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CMO Recounts The Fresh Market’s Live Shopping Journey at GroceryTech
by Bridget Goldschmidt, Managing Editor, Progressive Grocer
The Fresh Market Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Miller takes the stage at GroceryTech to discuss his company's adoption of shoppable video.
A highlight of the final day of GroceryTech, a three-day event presented by sister publications RIS News and Progressive Grocer, was a presentation by The Fresh Market’s chief marketing officer, Kevin Miller, in which the ebullient executive discussed how the Greensboro, N.C.-based grocer has deployed live shopping to deepen its connection with consumers. During “Live Commerce: The Fresh Market Stakes Its Flag in the Live Shopping Wars,” Miller kept attendees engaged with the story of how the grocer not only successfully leveraged this cutting-edge tech, but also had plenty of fun doing it.
First, however, The Fresh Market needed to turn things around after having been voted the worst company to work for in America on Glassdoor by its own employees in 2018. After onboarding a new executive team, The Fresh Market set to work doubling down on its fresh proposition, starting a magazine to bring the in-store experience to customers stuck at home during the pandemic, reinventing its curbside service to be more fun and friendly, and implementing an award-winning loyalty program. As a result, the company has twice been voted the best supermarket in America by the readers of USA Today.
Not content to rest on its laurels, though, The Fresh Market decided to enter an emerging area of business where China had been the undisputed leader for several years, with $600 billion in sales projected by the end of this year. “We knew that our digital experience was not the same as our immersive in-store experience,” Miller recounted to his rapt audience. “Well, what we were going to do about that? … One of the things we tested when we were testing everything was shoppable video and live commerce in 2022.”
Teaming up with San Francisco-based Firework, the grocer went all in with shoppable video that year, deploying the solution across its website, emails and social channels. “It was amazing what happened,” noted Miller, adding that “we expect[ed] our customers to somewhat reject this, and they embraced it in an unbelievable way.” This led The Fresh Market to ask, “Okay, can we go further with this live shopping opportunity?”
Buoyed by this early success, the company “created over 800 new videos in 2022 on everything, our daily deals, our monthly deals, our promotions, our new products, our grand openings – everything became a shoppable video,” Miller noted. “We found that we got over 130 million views of this content, and our customers now, as of today, they’ve spent over 1,000 days’ time watching these videos. Think about that. If … your customers [are spending] that much time embracing your advertising … as they’re being entertained and informed, their engagement rate goes way up.”
Miller went on to show what livestream shopping looks like at The Fresh Market. “We have a host or an influencer do cooking demonstrations with recipes during mainly special occasions or [for] new products,” he explained. “On the left-hand side of the screen you'll see a chat. In that chat are literally thousands of customers of ours watching this live in the afternoon, and they’re commenting about the products and the recipes, and they're talking with each other. The average livestream gets 27 views. Our livestreams get 3,000 to 8,000 views. On the right-hand side you’ll see the product cards, and those are the actual products that are being shown, and customers are buying them on the spot. And then you’ll also see the e-com integration straight from the livestream.”
He added that “then we rerun the actual livestream on our social platforms, on our own assets, and actually push out some to paid media. So the average livestream, we’ll achieve anywhere from 400,000 to 1 million views, like a little mini Netflix show of our customers watching our celebrities and influencers and chefs talk about product. That’s just stunning in terms of the engagement, right?”
Miller further observed that while shoppers are “in the moment, watching those videos and all those livestreams, at that point, they're ready to buy. And so if you can shrink the path to purchase because [the items are] shoppable … then the conversion rate goes way up. … We found on even just the videos during the holiday seasons for our meals, that the conversion rate is 300% higher than someone that’s watched … one of those top videos in a traditional banner ad or search or even native. This is an amazing conversion rate. And that’s … because you’re developing a deeper relationship, a more personal relationship, a more loyal customer. It’s going to be more profitable long term.”
The company has also implemented an AI tool on the back end of the livestreams, “so when you do the replay now, instead of the live chat that happens where we’re answering questions [in] real time, when the vast majority of the viewership is happening, those other 400,000 to 600,000 views, now the customers can go on and ask that question. It's only been out for about a month, and the AI tool … answers in the voice of the host, the brand. [T]his has become a really immersive experience for literally thousands of customers who are spending time asking our chatbot questions about products when [they’re] on the livestream.”
Miller also talked about the rise of retail media networks, “the fastest-growing media ever,” which are set to outpace the dollars spent on TV ads by 2026, and his company’s unique take on the technology. “With this incredibly immersive environment universe we’re creating around shoppable video and live commerce, that’s what differentiates the Fresh Market’s retail media network from all the others out there,” he asserted. “We’re not trying to sell our retail partners search words and shelf tags and stuff like that. We’re selling them the opportunity to be in the most immersive marketing platform ever, which is our shoppable video platform, and to share the type of results that we get with our vendor partners.”
The chief marketer’s lively, well-attended session was a great way to help wrap things up on the final day of GroceryTech, which ran July 11-14 in Cincinnati.
Jody Kalmbach, Kroger’s group vice president, product experience, had the honor of opening up day two, the main day of the first ever GroceryTech event, and diving into the event's theme: Scaling With Personalization.


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Leaked Samsung Galaxy S8 Videos Highlight AMOLED Display Features, Might Work With LG For The BatteryBy Erwin Castro, UniversityHerald Reporter
Samsung Display this week released two different ads on Korean Youtube channel, featuring the latest news about AMOLED display technology. But the most interesting story about the ads is the mysterious smartphone that came out in both Samsung advertisements on Youtube videos. The ads have just shown the prototype of the rumored Samsung Galaxy S8, according to the latest reports.
The Youtube videos are probably the best piece of evidence the crowd have seen, providing them a sneak preview of what the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 might look like in the wild.
According to CNET, A set of promotional advertisement videos from Samsung Display division may hint the design of Samsung's upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8. The Youtube advertisements, which highlights the AMOLED display features. It shows a smartphone with the little bezel on the top and bottom and a high screen-body-to-body ratio.
The device in question also features a fingerprint sensor that could be built into the display. But there's no home button found on the mysterious device.The rumors about the next Samsung Galaxy S8 phone has been talked about for months.
This would be Samsung's first phone since its controversial Galaxy Note 7 disaster, which makes the rumored device along with its safety record even more important than any new features it would show up.
But there also a strong possibility that the mysterious device seen in the Samsung's ads isn't the Samsung Galaxy S8 at all and that it might be some sort of dummy device.
What To Expect From Samsung Galaxy S8
Reports said that the rumored Samsung Galaxy S8 may also feature an AI-powered personal assistant dubbed Bixby, according to Digital Trends. The handset is also expected to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and pack with an iris scanner, Bluetooth 5.0 technology, Harman Stereo speakers, wireless in-ear headphones and may boast S Pen support. The rumored Samsung Galaxy S8 will likely see the RAM slightly bumped up to 8 GB or 6 GB.
As with the battery, reports said that Samsung could revert to the removable battery option to avoid any battery issued that plagued the fiery Galaxy Note 7. Reports also suggest that due to the Galaxy Note 7's recent battery issues, Samsung could rope in LG to manufacture the successor's battery.
There are no official words about the release date, but according to The Investors, Samsung might start shipping the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 by mid-April.

domain: news


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DROP EVERYTHING NOW, GUYS. A&W IS RETURNING TO SINGAPORE! It will be opening the first outlet at the new Jewel Changi Airport in April 2019!
This piece of news just made our day and we bet you are equally, if not more excited than us. Our beloved root beer float and waffles are making a return to our shores, and not forgetting the curly fries that we grew up earting!
Here’s everything you need to know about their return. Now, time to keep your skinny jeans in the closet. You won’t be needing them for a while.


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The Government is seeking dairy industry feedback on whether it should make further changes to the raw milk regulations.
The regulations came into force when Fonterra was created almost 10 years ago, and aimed to provide some competition for the dairy co-operative.
The rules require Fonterra to supply a percentage of the milk it collects to smaller independent processors at a fixed margin above the price it pays farmers for the milk.
Some changes were made in an earlier review several years ago, but with both independent processors and Fonterra complaining about aspects of the current rules, the Government has released a consultation document to canvas whether further amendments are needed.
Agriculture Minister David Carter is making it clear the review is not about the price of milk, but specifically about access to raw milk.


