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Apple had earlier announced that their Indian division would soon open up official brick-and-mortar stores in the country by 2023. The Cupertino-based tech giant has started hiring people to staff these stores, although they haven’t made any official announcements regarding their stores.
The company’s recent job listings show new openings for 12 retail roles at “various locations” throughout the country, including store leaders, senior managers, Genius Bar workers, and more.
The listings on Apple’s website and LinkedIn profile show that there are vacancies, both full-time and part-time positions for the Apple Store. However, there are no indications as to the number of positions that were made available.
In 2022, The Economics Times broke the news that Apple was planning to open a 22,000-square-foot store in Mumbai at the beginning of 2023. Apple was also working on a 10,000 to 12,000-square-foot store in New Dehli and several other stores in the country.
Apple first made its online store available to customers in India in 2020, with CEO Tim Cook dropping hints that Apple would establish a physical presence at a shareholder meeting around the same time. “I don’t want somebody else to run the brand for us,” Cook said, referring to the third-party retailers selling iPhones to customers at brick-and-mortar stores in India.
Although Cook and Apple planned to open their first store in India in 2021, these plans had to be pushed back mainly due to the pandemic.
Apple has been trying to establish its retail lines in India for years. For years, the tech giant has had to deal with authorized resellers and third-party sellers who often hoard their most demanded products and sell them at a premium.
Furthermore, Apple is looking to expand its footprint in India, bringing the production of critical devices from China to India. Apple first started making iPhones in India in 2017 and shifted production of the iPhone 14 from China to India in the weeks following its release.
Apple has been trying to move away from China, not just because of political reasons, but to save costs and, more importantly, keep production and supply chains running. Moreover, India has emerged as a massive, virtually untapped smartphone market for Apple.


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It’s really annoying, isn’t it, when food in the fridge goes off without you noticing? And it’s equally frustrating when your electric bicycle can’t be folded away into your backpack, right?
Well, these problems will soon be consigned to the food bin of history thanks to our top five January start-ups, whose remit extends to smell recognition, the fight against cyberbullying and gender-neutral beauty lines.
Voice and face recognition are firmly established – is smell recognition next up? Israeli start-up Nanoscent, founded in 2017, is developing technology that enables smartphones to easily identify, recognise and analyse smells. Building on research from scientist and engineer Hossam Haick – inventor of the Nano-electric Nose – Nanoscent’s aim is to make “scent recognition technology a part of everyday life”.
4. Ovie Smarterware
“To improve the usage of the food that gets thrown away, what we really need to do is alter people’s habits,” Ovie Smarterware co-founder Ty Thompson told Built In Chicago. “Our product uses visual reminders to help people locate their food and use it before it expires.” These reminders take the form of Bluetooth buttons that stick to your Tupperware; press them and tell your smart assistant what’s inside, and the button will slowly change colour from green to yellow to red (when it’s time to throw the food away).
3. Smacircle Technology
By July 2017, the Smacircle S1 – an e-bike that fits inside your backpack – had reached 927% of its Indiegogo target. Developed by China-based Smacircle Technology, the bike, which unfolds in five easy steps after being unlocked via an app on your phone, weighs just 7kg. Its silent 240w motor – powered by a Samsung battery – helps the Smacircle S1 reach speeds of 12mph. There aren’t any brakes (nor pedals, in fact), but there are embedded stoppers.
Israeli start-up Keepers’ award-winning app provides parents with a means to protect their children from cyberbullying. It uses a natural-language processing (NLP) algorithm to detect when a child is being threatened over text or on WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook – before alerting parents in real time. Keepers also shows parents their child’s location and sends an alert if their phone battery falls below 10%.
In November 2017, US-based skincare brand Panacea launched a new line, encompassing a cleanser, moisturiser and SPF, targeted at… everyone. “We wanted to create a brand aesthetic and identity that speaks to the blurring of gender lines,” co-founder Terry Lee told Allure. “For us, gender-neutral simply means inclusivity. We wanted to create a brand that embraces you, regardless of your gender.”
Stylus members can keep track of the most innovative new businesses, as identified by our in-house experts every month, with the Stylus Start-Up Index.

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Seven days after Diamond confirmed plans to resume distribution operations for May 20, Marvel Comics has released amended plans for its releases for the next two months – given the relatively slim schedule (and the complete absence of some titles), people have questions.
We do. Retailers do. And we’re sure you do as well.
The publisher is now beginning to explain its strategy, in an extended letter to retailers sent out Friday afternoon.
“As Diamond continues its efforts to reopen distribution for the retail community, Marvel will be gradually releasing print comics and trade collections on an alternating weekly schedule starting May 27,” the letter reads.
“This balanced short-term schedule will allow everyone – industry partners, comic shops, Marvel, and our fans – to work through an incredible amount of change at every level while providing new product to purchase and giving retailers a clear plan to adjust their weekly [Final Order Cut-Off] orders.”
The revised schedule released earler today listed releases for the weeks of May 27 through July 8, but as we’re always thinking about “what’s next?” – what will come July 15 and moving forward? Well…
“Starting July 15, Marvel will resume weekly releases for new comic titles and trade collections not previously FOC’d in the most thoughtful way we can, taking in all factors throughout the industry,” the letter continues. “Marvel will release more information on these titles at a later date.”
To try to be clear, ‘FOC’d’ for Diamond/comic book retailers means not having reached it’s ‘Final Order Cut-Off,’ which is the deadline about three weeks before a title is scheduled to be shipped in which retailers can increase or decrease their initial orders.
In other words, starting July 15 Marvel will resume weekly releases for titles previously solicited and had not yet reached its FOC and then eventually begin soliciting titles that have never been solicited.
While the schedule for the July 15 titles hasn’t been announced yet, Marvel tells retailers that orders will be due June 15 (so expect the list to come before then, of course).
As expected, the digital release of new Marvel Comics will resume day-and-date with “their respective print release dates” on all upcoming titles.
“We look forward to the industry ramping up operations and retailers returning to business over the next few months,” the letter ended.
Marvel Comics in its communications to retailers and press Friday has not in any way referred to or announced any position on new distributors UCS and Lunar.


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The HDBaseT Alliance will show a large and diverse gallery of new HDBaseT-enabled products including new projectors and displays from leading manufacturers
BEAVERTON, Ore.--The HDBaseT Alliance (ISE 2013 Hall 7, Booth #7C171), a consortium working to establish HDBaseT technology as the standard for HD digital connectivity, at the 2013 Integrated Systems Europe conference next week will demonstrate new HDBaseT-enabled projectors, displays and other multimedia devices that professional installers and systems integrators will be able to provide to their customers in 2013. The HDBaseT Alliance will also lead a panel discussion made up of Alliance members and industry experts who will discuss their views on the state of the industry and recent HDBaseT developments in the Pro- AV and consumer markets.
HDBaseT technology enables the delivery of uncompressed high definition video, audio, Internet, controls and power over a single cat5e/6 cable.
"The HDBaseT Alliance will leverage ISE 2013 to show the progress it has made in just the past year in terms of welcoming new member companies and greatly expanding the HDBaseT product line-up," said Ariel Sobelman, president, HDBaseT Alliance. "The HDBaseT product ecosystem features a variety of projectors and displays with embedded HDBaseT technology from leading manufacturers. Professional A/V installers and systems integrators will be able to see first-hand the products that will be available in 2013."
An HDBaseT-Connected World
The HDBaseT World Experience at ISE 2013 (Hall 7, Booth #7C171) will provide attendees with the opportunity to examine a large selection of new HDBaseT-enabled products from several Alliance members including Atlona, Belkin, Crestron Electronics, Emcore, Gefen, HD connectivity, Kordz, Kramer, Orion, projectiondesign, Silver Telecom and Wyrestorm. Attendees will learn how HDBaseT has become a global HD digital connectivity standard in response to industry demand for converged distribution of HD multimedia content and the lack of adequate existing technologies.
Founded in 2010 by LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens, the HDBaseT Alliance promotes HDBaseT technology for whole-home and commercial multimedia distribution.
To schedule a one-on-one demonstration on a specific day and time, please email: email@example.com
ISE 2013 Panel Discussion
The HDBaseT Alliance on Wednesday January 30th at 10 a.m. will hold a panel discussion open to all ISE 2013 attendees that will include executives with leading Alliance member companies. Panelists will examine the trends in Pro-AV and consumer markets, the role HDBaseT will play in these markets, and answer audience questions.
What: HDBaseT Alliance panel discussion: "Update on HDBaseT"
When: Wednesday, January 30, 10:00am - 11:30am
Where: Room D204
About HDBaseT Alliance
HDBaseT Alliance is comprised of leading cross-industry companies formed to promote and standardize HDBaseT™ technology for whole-home and commercial distribution of uncompressed HD multimedia content. The cornerstone of HDBaseT technology is 5Play™, a feature set that converges uncompressed full HD digital video, audio, 100BaseT Ethernet, power over cable and various control signals through a single LAN cable.
Members supporting HDBaseT technology play a pivotal role in defining the future of multimedia transmission and data communication in the consumer electronics and content provider industries. For additional information on HDBaseT Alliance and membership benefits, visit www.HDBaseT.org.


