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CYNOPSIS PRESENTS: OTT Special Report
Think OTT, act locally. This could well be the new slogan among advertisers in a market where consumers no longer distinguish between linear and OTT viewing environments, and where the latter is magnetically drawing more and more viewers by the week.
The onslaught of premium digital video services—many of them ad-supported or with an AVOD tier, and all with enhanced targeting abilities—provides a ripe opportunity for local advertisers. According to a July 2019 report from eMarketer over 218M U.S. Adults are projected to stream OTT video services by 2022, resulting in +65% of the U.S. population.
“The definition of what ‘local’ is has pivoted with technology,” says Rachel Williamson, President of Gamut, a media company specializing in local OTT advertising solutions, owned by Cox Media Group.
Four years ago, “we started developing deep relationships with premium content providers and began to marry national content within local markets. This helped our local clients reach a bigger audience and complemented what they were doing with their local linear content,” she says.
As linear TV viewership continues to decline and OTT consumption increases, advertisers are looking to maintain the reach of their local media buys in the markets that matter most to them. In fact, eMarketer reports a +20% OTT user audience growth comparing 2019 vs. 2014 (an increase of 34.71M viewers).
To that end, local OTT ad revenue is on track to rise 43 percent in 2019 to $857 million, and reach $2.13 billion in 2024, according to new research from BIA Advisory Services. “OTT offers a considerable opportunity for broadcasters to grow revenue,” noted BIA CEO Tom Buono. “As consumers shift their viewing habits, it’s an opportunity to extend the value of traditional over-the-air content.”
In the Mix
Buying advertising in the OTT and direct-to-consumer video universe, and measuring campaign results, remains a less than perfect scenario. And the process can be trickier for local campaigns, which typically are backed by more complex executions. But as options unfold, agencies and brands increasingly either are setting aside budgets specifically for local OTT ads or incorporating it heavily in their media mix.
“Because audience consumption is so quickly changing, you really need OTT as a strategy within your portfolio to truly hit the scale and full marketplace in local video,” says Williamson. “We look at OTT as a complement to linear television in creating a fully inclusive video strategy.”
Williamson says as OTT services multiply, the greatest opportunity at Gamut is “being able to work directly with the content providers and the platforms directly to try to aggregate as much scale as possible. That way, we can start to understand how to deliver to the audiences that aren’t being reached by cable any longer, or incremental reach to what the local broadcast affiliates are able to deliver.”
According to eMarketer’s July 2019 report, over 4M HH’s have cancelled their traditional cable/satellite service this year and currently there are 40.2M HHs that are either cord-cutters or cord-nevers. This group of “Non-Pay TV” households is expected to grow to 56.1M by 2023.
The proof is in the activations. In three recent studies by Cox Custom Research using a MarketCube Panel, OTT advertising drove a significant lift in intent to purchase. Specifically, Gamut saw a 15 percent lift for a travel destination, a 40 percent lift for a CPG client, and a 130 percent lift for a retail client.
Additionally, in two recent ACR (Automated Content Recognition) studies, Gamut OTT advertising drove incremental lift in intent to purchase for viewers who saw the ad solely in the OTT universe. Ads viewed by consumers who were not also exposed to the television campaign drove a lift of 90 percent for a tier II auto advertiser and a lift of 90 percent for a QSR advertiser.
Digital technology is an asset. OTT services can, for example, use a viewer’s IP address to determine their location, a boon for brands looking to make local impact. “The technology behind all things digital and the OTT landscape really does support a dynamic flow of advertising while maintaining that big screen in the living room for the user,” says Jill Steinhauser, SVP, ad sales revenue and planning, at Discovery Inc.
The market provides “a really great opportunity now to find their local audiences at scale, and create a really rich experience for the clients as well as the viewer in sending a nice targetable message to them,” Steinhauser adds. “You can do that fairly seamlessly in OTT in terms of the dynamic ad insertion piece.”
Steinhauser says Discovery supports some 150-200 devices and different versions of devices that are considered OTT. The early days of its ascent “reminded us at Discovery of the early days of mobile, where you spend hours and hours thinking about how you’re going to serve ads on those platforms,” she says.
Yet while it took the mobile market five to seven years to sort out ad solutions, “with OTT a lot of companies are figuring that out fairly quickly,” she says. “They’re focusing on it, hiring appropriately and putting investment behind it to find the best vendors. Where the audience is going is typically where the marketplace follows from an infrastructure perspective as well.”
The missing link remains measurement. “The only thing really holding it back from true explosive growth or even going completely cross-platform is the measurement on these OTT services,” Steinhauser says. “It’s not holistic enough.”
While she acknowledges the industry is “making strides every day,” Steinhauser says it will take an integrated effort. “It will take the entire industry, from content providers, measurement services, device manufacturers and aggregators to really force the issue forward and get it done,” she says. On the positive, she notes, “Digital is not predicated on one currency, i.e., Nielsen, like linear is—so it’s going to deal with multiple currencies, which is a good thing. It allows a little more flexibility on measurement.”
Williamson says as technology advances, “more of what were talking about now are targeting and accountability metrics. I always pause when it comes to saying attribution, because in my opinion that takes you down all the way to the lower funnel and what these premium video assets are best for are branding and consideration—more upper-funnel tactics. So what we need to do as an industry is make them more accountable.”
A key function to Gamut’s concierge work with clients, she says, is offering guidance about what exactly to measure and parse. “I often say to clients, ‘Just because we can measure it doesn’t mean we should.’ We’re very new in some ways and so are the attribution models because they were traditionally made for digital, mobile and desktop driven media in a one-to-one model.
“But TV is an on-the-wall viewing environment, at the household level,” she adds. “The industry is getting better at what metrics should be measured, how we get more accountability, what methodologies are adequate and true—we still have some work to get done there, but those are a lot of the conversations we have with clients.”
Winter Is Coming
This fourth quarter and into early next year will see an onslaught of new OTT services. Some, like NBCU’s Peacock, are entering the market as ad-supported services. And while others, including WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and Disney+, are launching as subscription services, many in the industry believe they eventually will add an ad-supported tier as have some of their predecessors.
“Over time, most of the streamers will have to open to advertising in their platforms as they see how difficult it is to build subscribers,” Bruce Gersh, president of People, Entertainment Weekly, People en Espanol and Four M Studios/Meredith, said at the recent Cynopsis Big TV conference.
“I see such an opportunity as people start to experiment with the content libraries,” Williamson says. “I think we’ll see more cord-cutters and cord-nevers as the younger generations mature into our key buying demos. That’s where I see the opportunity in OTT growing.”
”There is a lot to choose from, so the viewership will be fragmented, and a lot of the services will end up with an ad-supported layer,” Steinhauser says. “Introducing ads into these services needs to be done very carefully ie, what Hulu has done, what ESPN+ has done. You need to be really protective of your consumer base, making sure subscribers have the best experience you can give them.”
This report originally appeared on Cynopsis.com.


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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), a leading news and information provider and publisher of iconic news brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and The Sacramento Bee, is making a strategic investment in Engage3, a pioneering developer of retail intelligence and mobile shopping solutions. The two companies also are working together to identify markets where McClatchy media properties can introduce Engage3's ShoppingScout app as a valuable new service for its readers and subscribers.
The amount of the investment, which will be used to accelerate market adoption of Engage3's ShoppingScout mobile application, was not disclosed.
"This is an exciting digital investment for McClatchy. Engage3 is at the forefront of transforming the retail shopping experience by empowering consumers with personalized, timely shopping information," said Christian A. Hendricks, McClatchy's vice president, interactive media. "Engage3's vision aligns nicely with McClatchy's commitment to providing our audiences with information relevant to their daily lives and connecting shoppers and advertisers."
Engage3′s mobile application, ShoppingScout (www.shoppingscout.com), helps consumers find information on brands and retailers and receive promotional offers via social, digital and print media. Engage3 uses sophisticated algorithms to determine the shopper's intent to buy and makes that information available to partnering grocery retailers and manufacturers so they can respond with personalized offers.
"We are thrilled that McClatchy is joining us an investor and a partner with a shared vision for delivering a personalized shopping experience for consumers. McClatchy's history of investment success with emerging digital companies that became market leaders is a tremendous endorsement and a validation of our business," said Ken Ouimet, CEO of Engage3.
The McClatchy Company is a leading news and information provider, offering a wide array of print and digital products in each of the markets it serves. McClatchy's operations include 29 daily newspapers, community newspapers, websites, mobile news and advertising, niche publications, direct marketing and direct mail services. The company's largest newspapers include the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram, The Sacramento Bee, The Kansas City Star, the Miami Herald, The Charlotte Observer and The (Raleigh) News & Observer. McClatchy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI. www.mcclatchy.com
Engage3 is a participatory commerce platform that works with retailers, manufacturers and media outlets to deliver personal shopping experiences and provide increased sales and market share. To help companies better understand shopper intent-to-buy and unlock billions of dollars in currently inaccessible profits, Engage3 uses intelligent sales agents to support consumer media and app providers in creating marketplaces reaching millions of consumers. The Engage3 personal shopping assistant, called ShoppingScout, is key to enabling consumers to better manage their shopping, find products, plan their shopping trips and negotiate for individual discounts. More information is available at www.engage3.com.

