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By Abbie Walker, Head of Social at www.curtisgabriel.com
Digital agency Curtis Gabriel has created a range of top tips to help hospitality outlets survive and thrive.
And now the North-East based company, is aiming to help other venues across the industry grow through digital marketing.
Abbie Walker, Head of Social at Curtis Gabriel, said there had never been a more important time for hospitality outlets to up their presence.
“We all know that the hospitality industry was one of the most impacted sectors during lockdown,” said Abbie.
“Consumer behaviour has changed and it’s vital that venues recognise that and use digital marketing methods to help attract customers in the immediate future and going forward.”
Abbie stresses the importance of creating video content which can be used on Facebook and Instagram Stories and on Instagram Reels.
“Utilising video content within a social media strategy is a great way of creating an authentic experience for an audience, showcase your services and your personality as a company, bringing your brand to light online,” she said.
Abbie also recommends working with influencers who can help engage audiences and often produce high quality imagery or videography which can be shared with a wider audience.
The social media expert also highlights the importance of user generated content – provided by customers or guests who have visited a venue – because this is a third party endorsement which is seen as credible.
“User-Generated Content not only generates excellent levels of brand awareness but helps to drive purchasing decisions,” said Abbie.
“Many potential customers buy from seeing reviews/positive feedback on experiences so it’s important to spread the word.”
Curtis Gabriel also recommends cashing in on key dates in the calendar and producing something specific for social media challenges.
“Key dates are a great way of linking in with key trending hashtags, celebrating specific hospitality events or campaigns, but most importantly being engaging for followers,” added Abbie.
There are numerous food and drink related days/weeks throughout the year so creating a calendar including any relevant ones means that venues can be well prepared.
Competitions and giveaways are another great way of creating followers and generating engagement which hopefully will also drive people to the venue’s channels on a regular basis to see if there’s anything new on offer.
Abbie also recommends personalising posts, introducing team members so there is a “human” face to the organisation.
“Content which gives a more personal approach always increases engagement and interactions from users online,” she said.
A meet the team focus is a great way of introducing a brand, personality and providing insight into who you are as a company, which naturally creates relationships with an audience.
There are many other benefits to profiling a team, such as showcasing achievements, talents, successes within the workplace which makes you more appealing in comparison to your competitors.”


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The highly anticipated launch of ZCash was significantly overhyped, particularly on cryptocurrency exchanges including Poloniex, which currently demonstrate a price of nearly 9 BTC, a value worth around $6300 per ZEC (ZCash).
Despite its high value and support from various investment firms including Pantera Capital and Digital Currency Group, it has already triggered some major discussions and criticisms on its principles and mining mechanism.
Upon the launch of ZCash, Poloniex and other prominent cryptocurrency exchanges placed a value of $20,000 per ZEC, considering its limited circulation. However, its price rapidly decreased over the past 9 hours by nearly 100%, declining to $9,000 and $6,000 on some exchanges like ShapeShift.
While most users and ZCash supporters argue that it is the exchanges like Poloniex that are pushing the price up purposely, the majority of cryptocurrency experts and communities unanimously agree that the average price of ZCash in the short term will be placed at around 0.1 BTC.
Zcash average price at the first month.— Frisb (@pterion2910) October 15, 2016
Because of the optimism revolving around the value of ZCash, futures trading on the digital currency have increased in popularity amongst cryptocurrency investors. Various exchanges and trading platforms including BitMEX have launched futures trading option for ZCash.
The volume of futures trading in ZCash is rapidly increasing due to the pre-sale of ZEC, which was initiated by the development team to raise capital to fund operations. Simon Dixon’s BNK to the Future also conducted a crowdfunding campaign for ZCash mining, in which investors funded to receive ZEC through a portion of each block reward.
However, this pre-sale and the 10 percent Devmine share of the ZCash network has led to controversial arguments in the cryptocurrency community, as experts began to question the legitimacy of ZCash and its mining mechanism. An increasing number of users have also criticized ZCash by comparing it to Monero, the leading anonymity and privacy-focused digital currency.
Major Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges such as Kraken and Bitfinex have either already begun to accept orders for ZEC or released statements for ZEC support in the near future. Bitfinex began to accept orders for ZEC on Oct. 28, almost immediately after the launch of ZEC.
Order books for ZECBTC and ZECUSD are now open and accepting bids. Deposit will be open after Zcash Genesis block is mined— Bitfinex.com (@bitfinex) October 28, 2016
Kraken also enabled trading for its users and according to various Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market data providers like BraveNewCoin, it is becoming one of the largest ZEC trading platforms behind Poloniex.

