text:
The growing TV biz in Kenya could be entering a golden age for creatives, as increased competition between local webs and pay TV operators is spurring a boom in content. But locating coin to pay for projects is a challenge as producers work to find a pan-regional or even global hit that can break out of East Africa’s biggest market.
In a nation of 43 million, 3.7 million Kenyans own TV sets, according to market research firm Ipsos — a number that has climbed rapidly since the 2009 census found that only 2.4 million homeowners had TVs. Most Kenyans do not access content on smartphones or tablets, with low penetration of mobile devices in the territory.
Driving growth has been a vibrant pay TV sector, with the virtual monopoly long held by DStv, owned by South Africa’s MultiChoice, now complemented by offerings from Zuku, owned by Kenya’s Wananchi Group; China’s StarTimes; and GoTV, also owned by MultiChoice. The competition has created a variety of affordable bouquets for consumers, with entry-level monthly subscription rates starting at around $10 for DStv, $9 for Zuku, $7 for GoTV and $6 for Star Times. Subscriber numbers are harder to come by; most services are tight-lipped about that information, and there are no outside measuring firms to tabulate it. However, Zuku maintains it has more than 150,000 subs, and all the pay TV entities are upbeat about adding consumers to their rolls.
“We’re scratching the surface of that market,” says Hannelie Bekker, managing director of Wananchi Programming.
Wananchi’s Zuku has made a name for itself by establishing a strong local brand, creating original series like the musical drama “Groove Theory” and the “West Wing”-style drama “State House.” The company offers nine branded Zuku channels on its pay TV platforms, and produces 10 original shows.
Zuku’s limitations, though, reflect the challenges of working in what is still a relatively small local market. The American model of winnowing down hundreds of scripts to produce dozens of pilots that may or may not yield a hit show — a strategy perplexing many in the U.S., as well — is unthinkable in Kenya. “If you commission something, you better make it work,” Bekker says.
Even as demand for local content grows, the high cost of producing it is a major factor holding back the industry, with Kenyan broadcasters still relying heavily on syndicated U.S. series and Latin American telenovelas to pad out
“If you’ve got a 24-hour timespan, filling it with local content is very difficult,” says Wachira Waruru, programming director of Citizen TV.
The free-to-air web is indicative of the shift in the Kenyan market in recent years. When Citizen began investing heavily in local content nearly a decade ago, says Waruru, it had to battle against the stereotype that local was “down market.” Within a few years, though, ratings had pushed Citizen to the top of the heap, with other webs scrambling to follow its lead in producing local shows.
Despite the greater cost of inhouse fare, says Waruru, it has paid off: Today Citizen is the most-watched free-to-air web in Kenya. “You want to survive, you have to talk to the audiences,” he says.
While the population numbers and the uptake of cable suggests significant untapped potential, the small size of the market right now means a limited pool of resources for content providers. “As a producer, I cannot make money,” says Dorothy Ghettuba of Spielworks Media, who explains that the average show costs between $2,500 and $4,000 to produce — an amount that barely allows creatives to break even before trying to turn a profit through syndication.
For Ghettuba and other producers, potential lies in pan-African buyers like South Africa’s M-Net, as well as the growing regional market. “East Africa’s got 140 million (people),” Ghettuba says. “That’s what we’ve got to tap into.”
The bigger challenge for Kenyan producers will be to create content that works globally — a feat Zuku has pulled off with “Tales From the Bush Larder,” a cooking and travel series that’s co-
produced with Fox, which has aired the program in more than 50 countries. Repeating the show’s success is a goal for both Zuku and the industry.
“Kenya can churn out quality content that can travel,” says Xeinium Prods,’ Hussein Kurji, who’s approached American webs with his concept for an “Office”-style satire about the foreign-aid industry. “However, there are challenges within the sector that need to be addressed so that the creatives can truly shine.”


text:
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) have introduced bicameral legislation to standardize food date labeling. The current array of date labels on food products—such as “sell by,” “use by,” and “expires on”—confuses consumers and contributes to 90% of Americans prematurely tossing perfectly safe food, say the lawmakers. The legislation seeks to establish a uniform national date-labeling system to reduce confusion, simplify regulatory compliance for companies, and reduce the waste of food and money.
“Before taking a swig of milk, many Americans glance quickly at the date label and toss it away, without realizing that it still may be perfectly safe to consume,” says Blumenthal. Items at the grocery store are stamped with a jumble of arbitrary food date labels that that are not based on safety or science. This dizzying patchwork confuses consumers, results in food waste, and prevents good food from being donated to those who need it most. By establishing a uniform national date labeling system, this commonsense legislation will provide consumers with clarity that will help them save money on their grocery bills and prevent perfectly safe food from going to waste.”
“One of the most common arguments people seem to have at home is about whether or not food should be thrown out just because the date on the label has passed,” adds Pingree.“It's time to settle that argument, end the confusion, and stop throwing away perfectly good food,” Pingree said.
Blumenthal and Pingree announced the details of the legislation at a press conference in mid-May in Washington, DC, where they were joined by Emily Broad Leib, Director of the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic; Steve Armstrong, Chief Food Law Counsel at Campbell Soup Company; Paul Bakus, President of Corporate Affairs at Nestlé; Carrie Calvert, Director of Tax and Commodity Policy at Feeding America; Pete Pearson, Director of Food Waste at the World Wildlife Fund; and Erik Olson, Director of the Health & Environment Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The Food Date Labeling Act aims to reduce consumer confusion, simplify regulatory compliance for companies, and cut supply-chain and consumer waste of food and money. The bill establishes a uniform national system for date labeling that clearly distinguishes between foods that bear a label indicating peak quality from foods that bear a label indicating they may become unsafe to consume past the date. This bill would also ensure that food is allowed to be sold or donated after its quality date, and educate consumers about the meaning of new labels so that they can make better economic and safety decisions.
This bill is based on recommendations from comprehensive reports from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, and the Food Date Labeling Working Group. The bill requires the use of food date label terminology (i.e., “best if used by”) that has gone through consumer perception surveys and has been identified as language that is the most clear and accurate to consumers. It is also consistent with two recent studies, one of which was conducted by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, the National Consumers League, and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, that both found that consumer education and standardizing food date labels are the most cost effective strategies to reduce food waste.
The Food Date Labeling Act has received widespread support from food waste and food policy advocates and organizations.
Says Steve Armstrong, Chief Food Law Counsel, Campbell Soup Company, “We applaud Senator Blumenthal and Representative Pingree for their leadership in crafting a bill that addresses a source of consumer confusion—trying to understand ‘use by’ and ‘sell by’ code dating on food packages. Importantly, it would make it easier for companies to donate products to organizations such as food banks, which could help cut down on food waste while helping those in need.”
Paul Grimwood, Chairman and CEO, Nestlé USA, says, “We fully support establishing federal standards to help food companies like Nestlé more clearly communicate with consumers and avoid confusion that leads to unnecessary food waste. Nestlé has already committed to achieve zero waste to landfill in 100% of our production facilities by 2020 and we're well on our way to achieving that goal. Standardizing date labeling is a practical and commonsense approach to giving consumers the information they need to help extend this effort all the way to their own kitchens.”

domain: news


text:
AN ELECTRICAL heating products company is set to create 37 new jobs in Portadown.
Glen Dimplex is the world’s leading manufacturer of electrical heating products and its factory at Seagoe will make a new range to be sold worldwide.
The £2m investment will see an initial 37 jobs created but this figure could rise to 200 new posts over the next few years.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster welcomed the news and said it was a significant investment for the area.
“The creation of 37 advanced manufacturing jobs is welcome news for the sector and will help to deliver an additional £500,000 annually in salaries into the local economy,” she said.
“All manufacturing of the new product for global distribution will take place in Portadown, which is an important development for the manufacturing sector and a clear demonstration of how investment in R&D can help companies to develop and maintain a competitive advantage.”
The company is launching a new heat storage system, called the Quantum Energy System.
Neil Stewart, managing director of Glen Dimplex in Northern Ireland, said: “Quantum is a ground-breaking technology that we’ve been working on for two years.
“We see it as a real game-changer in the future of Glen Dimplex as we, and society in general, strive to create a more sustainable future.
“Quantum offers consumers up to 25% cost savings through accurate comfort temperature control and efficient heat storage.”


