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Brilliant planning, flawless execution, extraordinary networking opportunities, unique mix of manufacturers and products, all-encompassing knowledge platforms!
These were some of the terms used by Neeraj Nagpal (Chief Business Officer- Shoppers Stop); Anindya Ray (Chief Sourcing Officer of Arvind Fashions Ltd.); Rakhi Vashisht (Director Raw Material Sourcing of Target); Suman Chowdhury (COO and Co-founder, Clovia Lingerie) and Aanshul Grover (Sourcing Head, Bestseller- Jack & Jones), to describe the second edition of the much-awaited Apparel Sourcing Week (ASW) 2022, which concluded on a successful note in Bengaluru on 2nd July 2022.
That the two-day sourcing event, held at the iconic Sheraton Grand Whitefield, would be a hit was pretty much evident early on as feelers came in thick and fast.
The sheer number of registrations and feedback of the stakeholders concerned including the exhibitors (who received tremendous business leads and enquiries at the inaugural edition of ASW, most of which translated into business later), keenly looking forward to the second edition to forge long-standing and fruitful relations with new buyers, brands and retailers, if at all, were telltale signs of what was to be expected in the two days of ASW.
Curated on the building blocks of Opportunity, Knowledge, Inspiration and Networking, little did one foresee that ASW 2022 would assume a different hue altogether to give the industry a new direction keeping with the changing dynamics.
Regional collaboration – name of the game!
Sourcing these days is not about any specific country; it’s more about a region, and what it can offer to the buyers as a whole!
Thanks to decades-long strong presence in the manufacturing hubs of Asia, especially in India and Bangladesh through its much-read print vertical of Apparel Online magazines, the organiser of ASW, Apparel Resources (AR) has been a strong propagator of putting up a regional front to reign in the opportunities on offer, which was aptly manifested in this two-day event.
The stakeholders too, holding the same views, only strengthened ASW’s resolve to take the issue of regional cooperation and identity to the next level.
“Enhanced bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and India can go a long way in strengthening the position of both the countries in the value chain while also help establish South Asia as the hub for apparel and textile innovations,” aptly put Muhammad Imran, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner, throwing open the event, oozing confidence that ASW has the wherewithal to create the right kind of regional synergies to benefit the stakeholders concerned from both the nations.
The High Commissioner’s views were strongly seconded by Mohd. Kamaluddin, the Chairman of BGMEA Standing Committee on Trade Fair, who said Bangladesh and India can work together to garner a major share in the US $ 700 billion global MMF-based apparel market.
“Also, BGMEA is working with factories to increase collaborations with designers, investors and textile companies located outside Bangladesh,” further added Kamaluddin referring towards possible avenues of Indian involvement from Bangladesh’s perspective.
That India boasts of a vibrant fashion retail sector, which is set to touch US $ 88.48 billion, making it the third largest after USA and China, added a new dimension to the issue of regional collaboration.
“We strongly feel connecting with Bangladeshi suppliers is going to help us in a lot of areas as the manufacturing community in Bangladesh is comparatively advanced and we see a natural link happening with our manufacturing partners in Bangladesh,” opined Mohit Mathur, Chief Sourcing Officer at Ace Turtle, which is set to increase sourcing from Bangladesh even as it announced to establish 100 more omnichannel-enabled Lee & Wrangler stores by March 2023.
Similar were the views shared by Vasanth Kumar, Head of Sourcing and Merchandising, DaMensch Apparel, which is one of the fastest-growing start-ups in Indian fashion retail.
“Currently, we are sourcing raw material from China and Taiwan, but not the final products. As we are enhancing the product basket and adding outerwear, considering all aspects including competitive price-points, sourcing from Bangladesh is very much on the cards,” stated Vasanth.
‘Buyers and exhibitors of all hues’ were a major highlight of ASW
Carefully handpicked by Team AR based on the parameters of delivery, commitment, proficiency and compliance, ASW 2022 had a rich mix of suppliers from across Asia, especially from Bangladesh and India, which meant the exceptional turnout of the buyers who visited ASW 2022 including from overseas destinations like Dubai, Australia, Hong Kong, etc., for their diverse requirements, found the right match at the two-day event.
“It was nice to come across so many different kinds of manufacturers,” underlined Dhanasekeran. R, Assistant Buying Manager of Dubai-based Lifestyle International Pvt Ltd., Landmark Group, who felt some of the Bangladeshi suppliers could afford to be little more price-competitive nevertheless.
However, the buyers from India in particular took the attention off their overseas counterparts, thanks to the diverse programmes that they had turned up with for the prospective suppliers.
As expected, orders’ queries in equally varied range were also in the mix of things.
If queries for MOQs of over 5,000 pieces delighted big names like Pacific Jeans, Indian Designs, Mahmud Group, Laguna Clothing and Adarsh Knitwear, entities like Pop Station benefited the most from visitation of emerging start-ups which wanted to source smaller quantities in the initial run.
“As we have created a flexible business model, we can accommodate almost every order size from any type of buyers,” opined Niket Lulla, CEO, Pop Station (India) adding the queries for buyers were taken care of with utmost sincerity.
Said Syed Tanvir, MD, of Chittagong-based premium denim jeans manufacturer, Pacific Jeans, “One of the leading Indian brands had discussed to start sourcing from us for the upcoming season,” while Faheem Ahamed, MD, Welstand Apparel from Dhaka was more than elated to bag decent orders from the Indian buyers during the two days of ASW.
KAS Group, which is sourcing apparels in substantial quantities from both Bangladesh and India and has lately started sourcing kid’s textile toys and pet clothing too, had a piece of advice for the vendors in both the countries.
“The demand of such products is massive in the global retail market; they (vendors) need to actively look at these products categories,” advised Arjun Puri, Director of KAS Group Asia.
Knowledge sharing and networking opportunities – icing on the cake
It’s not just hardcore business, like the inaugural edition, ASW 2022 had an equally power-packed line up of industry-focused seminars, ideative sessions, bridging talks, open houses and endless networking opportunities including the invite-only networking night, which witnessed the who’s who of the industry letting their hair down over a drink or two and share some light-hearted moments at the comedy show presented by famous stand-up artiste Atul Khatri!
The 15-plus knowledge sessions conducted and participated by more than 65 well-heeled industry experts in their respective domains to deliberate on issues pertaining to the future of fashion, upcycling and sustainability, D2C opportunities in fashion, mitigating the risks in sourcing, etc., were not just informative but also shed new light on the various emerging aspects pertaining to the issues concerned.
“In today’s context, when everything is changing very fast in light of the pandemic and the existing market dynamics, the forum of ASW is a great place to facilitate meaningful dialogue,” observed Neetu Jotwani, SVP, House of brands, Myntra, who has been a part of couple of very exciting panel discussions, which was echoed equally strongly by Suparna Malhotra, Vice President of the Newtimes Group of Companies.
AR SHERO Awards – an ode to women empowerment
Amidst all the hectic business discussions and closing of business deals, the second edition of ASW took time out to acknowledge, salute and celebrate the unparalleled success of the women leaders of the industry through the AR SHERO Awards.
Amongst the winners in different categories were Sonia Sethi, Head of Sourcing & Supply Chain Management, Lucy & Yak Ltd.; Ambereen Javid, Creative Head, Indian Designs Exports; Neetu Jotwani, SVP – House of Brands Myntra; Suparna Malhotra, Vice President, Newtimes Group of Companies; Rakhi Vashisht, Director-Raw Material Assurance-Target; Suchita Oswal, Vice Chairperson & Joint Managing Director-Vardhman Textiles; and Jyoti Saikia, CEO,Triburg Consultants Partner, Co-CEO, TriburgImtiara.
To put it in a sentence, ASW ’22 ticked all the boxes that one could perceive off, making it one-of-its-kind platform that not only facilitates business, but also addresses all conceivable issues pertaining to manufacturing, fashion and retail.
“ASW is creating newer opportunities for the world’s biggest brands to do business and meet new partners, ensuring the sharpest innovators hit the stage,” stated Mayank Mohindra, the proud CEO of ASW, promising to be back soon with more such endeavours to help the industry scale new heights.
ASW in a nutshell
- Over 5,000 visitors from the apparel and fashion industry visited the show, spread over 60,000 sq. ft. area, on 1st and 2nd July.
- Over 100 apparel and textile exhibitors from Asia got business opportunities and became engaged in meaningful interactions with buyers.
- 65+ speakers from fashion industry graced the panel discussions, bridging talks and ideative sessions which were attended by hundreds of industry people.
- AR SHERO Awards were given to eminent women professionals of the fashion industry to recognise their hard work and efforts.
- 80 students from different fashion institutes got opportunities to know the industry inside-out as they wholeheartedly volunteered in the event’s activities.
- Pre-Registered buyers’ turnout proved to be as high as 97 per cent – a NEW BENCHMARK for B2B events. Of total registration done for ASW second edition, the number of pre-registered visitors was 70 per cent, while the remaining 30 per cent was contributed by visitors who registered themselves on-site.
Major brands/retailers which visited ASW 2022
Aditya Birla Group; Apparel Group (Dubai); Landmark Group; Reliance Brands (including AJIO); Arvind Brands; Target; Kmart; Bestseller; Next; Inditex Sourcing; H&M; Future Lifestyle; Decathlon; M&S; UCB; Zivame; Killer Jeans; Nykaa; Octave; House of Zelena; Snapdeal; Myntra; Moglix; Gannet Fisher; Mothercare; Being Human; and Amazon
Major queries that kept exhibitors busy for two days
- The queries for hemp-made garments were dominant in the event as confirmed by some exhibitors such as Crony Group (Abanti Colour Tex). Majority of emerging and promising start-ups as well as established brands that have sustainability as their key focus demanded for it and this benefited the apparel exhibitors who already had hemp-made garments in their portfolio and the companies like Vardhman that have huge production of hemp fabrics.
- One of the most observed categories of buyers was those of start-up companies that had substantial plans to grow. Buyers from some promising start-ups showed great presence on both days and many searched for various products especially denims, as reported by Mahmud Group of Bangladesh. “Most of them were searching for denims made out of Tencel fibres. Also, the fake knit that is dobby knit was the one about which the enquiries were quite significant. The company was able to build connections in India and initiate business with a lot of retailers and start-ups companie during two days,” claimed Kunal Joshi, Design Head, Mahmud Group.
- Start-ups in particular looked for BCI-approved cotton T-shirts, fine gauge sweaters. A start-up from Kerala – Ellazea – even inquired about padded jackets, sheer tops for women, and T-shirts in high GSM. “All these products are our specialty and we’re delighted to know buyers paid attention to our high-end products,” commented Ashish Sharma, Founder, Threadmill Clothing (Bangladesh).
- Many visitors seemed to show an interest in the intricately embroidered shawls and short kurtis as well as the seamless sweaters made by the companies such as Knit Studio while Grassroots by Anita Dongre scouted for manufacturers that can produce flat knitted dresses for their A/W 2023 line. They said that their focus is also on sustainability and using yarns made from natural fibres. The buyers also wanted to know where the raw materials were sourced from in the products that were made out of wool. A majority of the visitors were unfamiliar and unaware about the possibilities of complete garment production using computerised flat knitting, so the factories that had such machines were having upper hand in buyer acquisition. A brand was even curious to know how the cables on the sweaters are made, and how chunky knits are produced on the machine, so discussions of such kind kept exhibitors on their toes as they got to know the potential brands and retailers in the subcontinent.


