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It has been two years since the baggage carousels at Heathrow's Terminal Five (T5) stuttered into life. Hailed as the future of air travel, the impressive terminal, which took nearly two decades to complete at a cost of £4.3b, promised to change the passenger experience for good, banishing the horrors of queues and claustrophobic spaces. And alongside the revolutionised check-in experience - designed to take no more than an unprecedented 10 minutes - would sit a groundbreaking retail and food and beverage offer.
BAA's aim, of course, was to give today's discerning traveller what they want - original, freshly prepared food and a slice of the high street to boot. And while the trend to bring in high-street brands such as Yo! Sushi, Pret A Manger or gastropub group Geronimo Inns was already gathering pace in other terminals, T5 presented the perfect opportunity to completely rethink the food and beverage offer. This extended to its lounges, which are considered flagship operations, offering the kind of food passengers would expect to find in a five-star hotel.
"T5 has more space than any other airport in the UK and the choice of restaurants is unrivalled," says Chris Annetts, head of category for food and beverage at BAA. "We introduced a collection of completely new brands at T5 and the selection is as good as any high street."
Indeed T5 saw first-time airport signings by a number of established high street restaurant brands including Carluccio's and Wagamama as well as fledgling businesses such as boutique sandwich group Apostrophe and sushi chain Itsu, not to mention the most high profile chef of them all, Gordon Ramsay.
"Passengers have reacted really well to the restaurant offer at T5," Annetts adds. "They have recognised how different it is compared with other airports and their response has been very positive. On average, around 50% of all passengers at T5 tend to sit down for a meal so we've fed in the region of 25 million people in the last two years."
But it hasn't all been plain sailing. From the global credit crunch to hiked security measures, threats of industrial action and unprecedented snowfalls, it has been a tough take-off for British Airways, the sole occupant of the new terminal. And let's not forget the T5 opening fiasco, during which the airline was forced to cancel more than 5,000 flights and misplaced 42,000 bags.
DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS
Annetts brushes these issues aside. "The problems at the beginning were very short-lived and really didn't affect the food and beverage side of things," he argues.
"What tends to happen when problems such as delays and cancellations occur is that passengers spend a lot more time before security, waiting to see what's going to happen. Once passengers have gone through, things tend to carry on as normal so the operators inside the terminal building don't really notice much of a difference."
According to Andrew Wood, operational performance manager for the British Airways lounges contract at Compass Group, passengers have made allowances and arrived at the terminal's restaurants and lounges with plenty of time to enjoy the high level of hospitality.
"Because any problems have been so well advertised, people are getting through earlier," he says. "They arrive at the terminal earlier and are processed quickly by security, leaving plenty of time in the lounges."
Once there, passengers are met by lavish surroundings more akin to a boutique hotel than an airport lounge. And while passenger numbers have dwindled during the recession, British Airways has been able to use the exclusivity of these lounges as means of attracting what business is available by opening them to a wider spread of passengers. So when the carrier is light on first and business class passengers using the lounges, footfall will remain constant, thanks to offers and inducements.
"Five years ago airlines saw lounges as a necessary operational area and didn't really focus on them as such," adds Wood. "Now it's seen as a differentiator. Many have opened new lounges in the last 18 months with a focus on higher quality. So one of the operational challenges is to try and stay ahead of the game."
To maintain British Airways' position at the forefront of hospitality, Compass has enhanced its food and beverage offer beyond the levels specified when T5 opened. All three tiers of lounge (Club, First and Concorde) have been improved.
"It used to be the exception that hot food was offered, but now it's the norm," adds Wood. "Passengers expect hot food to be available, even between meal periods."
When T5 first opened, the Concorde Room, which can accommodate 156 first class and invited guests, would serve hot food only at specified meal times. Now it offers an all-day dining menu capable of satisfying the most demanding customer. At any time passengers are presented with the option of a three-course meal including a platter of Parma ham grissini, roasted artichokes, sun-blushed tomatoes and gazpacho followed by herb-crusted haddock on rosti potatoes and chargrilled peppers dressed with tomato and balsamic vinegar, and rich chocolate ganache torte served with vanilla ice-cream.
ADAPTING TO SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
While Compass has changed along with British Airways to keep its food and beverage offer at the top of the industry standard, it has also had to adapt to security requirements. Passengers tend to leave more time when security is heightened, but it's difficult for a contract caterer to leave more time for recruitment when often the vacancy becomes available at short notice.
"The time it has taken us to recruit staff has been our greatest challenge," says Compass's director of aviation business, Geoff Wilson.
"There's a strict vetting system we have to use, which slows up the recruitment stage. It takes an average of three months to get someone on board."
Compass is working with BAA to establish a protocol that will satisfy its security requirements. But neither Compass, British Airways nor any of the 22 other food and beverage operators can control the weather and its effect on passenger numbers, flights and deliveries. As far as the recent adverse conditions and consequent flight cancellations and road closures are concerned, Annetts says that strong contingency plans are in place.
"We're lucky to be located near two major motorways, which means even in severe weather conditions, deliveries are still able to reach us," he says.
"We ensure that deliveries of fresh produce are increased when delays and cancellations are envisaged. For instance, certain operators like Costa Coffee will increase their milk order when an increase in volume of passengers is expected."
Security hikes, bad weather and threats of industrial action aside, Annetts concedes that BAA has had to rethink some of the food and beverage offer.
"One outlet has closed and another has rebranded," he explains. "We had a Caviar House & Prunier Seafood Bar in the satellite building, which didn't attract the anticipated amount of interest. While the seafood bar in the main terminal is doing really well we decided to close the outlet in the satellite building and concentrate on the Apostrophe sandwich and JD Wetherspoon bar offering there, which seem more appropriate for that location."
Meanwhile Amato, an Italian café serving fresh pastries and cakes, has rebranded as Espresso. While previously all of its cakes were delivered from its flagship store in Soho, it now prepares all its food - including pastries and sandwiches - freshly on site.
Other restaurant brands, which were new to the airport environment, took some time to settle in. "Some operators are well established on the high street but were new to the airport environment so it took them a little while to get used to this kind of market," Annetts says.
Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food was a case in point. The biggest restaurant in T5, holding 180 covers and employing a brigade of 35 in its £1m kitchen, Plane Food experienced severe teething problems. It lost more than £780,000 in the first six months and faced winding-up petitions from HMRC at the end of last year over unpaid debts.
Stuart Gillies, chef-patron of Plane Food, says the first few months at T5 were a huge learning curve for Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH). "We didn't fully know what we were doing and it cost us a lot of money," he admits.
"It took us about six months to understand the market and what customers want - which is a high-end product, fast. We spent too much time on table plans and letting customers settle in before ordering. We had to learn that what people want is to be in and out of there in 25 minutes."
GRH addressed the initial service problems and Plane Food is now one of its most successful brands, serving 600 to 700 diners a day. The restaurant has also introduced a picnic service, allowing travellers to take a three-course meal onto their flight, which, thanks to a high-profile endorsement from Victoria Beckham, has proved increasingly popular.
Gillies adds that with 75% of passengers being regular business travellers, the secret is to build up their trust. "It's incredible how many people spend three or four days a week at Heathrow and we get regular customers, just as we do at our other restaurants. It's about building up their trust and giving them what they want," he says.
A consideration all operators have had to get used to is the fact that all produce has to be checked in via the Heathrow Consolidation Centre (HCC), two miles from T5. Here, the goods are security-scanned before being delivered by BAA in temperature-controlled vans. The restaurants should receive ingredients within three hours of their delivery to HCC but there has to be room for leeway.
"Because all the deliveries have to be security checked there can be unforeseen delays," explains Gillies. "So we have to order everything one or two days in advance and can't use ingredients that are too volatile."
Looking ahead, the next milestone at Heathrow is the redevelopment of Terminal Two (T2) which is currently being rebuilt and is set to reopen in 2014. The new £1b building, part of a larger rebuilding programme across Heathrow, will handle an estimated 20 million passengers per year. It will be opened in two phases, the second of which will see T2 extended into Terminal One, which will itself be closed down when the second stage is complete.
Annetts says important lessons have been learned. "T5 was a great opportunity for us to show the quality of what can be delivered," he says. "We want to take this to the other terminals."
HOW THE HOTELS HAVE FARED
It might not have been the ideal time to open a luxury hotel at an airport, but the past two years have been successful in more ways than one for the 605-bedroom Sofitel London Heathrow.
Linked to Terminal 5 by a bridge, the hotel has done better with its conference and transient business than expected and has celebrated a trio of awards.
"While we have been slower than forecast in picking up traditional corporate and leisure business, we have compensated by being busier with conference and transient bookings, which account for nearly 30% and 55% of our turnover," says general manager Vincent Madden.
Overall, average occupancy at the hotel has achieved a respectable midweek figure of 75%.
The access to the airport, ease with reaching London by the Underground and the closeness to the road network has made the hotel, which is owned by Arora Hotels and operated under a Sofitel franchise, particularly attractive to conference bookers.
"It seems that in these days of austerity we have benefited from conference organisers not wanting to be seen to be booking jollies for companies in resort hotels," says Madden.
"We are seen as a more serious option and when guests arrive they are delighted to find that we offer all the quality they are used to in a resort."
Having announced on opening that one of the hotel's mission statements was to be the best airport hotel in the world, Madden and his team of 285 staff are delighted to have been named the Best New Business Hotel in the World in the UK Business Traveller Awards 2009 and the Best Airport Hotel in the World at the Business Traveller magazine Hotel Awards 2009 in the USA as well as winning a bronze award for accessibility in the Meeting & Incentive Travel Awards 2010.
Key features of the hotel include Brasserie Roux, overseen by chef consultant Albert Roux; two other restaurants, one serving afternoon tea and the other displaying live cookery; two bars; 45 meetings rooms; and a spa with a hydrotherapy suite.
HOSPITALITY IN TERMINAL 4
Last year BAA spent £200m refurbishing Heathrow's Terminal 4 (T4). In addition to extending the landside departure concourse and check-in facilities, the 85,000 sq ft of catering and retail space was transformed in a bid to provide passengers with improved facilities and a higher standard of service.
Alongside premium retail brands such as Jimmy Choo, Cartier and Cath Kidston is contract caterer Delaware North's quirky, British-themed Dining Street restaurant.
The firm, founded in the USA, has a wealth of experience in the travel market outside the UK and the 180-capacity restaurant is the result of Delaware North's decision to pursue food and beverage opportunities in UK airports.
Simon Dobson, the firm's UK managing director, says there was a long time spent building relations with BAA, which led to specific talks about available space at T4.
"BAA wanted something with a British theme, so we developed the quirky and very British Dining Street concept, which aims to leave passengers with a good sense of Britain as they depart," he says.
Plans to develop the concept include the introduction of a Brick Lane sub-theme, to be launched at Easter.
"It would be really easy to just put a couple of curry dishes on the menu," explains Dobson. "But it made sense to create something specific as a lot of flights out of T4 head to Asia and the East. It's a bit of fun as well."
While the concept is designed to be easily rolled out to other sites, Dobson emphasises that any plans to expand will be tailored to location. For example, Delaware North opened the Gathering restaurant, takeaway and delicatessen at Edinburgh airport in November last year as part of a £40m redevelopment of the Scottish terminal. The 220-cover restaurant has an Edinburgh theme, deliberately without clichés, and is designed to lift the quality of food and beverage offers available air-side while reflecting the values of the city.