text:
During the pandemic, “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) start-up Split processed more than RM100 million in transactions within two years. Yet, co-founder Dylan Tan bit the bullet last November to exit the business and launched a new, yet similar, solution for consumers.
Sugar, the brand name of the new solution, offers the masses “save now, buy later” (SNBL) services. It encourages them to lay down a purchase plan to buy big-ticket items — such as vacuum cleaners, mattresses or iPhones — and rewards them with cashback offers. Items are delivered once they are fully paid for.
In a recent interview, Tan tells Wealth that SNBL is a more “ethical” solution than BNPL for consumers. Instead of extending loans/credit to consumers by charging a fee on the merchant — which could cause consumers to overspend, as they do not need to bear the credit cost — SNBL encourages users to save money over time to purchase the things they want.
“Both are tools that you as a consumer can use for your own benefit; it depends on how you use it. But when you see that [Bank Negara Malaysia] is looking to regulate BNPL, that certainly says something [is not right about it]. Overall, yes, I think the SNBL solution is more ‘ethical’ than BNPL.”
Tan says, however, that he would not consider it an ESG (environmental, social and governance) solution as yet. “We could pitch our solution from an ESG perspective to investors, but we have to better define [how we are ESG-compliant] before doing so, especially on the social aspect. We are still encouraging people to buy, right?” says Tan frankly.
The main reason for the pivot, however, is the collapse in the BNPL industry globally as the share prices and market valuations of those companies started crumbling last year.
According to Tan, most pure-play BNPL firms listed on stock exchanges have seen their share prices plunge as much as 90%, some even more. At least two public-listed entities in Australia — Openpay Group Ltd and LayBuy Group Holdings Ltd — are delisting from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The industry is a victim of rising interest rates, says Tan, as they were forced to borrow money from institutional investors at higher rates to help consumers settle their payments to the merchants in advance. This eats into their profit margin. Default rates were also creeping up, as global economic growth is expected to remain sluggish this year, with a potential recession ahead.
Customer acquisition costs have also risen, as people spend less time online now, having returned to shopping in physical stores. Merchants would now have to spend more on digital advertising or come up with other marketing methods or campaigns.
“With all these factors combined, I asked myself in early 2022 whether I could build a sustainable business with BNPL and give my investors meaningful returns. The answer was ‘no’. I wanted to take a calculated high risk with high rewards. And I decided that the rewards were not worth investing our time and money in the business.”
Flexible purchase plans
So, how does Sugar work? The process is rather simple. After downloading the mobile application (app) from the app store, users register themselves on the app and link their debit/credit cards to it. They then scroll through the menu to search for the things they want to buy.
As at Feb 17, the items available on the app include: an Apple iPhone 14 Pro (RM5,049); a King Koil Luxury Sultan Suites mattress (RM9,498); a Dyson V15 Detect Absolute vacuum cleaner (RM4,999); an Inissia D40 coffee machine (RM699); and an Unbox DJI Mini 3 Pro drone (RM3,399).
After choosing their item, users can choose from two payment options. The first is an option for a customised purchase plan. Users can decide how much they want to pay in a specific period and how long it will take before the item is fully paid for.
Alternatively, users can select certain criteria and let the app do the planning. For instance, they can choose whether to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and the app will work out a plan that deducts money from their credit or debit card.
Every time a payment is made, a cashback amount is accrued to users’ accounts. The actual cash will be credited into their bank account once the full payment is made.
The app does not show how much cashback users can get, though. “The cashback rate can be as low as 1% of each payment made, or it can go as high as close to 100%,” says Tan. In general, the overall cashback rate on Sugar could go up to about 5% for a two- to three-month payment.
“We make it indeterminate so that it is more exciting, because a 100% cashback is always possible. It’s an incentive for users to continue with their purchase plan.”
Another reason for the indeterminate cashback amount is that Sugar lets merchants decide how much to reward app users.
If users decide they no longer want to purchase an item but have already started paying for it, they can receive a refund if they cancel their order as early as one to two working days after placing the order. There will be no penalty.
“The exception to getting a refund is when a merchant needs to customise a product for you before the purchase [is fully completed]. They need to purchase certain things to customise the items and a certain cost is incurred.
“In this case, the app will notify users of the cancellation date, or when the purchase will be cancelled if subsequent payments are not made. You cannot get a refund after that date,” Tan explains.
Moreover, the app allows its users to edit their purchase plan, which means switching the items they intend to purchase while saving for one.
“Let’s say you are already halfway through your purchase plan and no longer want the item but want to buy something else instead. You can text us using the WhatsApp number on the app and say, ‘I don’t want to save for this, but I want to save for another item.’ We will solve it. The cashback reward should be the same if the next item in your purchase plan is from the same merchant.”
App users who can purchase specific items in one lump sum are welcomed to split their payments by using the Sugar app for cash rewards. “Yes, go ahead and use the app, because it is in our interest. We help the merchants get customers,” says Tan.
Where is customer’s money held?
An important question users might want to ask is where their money goes when they make payments in each period before fully paying for an item. Could there be a mishandling or an abuse of funds?
Tan says there are two scenarios as to how consumers’ money is kept. By default, Sugar wires the funds to the merchants once payments are made.
“Their money is kept by the merchants. From a business perspective, the merchants get cash flow and future orders, so it helps their business.”
Some merchants lack an adequate accounting department that can record all early payments and cashback paid out. These merchants would then opt for Sugar to keep customers’ funds and receive the full amount once items are fully paid for.
Tan acknowledges that the firm should identify a reliable third party to hold customer funds. It has yet to do so because the platform was launched only last December. Its sales figure so far this year, however, has already surpassed RM1.5 million.
“As we scale, we need to find a way to hold customers’ money. We are still very small now. We will do that once we get bigger,” he says.
To safeguard users’ money, Sugar emphasises vetting the merchants. They are typically bigger size, reputable players in the industry such as Urban Republic, which sells mobile phones, audio gadgets and accessories.
Unlike BNPL firms, which focus on vetting consumers’ credit history, SNBL companies place their emphasis on the merchants. “Our due diligence on the merchants has to be stronger. We used to vet the consumers; now, we vet the merchants,” says Tan.
As for monetisation, Tan says Sugar charges merchants a listing fee as well as transaction fees on items purchased. The former is not set in stone yet, as Sugar is proposing different rates to merchants, depending on their business size and proposals. The transaction fee is “very affordable”, he says, and comparable to credit/debit card charges.
Delayed gratification versus instant gratification
Sugar is not alone in offering consumers SNBL services. There are Accrue Savings in the US, three to four similar firms in India, and one in South Africa called Layup, says Tan.
The start-up’s journey ahead will be challenging, as it could be competing for the same users of BNPL or with credit cards that provide users with instant gratification. These users get the products on the spot and worry about the repayments later.
Sugar thrives on delayed gratification. “We know the customer hook [of our service] isn’t as strong as that of BNPL. It is missing the element of instant gratification. But we also know SNBL has a use for certain groups of businesses and consumers,” he says.
In fact, it is because of customers’ feedback that Tan came up with the idea of launching Sugar. Some users of Split — Tan’s previous BNPL firm — approached merchants to ask for SNBL services, but most merchants cannot do that because of their lack of accounting capability.
Tan says SNBL is particularly appealing for purchases that consumers plan for before purchasing; they include travel packages, home renovation and wedding-related services.
The addressable market for SNBL could be huge. According to Tan’s research, about 5% of total e-commerce transactions done globally during the pandemic period were done with BNPL. The rest was through cash, online banking transactions, debit cards or other methods.
On top of that, most merchants he spoke to said only about 20% of customers who visited their stores ended up purchasing something.
Tan hopes SNBL can be an alternative payment solution that can help merchants garner sales both online and offline. “The biggest challenge for us now is to find the right product-market fit, which is a big term to describe something that people would really want to use,” he says.
While the firm does not intend to raise funds for Sugar soon, Tan is looking to engage investors to talk about his plans. “We want to start getting in touch with investors,” he says.
Who is Dylan Tan?
Born in Kuala Lumpur and raised in Penang, Dylan Tan, co-founder of “save now, buy later” (SNBL) start-up Sugar, not only obtained his tertiary education in Singapore but also developed his entrepreneurial skills there.
Tan says he interned at three multinational companies in the digital media, management consulting and fast-moving consumer goods sectors while studying business management, marketing and corporate communications at the Singapore Management University.
“I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do and ended up realising I hated all of them,” he says.
Upon graduation in 2014, Tan rejected a job offer from Google for a sales and marketing role to join his former boss at a less well-known, but growing, tech company called Skyscanner.
The decision was certainly unconventional. “I’m the kind of person who likes to be contrarian and take risks. I knew that, if I worked with Google, I might be very happy, have a more stable career and pursue the path of moving up the corporate ladder later. But I probably wanted to take more risks and have more excitement.”
Four years later, Tan became the sales manager of Skyscanner in charge of advertising in Asia-Pacific. The firm was then acquired by China travel service provider Ctrip in Dec 2016 for about US$1.74 billion. Tan held a small amount of shares in Skyscanner and made money.
“But it was really more about the journey than money. That was when I realised growing a company can be so exciting. It was like being on a roller coaster, from hiring just a few employees to having a successful exit. That was when I wanted to start my own company. So, I quit the company [and started my own].”
The first start-up he co-founded was called Early Booker. Drawing from his previous experience of running a travel business, he ran the firm on a business model that allowed users to purchase travel early and pay later, essentially a form of the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) service.
Early Booker’s breakthrough came just before the 2018 general election, when many overseas Malaysians scrambled to book a flight ticket home to vote, only to find that the air tickets were very expensive because of high demand.
“To make a long story short, we went on Twitter to search for people complaining about the air tickets being too expensive. We sent them a private message and said, ‘Hey, can we pay for you first before you pay us back?’
“Because we didn’t have a lot of cash, I used my credit card to book tickets for them and they paid me back later. I actually shared my credit card details with strangers. We maxed [the credit card] out and found that people were actually paying us. That’s how we started off.”
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and the business ground to a halt. “Covid came and nobody was travelling. We had an existential crisis. We could either keep doing it or figure something else out,” says Tan.
That was when he pivoted Early Booker to Split, which offers consumers BNPL services to purchase a variety of products. Split then became Sugar last December when he thought BNPL was no longer a good market to be in.
Tan says he enjoys the entrepreneurship journey and intends to grow Sugar into something bigger. “I’m in it for the long haul and I want to see how far I can take this. It excites me. Can I build a massive company?
“Of course, there’s a high chance I will fail. And I’m very upfront about it. We might not even exist six months from now if things don’t work out. But I’m willing to take the risk,” he says.


text:
There is already a date for the launch of Meizu Pro 7. The new mobile will be presented on June 26. The smartphone will feature an electronic ink screen. It will be a high-end smartphone.
Meizu Pro 7 will be a new high-end smartphone that will be launched and will be a great option for users who want a high-end mobile, but do not want to spend the money that costs a Samsung Galaxy S8. The new mobile will include a second electronic ink screen on the back section of the mobile phone that would consume much less battery than the standard screen, and would be ideal for battery saving.