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Joined: 12 Mar 2006
|Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:48 am Post subject: HAITIAN MANGOES GOING TO THE FLIES
|Here is a sad article about Haitian Mangoes
Fruit flies prompt US to block Haiti mango exports
05 Jul 2007 22:32:07 GMT
Alert Me | Printable view | Email this article | RSS [-] Text [+]
More By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 5 (Reuters) - The United States halted mango imports from Haiti and returned 50 shipping containers of the tropical fruit to Haitian exporters after discovering fruit flies in crates sent from the Caribbean nation, officials from both governments said on Thursday.
Haiti's agriculture secretary, Joanas Gue, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended the certification of all Haitian mango exporting companies to allow its agents time to review treatment and packaging procedures.
"The USDA has blocked exports of our mango which is one of our leading and most appreciated exporting products," Gue told Reuters on Thursday. "This will badly hurt our exporting companies."
Haiti ships several million dollars worth of the tropical fruit to the United States each year.
U.S. agents discovered fruit flies and their larvae on June 25 and on Monday in shipments of mangoes from three facilities in Haiti, where mangoes are supposed to be washed with hot water to ensure fruit flies are killed.
"We suspended the program on July 2, because the failure of the hot water treatment in three different facilities indicates it is a larger problem rather than an isolated event," USDA spokeswoman Melissa O'Dell told Reuters.
She said the USDA was sending experts to Haiti to review treatment and packaging procedures before considering resumption of mango imports.
Haitian officials said the insects came from the United States in an empty shipping container. They said Haitian exporters, who operate under supervision of USDA agents based in Haiti, had fully followed agreed procedures and regulations.
In addition to returning the 50 containers to Haitian exporters, the United States blocked the shipment of more than 40,000 boxes containing at least a dozen mangoes per box.
Statehood or Bust


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Beauty Touch brings experiential retail technology to consumers
Urban Retreat has launched a new retail platform, which utilizes interactive touch technology to provide what it claims is an enhanced shopping experience for consumers.
Beauty Touch, a collaboration between the beauty retailer and DigiTact Ltd, an interactive software company, specialising in experiential retail technology, features a unique touch screen that can be manipulated by the consumer to provide information on products and treatments available in store. By using up to four fingers or a special product code, which is placed on the screen, the user can search for product information, share it with a friend via social media sites or download a QR code for viewing at a later date. The platform also provides the retailer with real-time clean data capture, the first time such a service has been available.
“This is the first time we have been able to measure retail analytics,” commented DigTact founder and ceo, Ben Gibson. “We can now measure consumer behavior and see how that equates to sales.”
Currently Urban Retreat has two devices on display in its Harrods flagship, which also promote its Christmas theme, When you Wish Upon a Star.


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CRISIL Research expects the twin blows of high gold prices and weak global demand to hit the gems and jewellery sector hard in the current fiscal year (FY21). Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which make up 65-70 per cent of the sector, will be particularly impacted.
The sector is expected to contract by 35-40 per cent in value terms in FY21, as both domestic and export demand get impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenues of Indian exporters are expected to be hit by the global growth slowdown, decline in world trade, and postponement of global trade events and diamond and jewellery shows. Exports in the first quarter declined about 75 per cent year-on-year (YoY).
The downturn in exports is expected to hit Surat, India’s largest diamond cluster, which processes 80-90 per cent of the country’s diamond exports. SMEs, which form a large chunk of the cluster, will be hit especially hard.
Domestic demand, on its part, is expected to shrink in volume terms due to soaring prices, store closures during the lockdown, and limited discretionary spends since. Domestic volumes declined about 70 per cent in the first quarter.
Domestic gold prices are expected to rise 30-35 per cent YoY in FY21, mimicking global prices, due to heightened geopolitical uncertainties, recessionary fears, US Fed rate cuts, and rupee depreciation. This is expected to curb offtake.


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A first-of-its-kind collaboration gathering global leaders and professionals from the food and hospitality sectors to connect in a virtual environment
Informa Markets today announced the launch of FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK, a new series of bi-monthly online events to help food and hospitality businesses connect and fast-track recovery, transformation and growth after COVID-19. The event is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between its Hospitality, Food & Beverage portfolio in Asia and Saladplate, an online marketplace serving the food and hospitality sectors exclusively.
Hosted on Saladplate, the first FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK will kick off from 25 May 2020 to 29 May 2020 with a platform for professionals to trade, exchange insights and deepen knowledge via real-time matchmaking, product galleries, live presentations and a library of resources.
The five-day agenda will entail full-day webinars, country pavilion highlights as well as a spotlight on the top 100 food and drinks that will shake up the food and hospitality industries. Themed ‘COVID-19 and the Future of Food’, the webinars on 28 May 2020 will feature a host of experts and exhibitors covering a range of themes from food security, F&B amid COVID-19 to hospitality management and food service.
Early confirmed speakers include:
- AgFunder – a global agri-foodtech venture capital firm. The firm’s investments in technologies for transforming the world’s food and agriculture system reached US$20 billion in 2019, a six-fold increase from 2012
- Big Idea Ventures – a venture capital and accelerator fund. The firm is raising US$50 million to invest in plant-based foods & ingredients, and cell-based meats through a combination of capital and partnership to support entrepreneurs
- Dole Food Company – one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education
- Impossible Foods – an American company that develops plant-based substitutes for meat products, Impossible Foods aims to give people the taste and nutritional benefits of meat without supposed negative health and certain environmental impacts associated with livestock products
- Pinduoduo – the fastest growing e-commerce startup in the history of China, attaining a GMV of US$15 billion only two years from launch
- Singapore Food Agency – a statutory board formed under Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources to oversee food safety and security for the country
- Sodexo – a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It is one of the world’s largest multinational corporations, with 470,237 employees as of 2019 and a presence in 67 countries
Registration for FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK is free, and attendees can select the days and sessions they want to attend, engage in live Q&A sessions, download latest whitepapers, reports and research from participating exhibitors, speakers and sponsors.
Mr Ian Roberts, Managing Director – Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Informa Markets, said “With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way we communicate and how business is being conducted, the launch of FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK is a signal of our commitment to drive value through digital initiatives for our customers and community in the industries we serve, and help them navigate these extraordinary times into a hopeful future.”
“FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK is the perfect timing for the launch of Saladplate.com, a 365-day online marketplace where our communities engage with one another, discover new products and make trade connections around the clock with best-in-class technologies. This event will bring together the best of online sourcing and the best of content suited to our professional community in a highly accessible format,” said Mr Dave Chan, Vice President – Digital Business & Advanced Analytics – Asia, Informa Markets.
More details on FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK’s programme and registration will be announced soon.


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Thank CTOnews.com netizens Rimi Ishihara for the delivery of the clue to happiness! CTOnews.com December 22, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) Apple Watch sales ban officially landed, Apple website has stopped selling Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
CTOnews.com visits Apple's US website, and after opening the product page, the "Buy" button on the right has been removed, with a "currently unavailable" reminder printed in the upper left corner of the product.
Apple announced on Monday that it would comply with the International Trade Commission's ruling and suspend sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Apple's offline channels in the United States will also be closed after December 24, and third-party stores such as Target, Walmart and Best Buy can continue to sell Apple Watch, and the ban does not affect Apple Watch SE.
Apple also issued a memo saying that out-of-warranty Apple Watch could not be repaired because of the sales ban.
The memo reads: "the product exchange (CRU) program does not apply to the following watches: Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch Ultra or later".
Including the Apple Watch Series 6 and newer models, as well as the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra, Apple cannot continue to replace Apple Watch with blood oxygen sensors that are out of warranty.
The above-mentioned Apple Watch users in the United States can still be repaired if they encounter software problems, but if they encounter hardware problems, they will not be able to continue to receive maintenance services after the warranty period expires.
Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.
CTOnews.com, November 6 (Xinhua)-- according to a report by Nikkei Asia on Sunday local time, the global cyber security patent data compiled by Nikkei News in cooperation with information service provider LexisNexis showed that as of August this year, it ranked among the number of patents held.
On August 23, the launching ceremony of the named train of Zhejiang Banchuan Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. was solemnly held in Changsha Station, Hunan Province, China. Mr. Zhang Jiangao, Vice President of Banchuan Electric Appliance, Ms. E Qing, Assistant to Yongda Media and General Manager of Central China and Hunan-Jiangxi region, Mr. Li Huaizhang, Director of Banchuan region, and the cooperation of Banchuan Hunan region.
CTOnews.com November 22 news, Bao Ke Meng's COO (Chief operating Officer) Udo Miyagi Chongren said that his goal is to ensure that the Pokemon series IP can last "hundreds of years." In an interview with the Guardian, Yudougong was asked that he was currently in the public office.
CTOnews.com January 5 news, Ziguang Guowei said on the investor interactive platform yesterday that the company has taken a variety of measures to actively deal with the impact of the recent epidemic, while ensuring the health of employees, strive to stabilize post and stable production, and all business work is basically normal. At present, the main business of the company is downstream.


