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Video Briefing: Netflix doesn’t make all of its own ‘Originals’ — and that’s OK
Netflix did not invent the concept of the capital-O “Original,” but it has been the most aggressive company in terms of using the label to brand and market its exclusive programming — even if it didn’t commission or produce the show on its own. What that has created is an ecosystem where the definition of an “Original” is different based on the company and/or geographic market in question. It’s also an ecosystem that’s very advantageous to Netflix.
The key hits:
- More people think of “You,” a drama series on Netflix, was made by Netflix; the show was originally made for Lifetime.
- Netflix’s promotional and distribution power has made “You” more popular than it ever was on Lifetime.
- This points to how Netflix takes an elastic approach to how it defines an “Original,” which can include both shows developed and owned by Netflix, and licensed programming that Netflix only has partial exclusivity to.
- It’s marketing, but still very advantageous to Netflix: The company is focused on getting hundreds of millions of subscribers across the globe, which means it needs to be everything for everyone. By liberally applying the “Netflix Original” label, it’s training users to think of Netflix as all of TV, not just a single network.
- Plus, with more than 700 “original” projects premiering every year, Netflix does not need as high of a batting average as networks that deliver less than a dozen original projects per year.
What’s an “Original” these days, anyway?
In its most recent earnings report, Netflix boasted that roughly 40 million “member households” will watch its drama series “You” over the first four weeks of the show’s availability on the platform. (Note: Netflix defined viewership here as member accounts that watched at least 70 percent of one episode of “You,” which has a 10-episode first season.) But while “You” is labeled a “Netflix Original,” the show did not originate on Netflix. Lifetime aired the first season of the hour-long drama. With low ratings — the show averaged roughly 650,000 viewers per episode, according to The New York Times — Lifetime canceled the series, which was later picked up by Netflix for a second season.
“You” is the type of linear TV-to-Netflix success story that seems to be commonplace by now. And there’s no denying the promotional and distribution power of Netflix, which has close to 140 million subscribers across the globe that it can easily market to without needing to spend a dime. “You” became popular because it was on Netflix, billed as a Netflix original.
But it also shows up Netflix’s liberal and elastic use of the term “Original,” and how it helps Netflix grow and protect its brand and business.
Most TV networks and digital video programmers typically define an “original series” as a project that it has some type of creative influence over. Either the show was fully developed and produced internally or it was acquired through a partnership with a studio or a producer.
Netflix doesn’t follow those rules. Former Amazon and Otter Media executive Matthew Ball has a terrific breakdown of the different types of “Netflix Originals” — and how many of them are not actually developed by Netflix. Yes, the list includes those types of shows, but it also includes shows created by external producers or studios but fully acquired (at a premium) by Netflix (“The Crown”); shows that Netflix has some type of co-production and co-licensing deal for (“Black Mirror,” which airs on Channel 4 in the U.K.); and shows that were developed and produced by other studios/networks but for which Netflix has carved out exclusive distribution rights in certain territories (“Star Trek: Discovery,” which is produced and distributed by CBS in the U.S.).
As Ball explains, where HBO, Amazon and others typically only label shows that they produce in-house have some creative control over as original series, Netflix frequently slaps that label on anything that it has some form of exclusive distribution rights to. It does not matter to Netflix if “Better Call Saul” was produced by Sony Pictures Television and airs on AMC in the U.S.; it’s still a “Netflix Original” in the U.K. and other markets.
Those models are not new. Most people in the entertainment industry have accepted by now that “Originals” don’t always mean a show developed and funded exclusively by the network or platform it airs on. So why does it matter? To some extent, it’s just semantics. But it’s also good marketing, and key for Netflix’s growth strategy of having different types of content, suitable for everyone.
It’s “The Crown,” but it’s also “Queer Eye.” It’s not just one network, it’s all of TV. That’s important when your ambitions are hundreds of millions of global subscribers. Who cares if that show isn’t fully owned by Netflix? Subscribers don’t.
This can be tough for some networks — both from a linear and a direct-to-consumer perspective — when trying to compete with Netflix. A network that is only doing six to 12 “true” original series in a given year needs to have a better batting average than a company that last year said it will launch 700 original projects in 2018. And with the data Netflix has on its subscribers, it can do a pretty great job of serving the type of shows — whether it’s Emmy-quality dramas or breezy reality TV fare — that its users want. (This gets even more interesting when a network/company such as HBO or Disney has a certain brand to maintain.)
Netflix has an advantage because of its unprecedented volume, which is fueled by unprecedented spending. And as we’ve seen, this has reshaped TV. There is a reason WarnerMedia is now talking about increasing HBO’s budget, while also using it as an umbrella brand to offer a broader array of movies and TV shows from the WarnerMedia portfolio.
It will be interesting to see if things change as Netflix moves more production in-house. That typically means more spending upfront, but it also protects Netflix against the very real possibility that some of its most popular licensed titles will leave the service soon. That said, Netflix isn’t going to be easing up on the “Originals” branding anytime soon. Definitions be damned.
“For better or worse, the YouTuber — the individual creator — ends up being the Pied Piper of the industry. If you watch them, you see the future path for publishers. They got hit by YouTube before anyone was talking about publishers and platforms. And then in the past two years, you saw them really dive into Patreon. They realized that there are people out there who want them to be successful, and are willing to support it through subscriptions and merch and donations.” — Digital entertainment executive
Numbers don’t lie
568,000: New subscribers to ESPN+ last weekend in the lead-up to the network’s first UFC event for ESPN+. (525,000 subscribers signed up on Saturday alone, the company said.)
38,445: Number of pages in Facebook’s video monetization program as of Jan. 14.
13: Number of Oscar nominations for Netflix.
What we’ve covered
Connected TV ad buying is becoming more TV-like:
- Advertisers have begun to count co-viewing as part of CTV campaigns.
- Issues still remain, including an inability to independently verify first-party data from platforms such as Hulu and Roku.
Read more about the future of connected TV advertising here.
Advertisers want better brand-safety tools for Facebook video ads:
- Facebook is developing an API that will allow third-party vendors to monitor content across Facebook’s audience network for brand safety.
- Level of advertiser interest in Facebook in-stream video ads is still low.
Read more about Facebook video advertising here.
What we’re reading
Netflix close to joining the MPAA: Fresh off 13 Oscar nominations, Netflix might soon join the film industry’s top lobbying group.
Pluto TV sells to Viacom for $340 million: This is a great exit for Pluto TV, which has 12 million monthly active users and offers a linear feed of channels from programmers such as Tastemade, Cheddar and NBC News (as well as those owned and operated by Pluto TV itself). As I mentioned in last week’s Video Briefing, I can understand Viacom’s thinking here as the subscription streaming landscape gets increasingly crowded; but long term, this still feels like Amazon’s (and Roku’s) market to lose. (Also, this piece has Pluto TV’s run rate at $200 million, but it sells for $340 million? At the very least, it’s a reminder that run rate can be a misleading stat.)
Disney changes up finances as part of its re-org: Disney has moved the accounting for some of its businesses, including its investments in Vice and Hulu, to its Direct to Consumer and International unit. This is the group that oversees Disney+ and works with ESPN on ESPN+, as well as other minor DTC businesses. Based on the new structure, annual revenues for the unit (ending in September) would have been $3.4 billion.
MasterCard is cracking down on free trials: MasterCard is instituting a new rule where subscription services will need to ask users permission to charge them for a subscription once the free-trial period has ended. “Merchants will be required to send the cardholder — either by email or text — the transaction amount, payment date, merchant name along with explicit instructions on how to cancel a trial,” the company said.
More in Future of TV
Future of TV Briefing: DoubleVerify and Roku uncover CTV ad fraud scheme costing advertisers $7.5M per month
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at a connected TV ad fraud scheme uncovered by DoubleVerify and Roku that’s been siphoning an estimated $7.5 million per month from advertisers.
Future of TV Briefing: A Q&A with Colin and Samir’s Samir Chaudry on the state of the creator economy
This week’s Future of TV Briefing features a Q&A with Samir Chaudry from creator duo Colin & Samir discussing the state of the creator economy.


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The gambling industry displays no signs associated with slowing down. Since it is a flexible organization venture, it might have against the blows of the largest states the entire world is experiencing right now. It even shown an increase associated with 12% in revenues last year during the height associated with the financial crisis. Online sports bets continue to keep a bright market even as some other industries surrounding it continue to crash and even burn.
Although many moralists and prohibitionists are pushing regarding its complete eradication on the world wide web, economists could admit that the business has nothing although advantages to offer to the economic system at large. In this article are some from the advantages that wagering offer.
The competitors that online sporting activities betting wage in opposition to its real-life casino and gambling alternatives will only force the industry to be able to improve. Innovation inside practices and company cultures will inevitably get place because it turns into a necessity in order to survive and continue to be in business. On the web betting sites will be better their software plus graphic display functions to entice even more players and increase their betting volumes. By so doing, consumers and bettors will be typically the ones to benefit by the competition among online sports wagering sites.
Online sports betting will pressure real-life betting casinos to lower their particular prices and widen their options with regard to consumers. Nobody can deny that gambling internet sites are appealing to gamblers around the world primarily because that they are very attainable. Anyone can guess no matter in which they are on the planet, 24 hours a day around typically the clock. This fact will make are living casinos consider reducing their customer service fees to offer a more competitive and attractive consumer services.
Online gambling can serve as typically the wellspring of some other industries. BPO and KPO businesses across the world will ultimately benefit from gambling sites. They will serve as the particular backend of the business and if even more sites become widespread on the web, a lot more in need their services turn out to be.
The industry will create more employment chances specifically for those who are working inside the BPO and even KPO industries. Call center solutions plus pay per head data solutions may also improve, which can cause generation involving more jobs for people around the globe.
On the web sports betting will always be a resilient sector. Instead of placing slot gacor to its growth, government of different countries should focus upon the advantages that it can give to the economy. Social effects will always be an issue, although that downside will be nothing compared in order to the advantages the industry brings. Everyone should look at typically the bigger picture of online sports bets plus the positive aftermaths which come along using it.