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JUPITER-80 Wins Award
Roland gets 2011 MIPA awards for the JUPITER-80 and V-Drums TD-30 28/03/12
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Roland Corporation U.S. has announced that the JUPITER-80 and the V-Drums TD-30 are recipients of this year's prestigious mipa Musikmesse International Press Award for Synthesizer Hardware and Electronic Percussion. Considered by many the "Grammy" of the Musical Instrument/Pro Audio industry, mipa awards have been presented each year during the Musikmesse/Prolight + Sound since 2001.
This year, more than 100 members of the international press voted for the best musical instruments of 2011/2012. Awards were presented during a special ceremony on Thursday, March 22, 2012, in Frankfurt, Germany.


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The Egyptian political crisis could hardly have happened at a worse time for the European food industry, struggling to contain the recent significant increases in commodity prices.
According to the UK’s Food and Drink Federation, raw material costs have not been immediately matched by higher retail prices and two-thirds of its members expect to increase prices in 2011.
This problem has been compounded by Egypt’s growing importance to the European food sector. Egypt’s food exports to the European Union (EU) are soaring thanks to the EU-Egypt Association Agreement in 2004, rising 80% over the two years immediately after the deal and still increasing.
The EU has granted duty free access for pasta, cocoa preparations, processed vegetables, tobacco and other products from Egypt, while the African country’s main exports to the EU are oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, preparations of fruits and vegetables, and sugar confectionery.
According to EU statistical agency Eurostat’s latest figures, Egyptian food exports to Europe were valued at EUR598m in 2009, with EU food exports to Egypt worth EUR1.5bn.
However, this valuable trade has been hit by the closure of the country’s 11 ports amid the current political turmoil.
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The Egyptian embassy in Paris said that although Egypt’s customs department was officially still at work, it was not sure what work was actually being done. The embassy cited “a dreadful protest” at the harbour of Suez [the main Red Sea port] that had blocked the departures of ships. The embassy also said there were similar problems in the Mediterranean port of Alexandria, the main port for goods being shipped to Europe.
Egypt is a major food producer and exporter, with some 6,000 registered companies that employ 500,000 people. Food and drinks manufacturing represents an estimated 20% of Egypt’s overall GDP, according to Egypt’s Food Export Council (FEC). Annual sales from the entire sector exceed US$18bn, according to the FEC.
The processed food sector is particularly large – valued at US$1.2bn in 2007 and forecast to be worth EGP22bn (US$3.75bn) by 2013, according to the Egyptian Chamber of Food Industries (ECFI).
Indicative of recent growth was that between 2006 and 2007 (the latest statistics available from the chamber), processed food exports increased by 49%, while fresh product exports rose from EGP6.5bn (US$1.1bn) to EGP8.6bn (US$1.45bn) in 2008.
Major international companies have manufacturing facilities in the country, including Kraft Foods, Heinz, Nestle, Danone, Pepsico and Carrefour. Kraft, Nestle and Danone are among those that have had to suspend operations in Egypt since the unrest began, while Carrefour and German retail giant Metro Group have had to close stores.
Lisa McCooey, communications director of the EU food industry association CIAA, said the price and availability of raw materials is a growing concern for EU food manufacturing firms, “not only because of the Egyptian problem but other natural disasters”. There is a particular worry over supplies of GM-free cereals, she said. And this could be exacerbated by prolonged hold-ups in Egyptian shipments. The UK’s Home Grown Cereals Authority has just reported that some African countries “have been bulk buying commodities such as wheat and grain in response to worries about shortage caused by the situation in Egypt”.
There is particular concern in Italy, Egypt’s largest trading partner in the EU. Italy imported EUR90m of food products (including conserves) from Egypt last year, according to the Italian Trade Commission (ICE). It also imports significant amounts of petrol and this has fuelled speculation about petrol prices, raising concern about potential effects throughout Italy’s food industry, especially regarding distribution.
But direct imports from Egypt are the main problem. Puglia-based wholesaler Rino Storelli imports beans, grapes, artichokes and strawberries from Egypt and sales manager Maria Grazia Di Benedetto said that no shipments had left Egyptian ports since last week. “We will be supplementing the lack of Egyptian products from the local market,” she said. The Italian Association of Fruit and Vegetable Traders, Fruitimprese, confirmed on Wednesday (2 February) that shipping was at a standstill and that Egyptian imports (such as potatoes, beans and artichokes) would most likely be replaced by local produce in the short-term.
Another important Italian food sector affected is the important grain market, where national growers association Coldiretti has signalled significant price increases. “Prices have reached US$8.5 a bushel, which is what they were at when fire and drought in Russia last sent prices soaring,” said spokeperson Paolo Falcioni. Price rises had been caused by Egypt’s announcement it would buy more grain to help mollify protestors angered by soaring bread prices.
Egypt’s market itself is large, with nearly 80m consumers. However, demand is primarily for low- and medium-priced goods because most Egyptian consumers are poor: a recent report by Egypt’s Information and Decision Support Centre showed Egyptian families spend 44.9% of yearly income on food. Supermarket chains have been slow to make inroads in the country, especially outside of Cairo.
Within Egypt, as protests paralyse Cairo, many currently fear widespread food shortages. The escalation of the demonstrations last Friday (Jan 28) and the subsequent cut-off of Internet and mobile phone services, plus the imposition of a curfew led Egyptians into panic buying of staples. But six days later, food is still being supplied to the capital, with little price speculation.
“Some prices are going up and some prices are staying the same,” explained a Cairo mother-of-three to just-food, with some vendors taking advantage, but many keeping prices stable. Indeed, the manager of the New Market food store in Mounira, a neighbourhood in downtown Cairo, said: “There is no change in prices. The things that are running out right now are rice, macaroni, and vegetable oil – the staples. We have enough of these to resupply till the beginning of next week.”
Looting is a problem though, especially last weekend when Carrefour and the Hyper One Centre suffered severe damage. Mahmoud Zada, one of the owners of Alfa Market, one of Cairo’s largest supermarket chains, said some food manufacturing factories have closed. “Yoghurt is short on supply and some processed meat. They started to re-supply milk today (2 February),” he said. But Alfa Market is running out of imported goods: “Everything in the port is staying in the port. No ships are coming. We expect the goods to be released from the ports today, but we don’t know. There is no transportation between the provinces…so we prefer to keep the [stock] in the port.”


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Amazon TV Streaming Box Codenamed Cinnamon Due in Time for the Holidays
October 4, 2013 10:45 AM
comment(s) - last by
Amazon hopes to have content deals in place by the middle of October says source
A report has surfaced that Amazon plans on having a
new TV streaming box
on the market in time for holiday shopping. According to the report the new streaming TV box is codenamed Cinnamon.
Sources also suggest that Amazon has approached software developers and cable providers in recent weeks in efforts to secure content partners for the set top box by the middle of October. Amazon has made no official statements on rumors about the set top box at this time.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos [Image Source: PBS]
Amazon will be stepping into a market to compete against companies lie Apple, Western Digital, and Roku. Amazon already competes directly against Apple in the tablet market and is one of the more successful players with an
estimated 22 percent market share
The set top box from Amazon could be an interesting offer since the company has a history of selling new products at break even in hopes of making money on content. Amazon runs the successful Prime movie streaming service that will undoubtedly be closely integrated into any set top box the company provides.
Roku recently unveiled a
new line of streaming set top boxes
along with the new TV and movie store called M-Go.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
So no Amazon Video for the Chromecast?
10/8/2013 10:31:24 AM
Last I checked, Chromecast and Amazon Video don't work together, or at least not like Youtube and Netflix.
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The 100-day countdown to the start of Euro 2012 began on 29 February. Carlsberg, the official beer of the England team, launched a free Euro 2012 app, offering exclusive content and news.
Carlsberg's Facebook page offered fans the chance to win a VIP football trip to Liverpool FC. The posts highlighting the competition received more than 800 'likes' and 100 'shares', as Carlsberg looked to maximise its links with the club.
'Carlsberg don't make ...' chatter from fans being creative with the brand's old strapline on social media kept its score high.
Carlsberg debuted its new ad ahead of Euro 2012, showing the makings of a perfect fan. Featuring an array of famous faces including Ian Wright, Des Lynam and Stuart Pearce, it proved a hit on Twitter.
Carlsberg's social-media approach and £35m marketing budget ahead of Euro 2012 has clearly improved the lager brand's reach. Attracting its 500,000th Facebook fan in April, an increasing SMR score is testament to the brand's online strategy.
The Yomego SMR Index helps brands to benchmark their popularity in social channels. Follow @YomegoSocial


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Ghana has increased its cocoa farmgate price to GHC8,000 ($1,484) per tonne for the 2019/2020 season beginning October this year.
The price has been stable for the past three seasons and as such the new farmgate price represents 5.2% increment . This was driven by strong sales of export contracts to chocolate makers and cocoa houses.
Farmgate price is the price of the product available at the farm, excluding any separately billed transport or delivery charge.
A source at Ghana Cocoa Board told Reuters, The farmgate price rises from GHS7,600 last season to GHS8,000 ($1,484.81) per tonne in the season starting in October. This translates to GHS500 per bag for the farmers.
In 2018/2019, Ghana is estimated to have produced about 900,000 tons of cocoa beans, a decrease from approximately 969 thousand tons in 2016/2017.
The government of Ghana estimates some 800,000 families in the country are living in part by cocoa farming. West Africa produces 70 percent of the world’s cocoa beans and in Ghana, the beans are the top agricultural exporter .


