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July 20, 2015
June 19, 2015
Designer Todd Snyder is creating Target products just for Boston, reports Christina Binkley in The Wall Street Journal (7/16/15). The idea, for Target, is to make the retailer “feel more like a neighborhood store.” It also taps into “the same movement that has urban consumers gobbling up farm-to-table cuisine and patronizing neighborhood boutiques.” In Boston’s case this means $14.99 T-Shirts honoring Marshmallow Fluff and the local favorite known as as the Fluffernutter sandwich, which Todd learned about while out and about, chatting up the locals.
“People were like, you gotta have Fluff,” says Todd, who “went to bars and chatted with taxi drivers, asking them what local products and traditions they cared about.” Target CEO Brian Cornell says he hopes the products will make locals “feel Target understands Boston.” Or at least that they understand the accent: Target will also sell T-Shirts that say ‘Wicked Smaht’ and its associates will wear shirts reading ‘Tahget.’ Products will “initially be sold only in Boston” but plans are to sell them online eventually, too.
Now that he’s done Boston, Todd has arrived in Chicago, where he “discovered Old Style beer, popular among Cubs fans.” He also plans to work football coach Mike Ditka “into Chicago’s Local Pride collection.” After that, he will continue on to “San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other cities.” “To be able to think small and relate to the customer is so important now,” says Todd. “People want to be able to tweet and get a response from a company.” As part of its “localization” project, Target is also “launching smaller stores known as ‘Target Express‘” in hopes of attracting “trendy consumers.”
June 15, 2015
Going shopping before or after store hours — digital-free — is going mainstream, reports Ray A. Smith in The Wall Street Journal (6/18/15). The opportunity to go shopping when the store’s doors are locked “has long been around in high-end stores, but it used to be just for customers in the know. Now, it is spreading to more mass brands, and some stores are being more public about their private shopping hours.” J. Crew, for instance, “has offered private shopping hours for years,” but only relatively recently has begun marketing the service to the general public — you don’t have to be anyone more special than one of its customers.
In many cases, the shopper has an emergency, like needing new clothes for a next-day business trip not being able to get to the store during regular hours. Others simply like the solitude: “Having the store to yourself often means a more peaceful, quieter, less frustrating experience. No crowds, no lines, and no awkward interactions with aloof, harried or unhelpful sales associates.” “Many of our clients enjoy the personal attention and relationships they have with our style advisers and love coming in for a cocktail,” says Sand Ceppos of the Mitchells Family of Stores.
Mitchells — a high-end retailer — actually includes “personal phone numbers for a key executive at the store in case of a fashion emergency. The executive is typically a Mitchell family member or store manager who has keys to the store.” The practice certainly helps build a strong bond of loyalty. It does tend to put pressure on the shopper to buy, of course — although that’s exactly the point. “It’s all about the efficiency, not dillydallying,” says Celine Kaplan of The Webster in Miami and Le Bon Marche in Paris. “You know these clients, you know it’s going to be worth it for you.”
May 19, 2015
George Zimmer wants “to transform millions of ill-fitting garments into like-new items,” reports David Gelles in The New York Times (6/1/15). “It’s Uber for tailors,” says George, the recently ousted founder of Men’s Wearhouse. His new venture, zTailors, is an “app and website that allow customers to schedule a tailor to come to their homes or offices, where they will measure and refit suits, shirts, jackets and dresses for a set price. The altered items are then returned in a few days.” By years’ end, George expects “to be operating in all 50 states … with more than 1,000 tailors.”
“In the closets of Americans, there is billions of dollars’ worth of apparel that has accumulated over the years,” says George. “It doesn’t all appear on the good side of the closet. It doesn’t all fit. That’s either because it has shrunk, or you have grown.” Or you have lost weight — like Nathaniel Burns, who lost 30 pounds. “I had $1,000 suits that I no longer could wear,” says Nathaniel. A zTailor seamstress came to his home, measured him, “and returned the suits a few weeks later,” both downsized and modernized, “for $450.” Nathaniel now plans to use zTailor “to refit several of his sports coats and some of his wife’s outfits.”
Prices are as low as “$20 to taper a shirt and $16 to hem a pair of pants,” but George predicts that once a tailor establishes a customer relationship, the money will follow. He believes zTailor can be a boon to tailors, whom he says average about $38,000 a year. “Tailors deserve this opportunity to take advantage of smartphones, to double their incomes and to enjoy the fruits of their labors,” he says, predicting that zTailor could help them double their income. zTailor does take a hefty 35 percent cut of all jobs, but George thinks it will be worth it to tailors. “As long as you’re a go-getter and you like working, the sky’s the limit,” he says.
May 12, 2015
Old Navy is on a tear thanks to its new approach to selling clothes, reports Hiroko Tabuchi in The New York Times (5/18/15). Old Navy’s old approach — selling “clothes by the pound” — emphasized low prices with little to no regard for “the aspirations of low-income shoppers.” The basic idea was “to combine the style and quality of Gap clothing with the low prices and big selection of a Home Depot.” Its styles were adapted, “often clumsily,” from items its merchants would pick up from “higher-end retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue.”
“We were taking a product that was in the marketplace and we were bringing it to market maybe a year later,” says Jill Stanton, formerly of Nike and now Old Navy’s design chief. This has been replaced with a strategy Jill calls “fabric platforming” that allows “designers to quickly test various prints, shapes and sizes in small runs in stores before increasing the production of styles that were a hit with shoppers.” A new design team includes recruits from places like “Coach, Reebok and North Face” who obsess “over every detail.”
Old Navy also recruited Ivan Wicksteed, a former Coca-Cola creative chief, whose first order of business was cultural. “You have to start with the employees,” says Ivan. “If you can’t get your own people to want to get on board and change direction, then you’ll never persuade your own customers to do it.” One of Ivan’s first moves was to infuse its headquarters with “pop photography and upbeat music.” Last year, “Old Navy took in almost $6 billion in sales” — nearly as much as its sister chains — Gap and Banana Republic — combined.
March 30, 2015
A homely style of sandals is enjoying a run as haute couture accessory, reports Ellen Emmerentze Jervell in The Wall Street Journal (5/11/15). Birkenstocks — “clunky, orthopedically formed slabs with a rubber-cork-mix sole” have long been “a countercultural standard with hippies and tree-huggers,” and considered “the antithesis of fashion.” This image took an unlikely turn two summers ago, when Glamour “named Birkenstocks the shoe of the summer.” Vogue later endorsed the look “with a fresh pedicure and a ladylike dress.”
This came as a surprise to Oliver Reichert, chief executive of Birkenstock, a “240-year-old” German footwear manufacturer. “Fashion trends tend to roll over us,” says Oliver. The marketing budget for Birkenstock sandals is “close to nothing,” he says. “We are like dinosaurs in this business — we still think that a good product is all you need.” Yes, that plus some help at Paris Fashion Week in September 2012, “when Celine designer Phoebe Philo” paired “sleek clothing with bulky fur-lined sandals,” dubbed “Furkenstocks.”
Other designers followed with their own version of Birkenstocks — at prices as much as ten times that of the originals, which cost “about $100 a pair.” The Birkenstock boomlet is not expected to last past this summer, although some say they are permanently smitten by the sandal’s comforts and may never go back to “walking on a trail of cold metal.” Oliver is unconcerned: “When you have 240 years under your belt, you’ve seen many others come and go,” he says. “And when they’re all gone … Well, we’re still here.”
March 20, 2015
Some shoppers have had enough of being referred to as “plus-size,” reports Ben Zimmer in The Wall Street Journal (3/28/15). The backlash is such that there’s even a hashtag — #droptheplus — to help put an end to the term, which dates back to 1922. Before then, the fashion industry referred to those whose proportions were something more than model-thin as “stout,” which clearly didn’t offer much in the way of sensitivity, much less marketing genius.
Lane Bryant, the retail chain, apparently was the first to change this when it “began advertising ‘Misses Plus Sizes’.” Other retailers soon followed their lead, usually being careful to use the term to refer “only to clothes rather than the person wearing them.” It wasn’t until the late 1970s that “plus-size” was shortened simply to “plus.” This was “popularized by Plus Models Management Ltd,” which was “the first agency dedicated to plus-size models.”
Ajay Rochester, formerly of The Biggest Loser, is currently leading the charge “with Instagram posts encouraging people to stop using plus-size.” “Seriously, this is so ridiculous and harmful!” she wrote. “This is not empowering.” Meanwhile, Robert Casey of Maggie, Inc., a modeling agency, says he’s already on board with new and improved terminology, telling Fox News recently that the new “plus size” is called … curvy.
March 20, 2015
You must be at least 21 years old to shop at The Leather Man, reports William Van Meter in The New York Times (3/19/15). Founded 50 years ago in New York’s West Village, the store “is renowned for its tailored-to-fit pants,” but its history also “traces the evolution of modern gay culture, from substrata of society to mainstream.” Its now-retired founder, Chuck Mueller, 78, says he started making leather goods because he couldn’t buy what he wanted. “I’d tear existing garments apart and make a pattern and translate it to leather,” he says.
At the time Chuck was working in market research in the steel industry, but his fashions caught attention at local bars and before long he was “fitting clients at his Upper West Side apartment.” In 1965, he moved to a store on Christopher Street, which was dark and quiet then. Chuck says “the leather scene” is different now: “People are perfectly willing to be seen wearing leather jeans and a white shirt and tie,” and leather has gained “wider acceptance … as an interesting item of clothing. You could wear leather for no reason.”
The store’s current manager, Max Gregory, attributes The Leather Man’s long run to certain timeless principles, like quality products and a high level of customer service. “During the last decade, with the rise of online stores, the market has been flooded with cheap … stuff. The quality of the leather and customer service … people come here and get exactly what they want.” AJ Afano, a designer and salesman at the shop, observes that enduring design is also key: “We have that old-school leather look,” he says.
February 10, 2015
A “quality-denim bandwagon” is gaining momentum in the fashion world, reports Kevin Sintumuang in The Wall Street Journal (3/14/15). “I think there’s always been a passion for denim, but now it’s become much more of a mainstream thing,” says Amy Leverton, author of Denim Dudes, which “celebrates the style of jean-world luminaries.” Given the rising interest, “a fundamental base of knowledge about jeans can enrich your wearing experience,” and Amy advises that turning the garment inside out is the key to ascertaining its quality.
Then there’s the age-old question of how best to break in a new pair of jeans. Brian Kim of denim-designer THVM says one of the best break-ins he’s seen was by a construction-worker friend, who wore a simple pair of dark jeans every day for three months. “Those jeans were incredible, with dabs of caulking and the unique abrasion.” If that’s too rough and tumble, Donwan Harrell of PRPS recommends using your jeans to dry your hands. “This creates a strong 3-D effect along your jeans’ natural horizontal creases,” he says.
As to the issue of whether to wash your jeans, Bart Sights of Levi’s says that purists never do so: “Frequent wear actually brushes away the pickup dirt and begins to create a calendared layer on the surface that acts as resistance.” If you must wash, so do inside-out, cold water, and hang dry. Finally, Donwan Harrell says that “no jeans are beyond repair,” and recommends services such as Denim Therapy. “Men should embrace the patch-and-repair look,” says Amy Leverton, noting that every stitch “has a story.”
February 6, 2015
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson’s new venture will likely compete with his old one, reports Amy Wallace in The New York Times (2/2/15). Called Kit and Ace, Chip’s latest retail concept centers on "$80 T-shirts and other apparel" cut from a "technical cashmere" fabric developed by his wife, Shannon, "who was a founding designer at Lululemon." The idea is "casual wear with a luxurious feel." Chip had tried to win Lululemon’s interest in the concept but its board declined and so now Chip is himself bankrolling more than 100 stores by 2019.
As with Lululemon, Kit and Ace is designed with very specific consumer profiles in mind. Kit is "a 29-year-old single woman," who, as Shannon explains "is looking to buy her first apartment, but is still renting. She works in the creative area, like in graphic design or fashion, and loves to bike on weekends." Ace is "a 31-year-old similarly groovy guy, who drinks strong coffee," and, says Shannon, "likes to go to breweries and hangs out with his friends. He does CrossFit once a week and spins three times a week, loves brunch on the weekends."
Kit and Ace will be sold only at its own stores, and Chip, who has now resigned from the Lululemon board, says it "is the next Lululemon, so to speak." He says the two companies will compete as "all clothing is moving into technical athleta-leisure or business athleticism." Chip ascribes the Lululemon success to one insight: that its black stretch-pants made a woman’s "backside look good." Needless to say, he embraces controversy. "If you are doing a brand well, you need to offend somebody," he says, "or you’re not standing for anything."
January 29, 2015
An Australian designer has created a jacket that helps people navigate, reports Jim Dwyer in The New York Times (2/4/15). The Navigate Jacket, as Billie Whitehouse calls it, "provides haptic feedback — basically, an electronic device in the garment that gives a light tap on one shoulder or the other to steer a person, not unlike a phone vibrating to announce a call." Billie got the idea after watching New Yorkers "step blindly off sidewalks" with their eyes glued to the navigation apps on their cellphones.
The Navigate Jacket was featured in a show called Cloud Couture at Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn Fashion and Design Accelerator. Some of the apparel says more about form than function, such as "dresses with cascades of petals … made possible by laser-cutting machines." "It’s very couture, but very easy to manufacture," says Debera Johnson, the Accelerator’s executive director. "You get a tremendous amount of style for a much lower price." The real play, however, seems to be the "new layer of monitoring and tracking" technology enables.
For example, a "Hexoskin smart shirt … monitors breathing, heart rate and other vital signs … Every article of clothing has the potential to be a membrane that harvests data signals from our bodies — pulse, breathing, temperature, blood pressure, pheromones — and send them to … the cloud." Debera thinks "big brands" would "love to" use such technology "to track where you are in time and space, and understand who you’re talking with and what they’re wearing." She suggests that in exchange for such "intrusion … the customer might get a $10 discount."
January 22, 2015
Minnesota cold just might be the new cool, reports Christina Binkley in The Wall Street Journal (1/23/15). "Innovation comes of adversity," says Tom Fisher of the University of Minnesota, noting Minnesotan products born of the state’s "harsh climate and hard-core work ethic." "Winter and cold climate is actually a huge economic advantage," he adds, suggesting that this is because hard winters force people to stay indoors and think. The sentiment is fueling a drive to reposition Minnesota, and parts of other states, as the American North.
Traditionally, Minnesota is thought of as part of the Midwest, but that’s unsatisfactory to Eric Dayton and his brother Andrew. "The Midwest tends to be what’s left over after all the other regions are identified," says Eric, whose father happens to be the state’s governor, and whose ancestors include George Draper Dayton, founder of Dayton Dry Goods Co., which eventually morphed into discount giant Target Corp." Eric and Andrew are following in those footsteps with a store of their own, Askov Finlayson, which sells a variety of "utility-chic" goods.
Not all items are local, but those that are include Red Wing boots, originally made for hunters and factory workers, and Duluth Packs, a line of rugged backpacks. Also selling well are Domer Bags, made from the ruins of the collapsed Minneapolis Metrodome. Some of these items are turning up in stores outside Minnesota. Telegraphing the message are wool caps "boldly knitted with the word North," which the brothers Dayton cannot keep in stock. Beyond that, there is no organized marketing campaign. Says Eric: "It’s important that it bubble up."
January 20, 2015
Ron Johnson wasn’t the only JCPenney CEO who lost customers by misunderstanding them, reports Suzanne Kapner in The Wall Street Journal (1/20/15). Former and current JCPenney CEO Mike Ullman admits he made a mistake by pulling the retailer’s print catalog. That was in 2010, and at the time Mike thought "catalog shoppers would migrate online." He was wrong. "We lost a lot of customers," says Mike. It turned out that shoppers "still like browsing through the decidedly low-tech artifacts of page and ink."
This despite research via retail consultancy Kurt Salmon that says about "44 percent of consumers" would like to be mailed fewer catalogs. However, Salmon’s research also finds that "31 percent of shoppers have a catalog with them when they make a purchase." So, Penney will mail a "120-page book" featuring items from its "home department … to select customers in March." Home goods "have historically been among the top-selling items in Penney’s catalogs." "We are trying to get back those lapsed customers," says Mike.
Restoration Hardware is also embracing catalogs — mailing 13 of them, a total of 3,330 pages — to customers, which created some backlash. Bonobos, founded as an online menswear retailer, sees beauty in pages as well. "We found that the catalog allowed us to tell a fuller narrative about the brand and our products in a way that we were struggling to online," says Bonobos marketing chief Craig Elbert. He also says "catalog customers tend to spend more" and that catalog customers who shop in their bricks stores are their "best customers overall."
December 15, 2014
A group of investors hopes to do for nail salons what Starbucks did for coffee shops, reports Sarah Max in The New York Times (1/15/15). John Hamel and his partners at Cue Ball were seeking "a highly fragmented industry" where there was an opportunity to "use a combination of smart design, systems and company culture to create a following." John had to look no further than "the strip malls near his home north of Boston" where he found oodles of nail salons. The supply suggested demand, and a closer look revealed a big opening.
At most nail salons, it’s all "fluorescent lighting, smelly acrylics and questionable hygiene." Scheduling appointments is another weak spot. "Borrowing practices from the medical and dental industries, MiniLuxe uses single-use tools … ultrasonic debris removers and hospital-grade autoclave sterilizers." It also introduced "its own line of toxin-free polish." To reduce wait-times, it hired "a data scientist to predict which factors drove demand" and "24/7 online booking." A soon-to-be introduced app will "buzz users’ phones" when "it’s their turn. "
Most important, MiniLuxe provides employees with "health insurance, paid time off, profit sharing and a company 401K." "You can’t create affinity for consumers if you do not create affinity for employees," says Mats Lederhausen, another Cue Ball partner. To pick locations, John looked for clusters of nail salons near Starbucks shops. Like Starbucks, MiniLuxe also devised "its own language, their own product lines," says Joseph Michelli, a customer experience consultant. Now with eight Boston locations, MiniLuxe plans to expand nationally.
December 11, 2014
Black-leather harnesses and collars are making their way into fashion’s mainstream, reports William Van Meter in The New York Times (12/12/14). Leading the trend is Zana Bayne, a 26-year-old former art student who also worked in "high-fashion retail and became a night-life fixture," where she "discovered her passion for leather." "There is something about the material that says something about the wearer," says Zana, adding that, like abstract artwork, it’s all about perception. Some simply see a nice belt while others see something else again.
"It brings something out not just in the wearer but in those around her," says Zana. Either way, Zana’s black-leather goods have made their way into "the holiday Pop-in@Nordstrom shop," along with the "snowflake sweaters and penguin beanies." Nordstrom creative director Olivia Kim seems to see mostly normality in the concept. "I wear mine with a boring white oxford shirt, but they also look great over dresses," says Olivia. "It’s the perfect example of what an accessory does: accentuates clothing."
Zana agrees that her belts and harnesses are essentially "layering pieces." She says that "the physical aspect of having something cinch you in makes you hold yourself higher, and adds: "Wearing a collar can make you feel like the most powerful warrior in the world … I’ve never aimed to shock," she says. "My design comes from a naive place, and I think, ‘Of course someone will wear this,’ and then it comes out … I don’t want to say harder, but maybe not as innocent."
December 1, 2014
LL Bean’s homely duck boots have become "a totem of agrarian-chic trendiness" reports Claire Suddath in Bloomberg Businessweek (12/10/14). The style is 102 years old, and Bean traditionally has sold about 100,000 pair a year, primarily to "loggers and farmers," according to LL Bean spokesman Mac McKeever. However, sales of the "leather and rubber" boots "have quadrupled over the past three years and are on track to hit more than 450,000 in 2014." They are currently "on backorder until at least February."
It’s a trend Bean has seen building for the past two years, "specifically in urban areas filled with college students, who were embracing understated, even bland styles that highlighted their authentic ordinariness," sometimes known as Normcore. "I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they’re still handmade. People really value that stuff right now," says Mac. This homespun appeal is exactly what makes it so hard for Bean to keep pace with demand, as duck books are made on "old fashioned stitching machines … still run by hand."
The duck-boot boom recalls the Hush Puppies phenomenon of the 1990s, as documented by Malcolm Gladwell in a New Yorker article called The Coolhunt. At the time, those buying the shoes associated them with their grandparents and the buying spree began in SoHo thrift shops. Birkenstocks, the hippie sandals, made a comeback this year, as well. How long the duck boots bender will last is anybody’s guess, but Mac McKeever says Bean is already noticing the next big thing — "a spike in sales of wool coats."
November 17, 2014
The next omnichannel experience is that between bricks and trucks, suggests a New York Times article by Tamara Best ( 11/27/14). While some bricks retailers are unhappy with the rise of retailers selling goods from trucks, Mike Gatt of the National Retail Federation says such concerns may be misplaced. "For example, a customer might buy something in a truck and then walk into a brick-and-mortar location and find something that complements the purchase. I wouldn’t be surprised if the big brands start doing it themselves," he says.
Mike adds that "it’s a great way to bring what you’ve got in your store to a new neighborhood to test it in a new market." Abby Franklin, owner of the Trunk boutique, a Nashville-based mobile boutique says that there is tension not only with bricks retailers, but also sometimes even with shoppers. "The hardest part was educating the community that it was a local small business, not someone from out of town." Abby also has a brick store, but in a twist she considers it to be her secondary location.
She says that her mobile store required higher start-up costs, but the monthly overhead of the bricks store was more expensive. Together, she says having the two stores "is like the best of both worlds. When the truck can’t go out, we still have a way to sell stuff." Sarah Ellison of Bootleg Airstream is meanwhile bridging the gap during the holiday season with a pop-up shop near where she usually parks her Austin-based mobile shoe store. "The future of mobile retail is going to be very diverse," she says.
November 6, 2014
A new "generation of web services" is bringing e-commerce finesse to mom-and-pop stores, reports Jenna Wortham in The New York Times (11/16/14). These services, with names like Shopify, Storenvy and Big Cartel are capitalizing on the "small, do-it-yourself businesses that have flourished online as social media platforms have exploded in popularity. While web shoppers may rely on behemoths like Amazon or FreshDirect for household staples and groceries," they might also prefer to buy specialty items from "someone who made it."
While "online marketplaces like eBay and Etsy have helped entrepreneurial, work-from-home types sell their goods online for years," these new services help "create the appearance of independent, professional, polished retail establishments, even if they are sometimes just a single person operating a web shop out of a bedroom." Services typically start at "around $10 a month," and sometimes also collect a percentage of sales. The retailers simply pick a name and design, upload images of their wares and are ready for business.
Jordan Roschwalb uses Shopify to launch his online store, Pintrill. "I wanted to be taken seriously as a brand from the beginning," he says. "And if we want to be in Barneys one day, it’s not going to happen because we’re on Instagram or Etsy." Others have found that while these ready-made storefronts can provide a great launching pad, they have limits as the business grows, and can’t necessarily handle relatively large sales volumes. That’s okay with Dan Christofferson of Big Cartel, who sees losing such customers as "a bittersweet day, like when the kids go off to college." Except in this case, it’s mom and pop leaving the nest.
November 6, 2014
When it comes to watches, some women like them with complications, reports Kathleen Beckett in The New York Times (11/5/14). Complications, in this context, means "mechanisms that increase a watch’s accuracy or capabilities.” For Andrea Seifert, that means a "flip-over watch with back-to-back dials that can show the time in two zones." It’s not just about the functionality, as Andrea is also impressed with the technology. "What’s unusual is that the two dials are controlled by the same movement," she says.
Women seem to gravitate toward moon-phase watches, in particular. "I love the look of it, and the movement of the moon," says Eva Malmstrom Shivdasani, a creative director. "It’s a stunning watch, so beautiful. I don’t use it for function, I just like the beauty of it. " Marina Lunkina, a publicist, meanwhile appreciates the functionality. She uses her moon-phase watch to time her salon appointments. "Hair will grow faster if you cut it on a growing moon," she says." A waning moon is preferable "if you would like to keep the hairstyle unchanged."
What women look for in a watch, says Beatrice Rouhier of Chaumet, is poetry. "For women, the point is, yes, it is a technical watch — but it is a watch that tells a story. Van Cleef & Arpels is on the same track, having "trademarked ‘Poetry of Time’ and ‘Poetic Complications’ to describe a collection of jeweled watches with complications." Karen Giberson of the Accessories Council, thinks the trend is linked to increasing female comfort with technology. "Things that used to seem geeky or intimidating are now common," she says.
Taxidermy holds perhaps surprising appeal among women, reports Kate Murphy in The New York Times (10/30/14). Some taxidermy classes are said to attract "women in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Men take the classes as well … but usually with a girlfriend or spouse." Lessons include "skinning, disemboweling, wiring the animal and making a mold … followed by lots of grooming and preening using tweezers and blow dryers, to get the animal looking as fresh and lifelike as possible."
"It’s kind of like sculpture, kind of like painting, almost like hairdressing, almost like sewing," says Nina Masuda, a graphic designer who has "stuffed a starling, a quail and a squirrel." "I thought it would be all scienc-y, and I’m, like, fluffing up this bird’s hair, trying to give it volume." Adding to the intrigue, some classes are held in tattoo parlors and restaurants, and include "how to prepare the meat for eating," although some students reportedly are vegans.
Art supplies sometimes are sourced from services that raise and euthanize animals "as food for reptiles and large cats." Taxidermist Allis Markham objects to using animals raised "in an industrial way" and sources from "pest control operators" or game breeders after the animals have died naturally. Female interest in taxidermy actually dates back to Victorian times, and taxidermist Margot Magpie thinks the appeal may be "the illusion of cheating death." "Making something that’s dead look alive again helps some people come to terms with death," she says.