domain: news


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Wearing a face mask has become part of our new norm due to this current pandemic. In fact, designers from countries across the globe are boosting their creativity by challenging the typical designs of face masks.
Have a look at these!
This white gold coronavirus mask holds the price of US$1.5 million, marking its status as the world’s priciest mask. As creative as a designer may be, this idea actually came about when a Chinese businessman based in the US requested the most expensive face mask, according to the Times of Israel.
Why is it so pricey?
Because it is made up of 18-karat of gold and decorated with a total of 3,600 black and white diamonds. Moreover, it is also fitted with the top-rated N99 filters, explained Isaac Levy, a designer from an Israel jewellery company. The weight of the mask is almost 100 times heavier than a typical face mask! Breathing in a normal surgical face mask is already very suffocating, can you imagine putting on such a heavy piece?
“Money doesn’t buy everything, but if it can buy a very expensive COVID-19 mask and a guy wants to wear it and walk around and get the attention, he should be happy with that,” Levy said.
This face mask is topped with hundreds of crystals and it took over three hours to complete just one. Samia Alzakleh, a Jordanian fashion designer said that her attempt was to encourage people in wearing masks during this pandemic period.
While some loved her idea, there were criticisms too, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat.
“My goal wasn’t to focus on the illness and the mask, my goal was simply an artistic one,” she explained.
Aude De Wolf, a stylist based in Brussels, created “scarf masks” in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. She uses cashmere, linen, and other top-quality materials to combine masks with luxurious shawls, which produces a unique design. The masks are attached to the long neck scarfs, and cost $185 each, according to Reuters.
She also has been sewing free medical masks for the hospitals.
“I was inspired by my mother because she doesn’t like her neck,” she said.
Another Belgian designer, Olivia Hainaut, joined the party in creating fancy face masks as reported by Gulf News. She uses flamboyant touches (for example silk flowers), sequins, and jewels in making the masks where the price range depends on the types of materials.
Moving on, we have this familiar gold mask. We’re pretty sure this particular picture has been making headlines across many media platforms.
Shankar Kurhade, a 49-year-old businessman from the Western city of Pune said he spent US$4,000 for this metal covering on his face. It’s only a thin piece as it weighs 60g (unlike the one by Israel). Additionally, it is reported by Straits Times that Kurhade likes to decorate himself with gold jewellery (bracelet, necklace, rings) when going out.
“It is a thin mask and has tiny pores that help me to breathe,” Shankar said.
Shankar initiated the idea when he came across a media report about a man wearing a mask made from silver.
Dipak Choksi, a jeweller from the Western state of Gujarat has created masks decorated with real diamonds and demands for them are going viral.
The design first started when a customer requested to have masks that stand out from the rest for a pair of the newly-weds during a wedding, reported by SBS Hindi.
Cubic zirconia gems, real diamonds and gold are incorporated into making this luxurious mask. Additionally, Mr Choksi said that N15 is also included in the mask to protect people from the Covid-19 infection.
“With protective masks having become a part of one’s daily attire, the demand for masks matching with saris and dress materials is increasing. It is going viral and people are now requesting for slightly lower budget diamond masks, so our designers are making that variety as well,” said Mr Choksi.
Prices for these bling-bling face coverings range between US$1,990 and US$5,320 depending on the types of gems used.
Next, introducing to you is this piece of pearl jewellery mask.
Rieko Kawanishi, a Japanese designer takes three days to come up with one pearl face mask made with 310 real Akoya pearls of four various sizes. She has been making accessories based on pearls as she wanted to focus more on Japanese materials, according to South China Morning Post.
“Akoya Pearls are mostly used for necklaces. But when I tried to wear them near the face, my skin felt surprisingly good. And the skin looked smooth and good too. So I wanted to send a message about Akoya pearls being so free and fun to wear. I designed it with this idea and concept in mind,” she said.
Having the price of US$9,350, Rieko also said that the people can drape the masks as ‘necklaces’ when not in use.
Malaysia is not lagging behind either! Though we might not be as grand as the other countries, this batik face mask is getting its name out there!
Maureen Clarke, a batik fabric designer, was inspired to produce her self-designed masks due to the shortage of face mask supply in Malaysia during the first phase of Movement Control Order (MCO).
“I am stitching these batik face masks all by myself; and in the future, I wish to work with local tailors and refugees to stitch the masks after the MCO is over,” said Clarke, who discovered the uniqueness of batik when she came to Kuala Lumpur to seek a job in 2005.
This 42-year-old Argentinian explained her attempts at making five prototypes so people do not have breathing difficulties in wearing the face masks. Furthermore, The Malaysian Reserve reported that proceeds from these sales will be given to underprivileged children that have been affected by this pandemic.
Would you prefer a chic face mask over a normal one? Let us know in the comments section below!
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China Yiwu International Forest Products Fair opens
Visitors are seen at the 16th China Yiwu International Forest Products Fair on Nov 1. [Photo/Zhejiang Daily]
The 16th China Yiwu International Forest Products Fair opened at the Yiwu International Expo Center in Yuwu, Zhejiang province, on Nov 1 and will last for four days.
The fair is being held both online and onsite, with 1,736 exhibitors booking 2,809 international physical booths.
The 80,000-square-meter fair has established 10 special exhibition areas to display more than 100,000 forest-related products and is expected to attract more than 100,000 buyers from home and abroad.
The event has been held every year since its establishment in 2008 and has included over 21,200 enterprises from more than 40 countries and regions participating as exhibitors as well as 3.76 million buyers from over 100 countries and regions. It has achieved a total transaction volume of over 55 billion yuan ($7.52 billion).


text: HomeBitcoinMicroStrategy purchases another $1 billion worth of Bitcoin, now owns 90,000 BTC MicroStrategy purchases another $1 billion worth of Bitcoin, now owns 90,000 BTC By Crypto News Pipe February 24, 2021 Bitcoin 0 Comments CEO Michael Saylor said the firm didn’t intend to slow down the rate of its Bitcoin acquisitions after buying another $1 billion worth of BTC. Source: MicroStrategy purchases another billion worth of Bitcoin, now owns 90,000 BTC Tags:Bitcoin Related Posts Analyst Sees Bitcoin at $12K after Price Rises Five Days in a Row Hedge fund manager Alan Howard invests in two crypto startups Bitcoin May Confirm a Massive H&S Pattern, Marking a Long-Term Top About Author Crypto News Pipe Crypto News Pipe is a cryptocurrency news aggregator service. It presents a continuous flow of articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Add a Comment Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment:*Name:* Email Address:* Website: Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.