text:
Amazon is reported to have launched a market intelligence platform called Amazon Shopper Panel to gather data on competitor retailers. They say that participation (by which they mean gathering reams... more
The post Amazon Shopper Panel: snooping platform for purchases made at competitors appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
From recent reports its is clear that during the COVID-19 pandemic, some big tech giants are taking advantage of the uncertainty to make strategic moves. Q3 2020 has been the... more
The post Big Tech investments – Where are the giants spending money appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
If you mentioned that Amazon was trying to take a foothold in the financial services and payments market, not many would be surprised. But what if you explained how deep... more
The post Amazon silent unbundling attack of the financial services market appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
A majority of Americans, 64%, would consider purchasing or applying for financial products from a Big Tech company instead of a traditional financial services provider. Among those ages 18 to... more
The post Majority of Americans would allow Big Tech to use their spending data appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft are facing a new wave of scrutiny over whether they stifled competition by buying up smaller rivals. The Federal Trade Commission has asked the firms... more
The post Global technology companies face probe into deals going back a decade appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.


text:
As a step taken by the New Jersey-based retailer to eliminate the use of plastic bags, Shoprite has stated that it will start charging its customers for the plastic bags.
The action taken by the retailer is meant to encourage customers to use more recyclable items in their shopping.
5 cents will be shelled out for every plastic bag.
Shoprite posted on their Facebook page: ”
Due to the town’s single-use plastic bag fee, we will be offering 10¢ reusable plastic bags and 25¢ reusable totes for a limited time. Please take advantage to save money and help the environment. So on Tuesday 1/1, don’t forget to start bringing your own bags! ” .


text:
Nintendo of Europe announced this year's upcoming release of Wii Karaoke U by Joysound, a downloadable karaoke streaming service for the Wii U console. Originally released as a WiiUWare launch title in Japan, Wii Karaoke U offers unlimited, all-access streaming during time-limited sessions. Pl...
Posted on Jan 27th 2015 8:15AM
Posted on Jan 26th 2015 11:00AM
Posted on Jan 26th 2015 10:00AM


text:
Up and coming designers take part in Croydon Lives Not Knives event
Young designers got the chance to sell their exclusive clothing at the weekend.
Lives Not Knives, a campaign group in Croydon, hosted the event in their new unit in the Centrale Shopping Centre.
Rove hats and T-shirts - Marshall Rove and Jahzeiah Spencer
The event promoted the work of young designers and they were able to sell their clothing and accessories to members of the public.
Designers included London Attire, Moment Clothing, Forward Fashion and ROWE Limited.
For more information about Lives Not Knives go to livesnotknives.org.
- Teenagers photos capture homelessness and child abuse for Amnesty International contest
- Opera singer who excelled as Carmen dies
- Easter message from Crystal Palace chaplain Chris Roe
- Q&A with Avenue Q stars ahead of their show in Croydon this summer
- PICTURES: Crucifixion re-enacted in Croydon
Comments are closed on this article.


text:
It’s been 31 years since Qualcomm Inc. was a startup. Today the chip maker has revenue of $25.3 billion. Still, it is very much a part of San Diego’s startup scene: Its venture capital arm is a source of capital for a lot of new companies.
Qualcomm Ventures deploys approximately $200 million a year to fund startups. Qualcomm won’t say exactly how its bets have performed, but generally the return has been positive, officials said.
Local recipients have included Brain Corp., Edico Genome, Gimbal and Sotera Wireless Inc. There are plenty of out-of-town companies as well. San Diego’s biggest public company invests worldwide. There are currently 140 companies in its portfolio.
Through Qualcomm Ventures, the corporation has the dual goals of making money and growing the wireless ecosystem that its business depends on, company officials said.
Qualcomm Ventures executives Quinn Li and Patrick Eggen have heard a lot of pitches in their time.
Li acknowledged that a person like him can lose interest if a pitch is not compelling.
He prefers facts from executives making a pitch: What are you trying to build? Does it solve a specific pain point? Is there something that sets your product apart from the others? What is your position with respect to the competition? Who’s on the team?
And — this is important — How will you make money?
A good pitch is succinct, Li said. An executive touches on points “very crisply.”
Eggen said he likes a good story.
“Telling the narrative is so important” for company representatives, Eggen said. “It’s a good reflection on how they’re going to sell the business to their customers.”
The business is looking for future customers and partners, said Patrick Eggen, who leads Qualcomm Ventures’ San Francisco office. “Ventures plays an instrumental role in establishing those relationships early on,” Eggen said.
In a bid for new sources of revenue, Qualcomm is widening its circle, investing in markets such as wireless health care, the connected home, automotive and networking.
It is also looking into what Quinn Li, global head of Qualcomm Ventures, calls “frontier tech” — robots, augmented reality, virtual reality, drones, artificial intelligence and satellites.
The business invested in Cruise, a maker of self-driving cars, which General Motors acquired early this year for more than $1 billion.
Six portfolio companies have exited for more than a billion dollars in the past six years, including wearable fitness tracker maker Fitbit Inc. “That was a very good exit for us,” said Li.
Between 2010 and today, Qualcomm Ventures found buyers for 24 companies in its portfolio.
Qualcomm has had its venture arm since 2000.
Making an investment is just the beginning of a relationship, which frequently involves making introductions to other partners.
“The easier part is actually writing the initial check,” Li said. “The harder part is doing work with a portfolio company to help them grow the business.” It could be five to six years before an acquisition or an IPO.
A decision on whether to invest frequently spurs a spirited debate among Qualcomm executives. It’s not intuitive. “Divided rooms” often produce the best results, Eggen said. And he recalled one firm — which he did not name — that everyone was sure about.
It turned out to be a “massive zero,” Eggen said.


text:
A Bright Future For PR
Public relations firms are elated following the release of a recent report by the Business Research Company saying that sales from the profession are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 10% until 2022. In its report, the company said the PR market globally was estimated to be valued at $63.8 billion in 2018 and that it was expected to increase to $93.07 billion through 2022 with a CAGR of 9.9%.
The firm also identified North America as being the biggest market and reported that it expected no changes in the next five years. Europe, they stated, followed the U.S.
Edelman Enters Gun Safety Campaign
New York-based Edelman has volunteered to assist the Gun Safety Alliance in its efforts for improved gun safety. Edelman CEO Richard Edelman pointed to the recent mass shootings in Texas and Ohio as well as to results from the Edelman Trust Barometer. The survey discovered that 76% of respondents wanted CEOs to not wait for the government to act, but to take the lead on matters of importance. The study also found that 80% of employees trust their employers and that 66% of customers expect brands to represent their interests.
The Gun Safety Alliance’s goal is to reduce gun deaths by 50% by 2025 by recruiting businesses as allies in promoting the program. Edelman is donating its time and personnel to the effort.
Flat Financial Results Blamed For WPP Decrease
WPP CEO Mark Read said falling revenue in Germany and the UK are the reasons that the financial public relations sector there is down 1.6% to $530 million for the first half of this year. Reed replaced Martin Sorrell last September and launched a three-year plan to address the decline. One of Read’s strategies is to recruit new leaders from the U.S. He had earlier released 3,100 employees and dropped 44 company affiliates.
Electra Meccanica Selects jmpr
Canadian electric vehicle designer and manufacturer, Electra Meccanica Vehicle Corp. announced that it has retained jmpr as its PR firm. The announcement comes at a time when Electra Meccanica is stepping up production of SOLO, its all-electric single-person vehicle. SOLO will be manufactured in China in a plant of one of Electra Meccanica’s strategic partners.
Next up is a stylish electric roadster called Tofino. The high-performance vehicle will seat two and is presently in the design stage.
Chile Ramps Up Tourism PR
Sernatur, Chile’s tourism board, announced that it has hired Turner, a North American PR firm, to help promote tourism to this South American destination. Chile wants Turner to interest more North Americans into taking in the country’s attractions which include stargazing in the desert, lakes, glaciers, and winemaking.
As part of its efforts to appeal to tourists around the world, the board also awarded a contract to Hill’s Balfour earlier this year to manage PR in the UK. And to lure more Australians to Chile, Sernatur appointed GTI, a local travel agency.