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This weekend saw the hacking of major social media player Buffer, which caused many users of the social media content manager to annoy their Facebook friends and followers with weight-loss themed spam.
The problem appears to have since been rectified, and the security of the Buffer app should see improvements following the attack. Buffer CEO, Joel Gascoigne, offered an explanation and apology on the company blog following the débâcle, “I wanted to post a quick update and apologize for the awful experience we’ve caused many of you on your weekend. Buffer was hacked around 2 hours ago, and many of you may have experienced spam posts sent from you via Buffer. I can only understand how angry and disappointed you must be right now.”.
Gascoigne continued, “Not everyone who has signed up for Buffer has been affected, but you may want to check on your accounts. We’re working hard to fix this problem right now and we’re expecting to have everything back to normal shortly.”.
The severity of the event caused Buffer to completely remove its app from Facebook at around midday, Pacific Standard Time, on Saturday 26th October. This caused all posts made via the app to be temporarily hidden for much of the afternoon. With progressions being made throughout the afternoon, Buffer was back online at around 8pm in full working order again.
Questions will rightly be raised over the security of the app, and Buffer have already moved to reassure their million strong user base, “We’ve greatly increased the security of how we handle all social messages being posted and everything is back to normal,” read an evening announcement from the company. Buffer also plan to “publish an in-depth post about what the spammers got access to and what we did to fix it.”.
Getting hacked is the stuff of nightmares for every internet business – reputations can be ruined in an instant and Buffer will have to work hard to overcome this setback. Gascoigne promises to respond to every single e-mail they received regarding the issue, and to continue the post-mortem analysis to found out exactly what happened.
A recent report by Optify has revealed that Facebook is no longer on top when it comes to sales. In fact, its rival, Twitter has come up trumps with higher conversion rates of late. Whilst this news may have companies running for the little blue bird accounts, we need to remember to put this in perspective. Social still only accounts for a very small proportion of sales, on average generating just 1.9% whilst 41% comes from organically sourced searches.
Optify do report that whilst companies which manage their social media campaigns actively and effectively have high conversion rates, this is actually only a very few number of businesses. So what did they find? The report shows that Facebook drives the most traffic to sites above Twitter and LinkedIn, but Twitter in fact generates more sales and leads. Twitter actually has a quite high conversion rate of 2.17% (high for social media that is) whilst Facebook sits at just 0.74% and LinkedIn marginally higher at 0.8%.
Whilst social media is undoubtedly a useful and insightful tool that will continue to grow, organic searches still greatly outnumber any social media. 41% of traffic is generated for B2B sites, with Google equating to 9-% of this leads. However, Google have shot themselves in the foot a little for the latest data search encryption and algorithms. Conversions rates aren’t followed through and data seems to be ‘not provided’ in certain areas.
Another way to clinch back those ‘not provided’ data segments is via email. Email still holds very high interaction and engagement rates. As this is a fairly cheap and easily run tool, more businesses are turning back to email, especially B2B companies, as this is where they can generate leads and hold the higher conversion and engagement rates. The average in the report says that 3.75 pages are viewed from an email, with a 2.9% conversion rate – the highest comparative.
So should we all begin to invest more time, energy and money into social media? Or should we head back to basics and continue to churn out emails? We suggest doing whatever works well for you and concentrate on your own conversion rates to ensure you’re getting the best out of every channel you use.
Two thirds of the UK are now active members of Facebook. That means 27 million people in the UK have an account on the social media platform, with 19 million of this number logging in on our mobile devices. We also spend on average 7 hours on the social site, which equates to 1 in 5 minutes spent online, we’re on Facebook.
The latest stats come just in time and sit in line with a new retail initiative…The Retail Centre. This is a fairly new concept, but one that is already in place in America. Facebook aims to offer advice, useful hints and top tips on how to maximise your use and users on the platform.
It has been proven through statistics that there is a definite correlation between things that your friends online like, recommend and have previously purchased to others purchasing through these channels. Nearly 23% have tried a new restaurant, pub, or bar following a friend’s recommendation, with a larger percentage listening to similar music online to their friends.
The Retail Centre is set to release handy hints of how you can grow readership of your company on the platform, and potentially reach out to those people who are looking at friends profiles to see what they have been buying online.
Facebook launch a search engine, updating iPad apps and the release of a Facebook phone…all the speculation of the upcoming Facebook changes this year have been rife…and all but one have been widely spoken about and confirmed by Zuckerburg.
Facebook are indeed branching out into the world of ‘search’ and are introducing their own site search, aptly named ‘Graph Search.’ In its basic ‘version one’ form, you will be able to search for your friends info, photos and find out information about your friends that you may have missed on your news feed. E.g. you can type into the graph search things like ‘friends with photos at DisneyLand, Paris.’ Facebook will be able to search through the information that you have allowed them to publish (check your settings) and show these in answer to your question.
The new Graph Search has been dubbed by Zuckerburg as ‘the third pillar’ to Facebook, after the news feed and timeline and has hinted that the search could be a business in itself…this may be when the search engine moguls twitch their tashes and have emergency talks! One thing is for certain though, Zuckerburg and the company are desperately trying to keep users on site for as long as possible, and are looking for inventive ways to keep their users accounts active.
A recent survey from Social Bakers, a social media monitoring company heard reports that in the UK alone, Facebook active user accounts dropped by 600,000 in December. Whilst Facebook boasts over 1billion users, not all of these are active, nor visit the site daily. In a time when we spend more time on Facebook and Twitter than we do browsing the web, it seems incredulous to think of a multi million turnover company are facing difficult times…but they are. Social decline is a thing that is very real and something that has the business quaking in its boots. So, it seems that this bold and ultimately huge step towards and into the search stakes has come at a good time. Facebook need to keep ‘ahead of the times’ as this is what users expect from them. However, we as users are very keen to judge and we flock to the site to express our views on all matters. This includes the outrageous decision of the timeline trickle out…most were not impressed with the forced upon timeline initially and even used the site to smack-talk it. Whilst nothing was done, and Facebook lost a few thousands members, they want to ensure that we as users are happy, and spend as much time on the site as possible.
To be seen as an ‘active’ member, we need to be making new friends, interacting with others through status’, likes, posting and commenting on photos etc. Ultimately, if you don’t add new friends, your account becomes stagnant and your user journey and experience limited. As a result, less and less time is spent on the site and you may go elsewhere. Either way, more interaction between you and your friends has been dubbed essential to continue an active account, but is this the main factor in the decision to roll out the ‘Graph Search?’ We think not.
To be frank, Facebook want you to start your online journey with them and end with them. Whilst this is admittedly just ‘version one’ of the Graph Search, we have an incline that the big boys at Google will be shifting in their seats a little more, as Facebook will aim to produce their very own onsite search engine that looks a little further outwards than what they hold on their site…
Facebook is continuing in the pattern of getting more retailer son board, and not just through advertising. Last month we mentioned they were conducting a pilot case study in the states, with brands like Starbucks, where you could buy online to send to your friends as birthday gifts etc. Facebook now seems to have gone a step further in recruiting retail affiliates and companies.
They have recently announced a new ‘WANT’ button. Much like the ‘LIKE’ button that all of us on the social media platform will be very familiar with, the ‘WANT’ button fashions the same sense of personal stampage. Retailer pages will be the first to display the button, as well as another new one called ‘COLLECT.’ These latest pilot additions form part of the new ‘COLLECTIONS’ feature for and designed specifically for retailers online. Retailers will now not only be able to keep tabs on their most popular products, but they will also be able to upload and create a catalogue on Facebook using brand new functionality of the site and its tools. Brands currently involved in the pilot study are Victoria Secret, Neiman Marcus and Pottery Barn – very large chains and brand names in the USA.
We are a little sceptical. It seems Facebook is starting to move away from what it was originally set up for and more into the business market side of things. As if Mr Zuckerburg doesn’t have enough money already, is he trying his hand at something that in future years, could ultimate make company websites obsolete? OK, so you can’t actually purchase anything from Facebook at the moment, it sends you offsite. Does this mean then that they are trying to compete directly with Pinterest, gathering items that you ‘like’ and ‘want’ to put into your sidebar of ‘collections,’ sharing these with the rest of your Facebook friends?
It seems like Facebook has now become a word and a place of ‘normality,’ where it’s almost standard that you’re part of the Facebook family. It seems that the frustration and annoyance of adverts down our sidebar has gone unnoticed and the greedy minds behind the brains are after more…money is the main driving factor here. How it works is a little more difficult, but we’ll try and simplify it as much as we can: Users will basically be offered the chance to make purchases from a retailers catalogue of products when they ‘like,’ ‘want’ or collect’ a product from the ‘collections’ section of the page. Details of product/item/interest is then shared with your friends and associates on the social media site.
Granted, at times it may seem like a good idea to marry up an item seen on the Facebook page of e.g. Topshop to a quick buying solution tab ‘Want’ or ‘Collect,’ but how much will it work? The pilot is under way and we suppose it will only be a matter of time when we can search, stalk, buy and see what everyone else is buying on a platform with over a billion users. Scary or scarily clever…we’ll let you be the judge of this.
Microsoft bosses are pulling the plug on Windows Live Messenger after 13 years in the business. MSN as it was initially labelled back in the day, saw over 330 million users chatting to friends and family on the platform, with the addition of photo uploads, video interaction and games developed over this time. The tool became an instant (excuse the pun) hit for business and personal usage, with a large number of high-school children leading the uptake.
The decision to turn off the trusty site comes just 18 months after the announcement that £8.5 billion was to be spent developing the communications software for the product. There has been speculation as to why Microsoft has taken this bold move, but the main reason is numbers and focus. Comscore analysed the data captured to reveal that Windows Messenger Live still holds twice the amount of unique users as Skype’s instant messenger facility, and ranks second behind the most popular which is Yahoo Messenger. So why the sudden decision to drop such a well-used and well-loved platform? Decline. The report suggested that the user audience stands at just 8.3 million, representing a huge drop of 48% year-on-year, where as Skype users grew within the year.
Looking at the numbers above, you may think that Microsoft are shooting themselves in the foot if they choose to get rid of the messenger tool altogether? Their answer…Skype. Skype is a similar platform Microsoft developed and launched more recently in 2003. A tool most commonly known in the travelling industry for catching up with friends and family back home for free, is growing daily, and is predicted to overtake the number of users MSN once held. Some people may think that Microsoft set themselves up for this sort of number fall when taking on two, quite similar products – ultimately resulting in brand cannibalisation. Competing products from the same company can be seen as a healthy bit of competition, but when the end goal is trying to make money for the same business, it can go a bit awry.
Either way you may look at it, it can only hold hope for Microsoft. Skype is a better and more solid platform to continue development for their other tools such as TV channelling and the X-Box, creating and allowing more versatility than MSN once held. The factor of losing out to competing business from other brands is a risk worth taking, but with the security of Facebook coming on board with Skype, creates the illusion that Microsoft may just take the top spot in the instant messenging stakes once again in the not too distant future.
Windows Live Messenger is set to ‘retire’ in March 2013 (with the exception of China), with the chance to move contacts over to Skype.
Facebook is gearing up to become much more than the leading presence in social media to date. It seems the social media moguls are ploughing ahead and dipping their toes in the online retail market. A US trial is taking place to send out real gifts from the Facebook platform. You can send gifts to your friends, ranging from cupcakes, stuffed bears and gift-cards for a cost.
Facebook has dabbled with a similar idea before, starting out small with sending virtual gifts to people, some free, and some for a small cost. The team are looking to go big this time, and have got some of the high-end brands on board during the trial. Starbucks – the leading coffee chain, Magnolia Bakery –New York’s most famous bakery (made even more well known through ‘Sex and the City’), and Gund – a huge bear retailer, are all in on the trial act. Only a small percentage of people are involved in the trial, but we’re looking forward to the outcome of this.
It seems like a natural progression for Facebook to take on, what seems like such a daunting task to the rest of us, with the gumption and drive of the big boys in business. With the social media platform notoriously known for working with companies to track what we shop for online, whilst browsing on and after visiting the site, we predict it won’t be long before we start seeing last nights browsing items pop up on the right hand side of our screens.
It has not yet been stated if and indeed when the trial will end, when the scheme becomes multi-nationals and inevitably world-wide. However, we can only assume that with Facebook being as big as it is, that it will only be a matter of time before companies sign up to the project. With shares in Facebook remarkably low considering the wealth the company holds, this is one way they are almost certain to make more on the advertising scheme of things, with top retailers paying above the odds to be listed on the social media pages.
With Facebooks ever evolving face, and customer-facing changes like the timeline coming inot play recently, it was only a matter of time before the planning aspect of changes came into play. We’ve all been hit by the changes to pages and fan pages, but now it seems Facebook has come up with an ingenious idea to actual help us! Scheduling statuses!
Looks like Facebook are making it even easier to spend money with them. Instead of having to log into their ads centre, you can now do paid Facebook promotion from within your fanpage! Sneaky, but we like it! You may start to notice the below;
SKUmatic offer an integrated product catalogue specially designed for use on Facebook. It allows the automated building of store listings and product catalogues that will allow Facebook users to browse your products and find local store information via your Facebook page or click through to your company site. SKUmatic can also help provide marketers with local dealer information, advertising and promotional campaigns, Quick Response codes and more, so that you can keep track, create marketing promotions, and help grow your business through Facebook.
The product catalogue can be installed to Facebook with just one, single click, and is a self-contained application that allows visitors to browse products, ask for advice from friends, find local stores that stock their chosen item and view any promotions you may be running. The application will also track click-throughs so you can measure the effectiveness of your Facebook campaign, the Friends Advice and Shop Now buttons. In addition, every QR code generated can be monitored by the reporting module to track use by customers.
You can create and apply your own coupon codes inside the application, targeting Facebook visitors and helping to increase sales conversions. The control panel allows you to define start/end dates and customise the look of the coupon. SKUmatic also generates a Quick Response code for every product entered in to the catalogue, along with a unique mobile friendly URL to help drive customer interaction with products and promotions. You can also customise messages, embed images or video demonstrations to make the most of your QR codes and how they can help increase your business.
The colour scheme of the application is fully customisable, so you can design the page to mimic the colours of your company page or logo by customising menu headers, backgrounds, text and links, and reducing the need to pay for additional design.
Your product catalogue can be managed by brand name, customise category names and even assign brands and products to individual retailers if your catalogue isn’t fully stocked in every store. With the ability to upload function for products and category listing rules in bulk you can save time and effort while adding thousands of products in one go.
You can also create information on individual retailers including store locations, contact information and items stocked. Fully flexible, you can upload banners, logos and images unique to each store. The Where To Buy page incorporates some of this information, along with providing a search engine for nearby retailers if users input their postcode.
By fully integrating a product catalogue, store location details, assign unique products to individual retailers, and provide customers with a means of interacting with your products and other users, SKUmatic have created an easy to use system that can help increase your sales and customer base through the use of social media.