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Concorso Ferrari & Friends was created by a group of owners who wanted to use their exotic automobiles to put smiles on the faces of patients at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Now in its 18th year, Concorso Ferrari & Friends has become the signature automobile event in Southern New England. It celebrates all makes and models of Italian automobiles—from vintage Alfa Romeos, Fiats and Lamborghinis to the supercars of Ferrari, Pagani and Maserati—while raising awareness and critical funding to support Connecticut Children’s. The event attracts 10,000 Connecticut Children’s supporters and car enthusiasts each year.
Horacio Pagani is the Argentine founder of Pagani Automobili S.p.A., an Italian specialty auto-maker that produces some of the fastest, most exotic, most expensive and most desirable supercars in the world. Mr. Pagani will be joining us from Modena, Italy, to support the 18th Annual Concorso Ferrari & Friends, which will be held on Sunday, June 24, 2018 in West Hartford Center.
We are excited to announce that Mr. Horacio Pagani, the Argentine founder of Pagani Automobili, will be joining us from Modena, Italy, as Car 0. Mr. Pagani, is an Italian specialty auto-maker that produces some of the fastest, most exotic, most expensive and most desirable supercars in the world. The “Pagani Patient Parade,” will be an exhilarating car ride for 40 Connecticut Children’s patients who are paired with drivers and driven into the heart of downtown West Hartford, where they are greeted by the cheers of thousands of spectators and receive a red-carpet welcome.

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Domestic furniture factory MS&Wood increased its operating income to 25.5 million BAM last year. The income of the company has been increased from 20.2 million BAM in 2015, which amounts to 5 million increase, is stated in the company’s financial report.
Out of this, 15.3 million BAM was realized on the foreign market, which is about 2 million BAM more than a year earlier.
The company achieved net profit of 806,000 BAM, which is a significant increase from 184,000 BAM in 2015.
The furniture factory MS&Wood employs more than 200 workers, and furniture manufactured in Fojnica is exported to 42 countries, all over the world, and is sold from Japan, across the EU, to the United States.
One of the most important MS&Wood’s industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the largest manufacturer and chain of furniture stores in the world, the Swedish IKEA.


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“… With the Senate taking up COOL, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has proposed a voluntary labeling system instead of the outright repeal proposed in H.R. 2393. Her proposal unfortunately continues to pose the risk of retaliatory tariffs being implemented by Canada and Mexico, the potential costs of which could be as much as $3.2 billion. Senator Stabenow proposes a COOL regime with a voluntary system in which companies can opt in or out, but the U.S. statutes for COOL which define “made in America” would remain in place. While this proposal seems like an appealing solution, it carries risk for U.S. businesses for a number of reasons.
“As a result of the WTO ruling, Mexico and Canada are permitted to impose retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. as soon as mid-August. If the U.S. enacts the Stabenow proposal and Mexico and Canada deem it noncompliant with WTO rules, they could impose retaliation. If the U.S. appealed their actions, it would take as long as two years for the appeal to wind its way through the WTO Dispute Settlement Body with U.S. companies having to cope with the retaliation throughout the period.
“Supporters of COOL have been quick to point out that both Canada and Mexico use a voluntary system of country of origin labeling. They argue if the U.S. were to implement a system similar to theirs, it could avoid retaliatory tariffs. The risk in this assumption lies in the details of the U.S. COOL statute, including transportation clauses, which differ from both the Canadian and Mexican statutes. …
“…Ultimately, the goals of the U.S. should be to comply with WTO rules and obligations and avoid any sanctions that could hurt U.S. businesses. Repealing COOL before the August deadline is the best way to achieve those objectives. Subsequently creating a voluntary program with Mexican and Canadian input would allow businesses to simultaneously differentiate their products on the global market, avoid potential losses from retaliatory tariffs and maintain a labeling regime that can give consumers information on the products they are buying. The Stabenow proposal points us in that direction, but does not fully do the job.”
Read the full blog post here.
About the NFTC
Serving America’s Global Businesses Since 1914 – The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.


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BANGKOK’S world-famous culinary experience looks set to change dramatically today as Thailand’s ruling junta placed a complete ban on street food stalls along all of the capital’s main roads as part of their crackdown of street side dining.
According to AFP (via Channel News Asia), the clean-up campaign has prompted outcry and anguish in the food-obsessed capital, which is famed for its eclectic and bustling street food scene.
Offering a mind-boggling range of cuisines, from a steaming bowl of noodles to deep fried insects, the chaotic clamour of the closely packed stalls is seen locally as a social leveller. People from every aspect of society, from high-flying business people to street cleaners, can be found in the capital enjoying dinner with friends and often befriending the strangers around them.
But city officials have been attempting to hem in food hawkers for months, claiming the crackdown is due to “hygiene reasons.”
“All types of stalls including clothes, counterfeit goods and food stalls will be banned from main city roads,” Wanlop Suwandee, chief advisor to Bangkok’s governor, told AFP.
“They will not be allowed for order and hygiene reasons,” he added.
The stalls are also a major draw for tourists, who serve as a driving force behind Thailand’s economy.
“If they go against the vendors, that will that affect business and it will affect the charm of Khaosan,” said Sanga Ruangwattanaku, the president of a business association on Khaosan Road – a famous backpacker hotspot in Bangkok’s old town.
Despite the protests, officials went through with the ban today, claiming the vendors cause disruption by littering the streets, clogging footpaths and leaving little room for pedestrians. But many of the locals and visitors alike believe this to be part of the capital’s hectic charm.
The ruling junta remains undeterred, however, and is pushing forward with a number of unpopular regulations as part of a sweeping morality and orderliness campaign.
According to AFP, critics say an attempt is underway to remodel Bangkok into a Singapore-lite and cleaning up the streets is part of this effort.