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With more than 40 million Spanish-speaking readers and language learners, according to the Census Bureau, the U.S. has the fourth-largest Spanish-speaking population in the world, after Mexico, Spain, and Argentina. What’s more, if demographic trends continue, the Instituto Cervantes estimates that by 2060, 27.5% of the U.S. population will speak Spanish, which would make it the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. It therefore comes as no surprise that the U.S. market for Spanish-language books is growing. Accordingly, PW is now offering a quarterly spotlight on developments in that market. This will include discussions with authors, booksellers, librarians, publishers, and others in the value chain.
The U.S. market for Spanish-language titles is largely being driven by bilingual families, schools that offer dual-language classes, and libraries that service communities with large numbers of Spanish speakers. In addition, there are heritage-language customers who want to practice their Spanish, and language learners seeking cultural immersion.
Bilingual books have proven popular with children, parents, and students alike. In 2022, two new services, Enlingos and Curio, launched to cater to this audience, offering subscription boxes for bilingual and Spanish-language children’s books.
Historically, one of the most prolific and inclusive publishers of bilingual books is Star Bright Books in Cambridge, Mass. Founded in 1994 by Deborah Shine, a former bookseller and publisher from South Africa, the company offers more than 200 board and picture books in monolingual and bilingual editions covering 33 languages. After English, Spanish is most widely represented on the list, which includes 27 monolingual Spanish titles and 68 bilingual books.
“There are some immigrant families that want books in their native language, while others want books they can read in their native language, while their child may only speak English, so they will also read to them in English,” Shine says. “It varies.”
Accordingly, Star Bright often offers multiple editions of the same title, including English, Spanish, and bilingual versions. “In our bilingual books, we always put the foreign text above the English translation, which is often different from how other publishers do it,” says Shine, who is in her 90s and continues to run the company. “English is always secondary to the foreign language in our books.” Star Bright’s latest release is Arletis, Abuelo y el mensaje en la botella by Lea Aschkenas, illustrated Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. The picture book, which tells the true story of a young Cuban girl who strikes up an unlikely pen pal friendship with a Californian, is offered in English and in a Spanish translation by Lawrence Schimel, senior editor of Swiss publishing house NorthSouth Books. “The book was written in English and then we had it translated,” Shine says. “It was a natural decision to publish it in Spanish, for the story’s main character is Cuban and it is set in Cuba. Our Spanish titles are typically bilingual, but for this book, we decided to do a Spanish-only edition.” The book has a print run of 4,000 copies for each edition and has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection.
Arletis, Abuelo y el mensaje en la botella will likely find a strong market in south Florida, where there is a large Cuban population. Traditionally, the largest concentrations of Spanish book sales have been along the coasts and borders of the U.S.; however, publishers note, that is changing as the migration of Spanish speakers increases.
“Our market concentration is in all the places you would expect it to be—California, Texas, Florida, New York,” says Ariana Stein of Lil’ Libros, a Los Angeles–based publisher of bilingual board books in Spanish and English for children ages four to eight. “But our fastest-growing markets are in the Midwest—states like Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri. Our books come out of the American Latino experience.”
Stein cofounded Lil’ Libros with her friend Patty Rodriguez after they could not find Spanish-English bilingual books for their kids. “There is a phrase in Spanish, Ni de aquí, ni de allá, meaning ‘not from here, nor there,’ which captures the feeling of being an American Latino,” says Rodriguez, who writes many of the books with Stein, including several of the press’s bestselling titles, such as Loteria: First Words/Primeras palabras and Counting with/Contando Con—Frida.
In all, Lil’ Libros has published nearly 40 books, which have sold more than two million copies combined, Stein says. The Life of/La vida de Selena by Rodriguez and Stein has sold more than 250,000 copies, much of it direct to nonprofits and other community organizations. Gross revenue started at $11,000 in 2014 and topped $1.7 million in 2020, an 18% jump over 2019.
Stein and Rodriguez have fostered strong ties with their community and say they have more than 300,000 social media followers that generate 1.2 million impressions each month. When the company wanted to raise capital to expand into publishing picture books, it turned directly to its readers, raising $2.4 million in equity funding through the crowdsourcing site Wefunder in a campaign that closed in May 2022. “We raised this from nearly 6,000 people, who invested in $250–$500 increments—with a few large investors, as well,” Stein says. Some 30% of Lil’ Libros sales are direct-to-consumer, and the company has begun holding in-person pop-up sales and events, primarily in Los Angeles and Tucson, but with plans to extend these to Texas and New York City.
Future plans include rapidly expanding the number of titles published per year. “We hope to eventually go from doing 11 books per season to as many as 60 per year,” Rodriguez says. New titles include the Luz Lucero, niña astronauta by Zaida Hernandez, illustrated by Karla Monterrosa, just published in March, and Wepa, written and illustrated by J. de LaVega, about an energetic child who’s labeled as having ADHD, coming in May. In October 2022, Lil’ Libros acquired an equity stake in Bitty Bao, a startup publisher of bilingual English-Chinese board books for children, marking its expansion into a new language.
Despite the popularity of their books, the publishers at both Star Bright and Lil’ Libros note that they continue to face one challenge in particular. “Bookstores keep shelving our books in the foreign books section,” Rodriguez says. Bookstores, while stocking more Spanish-language and bilingual books, continue to see them as something of a niche rather than a mainstream item. Barnes & Noble was without a dedicated Spanish-language book buyer until Ernesto Martinez, former buyer at Borders, was hired last year. The change has been significant: today, the majority of B&N’s renovated stores include designated bays for Spanish-language titles and Martinez writes a blog, Aroma a libros, covering Spanish-language books on B&N’s website.
The growth of interest in Spanish-language books has been good news for Lectorum, the oldest and largest distributor of Spanish-language books in the U.S., which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020. Working out of a 30,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in New Jersey, the company distributes some 25,000–30,000 Spanish-language titles that it imports from publishers across the Spanish-speaking world. “Sales have been very strong since the end of the pandemic,” says Lectorum CEO and president Alex Correa. “In 2021 and 2022, schools had bigger budgets to acquire books. While this year may not be quite as good, I’m still optimistic.”
Lectorum also publishes its own books and has a backlist of more than 200 titles, many of them Spanish translations of classic children’s books. This past year, the company acquired North American rights to the Spanish-language translations of all of Kate DeCamillo’s books, including The Beatryce Prophecy and Because of Winn-Dixie, which has become one of Lectorum’s bestselling titles. It also acquired the rights to Dan Goodman’s Weird School trilogy.
More than half of Lectorum’s business is with schools and libraries, many of which have taken an interest in the company’s e-books platform, MakeMake, which offers 1,800 titles for kindergarten through high school. “It comes from Colombia and offers primarily Latin American books,” Correa says. “It now has 30 public libraries licensing it for patrons.”
Correa notes that in the past year, more and more schools have expressed interest in book fairs, which Lectorum conducts online. Unfortunately, that specific business is also becoming more challenging, as politicians representing Florida and Texas promote book bans. The issue is all the more complicated when there are language differences between politicians, families, and educators.
Looking ahead, Correa notes that one outcome from the pandemic is that many students have fallen behind in reading proficiency. As a consequence, librarians and teachers are asking for material that has content suitable for older readers but is also easier to read. “While they might be able to read a picture book, an older student would consider that childish,” Correa explains. “We actively looking for books to fill that need.”