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More than 500 of industrial real estate’s leaders gathered at NAIOP’s I.con: The Industrial Conference in Los Angeles on June 5 and 6 to discuss trends, debate ideas, and share news and views of the industry and where it is headed. The industrial sector continues on a strong recovery path, driven by consumption, real trade, and real GDP, according to Gene Reilly, 2013 NAIOP chairman and CEO of the Americas, Prologis, who spoke at I.con’s opening luncheon.
“People ask me, why is the industrial property segment recovering when, for example, office is not,” said Reilly. “The fact is that there are 13 million more people in the country than there were at the start of the downturn, and people need ‘stuff,’ even if they are not working.”
Another big driver, according to Reilly, is housing construction. Total volume peaked at around 2.1 million units in 2006, then declined to between 500,000 and 600,000 units per year and stayed there during the downturn. He said that building more than 2 million single-family and multifamily units a year is not sustainable, but about 1.5 million is. Today, about 1 million housing units are being produced, on the way to a volume of about 1.5 million units.
NAIOP Chairman Gene Reilly addressed the I.con opening luncheon session.
I.con attendees gathered at Los Angeles Harbor on the first day of the conference to tour the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are located side-by-side in San Pedro Bay but are separate economic entities.
“The expansion of trade and consumption has given us a solid recovery and the economy is in fairly good shape right now, but the real ‘gas’ in the tank for the industrial sector is inventory levels, housing starts, and real job growth. These factors give us a lot of tail wind,” said the chairman.
Are there any dark spots in the recovery that worry Reilly? “We have an anti-business public policy in effect that hurts job formation, and this is at both the federal and state levels,” he warned.
After touring the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (see “North America’s Two Busiest Seaports” below), I.con participants heard a keynote presentation on the NAIOP Research Foundation’s newest report — “The Stabilization of the U.S. Manufacturing Sector and Its Impact on Industrial Space” — and attended sessions that explored topics such as e-commerce, “rightshoring,” inland ports, and more. Highlights from I.con — commercial real estate’s eminent national conference for industrial issues — appear throughout this issue.
Key Topics in the Boardroom
What is the biggest concern at the board level for industrial developers and owners right now? That was the question posed by Alan Pontius, managing director, Commercial Property Groups, Marcus & Millichap, at an I.con session titled “Chief Investment Officer Roundtable.”
Here’s what panelists had to say:
Bryan Blasingame Jr., CIO, Industrial Developments International: “One thing we debate at the board level is how to allocate capital. We have eight regional offices and we own land in all of those markets, in addition to land in other markets. We have to evaluate opportunities coming in from every office.”
James Clewlow, CIO, CenterPoint Properties: “A lot of our discussion has to do with customer service and tenant demands. For us, it is all about relationships. We have to be quick and adept at knowing who our customers are.”
Larry Harmsen, CIO, The Americas, Prologis: “In addition to discussing global capital allocation, we frequently ask, ‘how do we find unique opportunities to leverage our unique platform? How do we take advantage of that platform? What fits into that platform nicely?’”
Jeff Phelan, president, DCT Industrial Trust: “When do we stop [developing new projects]? We ask ourselves this again and again. We all know when to start and keep going, but when do we stop and why do we stop? In the REIT world, one of the things that you are scored on is your ability to have the discipline to do that, … to stop. That being said, we are trying to be creative in our transactions. It is tough out there today. If you are in the brokerage community, you know how tough it is: it is tough for real estate owners and developers to make deals, and it is tough everywhere, so you must be creative and stay lean and mean.”
When Does a Higher Rent Trump a Lower One?
William Waxman, executive vice president, CBRE, told an I.con panel that while rents are important to his clients, he has been asked to look beyond rents when seeking the best warehouse distribution space for the dollar. Sometimes, he said, a building that rents for $8 per square foot actually can be less expensive than one that rents for $7 per square foot. How can that be?
“I find a materials handling expert to lay out a racking system for the tenant in both the $7 and $8 buildings,” explained Waxman, noting that the expert looks at pallet position as well as other factors. “Can I stuff more ‘things’ into one warehouse because it is laid out differently or better? What causes one building to be more efficient than another could have to do with its length and width, its cubic volume, the location of the doors, or the location of the cross docks,” he added. Finally, what makes a building more efficient will vary according to the end user: “The food user will have different requirements than the light bulb distributor.”
Gridlocked Congress Slows Marketplace Fairness Act
The potential impacts of the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax on goods sold to customers in every state, remain unclear.
“In this gridlocked atmosphere in Washington,” said I.con speaker Curtis Spencer, president, IMS Worldwide, Inc., the Marketplace Fairness Act still faces an uphill battle. However, “over the next four or five years,” Spencer added, “it does have a chance of passage.”
What impact will it have on the real estate industry when it is passed? According to a recently published report by CBRE, “CBRE EA Trends Report,” current laws in most states require retailers to collect tax only if they have a store, office, warehouse, or similar operation located within that state. Customers are expected to individually report sales taxes for goods purchased tax-free on the Internet, but this rarely occurs.
These modern cranes and materials handling equipment can unload a container every 55 seconds; giant cargo ships that once took five days to unload now can be emptied in less than 48 hours. (And the operator of one of these cranes can earn an annual income of as much as $375,000, according to Jim MacLellan.)
The Maersk Tanjong can carry 8,086 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Maersk, the largest shipping line in the world, is busy building what will be 20 of the largest cargo ships in the world. At 1,312-feet long (longer than the largest U.S. aircraft carrier), 240-feet high and 193-feet wide, these will be the largest moveable structures ever built. Each ship requires 30,000 tons of steel, and will be able to carry up to 18,000 TEUs. They will be used to handle shipping from the Far East to Europe through the Suez Canal.
Gantry craned cargo ships can load and off-load cargo in Third World ports that do not have their own large cranes.
The Andromeda Spirit is a modern cargo ship designed to carry only cars; it has a capacity of about 3,000 automobiles.
The National Retail Federation estimates that state and local governments are missing out on roughly $24 billion per year in these unpaid “use taxes.” Many online vendors limit their physical operations to a few states in order to maximize the number of customers that will not be required to pay sales tax. Should the legislation as proposed become law, it is unlikely to dramatically change the competitive layout of the marketplace, at least from a commercial real estate perspective, according to CBRE.
The reality is that these pending taxation changes are unlikely to change the competitive landscape much, noted the report. Customers have not been saving enough on taxes for the loss of those savings to shift their shopping behavior toward physical stores. Online retailers will maintain the advantage of convenience, as well as the pricing advantage associated with not needing to support physical storefronts.
North America’s Two Busiest Seaports
Everyone in the warehousing and distribution business should visit the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach at least once, if only to experience the magnitude of these operations.
Attendees at this year’s I.con: The Industrial Conference had the chance to do just that. Jim MacLellan, director of trade for the Port of Los Angeles, and Curtis Spencer, president of IMS Worldwide, Inc., served as tour guides for the half-day adventure. Here are a few of the facts and figures they shared about the ports:
- The Port of Los Angeles encompasses 7,500 acres of land and water along 43 miles of waterfront. It features 24 passenger and cargo terminals, including automobile, break bulk, container, and dry and liquid bulk warehouse facilities that handle billions of dollars worth of cargo each year.
- The Port of Long Beach totals 3,200 acres of land and has ten piers, 80 berths, and 66 gantry cranes capable of servicing post-Panamax ships.
- Each port is operated by the city in which it is located.
- The two ports compete for business but cooperate regularly in various areas, including security, infrastructure projects, and environmental programs.
- An 8.5-mile-long breakwater stretches across most of San Pedro Bay and protects the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from direct Pacific Ocean exposure. The initial section of the breakwater was constructed between 1899 and 1911; the remainder was not completed until after World War II.
- When the number of cargo containers shipped through the two ports is combined, they rank as the world’s sixth-busiest port complex.
- Both ports are major sources of employment. The Port of Los Angeles employs 994 people at the City of Los Angeles Harbor Department; trade generated by the port supports another 896,000 jobs throughout the region, 1.2 million jobs throughout California, and 3.6 million jobs throughout the U.S. In the city of Long Beach, 30,000 jobs (about one in eight) are related to Port of Long Beach trade, as are 316,000 jobs in the five-county Southern California region (one in 22) and 1.4 million jobs throughout the U.S.

