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BOSTON — Bucking the trend of major U.S. shopping streets becoming “mall-ized,” Newbury Street here is getting quirkier as big chains close underperforming units and independent designers move in.
The space at 201 Newbury Street, for example, was a Gap store last year: classic white walls, steel fixtures and folded basics. Now it’s a Ted Baker boutique decorated in a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme with fake ivy climbing the walls, dressing rooms draped in cognac velvet and tea served in gilded cups out of the stockroom. One block east, another mall stalwart, Pottery Barn, is vacating a 7,000- square-foot store while Jonathan Adler, whose take on housewares (breast vases, needlepoint backgammon boards) is irreverent, opened across the street in November.
“We’re definitely seeing more individual designers with distinct personalities come in,” said Tom Brennan, vice president of retail for C. Talanian Realty, one of Newbury Street’s largest property owners and managers. “Sometimes some of the bigger names that do well in the mall don’t do well on Newbury. People shopping here are specifically looking for stores that aren’t in every mall.”
As with Adler, Baker and Ben Sherman, which also opened in November, the trend is toward companies that offer distinctive design propositions and are looking to expand beyond New York and Los Angeles. In many cases, deals come together quickly, propelled by rent cuts of 10 to 30 percent since 2008. Renovations are often minimal and efficient — a coat of paint, a change of sign, and a brisk unlatching of the door for business. Cynthia Rowley, who launched a store in June, opened 13 days after signing her lease.
Overall, it’s been a tough 12 months for Newbury, Boston’s most prestigious shopping venue, which is comprised largely of 19th-century brownstone residences converted to retail. The Newbury Street League, an advocacy group of 200 businesses, said the street is 80 percent occupied. Rents range from $40 to $150 a square foot, said brokers, compared with asking prices that are said to have reached almost $200 a square foot several years ago.
Many spaces sit empty except for leasing agents’ listings. WWD counted 28 vacancies in seven blocks. Louis Boston, one of the street’s longtime anchors, will leave for a waterfront spot on Fan Pier in 2010, emptying about 40,000 square feet at Berkeley and Newbury Streets. Built as the city’s Natural History Museum, the 1864 landmark building lacks traditional display windows. Speculation centers on the building’s conversion into luxury condos.
The newcomers to Newbury, some of whom waited years for the right deal, are pleased to have scored space and they aren’t flummoxed by the loss of a few major chains.
“We do best in a nonmall, edgy street location,” said Miles Gray, chief executive officer of Ben Sherman, who believes the arrival of independent designers bodes well. “We are quite pleased to have those adjacencies. It makes it more comforting.”
Ray Kelvin, founder and ceo of U.K. label Ted Baker, estimated the store’s rent at 30 percent less than it would have been before the recession. “We’re a slow-burn brand,” he said. “We don’t borrow money and we don’t drive too hard. We’d been looking for several years for a prominent location like this and we’re going to enjoy and develop it.”
Jonathan Adler, who did a minimal renovation and is relying on cheerful housewares (priced $10 to $5,000) to suit a range of budgets said grandiose, overconceptualized stores were “2006 thinking. My focus is to get the customer up close and personal with the stuff I work so hard to make.”
Pinkyotto, a contemporary line from New York-based designer Ryo Liu, opened in April. Initial revenue expectations were reset downward, said Liu’s business partner, Peter Hsia, but since then business has been steady and Hsia believes Newbury’s continuing ability to draw city residents, suburbanites, students and international tourists gives it fundamental strength.
Intersected with cross streets named in alphabetical order from A to H, Newbury has several distinct shopping zones. The Arlington through Clarendon blocks (home to Chanel, Akris, Armani, Cartier) near the Public Garden remain most prestigious, but the highest foot traffic and occupancy is at the opposite end, Gloucester to Hereford, where American Apparel, North Face, Ed Hardy, Rugby, Urban Outfitters, Madewell and others cater to the college crowd.
For the most part, it’s the middle blocks, Dartmouth through Gloucester, that are in flux. Art galleries are bowing out; medi-spas, casual restaurants, small-footprint designer stores and pop-up stores (Seven for All Mankind’s Wash House, for example) have arrived.
In July, breaking with his custom of promoting a gentrifying neighborhood, Mayor Thomas Menino toured Newbury Street with a group from the International Council of Shopping Centers for the first time in years. At the time, 40 storefronts were vacant — roughly one-third have since been filled.
As one of the most recognizable models in the world, Christy Turlington Burns has an insider’s view of the fashion industry and the allegations of sexual harassment swirling around it. “I can say that harassment and mistreatment have always been widely known and tolerated in the industry. The industry is surrounded by predators who thrive on the constant rejection and loneliness so many of us have experiences at some point in our careers,” Turlington told WWD, along with her suggestions for how the modeling world should protect younger women and men. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. (📷: Tony Palmieri) #wwdnews
@asics America has tapped a new brand ambassador: famed DJ/record producer @steveaoki. This initiative is intended to set the tone for the new brand identity and philosophy and will include partnerships with influencers and in-store and off-line activations that will continue into next year. This is Asics’ most significant marketing effort in two decades, and is expected to attract younger consumers to the brand. #wwdfashion
24-year-old Jean Prounis is redefining the rules of jewelry. Formerly a studio assistant to Jemima Kirke and a design apprentice at Ghuran, she focuses on handcrafted subtleties and ancient goldsmithing techniques. “There was a really sterile feel in the environment and I wanted to have jewelry with character that shapes how you wear it everyday,” Prounis said. Each piece is hand made in New York, either by Prounis or three other jewelers in the district. #wwdfashion
“These collections continue to build on that vision, empowering differently abled adults to express themselves through fashion,” said @tommyhilfiger of his line of adaptive apparel, which launches today. The line consists of 37 men’s and 34 women’s styles based upon the pieces from the spring Tommy Hilfiger sportswear collection. #wwdnews
“Stranger Things” is getting a new cast member for season 2. Meet @sadiesink_, the 15-year-old who will be joining the Netflix series for its new season. You may recognize her from “The Glass Castle” with Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson, but the Texas native’s next role goes in an entirely different direction. She describes her character, Max, as “a rough and tumble skater girl [who] becomes friends with the boys at school.” The second season debuts on October 27. (📷: @jgreenery) #wwdeye
Amid the Harvey Weinstein controversy, there’s another sector that’s being put under the spotlight for sexual abuse: the modeling industry. While rumors about abuse and sexual harassment of female and male models — and the photographers, agents and others who perpetrated it — have circulated within the fashion world for years, model @cameronrussell started posting stories from models on Instagram last week about abusive situations they’ve encountered — from sexual harassment and molestation to attempted rape. Over 75 have weighed in so far. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews
To celebrate its 16th anniversary, @dylanscandybar tapped designers and celebrities to create mosaics out of candy. The mosaics will be auctioned off to support the philanthropic cause of each participant’s choice. Pictured here is the mural created by @aliceandolivia's Stacey Bendet. For a first look at some of the other artwork being unveiled tonight, go to WWD.com. #wwdeye
The annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Pacific Palisades this weekend drew Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laura Dern and more. See pictures of the star-studded event on WWD.com. (📷: @chelsealaurenla) #wwdeye
In his new book “Hollywood Royale,” Andy Warhol’s Protégé Matthew Rolston celebrates the Eighties revival of Hollywood glamour. Featuring more than 100 portraits taken by Rolston from 1977 to 1993, the book contains photos of icons like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and @drewbarrymore, pictured here in 1991. “Hollywood Royale,” out today, will be accompanied by an exhibition opening at Los Angeles’ Fahey/Klein Gallery on March 1. #wwdeye


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Photo: Brian Kersey/Getty Images
The Facebook IPO pop is just 6%!That’s one of the weakest IPO pops we can recall seeing.
Yes, that’s a testament to Facebook keeping all the premium by itself, but markets are turning red on the news.
The NASDAQ is down just under 0.5%.
The Dow is off 25.
Other big techIPOs are falling.
Linkedin is down over 4%.
Groupon is down 8%.
Zynga is down 13%.
More to come…
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Samsung Electronics showcased its latest products and services, including the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy Book3 Ultra at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain from Feb. 27 to March 2, 2023.
Visitors to the Samsung booth got a first-hand look at the latest Samsung Galaxy innovations through immersive and interactive exhibits.
“At Samsung, we believe the future of Galaxy innovation lies in sustainability commitment and open collaboration with partners,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics.
“At MWC this year, we’re excited to showcase how our latest lineups including the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy Book3 Ultra, exemplify Samsung’s approach to enabling new possibilities that enhance our daily lives.”
Samsung’s latest innovations are setting a new standard for premium mobile experiences that are further enhanced by its ecosystem of products and services. At MWC 2023, Samsung is showcasing how the Galaxy S23 series embodies its commitment to industry-leading innovation, with epic content-capturing and creating experiences and a more eco-conscious design.
The Galaxy S23 series’ advanced camera system gives users more freedom to explore their creativity, allowing them to capture truly cinematic photos and videos. Visitors to the booth can test out the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s all-new camera features, including Nightography capabilities in a low-light, 200MP Adaptive Pixel sensor1 for photos with incredible details, as well as advanced portrait photos with an AI Stereo Depth Map.
The Galaxy S23 series offers the fastest and most powerful performance ever in Galaxy to gamers and creators.2 Visitors can play racing games at the booth and experience the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s powerful gaming performance.


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Slow credit growth, falling export prices and a drop in home-building approvals – it was hardly an encouraging set of economic data on Thursday. But it was a pretty good illustration of the problems facing the economy.
A 7.9 per cent fall in the export price index in the June quarter, reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday, was dominated by weaker minerals markets. It extended the fall to since the peak in 2011 to 15 per cent. The fall has been partially cushioned by a lower exchange rate. In foreign currency terms, export commodity prices have dropped over 30 per cent in just three years, according to the commodity price index compiled by the RBA.
But the hit to export revenue will still drag on the economy, accentuating the impact of the slowdown in resource sector investment. The building industry is one of the great hopes for the economy’s transition away from mining, the so-called rebalancing.