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According to reports, Google is cracking down on third-party call recording apps for Android phones. Third-party app developers will no longer be able to offer the call recording capability as of May 11. Google recently updated its Play Store Policy; one of the modifications was to remove call recording apps from Android smartphones. Apps on the Play Store are no longer allowed to use the Accessibility API for call recording due to the new policy. What this means for Android users with smartphones.
This means that starting May 11, Android users who have a smartphone without a built-in call recorder will be unable to record calls. The new policy modifications, initially noticed by Reddit user NLL Apps, only apply to third-party call recording apps. The native call recording feature will continue to function normally.
Also Read: Apple Might Improve Notifications in iOS 16.
New Google Play Policy Doesn’t Apply to Native Android Apps
So, if a user’s smartphone includes a call recording feature, he or she can continue to utilize it. This implies they can keep recording calls without using third-party software. Because they come pre-installed on the phone and are not subject to Play Store regulations; system or native/default apps can request any permission. Almost all Android smartphone suppliers, including Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, OnePlus, and Google itself, support native call recording. For several years, Google has been working to prevent call recording on Android smartphones. On Android 6, it disabled real-time call recording, and on Android 10, it restricted call recording via the microphone.
In reality, if a call was being recorded; Google’s Android 11 Beta warned the recipient with a beep, but this feature did not make it into the final version. Because of Google’s action, call recording apps had to change their methods and began recording calls through the Accessibility Service on Android 10 and subsequent versions.
Also Read: Google Pixel 6a Will Offer As Much Power To User As Pixel 6.


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The books publication industry of India is passing through a crucial and highly competitive phase. The growing popularity of e-books and sale of paper books at e-commerce websites have changed the way books were published, distributed and sold in India so far.
In the international market, regulations of and litigation in the field of books publication and e-books are fast increasing. For instance, Apple was fined in Beijing court for unauthorised e-books sale. Similarly, publishers entered into a settlement with European Union for e-books price fixation. The Penguin Group also settled an e-book price escalation lawsuit recently.
Back in India, the books distribution and wholesale channels have been severely hit by the burgeoning e-commerce business of India. While healthy competition is always welcome and is good or the consumers yet unreasonable and unethical business practices must be curbed at the very inception.
Unfortunately, Indian e-commerce websites are operating in an unregulated manner and they need to be suitably regulated as soon as possible. E-commerce websites in India are also engaging in violation of various Indian laws including taxation laws, foreign exchange laws, consumer laws and contractual laws. E-commerce websites in India are also engaging in predatory pricing thereby pushing the small business houses and businessmen out of business.
Books publishers in India have now decided to seek policy as well as legal intervention against the predatory pricing tactics of Indian e-commerce websites. The Federation of Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Associations in India (FPBAI) had recently written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministries of Finance, Commerce, and Human Resource Development, complaining about the “questionable trade practices” adopted by e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon. In fact, Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Uber, etc have already been questioned by the regulatory authorities of India for violating Indian laws.
S. Chand, a well-known publisher of text books, had also served a legal notice to Flipkart six months ago, accusing it of modifying discount structures, violating the clause, and retailing only their fast-selling titles. S. Chand has also snapped all ties with Flipkart and stopped providing its books to FlipKart since then. However, Flipkart continues to sell S. Chand’s books by sourcing them from wholesalers.
The FPBAI letter also seeks action to protect the publishing trade. E-commerce websites are purchasing books at lower discounts from publishers and distributors and sell the same at higher discounts, making a loss in each transaction. It is indeed a questionable activity as it smacks of the act of predatory pricing. In fact, bookstores such as Capital Book Depot in Chandigarh, Teksons and New Book Depot in Delhi have already shut their shops and many others are struggling for survival due to predatory pricing activities of e-commerce websites in India.
There is an urgent need on the part of Indian government to step in and come out with a dedicated e-commerce law of India to regulate the e-commerce activities in best possible manner. A techno legal framework is long due and Indian government has failed to provide the same so far.


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According to the financial reports of Q3 of 2011, hTC has become the top smartphone vendor in the United States in terms of shipments overtaking Apple as well Samsung Electronics. About 5.7 million devices were shipped by hTC under its own name and about 70,000 devices were shipped under the T-Mobile brand.
Nevertheless, Samsung’s glowing success is limited to second spot in the United States only. It has left behind Nokia, RIM as well as Apple to become the number one smartphone vendor in APAC, Western Europe and the Latin American regions or if we simply put it the World all over with about 27.3 million shipments in just the third quarter with its market share rising to about 23 percent.
The third quarter was not a successful one for Apple. The cause to this low performance might be because of the fact that people might have been waiting for the release of the new iPhone. With the newest model now released, Apple might just bounce back to the top spot in the fourth financial quarter.
The war for becoming the top smartphone vendor will go on as each vendor is introducing new features to claim that top-spot. Technologies like SIRI are really luring the customers towards the phones and with fight getting intense; all we can do is enjoy the new features that besides helping us contribute a lot for the sales.


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December 20, 2014
ShopKeep is known for developing checkout software for retail stores. The startup firm is now offering an equipment to allow merchants to accept mobile payment methods such as Apple Pay and also secure credit card payments. The new equipment uses NFC to allow customers to make contactless payments using their phones. NFC is key enabler of payments performed through Apple Pay, Google Wallet and other similar methods.
The equipment also supports acceptance of EMV chip based credit cards. In light of past credit card frauds, EMV cards are now being issued by US companies. The EMV card technology has been jointly developed by Europass, MasterCard and Visa. With the new offering, ShopKeep is competing against companies such as Square, Poynt, First Data, etc. In light of the EMV mandate in US, ShopKeep and other companies are aggressively trying to make small and big businesses upgrade their POS systems. This further portrays enhanced support by POS players for new form of payments.
ShopKeep boasts of a merchant base of 11,000. The company is betting on the trend that would see mobile payment methods becoming more popular and even small businesses demanding for upgraded POS terminals. ShopKeep’s mission has always been to support small businesses and wants merchants to upgrade from less secure terminals. However, there are speculations that the adoption of new terminals would be slower among small merchants because of the costs involved.
Here is an illustration highlighting how ShopKeep POS system can work with Apple Pay:
ShopKeep is currently offering its equipment for $259. The company also charges $49 a month per register for using the ShoKeep software to manage transactions, inventory and customer information. ShopKeep’s existing offerings include software running on an iPad sold along with cash drawers, receipt printers and other equipment. Other POS players are also stepping up their game. For example, Square is poised to begin preorder for a $29 device that accepts EMV cards.


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Industry members have formed the Natural Products Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization with a goal to help the dietary supplements industry police its own.
Critics of the dietary supplements business in the media and the government have questioned the industry?s integrity and commitment to product safety. The NPF hopes to address consumer confusion and media misinformation by convincing industry members to comply with the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.
?As an industry, we are suffering greatly at the hands of our critics who have mischaracterized our industry because of the very visible actions of a few bad apples,? said James Roza, chairman of the NPF executive committee, and director of external affairs of NOW Foods. ?The inability of regulators, legislators, media and the general public to differentiate between reputable GMP-certified companies and the outliers may well lead to regulations that are unnecessary and inappropriate given that supplements are one of the safest consumer product categories existing today. It is imperative that our industry behave responsibly, encourage business practices that show integrity and work toward more responsible self-governance.?
An NPF statement said those who violate DSHEA and other legal regulations are ?a threat to the long-term viability and reputation of the dietary supplement industry and must be brought into compliance using whatever means is available to NPF.?
Issues the NPF will address include product safety and efficacy, label accuracy, education and advertising compliance. ?The Natural Products Foundation will ? set industry standards that work in the spirit of DSHEA and champion the quality that is truly representative of our industry,? Roza said. ?Through the programs that it will establish, NPF will regain the confidence of consumers and restore the integrity of our industry.?
The first phase of the NPF program is to self-police advertising so that it meets with DSHEA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission regulations.
?The goal of the NPF is to first look for low-hanging fruit—the people who make egregious claims,? said Don McLemore, a member of the steering committee and vice president of standards for New Hope Natural Media, The Natural Foods Merchandiser?s parent company. He added that the NPF would like to get the FDA and FTC involved in providing workshops for industry members so they are capable of self-regulating.
?If we want our industry to thrive, we have to support quality and integrity,? McLemore said. NPF?s executive committee currently has five members: Chairman Jim Roza; Randy Denin, industry consultant, Capsugel; Robert Kay, vice president of science and technology, Natural Alternatives International; David Seckman, executive director and chief executive officer, NNFA; and Brent Weickert, deputy executive director and chief operating officer, NNFA.
The steering committee currently consists of the executive committee plus the following members: Jon Benninger, group publisher, Virgo Publishing; Derek Hall, president/CEO, Unigen Pharmaceuticals; David Heilman, vice president/finance, GNC Corp.; Skye Lininger, president/CEO, Healthnotes; Don McLemore; Suzanne Shelton, president, Shelton Group PR; Tom Shepherd, president, Bastyr University; Loretta Zapp, president/CEO, Oncology Sciences.
Natural Foods Merchandiser volume XXV/number 8/p. 9