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That the new generation of the iPhone will be called “Xs”, this is almost certain. The biggest proof of this was the photo that Apple leaked on its website (the hidden URL, which made it possible to capture the image, had xs in its name). This, of course, for the 5.8 inch model, a direct successor to the iPhone X. Now, the 9to5Mac reported that the 6.5-inch model will have a new name.
If Apple followed the tradition, this device would be called “iPhone Xs Plus”. However, it will be called “IPhone Xs Max”!
THE MacMagazine had already received this information from a trusted source about two weeks ago and can confirm that, yes, that will be the name – in the recording of the MacMagazine on Air # 291 (which happened last night and will be published today), we even played with it. ?
It remains to be seen, now, what will be the name of the 6.1-inch iPhone with LCD screen. Any bets?
The new iPhones, as well as the new Apple Watches and possible new accessories for such products will be announced on September 12, in a special event that will take place at Apple Park. THE MacMagazine, of course, will cover everything!


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Nokia is set to launch its anticipated device powered by an Android variant at Mobile World Congress, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing “people familiar with the matter”.
While the device has long been mooted, with its genesis coming before Nokia did the deal to sell the bulk of its Devices & Services unit to Microsoft, it has been unclear if it would ever see a commercial launch.
But with Nokia seeing pressure from low-cost Android device makers in its mass market portfolio, the decision to go ahead has seemingly been made.
It is believed that rather than being a pure Android device, Nokia will offer smartphones that see Google’s mobile services stripped-out and replaced by Microsoft’s competing products.
This will mean it can leverage the Android app developer base, although products will need to be tweaked for distribution via a Nokia/Microsoft storefront.
Amazon, which has similarly created its own variant of Android, has previously said that 75 per cent of apps can run on its platform with no additional porting effort.
While Nokia’s device sales have slumped in recent years, it is still big enough to provide an appealing partner for developers – especially if apps can be easily created from existing Android products, rather than requiring a separate development effort.
And by supporting Microsoft’s products and services, the new devices would give it an “on ramp” for new smartphone users and emerging markets, with the hope that customers would then see Windows Phone as the logical upgrade path.


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The tenth Annual Algiers International Trade Fair was opened on Friday (August 31) by President Moussa Traore of Mali.
The tenth Annual Algiers International Trade Fair was opened on Friday (August 31) by President Moussa Traore of Mali. He was accompanied by the Algerian President Houari Boumedienne and President Mokhtar Ould Daddah of Mauritania.
This year the Fair, which runs until September 17 coincides with the fourth Summit Conference of Non Aligned Nations.
Delegates to the Preparatory Committee for the conference also attended the Fair opening.
Forty five countries are exhibiting - the greatest number ever. The United States has a very strong representation with 47 firms taking part. It is the first time an American flag has been officially flown in Algeria since diplomatic relations were broken off in 1967, and the first participation in the Fair since 1964.
Algeria has been seeking the industrialise rapidly by increasing steel production, building cement plants; establishing electrical and mechanical industries and expanding the textile industry.
SYNOPSIS: In Algeria on Friday - the opening of the tenth annual Algiers Trade Fair.
The Algerian President Houari Boumedienne was accompanied by Presidents Moussa Traors of Mali and Mokhtar Ould Daddah of Mauritania.
This year forty five countries - the largest number over, are taking part in the Fair.
The opening ribbon was cut by President Traore.
The Fair coincides with the fourth Summit Conference of Non Aligned Nations which opened in Algiers on Sunday. Delegates to the preparatory committee attended the fair opening.
This year the United States was represented for the first time since 1954. Forty seven American firms exhibited and the American flag flew officially in Algeria for the first time since 1967.
The three Presidents toured the stands and examined goods for all over the world.
As in previous years capital equipment has ???radominated - heavy machinery and machine tools.
The Soviet Union was strongly represented.
The Algerian economy has been expanding particularly in the establishing of electrical and mechanical industries.
And as the Algerian economy had developed, so has the Algiers Trade Fair increased in importance.


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Anything by Gieves & Hawkes. News that Gorgeous Gordon Brown is a fan has added extra fashion kudos to the Savile Row label. The PM is believed to be amassing a wardrobe of formal attire from the label, too. Offcuts hopes that Gordon is also aware of the brand's fashion forward (and cheaper) line Gieves.
High Tide Heels. For the fashion-aware scuba diver keen to show off swim-toned legs. First seen on the catwalk of Jean Paul Gaultier, now crying out for a UK stockist. Come on, Clarks.
Fashion question of the week
Is Mikhail Gorbachev a better model than Gisele Bündchen? Gorby is Louis Vuitton's latest model. Pictured looking shifty in the back of a cab, his job is to convince consumers that it's worth spending thousands on luxury luggage.


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Pixowl, a creator of world-building experiences that was recently acquired by Animoca Brands, announced Friday that its forthcoming decentralized blockchain gaming platform, The Sandbox, is launching a $2 million USD Creator Fund to support artists around the globe making and sharing creations on its platform.
The Sandbox is a community-driven platform where creators can monetize voxel assets and gaming experiences. The Sandbox has already achieved 40M installs and 1.2M monthly active players on mobile, and Pixowl will soon launch a decentralized version built on the blockchain, which will allow PC and Mac users to monetize the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) they use in the game.
The Sandbox for blockchain aims to disrupt the market by providing the first blockchain platform offering the large community of creators its own NFT builder gaming ecosystem.
“With The Sandbox, we are developing the first User Generated Content NFT marketplace and providing a decentralized future for content discovery. Our new Creator Fund offers an attractive option for creators to really own their assets while benefiting through publishing their creations on our platform.”
In The Sandbox, any creative person can make their very own static or animated voxel objects. It’s as easy as using children’s toy building blocks, and the creative process is aided by the platform’s powerful, intuitive VoxEdit tool that will allow anyone to create and animate NFT objects from scratch or import existing creations.
For the first time, creators will be able to publish their voxel creations on the blockchain as NFTs, virtual tokens ensuring digital scarcity, security, and authenticity without the limitations of central control. Models made by artists will be unique and their scarcity provable on the blockchain in perpetuity, allowing them to be freely and securely traded in The Sandbox as well as on third-party NFT marketplaces including OPSkins/WAX, a leading NFT exchange, and many others. With true ownership of their NFTs, creators will hold a vested interest in the success of The Sandbox.
“The combination of the Creator Fund and our VoxEdit toolset provide an incentive for artists to get into The Sandbox early, potentially making their NFT assets the go-to models in their respective category,” said Arthur Madrid. “We want to fast-track our vision of a voxel building platform online, as titles like Minecraft and Roblox have shown that creators of all ages can build online user-generated content beautifully and at scale—anyone can build a ‘digital LEGO’ with almost no learning curve or special skills.”
The Sandbox’s Creator Fund is an initiative supporting all talents without any distinction of age, sex or country of origin. The fund will predominantly be used to reward and incentivize artists to submit original voxel models via grants on a per asset basis. Artists will be able to register to qualify for grants, submitting their voxel models to The Sandbox team for approval. The Creator Fund is a revolving fund that will be replenished using transaction fees from the game’s Marketplace, scheduled to launch in Q2 2019.
Artists can visit fund.sandbox.game to sign up today to get notified when the Fund begins accepting applications.