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Scott and his family own the Blubaugh Angus Ranch in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, a town of just over 3,000 people. While cattle is their primary business, they also grow several crops, including wheat and soybeans. The farm has been in Scott's family for six generations; it is the classic tale of an American farm passed down from father to son again, and again, and way more agains.
In fact, his son Zane is preparing to take it over. But currently, it's in Scott's hands. Every early frost; every drop in price for his crops; every politician's promise that doesn't deliver; every stud bull that doesn't want to stud ... it's all on him. Scott has the easy manner of a person who has the weight of the world on his shoulders but wouldn't have it any other way.
There's another classic part of this story -- but it's one that Americans don't like to discuss as much. We often like to think of farming as a local enterprise, but as Scott explained to me, it is really an international business. And worse, he said, the farmers who grow the commodities for the processors don't set their own prices for what they grow. This allows the processors and the corporate farms to maximize their profits, while independent family farms like Scott's struggle.
On a normal day, that would be an interesting story to tell. But we all know that because of Covid-19
, for the foreseeable future, "normal days" are behind us. And the issues farmers face during this pandemic
put a huge spotlight on what is wrong with the way our country handles food production and distribution
I wanted to know how these issues were affecting farmers like Scott, so I checked in with him via a (Zoom) video call.
The following Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
W. Kamau Bell: Before we get started Scott, just how are you doing?
Scott: We're doing fine. Our health in our family has been good. We're quarantined like everybody else around the country, but it's a little different because we still get out to feed the cows, birth the calves, plant the crops, and do everything. It's just you don't see anybody else. It's kind of a lonely time right now for us.
WKB: There's a lot of news focused on major cities; I think there's not enough talk about what's going on in places like where you are, where it's pretty rural, right?
Scott: Yeah, it's very rural here, it's sparsely populated. So it probably helps a little bit with the virus, because we're naturally far apart. The biggest thing is the food system and our markets, how they're being affected and how the supply of food, even in the grocery stores here, is limited.
In many cases, they've run out of beef, they've run out of milk, bread, eggs -- all the things that you're having trouble seeing on supermarket shelves in the big cities, we're also seeing that very same thing out here in rural areas because it's really the way the structure of our food system is today.
WKB: Yeah, when I was with you, you educated me to the idea that you're not really creating food, you're creating commodities.
Scott: We have plenty of cattle, pigs, chickens, wheat, corn, soy beans. The problem that we're seeing right now is the processing industry has consolidated at a tremendous rate over the last 40 years.


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Vizio’s 2019 D-Series 4K UHD TVs Are Ridiculously Affordable And Powerful
Stephan Jukic – April 2, 2019
The lineup of 4K UHD TVs produced by Vizio in 2018 was almost entirely good to great across the board, and in the case of some models like the P-Series Quantum editions, we saw quality that beat almost anything else available on the entire 4K HDR TV market. In other words, Vizio, which was barely known just a few short years ago, has gone from being a minor player to a brand that really knows how to make great TV technology.
What’s best about the brand’s TVs though is that in almost all cases, their prices have been uniformly reasonable too, and in the case of some editions, retail pricing has been downright strict budget-friendly. This is the case more than ever before right now as the 4K (and now 8K) TVs of 2019 are almost about to take up space in retailer warehouses and shelves and room has to be made. As a result, the consumer sales is increasingly being oriented towards some crazy discounts for all 2018 and older television models.
Vizio however has taken things even further by releasing some of their new 2019 4K HDR TV editions for prices that are equal to or better than the discounts we’ve seen for man y 2018 models that are still going on sale.
The best examples we’ve found this week? Right now Walmart is selling off several of Vizio’s brand new 2019 D-Series 4K HDR TV models for incredible new release retail prices. The 50 inch, 55 inch and 65 inch editions are all going to be available for shipping in just a few days for absurdly low costs.
All three of these televisions come with the latest in Vizio’s HDR and picture technology for its mid-range television models, and if the impressively high quality of Vizio’s 2018 mid-range D-Series editions was anything to go by, we’re expecting even better from the 2019 versions. The following all come with full-array LED backlighting, full HDR format support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10, and all of the latest connectivity specs. They also include Vizio’s excellent, app-loaded smart TV platform, which is a definite bonus.
The single best deal of the bunch and quite possible one of the best 4K TV deals we’ve seen so far in 2019 is the 50 inch edition, the D50x-G4, which is going for only $298. Following this, if you need just a bit more screen space, there’s the 55 inch edition of the same TV for the absurdly low price of $398. And if you want to really kick display size up by a couple of notches, the D65x-G4, the 65 inch edition of the 2019 D-Series TVs, is also going to start shipping as of April 9th for $598.
We haven’t reviewed the 2019 Vizio D-Series 4K HDR TVs yet but we will in the next couple of weeks, but our entire experience with this brand’s previous 4K TV offerings in all price ranges has been either very decent or simply excellent, so we have no reason to suspect otherwise for these versions.
Check out Walmart’s deals below:


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CHICAGO (CBS.MW) -- As the U.S. Supreme Court's current term winds down, a shoe and apparel giant is about to learn whether victory is in its name only.
Nike, which means "victory" in Greek, is awaiting a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could have far-reaching ramifications to First Amendment law -- specifically whether corporations enjoy free speech protections when they attempt to respond to critics.
Businesses, media outlets and civil liberties groups are all anxiously awaiting the high court's ruling, which is expected to be handed down Thursday.
Four years ago, Nike was sued in state court by California activist Marc Kasky under a statute designed to protect consumers from false advertising. At issue was the company's multi-pronged defense against charges that its products were produced under hazardous conditions in Asian sweatshops. Kasky claims the company lied in its public relations campaign to rebut the allegations and took them to court to prove it.
After being rebuffed by several lower courts, he won in the state's Supreme Court when it ruled last year that Nike's defense was no more than another form of advertising. In essence, the Golden State panel said that since a company's public statements could conceivably persuade people to buy its stuff, they deserve only limited First Amendment protection. The decision can also be interpreted to cover even statements that company executives make to reporters.
For his part, Kasky got support from, among others, the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, a handful of politicians and Domini Social Investments, manager of several equity
When the case was argued in April, Nike's side was presented by the odd couple of constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe and U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who famously faced-off in the 2000 election case that put George W. Bush in the White House.
Attorney Paul Hoeber of Bushnell, Caplan & Fielding, one-time assistant special prosecutor in the Watergate scandal, argued on behalf of Kasky
The ruling, either positive or negative, is likely to have little impact on shares of Nike, according to one industry analyst.
"In our estimation, it is not going to move the stock price one way or the other," said John Shanley of Wells Fargo Securities. "While we are getting the sense from our lobbying people in Washington that Nike is going to prevail, basically we do not think it is material."
Other analysts contacted by CBS MarketWatch on Wednesday demurred entirely, saying they weren't paying attention to the case at all -- and one claimed never to have heard of it.
If the ruling comes down Thursday, it will arrive the same day that Nike is due to report its fiscal third-quarter numbers. The consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call is for the company to earn 93 cents per share on the period, up from 77 cents a year ago.
Shares of Nike closed up 27 cents at $56.90 Wednesday


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Emergence Capital Partners has closed on $200 million (€148 million) its second fund dedicated to early and growth-stage “technology-enabled services” companies. The specialty sector includes software as service, on-demand or utility computing solutions, as well as outsourced consumer and business services, information services, and service-enabling software and infrastructure, the VC firm’s website notes.
One of Emergence’s three founders and general partners, Brian Jacobs, told VentureWire the fund’s limited partners include existing investors Morgan Stanley, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and Fairview Capital Partners.
The firm’s debut fund closed in 2004 on $125 million. Its portfolio companies that have had successful exits include DoubleClick, recently sold to Google for $3.1 billion, and search engine Ask Jeeves, now called Ask, which was in 2005 sold to IAC/InterActiveCorp for $1.85 billion.
Based in San Mateo, California, Emergence was founded by Jacobs, previously a general partner at St. Paul Venture Capital for 10 years, along with Jason Green and Gordon Ritter. Green’s resume includes stints at US Venture Partners, Venrock Associates, Bain & Company and Welsh, Carson, Anderson, and Stowe. Ritter was the co-founder and CEO of web services platform company Software As Service, and was also vice president of IBM’s Global Small Business division.