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It was the pandemic that made online sales become a common habit. Of course, thee-commerce was already massively present in society, especially among the youngest, but the real surge occurred from 2020 onwards, when purchasing online entered the habits of the older generations (those born in the 1950s and the ’70s). And, if 2022 represented a temporary slowdown in the growth of e-commerce, the latter will take on an increasingly important role in the future.
About that, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) carried out a study (“The winning formulas for the growth of e-commerce”) to investigate the changes in online sales in the post-pandemic period. 410 retail companies and 415 retail and consumer goods (CPG) companies worldwide were involved, with revenues ranging from $50 million to more than $10 billion.
According to Bcg analysis, by 2027, 41% of retail sales will take place online. In 2018 it was only 18%. Growth that does not stop, therefore: in 2022 e-commerce sales increased by 3% in Europe and 7% in Asia and the United States, and it is estimated that the compound annual growth rate will be 9% until 2027. The Italian detail is illustrative: in our country the growth was 77% during Covid, it fell to 22% in the immediately following period and in 2023 it settled at 9%.
The change in purchasing habits is also noticeable in the approach to online offer periods, such as Black Friday and the Cyber Monday. In 2023, 74% of consumers (especially US, Swiss and German) will want to take advantage of these opportunities, with a growth of 7% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, half of those interviewed have reduced non-essential purchases and spend more time comparing the prices of goods, with 41% saying they buy more based on offers and promotions.
“Will e-commerce continue to grow even after the pandemic? I think it’s one of the questions I’ve heard most frequently in recent times,” he explained Antonio Faraldi, managing director and partner of Bcg and co-author of the study. “The answer is yes: it will continue to grow, albeit at a less frenetic pace. We are talking about +9% per year between now and 2027. Which is not the 14% of pre-Covid but is still more than double the 4% at which sales in physical channels are expected to grow. The other aspect that we were interested in exploring further is how to win in this sector. We asked this directly to over 800 professionals and the picture that emerges, and which we have included in the report, is very interesting.”
The study analyzed Cpg companies based on six indicators to detect their level of maturity with respect to online commerce: digital investments, number of e-commerce initiatives, technological maturity, organizational structure and team agility. The result was positive for around half of the companies, i.e. those with post-Covid growth above 30% and a good growth forecast. Conversely, a similar percentage of companies, i.e. those with post-Covid growth of 10% or less and little confidence in their future, received a negative rating.
In the online sales sector, the strategy used is also very important. Not all companies are at the forefront in this sense, but there is a large margin for improvement to be achieved by following three guidelines, as identified by Bcg: more mature technology stacks, an organizational structure that supports e-commerce and greater agility .


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A new electric vehicle (EV) will start cruising the streets before long. China-based XPeng Motors (XPEV -1.88%) announced Monday that it has started accepting pre-orders for the Xpeng P5, its third and most recent production model.
The P5 is described by its maker as a "family friendly sedan." It joins a product lineup consisting of the G3, a compact SUV, and the P7 "sports sedan."
Not for the first time, Xpeng boasted that its new offering is the first EV on the market that will feature "automotive-grade lidar technology." Lidar, considered essential in advanced assisted-driving systems, stands for "light detection and ranging" and is a remote sensing technology used to "see" the terrain surrounding the vehicle. The Xpeng 5 has two lidar units, joining a hardware lineup that includes 12 ultrasonic sensors, five millimeter-wave radars, and 13 high-definition cameras.
"The P5 realizes our vision of navigation-assisted autonomous driving, aiming to liberate the driver's concentration and effort from the drudgery of manual driving," Xpeng quoted its CEO He Xiaopeng as saying.
"We seek to enable autonomous driving in all weathers and in the most challenging driving conditions," he added.
The company said it expects to begin deliveries of the P5 in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2021. It said that "early bird" customers reserving models will receive free charging and supercharging services.
So far, Xpeng has not released any statistics about pre-order take-up.
Investors seemed cautiously optimistic about the launch. On Monday, they bid Xpeng's stock up by 0.9% on a generally down day for the market that saw the S&P 500 index sink by 0.5%.


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Imagine the following scenario: you have a hamburger joint and a few blocks away they inaugurate a restaurant considered to be the largest hamburger chain in the world. Would you think it is the end for your business?
In Guanacaste this hypothesis becomes more of a reality everyday, above all in Nicoya where restaurants such as KCF arrived little more than a year ago along with other chains like Subway (sandwiches) La Tortillería (food served on handmade tortillas) and the franchise Los Paleteros (popsicles).
Almost all of them coincide in that they saw in Nicoya a strategic point for being a zone that a large number of tourists pass through and for the economic dynamism that it has demonstrated.
Subway, for example, opened in Liberia 14 years ago and started to expand as it saw development in other cantons.
But it’s not only the chains that see opportunities in this region. According to the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Guanacaste stands out as the second province – only behind San Jose – with the largest number of entrepreneurs nationally.
In 2016, the number of entrepreneurs registered in the Costa Rican Business Information System (SIEC) was 641; 21% of all entrepreneurs in the country.
That’s why The Voice of Guanacaste spoke with two business specialists in order to understand the risks and opportunities that locals face with the presence of the new franchises and restaurant chains and what they can do in order to offer something that keeps them in the market.
“It’s been totally proven that when there is a Walmart and across the street there is a convenience store, the convenience store doesn’t go broke. Why? They are different segments,” explains Antonio Jiménez, specialist in customer experience and strategy. “It must be clear, though. The competition could take away some of the market, but it doesn’t have to be a threat.”
The Key Is in the Difference
“Subway opened, for example, but I have maintained my clientele. I offer a different menu and it’s really clear to me that the first impression is key and that the quality of the food and the service can never change.”
This phrase is from chef Daysi Barrantes, who opened a healthy food window a little over two months ago called Canela Azul, on the north side of the Nicoya park.
For her and the specialites, the key to keeping your business alive and triumphing is marking the difference.
It’s about creating differentiating elements, evoliving, being flexible and constantly training yourself.
José María Calvo, head of innovation at Double Digit, assures that the first thing to do in order to compete head to head with a chain or any other establishment is define clearly what it is I am offering and to whom.
“Ask yourself: what can I do to separate myself from the competition,” Clavo said. “Sometimes it’s with very simple things: put some stools on the sidewalk, add Wi-Fi, things that motivate people to stay longer and with that even increase their consumption.”
Jiménez adds that flexibility is a key ingredient.
In his opinion, restaurant chains are slower at reacting to changes while a small business has the luxury of changing immediately when it notices that its customers are asking for something different. “If a customer wants more rice, give it to them!” Jiménez said, explaining that the added value of local restaurants is that they can offer a much more personalized service.
Both specialists agree on the necessity to define through which channels the business will be advertised: social media are not to be missed.
Competition Also Adds Value
For chains to choose Guanacaste as a strategic point to consolidate their operations is far from being considered a negative for the zone.
The creation of direct jobs and the training for hired personnel are dynamizing factors for the region’s economy.
In their most recent openings, Subway, in Santa Cruz and Nicoya, and La Tortillería, also in Nicoya, hired 30 people.
Local business owners and entrepreneurs can also take advantage of the supply chains with these larger companies. This possibility will depend on how much the company wants to get involved in the community.
Gia Pandolfo, head of marketing for Subway, commented that, for example, the restaurant tries to generate supply chains but that they must adhere to the franchise’s international requirements, so flexibility is minimum.
On the other hand, the owner of La Tortillería, Luis Diego Araya, didn’t specify how many local entrepreneurs they work with, but he assured that they do it.
“We buy cheese, plantain leaves… And the plates that we use at the locale all come from the Guatil community,” Araya said.
If it really is an era of change and adjustments, the last thing that local entrepreneurs should do is quit.


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U.S. Moves to Curb E-Commerce Counterfeiting
The Trump administration is warning online sellers and warehouse operators they will face greater scrutiny and penalties if they don't help stem the rising tide of fakes sold on the internet.
Consumer Giants Are Struggling to Slim Down
The fastest way for consumer-product manufacturers to improve sales growth-their No. 1 priority-is to unload unfashionable brands that are dragging down their performance. So it is a puzzle why they are selling so little.
Bayer Gains on Roundup-Settlement Report
Bayer shares were trading around 3% higher, buoyed by a report that the German conglomerate could settle its weed killer legal cases for around $10 billion.
Uber Braces for Clash With EU Cities on Scooter Data
Uber said several European cities have told the company they want it to share data about usage of its electric scooters and bicycles, setting up potential privacy disputes similar to the one between Uber and Los Angeles.
No, Tesla Isn't Bigger Than Volkswagen
But its stock price reflects that unlike the industry leader or GM, Elon Musk's car maker has little to lose in the journey to a greener future.
New Warehouse Supply Projected to Exceed Demand Over Next Two Years
Developers are expected to deliver about 301 million square feet of new warehouse space in the U.S., Canada and Mexico this year, while tenants will lease about 242 million square feet, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield PLC.
Ericsson Slumps Amid Higher Costs
UPDATED: Ericsson shares fell as much as 8.2% in early trade after the company's fourth-quarter earnings were weighed by higher costs.
Remy Cointreau Shares Plunge As It Suspends Guidance
UPDATED: Remy Cointreau shares fell nearly 9% after the premium-spirits maker reported a worse-than-expected sales decline for the third quarter, and said it was suspending its guidance until it reveals a new strategic roadmap later this year.
Axel Springer Plans Frankfurt Delisting
Axel Springer is going private in a deal led by KKR, which owns around 45% of the German media giant.
Carrefour Shares Rise on Sales, Earnings Outlook
Shares in Carrefour rose after the company booked higher sales during the fourth quarter, supporting expectations of earnings growth for the full year.