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It’s a timely moment for the launch of Bentley’s Extraordinary Journeys, a new travel offering from the legendary British car company, which puts you in the driver’s seat for automotive journeys around the world. The series launched last month with an expedition across Scandinavia with a focus on architecture and design.
Concepts, one-offs, and even production cars have debuted at past events, and we have a few inside scoops on what to expect this year.
The luxe SUV is sharp, responsive, and a bit more wild than the stoic W12.
The British brand claims the fastest production SUV time at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
A gorgeous coupe embodying Bentley’s legacy of making fast, luxurious, and multi-talented continent-crossing cars.
The 2017 Bentley Flying Spur V8 S and Mulsanne range show the world how it’s possible to be discreetly swift and relaxed at the same time.
Pirelli continues on in its quest for winter domination in both skiing and driving.
“The Bentley Bentayga is extraordinary in many ways,” Michael Winkler, president and CEO of Bentley Americas, stated at the Vancouver unveiling of the Bentayga, which has now entered a market hungry for SUVs.
Bentley Motors recently debuted two new models with lush leather, bespoke craftsmanship, and luxury finishes—this time of the wearable sort.


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Traditionally car dealerships have been taxed with overcoming a major schism in their business plan: Most people don’t like to shop at car dealerships, yet most people are sold on a car only after having a chance to test drive it. That’s where Seattle startup Tred comes in.
Tred’s simple aim is to cut out the notorious sales-driven car dealership experience that keeps potential customers from ever setting foot on a showroom floor. For a $19 fee, shoppers can visit Tred’s website to peruse new cars. If they find a vehicle that seriously perks their interest, Tred will have up to two of them delivered to their home or office for a 15 mile test drive. Electric and hybrid vehicle test drives are free.
In a further attempt to reduce sales lot pressure, Tred works with local dealerships to have “auto experts” deliver cars to shoppers’ homes and accompany them on ride along test drives. From The Seattle Times:
“They’re very good at presenting cars in an informative way, not a sales-y way,” said Tred founder and Chief Executive Grant Feek, noting that bonuses hinge on positive customer reviews. “They don’t make any more or less money if they sell a car.” (1)
If the test drive goes smoothly, Tred gives shoppers the lowest possible price a dealer is willing to negotiate. It’s a flat offer, although the actual purchase still has to be made at the dealership.
Perhaps the biggest name in the auto industry that can vouch for the effectiveness of Ted’s experimental business model is former General Motors Chairmen and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner. Tred touts him as their most venerable backer and a guy who knows a thing or two about selling cars.


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Maxxis joins TyreSafe
Maxxis has become the latest tyre manufacturer to join TyreSafe. As a full TyreSafe member, Maxxis will benefit from early participation and involvement in the group’s campaigns and activities. It will also have access to a wide range of TyreSafe publicity material, both printed and online.
Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe, said: “Following the success of October’s Tyre Safety Month, we’ve seen a great deal of interest from potential new members, not just tyre manufacturers but other companies and organisations associated with the trade.
“We are particularly pleased that Maxxis has put pen to paper and joined the TyreSafe family. Its high standards for quality, efficiency and innovation are widely recognised and will add great weight to future campaigns.”
Derek McMartin, managing director, Maxxis said: “Tyre safety has always been of paramount importance to Maxxis and we are rightly proud of our history of manufacturing reliable and durable products. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to go one step further and give our support to TyreSafe, which has played such an important role in helping to reduce tyre related accidents.”
Maxxis manufactures tyres for almost all types of vehicles, from standard car and motorbike tyres, through to ATVs, Quads and off-road bikes. Commercial vehicles are catered for with truck and bus tyres also an area of expertise. Its products are distributed in the UK by Maxxis International UK plc based in Felixstowe, and Stapletons Tyres based in Letchworth.


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Japan has taken the first economic hit since 2015 as it enters a partial recession with its GDP going downwards of 3.4% during the first three months since the pandemic begun. A report concedes that the coronavirus pandemic has created a dent of $8.8 trillion on the world economy. Last week, Germany slipped into recession as major sectors faced the heavy impact because of the imposed lockdown.
Japan is the only superpower who did not undergo a complete lockdown with the government only issuing a state of emergency. With the 3.4% fall in the GDP followed by a decline of 6.4% in 2019, Japan is being pushed further and further down a hole of technical recession. Furthermore, Japan lifts the state of emergency from 39 out of its 47 prefectures today which puts the economic down trail still looking gloomy at best.
The Japanese government announced a record package of $1 trillion in the second month of April in an attempt to inject stimulus into the collapsing economy for the country. With the economy still crumbling, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised a second stimulus package in this month.
The two main sources of income for Japan are tourism and exporting heavy goods which are strictly prohibited during an ongoing pandemic as international trade is being put on hold. Several economists even predict a higher 22% shrink in the GDP as Japan nears the second quarter. Japan is not the only country which has suffered an economic downturn, the U.S saw an economic hit of over 4.8% which was the biggest spike since the great depression of the 1930s. The second largest economy, China further saw a decline in growth in terms of 6.8% during the first three months of 2020.