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Just as the NBA season prepares to tip off tonight, the latest installment of superstar LeBron James’ Nike signature sneaker has been formally released — and sold out just as quick as it came.
The debut “Ghost” makeup of the Nike LeBron 15 arrived at select retailers and via Nike’s The Draw raffle today, but it is already out of stock from most doors at its retail price of $185.
The cream-colored sneakers feature the brand’s newest Flyknit innovation, known as BattleKnit, and also come equipped with a combination of Nike’s Max Air and Zoom Air cushioning.
In addition to today’s widespread launch, fans in Cleveland had an early chance at the “Ghost” makeup and two upcoming colorways (“Ashes” and “Pride of Ohio”) beginning last night during a pop-up shop known as The Fifteen. The event is open to the public at 2000 East Ninth St. in Cleveland until Oct. 22.
For readers who missed out on today’s release and can’t make it to the Cleveland pop-up, there’s still a chance to get the LeBron 15. The “Ghost” colorway is available now on eBay with prices starting around $290, and the “Ashes” and “Pride of Ohio” styles are slated to release on Oct. 28 and Nov. 18, respectively.
Go behind the scenes with more details on the making of the Nike LeBron 15 here.
I Played Basketball in the Nike LeBron 15 Ahead of its Release — Here’s How They Felt on the Court
College Student’s Viral Sneaker Gift Is Winning Over the Internet
These Original Nike LeBron James Sneakers From 2003 Are Coming Back This Weekend


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In early September, ZTE, a Chinese smartphone brand, officially introduced the ZTE Axon 20 5G, the first smartphone in the world to be equipped with camera technology hidden under the screen. This technology promises to usher in a new era of smartphone design.
After a short launch, ZTE Axon 20 5G has officially “landed” in the Vietnamese market. Although equipped with camera technology hidden under the screen extremely attractive, but the Axon 20 is actually just a mid-range smartphone. Perhaps this is the smartphone that ZTE uses to test new camera technology before equipping it to more high-end products.
The covers of the ZTE Axon 20 5G are available in different colors.
Each box contains the names and famous quotations of famous scientists.
Accessories included with the machine include: transparent case, charger, charging cable, adapter from USB-C to 3.5mm, a VIP card for customer care.
This is the ZTE Axon 20 5G, the world’s first in-screen smartphone with a hidden camera.
The Axon 20 5G has a glossy glass back with an eye-catching pattern. The one we have is the black one, with 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM.
Brand logo “Axon” with 5G logo.
The front of the device is a 6.92 inch screen, using an OLED panel with Full HD + resolution, 10-bit color display support and 100% DCI-P3 color space.
Despite the “flawless” screen and advanced camera technology, the “chin” part of the device is still relatively thick.
At a distance of normal use, it is difficult to recognize the selfie camera area arranged by ZTE below the screen.
If you tilt the screen slightly, it will be easy to see the light-collecting sensor is placed in the center.
In fact, in certain lighting conditions, we can completely see the hidden camera area in this screen. Axon 20 5G uses a technology called “InV See” developed by Visionox, a Chinese technology company.
The area where the camera is hidden below will have a lower resolution than other areas of the screen, this is to make the sensor below can see through the pixels. Therefore, the content displayed in this area is very poor quality and users can see each pixel clearly.
Due to being located below a display layer, the quality of the selfie camera of the Axon 20 5G is also significantly reduced.
In most cases, the image from the selfie camera of the Axon 20 5G gives very poor detail despite the 32MP resolution, like there is a layer of fog covering the whole image is “soft” very strong. In areas with a high difference in brightness, aberrations appear a lot.
As in these two shots, we can see that the light area is extremely blurred, the image is also very blurred. This is aberration that occurs because light has to pass through a poor quality display glass.
Try recording videos with the selfie camera hidden under the ZTE Axon 20 5G’s screen: the quality is not too good!
It can be seen that because it is still a new technology at the present time, manufacturers will need more time to be able to optimize the camera technology hidden under this screen. As mentioned above, the ZTE Axon 20 5G is a prototype for ZTE to further improve in the future. That is why the machine also has only a mid-range configuration.
Axon 20 5G is equipped with Snapdragon 765G chip, 6GB / 8GB RAM, 128GB / 256GB storage, 4220mAh battery
In the near future, Vsmart will also release the Aris Pro with the same camera technology hidden under the screen. It is known that Aris Pro will take advantage of the power of AI to maximize the image quality after shooting, which will partly help Vsmart overcome certain hardware limitations on this new camera technology. .
Currently, ZTE Axon 20 5G is being sold for about 8 million VND in the Vietnamese market.


