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Eveything’s Rosie is increasing its presence in Italy as V&S Entertainment inks a deal with chocolatiers Nestle for a range of confectionary based on the hit pre-school property.
The product range, encompassing Chocolate Easter Eggs, Mini Eggs and toy collectables, will launch across Italian speciality shops in time for next Easter.
A spokesperson from Nestle commented: "Everything’s Rosie and Nestle are a winning combination, offering children quality products featuring their favourite characters at Easter."
Managing director of V&S Entertainment, Vickie Corner, added: "This deal is yet another important step as the brand expands in Italy.
"Nestle are a license with a proven track record, great products and will be the perfect fir for Everything’s Rosie within the Italian market."
Following its success on Italian broadcasters Rai YoYo and Deakids, Rosie’s licensing presence within the industry is continuing to grow, encompassing the release of the property’s first Italian DVD and five new titles from De Agostini due to be launched this autumn.


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In a landmark initiative aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in green advertising, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has introduced a set of guidelines to combat the pervasive issue of greenwashing. These comprehensive guidelines, currently open for public consultation until December 31, are designed to ensure the accuracy and legitimacy of environmental claims made by advertisers while addressing the prevalent problem of greenwashing.
The ASCI’s draft guidelines target a diverse range of green claims, encompassing positive environmental impact, carbon offset, and biodegradability. Seeking to instil confidence in consumers supporting environmentally conscious brands, the guidelines demand a robust foundation for absolute claims such as ‘environment-friendly,’ ‘eco-friendly,’ ‘sustainable,’ and ‘planet-friendly.’ Advertisers are now mandated to provide a “high level of substantiation” for these claims, specifying whether they apply to the entire product, its packaging, or the service offered.
In a strategic move to counteract misleading assertions, the draft guidelines specifically tackle carbon offset claims. Advertisers are now required to disclose whether emission reduction will occur within a two-year timeframe or extend over a more extended period. Importantly, carbon offset-related claims must not imply a reduction that is legally mandated, establishing a clear framework for advertisers operating in this space.
Taking a holistic approach, the guidelines stress that green claims must be rooted in the “full life cycle” of the advertised product or service. Discouraging partial life cycle claims ensures that consumers are not misled about the overall environmental impact. Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary-General of ASCI, underscored the significance of these guidelines, noting that they set a standard for advertisers and aim to cultivate a culture of transparency and authenticity in advertising, ultimately benefiting consumers.
To further deter misleading tactics, the draft guidelines explicitly state that brands cannot highlight the absence of a damaging ingredient unless it is a common feature in competing products. Certifications and Seals of Approval undergo scrutiny, with the guidelines emphasizing that they must provide clear information on the evaluated attributes and the basis of certification, ensuring credibility through nationally or internationally recognized certifying authorities.
Visual elements in advertisements are not exempt from scrutiny, with advertisers cautioned against using visuals that could create false impressions about the product or service. Additionally, the guidelines advise advertisers to refrain from making aspirational claims regarding future environmental objectives unless accompanied by actionable plans.
For claims related to compostability, biodegradability, recyclability, non-toxicity, and being free of certain elements, advertisers are mandated to qualify and substantiate these assertions with reliable scientific evidence. This stringent standard ensures that products align with environmentally friendly practices and provides consumers with a clear understanding of the environmental impact.
In summary, ASCI’s draft guidelines represent a substantial step towards regulating and ensuring the accuracy of environmental claims in advertising, specifically targeting the prevalent issue of greenwashing. Once finalized, these guidelines are poised to reshape the landscape of green advertising in India, fostering a more responsible and transparent approach among advertisers. As the world grapples with the urgent need for sustainable practices, these guidelines underscore India’s commitment to ethical business practices and environmental stewardship, tackling greenwashing head-on.

domain: news


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he country is exploring casino legalization as a way to pay for infrastructure associated with being host of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“We’re investigating ... to see if it’s a good fit for us,” Smith said. “It’s very early in the process and the opportunity is in the exploratory phase.” Smith said it was too early “to worry about how to finance” a Japanese casino.
Smith said Boyd missed out on other international opportunities in the past, including Macau, because it was a small company. “We’re much larger today than we were in early the early 2000s,” Smith said.
Japan, which has shied from legalizing gaming in the past, is considered to be an untapped lucrative market by many in the investment community. The potential has attracted interest from MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands Corp., Caesars Entertainment and the Malaysia-based Genting Group.
The Las Vegas-based regional casino operator said its net loss for the quarter that ended Dec. 31 was us$47.3 million or 43 cents per share. In the same quarter a year ago, Boyd recorded a net loss of us$899.9 million, or us$10.24 per share, which included a nearly us$1 billion noncash impairment charge on the former Echelon site, which was sold to Genting Group. The net loss wasn’t a surprise to the investment community.
Boyd Gaming pre-announced the company’s fourth-quarter results at the end of January, saying the loss was expected because of “several short-term factors in December” related to the Borgata in Atlantic City.
The company said an unusually low hold percentage at the Borgata’s casino and severe winter weather during two weekends hurt business results.
Despite the pessimistic outlook, the Borgata increased revenue 6.5 percent in the quarter to us$157.1, which included $2.2 million from the casino’s newly launched online gaming operations in New Jersey.
Smith looked beyond the net loss at progress the company made in several endeavors, namely the integration of six Southern and Midwest casinos acquired in the $1.45 billion purchase of regional gaming rival Peninsula Gaming a year earlier and signs of recovery in Las Vegas.
“We made significant refinements to our marketing and operations, launched a market-leading online gaming presence in New Jersey, and introduced our Penny Lane initiative across the country,” Smith said of the company’s slot machine marketing program that include an Abraham Lincoln character.
Smith added that Boyd “significantly strengthened” its balance sheet, repaying us$525 million in debt and eliminating more than us$60 million in interest expense.
Boyd Gaming said its total net revenue in the fourth quarter grew to us$681.5 million.
In Las Vegas, the company’s locals gaming market segment saw revenue of us$148.6 million remain flat compared with a year ago, while Boyd’s downtown casinos increased revenue 3.7 percent to us$59.8 million.
“Our Las Vegas locals business returned to consistent growth, with four consecutive quarters of (cash flow) gains,” Smith said. For the full year, Boyd Gaming said its net revenue grew 16.6 percent to us$2.89 billion.
The company lost us$80.3 million, or 83 cents per share in 2013, compared with a net loss of us$908.9 million, or us$10.37 per share in 2012.
Boyd Gaming reported quarterly results after the markets closed Wednesday. Shares were up 14 cents or 1.22 percent to finish at us$11.61 on the New York Stock Exchange.


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Tuesday, 29th November 2016
In Business In Japan,
Japan to build world's fastest supercomputer by end of 2017
A project has begun in Japan that aims to build the fastest supercomputer the world has ever seen by the end of next year (2017).
The AI Bridging Cloud (AIBC) computer will cost 19.5 billion yen (£140 million) to create and run at a speed of 130 petaflops.
If this ambition comes to fruition, it will overtake the Sunway TaihuLight, which is the pride and joy of China and currently holds the title of world’s fastest.
The new computer is to be used to analyse huge datasets and therefore advance the capabilities of research in the country.
Possible applications include enhancing findings in the medical field, improving the software for driverless cars and driving robot technology forward.
The unit for measuring the speed of such machines, the petaflop, equates to one thousand trillion operations per second.
A flop, which stands for floating point operation, is like a step in a calculation. The Sunway TaihuLight has a theoretical capacity of 125 petaflops, but only hits 93 on a regular basis.
Satoshi Sekiguchi, head of Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, said in a statement: "As far as we know, there is nothing out there that is as fast."
No information has yet been released to say what processors will make up the core of the machine, but China developed its own chips when building its supercomputer.
Time on the machine will be available for purchase by Japanese businesses in order to boost their own internal research efforts.
This will make them independent of the likes of Google, Amazon and Microsoft – US companies that are seen as a ready source of supercomputer capacity.
Japan has launched a programme to regain its reputation as a world leader in the areas of science and technology, with the AIBC project being just one part of it.


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6502 Workshop have canceled their Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the development of feelies for Nox Archaist.
There are just a few days left in the Nox Archaist Kickstarter campaign.
Nox Archaist, a new (yes, new) RPG for the Apple II, is now being crowdfunded on Kickstarter.
Slashing Dragon’s Ultima 6-like game engine has finished its Indiegogo campaign, and was able to raise enough funds for development to proceed.
Cran Gallara has designed some UDIC-themed Fidget Spinners. Order yours now!
In which we get a taste of the music that will be featured in Unknown Realm, and also some excellent samples of monster artwork (which will grace the game’s manual).
IronOak Games have been hard at work on For The King, and have added a new “chaos system” to the game.
Shroud of the Avatar isn’t releasing in July, though its storyline should be complete by then.
Portalarium has announced a new equity crowdfunding initiative for Shroud of the Avatar, and has stated that the game will be released in July of this year.
It has been a year since the Ultima Game Music Fan Recreation Project wrapped up. Now, there’s another round of tunes on the way.
Stirring Dragon Games have been working on the art and music for Unknown Realm over the last month.
A short update from the Titans of Ether on the status of Corven – Path of Redemption, with news about its upcoming crowdfunding campaign.


