineering design studies to determine the potential for carbon capture and storage to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from multiple industries in the Gippsland Basin.
The South East Australia carbon capture and storage hub would initially use existing infrastructure to store CO2 in the depleted Bream field off the coast of Gippsland, Victoria. The company is in active discussions with local industries which may be interested in a...
Hubergroup | July 20, 2020
The chemicals manufacturer is focusing on substances such as PU resins and UV oligomers, among others. With its extensive product portfolio, it is primarily aimed at the printing and packaging industry as well as the paint and coatings industry and chemical companies. To diversify and divide the business into two divisions — print solutions and chemicals — is a strategic corporate decision. Hubergroup is thus pursuing the goal of making its technological expertise available to a wide...
Chemical Watch | February 12, 2020
NGOs gathered yesterday to call on the budget chain 99 Cents Only Stores to follow the lead of its competitors and adopt a chemicals policy. Five years ago, the Campaign for Healthier Solutions – which is made up of over 100 health, community and environmental justice organisations nationwide – released a report that found over 81% of products in budget chains contain "hazardous substances", such as phthalates or heavy metals. And while 99 Cents Only Stores’ competito...
Los Angeles Times | January 22, 2020
Authorities ordered evacuations Wednesday after a chemical release at a manufacturing plant in a rural area of the San Joaquin Valley. Emergency crews responded about 10 a.m. following reports of a hazardous materials spill at Taft Manufacturing Co., the Kern County Fire Department said.
Hazardous materials teams “identified the source of the chemical leak and have stopped it,” the department later said on Twitter. The department urged people who live or work within six miles ...
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Trader Joe’s is finally bringing back free food samples to its grocery stores, something that briefly disappeared at the start of the 2020 pandemic.
The in-store food sample’s return surfaced over the weekend as shoppers began posting photos and videos on social media platforms.
The return of free samples
Trader Joe’s began giving away freebies at select stores across the country on Saturday.
Among the in-store food samples they gave away were Halloween cereal and cookies.
Trader Joe’s will offer single-serving snacks and candies to customers, according to store employees in New York and California.
However, they no longer offer hot coffee like before.
As food demos make a comeback, Trader Joe’s will only reintroduce them to select stores. Natasha Fischer, who runs Trader Joe’s Instagram account and newsletter documenting Trader Joe’s latest findings, said:
“I’m excited. You used to get the coffee cups. The samples make everything a little bit better.”
The free sample strategy
Free samples have been a selling tactic of supermarkets and food and beverage brands for years.
Paco Underhill, the founder of Envirosell research and behavioral advice and author of How We Eat: The Brave New World of Food and Drink, said companies were using the tactic to trigger customers’ salivary glands and move them through the shop.
Sampling a product slows down customers and makes them want to stay in the store, making them more likely to add more items to their cart.
Yuval Selik, CEO of Promomash, a company that works with brands for champions and promotion strategy, said food startups are using store demos to showcase their products and get feedback.
He highlighted KeVita Kombucha, Beyond Meat, and Kashi cereal as brands that used free samples to gain ground.
Effects of the pandemic
When the 2020 pandemic hit, food stamps took a hit as stores pulled the monstrous tables.
Although it took a long time, more and more companies have recovered.
However, with COVID-19 still present, some businesses have changed their procedures to attract hygiene-conscious customers.
Shoppers today are likely to see staff behind the tables handing out boxed samples or disposable cups, rather than the usual self-serve demos.
Other companies using free samples
In 2021, Costco brought back free food samples and added plexiglass stations to cater to hygiene-conscious customers.
The contractors distributed the baked goods one by one from behind the stations.
Sam’s Club also launched its Taste & Tips demonstration program last year, featuring snacks and charcuterie.
Taste & Tips initially returned over the weekend with limited quantities of sealed samples.
The company also works with supplies and helps select and schedule demos, offers new items, and allows buyers to try a sample before making a purchase.
“Demos have long been one of our members’ favorite experiences when they visit our clubs,” a Sam’s Club spokesperson said.
Whole Foods also brought back samples.
However, since there is a mask requirement in some federal states or cities, Whole Foods only offers packaged samples instead of open samples.
Since the company began nationwide grocery delivery and pickup during the height of the pandemic, it has also given out samples in select orders in select locations.
Things are gradually returning to pre-Covid levels, according to Selik.
“I think 2023 is going to be huge for samples,” Selik said, expecting another push of free food samples next year.