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Dragon Ball Z Merchandise
Ireland’s Abortion Vote Becomes a Test for Facebook and Google
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The Off-Again Meeting With North Korea
President Trump now needs to corral his renegade advisers and resist the name-calling to get diplomacy back on track.
Bombing at Ontario Indian Restaurant Leaves 15 Injured
The police were looking for two suspects after the blast at Bombay Bhel in Mississauga, a city just south of Toronto.
How Trump Got Outplayed on North Korea
President Trump’s inconsistency has weakened the U.S. hand, while China, South Korea and Japan have skillfully maneuvered to advance their agendas.
G.D.P.R., a New Privacy Law, Makes Europe World’s Leading Tech Watchdog
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Boston Globe Finds Itself Uncomfortably in the News
The newspaper, New England’s largest, has wrestled with a series of controversies, including a suggestion of harassment by its top editor. He denies it.
Potential Auto Tariffs Prompt Warnings From Industry and Allies
Economists, lawmakers and industry executives said the threat of tariffs on imported cars threatened to undercut global economic growth and stoke trade tensions even with crucial allies.
Ireland Abortion Vote: ‘It’s Not a Man’s Issue,’ but Male Turnout Is Crucial
Women are expected to vote in greater numbers in Friday’s referendum. But turnout among male Irish voters — who tend to consider abortion a women’s issue — may be critical.
Woman Says She Was Bullied, Bound and Gagged at Work in Scotland
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Europe Edition: North Korea, Ireland, Lisbon: Your Friday Briefing
Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Super Rugby player suspended for 6 weeks for midair kick
SYDNEY (AP) Highlanders player Tevita Nabura has been suspended for six weeks for a kung fu-style kick in midair to an opponent's head in a Super Rugby match.
Albany Great Danes seeking 1st NCAA lacrosse title
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) It's been nearly a decade since Albany men's lacrosse coach Scott Marr made a pivotal decision - to venture into territory historically dominated by perennial power Syracuse University and try to recruit a trio of Native American high school lacrosse stars from central New York...
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Column: Jack Johnson’s biggest crime was being black
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Danica Patrick eases into final race of her career
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Brother's memory keeps Stefan Wilson racing for a cause
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NFL players, coaches grapple with new anthem policy
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Tony Kanaan heads to AJ Foyt Racing for another Indy shot
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Rockets use strong defense to move a win from NBA Finals
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Now 25 years in, Bettman is never off as NHL commissioner
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Here Are The Top EStores For Gaming Merchandise
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Take a look at your Twitter timeline 10 years ago
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Dragon Ball Z Merchandise