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* Run of pretax losses continued in first half
* Shares drop 9.4 percent; down 90 pct from 2004 highs
* Activist investor calls for more store closures
(Recasts, adds investor, analyst and COO comment, share price)
By Rahul B
Sept 20 Activist investor Gatemore Capital
Management has urged French Connection to speed up its
store closure programme after Tuesday's first-half results
showed another pretax loss for the British fashion retailer.
French Connection has failed to post annual pretax profit
since 2011/12 and its shares have tumbled 90 percent from 2004
highs, prompting it to close stores and hire new management and
design teams as it tries to fend off competition from
fast-fashion rivals such as ASOS, Forever 21 and
Yet Gatemore, which holds about an 8 percent stake in French
Connection, is unhappy with the pace of change and said that the
retailer should reduce its portfolio to 30 stores in the UK and
Europe by 2018.
French Connection operates 69 stores across UK and Europe,
having closed five of its weaker outlets in the six months to
July 31. The UK and Europe region accounted for 74 percent of
the company's sales in the year to Jan. 31.
"With over four years of consecutive losses, the retailer's
turnaround has not gone far enough: the rate of store closures
needs to increase and margins need to improve," Gatemore said in
a statement on Tuesday.
French Connection declined to comment on Gatemore's
statement but said it was holding talks with the shareholder
The company's current position is a far cry from the heady
days of 2004, when its share price stood at more than 500 pence,
aided largely by the huge success of its FCUK logo.
Its turnaround efforts helped the retailer to post positive
first-half like-for-like sales in the UK and Europe for the
first time since July 2014, but losses from wholesale and
licensing business continued to drag on profit.
Its pretax loss of 7.9 million pounds ($10.2 million) in the
six months to July 31 was unchanged from the same period last
year, sending the company's shares down 9.4 percent to close at
Broker Numis has a "buy" rating on the stock and said in a
client note that French Connection had made progress despite a
difficult market for British clothing retailers. It cited
improvements across the business, particularly in design.
Gatemore has previously urged French Connection founder
Stephen Marks, who owns nearly 41.5 percent of the shares, to
give up his dual role as chairman and CEO.
Chief Operating Officer Neil Williams said on Tuesday that
the board had openly engaged with Gatemore but is not focusing
on splitting the founder's role.
"We are in middle on a turnaround here and we dont want to
do anything that potentially disrupts it at this point in time,"
($1 = 0.7718 pounds)
(Editing by Mark Potter and David Goodman)


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Apple changed the way we think about computing and digital devices--again--when it introduced the iPad tablet in early 2010. Take a look back and a peek ahead.
7 of 10
Introduced on March 2, 2011, and released on March 11 of that year, the iPad 2 improved on the original iPad with a slimmer form factor, a dual-core Apple A5 chip, an internal gyroscope, and front- and rear-facing cameras.
Building A Mobile Business MindsetAmong 688 respondents, 46% have deployed mobile apps, with an additional 24% planning to in the next year. Soon all apps will look like mobile apps – and it's past time for those with no plans to get cracking.
InformationWeek Tech Digest August 03, 2015The networking industry agrees that software-defined networking is the way of the future. So where are all the deployments? We take a look at where SDN is being deployed and what's getting in the way of deployments.


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New York — The Anti-Defamation League’s National Consumer Technology Industry divisio
Conn's said sales and earnings were socked by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike during the retailer's fiscal third quarter.
Net sales edged up 2.3 percent to $173.9 million during the three months, ended Oct. 31, and revenue from finance charges and other sources rose 9.7 percent to $25.6 million.
But higher storm-related expenses and credit portfolio charge-offs led to a net loss of $7.7 million for the period, and same-store sales sank 5.8 percent due to the loss of 144 store days as the hurricanes ripped through the chain's trading areas.
Chairman/CEO Tom Frank is optimistic about the current quarter based on Texas' relatively low unemployment rate, brisk sales and store traffic, and strong demand for LCD TVs. Indeed, LCD volume was up 63 percent in units and 69 percent in dollars during the third quarter, and demand will only increase over the holidays, he said during a conference call.
Other strong third-quarter performers included laptop PCs, DVD and Blu-ray Disc players, and GPS devices, he noted.
While demand for major appliances remained soft, the company enjoyed a 9.6 percent surge in white-goods sales in October due to post-hurricane replacement purchases.
Frank said thanks to program purchases through the NATM buying group and special buys from vendors, Conn's will continue to price its products to achieve both market share growth and profitability.
This TWICE webinar, hosted by senior editor Alan Wolf, will take a look at what may be the hottest CE products at retail that will be sold during the all-important fourth quarter. Top technologies, market strategies and industry trends will be discussed with industry analysts and executives.


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The Spanish city of Valencia will become the avocado capital on Wednesday May 25 on the occasion of the celebration of the 2nd International Avocado Cultivation Day, organized by the Association of Avocado Producers (ASOPROA) and the Valencian Association of Agricultural Producers (AVA-ASAJA) under the title 'The future of avocados in Spain'.
The event, which is already open for registration, will feature prestigious experts from the research and academic world, as well as from the world of business. They will analyze the main challenges ahead for this growing crop. The conferences and debates will focus on the upward outlook of the production, the need to promote a national product brand and the challenges for the crop in Spain.
Agronomic aspects such as the pollination as a determining factor in avocado fruit setting, irrigation and soil management, pruning strategies to improve the production and integrated management of wood fungi will also be analyzed.
The program and registration instructions for the conference can be consulted here.


text: Get ready for Action... Stations! The sixth Wing Commander novel's ebook March 7 premiere is fast approaching and several e-tailers have gone ahead and put up preorder pages for the book. Action Stations will be the fifth Wing Commander ebook released, with False Colors scheduled to follow in April and End Run rumored for later this year. You can go ahead and preorder Action Stations at the links below; at press time, only Barnes and Noble has yet to list the release. Want to get a head start? Those that purchase Baen's March 2017 bundle get access to the first 3/4ths of the book today! The bundle includes DRM-free ebook copies of every novel Baen is releasing this month; it is available only for the next eight days.


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Global Auto Chip Shortage: Challenges, Opportunities and Implications for OEMs
ResearchConsumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Communication
WIA2020 | Next 50 in Global Tech: Consumer Technology
NetEase Cloud Music Restarts IPO
Will it succeed this time?
Nov 18, 2021 05:35 PM
NetEase Releases Third Quarter 2021 Unaudited Financial Results
"As an innovation-driven content creator, we will continue to deliver thoughtful premium content and products to our users across each of our carefully cultivated disciplines," said the CEO and director of NetEase, William Ding.
Nov 16, 2021 09:52 AM
NetEase Might Be Slightly Undervalued – DCF
Is the gaming company a clear buy?
Aug 24, 2021 12:21 AM


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One of the hottest drinks of summer has been spiked seltzers. According to a report by CNN the sales of hard seltzer beverages have spiked 200% this summer. The perk of these beverages is they clock in at around 5% ABV, but for only 100 calories.
A lot of brands have started getting in on the seltzer game, including PBR, and now it looks like Four Loko wants a piece of the cash.
While it doesn't look as if any official announcement has been made, Four Loko has been teasing the "hardest seltzer in the universe" clocking in at 14% with the flavor being a "hint of blue razz."
Four Loko has been teasing images of the new drink on social media, but little information known on the beverage otherwise.


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Geneva Motor Show news!
The BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe illustrates the meaning behind the letter “M” at BMW in impressive style. And it stands for “more”, more of everything. Dynamic excellence, this bimmer embodies a new facet of luxury for the BMW brand. Certainly, an ultra-sporty, extrovert, and polarising.
“The BMW 8 Series will take over as the new flagship model of the BMW line-up. And, as such, combines unsurpassed sportiness and elegance,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “The BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe offers a look ahead to the most exotic and alluring variant of the new BMW 8 Series.”


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“Djoko Susanto is the founder of Alfamart, which has 16 thousand stores throughout Indonesia,” reads a statement from the official website Forbes on Thursday, April 8, 2021.
Forbes also noted that Djoko’s real wealth per day reached US $ 1.8 billion or equivalent to Rp 23.8 trillion. This value is the highest since 2017.
In 2017, Djoko’s real wealth reached US $ 1.3 billion. Then it will drop to US $ 12 billion in 2020. Before finally it will jump to US $ 1.8 billion in 2021.
Djoko was born in Jakarta in 1950 with the name Kwok Kwie Fo. He first started doing business at the age of 17 in 1967. At that time, he was asked to manage a simple kiosk owned by his parents at Arjuna Market, Jakarta.
The shop is called Sumber Bahagia, which sells groceries. But soon, Djoko saw a bigger opportunity. The stall started selling cigarettes.


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CHESTER — On an extremely cold, bitter Wednesday January 26, the Chester Area Christian Food Pantry hosted the monthly Mobile Market at the Cohen Recreation Complex in Chester.
Approximately 25 volunteers served clients with 67 vouchers.
Mike Cowan, Danny Hornbostel, and Dr. Steve Miller prepare to distribute packaged meats to clients. Jim Beers Photo
The event began at roughly 8:30 a.m. and by 10:30 a.m. the monthly food distribution was complete.
Clients received a wide variety of items including a box of mixed vegetables and fruits, a case of bacon, a 20-pound bag of onions, apples, a variety of chips, Jimmy Dean pork sausage, bags of frozen burrito filler,10 pounds of potatoes, a box of turkey meat, and a bag of shelled walnuts.
A case of liquid hand soap was also afforded each client.
The food pantry served 201 households with 468 individuals in December.
Items needed to help stock the pantry include saltine crackers.
Monetary donations are also appreciated.
The next Mobile Market will take place Wednesday February 23 at 8:30 a.m.