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The family friendly event will include hayrides, horse rides and activities for kids, craft vendors, wood carving and quilting demonstrations, blacksmithing, farm equipment on display and more. The historic village buildings will be open for guests to visit.
A food booth will be selling pork burgers, hot dogs, brats, hamburgers and homemade soup. Homemade baked goods will be available to buy. Pumpkins and fall decorations will be for sale at the harvest wagon.
In addition to the other activities, a car show is planned for Sunday, Sept. 24. Registration will be open from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday, Sept. 24. Music will be provided by Hits DJ Service. Awards, raffles and a 50/50 raffle will be announced at 3 p.m.
Craft vendors and demonstrators still are welcome. Contact Pam at 630-742-7313 no later than Wednesday, Sept. 20, if interested.
All proceeds from the event go towards the upkeep of the Lyon Farm grounds, the village buildings and education opportunities.
For more information on the Fall Festival, visit the KCHS website at lyonfarmkchs.org.


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This Week's 5 Smartest Stock Moves
If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.
1. Intel thinks inside the TV box
Intel is looking to shake up the pay TV industry.
A source in the video distribution industry began by telling tech blog TechCrunch over the weekend that the chip giant is gearing up to offer a virtual cable service that streams content from major networks as well as live sports. There will naturally also be an Intel-backed set-top box to set the endeavor in action.
The Wall Street Journal indicated on Tuesday that Intel was facing delays in getting cable channels on board, but two sources still predict that the service will launch later this year.
Will there be resistance in the pivotal content-licensing agreements? Absolutely. These companies make a lot of money through lucrative satellite and cable deals. However, consumers are tiring of paying for a ton of channels that they don't care to watch. The cord-cutting revolution is real, and the six largest cable and satellite TV providers combined to lose a net 292,000 subscribers during last year's third quarter.
Intel is going to face stiff challenges, but if it can beat other aspiring game changers in this space to put out the virtual cable service that consumers truly want, it will be huge for the unlikely tech darling.
2. Facebook gets an unlikely new friend request
Analysts keep warming up to Facebook , but now the social networking website operator has won over its biggest skeptic.
BMO Capital Markets -- the last major analyst firm to have a sell rating on Facebook -- changed its tune on Monday.
BMO analyst Daniel Salmon is upgrading his rating from underperform to outperform. His new price target is $32. BMO famously slashed its price target on Facebook this summer -- from $25 to $15 -- so the dramatic turnaround in recent weeks is refreshing.
No one is doubting Facebook these days. Sure, it's still trading well below May's $38 IPO price, but there are no longer doubts about its ability to monetize mobile or build on its stickiness.
3. Zipcar yields at the merge sign
Car-sharing leader Zipcar is driving into the arms of a new owner.
Avis Budget is buying Zipcar in a $491 million deal, a nearly 50% premium to where Zipcar closed the previous trading day.
This is a win-win deal. Avis lacked a significant presence in the fast-growing auto-sharing market. The car rental giant goes from laggard to leader in one move.
The move also works for Zipcar. Yes, it's growing, but the industry is evolving quickly. Rivals are breaking into price wars. The peer-to-peer sharing niche is picking up steam. Zipcar can now take advantage of Avis' massive fleet and financial muscle to truly become a global juggernaut.
4. I'll tumbler forya
Winning props from eco-friendly java sippers, Starbucks introduced a reusable tumbler this week.
It's easy to be skeptical about the plastic cup bearing the Starbucks logo that the coffee giant will sell for $1. Who wants to lug a tumbler around? If they have to rinse out the cups after every use, won't this take away from the convenience that may be the reason why they're paying a premium at the local Starbucks in the first place?
However, Starbucks is making the eco-friendly move pay off by giving buyers a $0.10 discount on future orders. The tumbler pays for itself in 10 visits, and the token discount may encourage more frequent visits.
5. Sirius situation
Shares of Sirius XM Radio blasted to their highest level in nearly five years this week.
The FCC approved the transfer of control of the satellite radio provider's licenses to Liberty Media . It's a big regulatory nod of approval, freeing Liberty Media to grow its effective 49.8% stake to gain majority control and probably spin it off to shareholders.
Some investors may be concerned about the likely glut of shares on the open market, but Sirius XM armed itself for this inevitable event by authorizing a $2 billion share buyback that will probably kick in if Liberty Media does go through with spinning off the only game in town when it comes to satellite radio.
One more smart move for 2013
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The article This Week's 5 Smartest Stock Moves originally appeared on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Aristotle Munarriz owns shares of Zipcar and Liberty Media. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook, Intel, Starbucks, and Zipcar and has the following options: long JAN 2014 $20.00 calls on Facebook and short JAN 2013 $47.00 puts on Starbucks. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Facebook, Intel, Starbucks, and Zipcar. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Ford takes a dive following recall
MORE than $1.5bn (£1.04bn) was wiped from the value of Ford Motor when it was forced to recall tens of thousands more of its Explorer sport utility vehicles because of possible tyre defects.
Ford opened on Wall Street to heavy activity, with the shares dropping $1 to $26 and moving rapidly toward the 52-week low of $21.68.
Nearly a million shares traded hands in minutes as investors responded with dismay to the widening tyres fiasco from a company that had been touted by analysts as the best bet in the US motor sector.
The latest recall prompted CSFB to downgrade Ford stock from a strong buy to a hold and to take Ford off the 'focus list' of highlighted companies to buy. Ford said it would replace millions of tyres on older model Explorers with Firestone tyres that were not included in the original recall last August.
Ford is also recalling 45,000 new Explorers because their Goodyear and Michelin tyres may have been sliced by a defect on the assembly line.
The company is trying to ramp up slower-than-expected Explorer sales, meaning the recall is at a particularly bad time, analysts said.
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Perhaps having learned from Barbie’s history what is at stake when you fall behind the times, toy manufacturer Mattel is now ahead of the curve: It has launched a line of gender-fluid dolls called Creatable World. These dolls come with accessories and hair styles that might present the doll as boy, or girl, or both, or neither.
The company has taken a step that brings them closer to their target market, but it may also create distance from the adults who shop for Generation Alpha (those born between 2010 and 2025). Today’s parents need to keep up if they want to be a part of the world their children create.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Whether it pays off in Mattel’s next quarterly earnings or not, Creatable World dolls demonstrate how companies increasingly need to accept that social issues are inseparable from business.
A growing number of kids and teens identify as, or know someone who is, gender non-conforming or trans-gendered. Dolls often operate as avatars for children, which is why historically companies market dolls that can resemble a child through customizable options. Creatable World dolls could make doll play appealing to kids who never identified with the likes of Barbie or American Girl dolls.


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by Danielle Oberdier,
Founder of DiKayo Data
Oleg Aspis, Managing Director and Head of Business Data Management at TIAA appeared on DM Radio to discuss the management of customer data, especially as it pertains to the financial industry.
As Aspis works to create and maintain a consistent well-managed position on data for the organization, he has come to some important conclusions about alternative data and the information economy. The crux of the issue is that companies, especially financial services companies, are gathering a lot of data from third party providers, but the data itself is not robust enough to solve consumer problems. Additional measures must be taken.
Identity Resolution Across Industries
In order to satisfy privacy requirements you have to verify that entering users really are who they are. Many companies use third party data to obtain additional information from customers as they set up new financial accounts. In addition, the enormous amount of social media data available to us can be used not only for market research but for managing financial customers as well.
Using social media data to verify customer identity and activity, despite being an undeniable opportunity, does have drawbacks. According to Kavanagh, 50 million Americans have not logged in to update their part time jobs since the onset of COVID. Time will tell if the ways in which jobs are reported will change and how data strategy can adjust to capture the most accurate and essential information.
The Management of Rules
There is a significant trade-off between protecting customers’ “right to be forgotten” when they close their accounts and following the rules that require a certain amount of time to pass before the data is forfeited. All companies have different standards on this, which may be challenged more and more as customer privacy is demanded across industries. Which rule will win?
What is our People Strategy?
Aspis encourages all data leaders to understand intellectual capital in terms of people as much as the information they process for the company. “Helping our employees on the business side, such as days engineers can make our data science discoveries a reality,” he said. “What is the company’s history and what are the main issues that might affect strategy?”