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The anniversary edition of Interlakokraska generates interest among industry professionals
The 25th edition of the International Exhibition for Paints and Coatings – Interlakokraska 2021 – has opened at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds.
Interlakokraska has a quarter-century history. Every year, it brings together paint and coating manufacturers as well as representatives of companies representing the construction, chemical, woodworking, furniture, automotive, aircraft construction and shipbuilding industries.
The show’s project head Natalia Skuratova congratulated the exhibitors and visitors on the anniversary and said, “This year, both we, the organisers, and you, the participants, moved together towards each other because we are all convinced that nothing can replace face-to-face networking. No zoom can replace looking into each other's eyes.” The organisers offered the participants sweet gifts to mark the anniversary.
This year, Interlakokraska welcomes about 100 companies from Belarus, China, Germany, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Foreign companies are represented by their Russian dealers.
There is no doubt that professionals will also be interested in the show’s conference programme. It was opened today with the Workshop on the Analysis of the Current State of Russian Export of Paints and Coatings, Promising Niches for Import Substitution and Export Development.
Zhanna Martynova, CEO and founder of VladVneshService, Member of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Committee on Foreign Economic Activities, had a presentation devoted to the dynamics of Russian paint and coating exports, the structure of exports by main commodity groups, promising export niches, and paint and coating import issues.
Analyzing the market situation in 2020, Zhanna Martynova underlined that a 4% drop in demand for paints and coatings compared to 2019, against the background of an overall decline in export demand (-21%) does not look really bad. Ukraine and Uzbekistan are now among the countries where demand for paints and coatings is growing. The demand has fallen significantly in India and Turkey.
According to Ms. Martynova, the main growth points for Russian exports are art paints and finished pigments, and glass silencers. Malaysia, Turkey and Thailand are among the countries which increased imports of enamels and vitreous glazes last year.
Looking at the structure of Russian paint and varnish exports, the speaker highlighted the most promising commodity groups that showed some growth: art paints, organic paints and sealants, mastics and paint fillers. "Very narrow niches have shown a leap, and this is already a very positive sign for our industry", stressed Zhanna Martynova.
Interlakokraska 2021 will run till March 5.
Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO


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Fanzart had earlier said that it is aiming to double its presence by 2020. It is to be noted here that the company caters to the SAARC as well as Middle Eastern markets
Fanzart has launched a new smart fan in India. Dubbed Blaze, the company claims that it consumes 70 per cent less power than fans without BLDC motors.
Company’s official statement read, “With no compromise in looks, and features, the Blaze has been designed with a High Quality Brushless DC Motor (BLDC motor), consuming up to 70 per cent lesser power than a conventional fan.”
Fanzart had earlier said that it is aiming to double its presence by 2020. It is to be noted here that Fanzart caters to the SAARC as well as Middle Eastern markets and has around 54 Retail stores in India. Fanzart has recently opened its brand stores in Chennai and Karur. The company had also signed Bollywood actress Perziad Zorabian as its brand endorser.
Blaze fan features
Fanzart said that it has made this fan using natural wood which can be polished to suit any home interior. Company’s official statement read, “The two bladed Blaze, does not compromise on air delivery due to the lack of blades, owing to its blade angle. The fan comes with surprisingly fantastic air delivery and the higher blade angle not only adds to the volume of air displacement, but it makes the fan looks propeller-like and adds strongly to its aesthetics, all while being completely whisper quiet.”
Fanzart Blaze is equipped with a BLDC motor which, as per Fanzart helps save up to 30 per cent energy. Company’s official statement read, “The Motor operates noiselessly throughout SIX speed options. Enabled with a reversible switch, in the winter, you can run it clockwise giving you air circulation – without the breeze – forcing the warm air trapped above downward – thereby making you experience a cozy warm air effect.”
It continued, “Blaze is equipped with a radio frequency remote control and can integrate with Alexa / Google home as well as any home automation system. It is featured on Fanzart Fans website and is available at 60 showrooms throughout the country.