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Rajamahendravaram: The skyrocketing prices of rice is giving shock to the consumers of both Godavari districts, who were already burdened with increased rates of vegetables and pulses. The rate of rice was doubled in the last week, which was increased from Rs 5 to Rs 8 per kg. Traders are hinting that the rates may further go up in a few days.
Earlier, 26-kg bag of Sonamasuri variety of rice used to cost Rs 1,040. Now, this has gone up to Rs 1,140 at rice mills. When it comes to the open market, the price will be Rs 1,250. It is customary for retailers to sell a bag of rice at a higher price of Rs 50 to Rs 100. A 26-kg bag of HMT-type fine rice used to cost Rs 1,250, now it has increased to Rs 1,350.
Wholesale and retail traders alleged that rice millers across the State along with joint Godavari districts have formed a syndicate and increasing the prices. Narayana Rao, who sells rice on the main road of Rajahmundry, said that the recent imposition of a 1 per cent cess on a bag of paddy grain by the State government is the main reason for the increase in prices. Rice millers initially opposed the cess but agreed after the syndicate assured them that Vigilance and Civil Supplies would not raid, he said. Millers have transferred cess burden to dealers and wholesale shopkeepers and the traders have passed this burden to the consumers.
But the millers said that most of the grains were rain-soaked and damaged, hence the prices were rising. But people complained that this situation of price rise never happened in the past even when more heavy rains occurred.