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The Walt Disney Company (DIS) CEO Bob Chapek and his predecessor Bob Iger more than doubled their salaries in 2021, according to a filing made by the company on Jan. 19, 2022. Their wage increases occurred during a year in which the company's business—several parts of which had shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—made a halting recovery.
Both Chapek and Iger had taken significant cuts to their salary at the start of the pandemic. Iger had forgone his salary, starting April 2020, for the remainder of the fiscal year, while Chapek took a 50% pay cut for the same period.
- Disney CEO Bob Chapek and his predecessor Bob Iger more than doubled their salaries in 2021.
- Chapek earned $32.5 million, while Iger took home $45.9 million.
- Chapek was steering Disney through a difficult and trying time in its business, when the pandemic completely shut down parts of its business.
Former CEO Iger, who led the company for 15 years and retired at the end of 2021, earned $45.9 million in 2021, up from the $21 million he earned in 2020. His base salary was $3 million, and he earned a cash bonus of $22.9 million. The company gave him $18.8 million in stock options and awards as well as $1.2 million in other compensation.
Iger's successor Bob Chapek also had a financially lucrative 2021 and took home $32.5 million, up from $14.2 million in 2020. His base salary was $2.5 million. Included in Chapek's earnings was a bonus of $14.3 million and $13.9 million in stock options and awards.
A Generous Paymaster
As The Wall Street Journal points out, Disney has always been one of the highest paymasters in the corporate world. Michael Eisner, who was chief executive of the company from 1984 to 2005, set a record for executive compensation in 1993 with a salary of $203.1 million. His successor Bob Iger earned $47.5 million in 2019. In that sense, the salary statistics released yesterday are a return to pre-pandemic times, when the entertainment behemoth's business was doing well and raking in cash from multiple profit centers.
But the pandemic has wrought permanent changes to the company's business model. Streaming services have become an important part of content distribution strategy and may be eating into overall profits for the company's theatrical releases. In an era of rapid COVID transmission and intermittent closures, the company's theme parks around the world have changed their operational protocols to minimize crowds.
Under the new CEO, Disney is focused on growing its streaming business. While it was launched under Bob Iger, Disney Plus has thrived under Chapek's direction, reaching 100 million subscribers 16 months after launch. The company plans to reach between 230 million and 260 million subscribers for the streaming service by 2024. The theme parks division has returned to profitability, and except for a major hiccup with Marvel’s Black Widow, Disney topped the box-office in 2021, pandemic notwithstanding.
"Mr. Chapek, as Chief Executive Officer, delivered strong performance given the unprecedented challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and meaningful shareholder value, driven by exceptional execution of the Company's key strategic initiatives," Disney stated in its filing.


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Nespresso ends trademark dispute with coffee chain Peet’s
Oct 17 (Reuters) – Nestle’s (NESN.S) Nespresso and coffee chain Peet’s Coffee told a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday that they have agreed to resolve Nespresso’s trademark lawsuit over Peet’s coffee pods, which Nespresso alleged would cause consumer confusion with its competing capsules.
Delve into a deeper kind of dark with the complexity and nuances of our signature dark espresso, in recyclable capsules designed to fit your Nespresso® Original machine*.
Nespresso and Peet’s Coffee end trademark dispute over coffee pods, 1:49
The lawsuit filed in March 2022 alleged that Peet’s Coffee had sought a false association with Nespresso by mimicking the company’s ‘cone-like’ trade dress, in the New York Southern District Court.


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Washington (CNN) - Politics is serious business - but not all of the time. From the halls of Congress to the campaign trail to the international stage, there's always something that gets a laugh or a second glance.
No 'Chunky Monkey' for Supreme Court
The founders of Ben & Jerry's ice cream have a new target - and it isn't Haagen-Dazs. It's the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hu cares... get it? Sometimes I crack myself up!
The irony is, probably the best way to counter the Citizens United decision is to abuse it to the Nth degree, thereby generating the evidence the legislature would need to create a legislative record displaying the societal damage caused by allowing unfettered campaign spending by giant corporations who, after spending billions of dollars promoting their favorite puppet, of course then turn around and make the rest of us pay for it by raising the prices of their goods and sevices. B&J probably won't do it, but the rest of them surely will, and we'll suffer for it in the long run.


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Homegrown social commerce platform Meesho has shut down its grocery business, as per a report. The business, known as Superstore, has been closed in more than 90 per cent of cities in India, barring Nagpur and Mysuru, and has resulted in several job losses.
As per a report by Inc42 quoting sources, the Superstore shutdown has resulted in the firing of 300 employees across the cities in India. The closing was done last week. The 300 employees who were fired comprised both on-roll and off-roll workers, including city launch managers, pricing team leads, warehouse managers, sales executives, sourcing executives, market intelligence executives, among others.
The company has not issued any statement regarding the matter.
Meesho Superstore was operational in cities across six states including Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. In April, Meesho rebranded Farmiso to Superstore, after it had raised raising $570 million last year and promising that it would expand the venture to 200 cities.
After rebranding Farmiso to Superstore to highlight its continued focus to fulfill consumer demand for daily essentials in Tier 2 markets and beyond, Meesho had in the same month laid off 150 employees, mostly from Farmiso. It had at the time aimed to integrate its grocery business within the core application. Vidit Aatrey, Founder and CEO, Meesho, had issued a statement regarding this at the time.
“What started as a pilot in Karnataka is now seeing positive traction across six states. Driven by our user-first mindset, the integration will provide millions of Meesho users a unified shopping experience, while giving us an opportunity to drive stronger synergies across areas such as customer acquisition, technology and product and talent,” he had said in the statement.
Meesho had earlier laid off 200 employees during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Inc42 report mentioned that this time, Meesho offered a two-month salary as a severance package to the laid off on-role employees. Moreover, the company has also absorbed some of the on-roll employees in its core business, as per the report quoting sources.
As per most of the employees who were fired, low revenue and a high cash burn were the two major reasons behind the company’s move to shy away from the venture and end operations in most of the cities.
“The business was not working right. There was no money coming in, this is why they decided to shut operations in most of the cities,” one of the sources told the media organisation.
“We were burning a lot of money for this business. Meesho started business in six states without proper planning. The supply chain was an issue, so was the logistics,” another source added.
Meesho launched a pilot in Karnataka to make online grocery shopping affordable, and the company aimed to make Superstore available in 12 states by the end of 2022.


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Even as the price of petrol is crossing Rs 100 per litre, auto companies are revving up factories to cater to the huge rush in retail demand.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) may move to a two-shift production system across its four plants from the current single-shift system soon, following a robust pickup in demand in the current month.
The second-largest producer of two-wheelers in India witnessed its retail sales and enquiries growing by more than two times in June, compared to May, forcing it to have a re-look at its production plans. Enquiries for June 2021 have already hit the June 2020 levels, said a senior executive of HMSI.
Talking to Moneycontrol, Y S Guleria, director (sales and marketing), HMSI, said: “Based on the feedback from our operational network and orders we have received, we have started studying moving from a one-shift to two-shift production system. Currently, all our four plants are operating in single shifts but seeing the demand trend from the network, we have started studying how to move to a two-shift operation gradually.”
Guleria did not provide a probable date for starting the second shift as it is under study and will depend on the demand trend in the coming days and also on the supply-chain situation.
He, however, added that there has been a strong surge in retail demand from the western region when Maharashtra went under lockdown, much before other states. This has created a pent-up demand, leading to a strong demand pull.
“We have 80 percent of our outlets open, as of now, on a national basis. There are states in the south like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, and in the east, like Odisha, which are still under some kind of lockdown. Month-on-month retails for June are at 2.6 times those of May. Even the enquiries have grown by 2.6 times, compared to May. The traction is good and the sales momentum is building up,” added Guleria.
Even as the price of petrol is crossing Rs 100 per litre, auto companies are revving up factories to cater to the huge rush in retail demand. On June 18, Hyundai Motor India announced the start of the third and final shift at its plants near Chennai from June 21 in an attempt to bring down the waiting period on some of its models like Creta, which has increased to six months.
COVID-19 has hit rural India more severely in the second wave, compared to the first wave, causing apprehensions for auto makers, especially two-wheeler makers. Bike and scooter makers generate anywhere between 25-50 percent of their volumes from rural and semi-urban markets.
“The impact on the rural market was something which was not there last year. That is why we are closely watching the rural market. At the same time, we also have positives like the new MSP (minimum support price) for Kharif crops, and the monsoon, which is expected to be normal for the third consecutive year,” Guleria added.
The two-wheeler industry is hoping that with the easing of lockdown restrictions by many states, the rural and semi-urban markets would also witness a pent-up demand in the run-up to the festive season due to the postponement of weddings during the April-June quarter to the July-September quarter.


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The U.S. food industry, which relies heavily on trucking to get product to its distributors and end consumers, is in a great position right now to influence the environmental sustainability of the industry by enthusiastically supporting the adoption of strong truck fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards. Substantial financial, as well as environmental, benefits would result.
It is expected that the Obama Administration will announce a new round of these standards in the coming weeks. A comment period will follow the release of the proposal. This is a critical opportunity to underscore the long-term business and environmental gains that result from robust, cost-effective standards. Your voice will count.
We have an urgent need for deploying fuel efficiency technologies. Heavy trucks account for six percent of U.S. global warming emissions, and are the single fastest growing end-use source of emissions—on pace to add nearly 120 million more tons annually over the coming years.
Existing fuel efficiency standards went into effect in 2014 and run through 2018. They will increase the fuel efficiency of tractor-trailers to an average of 7.0 mpg, up from 5.8 mpg in 2010. These standards will reduce the lifecycle cost of new trucks by $42 billion dollars, delivering significant value to manufacturers, trucking companies and freight shippers.
We have the technology today to build on this successful program and deliver more efficiency improvements. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is calling for a second phase of heavy truck efficiency standards that would result in new tractor-trailers achieving 10.7 mpg, reducing fuel consumption by 46 percent compared to 2010 levels.
Such a move would have a positive impact across the spectrum.
A bold standard would drastically reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from heavy trucks and move the U.S. toward a more energy-independent future.
Fuel efficiency is good for the food shipper’s bottom line, too. Fuel has long been the single largest operating cost for trucks, accounting for nearly 40 percent of per-mile cost. A bold miles-per-gallon standard would significantly lower lifecycle costs, and reduce per-mile freight costs by 21 cents a mile. For a large food shipper with 50,000,000 annual truckload miles in distribution, that translates to $11.5 million in annual savings—pure profit—by 2030.
For trucking companies, more fuel-efficient standards would further improve their environmental footprint and increase access to high-quality, affordable equipment. These more fuel-efficient tractor-trailers would reduce exposure to fuel price volatility and appeal to freight customers’ increasing preference for sustainable partners and practices.
Technology is not an obstacle to moving forward. In fact, many of the solutions that could be used to meet strong standards have already been adopted, such as automated manual transmissions. Others, such as waste-heat recovery, are at advanced stages of development.
Leveraging this technology, Super Truck projects from leading manufacturers, including Cummins and Peterbilt, and Daimler Trucks North America, are demonstrating trucks capable of delivering 10.7 mpg and 12.2 mpg, respectfully. Wabash National unveiled a new trailer aerodynamic product that can boost fuel efficiency by 9 percent through this technology alone.
The progress we’ve made has resulted, in part, from standards that challenged the industry to address freight’s growing contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. We know robust fuel efficiency programs can work. Truck sales reached record levels in 2014, bolstered by the more efficient equipment available and the owners’ and operators’ enthusiasm for it.
Setting a bold standard will help companies reduce both their costs and carbon risks, while delivering benefits for communities' air quality and the climate.
How does your company push for a better outcome? Weigh-in for strong standards during the comment period this summer and/or attend a hearing on the proposal. To keep up to date on the status of the proposal, feel free to email me at [email protected].
Meanwhile, of course, there’s always an opportunity to improve the sustainability of your logistics operations—whether it’s rejigging your distribution network to maximize full truckloads, or making the most of backhaul opportunities, or even collaborating with other shippers to see if you can share transportation networks in a way that saves both of you money. Freight operations can become a model for sustainable business, and we urge you to remember that you have the power to influence the future.
Jason Mathers is senior manager of supply chain logistics at Environmental Defense Fund, where he leads the EDF Green Freight initiative. He works with some of the world’s largest companies to improve the bottom line and cut fuel consumption associated with freight movement.