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Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has dismissed a Liberal backbencher’s suggestion that a sugar tax should be considered as a means to tackle child obesity.
As the Australian reports, on Monday Victorian MP Russell Broadbent told Parliament a 20 per cent tax on all manufacturers and importers of soft drinks would provide the Government with much needed funds to fight the increased incidence of obesity among children.
However, Joyce (pictured) ruled the proposal of hand, saying such a move would devastate the sugar industry.
“We believe that the sugar industry is an incredibly strong industry, especially for the development of north Queensland,” he said
“I’m always reticent to believe that a tax is a cure for anything.”
As the AFR reports, Nationals MP for Capricornia in North Queensland Michelle Landry, agreed with Joyce and claimed a sugar tax would leave many workers from her electorate, which has two sugar mills, out of work.
However, Landry added that food makers could be put under more scrutiny regarding the amount of sugar they use.
“These manufacturers when they make food they do put a lot of sugar into things, and perhaps they should start being more careful about what ingredients they’ll put into things because there’s a lot of sugar,” she said.
Coffee company Industry Beans has been awarded a Victorian government grant of $225,000 under a program aimed at creating jobs for former auto industry workers.
According to a statement from premier Daniel Andrews, the money will be used to assist the firm upgrade its 760 square metre facility at Brunswick, invest in new machinery to boost output, and increase its export revenues by $20 million annually. Industry Beans will also create a “revolutionary e-commerce platform”.
“We know Melbourne’s north will be one of the communities hardest hit, this funding will help bring in new investment and new jobs for former auto workers in the area,” said state employment minister Wade Noonan.
The grants come out of the $33 million Local Industry Fund for Transition. To qualify, businesses must pay for at least 75 per cent of a proposed upgrade out of their own money, and had to “maximise the number of retrenched automotive workers that will transition to their project prior to submitting applications”.
According to the statement, 20 new jobs will be created, with 16 of these for retrenched auto industry workers.
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has called for a Senate Inquiry into the dairy industry, claiming this is the best way to uncover illegal activity in the sector.
As News.com.au reports, Lambie told parliament on Tuesday that the investigation being carried out by the Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was a “sly way of covering up wrongdoings” in the industry.
The ACCC inquiry, announced by Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce last week, follows the April decisions of the two major dairy processors, Murray Goulburn and Fonterra, to retrospectively cut the price it pays suppliers for milk. As a result, most dairy farmers involved are in a perilous financial position and many don’t expect to survive.
South Australian senator Nick Xenophon has suggested laws to protect Australian terms used by Australian manufacturers, following US company Deckers suing manufacturer Australian Leather.
“This is a battle worth having. If the French can protect the use of the word champagne, the Greeks the use of the word feta, then surely Australia can protect the use of the word Ugg for Australian manufacturers,” he told the ABC.
The comment came following the attempt by Deckers to sue western Sydney company Australian Leather over the word Ugg. Deckers reportedly sells an approximate $1 billion of Ugg boots annually.
Australian entrepreneur Brian Smith made an application at the US Patent Office in 1985 for the term, and lately sold the trademark to Deckers. It has sued two other Australian companies for the use of “Ugg”.
In a counter-lawsuit, the lawyer for Eddie Oygur of Australian Leather is using evidence such as surfing magazines going back to 1970 to contend the term was already a generic Australian one, well before any patent.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce chaired a symposium involving dairy farmers, processors and retailers in Melbourne today and again committed the Government to establishing a commodity milk price index.
Joyce said in a statement the index will cost up to $2 million to implement and that the meeting allowed stakeholders to express their views on its introduction.
The symposium comes in the decisions of major dairy processors, Murray Goulburn (MG) and Fonterra to retrospectively cut farmgate milk prices in April. As a result of the cuts, MG suppliers now owe the company an average of about $100,000 each.
“Recent events have shown there is a need for the industry to better balance risk along the dairy supply chain, especially when it comes to managing the effects of lower world prices,” Joyce said in a statement.
“Ultimately, I want to see improved farm gate returns for dairy farmers, an openness in milk price arrangements and fair and transparent milk supply contracts.
“This can only happen if there is buy-in from industry and a willingness from key stakeholders to hear each other out and develop solutions together.
Joyce also reiterated that the Government is assisting dairy farmers through its $579 million support package.
A recent consultation recommended an extension of industry regulation in some areas of marketing activity to children, but TV advertising lay outside its remit. Should the government have taken the opportunity to address TV advertising by more direct intervention?
Of the many commercial communications children are exposed to, pre-9pm family TV programming (think Britain’s Got Talent or The X Factor) provides an easier target for legislation. Marketing communications, for better or worse, influence what we eat. Their effects depend, however, on whether their message really gets through to consumers in a media saturated society.
Organisations understand that even the best advertising plans are beset by “noise”. That is, we are surrounded by message clutter – and often messages conflict or compete. It is hard to get your message to stand out, to create buzz and prompt the audience into acting on it. All the more so where healthy messages are outspent by less healthy messages.
But ad campaigns that are properly thought through, integrated and well supported can lift sales of healthier foods. Aldi has done just that through its sponsorship of Team GB, linked to television, in-store, digital, school and press activity around the theme of “home-grown heroes”. Much of the campaign had a fruity (and vegetable) theme and, according to a report in The Grocer – unfortunately behind a paywall – Aldi boosted its produce sales by 20%. It is a noteworthy, if discrete, instance of a healthier message breaking through – and a chink of light, perhaps, given declining fruit and veg sales despite consistent long-standing delivery of the five-a-day message.
Collectively, studies show a moderate direct impact of adverts on children’s consumption of unhealthy foods. But recent research demonstrates that children feel a strong pull towards junk food advertising. Children aged eight to 12 describe junk food advertising as “tempting” and “addictive”. The picture emerges of children who know the food being sold to them on television is bad, but they still find them very seductive. This conundrum suggests less immediate and direct effect of advertising that are nevertheless more insidious and long-term.
Consumer researchers recognise the cultural role of adverts. Children are active users of advertising, reproducing their messages even in everyday play. So adverts play a role in forming our understanding of the world. And that often means understanding “bad” food as a reward, an indulgence or naughty but deserved pleasure.