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The Department of Revenue released its monthly revenue report for January on Feb. 3 and, so far, most of the attention the report has received has focused on collections from the sales tax on beer, wine and alcohol, which have exceeded DOR estimates in five months of collections starting in September 2009.
The report notes that during these same five months, revenue from the alcohol excise tax, which has been in place for years, and which is a measure of the volume of beer, wine and alcohol sold in the Commonwealth, increased nearly 1 percent. Any increase in the alcohol excise tax collection goes against conventional wisdom, namely, that when a tax is increased one might reasonably think that consumption of the item newly taxed would go down. (For an explainer on the alcohol excise tax, click here.)
The Springfield Republican, Commonwealth Magazine, the Boston Herald and Patriot Ledger have all reported this with varying degrees of amusement and theorizing as to how consumption and tax collections based on that consumption can go both up. We don't proclaim to know the reason, but the numbers are the numbers.
Somewhat lost in the froth of this story was the fact that for the first time in 17 months, revenue from retail sales (not from sale of cars, meals, alcohol, or business-to-business transactions) increased. This reversal if nothing else means that retailers in December (keep in mind that sales tax figures are reported on the 20th of the month following) had a bit of an uptick (up 0.8 percent from the previous December). Whether this is the start of a longer term trend only time will tell, but it was a positive economic sign. The news was less encouraging in that sales tax receipts of all kinds are down 6.5 percent for the year when the sales tax increase is factored out (for those of you reading the January tax collection summary look at the category "baseline % change").
Two other points. January was the fourth month in a row in which revenues exceeded those of the same month a year ago, and also the fourth month in a row in which total revenues exceeded benchmark.
One caution flag for February is income withholding, which was $66 million above benchmark for the month of January. Such a robust performance sometimes indicates that timing is a factor; that withholding revenues that might otherwise have been received in February somehow came in over the transom in January.
DOR Joins Forces with Others to Fight Tax Fraud posted on Nov 25
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) continues to be serious about combating tax and identity fraud. Not only have we continuously redoubled our anti-fraud efforts, we have in the past welcomed every opportunity to join forces with others to fight the ever-growing issues of identity …Continue Reading DOR Joins Forces with Others to Fight Tax Fraud
Tax Practitioners Report in on Sneak Preview of MassTaxConnect posted on Nov 24
On November 30th, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) will release MassTaxConnect, the next generation tax system, to business and corporate taxpayers. The new filing system will replace WebFile for Business. In anticipation of the launch, DOR invited tax practitioners to preview MassTaxConnect and weigh …Continue Reading Tax Practitioners Report in on Sneak Preview of MassTaxConnect
MassTaxConnect: A Big Win for Small Businesses in the Commonwealth posted on Nov 23
Small businesses are the lifeblood of a healthy economy. That’s true nationally, and that’s certainly true here in Massachusetts. With the advent of DOR’s newest electronic filing system, MassTaxConnect, life is about to get a whole lot easier for many companies across the Commonwealth. Currently, …Continue Reading MassTaxConnect: A Big Win for Small Businesses in the Commonwealth


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Onder Deger, Senior Cloud Consultant and Microsoft Azure MVP, sits down ahead of the 2018 Microsoft Tech Summit where he'll...
Is your business cloud-ready yet? Managed Services Managing Director at Ergo, Jimmy Sheahan, speaks to Alex Meehan in this...
Technical Sales Consultant at Ergo, Gavin Lockhart, tells the Sunday Business Post how the evolvement of cloud means businesses aren't only working better, they're now using it to...Read now
Senior Consultant at Ergo and Microsoft MVP, Gerry Hampson, talks to Connected magazine about not only the need to mobile with your business, but also the need for mobile security...Read now
Phil Ryan, Ergo's CRM Solutions Manager, talks to Connected magazine where he explains how CRM has made the transition from recording data to actually analysing it, helping businesses...Read now
Technical Sales Consulant at Ergo, Peter McCullagh, features in the latest mobile business report for the Sunday Business Post where he talks about the impact that mobile business has had...Read now
Vincent Liffey, Technical Sales Consultant at Ergo, features in this month's edition of Connected, where he talks about the ever changing world of managed services and what your business...Read now
Gavin Lockhart, Technical Sales Consultant at Ergo, delves in to the world of virtualisation and tells Grainne Loughran from the Sunday Business Post why this has now become the norm...Read now
Business Development Director at Ergo, Dave Muldoon, tells Connected magazine why containerisation is changing the world of software before our very eyes. Container technology will radically change the way...Read now
Diarmaid Flynn, Client Services Director at Ergo, talks to the Sunday Business Post about how becoming GDPR compliant not only protects your data more, it will make your business stronger...Read now
For cyber security strategy to be successful, there must be a harmonious relationship between the technology used and the understanding of security and privacy issues. Much like a house...Read now
Gavin Lockhart, Technical Sales Consultant for Ergo, explains in this Sunday Business Post feature why the growing number of data storage options means the rules and responsibilites of this for...Read now


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Facebook may pull in an excess of $1 billion in revenues, according to estimates and poking around on behalf of industry blog Inside Facebook. That's an increase from the same publication's estimate of $700 million last year.
Facebook board member Marc Andreessen said last year that he projected the company would break $500 million revenue in 2009, and that it had the potential to be a billion-dollar company already, but that it was acting conservatively.
(Naturally, Facebook says that as a privately held company it doesn't disclose its financials.)
What can Facebook credit this big jump in … Read more