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COVID-19 putting US beef supply chains to the test
16 April 2020
COVID-19 has created a dichotomy for the US meat industry. Never before has so much meat been purchased through retail channels in such a short period of time, nor modern supply chains put to the test in order to meet that demand.
The US is both a major buyer and competitor of Australian beef. So, how is the disruption from COVID-19 throughout the US supply chain impacting Australian exports?
The run on retail
The last month has been a roller-coaster for the US wholesale beef market. On Friday 13 March, the US choice cut-out value (a price indicator of the aggregate value of carcase primals) was 208US¢/lb and the country had just 2,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19. By 20 March, COVID-19 cases had climbed to 19,400 and the cut-out had notched its largest ever weekly rally, to finish at 254US¢/lb.
Panic buying – as fear of impending regional shutdowns, movement restrictions and food shortages set in – and retailers scrambling to keep shelves stocked triggered the incredible run on wholesale beef prices. Beef primals that go into mince, such as rounds and chucks, recorded particularly strong gains. Loins cuts, typically destined for foodservice channels, picked up little support during the rush.
As freezers have filled and retail shelves have been restocked, the panic buying has subsided and almost as quickly as the wholesale market went up, it has come back. At the close of Tuesday 14 April, the US beef cut-out value was back to 227US¢/lb. Moreover, foodservice cuts have come under even greater pressure, with wholesale ribset, loin and brisket prices back 29%, 23% and 28% year-on-year, respectively. Meanwhile, chucks and rounds, geared to retail channels, are up an impressive 26% and 49% year-on-year, respectively.
While support for secondary cuts is great for US packers, they still need to balance the entire carcase and make money off those traditionally higher-value foodservice items. The US summer, and the potential for increased home-grilling demand, can’t come soon enough.
Australian beef exports
For Australian beef exporters, the rush on product last month came and went too quickly to support trade volumes – Australian beef shipments to the US were back 30% year-on-year in March.
While Australia does send a lot of manufacturing beef to the US, this product typically goes into frozen burger patties for the vast array of fast food chains across the country. Most retail mince is fresh domestic beef. While some fast food chains have successfully adapted to take-away and home delivery models, a recent Datassential survey indicated quick service retail sales were back 42% in late-March since the start of the outbreak. Last week McDonald’s announced that US sales declined 13.4% in March.
Processors facing slowdowns, closures
US packers ramped up weekly kills in response to the retail demand spike in late March. However, those increases have quickly reversed as plants have slowed chains to implement employee distancing measures and increase sanitation interventions. For instance, the Cargill beef plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado has had positive cases of COVID-19 amongst staff and announced ramped up precautionary measures this week.
Moreover, some plants have been forced to close doors in response to outbreaks amongst staff members. Notably, a JBS beef plant in Greeley, Colorado and a Smithfield pork plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota have both announced temporary closures this week. Other slaughter and further processing plants have also reported reduced capacity or temporary shutdowns.
As the number of COVID-19 cases in the US increases, additional plants may be forced to take greater precautions, slowing processing chains further, or temporarily close. Managing workforces will become increasingly challenging. However, comparing the density of COVID-19 cases and the distribution of US cattle slaughter highlights, generally, key cattle processing states have so far been less affected by the virus.
Reflecting disruption at the JBS Greeley and Cargill Fort Morgan plants, Colorado is one of the few major cattle processing states (accounting for 8% of national slaughter in 2019) with a relatively high incidence of COVID-19. The big cattle states of Nebraska, Kansas and Texas, which accounted for almost two-thirds of national slaughter last year, all had fewer than 500 cases per million people as of Tuesday. For context, Queensland and Victoria had just over 200 cases per million on Tuesday, while NSW had 376.
That said, even if a small portion of processing capacity is taken out of the system, this can still place significant pressure on pricing, as seen by the Tyson plant fire in Garden City, Kansas last August. That plant was estimated to account for 6% of national fed cattle slaughter and, compounded by the alignment with Labor Day long weekend demand, triggered a 12% spike in the cut-out value over the eleven days post-fire. Prices subsequently calmed as processing capacity shifted to other plants and supply chains adjusted.
Steiner Consulting estimate fed cattle slaughter in the US last week was back 23% on where it peaked two weeks prior and was 18% below year-ago levels. Such a drastic supply squeeze could again pressure wholesale meat prices and, if plants can’t build up capacity, markets may remain elevated. However, even an ongoing slowdown in US cattle slaughter will pose limited opportunity for Australian beef to fill a gap. Australia exports predominantly grassfed manufacturing beef and chilled grassfed primals which target specific channels in the US – not the cornfed beef the majority of US retail is geared to.
Moreover, a sustained substantial slowdown in US processing seems unlikely given there are still very large numbers of market-ready cattle coming through the system. Cattle won’t stop growing regardless of how disruptive COVID-19 is and they will still need to be processed. US fed cattle prices declined 5% last week and are 16% below year-ago levels. If that trend continues, US packers will have greater incentive to find workarounds to managing labour forces.
Concern for ports
The US meat industry is domestically oriented, with most product transported internally via a substantial rail and road network. However, for product that is imported or exported, seaports present a major bottleneck in the supply chain.
Significant disruption was witnessed in Chinese ports, particularly Shanghai and Tianjin, during the COVID-19 outbreak through February, when port clearances ground to a halt due to mass labour shortages. The backlog of reefer containers in China have only returned to global circulation in recent weeks.
Like China, the US is at risk of virus outbreaks amongst employees in ports and supporting logistics networks curbing the movement of product. In addition, the slowdown in US consumer spending, especially on non-essential items, has seen many retailers and distributers delay the receival of imported products, compounding the build-up of containerised freight sitting in US ports. As consumer demand pull-through remains weak and containers accumulate, the downside risk from a COVID-19 outbreak amongst port employees will increase.
A slowdown in US ports and their ability to process reefer containers could be positive or negative for parts of the Australian beef industry, depending on the port impacted. However, it will likely be a net-negative and, at a minimum, reduce the availability of reefer containers in circulation and push up freight rates.
Philadelphia accounted for almost 60% of all inbound Australian beef into the US last year, with much of the remainder entering via California, particularly Los Angeles and Oakland. While California is a closer trans-Pacific route from Australia, much enters the US North East due to proximity to cold stores, grinders and a large consumer base. Philadelphia also processed 59% of all inbound Australian sheepmeat last year.
Given Philadelphia sits within Pennsylvania, which has the fifth greatest number of COVID-19 cases and borders other states with high incidences of the virus, there is risk of the port being impacted by labour shortages or downstream logistics disruption.
Due to proximity to North Asian markets, most US beef exports are shipped out of California. In fact, Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach accounted for 96% (or 640,000 tonnes swt) of US beef exports to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China in 2019. While the incidence of COVID-19 per million people remains lower in California, an outbreak and slowdown in any of these critical ports could impact US beef exports into North Asia. USDA weekly reports indicate US beef export continue to flow freely, but Australian grainfed beef would be the primary beneficiary if an extended slowdown in US shipments, to the likes of Japan and Korea, were to occur.
COVID-19 is impacting various facets of the US beef supply chain. Short term opportunities for increased Australian volumes into the US domestic market appear limited, especially given the Australian beef supply outlook for the year ahead is tight. Moreover, US consumer demand remains weak, with 15 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits over the last three weeks and uncertainty as to when economy will be able to open back up. However, if US processing is hit further or California ports are substantially disrupted, Australian beef may be temporarily shielded from US competition elsewhere, particularly in North Asia.
© Meat & Livestock Australia Limited, 2020


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Amazon Prime Lands ‘24’ Streaming Rights
Amazon announced Tuesday that its Prime Instant Video service has reached a deal for the exclusive SVOD rights to Fox’s 24, a month before the series is scheduled to return after four years.
Fox will return 24 with the limited series Live Another Day premiering May 5.
Prime members will have access to the entire eight-season run for the Fox drama, including the TV movie 24: Redemption. The deal includes Live Another Day, which will be available later this year.
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Think of the new cannabis dispensary in Manhattan as the anti head shop.
There’s no paraphernalia in the windows and an engraving of the store’s name, “MedMen,” is the only clue as to what’s inside. Its showroom is bright and airy, with sleek, wood tables containing built-in iPads that let customers toggle through cannabis products, strains, and prices. And there’s nary a bong, pipe, or rolling paper in sight.
“This is cannabis in the digital age,” says B.J. Carretta, MedMen's CMO. “This isn’t about stoner culture.”
MedMen's New York location opened its doors today, April 20 (wink), the newest in a chain of 13 dispensaries with locations also throughout California and Nevada. The company's retail outfit has been dubbed “The Apple Store of Cannabis" and paid $26 million to acquire one of two dispensary licenses in Manhattan, Bloomberg reports.
As of now, the only people who can actually buy anything in the Midtown Manhattan location are medical patients who have been prescribed marijuana to treat certain conditions, like chronic pain. To comply with state regulations, MedMen only sells cannabis in the form of tinctures, vape pens, and gel caps. No cookies, no cakes, no gummy bears — and no actual buds.
But that could soon change. A recent poll from the Pew Research Center found that 61% of Americans favor legalizing marijuana. And New York Governor Andrew Cuomo just allocated funds in his 2019 budget to research the possibility of full legalization for the state.
In the meantime, MedMen wants to establish its 2,000 square foot New York facility as the place to buy pot in the Big Apple. And it wants to distance itself from the bike peddling, back alley dealer.
Earlier this month, Carretta and his team partnered with Paper magazine on “Ember,” a highbrow lifestyle magazine for cannabis users. They also just launched the “Forget Stoner” ad campaign, which profiles 17 real, decidedly non-burnout types — a grandma, an athlete, and a police officer, among others--who use pot.
“Normalization is the entire goal for us,” he says. "If we can provide an atmosphere where people get more comfortable, than it becomes part of the regular conversation.”