domain: news


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The FCA has today published the interim report of its market study into the pricing of home and motor insurance. The FCA found that competition is not working well for all consumers in these markets. It sets out concerns about how pricing in these markets leads to consumers who do not switch or negotiate with their provider paying high prices for their insurance.
The FCA estimates that around 6 million policyholders pay high prices and are not getting a good deal on their insurance. If those customers paying high premiums paid the average premium for their risk they could save around £1.2 billion a year. This affects all types of customers. The FCA estimates this includes 1 in 3 people who are potentially vulnerable.
Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA, commented:
‘This market is not working well for all consumers. While a large number of people shop around, many loyal customers are not getting a good deal. We believe this affects around 6 million consumers.
‘We have set out a package of potential remedies to ensure these markets are truly competitive and address the problems we have uncovered. We expect the industry to work with us as we do so.’
In particular, the FCA found that:
- Insurers often sell policies at a discount to new customers and increase premiums when customers renew, targeting increases at those less likely to switch.
- Longstanding customers pay more on average, but even some people who switch pay higher prices.
- From the FCA’s consumer research, 1 in 3 consumers who paid high premiums showed at least one characteristic of vulnerability, such as having lower financial capability. For consumers who bought combined contents and building insurance, lower income consumers (below £30,000) pay higher margins than those with higher incomes.
- People who pay high premiums are less likely to understand insurance or the impact that renewing has on their premium.
- Most firms, when setting a price, include their expectations of whether a customer will switch or pay an increased price. This is not made clear to the customer.
- Firms engage in a range of practices to raise barriers to switching.
- Many consumers who switch or negotiate their premium can get a good deal.
The FCA is undertaking a range of activities in order to address the problems it has identified. Through new rules introduced in 2017, the FCA has already improved transparency on renewal for general insurance policies which has delivered significant savings to customers.
The FCA will also continue its work to ensure firms improve the oversight of their pricing practices and deliver the changes required following other recent policy changes.
The FCA is also considering remedies to:
- Tackle high premiums for consumers – this could include banning or restricting practices like raising prices for consumers who renew year on year or requiring firms to automatically move consumers to cheaper equivalent deals.
- Stop practices that could discourage switching – including restricting the way that firms use automatic renewal.
- Make firms be clear and transparent in their dealings with consumers – including improvements to the way firms communicate with their customers. The FCA is also considering whether firms should publish information about price differentials between their customers.
- Harness the benefits of innovation in the longer-term, so that general insurance markets benefit positively from technological developments including Open Finance.
The former Head of General Insurance Supervision at the FCA, and current partner & adviser to Huntswood, Michael Sicsic commented:
“Providers should see this interim report as a wake-up call from the FCA, but also as an opportunity to remedy the loyalty penalty that is resulting in large numbers of consumers not getting a good deal on their insurance. A full assessment of fair pricing practices and an end to pricing discrimination is necessary if firms hope to retain customers and avoid further interventionist policies from the regulator in its final report early next year.
“It is also clear that vulnerability remains high on the agenda, particularly as unfair pricing and high premiums for those who do not switch disproportionately affect vulnerable customers. Firms must adopt a transparent approach to both pricing and communication with customers if they hope to secure value from customer relationships in the long-term.”
PEGASYSTEMS TONY TARQUINI;
Tony Tarquini, Director of Insurance, EMEA, Pegasystems believes this situation is more complex than it first seems and puts insurers between a rock and a hard place due to the complex economics of selling insurance to consumers in the UK.
“It would be extremely detrimental to insurance firms if the FCA were to enforce blanket bans on automatic price rises. The primary way insurers secure customers via comparison websites is via new customers-only pricing. With these comparison sites creating a market where consumers will always go for the lowest possible price, this has cultivated a situation where insurers always lose money in the first year of the deal. To recover these losses the only way is to raise the cost of insurance in later years.
If every single consumer switched insurer annually to get the lowest price, insurance firms’ profits would be negligible and there would be no surplus cash to invest in improving services for customers. Let’s not forget that for most of the last 25 years underwriting UK motor insurance has been run at a loss – only investment income makes it (marginally) profitable.”
“Clearly, the end of automatic price rises could be counterproductive for consumers. Insurers would be forced to increase their introductory offers so they could be sure of making money, meaning the customer would once again bear the brunt of the cost. As per the FCA’s recommendations, what insurers must do is be clear and transparent in their dealings with consumers. And this is a fantastic opportunity for insurance companies to build trust with their customers so they don’t go looking elsewhere. Using AI to determine all the possible actions that could be taken with an individual customer, and what curated deals could be offered to them – at the right time, in the right context – insurance companies will be able to dramatically reduce their customer churn, also taking pressure off their sales teams.”
Lee Griffin, founder, and CEO of GoCompare comments: “We welcome this update from the FCA. The proposals, if implemented, will go some way towards increasing transparency for consumers and encourage more shopping around and switching. The proposals also call on the industry to stop raising prices for those customers that auto-renew year after year, which could help protect the most vulnerable and those worst affected by the so-called loyalty penalty.”


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German Start-Up Wins Music Business Enterprise Competition at Rethink Berlin
The Berlin company Nagual Sounds GmbH was named Rethink Music Next Generation Enterprise, winning a business start-up package worth over $10,000. Nagual Sounds was one of 12 finalists at the inaugural Rethink Music Venture Day, held at the NH Music and Lifestyle Hotel in Berlin on October 24.
“Our first ever Rethink Music Venture Day was a huge success," said Allen Bargfrede, executive director of Rethink Music from Berklee College of Music. "We were delighted to welcome speakers and judges from leading international music businesses and investment companies, as well as so many talented and driven music business entrepreneurs from the United States, Canada, and throughout Europe. We plan to continue Venture Day as part of our series of global events,”
Nagual Sounds developers pitched their company on its ability to empower users to create music through movement. Their prototypes, Nagual Dance and Nagual Care, showed how their technology and software transforms data created through physical movement into interactive music with tonal structure. Products in the planning stages range from dance games to therapy applications. The prizes included $10,000 in legal services through an in-kind donation from Duane Morris, LLP, enrollment in an online certificate program from Berkleeonline.com, complimentary registration for Midem 2014, and stay at any NH Hotel across the world.
Second place winner Frestyl, from Berlin, builds applications for people to receive last-minute recommendations for concerts and exclusive specials offered by event organizers. In third place, TurnMeUp, based in Canada, mixes voice and music through a one-of-a-kind mobile application to enhance social activities ranging from yoga to house parties.
“The start-up pitches provided an intense climax to the day with some extremely polished and very inventive and creative ideas," said Bargfrede. "The time the judges spent deliberating showed just how challenging it was to make the final decision.”
Rethink Music, a global music think-tank created by Berklee College of Music and Midem, hosted the Berlin Venture Day in partnership with IE Business School. The event welcomed guest speakers and judges from leading international music businesses, including Napster, BMat, Creandum, Epidemic Sound, Ampya, KKR Investments, Gelardin Capital, UrTurn, Sound Diplomacy, and Digital Media Technology, as well as MusikMarkt magazine. The one-day networking event featured workshops and discussions to assist entrepreneurs in launching their businesses in today's music industry.
The next Rethink Music event will take place as part of Biscay International Music Experience, BIME, in Bilbao, Spain on November 20. This will be an intensive three-hour workshop on business models for video game music.


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Dear Customers, suppliers and friends.
EMA’S Holland has moved to a new facility in Poeldijk.
New location is now # 210 ABC Westland, 2685 dc Poeldijk. You are always welcome to visit us here. We have increased our warehouse and cooling space so we can handle new items and any needs you may have.
New member of the EMA’S Team
EMA’S would like to welcome Karl Jurgen Voigt to the EMA’S team. “Charlie” has joined the team based in Holland from where he will help service suppliers and customers with daily needs. “Charlie” can be reached via our main phone number +45 86173044 or by mail email@example.com


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Store-branded credit cards are becoming more popular with major retailers and with consumers who have the option to save money on their purchases if they open one, according to new data from Equifax.
Nationwide, new account opening for retail credit cards has rebounded from the recession much more so than bankcards, Equifax reports. The trend seems to indicate that consumers are practicing discipline as they plan ahead and consider all spending options.
"We see the increase in retail credit card debt as an indication of rising consumer confidence," said Trey Loughran, president of Equifax Personal Solutions. "At the same time, carrying over balances can lead to debt trouble fast, and consumers should be cautious about not overspending."
Retail card debt is growing while that of bankcards is remaining flat or rising slightly compared to the prior year, according to National Consumer Credit Trends Report data from Equifax. U.S. retail card debt grew 7.05% while bankcard debt was up only by 0.37% at the close of the third quarter of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.
Across all but six of the top 25 metropolitan areas, bankcard balances were flat or declining while retail card balances rose in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. Both bankcard and retail card balances increased in the following areas of the country -Dallas-Fort Worth, TX; Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX; Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Portland-Salem, OR-WA; San Diego, CA and Washington-Baltimore DC-MD-VA-WV.
New retail card accounts opened during the first seven months of the year are at 89% of 2007 pre-recession levels, while the number of new bankcard accounts is only at 59% of those levels. Card issuer policies explain some of the difference, but consumer behavior is likely also a leading factor as shoppers try to get the most value in the venues where they spend most of their money and are loyal customers.
"Consumers may be opting for retail credit cards because of the promotions, discounts and other perks they get at the register," said Loughran. "Other consumers are likely compartmentalizing their purchases -- opening retail accounts to pay for larger purchases over time and using their bankcards for everyday purchases like gas and groceries to be paid in full each month."
Another factor that may be contributing to the consumer preference for retail cards is the availability of these cards to all segments of borrowers, particularly those who experienced financial difficulties during the recession.
"Retail card issuers are continuing to extend credit to near-prime borrowers, making store credit a viable option for consumers with lower scores who may have difficulty opening a bankcard," Loughran said.