text:
CRN Exclusive: Dell's Vitagliano On Channel Growth, Partner Opportunities
Dell's Channel Push
Frank Vitagliano, vice president of worldwide channel strategy and programs at Dell, delivered a keynote address at Tech Data's TechSelect conference in New Orleans, where he spoke about Dell's commitment to the channel and the growth the company has seen.
During his keynote he told the audience of TechSelect members that Dell is now offering them a 4 percent rebate incentive on select enterprise products.
Roughly 40 percent of Dell's revenue last year, or about $24 billion, came from the channel, according to Vitagliano. Dell's channel sales were up about 18 percent over the last year and the company is not planning to stop there, he said.
Vitagliano sat down with CRN after the event to talk about Dell's channel push and the biggest opportunities he sees for partners.
During your keynote you said Dell has seen five or six times the industry growth in the channel. What is the biggest reason for that growth?
A lot of it just has to do with the realization people now have that we've got an unbelievable set of solutions end to end. If you look at our product lineup, it's better than it's ever been, starting with laptops, tablets, desktops, our server line is killer, right up through storage. We've made a number of huge enhancements to our storage line over the last six to nine months with Flash technology. A lot of it is just our products are resonating in the marketplace, and then the second piece is many partners are looking for an alternative to what they were doing. Third, the business environment is a pretty good business environment, too. It's a combination of those three things.
In terms of your share growing so much, do you think you're taking share away from some of your bigger competitors?
If we're growing, we have to be taking share. It's math. If you look at it, it's really across the board. I think our story is resonating, and there is a lot of churn in the industry with companies splitting, companies acquiring, IBM selling their server business to Lenovo, and Lenovo buying Motorola. One of the reasons I would tell you that we're successful is we've got some stability. We went private 18 months ago. We said we were going to do a number of things, and we've done them. Partners are looking at that saying, 'Well, these guys are pretty stable. They're doing what they say they're going to do. They're making major investments, and they're investing in the channel business.' I think all of that has been contributing to what's going on.
You said during your keynote that Dell has the most robust portfolio in the industry. Why do you think that is?
If you look at desktops, tablets, laptops, which are as good or better than anything in the industry, then you migrate up the chain -- servers, storage, networking and our enterprise products. Then you look at the software offerings that we have. Between SonicWall security offerings, our Wyse workstations, right through Quest, who we acquired a few years ago, there is a whole host of software properties. We've done $18 billion in acquisitions over the last five or six years. That's pretty big. And we've integrated it all, so when you line it up end to end, it's a compelling set of solutions and it's resonating with our customers. Now what happens is they look at Dell as way more than a company that can just adequately supply them with their compute requirements. … I think if you stack up the portfolio, there really is no vendor in the marketplace that has a portfolio that can stack up like that.
Do you have a little more work to do in the enterprise space?
We really just launched enterprise in distribution. For the most part, what we did with distribution is we started with our client products and got that going. We started learning about some of the things that we need to do better and worked through the kinks, and we really just launched our enterprise products there.
Is it a priority for Dell to grow in the enterprise space now?
Yes, but I don't want to dismiss the client space as it's a really important space. We have a major focus on growing our enterprise business, and it's a huge opportunity for us to do that. We have a significant presence in the marketplace and it's resonating with end-user customers, but it's also resonating with the channel. You'll run into a lot of partners who'd say, 'Two or three years ago I wasn't doing business with Dell, and five years ago I wouldn't even think about it,' but they're doing business with us today. We spend a lot of time with them. We talk to them about what we're doing, what they're doing, we run an advisory council about two or three times a year. You have to pay attention to that.
What is the biggest opportunity in the channel right now for solution providers?
In all the years I've been doing this, every couple years there is this 'next new big opportunity.' … Here's what I think the biggest opportunity is. I think the biggest opportunity for partners is to really understand your customer's business and become integral. The vast majority of TechSelect members are small partners. The reality is that those partners in their local communities, they're the trusted adviser from an IT standpoint for the companies that they're working with. Those companies look to those partners to be their IT department. To me, the biggest opportunity is to understand your customers. Understand the requirements. The partners always figure out the technology; they always do. That's never been an issue. What will happen is they'll become so integral to that customer's business that it will just be natural for them, and that's how you build a business.
Why do you think consolidation has become such a growing trend?
From a partner standpoint, what I do think we're starting to see is a lot of consolidation where for years you've just had a number of smaller partners. What is happening is that consolidation is continuing to accelerate, and what you're seeing is larger partners form. In other words, instead of talking about $100 million partners, you're talking about $200 million, $300 million and $400 million partners. We just saw a big merger of two major security partners, FishNet and Accuvant, and combined they are over $1.5 billion. I think you’re going to see more big partners over time because consolidation is going to continue to take place.
What is the message to channel partners that you think is most important to get across?
Continue to make the investments in your business. The most important thing is to understand the customer, understand the requirements and then jointly develop relationships to satisfy the customer with your vendor partner because we view it as a joint partnership. That's what they do. TechSelect is a great example of that. These are folks coming out, spending two or three days, and they go to all the events, and go to the hangouts. During all the business hours there is networking going on and people making big investments, and that’s how this industry works. It's a relatively close-knit industry where people are making major investments. It's pretty significant.


text:
America doesn’t recycle like it should. Despite the billions spent on recycling infrastructure, the nation’s recycling rate has hovered around 34% for the past two decades — far less than that of other developed nations.
The psychology behind America’s recycling reticence is complex, but environmentally concerned companies are getting creative. Take the PepsiCo Recycle Rally: By enlisting teachers at more than 4,900 schools, the Fortune 100 brand has recycled 100 million plastic bottles and aluminum cans since 2010.
Why did students and families across the country suddenly start listening to the recycling refrain? It wasn’t because a beverage brand asked them to; it was because their teachers did. In a way that almost no other profession does, educators have America’s ear.
Read the full article on Innovation Enterprise to learn 3 reasons to build teacher-brand partnerships.


text:
The worldwide projector market had a tough Q1, with sales down 7.5 per cent for the quarter year on year.
That is according to analyst Futuresource, which added that the main bright spots were the growth seen in large venue and installations involving projectors offering at least 4,000 lumens of brightness – and the continued strength in B2B widescreen sales as well as ultramobile.
"The largest declines were seen in standard-definition mainstream products (1,000-3,999 lumens) as demand shows signs of retraction in key western territories. Growth markets such as Russia and India that had driven volumes in Q1 2012 experienced a difficult quarter as funding for education and public sector projects were suspended," the firm said in its announcement.
"Globally, volumes of mainstream SVGA projectors fell 13.2 per cent while mainstream XGA volumes declined 16.7 per cent year on year."
B2B WXGA volumes grew 7.7 per cent in the quarter year on year. B2B 1080p volumes grew 74.7 per cent in the quarter – and "favourable pricing" is expected to fuel further demand for those products through 2013, Futuresource said.
The analyst also said that sub-2kg "ultramobile" LED projectors are selling well, taking share from models with lamps. Worldwide, ultramobile sales grew 26.7 per cent year on year in the quarter, and LED volumes 31.4 per cent.
"As the brightness of LED models increases, the B2B applications for these products increase, also providing new markets for LED projectors in the road warrior and small meeting room sectors, taking share from lamp-based models. A host of new models in this segment due this year are expected to continue this trend, including the ML1000 from Optoma and Qumi Q7 from Vivitek," Futuresource said.
Installation and large venue volumes expanded 9.8 per cent year on year, to reach 146,000 units globally. Price competition is helping to drive sales of widescreen machines in the 4,000-6,999 lumen market.
Overall, though, 2013 is expected to be difficult, the firm said.
View pictures of all of last night's fights
Acquisitive comms provider swoops on Frontier Voice & Data and StoneHouse Logic
Cybersecurity firm rakes in £3.6m for unwanted unit
Results, reaction and pictures from last night's CRN Fight Night


text:
Category Gist & Gossip
Wizkid who was seen with Diddy few days ago in the United States, has announced news of an endorsement deal with Ciroc to his fans.
He made the announcement in a series of tweets where he said; New Deal Alert! Officially with CIROC!!! Lets get it!! Big bag alert!
New Deal Alert! Officially with CIROC!!! Lets get it!! Big bag alert! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🌹🌹🌹🦅🦅🦅 #DrinkResponsibly!!
— Wizkid (@wizkidayo) July 30, 2018
After the announcement, Wizkid also gave a shoutout to other brands he has deal with like; Pepsi, Nike, Dolce and Gabbana.
CÎROC is a brand of eau-de-vie vodka, manufactured by using grapes from the Charente-Maritime region of France. It is produced and distributed by the British-based multinational alcoholic beverage maker Diageo.
Since 2007, marketing and promotion for Cîroc has been handled by Sean “Puffy” Combs in an “equal-share venture” with profits from the brand being split between promotional partner Puffy and manufacturing partner Diageo.
Recall that at a brunch event hosted by Ciroc Nigeria last year, media personality and author Toke Makinwa, singer and producer Tekno, were announced as brand ambassadors for the luxury brand.
Singer and actor Banky W also renewed his contract with the brand as an ambassador.


text:
It was an not so eventful week this time. Even then there is a lot of news that we tech readers should be aware of. The previous week Nokia decided to discontinue their Chennai plant. It did not come as a big surprise as there was a absence of orders from the newly operating parent firm i.e Microsoft. While Xiaomi has recently crossed a milestone of being the third largest mobile seller in the world, the first two spots are held by Apple and Samsung. There is not much going on about Android in India at the monet but we visited Malaysia and saw that the technology market (smartphones and tablets) is really advanced compared to India in every way. There are Indians who walk around to sell gadgets that are precisely expensive for us Indians because of the exchange rate. Android has been pretty disappointing since Google has been delaying updates to many Android smartphones and tablets for a long time according to the device update list.
Although Samsung has accepted that they made many small mistakes in issues regarding Quality and Consumer Satisfaction and has let the top spot slip from their hands.The company has promised to alter the faults and come back with better devices. Samsung has also launched two mid ranged devices especially for the Chinese market so as to gain popularity which is currently ruled by Xiaomi.The interesting fact is that both devices are equipped with a metal body to impress the critics who say Samsung’s plastic body isn’t top notch.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi is gearing up to launch a new 9.2 inch tablet which is supposed to be low budget tab. Microsoft has launched a fitness wearable compatible with all top end Lumia, Apple and Android devices. It marks the entry of the world’s largest software company,Microsoft in the wearable section. In other news the Founder of the website “PirateBay” has been sentenced three years for hacking into a private firm’s documents stored online.


text: Anthem (WLP) is buying Cigna (CI) for $54.2 billion in a cash and stock deal. The buyout is 55% cash and 45% stock. Anthem will pay $188 for each Cigna share. The combined company will serve about 53 million members. This buyout, along with others previously announced, could reshape the U.S. healthcare industry. It is still subject to regulatory approval. Starbucks (SBUX) reported a sharp jump in quarterly sales and profit driven, in part, by digital initiatives and new menu offerings. CEO Howard Schultz says growth in the company's loyalty program continues to be an important business driver. Comcast (CMCSA) is reportedly in talks with multiple new media firms, according to the Wall Street Journal. Those companies include Buzzfeed and Vice Media.