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Can policy really motivate behavior? Absolutely.
Look at what happened following the Connecticut schoolhouse shooting last week. President Barack Obama announced his administration would be exploring changes in gun policy, and now firearms are flying off store shelves. Consumers want to buy now instead of waiting to see how access to some weapons might change.
Every year, consumers hold off on buying a new TV or school clothing and supplies, and instead wait for Black Friday or the August sales tax holiday. Raising taxes on tobacco drives down use; conversely, smokers have streamed to tribal smokeshops that due to tax policy enjoy a price advantage over nontribal retailers. Pending new year’s increases in the capital gains tax have prompted business owners across the country to try to sell their companies.
The federal wind production tax credit, which will expire Dec. 31 unless Congress acts, has the attention of developers. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, “It appears that wind developers are pushing to complete projects in 2012 to qualify for the PTC.”
The threat of a stiff penalty for text-messaging while driving might deter this dangerous practice. Oklahoma lawmakers in 2013 should consider that before, as they’ve done in the past, simply rejecting the idea.


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With surround sound audio a part of UltraViolet, Towne says that customers can expect Blu-ray-like quality from UltraViolet downloads.
UltraViolet launched in October, 2011 but consumer awarness for the technology is still limited. For now, shoppers mostly see it as a value-add to a physical disc, one that allows them to download an electronic copy.
"It's still very early days," Towne says. He believes that the transition to cloud-based entertainment will take years.


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Data visualization specialist Tableau Software is bringing in seasoned talent to help it compete in an increasingly cloud-based world. The company has hired longtime Amazon Web Services executive Adam Selipsky as its CEO, replacing cofounder Christian Chabot.
Chabot, who has been CEO for 14 years, will continue to serve as chairman of Tableau’s board of directors. Selipsky, who currently is vice president of marketing, sales and support for AWS, will join Tableau on Sept. 16.
“Adam is going to take Tableau to the next level,” Chabot said in a press release, citing Selipsky's cloud experience. “He is the right person to lead Tableau to the next stage of growth.”
Tableau offers on-premises desktop and server versions of its software as well as Tableau Online. The company says the cloud-based software is its fastest-growing offering and it's been working to improve its performance.
Selipsky has spent more than a decade at AWS. Before that, he was an executive at RealNetworks, leading the video subscription and media player division.
The change is intriguing, particularly given Tableau's recent financial troubles, said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT.
"Despite continuing customer growth, the company has been struggling, and its shares have lost a substantial percentage of their value in the past year," King said.
"That sort of performance places enormous pressure on senior execs and the company's board," he added. "In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if some major shareholders demanded that Tableau make a bold move, reduce the roles of the company's founders, or begin shopping itself to potential buyers."
Selipsky's arrival suggests Tableau is pursuing the first two options, bringing in new blood while moving its founders into more advisory roles.
Chris Stolte, another of the company's cofounders, will be replaced as chief development officer, the company said, taking on the role of technical advisor instead. Andrew Beers, who is currently vice president of product development, will become chief development officer.
"The obvious hope is that Selipsky's success at AWS and his relationships with mid- to large-sized enterprise customers will enable Tableau to rapidly expand its sales of analytics solutions and services," King said.
Also on Monday, Tableau announced that Francois Ajenstat, one of its longtime product leaders, will be elevated to a new position as chief product officer reporting to Beers.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.


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Google has officially announced the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4a 5G – its first set of 5G enabled phones. While we are not going to get our hands on the Pixel 5 any time before the 15th of this month, a British YouTuber has somehow managed to get his hands on one of the retail demo units of the handset. Sergiu, the YouTuber has released an unboxing video of the Pixel 5, which doesn’t have anything very alarming to reveal but does give us a real glimpse of what to expect when you open the box of your own ordered device.
The box includes the Pixel 5 handset, a quick start guide with SIM tool attached at the back, an USB Type-C power adaptor, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and somewhat surprising USB-C to USB-A converter (to assist people switching from another phone to Pixel). Sergiu gives us a good look at the back of the phone revealing the shiny aspect of the device’s aluminum back, the square camera module housing the quad-camera setup.
On powering up the Pixel 5, Sergiu doesn’t really go beyond the home screen and the app drawer. The video however does give a good sight of the impactful hole-punch 6-inch OLED display with 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution.
Google has confirmed that Pixel 5 will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset paired to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. The camera housing will comprise a 16MP ultra-wide lens and the phone will draw juice from its 4080mAh capacity battery with support for wireless charging. The water-resistant Pixel 5 will go up on sale on October 15 in eight countries, while it will be available in Canada and the US only on October 29.


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The smart stuff will help us upgrade the grid and will help develop a network we estimate will save Italian consumers 24 billion euros in costs over the next decade.
– Del Fante
Our plan is to install 75 megawatts (MW) of battery storage, most of which is already in place.
In our new plan we will raise our overseas investments in transmission and will try to work in regions where we already have support from top Italian players.
We are confident of closing the deal by year end.
FS is asking for 1 billion euros. We are ready to pay that but only if it creates value for the system and for consumers.
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Global warming has started to severely impact the climate of the countries in the world. The urgency to control and limit the impact on the climate has led world leaders to take actions towards embracing sustainability. During the recently conducted climate summit in Glasgow, the governments reaffirmed their commitments towards the climate by setting net-zero goals. In the same conference, India made a commitment to go net-zero by 2070.
In light of this development, 2022 will be a defining year for climate action and sustainable development. Following are some of the sustainability trends to watch out for in 2022.
1. Competitive Sustainability
Consumers are more mindful of their choices. So far, sustainability was an additional armour that aided companies in building their goodwill. However, with its rising popularity, the companies will be more competitive towards sustainability and reduce carbon emissions to retain their customers and encourage brand loyalty.
2. Affordable sustainability
With rising innovation and competition, sustainability will be more affordable in the upcoming year. The economy of scale has already allowed for renewable energy to be more affordable. This will also be replicable for environmental sustainability. Not only will this play a huge role in the reduction of carbon emissions, but it will also work towards creating sustainability as a norm rather than a luxury.
3. Data centrism
The data will be the basis of decision making in the upcoming year, as it has always been. With fierce competition among companies towards sustainability, the focus on data analytics will be very high. The ESG disclosures, their analysis and implications will play a major role in the investment choices of people. The responsibility of the company will go much beyond the shareholders to stakeholders.
According to a new study, about 70% of people are more aware of climate issues now than before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 40% plan to adopt more sustainable behaviours. This trend means that customers, investors, and job-seekers are looking more critically at a businesses’ sustainability efforts before interacting with them.
4. Rise in Demand for Carbon Offsetting
Carbon offsetting is about the replacement or reduction of carbon emissions. Usually, high-emission companies fund projects that either prevent the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) or remove GHGs. These projects can range from planting trees to deploying technology to capture carbon emissions.
With rising need for development, especially after the economic damage caused due to the pandemic, the high emitting companies will expand further and in turn will be pressured to tap into the carbon offset market to make up for the increased emissions. The low emitters will also take advantage of this to expand more and/or work towards reducing the emission of GHGs.
5. Increased demand for Green Products
The younger population is more concerned about the environmental challenges that threaten to become bigger with each day. Add to that the future generation and the two will together make up a major share of the eco-conscious population. This will create an increased demand for green products in all the sectors – from food to fashion to lifestyle.