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GottaBeMobile who recently leaked the metal iPhone 5 engineering samples has went ahead and put up images of purported iPad mini moldings.
The mold shows off a new dock connector and is thinner than the current generation iPad. Rumors of an iPad mini coming this fall have been the main subject for the past couple of weeks, as usual we play the waiting game.
The iPad mini is reported to have a screen display of 7.85-inches and feature an IGZO display.
Photos of the iPad Mini engineering sample come from a trusted source inside the Apple supply chain, who also provided exclusive iPhone 5 engineering sample photos, which are more detailed.
The early design sample in the below photos is a plastic mold that may be used to hone the production process and test accessories. This would be the first significant update to the iPad design since Apple introduced it in 2010.


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Volvo teases M3-fighting S60 Polestar ahead of race debut
Remember the hotted-up Volvo S60 that's set to take the fight to the BMW M3 with enhancements from Polestar? The Swedish sport sedan we told you about is apparently not nearly as far off as you might think. According to a report from the TTA racing group, Volvo is set to debut its new steroid-enhanced sedan on June 16 at the Gothenburg City Arena race.
According to Polestar Marketing Director Hans Bååth, "The performance concept road-car is a spinoff of our work evaluating and developing the S60 for racing."
Mum's still the word on exactly what lies under the hood of the new Polestar S60. Rumors have suggested either a Yamaha-sourced V8 (a version of the engine that is used in the XC90) or a boosted version of the turbocharged inline-six currently found in the S60


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Huawei Technologies store for Hong Kong
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies will open its first retail store in Hong Kong by the end of July.
Just a week after unveiling its flagship P20 Series smartphones in Hong Kong, the Shenzhen-based company has revealed its plans for a 2000sqft store in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Huawei has a market share of around 10 per cent in Hong Kong, behind Apple and Samsung, but says it is working hard to achieve 15 per cent by the end of the year.
Its latest products at the new store will have prices starting from HK$4980 (US$635), and include the P20 Pro, which has a three-camera system that takes photos with a far higher resolution than the iPhone, reports EJInsight. Huawei senior executive Richard Yu has described it as “the iPhone killer”.
Huawei aims to boost its public exposure in Hong Kong with its own retail store, rather than relying on third-party channels. Already Apple has five stores in the territory since arriving in 2011, while Samsung has its Galaxy Studio. Beijing-based Xiaomi is set to open its third store in Mong Kok next year.
With its store, Huawei will be able to showcase its technological advancements, such as its 5G development and its Kirin mobile processor. Its P20 Pro and Mate 10 have hardware specifications that surpass those of Apple.
Worldwide, Huawei is growing faster than most of its rivals and is in a neck-and-neck race with Apple, says EJInsight. In fact, at one point last year it surpassed Apple in shipping volumes, but then the iPhone X and iPhone 8 series were released.


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MANILA – Globe Telecom Inc. and Google have formed a partnership to boost the use of smartphones and mobile data in the country.
The partnership between the two companies involves the launch of Android One devices Cherry Mobile Uno and MyPhone One, which both run on the latest Android 5.1 software Lollipop.
A photo of the Cherry One, which runs on the latest version of Android Lollipop
A monthly allocation of 100MB of free mobile data will be made available for six months to Globe subscribers who purchase the latest Android One devices.
Issa Cabreira, senior vice president for consumer mobile marketing at Globe, said the partnership involves the launch of Android One devices such as Cherry Mobile Uno and MyPhone One running on the latest Android 5.1 software Lollipop.
“Over the years, Globe has been purveyor of the digital lifestyle by extending free access to the internet on the back of its partnerships with global brands such as Google, Facebook, and Viber,” said Globe senior vice president for consumer mobile marketing Issa Cabreira.
Globe subscribers will also be given free app downloads of up to 200MB from Google Play Store for six months.
New subscribers, meanwhile, will receive free 100MB to 150MB of mobile data per month for one year as long as purchase prepaid credits of at least P100 per month.
“We are thrilled about the commitment of Globe to reduce costs on app updates and downloads for people with Android One phone--a key step to making extraordinary smartphone technology more accessible and affordable,” Google vice president for product management Caesar Sengupta said.
Over the next two years, Globe looking to spend an estimated $500 million to boost its data network.
For 2015, the telecommunications firm has allocated $850 million for its capital expenditures.


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Artio Medical, a medical device company developing innovative products for the peripheral vascular and neurovascular markets, has closed an additional $8.8 million in Series A financing, bringing the total capital raised to date to more than $20 million. The additional funds will help Artio obtain 510(k) marketing clearance from the FDA to market the Solus Gold embolisation device in the USA.
Nathaniel Hagedorn, founder and CEO of Northpoint Development, comments: “Artio is developing a strong portfolio of disruptive, next-generation peripheral vascular and neurovascular embolisation products, and we were thrilled to help lead the latest round of funding. I have been incredibly fortunate to have so many people help me build my business and am happy to ‘pay it forward’ to a fellow entrepreneur with a clear vision and accomplished team.”
F Nicholas Franano, president and CEO of Artio, says: “We appreciate the strong support from our new and existing investors. Our team is looking forward to making our innovative products available to physicians and patients.”


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Shoppers mob Royston to boost profits as part of Small Business Saturday
- Credit: Archant
An Italian deli was the chosen target of Royston shoppers at a cash mob event on Saturday.
Eager customers flocked to Avellino’s on High Street to spend their five pound notes as part of Small Business Saturday – a nationwide campaign to celebrate independent retailers.
The event attracted more than 25 customers – including East and North Herts MP Sir Oliver Heald – after seven-year-old Blake Matthews from Royston chose the deli from a shortlist of three.
Avellino’s manager Sabino Russo said he was delighted with the boost to his business.
He said: “We’re pleased to have people appreciating good food sourced directly from Italy. The local recognition is nice.”
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The two runners-up were Mia Caro and Knibbs Meat Safe.
Chris Lee, who organised the cash mob for the fourth time, said: “It is good to see an even broader spectrum of new people becoming involved. The venture not only makes more of the local population aware of some of the wonderful independent stores in the town, but also enables feedback on customer’s feelings about the stores.
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“I would personally like to thank all retailers, and cash mob members for making the effort to boost business in Royston town centre.”


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ASUS has introduced a new Chromebox model with speedier internals at Computex 2015
At its Computex press conference today in Taipei, ASUS has announced that it's bumped up the specs of its Chrome OS-powered Chromebox PC. The new ASUS Chromebox CN62 sports fifth-generation Intel processors (up from the fourth-gen chips in the original) as well as faster 802.11ac Wifi technology (up from b/g/n).
The company also claims the new Chromebox model is quieter and more efficient than ever, idling at just 17dB, while drawing just 6W of power.
There's no word on pricing or availability just yet, but we'd expect it to hit stores around the price point of the previous model.