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SK Telecom and KT are betting on VR games for deployment in 5G and will also showcase their offerings at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC), the companies announced.
On Tuesday, SK Telecom said it had a signed licensing agreement with Nexon, South Korea's biggest game company, to use three games in the latter's portfolio to develop 5G VR games.
The three games are Cart Rider, Cray Arcade, and Bubble Fighter, all nationally popular titles in South Korea. SK Telecom will launch them as VR games for 5G smartphones within the first half of the year, it said.
SK Telecom also said it is preparing differentiated content ahead of the launch of 5G-enabled smartphones and will announce partnerships with global gaming, media, and content firms at MWC.
KT, collaborating with VR content developer Appnori, will offer a 5G-based multi-player gaming platform dubbed VR Sports that will be available on its GiGA Live TV, which will be showcased at MWC.
The telco will first offer baseball on VR Sports and showcase it at the trade show. It will later add badminton and table tennis.
GiGA Live TV was launched in November and uses a VR headset offered by KT.
KT said 5G networks will bring sizable growth to wireless multiplayer VR games.
South Korea is planning roll out 5G networks for consumers in March.
Not only are the Sacramento Kings working with Verizon on 5G and VR, the NBA team is also looking to a future of blockchain and cryptocurrency across smart stadium and STEM education initiatives.
The university is concerned that a lack of exceptional experiences are deterring consumers away from all that virtual reality stands to deliver.
Virtual reality: A cheat sheet for business pros (TechRepublic)
VR isn't hype or a mere novelty--there are real-world applications for the tech. This primer on virtual reality covers how businesses are using it, popular VR devices, and more.
How VR can improve life on a spacecraft (TechRepublic)
Former astronaut Jay Buckey spent 16 days in space and shares his thoughts on how viewing nature scenes through virtual reality can improve life in a confined space such as on a spacecraft.


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Daniel Ek on expanding Spotify in 2020
The platform’s latest figures drew a disparate response.
As far as the music and radio industries were concerned, more than a quarter of a billion people are using the platform each month (113 million subscribers), and more were using it to access podcasts.
But the financial markets were not so impressed, especially with its continued operating loss, and Spotify’s share price dropped 4%.
Yet Ek remains confident about the future for the world’s largest streaming service.
Looking ahead to 2020, Spotify expects to add between 2-7 million premium subscribers in Q1 and possibly smaller operating losses.
By the end of the year, it is targeting between 143— 153 million subscribers and 328— 348 million total monthly active users (MAUs).
“Our goal (is to become) the world’s No. 1 audio platform,” says Ek.
Here are 7 takeaways from the investors’ call:
1. Its Number Of Creators, New Discoveries, Is Rising
Significant to Spotify’s future growth is that the number of creators engaging with the platform continues to increase (to over 3.9 million in Q1) and a “significant growth” in the discovery of new artists of Spotify.
Ek: “In Q1, we saw a 20% increase in the number of artists streamed on our platform year over year and a 29% increase in the number of artists with at least 100,000 listeners.
“We believe this engagement from artists, labels, and publishers shows a strong sign that there’s an increased appetite for more marketplace tools and services.
“With more than 50 million tracks now available on Spotify and growing by close to 40,000 daily, the discover tools we’re building has never been more important to consumers and artists alike.”
2. Podcast Hours and Volume Growing
By the end of December 2019, over 16% of Spotify’s 271 million MAUs were listening to podcasts, translating to about 43 million users.
That meant that the number of people accessing podcasts via Spotify grew by 23% (or 8 million) from Q3 2019.
Ek: “Podcast consumption hours (in Q4) grew by nearly 200% year-on-year. That is a global phenomenon. It’s not just a US phenomenon.”
3. Podcasting Leads To More Music Consumption
Ek: “Podcast users are not only more engaged [with Spotify] overall, but because of that engagement they’re also listening to more music.”
4. Increasing Discoverability For Podcasts
Ek: “It’s definitely a priority. Personalization is one of our core pillars of our strategy.
“There, we are obviously really, really far along in music. Podcast is a much newer space for us.
“The way we merchandise podcast, the way we recommend podcast is completely different. We are working on that and improving quarter over quarter.
“I think you can see it already today in the product compared to last quarter that there’s a tremendous amount of new things that are shipping.
“I think we went, in all honesty, from being an OK product at the beginning of 2018 to now a year later being best-in-class in this area.
“Of course, we want to expand on that and become an even better experience. And in there, personalization is absolutely key”
5. Expanding Subscription Options Globally
After testing the Premium Duo payment plan, for two people living under the same roof, in five markets – Colombia, Chile, Denmark, Ireland and Holland — there is every chance it can be expanded to Australia as part of a wider global roll-out.
Ek: “It’s still early, but we’re really encouraged by the early response and that we believe it’s going to be accretive to our MAU and sub number, if we will use it more widely.”
6. Anti-Competitive Issues With Apple
Ek was quizzed on the latest update on Spotify’s complaint with the European Commission of Apple’s alleged anti-competitive practises.
Ek: “We cannot yet say what the results will be because it’s really under evaluation on their end.
“We both probably know as to say at the same time as the rest of the market knows.
“What I can say personally from speaking to lots of regulators in and around that time as you think that there – this is the moment where these issues needs to be debated, and I think that there’s a willingness engaged on these questions.”
7. Downward Trend In Churn
Ek: “I think the long-term trend for churn will continue to be downward.
“Family plan, Student plan, it has lower churn.
“So you’ll continue to see strong growth in those plans. We expect that average to — churn to decrease and due to aging in the base.
“The couple of reasons for the increase in churn would be acceleration in growth, and we saw an acceleration in growth this quarter versus prior quarter.
“Then, secondly, we in some of our newer markets have gravitated toward shorter subscription plans.
“We’re experimenting with weekly and daily by way of sample, which may cause us over time to rethink the definition of subscription, but — so we see people coming in and out quickly.
“One last comment, and this is particularly important.
“In the latest quarter, we saw a dramatic increase in the number of rejoins.
“So 42% of gross adds in the quarter were previous users of the service, which means that more and more frequently, we’re seeing former users come back and rejoin.
“Some of them may have lapped because their prepaid debit card expired and looked like churn, but they reup the card and came back.
“Some are coming back just simply because it’s a better service.
“So just to put that in perspective, the rejoin rate grew at 36% year over year, which is more than twice the rate year over year in gross additions.
“So yes, churn ticked up slightly, but more and more previous users are coming back, which will be an important contributor to growth.”


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HORSHAM, PA – October 16, 2023 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Turn 14 Distribution, the industry leader in performance parts distribution, announces the appointment of the President of Owned Brands, Robert Schuetz. Bob is an established leader within the performance aftermarket and OE industries. His resume includes world-renowned companies like Warn Industries Inc, Ohlins USA, and KW Automotive, NA, where he held executive leadership positions of Vice President and President within these organizations.
Bob will oversee the establishment, structure, development, and daily operations of our owned brands team with its headquarters in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. He will lead the product development, R&D, brand management, and marketing of the manufacturing brands Turn 14 Distribution acquired through Tucker Powersports purchase.
“I’m excited to be a part of the rebirth of the brands we’ve acquired from Tucker Powersports, and I look forward to earning the trust of our longstanding partners and internal team as we seek to maximize our potential in each respective marketplace,” said Bob Schuetz, Turn 14 Distribution President of Owned Brands.
“Bob has years of expertise and industry know-how to spearhead our manufacturing efforts with our brands as we move forward,” said Jon Pulli, CEO of Turn 14 Distribution.
About Turn 14 Distribution, Inc.
Turn 14 Distribution is an award-winning national warehouse distributor which sells vehicles, parts, and accessories into the automotive and powersports aftermarkets exclusively through the business-to-business channel. With distribution centers in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Nevada, the company boasts ground shipping coverage to 45% of the U.S. population in one day and 100% within two days. Turn 14 Distribution leverages proprietary technology and innovative logistics solutions to drive growth while simultaneously developing robust, symbiotic relationships up and down the supply chain to accelerate that growth. Turn 14 Distribution is privately owned and operated.
Source: Turn 14 Distribution, Inc.