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The city is opening a tourism office in Sydney in hopes of luring more Australian visitors, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday.
New York is already the No. 1 US destination for Australian travelers, with 230,000 converging here last year, up from 216,000 in 2006.
Officials said Australian tourists stay an average of nine to 10 days and spend about $280 per person per day.
George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company, said the city is expanding its international presence as the decline of the US dollar against many foreign currencies makes New York a more attractive destination.
The city drew 8.5 million international tourists last year, a nearly 20 percent increase over 2006. Australia’s Dollar is up more than 13 percent against the US Dollar in a year.
Tourism is the city’s third-largest industry, generating an estimated $428 billion in spending in 2007 and supporting more than 350,000 jobs.


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Lush is a natural beauty retailer.
2019-11-14T11:51:00+00:00By Grace Bowden
Lush has launched two new retail formats in Paris and Florence, reiterating its commitment to “ongoing investment in game-changing store concepts”.
2019-10-21T05:00:00+01:00Promotional research for Brightcove
AO.com and natural beauty brand Lush are among the businesses named video leaders by Retail Week and Brightcove in the new Video Oscars report
2019-09-26T05:00:00+01:00Promotional research for Brightcove
With today’s consumers expecting video as standard from their online shopping journeys, Retail Week’s Video Oscars guide reveals the real ROI of video marketing.
2019-09-20T16:08:00+01:00By Hugh Radojev
As millions globally protest about the accelerating climate crisis, we look at how retailers are playing their part in addressing one of the most pressing problems facing humanity.
2019-09-16T15:20:00+01:00By Leanne Carr
Several retailers will be joining a global strike this week in solidarity with youth climate strikes led by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg.
2019-06-10T13:55:00+01:00By Grace Bowden
2019-04-11T14:00:00+01:00By Grace Bowden,
2019-04-10T06:49:00+01:00By Hugh Radojev
2019-03-19T17:03:00+00:00By Grace Bowden
2019-03-19T14:55:00+00:00By Grace Bowden
2019-02-28T07:00:00+00:00By Sam Webb
2018-10-29T06:00:00+00:00By Grace Bowden
2018-06-18T06:00:00+01:00By Michael Jary
All Lush content from Retail-Week.com
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Novartis Q1 results continue to demonstrate benefit from turnaround plan actions
Novartis noted, Q1 results continue to demonstrate the benefit from the actions taken as part of the turnaround plan, including improved operations, customer relationships and product launches. The strategic review is progressing, with potential action not likely before the first half of 2019. Commenting on the results, Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, said: "We continued our transformation this quarter to become a more focused medicines company. We expect the proposed sale of the OTC JV stake, the acquisition of AAA and the proposed acquisition of AveXis to provide significant sales, return on capital, and innovative R&D platforms that will strengthen our pipeline. Operationally, we drove solid growth across all financial metrics, strong performance across our key growth brands, and continued Alcon's strong recovery."


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Touted as the revolution that would change the world as we know it, the Internet of Things is a phenomenon that’s been gaining steady mileage over the years. In fact, GE predicts investment in Industrial Internet of Things to top $60 trillion during the next 15 years.
Every business wants to leverage IoT – from manufacturing to utilities, from healthcare to customer electronics. Think predictive maintenance of plant-floor machinery, automatic information transfer from electricity meters to service providers, auto-purchase of supplies such as shampoo by a carwash machine, and many such use cases that would enable businesses to improve user experience.
So much so, that even banks are exploiting IoT. Case in point is Capital One exploring Amazon Alexa, and adding another avenue in its omni-channel strategy. Capital One customers can now just talk to a device connected with Amazon Alexa, and easily learn their account and transaction status. Check out the video:
It is easy to predict the question running in your minds now. “My bank account details are with a device, out in the open for hacking and misuse?” Well, sometimes convenience doesn’t come without risks. And while IoT makes our lives easier, it can easily turn them into nightmares.
Weaponization of IoT?
How secure is the data that these ‘things’ or devices pass among each other?
The truth is, not so safe.
As per a 2014 report by HP, 7 out of 10 IoT devices have security flaws – with an average of 25 vulnerabilities per device.
Today, any attacker worth their salt can hack into an IoT device and manipulate it to act on their orders. Bank account numbers and credentials can be accessed and used to cause fund diversion. Smart electricity meters can be rigged to cause power outages.
And though it may seem far-fetched, pacemaker transmitters can be ‘doctored’ to deliver deadly shocks to patients connected with pacemakers.
While your device control may be taken over and data be stolen, you may also be subjected to denial of service attacks. On October 2016, widespread Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks were reported in the US, that affected 80 major websites like Amazon, BBC, Twitter, Slack, etc. Thought to be the largest-ever, the attack was caused by a botnet that had injected the Mirai malware, into a number of IoT devices such as printers, IP cameras and even baby monitors. Mirai scanned for IoT devices that had weak factory default setting (hard-coded usernames and passwords), converted them into bots, and then used them to launch DDoS attack.
In another DDoS attack, connected heating devices were hacked, leaving Finnish residents in hazardous sub-zero conditions.
Such events can cause widespread chaos and mayhem among the general public.
Making IoT more secure
Security in IoT is a key concern that’s hounding the aficionados. The benefits are aplenty, and usher our world into a new era in technology, but at what cost? It is important for businesses and consumers to reflect at the following security aspects of IoT:
- Device password – The Chinese firm, TP Link had been shipping routers that by default had the last 8 characters of their MAC addresses as the device password, making it easy for attackers to identify MAC address and hack into these devices. A terrible flaw in info security indeed. This vulnerability can be overcome by eliminating such default settings, and regularly updating passwords.
- Data safety – Businesses are urged to retain data for as short a while as possible and then purge them, akin to shredding information when no longer required.
- Provide security patches – In a rush to take the product to market, manufacturers often disregard the need for security in devices. Manufacturers should release security upgrades and inform their customers to install these to tighten security.
- Implement security standards – The international community is coming together to create IoT security standards to adhere to, and to prevent cyber attacks. There are many associations that are working towards this. Manufacturers should consciously adopt a security first approach and uphold these standards.
While making IoT completely infallible is a difficult goal, it is definitely important to aspire for and ensure security in IoT. Vulnerabilities will exist, but at the end of the day, stakeholders need to work together to make IoT more secure in the coming future, where the world will be populated with around 50 million connected devices. And that’s a battle of a totally different magnitude, for which we aren’t currently equipped.


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The hardware business related to virtual reality will be worth more than 50,000 million dollars in 2021, according to expert estimates, but for the moment all the promising expectations are yet to be fulfilled.
The Simpsons, the famous American TV series, has just celebrated its 600th episode using virtual reality (VR). Using Google Cardboard glasses and an app fans can share an adventure with Springfield's most famous family.
Virtual reality allows you to enjoy your favorite series as never before, but it can also get you inside the head of a schizophrenic to know what the patient feels. Little by little, this technology is opening up a path. These are the sectors that are making the biggest commitment to VR:
- Video games: Sony has just launched its VR device for PS4 at a competitive price - 400 euros-. A much awaited launch, but the specialist magazine Xataca stresses what is already known: the glasses cause dizziness and, like their competitors, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, they still fail to convince and get users instantly hooked.
- Health: Virtual reality does seem to be a success in the medical sector, especially in the field of patients. The case of schizophrenic patients in France, mentioned above, and psychologists using VR therapies, are examples of its uses. In some hospitals, doctors choose to perform a simulated operation in virtual reality before undertaking the real operation. Or, as this article in The Guardian emphasizes, it allows two doctors, thousands of kilometers apart, to share their knowledge of an illness.
-Tourism: From recreating scenes out of Cervantes to strolling on Brazil's beaches without leaving home. Tourist agencies are starting to use VR both to show future destinations to their customers and to offer travel experiences to those who do not want to leave home.
The hardware business related to virtual reality will exceed 50,000 million dollars in 2021, compared to the 5,000 million expected for the market by the end of the current year, according to estimates by the Juniper Research consultancy.
By the end of 2016, according to the report on Virtual Reality produced by App Date, sales of 7 million VR glasses are forecast, and in four years this figure will have shot up to 100 million devices.
There are doubts about when virtual reality will finally take off, and some, like Tim Cook, believe more in augmented reality: "Augmented Reality (AR) covers more than virtual reality (VR) because it not only offers us the chance to be present and communicate with each other, but also lets us enjoy other things visually", stresses the Apple executive. Broadly speaking, virtual reality consists of introducing users into a different world while augmented reality allows them to see the real world with added information. Education is one of the sectors showing most interest in AR.
The worldwide Pokemon craze is a good example of the success that augmented reality can have. We will have to wait another year to see if virtual reality goes down the same path and finally takes off.


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From Kevin Kidney’s Blog:
Its finally time to reveal an exciting project weve been working on for the past several months. Jody and I will release four new collectibles at a special merchandise event in June to honor the 45th anniversary of Walt Disneys Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. The show in California is still the original mostly and best assuredly, and its probably no surprise to you that it is our favorite place at Disneyland.
And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, come with us… for a preview of new Tiki Room items…
Heads up to Jose Castillo over at Kryptonlogic


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Quora is investigating what caused the breach, but it appears the hacker had access to most, if not all the data, ever posted on the question-and-answer website. User data that may have been taken includes name, email address, and hashed password information.
Users can submit questions between now and Monday, Aug. 8.
The attack on Sundar Pichai's account came from the same group that targeted Mark Zuckerberg and Daniel Ek.
The system allows Quora to dismiss any unsuitable comments.
Quora's new Stats feature offers writers an in-depth look at their impressions on readers.
Topping tech headlines on Wednesday was the rollout of iOS 7 and iTunes Radio, the arrival of BBM on iOS and Android this weekend, and the White House's push for cell phone unlocking.
Q&A site Quora today launched its third major mobile redesign, in line with Apple's iOS 7 update.
Quora today rolled out new ways to share content from the site with those who have not yet signed up for the question-and-answer service.
Topping tech headlines Wednesday, the Facebook app surpasses Google Maps as No. 1 in U.S., AT&T U-verse users suffer a week-long outage, and a new Google Transparency Report reveals that government officials mostly submit subpoenas for user data.
Quora announced today that it will now offer a blogging service, as well as an updated iPhone app with a rich text editor, expected to launch in a few weeks.