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LISTEN: DIY rapid antigen tests will be available to purchase at pharmacies from December 15.
It's part of a billion-dollar package to support COVID-19 in the community, the government announced on Thursday.
Nearly $1b will be invested in testing and contact tracing, while $300m will fund antiviral medication and $200m in welfare support for people self-isolating at home.
"It's a marvelous opportunity for pharmacies to be able to offer this," Andrew Gaudin, chief executive of The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand told Magic Talk.
"We think it's great the government's recognised the vital role that community pharmacies play."
Gaudin said customers would have the option of buying a kit to take home and do it themselves, or you could also take a test under the supervision of a pharmacist and get an expert opinion.
But will the DIY tests be available in all pharmacies?
"Certainly those who want to do it and have the capacity to do it," Gaudin said.
"We will be encouraging as many [pharmacies] as possible to do it."
He said The Pharmacy Guild wants to "maximise access" to the tests for all Kiwis.
Listen to the full interview with Andrew Gaudin above.
Magic Talk | Mornings with Leah Panapa, weekdays from 9am


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Digital technology is rapidly transforming society and the world with, unprecedented opportunities to meet the newer challenges. Growing opportunities created by the application of digital technologies including AI, ML, Bigdata, Blockchain, Crypto and e-commerce has lead to accelerate to keep pace. At the same time the present pandemic has slowed down the vision of running flying cars which was a far-fetched dream, and the lockdown grounded the airplanes as well.
But the luck seems to be favouring the Billionaire Mukesh Ambani to achieve his vision of making him debit free. Mukesh Ambani has laid out a road map to make Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) free of net debt by early 2021. Experts believes that, one of the best reason for Reliance Jio to be going on a stake selling spree so aggressively could be because of the debt burden that has been mounting upon Reliance Industries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Reliance Jio Platforms is the whole owned subsidiary of RIL. Currently, RIL has a gross debt of over Rs 3 lakh crore and a net debt of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
All the positive movement in Jio towards getting investment from the Global giants, seems his ambition to come true. Many global investors are looking to buy a stake into the $65-billion digital arm of Reliance Industries. At the same time if the pandemic continues for a longer time, then there is a chance to come back to square one.
A question is why Reliance Jio is on the stock selling mood and Mukesh Ambani wants to build a world class institution. Many think tanks are exploring idea’s on the recent M&A drive by Jio. The reason is quite obvious that while the global economy remains depressed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Reliance Jio is garnering one after another investment.
The industry is not able to guess on the game plan of Reliance Jio?
Investors are betting on Jio’s access to India’s huge consumer market, and its potential to shake up traditional industries in the country -- from retail to education and payments -- with its technology. India is the only major open Internet market where foreign technology giants such as Amazon.com.Inc., Walmart Inc. and Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. can compete for market share.
In less than three weeks, Jio Platforms has now raised Rs 60,596.37 crore by selling a total stake of 13.5 per cent. Post transaction, RIL’s holding in Jio Platforms will stand at 86.5 per cent. General Atlantic, the U.S. investment firm that helped fund Airbnb Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. is now discussing a potential investment of about $850 million to $950 million in Jio Platforms.
1. Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook agreed to buy a 9.99 per cent equity stake in Reliance Jio for Rs 43,574 crore (Investment of $ 5.7 billion USD.
2. Silver Lake Partners and Vista Equity Partners this week said they would invest about $2.25 billion in total.
3. Saudi Arabia’s $320 billion sovereign wealth fund is exploring a potential investment in Reliance Industries Ltd.’s digital unit.
Reliance is also in talks with Saudi Arabian Oil Co. to sell an estimated $15 billion stake from its oil-and-chemicals business. The Reliance industries said in a statement that, it is the largest FDI in the technology sector. The goal of the investment is to enable new opportunities for businesses and create new and exciting digital ecosystems to empower 1.3 billion Indians. It also said that the partnership assumes special significance amid disruption caused by coronavirus outbreak, adding that 'comprehensive digitalisation' will be a 'necessity for the revitalisation of the Indian economy.'
As per the reports, Mukesh Ambani said, "All of us at Reliance are humbled by the opportunity to welcome Facebook as our long-term partner in continuing to grow and transform the digital ecosystem of India for benefit of Indians." He added, "In post corona era, I am confident of India's economic recovery and resurgence and in the shortest period of time. This partnership will surely make an important contribution to the transformation."
I am sure , with the huge pipeline of investments that are coming into would definitely be going to act as catalysts for fulfilling Mukesh Ambani’s vision for Reliance Jio to create a digital-umbrella of products in every single category for India.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
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CANDIA — Buddy, a 3-year-old dwarf miniature horse, will lend a hoof to a spring celebration Saturday at The Farmer’s Wife, a farm stand and country store at the junction of routes 43 and 27.
The event, to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will feature face-painting, a bouncy house, kids’ yoga, and a visit from Buddy, who is in training to become a therapy horse. Rescued in 2016 from a neglected and malnourished herd of 12, Buddy stands at just 27 inches tall.
In addition to music from Nicole Knox Murphy, there will be a beer/wine tasting and food samplings. Also on hand will be master woodworker Dennis O’Shea, of DO Woodworks. Local fitness trainer Nicole Detellis will be on hand for demonstrations about RockTape and fascial training. Angela Castrigno will explore “Essential Oils 101 & DIY Rollerball Remedies.”
In its sixth year, the Farmer’s Wife specializes in New Hampshire-made specialty foods, beer and wine, as well as gifts, flowers and herbs and more. New this year is meats and meals from Smoke n’ Butts BBQ.
Owner Amy Sandler Komisarek also plans a guest lecture series, demonstrations, tastings and special events throughout the summer.
For more information, visit facebook.com/thefarmerswifenh.


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The Obama administration has placed the fashion industry squarely in the middle of its initiative to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
The push is part of a Made in America campaign being promoted by U.S. trade officials from coast to coast.
On Monday, the Los Angeles apparel industry received a primer on how to proliferate the Made in the USA label worldwide on the first official visit there by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis. His two-day trip to Los Angeles, where he toured apparel manufacturing facilities run by women’s contemporary brand Karen Kane and denim manufacturers New Fashion and Blue River Denim, and held a roundtable with apparel executives, was the most recent stop in a series of targeted visits by U.S. trade officials to various sectors of the fashion design, apparel and textile manufacturing industries. RELATED STORY: Commerce Officials Meet With Fashion Industry >>
Francisco Sánchez, undersecretary for international trade at the Commerce Department, made a three-day sojourn to North Carolina at the end of January to promote exports and textile manufacturing. He followed this with a trip in March to New York, where he toured Ralph Lauren’s headquarters and staged a roundtable, joined by Kim Glas, deputy assistant secretary for textiles and apparel, with major fashion firms and retailers, discussing key issues ranging from trade to manufacturing. Later that month, Sanchez addressed an American Apparel & Footwear Association’s sourcing and logistics conference in New Orleans, while Marantis spoke at the AAFA’s executive summit last month, addressing several hot button issues.
The new focus on the fashion industry is part of the Obama administration’s initiative to boost U.S. manufacturing and meet its goal in the National Export Initiative to double exports by the end of 2014. U.S. apparel and textile exports to the world grew 13.7 percent to $22.4 billion in 2011 compared to 2010, according to Commerce’s Office of Textiles & Apparel. Of the $22.4 billion in exports, textile exports grew 13.8 percent to $17.3 billion, while apparel exports grew 13.3 percent to $5.1 billion.
“I have been paying a lot of attention to this sector because it is an important sector,” Sánchez said in an interview. “Collectively, including the cotton growers, it represents more than 600,000 jobs here in the U.S. And so it is an important source of employment and I want to make sure that I am giving it appropriate attention.”
Sánchez said Commerce is planning to build on the success of its Sourcing in the Americas focus at the MAGIC show last August.
“We are going to build on that success and return to the 2012 MAGIC show with another Americas pavilion that can highlight Made in America products,” he said. “The Made in America brand is very strong, so we’re going to continue with the industry to take maximum advantage of the demand that’s out there.”
Los Angeles is a key potential growth area for exports, Marantis said in an interview.
He said the city’s apparel industry not only plays a significant role in creating jobs in the U.S., but he also sees big opportunities in foreign markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region.
“Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States,” Marantis said. “We can grow demand here, but most of the demand and most of the product that we’re going to be able to sell going forward is going to be outside of the United States. And…there is an opportunity for the high-fashion products that are produced here in L.A. for consumers around the world, particularly in the Asia-Pacific [region], which is the fastest growing region in the world.”
In the roundtable discussion with Los Angeles apparel executives, Marantis fielded issues that concern the industry. Though the roundtable was closed to the press, some attendees said the discussion ranged from intellectual property protection and counterfeits to yarn-forward provisions in trade agreements. Attendees included representatives from the Port of Los Angeles as well as the company Ice Time Apparel.
At one point, according to an attendee, the mood became emotional as the owner of a contract factory shared his story about being one of the few such businesses left in Los Angeles following the mass migration of production abroad.
Other attendees didn’t wave the free trade banner.
“Free trade agreements aren’t going to help us,” said Joe Rodriguez, executive director of the Garment Contractors Association of Southern California Inc.
Marantis would beg to differ. Following the March 15 enactment of the free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea, Marantis said U.S. exports will receive a boost of more than $10 billion annually, which will support at least 70,000 new American jobs. He noted that the NEI, launched by President Obama in 2009, is tracking 19 percent ahead of goals. RELATED STORY: U.S. Exports Climb on Sourcing Shift >>
To help boost trade, USTR is negotiating trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a regional pact that involves nine countries including the U.S., Australia, Chile and Vietnam, and interests nations like Japan, Mexico and Canada that also want to join. Marantis said the TPP includes provisions that could benefit small and medium-size businesses in Los Angeles by providing technical assistance and help in navigating foreign customs procedures. It also will try to implement provisions that prevent state-owned enterprises from holding an advantage over private-sector competitors through the use of noncommercial financing and relaxed intellectual property enforcement.
“When we get this TPP/Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement done, you have a new regional market that’s never existed before,” he said, adding that the aim is to present the TPP to Congress next year.
As the second-largest exporter in the U.S. behind Texas, California stands much to gain for its products, including apparel, agriculture and entertainment.
“The export opportunities are just boundless,” he said.
@zacposen's go-to holiday gift? Cookies! "I'll usually bake cookies and send them as a gift," said the designer, who recently released his cookbook "Cooking With Zac: Recipes from Rustic to Refined." Get the recipe for his Brown Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies via link in bio 🍪🍪🍪 #wwdeye #cookingwithzac
For @monsemaison’s pre-fall 2018 collection, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim honed in on the brand’s many signatures — men’s wear, which was tweaked and feminized through deconstruction, proportion play and lots of bare shoulders. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: George Chinese)
On Friday night, @yohjiyamamotoofficial received the Design for Asia Lifetime Achievement Award in Hong Kong. The 75-year-old designer has been celebrated for many years and is best known for his dark and avant-garde tailoring. “In my long career, in design, architecture, [I’ve been to] so many parties, this is the very first time that I have such a warm feeling, I really appreciate this,” Yamamoto said. #wwdfashion (📷: @dominiquemaitre)
Discovery is collaborating with British pop artist @philipcolbert on a new line of clothing and accessories called Discovery Shark. The collection, which will launch next summer for Shark Week’s 30th anniversary, features a whimsical line of women’s and men’s bomber jackets, sweatshirts, bags and more. #wwdfashion
“I’m always a big champion of a female rapper, and I’m glad to see a new voice that feels unique and authentic that’s coming up, and I think we’re going to see more great things from her,” said @itsjeremyscott about @iamcardib, who performed at @moschino’s Art Basel Miami Beach party last night. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
@janellemonae’s “What’s Your Frequency?” room in @refinery29's #29Rooms made its debut this week at the opening of the Los Angeles art exhibit. “It’s about the ongoing conversation around mass surveillance, the weaponization of technology and cultural uniformity. My space was created so that we can come together and talk about the complexities of our humanity,” said Monáe. #wwdeye (📷: @bucknerphoto)
@pantone announced their Color of the Year 2018: Ultra Violet. Nearly 20 months after the musician Prince’s death, fashion is having a purple moment. Varying shades of purple appeared on spring or fall runways, from @christopherkane to @calvinklein. @gucci’s Alessandro Michele bathed his fall runway in ultra violet-colored light at one point. Pantone 18-3838 is meant to “push the boundaries of what inspires us to look upward and outward to the future.” #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @kukukuba)