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If you’re into crypto like I am, you’ll find this article in the New York Post amusing. Elon Musk and Warren Buffett have been going at it for a while and it’s apparent that the 2 occupy different ends of whether crypto is for real.
I’ll let you decide for yourself. As for me, crypto is here to stay.
May 3, 2022
By Ariel Ziber
New York Post
Elon Musk mocked Warren Buffett after the legendary investor once again hit out at cryptocurrencies over the weekend, saying he wouldn’t agree to buy “all of the bitcoin in the world” for $25.
Posting a video of Buffett speaking at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on Saturday, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen wrote it was “wild” that Buffett criticized bitcoin “while nakedly shilling diabetes” — a reference to the boxes of See’s Candie’s that surrounded the legendary investor at a table.
“Haha, he says ‘bitcoin’ so many times,” Musk tweeted in response.
Buffett and his top deputy, Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, had few good things to say about cryptocurrencies at the annual meeting.
Buffett, who is currently the sixth richest person in the world with a net worth valued by Forbes at around $116.8 billion, said he is opposed to bitcoin because it’s not a tangible asset like real estate or other businesses.
Read the rest of the article here: https://nypost.com/2022/05/02/elon-musk-mocks-warren-buffett-over-anti-crypto-stance/


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Bitcoin Pizza Day: get 50% discount on tickets to Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Australia
May 22 till May 24, celebrating the Bitcoin Pizza Day, tickets to Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Australia will be available with a 50% discount.
It was this day 8 years ago that the US programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John’s pizzas for 10000 BTC on the Bitcoin Talk forum. They cost him $25 at the time and $94 million as of today.
To celebrate the day of the world’s first cryptocurrency deal, register to Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Australia and receive a ticket at half-price.
The special offer will be valid only till May 24; discounted tickets will cost 300 AUD.
Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Australia is the largest conference dedicated to blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and ICOs. The event will allow experts to discuss key industry issues: blockchain application in businesses and economy; legal regulation and future of cryptocurrencies in Australia and worldwide. Besides, speakers will share their best practices in launching successful crowdsales.
The conference will take place on May 29 at ICC Sydney.
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Just before COVID-19 came and changed everything in our lives, I was involved in a business forum in Melbourne that brought together 150 business leaders from Canada and Australia (called AusCan).
I was moderating a panel made up of some of Australia and Canada’s most successful business leaders and I asked them what role certainty plays in business. I also asked what the impact of government policy, taxes, market trends, natural disasters and global epidemics has on business.
At that time (mid-February) COVID-19 was just some bizarre illness happening in other countries, like China, and was only just beginning to show its face in Australia and Canada. Who knew what was just around the corner?!
Jack Cowin (Hungry Jacks Founder) – the most experienced entrepreneur on the panel – reminded the audience that “the first rule in business is to stay in business”. Who knew just how timely that piece of advice would be to all of us?
AusCan – an Australian and Canadian Economic Leadership Forum – has been held every 18 months for the past 10 years… this year it was Melbourne’s turn to host (from 12-14 February).
It brings together Australian and Canadian business and Government leaders to swap ideas on current issues to drive greater collaboration between the two countries.
I was fortunate to be invited to moderate the Entrepreneurship Panel, which included iconic business leaders like Jack Cowin, the founder of Competitive Foods Australia, who are behind brands like Hungry Jacks.
There were some other icons too – like Jo Horgan, CEO of Mecca Brands (an Australian-owned beauty giant), John Ruffalo – who co-founded The Council Of Canadian Innovators and is the founder of OMERS Venture, and Vicki Saunders whose company SheEO is changing the way the world supports female innovators.
I want to say a special thanks to the organising committee of AusCan for inviting me to take part in the event. Like everyone else who’s been a part of this great forum, I hope the next one in Toronto goes ahead and is a big success.


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The year is almost over so we’re looking ahead to the newest beauty trends that are set to become the beauty buzzwords of 2017. From natu...
Ever wondered what the most asked beauty questions are? Google has released the most searched beauty questions of 2016 and we’ve got all the...
From must-sees to must-buys, here’s our 7 things to do in the 7th month of the year…. Paris Fashion Week Couture Shows The hot spot for anything and anyone in the fashion world; Paris Couture fashion week returns for fall 2016/2017. Expect to see show stopping collections from designers including Atelier Versace, Chri[...]
Her Royal Highness, the Queen turned 90 on the 21st April this year, but her celebrations are still in full swing with Trooping the Colour and the Patron’s Lunch taking place this weekend. To celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday, why not start planning to throw a royal garden party of your own? Whether it's a sophisticated soirée or a family gathering, we[...]
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McLaren To Launch 18 New Cars As Part of Plan To Go 100% Hybrid By 2025
McLaren Automotive has announced an ambitious, wide-ranging business plan called Track25 that sets out a clear roadmap for future vehicles, production and technology. The company says the plan will allow the brand to continue to position itself as a major global player in the sportscar and supercar market.
The major news in the plan is McLaren’s commitment to ensure its sportscar and supercar range will be hybrid within seven years. The company will also evaluate new augmented driving features and help develop a lighter, superfast-charging, high-power battery system for performance applications that is expected to have over 30 minutes of electric range around a race track.
The company says it will also continue its drive to win the new supercar ‘weight race’ by ensuring that each of its products is the lightest in their segment. This complements a £50m ($AU88.9 million) investment in developing and manufacturing the future of lightweighting technology with the soon-to-open McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC).
Having launched the world’s first ever petrol-electric hybrid-hypercar five years ago with the iconic McLaren P1, McLaren plans to produce its successor as part of the Track25 plan.
Investment in 18 new models or derivatives will help lift production by almost 75 per cent over current levels to around 6,000 cars a year by the middle of the next decade.
Alongside a focus on the on-track and on-road experience, McLaren will introduce technologies designed to improve the owning experience. Cars will feature enhanced cyber protection, improved vehicle tracking and over-the-air (OTA) software updates.
“Everyone at McLaren Automotive remains constant in their focus of designing and crafting the world’s best drivers’ cars,” said Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive.
“True to McLaren’s spirit, however, our ambitions continue to grow and our £1.2bn Track25 business plan which covers 18 new models, including a new McLaren P1, is clear proof of that. We are a luxury brand that is committed to investing in innovation, whether that’s in the development and manufacture of our own carbon fibre tubs as part of a new £50m British-based production centre, new powertrains with our entire range due to be hybrid by 2025 or the deployment of technology to enhance the driving and owning experience.”
Source: Motor Trader Aug Edition
9 Aug 2018


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A GRAIN of salt is always on hand here at Wheels HQ.
It’s ready to be taken whenever an outlandish claim is broadcast by an unknown car maker, extolling the virtues of its hypothetical vehicle that it says will change the shape of auto manufacturing the world over.
It almost never comes to fruition, but then every once in a while one of these start-ups will do something that delivers on a spurious promise and makes enthusiasts, like us, stand up and take notice. Aspark falls into the latter category. From the very start the Japanese engineering outfit has gone about things differently.
Aspark revealed a street-legal electric hypercar – called the Owl – at last year’s Frankfurt motor show with the promise of truly otherworldly performance; most notably a sub-2.0sec 0-100km/h acceleration claim. It would’ve been all too easy to dismiss it as baseless hype if Aspark hadn’t also filmed video of its road rocket – sans carbonfibre cladding – in testing, looking very much on track to deliver.
We even wrote about it (see below), which we often choose not to do when something like this crops up. And now, Aspark has vindicated that by saying it has achieved what it set out to do.
Video released in the last few days shows an outwardly complete version of the Owl performing that same 0-100km/h lunge in the back of an industrial facility somewhere in its home country. The time? 1.92sec.
As in previous clips the car is running Hoosier slick tyres, which are very much not street legal, but as a proof of concept this electric prototype seems to be the real deal. Aspark says it will continue working until the Owl can clock the same time on road rubber.
There’s even footage of an electric burnout, which the Aspark team used to warm up the rear tyres for maximum initial launch grip. The front of the Owl was ratchet-strapped to some big and heavy things to stop it spearing into anything hard.
Who will buy the 50 examples that Aspark says it will build is something we will have to wait to find out, especially if each one carries the $A5 million-plus price tag that’s anticipated. Nevertheless, a bar-raising engineering feat like this is worth at least a few minutes of our time.