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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the familiar and melodic refrains of nearby Churchill Downs’ call to post – and a stirring rendition of My Old Kentucky Home – echoing through the halls of the spacious Kentucky Expo Center, the curtain came up on Tuesday morning for the 2016 ATA Trade Show.
First held in Louisville in 1997, this year’s 20th anniversary edition of the ATA Show is making a return to the sprawling Kentucky community lying on the banks of the scenic Ohio River.
While the host city is the same as it was two decades ago when the inaugural show attracted more than 6,000 attendees, much else has changed since then. In fact, this year’s version is welcoming more than 600 exhibitors utilizing a record 229,000-square feet of booth space.
For those keeping score at home, that’s the equivalent of four NFL football fields laid goal post to goal post or more space than is found on the 4.5 acre flight deck of the USS Harry S. Truman.
As Truman was fond of saying, the buck stops here, and in the case of the ATA Show, that’s certainly true today.
“I’ve been in this business over 30 years and worked every show there is,” said Jimmy Primos, chief operating officer for Primos Hunting Calls, in a news release. “The ATA Trade Show has become one of the country’s premier, first-class trade shows.
“If you’re going to be a player in this business, the ATA Show is a must attend event.”
While the early years had some rocky times, Scott Schultz, owner and president of Robinson Outdoor Products says that now, the ATA Show is a model for other trade shows to follow.
“Today, the ATA is the hallmark of all trade organizations,” said Shultz in a news release. “The ATA Trade Show is a benchmark that all others envy and aspire to. It’s among the best run, most organized and most profitable of any trade show on the planet.”
Bruce Hudalla, president of Hudalla Associates, agrees.
“The ATA Show has become this industry’s Super Bowl, its World Series,” he said. “Everyone wants to attend. It’s changed the industry.”
“Before the ATA Show, the SHOT Show was the must-attend event,” added Hudalla. “But now our show, the ATA Show, is the industry’s main buying and selling show. It’s where the industry kicks off the new year with its latest products and pricing.”
ATA Show Benefits Archery
According to an ATA news release, over the past decade, the annual show has generated upwards of $13 million dollars in funds that have helped grow the sports of archery and bowhunting.
In fact, an ATA news release indicates that thanks to the annual trade show, some $5 million is in the bank by way of reserves to protect, promote and fund projects for archery and bowhunting.
“By attending the Show, everyone invests in our sports’ futures,” said Jay McAninch, the CEO and president of the Archery Trade Association, in a news release.
“Today, each Show generates net proceeds of about $2.2 to $2.3 million to help grow archery, bowhunting and the industry itself.”
What’s more, McAninch says that money is achieving some great results.
“Between 2012 and 2014, our sports grew from 18.9 million archers/bowhunters to 21.6 million, a nearly 15-percent increase,” he said. “Since we began this effort, the number of Americans shooting bows and arrows has increased by nearly three times.
“Every ATA member should take pride in those numbers,” he added.
Bowtech Launches New Products
While the trend in recent years is for many major bow companies to introduce their new models prior to Christmas, Oregon-based Bowtech continues to use the ATA Show as the launching pad for its new line of bows and crossbows.
That was evident on Tuesday morning as the show opened to a sizable crowd of several hundred show attendees, television show hosts and hunting personalities gathering at the company’s spacious booth to announce nine new products for 2016.
One such model is the company’s flagship model, the BTX compound, a Bowtech bow that comes with a couple of cam options that allow for different draw length possibilities.
With multiple and simple micro-tuning options able to be made by bowhunters, the new Bowtech offering is able to provide reliable shooting and sizzling speeds up to 350 feet per second according to press reports.
“This is the greatest treestand bow that’s ever been made, I think,” said television personality and Bowtech celebrity Jim Burnsworth.
Other bow unveilings at the Bowtech booth included Eva Shockey’s signature Bowtech compound, now available in Mossy Oak Break-Up Country, and the Diamond Prism model in a variety of different colors.
In addition, the parent company unveiled the Matrix Bulldog 400 crossbow made by sister company Excalibur, a model that can propel bolts at speeds of up to 400 fps.
Mathews Reports Brisk Business in Return to ATA Show
With bowmaking giant Mathews making its return to the ATA Show for the first time in nearly a decade, business was brisk as the company’s spacious booths dedicated to the iconic bow brand and its sibling companies.
“It’s great to see Mathews back to the Show, signifying that everyone is here again and the Show is back to being the industry’s only archery and bowhunting trade show,” said ATA CEO and president Jay McAninch.
One reason that the booth was busy – in addition to the company’s return this year – was the appearance of Lee and Tiffany Lakosky, pro-staffers for the company who helped introduce the company’s flagship bow for 2016, the Halon.
“We’re super excited that Mathews (is back) and has a booth this year,” said Tiffany, who along with husband Lee, signed hundreds of autographs and gave away a new Halon bow to a lucky winner on Tuesday.
“We’ve been shooting the new Halon all year and we can’t wait (to see the crowd’s reaction to it) in the Mathews booth.”
Day One Odds and Ends
One of the more popular booth attractions on Tuesday was the 300-inch non-typical whitetail taken this last fall in Ohio by Dan Coffman. The huge buck made appearances in the Browning Trail Cameras and the Banks Outdoors booths.
One of the more entertaining booth events was the dunking booth operated by Easton Archery. Among other bowhunting celebrities, Fred Eichler of Easton’s Bowhunting TV was one of several hunters to take a plunge into the chilly waters of the tank as contestants won raffle drawings including the chance to dunk Eichler.
The Hoyt Archery booth was a busy place as a heavy-weight lineup of bowhunting celebrities paraded through to sign autographs and promote the company’s 2016 flagship bow, the Carbon Defiant. Among others, such Hoyt pro-staffers as Michael Waddell, Nick Mundt, Travis “T-Bone” Turner, Cameron Hanes, Bill Winke, Jordan Shipley, Chuck Adams, Randy Ulmer, Fred Eichler and Ralph and Vicki Cianciarulo greeted fans.
What makes the ATA Show unique?
“I’ve been doing this 29 years, and one thing has stayed the same: the people,” said Pape’s Inc. vice president and marketing director Malcom Snyder about the bowhunting and archery industry. “This Show has truly genuine people. They’ll fight you in the marketplace during the day, but give you the shirt off their back at night and on the weekend. They’re direct competitors, but they’ll still share a drink after the Show closes. They’re all cut from the same cloth.”
By attending the ATA Show year after year, you see how dynamic this industry is,” said Mike Ellig, president of Black Gold, Inc. “Change happens fast. A company can own a market for years, but be gone two years later.”


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RNC Fashion Face-Off: Ann Romney vs. Janna Ryan -- POLL
Judging from the baggy suits he’s worn at this week’s Republican National Convention, Paul Ryan still hasn’t found a good tailor — why put in all those hours sweating to your P90X DVDs only to hide the rippling results under ill-fitting gabardine? — but let’s turn our attention to the first ladies of the Republican party.
Or rather, let’s turn them against each other in our RNC Fashion Face-Off.
On Tuesday night, Ann Romney made an appearance in a $1,990 dress from Oscar de la Renta’s pre-Fall collection. Romney’s red silk taffeta ensemble drew comparisons to Nancy Regan — who loved the color red and often wore de la Renta’s designs — and its four-figure price tag raised a few eyebrows.
Janna Ryan made a more frugal sartorial choice on Wednesday, wearing a $169 emerald sheath from Talbots. Brands like J. Crew have seen items worn by First Lady Michelle Obama sell out in minutes, will Ryan’s affordable dress spark a similar frenzy?
Which political wife’s look did you like best? Let us know in the poll below.


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Conventional wisdom has held that Internet marketplaces do best when they are tightly focused on a specific vertical industry. But challengers to the idea are rising and creating what some call "super horizontals"—alternative marketplaces that reach a broad number of industries over the Internet.
Backers say super horizontals are promising businesses that can deliver immediate benefits from the Internet when vertical marketplaces cannot.
Worldwide e-marketplace spending will increase from $5.2 billion in 2000 to $17 billion in 2005, according to International Data Corp. Super horizontals are best positioned to grab a lion’s share of those dollars, proponents said.
Skeptics say super horizontals have limited promise and that over the long haul the value of highly targeted vertical hubs will show, with more productive, more reactive and ultimately more profitable businesses.
"There will be horizontal marketplaces, but they aren’t going to be significant in the grand scheme," said Pravesh Mehra, consultant with the global b-to-b digital marketplaces practice of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S. L.L.C., Cupertino, Calif. "The real value, long term, will be to deal with niche interactions within a vertical industry."
Mehra noted that many horizontal marketplaces have already failed.
For example, Dell Computer Corp. earlier this year shelved its b-to-b buying hub, and Hewlett-Packard Co. and American Express Co. have shown mixed results with their horizontal platforms, Mehra said. Also, Sun Microsystems Inc. appears to have scrapped plans to build a horizontal portal, he said.
Corporate United Corp. and TradeMC Inc. are two of the latest examples of super horizontals.
Corporate United is designed to be a buying service for Fortune 500 companies; it works with vendors in many vertical industries to create volume price breaks for its clients.
Gregg Mylett, president of Corporate United, Cleveland, has convinced such diverse companies as Sherwin-Williams Co., Parker Hannifin Corp. and Lubrizol Corp. to consolidate their purchases through his company. The suppliers pay Corporate United a bounty for each contract landed. "We’re an e-commerce solution that gets true cost reductions through leverage," Mylett said. "Suppliers are paying us for creating contracts on behalf of our members."
TradeMC, Lewisville, Texas, purchases goods and services on behalf of clients of Fluor Corp., an Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based engineering and construction company. Jim Poage, TradeMC chief marketing officer, said the exchange will handle several hundred million dollars in transactions this year. "We capture value by doing something that is difficult for Fluor to do internally," Poage said. The site works across multiple horizontal industries to cut the cost of purchases for construction projects.
"TradeMC has proven the value proposition. So it is a no-brainer to use this mechanism," said Joel Jelinek, Fluor VP-material management.
A solid chance
In general, the prognosis for horizontals isn’t good, but far-reaching super horizontal marketplaces such as Corporate United and TradeMC have a solid chance, said Shaun Greene, manager of Deloitte Consulting’s e-business unit, San Francisco.
Of 1,758 marketplaces counted by Deloitte in 2000, 538 of them were horizontal. A hundred of those have already shut down, Greene said. The strongest are able to cast a wide swath and rely on key buyer relationships to survive, he said.
"The vertical industry marketplaces are going to continue to take a lot of liquidity from the horizontals," Greene said. "And there are only three keys to a successful b-to-b marketplace: liquidity, liquidity and liquidity. The key for the super horizontals will be on the alliances they form, and how well they work with their buyers and sellers."M


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The Cape Winemakers Guild held its exclusive annual auction in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape.
It recognised industry role-players for putting South African wine-makers on the international stage and celebrated the Guild’s role in 24 protégés from disadvantaged backgrounds taking up careers in the industry.
Now in its 34th year the auction attracts both local and international wine collectors.
It is winemakers like Ettienne le Riche that got the guild off the ground in the 80’s. This will be his last auction.
“It’s been magnificent. I’ve been a founding member since the 80’s and I’ve had wines on auction all those years. Mainly cabernet, always the same wine and throughout it’s been a satisfactory journey.”
Special congratulations and farewell to our three retiring founding members: Kevin Arnold, Jan "Boland" Coetzee and Etienne le Riche!@waterfordestate @Vriesenhof @leRicheWines #CWGAuction @Nedbank pic.twitter.com/Y0touJ9bVW
— CapeWinemakersGuild (@CapeWinemakersG) September 29, 2018
Le Riche’s departure opens up opportunities for young and upcoming winemakers like Sydney Mello from Limpopo.
He’s in his final year of the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé programme.
“The programme is really amazing. It really changes lives. You have to be a hard worker and you have to be determined. It’s not an easy job, sometimes you start at 7 and end at 4 the next day. You need perseverance.”
Efforts have been made to transform the wine-making industry that’s still dominated by white males.
#CWGAuction 2018 in full swing @CWGAuction and @KanonkopEstate with Paul Sauer @timatkin 100 pts already broken all records with R18000/6bottles pic.twitter.com/XzT5IFZz7z
— wine.co.za | SA Wine (@winecoza) September 29, 2018
Boela Gerber, Chairman of the Cape Winemakers Guild says the economy and the land debate are other issues that will impact on the industry.
“There is a lot of conversation in our country around land in our country at the moment. The guild with many visionaries started this all those many years ago for social upliftment mainly through education.”
There are 48 wines on auction this year with a total of 2000 cases.
It is a collective effort to promote South African wines where they are not competing with each other but with countries such as Australia, Chile and New Zealand.