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Cornering Expansion in a New Market with a New Brand
For the husband-and-wife team, Glenn and Tina Beattie, a step to broaden their 37 Denny’s restaurants in Western New York and Arizona includes a multi-unit, multi-year deal to open 22 Corner Bakery Cafe locations in New England. Glenn is president and Tina is vice president of Top Line Restaurants, Inc. The New England market isn’t new to Glenn, who was born and raised in Rhode Island. His passion for franchising began early: by age 20, he’d moved to Arizona and began working at a franchise company and later started working in the restaurant business. Ten years ago, Beattie purchased three of his first Denny’s restaurants. However, his goal was to get back into the New England region. In February of 2009, they acquired 28 Denny’s restaurants in Upstate New York. With an exclusive territorial development agreement for the Western New York market, “All of our growth in the last few years and continued growth will be in New York for us on the Denny’s side,” said Beattie. “The ability to get in with a new brand is something we’ve been focused on for quite some time and just trying to find the right fit.” They found the right fit with Corner Bakery Cafe and the added plus of being able to expand the New England market. While the economy is still in recovery, franchisees--who are key players in the health of franchise systems--are moving forward. The International Franchise Association’s updated economic outlook indicates that the number of franchise establishments in the United States will likely increase by 1.6 percent in 2012. Employment in franchise establishments was revised up slightly from 2011 (a 2.0 percent gain) to a 2.1 percent gain in 2012. Beattie points to the strong leadership of their Denny’s stores in Arizona and expects “the growth and development up in the New England-New York region will be very easy for us to manage as well.” The benefits of the new expansion plan are that it makes sense geographically, they love the fast-casual aspect of Corner Bakery Cafe and that the brand lends itself to the family-focused community, as well as the food, food quality and how it’s prepared. Beattie added that Top Line Restaurants and Corner Bakery Cafe’s cultures were aligned in how they go about doing things, which served as the “biggest and best thing for us.” As part of their homework before concluding the deal, Beattie said they made their rounds by visiting trade shows and studied concepts as they sought to diversify their businesses “and it was really to broaden us as a restaurant company.” As with most franchise businesses, the lending environment was an important consideration as the Beatties sought to expand their franchises. “We’re very happy that the lending environment is finally opening up a little bit to the franchise community again,” said Beattie. “It was pretty locked down with the recession and all the banking crises that occurred. So that definitely played into our decision that now was the right time to sign a development agreement of this size.” He added that even through the recession, on the Denny’s side, they found tremendous opportunities for acquiring “Top-A type locations” and the franchise provided the leadership to help them weather the recession. In addition to the quality of the food and the way it is prepared at Corner Bakery Cafe, Beattie credited the guidance of the company’s Senior Vice President of Food and Beverage Ric Scicchitano and that he did an amazing job. It turns out that Schicchitano is listed on the company’s website as its first employee. Although new to multi-branding, Beattie provided some sage advice to others who might consider this path. “Focus and narrow your search to something you’re really going to be passionate about and want to get 110 percent behind it.” Making the decision to open 16 Corner Bakery cafes in Connecticut and six in Rhode Island over the next eight years points to the Beatties’ passion and commitment to fast-casual franchise restaurants. In addition, it is expected that the new businesses will create 800 more jobs in those markets.


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We'll soon see more Activision-Blizzard franchises made into mobile games, company CEO Bobby Kotick asserts.
Activision didn't get to the top of the games industry food chain without its strong engagement strategy. These gameplans have become the core driving force behind the industry's recurring revenue streams, and while Activision may have helped pioneer them, it wants to also innovate upon them via esports and partnerships. Typically this means the company has to leverage its eight billion-dollar franchises across all aspects of gaming, including mobile--and that's exactly what it plans to do.
In the company's Calendar Q2'18 earnings call, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said more franchises will cross over into the world's most accessible games platform.
"While esports give our existing fans a new and everlasting way to celebrate their favorite games and expands the appeal to broader audiences, our mobile initiatives will expand their access to our iconic franchises by making them available to hundreds of millions of new players around the world," he said.
Mr. Kotick also touched upon Activision's big partnership with Tencent to publish its new Call of Duty mobile game in China, saying that this strategy of teaming up with key international players should continue moving forward.
"We have multiple mobile initiatives underway, including some with partners with strong mobile experience and local market knowledge. Today's Call of Duty mobile game announcement with Tencent is part of our effort to ensure our very best franchises are available to mobile audiences in all geographies."
But what series will come to mobile?
Activision President and COO Coddy Johnson also says that development on mobile adaptations is going well.
"...We are starting to see some of our mobile initiatives progress from the research and development phase to release planning," Mr. Johnson said in the Q2 CY18 earnings call.
While analyst firm Newzoo expects mobile to pull in $73.1 billion in 2018, Activision should use mobile as another tool in its belt to not only breed engagement and recurring sales, but also spotlight its big-name franchises to boot.
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Cadillac has introduced a new powerplant for the 2014 CTS: 420 Horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. Audi S5, eat your heart out. Along with the new engine option, expect to see an 8-speed automatic transmission to push out 25 MPG highway and 17 MPG city. 4.6 seconds will it take to get to 60 miles per hour.
The 3.6 liter V6 will stay as the base option, and also be adding a four cylinder turbocharged V4 taken from its sibling, the ATS.


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US frozen and refrigerated all-natural foods maker MamaMancini's has booked its first "modest" profitable quarter.
US meatball maker MamaMancini's today (13 June) reported a "very strong start" to its financial year, with sales up over a fifth and losses narrowing.
- General Mills sales woes continue - analysis
- Why personalisation will take-off in US food
- Comment: Meal kits in US - don't believe the hype
- US food next wave on display at Winter Fancy Food
- Analysis: Chocolate sector's deforestation pledge
- Kraft Heinz cuts jobs in US, Canada
- Mondelez set for union crosshairs next week
- Brazil seeks to cool concerns over meat probe
- Lactalis fails to hit threshold to delist Parmalat
- US meal delivery service Blue Apron buys BN Ranch


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That Dublin mom might look innocent enough with a cup of java and a Kindle but get a little closer and you'll see she's reading erotic fiction — then meeting with her book club friends in secret to talk about it.
The much-anticipated book, 50 Shades of Grey, a sexy romance story inspired by the Twilight books, is coming to book stores on April 3. However, some local mothers couldn’t wait until next week, so they took matters into their own hands.
Seven Dublin moms were part of a book club known as “BYOB,” which formed more than nine years ago. The acronym stands for “Bring Your Own Book.”
BYOB regularly meets to read and discuss books they might not otherwise have read.
According to one of the BYOB members, the group heard about "50 Shades of Grey" in early March. Some of the members did not feel comfortable reading the erotic novel, so four of the original members broke away and formed a secret book club they called the “G Club.”
Right now, several of them are voraciously, albeit clandestinely, reading "50 Shades of Grey."
“The ‘G’ stands for ‘girl’ or ‘Grey’ like the main character in the book,” said one G Club mom. “[It] is not well-written, kind of funny, but it gets you sucked in somehow. It provokes discussion.”
The G Club mom says the plot has to do with a college student, Anastasia Steele, who becomes involved with an older man named Christian Grey.
The book visits taboo subjects such as bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism.
The author calls the book “adult romance,” according to her website.
“We have discussed half of the book so far and will be meeting next week to discuss the rest,” said the G Club mom.
“Most of our group did not want to be seen with the book,” she said. “They downloaded it to their e-reader instead.”
She said while most of the group bought the book for their e-readers for $10, she chose to buy the hard copy of the book, which she found on eBay. She paid $32 and said there were bidding wars over the book.
G Club mom says her club usually meets somewhere like a cafe or home in Dublin to chat about their books, but for this specific book they chose to meet at a location in Pleasanton to reduce the possibility of someone known to them overhearing their conversation.
“These are educated, professional moms,” she said. “For me, it is really about talking with friends and the discussion surrounding the book. This is the ‘Scarlet Letter’ of suburban books clubs.”
The book can be found online or in local book stores.
Genevieve Fuller, a clerk at Town Center Books in Pleasanton, said the store has been getting several calls a day about the book.
“People have definitely been ordering the book,” she said.
“It was actually intended to be read on e-readers and wasn’t originally published by a big publisher since she [E.L. James] had not been published before. Once it was mentioned on the show, The View, it went viral.”
Fuller says the book store will have copies available after it hits the shelves on Tuesday.


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By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
The Long Jetty Hotel, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, has been purchased by the Laundy syndicate.
The hotel was purchased for an undisclosed amount by a syndicate that includes noted publican Arthur Laundy, Sean O’Hara and Lee Green. With several hotels already owned and operated in Sydney, this is the third regional hotel purchase made by the syndicate, which also owns and operates hotels in Bateau Bay and South Dubbo.
The hotel was sold via EOI campaign by Gerry Quinlan of Manenti Quinlan & Associates and Mike Wheatley of Knight Frank. It took three rounds of negotiations to conclude the deal. While the sale figure has not been made public, it has been revealed that the sale had a yield of approximately 11.5 per cent – a happy result for vendor Bruce MacDougal, whose family operates several hotels in New South Wales.
The sale of Long Jetty Hotel attracted much interest from hoteliers in both Sydney and Newcastle, and from developers who were looking to maximise the potential of the 2491m2 site. Eventually the Laundy syndicate won out, and will soon take over the operations of the Central Coast hotel that includes 15 gaming machines and an on-site car park.
As a tourism hub, the Central Coast is currently experiencing growth as an area, as reflected in the large amount of interest in the sale. “Recent sales of Central Coast hotels are now being tightly held by leading operators,” commented Wheatley.
Arthur Laundy agreed, stating: “The tight yields being achieved in the Sydney-area regional hotels represent real value.”
Laundy also owns regional hotels in Wagga Wagga, Orange and Dubbo.