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PETALING JAYA: Pharmaniaga Bhd saw its net losses shrinking in the fourth quarter of its financial year 2020 ended Dec 31 to RM6.33mil from RM178.60mil in the same quarter a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter came in lower at RM634.58mil from RM715.68mil a year ago.
“The year 2020 has been challenging as the Covid-19 pandemic impacted all industries in general including us, which resulted in lower demands from government hospitals and clinics. The situation is similar for our Indonesian operations, ” group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope (pic below) said in a statement.
“Moving forward, we will face this pandemic with the spirit of reinvention and innovation – with fortified strategies in place by focusing on our strong research and development team to pave the way for the future of halal medicines, investing in digitalisation of supply chain management towards Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0, as well as on a multitude of e-commerce platforms to capture the changing consumer trends, ” he added.
For the quarter, the board has declared a fourth interim dividend of one sen per share, which will be paid on April 22 to shareholders who were on the register as of March 31.
For financial year 2020 (FY20), Pharmaniaga returned to the black with a net profit of RM27.49mil from a net loss of RM149.22mil in FY19, while revenue was slightly lower at RM2.73bil from RM2.82bil previously.
“This reflects an increase of more than 100% from the deficit of RM149mil in the previous financial year, mainly due to full recognition of remaining unamortised Pharmacy Information System (PhIS) costs amounting to RM247mil in 2019, which was a one-off non-cash item, ” the company said.
Moving forward, Pharmaniaga said its contract with the Health Ministry for the provision of medicines and medical supplies will continue until November 2024.
Its newly appointed chairman Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly said the company is poised to be the most respected tech-viable pharmaceutical company in Malaysia and is now positioned to lead in premier halal drug manufacturing.


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Business Development Director
In fall 2010 and winter 2011, the labor market will continue to recover from the aftermath of the financial crisis and will enter a stabilization phase. This is the conclusion drawn by the company CASE following a survey of wages and salaries, benefits and compensations conducted in spring 2010 in 17 cities across Russia.
The 2008 crisis had a serious negative impact on the economy of this country. The adverse consequences of the crisis are still felt on the market — inter alia, the labor market. The labor market is always very responsive to any economic changes because general economic trends are clearly reflected in tendencies for remuneration of labor, compensation packages and benefits granted. The latest of the regular surveys of wages and salaries, benefits and compensations conducted by CASE fully confirms this.
Wages and Salaries
The 2008 crisis made many companies view business from a different angle. Now it is clear that in addition to adverse consequences, the crisis has produced a tangible positive effect. Before the crisis the pay market was definitely overheated, and in our surveys we recorded a steady growth of wages and salaries for practically all personnel categories, from manual labor to top managers. Now most companies are changing or have already changed their compensation policy approaches. This has resulted in companies’ attitudes toward bonus policy being changed, as well as the relationship between fixed (base pay) and variable payroll components. In our payroll surveys we have often pointed out that for employees entitled to both base pay and a bonus, the aggregate income has basically not changed during the crisis period. This being the case, the base pay portion has decreased (often considerably — by 20 percent to 30 percent), whereas the bonus part has increased. As for bonuses, they have also changed: Employers are increasingly using a non-fixed bonus based on payment by results, whereas a fixed bonus is put on the back burner. Yearly bonuses are gaining importance in the labor remuneration system, especially for those employees whose performance cannot be appraised over a short-term period.
The crisis has also influenced social package policy, with business now taking a more sound approach to its activities.
Whereas previously compensation packages were constantly inflated by extra perks, many of which were introduced merely to keep up with fashion, today benefits are granted solely on the basis of business needs. Employers carefully analyze benefit costs, and in a number of cases these have been cut down, for instance, if statistically employees spend about 1,000 rubles ($33) on mobile telephones in connection with operational needs, the cap may be brought down to this level. What is more, employers have been optimizing the package scope. For example, as regards voluntary medical insurance, employers have mostly retained polyclinic services, whereas the dentistry package has been significantly curtailed, and certain options, such as supervision of pregnancy and childbirth are now to be paid by employees, although based on corporate rates.
Wages and Salaries Dynamics
During the crisis, wages and salaries dropped in most industries and in most positions, with fall 2008 and winter 2009 being the most acute periods. It was by fall 2009 that some companies again began to increase wages and salaries for their employees amid a slight improvement in the economic situation. The trend persisted in spring to fall 2010. A spring survey showed some increase in wages and salaries in most of the surveyed regions. However, the size of this growth in absolute magnitude is too small, so we believe it is premature to say wages and salaries are steadily growing and reaching pre-crisis levels. What we have is an adjustment of crisis curtailments that were uneven in different industries. We saw a 40 percent pay increase in the retail sales sector, yet in 2009 salaries of the same group of employees were reduced commensurably.
The pay change dynamic over the surveyed period of September 2009 to April 2010 in Moscow was a 1.84 percent increase. The survey results basically confirm the forecast made in late 2009 about a slow, yet positive pay increase throughout 2010.
We forecast that the slow upward trend for wages and salaries will persist and that they may reach pre-crisis levels in the nearest six to 12 months. That said, it is unlikely that the overall growth of wages and salaries in 2010 will exceed 5 percent to 7 percent.
This notwithstanding, the surveyed companies view the situation more optimistically. For instance, 82 percent plan to increase wages and salaries for their employees in the short term by 10 percent for the first time after the acute phase of the crisis. We, however, believe that the market will make adjustments. Whereas before the crisis the average percent of planned pay increases was 10 percent and the actual percentage was 13 percent to 15 percent, now against the backdrop of the market situation the actual percentage of pay increase in the following year will be slightly lower than the one planned.
It looks like the labor market is gradually overcoming the crisis, which is also evidenced by the fact that most companies have again begun to hire personnel. The percentage of companies that do not plan to alter their personnel strength remains stable, the number of companies that intend to increase personnel strength grew nearly twofold, and the number of companies that are going to reduce their staff went down nearly fivefold over the last year.
Labor Market Development Prospects
The labor market will be the first to respond to economic growth and hence develop. In 2005-08, pay increase rates were higher than the economic growth rate, which, of course, was a negative factor. Under the new post-crisis conditions, the pace of employee income increases and the rate of economic growth should correlate with each other, with business efficiency being the cornerstone of a new economic reality. Companies that managed to organize their activities most efficiently did survive the crisis. They stay afloat, taking the market share of their competitors that withdrew from the race.
Obviously, the crisis has helped most companies realize that their businesses are becoming increasingly streamlined and efficient, which results in this country’s economy becoming more efficient as well.


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From 2025, owners of eco-friendly cars will pay taxes on electric cars
In recent years, the demand for electric cars in developed and developing countries has continued to grow. More and more motorists are abandoning gasoline and diesel cars in favor of zero-emission vehicles. The popularity of electric cars is promoted by the general trend of concern about the environment, as well as the low cost of electricity compared with gasoline. Therefore, the number of such cars is growing rapidly around the world, both in the U.S. and in Europe. The UK decided to turn the situation to the benefit of the treasury by introducing a tax on electric cars.
The thing is that electric cars in the country are subject to a zero rate of vehicle excise tax (VED). The preferential rate is valid both during the first year after registration and afterward. Thanks to this, Britons have begun to actively switch to electric vehicles: half a million electric cars have been purchased in Great Britain since the 2010s. But at the same time, this policy has provoked a revenue deficit in the state budget of about 7 billion pounds sterling per year.
The tax on conventional fuel brings the treasury about 30 billion pounds a year, and the prevalence of eco-fuel cars negatively affects the revenue side of the budget. The British government has found a way out of this situation. The initiative lies in the fact that all owners of electric cars in the country will have to pay transport tax. The innovation will come into force in the second quarter of 2025.
According to government plans, the owners of electric cars that were registered before April 2025 will pay the lowest tax rate of 10 pounds during the first year. After that, they will switch to the standard rate, which is currently 165 pounds. It is noted that the standard tax rate will also apply to motorists who first register their electric vehicle between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2025.
According to the chancellor, business owners will benefit from electric vehicles, as tax rates for such commercial vehicles will remain lower, unlike cars with gasoline and diesel engines. At the same time motorists, who buy cars costing from 44 thousand pounds and more, are obliged to pay the tax at a rate of 165 pounds plus 355 pounds for the expensive car every year – from the second to the sixth year of registration of the vehicle.
Besides, representatives of the government of Britain declare that from 2030 the sale of petrol and diesel cars in the country should be completely forbidden. Thus, the government intends to completely replace diesel and gasoline cars with environmentally friendly vehicles without significant losses to the treasury.