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PULLMAN – Beasley Coliseum will open its doors for dickering, dealing and unbridled bargain hunting on Saturday, April 28 when it hosts the second Palouse Area Garage Sale.
The event will feature 100 seller’s tables overflowing with household goods, electronics, appliances, collectibles, knick-knacks and a variety of other merchandise.
The sale will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and admission is free.
Representatives from Palouse Treasures Thrift Store and St. James Episcopal Church will be on hand to accept donations at the end of the sale. Pullman Disposal is providing an industrial strength dumpster for post-sale detritus.
This year’s Palouse Area Garage Sale is co-sponsored by PalouseAds.com and radio stations Border 104 and KQQQ NewsTalk 1150.


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The winner of this year’s WorldStar Award is O-I’s bottle for cachaça Yaguara. The bottle is manufactured in O-I’s plant at Soacha, Colombia, and was created in a design partnership between renowned UK artist Brian Clarke and the O-I Covet team.
The striking bottle developed by O-I for cachaça Yaguara recently won the WorldStar Award, the most important packaging award in the world, organized by the World Packaging Organization. The ceremony was held during the IPACK-IMA fair in Milan, Italy, awarding 148 winners from 33 countries. Eighty-four of those winners attended the ceremony to receive their awards.
Produced in O-I’s plant at Soacha, Colombia, the Yaguara package was created in a design partnership between renowned UK artist Brian Clarke and the O-I Covet(TM) team. The design of this outstanding bottle was inspired by the iconic Copacabana sidewalks, and supports the high-end positioning of this cachaça brand in the local and global markets.
Since 1970, the World Packaging Organization has given awards to numerous new packages from all around the world. In the WorldStar Awards 2015, 266 entries were received from 38 countries, and Yaguara was one of four Brazilian products that won this important recognition of packaging excellence.
“We have been very pleased with the continuing attention and awards that the Yaguara bottle has gained in many markets,” said Stephanie Johnston, Covet’s general manager. “We think of this beautiful bottle as a business card for Covet. This WorldStar award reinforces our commitment to continue breaking the boundaries to connect with consumers in a powerful way that only glass can do.”
WorldStar awards illustrate the continual advancement of packaging design and technology, and create a living standard of international packaging excellence. “Hearty congratulations to our customer, Carmosina, for this important achievement, and to the team involved in Yaguara’s production,” said Johnston.
Yaguara is currently available in Brazil, North America, and the UK.


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Faced with layoffs, lower wages and a loss of confidence in the economy, cash-strapped consumers are forgoing restaurant trips, grabbing the wok and cooking at home. Restaurant visits slid 1.5 percent in the three months ending in February versus a year ago, according to Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm NPD Group. That followed a 0.8 percent quarterly dip in late 2008, the first such drop since 2003. Consumers may be leaving those pricey restaurant tabs behind, but they don't want to scrimp on enjoyment as they aim to create restaurant-worthy experiences in their own dining rooms.
"This is a great time for natural food grocers," says Shelley Balanko, vice president at the Hartman Group a research and consulting firm in Bellevue, Wash."While people are looking to save money, they don't want to compromise on quality. They're still seeking natural foods, organic foods and anything that creates high quality for them."
So how do you capitalize on this trend? First, emphasize products that offer a double whammy when it comes to value—meaning they are affordable and offer less-tangible but positive attributes. For instance, fair-trade coffees, locally grown produce or humanely produced meats, says Balanko. "Retailers should talk about the product quality—not just that they have the lowest price on milk."
The next step is to make the transition to home cooking as easy as possible for all your customers—whether they are masters of their kitchens or have barely ever turned on their ovens.
Spurred on by a slew of celebrity-chefs, cooking shows and a foodie culture, many consumers are looking to hone their cooking skills through classes and online instruction.
So far this year, New York's Institute of Culinary Education has posted a roughly 10 percent increase in revenues from its nonprofessional cooking programs. "We're seeing a spike in recreational enrollment," says spokeswoman Heidi Noble. But it's not just traditional cooking schools that are benefiting. "We have more questions now about cooking classes and how to cook things," says Liz McCann, education and special projects manager at Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op, which operates two stores in St. Paul, Minn. "We're trying to be the grandma who can help you cook all the basics."
"We found that a lot of people had forgotten how to cook," adds Colein Whicher, director of marketing at Sunflower Farmers Market, which operates two dozen stores in six western states.
To help these customers, Sunflower is hosting in-store meal-planning lessons. A Sunflower store in Murray, Utah, recently brought in a local TV personality to do a live demonstration for broadcast, and offered another demo on how to assemble vegan dishes with mostly local, seasonal produce.
Recipe for success
Providing recipes and menu advice—through mailers, in-store promotions or online newsletters—can also help you become a go-to resource for your home-cooking customers.
Mississippi Market uses its website to inform customers about ways to stretch food dollars. For example, the site tells how to roast a chicken and use the leftovers to make two more meals: stir-fried chicken and vegetables, as well as chicken noodle soup. Vegetarian? The site gives instructions for turning cooked lentils into three different high-protein meals: a salad, a soup and an Indian-style dish with potatoes.
The strategy is paying dividends, McCann says. Mississippi Market's sales are up from last year, and shoppers have been heading to the produce section and the bulk aisle to load up on the raw ingredients for their home-cooked masterpieces. Whether they are buying premade dishes or doing it themselves, "people still need good food, even when times are tight," she says.
Beyond the center of the plate
Finally, take advantage of your assets—your store floor is the stage on which to display high-quality natural and organic products in their best light. Cross merchandising is an easy way to inspire your customers to make their meals successful and to keep them coming back to your store. Set up a simple display of spices and organic rice near the poultry section, or showcase ingredients for an ethnic dish or a tofu meal for vegetarians. The most important message to get out to your customers is that your store is a one-stop source for all their needs.
"You want to make it as easy as possible for the consumer to get everything, bring it home and prepare it," says Scott Testa, marketing professor at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Sunflower has done just that. Its corporate office instructs its stores to display chicken breasts with barbeque sauce and to advise shoppers on matching up meats with dry rubs. Sunflower also suggests selling cluster tomatoes alongside basil, fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinegar—the ingredients for a caprese salad.
Whicher says Sunflower has seen a jump in sales of ingredients that go into main dishes. Among the most popular items: chicken breasts, pasta and pasta sauces. "We're seeing an increase in meat and produce sales as people look for their center-of-the-plate items and build around that."
Writer Roger Fillion of Evergreen, Colo., began cooking at home and making bread long before the economy headed south.


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At this year’s Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference on Tuesday, April 18, Mark Zuckerberg introduced the world’s first mainstream augmented reality platform. The idea behind the platform is to allow people to view and manipulate the world around them using the camera on a smartphone.
Job seekers around the world commonly head to sites such as LinkedIn, Monster.com, Indeed or Glassdoor to search available job listings, but Facebook is usually relegated to catching up with friends or playing games.But no […]
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After Twitter had announced on October 28 that it would be discontinuing the video looping app Vine, which it acquired in 2011, Vine co-founder Russ Yusupov expressed on Twitter his regret in selling the startup. […]
For the past ten years, Facebook users have been sharing photos of their kids, cats, dogs, food they’re about to eat and family vacations. Literally,Hundreds of millions of photos are shared on Facebook each day […]


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The much-delayed sale of General Electric’s (GE) industrial gas engines unit is close to being finalized. Divesting the unit, which makes the Jenbacher and Waukesha gas engines, is important as it will help GE streamline the power unit and stay abreast of its competitors in the global power market. Other strategies include cost-cutting and management change. The power unit is, in fact, GE’s largest by revenue, but has been struggling for a long time now.
Over the past decade, GE shrunk itself dramatically. It was the worst Dow component last year, and earlier this year, it was kicked out of the index, replaced by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA). As it embarks on its turnaround plan, the company is close to finalizing the impending sale of its industrial engine unit to a private-equity firm. Reports according to Wall Street Journal state that GE agreed to sell the unit to Advent International. The deal worth for $3.25 billion would help boost the company’s finances.
GE agreed to sell the unit to Advent International. The deal worth for $3.25 billion would help boost the company’s finances.
CEO John Flannery aims to shed assets worth $20 billion by next year. Last month, it sold its struggling rail unit for $11 billion to railroad manufacturing firm Wabtec. Flannery is under immense pressure from the investors to save the sinking business.
Last year in December, the company had revealed its plans to eliminate 12,000 jobs from its power unit, as a part of a strategy to cut $3.5 billion in costs by the end of 2018. The company had also halved its dividend, inviting the ire of its shareholders. The Boston-based company plans to focus on its three core industrial businesses – Aviation, Power, and Healthcare. GE has also given hints to the investors that it may even breakup into separate public companies.
Information technology solutions provider Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) on Thursday reported lower earnings and revenues for the first quarter of 2024. Earnings, however, exceeded analysts’ forecasts. First-quarter profit, excluding
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) stands out in the retail space for its unique business model that enables the warehouse behemoth to grow store traffic and market share constantly. Currently,
Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) soared over 13% on Thursday after the company delivered better-than-expected earnings results for the first quarter of 2024 and reaffirmed its outlook for