text:
Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) just shipped in late March, so why is Microsoft already asking users for input on its replacement?
The company has said it is trying to release updates to its venerable browser much more quickly than in the past. Meanwhile some long-time Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) watchers contributed their own feedback as to what users should ask for in IE9.
Microsoft has not referred to this “next” version as IE9, at least not yet, but it’s the designation that Web denizens immediately slapped on the future release.
In fact, however, Microsoft recently posted a notice to users who had both been participants in the IE8 beta test and also had access to the company’s Connect downloads Website during the update’s testing. The company is asking those users to provide feedback on what they would like to see in the next version of the browser.
“We have added a new feedback form on Connect designed specifically to handle improvements for the next version of Internet Explorer. This includes not just feature requests, but all types of feedback including issues that currently exist in IE,” according to the posting on the Connect site earlier this week.
The request for feedback is actually a predictable move, given that Microsoft had promised users it would release much more frequent updates to IE than it has in the past. One benefit of shortening the development time is to enable IE to compete more effectively with rival browsers that have severely eaten into its market share over the past few years. Nearly all of Microsoft’s main competitors are much smaller and, thus, more nimble about getting new browser releases out.
Technology enthusiast site Neowin.net published the note from the IE development team on Wednesday.
Microsoft has dominated the browser arena since the mid-1990s, although lack of focus on keeping IE up-to-date eventually led to sluggish response to innovative and relentless competitors in the form of Mozilla Firefox, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Safari, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Chrome, Opera Software, and others.
The company issued IE6 in 2001 and, other than minor updates and bug fixes, did not release a significant upgrade until 2006, when it shipped IE7 — promising at that time not to take as long between releases. It made good to a certain extent on that with IE8, which launched in late March.
Now, it’s trying to get caught up to those same competitors, and for good reason.
According to Web metrics tracking firm Net Applications, Microsoft’s share of the global browser arena has now slipped to 66 percent, whereas only a few years ago it was at more than 90 percent. Firefox is clearly the biggest beneficiary, garnering 22.5 percent. All the other browsers had single digit shares.
Since Microsoft is just getting started gathering input, three veteran Microsoft analysts voiced their thoughts on what they’d like to see in the next major IE update.
Matt Rosoff, a research vice president at Directions on Microsoft, would like to see tangible changes such as faster installation, a simple way to enable and disable browser plug ins, an integrated Twitter client, smoother importing and organizing of favorites, and a link to Microsoft’s Live SkyDrive.
“[W]hat about a ‘save this page to SkyDrive’ menu item?” Rosoff said in an e-mail to InternetNews.com. (SkyDrive is a Windows Live service that provides users with 25 GB of free online file storage.)
“This could be useful for archiving permanent copies of pages that change or disappear frequently,” he added.
Meanwhile, Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies, has his own priorities.
“I personally would like to see better engineered keyboard shortcuts that allow you to do common tasks with fewer keystrokes and not have to touch the mouse as often,” Kay told InternetNews.com in an e-mail.
Overall, however, he has one big gripe.
“Browsers in general have become humongous pieces of software … in fact, you could argue that browsers are over-featured,” Kay said.
Competitive factors come into play as well, of course.
“Make it a better application front end,” Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the InternetNews.com.


text:
WATCH: Behind the scenes with Kimberly Wyatt
We’re thrilled to reveal the woman fronting our new-look December/January issue: Celebrity MasterChef winner, Kimberly Wyatt.
The busy (seriously – check out her Twitter – she doesn’t stop!) working mum to one-year-old daughter, Willow, has graduated from the super-glam, on-the-road lifestyle of her Pussycat Dolls years.
Now, her days are more likely to be spent whipping up the creative, balanced meals (she eats carbs!) that wowed the MasterChef judges, or heading to Clapham Common to do bodyweight training with her model husband Max Rogers.
In this exclusive, behind-the-scenes video, she talks to healthy editorial director Ellie Hughes about making time to eat well, pigging out at Christmas, and what living healthy means to her.
For the full interview – and Kimberly’s brilliant tips on nailing the healthy/indulgent balance over the festive season – get the new-look December/January issue of healthy – out tomorrow in Holland & Barrett stores and on newsstands from 12 November.


text:
The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) has published an article summarising the current needs and trends of digital skills in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic the digitalisation processes have sped up in most sectors, including those where digital skills were previously not a necessity, such as food and accommodation, wholesale and retail trade or arts and recreation. Cedefop has analysed a vast amount of recruitment data to determine which digital skills are most in demand. According to their research, approximately one in five skills demanded in the job ads is a digital competence. The skill most in demand is knowledge of office applications, followed closely by computer programming.
The article also demonstrates the digital divide across Europe and highlights the importance of policy-makers’ decisions in these times, such as formulating clearer and more comprehensive policies for training teachers and addressing the digital skills gaps of other adult citizens.
Read more on the Cedefop website.


text:
April 18, 2019
ASTM Standardization News: “Standards for Biodegradable Plastics” Opening paragraph from “Standards for Biodegradable Plastics”, ASTM Standardization News, www.astm.org, March/April 2019 issue Read the full article on www.astm.org.
November 6, 2018
Fun fact: Ohio doesn’t have an official state microbe, but local students are determined to put an end to that atroscity. Otterbein University’s American Society for Microbiology is currently working on a project called MicrOhio. Its aim is to establish an official state microbe for Ohio in the same way that we have a state flower or bird.
September 23, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BY THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON Sandia National Laboratories and The University of Akron to Collaborate in Materials Science AKRON, Ohio – September 19, 2016 – Sandia National Laboratories and The University of Akron have approved a Master Research Agreement that enables collaborations in such areas as additive manufacturing and advanced materials research. […]
April 15, 2016
BioPlastics demand is growing far faster than the overall plastics market. Worldwide demand for biobased plastics is forecasted to see 8-12% annual growth through 2020, far out pacing conventional plastics.1 Packaging is the largest market, but there are significant opportunities in automotive and consumer goods as well.
August 11, 2015
Oil Prices Drop Put Bioplastics in Question While the majority of the U.S. rejoices due to dropping energy prices, those involved in the polymer industry are also enjoying lower raw material costs. The declining oil prices could also have an impact on other segment of the polymer industry: bio-based products. Does the market demand for […]
December 1, 2014
OBIC Bioproducts Innovation Center, headquartered at The Ohio State University, hosted the 2014 Bioproducts World Showcase & Conference October 5-8. It was the first time an event of this type has been held and it attracted 250 attendees from around the world. And, with Ohio’s two largest industries being polymers and agriculture it was a […]


text:
The Philippines' new tourism chief is hoping that millennials will be inspired by social media sites like WeChat and Instagram to visit its culinary destinations as the government considers imposing quotas on beachgoers. Tourism officials worldwide will be watching to see how it turns out.
Anthony Bourdain inspired a generation of travelers to look beyond sanitized attractions and experience a country’s culture, food and people. The Philippines wants to make sure those tourists keep coming even as it shut down one of Asia’s top beaches.
The Southeast Asian nation credits the late gourmand for shining a light on local dishes such as “lechon” (roasted pork) and “sisig” (minced pork ears and liver), Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said, and it plans to target adventurers like Bourdain.
“The Philippines is not just about the beaches,” said Romulo-Puyat, who was appointed weeks after President Rodrigo Duterte closed Boracay’s famous white-sand coast for a six-month visitors detox. “Long time ago, people would think the Philippines is all about exotic food, but because of the late Anthony Bourdain, our food is getting attention.”
The government is betting that the move to put the spotlight on its local cuisine will help compensate the loss in tourism revenue as it limits the number of travelers to its beaches. The Philippines joins neighbors such as Thailand — which attracts five times more travelers — to ease congestion at popular beach destinations. Imposing caps on beachgoers means the Philippines has to lure tourists with food and culture to meet its target of doubling foreign visitors to 12 million before Duterte’s term ends in 2022, according to Romulo-Puyat.
The economics professor, who was an agriculture official under several administrations before assuming the top tourism post, said in a July 16 interview that enticing millennials through Facebook and Instagram would help boost tourism’s contribution to the economy from 12.2 percent last year. While domestic tourism remains the main driver of growth, foreign visitors and Filipinos from overseas spent 448.6 billion pesos ($8.4 billion) in 2017.
“The one thing we see from millennial travelers a lot around the world is people have a real desire to go to a hotel where it really feels like it’s a green hotel,” John Brown, chief executive officer of Agoda Services Co., said at the Bloomberg Asean Business Summit in Bangkok last week. “You’ll be surprised how many people we have on site asking if is this an environmentally friendly hotel.”
Chinese nationals are also visiting at a record pace as relations between Manila and Beijing warm under Duterte. Philippine Airlines Inc. plans to begin flights this year to secondary cities in China where tourists rent planes to go to the island resorts of Boracay, Palawan and Cebu, President Jaime Bautista said in an interview this week.
The Philippines aims to get between 1.2 million and 1.5 million Chinese arrivals this year, up from 968,447 in 2017. Chinese visitors jumped 44 percent last year, dislodging the U.S. as the nation’s top source of visitors after South Korea.
–With assistance from Claire Jiao.
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
Photo credit: Some of the cuisine of the Philippines. Tourism officials want visitors to focus on the destination's food. Philippines Tourism


text:
posted by Randy Dailey
Localytics is pleased to announce official support for BlackBerry 10! Starting today, BlackBerry developers can begin instrumenting their WebWorks and Cascades apps with our powerful new analytics solutions for HTML5 and Cascades.
WebWorks is BlackBerry’s platform for allowing web and mobile web developers to create, test and package their web apps. Through our existing HTML5 analytics SDK, Localytics has long supported similar web and hybrid apps developed for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and previous versions of BlackBerry OS. Today, we’re excited to add official support for BlackBerry 10 to that list. Working closely with our friends at BlackBerry, we've developed a new version of our HTML5 analytics SDK that works flawlessly with WebWorks. The latest version of our HTML5 SDK and the integration steps can be found in our HTML5 Integration Guide.
Localytics is also excited to announce that we've released a brand new, one-of-a-kind analytics solution for BlackBerry's native Cascades framework. Learn more about the latest addition to our SDK family in the Cascades Integration Guide.
We've created a number of resources to help you get started:
Having trouble? Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to our support gurus, who are available to help 24 hours a day.
Thanks for signing up. Look for your first email shortly!
We’ll reach out shortly to schedule a time to talk.