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By the end of 2015 New York will have spent millions to persuade promising designers and manufacturers to create fashions locally. The financial assistance is offered through a program called “Made in New York”.
In New York City, the fashion industry is responsible for nearly 18 billion dollars a year in retail sales. And makes up more than five percent of the total workforce.
Clothing wholesalers, manufacturers and designers have been operating in New York‘s clothing district since the 1880s.
Bill de Blasio is the city’s mayor. He says fashion designers and manufacturers are important to New York.
“New York Fashion is not only a functionally key sector of our economy, but one of the most iconic industries in this city. Something so deeply identified with the character and personality of New York City and we want to make sure it stays that way and, in fact, becomes stronger.”
What is Made In New York?
“Made in NY” for fashion will showcase the originality, artisanship and diversity of locally manufactured fashion products and the faces behind them. Over the course of the next year, “Made in NY” will invest more than $10 million in a sweeping range of initiatives that support and strengthen the city’s design and manufacturing sectors.
What is the Made in New York initiative?
The “Made in NY” initiative for fashion will include programs intended to support and strengthen New York City’s design and manufacturing sectors and will include:
- Retail Activations
- Marketing Campaigns
- Financing Opportunities
- Workforce Training
- B2B Partnerships
- Awards & Competitions
Who is eligibility?
Criteria for participation in the “Made in NY” fashion program includes:
- Headquartered or incorporated in NYC
- Possess registered business license
- Manufacture one or more fashion products (e.g. clothing, jewelry, or accessories)
- 1 or more existing retail partner(s)/client(s) or minimum of 1,000 products sold annually
- 1 or more full-time employees
- 1 or more products designed, cut, sewn, assembled, and finished in NYC
Sarah Carson is the founder of the fashion brand Leota. She says she is looking forward to participating in the Made in New York production incentives.
“Getting that financing as a small business, as a growing business, is really key to expanding my business here, creating more jobs right here in New York and fueling the growth in the garment industry and fashion business in New York.”
Leota was launched in New York four years ago. Since then, the business has grown. But Sarah Carson says for her manufacturing in New York has limitations.
“We lack some of the technology that we need to do the complicated knitting techniques and laser cutting and some of the popular styles that people are buying right now. We can‘t make them here.”
Sometimes the issue isn’t capability but insight. The Made in New York program does provide help to factories that invest in technology and workforce development. And, the Made In New York program created a comprehensive database of New York City production facilities for both sewn goods and jewelry with the world renowned CFDA organization. CFDA is helmed by Vogue Magazine board member Anna Wintour. The financial assistance and exposure should provide relief and opportunity to many unknown factory shops in the New York Metropolitan area.
What’s Next for Made in New York
Bill De Blasio recently announced that most initiatives will start in late 2015 including the launch of the financial assistance programs estimated to be 10 Million dollars.
In addition, in September ‘Made In New York’ will host events at this year’s Coterie Trade Show. Coterie is a platform for generating revenue amongst retailers, buyers and manufacturers. In addition to the industry networking Coterie is a premier global marketplace that bridges womens apparel and accessories designers to the international ‘Who’s Who’ of Retailers.
For more information into the Made In New York program and a list of the many resources and financial assistance programs visit here.


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PITTSFIELD, Mass. – An exceptional cataloged antique auction featuring more than 500 quality lots will be held Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. (EST), by Fontaine’s Auction Gallery, in the firm’s gallery at 1485 West Housatonic Street in Pittsfield.
MIDDLEBORO, Mass. — On Nov. 7, White’s Auctions will offer a fine selection of antiques and fine art for dealers, collectors, art galleries and decorators, with some 20th century “bling” included for good measure.
PASADENA, Calif. — Signaling a resurgent market, John Moran Auctioneers’ Sept. 28, 2010, Antiques and Decorative Arts Auction achieved a sell-through rate of 87 percent and earned excellent prices for silver, American art pottery, European glass, and Continental furniture and clocks.
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Cordier Antiques & Auctions’ Spring antique and fine art sale, May 22-23, offered a series of diverse collections ranging from military to autographs to unusual furniture. The 780-lot sale was held over two days in Camp Hill, Pa., across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg.
ABERDEEN, Miss. – A pair of important on-site estate auctions are scheduled for October by Stevens Auction Company, based in Aberdeen, Miss. The first one, on Saturday, Oct. 9, beginning at 10 a.m., will feature the estate of the late Sarah B. Robbs (1921-2010).
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The contents of the Conewago Manor Inn – a historic structure dating back to an original 1742 grant from the William Penn family, founders of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – will be sold without reserve (everything goes, regardless of price) in an on-site auction Oct. 23, at the...
MIDDLEBORO, Mass. — On Aug. 29, 2010, White’s Auctions will offer some exciting pieces from artists and designers of the American crafts and studio artist movements. These artists and craftsmen worked with traditional materials, such as woods, metals and glass, in unconventional ways to produce functional, creative pieces.
YORK, Pa. – A fine and beautifully crafted tall case clock by the celebrated U.S. clockmaker Simon Willard (Mass., 1753-1848) changed hands for $57,500 at a sale of antique clocks and related horology items held June 18 by Gordon S. Converse & Co.
“Tick tock…tick tock.” For some reason, this is one of the most vexatious and tumultuous sounds that send an unnerving chill up many spines.