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(Reuters) -Yum China Holdings Inc said on Monday a COVID-19 resurgence in the country in recent weeks had dented sales in the first quarter, setting back the revival its KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell joints had last year.
Same-store sales decreased around 20% from a year earlier for the first two weeks of March and was still trending down in recent days, after falling nearly 4% for the two months combined in January and February, Yum China said.
“Entering March, the situation has rapidly deteriorated with the highly transmissible Omicron variant causing outbreaks across China, including economically important regions of Guangdong, Shanghai, Shandong and Jilin,” the company said.
The restaurant chain recorded a 1% fall in same-store sales last year, an improvement from the 9% decline in 2020. However, tight curbs on travel and dining out due to the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant have hurt sales this year.
The company projected an operating profit for the first quarter to be in a range of $165 million to $200 million, compared with $342 million a year earlier.
China has reported more local symptomatic COVID-19 cases so far this year than it recorded in all of 2021, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant triggers outbreaks from Shanghai to Shenzhen.
Over 1,100 Yum China restaurants were temporarily closed or offering only takeaway and delivery services, as of Sunday. It had more than 12,000 restaurants, as of February end.
Yum China’s shares, which have taken a beating in recent days due to an auditing dispute between Beijing and Washington, fell as much as 10.5% to $33.55, a three-year low.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Krishna Chandra Eluri)


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ALSO READIDFC Bank, Shriram Capital plan mega merger, talks to begin next week IDFC-Shriram merger under regulatory scanner over share price hike Piramal Enterprises' bets on Shriram group pay off Analysts don't see much value in IDFC Bank-Shriram merger IDFC-Shriram merger shows Piramal's entrepreneurial approach: R Thyagarajan
Kinara Capital, which lends to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) without collateral, has raised $14.5 million in Series C funding from multiple investors including existing ones, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Patamar Capital, and new investors Gaja Capital and Gawa Capital. This round has also provided exits to Shriram City Union Finance Ltd and investors of IIX's Impact Partners platform. The fresh round of funding will be deployed to expand the product portfolio in existing and new geographies in India and increase investment in technology to improve efficiency in field operations. Founded and led by CEO, Hardika Shah, Kinara Capital is a Bangalore-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) committed to providing innovative financial solutions to the MSME segment in India. Kinara’s current lending portfolio is $40.23 million across 9,000-plus customers. Today, Kinara Capital provides local services in 50 locations across five states (Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Telangana) and is in the process of expanding to Gujarat in Q3 2017. "At Kinara Capital, we are proud of our efforts to expand financial inclusion to micro and small businesses in India by providing tailored financial products for their growing business needs," Shah said. "This new investment will help us deepen our reach in existing geographies and enhance our technology solutions to improve our efficiency. Our aim is to extend our support to more than 50,000 entrepreneurs across 100 cities in India by the end of 2019," she added. Kinara Capital’s typical customer is often a first-generation entrepreneur with five years of work experience and an average business turnover of Rs 1-20 lakh a month. The company funds a wide range of MSMEs with a focus on manufacturing businesses in sectors such as auto parts, machine components, electrical components, kitchen appliances, food products, packaging products, plastics and more for asset purchase and working capital needs.
More than 90 per cent of Kinara’s portfolio is in urban and semi-urban regions. It provides loans in the range of Rs 1-20 lakh to the MSME sector. Kinara Capital has pioneered lending practices by innovating a financially inclusive solution to provide loans to entrepreneurs of micro-small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) without the need for property collateral. Founder and CEO, Hardika Shah, spent years as a management consultant globally and was motivated to help hardworking entrepreneurs who were systematically ignored by traditional lenders. She has created proprietary data driven risk assessment methodologies and incorporated smart solutions such as paperless loan processing and psychometric testing. Shah was named an Ashoka Fellow for her innovative approaches in addressing the ‘missing middle’ Rs one lakh crore debt gap between microfinance and commercial capital. She also earned the Wall Street Journal’s Financial Inclusion Live Audience Award in 2017.


text: Dreamlines nabs $55 million Series E, brings new investor on boardNews / DistributionBy Martin Cowen | May 8, 2018Share This article was originally published on Dreamlines, a OTA based in Germany specialising in cruise, has secured a $55 million Series E funding round, led by Princeville Global.Princeville Global is making its first investment into Dreamlines. The firm has offices in San Francisco and Hong Kong and its portfolio includes tripping.com, the US-based vacation rentals and short-term lettings metasearch site. Princeville Global led a $35 million investment into tripping.com at the back-end of 2016.Emmanuel DeSousa, managing partner of Princeville Global, will join the Dreamlines board. He said: “The cruise industry is the last sizable, global travel segment to be disrupted by a tech-focused online booking platform...Dreamlines is uniquely positioned to continue transforming the cruise industry to an online model, leading in Europe and expanding around the world.”Share this quote Dreamlines was formed in 2012 and claims to be the European market leader for selling cruises online. It now has 10 points of sale and has relationships with more than 100 cruise operators around the globe.The cash has been earmarked for continued growth and international expansion. Felix Schneider, CEO and founder, said that its "European market leadership is an ideal base for further expansion..."While the round was led by Princeville Global, existing investors including Holtzbrinck Ventures, Target Global, Dimaventures, Hasso Plattner Ventures, TruVenturo and Global Founders.Holtzbrink was one of the first to fund the business. Christian Saller is a general partner at Holtzbrinck and is also the Dreamlines chairman. He noted that Dreamlines has grown "by a factor [of] ten" since the initial investment.Its most recent investment before today's $55 million was a Series D round in 2016 which raised €32 million in two tranches.


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Yellow Wood Partners is buying Paris Presents, a cosmetics and bath brand.
Paris Presents, founded in 1947, makes the brands Real Techniques, EcoTools and Body Benefits by Body Image, which are sold in drugstores, specialty retailers and online. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it is expected to close in September. Industry sources said Paris Presents has significantly more than $200 million in sales.
According to Dana Schmaltz, founder of Yellow Wood, the firm had its eye on Paris Presents since private equity firm EagleTree Capital bought it. “We watched — from afar, unfortunately — at how successful Patrick O’Brien [chief executive officer] and the team have been with the Real Techniques brand, as well as with the Eco Tools brand,” Schmaltz said, adding that Real Techniques has roughly tripled in size over the past four years.
Yellow Wood was interested not just because of the growth, he said, noting Ulta Beauty has been a key driver, but because the business sells “premium products at mass market pricing” and YouTube reviews frequently compare Real Techniques sponges, which cost about $5.99, to Beautyblender sponges, which cost $20.
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“The company has a good track record of developing products that consumers want,” Schmaltz said.
Paris Presents was sold by private equity firm EagleTree Capital, the firm started by the late ceo of investment bank Lazard Freres, Bruce Wasserstein. The firm was formerly called Wasserstein Partners, and invested in Paris Presents in early 2015.
Paris Presents will be part of the same company as Freeman Beauty, which Yellow Wood bought in August 2017. Freeman is best known for its masks, but also makes hair-care, foot-care and bath and body products, also sold in the mass channel.
In addition to distribution similarities, both companies (which will be operated separately, Schmaltz said) have similar customers.
“The customer overlap is strong,” he said. “They’re selling to Millennial, Gen Z and multicultural consumers … that gets us excited from a marketing perspective about being able to work those brands together from a point of sale perspective in the store.”
Yellow Wood, which built PDC Brands through a series of acquisitions before selling it to CVC Capital Partners for $1.4 billion, has a similar strategy for its newer beauty business.
The firm will continue to look for other companies to buy that fit in its consumer, operational and selling strategies, Schmaltz said.


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New additions to the Lacnor portfolio include a new protein milk which comes in a 1 litre Tetra Pak.
Rising health awareness, product differentiation, and convenience of online food platforms are key factors to drive the F&B market in the KSA and UAE
Lebanese dairy products were on full display at this year’s HORECA trade show. Our favorite traditional products were transformed into new culinary delights, all of which would rival any gourmet offering. Here’s what we found
Your go-to source for the latest news, forecasts and industry reports
© 2018 Hospitality News Magazine. All rights reserved. Designed and Developed by Born Interactive


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Indian multinational conglomerate Tata has wrapped off the new teaser through its new sub-brand Tamo. The all-new sub-brand of Tata have revealed about the new sports launch by the company.
As per the reports, Tamo will soon launch its all-new sports car. The company is working on the some of the most crucial themes like a - top-line improvement, cost management, structural improvements, customer centricity, mobility solutions and organizational effectiveness.
Not only this Tamo will also work on electric engines for its new car. The news was broken on the official Twitter account of the company.