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Bernhard Merki has been elected as the board chairman of Hochdorf, the favoured candidate put forward by one of the Swiss infant-formula maker’s largest shareholders.
ZMP Invest, the investment arm of Swiss milk cooperative ZMP, had proposed that Merki, the former chief executive of packaging group Netstal, should take the chairman seat along with other board candidates – Jörg Riboni, the outgoing CFO of dairy group Emmi, and Markus Bühlmann, the vice president of the ZMP co-op – before an annual general meeting that was held last Friday (12 April).
However, only Riboni had been backed by Hochdorf among the ZMP candidates, with the company also proposing Hans-Peter Hess as a member.
But ZMP has won the day, with both Bühlmann and Riboni taking seats. Markus Kalberer will also now take up position on the board, a candidate favoured by another of Hochdorf’s investors, the Weiss and Maurer families.
The appointments have been welcomed by MainFirst Schweiz’s CEO and consumer goods analyst Alain Oberhuber as a first step in turning around the business, which has disappointed on the financial front amid a series of profit warnings and the departure of its chief executive, Thomas Eisenring, in March.
“A first step in the right direction,” Oberhuber commented in a follow-up note to clients. “We think that the new members will make a difference. We assume that there will be a significant change in Hochdorf’s future strategy, which will presumably result in some kitchen-sinking in FY-19.
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“It is probably too early to become positive on Hochdorf. However, there could be good upside potential to the stock if and when there is more visibility.”
In other board appointments, Michiel de Ruiter, Ulrike Sailer and Dr Walter Locher were re-elected, while Dr Daniel Suter and Niklaus Sauter were not. Meanwhile, previous members Dr Anton von Weissenfluh and Dr Holger Till have retired.
Merki said in a statement from Hochdorf: “We now need to focus again on securing a successful future for Hochdorf and to provide the right impetus for the strategic and operational management of the company. I look forward to assuming this responsibility as the representative of all our shareholders.”
Mainfirst also provided an ownership breakdown, with the ZMP co-op holding 14.5%, making it the company’s second-largest shareholder behind Amir Mechria, the founder and CEO of Swiss nutrition and infant-formula firm Pharmalys, with 20%. The Weiss family owns a portion through Innovent Holding.
In terms of Hochdorf’s share price – it was trading around CHF132.30 (US$131.8) at lunchtime today (15 April) on the Swiss stock exchange – Oberhuber said the company’s valuation is “not cheap enough yet”.
He said Hochdorf trades at an EV/EBITDA-20E of 9.2X, while “baby nutrition peers trade at a median of 13.7X”, adding that “transaction multiples are higher at 17x EBITDA”.


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With the aim of improving business performance, Walmart closes stores that have not generated enough profits year after year. In 2023, the company announced the closure of at least 23 stores in 14 states across the country.
Although 2023 is not yet over, the company is already thinking about the future and has therefore announced the closure of a new branch, which will essentially affect Connecticut residents.
Walmart will close more stores in 2024: where and from what date?
According to a statement from the company, the location at 680 Connecticut Ave, Norwalk, CT 06854 will permanently close its doors starting January 2024, as will the in-store pharmacy.
“We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our Connecticut Avenue location. “We hope to serve you at our Main Avenue Supercenter and other stores in the surrounding communities and (online),” the company said in a statement confirming the reason for the closure: millions in annual losses.
“These stores lose tens of millions of dollars every year, and their annual losses have nearly doubled in the last five years alone,” Walmart said.
You may also be interested in: List of bank branches closing in the coming weeks: Wells Fargo, Santander, Bank of America…
In recent months, the media has dubbed store closures a “retail apocalypse,” as Walmart wasn’t the only company hit by low returns. In 2023, Target announced the closure of several of its locations, as did Walgreens.


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- Reuters, Tuesday, June 2, 2020 6:41 PM
Retailer H&M is temporarily closing 95 stores due to unrest in cities throughout the country. Many of the protests over the killing of George Floyd have been peaceful. But in some cases, retailers
have experienced looting or vandalism, reportedly including H&M stores in Philadelphia and Boston. CVS and Target also have temporarily closed stores.
Read the whole story at Reuters »


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SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 27, 2020,/PRNewswire/ — lululab, a member company of Born2Global Centre, has successfully attracted Series B funding from Netmarble, Korea’s leading game developer, as well as from other companies.
In addition to Netmarble, the firms L&C Bio, Global Medical Research Center, and CTK Investment are participating in this Series B funding, the amount of which has not been disclosed.
Netmarble has financially supported various venture-backed AI companies. Through such collaboration, lululab will synergize with Netmarble’s AI technology while cooperating with Netmarble’s affiliate company Coway in the home wellness appliance industry. Besides, lululab has been expanding its business, signing an MOU in October with co-investor L&C Bio to develop a new platform.
lululab has developed the AI skincare assistant LUMINI, scans users’ faces, analyzes skin conditions, and recommends skincare products tailored to specific skin profiles within 10 seconds. Recently the company launched the LUMINI Kiosk, a smart mirror that provides customized skincare services. As the first of its kind in the beauty industry, it employs AI technology based on multinational and multiracial skin data to analyze the skin and recommend products optimized for individual skin needs.
Yongjoon Choe, CEO of lululab, said, “We will accelerate the distribution of AI-based, contact-free beauty solutions,” he added. “With this investment, we plan to expand our business in the skin analysis and beauty sectors and to evolve into a provider of solutions for skin-related conditions and diseases.
lululab is being recognized internationally for its value in bringing actual skin data to the beauty industry. Consequently, it was named the CES Innovation Awards Honoree for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020, as well as the winner of the LVMH Innovation Awards by the French multinational conglomerate LVMH.
For more detailed information on luulab, visit http://www.lulu-lab.com/en/.
A fast-growing beauty AI startup, lululab is a spin-off of C-Lab, the in-house venture company program of Samsung Electronics in 2017. lululab has been developing the “LUMINI,” which scans and analyzes a person’s facial skin. LUMINI was named a CES 2019 Innovation Awareds Honoree in the biotech category for its novel use of skin data in the beauty industry and was selected as one of the Winners of Cosmoprof Awards Asia in the skincare category at COSMOPROF ASIA 2018. This solution was also a prestigious worldwide design award, including the iF DESIGN AWARD, Red Dot Design Award in 2018.
About Born2Global Centre
Born2Global Centre is a full-cycle service platform for global expansion. Since its inception in 2013, Born2Global has been setting the standard for a successful startup ecosystem as the main Korean government agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Born2Global has expanded and transformed startups to be engaged, equipped, and be connected with the global market. Follow our work at www.born2global.com or find us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
SOURCE Born2Global Centre