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Spirit Tales Reveals 1v5 Boss Battle PvP Trailer
KoramGame has released a new trailer, showing off the 1v5 boss battle PvP mode set to be released soon.
One lucky (or unlucky) player gets to become a dungeon boss and face off against five other challengers. Players must understand what the boss can do, and couple it with the unpredictability of another player controlling said boss. The winning players will receive more powerful equipment.
Players who participate in the battles also have a chance to win various gaming peripherals and more. The update is set to go live on June 6.
KoramGame also publishes Dragon Born.
Spirit Tales 1v5 Boss Battle PvP Trailer
Spirit Tales 1v5 Monster Boss PvP Trailer Unleashed
See the 6-player Epic Dungeon Boss Competition in Action
** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **
Sunnyvale, Calif. — (May 31, 2012) — KoramGame Ltd., a leading developer and publisher of free-to-play online games, today released a trailer for the new 1v5 Monster Boss Player versus Player (PvP) that is part of the upcoming content update for Spirit Tales, a cute 3D fantasy MMORPG.
The revolutionary 1v5 Monster Boss PvP will give players the chance to compete in an epically fun battle as a massive dungeon boss, or as 1 of 5 daring challengers ready to take up arms in the face of annihilation. Comprised of a 6-player all out fight for survival, players must race against the clock to defeat their competition for a chance to obtain stronger, more powerful equipment.
Experience the new Spirit Tales 1v5 Monster Boss PvP and be entered for a chance to win gaming peripherals and more. For more information visit: http://forum.koramgame.com/thread-61331-1-1.html
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3DS video service launches tomorrow in Europe and Japan
From tomorrow, the new video service launches for Nintendo's 3DS bringing videos in both 2D and 3D videos to the handheld.
A new app arrives on the eStore that will allow 3DS gamers to download a selection of clips of Disney's Oscar's Oasis show and 3D episodes from a series entitled Magic Tricks for Your Nintendo 3DS. This will be followed by a selection of movie trailers, kids cartoons and classic music concerts.
The service is only launching in Europe and Japan at the moment but Nintendo have promised that it will arrive in the US some time later in the summer.
Nintendo has also announced that Netflix will arrive on the 3DS in the US which will be available to Netflix subscribers on unlimited plans starting from 7.99 USD per month.
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The U.S. – China trade war has escalated again, with China indicating that it would impose a new round of retaliatory tariffs, after the U.S. said that it would impose tariffs of 10% on Chinese imports worth $300 billion starting from September 1. President Donald Trump responded to the new round of tariffs, asking U.S. companies “.. to immediately start looking for an alternative to China.” Following the news, Apple stock, (NASDAQ:AAPL), lost over 4% in Friday’s trading, as the company not only counts on China as a manufacturing base but also as a sizable market for its products. An escalation of the trade war could impact the company’s revenues while inflating costs. In this analysis, we take a look at the worst-case scenario for Apple stock if the trade tiff between the two countries isn’t resolved. The grey charts represent our base case and the blue charts represent our downside scenario.
View our interactive dashboard analysis How Apple Could Be Impacted As China-U.S. Trade Tiff Re-Escalates
Impact On Apple’s 2020 Revenues
While Apple’s Chinese business has been declining, the Greater Chinese market, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, is still expected to account for over 15% of Apple’s revenues in FY’19. If the trade war escalates, the Chinese government could make it more difficult for Apple to operate in China, via regulatory pressures and taxes. Chinese customers, who already have an increasing preference for low-priced devices from local vendors, could also resist the iPhone and other Apple products due to anti-American sentiment. Things can change quite quickly in the Chinese smartphone space. For instance, Samsung’s market share fell from close to 20% about five years ago to under 1% currently and this indicates that there is a possibility that Apple could see a swift decline. Under our scenario, we estimate that Apple’s Greater China revenues could decline to $15 billion in 2020, from our base case of $41 billion, if the trade war mounts.
Impact On Apple’s Net Margins & EPS
Apple relies heavily on China for the assembly of its products. While the value add in the country may be limited, it forms a crucial part of Apple’s supply chain and disruptions due to the trade war could increase Apple’s costs. Separately, the U.S. has imposed tariffs of 10% on multiple Chinese goods, effective on September 1, although the tariff on cell phones and laptops is postponed to December 15. If the government doesn’t rethink these tariffs, it’s possible that Apple’s costs in the U.S. will rise. We think it’s unlikely that Apple will be able to raise pricing to compensate, meaning that margins will shrink. Under our scenario, we estimate that 2020 net margins will fall from our base case of 21.2% to 20%, with EPS coming in at $10.80 versus the base case of $12.70.
Apple Stock Could Fall 15% In Our Downside Scenario
If we assume that Apple’s P/E multiple remains the same at about 16x, we estimate that its stock price could decline by 15% in our downside scenario, to about $170 per share, from the base case of $202 per share.
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Hollister teams up with actress Lucy Hale for new apparel collection
Hollister Co., after spending the summer hanging with celebrities, now is collaborating with one.
The Southern California-themed division of New Albany-based Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Thursday announced an apparel collection from actress/musician Lucy Hale of the television show Pretty Little Liars.
Such a collaboration is a first for Hollister, which is making a push to better connect with its young customers. That effort includes its Hollister House where it hosts concerts and celebrities, while promoting its products across social media.
Hale will be performing at the Santa Monica, California, beach house Sunday.
The collection, which evokes a “SoCal-cool vibe,” according to Abercrombie (NYSE:ANF), includes soft dresses, leggings, skirts and tops and will be released both in stores and online in two waves, the first on Aug. 8, the second on Aug. 29. That first installment will have “easy-to-layer styles in cool colors” while the second is “super soft separates with relaxed silhouettes.”
“I definitely lean more towards a laid back look,” Hale said in a release. “I wanted to create carefree outfits that effortlessly transition from a coffee run to going out.”
Abercrombie spokesman Michael Scheiner, also in the release, said Hale is a perfect fit for the brand.
“This is part of our ongoing strategy to connect with our consumers and provide clothing and content that is relevant to them,” he said.
Hollister has 456 stores in the U.S. and 129 international shops.
Dan Eaton covers retailing and restaurants for Columbus Business First.
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Green is symbolic of more than just Christmas trees this time of year, as the holidays are infamous for draining the bank account. One company, however, has some extra change in its pockets. Wakefern Food Corp. made some exciting announcements at its annual shareholder meeting yesterday. Shareholders, store management, and staff gathered in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and were addressed by Chairman and CEO Joseph S. Colalillo, President and COO Joe Sheridan, and Executive Vice President Chris Lane.
“It’s a time of great change and challenge in our industry, but we’re excited for the journey ahead. With every new program we roll out, we are committed to providing the best shopping experience for our customers and creating the supermarket of the future,” Colalillo told the audience of nearly 800 people.
According to a press release, the company reported retail sales of $16.6 billion for the 52-week fiscal year ending September 28, which is a 0.7 percent increase from the prior year. This year, Wakefern opened five new ShopRite® stores and welcomed a new banner, Manhattan-based Gourmet Garage. Sheridan said that technology plays a key role in the push forward, with the company incorporating capabilities that elevate the customer experience both in store and online.
“We are embracing change because customers are embracing change—the way they shop, the way they work, and the way they live,” Sheridan noted. “We are pairing high tech with a human touch to provide the very best shopping experience. Today’s customers want great online shopping options, but they also want a personalized experience. Our promise is that we will deliver all of that to our customers.”
In July, Wakefern opened the first stand-alone micro-fulfillment center in the U.S. Using advanced robotics to quickly assemble ShopRite from Home® grocery orders, the facility enables the retailer to expand the reach of its services. The company is also making it easier for customers to design their own cakes and order catering and deli items online, and ShopRite dietitians are now available to answer customer questions through online chat. Lane reported on the recent launch of ShopRite’s new Right Price Promise, and plans to introduce two new innovative store brands, Bowl & Basket™ and Paperbird™, in November.
“With these pioneering launches we are truly elevating the ShopRite experience for each and every customer who walks through our doors,” said Lane. “We are ready to deliver to the next generation of shoppers the products and store experience that will make ShopRite their market of choice for their family meals, foods on-the-go, and grocery needs.”
Right Price Promise reflects a commitment to everyday low prices on the items customers purchase most frequently. By moving to everyday value pricing on key items, customers can count on ShopRite as their one-stop shopping destination. ShopRite’s planned launch of Bowl & Basket and Paperbird food and household lines next month will kick off a transformation of the retailer’s brands.
Congratulations to Wakefern on releasing all of this exciting news!