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The Bad News About E-books
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
By Jim Milliot (for Publishers Weekly) --
In a keynote address delivered at the opening of last week’s Digital Book World conference in New York City, Jonathan Stolper, senior v-p and global managing director for Nielsen Book, presented a series of charts that provided a detailed look at the steadily declining unit sales of e-books. The figures are based on e-book sales reports from more than 30 traditional publishers through the first nine months of 2016, with Nielsen estimating sales for the final quarter of the year.
Based on those estimates, Nielsen found that e-book unit sales from reporting publishers were down 16% in 2016 from 2015. Units fell the most in the juvenile fiction segment, where e-book sales dropped 28% in the year and accounted for 10% of total category unit sales in 2016, down from 14%. (E-books have never been a big factor in juvenile nonfiction and accounted for 1% of units sold in 2016.)
Unit sales of e-books in the adult fiction segment fell 15% in 2016, and, while the format accounted for 49% of all units sold last year in the category, that was down by three percentage points from 2015. E-book unit sales fell 13% in 2016 in adult nonfiction and accounted for 12% of all units sold in the segment last year, compared to 15% in 2015. In total, e-books’ share of trade unit sales was 23% in 2016, down from 27% in 2015....
READ MORE at PublishersWeekly.com.
This article originally appeared on PublishersWeekly.com. IBPA welcomes your feedback in the comments section below.


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Heineken has unveiled a Twitter-based “digital compass” to help ensure consumers don’t miss out on nearby events.
Rolled out as part of the brewer’s Cities of the World campaign, @wherenext monitors location-based social media activity and provides users with real-time information about events going on in their cities. Users who tweet @wherenext followed by their location will receive suggested events and locations.
The platform was developed in response to recent Heineken research that found consumers feared missing out on potentially exciting experiences.
“Cities of the World and @wherenext is the latest iteration of Heineken strategy, using rich consumer insights to respond to their desires to explore the great adventures in their cities,” said Heineken senior brand director Gianluca Di Tondo.
The initiative was a creative use of Twitter, said Jean-Phlippe Maheu, Twitter’s MD of global brand and agency strategy. “It’s well suited to the real-time and mobile nature of the platform and will give fans a window into the most vibrant experiences in cities around the world, right in the palm of their hand.”
Heineken plans to put @wherenext to the test with an upcoming promotional event challenging consumers to uncover the best-kept secrets in three respective cities.


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According to Digitimes Research's statistics, global tablet shipments amounted to 32 million units in first-quarter 2022 in line with expectation. The volume was the lowest since the COVID-19 outbreak started in first-quarter 2020 as the tablet market sustained pressure from the slow season and rising inflation while no longer enjoying pandemic-driven work-from-home (WFH) and online learning demand.
According to DIGITIMES Research's surveys and analyses, first-quarter 2022 smartphone shipments to the China market fell 26.5% from the prior year level, coming short of the 70-million-unit mark amid weak market demand.
According to DIGITIMES Research's statistics and analyses, China-based smartphone brands shipped a total of 170 million phones worldwide in first-quarter 2022, down 12.9% from the prior quarter with the China market experiencing worsening decline and overseas markets entering slow season and undergoing seasonal adjustment after the year-end shopping season.
Fourth-quarter 2021 smartphone shipments to the China market amounted to 80.5 million units. The volume represented a 9.5% increase from the prior quarter, driven by inventory preparation demand for the high season.
China-based smartphone brands shipped a total of 195 million phones in fourth-quarter 2021 as they aggressively ramped up shipments in the traditional high season in an attempt to make their whole-year target.
Global tablet shipments amounted to 37.13 million units in fourth-quarter 2021, up 5.4% from the prior quarter but down 20.2% from the prior year, as the tablet market continued to struggle with the IC shortage and the shipments came short of expectation in the traditional high season.
Global smartphone shipments in the second half of 2021 did not see a growth momentum as in the first half and had experienced decline in both quarters of the period amid the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising concerns over a potential inflation.


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LATHAM, N.Y. (April, 2021) – PrimaLoft, Inc., a global leader in advanced material technology, has launched a new version of his best-selling down alternative, PrimaLoft® Insulation ThermoPlume®. This synthetic fill is now made entirely out of post-consumer recycled materials. Four years after the introduction of the first blowable synthetic insulation, the technology has built a strong reputation in the outdoor apparel & fashion markets, with more than 70 brands using the loose-fill microfiber insulation in their product lines for the Fall/Winter ‘21/’22 season.
It looks like down, feels like down, and delivers comparable thermal performance, but PrimaLoft® Insulation ThermoPlume® is 100% synthetic – and now 100% recycled.
“When we first developed PrimaLoft® Insulation ThermoPlume® back in 2017, we answered the growing demand from designers, brands, and customers for an ethical alternative to animal product – a purchase criterion that is becoming ever more important. At the same time, we continued to deliver the excellent performance people expect from PrimaLoft® products”, says Mike Joyce, president and CEO at PrimaLoft. “To achieve the same level of comfort and warmth in a completely recycled version is a logical next step in our Relentlessly Responsible™ approach to elevates both sustainability and performance through innovation.”
PrimaLoft® Insulation ThermoPlume® is manufactured with small, silky fiber plumes that collectively form a loose fill insulation. It mimics the fluidity, hand-feel and aesthetics of down, but also has the proven water-repellent properties of PrimaLoft® fibers to provide a soft, compressible thermal output, even in wet conditions.
“Its construction allows it to be blown through traditional down-blowing manufacturing equipment, simplifying the manufacturing process for brands and enabling product designers the freedom to create versatile garments that combine the look and feel of down with the water-resistant performance of a synthetic”, states Vanessa Mason, SVP of Engineering at PrimaLoft. “Moreover, it helps to simplify the supply chain, combat the volatility of down prices and provide peace of mind when it comes to the ethical sourcing of materials.”
More than 70 brands to use PrimaLoft® Insulation ThermoPlume®
This synthetic down alternative has been adopted by outdoor and fashion brands all over the globe, since its 2017 introduction. Even before the new 100% recycled iteration, around 40 brands were using PrimaLoft® Insulation ThermoPlume® in their collection. For the upcoming FW21/22 season, and with the introduction of PrimaLoft® Insulation ThermoPlume 100% PCR, the number will raise drastically to over 70, with more than half already switching to the fully recycled version. Brands like 4F, CMP, Ecoalf, Ellesse, Fred Perry, Joe Fresh, Lands’ End, La Sportiva, Millet, Montane, Nike, Peuterey, Picture Organic Clothing, Polo Ralph Lauren, Rossignol, Salomon, Timberland and Woolrich will sell garments with the synthetic down alternative online and in stores, in the upcoming seasons.


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How these Aussie surfers are leading the way in solving ocean plastic issues
With ocean plastic one of the leading environmental crises of the 21st century, a pair of Australian surfers are set to launch their contribution to the solution, with a product designed to filter ocean debris and plastic in marinas.
The Seabin is a floating filtration device that’s designed to be installed on docks, with both large and small plastics collected from surface water and secured within the device.
Seabin Project CEO and Founder Pete Ceglinski said that while the project has come a long way since it was first conceived, the product is being distributed worldwide this year.
“The motivation for this project is pretty straight forward. We all grew up on the coast of eastern Australia and have learned to appreciate the water,” Ceglinski said.
“I haven't lived in Australia for the past 12 years, I’ve been all around the world and have seen so much floating pollution everywhere. The motivation to do this is so we can all surf and swim and sail in pristine water, to have water that’s not filled with pollution.”
Ceglinski said the journey has been a whirlwind from prototype to production, but that the initial Seabin design has come a very long way and is now capable of doing more than originally planned.
“We started off with a prototype and the video for our crowdfunding campaign. We spent the last year and a half further developing the Seabin for commercial production. We have simplified it a lot, we are down to three main components,” he said.
“We are starting to introduce recycled ocean plastics and fishing nets into the production of the Seabins themselves. The filter we use has been refined; we are catching big items, the size of 5L bottles, down to microplastics 2mm in size, plastic pellets, nurdles [plastic resin pellets] and polystyrene balls.
“We also introduced oil pad filters, so now we are also catching the surface oil in marinas.”
There is the potential that future models of the Seabin will be capable of filtering microfibres but further research is required before this goal is reached, Ceglinski said.
“We have done testing and have discovered that we will also be able to catch microfibres. There is a bit of a dilemma there though, as catching microfibres means also catching micro organisms. We are trying to figure that out now; we are looking at different avenues with help from scientists to assess some solutions,” he said.
And while the Seabin may not be the answer to all ocean pollution problems, the project is also establishing a foundation to run public awareness campaigns in the hope to pass on some of their hard-won expertise.
“We always acknowledged that technology is not the solution, that the Seabin is not going to save the world. Unless we stop putting the debris into the oceans, we are never going to stop the problem,” Ceglinski said.
“We are currently putting 50% of our business to non-profit activities; we have an education, science and research program, and community events. We have data collection in about 12 countries around the world, monitoring our impact and the water quality.
“We have built a passionate and active community too, through social media.”
The Seabin launch in Australia is set for April, with two Seabins arriving for installation and public demonstration. Seabin Project is now in discussion with the City of Melbourne.
At the same time, the Seabins will start distribution around the UK and Europe, and more will be installed in Australia and in the US in May.
Ceglinski said the project has given him the opportunity to flex all of his interests and passions “in the right way” and hopes to inspire change.
“I used to be a product designer and I designed plastic-injected molded products. I quit that and have been boat building ever since, but that work is still about building toys for rich people. I’d never really done anything for the environment or for others, I hadn’t done anything positive,” he said.
“When this project came around, it was a light bulb moment – I could use my product design and engineering skills, I could use my boat building skills for the prototypes, we could help the environment and feel good about making a measurable impact. It’s such a fulfilling thing to do and our future generations can also enjoy cleaner oceans.”