text:
When Chevrolet unveils the redesigned 2016 Chevy Volt at the Detroit Auto Show next January, it will raise the curtain on an entirely new marketing campaign for it extended range electric vehicle. Chevrolet global marketing chief Tim Mahoney told Automotive News recently that Chevrolet will invite current Volt owners to use their social networks to tell others how satisfied they are with their cars. O
Over 90% of Volt owners say they would buy another one, and many came from brands like Toyota and had never even owned a Chevrolet before. That’s a major bragging point for GM, though the 2016 VOlt’s marketing efforts will go beyond just a few “evangelists” spreading the good word.
Mahoney said marketing efforts for the next generation Volt will be regionally focused, in areas where populations are denser. Previously, the Volt had no customer base, but now sales records will help the company target locations where the Volt is already popular. Mahoney points out that “there are clearly pieces of geography where (the Volt) makes sense. So you’ll see a focus on fishing where the fish are.”
Volt sales were up 13% over July, 2013 last month and it is outselling the Nissan LEAF in some markets. Clearly Chevrolet hopes the redesigned car and revamped marketing strategy will propel the Volt to even greater sales success.


text:
The IFPI won a judgement of €550,000 against the owners of Pirate Bay, but have stated that they will not give this money to the artists and will instead help fund their anti-piracy programs.
...of Microsoft mobiles, Apple's sales slide, and Windows 10 anticipation
Xbox One Summer Update now available with Cortana, background music, and more
Expanding mobile photography with Aukey's wide-angle lenses
The Vimtag P1: A great home monitoring cam with a few kinks
Have you upgraded your Windows 7 or 8.1 PC to Windows 10 yet?
windows 10 upgrade
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Lens Cover
Pirate hunter sounds like something from the movies, but it's the job description of about 35 student employees of proMedia, who spend their days tracking down copyright violators and making them pay.
Despite worldwide music revenues growing faster last year than in 2010, a new industry report indicates that music piracy is increasing too - 1 in 4 global web users acquired music illegally in 2011.
Legal actions against thousands of music file-sharers across the world were announced today by the IFPI as the recording industry stepped up its campaign to deter copyright theft and promote legitimate use of music on...
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has today announced 2,000 new cases against those accused of illegally sharing music. On its website the IFPI boasts that a Finnish carpenter, a French chef and a...
In its efforts to fight illegal file sharing, the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry, the global version of the RIAA, announced on Tuesday that they have launched the largest wave of action to date...


text:
PrintWeek India launches monthly What Packaging? eNewsletter
The packaging sector is perhaps the last bastion for the printing community. The India growth story proves that there is a need for a special packaging magazine. Which is why PrintWeek India has launched the monthly eVersion of What Packaging?
01 Feb 2017 | By PrintWeek India


text:
Uttaranchal University has established a start up, incubation and entrepreneur cell to promote nurturing, instructive and supportive expertise to our students during the critical stages of starting up a new venture.
To bring uniformity in the identified enterprises, Ministry of Commerce and Industries (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) on 17th February, 2016 has notified which entity which will be considered as a ‘startup’ in the Gazette of India. This was done as per launch “Startup India” by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on 16th January 2016.
In order to provide sustainable impetus to the initiation of startups and boost innovation, it is important that the budding student entrepreneurs get the right kind of guidance and help at their campus.
Click here to register yourself.Apply Now


text:
Rajiv SinghEditor | ET
How Havells is transforming from an electrical goods maker into a consumer durables brand
From an electrical consumer durables label in a segment dominated by male buyers, Havells is now a household brand targeting women, too, with kitchen appliances, refrigerators, TVs and ACs.
Two remote villages in Uttar Pradesh get Independence from darkness after 70 years
Haldu Khata in the Najibabad block of Bijnor district is one of the remote villages that got electrified last fortnight, for the first time since Independence.
Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter
Seamless reading experience. Save your favourite.


text:
India's online grocery market's huge potential
Albinder Dhinsa, the CEO of Grofers, discusses the obstacles faced by the India's nascent but potentially huge grocery delivery industry, and how his business has already found some solutions.
Editor's Picks. Similar Videos
Self-driving taxi tested in Tokyo
Hinomaru Kotsu Co. and ZMP Inc. are testing a self-driving taxi in Tokyo, using real passengers. If all goes well, the companies plan to have the service up and running by 2020.
The concept car built with synthetic resin
Toray Industries and Sumitomo Chemical are testing a concept car built mainly with synthetic resin, making it much lighter than the average electric car.
Worldwide prospects for Bangladesh
In an interview, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina discusses the future of her country's economy, including nuclear energy deals with Russia and China as well as trade with the U.S.
AirAsia aims to fly to U.S. west coast via Japan by 2020
AirAsia Group aims to fly to Los Angeles and San Francisco on the west coast of the U.S. by 2020 from its base in Southeast Asia via Japan, Chief Executive Tony Fernandes told the Nikkei Asian Review on Thursday.
Diving into interactive digital art in Tokyo
Tokyo has a new museum, and it is interactive. Mori Digital Art Museum: teamLab Borderless features exhibits full of lights, mirrors and projectors that offer seemingly endless ways to explore .
Zozo's body suit -- for when a tailor isn't around
It might look strange, but it ensures that clothes ordered online will fit. The Zozosuit lets customers make precise body measurements with only the help of a smartphone and some white polka dots.


text:
Probably one of the longest running punch lines in the technology community is BlackBerry. It is commonly known to have slow internet connection, outdated operating systems (OS) and overall inferior to popular product like the Iphone or the Galaxy. I owned a BlackBerry about two years ago and I had similar complaints, but I still preferred it to the Iphone. Recently, CEO of BlackBerry Thorsten Heins made a bold statement against the Apple company: the Iphone has become outdated, passé and generally boring. While such statements might just be to promote his own business, Heins might be onto something about Apple’s current innovation drought.
Since its inception in 2007, the Iphone has stayed the same with home button, touch sensitive zoom and scroll and the rounded icon imagery on the home screen. The software has gone through plenty of updates including the App Store and Siri, but the hardware, design and productivity has not changed in years. There is a term that can describe the rut that Apple in and it is called skeuomorphism. It means that an object or design borrows features from the past eve if it is functionally obsolete. The visual styles is meant to bring familiarity to new products which can sometimes come off as tacky or gaudy, which Apple tends to do with its texture based icons. And at first, the products skeuomorphic elements were revolutionary and interesting. But after so many years of using the same techniques, the textures and user interface has become stale and tired. Heins decided to bring up the dwindling Iphone around this time most likely to boost the hype around BlackBerry’s new curve ball that it is about to throw.
The BlackBerry 10 was released back in January of this year and it took everyone by surprise. The user interface and general hardware had been completely changed, gutted everything from its old products and started new. Did it pay off? Sort of. The mobile OS for BlackBerry 10 is missing a few features that can agitate users, but it has ultimately improved from previous smartphones from RIM (Research in Motion). As a product of 4G LTE, wireless connection is much faster and the interface allows users to multitask with different open applications, a useful tool for the modern businessman or businesswoman. BlackBerry 10 has been called polished and fresh and could easily make its way back on top and overthrow Apple. Note that I say could rather than will, especially since other companies like Samsung are growing in popularity and innovation.
Because of how much power the company has acquired, Apple most likely doesn’t care what Heins or BlackBerry has to say, but it does show that it’s not just Samsung that is pointing out the flaws in Apple. Fighting back would appear to be petty but the company should not have to face this kind of media abuse. The return of BlackBerry shows how fast technological innovation works and how it effects competitors and product consumption. Those who have said that BlackBerry is a joke cannot deny the fact that the company is at least working hard to be creative and new in a market where the top company could easily fall within a week.