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Ronda Rousey holds big value for the UFC. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
If and when the Ultimate Fighting Championship adopts a uniform policy for its athletes, bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey is likely to be at the forefront of such a deal.
Mike Mossholder, UFC vice president of global marketing partnerships, recently told Ad Week that the Las Vegas-based promotion is “actively engaged in conversations” with a “premium apparel line” to produce a uniform for its roster. According to Mossholder, Rousey is the UFC’s “No. 1 most requested athlete” by sponsors, making it “highly likely” that she would be featured in any such agreement.
The UFC has yet to announce anything officially regarding a potential uniform deal. According to Ad Week, representatives from Nike, Under Armour and Adidas either declined comment or could not be reached.
The 27-year-old Rousey currently ranks No. 3 in UFC ticket sales, according to the report. She owns notable sponsorship deals with MetroPCS and Xyience. Xyience President John Lennon informed Ad Week that sales for the energy drink jumped 12 percent with Rousey’s image on its cans.
“Rowdy” is perhaps the promotion’s biggest mainstream star. She has already scored roles in the major motion pictures “The Expendables,” “Fast and Furious 7” and “Entourage,” with future Hollywood opportunities reportedly on the horizon. She became the first mixed martial artist to win an ESPY earlier this summer and recently appeared in a short film on ESPN. Additionally, Rousey was profiled by The New Yorker last week.
Currently, some UFC fighters sport as many sponsors as they can fit on their in-Octagon apparel. Rousey, who represented Xyience in her win at UFC 175, prefers more of a minimalist approach in that area.
“You give yourself more value if you don’t walk out looking like a race car covered in ads,” she told Ad Week. “I like to think my sponsors are valued more because it’s more clean looking.”