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Everything about the Home Depot story is big, starting with the company’s longtime nickname: Big Orange.
Then there’s the impact that the Atlanta-based company has had on the retail industry since its first stores opened here in 1979. Home Depot helped to define the modern home improvement sector of that business, and that led to $88.5 billion in revenue for FY 2015, 2200 North American stores and some 385,000 associates.
Even the stores themselves are big, which speaks to the grand vision of the company’s co-founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. Most measure in at an average of 100,000-plus square feet, so there can be enough room for some 35,000 products — whatever a DIY-lovin’ homeowner or a professional home services contractor might need. The dawn of the digital age, however, has rocked the foundations of most industries, including traditional retailers. That’s why Home Depot is in the middle of its own renovation project, one that is positioning it for success in a mobile-centric world by adopting the workplace habits of a technology startup.
“We have to be everywhere, all the time, whenever you need us, on any device, from project inspiration, to research, transaction and beyond for our customers. They demand it,” says Philip Newman, homedepot.com’s senior manager of talent strategy.
So far, the makeover is finding success. In its Q1 earnings report earlier this year, Home Depot said its online sales jumped 21.5 percent from the same time last year. For FY 2015, online brought in $4.7 billion, a jump of nearly 26 percent over the previous year. The company also reported in its recent Q2 earnings that more than 50 percent of its online traffic is now coming from smartphones or tablets, and 42 percent of online orders are picked up in stores.
Those kinds of results, along with investments in initiatives like e-commerce distribution, mobile, search, technology platforms, and faster inventory management, helped Home Depot win the 2015 Internet Retailer of the Year Award, beating out all major retailers and pure play e-commerce companies.
To help with this digital transformation, the company is also focused more on attracting the best tech talent — in its own backyard and from across the country — by establishing long-term relationships with top universities and research institutions. And it is utilizing the same team concepts among its technology specialists that are found in the most promising early-stage tech companies.
Home Depot says it’s just getting started in banging out a largely DIY vision for mobile commerce and online innovation.
“Very few companies are truly bringing interconnected commerce to life,” says Prat Vemana, vice president of digital experience. “Not only are we defining what the interconnected experience can be, but it’s almost like we are growing at scale, and at scale we are evolving. That opens a lot of doors on what you can do. That’s what got me here. How can we actually be a part of something bigger and better?”
The Blueprint For A Winning Tech Team
The Legend, Home Depot’s museum-learning center in the heart of its corporate campus on Paces Ferry Road, is an impressive display of corporate memory. It helps to explain the appeal and self-professed focus on customer service that made Home Depot the world’s largest home improvement retailer. Yet that stellar track record was built on an analog foundation, and the company realized several years ago that the landscape was changing in favor of consumer choice thanks to digital technology.
The high-walled cubicles and other features consistent with what corporate offices looked like in the 20th century are being replaced in the floors above the Legend, where the technology, marketing and other administrative work goes on. The renovated areas have open, low-walled workspaces, art that reflects the mission of the department working on that floor (circuitry patterns on technology department walls, for example) and multimedia functions in small conference areas for hosting spur-of-the-moment meetings.The layout assists with a larger effort to boost communications, collaboration and efficiency, says Naveen Krishna, vice president of mobile and online technology. “This has allowed us to work in a very agile environment from a product standpoint.” All team members pitch in with retrospectives following development “sprints,” and after product testing everybody gets to weigh in on what works and what didn’t. “Did we spend too much time on the widget and not enough on performance or user experience? It’s a collective team decision as opposed to somebody coming down with the answer (from a manager’s office).”
Vemana uses a team dedicated to improving product searches as another example. That team will decide what metrics will give them “the right priorities to work on in solving the problem, as opposed to somebody coming down from on high and saying, ‘you will work on this.’ It’s more freedom, and it helps motivate the team to bring fresh ideas to the table.”
Hackathons are also a regular occurrence at all the company’s data centers. “These are the most wonderful days,” Vemana said. “The power and energy, you can actually see. UX teams, all the teams sitting in one place and looking at problems. Hackathons are happening all the time.”
Constructing the Foundation for a Digital Home Depot
For Krishna and Vemana, what they call Home Depot’s “Tech 2.0” era started with the 2008 hiring of Matt Carey, a former Ebay CTO, as Home Depot’s chief information officer. Two years later, as part of a regular strategy review, company officials decided to dive even deeper into digital waters.
“That’s when we said, hey, customers are leveraging tools in technology, so how do we pivot?” Krishna said. “That is when we decided to invest in digital technologies.” That spend also included acquiring startups. Both Black Locus and Redbeacon joined Home Depot in 2012 with Blinds.com joining in 2014.
Austin’s Black Locus helps Home Depot keep its customer promise of Every Day Low Price guarantees. “We don’t do trick plays with coupons and price changes every two minutes like some others. That’s not our business,” Krishna said. “Customers get the best price every day in our physical and digital stores. “But we want to know, learn, and do better for our customer every single day.”
Redbeacon, rebranded this year as ProReferral, helps cement Home Depot’s relationship with home services professionals. Customers can search and compare plumbers, carpenters and other specialists that “come with a certain level of authenticity and credibility that comes with Home Depot,” Krishna said. “If we can help out professional customers, that’s going to help the rest of our customers.”Much of the software engineering is done in-house, and by most metrics Home Depot’s technology team feels like a West Coast software company
This kind of large-scale software engineering is needed to deliver exceptional retail experiences for customers and internal associates. “Getting from a customer’s desire for product or service to ‘wow-ing’ the customer takes a lot of technology in the interconnected world. If it’s a core competency of ours, we will build it ourselves. We are fortunate to have a phenomenal team that wakes up every morning to make Home Depot better for our customers,” Naveen said.
Fitting Tech Talent for Orange Aprons
These tech specialists are based in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Mateo. In Atlanta, they are in a building right around the corner from the corporate HQ. Dubbed the Treehouse, it’s where Home Depot works to make its mobile app experience as smooth as possible, no matter the platform.
UX flow charts and app page mockups decorate the whiteboards and glass walls of the offices here. A team of six people plugs iPads and smartphones into USB cables so their tracking of search and purchase options can be seen on nearby video monitors.
Iconic orange Home Depot aprons hang on the backs of some of the desk chairs. The company announced in the spring that it would hand out 80,000 aprons as it starts a massive hiring spree. Many of those will be top tech talent joining Home Depot if Newman and senior talent acquisition manager Jim Cappola have anything to say about it. “We’re in a war for talent,” Newman said. “We always have been, but now more than ever. Tech unemployment is at an all-time low. Today’s market demands we try harder, much harder.”
That means building long-term partnerships with universities versus approaching the hunt for talent on an as-needed basis, he said. Home Depot’s technology center in Tech Square, which opened in January 2015, is available 24 hours a day for Georgia Tech and Georgia State students. “They’re interacting with our technology. We’re leveraging our resources with their curiosities in order to drive innovation. Most importantly, they are also getting a taste for what it means to be part of our orange-blooded culture and how far and how fast we are pushing the envelope.”Home Depot is active in capstone programs at Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State. “We just had a capstone team present to 35 of our business leaders, and Prat was there asking questions about how they viewed our mobile app. What do they like about it? What should we change? We genuinely care about their opinions because we know they are in the next wave of our customers in 5-10 years as they graduate college, start their own families and begin home ownership. They bring a really savvy perspective to their projects and we value it greatly,” Newman said.
“The insight you gain from the freshness of the thinking is amazing,” Vemana added. “They have very outside-in thinking instead of inside-out. They challenge us and say, ‘why aren’t you doing this?’ It’s very healthy.”
Cappola said the company also tries to do something different with its internship program, and so far it seems to be attracting attention. 20,000 applications were received this year, with 150 tech interns making the cut (twice last year’s number). The focus is to look for “the best of the best, so we focus on Atlanta and the schools here, but we also look all over the country,” he said.
Discovering tech talent has the undivided attention of those who sit in the company’s corner offices. “It’s amazing here how much the executives, directors, and managers get involved in recruiting,” Cappola said. “They’re invested in recruitment and understand the value of talent. Our leaders invest their time in recruiting the right talent and actively evangelize the Home Depot brand.”
If those prospects end up signing on for Home Depot’s ride into a digital and mobile version of retailing, they’ll have their chance to work on whatever tech trend is the buzz of the business world, Vemana said.
“For the most part, anything that’s exciting and you want to work on it, you can work on it here,” he said. “You talk about semantics and linguistics? We have someone. If it’s data sciences and analytics, machine learning, the cloud, anything on mobile tech…take your pick.”
Photography by Johnathon Kelso.


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UPDATE: March 15, 2021: Danone's board said Monday that Emmanuel Faber has stepped down as chairman and CEO at the maker of Activia yogurt and Evian bottled water. The France-based company said Gilles Schnepp has become chairman, while Véronique Penchienati-Bosetta, currently the head of Danone International, and Shane Grant, who is the CEO of its North America operations, will run the business while it searches for a new CEO.
UPDATE: March 2, 2021: This story has been updated with analyst reactions.
- Danone's board voted Monday to separate the chairman and CEO roles currently held by Emmanuel Faber while starting a search for a new chief executive to oversee the dairy giant, the company said in a statement.
- Faber will stay on in his current positions at Danone until a new CEO is found and then become non-executive chairman.
- The maker of Oikos dairy yogurt and Silk plant-based products has been under fire by several activist investors in recent months who have called for changes in leadership amid a slumping stock price and questions over the company's strategy.
Danone is a multibillion-dollar food giant with a deep bench of yogurt and milk options. It also has a huge presence in plant-based offerings, which it doubled down on with its $12.5 billion purchase of WhiteWave in 2017.
But despite an enviable portfolio of brands that populate large swaths of the dairy aisle, activist investors including Artisan Partners Asset Management, Causeway Capital Management and Bluebell Capital Partners have called for changes.
"The underperformance of Danone's share price has been driven, in our view, by a combination of poor operational track record and questionable capital allocation choices," Bluebell wrote in a November letter to Danone's lead independent director, Michel Landel.
Bluebell went on to note how since Faber took over in 2014, Danone has delivered total shareholder returns of 21%, compared with 56% for the Stoxx Europe 600 Food & Beverage, 97% for Nestlé and 101% for Unilever. Bluebell said this "fails to reflect the quality of [Danone's] assets."
Danone's brands include Oikos and Activia yogurt and Stok ready-to-drink coffee, and it has a large presence in bottled water through Evian. But these categories are increasingly competitive.
Danone is facing pressure from General Mills' Yoplait, Greek yogurt maker Chobani, as well as countless startups. The bottled water category is inundated with scores of big-name and private-label brands, and is tumultuous regardless a company's size. After struggling in the segment for years, Nestlé announced last month it was selling its North American bottled water business to focus on its international premium brands, local natural mineral waters, healthy hydration products and functional water.
Critics have also said Danone has focused too much on its environmental and sustainability efforts at the expense of its financial performance. The company doubled down on that commitment last year, vowing to place a greater focus on its environmental, social and governance goals and create an independent committee to monitor and report on its progress. And three years ago, its North America operations achieved B Corp certification two years ahead of schedule.
Before Bluebell's letter was made public, Faber had already announced a series of steps Danone was taking to better position it for a post-COVID-19 world. In November, Danone said it was cutting as many as 2,000 jobs, or roughly 2% of its global workforce.
Danone also is conducting a strategic review of its portfolio of brands, SKUs and assets. The French company announced Sunday it planned to sell its stake in China Mengniu Dairy, which has a market value of more than $2 billion, later this year. In February, Danone said it would acquire plant-based pioneer Follow Your Heart to increase its presence in the fast-growing sector.
It’s uncertain how much impact a new CEO will have on Danone without a major divestiture of brands, a transformative acquisition, or a significant boost in spending to innovate its existing offerings.
Activists would argue that separating the CEO and chairman role would bring more oversight to the chief executive's performance and increase the individual's accountability. Reuters reported Monday that a replacement for Faber could move quickly, with up to eight names of potential candidates already circulating among board members.
The decision to split the roles drew mixed reviews from analysts who said Faber would likely continue to have influence over the new CEO as chairman. They also noted the announcement of Gilles Schnepp joining Danone’s former CFO Cécile Cabanis as vice chair. Bloomberg noted Faber pushed for them to become new board members last year, and their roles should serve to only further strengthen his influence.
"Faber's presence as chair alongside former CFO Cécile Cabanis as vice chair is likely to constrain the latitude of any new CEO," said Martin Deboo, an analyst at Jefferies cited by Bloomberg.
A Bernstein analyst said removing Faber as CEO but not from the chairman position only postpones the problems. "This is not a clean break," Dow Jones reported, citing the brokerage firm. "It leads to one of two options: either a CEO-in-name-only who executes the chairman's plans, or a repeat of this tense standoff with shareholders a few years from now."