text:
The week may have started with gold and silver prices rising, but currently they have changed direction and are being traded down. Is this just a correction or a beginning of change in pace?
Today, the US new homes sales report will be published, the French and German flash manufacturing PMI and the core retail sales of Canada.
Let’s examine the precious metals market for today, August 23rd:
Gold and silver prices –August
Gold and silver prices continue to break new highs: Gold price rose on Monday by 2.14% to $1,891; silver price also inclined by 2.11% to $43.37. During August, gold price increased by 16%, and silver price inclined by 8.1%. The chart below shows the normalized gold and silver prices (July 29th 2011=100).
The ratio between gold and silver prices continues to remain around the 44-45 mark; on Monday, August 22nd it reached 43.63. During August gold price has outperformed silver price as the ratio inclined by 7.3%, but in the past several days this situation is slowly shifting.
U.S. new home sales – July 2011
This report shows the changes in the real estate market in July 2011 and the new home sales in the U.S.; in the previous report (June 2011), the sales of new homes fell by 1% compared with the number of new homes sold in May 2011. If this report will further show a fall in new home sales, it may indicate the further slowing down of US economy.
US Dollar & US Treasuries / Gold & silver prices – August update
The Euro to US dollar exchange rate continues to seek direction and declined yesterday by 0.27%. The US dollar also appreciated against other major currencies including Australian dollar and Japanese yen. Bloomberg reports that currently US dollar is traded down due to the recent China manufacturing survey that showed a slowdown in China’s manufacturing activity.
As seen below, the major currencies are more correlated with the daily percent changes in silver price than with gold price. Among the major exchange rates that were linearly correlated with silver price during August (UTD) are: USD/BRL, AUD/USD, USD/YEN, USD/CAD and Euro/USD. Gold price was mostly correlated with USD/YEN. If the forex markets will continue with its high volatility, it could push up gold and silver prices.
The US 10-year Treasury yields continue to fall as they have reached 2.06% – nearly a 0.84 percent point fall from last month and 0.19 percent point fall from last week. As the demand for U.S. Treasury bills rises, it indicates that traders seeking safe havens including gold and silver.
S&P500 / Gold & silver prices – August update
The S&P500 index slightly inclined on Monday by 0.03%. During August, S&P500 index fell by 13.04%. The linear correlation of gold and silver prices with S&P500 index (daily percent changes) was -0.487 (for gold) and -0.286 (for silver). This means, as the S&P500 index rises, gold and silver prices fall. If the S&P500 index will rebound from the falls it endured during last week, it may curb the rally of gold and silver prices.
Current Gold and Silver prices
The precious metals prices are currently traded down in the European markets:
Current gold price short term future (September 2011 delivery) is traded at $1,880.0 per t oz. a $11.9 or 0.63% decrease as of 09:02*.
Current silver price short term future is at $43.185 per t oz – a $0.18 or 0.42% decline as of 09:01*.
The current ratio of gold to silver prices is at 43.53.
Gold and silver prices Outlook:
Gold and silver prices enjoyed an upward trend in recent weeks; if gold and silver prices will trade down today, it will likely to be a correction to the sharp gains they have had. Currently there are no major news items that could support a drastic change in direction. If the stock markets will bounce back from their falls, and the US dollar with further appreciate these factors may curb some of the gains in gold and silver prices.
Here is a reminder of the top events and reports that are planed for today and tomorrow (all times GMT):
08:00– French and German flash manufacturing PMI (August 2011)
10:00 – Euro and German ZEW economic sentiment
13:30 – Core retails sales Canada (May 2011)
15:00 – U.S. new home sales
13:30 – US Department of Commerce – Report on core Durable Goods
15:30 – EIA report about Crude oil inventories
For further reading:
Lior Cohen, M.A. commodities analyst and blogger at Trading NRG.


text:
Vehicle deliveries in Brazil dropped for a third straight month largely due to tighter credit and a newly imposed higher tax on imports. Both issues are expected to continue to have a negative impact on the market.
Higher tax on imported cars hurt Brazil sales.
March sales of cars and trucks in five South America countries tracked by WardsAuto declined compared with year-ago for the second consecutive month and for the fourth time in the last five months.
Deliveries of light vehicles and medium- and heavy-duty trucks totaled 447,517 units in March, down 1.4% from 453,790 in like-2011.
Thanks to a strong gain in January, sales in the first there months inched pass year-ago to 1.224 million units, up 0.9% from 1.213 million.
But unless results turn around in Brazil, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of the region’s volume, sales soon could trail 2011.
Vehicle deliveries in Brazil dropped for a third straight month in March’s largely due to tighter credit and a newly imposed higher tax on imports. Both issues are expected to continue to have a negative impact on the market.
Venezuela and Uruguay, which combined account for less than 5% of the region’s sales, posted increases in March.
Venezuela’s vehicle deliveries surged 48.1%, following increases of 20.0% in February and 9.7% in January, while year-to-date results jumped 28.9%. This could be the first year since 2007 that the country posts a gain on prior-year. Uruguay’s March sales climbed 8.8%, and results for the first three months rose 3.5%.
Argentina’s string of 28 straight sales gains was broken in March with vehicle deliveries falling 3.6% from like-2011. Year-to-date results grew 5.3% from prior-year.
Rounding out the region, Colombia’s vehicle sales in the month fell 5.5% from a year ago, but its year-to-date total rose 4.0%.


text:
An all-electric Specialty Sports Concept is confirmed for debut at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show.
Honda has announced that it will reveal a range of electric concepts at the Japan Mobility Show 2023, formerly known as the Tokyo Motor Show. But the most exciting has to be the Specialty Sports Concept, an all-electric sports car that will herald the brand's return to the sports car fray.
The automaker says the concept will provide motorists with driving pleasure and "transcend the constraints of time." We're not quite sure what that means, but it could suggest that Honda will take inspiration from old sports cars, like the S2000, where the driving experience was uncompromised and devoid of unnecessary driver aids.
Aside from that, the Japanese brand says this electric sports car's "distinctive individuality" will allow customers to "transcend their everyday life." This implies the Specialty Sports Concept won't just be another generic and soulless EV but rather an exciting one.
No images have been shared as yet, with the images below being of other concepts from the brand.
We believe the Specialty Sport Concept will morph into a S2000 successor when it reaches the production-ready stage. Honda is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023, and there's no better way to celebrate this milestone than by launching a sports car.
Earlier this year, Honda Europe's Senior Vice President hinted at an S2000 replacement in May. "Watch this space:  is 75 years - we had the S2000 at 50. Who knows," said Tom Gardner. He added that future Hondas will be described as sporty and advanced and said the company still believes in performance cars. "We love a sports car," said Gardner. We love performance, and we're very grateful for the strong reaction we've had to the latest Civic Type R.
A month later, Honda technical consultant Kotaro Yamamoto shared that the upcoming sports car may wear the Type R badge.
"Type R stands for racing. It's pleasure transported. An electric car can deliver this, and a Type R is not obliged to use a combustion engine. Even in a fully electric society, there will still be Type Rs delivering ultimate driving pleasure," said Yamamoto.
If the rumors are to be believed, the S2000 replacement will be revealed this year and arrive in 2024. We sincerely hope that Honda will be able to capture the essence of the original and repurpose it for the electric era. Weight could pose a problem, but several automakers have shown us that EVs don't have to be heavy. Alpine's E-ternite concept weighs just 3,038 lbs, which is lighter than many modern ICE-powered sports cars.


text:
There is a lot that has been happening with Facebook lately with all its “Social Audio” products, support for COVID-19 vaccination, reopening of offices and much more. Amidst all this, there is one more announcement that the company has made which involves seamless data transfers. Yes, the social media conglomerate now lets you transfer your posts and notes directly from the application to third-party services such as Google Docs, WordPress and Blogger for better productivity.
As mentioned in multiple reports, with the updation of this new data portability feature, Facebook Inc. has also renamed its services as “Transfer Your information”. This announcement comes almost a month after Apple announced a similar service to Apple users that grants them some relief and allows users to transfer and back up their photos and videos to Google Photos, as mentioned in a report by Hindustan Times.
However, this is not the first time that Facebook has allowed access and data transfer to a third-party application or service. In fact, the recent update is just an extension of the company’s previous efforts to make productivity seamless with the Facebook application. According to multiple reports, the social media giant already allows transferring posts and notes to Google Photos, Dropbox, Koofr and Backblaze. Apart from this, WordPress is a very handy tool used by a major percentage of users publishing information and content on their websites and blog posts. Blogger is another such tool that allows users to share their in-depth information with the world through content writing. Having both of these tools supported within the “Transfer Your information” service by Facebook Inc. allows seamless data transfers keeping user experience in mind.
They talk about data transferring from Facebook, what about privacy and security? While this question might pop up in your head, Facebook ensures that you do the task with proper encryptions and security. The social media conglomerate asks users to enter their passwords before initiating the transfer between these services. The data will certainly be fully encrypted while it is in transit to block third-party access that might hamper your privacy.
Go to Facebook Settings> Click on “Find your Information”> “transfer your information”> enter the password and you are good to go.
Anyhow, in recent events, Facebook is diving deep into audio-based products leveraging the hidden potential of the market. The company’s alleged Clubhouse competitor has also been introduced and is speculated to hit the markets by the end of May.


text:
The 16th Global Food Safety Conference (GFSC) held in Houston from February 27 to March 2 brought together nearly 1,200 food industry representatives—including top food CEOs and government regulators—from 54 countries, resulting in record-breaking attendance. BBC journalist Adam Shaw moderated this year’s theme of Leadership for Growth, keeping the CEOs and regulators on their toes with hard-hitting questions.
But before the official start of the event on February 27, the food industry held its own version of a “G30” summit as governments from 30 countries with over 100 representatives converged before the conference to discuss how they view the potential integration of private food safety assurance schemes within the context of national control systems and how to leverage the industry’s investment in private certification for public policy results. Multilateral organizations included the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, and the International Finance Corp.
Overall, the GFSI event was jam packed with groundbreaking announcements, thought-provoking presentations, dynamic smaller group sessions, and an interactive exhibit floor. One thing was evident during the conference: GFSI has certainly been keeping itself busy.
GFSI, which is powered by The Consumer Goods Forum, announced the publication of its 7th version of the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements. The Benchmarking Requirements V7, which acts as a “food safety passport” across global supply chains, facilitates international trade and mutual trust in the level of safety systems in place.
“With food traded globally, we need to work together to ensure one safe food supply,” said Mike Robach, chairman of the GFSI Board of Directors and VP of corporate food safety and regulatory affairs at Cargill. “That is why GFSI’s Benchmarking Requirements are a spectacularly collaborative effort and really reflect years of expertise from industry experts and food scientists.”
GFSI is expanding its inclusive farm-to-fork approach by incorporating the new scope of the supply chain Food Brokers and Agents in this new edition. V7 also includes new requirements to incorporate unannounced audits and to fight food fraud, and overall to increase transparency in the benchmarking process.
To help in the fight against food fraud, Alchemy Systems and the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) announced a collaboration that enables food companies of all sizes to assess supply chain risk and build robust systems to minimize food fraud. Alchemy’s Food Fraud Risk Assessment and Mitigation services will be combined with USP’s Food Fraud Database and expertise so that companies can better safeguard their brands. The Alchemy-USP collaboration will enable companies to prioritize fraud risks down to the ingredient.
USP also announced its collaboration with the global authenticity competence center of EUROFINS group to tackle food fraud. The agreement includes exploring new analytical testing methods, training, and consulting to help the food sector assess the vulnerability of supply chains, and other services based on food fraud data to inform stakeholders of emerging issues.
Not to be outdone on the collaboration front, GFSI also had its own announcement. Enforcing its message of strengthening the collaboration between the public and the private sectors, GFSI publicized its public-private partnership with the Mexican National Service of Health, Food Safety and Agro-Food Quality (SENASICA), the Mexican government agency responsible for the safety of fresh and minimally-processed food products.