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As we outlined in our initial 2020 CBD Biomass production estimate, it is virtually certain that this year’s output of cannabinoid-rich biomass will be down significantly from last year, likely by roughly half. However, how wholesale prices will respond in the months ahead remains to be seen, with a large overhang from 2019’s harvest still weighing on the market.
Andrew Bish is the founder of Hemp Harvest Works and COO of Bish Enterprises, both based in Giltner, Nebraska. He is a harvesting equipment designer, manufacturer, and researcher, as well as the founder of the Nebraska Hemp Industries Association.
Bish told Hemp Benchmarks he spent 60 days, from mid-September to mid-November, traveling to 15 states, where he visited hemp fields and worked with producers. The primary conversation he had with those producers, he said, “is around the price point. A lot of people are very concerned about $1.65 a pound [for biomass]; and whether or not the market is going to improve. In Tennessee and Kentucky especially, there’s a lot of material from last year’s [crop] and guys are sitting on that, looking for places to go.”
He added that many are looking for a price rebound as hemp from the 2020 harvest enters the marketplace and takes priority over the tons of unsold biomass from 2019 that is in storage, losing potency. “Personally I think with the 2020 material we’re going to see a little higher price point and we’re going to start to see some stabilization there,” he said. “There’s not as much of that material.”
“We’re still not going to see the actual market result impact of the 2020 season for, in my opinion, for another three or four months until we’re into 2021,” said Andrew Follett – a Pennsylvania-based cultivator and retailer who also advises hemp companies on supply chain issues. He continued, “A lot of people are still dealing with 2019 material.” However, 80% of the biomass left over from last year is not optimal for extraction, based on Follett’s assessment.
“The 2019 material,” Bish stated, “[producers] got to take the hit on it, they’re going to take a hit on it expiring or the price point. They got to bite the bullet on that one.” One big issue for many hemp farmers, he noted, is they were not adequately prepared to store the 2019 glut of hemp for the long-term. He also pointed out that there is a nationwide lack of cold storage facilities for hemp, which many consider the best method for preserving quality and potency in cannabinoid biomass.
Even as the oversupply of CBD biomass persists and the post-harvest storage and processing landscape remains uneven, some in the industry are already looking ahead to next year with a sense of renewed purpose. “I feel more optimistic about 2021 than I felt about 2020,” stated Bish. “The price point still sucks, however I think a lot of people are aware that some of this older material is moving its way through the market, they’re seeing some higher price points on the newer material. It’s not great, it’s hard to grow at those prices with the current farm models. People have to change how they’re doing things.”
Some CBD hemp farmers are doing just that, experimenting with ways to lower production costs via increased mechanization. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agronomist Calvin Trostle, who also serves as the agency’s statewide hemp expert, told Hemp Benchmarks about a large-scale cultivation operation in the West Texas town of Slaton. He wrote in an email that the grower initially used a grain drill to plant straight-run seed. Then, “got their 800 [plus] acres cut, baled, and dried in about a three to four week period,” using mechanized harvest techniques. Trostle described other ways in which the operation cut costs, including planting non-feminized seed and leaving males in the field, rather than undergoing the time-consuming process of removing them by hand.
This approach appears designed so that the efficiency and high volume output of the operation will compensate for potentially lower-potency biomass. Whether the tradeoff will be worth it remains to be seen. Trostle said that yields were much higher than projected, “but I reserve final thoughts until I know what the actual dried material per acre for extraction is and the whole plant [CBD potency].” He did note, “It appears that per-acre production costs might have come in well under the projected $3,500 – $4,000 per acre.” This would be a major reduction compared to some CBD hemp growing operations, where production costs have been pegged at as high as over $13,000 per acre, according to research from Cornell University.
Trostle also added, “I understand they are moving a decorticator to Slaton to also process hurd from the biomass.” While utilizing the stalks for fiber is a secondary production target in this case, some market participants anticipate increased fiber production as early as next year. For his part, Andrew Bish believes more investments will be made in hemp fiber starting this winter and going into 2021.
“Fiber is going to come out this next year in a way that I think is going to be shocking for most people,” he said. “I think when we look at the growing statistics for 2021, we’re going to be blown away. We’re going to have more acres planted in 2021 than we did in 2019 for sure.” Bish estimates that somewhere between 350,000 to 400,000 acres of hemp fiber could be grown next season, fueled by large scale cultivators in Texas, Kansas, and Montana. Such production capacity would on its own vastly exceed the amount of hemp of all types planted nationwide this year.
“There’s going to be more of a demand for fiber and seed crop in ‘21 than there was in the last few years,” said Andrew Follett. “I’m not seeing much of a switchover to fiber or seed yet, but I think that’s going to be an issue for 2021 as some of these [fiber processing] plants get up and running. Here in Pennsylvania we have a decorticator but are not running it. It has some material, but not that much.”
The best case scenario for the hemp fiber supply chain, according to Follett, is an expansion of cultivation for fiber in Florida and other southern states, with cultivators in the Northeast adding fiber and seed hemp to their farms, while identifying traditional fabric buyers who want to make the transition over to hemp. In addition to those regions, there is interest in growing hemp for fiber in the Midwest, as demonstrated by a recent press release announcing the launch of the Heartland Hemp Cooperative, which “will focus on the production and processing of hemp for fiber.”


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Italian sports company Lotto Sport Italia plans to have 100 exclusive Lotto Sports Italia mono-brand stores in India by the end of this fiscal from the present count of 65 to secure high visibility in emerging markets.
Along with mono-brand stores, Sports Lifestyle is present in more than 200 shop-in-shops, utilising large multi-brand outlets, such as Shoppers Stop, Reliance Footprints, Central, Pantaloons, and Planet Sports. The company recently opened its 15th store in Delhi at Connaught Place. Spread over 600 sq.ft., the new outlet stocks football and tennis collection along with men’s and women’s footwear, apparel, and accessories.
Lotto stores are already operational in India in Delhi/NCR, UP, Punjab, Haryana, Pune, Kolkata, MP, Raipur, Jammu, Assam, Uttrakhand, Gujarat, Orissa, and Bihar.


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Flipkart aims to create 10,000 'millionaires' in 2015
Bengaluru, Jan 13: E-commerce major Flipkart on Tuesday said it aims to help over 10,000 sellers generate business worth Rs 10 lakh through its platform this year.
"In 2014, Flipkart helped over 2,000 sellers become millionaires through Flipkart sales. December 2014 alone saw over 500 sellers doing an average business of Rs 10 lakh each, while 50 sellers did an average of Rs 1 crore each," Flipkart said in a statement.
With a year on year growth of close to 30 per cent, apparels and consumer electronics categories have the most number of sellers who have crossed the millionaire mark followed by sellers of home decor, jewellery, handicrafts and large appliances.
Nearly 60 per cent of millionaire sellers came from metros (Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore) and the rest from the non-metros, it said.
"2015 projections estimate that the numbers from the latter will double," the statement added.
Flipkart said it is taking several steps like hosting workshops/sessions and SME training programmes, offering working capital assistance and providing marketing support services like packaging and cataloguing to sellers with the aim to help sellers create and expand their brands.
Flipkart will continue its efforts to better the Indian marketplace ecosystem, so that sellers from even the most remote parts of the nation can benefit from this business model, Flipkart SVP Marketplace Ankit Nagori said.
"We are confident that 2015 will see more sellers join the e-commerce ecosystem, thus creating at least 10,000 more millionaires within the Flipkart marketplace, especially from the tier II and III cities in India," Nagori said.
Last year, Flipkart partnered with government bodies like Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME), Director General – Employment and Training (DGET) and National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to help Indian MSMEs leverage the online marketplace platform.


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Apple on Monday provided a peek at upcoming tweaks to the software that powers more than 1 billion iPhones and rolled out two laptops that will be the first available with the next generation of a company-designed microprocessor.
As usual, Apple spent most of the opening day of its annual developers conference touting the next versions of software for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac computers instead of the sleek devices that established it as a technology trendsetter and the world’s most valuable company.
The iPhone’s next operating system, called iOS 16, will revamp the look of the device’s lock screen and make make mostly minor improvements to the current software. The software updates have become increasingly important in recent years as iPhone owners have started to hold to their existing devices for longer periods of time than they once did.
One of iOS 16’se most noticeable differences will occur on the iPhone lock screen. The new software, which will be released this fall as a free download, will allow users to anchor their favorite apps as small widgets on the lock screen.
The new software also will enable the lock screen to display live notifications, such the status of a Uber ride on its way to pick up a passenger. Other authorized notifications will come in from the bottom of the screen instead of the current distribution from the top in an effort to avoid clutter on the display.
The iPhone’s messaging system will be revamped so texts can be edited after they are sent or even rescinded in their entirety if the sender has a change of heart. Those options will only be available when both users are using Apple’s messaging app for texting.
The Apple Pay service that’s part of the iPhone’s digital wallet is adding a new financing feature likely to be popular as soaring inflation rates squeeze more household budgets. The option will allow consumers to stagger the cost of any purchase made through Apple Pay over four installments completed within a six-week period with no additional fees. Similar financing is already offered through digital services such as Affirm, whose stock price sank by more than 5% Monday after the news about Apple Pay came out.
Several of the new features for Apple’s Macs and iPads are designed to make it easier to sync with the iPhone for things like making video calls. Other tools will enable more apps to run side by side to perform multiple tasks on the same screen.
Helping people toggle from one Apple device to another is one of the main reasons that the company began making Macs that run on the same kind of chips that power the iPhone and iPad in late 2020.
Now Apple in putting the next generation of its Mac chip in it two most popular laptops, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, which the company said will be available in stores at some point next month. The MacBook Air will sell for $1,200 and the MacBook Pro will sell for $1,300.
The event was held at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Apple now sells a ‘polishing cloth’ to clean your iPhone, MacBook and iPad for $19
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As we welcome in the 2020s, experts from global digital partner and training provider Jellyfish share their predictions for what the next ten years hold for the digital marketing industry.
1. There’ll be improved integration between search and social
The rise of social media-style search initiatives like Google Discover – which serves users personalised content in a news feed – is just a sign of things to come. That’s according to Social Media Trainer Kineta Kelsall. She predicts “in the next few years, there’ll be a targeting option within social ad platforms that lets you serve ads based on what users have searched for in Google. This will take us one more step towards synergy between search and social strategies, which is where I hope we can eventually get to.”
2. We’ll see the rise of wearable tech as an ad platform
Digital Marketing Trainer Niki Grant believes that in the next decade, there will be more to fitness gadgets than just keeping their wearers active. “It’s a space we’re not using to its fullest extent yet as an industry, but I think we’re going to see real ad content opportunities in wearable tech. I can see brands like Fitbit cashing in on this in the next few years.”
3. Automation will be king
Move over, content – there’s a new digital marketing royal arriving in the next few years. As Programmatic & Google Marketing Platform Trainer Marita Fullinck explains “we’re going to see planning reach new heights of creativity, thanks to automation tools that will supercharge media buying. Ultimately, I think machine learning advancements are going to fuel our digital strategies in the future.”
Kineta agrees. “Access to more data will mean automation and machine learning will become increasingly sophisticated, allowing marketers to focus less on manual tasks like ad buying and more on creative strategy.”
4. Content accessibility will be key
All public sector native apps must comply with WCAG 2.1 accessibility requirements by June 2021. But as Content Marketing Trainer Heidi Swigon explains “the private sector is also coming under scrutiny in this area, with legal action against brands and organisations who fail to provide a fully accessible site becoming more frequent. I think this will result in a positive move towards a more inclusive web for all.”
5. Augmented reality will become mainstream
It’s not a new topic, but Kineta believes that in the next decade, every digital touchpoint will provide some kind of immersive AR-based experience and static content will be no more. “Very soon, consumers will be able to experience holiday destinations before they book and virtually try on a wardrobe’s worth of clothes in their size from the comfort of their own homes – regardless of where they shop.”
6. Cultivating social communities will move up the agenda
In a world where consumers are becoming increasingly interested in having a two-way conversation with brands – as opposed to simply being marketed at – social communities are fast becoming the holy grail.
Kineta explains, “as users seek a more authentic, trustworthy online experience, community will become a greater focus in the next few years. From stories and local deals to experiences and events, brands will need to think carefully about their organic and paid local strategies if they want to maximise the opportunities here.”
7. More brand interactions will happen off-site
“The biggest change we’re likely to see in search is that more customers will engage with brands directly in Google, rather than on their own sites.” That’s according to SEO Trainer Chris Hutty.
As he explains, “already, around 50% all searches result in no clicks away from Google, as an increasing number of user queries are answered directly by features like position zero and voice responses. I think the next step will be to enable users to complete transactions without leaving the Google interface.”
8. Voice search will come into its own
Speaking of voice responses… they’ve slowly made their way into our homes (and our lives) but how will voice search devices shape the way we market in the future? Creative & Development Trainer Dan Wright believes voice search strategies are going to move beyond just SEO. “Brands like Adobe are starting to integrate voice-controlled actions into their products, so I think there’s going to be a huge amount of work for our industry to design, develop and implement these interactions.”
Niki predicts we’ll be seeing more from voice search devices in the ad space in the future, too. As she explains, “we aren’t hearing audio ads on digital assistants at the moment, but I don’t think it will be long before brands like Amazon are running ads against voice-triggered media.”
9. How brands think and work will evolve
Marita thinks we’re going to experience some changes over the next few years in how businesses operate. As she explains, “we’re going to see real-life David and Goliath stories play out, as advances in technology allow smaller independent brands to gain the strength needed to challenge the status quo and become a threat to media and tech giants.”
She also predicts we’ll see a shift away from traditional agency/client relationships. “Agencies will no longer be considered a second party, but a partner who lives, breathes and aligns with its client’s business goals.”