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AmerisourceBergen Corp.'s ABC, +0.31% fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 7.1% as the drug wholesaler posted higher operating expeneses tied to its recent deal with Walgreen Co. (WAG).
For the year, the company narrowed its per-share earnings estimate and now expects $3.06 to $3.11 from its earlier estimate of $3.04 to $3.14. AmerisourceBergen also affirmed revenue growth view.
Walgreen and Alliance Boots GmbH recently agreed to get their branded and generic pharmaceutical products from AmerisourceBergen, in exchange for the two companies having the right to buy a minority position in the drug wholesaler. This is expected to begin in September.
Meanwhile, AmerisourceBergen agreed in April to sell its contract packaging business, AndersonBrecon $308 million in cash, and its Canadian pharmaceutical business to health-care supplies distributor Kohl & Frisch Ltd. for an estimated $80 million to $100 million, while retaining its Canadian specialty business.
For the quarter ended June 30, AmerisourceBergen reported a profit of $168.4 million, down from $181.3 million. Per-share earnings were flat at 71 cents. Excluding one-time items such as a last-in-first-out expense, earnings were 73 cents a share, down from 74 cents a year earlier.
Revenue increased 13% to $21.9 billion, driven by a 16% increase in AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently projected earnings of 74 cents on revenue of $21.33 billion.
Gross margin fell to 2.57% from 3.46%.
Total operating expenses increased 25% to $427.8 million due to transaction costs related to the deal with Walgreen and Alliance Boots.
Shares closed Tuesday at $57.63 and were inactive premarket.
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| NAA mediaXchange is the largest annual gathering of industry executives in North America, offering unprecedented networking opportunities that combine an exchange of information and ideas with programming designed to generate results. The conference is designed to provide valuable ideas and insights to help newspaper professionals grow audience and revenue for their print and digital products. Sessions highlight leading-edge thinking about media strategies, successes in product and revenue development, new ideas and innovation inside and outside the industry, and tactics and techniques to employ in print and digital.
March 2009 - Posts
Lee Abrams, chief innovation officer for Tribune Co., urged newspapers to have "a little swagger."
the closing session, Abrams spoke with Barbara Cohen, president of
Kannon Consulting, about the redesign of the Tribune Co. newspapers and
how it became an impetus for making other changes in the company.
"Some newspapers torture themselves by doing things incrementally," he said.
said Tribune redesigned the papers to get it done—"some have redesigned
so subtly, it doesn't get noticed"—to catch up—"we should have done this
20 years ago"—-and to fight back.
"There is a media war that didn't exist 20 or 30 years ago," Abrams said.
media doesn't have a lock hold on innovation, he said. "My thought is
that if our core product had 10 percent of the attitude toward
innovation as the Web, we would be better off."
there are many smart, passionate and committed people in the industry.
"The open minded ones will take it the next level. It's a matter of
identifying and liberating them," he said.
Tribune plans to
give its redesigned papers a year before judging their success on
circulation and advertising as well as cost savings.
"As great as technology is," Abrams said, "there is something magical and timeless about a newspaper."
The mediaXchange conference was a fitting venue for NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm to discuss the value of newspapers. In an Op-Ed that appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal today, Sturm pointed out that digital revenues have already become an important part of newspapers' sustaining business model and that the newspaper print product attracts more than 105 million readers each day.
The piece is available at http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/41077962.html.
A good summary of the current trends in online classified advertising, with a look five years into the future from Larry Shaw, director of client research with Borrell Associates, during an afternoon session on redefining classifieds. Check out his presentation here.
Bill Ostendorf, president of Creative Circle Media Consulting, followed with a spirited description of some new revenue ideas for classifieds targeting advertisers outside the traditional big three of auto, real estate and recruitment. A sampling: take advantage of the niche audiences a print newspaper already has by virtue of its various sections—sports, food, entertainment, etc.—and place classified ads targeting these niches in these sections (The Idaho Statesman in Boise began doing this in the past month in some sections, following a redesign with the help of Ostendorf’s company.) Think of all the small local businesses involved in the food category that would love to be able to reach readers of your newspaper’s food section, Ostendorf said. “Small businesses are out there dying to reach their local markets.”
More good ideas from Tony Lee, chief alliance officer with Adicio, including several best practices that some newspapers already are using in their markets.
A quick rundown of three of these: allow other Web sites to run your “Top Job” listings through revenue-sharing partnerships, which can drive traffic back to your site (10 to 20 percent jumps in traffic to a newspaper's job database are typical, Lee said) and boost revenue; scrap job listings from the Web sites of local companies in your market that post their openings online; and expand beyond car ads online to local RV, classic car, boat and motorcycle ads—and allow users to post their own ads in these categories, creating a community. For more of Lee’s ideas, check out his presentation.
Management shouldn't assume that just because they have a union contract they can't subcontract work, labor law attorney David Durham said during an afternoon session on outsourcing.
"They think that all they can do is take baby steps," said Durham, an attorney at Littler Mendelson. They think they can only bargain for a 10 percent wage cut or to eliminate the 401 (k) matching contributions. "But that is not going to save the newspaper," he said.
Subcontracting cannot be done for anti-union reasons, Durham cautioned. But it can be done because if it makes business sense. "Most of the time in today's workplace, you are doing it for a fundamental business decision," he said.
NAA.org has integrated a new functionality, which highlights specific, custom-selected terms on various pages throughout the NAA Web site, allowing users to click on specified words or phrases - such as revenue growth or audience development - to see more on that topic.
Clicking a linked topic term will navigate to a topics page, displaying related content such as more NAA articles and NAA Community content, as well as books, videos, photos and articles from other areas of the Web. Users can visit the following examples from each integrated area of the Web site to see this new functionality in action:
Lingospot announced the launch of the program, which was created specifically for NAA member newspapers. The Sacramento Bee is the first newspaper to take advantage of this special offering. An example of a Lingospot Topic Portal can be found by clicking on one of the highlighted links here: http://www.sacbee.com/827/story/1684942.html
NAA member newspapers can sign up for the Lingospot Topic Portal program by visiting www.lingospot.com/naa and signing up with their company email address. The signup process has three easy steps, after which newspapers will be able to launch topic pages on their sites.
Circulation departments face greater pressure to generate more revenue as ad revenues have declined. During a morning session, three speakers shared ways to grow circulation revenues and reduce expenses. In recent years, USA Today took a closer look at its circulation revenue and compared it with circulation expenses. Larry Lindquist, senior vice president of circulation for USA Today, said the analysis has helped the newspaper reduce its losses per copy each year since 2006 by increasing revenue through its different sales channels and by reducing expenses. (One example: not picking up returns from some retailers.)
Spin-off publications, including Sports Weekly, and special editions, such as two related to President Barack Obama and the final season of Yankee Stadium in New York City, also have helped generate additional revenue. “We found out that passion is what sells the publications,” Lindquist said.
At The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, the development of a successful paid opt-in program for the newspaper’s TV book tabloid last year has gotten the paper thinking about similar opportunities. One possibility: starting a weekly paid publication featuring stock listings, distributed using the same subscription model, according to Mark Quan, the Pilot’s circulation director. New subscription pricing packages that include other newspapers also are being considered, Quan said.
Dan Schaub closed the session with some details about The Sacramento Bee. Chief among them was an effort to focus, both internally and externally, on audience rather then paid circulation when describing the reach of the Bee and its related products. While there’s still debate about the best way to precisely measure online audience, newspaper companies can’t afford to wait until the Interactive Advertising Bureau and others refine the metrics, said Schaub, senior vice president of audience development & membership services. “We’ve got to go tell the story today.”
The newspaper also has refined its home delivery pricing and subscription offers by giving customers more choices, by targeting offers to specific households and by developing a new offer aimed at chronic churners. “One size doesn’t fit all, that’s the takeaway,” Schaub said. Other successes: higher prices for Thanksgiving single-copies and joint distribution agreements with other newspapers.
Bill Ostendorf, president of Creative Circle Media Consulting (Booth 1237), and Sean Ammirati, CEO and co-founder of mSpoke, stressed the importance of data and design during the "Better, Faster, More Profitable!" session.
"If you can become a data-driven organization and measure and test Web experiences, you can end up with compelling Web experiences," Ammirati said.
Ammirati advised attendees to investigate and use A/B testing. "Basically, you take a percentage of your traffic and give them slightly different Web templates and see how it changes how [users] interact with your Web content."
Ostendorf, who has redesigned print newspapers and Web sites, criticized newspapers for trying to pack too much information on their sites and for running pictures too small.
"People are going into hock to buy 60-inch Sonys," he said. Make the pictures bigger, he added. "Do you ever say, ‘I wish I had a smaller computer monitor?' "
Take a "less is more" attitude, Ostendorf said. "We don't put everything on page one in the print newspaper."
Both speakers stressed the Web's growing role in social networking. "Be a community," Ostendorf said. "Be my community."
--Rebecca Ross Albers, PRESSTIME Editor
Following up on an earlier blog post about newspapers using self-service advertising tools from companies at mediaXchange this year, I had the chance to speak with two additional companies in this space today: MultiAd (Booth 2037) and AdLizard (Booth 1723).
AdLizard’s new Web 123 product, the fruit of a partnership with sister company Qmecom, walks advertisers through creating their online ads using a Web-based interface, from choosing among ad templates, to customizing ads with the advertiser’s own images and text, previewing the ads and designing multiple ads for a single campaign. Depending on a particular publisher’s online targeting capabilities, the platform also allows users to select various targeting options for their ads.
Next, advertisers can view estimates of the impressions and clicks their ads will generate based on their budget for a particular ad campaign. “We’re trying to give them this info up front,” Aran Rhee, a solutions manager with Qmecom. Web 123 also provides updated reporting once the campaign starts. The company has non-disclosure agreements with several newspaper publishers that are beginning to use the product, Rhee says.
MultiAd’s new SpeedyAd product builds on its existing offering, Revolution, which allows real estate and other advertisers to create their own print ads through an online interface. The company is taking the Web-based and hosted platform and extending it to print private-party classified and display advertisers with SpeedyAd, which allows advertisers to choose different ad templates, input their own text, view previews of their ads, choose which days ads will run and pay online with a credit card.
The target customers for SpeedyAd are smaller dailies and weekly papers, according to Brian Dickerson, vice president of operations for MultiAd. Several weeklies owned by GateHouse Media Inc. in Peoria, Ill., are using the product now on a trial basis, he said.
Press and post-press manufacturers at NAA mediaXchange remain optimistic despite the recession.
are in a transition period," said Thomas S. Stuart, vice president of
sales for WIFAG (Booth 929). "Newspapers are evaluating their business
and seeing what they need to do." But, he said, things will stabilize
and newspapers will rebound.
WIFAG is currently installing its
evolution 371 press at the Naples (Fla.) Daily News. The press will be
able to print a wide range of sizes, from 18 to 36 inches, he said,
allowing the company to print more varied products. The press is
expected to be online by the fall, he added.
Systems (Booth 1641) just started installing the post-press equipment
at the Naples Daily News, said Dan Kemper, president. Meanwhile, he
said, Schur is actively investigating what other industries might be
interested in its palletizing equipment to help sustain Schur while the
newspaper industry is in transition.
"It's a tough year," said
Mike Shafer, director of sales and marketing for TKS (Booth 1301). "We
are looking forward to when customers unleash their pent-up demand for
buying new products." With many newspapers consolidating or outsourcing
their printing, Shafer said he anticipates companies that are printing
more than one newspaper will eventually look into hybrid printing,
additional color and retooled presses. TKS just installed new towers on
an existing TKS press at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Shafer said.
that invested in equipment before 2008 are in the best position to take
on printing and finishing work for other newspapers, said Gary Owen,
vice president of sales/mailroom systems for Muller Martini. Owen said
he expects that fewer newspapers will have their own printing and
post-press equipment and there will be more regional printing centers
in the future. Southwest Offset Printing, which publishes several
newspapers including The New York Times and The Financial Times,
recently purchased a third Muller Martini SLS3000 inserting line.
more newspapers consolidate their printing operations, Manugraph DGM
Inc. (Booth 2301) has helped to liquidate several plants and
reconfigure and reinstall equipment, said Dave Moreland, vice president
of sales and marketing. "It's a way to help our customers and move
equipment," he said.
Manugraph recently added a folder and two
towers to the press at the Idaho Press-Tribune in Nampa, which will be
printing The Idaho Statesman in Boise. Manugraph also installed a DGM
440 at the Skagit (Wash.) Valley Herald, which will be printing The
Eric Frank, vice president of corporate
marketing at KBA North America Inc. (Booth 1547), said his company is
working more with the production and finance departments at newspapers
to help justify buying presses. KBA just completed an installation at
the Reading (Pa.) Eagle and will begin to install a Commander CT at the
Daily News in New York City in July.
Speakers at an afternoon session offered three very different examples
of how their newspaper companies reposition its organization's
In 2007, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel began
examining its revenues and structure. "We found we had a lot of issues
with our traditional structure," said Hugh McGarry, senior vice
president of sales and marketing. "We found redundant systems,
functions and processes."
One of the ways the paper has broken
down silos is with a weekly forecasting meeting every Thursday with
revenue managers for advertising, commercial printing, delivery and
circulation. The weekly cross-departmental meeting has helped the paper
to hit its forecast. "If you know that classified will be off by
$25,000 or $30,000, maybe the circulation person can cover it," McGarry
The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville realigned its
traditional marketing department to focus on revenue and audience
growth. Marketing staff had been part of circulation and advertising,
said Amy McSwain, director of marketing and audience development, but
that arrangement created real and perceived conflicting priorities.
each marketing employee is a brand manager and responsible for several
products and departments, creating a larger sense of ownership for each
employee, she said.
Last year, Ottaway Newspaper Inc. adopted
revenue driven strategies in circulation and operations. Now, all of
Ottaway's goals in circulation and production are driven by earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, said Don
Waterman, senior vice president of print and distribution.
bring in new revenue, Ottaway has focused on delivering and printing
other newspapers' products, Waterman said. Ottaway now delivers 36
publications, bringing in $4.4 million in revenue, he said. "If we
delivered every paper in our markets, we'd be getting $29 million in
revenue," he added.
On the commercial printing side, Ottaway
has nine new print contracts. The company prints for nearly 50 clients
and brings in $3.1 million annually, Waterman said.
It's a fact that everyone loves a good contest, and newspapers are getting into the game by sponsoring contests targeting everyone from doting parents to proud pet owners.
At the NAA session, "Link, Search, Play," July Foley of the Statesboro (Ga.) Herald said contests are increasingly driving online engagement at her smaller-market paper and, depending on the subject, are helping the Herald attract new advertisers seeking to reach a target audience. One contest for the "cutest kid" brought in $10,000 revenue from advertisers targeting parents in just under four weeks, according to Foley. Dogs also are a draw for online engagement. Robin Gray of the Orange County Register described a "cutest dog" competition at her paper that brought in seven million page views to the paper's site and thousands in ad revenue.
Another method to drive online engagement is to follow what Boston.com's Bob Kempf calls his paper's "Holy Grail," or "grow local reach." The challenge, says Kempf, is to "create a sustainable local product that complements the core site." Boston.com has created a network of hyperlocal sites that are increasing community reach and engagement. Their geographic reach offers targeted ad opportunities as well, and features elements that include original reporting, news about local events, features for user generated content, personalization and a Wiki. The sites are integrated into Boston.com.
And speaking of aggregation, Jay Small of Scripps said that "link journalism" is a must for increasing online engagement. Small described link journalism as a way to embark on new forms of story telling by "curating content" on the Web. Journalists will spend time gathering the best links on the Web that relate to a particular story and post those links on their page to provide context to the story. That page will then serve as "the destination page" for users. "Is it journalism? Heck yeah!" Small said. "Journalists play the role of filtering information and link journalism is about giving readers the opportunity to engage with the most useful information out there."
- Sheila Owens
At Tuesday's general session, two newspaper executives from very different markets described the aggressive and controversial steps they are taking to position their companies for the future.
Dave Hunke, CEO of the Detroit Media Partnership and publisher of the Detroit Free Press, outlined the hybrid print and digital model the Detroit newspapers are adopting (http://www.detroitmedia.com/transform/faq-gen.php).
"We can view these times as suffocating or liberating," Hunke said. "We cannot sit here and hope that business will get a little bit better."
Hunke described the consumer research the partnership did to prepare for this bold step. "A lot of people may view Detroit's program as a Hail Mary cost-cutting exercise. For 16 months, we've pored ourselves into newspaper redesign and research with customers."
Besides offering a digital replica edition, the partnership is partnering with Plastic Logic (www.plasticlogic.com) to explore a mass lease program of its e-reader, Hunke said.
While the e-reader is not yet available, Hunke said he expects to have 100 by March 30, and within eight months to initiate a mass lease program in the Detroit market.
Don't be afraid of digital solutions, he said. "We're putting it all on the line to function in that environment."
Chuck Peters, president and CEO of Gazette Communications in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, described how his company is leveraging social media. "We have to be able to play in social media," Peters said. "That is where the world is going. We have to adjust."
Making it easier for people to engage in their communities is the goal, Peters said. And finding people who can carry out that mission is critical for his company and others to move forward.
Before Hunke and Peters spoke to attendees, consultant Jim Chisholm gave a summary of a recent NAA report, Opportunities Out of Adversity: Re-Positioning for Future Growth (www.naa.org/financialmodel). Chisholm recommended that U.S. publishers raise their prices.
"American newspapers are the cheapest in the world," he said. "That has to stop."
People will continue to pay for quality news in print, Chisholm said, but he agreed with Hunke's plans for Detroit and said people may not want to pay for the print newspaper seven days a week.
--Rebecca Ross Albers, PRESSTIME Editor
Starting a new niche magazine generates a host of questions. What is the target audience? How many pages is it going to be? How often will it publish? What will the distribution be? What will the ad rate be? What kind of paper will it use?
At an afternoon session, Peter Vandevanter, vice president of targeted products for MediaNews Group Inc., demonstrated a proprietary tool his company developed in-house to help publishers answer these questions as they consider new niche pubs in the company’ local markets. Known as the Wizard, the template draws on the experiences of existing and successful niche magazines in MediaNews markets. Consider it a “soup to nuts” tool, Vandevanter said.
Using a spreadsheet interface, users select a target audience from a group of 25 potential groups, ranging from foodies to animal lovers to athletes. They then input various data points, including distribution, ad rates, page lengths, launch date and production costs. The template then crunches these numbers to show projected expenses, revenues, profit, margins and even a timeline for the development process—which also are compared to a “best practice” existing niche publication targeting the same audience in a MediaNews market. “It gives you the economics of anything you want to pursue,” Vandevanter said.
Other interesting tidbits from Vandevanter’s presentation: Free distribution allows publishers to tailor a niche publication’s audience to the customers an advertiser wants to reach to a degree that traditional subscriptions don’t allow; once considered a negative by advertisers, the longer shelf life of niche publications, be it a week or a month, is now valued by advertisers in world of shorter attention spans and short-lived Internet advertising; and lastly, don’t underestimate how long it will take to start a niche publication.
A lot of maximizing online ad revenue comes down to yield management, a complex science (not an art form!) combining inventory management, efficiency, sales, the newspaper value proposition and more.
At "Managing to Maximize Your Online Ad Inventory," moderator David Knight (digital sales executive for The New York Times Regional News Group) outlined just some of the challenges newspapers are facing in this area. Among them: Slowing online sales (thanks, economy!); more content pages, which can effectively decrease CPMs; and generally monetizing ad inventory in light of an increase in search, pure plays getting "local" and more.
The following are some of the key points from panelists Ian Owen-Ward, vice president of digital development for the Newspaper National Network; JT Batson, vice president of publisher communities for The Rubicon Project; and David Teitler, CEO of BlackBox Media:
Batson suggested working on figuring out your actual CPM - revenue across all impressions - before moving into your assessment of what (and how) all your ad types are being sold. Map it out, and treat inventory management like you're managing widgets - don't just manage your sales team!
Look at ad networks as a partner, and work to stabilize your ad network CPMs. Also, your networks should generally be blind.
In terms of "cutting" the number of ads on a page: "If you see a site that looks like a pinball machine, I would generally say to take those ads down," Teitler said. The most effective sites have 2 - 3 ads per page. Teitler is an advocate for limiting the number of ads, because too many ads can lead to a significant drop in ROI.
Remain nimble! Keep yourself open to what advertisers are saying and respond accordingly.
"You've got some of the best inventory out there, so be confident in what you're selling," Batson said.
Note: Several of these topics are covered in NAA's Digital Media Advertising Toolkit, which was released last month. Go to www.naa.org/adtoolkit for more!
The second general session of NAA mediaXchange 2009 features discussion on Future Business Models. Speakers include:
Jim Chisholm, Principal, iMedia Advisory Services Ltd
David Hunke, CEO, Detroit Media Partnership & Publisher, Detroit Free Press
The session begins at 1 p.m. PDT. Participate LIVE by adding your comments below:
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Economic growth will lift electric power consumption and boost industry revenue
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 12, 2012
The Electric Power Transmission industry stagnated over the past five years as electricity consumption declined during the recession. The federal government and state public utility commissions (PUC) responded with generous subsidies and incentives, partly mitigating the revenue lost from lowered consumption. “However,” says IBISWorld industry analyst David Yang, “federal government stimulus only offered short-term aid and most has expired since 2009.” The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that electricity consumption has declined on average 0.1% per year since 2007. Industry revenue has contracted in line with power consumption. In the five years to 2012, IBISWorld estimates that revenue has declined at an annualized rate of 0.1% to $369.2 billion.
Electricity consumption slowed during the recession as nearly all downstream customers cut back expenditures. According to Federal Reserve estimates, manufacturers increasingly idled production facilities over the past five years, resulting in lower industrial electricity consumption. According to Yang, “Furthermore, the EIA estimates that households have increasingly adopted energy-efficient appliances, causing overall household consumption to slightly decrease.” And in the commercial sector, many operations closed, dragging down demand for power. In addition, electricity price growth has also slowed as transmission infrastructure became increasingly saturated over the past five years. Market saturation often occurs because PUCs generally grant higher rate increases to utilities that invest in transmission infrastructure. The EIA expects both electricity consumption and electricity prices to fall in 2012. Consequently, IBISWorld estimates that industry revenue will decline 2.4% over the year.
Most players in the Electric Power Transmission industry operate in regional and local markets, resulting in a low level of market share concentration. In 2012, IBISWorld estimates that the four largest utilities will account for less than 15% of industry revenue. Over the past five years, while public utility commissions (PUC) have regularly granted rate increases, the overall growth of electricity prices have slowed, reducing profitability. Consequently, utilities exited the industry or consolidated. In the five years to 2012, the number of enterprises is expected to fall on average 0.6% per year. In early 2012, Exelon Corporation and Constellation Energy Group, two industry giants, merged to bring three major regional utilities under the same roof. This industry is already dominated by large regional firms. For instance, two utilities, Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison, control nearly the entire California market.
As the economy recovers, businesses and factories will resume operations, which will boost electricity consumption. Additionally, PUCs are expected to grant rate increases for renewable energy transmission investments. According to EIA projections, over the next five years, electricity consumption will increase on average 0.6% per year while electricity prices will increase on average 1.8% per year. As a result, in the five years to 2017, IBISWorld forecasts that revenue will continue to grow.
For more information, visit IBISWorld’s Electric Power Transmission in the US industry report page.
Follow IBISWorld on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/IBISWorld
Friend IBISWorld on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBISWorld/121347533189
IBISWorld industry Report Key Topics
Firms in this industry transmit and distribute electricity from power generators to distribution centers, other electric utilities and final consumers. The transmission system includes lines and transformer stations, while the distribution system consists of lines, poles, meters and wiring that deliver the electricity to final consumers. This industry does not generate electricity.
Key External Drivers
Industry Life Cycle
Products & Markets
Products & Services
Globalization & Trade
Market Share Concentration
Key Success Factors
Cost Structure Benchmarks
Barriers to Entry
About IBISWorld Inc.
Recognized as the nation’s most trusted independent source of industry and market research, IBISWorld offers a comprehensive database of unique information and analysis on every US industry. With an extensive online portfolio, valued for its depth and scope, the company equips clients with the insight necessary to make better business decisions. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld serves a range of business, professional service and government organizations through more than 10 locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ibisworld.com or call 1-800-330-3772.