text:
Emerging payment trends and technologies are transforming the financial services sector making it easier for businesses and consumers to send and receive funds.
Three major trends in this space are: the continued penetration of digital payments, the rise of instant payments, and the influence of fintech on the sector.
1. The continued penetration of digital payments
Where once it was only possible to pay for goods and services with cash or, later, cheques and cards, consumers can now choose to make payments via a range of different devices. These include phones, watches and perhaps even spectacles in the future, with the recent re-invention of Google Glass.
According to the latest Australian Payments Network Milestones Report, Australia is leading the world in some aspects of digital payments.
With almost one million (954,174) electronic point-of-sale (POS) terminals around the country, Australia has the highest number of POS terminals per million inhabitants of all Bank of International Settlements (BIS) member countries.
The report also found more people using wearable devices. An estimated 14 per cent of Australians already have a smart wearable device and that figure is predicted to rise to 37 per cent by 2020.
Aside from consumer preference to make payments electronically, there are other factors driving the widespread preference for digital payments.
Banks, regulators and governments are encouraging the switch to digital payments according to Capgemini's Top 10 trends in payment – 2017 report.
A key reason is that digital payments reduce the volume of payments that go through the black economy as cash. This makes the financial system more robust.
Digital payments could become even more widespread with Australia's industry-developed, New Payments Platform. This new infrastructure is likely to facilitate faster data-rich digital payments when it goes live later this year.
2. Instant payments
Instant payments are a related trend to the digital payments push. Instant payments rely on underlying digital technologies to facilitate real-time payments.
Where once it was accepted that it takes time to receive a payment - with banks acting as intermediaries - now technologies are emerging that facilitate instant payments.
The rise of instant payments is a trend for CFOs to watch because of its potential to fundamentally affect a business' cash flow and change its payment terms.
While it may mean cash comes into the business faster, it could also mean cash leaves the business quicker.
The trend offers other key business benefits, allowing CFOs to reduce credit risk and improve treasury management.
But there are several issues to be resolved before there can be widespread adoption of instant payments.
One of the main considerations is how to facilitate instant cross-border payments, as Capgemini's research indicates.
This is likely to involve co-operation and collaboration across different jurisdictions, at least to facilitate instant payments made through the traditional banking system.
Traditional financial services businesses are already moving to compete with new fintech startups that exist to directly connect individuals and businesses to make payments.
The emergence of peer-to-peer payment platforms is likely to see a shake-up in product offerings from new players and from the established financial system.
CFOs are well advised to do their research before deciding which way to jump as these new platforms continue to emerge.
3. The influence of fintech on payments
An emerging cohort of fintechs, are developing a huge range of new payments technologies.
The traditional banking sector is keeping a close eye on developments. Some banks have set up in-house capabilities to develop their own fintechs, or have built-up internal resources to let them partner with fintechs.
Other fintechs could be acquired by large financial services businesses to enhance their offering to consumers.
These changes all point to the continual innovation of the payments system, as new payments technologies are tested and marketed.
CFOs may benefit from having systems in place to ensure they are systematically evaluating opportunities to improve their payment systems.
Three key steps to implement this:
- An assessment of the technology to work out how easy it will be to use in the business. New systems should be intuitive to use and simple to implement.
- A review of the right solutions for the business' size. The correct technologies are size-dependent, so the right tools for a $10 million business may be different to those required for a $50 million business.
- Focus on ensuring the business has the right change management systems in place to help finance and other staff accept the introduction of new payment tools in the business.
For most finance teams, there should be an ongoing appraisal process to make sure the business is across emerging developments in the payments space.
By putting systems in place to help manage decision making in this fast-changing environment, businesses can see real-time benefits in effective cash flow management.
- The volume of digital payments made through the financial system may continue to rise with the proliferation of new technologies like wearable devices.
- Instant payments may become increasingly commonplace, as consumers and businesses progressively demand to be paid in real-time.
- New technologies developed by fintechs (new financial technologies) can appeal to businesses across the financial system and may drive further streamlining of payment systems.


text:
Blue Apron is looking to cut its expenses even further after reporting a wounded financial report this week. Less than two months after launching its highly anticipated IPO, the meal kit pioneer is seeing its stock prices sink by nearly 50 percent—and is responding by taking an axe to its marketing budget and plans to grow menu options.
“We are beginning a new chapter as a public company, and remain focused on our long-term strategy to build an iconic consumer brand, develop a more diverse product portfolio, and further build out an end-to-end supply chain platform,” CEO Matt Salzberg reassured its investors in a statement with the company’s second quarter financial report.
Blue Apron’s June IPO was launched at a lower-than-expected price of $10 per share, and according to Bloomberg, this, combined with the marketing spending that went into promoting it, left a big hole in the company’s pockets. The source reported that Blue Apron executives warned in its conference call to investors that this would likely cause a ripple effect into next quarter as the company combats a loss in its customer base and invests in new fulfillment centers. Bloomberg also noted this will halt planned expansions in its menu offerings.
“These complexities have arisen within the last month,” said Chief Financial Officer Brad Dickerson during the call, noting the company’s difficulty in attracting and retaining customers. “Because of these factors, we’ll be reducing our marketing spend in the back half of the year, an obvious additional impact to the business’s top-line growth.”
In the second quarter, Blue Apron said its marketing spending declined by 43 percent from the first, decreasing the total number of customers. Bloomberg set Blue Apron's customer base at 943,000 customers as of the end of June, about a 9 percent decline from March. CNBC also reported earnings per share for the quarter were down 47 cents per share.
In response, the company has adjusted its expectations for the second half of the year, predicting sales of between $380 to $400 million, Bloomberg says. Investors had their fair share of responses too, however. Shares were down 18 percent to $5.14 by the end of trading in New York. This is almost 50 percent of the $10 share price at the launch of the IPO.
As one of the biggest names in meal kit delivery, all eyes will continue to be on Blue Apron as other competitors look towards their own IPOs. Deli Market News will continue our coverage as new facts roll in.


text:
Didcot resident Cara Cleak has her sights set firmly on a career at Specsavers Didcot after gaining a certificate in International Leadership Management (ILM).
Long term commitment
Cara (27) is a member of the team at the store where she has worked for the past three years. She took up the opportunity to develop her management skills with the ILM training programme, and is currently the acting assistant manager at the store.
A word from the store director
‘We’re very proud of Cara, she’s really dedicated and has shown her commitment to learning and developing, which is always so rewarding,’ said store director Rukhsana Bi.


text:
Tesla Wireless Charger Review and Teardown Impresses: “Amazing” [VIDEO]
Tesla began shipping its new wireless device charger in March, as can be found on the company’s online shop.
Now, one YouTube channel has taken to unboxing the wireless charger, showing what comes in the box, how it works and generally reviewing the item.
Tech reviewer and teardown artist JerryRigEverything called Tesla’s wireless charger “amazing” in the video, which was shared on Thursday.
The wireless charger sells from Tesla for $300, and the box itself includes the wireless charging platform on which users can set smartphones, tablets, earbuds or any other devices that can charge wirelessly, with the Qi standard.
The shop listing says that the platform delivers up to 15W of fast-charging power per device, and as the video shows, you can use it with multiple devices at once, up to three.
It’s worth noting Apple tried to build a wireless charging pad called AirPower that never made it to market. But Tesla’s wireless charging mat leverages tech from a company called FreePower, who has figured it out.
Next, the box includes the USB-C cable with for the charger, and lastly, it includes a magnetic platform that can be used with your device while it’s charging.
In the video, Zack also breaks open the wireless charger, revealing a multi-layered array of copper coils beneath that are responsible for the actual charging.
Zack also shares a few details about how wireless charging works, including that it only works at 60 to 80 percent efficiency, compared to plugging into a wall charger which works at 100 percent efficiency.
You can watch the full unboxing of Tesla’s new wireless charger from JerryRigEverything below.


text:
NEW YORK — Lewis B. Koppelman, who left Louis Féraud Inc. last month, has been scooped up by Tse as chief operating officer, a new position.
This story first appeared in the November 7, 2002 issue of WWD. Subscribe Today.
Koppelman will oversee the wholesale and retail businesses for Tse brands in North America, Asia and Europe, and will be based in New York, reporting to company founder Augustine Tse, president and chief executive officer.
Separately, Joann Casa, who was executive vice president responsible for product development, sales and administration at Tse since 2000, has resigned to develop her own fashion consulting business. Casa had consulted for other brands before joining Tse, such as Ballinger Gold and Halston.
Koppelman had been president and ceo of Louis Féraud Inc. — the North American division of the french ready-to-wear firm — since 1999 and had previously worked as vice president of collection sales for Ralph Lauren’s women’s wear and executive vice president of sales and marketing for Donna Karan New York for six years. He also worked in retail before that as vice president and general merchandise manager of I. Magnin and divisional merchandise manager for Lord & Taylor.
“Coming from the luxury market, I have always admired Tse for its brand imaging and recognized the enormous potential Tse has to expand its business,” Koppelman said.