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ROCKFORD — Bing's Drive-In, a summer favorite for root beer floats and burgers, has been sold to longtime restaurant operators who will reopen the business year-round in 2021 under a new name.
Plus, pizza will be served.
"Unfortunately we will not be open for this summer season," Benny and Rosalie Salamone, owners for more than 20 years of Salamone's Italian Restaurant in Cherry Valley, wrote on Bing's Drive-In Facebook post on Wednesday.
"It's very nice to see such positive feedback," Rosalie Salamone told the Register Star, commenting on the outpouring of social media comments about the purchase.
The business at 3613 S. Main St., which opened in 1952, tentatively will be called Salamone's South Pizzzeria & Bing's Burgers. The couple purchased the business from the Gasparini family, who had owned it for some three decades and wanted to sell, Rosalie Salamone said.
She said the business will continue to offer outdoor seating in summer. And the couple will add on to both sides of the building in phases.
Both the Salamone's parents owned pizzerias and ice cream parlors. Rosalie Salamone's sisters, Rosie Muscato and Caterina Wilke, will help run the business. It will offer carryout and delivery of pizza and burgers, she said.
"You can get your Bing's fix all year," Rosalie Salamone said.
Georgette Braun: 815-987-1331; firstname.lastname@example.org; @GeorgetteBraun


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The Big 5 Conspire To Ruin Your Air Travel
Want to know who to blame for your airline hassles? Here are “The Big 5” conspiring to ruin your air travel:
1. Congress. In an ill-conceived attempt to legislate a “one-size-fits-all” solution to largely anomalous and often anecdotal reports of airline tarmac delays, Congress enacted a law effective April 29th mandating multi-million dollar fines for airlines with aircraft delayed longer than a specified time, hoping to lessen passenger delays. But the law will have the opposite effect: instead of freeing passengers from tedious hours-long delays, this bill will create indefinite delays and cancellations of flights, stranding passengers enroute and at origination airports (for an in-depth analysis of the downside of this disastrous bill, click here).
Continental Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek said his airline will be forced to cancel flights rather than risk fines in the millions for an extended tarmac delay. The ultimate impact of this unavoidable cancellation for the traveler?
You will find yourself along with hundreds of other on the stand-by list for the handful of open seats going to your destination. And there can be only a handful of seats–and they’re not going to be cheap as a walk-up fare–because of number 2 below.
2. Alfred E. Kahn.
Known as “The Father of Airline De-Regulation,” economist Alfred E. Kahn was Jimmy Carter’s Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board. His blueprint for airline de-regulation was based on a flawed economic model, and was as misguided as economist John Kenneth Galbraith’s assurance to Lyndon Johnson that the Viet Nam war would be short and wouldn’t affect inflation. Kahn proposed complete de-regulation of airline routes and fares, positing that the marketplace forces would drive down ticket prices and provide the American public with cheap and plentiful airline seats.
What he failed to consider in his economic model is the fact that not only is the product–an airline seat–not inexpensive to produce, it is also linked to energy costs which are both volatile and unpredictable. “Cheap airfares” for the public are incredibly expensive to produce, forcing in the progressive “unbundling” of the airline product: now passengers must pay for each component of the flight–a checked bag, food, beverage, amenities like a pillow or a hard-copy ticket–and the revenue still only marginally covers the price of the product, with the airline industry losing billions nonetheless. Consumers insisted on paying less for an airline ticket, so now
they can cough up for food and drink at airport prices between flights. Everything must yield revenue or there is no airline, and nothing with revenue potential on board can be simply given away.
Further, Kahn didn’t foresee that many airlines would use bankruptcy as an operating shield for years (thank #1 above for not amending bankruptcy laws) to gain an unfair advantage over the few airlines that didn’t. This abuse of bankruptcy law dealt a financial beating to carriers that paid their bills but still had to compete head-to-head with many who simply walked away from their debt.
3. Airline Capacity. Every airline that intends to survive the high production cost and low revenue stream has cut capacity to the bone. This is common sense: empty seats are an unrecoverable loss and waste, and airline planners have analyzed traffic and passengers in order to minimize such waste and loss. For the traveler, this means less empty seats–seats which are vital when a flight is cancelled due to #1 above, or for the more common cancellations due to weather or equipment. Used to be that the percentage of empty seats was higher, allowing the system to absorb passengers from a cancellation or delay. Such margins are a luxury of the past with airlines having to deal with out-of-control fuel prices with an ever-shrinking revenue stream.
True, Kahn’s brainchild did spawn new entrant airlines–but they don’t have a seat surplus either, or they simply go out of business.
4. Airway Infrastructure. There are only so many take-offs that are physically possible at 5pm at LaGuardia. Although Alfred Kahn’s model says the marketplace will regulate itself, if everyone wants to sell a competitive 5pm departure, it is clearly predictable that there will be massive delays, which are the rule at airports like LaGuardia and many in the northeast, as well as from airports inbound to those airports. Kahn’s leverage, unfortunately, is you, the passenger, and the delays and misconnects you will suffer as a result. But in a free market, what business can afford to not compete in the market that customers demand? And when they do, how do they deal with number 1 above? As Continental CEO Jeff Smisek promised, there will be rampant cancellations and stranded travelers as a result.
LaGuardia’s delays are emblematic of the entire national air route system: despite Kahn’s academic model, the airways are saturated at all of the commercially viable times when passenger demand dictates the competitive environment. Which leads to more delays–and in the face of congress’s newly enacted financial penalties, cancellations and misconnects for you, the passenger.
5. The Big Box Store.
The heyday of the discount “big box store” gave rise to a consumer expectation of all products and services for steep discounts. Everything from home electronics to auto parts to furniture is now sold in bulk at drastically reduced prices by wholesalers with only minimal investment in buildings and equipment.
A new aircraft, by contrast, costs upwards of $50-$100 million per aircraft, and hundreds of such aircraft are required to produce a fleet with a competitive route structure. Further, each aircraft has to earn revenue daily despite upturns and downturns in the travel market, as well as drastic fluctuations in fuel costs which follow oil prices. Face it: the cost of an airline round trip is not the same as a set of tires or a Cowboy’s football game–but the public paradoxically expects to pay less anyway (more details–click here).
Still not convinced that cheap airline travel is an absurd expectation? Ask yourself why “cheap surgical hospitals” aren’t also a consumer demand.
Does anyone really think flight at 7 miles up and the speed of a 22 caliber bullet is any less risky than surgery? Does anyone demand the cheapest bare bones surgical “product?” Is airline pricing too high? Read this and decide.
Regardless, there remains an unrealistic expectation among consumers that somehow ticket prices should fit their budget rather than the actual cost of the product. Part of that stems from the low-overhead “big box” pricing that is the norm on other big ticket items, part from Alfred Kahn’s unrealistic promise to consumers of cheap pricing on an expensive product, and part due to congressional unwillingness to address the disparity between the two.
You tell me. These “Big 5” items have changed air travel from a Nieman-Marcus experience to a K-Mart Death March. Further, the airport and airway infrastructure are badly in need of technological upgrade.
The traveling public can make changes in #1 and #5; it’s time to junk #2, and it’s time to force #1 to make the needed upgrades to #4. The airlines themselves will take care of #3 when that happens.
Until the public and congress fix this, at least now you know whom to blame for your airline woes this travel season.


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25 March 2009 | Martha McKenzie-Minifie
GlaxoSmithKline has pledged to develop new sustainable procurement guidelines this year, according to its 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report published yesterday.
A spokesman for the pharmaceutical giant told SM that sustainable policies already existed but were not embedded across the organisation. The move would ensure there was a uniform policy applied consistently, he said.
The report said the company would deliver training for procurement staff on the guidelines covering the sourcing of sustainable materials, products with recycled content and energy efficient equipment.
All new procurement staff already undergo environment, health and safety and human rights training.
Meanwhile, the supply chain section of the wide-ranging report detailed the company's arrangements to ensure security of supply of medically critical products.
"These plans are defined on a product-by-product basis and may include holding sufficient stocks of products or active pharmaceutical ingredients," it said.
"We work with all critical suppliers to encourage them to implement their own contingency plans. In high-risk countries we will set up joint ventures to ensure that we maintain control over the distribution chain."