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Anheuser-Busch, one of the largest American advertisers and the one perhaps most under fire recently for provocative pitches in mainstream entertainment like the Super Bowl, is rethinking the tone and content of its advertising campaigns for beer brands like Bud Light and Budweiser.
August A. Busch IV, president of the Anheuser-Busch Inc. division of the Anheuser-Busch Companies in St. Louis, disclosed the reappraisal yesterday in a question-and-answer session after his speech here in the opening general session of the 2004 management conference of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. Mr. Busch attributed the reassessment to the intense backlash against risqué content generated by the Janet Jackson performance that went awry during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show on Feb. 1.
The storm of protest that followed has prompted a great deal of soul-searching by companies and their agencies about how far is too far in infusing their ads with crowd-pleasing elements of humor and music.
"As we came out of the Super Bowl, the mood of the country seemed to have changed, and some of our ads got wrapped into that same controversy," Mr. Busch told the audience of about 330 people at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach hotel.
As a result, "we are taking a more cautious approach to our creative," he added, seeking to "not be distasteful in our content moving forward."
Until now, almost all the changes in reaction to Ms. Jackson's wardrobe "malfunction," as it was described by her partner in disrobement, Justin Timberlake, have come in the realm of programming, not advertising. Television networks introduced five-second delays in live broadcasts of awards shows, for example, and the Federal Communications Commission levied higher fines against radio broadcasters who carried Howard Stern and other so-called shock jocks.
Among the few advertisers that have been rethinking campaign content is an Anheuser-Busch competitor, the Coors Brewing division of the Adolph Coors Company, which is toning down the sexiness of commercials featuring twin sisters who promote its Coors Light beer brand.
The rethinking at Anheuser-Busch is already affecting the development of commercials for the 2005 Super Bowl, Mr. Busch said in an interview after his speech. The company typically starts planning for the next Super Bowl as soon as a week after the previous one.
The company and its agencies are "prepared to do better research" into consumer attitudes, Mr. Busch said, because "there's something going on we need to understand."
One commercial that Anheuser-Busch ran during Super Bowl XXXVIII, a Bud Light spot about a flatulent horse, has been withdrawn from the company's rotation of commercials, Mr. Busch said. The spot had been appearing during late-night shows since early February.
The horse commercial was among several for Bud Light that critics complained were evidence of a corporate philosophy by Anheuser-Busch to reach for the lowest common denominator in commercials aimed at the most frequent beer drinkers - men from 21 to 25 years old - resulting in a race to the bottom to fill commercials with bathroom humor, double entendres, crude sight gags and vulgarisms.
Other Super Bowl spots the critics condemned featured a crotch-biting dog, a male monkey wooing a human female and the comedian Cedric the Entertainer mistakenly undergoing a bikini-wax treatment at a spa.
"Has the Super Bowl become the toilet bowl?" asked one conference participant, Cheryl Berman, chairwoman and chief creative officer at Leo Burnett Worldwide in Chicago, part of the Publicis Groupe.
After watching the commercials on Super Sunday this year , she added, "you wanted to take a shower."
"It's not hard to do a raunchy commercial that gets a one-shot belly laugh," Ms. Berman said. "It's harder to do one with a great idea" that is "more emotionally connective" to consumers.
Many of the Bud Light Super Bowl commercials were created by offices of DDB Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group, led by the Chicago office.
"We try to do advertising people like to see," said Bob Scarpelli, chairman at DDB Chicago and United States chief creative officer for DDB Worldwide. Mr. Scarpelli, who was in the audience for Mr. Busch's remarks, said that all the tests of the Super Bowl XXXVIII spots before the game showed that "people loved them: younger drinkers, older drinkers, male, female."
"But in the context of the halftime show, it all got crazy," he added, so now "we need to be listening to the changing mood" of the public.
Bud Light "is about fun, being with friends, good times," Mr. Scarpelli said, "and we can do that within the boundaries of good taste."
He added, referring to the tenor of the most recent commercials, "Maybe it was a little risqué."
Other conference attendees who listened to Mr. Busch's remarks said they were struck by their relevance to the age-old question of whether advertising should reflect consumer mood, be far ahead of it or seek to lead, but just a little.
"You can still be creative and be careful about sophomoric humor," said Steven Blamer, president and chief executive for the North American operations of Grey Worldwide in New York, part of the Grey Global Group.
"You have to be sensitive to the mood," he added, "and I think the mood has changed significantly."
Kevin Roberts, worldwide chief executive at Saatchi & Saatchi in New York, also part of Publicis, offered another perspective, declaring that agencies "are not here to mirror culture; we're here to inspire."
While the Anheuser-Busch reassessment "is a good thing, because it will probably get us to a better place," Mr. Roberts said, "we must not respond to every reaction" by consumers that is not adulatory. "It should be a proactive, creative-driven approach, rather than a defensive reaction to an isolated accident."
To demonstrate, Mr. Roberts, in a speech he made after Mr. Busch's, showed a commercial his agency created in Australia that featured a mass murderer named Mark Read, known as Chopper - for a campaign to stop drunken driving.
During the Super Bowl, Anheuser-Busch "crossed a line that had already been crossed over by other advertisers," said Ron Berger, chief executive and chief creative officer at Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners in New York, part of the Euro RSCG Worldwide division of Havas.
"Janet Jackson actually helped out" the company and its agencies, he added, "by deflecting scrutiny of their work," which was ignored in the days after the halftime brouhaha.
Mr. Berger, who was elected last month as chairman of the agency association, said that as Madison Avenue ponders how far is too far, "at the end of the day the determination ought to be this: are you willing to put your family name, your brand name, on the ad?
"And in this case," he added, referring to Anheuser-Busch, which sells beer under the Busch label, "the family name is the brand name." The conference, the 86th annual meeting of the agency association, known as the Four A's, concludes today.
Stuart Elliott, The New York Times. April 16, 2004
Copyright © 2004 The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.


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AUSTIN, Texas, March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Just 1 in 8 U.S. adults has a favorable view of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to a new CreditCards.com survey. The vast majority (81%) says they haven't heard enough about the agency to make a determination; 4% view it unfavorably.
The CFPB has been at the center of a political battle in recent weeks. Multiple bills that would directly or indirectly eliminate the organization have been introduced into Congress over the past month. Opponents of the CFPB say it's an example of government overreach while proponents say it has helped more than 27 million consumers. To view the full results, go to: www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/cfpb-consumer-watchdog-poll.php
"Following the 2008 financial crisis, many consumers were left feeling vulnerable and suspicious of financial institutions," said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com. "The inception of the CFPB in 2011 made financial companies accountable for improper practices and provides consumers a formal course of action for infractions. Notably, the CFPB reports that it has delivered $11.7 billion in relief to consumers from its enforcement actions."
In theory, Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of an organization like the CFPB. A whopping 80% said they are in favor of having a federal government agency whose goal is to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive practices and take action against companies who break the law (words lifted from the CFPB's mission statement without specifically naming the agency). But as noted above, when asked specifically about the CFPB, just 12% responded favorably. Positive viewpoints are more likely as age, income and education increase.
CreditCards.com commissioned Princeton Survey Research Associates International to conduct the survey. PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,001 adults living in the continental United States. 494 were asked the theoretical version of the question and 507 were specifically asked about the CFPB. Interviews were conducted by landline (500) and cellphone (501, including 298 without a landline phone) in English and Spanish Feb. 16-19, 2017. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of the sampling error for each question is plus or minus 5.4 percentage points.
CreditCards.com is a leading online credit card marketplace, bringing consumers and credit card issuers together. At its free website, consumers can compare hundreds of credit card offers from America's leading issuers and banks and apply securely, online. CreditCards.com is also a destination site for consumers wanting to learn more about credit cards. Offering advice, news, features, statistics and tools, CreditCards.com helps consumers make smart choices about credit cards. In 2016, over 35 million unique visitors used CreditCards.com to find the right credit card to suit their needs.
For More Information:
Kayleen (Katie) Yates
VP, Corporate Communications
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/just-12-have-a-favorable-view-of-the-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-300416701.html


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Starbucks Co. executive chairman Howard Schultz, who as CEO shepherded the Seattle-based coffee chain into a global heavyweight, is stepping down later this month after 40 years with the company.
Zlati Meyer of USA Today had the news:
Schultz made social conscience a key tenet of the company For example, Starbucks has comprehensive health care, stock ownership and free college tuition, even for part-time staffers. In March, the chain offered up a $10 million challenge to design a compostable coffee cup.“For years, I’ve had a dream to build a different kind of company, one that has the potential to enhance lives and endure long after I was gone. Thanks to you, my dream has come true,” Schultz wrote in the letter addressed to “Starbucks partners — past and present,” crafted as he sipped a French press of his favorite coffee, aged Sumatra.”
The announcement comes less than two months after Starbucks suffered a major PR nightmare stemming from the arrest of two African-American men at one of the chain’s downtown Philadelphia locations. The company apologized repeatedly and reached a financial settlement with them. Both Schultz and Johnson met with the men, and the reputation-tarnishing event spurred the company to close its 8,000-plus company-owned stores in the U.S. and its corporate headquarters on May 29, so as many as 180,000 employees could undergo racial-bias training.
But Schultz’s ideology has dipped into the political sphere, too, His outspokenness on issues, such as gay rights and refugees, has fueled speculation that he’s looking to run for office, perhaps president.
Sarah Whitten of CNBC.com reported that a former J.C. Penney CEO will become chairman:
Myron E. Ullman, former chairman and CEO of J.C. Penney, was named chair, while Mellody Hobson, president and director of Chicago-based investment management firm Ariel Investments, will be named vice chair.
Schultz, who now will become its chairman emeritus, served as the company’s chief executive from 1987 to 2000, stepping down to focus on the company’s global strategy. He remained on as chairman of the board. At that time, there were only 350 cafes located outside of the U.S.
From 2000 to 2008, Starbucks rapidly expanded from 3,500 to about 16,000 locations, but for Schultz, the quality of the brand and its coffee had deteriorated. He returned to the head position in 2008 to revitalize it.
Again in 2017, Schultz stepped down, handing the keys over to current CEO Kevin Johnson. Once more, he picked up the mantle of executive chairman of the brand, this time focusing on Starbucks’ Roastery and Reserve Bar expansion.
Jena McGregor, Michael Scherer and Rachel Siegel of The Washington Post wrote that Schultz is considering politics:
Schultz, 64, has for years expressed an interest in becoming more involved in public life, even as he has equivocated on questions about whether he will mount a campaign for president. His friend David Geffen, the Hollywood mogul and a major Democratic donor, has said he encouraged Schultz to run as far back as the 2008 campaign cycle.
In 2015, Schultz addressed speculation directly in a New York Times op-ed, in which he wrote that “despite the encouragement of others, I have no intention of entering the presidential fray. I’m not done serving at Starbucks.”
Instead, Schultz has used the intervening years to expand his philanthropic efforts, both through Starbucks and his family foundation, which focuses on helping veterans, employing young people and helping the homeless in Washington state. He has also co-produced a documentary series at Starbucks about inspiring Americans who engage in acts of citizenship and civility, and he opened a separate, personal office to handle his own affairs.