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One of the merchants, Target, has since expedited plans to issue chip-and-PIN-enabled store credit cards to replace the magnetic-stripe cards involved in the breach. In March, Target announced an accelerated US$100m plan to move its REDcard portfolio to chip-and-PIN technology. It plans to have the new technology installed in all US stores by the end of this month, six months ahead of schedule. Other retailers are likely to follow suit, and shipments of the higher-security cards to US consumers are projected to reach 344m by 2019.
During 2014, there has been a rapid acceleration in the number of Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) cards in the US. Shipments of the higher security smart payment and banking cards are projected to increase to 84m in 2014, according to IHS Technology’s recently-issued ‘Payment and Banking Cards Report – 2014’, from which the table below is taken:
EMV Wouldn’t Have Prevented The Target Security Breaches:
It is important to note that EMV technology would not have prevented the Target breach, which involved the installation of malware inside point of sale (POS) terminals’ memories, where data is unencrypted regardless of the type of card from which it originated. However, criminals’ ability to reuse that payment information – specifically to create and sell counterfeit cards – would have been greatly reduced.
More Cards in Circulation:
In August 2014, a joint statement issued by Visa and MasterCard announced that “more than 575m US payment cards will include EMV chips by the end of 2015.”
Liability Shift in 2015 Will Also Drive EMV Migration:
Coupled to the ramp-up of EMV cards in 2014, the liability shift by Visa and MasterCard in October 2015 is also projected to increase the demand for EMV cards and EMV compliant POS terminal in the next 13 months and beyond.
Stolen Credit Card Data from Home Depot:
Most recently, this month has seen the news that Home Depot may be the latest US retailer to suffer a credit card breach. This was after a website reported that a large cache of stolen data had appeared on black market sites. According to information first reported by Krebs on Security, the breach may have extended as far back as last spring. So what can retailers and the payments industry do to protect us from the increasing threat of fraud and security breaches?
Potential Next Steps in Keeping Ever-Innovative Fraudsters at Bay:
One area in which the card issuers concede EMV technology will not prevent fraud is when stolen information is used to make purchases online or over the phone – so-called ‘card-not-present’(CNP) transactions, where no chip transaction is involved. In fact, evidence exists that CNP fraud has increased in countries that have adopted EMV cards. The UK, for one, saw losses from CNP fraud triple between 2000 and 2010.
For this reason, many of the world’s largest banks are urging adoption of a tokenisation standard. This would help protect card data by substituting the account number with a unique, randomly generated sequence of numbers and alphanumeric characters that would make it difficult to use the same card repeatedly. In any case, as both consumers and criminals alike continue to abandon the physical POS to make their purchases online, increasingly sophisticated security technologies – whether they be tokenisation or other advanced encryption methods – will have to follow. It is important to look at this area as part of a layered approach that includes tokenisation, end-to-end encryption and EMV cards.
There are a number of conclusions that can be drawn from the state of play of EMV migration in the US:
- There is no ‘quick fix’ in regards to EMV migration. It will take time for the US to be EMV-compliant. On average, EMV migration within a country can anything between three and five years to fully complete.
- EMV expansion to the US may have been slow over the past few years, but at least it is properly standardised and regulated.
- There needs to be a layered approach when it comes to keeping ever-innovative fraudsters at bay. This will include tokenisation, end-to-end encryption and EMV cards.
We have been witness to a series of significant security events recently around payment execution, from Leoni in Germany through to ABB in South Korea and SWIFT in Bangladesh to name a few of the major headlines.
Europe’s opening banking regulation is finally here. After months of preparation across the continent, the Revised Payment Services Directive comes into effect on January 13.
The revised Payment Services Directive regulation, regarded as one of the most disruptive in Europe’s financial services sector, will begin to make an impact on January 13, 2018.
The cost of compliance efforts for banks has increased exponentially in recent years. This is especially true for those banks that are active in the global trade finance domain, where the overwhelming expectation is for compliance requirements to become even more complex, strict and challenging over time.


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DALLAS, Jan. 11 The American Heart Association (AHA) applauds the efforts of New York City to work with the packaged and restaurant foods industry to reduce the amount of salt in the food supply. These efforts serve an important role in bringing both the public health community and food industry together to create solutions and help Americans live healthier lives.
The AHA is very concerned with the amount of salt Americans are consuming since sodium can have a detrimental effect on health, including high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease. Unfortunately, Americans eat about twice the recommended daily amount of sodium.
Only a small fraction of the sodium in our diets is added at the table as salt; almost 80% of it is added to packaged and restaurant foods. As a result, it is extremely difficult for individuals to limit sodium in their diet. The AHA would like to see food manufacturers and restaurants reduce the sodium added to foods by 50% over the next 10 years, for the benefit of public health. By reducing the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant foods, manufacturers could reduce the prevalence of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
The American Heart Association receives funding primarily from individuals, foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are disclosed at www.americanheart.org/corporatefunding.
SOURCE American Heart Association


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Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has launched its customer smart services app on the Apple Vision Pro headset combining augmented and virtual reality.
Believed to be the first utility to offer the option, DEWA intends to use the capabilities and features of Apple Vision Pro to enhance its customer services.
The move also supports DEWA’s intent to provide its services to customers through the available digital channels.
“The smart government goes to the people and does not wait for them to come to it;” comments HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.
“We are committed to keeping pace with rapid technological developments to provide innovative, safe and proactive services that are available around the clock through various channels that suit all customers and allow them to conduct their transactions seamlessly and conveniently, anytime, anywhere, to save their time and effort and contribute to enhancing their happiness.”
He adds that DEWA’s advanced digital infrastructure has contributed to increasing the smart adoption of its services to over 99%.
Through Apple Vision Pro, DEWA already provides a range of services, including accessing the app using the UAE Pass digital identity, a username and password, or through eyeprint authentication.
The app identifies the main customer account with the ability to choose the account to enquire about and view visual data using the virtual touch and drag feature.
Additionally, the customer can view bill details and pay using Apple Pay, access their ‘Smart Living’ consumption monitoring dashboard, as well as view their consumption reports compared to similar homes through the ‘My Sustainable Living’ programme.
The smart app also provides each customer with an individual footprint as well as customised tips to enhance consumption efficiency.
Apple Vision Pro, a mixed reality glasses/headset, was launched in February 2024 and allows navigation using eyes, hands or voice.
In 2023, DEWA’s customers conducted around 12.5 million digital transactions – up about 25% on the around 10 million in 2022.
These included over 2.1 million transactions using DEWA’s website and over 3.2 million transactions using DEWA’s smart app, in addition to more than 6.8 million transactions through various digital channels that DEWA provides in collaboration with its partners.


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A Nicosia woman says she was scammed out of €1,400 during a series of online transactions when she attempted to sell furniture online.
According what the 35-year-old told the police, the woman had put the furniture up for sale online and was approached by someone presenting themselves as an interested buyer.
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The person told her they had accidentally put too much money into her account when purchasing the item and asked the woman to return the difference.
The woman received a series of messages from what appeared to be the company facilitating the financial exchange and which appeared to confirm the money had indeed been deposited in her account. She then sent the difference to the buyer.
A few days later, the woman received another message from the same company, asking her to e-mail them a copy of her ID card. She did so and, a short time later, received another e-mail from the same company saying she had won €50,000 but had to pay €990 tax to get her prize.
The woman then contacted the company directly from her account and to her dismay found out that the account she had been getting the messages from was counterfeit and not connected to the company in any way.
She was also informed that no money had been deposited into her account by the would-be buyer.
The new case on Thursday prompted the police to call on people to be particularly careful and, if they came across any online scams, to immediately inform their district CID department.


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Scalability is a Problem for Bitcoin, but for How Long?
May 29, 2018
Scalability remains one of the biggest hurdles to the widescale adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) today. As one of the first blockchains, created in 2009, the coding on which the Bitcoin blockchain runs is relatively inefficient. More recent blockchains, such as the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, are recognized as being more well-organized and “coder-friendly”. As the volume of transactions conducted on the Bitcoin blockchain has increased, it has struggled to handle the increase in scope. Bitcoin’s blockchain has a block size limit of 1mb, and any block larger than 1mb is automatically rejected by the Bitcoin network. As a result, Bitcoin’s blockchain can only support 3 to 5 transactions per second. The Bitcoin Lighting Network is one of the most significant attempts to overcome the inefficiencies in Bitcoin blockchain.
Bitcoin’s Lightning Network adds an extra “layer” to the bitcoin blockchain, that enables Bitcoin transactions to occur instantaneously. The Lightning Network facilitates the Bitcoin blockchain by utilizing smart contract technologies to enable instant payments using Bitcoin. Smart contracts address the problem of scalability by giving users a secondary method for processing transactions. The Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) department at MIT has developed a potential breakthrough that builds off the Lightning Work, potentially making bitcoin even more scalable.
The DCI has created what they term “oracles”, trusted entities designed to collect Bitcoin transaction data from the lightning network and transmit it to smart contracts. Because data is not stored on the Bitcoin blockchain, Bitcoin transactions can be recorded and settled at much higher speeds. The data that can be broadcasted ranges from information about the weather all the way to the most recent price of a Satoshi (1 Satoshi = 0.00000001 ? -- the smallest unit of bitcoin) in US dollars. This data is accessible for anyone to use for Bitcoin transactions via smart contract.
Cryptocurrency investors generally value their privacy. MIT’s oracle network caters to this desire because oracles are unable to identify who is using the data they transmit.
While DCI’s development may significantly improve the scale and efficiency of the Bitcoin network, the are several hurdles that must be cleared:
- The oracle network is still in its experimental phase and according to DCI researcher Alin S. Dragos, “shouldn’t be used for real money”.
- The oracles that broadcast pricing data will need to be compensated for their work.
- Although oracles can be trusted now, further expansion of the network may raise concerns about users “double dipping” and using multiple oracles to transmit a single transaction.
- While DCI has demonstrated how the underlying technology works, they haven't produced a high-quality user interface (UI).
To view the full article sourced for this piece:


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Credit Sesame’s personal finance news roundup March 23, 2024. Stories, news, politics and events impacting personal finance during the past week.
- Fed leaves interest rate unchanged
- Rising interest costs work against US consumers
- Home buyers finally get a break
- Most consumers wary of government efforts on bank fees
- Late payments on credit accounts continue to rise
- Lackluster mortgage demand continues
- Data breaches and digital fraud are soaring
- Mortgage rates resumed upward course last week
Fed leaves interest rate unchanged
The Federal Reserve concluded its latest meeting by announcing it would make no immediate change in the Fed funds rate. It will maintain that rate between 5.25% and 5.5% for now. What changed is that the Fed’s latest economic predictions show it has become less optimistic about inflation. The Fed has raised its forecast for where inflation will be at the end of this year from 2.4% to 2.6%. It has also signaled that it expects to cut interest rates by less than originally expected over the next few years. The Fed’s forecast of where those rates will be at the end of 2025 and 2026 is now higher than in the previous set of projections. See details at FederalReserve.com.
Rising interest costs work against US consumers
As interest rates have risen over the past two years, the direct cost to consumers has exceeded the benefit. The total cost consumers pay on debt has risen by $420 billion. Meanwhile, the amount consumers earn in savings and investment interest has risen by just $280 billion. This differs from the pattern in past economic cycles. One reason is that consumers now hold a higher portion of their debt in credit card balances, which charge higher interest rates and respond more quickly to rising rates than loan debt. Also, consumers today own a higher proportion of stocks rather than interest-paying investments. Higher interest rates have at least benefitted consumers by bringing down the inflation rate over the past couple of years. See article at Yahoo.com.
Home buyers finally get a break
A settlement resulting from an anti-trust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors may make it cheaper to buy a home in the future. The settlement will do away with the traditional standard 6% commission on a home sale. Instead, that commission will be negotiable. It remains to be seen how that will reset the size of commissions, but in other countries where those commissions are negotiable, they tend to average around 1% or 2%. Also, commissions will no longer be split evenly by the buyer’s and seller’s brokers. Instead, they will be negotiated separately by each party. On the downside, buyers may need to pay their brokers a flat fee rather than including the fee in the financing of the purchase. See Yahoo.com.
Most consumers wary of government efforts on bank fees
A survey of consumers found little support for the government’s efforts to curb debit card and overdraft fees. More than 80% of survey respondents are satisfied with the ease and speed of debit card transactions and the security of their financial information when using a debit card. Only 21% support the government’s efforts to lower debit card swipe fees, and only 12% think merchants will reduce prices if those fees are lowered. As for overdraft fees, 67% find overdraft protection valuable. 79% of those who paid an overdraft fee within the past year are glad the bank covered the overdraft rather than denying the payment. 78% of those enrolled in overdraft protection say they’ve never seriously considered opting out. See survey details at ABA.com.
Late payments on credit accounts continue to rise
Credit bureau TransUnion reported that serious delinquency rates rose across all products in February. TransUnion’s latest Credit Industry Snapshot found that serious delinquency rates rose for auto loans, credit cards, mortgages, and unsecured personal loans. Delinquency rates are especially alarming among subprime customers. 21.69% of subprime credit card accounts are now at least 90 days past due. See details at TransUnion.com.
Lackluster mortgage demand continues
Higher mortgage rates and limited supply continue to constrain mortgage applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association announced that, after seasonal adjustment, overall application volume was down by 1.6% last week. This includes a 3% decline in refinancing applications and a 1% decline in purchase applications. Overall, mortgage applications are down 14% from the same week one year ago. See details at MBA.org.
Data breaches and digital fraud are soaring
A new TransUnion report has found that the number of data breaches in the US has soared by 157% since 2020 to reach an all-time high. Lender exposure to fraudulent account creation has risen by 63% over the same period to $3.1 billion. 13.5% of all accounts created online involve fraudulent transactions. Retail, travel & leisure, and video gaming saw exceptionally high percentages of fraudulent account creation. See article at Yahoo.com.
Mortgage rates resumed upward course last week
After easing for two consecutive weeks, 30-year mortgage rates headed back upward last week. They rose by 0.13% to 6.87%. Mortgage rates have generally been heading higher so far in 2024. See rate details at FreddieMac.com.
Weekly news headlines from Credit Sesame


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To celebrate their new Forever Love, James Reid and Nadine Lustre (popularly known as the on- and off-screen love team JaDine), together with Jollibee, the nation’s number one fastfood brand, surprised their avid followers with the New Forever Love Fans Day on August 3, 2016 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall in Pasay City.
James and Nadine have recently discovered a new Forever Love with the all-new Jollibee Sweet-Spicy BBQ Burger Steak, with its 100 percent pure beef patty topped with a generous serving of special barbecue sauce and sweet corn kernels.
The NEW Jollibee Sweet- Spicy BBQ Burger Steak is available for both one-piece solo at P50 and one-piece Value Meal at P55. We are also offering this new product with two-piece Solo at P80 and two-piece Value Meal at P85 (prices may vary according to store location).
Fans of the love team also got the chance to meet and greet their favorite love team and were shown the TVC featuring JaDine as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes while shooting the TVC.
JaDine performed special numbers for their fans like “Hana- Hanap” and the coupIe’s rendition of “This Time.” They also eagerly participated in on-stage interviews and games that delivered maximum kilig for their fans.
“The new Sweet and Spicy BBQ Burger Steak is just one of the product innovations we are launching this year,” said Francis E. Flores, Jollibee Global Chief Marketing Officer and Philippine Head of Marketing. “We always strive to develop products that represent the myriad of flavors that Pinoys, including James and Nadine, Iove.”
For more information on Jollibee’s latest product offerings, events, and promotions, like facebook.com/JollibeePhilippines, and follow @BestFriendJollibee on lnstagram and @Jollibee on Twitter and Snapchat


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Emergency room doctors may not be spending weeks at home, but they understand the toll that all those days under lockdown can take on your health. Newsmax writer Lynn Anderson’s article about emerging from lockdown included wise advice from ER physician and sports medicine doctor Ara Suppiah, MD. Noting that the average American is estimated to have gained five pounds during self-isolation, Suppiah suggested dietary changes including eating more avocados, berries, eggs and broccoli. He also advised eating more palm oil. “Malaysian palm oil is nature’s richest source of vitamin E which helps maintain brain and liver health,” he pointed out.
We are your resource for information on the health and nutritional benefits of Malaysian palm fruit oil and palm fruit oil bioactives. We provide breaking news and industry research, including the exciting potential for supporting cardiovascular and neurological health.