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FARMINGTON — Navajo rug enthusiasts can bid on rugs at this year's Navajo Rug Auction at Farmington Museum.
The auction starts at 4 p.m. Saturday. Rugs can be previewed from noon to 5 p.m. Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Bart Wilsey, the museum director, said rugs at the auction generally sell for between $75 to $4,000.
Last year, the auction took place at the Farmington Civic Center to coincide with the Art Walk, which is on Friday. However, this year, the auction will return to the Farmington Museum and take place in the new wing.
Wilsey said the auction started in 2000 and has taken place almost every year since then.
"I remember the first year we made $14,000 off of it," Wilsey said.
Proceeds from the auction go to the museum foundation to pay for certain exhibits. A portion of the money also goes to the weaver or the trading post that supplied the rugs.
The auction will also feature a raffle with a rug made by Two Grey Hills weaver Ester Etcitty. Along with the rug, the winner of the raffle will receive an autographed copy of Mark Winter's book, "The Master Weaver." The book is valued at $125. Raffle tickets are $10 for one ticket or $25 for three tickets.
"The pages are so elegant and just loaded with pictures," said Vickie Gurry, the auction chairwoman, of the book.
Gurry, who is a Navajo rug enthusiast and collector, said the book is among the best on Navajo rugs that she's read.
Wilsey said there are regional differences in the rugs. For instance, Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., rugs tend to be more elaborate and colorful because missionaries in the 1900s introduced oriental patterns to the Navajo in the area. In contrast, Two Grey Hills rugs tend to be woven with natural wools, and many don't use any dyes.
Gurry said some people insist on buying rugs with natural wools while others prefer the brighter colors of commercial yarns.
"People's taste and what they want can really vary," Gurry said.
More info: Call 506-599-1173


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Everywhere, you see headlines with impressive thousand percent gains for “coins” like bitcoin. But what provides them worth? When have you ever employed bitcoin?
The truth is that it is not sensible right now, mainly due to the quantity of time it demands to full a transaction. But there are other coins out there that are emerging as viable candidates to succeed bitcoin as the No. 1 cryptocurrency.
There is a lot to recognize about the intricacies of cryptocurrencies, but this write-up is extra about acquiring an investment opportunity than explaining the science behind them.
A Bubble in Bitcoin?
One particular certain issue that’s crucial to know is the notion of “mining.” This is the extremely basis of cryptocurrencies. That is how new bitcoins are created.
In quick terms, the “miner,” by means of exceptional software system, solves a complicated math difficulty and is rewarded with new bitcoins as a outcome. Then, the transaction is stored in the blockchain, and these new bitcoins are officially in circulation.
As additional bitcoins are in circulation, mining them becomes further complex and time-consuming, and considerably less profitable. So even although about 80% of feasible bitcoins are in circulation right now, the final 1 unique will not be mined till 2140.
As most individuals know by now, bitcoin has noticed a gigantic rally this year. In truth, it seriously is up about 1,200% more than the prior year, causing a lot of people to consider it is in a bubble.
The total worth of bitcoins in circulation is now over $150 billion. If bitcoin was a company, it would be in the prime 50 most significant in the United States.
I personally feel that the only objective bitcoin is so substantially additional worthwhile than any other cryptocurrency is due to the reality it was the one particular that very first broke by way of to the mainstream. That is nonetheless vital, even though. It, at the pretty least, offers other coin developers some thing to strengthen on.
The very very good issue is that even if you feel you have missed the boat with bitcoin, there are a lot of other cryptocurrencies out there. Of course, some are scams, but other people have actual achievable.
A single particular of the ones that I feel has true, practical use is identified as Dash.
Dash: Digital Money
1st, Dash is ahead of the game in terms of comfort. Correct now, bitcoin transactions take about ten minutes to an hour on standard. Dash is setting out to be the primary cryptocurrency that can be transferred immediately (in much less than one particular second) in amongst parties, creating it considerably far a lot more sensible when it comes to acquiring challenges on the internet or at a retailer.
1 of the most attractive characteristics of Dash is that ten% of the newly mined coins are offered to the Dash DAO (decentralized autonomous organization). Basically place, the DAO is the treasury of Dash. At the present value tag of far more than $600 per coin, that is $4 million per month that it can use.
It definitely is essential to know that no other coin has this sort of continuous funding. With this revenue, the Dash DAO can generate and market the currency.
Also, any person can submit an notion for a project to increase the worth of Dash. Then, the project is voted on by thousands of Dash developers. An instance would be partnering with stores to make Dash a viable suggests of transaction for their goods.
Of course, these developers make revenue from Dash, so a thing that advantages and promotes the currency will be enticing.
This creates a circular effect, exactly where the currency appreciates in cost considering that it definitely is higher funded and marketed, then the DAO tends to make a lot a lot more funds, and it’s in a position to market Dash even far more.
A Breakthrough for Dash
So far, Dash can be made use of at extra than 300 physical shops and more than 100 internet sites to acquire goods or options. But the breakthrough for it could come from the marijuana industry.
Suitable now, banks are not permitted to have anything to do with marijuana transactions pretty much every thing has to be performed in cash. Vendors can not even place earnings from their sales in a bank.
Not only does this bring the threat of becoming robbed, but these providers have to commit for cash storage and transportation. That adds up swiftly.
Receiving in a position to use Dash would be large for these vendors. It would also mean terrific points for the price tag of Dash.
The excellent news is that it has currently began creating progress. In April, Dash partnered with a digital payment approach identified as Alt Thirty Six, which has partnerships with some of the key dispensary small company management application organizations in the nation.
These laptop application firms track transactions for hundreds of dispensaries and delivery options. That signifies that Dash users at the moment have hundreds of strategies to use the currency.
Given that Dash officially became a payment method on Alt Thirty Six on October 11, its price tag tag has gone up 118%. That is only in a month and a half.
Just the Beginning
With a industry cap of only $four.eight billion compared to bitcoin’s $156 billion, I believe Dash nonetheless has a lot of space to climb going forward.
The marijuana business enterprise is just the start off out for Dash, but it is a excellent a single. In 2016, legal sales have been about $7 billion. A distinctive estimated $46 billion was sold on the black marketplace.
And as much much more retailers open and marijuana becomes legal in far far more states, that legal number is anticipated to be $23 billion by 2021 and $50 billion by 2026.
When Coinbase customer support , this is just the starting for Dash. Its one of a kind instant transaction function tends to make it a viable alternative to income, offering it an edge more than other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.