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Innovators from 6 Countries Join Our Kids’ & Family Tech Expo!
The Child’s Play Communications second annual Kids’ & Family Tech Expo is just one day away, and we are thrilled to welcome amazing innovators from six countries — the UK, France, Denmark, Israel, China and the U.S.!
Palm-sized robots, interactive water bottles, sleep trackers for kids, and more, are among the products that will be presented to media at the event, taking place on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in New York City.
The only media event exclusively for tech products designed for children and parents, the 2017 Kids’ & Family Tech Expo will build upon the success of our inaugural event last year, which attracted nearly 50 media including USA Today, the Today Show, Forbes, the Associated Press, Parents magazine, CBS-TV and Family Fun.
Drones dominated last year’s event, while this year’s will feature a variety of inventive robots, including one kids can decorate, another that features AR capabilities and a third that teaches preschoolers how to code. Other standout products include:
- a connected wrist band that makes parenting easier
- a conductive dough that introduces kids to circuits
- a children’s DIY computer-building kit
- a building and coding set that brings Lego creations to life
- a kids’ wristband that encourages active play
- a 2-in-1 Android computer with built-in parental supervision
- an interactive VR experience with endangered species
Exhibitors include top creators in the kids’ and family tech space such as Lego, Primo Toys, Technology Will Save Us, Kano, Bowhead Technology, Urban Hello, KudoBanz, Dr. Panda, Little Robot Friends, Pai Technology, KinderLab Robotics, Tanoshi and Fountain Digital Labs. Based in Britain, France, Denmark, China, Israel and the U.S.,some of these leading-edge companies will be launching their latest creations at the Expo itself.
We cant wait to see all these great products up close, and to welcome our exhibitors and this year’s media guests!


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LONDON, United Kingdom — BoF compiles the most important professional moves of the week.
Francesca Bellettini elected president of Chambre Syndicale de la Mode Féminine
Saint Laurent Chief Executive Francesca Bellettini has been named president of France’s Chambre Syndicale de la Mode Féminine, succeeding Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion at Chanel and president of Chanel SAS.
Ermenegildo Zegna adds former Apple executive to board
Ermenegildo Zegna’s parent company Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia SpA has added Ron Johnson to its board of directors. Johnson, who is also a trustee of Stanford University and sits on a number of Silicon Valley boards, is the founder and chief executive of mobile retail start-up Enjoy.com and served as a retail lead for Apple from 2000 to 2012.
Cerruti 1881 chief creative officer to exit
Jason Basmajian, who joined Cerruti in 2015, is stepping down as chief creative officer of the brand. The move comes as a mutual agreement with parent company Trinity Ltd. for the designer to pursue other opportunities.
Kenzo names Felipe Oliveira Baptista creative director
Felipe Oliveira Baptista, the former creative director of Lacoste, has been tapped to serve as creative director of Kenzo as of July 1. Baptista replaces co-creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, who presented their last collection for the brand on June 23, 2019.
Phase Eight taps Michael Kors retail lead for global retail director
British label Phase Eight has appointed Gail Finnegan global retail director. Finnegan joins the company with immediate effect from Michael Kors, where she was retail director for the EMEA region.
To explore exciting fashion industry career opportunities, visit BoF Careers, the global marketplace for fashion talent.


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Panasonic Plasma TVs Now Feature No-lead Display Panels, Improved Phosphor PerformancePanasonic is an early U.S. adopter of lead-free plasma display panels 1/12/2007 3:01 AM Eastern
Panasonic Plasma TVs Now Feature No-lead Display Panels, Improved Phosphor Performance
Jan 12, 2007 8:01 AM
Panasonic confirmed that Panasonic-branded plasma TVs are the first in the U.S. market to feature lead-free plasma display panels. The display panel is the plasma TV’s glass-sealed image display device, equivalent to a cathode ray tube in a conventional television. In addition to the elimination of lead in the panel, Panasonic has made significant advances in enhancing the performance of the phosphors used to render colors on the screen.
In conventional manufacturing processes for plasma display panels, lead oxide glass is used in the dielectric layer, electrodes, glass sealant, and other structural elements. Now, as a result of advances Panasonic has made in material sciences and manufacturing processes, stable production yields can be secured without the use of lead oxide. In this way, the company has been able to eliminate all of the roughly 70 grams (0.15lbs.) of lead used in a 37in. plasma panel.
“Panasonic is committed to achieving a sustainable future through the development of environmentally conscious products,” says David Thompson, Panasonic Corporation of North America’s director of environmental affairs. “Now with this achievement, we believe that Panasonic plasma displays have outpaced our flatpanel TV competitors in an important area of environmental performance: the elimination of hazardous heavy metals—such as lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury—commonly used in backlit LCD TVs and in projection TV lamps. In fact, we estimate that worldwide the elimination of lead from our Panasonic plasma panels will mean a reduction of close to 300 metric tons of lead—the approximate weight of two 747 commercial airliners—that would otherwise have been used in their manufacture each year.”
Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), commends Panasonic for being the first in the industry to eliminate lead in its new plasma TVs and for significantly reducing the energy consumed by their new models. “NRDC is very supportive of Panasonic’s longstanding record of consistently delivering some of the most environmentally friendly products in the market,” Horowitz says. “Panasonic’s leadership in this area is noteworthy and we challenge the rest of the TV industry to implement similar improvements to their products.”
Panasonic’s advanced phosphor technology is estimated to deliver 60,000 hours of use—approximately 25 years at 6.5 hours of viewing a day—before reaching half brightness. Phosphor improvements have also led to the virtual elimination of the burn-in phenomenon in Panasonic Plasma TV. Long-life products translate into lower use of environmental resources for the simple fact that they need to be replaced far less often.


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Providing creative solutions to expanding Chinese markets
Designed to support the expanding Chinese markets, the facility will be a dedicated and welcome place of interaction where visitors and customers will have the ability to test a variety of applications and options for new revenue streams and business growth.
Xeikon continues to develop new and innovative solutions for the label and packaging markets to meet the current challenges in today’s fast moving and evolving world of consumerism. The Shanghai Center will be equipped to house the latest Xeikon equipment and technologies, and Xeikon staff will be on hand to offer expertise, guidance, and demonstrate creative solutions and applications for a significant variety of markets and sectors.
Klaus Nielsen, General Manager Xeikon Asia, states, “We are seeing unprecedented global growth in the desire for digital printing solutions for labels and packaging. We are very pleased to be able to open this important Innovation Center in Shanghai and bring our technology to this region. Xeikon’s high technology facility will play an important role in the development of our business in China and will support our Chinese customers in helping them to make considered decisions when investing in Xeikon’s digital technologies. We would like to thank our teams in Shanghai for conducting such a successful grand opening event.”