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December 6, 2013 - Industry News
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, against the California Air Resources Board on Friday, in connection with the Truck and Bus Regulation.
Tags: Emissions, CARB, Trucks, California, OOIDA
Nearly 10% of the nation’s freight brokers no longer have their licenses following new federal regulations that took effect requiring a higher bonding amount.
Tags: FMCSA, ATA, TIA, OOIDA, Freight, Brokers, AIPBA
Unemployment moved down in November to its lowest level in five years and with it trucking added the most jobs in several months.
Tags: Economy, Unemployment, Consumer Spending
December 5, 2013 - Industry News
A proposed ban on diesel-powered vehicles in the District of Columbia has drawn a strong response from a coalition of trucking industry groups. The coalition warned the D.C. Council that provisions in the recently introduced Sustainable D.C. Omnibus Act of 2013 would have “significantly harmful effects on the District’s economy and on the quality of life of District residents.”
Tags: Emissions, Legislation, ATA, Washington D.C.
Two container shipping companies have acknowledged they are in talks about a possible merger that would create the world’s fourth largest such shipping fleet.
Tags: Intermodal, Freight, Ports, Port Trucking
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has authorized a program to continue a multimillion-dollar upgrade of the road network at the agency’s New Jersey marine terminals.
Tags: Drivers, New Jersey, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Road Construction, Port Trucking
A recent news report about broken truck reefer units in Ohio prompted Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, to press the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to act on food safety.
Tags: FMCSA, Regulations, Congress
Border crossings into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico in 2012 included 10.7 million truck crossings, along with with personal vehicles entering the U.S. nearly 96 million times (33.1 million from Canada, and 62.7 million from Mexico.) The stats also include 320,000 buses and 37,000 trains.
Tags: Canada, Economy, Cross-Border Trucking, Mexico, Surface Trade, Freight
The broadest measure of health of the nation’s economy shows it expanded at an annual rate of 3.6% in the third quarter of the year, more than originally reported, according to the U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday.
Tags: Economy, ATA, GDP
Less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight System is cutting its number of terminals from 277 to 247. In a “change of operations” filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ABF parent company Arkansas Best said it had already eliminated eight facilities in the second half of this year, with the rest still yet to close.
Tags: Fleets, Arkansas Best, Teamsters, ABF, LTL
December 4, 2013 - Industry News
Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s bid to raise federal fuel taxes to pay for more investment in roads and bridges drew strong support from a wide range of interests, including American Trucking Associations.
Tags: Taxes, Congress, infrastructure, Fuel Tax, Highway Funding, Infrastructure Funding, Diesel Tax, Gasoline Tax
Freight rates have posted their first across the board increases for the first time in several weeks on one of the nation’s largest spot markets.
Tags: Freight, Spot Freight, DAT Transcore
Sales of new homes on the United States skyrocketed in October, recording the biggest monthly increase in more than 30 years, according to a new U.S. Commerce Department report.
Tags: Economy, Home Sales, Employment
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration recently released a study on shipping patterns and industry costs that will help the United States prepare for the anticipated impact on its ports, waterways and intermodal freight systems from the Panama Canal expansion.
Tags: Intermodal, Freight, Panama Canal, Port Trucking
November North American Class 5 through 7 net truck orders are expected to total 18,000 while Class 8 orders are expected at 21,200 units, when actual data are released mid-month, according to commercial vehicle data analysts at ACT Research.
Tags: Truck Sales, ACT Research, Truck Orders
Union Pacific Railroad recently introduced a new intermodal service offering between Chicago and Monterrey, Mexico, giving companies another option to move goods across the border six days a week.
Tags: Intermodal, Freight
The parent to liquid and dry bulk hauler, Florida Rock & Tank Lines, has reported a huge increase in income for its fiscal fourth quarter as well as for its fiscal year.
Tags: Fleets, Earnings, Patriot Transportation
December 3, 2013 - Industry News
A woman has pleaded guilty to charges in U.S. District Court in Macon, Ga., for her involvement in a double-brokering freight scam. On Nov. 20, Pauline Robinson-Kirkland, of Donalsonville, Ga., admitted to mail fraud. She was indicted in July 2012.
Tags: Freight, Brokers, Fraud
The financially troubled parent company to several fleets, YRC Worldwide, is looking to investors to help it pay off some debt, according to the Journal of Commerce.
Tags: Fleets, Teamsters, YRC Worldwide, LTL
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., will introduce bills to raise federal fuel taxes, index them to inflation and test a vehicle-mile tax. The proposals, which Blumenauer is scheduled to discuss on Capitol Hill Wednesday, come as Congress begins to consider ways to revive funding for U.S. roads and bridges.
Tags: Congress, Fuel Tax, Highway Funding, Diesel Tax, Gasoline Tax, Taxes, Infrastructure Funding, infrastructure
Sales of new automobiles, light-trucks and SUV’s in the U.S. picked up their pace dramatically last month, hitting an annual rate of 16.4 million, far above the 15.3 million yearly rate in October and the best since early 2007.
Tags: Economy, Auto Sales
Freight haulers are embracing social media but still not a much as other business-to-business companies, according to a new study.
Tags: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Social Media, Promotion, Fleets
Less-than-truckload carrier Old Dominion Freight Line on Tuesday updated its expectations for growth in tons per day and revenue per hundredweight for the fourth quarter of this year, saying it now expects a larger increase in tons per day.
Tags: Old Dominion Freight Line, Fleets, Freight, Fleet Financials, LTL
December 2, 2013 - Industry News
Fueled by a growth rate of 665% over the past three years, LTL Freight Services, Milwaukee, is rebranding itself as Global Freight Source as it focuses on becoming a single-source provider of shipping logistics.
Tags: 3PL, Logistics, Fleets
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will consider additional applications for exemptions from the federal hearing standard prohibiting deaf truck drivers from interstate operations. The first 40 such individuals to receive these exemptions were approved in February.
Tags: FMCSA, Regulations, Safety & Compliance
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It will soon cost $ 1 more a month to watch your favorite Marvel, Pixar and “Star Wars” stuff.
Disney + will increase its monthly price from $ 6.99 per month to $ 7.99 per month in the US starting Friday, March 26. The annual subscription price will also increase, from $ 69.99 per year to $ 79.99 per year. And so will Disney’s three-way bundle from Disney +, Hulu, and ESPN +, increasing from $ 1 to $ 13.99 per month.
But budget-minded subscribers looking for a deal will still be able to lock in an annual subscription at the current price, saving $ 10, if they sign up before Friday.
See also: Monthly Streaming Picks on What’s Worth Streaming
It is the first price increase since Walt Disney Co. DIS,
launched its streaming service in fall 2019. The increases were first announced in December.
Disney is betting that the increase won’t be enough to alienate viewers. The fast-growing service surpassed 100 million subscribers in March, Disney said, thanks to hit series like the “Star Wars” spin-off “The Mandalorian” and Marvel spin-offs “WandaVision” and “The Falcon and the Winter. Soldier “.
Although its library is much smaller, at $ 7.99 a month, Disney + is significantly cheaper than its rival Netflix Inc. NFLX,
which recently raised its most popular subscription plan to $ 13.99 a month, and T by AT&T,
HBO Max, at $ 14.99 a month.
On Tuesday, Disney readjusted its upcoming movie release schedule, announcing Scarlett Johansson’s “Avengers” spinoff film “Black Widow” and Emma Stone’s live-action “Cruella” will air for an additional $ 30 to Disney + subscribers. the same day they hit theaters this summer. , and the animated Pixar movie “Luca” will air on Disney + at no additional charge starting June 18.


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Sanctioning used to be an effective way to get other countries to do or stop doing something. Today, it is as likely to cause as much or more harm to the sanctioner, as it is the sanctioned. For the last 30 years or so, the United States economy has been a consumer economy. Whereas we used to produce much of what we consumed, in recent years we have tended to consume much more than we produced. This has led to huge imbalances throughout the world, namely, the “trade deficit” we hear so much about in the news. Production has been moved to other countries where it was cheaper, and Americans didn’t complain, because they could buy more for less money. But that tide is shifting, and those without the protection of precious metals will be found to be swimming naked. We have identified these trends that diminish the Dollar before, and they have only continued.
As the issuer of the premier World Reserve Currency, the US has enjoyed an enormous privilege. Nations around the world have used Dollars for commerce, even amongst themselves. Because of the ready acceptance of Dollars in commerce, many nations have also stored vast sums of wealth in Dollars, and Dollar-denominated securities. Americans have purchased goods from all over the world, in exchange for Dollars. Manufacturing closures in the US have decimated town after town, but few complained because they could buy manufactured goods inexpensively. When the US was unhappy with someone, such as Russia, North Korea, or Iran, we would often “sanction” them, and restrict their ability to trade in Dollars or spend the Dollars in their reserves.
Because people still had to eat and live whether we sanctioned them or not, they began to find ways to trade without using Dollars. We have tried to use the sanctioning tool so much, that the targeted nations have become nearly impervious to our efforts to hinder their trading. Not only that, but they have developed trading systems that other (non-sanctioned) nations also want to adopt, to lessen the impact of being sanctioned by the United States themselves. One of the most useful hedges for sanctioned nations has been gold. Russia has been sanctioned so many times, that they have recently dumped half of their US Treasury bills in April, owning less US debt than the small island of Bermuda. Turkey has done something similar, and Norway has reduced US Treasury holdings by 40%. In the case of Russia and Turkey, gold has helped fill in the gaps.
While China has the potential to sell significant US Treasury holdings, it remains to be seen whether it would follow Russia’s lead in doing so. But they have other means of diminishing the role of the Dollar in trade, namely, the Petro-Yuan. China is creating a network for the Yuan to be used as a regional oil currency. An additional opportunity for Yuan to displace the Dollar is being developed in other important emerging markets, as a regional Reserve Currency. Just last week, it was reported that 14 African nations are considering switching to the Yuan, for that purpose. These developments appear to be related to an ongoing Chinese initiative we have mentioned before, called the “Belt and Road Initiative”.
The series of interest rate increases in the US is having a detrimental effect on emerging currencies worldwide, and many nations have found refuge in gold. In fact, those we have sanctioned in the past and present, such as Turkey, Iran, and Russia, have helped bring gold into the forefront of modern trade. The same strategies used by foreign nations, to insulate themselves from American sanctions and tariffs, can be used by American citizens. By purchasing and storing gold and silver, Americans can protect their savings from the uncertainties created by American policies. There is even an exciting new way to store your gold and silver, independently of the banking system.
Politicians declare war and decide when military actions will be taken. But it is the citizens of a nation impacted most by the wars declared, and the actions decided upon. In the same way, politicians declare “trade wars”, and decide when economic sanctions will be applied. But it is the citizens, in this case, American citizens, that will be the most impacted by the trade wars. Wars are fought with guns, tanks, and bombs, along with blood, sweat, and tears. Trade wars are fought with money. When tariffs are increased on goods and services from China, for example, someone ultimately has to pay those tariffs. While it might sound good to some to “make China pay”, the reality is that the tariffs on China become a tax to the Americans purchasing those items. A 30% tariff on a pair of socks from China, becomes a 32-35% increase in the price Americans pay for those socks. We have to remember to add in the extra sales tax that results.
This requires more and more Dollars to purchase the same amount of goods and services, otherwise known as price inflation, to the average American. I am not saying the tariffs being bandied about and imposed by our leaders are not justified; perhaps they will turn out to be a beneficial part of an overall plan. But in the interim, costs of living are likely to rise for Americans. This means the value of each Dollar in our wallets or bank account is likely to continue its downward march. As we have mentioned previously, inflation is already making it's marked here in America, and around the world. The ongoing rounds of sanctions, tariffs, and trade wars will do nothing to diminish that inflation, but will rather stoke the fires.
In order to protect ourselves, we would be wise to consider the 5,000-year-old method that has seen it all, “been there and done that” a thousand times before. While we might be seeing circumstances and conditions that are new to us - new to 80% of those alive today, it provides ample reason to diversify into an asset that will continue to have value no matter what. While the fires of inflation burn up an ever-increasing amount of paper currency, gold, and silver shine more and more brightly. We will keep you updated as things progress...