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Twipe Digital Publishing accelerates digital transformation
Twipe templates are designed to engage readers through strong visual stories and easy reading.
We deliver a highly automated and controllable digital publishing workflow system.
Twipe apps are available and customised for all platforms.
Engaging and understanding your readers has never been as easy.
Twipe enables digital growth and innovation
Stay tuned about digital publishing trends
Last year The Economist decided to invest significantly in social media. One year later Denise Law, Community Editor at The Economist analyses the results and shares with us eight lessons they learned from that experience. The Economist started by expanding the social media team from 2 to 10 people. The main objective of that investment[…]
Not more than a couple of months ago we looked at the ‘Editorial analytics: How news media are developing and using audience data and metrics’ Reuters Report where the authors have identified 3 distinct types of editorial analytics. Going from Rudimentary, through Generic, to Editorial Analytics, we have learned that each newsroom needs a set[…]
For the news industry, the old saying “the medium is the message” has transformed in “messaging is the new medium”. With an overwhelmed audience by the multitude of apps and notifications, newsrooms around the world are realizing that the new places to reach the readers are the messaging apps. The more forward-thinking newsrooms understand that[…]
With worldwide sales of daily print newspapers and magazines continuing to fall, publishers are pursuing different strategies for the transition to online business models. Still, the transition remains anything but straightforward. Returns from digital advertising have been falling for years and made worse by lower rates on mobile. But in general, only a few specialist[…]
6 instances when the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, The Times and other newspapers ditched their paywall and when you should too
Today’s digital press continues to experiment and struggle with news monetization. But when something that previously cost money becomes free, different questions arise: what made it not-free to begin with, why is it free now, and why isn’t it always free? When and why do publishers circulate news “freely” and what do such moments[…]
As we’ve already learned last year, sending the right push notification at the right moment is one of the biggest challenges of today’s newsrooms. With an eye on the most recent updates of The New York Times, let’s have a look at their strategy for push alerts and how other publishers like The Guardian, BuzzFeed[…]
Medium has updated its business strategy by implementing monetization options and has announced Medium for Publishers. The new platform is designed to empower publishers and bloggers across the world by offering them a new set of tools to promote and monetize their content. “We want to make it even easier for publications to do what[…]
One year ago, Facebook started to prioritise publisher’s content and video when they announced Instant Article. Last week, Facebook reported to show more posts from friends and family over content coming from Pages. Should businesses and publishers that rely on Facebook for customer engagement and referral traffic be worried? The new changes to the feed[…]


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A gas station attendant walks past a display board shows the prices of gasoline and diesel at a gas station in Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)
The weekly average prices of gasoline and diesel in South Korea both climbed for the fourth consecutive week on a continued energy crunch around the world, industry data showed Saturday.
The average retail price of gasoline stood at 2,013 won per liter from May 29-June 2, up 19.3 won from a week ago, according to Opinet, a website operated by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp.
In Seoul, where oil prices are usually higher than other regions, the average retail price of gasoline hit 2,087.2 won per liter this week, up 23.2 won from a week earlier.
The average retail price for gas in Daegu, the lowest across the country, rose 21.9 won to 1,988.3 won per liter.
The local price of gasoline has been on the rise since the second week of May.
The price hike is primarily attributed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to Western economies' trade sanctions against Russia.
The average retail price of diesel fuel stood at 2,008.4 won per liter this week, up 8.1 won from a week ago.
The diesel price has hovered in the 2,000 won range since it surpassed that level for the first time May 24, about two weeks after it outstripped the price of gas for the first time in 14 years. In South Korea, diesel is normally cheaper than gas.
Industry watchers said the prices of gas and diesel are likely to continue going up, in line with the global oil price hike. (Yonhap)


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Consumer Debt Collection Practices (ANPRM) Opened Closed
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) believes debt collection is an important issue for consumers. In this discussion, CFPB asked for input about the debt collection system, about consumer experiences, and about how new rules for debt collectors might better protect consumers without imposing unnecessary burdens on industry. During the time commenting was open, 8480 people visited RegulationRoom and 224 people posted 956 comments. Many people joined the discussion to share stories about their own debt collection experience. Posts on debt collection litigation and use of phones and mobile phones in debt collections were the most popular.
Home Mortgage Consumer Protection Opened Closed
The mortgage crisis revealed that some residential mortgage lenders weren’t doing a good job of communicating with borrowers and keeping detailed records. Some of this affected all borrowers, but the worst effect was that some people, who could have worked out their problems with the right help, lost their homes. Congress has told the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to adopt new federal regulations to avoid this in the future. 8,908 people visited RegulationRoom to learn about and discuss two new proposed Home Mortgage Consumer Protection rules. When issuing the final rules, CFPB recognized the input of the 67 RegulationRoom users who contributed 236 comments.
Air Travel Accessibility Opened Closed
The Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed a regulation that would require air travel websites, as well as automated airport check-in kiosks, to be made accessible to people with disabilities. During the time the rule was open for comment, there were 7,949 visitors to RegulationRoom and 31 people posted 103 comments on how websites and kiosks could be made accessible to travelers with disabilities and the technical standards companies should meet.
Electronic On-Board Recorders Opened Closed
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposed a rule that would have required commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to record their hours of service (HOS) using electronic on board recorders (EOBRs) instead of paper logs. All long-haul operations and some short-haul operations would have been affected. 68 RegulationRoom users, the majority who identified themselves as CMV drivers, posted 235 comments on issues including: who would have to use an EOBR, privacy concerns, cost, when the rule would take effect, and changes to penalties and enforcement.
Airline Passenger Rights Opened Closed
More than 19,000 visitors to RegulationRoom posted over 900 comments on a Department of Transportation (DOT) proposal that would give airline passengers more protections, including increased bumping compensation, more tarmac delay rules, and better information about extra fees and flight status. The Regulation Room team summarized these comments and submitted the final summary to DOT. On April 21, 2011 DOT announced its decision. Regulation Room comments played an important part in shaping the final rule that gives airline passengers significant new protections.
Texting Opened Closed
3,665 people visited Regulation Room during the comment period for the first in a set of new proposed federal regulations from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The rule on Limiting the Use of Wireless Communication Devices was being proposed by FMCSA to address distracted driving by truckers, bus drivers, and other commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators.
Tire Efficiency Opened Closed
RegulationRoom ran a test commenting period from November 12-22, 2009 on a proposed National Highway Transportation Safety Administration rule: Tire Fuel Efficiency Consumer Information Program. Although the official comment period had closed for this rule, as part of the beta test of RegulationRoom, users were encouraged to learn about, react to, and discuss the proposed rule.


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Global brands should act in unity with their strategic partners, garment manufacturers, to get through tough times
In the face of COVID-19, emerging threats to the global economy raise concerns for the ready-made garment industry in Turkey. This industry has sustained the retail operations of global brands for the past century by offering garments with the highest quality, paired with innovative collections and the fastest delivery.
When governments declared lockdown for societies due to health and safety reasons, global brands’ reaction was to close down retail stores all around the world due to the sudden decline in sales. As a result of losses in sales, volume and revenue, brands then turned to their suppliers with a number of defensive measures which have severely harmed the garment manufacturing industry employing over 1.5 million people in Turkey.
Please click here for the full letter by TGSD


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efforts to "enhance shareholder value" had the opposite effect in trading Tuesday. But some analysts say the reorganization moves might be just what the company needs to get its shares out of intensive care.
SangStat shares closed down $2.50, or 21%, to $9.50, after the company said late Monday that third- and fourth-quarter losses would be larger than analysts' forecasts, due to heavier-than-expected competition in the organ-transplant market.
Now SangStat says it plans to refocus on a newer product called Thymoglobulin, while ending clinical development of some products and selling its mail-order pharmacy unit.
Some analysts say the company now seems well undervalued, particularly after today's share-price rout. Analysts say the company, while still unprofitable, could generate nearly $100 million in sales next year, but its market value is now a dismal $170 million.
"The stock is oversold; it's cheap," says Evan Sturza, of
Sturza's Medical Research
, a New York biotech analysis company. Sturza says SangStat's fair value should be at least 15, nearly double today's close. Sturza's does no underwriting.
SangStat's previous goal was to take a large chunk of a market for immunosuppressants, which are medications that must be taken by millions of transplant patients to prevent organ rejection.
Off the Peak
The $1.3 billion market has been overwhelmingly dominated by
, with Neoral and Sandimmune, but new products from SangStat, private generic company
and other companies jumped into the market from 1999 when Neoral lost patent protection.
SangStat admitted yesterday that the market was less attractive than originally thought. "The changing nature of the cyclosporine market ... has reduced the overall potential of this market for SangStat," it said in a statement.
While SangStat plans to continue selling Gengraf, a cyclosporine formulation it markets with
, it now plans to boost resources behind Thymoglobulin, a kidney-transplant drug that it's testing for a broader range of uses. The company forecasts the two products could generate more than $60 million in sales next year.
Combined with $10 million it expects to gain from selling its mail-order pharmacy, the
, and other products, analysts say SangStat could generate revenue of close to $100 million next year. And it said it expects to become profitable by 2002.
"A drug company worth $170 million but could have revenue close to $100 million next year," says one analyst for a major New York investment bank who asked to remain anonymous. "That's an unheard-of multiple."
The analyst said the share price is now likely to attract both value investors and takeover interest, although he said many big institutional investors have long since abandoned the stock.
Adding to the positive investment mix was news that CEO Jean-Jacques Bienaime will replace Philippe Pouletty as chairman. Pouletty was seen as having overly optimistic assessments of the cyclosporine market opportunity, this analyst said.
"The company comes with lots of baggage," he said. "But with baggage comes opportunity."