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3-D printing is one of the most exciting technological innovations in recent years, and it’s advancing at a rapid pace. In two recent articles about 3D printing, editor-in-chief of Wired Chris Anderson says 3-D printing has reached an inflection point, and Gizmag’s Doug Hendrie highlights 3-D printing’s huge potential for revolutionizing medical science:
1. Chris Anderson writing in Wired.com:
By all evidence, 3-D printing has reached its inflection point, when it moves from the sophisticated early adopters to people who just want to print something cool. Soon, probably in the next few years, the market will be ready for a mainstream 3-D printer sold by the millions at Walmart and Costco. At that point, the incredible economies of scale that an HP or Epson can bring to bear will kick in. A 3-D printer will cost $99, and everyone will be able to buy one.
Digital fabrication also takes the expensive parts of traditional manufacturing and makes them cheap. In mass production, the more complicated a product is and the more changes you make, the more it costs. But with digital fabrication, it’s the reverse: The traits that are expensive in traditional manufacturing become free. Consider:
Variety is free: It costs no more to make every product different than to make them all the same.
Complexity is free: A minutely detailed product, with many fiddly little components, can be 3-D printed as cheaply as a plain block of plastic.
Flexibility is free: Changing a product after production has started means just changing the instruction code.
2. From Doug Hendrie in Gizmag.com:
3D printing technologies have come a long way since their earliest incarnations as rapid product prototype makers. It’s now shaping up as the next disruptive technology and in medical science, 3D printing has huge potential. The latest advance comes from University of California, San Diego Nanoengineering Professor Shaochen Chen, whose group has demonstrated the ability to print three-dimensional blood vessels in seconds.
If the technique proves scalable, it could revolutionize regenerative medicine. Imagine being able to recover from a heart attack by replacing your faulty aortic valve with a brand new one, made of your own cells. No more pig valves, no more mechanical solutions, no more waiting for a donor. The donor is you.
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FAST food. There, I said it. Before you all rush off to cleanse yourself from the greasy after-effects of such a dirty word, let me explain.
A report out this week claimed that about half of all meals eaten out are at fast food restaurants. And this – shock horror – does not even include the likes of middle class family favourite Pizza Express, which classes itself as a “full service restaurant”.
The figure totals some 5.54 billion fast food meals annually, according to market research firm NPD – around 90 per person every year.
Of course, this news sparked an outcry from obesity campaigners jumping on their soap boxes to proclaim an epidemic – while epicures the nation over sighed and huffed and puffed over the future of the rest of the population’s diabolical gastronomic preferences.
But while it is perhaps not ideal to scoff a Happy Meal for dinner every single night, does this really mean that people are actually doing so – or that their diets are more unhealthy?
What is not clear is what constitutes fast food. Is a takeaway sandwich fast food? After all, it is food – and you couldn’t get much faster.
I enjoy cooking and often create home-made burgers – but are my own lovingly-created meals really healthier than those from somewhere like Gourmet Burger Kitchen? Probably not.
Either way, I for one, would prefer a simple beef patty to a ready made meal, packed full of E numbers and goodness knows what else and then nuked to within an inch of its life in a microwave. Similarly, sitting at a table in a cute little independent restaurant and chowing down on a huge plate of creamy pasta probably isn’t better than many fast food chains, which have been forced to mend their calorific ways. McDonald’s now serves organic milk and free range eggs, while children’s meals come with fruit.
In London, though yet to reach Scottish shores, a favourite of mine is the Hummus Bros chain – which serves various flavours of the tahini-based Mediterranean staple on pitta bread to hungry workers at lunchtime. Fast food doesn’t have to be bad food – you just have to think about what you choose.


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Fitbit posted its first year-over-year shipment growth since 2016
Fitbit’s (FIT) second smartwatch, the Versa, launched in February last year and has been the key to the company’s mini-revival. It’s clear that the wearable company is trying to pivot its strategy around smartwatches now, which is the only bright spot in an otherwise shrinking wearable market (WEAR).
Versa was a key turning point for the company, which posted its first year-over-year growth in devices shipped since 2016 during the fourth quarter of 2018. The company sold 5.6 million devices during the quarter, a 3.7% year-over-year increase.
The Versa Lite is meant for price-sensitive consumers
Fitbit generated $571.2 million in revenue during the quarter, a minute improvement from the $570.8 million it made in Q4 of 2017. This was the first time the company was able to string together two straight quarters of year-over-year growth in more than two years—although the growth rate was minute.
Now the company is launching the Versa Lite, a cheaper version of the Versa. The Versa Lite model costs $160, compared to the Versa’s $200. However, while the Versa Lite is available in several colors, its lower price point comes at the cost of several features.
Fitbit’s first smartwatch, the Ionic, cost $300 and received mediocre reviews. Fitbit hopes its cheaper version of the Versa will keep it on a growth path.
According to Strategy Analytics, Fitbit sold 5.5 million smartwatches (presumably, mostly the Versa) in 2018, compared to 0.5 million shipments in 2017.


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We really had our hopes up there about TacoCopter, the Bay Area startup aiming to deliver tacos via unmanned drone helicopters (it turned out to be a hoax — or, at least, an idea still purely in the conceptual stage). But it looks like Dubai now has its own innovation in the delivery food space. A pizza chain over there, Red Tomato, has introduced the "VIP Fridge Magnet" (surely the first time those three words have been used together?), which helps you get pizza without the use of intrusive technologies like telephones, computers, or shoes. Your standing order and payment information can be customized online, then the pie is just a touch of a button away — a clear improvement over the Internet, which requires many touches of buttons before pizza can be yours. Above, witness a commercial for said VIP Fridge Magnet. Okay, so the absence of robots, helicopters, and tacos makes this one a little less thrilling than TacoCopter. But still, get on it, Domino's. [via Eater]
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Lamborghini on the fence between building the Estoque or the LM00X SUV
A few days ago, a report came out that Lamborghini is teaming up with Porsche to build its very own SUV that will be based on the latter’s latest GT architecture. While this news poses a shift in philosophy for the Raging Bull and could potentially undermine its tradition, the latest word - at least according to Car and Driver - is that Lamborghini is on the fence on which model will join the Gallardo and the Aventador in the lineup.
Apart from this long-rumored SUV - it’s been codenamed as the ’LM00X’ - the other choice is the production of the Estoque. The Italian automaker is considering both vehicles, but has made it known that only one is going to be green-lighted for production.
While no decisions have been made yet, the company is looking at October as the time to decide. As it stands the SUV has a slight edge over the Estoque because the car will be on a class of its own as far as high-end SUVs are concerned whereas the Estoque will have its hands full going up against competitors like the Porsche Panamera Turbo S, the Aston Martin Rapide, and the recently launched Ferrari FF.
The final decision is still a few months away, but it’s never too early to put your two cents in. For us, we prefer seeing the Estoque finally come alive after years of drooling over it. Besides, just like Ferrari, the words ’Lamborghini’ and ’SUV’ don’t belong in the same sentence.
Let us know which model you prefer in the comments section below.
Source: Car and Driver


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US-based Indium Corp investing RM250mil manufacturing plant in Penang
11 May 2022
Indium Corp, a US-based global materials supplier to the electronics assembly and semiconductor packaging industries, is investing RM250 million in a manufacturing plant in Penang.
The investment plan was announced during a meeting between Indium Corp and the Trade and Investment Mission (TIM) to the United States delegation led by the Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
According to Indium Corp, the new Penang-based facility, which spans 37,500 square feet, will manufacture finished products such as solder pastes, fluxes, and preforms.
The facility is anticipated to commence operation in two phases, with solder paste manufacturing by the end of 2022 and engineered materials manufacturing in 2023.
The project is also anticipated to create 88 high-value new jobs.
Mohamed Azmin said Indium’s move to establish a presence in Malaysia could not come at a more opportune time towards ramping up Malaysia’s economic recovery.
He said this is particularly so towards furthering Malaysia’s strength in the electronics industry through the advancement of electronics materials solutions and its larger ecosystem.
“Indeed, this development provides a stepping stone for our local electronics industry, in line with our National Investment Aspirations (NIA) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals.
“It is exciting that Indium is currently planning to leverage Malaysia’s capabilities in manufacturing operations and has expressed intentions to establish an R&D innovation lab and training facility, signifying its confidence in the local ecosystem and Malaysia’s high-skilled talent.
“We look forward to this strategic partnership with Indium with its high value-added activities for mutually benefitting outcomes,” he said.
Meanwhile, Indium Corp president and chief operating officer Ross Berntson said the company is proud to continue its more than 40-year history of doing business in Malaysia with this new manufacturing facility in Penang.
Supported by Malaysia’s established supply chain ecosystem for the electronics industry, Berntson said this new location would allow Indium Corp to improve lead times for deliveries further while bringing the company closer to its customers in the region.
“We’d also like to express our thanks to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) for their assistance with this project,” he added.