Bad food isn’t fun
There is no better arena than prime time family TV for resource-rich corporations to promote an insidious message that “bad” food is “good” when it is a treat, or part of a balanced diet, a deserved indulgence, fun. These are generalised associations, with the less helpful aspects of our diet linked to an indulgent time period in the family week. Breaking this link would represent a modest step towards cultural change.
Meanwhile, the food industry has reacted in divergent ways to the childhood obesity plan. Sainsbury’s has been particularly vocal among retailers to regret its lack of legal teeth, particularly with respect to promotions and advertising – it wants more regulation to provide a level playing field. Soft drink companies are among those who feel unduly singled out. So, within a divided industry, what might additional TV regulation do?
First, we should not underestimate the voluntary steps taken towards a healthier future among food and drink manufacturers and retailers. These steps include “guiltless” checkout aisles in supermarkets – which don’t push sweets at children and their mothers. But there has also been widespread reformulation of products to remove sugar, alteration of key product ranges and additional food labelling.
Such steps are often achieved quietly and have been guardedly welcomed by health campaigners – mixed with a degree of scepticism. True, companies are acting in their own commercial interests. But in positioning themselves for commercial success in a possibly more healthy future society, industry players are important in bringing that future into being.
So, there are causes for optimism but – again – these need to punch through competition and message noise. The childhood obesity plan provided an opportunity to prevent organisations across the board from “doing the wrong thing”. An extension of the advertising ban until 9pm would have been a limited and well-defined step in clearing the path towards changing our culture’s relationship with food. It would also have forced the industry to focus on its better foods and wean itself off the bad habit of pushing junk food to children.
The importance of the food industry to Australia’s economic future is being recognised in the grant space, with a number of grant opportunities at both the Federal and State level on offer.
Government’s continue to offer grants and programs supporting sustainability and renewable energy initiatives as well as export development, and businesses in the food and agriculture sectors are well placed to benefit from them.
In South Australia, the Advanced Food Manufacturing Grant Program is currently open, with EOI’s closing later this month. Grants up to $100,000 are available for co-funded projects from South Australian food and beverage manufacturers (excluding wine) and public or private research technology providers that strengthen the food industry’s innovation capabilities and improve productivity, profitability and competitiveness.
With automation and data analytics key to the future success of the food industry, South Australia’s Manufacturing Technologies Program and Big Data Connect Program can provide the catalyst for businesses to leapfrog in this area with grants on offer to businesses looking to evaluate, assess, trial and adopt new technologies.
In Victoria, the state’s Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund has a number of programs where food and agri-food can benefit. Under the Innovation and Productivity stream, food and fibre is a designated emerging sector which draws preference for assistance with new technology and infrastructure projects that improve the efficiency and competitiveness of regional businesses.
New technologies and processes are also supported under Victoria’s Future Industries Manufacturing Program with grants of up to $500,000 available.
On a national level, the RIRDC’s research funding program opens next month which can support research programs in a number of industries including Chicken Meat and Honey Bee and Pollination.
Myriad grant opportunities are on offer or upcoming (open but not yet accepting applications) for businesses. If your food business is considering or exploring opportunities, new processes or technologies or moving premises, would possible financial assistance be an enabler?
The South Australian government has announced a grant scheme, offering SMEs in the state – which has the country’s worst unemployment rate – $10,000 per each job created.
The Australian Financial Review and others report that the program announced in yesterday’s state budget applies to companies with a wage bill less than $5 million. The hires must last at least two years to be eligible.
“This is not available to Coles and Woolworths and BHP, this is for the small-to-medium-sized enterprises, the engine room of the South Australian economy, and lately it’s been spluttering a little bit,” said treasurer Tom Koutsantonis. SA’s SMEs number about 140,000.
According to the budget announcement, the “job accelerator grants” are uncapped for the number of new hires.
Companies with payroll bills totalling less than $600,000 annually are also eligible for a $4,000 grant per two-year hire under the scheme.
“Our unemployment rate which I think every South Australian would agree is unacceptably high given what we have to consume with the loss of Holden, which was forced upon us — we didn’t ask for it,” said the treasurer.
The Refrigerated Warehouse & Transport Association of Australia (RWTA) has called on the Victorian Government to explain why it encouraged a business with a history of serial insolvency in Europe to enter the local market.
An investigation by the international Forensic and Risk Services company PKF has revealed NewCold’s European Directors have a history of insolvency associated with failed companies in the same industry.
RWTA Chairman David O’Brien called on the Victorian Government to disclose any subsidies or financial assistance offered to NewCold’s establishment in Victoria, and to explain what due diligence has taken place.
“Our own investigation found both of NewCold’s foreign Directors have been directors of companies that have gone into liquidation in the UK. How have they proved financial viability when there is a history of serial insolvency in Europe?” Mr O’Brien asked.
“This should have raised the alarm for any Australian business or Government considering entering a commercial relationship with this firm,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said he was extremely concerned that if NewCold decided to buy market share by price gouging, this would lead to job losses by destroying local players.
“The Premier needs to explain what data he relied upon to support his promise of the creation of 127 jobs in a business which is highly automated.”
The Australian cold storage industry is estimated to be worth about $6 billion, and is forecast to continue growing at around 2.5 per cent per annum.
A group of three West Gippsland dairy farmers may bypass the major dairy processors and sell milk directly to a Melbourne yoghurt and cheese maker.
The ABC reports that Picnic Dairy Foods Managing Director Ibrahim Ozdemir met with farmers, Andrew Russell, Trevor Mills and Michael Perry at a property in Longwarry North on Monday and outlined the proposal.
The company currently uses about 80,000 litres of milk a week which it buys from a milk trader.
Ozdemir said he wants to pay the farmers about $6 per kilogram milk solids, which is significantly more than the $4.75 and $5 per kilogram they currently get from Fonterra.
Fonterra and the other major processor Murray Goulburn recently slashed their farmgate prices without warning and left suppliers in a difficult financial position.