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The survey showed that 70% of Russians experience financial difficulties
Центр использование граджантого общества ВШЭ провод опрос на предмедно материального положение россиян. Almost 70% of the respondents said that they are experiencing financial difficulties. При етом, only 46% of the respondents believe that their material situation depends on them.
According to the results of the survey conducted by the Russian Federation in June 2022 (2003 respondents participated), 69% of the population of Russia is suffering from financial difficulties. 66% of respondents said that Russians complain about the lack of money already in 2020, and 69% in 2021.
Until the pandemic, 49% of those polled thought that their material situation depended on them, and in 2022, the number of responses dropped to 46%. The number of respondents who blame external circumstances for their material situation is stable: about this, as in 2019, 20% of respondents said.
According to Rossstata, in the first quarter, the real disposable income of Russians (income after deduction of obligatory payments, adjusted to the index of consumer prices) decreased by 1.2% in annual terms, in the second quarter by 0.8%. In May, the Ministry of Economic Development predicted that the real disposable income of the population would fall by 6.8%, but it improved its forecast to a drop of 2.8%, and with the next year it is predicting growth on this indicator.


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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 5, 2012) -
Attention: Automotive/Lifestyle Editors
With thousands of young Canadians packing up dorm essentials and heading off to university this month, the temptation to turn up in a hot ride may leave them with more than tuition fees to fund. While buying a used vehicle can help alleviate the heavy price tag, a recent study conducted by autoTRADER.ca showed that more than half of Canadians opted for style over safety when purchasing a car as students. This can be especially risky for those in the used car market where research is critical. While a new car may be ideal, many students cannot afford such a luxury. Used cars provide the much-needed transportation as well as the style – if they know what they're looking for.
Based on the revealing autoTRADER.ca study, over half of surveyed Canadians strongly agree that having access to a car during university/college years allows students to do and accomplish more. Considering the tight budgets students live on, over 40 per cent of Canadians favored milk crates above furniture costs and would even surrender beer money to save for access to a vehicle. But the first mistake first-time car-buyers are making is not doing their homework before getting behind the wheel. In fact, 66 per cent of Canadians felt that style trumped safety when purchasing a car - discrediting looking for the features that can make a used car last. Fifty-eight per cent of first-time buyers also chose form over function, opting for a car that would increase their social profile on campus before a roomy or environmentally-friendly ride.
"In reviewing the autoTRADER.ca search data, we can see that image is clearly an important consideration for young adults when it comes to buying a car," says Ian MacDonald, Director, Consumer Marketing, autoTRADER.ca. "We want to make sure that young Canadians are making informed decisions when it comes to first-time car-buying, helping them choose a vehicle that they'll be proud to drive, while being equipped with modern safety features that can keep them safe."
AUTOTRADER USED CAR PURCHASING CHECKLIST
To help young Canadians buy their first used car and guide users through the process, the car buying experts at autoTRADER.ca compiled a checklist that ensures no critical steps are missed when it comes time to making the big decision:
- First things first, establish a realistic budget and take care not to be carried over it. Students should take care to have a close look at living expenses including accommodation, food, clothing and miscellaneous fun. Once those are calculated, what remains can be spent on a car payment, fuel, car insurance and maintenance. autoTRADER's Car Payments Calculator can help make this process a smooth one.
- Identify and prioritize what you want and do the research. Although style if tempting, reliability is arguably the most important factor as you are likely to be buying an older car and the costs if something goes wrong could add up. Reading consumer and professional reviews on sites such as Autos.ca whilst determining transportation needs as well as fuel efficiency, seats for carpooling, safety features, and yes, style, will help buyers pinpoint the right car faster and easier.
- Take a good look at the car. Ensure the fluids are fresh, the lights and brakes are in excellent working condition, and check the frame isn't rusted. If you can get it to a trusted mechanic for an inspection, it's worth the time. If not, make sure you cover the basics using autoTRADER's Used Car Buying Tips section. Used cars can feel just as modern as new ones if they've been looked after.
|SUGGESTIONS FROM autoTRADER.ca
|The autoTRADER.ca team recommends these cars as a starting point for those needing inspiration. Each achieves a good balance of style, safety, affordability and reliability.
|Subcompact Car: Honda Fit
|Subcompact SUV: Scion xB
|Compact car: Mazda3
|Compact SUV: Kia Soul
|Compact Sporty Car: Acura RSX
By helping students identify their wants and needs when purchasing a car, autoTRADER.ca ensures that they will find a vehicle that is not only affordable, practical and safe but stylish, as well. With more cars than any other website available on autoTRADER.ca, first-time buyers are able to choose the car most suited to their requirements and start the school year off right.
TRADER Corporation is a trusted Canadian leader in online media, managing automotive consumer marketplaces and publications. The company's primary online destinations include: autoTRADER.ca™, autoHEBDO.net™, Autos.ca and BuySell.com.
autoTRADER.ca offers The Most Cars in One Place™, with the largest inventory of new cars and inventory of used cars in Canada, available via our website and mobile applications. Visitors buy or sell cars, trucks or other motorized vehicles quickly, easily and conveniently. Buyers can search based on vehicle model, make, colour and geographic location to find the deal that is right for them. Autos.ca is the online destination for auto enthusiasts, featuring car news and car reviews from well-known automotive journalists. Follow autoTRADER.ca on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AutoTraderCanada or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/autotrader_ca.


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PLAYSTUDIOS is transporting players back in time with the release of its latest game, Money Blast from the myKONAMI Slots mobile app. With a retro, real-life look and classic gameplay, Money Blast joins a lineup of content that appeals to both slot purists and casual players alike.
“Our myKONAMI Slots players are very familiar with our games since many of them are based on popular machines from the casino floors. And one of the most requested slot titles is Money Blast,” says PLAYSTUDIOS Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Pascal. “We pride ourselves on keeping an open channel of communication with our players and responding to their feedback. So naturally, we’re thrilled when we can deliver a game that’s in such high demand.”
Like its real-world counterpart, the free-to-play mobile version of Money Blast features traditional pay line graphics and game odds. However, players will notice one major enhancement — the myVIP rewards program that allows them to earn loyalty points, which can then be exchanged for real-world rewards from more than 275 celebrated entertainment, travel, leisure, and lifestyle brands.


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GARLAND — The last live bait shop in town has survived a national scandal, a business-killing decade of construction, mega-competition in the form of Bass Pro Shops, and now, a tornado.
Built in 1972 on the outskirts of Dallas County to take advantage of Lake Ray Hubbard, the 1,000-square-foot building along Interstate 30 is marked by its longtime name, Fisherman’s Supply.
Owner Brian Clark renamed it Clark's Tackle Box and added an effective Facebook presence. But outside cyberspace, in the real world, it's an absolute throwback.
Dallas County values the place at $4,350. The missing ceiling tiles and the steeped-in-decades stench of bait make you wonder if Ray Hubbard, in fact, didn’t fill before 1970.
In this case, it’s easy to be fooled by the smell of success. As happens every year, the anglers are answering the call of the warm weather and forming a line for bait.
“According to our suppliers, this is the biggest bait shop in the area,” said Brett Kilmer of Rockwall, who bought Fisherman’s Supply in 2010 and sold it last year to Clark, his former manager. “We push more minnows through here than any other place in the state.”
Minnows are trucked in from a farm in Arkansas. Clark boasts that he cleans each of his 150-gallon tanks twice a week, resulting in a lively bait. That leads to his customers’ result, a catch.
“People will charge less for bait,” he said. “But that bait quality is not as good.”
Influx of people
For several years, growth was slow to come to surrounding eastern Dallas County. About the only other business nearby was the Circle Grill. There, in the early 1980s, things changed.
Real estate developers met at the Circle to flip land in the area, which they bought for as little as 33 cents a square foot. Property eventually sold for as much as $15 a foot, with loans covering the cost and lakeside condos being built well beyond demand.
The ringleaders went to jail. Five savings and loans went under. The federal government lost $1 billion. And there were a whole lot more people living in Garland’s Interstate 30 corridor than before.
The lake was a constant, but its recreational use became far more urban. Raised in Mesquite, Clark knows to sell a single goldfish or three minnows if that’s all a customer needs.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone fishing and all I had was 15 or 20 minutes,” he said. “I don’t want to buy a dozen minnows if I don’t need to.”
But with the influx of people, I-30 had to be widened. Construction took a decade — and that, says Garland Mayor Douglas Athas, is something other area businesses have never recovered from. That was the case even as, in 2004, Garland tried to jump-start the area’s economy.
Voters approved $23.7 million to build Harbor Point, anchored by Bass Pro Shops. It seemed like a stake to the heart for Fisherman’s Supply but turned out to be quite the opposite.
Bass Pro is a fierce competitor when it comes to reels and man-made bait, but draws the line at worms at its Garland location. Ask for shad, minnows or shrimp, and Bass Pro will send customers to Clark’s Tackle Box.
Clark, 29, was manning the shop with his kids the day after Christmas. Like other warm days, it brought out the impulse fishermen — many with new fishing gear. It was a busy day, and he was glad he didn’t have to stay past closing time, 6 p.m.
Clark and his kids were back in Caddo Mills by 6:50 p.m., when a tornado struck a few hundred yards to the south and east of the store. The area was without electricity and locked down. His shop was closed four days.
“I lost all my bait. About $1,500, sales-wise,” he said.
The building had seen worse. Broken into. One live robbery. It survived flames in 2011 after a car hit it and caught fire. And there’s the legend of a 1990s drug raid.
The business continues to evolve. Live fish can be a pet — or food for another pet, like a lizard or spider.
Clark will set up a rod and reel for free, even if there’s no bait sold in the transaction. It’s the whole “teach a person to fish” mantra, with a bonus. When customers come back to fishing for a lifetime, they’ll be buying bait.
Slowed as usual by winter, business picked up as temperatures reached the 70s last week. The sand bass are about to run down Rowlett Creek and others that feed Lake Ray Hubbard. Shoreline fishing has been good, customers report, and Clark is happy to spread that news.
Clark’s store has a permit for live bait sales through March 2021.
“It’s a dying business,” said Kilmer, lamenting the closing of Sabine Tackle in Greenville, announced in mid-January. “That leaves this as one of the few true bait shops left.”