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Founding Farmers celebrated its second anniversary in September. Since opening, the restaurant has been reviewed by Yelpers more than 780 times – more than one review per day. Dan Simons, VSAG co-founder and owner of Founding Farmers, has responded to every single one of those reviews.
He and his commitment to interacting with every guest who takes time to comment on their experience, is the subject of today’s Yelp Web Log. Check it out. Comments welcome.


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Earlier this week, B&T published a piece titled ‘Banner Ads Don’t have to suck’. Josh Lee, digital director at full service agency Huckleberry and Simone Attanasio, senior UX designer at Huckleberry, couldn’t agree more and here’s why.
If I imagine myself as a banner, I’d want to be placed where you could see me, where I stand out; the right hand side, maybe a sticky side bar but yes, always visible and always looking my best to grab your attention and show off my vibe.
Now you’ve seen me, played around with me and heard me out, it’s time to click and that’s it… Isn’t it?
When we think about online advertising, we immediately think of pesky banners that follow us around, seemingly speaking to everyone but ‘me’. Though this account might hold true for some, perhaps this stigma has be reinforced by the lack of value banners deliver before, during and after a user has clicked?
UX – or User Experience is the delicate mortar that holds a consumer journey together from awareness to action. In today’s digital age, media and UX should be unified at every corner of communications from media placement, banners, landing pages, application forms, devices, apps to social media.
Let’s take the relationship of media and UX as we might attend a new food festival in town. The lead up is brimming with excitement from street posters promising the ‘most seamless and enjoyable experience ever’ but once you’re there, the music is blaringly loud, the layout is impractical; there’s nowhere to sit and eat and the poor lighting makes you second guess what’s on your plate. One would think twice about re-attending, just as an advertiser would think twice about spending on digital media that didn’t convert.
As Monday’s article pointed out, a misguided online user experience can occur in the same fashion. A user may not click on a banner, video or an email based on multiple factors like clutter, design, clarity of the message, disruption of its exposure and so on. On the other hand, users that do click through may also end up retreating to escape an overly complicated landing page or website.
The key thing to remember is that online advertising implores users to be taken out of their comfort zone so, if they cannot adapt to the new situation you’re offering then your collective value proposition has been weakened.
When media and UX operate separately without unified objectives, the chances for optimal success are forgone. So what can you do to improve results?
In essence, any UX objective should be paired up with an approach to media buying and targeting, and the same holds true in reverse.
For example, if the media objective was to drive a lower cost per click or lower cost per acquisition, then low cost media wouldn’t be enough as it’s not about ‘what media’ but ‘what audience’. Therefore, UX would complement this by safeguarding an intuitive user journey with minimal cognitive overload. All of this should meet the needs and motives of our audience trying to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.
If we had a UX objective of increasing time on site, then a more targeted and engaging media buy would help achieve this by driving users from a place of more contextual relevance and engaging ad experience. If we look at this same example in reverse (from a media perspective), UX could enhance success through tactics like a nurtured based landing page.
There a lot more elements to consider which act as a mortar between media and UX, making them inseparable:
- Consistency – using the same design elements.
- UX pattern – incorporate recognisable user interface elements to create familiarity and reduce confusion.
- Simplicity – a balanced distribution of content and simple elements hierarchy.
- Role of media – understand how users engage with different ad formats and banner sizes.
- Role of targeting – understand your data touch points and its respective audience behavior.
- Data insights – test, learn, share, strategise, deploy and repeat.
These are just some of the techniques that can help us become more unified but education and collaboration play the greatest role in making sure both media and UX strategies leverage off each other to deliver optimal outcomes.
This task isn’t necessarily easy, but acknowledging there are worlds beyond simply designing and placing a banner will ensure that your brand is known for truly appreciating its audience.
Boutique full-service communications agency effie&co has launched its ConnectAsia division, which will assist Australian fashion and lifestyle brands to market directly to Asian consumers, both in Australia and overseas. Lead image: effie&co PR Director Stephanie Carden. Leading the charge is newly-appointed effie&co ConnectAsia Director, Yunzhou Li, a cross-cultural marketing expert with over 18 years’ experience […]
More than 500 contestants have been whittled down to 22 for this season, which introduces food critic Sofia Levin as a new judge. There are plenty of culinary superstars making guest appearances including Clare Smyth and Jamie Oliver, but the real stars are the budding chefs. Lead image: Masterchef judges Sofia Levin, Andy Allen, Poh […]
Dentsu’s iProspect has partnered with MOOD tea to empower the advertising and media community to make a difference in youth mental health. The partnership with MOOD tea will see iProspect support the brand from a strategic business level through to media partnerships, to build the brand’s salience and ultimately drive retail distribution and purchase. Marcelle […]
In this opinion piece, Born’s co-founder and strategy director, David Coupland (above), considers whether cultural nostalgia offers genuine comfort or stifles innovation in light of McDonald’s bringing back “The Original Mouthful.” Sitting there watching The Beckham documentary, shortly after I’d watched the Robbie Williams’ documentary, not that long after I’d watched The Last Dance it […]
Adobe has launched a new Adobe Express mobile app, giving users Firefly AI on the go. Adobe Express is the all-in-one AI content creation app that makes it fast and easy for anyone to ideate, design and share standout social media posts, videos, flyers, logos and more. Millions of users around the world are turning […]
ThinkNewsBrands in collaboration with the Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA), continued the in-person education rollout of the Publishing & News101 learning module yesterday, extending its reach to independent media agencies in Brisbane. That means Queensland has become the second state to benefit from the special in-person training and certification program. The program delves into […]
B&T had the honour of travelling to GroupM’s lush North Sydney offices to chat with Tatiana Patrón and Missie Saroyan, who had travelled all the way from the US to see how we do things down under. Patrón is an associate client investment lead in Wavemaker’s New York office, while Saroyan serves as a programmatic […]
HoMie, a Melbourne-based streetwear label that supports young people affected by homelessness or hardship, has turned traditional buy-one-get-one-free retail offers on their head with a special promotional campaign developed by Town Square. HoMie has launched ‘Give One. Get One,’ where for every HoMie hoodie purchased for Youth Homelessness Matters Day, fellow streetwear label Champion will […]
Lion and Thinkerbell have launched new work for XXXX Summer Bright, reminding everyone that it’s a beer to drink all year round. The idea is now live across social, digital and OOH. It centres on the insight that around here, unlike most places in the world, we only have one season really, summer. So it’s […]
The programme has been revealed for this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity featuring more than 150 hours of content and some 500 speakers. About this year’s line-up, Natasha Woodwal, director of content, LIONS, said: “Our open call for content gives us unparalleled insight into what matters most to the industry right now, and we’ve […]
Digital publisher network Scroll Media has employed ex-Amazon Twitch gaming executive Costa Panagos (lead image) to strengthen its Scroll Gaming capability. Panagos is highly experienced in game advertising and media sales professional with two years in account management at Twitch and three years in media sales at News Corp, so will bring his extensive media agency […]
School-leaver service Year13 has launched a new Artificial Intelligence course to upskill young people in AI, made in collaboration with Microsoft and KPMG, at an event to rally industry support behind youth AI fluency. The free online course AI Amplified which is part of Year13’s Academy aims to provide all young people with the opportunity […]
General Motors has announced the appointment of Heath Walker (lead image) as the new marketing director for GM Australia and New Zealand, effective April 23, 2024. Walker brings a wealth of marketing and communications experience gained from working across various industries, including IT, sporting, and auto – notably Tesla, Nissan and most recently, Scania in […]


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It’s time to chow down.
The popular food festival, NOSH Food Fest, is taking over the Community Centre’s Agora this weekend.
It marks the second offering of this event this year following the popularity experienced in March, however, this time it will be spread over two days.
“NOSH Food Fest is a trade show that features only local food and beverage producers from Edmonton and area and across Alberta,” explained Vanessa Antoniuk, owner of Kingsley Events, the organizer of NOSH Food Fest. “It is set up similar to a farmers market but there are no crafts or handmade items, it is only food and beverages.”
The event, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, will offer more than 70 vendors.
“It is designed for you to learn more about them and be able to purchase some products and take them home,” Antoniuk said. “You don’t eat the items there like the Taste of Edmonton. It is an event where you purchase the items and consume them off site.”
It’s expected there will be something for everyone with a wide-variety of food and beverages.
“There are sweets like cupcakes, cookies and candy. There’s beef jerky, there’s pre-made meals, there’s frozen meals you can make at home and there is craft beer and local distilleries that are selling their products as well,” Antoniuk said.
“There is a lady that makes beverage bombs, which are similar to bath bombs, but you put them in your drink and it fizzes your drink. You can put them in regular water, sparkling water or 7up and then add the beverage bomb,” she added.
The event has free admission but there is a charge for purchased products.
“This is the third event. Holly Handmade started in 2015 and it features all sorts of handmade items like home decor, jewellery, accessories and the food. The food vendors always do very, very well and I wanted to give them their own event,” she said. “The first one was last November and then there was one in March but this is the first two-day event because of the popularity.”
With a large majority of the vendors from Strathcona County, it’s hoped to spur supporting local businesses.
“Focusing on shopping local is so important right now, especially with COVID. All the restrictions that are in place on people and businesses,” Antoniuk said. “So many businesses and restaurants have had to close because of all the mandates on them. This is a good way to show your support and support for local businesses.”
You can find out more about the event by searching NOSH Food Fest on Facebook.