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Customer data collection: How to be trustworthy and transparentby
It is a widely reported fact that levels of customer trust in companies have been in decline for years. The annual Edelman Trust Barometer, for instance, suggests that customer trust in companies of all types has fallen significantly over the past few years to the point where only 44% of customers now express trust in businesses.
One of the behaviours that has had the most damaging impact on consumer trust has been company use of personal data. In a recent global study of 18,000 consumers, conducted across nine countries by Verint, with Ovum and Opinium, almost half (48%) of respondents said they were suspicious about how companies used their data.
Elsewhere, in its report ‘The State of the Data Nation’, Informatica surveyed 2,000 UK adults to find that nearly three-quarters (73%) stated they were wary of how the personal information and data they have shared with brands online is being used.
Unsurprisingly, this trend threatens to have major implications for businesses that today are increasingly reliant on customer data for insight and impactful marketing. According to Informatica’s study, for example, more than half (56%) of those who are concerned about the use of the personal data they have shared online with brands and organisations are reclaiming access to it and plan to share less information with brands or organisations over the next three years.
“All the evidence suggests that there is a lack of trust and a lot of frustration,” notes George Kidd, chief commissioner of the DMC. “We could get to the point where consumers’ willingness to give up data, or leave the box unticked, will depend on how businesses go about their relationship. If businesses abuse my trust, then they will act.”
Speaking at a recent industry event, Chris Combemale, CEO of industry body DMA Group, warned: “As an industry, we need to reconnect with consumers on the issue of data and build new relationships based on transparency and trust.”
So how can organisations ensure that they are transparent and trustworthy? What are the best practices they should be following to try to win customer trust back?
Be clear about how the data will be used
In ‘The State of the Data Nation’ study, being transparent about how personal information is used was nominated the top thing that enterprises can do to earn consumer trust, with half of respondents reporting it. In order for them to be transparent, organisations should explain why they want to collect user data, what they do with the data, whether they will sell or share the data and whether they will delete the data when they are asked to.
In the ‘Trust Economy’ report by GBG, 64% of respondents said they look for reassurances that their data will be used appropriately and responsibly, and 67% want to know specifically how it will be used before engaging further.
More than two-thirds of consumers openly admit to sharing bogus data – especially where they didn’t understand how it was going to be used.
“Be up front in what you are collecting – and why,” advises Karyn Bright, group marketing director at GBG. “Our survey revealed over half of businesses (59%) admit they collect data which is not used or even useful to the organisation. Consumers know this and increasing numbers are actually ‘dirtying’ their data when completing registration forms or surveys because they don’t want to be targeted with irrelevant information. In fact, more than two-thirds of consumers (67%) we surveyed openly admitted to sharing bogus data – especially where they didn’t understand how it was going to be used.”
Explain the benefits of sharing data
Traditionally, businesses had the upper hand in the company-customer relationship - they had products or services to sell and, if you wanted these, you had to pay, whether that involved cash or sacrificing data. However, nowadays consumers are increasingly savvy and know that the balance of power has shifted. Therefore, they are more discerning about with whom – and when – they share their genuine identity information. This means that the onus is on organisations to explain why sharing data is in the best interests of the customer and how it can help them. For instance, the likes of Foursquare could explain that they are asking users to share their likes and interests so that they can better deliver location-based recommendations based on these preferences.
“The most forward-thinking companies are looking at customer engagement across the entire life cycle – and not just as a marketing exercise. Storing customer data for the benefit of the customer has to be the mantra,” says Bright.
“We work with a whole variety of businesses to make sure they are collecting, verifying and analysing personal information properly – those that do it really well are, unsurprisingly, those where customer engagement is a focus from the top down. The Guardian newspaper, for example, has a really open and clear strategy about using readers’ data to hone their insight and provide relevant content and advertising back to their readers and viewers. They have been transparent about the fact that they value their readers’ data as they would any financial asset.”
Demonstrate how data will be kept secure
“The first thing businesses should do is fundamentally re-assess their security procedures in order to confidently reassure customers that they are able to defend their assets,” recommends Greg Hanson, vice president business operations EMEA at Informatica. “Brands also need to ensure they have comprehensive regulatory programmes in place. EU data regulations are set to become increasingly strict in the coming months with new legislation coming into effect, so compliance will act as a trust marker for consumers.”
Marketers must look beyond complying with the law and standards of best practice to complying with their customers’ wishes.
But Kidd believes that businesses should “look beyond the law”.
“Consumers don’t focus on whether or not marketers are or are not breaking a law or regulation. They are angry when they feel deceived or misled when their requests for privacy are ignored and when they think their personal information is being sold on,” he says.
“Marketers therefore must look beyond complying with the law and standards of best practice to complying with their customers’ wishes. Doing so is essential for creating effective marketing, earning consumer trust and preventing complaints.”
It could therefore be appropriate to appoint a privacy officer. Axel Schaefer, senior manager, strategic marketing EMEA at Adobe Systems, explains: “We recommend you assign a privacy officer […] that is aware and responsible of respecting legal requirements. Modern technology is able to measure close to every interaction with a brand, at least on a digital level – however, it always needs a human aspect to restrict oneself from misusing these possibilities. Very clear corporate data guidelines are essential to enforce the discipline on an operational level and with suppliers, too.”
Give customers greater control over their data
“Reassuring customers in the long-term is dependent on taking proactive steps to be more transparent about data use,” says Hanson. “Companies need to boost confidence by taking the time to listen to what their customers want and responding quickly and appropriately. For many customers, data transparency comes hand in hand with control. Social media companies in particular are seeing greater demand from consumers for control over the storage and archiving of their information, as well as when and how permanently it is deleted.”
Part of this control given to customers should also enable data subjects to access their data and correct any inaccuracies.
In its report ‘Digital creepiness: How not to spook your customers’, Forrester Research recommends developing highly granular preference controls to give customers as much control over their data as possible. It notes that ‘preference panels’ are playing an increasingly important part of the mobile app and website experience, as customers demand a more customisable experience from brands. Forrester suggests this will only increase, as the option gives a more transparent and trusting element to a business, as customers can choose at a granular level how much personalisation they are comfortable with.
Simplify the collection procedure
“Brands need to put in some thought into the customer data collection process to make sure that consumers feel comfortable,” says Kevin Tan, CEO of Eyeota. “Most advertisers typically issue a disclaimer when collecting data to inform the consumer what type of data they are collecting and allow consumers to opt out. This ensures that consumers are well aware of the value tradeoff for better CRM and relevant advertising.”
Part of simplifying the data collection procedure involves making terms and conditions clear and easy to understand – something that businesses are not necessarily good at.
Terms and conditions for online services and products are in many cases hidden, long and difficult to understand or even misleading.
“Terms and conditions for online services and products are in many cases hidden, long and difficult to understand or even misleading,” highlights Professor Udo Helmbrecht, executive director of ENISA. “We recommend that companies and public sector bodies review their privacy policies and create simple more effective methods of communicating these to consumers. We believe that terms and conditions should be more concise, easy to understand and companies should help customers take control of their data.”
Winning back trust
But with levels of consumer trust plummeting, can businesses ever really win back customer confidence in their use of data? Or is all of this merely an exercise in damage limitation at this point?
“Our world is changing too rapidly for anyone to be able to commit to ‘never’,” says Bright. “Brands recover and consumers tell us they actually want to share data with organisations if it means they’ll get services easier and faster. At the moment only 30% of consumers believe the benefits of providing personal data outweigh its risk and only 10% think that they themselves really benefit from any sharing of personal data.
“The challenge now is: can organisations commit to using data for the good of the customer? The technology has been around for ages, but it needs a cultural mind shift that sees data as an extension of an individual identity and not just a commodity.”
Hanson concludes: “Regaining consumer trust is not out of reach for businesses. However, getting to a point where customers feel completely happy and secure in the way their data is treated will take dedication and investment.”
After two decades of experience working as a journalist and editor covering business and technology, including over 15 years as editor of MyCustomer, Neil now works as senior content manager at skills-based workforce management platform provider Spotted Zebra. ...


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‘Mafia 4’ rumors: Next game is possible if upcoming ‘Mafia: Definitive Edition’ performs well
The “Mafia” series under 2K Games’ library of IPs is one of the titles that has been around for multiple generations of gaming console. With the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X launching later this year, fans cannot help but wonder if it makes the “Mafia 4” release even more possible.
‘Mafia 4’: Will Hangar 13 extend the trilogy
The series that debuted on the PS2 and the first Xbox has had its third main series installment about four years ago. Other than story expansion packs, developers have not mentioned anything specific about releasing “Mafia 4.” However, fans are holding out hope that “Mafia 4” is still in the pipeline somehow especially after recent interviews from Hangar 13 bosses as they prepare for the release of the first game’s remastered version.
Fans of the series saw some glimmer of hope when Hangar 13 president Haden Blackman told IGN, “We have a number of people on the team who worked on the original Mafia, and they saw it as a good opportunity as we were bridging the gap between ‘Mafia 3’ and the next project we’re working on.” The mention of bridging “Mafia 3” with an ongoing project was interesting, and fans understandably took it as a subtle hint on the possibility of “Mafia 4” currently in the works.
‘Mafia 4’ might depend on the success of first game’s upcoming remastered release
In another interview with Gamespot, Blackman also said the upcoming “Mafia: Definitive Edition” does not signal the end of the franchise. Here he mentioned that they have “some ideas kicking around” but maintained that where the series would go depends on how well the remastered title will be received in the market. It should be noted that Hangar 13 already remastered editions of the second and third “Mafia” games making “Mafia 4” a likely candidate project in terms of continuing the lifespan of the franchise.
For now, fans of the series will have to be content with the upcoming “Mafia: Definitive Edition”, especially since its narrative will not be a very rigid remake of the first game. Blackman explained that the story will make references to all three main titles. With that, there is a chance that the developer might have included some clues on what they plan for the future of the series whether it is “Mafia 4” or a different project.