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Is Facebook going to start charging? In this article, we will discuss paid Facebook accounts and everything you need to know about paid subscriptions. 😉
Is Facebook going to start charging?
In light of persistent rumors that Facebook will become paid, it’s essential to clarify this issue. 👀 Despite much speculation and alarming articles on the Internet, Facebook’s founders (Zuckerberg) have kept their promise to remain free for its millions of users.
The platform earns money from targeted advertising, and active users can access its services for free. 🤑
However, some advanced features and additional services may be provided for a fee without affecting your free access to the main social network. 👌 In summary, Facebook is free and accessible to everyone for standard use.
Facebook faces RGPD restrictions in Europe
However, due to changes in European legislation (RGPD), you can decide how Facebook uses your personal information for advertising purposes. 📣
You then have the choice between subscribing to use Meta products without ads, or using them for free with ads. So that’s where the rumor of paid Facebook comes from! 😉
- If you subscribe, Facebook business pages will not show you ads and your information will not be used for advertising purposes. 👉 As a result, they will no longer be able to publish ads in or alongside your content.
- If you subscribe to use ad-free products, your ability to post ads and participate in collaborative ads will be limited. 👉 Subscription also affects your ability to earn money from Facebook products.
To find out more, click on the Facebook page help link. 🤓
Since when did Facebook start charging in the EU?
Since November 2023, the popular social media site landscape has been rocked by groundbreaking news. 💥
Facebook has introduced a paid option. 😧 In a bold move, the iconic platform now allows users to choose between an ad-free subscription experience or the traditional free version with ads.
This strategy marks a turning point in the network’s history, and responds to the growing demand for more personalized, uninterrupted browsing. 🥐
This memorable change reinvents the way we interact online, placing personalization and user control at the center of digital conversations. 🗣
How much does a paid subscription cost? Does it cost money to use Facebook?
No, it doesn’t cost anything to continue using Facebook in the USA! 🤲
However, in an unprecedented strategic shift, 🧨 Facebook has launched paid subscriptions, promising a new, ad-free customer experience for European users willing to pay for security.
But, how much do you have to pay for uninterrupted browsing? 🤔
- For just €9.99 a month, computer users can enjoy ad-free Facebook, with smooth browsing and enhanced privacy settings. 👉 Add €6 per month for each additional account in the same “Account Center”.
- If you subscribe in-app via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, Facebook charges €12.99 per month for one Facebook account. 👉 Then €8 per month for each additional account in the same “Account Center”.
This new social media subscription model represents a revolutionary step for the social media giant, addressing criticisms of Facebook advertising saturation and personal data handling. 🌐
A small price that makes a big difference! 😏
What is Facebook paid subscription?
Here’s how subscription works: ⏬
- Once subscribed, Meta products will not be advertised when using Facebook accounts in the same “Account Center”.
- Users can choose to use Meta products free of charge with ads, or add them to each account or center.
- Your information will not be used for advertising purposes during the subscription period.
- Access to certain advertising configuration options will be lost.
- Users will continue to see posts and messages from the company and creators, but will not see their ads.
- Users will still have access to the usual functionalities such as News Feed, etc.
- Monthly subscription payments are made unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the next payment date.
- Limitations on advertising and monetization with ads.
- Users will stop seeing ads within 24 hours or after resetting the mobile app.
Find out more here! ⚡
How do I subscribe to Facebook?
Here are the steps to take out a paid subscription from Facebook.com: 👇
Here’s how to do it from your Facebook smartphone application: 👇
Finally, here’s how to subscribe from a tablet: 👇
Read the Facebook FAQ for more information! 🛎
How to cancel a paid subscription on Facebook?
Here’s how to cancel your paid Facebook subscription: ⏬
- If you wish to cancel your subscription, you must do so with the same type of device you used to sign up (for example, sign up with an iPhone device, then cancel with an Android device). You will need to revert to the original device type in order to do so, in accordance with Apple and Google policies. 📱
- If you no longer have the same device you used to subscribe, please contact Apple or Google technical support. 🥸
- If you already have a subscribed account on another “Account Center” to use ad-free products, you will receive a notification to cancel your previous subscription so you don’t get charged twice. 🙏
💡 FYI, subscription payments are made on a monthly basis, unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the next payment date. ⌚
Conclusion: Is Facebook going to start to charge?
The short answer is no, not really… 😊 Facebook is not going to start charging its millions of users!
Moreover, Facebook users in Europe now have a choice: continue to receive targeted ads or remove them from their apps for a subscription fee of €9.99 to €12.99 per month. 💲
With this new feature, you can say goodbye to annoying ads! 😴
This social network offers an interesting alternative for those who prefer a personalized user experience. 👉 This bold move by Facebook highlights a major shift in the way we interact with online content.
This underlines not only the importance of personalizing the user experience, but also the desire to address growing concerns about privacy and advertising saturation. 🙈
Choosing this ad-free option gives users ultimate control over their News Feed, and is a step towards more conscious, personalized browsing. 🌍
At a time when discretion is becoming a luxury, Facebook provides access to a digital space where tranquility and personalization come first. 🥇
Improve your social media strategy by following these examples of successful content.
It’s my gift to you! 🎁
Article FAQ: Facebook Paid Subscription
Why did Facebook start charging people in the EU?
Facebook has switched to a paid subscription model in response to growing criticism of personal data management and advertising saturation. 😬
By introducing an ad-free subscription in Europe, Facebook is offering users a premium alternative for browsing distraction-free in a more personalized space. 🥰
This change reflects a major shift in the social networking sites ecosystem, which places the quality of the user experience at the heart of its priorities. 🏆
Is Facebook paid or free?
Hmm, the answer is complicated… 🤔 Traditionally, access to Facebook is free and funded through targeted advertising.
However, in response to the growing demand for more privacy and an ad-free experience, Facebook has introduced a paid subscription option. 💪
This hybrid business model provides the best of both worlds: free for those who like ads, and paid for those who don’t. 🙌 It’s optional!
Does Facebook charge professional accounts?
Facebook is free for everyone, including professionals. 😇 However, professional accounts have the option of choosing paid advertising features to promote their products and services to their target audience. 🎯
These paid ads help professionals reach more people and increase their reputation on the social media platform. 🤩
In short, using a Facebook profile remains free. 👏 But there are paid options for professionals who want to increase their organic reach and influence on social networks.
There you go! Now you know if Facebook is going to start charging. 😜


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She recently joined Canopy Growth, one of the largest cannabis producers in the world, as an adviser. She brings her “years of experience in the subject of living,” as the 77-year-old Martha Stewart explained. The first collaboration will be a line of CBD products intended for pets.
“Having personalities like Martha Stewart attach their names to CBD products should send a strong signal to investors that this is becoming mainstream much faster than they may have thought,” a Syracuse University Professor of Entrepreneurial Practice told Forbes.
It’s not the first time the behemoth Canopy Growth has collaborated with more mainstream household names.
Last year, they received a $4 billion dollar investment from Constellation Brands, the maker of Corona beers. Thanks to some well-funded research and development, the company intends to produce cannabinoid beverages. These could appeal to a new demographic — perhaps one disinclined to smoke or vape. And now, maybe Martha Stewart will help Canopy reach another yet another customer base — one that doesn’t drink Coronas, either.
Seniors are already one of the fastest-growing groups of cannabis consumers. Cannabinoids, like CBD, have shown promise for treating and preventing several of the common conditions associated with aging. For example, research suggests CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties may help with arthritis.
But if you want to try Martha Stewart’s new line of CBD products, you may have to wait. She plans to start with a line of CBD supplements intended for pets, not humans. (But if you just can’t wait to try them yourself, we’re not judging.)
Martha Stewart may be able to connect with pet owners who haven’t previously considered CBD treats for their animals. Stewart owns famously luxurious pets, who frequently make guest appearances on her Instagram. Her blog includes tips for pet owners, including headlines like “Your Dog Knows When Someone is Being Rude, According to New Study.”
Martha Stewart first met cannabis icon Snoop Dogg when he appeared on her show. The two struck up an unlikely friendship. Snoop made headlines when he claimed he’d gotten Stewart high, but he was just talking about the possibility of a contact high from second-hand smoke. “She don’t partake,” he later clarified.
While she may not smoke pot herself, Stewart feels “liberal” about the issue, she recently told reporters. She was especially disturbed when she discovered how many people were locked up for low-level drug offenses. She learned about this problem first-hand, while serving a five-month prison sentence after being convicted of insider trading.
Prison was an eye-opener for Stewart, who is known for enjoying the finer things in life (like sleeping on freshly-changed linens every single night). She was alarmed by the indignity, the treatment by the guards, and the number of people serving time for non-violent crimes. When the former felon met Snoop Dogg, a friendship blossomed. Today, the two even co-star in a cooking show together.
The collaboration will eventually include CBD treats for humans, too. But for now, Stewart’s products will help fabulous pets live their best lives. No word yet on whether Stewart’s own pets (which include Chow Chows, French bulldogs, Persian cats, a Fell pony, and Friesian horses) are fans of CBD.
Still, it doesn’t take an insider trading tip to know that Canopy Growth, one of the largest publicly-traded cannabis corporations, is onto something.
For more top stories, subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter, the top source for all cannabis-related news and information!
The post Lifestyle Guru Martha Stewart joins Canadian Cannabis producer Canopy Growth appeared first on Cannadelics.
Nov. 8, Missouri residents will have the opportunity to vote on legalization of adult-use cannabis. Missouri passed a constitutional amendment for medical cannabis in 2018 and advocates are looking to build on the momentum in the state. Amendment 3, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative, is on the ballot in Missouri as an initiated constitutional amendment. If […]
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They’re not there yet, and they might not get there, but this coming November, at least three states, (and possibly six), are putting it up to voters in yet more cannabis ballot measures for recreational legalizations. Will we get up to 25 legal states by the end of elections? 2022 elections are going to be […]
The post 2022 Cannabis Ballot Measures: Up to Six States Voting for Recreational appeared first on Cannadelics.


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EU Court of Justice’s ruling may entail effects for Elanders
Press release from Elanders AB (publ) 2010-12-16
As a result of the EU Court of Justice’s ruling in February this year in the so-called Graphic Procédé case, the Swedish Tax Agency issued a statement of position in July this year on the Swedish implications thereof. This is significant for the delineation between the provision of goods (i.e. printed matter) and services by printing companies. In Sweden, this delineation is of particular significance in relation to the applicability of the reduced VAT rate of six per cent for certain printed matter (so-called book VAT).
After reviewing the ruling Elanders has started an analysis of the implications for Elanders. The ruling concerns a minor part of Elanders operations and we will revert with further information in light of the conclusions drawn from this review. The conclusion may be that Elanders is entitled to repayment of certain VAT paid in the past (during the years 2004-2007), which may have an effect on Elanders’ future results, although not this year.
This brief and preliminary information has been released at this stage, notwithstanding that Elanders has not yet finalized its own analysis of the situation, due to the movements in the share price for the Elanders share over the last few days.
Elanders AB (publ)
Elanders is required under the Securities Market Act to make the information in this press release public. The information was submitted for publication on 16 December 2010 at 8:50 am.