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A recent survey by Aus-UK Chamber Chartered Chamber member, OFX, has revealed UK SMEs see Brexit as an opportunity, as international trade rises.
• 67% of UK SMEs feel confident about overseas trade
• 48% of SMEs have increased international sales since the EU referendum
• Most SMEs now see the USA, rather than Western Europe, as the most attractive market for exports (62% vs. 20%)
• 70% of millennial entrepreneurs believe their business will be better off after Brexit
4th August 2017 – London
Small UK businesses are confident about international trade, and have been taking advantage of the weak pound to grow their business internationally since the EU referendum, according to new data.
International payments company, OFX, an Australia-United Kingdon Chamber of Commerce Chartered member, commissioned the survey of small U.K. businesses. OFX revealed that, while growth begins to slow at home, innovative SMEs are moving their focus to global sales, to bolster their sales.
500 SME owners and senior managers were surveyed, of these, two-thirds said they feel confident about doing business overseas (67%). Since the EU referendum, nearly half have grown international sales (48%), while 36% expect either start or grow exports in the next twelve months.
Inflation hits domestic market
As the landscape in the domestic market grows ever more volatile, SMEs have seen an increase in overseas sales. Since the EU referendum, 28% of the SMEs surveyed cited sales have decreased to UK customers, while 44% say rising inflation is the main current concern for their business. 49% have raised the price on some if not all of their goods or services in the last year – and the weak pound is the single biggest reason for doing so (62%), having made raw materials more expensive. Indeed, 44% of SMEs have stopped or reduced imports in the last twelve months.
Hardy and reactive, SMEs explore global opportunities
Overseas, the weak pound is making British goods and services more attractive to international buyers – and UK SMEs have swiftly taken advantage of these circumstances. Of those that plan to grow their global sales in the next year, 46% are doing so because of declining UK sales, while 1 in 5 want to take advantage of the weak pound and attractive prices to international buyers (21%).
80% of SMEs surveyed said their business already exports goods or sells services outside the UK, and for over half of the country’s SMEs (55%), overseas sales now represents at least 10% of their total revenue.
According to Jake Trask, FX research director at OFX,: “Following the referendum, small businesses have shown their resilience by turning a weak pound into a real opportunity. While not all SMEs supported Brexit, their size, optimism, and entrepreneurialism have allowed them to adapt swiftly to a changing market. We expect to see more of this fighting spirit as Britain prepares its exit from the EU.”
UK SMEs heading stateside
For small businesses looking to start and grow exports in the next year, the USA is by far the most attractive market. Nearly have of all SMEs surveyed are currently doing business with the USA (48%), on par with those trading with Western Europe at 47%. Notably, only 20% of these SMEs plan on increasing their European exports in the next 12 months, compared with the 62% who plan to increase their exports to the USA.
Brexit to boost SME international expansion
63% of SMEs think their business will be better off, or altogether unaffected once the UK departs the EU. SMEs who predominantly trade with the USA are even more likely to see leaving the EU as an opportunity, with almost three quarters believing their business will be better off after Brexit (72%).
Trask says: “Exporters trading with the US have seen the post-referendum weak pound as a boost for business. Sterling denominated goods have been on average 15% cheaper since the vote to leave the EU and the GBP/USD exchange rate collapse. However, with President Trump struggling to push through his promised reforms, the dollar has weakened, eroding some of the savings seen by US importers.”
Millennials embracing the opportunity of ‘Brexit’
Young people, overwhelmingly voted to Remain in last year’s referendum*, so, somewhat surprisingly, OFX report that SME decision-makers aged between 18 and 30 are most likely to embrace Brexit. 70% believe their business will be better off after Brexit (vs. only 22% of those aged 31-40 and 15% of those aged 41-50), while 80% believe “no deal is better than a bad deal” when it comes to the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU.
SMEs run by millennials are also the most global – a mere 7% of small businesses in this age bracket don’t currently do business overseas, and 67% earn between 15-30% of their revenue from global business.
Unsurprisingly, 90% of SME decision-makers in this age group feel confident about doing business overseas.
* YouGov exit poll, 27th June 2016: https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/06/27/how-britain-voted/
An OFX Insight
– END –
Notes to editors
Based on a survey of 500 owners and senior managers, at UK businesses with between 10 and 249 employees.
Summary of findings from UK SMEs:
• Two-thirds (67%) feel confident about doing business overseas
• Since the EU referendum, 48% have increased sales to overseas customers
• 36% expect to start or increase exports in the next year
o Of these, 46% are doing so because of declining UK sales; 1 in 5 want to make the most of the weak pound (21%)
o The USA is the most attractive market for doing so (62%); only 20% plan to increase exports to Western Europe
• 4 out of 5 now export goods or sell services outside the UK (80%)
• For 55%, international trade now represents at least 10% of revenue
• Currently, 48% trade with the USA; 47% trade with Western Europe
• The majority (63%) believe their business will be better off after Brexit, or left unaffected
o 72% of those that trade with the USA believe their business will be better off after Brexit
• Since the EU referendum, 28% have seen sales decrease to UK customers
• 44% say rising inflation is the biggest concern for their business
• 49% have raised the price of goods or services in the last year
o The weak pound, which has made raw materials more expensive, is the biggest reason for doing so (62%)
• 44% have stopped or reduced imports in the last year
Of SME decision-makers aged 18-30:
• 70% believe their business will be better off after Brexit (vs. 22% of those aged 31-40, 15% of those aged 41-50, 15% of those aged 51-60 and 9% of those over 61)
• 80% believe “no deal is better than a bad deal” when it comes to Brexit (vs. 36% of those aged 31-40, 32% of those aged 41-50, 40% of those aged 51-60, and 47% of those over 61)
• 67% earn between 16-30% of their revenue from global business (vs. 25% of those aged 31-40, 15% of those aged 41-50, 9% of those aged 51-60 and 11% of those over 61)
• Only 7% do not currently do business internationally
• 90% feel confident about doing business overseas
OFX is the modern way to make global payments. It is the only international payment platform to offer 24/7 trading and customer support, all while offering better-than-bank exchange rates. Its strict adherence to security and focus on unmatched customer service make it the most convenient, secure and transparent way to send money overseas.
OFX deals in 55 currencies from offices in London, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, Hong Kong and Auckland, and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). For more information, visit http://www.ofx.com/en-gb/


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All this hearsay about price increases seems pretty peculiar in the midst of global pandy. A year into social distancing and millions of Americans are still out of work, many businesses are wearing thin and demand for goods and services has yet to return to pre-crisis levels. Make no mistake, generating inflationary pressures in a slap-dash economy is no layup. The damage the pandy has brought on pushed the 2020 rate of inflation to almost zero, and even now, it’s rising at a feeble 1.4% annual pace.
The recent CPI report due to be released on Wednesday is likely to show another jump in January, perhaps nudging the yearly rate of inflation up to still-low 1.5%. Which begs the looming existential question; what happens once the economy recovers and demand returns to normal? The Fed has already injected trillions of dollars of federal aid into the economy and Joey B (President Biden) is primed to pump in nearly $2 trillion more.
Former Treasury Secretary and economic adviser to President Barack Obama, Lawrence Summers, sounded an alarm in a widely read article in the Washington Post. The Biden stimulus, he said, could eventually “set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation, with consequences for the value of the dollar and financial stability.” Uh, ya think? Economists on the Street think it’s a growing possibility, as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, has more than doubled since the fall to 1.17%.
How likely is all this? Most on Wall Street and in Washington have their doubts. Inflation is all but certain to rise, the thinking goes, and return to pre-pandy levels of 2% to 2.5% in the near future. And some parts of the economy that recover more rapidly could experience even higher prices owing to temporary shortages of materials or skilled labor.
Yet inflation more broadly is unlikely to spiral out of control. “As the recovery gains momentum, it will be important to distinguish such short-lived, sector-specific phenomena from more widespread and lasting” inflation, said Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans.
Senior White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein retorted quickly, saying Summers was “flat-out wrong,” pointing to the low rate of inflation over the past decade. Prices have risen less than 2% a year on average since the end of the Great Recession in 2009. The Federal Reserve isn’t much worried, either. Chairman Jerome Powell has made it quite clear he’s willing to let inflation climb to 2.5% or even higher until the economy has made a full recovery.