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|NJBIA Supports Bills to Help Small Businesses Recover COVID-19 Costs
|NJBIA is supporting several bills before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee this afternoon that would help small businesses offset some expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the purchase of health and safety equipment and winterizing outdoor dining areas.
“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey businesses had to pay for outdoor tables and seating, heaters, plexiglass barriers and more to comply with social-distancing mandates at a time when they could least afford these added expenses,” NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Christopher Emigholz said. “These bills help refund some of the costs associated with the government mandates.”
The first bill, S-3740/A-4958, sponsored by Senator Joe Lagana and Assemblyman Christopher Tully (D-38), would allow businesses employing fewer than 20 full-time employees to claim a refund on sales taxes paid on products and services related to winterizing outdoor dining areas during the winter of 2020 and 2021. This includes tents and space heaters, as well as products to melt ice and snow.
Under this legislation, businesses could submit an exemption application to the state Division of Taxation to obtain a retroactive refund for sales taxes paid between Sept. 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, on winterizing products and services. Businesses would have 60 days from the date that the bill is signed into law to apply for their sales tax refund.
The second bill, S-4254, sponsored by Senator Troy Singleton (D-7), would allow businesses with 50 or fewer employees to use a bonus depreciation allowance of up to $150,000 for capital expenditures they incurred to comply with the health and safety mandates required by COVID-19 executive orders. Bonus depreciation allows a business to immediately deduct a large percentage of the purchase price of certain property and would include items such as plexiglass barriers, outdoor seating and outdoor heaters.
NJBIA also supports legislation, which is scheduled for a vote in the full Senate on Dec. 20, that allows small restaurants, wedding venues, banquet halls or alcoholic beverage manufacturers to use the same bonus depreciation up to $150,000 or capital expenses related to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. These include the purchase of heaters and overhangs and upgrades to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
The legislation, A-5218/S-3404, sponsored by Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D-16) and Senator Vin Gopal (D-11), makes this benefit available to owners of restaurants that have no more than 100 employees and are not chain restaurants. This narrower bill was the genesis of the broader depreciation bill, and NJBIA supports both bills as it is unknown which will get to the governor’s desk and be signed.
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By Jim Karpen on Fri, 02/06/2009
Yesterday Google's book search team announced on their blog that the 1.5 million public domain books already available on Google Book Search are now available for the iPhone. Simply point Safari at books.google.com/m. That's a lot of books, but being in public domain means that they were published decades ago. For reference works and nonfiction, that may render them useless. But for timeless works, such as Sherlock Holmes and Mark Twain, if you're into reading these classics, you've now got them in the palm of your hand. Also, the works of the great philosophers will still have appeal.


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Tallahassee Farmers Market season opener set for Saturday in Market Square
Businesses are reshuffling in the Market Square shopping center on Timberlane Road and some folks are concerned that this means an end to the Tallahassee Farmers Market.
But local farmers say otherwise.
The Tallahassee Farmers Market will set up stalls Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Market Square pavilion for the spring/summer season opening market.
The “pop-up produce section” will feature roughly 25 farms bringing in grass-fed beef, dairy, cheeses, blueberries, squash, peaches, corn, cucumbers, honey, mushrooms and “all of the wonderful things that come with the beginning harvest,” Louise Divine of Turkey Hill Farm says.
Divine is the former director of the Red Hills Small Farm Alliance. She and her husband, Herman Holley, have sold their organic produce at the Market Square location for nearly two decades.
But because of ongoing renovations at Market Square, members of the Tallahassee Farmers Market are working to find another location to host the weekly event.
“We are definitely planning on moving and staying together as a group. That’s our biggest concern — to move as one,” Bobby Holden of Grady Ranch in Georgia says. Holden has sold his grass-fed Angus beef at the Saturday markets since 2017 and is on the board of the Tallahassee Farmers Market.
Holden says the group isn’t yet to the point that they can say where they’ll be moving to, “but I do want to put it out there that the community has been wonderful to us, and we have some great offers.”
Until the new spot is announced, the farmers market will be at Market Square.
“Meanwhile, we’re still farming…The Curb Market on Gaines Street in the 1940s was our great-grandmother,” Divine says. “We might be going somewhere, but we’re not going to disappear… We just have to go with the flow.”
Saturday’s season opener will also include a cooking demonstration from local business KitchenAble and “is a great place if you do veggie juicing, like people like to do these days,” Divine says.
The spring and summer seasons in Tallahassee overlap and now “the abundance of summer veggies and fruits is a veritable tidal wave,” she says.
Most of the vendors are set up to accept credit and debit cards and all will take cash. The market opens at 8 a.m. Saturday and stays open until 3 p.m., but many of the smaller vendors will sell out by noon.
“Our market is open! And we want people to come and buy some veggies. We want people to invite people over for dinner,” Divine says.
If you go
What: Tallahassee Farmers Market season opener
When: Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., or until the produce is gone
Where: Market Square shopping center pavilion, 1415 Timberlane Road
Details: Payment options include debit card, credit card and cash. Some vendors accept checks.. The market is pet-friendly and wheelchair accessible.


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Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) is one of the most significant names in the entertainment industry. And given its recent third-quarter earnings beat, you would expect Disney stock to be on a nice run.
Also in Disney’s favor is that it’s a rock-solid large-cap stock with broad exposure and a solid (albeit not eye-popping) dividend. In an increasingly volatile world, DIS is fine company.
However, DIS shares are off nearly 9% for the year — even after the positive earnings surprise.
There’s no doubt that some investors are a bit skittish regarding the outcome of the tragedy regarding the 2-year-old boy and the alligator in its Disneyworld Park in Orlando, Florida. In recent days, it has been revealed that someone had reported the alligator within an hour of the subsequent attack. There’s some fear that this could be a big lawsuit and more importantly, a black eye for Walt Disney World.
But this incident, is just that — a one-time occurrence. This isn’t a pattern of negligence here; DIS is a world-class operation, but it can’t control nature. In all likelihood Disney will settle with the family and put new protocols in place regarding the local predators.
And once the story falls off the front pages, few people will be haunted by the event. The park should be fine.
But this is a good time to get Disney stock, while it’s cheap.
Why Disney Stock Is Bound to Go Higher
There is plenty of positive news on DIS as we move forward that will keep its growth strong.
It opened its China-based Shanghai Disney Resort this year and had over 1 million visitors in just the first 2 months. That’s a pretty bullish indicator of what’s to come. And it has continued to increase park attendance by about 3% a year for the past decade, even in the teeth of the Great Recession.
The Shanghai park has the potential to be a major blockbuster. And it’s more than likely that India may well be on the drawing board.
DIS also bought a 33% share of BAMTech, a streaming company. This is important because cable sports channel ESPN is the biggest share of Disney’s broadcast empire. And it hasn’t been doing well. This is a bold move to transition ESPN beyond cable and create live sports packages that can be streamed to wireless devices.
This is expected to be a huge market in coming years. Plus, it gives DIS a new skill set for all its content eventually. The broadcast version of ESPN (and beyond) now has a new market and a new revenue model. That is a big deal for Disney stock and the company.
DIS’ movie segment is already growing like gangbusters. Profits in the division are up over 60% compared to the same time last year.
So, you have a fast-growing movie division, a strong theme park division and a well-thought out move into the new world of live streaming sports programming. Add to that it’s one of the most stable companies in a very uncertain market.
Richard Band’s Profitable Investing advisory service helps retirement savers outperform the market without losing a minute of sleep along the way. His straightforward style and low-risk value approach has won seven Best Financial Advisory awards from the Newsletter and Electronic Publishers Foundation.
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Nvidia has shared its vision of which video cards are suitable for a number of popular games: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, CoD: Cold War, Control, RDR 2, WD: Legion, etc.
Three Ultra Resolution options are offered: Full HD; 2K at FPS from 60 frames per second; 4K. Now the standard FPS value for games is considered to be 60 frames per second, so despite the absence of an inscription at other resolutions, the FPS should be about the same. Nvidia also gave examples of games where you can fully enjoy RTX (RTX demos). Depending on this, the video cards differ quite strongly, 3 generations are involved, from GTX 1650 before RTX 3090…
So, if on New Year’s and holidays you wanted to play some of the presented projects, but did not know which video card to choose, Nvidia gives its hint for choosing.
A source: Nvidia
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