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Dreams become realities with passion-dedication & workmen-ship lead to success- Luxury Ride
- April 7, 2021
- Posted by luxuryride
- Comments Off on Dreams become realities with passion-dedication & workmen-ship lead to success- Luxury Ride
The Covid shock of 2020 devastated most industries and the startup ecosystem was no exception, Sequoia issued a memo calling coronavirus the Black Swan of 2020 and Nasscom said 40% of Indian tech start-ups were forced to halt operations. Many start-ups let go of their employees, did salary cuts, on the contrary Luxury Ride, a chain of pre-owned luxury cars start-up headquartered at Gurugram has not only survived the pandemic with ease, but today completes successful 6 years, given 10 lacs rupees cash as reward to the GM-Sales and also has awarded 11 staff members who has been working with Luxury Ride from more than 3 years. Luxury Ride catering to the bigger section of the society, who have a dream of buying luxury cars at an economical price and also avail the after car services at an affordable rate.
Sumit Garg, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Luxury Ride said, “Following your passion, earning money from doing what you love is the ultimate happiness. I always had a passion for luxury, exotic cars and I am lucky that I could transform my passion into a hugely successful venture and pursue my childhood dream. We started in 2015 with a single showroom and had no car to showcase in our showroom, but here we are in 2021 with 1000+ cars, 4000+ happy customers, 150+ employees, built India’s biggest showroom in Karnal and dominating the North India market. Our passion for luxury cars has come a long way and it will continue to grow as we will expand in Central India, Southern India and in Western India. We will be opening 50 new showrooms across India with service centres, to offer all services under one roof to our valuable customers. We recently forayed in the exotic sports car category and 10% of our stocks will be of this. The journey of six years has been really amazing and we have come a long way, the pandemic was kind to us and we have survived the pandemic with decent sales and have added many new customers to our family. Today, we have retail presence in cities like Delhi, Karnal, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jaipur, Ludhiana, and Gurugram. Our mission is to not only provide certified, pre-owned luxury cars at an economical rate but also provide after car services at a very affordable cost. We at Luxury Ride believe that trust, transparency, quality control are the pillars of Luxury Ride. This six years of journey are only possible because of our team, customers, our mentors & investors, and we thank all of them from the bottom of my heart.”
About Luxury Ride: Co-Founded by Sumit Garg and serial angel investor Dhianu Das in 2015, Luxury Ride is among India’s fastest-growing and largest chain of pre-owned, multi-brand luxury car showrooms, offering end to end services from buying, selling, servicing, insurance, roadside assistance to car modification and more. It has seen tremendous growth year on year and is now present in seven cities across North India (Karnal, Gurugram, New Delhi, Ludhiana, Dehradun, Jaipur, and Chandigarh) – through a mix of owned and franchised outlets. Luxury Ride has sold 800+ luxury cars and serviced over 10,000 cars since inception. Its pre-owned luxury car portfolio includes Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini Cooper, and others. At Luxury Ride every car is put through 150 quality tests and it’s the first in India to offer a 15-day buy back guarantee. It aims to be a one-stop destination for pre-owned luxury cars providing buying, selling, servicing, detailing, insurance, roadside assistance, car modification and much more, all under a single roof. Luxury Ride’s vision is to make luxury cars affordable for more customers and set new benchmarks in the space be it service, selling or the whole experience.


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BornxRaised has released a charged “No Justice, No Peace” capsule in support of ongoing Black Lives Matter protests across the world. Consisting of a graphic-coated long-sleeve tee and a custom cloth facemask, the offerings repurpose BxR’s Old English fonts and visceral embellishments to raise funds for BLM while building awareness around police brutality and the need for social justice.
Done up in black, the long-sleeve tee features a flipped grey skeleton hand and yellow BxR spellout graphic on the left chest. Sleeves take on a lightning-style yellow font for the “No Justice, No Peace” motifs that run from upper arm to wrist, and also add more skeleton finger embellishments. However, the pièce de résistance is undeniably the back. From neck to waist, it’s covered in text, graphics ranging from red roses to green skeletons, and even a quote from Malcolm X. The black cotton mask is also centered around the skull finger graphic, and adds similar text hits to its corresponding tee.
The BornxRaised “No Justice, No Peace” capsule is available for pre-sale now on the Born x Raised webstore. The tee is priced at $38 USD, and the mask arrives at $15 USD. All profits from the sales of the collection will be donated to Black Lives Matter.


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Apple Music and Spotify added more than one million U.S. subscribers per month in the first half of 2019.
Apple today launched the Apple Music web player for everyone. It’s in beta, but you can still access it if you have an Apple Music subscription.
Apple will send you reminders and news about its iPhone 11 via Twitter. All you have to do is “love” its tweet about its event and you’ll be kept up to date.
Apple updated the Events app for the Apple TV as it continues preparations for its September 10 event.
Apple Pay Vice President Jennifer Bailey revealed that the company is keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency. This is the first time an Apple exec acknowledged the company's interest in crypto.
IFC Films announced its IFC Films Unlimited service is making its way to Apple TV Channels. You will now be able to subscribe to the service directly through Apple for $5.99 per month.
The Hermès site accidentally listed Apple Watch Series 5 bands possibly hinting that a new model is on the way.
A new report says the Apple TV could be getting a refresh that comes with the A12 chip. This refresh could be announced at Apple’s September 10 event.
The Apple Card comes in a striking white finish, but have you ever wonder what it looks like without the paint? Someone polished the white coating off their Apple Card and here’s what it looks like.
Apple has pulled the plug on the series Bastards that was set to start Richard Gere. The series was based on a hit Israeli version.
A group of thieves broke into an Australian Apple store and stole more than $200,000 worth of iPhones.
Code within iOS 13 reveals that Apple has a new feature in the works called Schooltime. It is designed to help students focus during school hours.
A possible Geekbench score that could belong to the iPhone 11R reveals Apple’s new iPhone will come with 4GB of RAM. That will be a 25% increase over the iPhone XR.
A supposed image of Apple’s iPhone 11 silicon case suggests that Apple will slightly tweak the design of its cases to match the new camera cut-out.
A new report says Apple will set September 13 as the pre-order date for the iPhone 11 and will launch on September 20.
Apple is proud of the way its customers love AirPods and the way they customize them with cases and paint jobs. It is showing off customized AirPods in a new Korean ad.
Nike’s Adapt Huarache are part of its FitAdapt self-lacing shoes. And now, they are getting Siri support.
Apple answers some of your questions regarding the Siri privacy and grading policy with new FAQ page.
Apple released an update over the way it handles Siri recording stemming from the controversy the bubbled up.
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Electric Vehicle industry has welcomed the recent decision of the government on the licence scenario for light motor vehicles. Ministry of Road Transport and Highway had recently proposed that license should be mandatory only for medium/heavy goods and passenger vehicles only. No other vehicle will require separate endorsement, even if they are used for commercial purposes.
The Supreme Court has stamped this decision stating that “The exemption from the requirement to obtain the endorsement for commercial vehicles would apply to Motor cycle without gear, Motor cycle with gear. Light Motor Vehicle (goods/passenger) and e-rickshaw/ e-cart.”
Welcoming this move, Ayush Lohia, CEO, Lohia Auto Industries said that the future of EVs looks quite promising for e-rickshaws plying on Indian roads. The new policy will accelerate the acceptance and popularity of e-rickshaws in the country. The new policy is also in sync with government’s aims to make India a 100% electric vehicle nation by 2030 as these machines not only help users save money, but also promote a safe and clean environment which is the biggest health concern today.
He also added that the pollution levels growing at an alarming rate, restorative steps in the form of electric vehicles are the need of the hour. The action will prove to be beneficial for both consumers and the nation in the long run.
Images for representation purpose only


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Duane Fotheringham will benefit from a rising tide as he takes over at the helm of underwater robot manufacturer Hydroid and replaces one of the Cape Cod firm’s founders in the president’s role.
Fotheringham tells me Hydroid is in the midst of a growth spurt that would increase its full-time staffers by more than 50 percent over two years — from 84 at the end of 2012 to 120 full-timers today, and as many as 150 by the end of 2014. He says the new jobs represent growth in a mix of departments: engineering, project management, accounting, manufacturing.
To keep up with the growth, Hydroid is building a new 40,000-square-foot home in Pocasset. The firm currently occupies 33,000 square feet there, and Fotheringham expects to maintain at least 10,000 square feet of the leased space for sales, marketing and administrative functions.
Fotheringham became president of Hydroid on Jan. 1, as company co-founder Christopher von Alt stepped back from the day-to-day operations to take a more strategic role. Von Alt was part of the team that launched Hydroid in 2001 as a spinoff from technology developed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth. Von Alt, who helped guide Hydroid’s sale to Norwegian conglomerate Kongsberg in 2008, will remain chairman of Hydroid’s board of directors and will focus on long-range projects.
The responsibility of Hydroid’s physical expansion now falls on Fotheringham’s shoulders. As vice president of operations, Fotheringham has played a key role in helping Hydroid keep up with the pace of orders for its REMUS-brand underwater robots. Fotheringham says the firm is benefiting from an increased acceptance of using unmanned vehicles in military, commercial and academic work.
Recruiting younger workers for a business that operates on the south side of the Cape Cod Canal can be challenging, but Fotheringham says they make the trip because they’re excited about the technology. All of Hydroid’s robots are manufactured there and tested in the ocean with two boats that are based at a nearby marina.
Hydroid represents just one success story in the robotics business for a state that can brag about many of them. This region has become known as a robotics hub, with MIT acting as a focal point. The state’s accessible coastline and marine research institutes such as WHOI have helped the underwater robotics business flourish as an important niche in this growing sector.