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Eden Prairie-based ADC Communications is being acquired by a Swiss electronics company.
Tyco Electronics announced plans Tuesday to buy the broadband equipment maker in a deal valued at $1.24 billion.
The deal surprised many analysts, and the fate of ADC's 1,000 jobs in Minnesota is unclear.
ADC makes the equipment, like connectors for fiber-optic cables, that's used by the telecommunications industry to transmit communications for phone companies and Internet providers.
"So basically the way I think of ADC is that it's a plumbing company," said ," says Blair King, an analyst who covers broadband infrastructure with Avondale Partners in Nashville. "It's the cabling infrastructure that hooks up the electronics in the network to facilitate internet service, voice service and video service for the public and companies.
Tyco's acquisition of ADC will help it provide broadband access to networks around the world. It also will add sales in the U.S. and China, where ADC has a stronger presence.
King and other analysts were surprised to hear that ADC was an acquisition target. King said that in 2009, ADC started to pull out of the economic downturn ready to gain market share, and revenues were starting to bounce back after having trended down.
"Things had really turned for them," he said. "ADC has been a staple company for so long, under various economic cycles, that I never really considered them as a company that would be acquired; I would've considered them as being acquisitive on their own."
A spokesman for ADC, Mike Smith, said the company's CEO did lament that they're not the ones doing the acquiring. Smith said the company always had its eyes on partnering with or snapping up other companies, which it has done in the past.
"Certainly ADC being acquired was always on the table, too, due to the fact that it is a consolidating industry" Smith said. "As you know in the United States, for example, AT&T and Verizon dominate the marketplace, so there needs to be vendor consolidation, too, to keep pace with that."
Smith said ADC workers might find new opportunities with Tyco, but there is the potential for workforce reductions in Minnesota and in ADC's global workforce. The company employs about 300 Minnesotans at its headquarters in Eden Prairie and another 700 people at a manufacturing plant in Shakopee.
Smith said the fate of those jobs under Tyco is unclear.
Lawrence Harris, a telecommunications equipment analyst with CL King in New York, said Tyco hasn't gotten specific about cost-cutting actions.
"But I do think you will see some," Harris said. "Tyco has indicated that they have identified about $100 million in cost savings, about 50 percent that will occur in the first twelve months. Some are at the factory level; some are in the operating expense category, which of course could affect office employees at some point." If the deal wins regulatory approval, it's not just jobs that are on the line, but also the legacy of a Minnesota headquarters. ADC got its start in a Minneapolis basement in 1935; its first product was a device used to test hearing. It grew to be a publicly traded company with locations around the world.
Bill Blazar with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce said ADC has been an important part of the state's business community.
"Nobody should underestimate the significance of having the CEO, and the CFO, and the research and intellectual brain trust of a company in a community, that tends to bring a lot of other good things along with it," Blazar said.
Blazar said that's not just in terms of whom the company employs directly with good paying jobs, but also the transactions that they do with other businesses in the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota.
In the past few years, the Twin Cities have lost a few locally headquartered companies like Northwest Airlines and Travelers. Blazar said with another loss looming, he'll be more alert in watching for up and coming companies that could fill the gaps.
Meanwhile, Blazar said he'll also reach out to Tyco Electronics to make sure they see that Minnesota is a good place to do business so they'll keep strong operations here.
Tyco's acquisition of ADC is expected to close in the fourth quarter.


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Car safety features will keep you and yours safe. And they will increase your car’s resale value.
From babes in car seats to new teen drivers to older drivers behind the wheel, the car safety features of today’s new cars are aimed at keeping everyone safe—the people inside the car and the people in other cars.
Car safety was the topic of a wide-ranging panel discussion at the 2017 Women in Automotive conference in Orlando. The panel featured Susan Scarola, who heads the National Foundation for Teen Safe Driving, and our very own Scotty Reiss, co-founder of A Girls Guide to Cars. The session was moderated by Jennifer Newman, editor-in-chief for Cars.com.
Watch the full discussion here:
Live from #WomeninAuto17: chatting cars, safety and women with Scotty Reiss, Jennifer Newman and Susan Scarola
Posted by A Girls Guide to Cars on Monday, July 10, 2017
Exploring Car Safety Features in a Broader Sense
Jennifer, who took the 40-hour training course to become a certified car seat installer, noted that 75 percent of car seats are installed incorrectly. Once the seat is installed, parents don’t want to do it again. That’s one reason features like a second row seat that tilts forward rather than folding flat to allow access to the third row seating are important car safety features. It means parents don’t have to take out the car seat to get someone into the third row, then re-install the car seat.
Still, Scotty said, car safety these days is about more than a quality car seat properly installed.
“This is something the auto industry is tackling in proactive ways. It’s about the safety of kids altogether,” she told the audience.
Ensuring Teen Drivers Are Safe
We parents are always reminding our kids not to text and drive. But we need to do more, Susan said. We need to model good behavior—from the time kids are old enough to be paying attention, not just once they hit driving age.
“Kids are watching everything we do, not just what we say,” she told the audience.
That includes us not texting and driving. And, perhaps even more importantly, it includes us wearing our seatbelts. Always. That’s because most teens who are seriously injured in car crashes were hurt because they weren’t wearing their seat belts, Susan said.
Modeling good behavior was a corporate challenge, too. “We really had to practice what we preached,” Susan said. “It wasn’t just teen driving. It started to impact a lot of the decisions we made on a corporate level—about having employees in cars talking on phones, about having parties with alcohol.”
Dealing with Those Cell Phone Distractions
Susan’s organization tackles teens and cell phones in a low-tech way and with a sense of humor: It distributes “phone condoms.”
“You put your phone in the condom, and put it away from you—in the trunk or the glove compartment. Some place you can’t see it,” she said.
Scotty likes a higher-tech version of cell phone safety–modern hands-free cell linking technology in which information is displayed on the car’s screen. That means the driver doesn’t have to pick up a phone and look at the small screen to check the navigation or answer a call. Even better, the system can be set to turn off notifications. Unless, of course, Mom is calling.
Getting Help from the Auto Manufacturers
Susan sent a shout-out to Toyota, which has a program aimed at teaching teens and their parents about car safety, driving safety, even minor car maintenance.
“They invite parents and teens into the dealership. It’s not a sales opportunity, but an education opportunity,” she said.
They talk about things like graduated license laws (one of Scotty’s personal favorites) that limit a teen’s ability to, for example, drive late at night before the age of 18. And they teach teens some car basics, such as how to refill the windshield washer fluid—another often unappreciated car safety feature.
Why Buying a New(ish) Car is the Best Way to Ensure Car Safety
All of those new car safety features—beeps when you drift into the next lane, automatic braking when you’re too close to the car in front of you—can be disconcerting. Scotty recommends taking the car back to the dealer for further instruction. And keep going back until you understand how everything on the vehicle works. Once you’ve used the car safety features for a while, you can turn them off if you don’t want them. The dealer can show you how to do that as well.
But she recommends buying every car safety feature offered on a vehicle. Not only will it keep you (and your loved ones) safe, it will increase the resale value of your car. And the money you save on car insurance could recoup some of the extra initial investment.
Giving Teen Drivers Safer Cars
Susan said: “When I started to drive at 16, I got the family’s station wagon, which was many, many, many years old. The tradition of passing on the oldest family car to your teen needs to be rethought. When you are buying a car for a teen, you want the safety features there!”
Scotty noted that the same safety features that come in a $100,000 Mercedes Benz also are available in a $20,000 Hyundai.
“Our advice to every buyer is to buy all of the safety features,” Scotty said. “As long as you have the hardware (the sensors), the software can be upgraded for the next 10 years.”


text: As we wrap up 2010, it's a good time to look back. This was a good year for consumer technology, introducing everything from advanced smartphones to cheap e-readers to bold new set-top boxes. And let's not forget the rise of the tablet with the introduction of the Apple iPad.But you can't really appreciate the highs without remembering the lows, right? And this year was filled with botched experiments and bad ideas. Here's a look at 2010's biggest bloopers and failures in tech.