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April 18 2007 at 12:31AM
Washington - US health authorities are warning the makers of a caffeine-loaded beverage called Cocaine Energy Drink that the product is being marketed as a "drug" and could be seized.
The Food and Drug Administration said in a letter this month to Las Vegas-based Redux Beverages LLC that the marketing claims made for the energy drink make it subject to regulation as a drug under US law.
In the April 4 letter, the FDA said the drink, which contains no cocaine or other illegal substances but has a variety of stimulants including caffeine, "is marketed as an alternative to an illicit street drug", with ingredients "intended to prevent, treat, or cure disease conditions".
"Street drug alternatives do not qualify as dietary supplements," said FDA compliance direction Pamela Schweikert in the letter.
The FDA said the claims made for the drink without required authorisation are all violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
"You must immediately correct these violations," the letter said.
"If you do not immediately correct them, you may be subject to enforcement action against you without further notice. The Act provides for the seizure of illegal products and for an injunction against the manufacturer and distributors of illegal products. Individuals and businesses that violate the Act may also be subject to criminal prosecution."
Redux could not be reached for comment. In a statement last week, the company dismissed "rumors and inaccurate reports" that the drink had been banned.
"Redux Beverages has been in constant contact with the FDA and is moving quickly to fully comply with the FDA's requests," the company said. "No interruption in Cocaine sales is expected."
"Cocaine" contains more than 1 100 milligrams of caffeine, slightly more than a large Starbucks coffee, according to the company, and among the highest in the category.
It also contains taurine, an amino acid, and guarana, a stimulant from a South American plant, as well as vitamins and other ingredients. The makers call it "the legal alternative."
The product is one of several in a rapidly growing market for energy drinks worth more than $3,5-billion in the US alone.
But the drink has also drawn fire from local officials, with some municipalities seeking to ban its sales. Last year, the head of the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University called the Redux campaign "irresponsible" and urged retailers not to sell it.