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Reliance Jio added 89.90 million (about 9 crore) new wireless subscribers in the year 2019. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a new annual report for 2019 titled ‘Yearly Performance Indicators of Indian Telecom Sector’. The report shows figures of increase and decrease in year-on-year subscribers of telecom providers.
As per the report, Reliance Jio’s total wireless subscribers increased to 370.2 million in December 2019 as compared to December 2018 (280.12 million). Reliance Jio became the market leader by the end of 2019, gaining 32.14 per cent market share in terms of wireless telephone subscriber base.
Tecno Pova smartphone will be launched in India next week, it has 6000mAh battery
While Reliance Jio achieved a bumpy edge in 2019, Vodafone Idea and Airtel lost millions of wireless subscribers. According to a TRAI report, Vodafone Idea lost 86.13 million subscribers in 2019 and Airtel 12.96 million subscribers. Vodafone Idea subscribers were 418.75 million in December 2018, which decreased to 332.61 million in December 2019. The company’s market share fell from 35.61 per cent to 28.89 per cent.
Airtle also lost its customers this year but not as much as Vodafone Idea. The company had 340.26 million subscribers in December 2018, which declined to 327.30 million in December 2018. Airtel’s market share also declined slightly, from 28.93 per cent to 28.43 per cent.
Reliance Jio’s new explosion, will soon launch ‘very cheap’ 4G smartphones
State-run telecom company BSNL added 3.74 million subscribers last year. BSNL had 118.12 million subscribers in December 2018 which increased to 118.12 million in December 2019. The market share of BSNL was 10.26 per cent at the end of last year.
According to the TRAI report, Reliance Jio (370.87 million), Bharti Airtel (140.40 million), Vodafone Idea (118.45 million), BSNL (23.96 million) and the top 5 broadband service providers in December 2019 in terms of subscribers including wired and wireless. Atria were convergence technologies (1.52 million). In the wireless broadband segment, Reliance Jio achieved a market share of 57.56 million with 370.92 million subscribers. This was followed by Airtel with 21.97 per cent market share with 137.98 million subscribers.
TRAI revealed that the number of telephone subscribers in India increased to 1,197.87 million in 2019 December. The number stood at 1,172.44 million in December 2018. This means a decline of about 2.12 percent. Talk about the total number of telephone subscribers, in 2019 Reliance Jio added 90.95 million net subscribers. Apart from Reliance Jio and BSNL, all telecom operators saw a drop in subscribers.


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Disney’s decision to pull their movies from Netflix is just the latest move in a continuing trend of legacy media companies shifting their content to home-grown streaming services, in response to dwindling cable and satellite subscribers. Given that Netflix’s core business is delivering movies to consumers, this would seem like devastating news, right? Turns out, Netflix hardly blinked!
Perhaps anticipating Disney’s actions, Netflix has made a series of their own announcements regarding original content. In the past couple weeks Netflix signed a deal with TV icon David Letterman, purchased comics/film auteur Mark Millar’s Millarworld company, and released new trailers for several of their key productions, like Bright, The Defenders, and Stranger Things 2. Netflix, like HBO, Starz, and Showtime, has long-realized that the future of their business is tied to unique and original concepts, rather than relying upon increasingly expensive, short-term licensing deals for existing movies and TV shows.
Yesterday, Netflix doubled-down and scored potentially the biggest news of the week by signing the legendary Coen Brothers (Fargo, True Grit) to create an anthology series set in the Old West. According to the press release, Joel and Ethan will write and direct The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, which will feature six tales about the American frontier, starring Coen alum, Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Incredible Hulk) and other unannounced actors. The Coens will also be the series’ showrunners, in partnership with Annapurna Television productions.
It’s unclear whether this is just an experiment for the Coens or the beginning of a longer-term relationship. However, for fans of the Western genre, it’s absolutely amazing news. Much like Quentin Tarantino, the Coens love to explore different topics and genres; their work does not fit neatly into any single category. However, many of their projects borrow from Westerns (or are Westerns in disguise). In particular, their adaptation of Charles Portis’ True Grit novel, starring Jeff Bridges, is one of the most stylish, edgy, funny, and satisfying Westerns ever made. Given the creative freedom offered by Netflix, this should be one of next year’s biggest TV events.
The Coens released a terse statement, expressing their excitement and optimisn in a manner that’s, well, Coen-ish:
“We are streaming motherf—ers!”
Well, there’s really nothing more that I can add, they nailed it.
How do you feel about the Coen Brothers partnering with Netflix to create a Western anthology series? Let us know in the comments down below!
The Balland of Buster Scruggs hits Netflix in 2018 (TBD).
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In November, we got word of pricing for all but one trim of the 2022 Ford F-150. At that time, MSRP increases over the 2021 year were modest, ranging from $350 on the base XL to $715 on the Lariat. In December, Ford raised pickup prices again, this time with more feeling. The entry-level XL went up by just $350 again, but the STX Appearance Package for the XL got bumped up by $530, and every other F-150 trim rose by $880. Now, barely six weeks into 2022, thanks to the F150Gen14 forum we know that another even steeper hike will take effect come tomorrow, Feb. 15 — and it’s not limited to the trucks.
For the F-150, a dealer memo sent out Feb. 10 reveals every trim except the base XL will cost an additional $1,500 except for the Raptor, which will cost an additional $3,300. The STX Appearance Package, available on XL SuperCab and SuperCrew trims and costing $2,310, will go up another $500. And all Super Duty models will cost $1,000 more.
Buyers who placed F-150 orders on or before Feb. 14 will be spared the upcharge, the memo making clear, “2022 model units invoiced prior to February 15, 2022 will not be re-invoiced.”
But hear this:
The Edge, Escape, Explorer and Mustang GT will be more expensive, too, come midnight. Edge MSRP rises by $750 across the board. The Escape sees increases of anywhere from $250 to $675. The Explorer will cost anywhere from $480 to $1,100 more. And the Mustang GT is about to go up by $825, while the Shelby GT500 is about to go up by $1,090. Certain option and package prices are also going to cost more, from an extra $100 for the Escape’s Panoramic Vista Roof to an additional $500 for the Mustang Mach 1‘s Handling Package.
If you’re on the fence about one of these vehicles and you like saving money, now might be a good time to jump. Check out the F150Gen14 forum for the complete memo and full details.


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Ask any American what he/she is doing on Sunday, February 7, and the answer is likely to be either hosting or attending a Super Bowl party. For those that need a refresher, Super Bowl is the grand finale of the American football season. Played between the AFC (Denver Broncos) and NFC (Carolina Panthers) champions for the coveted title of the National Football League Champion, it is the most watched annual television program in the United States.
That's because Super Bowl which is celebrating its Golden Anniversary this year, is more than just a 60-minute football game - It is an elaborate production that features fantastic half-time performances, spectacular fireworks shows and television ads that people discuss for days.
But most important of all, it is the day to set aside all diets and indulge in foods one would generally avoid or at least not consume at the same time. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest food consumption days in the U.S. — Second only to Thanksgiving.
The noshing will start early in the day, long before the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers begin the exciting battle at the Levis Stadium in San Jose, CA and continue long after the 2016 NFL Champions have retired to celebrate.
The American Snack Food Foundation estimates that on Sunday, the nation will crunch through 1.2 million pounds of potato chips, 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips (accompanied by guacamole made from 79 million avocados), 3.8 million pounds of popcorn and 3 million pounds of nuts.
When the real hunger pangs start to hit, they will seek out comfort foods. Not surprisingly, pizza tops the list. Pizza Hut, one of the country's three largest chains expects to deliver 2 million pies on this day. In honor of the football championship's 50th year, the company has planned a special surprise. Fifty randomly selected customers that order their recently introduced Stuffed Garlic Knots Pie will only receive two pizzas — The one they ordered and another topped with $100 USD worth of edible 24-carat gold. Delivered in a special gold box, it will also include a $100 USD Pizza Hut gift card!
Chicken wings are also very popular. The National Chicken Council Association estimates that almost 1.3 billion wings will be consumed on Super Bowl Sunday. That is enough to circle the Grand Canyon 120 times! Other favorites include ribs (10 million pounds), bacon (12.5 million pounds), foot-long subs, hot dogs, and burgers.
To wash down the food, adults will consume almost 52 million cases of beer while kids and teetotalers will gulp down $2.37 million USD worth of soda. It is no wonder that Anheuser-Busch and Pepsi Cola are the game's biggest sponsors.
All this food does not come cheap. The National Retail Foundation estimates that Super Bowl partygoers will spend an average of $82.19 USD, most of it on food and beverages. This is up $5 USD from last year and the highest in the survey's history. While that may not seem much, it adds up when you consider that a record 188.9 million people are expected to watch the game.
The reckless food consumption is not without consequences. Data released by convenience store chain 7-Eleven indicates that antacid sales increase by 20% the Monday following the big game. Additionally, over seven million Americans call in sick. It is no wonder that fans have been urging the country's legislators to declare Super Bowl Monday a holiday, for many years - So far, they have refused to budge!
Happy Super Bowl Sunday!
Resources: abcnews.com, forbes.com, wikipedia.org, NFL.com,NRF.com