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A small number of U.S. troops were injured this week during a skirmish with Russian forces in northeastern Syria, American officials said on Wednesday, underscoring the risk of simmering tensions between the two rival powers in a hotly contested part of the country. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details, said the injuries were a result of a collision between Russian and American vehicles, and not any exchange of fire. The officials said four troops were showing mild concussion-like symptoms and were receiving medical attention at their base in Syria. Videos of the encounter that emerged on Twitter on Wednesday appeared to show Russian and Americans vehicles speeding in an open field, with a Russian vehicle ramming an American vehicle, and a Russian helicopter flying low over U.S. forces. The altercation, which happened on Tuesday, is the latest clash between Russian and American ground patrols in northeastern Syria after the United States withdrew from much of that area before a Turkish cross-border offensive last fall.
Called SN5, and with just one of the company's powerful Raptor engines, this vehicle is a long way from the version SpaceX is hoping to build down the road. In its final form, Starship is expected to be about 400 feet tall and 30 feet wide, able to take more than 100 tons worth of cargo and passengers to deep space destinations like the moon and Mars. When it flies, it will do so with six of the same engines, on top of a giant rocket booster called Super Heavy. Better late than never: Four previous iterations of the Starship prototype were destroyed during failed ground testing. This is the first time SpaceX has managed to get a prototype to survive engine fires, let alone get off the ground.
After buying 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian, Amazon has started testing them on delivery routes in Los Angeles. The aim is to confirm the performance, safety and durability of the vans before they start to roll out to as many as 16 cities in 2021. Amazon partnered with Rivian on the vehicles, using its customizable "skateboard" frame construction to create a "first-of-its-kind all-electric delivery vehicle," according to Amazon. "From what we've seen, this is one of the fastest modern commercial electrification programs, and we're incredibly proud of that," said Amazon global fleet and product director Ross Rachey. The electric van (which needs a name tbh) has a clean, cutesy design thanks to the smooth angles and round, low-mounted headlights.


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Good Monday morning and welcome back to Speed Lines, The Drive's roundup of the biggest news in cars and transportation. On today's docket: the long-awaited debut of the 2021 Ford Bronco, Volkswagen fires its software boss and General Motors has a problem with people not showing up to work at its Missouri truck plant.
Bronco, Bronco, Bronco
After approximately 500 years of leaked photos, spy shots, forum rumors, teasers and powertrain details trickling out here and there, we finally, finally get to see the 2021 Ford Bronco tonight. It joins the ranks of the new Toyota Supra and C8 Chevrolet Corvette in recent years as an eagerly awaited vehicle backed up by a massive online hype machine. And as we've covered before, it's a big deal for Ford, which needs some wins after a disastrous 2019 and a rough go during the pandemic.
As our own Jesus Garcia reported this weekend, here's how to see it tonight:
On ABC, look out for a three-minute film showcasing the 2021 Ford Bronco 4-door airing around 8:09 p.m. EST during the CMA Best of Fest concert.
If you’re watching ESPN SportsCenter, the all-new 2021 Bronco Sport will be airing around 8:11 p.m. EST.
National Geographic’s National Parks: Yosemite will spotlight the 2021 Ford Bronco 2-door around 8:13 p.m. EST.
And case you miss it, or have cable anymore, all three Bronco films will be available for streaming on Hulu Tuesday, July 14th. You can also watch the live Bronco debut online via YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook on Monday, July 13th, at 7 p.m.
Basically, you have options.
Now, here's what's especially notable about the Bronco reveal: it comes at a time when Ford has hit pause on social media advertising, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, amid widespread concerns that those platforms have not done enough to curb hate speech. Ford is still posting on its various accounts; this is just related to advertising.
As The Detroit Free Press notes, Ford has gotten some criticism for the move—more tactical than philosophical—because competitors who continue to advertise like Fiat Chrysler can potentially reach customers instead. But Ford has also gotten praise for the move. Here's one, Detroit business professor Marcus Collins:
Our lives are so public in a social networking platform world now, he said.
"Research shows that people care more about having an emotional connection with brands than the value propositions of the branded product itself," Collins said. "People wear Beats headphones because they’re an artifact of cool, not because they’re the best product. It’s why people drive a Ford F-150 versus Chevy Silverado. You’re an F-150 guy or a Chevy guy."
If brands want relationships with their consumers, these discussions are essential, he said.
"The idea that a brand shouldn’t have a stand on social issues is misguided," Collins said. "If it were the case, then brands shouldn’t try to have a relationship with people at all. If the idea is to build consumer relationships so they buy, then we have to engage on a human level."
In reality, the Bronco's probably a big enough deal that a Facebook ad boycott won't impact the hype too much.
GM Cuts Third Shift At Truck Plant When People Don't Show Up
America's car factories may be back up and running, but certainly not at full steam yet, and they're all still dealing with coronavirus outbreaks—and workers' justifiable fears of getting sick.
Despite aggressive safety measures that include partitions, mandatory distancing, temperature checks and protective equipment, no company can control everything people do on or off the clock. And with cases skyrocketing in places like Texas, absenteeism is increasingly a problem.
Workers not showing up to work over virus fears is why GM cut a third shift at its important Wentzville, Missouri plant, The Detroit News reports. That's an important plant; it builds midsize trucks, which are crucial sellers right now. From that story:
GM doesn't know exactly how many people will be affected by shift cut, but Barnas said each shift has about 1,250 employees and the automaker will work to get back to three shifts at the truck plant as quickly as possible. The Detroit Free Press first reported the layoffs.
"People on our team should not be concerned about coming to work. GM Wentzville is following multi-layered safety protocols that are working very well to keep people safe by reducing the possibility that COVID-19 can enter the plant and preventing any spread within the plant," Barnas said.
Wentzville Assembly builds the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size trucks and Chevy Express and GMC Savana full-size vans. GM reopened its assembly plants starting the week of May 18 after an eight-week pandemic-induced shutdown. The truck plants, Wentzville, Flint Assembly, where heavy-duty trucks are built, and the Fort Wayne, Indiana plant, where light-duty trucks are built, increased to three shifts at the beginning of June. GM's Flint and Fort Wayne plants are still operating on three shifts with additional Saturday shifts scheduled to increase supply of its profit-rich trucks.
Hard to say what the answer is here. Can you blame those workers for being freaked out?
Volkswagen's Top Software Guy Is Out
And finally, Volkswagen is set to fire its head of software development and a board member by the name of Christian Senger. He worked at BMW before coming to VW, and at his former employer, he helped develop the i3 electric/hybrid city car. He then went to work on VW's MEB electric platform. But now he's out, according to Reuters, "after clashes with the company and concern at software problems with the recent ID.3 and Golf 8 vehicles."
Why does this matter at VW, a company that, since the Dieselgate scandal, has seen more turnover than a pancake restaurant? Because VW is pushing what's likely the most aggressive shift into electric vehicles of any legacy automaker. It plans to go fully EV within a few years and has a whole onslaught of new electric models planned, led by the ID.3 compact due out in Europe later this year.
But that car and the new Golf have already been delayed over software issues and both are crucial models for the German automaker. Some ID.3s will ship in Europe without their App Connect infotainment system and HUDs working, according to The Verge. "Full feature" versions will be available later will software issues are ironed out.
VW's EV shift is off to a very messy start already, and someone new will have to help out the software issues that will increasingly be critical parts of future vehicles.
On Our Radar
Read These To Seem Smart And Interesting
Beyond the Milky Way, a Galactic Wall (NY Times)
The Ford Bronco: Do you believe it will make all of your dreams come true at last? Will it fill the emptiness in your heart that you have felt for so long? With it, will you finally be complete?