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Atlanta Business Chronicle | First-to-market Bareburger headed to Midtown's 715 Peachtree
Midtown’s newly renovated 715 Peachtree building has landed three retail tenants: Bareburger, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company, and rock climbing gym Stone Summit.
Developer Carter and capital partner PCCP LLC on Friday announced the additions to 715 Peachtree, a 10-story office building near the Fox Theatre that will house a software development center for Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON). Co-working concept Spaces is already open at the building.
Bareburger will open its first Atlanta location at the building. The concept that originated in New York offers organic and all-natural burgers in a casual setting. It’s expected to open later this year.
Land of a Thousand Hills coffee company, which launched in Roswell and since has expanded to Atlantic Station and beyond, will open its third Atlanta location at 715 Peachtree. It’s set to open next month.
And, Stone Summit, which today has two metro Atlanta locations, will operate a bouldering and fitness facility at 715 Peachtree. It’s expected to open later this year.
The leases represent “the emergence of Midtown’s southern half as a retail destination and hotspot,” Carter’s Matt Delicata said in announcement.
Brittany McCall and Kelsey Mandus of Vantage Realty Partners led the retail leasing efforts at 715 Peachtree.
By Amy Wenk, Staff Writer for the Atlanta Business Chronicle
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The economy tanked further with today’s unemployment rate report of 8.1% last heard or reported in 1983 i.e. 25 years ago. Stock market shredding money each day going back to 1997 levels. The D-Word (Depression) era seems to be in sight but I believe with modern finance tools and technologies the depression will be averted. Though a painful recession is still going to continue throughout the year. Unless GDP, Unemployment and Productivity improves we continue witnessing layoffs, firings.
This news from FedEx saves bucks for people who is planning to print resumes. FedEx in its stores will allow on March 10 to print 25 black & White copies of resumes on a resume-quality paper in its FedEx Stores.
The company invites customers to take advantage of this one-day event by visiting any of its 1,600+ FedEx Office Print and Ship Centers in the United States during regular business hours. This offer is good for 25 black-and-white resume copies per customer and is only valid for orders placed and picked up in-store. Customers may place orders by submitting their resume in printed format or as a digital file, and the copies will be printed single-sided on resume-quality paper.
Mark the date March 10 2009 in your calendars to print free resumes.


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'Giving Tuesday' Follows Record-Breaking Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday, the Super Bowl of online sales, broke all records this year, with sales up 19 percent over last year.
Mobile traffic accounted for 13 percent of total site visits, and sales are projected to reach $2 billion for desktop online sales, according to comScore.
But the bonanza isn’t over. Today is “Giving Tuesday.” The movement to create a national day of giving started last year, raising $10 million dollars for more than 2,500 charities nationwide.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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The flavor of Italy moves uptown
Published 8:00 am Tuesday, March 6, 2018
A Taste of Olives & Grapes to relocate to former The Bottle storefront
TRYON — Another Tryon business is expanding into a new space.
A Taste of Olives & Grapes is moving to 10 N. Trade St., where The Tryon Bottle was located.
Store manager Jessica Phillips said they plan to use the extra space for events and to offer pottery made by local and international potters.
“The store really has an international flavor,” Phillips said.
Along with Italian olive oils, Phillips and storeowners Kimberly and Ron Tarach stock Italian pastas and crackers, sea salt from Croatia and balsamic vinegars. Ron travels to Saudi Arabia for spices, and Phillips brings in local goat milk cheeses and garlic cloves.
They also offer honey pots, chutneys and spreads to compliment the crackers and cheeses.
Phillips said they plan to use the new space for cooking demos, quarterly educational discussions about olive oils and vinegars, and group tastings.
“We want to have a ladies’ night with wine and/or beer,” Phillips said. “We also plan to have a couples’ night.”
The store was the dream of Phillips’ mother, Kimberly Tarach. Phillips said her mother had a similar store in Florida where Phillips grew up.
“We’ve been coming to North Carolina since I was little,” Phillips said. “My mother always envisioned having a store in a small North Carolina town.”
Phillips is looking forward to moving into the new space by the third week of March. While their current location near Palmer Street has been great, the new location is more in the center of town and seems to have more foot traffic, she said.
The new space will have the feel of a quaint Italian seaside village, complete with distressed wood look counters and display tables, graced with displays of gift baskets and decorative bottles and platters.
For more information about A Taste of Olive & Grapes, contact Phillips at 828-859-0212 or visit www.atasteofolivesandgrapes.com.


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Every Wednesday morning, Brian Fruzzetti of Crescent Ridge Dairy in Sharon drives up to Jessica Gilmartin’s home in Newton. He enters and places butter, eggs, and a bottle of milk into her refrigerator.
The delivery comes with another personal touch, Gilmartin says: Fruzzetti carries a dog biscuit in his pocket, which he gives to the family labradoodle. Fruzzetti and Gilmartin often pause to chat about their families.
Then, Fruzzetti hits the road to bring dairy products to many of the approximately 4,000 customers in towns from Middleborough to Harvard that Crescent Ridge’s eight home delivery trucks service each week.
The milkman, that symbol of simpler times, appears to be making a bit of a comeback in Massachusetts. About 10 New England dairies deliver in the state, servicing everyone from families with children to single young professionals. While there are no concrete data on the popularity of home delivery, many dairies say they have experienced an increase in customers in recent years.
The draw? Many people are seeking more personal connections with their food sources, as reflected by the popularity of farm-to-table dining. Others, who are helping fuel a broader grocery-delivery craze, simply love the convenience of not having to lug heavy jugs of milk home from the store.
Nostalgia seems to be playing a role as well.
“When we have friends come over and I take out a bottle of milk, they always remark, ‘You have a milkman? Who still has a milkman?’ ” Gilmartin said. “It feels nice. It feels more like a neighborhood. You feel like you’re part of a community.”
At prices that hover in a range of $2.80 to $3.40 per half gallon of milk with varying fat content, home delivery is not significantly more expensive than buying a carton at the grocery store, especially when compared to organic brands.
Warren Shaw, an owner of Shaw Farm in Dracut, said his home-delivery service, which dates to 1908, hit a lull about 15 years ago when the farm had about 300 home-delivery customers. Now, he estimates that the company delivers to between 800 and 1,000 homes each week.
“I think in general, from Amazon Prime to the milkman, home delivery is in vogue and we’re catching as much of that curve as we can,” Shaw said.
Crescent Ridge Dairy’s home delivery sales have increased 6 percent to 7 percent each year for at least the past three years, said Lisa King, the company’s business development manager.
Tully Farms Dairy in Dunstable recently began offering home delivery for the first time in its nearly 150-year history, serving 14 households on its first day. Now, the farm will work on increasing its client base by reaching out to the 250 people who indicated they were interested when the family opened a farm store last spring, said Charlie Tully Jr., president of Tully Farms Inc.
“It kind of brings it back to the consumers,” he said.
Convenience is a big selling point for Liz DiPesa, who runs a day care out of her Milton home. Between the products she receives from Thatcher Farm, also in Milton, and occasional deliveries from other sources, she says she rarely goes to the grocery store anymore.
Many dairies now deliver a wide range of products other than milk, including eggs, yogurt, meat, pre-made meals, vegetables, ice cream, and even rock salt.
DiPesa has become friendly with her delivery driver, Joe Manning, whose family has run the farm since 1891.
“We talk about life, and we solve all the world’s problems in my kitchen. We wish the world would catch up with us,” DiPesa said.
It’s that personal relationship that consumers seem to want, said Kiley Putnam, a spokeswoman for the New England Dairy & Food Council.
“In general, the population has become further separated from the farm, and it’s clear to see the trend of consumers wanting to know where their food is coming from,” Putnam said.
At Shaw Farm in Dracut, other than swapping out the horse-drawn delivery wagon of yesteryear for a brand-new, fully-refrigerated Mercedes-Benz truck, not much has changed. The farm still uses vat pasteurization, an older method that heats the milk at a lower temperature for a longer period. (Many large chains use a faster process at higher temperatures, giving milk a longer shelf life.)
Still, aspects of the business have evolved.
Thatcher Farm, in Milton, is now surrounded by houses, so there is no longer a dairy farm on site, said Pam Ames, the office manager there. The business gets its milk, already bottled, from Hatchland Farm in Haverhill, N.H.
Crescent Ridge has shifted its focus from dairy farming to raising beef. For home delivery, the farm gets raw milk from the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery in Vermont and pasteurizes the milk at its Sharon location.
In the end, the old-time feeling may be the biggest draw for customers.
“They love the nostalgia of the milk truck rumbling down the street and the glass bottle clinking at the front door,” Ames said.
Julia Preszler can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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St Nicholas Market
Bristol's Farmers' market will be relaunching on 7th June, under the new name of Bristol Farmers' and Producers' Market to reflect the diverse produce that will be on offer.
The market’s new opening hours will be from 8am until 2.30pm, giving customers plenty of opportunity to stock up before work or during their lunch break. Alongside the fishmongers, butchers, greengrocers and cheese mongers will be local producers selling breakfast pastries for commuters on their way to work, freshly made pasta and sauces and other locally made nutritious convenience foods to cater for busy lives.
There will be plenty of entertainment too, with live music and food demonstrations from Bristol food hero Barny Haughton on the first Wednesday of every month, as well as children’s activities during the summer holidays.
So come along and meet our local farmers and producers in person. We've sorted the wheat from the chaff so you don't have to!


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Welcome to our new web site!
To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely available, through August 1, 2019.
During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.
LIBERTY, NY — SERVPRO of Orange, Sullivan & S. Ulster Counties will sponsor the next Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce First Friday networking breakfast on Friday, December 7 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Rubin Pollack Education Center, 6 Wierk Ave. The breakfast will be catered by the Sullivan County BOCES culinary students.
The breakfast will include a 50/50 raffle. You are asked to bring a non-perishable food item or trial-size personal hygiene item for the local food pantry. The cost for members, if you register by 4 p.m. on December 5, is $20, and after that is $25; the cost for future members is $30. Bring your driver’s license, as it will have to be scanned before you can enter the building. For more information call 845/791-4200 or email email@example.com or register online at www.catskills.com.