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Independent research suggested that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature may not be as foolproof as many people think. The research claimed that ATT has some loopholes that still allow apps to stealthily collect personal data from users’ Apple devices.
The new research conducted by independent researchers claims to demonstrate that some developers have been bypassing the App Tracking Transparency privacy features. The research said that although ATT worked, it has some loopholes that allow apps to continue tracking users.
How Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Works
As a review, ATT required that users click an “allow” button when installing an app. The message asks iOS device users, “Allow [app] to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites?” If a consumer opts not to give consent to the app, the app cannot access the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). IOS and iPadOS assign this identifier to track users across other installed apps. So, an app will be able to track users only when it receives the consent.
Many Apple device users praised the ATT feature. It showed Apple’s commitment to protecting users from companies that tracked their usage for unwanted advertising purposes.
Loopholes that Big Companies Can Exploit
As mentioned, the research claimed ATT has some loopholes that provide big companies an opportunity to work around it.
The researchers identified nine iOS apps that used server-side code to generate user identifiers. Chinese tech company Alibaba, for example, may have used such code to perform cross-app tracking. In principle, this violate Apple’s policies, which disallow developers to “derive data from a device for the purpose of uniquely identifying it.
The research suggested that tracking companies still track behind the scenes.
They can do this through a range of methods, including using IP addresses to link installation-specific IDs across apps and through the sign-in functionality provided by individual apps (e.g. Google or Facebook sign-in, or email address). Especially in combination with further user and device characteristics, which our data confirmed are still widely collected by tracking companies, it would be possible to analyse user behaviour across apps and websites (i.e. fingerprinting and cohort tracking). A direct result of the ATT could therefore be that existing power imbalances in the digital tracking ecosystem get reinforced.
ATT is Still Useful, But Apple Should Continue to Improve the Feature
The research might demonstrate flaws in app tracking transparency, but we can’t discount its usefulness. In most cases, it prevents apps from successfully tracking users’ usage of Apple devices.
To configure app tracking transparency to always prevent tracking, go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking, and turn off “Allow Apps to Request to track.”


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In the ten weeks leading up to York Business Week, which ran from 13-19 November 2018, the campaign generated 18 pieces of print, online and broadcast media coverage highlighting different aspects of the event.
A consistent posting schedule on York Business Week social channels made sure that awareness increased in the lead up to the event, engaging speakers, sponsors, partners and potential delegates across the region.
Through organic activity alone, the York Business Week LinkedIn audience grew from a standing start to over 100 followers with a post reach of almost 10,000 people over ten weeks. The Twitter campaign generated over 120,000 impressions, with a daily average of almost 3,000 in November.
Andrew Sharp, Make it York’s Head of Business said, “We knew that we wouldn’t have the time or resources to deliver a full-blown publicity campaign this year.
"Our main priority was to create some noise around York Business Week, and get people talking about it.
"The campaign Partners ran for us well and truly delivered on that, as well as giving us plenty more ideas that can be rolled out for future events.”


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Fastest car in Drift Hunters
The fastest car in Drift Hunters is the Nissan GT-R (R35).
NISMO has adjusted the Nissan GT-R to reach speeds of 190 mph when drifting sideways, making it the world’s fastest drift car. The car was never meant to drift; instead, it was created to give fast-paced thrills on the racetrack.
The cabin has been totally redesigned, and the vehicle now sports a dual-clutch transmission. In their stead, racing seats, a cage, and a sequential gearbox have been fitted. Rear-wheel drive has taken the place of the car’s original all-wheel drive system. A 4L twin-turbo V6 engine is paired with a good nitrous injection system under the hood to get the beast howling. It now has a mind-boggling 1390 horsepower.
The front tyres are larger than the rear tyres to aid drifting. To allow this, the suspension has been completely overhauled. The GT-R was designed to be fast on the track, but every aspect of the car was analysed and improved to make it go as fast and as sideways as possible. With Japanese driver Masato Kawabata at the helm, the GT-R broke a new world record.
About Nissan GT-R (R35)
Kawabata shattered the previous record by more than 53mph and even above Nissan’s stated 186mph objective.
The venue was picked for its 3km runway, and Kawabata was chosen since he is the current Japanese drift series champion and a key member of Team Tokyo. Tuners GReddy worked with experts from Nissan’s in-house tuners Nismo to prepare the car for the record-breaking drive.
Jakub Przygoski previously held the record for the quickest drift in a 1068bhp modified Toyota GT86. In September 2013, the Polish rally driver averaged 136 mph.
Despite the fact that the new Nissan GT-R was debuted at the New York Motor Show in March, the record-breaking vehicle GT-R is based on the pre-facelift model, albeit significantly modified.


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KENYA TO REMARKET THE INDUSTRY IN EUROZONE
Kenya’s ministry of tourism has been looking for 450 million from the ministry of finance to renew market campaigns in Europe to ease effects of the Euro zone debt crisis which will lead to a decline in the tourist arrivals in the area.
Minister for Tourism, Najib Balala said the treasury has agreed to give then 200 million in January 2011 to increase on the marketing budget.
In 2011, the tourism, ministry has always been given shs 750 million by the treasury for marketing but because of the crisis which cannot be controlled by the country and an image that European governments got because of the Al Shabaab war, there is need to market again before being affected.
If the decline happens before the successful marketing of the brand it would be bad because it will affect the key source markets. The marketing operations will help refresh the brand and promote Kenya as a destination in the global media.
The minister said the departure tax which is charged on a person leaving the country and included in the air ticket be increased by $10 from $20 and the extra to be directed towards tourism marketing. The amount will increase to extra $30 million every year which will improve the marketing budget of the Tourism board.
The number of tourist arrivals increased by 16% compared to last year which means it will be a good year by the end of December.
The top five markets have been UK, USA Germany and India.164, 146 tourists came from UK,US 99,329.Italy 77,990,German 56,735 and India 49,218.Uganda has been recorded the top source market with 36,030 followed by South Africa 31,355.
GORILLA TRACKING NEWS


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International speaker highlights the role of culture in business at NNBW breakfast series event
Culture can be a big factor in the success of a business.
“People think culture is soft,” Dan Barnett, the CEO and owner of The Primavera Company, a real estate and natural gas company, and chairman of Vistage Advisory Boards. “I am saying that culture is not soft.”
Barnett spoke at the NNBW Breakfast & Business event, sponsored by Nevada State Bank, titled “Make or Break Culture: Exceptional Results through People” earlier this month at the Atlantis Casino Resort. Barnett travels around the world speaking and consulting with companies. He has 28 years of experience running businesses. Barnett has held high-level positions for a variety of companies including Weyerhaeuser, Pillsbury, Nestlé and more.
According to Barnett, people create a company’s success and culture is about the way people behave in a company.
“Most of (a company’s) resources are people and it is not easy to get people to do what you want them to do. In fact, it is pretty difficult.”
He said an employee’s beliefs drive behaviors and it is those behaviors that get results.
“So if you want people to commit to your organization … get clear about what (your company) believes in, then get clear about the behaviors and then you will get the results you want.”
He gave some examples based on his experience about how culture can give a company a competitive advantage.
Barnett said when he became the president of Weyerhaeuser’s disposable diaper business the company owned 66 percent of the private label diaper market and company had built the business model on being a low-cost producer. However, the quality of the products was very poor and they were hardly making any money. They knew that they needed to make a change. So, Barnett took his entire management team, about 19 people, on a two-week trip to Japan to study approximately a dozen companies that had won awards for quality.
“We came back and we were on fire about quality, and it changed everything,” Barnett said.
Within two years, they were able to increase their market segment by 45 percent and the margins went up by 41 percent.
Barnett also gave an example from his time at Juicy Juice, a 100 percent juice product for kids. Juicy Juice is part of Nestlé and Barnett was brought into the company with the goal to make Juicy Juice the number one brand of 100 percent juices in the United States.
Barnett found that many of the current employees did not believe in their existing products. He decided to move the division of the company from New York to San Francisco.
“My thinking was only half of the people would make the move,” Barnett said. “I was going to make sure it was the right half.”
Only three of 55 employees in the division made the moved. When they hired new people, they made sure they hired people who believed in Juicy Juice as a great product.
“In three years we went from $63 million in sales to $175 million in sales and all that really changed was the culture,” Barnett said
Each company’s culture is going to be unique.
Barnett stressed to the attendees the importance defining a company’s culture by having an updated and clear mission and vision statement. The mission statement should be something that inspires a company’s employees and customers and that a company can broadcast to the world.
“It is what you stand for as a company,” he said.
He said that a company’s vision statement is an internal message that describes the future of the company to its employees in a clear, specific and measurable method.
“If you can show progress toward your vision it builds energy and confidence,” he said.
The next NNBW Breakfast & Business Series event will be from 7 to 9 a.m., April 6 at the Atlantis Casino Resort. The event will feature Terry A. Shirey, the president and chief executive officer for Nevada State Bank. Shirey will present insights from Nevada State Bank’s annual Small Business Survey. To RSVP for the event, go to https://www.nnbw.com/nnbw-live-breakfast-series-registration-april-event/.
Heather Ashbridge, who started with Nevada State Development Corporation in 2008, previously served in several roles with the organization, including assistant vice president and loan officer. She is based in NSDC’s Reno office.