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As of January 1 this year, Australian wines are free of the tariffs usually levied on wines imported into China.
Wine is one of a range of Australian products now protected as part of the bilateral China-Australia Free Trade Agreement brokered in 2014. This gives Australian winemakers an enviable advantage over many of their competitors in the world’s fastest growing market for wine. Only Chile and New Zealand enjoy similar free trade agreements.
However, the relationship between Australia and China is far from cosy or comfortable after being sorely tested during 2018.
Held up by design
In April and May 2018, containers of Australian wine were left for up to three weeks on Chinese docks and in warehouses as part of a deliberate go-slow by Chinese customs authorities acting on the direct instructions of the Chinese government.
The inaction on the docks showed the Chinese were willing to flex their considerable economic muscle to bring their major trading partner into line following accusations they were meddling in Australian politics. Fears that Chinese political donors were becoming a threat to national security resulted in Australia passing new national security laws to prevent foreign agents from influencing the country’s democracy.
It has been claimed that the hold-up on the docks was due to a consolidation of a number of customs services, but companies with Chinese employees on the ground tell of their staff being “fobbed off” by customs staff when they enquired as to the movement of stock.
The hold-up was severe enough for Australia’s biggest wine producer, Treasury Wine Estates, to issue a profit warning. However, Chinese entrepreneurs who package wine in Australia for sale to their networks within China appear to have been less affected, if at all. Increasingly, traditional Australian producers see the new wave of Chinese entrepreneurs working in Australia as their competitors.
“We’ve got about 1,500 exporters into China from Australia,” says Tony Battaglene, chief executive of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA). “A lot of those are [Chinese] entrepreneurs who don’t make or grow grapes; they package wine themselves. My understanding is that they had a much easier route.”
The dock hold-ups were a sobering wake-up call for Australian wine producers.
“We want to prosper in China,” says Mitchell Taylor of Taylors Wines, “but we see there can be a risk. It is such a promising market and an exciting market – Australia enjoys over A$1 billion ($7,163m) in wine sales, and they are at very high price points – but we do see the political risk.” That billion-dollar benchmark often comes up in conversations with Australian winemakers. In 2017, China overtook the UK to become Australia’s most valuable export market and the magic figure is actually A$1.04 billion. On the one hand, Australian producers are extremely proud of the work that went into achieving such an impressive sum. On the other, they worry about a growing dependency on what is proving to be a highly volatile market.
“It scares the hell out of me,” says WFA’s Battaglene. “If China hiccups, our whole industry shakes. I am desperately hoping that everyone tries to diversify their exports."
McLaren Vale-based wine producer Corrina Wright, whose family owns Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards, says it’s hard to look past China, where Australian wine sales are growing at an “astronomical” rate. “The US is in decline and the UK is stagnant or in slight decline,” she says. “[But] I don’t like the idea of being reliant on one market, especially one that can be less democratic in its actions.”
With an Australian federal election due this year, probably in mid-May, makers are also nervous about what a likely change in government could do to an already fragile relationship with China. Many are looking further afield in Asia for wine business.
Australia already has free trade agreements with both South Korea and Japan, but at this stage those markets are small. Taiwan has potential and producers like Mitchell Taylor claim to do well in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand despite high taxes and duties. “We have a bit of diversity in the Asian region,” he says.
But his focus, and that of most Australian winemakers, will undoubtedly remain on China.
“China will always be the big one and will always be the exciting one,” he says, “but we’ve just got to be mindful that there will be a few bumps along the road as our company and the industry enters the market.”


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Morgan Stanley MS 1.54 % plans to slash hundreds of jobs from its debt and currencies division, people familiar with the matter said, revealing that the Wall Street firm believes that a monthslong slump in trading revenue may persist.
SHANGHAI Activity in China's manufacturing sector contracted more than expected in November, an official survey showed on Tuesday.
CHICAGO U.S. shoppers seeking to avoid the holiday crowds at bricks-and-mortar stores and snare deals on Cyber Monday came face-to-face with traffic jams and product sellouts, with some customers of Target Corp forced to wait in a virtual line.
This year's "Cyber Monday" is set to be the biggest online shopping day in history, Adobe predicts. With data from thousands of retailers still flowing in, the company believes Monday's total online spending will be $2.98 billion.
Bill Gates, the world's richest man, led a group of philanthropists in vowing to plow $2 billion into clean energy through personal investments and a new fund to be set up next year.


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The first quarter of 2016 remains debatable as to the health of the housing market, but with two huge master planned communities planned and reports of roughly a 7.5% gain year over year, Las Vegas Real Estate looks very healthy! Looking deeper into the numbers, many industry leaders expected to see more inventory come to the market. Some claim that reasonably priced homes are sitting on the market, while others claim the market is hot. Let’s see what the numbers say.
The average Day a home was on the market in January of 2016 was 47 day at a selling price average of $264,950. In January of 2015, that was also 47 days for the average sale of $235,000. The trend I saw says homes are selling faster than previously, year after year which could simply mean short sales take less time to process, so I don’t think the time it takes to sell a house is that valid. Sales price averages will always be the bellwether and prices are going up, following a slight slow down in 2014 and 15 with the average sale price for January 2014 being $239,000 on a 53 day average.
Date DOM Ave Sale Y vs Y Avail Change
01/01/14 53 $239,900 143.70% 2,974 223
01/01/15 47 $235,000 97.96% 2,980 6
01/01/16 47 $264,950 112.74% 3,160 180
Now that we can see the short trend, that reported 7.5% growth looks more like 13% growth in the average home price. I was able to find one stat that shows 8% increase and that is in listing price over last year, but after discounts the market supported a median sale about 11% over last year.
The 10,000 foot view of The Las Vegas Market:
Inventory gains are slower than expected, allowing sellers to retain more of their asking price after a 12% gain over last January’s numbers. A number of factors such as interest rates and Fed announcements may have skewed the monthly data, but in general Vegas is a Win!
If your a seller considering entering the market, contact me today to learn your current value and how I can help you keep more of what your asking! Bruce Loeffler 702-328-8113.


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According to Yonhap News,
(SEOUL=Yonhap News) The state promotion agency said Thursday it will reinforce the big data platform, providing consulting to small businesses seeking business opportunities abroad that was launched earlier this year.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) introduced the KOTRA Big Bot, constructed from the words big data and robot, in May to help small and medium-sized firms make inroads into overseas markets
Companies can have access to market and trade information on their future markets once they put related information into the Big Bot search bar on KOTRA's website.
Among the available information are lists of buyer orders, trade and economic statistics, and trade and investment consulting based on 700,000 trade data, statistics and other data on 80,000 foreign companies, and more than 40,000 trade and investment consulting cases.
The agency said it will continue updating the data through consultations with businesses to provide more accurate and ample data.
It will also introduce a "service recall" system in which a KOTRA official is assigned to a company so he or she could visit the company in person on a regular basis to provide further consulting until the company succeeds in making inroads abroad.
KOTRA said it will hold a series of explanation sessions in conjunction with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in Daejeon, Incheon, Busan, Gwangju and several other major cities across the country for the coming months to listen from small and medium-sized firms there.
Shown is part of the website of KOTRA Big Bot, which provides business consulting to companies. (Yonhap)
Copyrights Yonhap News.
All Rights Reserved.
Source: Yonhap News (Sep. 7, 2017)


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LOS ANGELES -- Earlier this year, Redux Beverages LLC generated a lot of heat for its controversial energy drink named Cocaine. After an April 2007 warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration forced the drink to be removed from shelves, the beverage maker returns with a new energy drink named after a fictional drink from the movie Idiocracy -- Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator.
Officially licensed from the 2006 movie created by Mike Judge, who is also known for his cartoon series "Beavis and Butthead" and "King of the Hill," the new energy drink is a lemon-lime-flavored endurance supplement beverage, the company stated. The drink will be available in December and is packed with 200 milligrams of caffeine, electrolytes, inositol and guarana, according to the company.
"Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator is a perfect fit for the Redux brand of products which stand for quality and attitude," Redux founder Jamey Kirby said in a statement. "With Brawndo we have a product that we already know people want, and even those who don't know the movie will easily fall for its great taste and superior energizing attributes."
Redux Beverages gained the rights through a partnership with 20th Century Fox Films and OMNI Consumer Products. Brawndo will be available in a yellow, 16-ounce aluminum can citing the movie's catchphrase -- "It's got what plants crave!"


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Meals will be available for pick up or delivery and can be ordered online or via the app.
Fans of the Goodcents sandwich franchise will now be able to purchase their favorite subs from refrigerated cases. According to a recent article in Fast Casual, the brand has launched a concept called Centsable Kitchen in Olanthe, Kansas.
"Our goal with Centsable Kitchen is to deliver delicious meal options that compliment our established menu of sub sandwiches and pastas. These can be an alternative choice to in-restaurant dining or easy take-home options for later meals," said president Scott Ford.
In addition to the sandwich offerings, the concept will offer fruit snacks, yogurt parfaits and protein bars. Meals will be available for pick up or delivery and can be ordered online or via the app.
Read the full article here.


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The company said it intends to use the proceeds to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that have been affected by the impact of the coronavirus.
Shares of Virgin Galactic, which have gained 69% this year, were down 3.1% at $19.54 in afternoon trade.
Based on Friday’s closing price, the offering would raise as much as $504.5 million. The company, which aims to offer the first commercial space flight later this year, said in April it would keep running as a critical infrastructure business during the pandemic.
© Reuters, aero.uk | 12/05/2020 13:54