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This year’s edition of the annual Forbes World’s Billionaires List has been released.
Most of the usual suspects are at on the list once again, with big names like Rihanna, Jay-Z, and Kim Kardashian earning their rank among the world’s billionaires. But, one name that used to be in the mix–Kayne West–has dropped off following the end of his partnership with Adidas.
In the Forbes list published on Tuesday, April 4, Rihanna placed at number 2020 with $1.4 billion, down from $1.7 billion last year.
The multi-hyphenate has amassed a huge net worth after venturing into lingerie and beauty with her brand Fenty. She also helped her French business partner Bernard Arnault, the chairman of French luxury goods giant LVMH, overthrow Elon Musk to become the richest person in the world after his net worth grew more than $50 billion to $211 billion.
Kim Kardashian is right below Rih at 2,259th on the list, and her wealth is down from $1.9billion last year to $1.2 billion. As fans of the reality star likely already expected, most of that wealth comes from the success of her Skims shapewear clothing line, with the company worth an estimated $3.2 billion.
Unfortunately for Kim’s ex-husband, Kanye didn’t make the list this year after Adidas cut ties with him over his anti-Semitic comments he made on social media. Back in 2022, the rapper was ranked number 1,513 on Forbes’ rich list and had a multi-year deal with the sports company for his brand Yeezy. Now, his wealth has plummeted below $1 billion.
While 25-year-old Kylie Jenner was previously declared the “youngest self-made millionaire” by Forbes back in 2020, she’s not included in this year’s ranking, either. She dropped off the list in 2021 and hasn’t yet managed to make it back on.
Unlike a lot of other celebs going down in wealth, Jay-Z’s wealth has gone up to $2.5 billion from $1.4 billion, placing the rapper at 1217 on the list. Oprah is also at 1217, with her wealth going down from $2.6 billion last year to $2.5 billion this year, tying with Hov.
You can check out the entire World’s Billionaires List here.
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Forget the wrist, wearables are moving even closer to the consumer.
MC10 Inc. and PCH have teamed up to commercialize what are essentially smart temporary tattoos. The skin-worn, ultrathin, stretchable, customizable and disposable stamp is officially called a Wearable Interactive Stamp Platform, or WiSP. It is designed to enable a dizzying array of applications — from cashless payments to checking in to an event or a hotel room.
Some day soon a shopping trip might not require a wallet, or even a smartphone or smartwatch. Or all those fashion week invitations could be replaced by a WiSP stamp that would confirm one’s identity to the bruisers at the door and serve up the necessary credentials.
PCH and MC10 were behind L’Oréal’s recent UV Patch for La Roche-Posay that measures an individual’s sun exposure. That effort could prove to be just the beginning.
MC10 is a Boston-based health-care technology company that specializes in body-worn electronics, and PCH is a San Francisco-based product design and manufacturing company. After L’Oréal and MC10 successfully worked together to develop the L’Oréal My UV Patch, which was based on the WiSP tech developed by MC10, PCH was able to manufacture the patch at scale. They also saw an opportunity to expand into a range of applications and industries. PCH now has the rights to market and produce the stamp for third-party brands.
They’re disposable and comparably economical to produce. Any company with the software for a customer to check-in using a smartphone has the tech tools necessary to start developing a smart stamp. The stamp pairs with a smartphone, tablet or a near field communication reader to interact with the wearer.
The stamps have a very small, thin profile, and can be designed with the same diversity in color or design available to “analog” temporary tattoos. The stamps do not track a wearer’s location unless the wearer connects to a NFC device.
Liam Casey, PCH founder and chief executive officer, said the ability to customize the stamp “allows brands to create personalized and engaging experiences that reinforce customer loyalty.”
Although the size can vary, the larger the stamp, the more effective the internal coils that power it. The shape doesn’t matter much. The L’Oréal-designed patch, for example, was a blue heart that was roughly the size of a quarter. (L’Oréal still retains exclusivity for any applications of this product in the beauty world.)
Festivalgoers — and fashion week patrons — will be happy to note that the stamps are waterproof and designed to last for about five days, but bouncers will also be relieved to know that they cannot be removed and reworn. The stamp is specifically designed to tear and become unreadable upon removal. (Sorry, gate crashers.)
The L’Oréal pilot helped the company refine the manufacturing process and new iterations of the technology can be expected in the near future.
“After refining the smart stamp technology and production process, we can now go to market with new versions of the product quickly, at large consumer scale,” Casey said.
Although the technology exists, it remains to be seen how quickly consumers and brands might latch on. The burden, said Jeff Berry, research director of loyalty marketing research firm Colloquy, is on the wearable tech and retail industries to create a strong case for new types of wearables.
“It’s important that manufacturers and retailers understand we’re still relatively early in the wearables evolutionary process,” he said, citing recent survey research from Colloquy that showed that 52 percent of U.S. consumers feel they don’t know enough about wearables or don’t understand them.
And for something that looks like a tattoo or a sticker, age appropriateness is also a consideration. The study found that 58 percent of consumers said they’d like to use a wearable device, but felt too old. “As consumer awareness of wearables grows, we’re likely to see more exciting and relevant applications that leverage the diverse capabilities of wearable technology,” Berry said. “Some will catch on, while others will be bought and then sit in a drawer.”


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Yet another company is under attack by a hedge fund looking to shake things up. This time, consumer products company Helen of Troy (HELE 2.77%)is being targeted by Sachem Head Capital Management for, among other things, not having enough debt on its balance sheets to pay a dividend, so the financier is looking for the company to consider selling off some of its assets or selling itself.
Helen of Troy is the owner of the OXO brand of housewares as well as a broad portfolio of personal care products that it licenses from Procter & Gamble, Revlon, Unilever, and others. It lost its CEO last month when he abruptly resigned to join a commercial real estate firm (his replacement will assume the role effective March 1). Normally, such surprise exits create turmoil since markets tend to like smooth transitions, but Helen of Troy's stock actually jumped 9% the day after it was announced, and was part of the impetus for Sachem Head to advocate for more change.
But this might not be the time to command a premium price. Personal care products makers Coty went public last year and trades some 25% below its June IPO price of $17.50 per share, while Revlon is down more than 20% from its 52-week high. Estee Lauder has similarly lost 15% of its value and even the well-diversified Procter & Gamble has pulled back 10% from recent highs.
Yet there is some sense to the case Sachem Head is making. It rightly complained about the compensation package bestowed on Helen of Troy's former CEO, which would have caused an understatement of operating earnings by $40 million had he not resigned, and it believes the dearth of debt is causing the business to not be optimized to its fullest potential, leading to a 40% understatement of its true earnings power. It also puts it at a disadvantage to rivals and leaves it incapable of returning excess capital to shareholders. The hedge fund owns approximately 3.7% of Helen of Troy's stock.
Furthermore, by selling some of its business lines -- or the company itself -- it could significantly benefit shareholders, the current climate notwithstanding, and Sachem says it knows of at least one company that management rebuffed when approached about a takeover. It believes others are interested as well.
As they should be. Although there's been criticism of both its corporate governance practices and use of capital, Helen of Troy just reported earnings last month that handily beat analyst expectations on the bottom line and edged them out on top too. Where its reported third-quarter net income of $37.5 million, or $1.16 per share, was lower than the $37.7 million, or $1.18 per share, it notched in the year-ago period, it came in well above analyst forecasts of $1.09 per share. Revenues also beat expectations, coming in at $380.7 million versus estimates of $378.3 million.
The OXO housewares brand fared best, with sales rising more than 10%, while personal care items tumbled almost 6% year over year and could be among the areas Sachem Head seeks to jettison. Despite the hedge fund's complaints, Helen of Troy's stock is up 55% over the past year, a fivefold beat over the 11% gain by the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Management gave the typically bland response that it's always willing to engage its shareholders, but also says its results show it has a firm hand on the tiller. With the hedge fund breathing down its neck, however, that could mean there's still time yet to climb aboard this ship before it sets sail.


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Samsung and LG are fighting very closely to win the AMOLED manufacturing deals and this time, it seems like Samsung just won yet another one with Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi.
Xiaomi has set up an order or 1 million 6″ AMOLED displays that is said to be delivered by December. The number will increase to 2.2 million in January next year.
Xiaomi has apparently tried to get a deal with LG on 5.5″ flexible OLED displays, but the deal didn’t go through as LG fell behind and could only start production 3 months later than it was expected.
It’s worth mentioning that Xiaomi has already used such panels in their Mi Note 2 devices that was only 1080p at the time – this is said to increase up to QHD on future displays. The new Note devices from Xiaomi are expected to be equipped with them in the first round.


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Ian Rogers, one of the top executives behind Beats 1, Apple's online radio platform, has resigned before the streaming service's three month free trial expires.
Rogers, the former chief executive of Beats before the Apple takeover, was one of the minds behind the launch of Beats 1, along with former BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, in June. He reportedly quit without warning according to the Financial Times.
This is despite a seemingly proud Rogers writing on the launch day of Beats 1: “Seeing Apple Music on stage at WWDC this month…it was hard not to feel like the last 20+ years was leading to this day."
The executive quits just before the company looks to convert its substantial free user base to paying customers. It claims that 11m people signed up for the trial in its four first weeks.
Apple has a task ahead growing its audience to challenge Spotify's 80m users - especially without input from Rogers who was vital to the whole project.
Apple has refused to comment on the move.


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o9 Solutions announces availability on Google Cloud Marketplace
Dallas, 9 September 2021 – o9 Solutions announced today availability on Google Cloud Marketplace
This allows o9 to increase brand awareness and product visibility across Google Cloud Marketplace and through events and webinars including “Fulfilment planning in an omnichannel world” by aim10x. o9 has also achieved Premier status in the Google Cloud Partner Advantage Program.
o9 is the first and currently the only integrated business planning software platform included in Google Cloud’s Marketplace. Solutions on Google Cloud Marketplace are vetted
by Google Cloud and backed by Google Cloud’s security standards. Google Cloud Marketplace transactions are seamless, as all Google Cloud Marketplace spend is added to the client’s existing invoice to create a streamlined billing process. Clients can use their Google Cloud credits for transactions on Google Cloud Marketplace, which reduces the overall cost of ownership.
Additionally, achieving Premier status marks a new chapter in the strategic partnership between o9 and Google Cloud. Since August 2020, this partnership has given o9 an opportunity to extend the reach of their platform to companies looking to transform their capabilities around Integrated Business Planning, Revenue Management, Demand Sensing and Forecasting, Control Tower and Supply Chain Planning. The partnership continues to target enterprise-level retail, consumer product manufacturers and industrial manufacturing who are looking for an end-to-end supply chain management solution.
Many clients in various industries such as retail, fashion and apparel and industrial manufacturing have chosen to run the o9 Next-Generation AI-Powered Integrated Business Platform on Google Cloud.
“With industry trends and consumer needs evolving rapidly, today’s organizations require solutions that equip them with real-time data insights,” said Amy Bray, Global Head, Google Cloud Marketplace. “We’re pleased to have o9’s solutions available on the Google Cloud Marketplace to help our customers succeed throughout their digital transformation.”
Igor Rikalo, President & COO at o9 Solutions said: “We are extremely excited for this next step in our partnership with Google Cloud, which has been extremely successful in terms of our ability to execute for our clients. We look forward to the next milestone with Google Cloud.”
About the author
o9 SolutionsThe Digital Brain Platform
o9 offers a leading AI-powered Planning, Analytics & Data platform called the Digital Brain that helps companies across industry verticals transform traditionally slow and siloed planning into smart, integrated and intelligent planning and decision making across the core supply chain, commercial and P&L functions. With o9’s Digital Brain platform, companies are able to achieve game-changing improvements in quality of data, ability to detect demand and supply risks and opportunities earlier, forecast demand more accurately, evaluate what-if scenarios in real time, match demand and supply intelligently and drive alignment and collaboration across customers, internal stakeholders and suppliers around the integrated supply chain and commercial plans and decisions. Supported by a global ecosystem of partners, o9’s innovative delivery methodology helps companies achieve quick impact in customer service, inventory levels, resource utilization, as well as ESG and financial KPIs—while enabling a long-term, sustainable transformation of their end-to-end planning and decision-making capabilities.