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Fisher and Paykel Healthcare said its first-half net profit shot up by 86 per cent to $225.5 million, driven by demand for its respiratory products arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company said that based on stronger hospital hardware sales to date its net profit for the full year was forecast to be $400m to $415m, up from its August forecast of $365m-$385m.
F&P Healthcare said the result was driven by increased demand for the company's hospital hardware, in particular its "Optiflow" and "Airvo" systems.
"This reflected a shift in clinical practice toward using nasal high flow therapy as a front-line treatment for Covid-19 patients in hospital," it said.
In the hospital product group, which includes products used in acute and chronic respiratory care and surgery, operating revenue grew 93 per cent over the first half of the previous financial year to $681m.
Hospital products made up three-quarters of the company's operating revenue.
"Sales in hardware and consumables continued to track surges in Covid-19 globally, as the virus moved across Europe, North America, South America and South Asia," chief executive Lewis Gradon said.
In the homecare product group, which includes products used in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and nasal high flow therapy in the home, operating revenue grew 5 per cent to $226.2m.
Gradon said since the pandemic started, many sleep clinics have been closed, resulting in a reduction in new patient diagnoses.
He said the company's "F&P Evora" and "F&P Vitera" masks for OSA had yet to reach their full potential.
A reduction in gross margin for the six-month period to 61.7 per cent was due to the increased use of air freight and the elevated costs associated with it.
Excluding these additional freight costs, gross margin was in line with the first half of the previous financial year in constant currency terms.
F&P Healthcare declared an interim dividend of 16 cents per ordinary share, up 33 per cent on the interim dividend last year.
Gradon said the company could not predict the course of Covid-19, the effectiveness or adoption of preventative measures, the progress of a vaccine and its outcomes, the impact on future hospitalisation rates, or the investments countries may make in treatment measures.
He said the full-year forecast was based on the following assumptions:
- Hospital hardware sales return to normal levels from January 2021.
- The use of its hospital hardware returns down to approximately normal rates for the second half of the financial year.
- OSA diagnosis rates are reduced for the second half of the financial year, due to limited access to customers.
- Freight costs remain elevated, resulting in a reduction in gross margin of about 200 basis points.
F&P Healthcare - New Zealand's biggest NZX-listed company by market capitalisation - designs, makes and markets products respiratory systems.
The company's shares last traded at $35.18, up $1.13 or 3.3 per cent from yesterday's closing level. The stock has rallied by just over 63 per cent over the past 12 months.


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After having announced their intentions back in November of last year, Touch ‘n Go eWallet now states that they’ve successfully implemented five new safety and security measures as mandated by Bank Negara Malaysia. According to Touch ‘n Go eWallet, they’re now the first and so far only eWallet in Malaysia to meet BNM’s security requirements, four months ahead of the June 2023 deadline set by BNM.
According to Touch ‘n Go eWallet, the first of these five new measures is the migration away from using SMS one time passwords (OTP) to more secure authentication methods. For starters, they’ve implemented face verification as a method of authentication when Touch ‘n Go eWallet users log into their eWallet app, change their eWallet PIN, perform transactions or make payments with their eWallet as well as when they reload into their eWallet account. We first spotted the eWallet using Face ID on iPhones last month, but at the time it wasn’t used for payment authorisation yet.
Furthermore, Touch ‘n Go eWallet says that they’ve tightened their fraud detection rules and triggers for the blocking of suspicious transactions. In particular, whenever there are transactions over a certain threshold or if there’s any suspicious and abnormal activity detected, activity on the user’s account will be limited and blocked. Touch ‘n Go will also send an email alert to users when their transactions go over the set limit.
Touch ‘n Go eWallet is also restricting the authentication of electronic banking transactions to just one mobile device or secure device per account holder. This is on top of their TapSecure feature that they’re introducing as a mandatory one-tap approval function to authenticate user transactions. Touch ‘n Go eWallet believes this will ensure only a user’s linked device can be used for approval of transactions involving the user’s eWallet accounts.
Additionally, there’s now a verification and cooling-off period in place for the first time enrolment of services, secure device, or profile documents. This cooling-off period will last for 48 hours, and triggers whenever a user logs into their Touch ‘n Go eWallet account from a new device with a less secure authentication method. The user will thus be limited to a certain amount for top-ups and payments during this 48 hour period, with any top-up or payment above the set limit being automatically rejected. However, they do say that they won’t block payments for toll and parking during this cooling-off period.
Lastly, Touch ‘n Go eWallet is establishing a dedicated customer service channel hotline for users to report suspicious incidents and/or cases of scams and fraud. This makes them the first eWallet to be part of the National Scam Response Centre based in Sasana Kijang, with the customer hotline manned by a dedicated fraud operations team set up by Touch ‘n Go eWallet just to handle fraud, scam cases and queries.
You’ll be able to reach Touch ‘n Go eWallet’s scam hotline at +60350223888 and select ‘4’ for ‘fraud’ to make a report with the platform. Alternatively, you can also call the National Scam Response Centre at 997, especially if your case involves multiple financial institutions.
“At Touch ‘n Go eWallet, our growing users are our largest asset. With the continuous rise of financial scams and security breaches involving eWallet and bank transactions, keeping our users’ online accounts safe and secure has become our primary concern.
In order to strengthen our existing safety and security functions and to help protext our users from fraudulent activities, we have voluntarily committed ourselves to fully implementing all 5 safety and security measures into our ecosystem,” – Alan Ni, TNG Digital Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer
Bank Negara Malaysia had originally instructed financial institutions to end the practice of SMS one time passwords back in September of last year, and to instead switch to more secure forms of authentication. BNM also called for financial institutions to immediately alert customers when suspicious activities involving their accounts are detected, and to block these transactions until confirmation from the customer involved.
On top of that, BNM wanted financial institutions to restrict customers from having multiple devices that are authorised for online banking transactions. Customers will also be restricted with a cooling-off period when they first enrol a device for use with online banking services. Lastly, BNM also called for financial institutions to set up dedicated hotlines for customers to report whenever they suspect they’ve been scammed. This comes as BNM called for these financial institutions to take more responsibility and to be more responsive to scam reports by customers.


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LG on Monday (05) announced a new update for its 2021 and 2022 smart TVs. With the new software version, models of both lines It will have a toy shelfA platform that integrates all of the user’s cloud gaming services and serves as the answer to Samsung’s Gaming Hub.
LG toy shelf
Game Shelf will house all user subscriptions in a streamlined interface that will be integrated with webOS 6.0 (2021 TVs) and webOS 22 (2022 TVs). With the arrival of NVIDIA GeForce NOW, it was expected that the South Korean would introduce more innovations for gamers who are fans of game streaming.
There will be different categories — and subcategories — that will allow you to more easily find games based on your taste, such as sports (football, baseball, etc.). Initially, the new interface highlights titles available on the NVIDIA platform. Platforms like Google Stadia and Xbox Cloud Gaming are expected to be integrated into Gaming Shelf soon.
Blacknut and Utomik Cloud are coming to smart TVs
LG took advantage of its Gaming Shelf announcement to highlight the addition of two new cloud gaming services: Blacknut and Utomik Cloud.
Blacknut has over 500 games for consoles and PCs, including Metro Exodus and Overcooked, in addition to other well-known titles. Utomik Cloud goes even further and offers more than 1,300 PC games, but in total a selection of more than a hundred titles will be released for LG Smart TVs, including coffee talk and My time at Portia.
LG says Blacknut will launch compatible TVs from September in Germany, France and other European countries. In the United States, the platform will debut in the last quarter of the year. other regions It will receive the service at the beginning of 2023. Utomik Cloud, meanwhile, should begin shipping in mid-November.
Is your LG TV eligible for a Game Shelf? Comment!


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The taco restaurant with a cause that started in Arkansas just a few years ago is poised to go national this year. Tacos 4 Life has a location under construction in Frisco, Texas, that is set to open before the end of 2017, and just this weekend, the restaurant group confirmed it is opening five restaurants in the Charlotte, NC, area. Plans are also in the works for locations in Nashville, Tenn. Tacos 4 Life is also opening locations in Springdale and in Jonesboro later this year. Tacos 4 Life gets its name from its mission to donate one meal to charity for every meal that is purchased at its locations. Those donations go to the Feed My Starving Children nonprofit.
There’s a different kind of wine dinner happening next week at The Capital Hotel. Next Thursday evening, the hotel is hosting Food, Libations & Conversations, a special family-style meal served in collaboration with O’Looney’s Wine & Liquor. The event will feature several Italian dishes paired with wine and beer, but unlike other ticketed dinners, this one will not be coursed out. Instead, the dishes and beverages will be brought to the table all at once, allowing guests to talk uninterrupted with their tablemates and the host team. This dinner is actually the first in a series; plans for future events will be announced at the dinner. Tickets for the dinner are just under $100 each and include all food, drinks, tax and gratuity.
Speaking of O’Looney’s, the West Little Rock liquor store is turning 17 years old this weekend. O’Looney’s is marking the occasion with a birthday celebration on Saturday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m., when the team will be pouring some of their favorite wines from the past 17 years for you to try. O’Looney’s boasts a team with a wide array of wine certifications, meaning you’ll be in good hands trying some wines you might not have even bothered with. Even if you’ve never found a wine you really like, it’s worth letting the sommeliers at O’Looney’s walk you through what they have to offer.
More than a few of you have asked where former Natchez owner and chef Alexis Jones went after her restaurant closed two years ago. She is now in Birmingham, Ala., working at Roots and Revelry, an upscale American restaurant that opened just a few months ago in the downtown part of the city. Jones hails from Mississippi and worked at The Capital Hotel before opening her own restaurant in downtown Little Rock in 2012. Natchez was extremely well received, but ultimately had a location that proved too tough for an upscale restaurant to succeed.
And don’t forget, if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, get to Stone’s Throw Brewing on Saturday starting at 4 p.m. for the annual Block on Rock celebration. The brewery is turning four years old and inviting other breweries around town as well as some food trucks and Rock Town Distillery to the party. Admission to the party is $5, though you can pick up discounted armbands at the taproom this week for $3. The party kicks off at 4 p.m. and is scheduled to go until 10 p.m. Stone’s Throw is donating a portion of all food, beer and admission proceeds to Preserve Arkansas, a nonprofit committed to preserving the state’s architectural and cultural history.
Most establishments in town don’t welcome pets, but there’s a new Main Street business changing that. We took our first look at Bark Bar this week and what it has to offer both pets and their humans alike.
Looks like a lot of Rock City Eats readers are ready for a downtown rooftop restaurant. Check out our widely shared story on the new spot coming to 4th Street near the River Market.
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Yellow Rocket Concepts has released its specials for the month of July:
- Big Orange: Beer-Battered Fried Gulf Grouper Sandwich and Lemon Icebox Blueberry Shake
- Local Lime: Fried Chicken Tacos with Arkansas Corn and Lime Slaw
- Zaza: Local Heirloom Salad with Fresh Mozzarella and Market Pizza with Soppressata and Peppadews
Ristorante Capeo’s weekly special is a fresh fish entree. The risotto of the week is made with sausage and mushrooms.


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The two awards, Value-for-Money Car (Proton Saga) and Most Improved Model In Fuel Efficiency (Proton Persona), were announced at the Malaysia COTY 2016 gala dinner held last night.
“Through the market study conducted, we have made refinements to the cars so that we meet the general requirements of the market segment,” said Chief Executive Officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali in a statement here today.
The refined third-generation Saga is priced from RM36,800 to RM45,800 while the all-new Persona is from RM46,800 to RM59,800.
Ahmad Fuaad said these recognitions would further its efforts to continuously deliver good quality products and services to the customers. - Bernama


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Amazon Unveils Slate of 41 Local Shows and New Rental Service in India, as Regional Battle with Netflix and Disney Heats Up
Amazon also said it will also double its local investment in Prime Video as it targets the last remaining unsaturated major streaming market
Amazon has announced a major expansion of its streaming efforts in India, introducing 41 new locally produced original series and movie titles for the region, while also debuting a new transactional VOD service.
At an event attended by Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke and other Amazon execs and creative partners in Mumbai Thursday, the company also said that it will double its local investment in subscription streaming service Amazon Prime Video, which launched in India five years ago. All told, Amazon has invested more than $6.5 billion in the region to date, the company said.
“In the last five years, we have built a strong slate of locally produced content across languages, super-serving the diverse entertainment needs of Indian customers. With increased access and distribution, we have helped these great stories travel far and wide in India, and around the world,” said Gaurav Gandhi, who heads Amazon Prime Video's presence in India. (Tech Crunch was among those covering Thursday's Mumbai event.)
“India is among Prime Video’s most strategic markets, and the launch of a new movie rental and TVOD service is testament to that,” Amazon said in a statement.
Amazon charges Prime Video subscribers in India about $1.20 a month. The new transactional service, however, will enable the company to establish price points as high as $6.50 for certain rental titles.
Also read: Netflix Sees Green Shoots in India
Amazon is among a number of U.S. streaming companies making major investments in India, an "unsaturated" country with 1.38 billion consumers, many of which have yet to purchase their first streaming-enabled smart TV and adopt service.
Disney purchased local streaming service Hotstar when it bought Fox's entertainment assets three years ago. It now counts Hotstar's 46 million subscribers in the same global bucket that it touts its Disney Plus users. Notably, Hotstar is home to Premier League soccer matches in the region.
Netflix is less further along in the region with only around 4.5 million subscribers. But it announced its own "doubling down" in India earlier this year and has been making noise about Subcontinental expansion on recent earnings reports, where shareholders are more than anxious to hear plans about how growth might be rekindled.
During last week's otherwise dour Q1 Netflix earnings report, co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, remarked on a recent price cut in India: "The product fit incorporates subscription prices as well as willingness and ability to pay. So we have seen a nice uptick in engagement in India. We are definitely taking it in the right direction."
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Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!


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And it seems they weren't kidding.
Reports from Netflix users in Australia suggest that the ban is already being put in place, with many movie fans now blocked from accessing the streaming giant's US catalogue.
When trying to log in to the US version of Netflix users are seeing the message: "You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again."
While this appears to only be happening in Australia, it probably won't be long before Netflix expands these blocks elsewhere and the UK could be next.
Nextflix confirmed that it was no longer staying soft on the use of VPNs: "Those using proxies and unblockers will only be able to access the service in the country where they currently are.
“We are confident this change won’t impact members not using proxies.”
Proxies, VPNs and unblockers trick servers into thinking they are in another country, allowing access that would otherwise be blocked.
"Some members use proxies or “unblockers” to access titles available outside their territory," continued the blog post.
"To address this, we employ the same or similar measures other firms do. This technology continues to evolve and we are evolving with it."


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Citigroup listed seven companies as potential takeover targets for Apple Inc, including Netflix, Walt Disney and Tesla Inc, as a way to put its cash hoard of more than US$250 billion to work.
With over 90 per cent of its cash sitting overseas, a one-time 10 per cent repatriation tax would give Apple US$220 billion for acquisitions or buybacks, Citigroup analyst Jim Suva said in a note to clients.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax blueprint, which was unveiled last month, proposes allowing multinationals to bring in overseas profits at a tax rate of 10 per cent versus 35 per cent now.
“Since one of the new administration’s top priorities is to allow US companies to repatriate overseas cash at a lower tax rate, Apple may have a more acute need to put this cash to use,” Suva said.


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American fast food chain Wing Zone’s maiden UK site is up and running following the installation of a kitchen designed to ensure it can serve fast food, salads and sides at speed.
The launch site is a 32-cover restaurant based in London’s Finsbury Park and is expected to be the first of many that the company rolls out.
As revealed by FEJ back in October, Wing Zone believes it’s the right time to bring its 25-year-old concept to the UK after its success in the US, where it now has more than 100 units. It also has an increasing number of outlets in Panama, South America and Beijing.
Wing Zone UK – the master franchisee for the UK – brought in kitchen house RDA to design and install the facility.
Nick Bradley, RDA’s lead designer for both projects, said: “We began working with the team at Wing Zone UK earlier this year, when they were looking for a partner to provide a ‘turnkey’ service, which involved developing the Wing Zone concept, producing site-specific detailed designs, and managing the full installation of their store.
Prior to the site-specific design at Finsbury Park, Tyne and Wear-based RDA spent a lot of time looking at the existing Wing Zone branding and understand its kitchen needs.
“We liaised very closely with the team in the US to learn their operation and source a range of specific catering equipment to provide a well oiled, tried and tested operation,” said Bradley. “Some of the items were delivered from the US, and others were manufactured by our suppliers in the UK to bespoke US specifications.”


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Eco Face Mask Made From Coffee
While necessary to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the rising tide of disposable gloves and face masks is bad news for the environment, with vast swathes of plastic waste finding its way into the world’s oceans. To tackle this challenge, Vietnamese and Canadian sustainable footwear brand ShoeX has designed a reusable and biodegradable mask made from coffee grounds.
The AirX masks comprise two components: a reusable mask constructed from coffee yarn made using a proprietary ‘Powerknit Technology’ and a biodegradable air-filter insert made from coffee grounds and silver nanotechnology, which is designed to withstand 30 days of use.
Packs of five masks are available through the brand’s website for 445,000 VND ($19) and come in five colourways; white, black, grey, blue and coffee brown.
In Wuhan alone during the peak of the outbreak, hospitals generated over 270 tonnes of medical waste, and 116 million tonnes of facemasks were thrown away across the province per day. This waste has already started to wash up on beaches in Hong Kong and poses a very real threat to marine species and birdlife (South China Morning Post, 2020).
As countries around the world begin to lift stay-at-home restrictions and make it mandatory for citizens to cover their faces when passing through public spaces, these kinds of eco solutions will become ever more critical to avert ecological disaster. For more on sustainability innovation and Covid-19, read Recycled Plastic Becomes Personal Protective Equipment and Veganism’s Post-Pandemic Future.


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Demonetisation: Honest North East village shows how to live during currency ban
- It is business as usual in Khawbung, a tiny village in Mizoram.
- The local vegetable sellers and shopkeepers have found a way to live without money.
A tiny village in the North East of India has found a noble and honest way to deal with the currency ban crisis. Since the ban on ₹500 and ₹1000 currency notes, Indians in general, have been running post to pillar looking for ways to looking small change.
But it is business as usual in the tiny tinsel town of Khawbung in Champhai district of Mizoram, where the residents have opted to use pieces of paper as promissory notes to replace currency till the crisis is resolved.
From shopkeepers to vegetable-sellers in this tiny village, which has a population of over 20,000, are now accepting the promissory notes. “We [had] to find a solution as the cash shortage has hit the people hard. It is almost impossible to buy or sell anything unless we make an alternate arrangement,” PC Lalhmachhuana, owner of a hardware store in this eastern Mizoram village told Northeast Today.
The papers bear the amount and the signature of the issuer on them.
The success of such an initiative lays in the fact that Khawbung is a close-knit society. “Everyone knew that that they would not be cheated of their hard-earned money,” said Mapuia, a local activist.


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“Our new rental units have been very popular since arriving in May and becoming active in June,” said Lake and Shore Manager Jeff Curtin. “Our members have been very receptive and have commented on how modern and beautiful they are with plenty of sleeping space and full-sized appliances. They have been booked pretty continuously since coming on-line, with more new units anticipated in the 2014 season.”
At Pio Pico, members took to social media to tout these new accommodations. One Facebook fan noted “the cottages were clean and well-appointed” while another guest left a favorable review in the property’s Comments box which read “Recently, I had the pleasure of renting a cabin at Pio Pico. The cabin was very clean and included an operations manual which was very easy to read and informative. All in all, it was a great experience.”
To view our new rental accommodations, visit www.RVontheGo.com.