“As a company our philosophy has been to support farmers and pay them prices they deserve,” Ozdemir told the ABC, adding that the big processors had given them “an unfair deal”.
Mills said he liked the proposal Picnic Dairy Foods is offering. “I’ve got no ties to Fonterra at all,” he said.
“I’ve given them my loyalty for 20 years and as far as I’m concerned they’ve lost my loyalty now.”
Meanwhile, as the ABC reports, the Victorian Government is considering offering council rates relief to dairy farmers who are coping with the low milk price.
Campaspe Mayor Leigh Wilson wrote to Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford and suggested the measure. He pointed out that similar measures have been taken in the past to assist farmers during times of drought.
“It should never have come to this; $1-a-litre milk price is not sustainable; you are all collateral damage in a five-year war between Coles and Woolworths,” he told a rally of dairy farmers in Melbourne yesterday.
“If we have to have an emergency levy put on milk, so be it.”
“If you put in a floor price, if that’s the Greens policy, I can understand the empathy behind that, but what happens is you end up with massive stockpiles of a product that you can’t move and the thing ends up collapsing and that itself creates a crisis,” he told ABC.
The Federal Government has announced a half-billion-dollar assistance package including concessional loans to dairy farmers dealing with the collapse of farmgate milk prices.
Murray Goulburn recently cut its price from $5.65 to between $4.75-$5.00 kgMS, while the other major dairy processor Fonterra cut its price from $5.60 per kgMS to $5.00 per kgMS. As a result, many dairy farmers are expected to leave the industry.
As the ABC reports, the assistance package announced yesterday by Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce (pictured) includes $55 million worth of concessional loans this year and $500 million in concessional loans over 2016-17 and 2017-18.
“The concessional loans will go as low as 2.66 per cent. They’re currently at 2.71 per cent.” Joyce said.
“Farmers will be able to borrow $1 million or half of what they owe, whichever is the lesser, so that they can assist themselves to get through this crisis.”
The package, which received bi-partisan support from shadow agriculture minister Joel Fitzgibbon, also included increased access to financial counselling services.
As News.com.au reports Joyce also announced that, if re-elected, the government would establish a commodity milk price index to provide the industry and producers with a better idea of expected global and local milk price fluctuations.
“The Coalition will consult with the industry on the design of the index that would provide dairy farmers with valuable information for use in supply negotiations with processors and to assist in following international price trends,” Joyce said.
Meanwhile, as AAP reports, dairy farmers are rallying in Melbourne this morning to highlight their plight. They plan to gather in Federation Square and march to Parliament House.
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has said he will urge retailers and dairy processors to increase what they pay dairy farmers for milk.
Joyce told Channel Nine yesterday he would phone the relevant parties in an effort to resolve the problem.
“[It’s] an anathema, I think it’s incredibly wrong that water in a bottle is priced more than milk and I think we need to have a strong yarn to the retailers about that,” he said.
“[I will] basically ask them if they want to fix it, that would be great if they don’t ask the government to fix it which they always complain about but that’s an option that we can always keep up our sleeve.”
The statement follows the recent decisions by Murray Goulburn and Fonterra to cut their farmgate milk prices. Murray Goulburn cut its price from $5.65 to a low of $4.75 kgMS, while Fonterra cut its price from $5.60 per kgMS to $5.00 per kgMS.
Chinese authorities have increased restrictions on food and other products imported through online sales, in an effort to entice consumers back to the domestic market.
As the China Post reports, last week he Ministry of Finance published a list of more than 1,100 imported items that will be subject to a new 11.9 per cent value-added tax. The products listed included food, baby formula, home appliances, cosmetics, clothing, shoes and so forth.
E-commerce is currently booming in China, driven by an expanding middle class that is increasingly unsatisfied with the quality of local products and willing to spend more for products from Countries like Australia with more of a “clean, green” image.
In Australia’s case this has particularly been evident in the demand for infant formula and health supplements.
As the SMH reports, apart from the tax, Chinese authorities will also impose tighter regulation over what products may be imported through e-commerce warehouses in pilot free trade zones. These enjoy lower tax rates and looser customs requirements.
It is not yet clear what goods will be involved in these new restrictions and there is a fear that this may have a larger impact than the tax hike. Higher logistics costs could be passed onto consumers.
So far e-commerce companies have mostly not passed on the tax hike to consumers.
One such company Alibaba Group Holding, for example said, “…many overseas brands and retailers on our platform don’t have plans to raise prices in the short term so that consumers can gradually adapt to the change.”
The change does not affect the grey market of so-called “daigou”, Australian-based Chinese making money by personally sending products to China. However, according to the SMH, in recent times these have been subjected to more spot-checks by China’s postal and quarantine inspection services.
Round 4 of the Local Government Organics Collection Systems grants are now open for councils to apply for funding to reduce and recycle food waste in NSW.
The program is being delivered in partnership with the Environmental Trust, as part of the $465.7 million Waste Less Recycle More program.
EPA Chair and CEO, Barry Buffier said up to $1.3 million is available for local councils to introduce new or enhanced collection services for food and organic waste.
“Each year in NSW, 800,000 tonnes of food waste ends up in landfill from households while businesses contribute 170,000 tonnes. This is why these grants that support collection services are so important.
“Already in the first three rounds we have awarded $15.8 million to 38 councils to collect an estimated 144,000 tonnes more food and garden waste a year. We have also provided 552,669 new green lid bins and kitchen caddies to more than 230,000 homes.
“Now in this fourth and final round, I encourage councils with projects that can be completed by June next year to put in an application, if they have not done so already.
The Local Government Organics Collections Systems grants program is part of a comprehensive strategy to transform organics waste collections across NSW.
“The Government has been working steadily towards its target of providing 70 per cent of NSW homes with kerbside organics collections services by 2017,” Mr Buffier said.
The funding provides a unique opportunity for councils to improve services that will assist residents preserve their local environment.
“Currently approximately 45 per cent of a red lid bin is made up of organics waste, so these new collection services will make a big difference in the amount of household waste being recovered and recycled in NSW.
“In landfill, organics waste breaks down to generate greenhouse gas emissions and leachate. By recycling this waste into compost, then soil quality, water retention and crop yields benefit.
The Local Government Organics Collections Systems grants will transform waste management and recycling in NSW.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued an $8,000 fine to P & M Quality SmallGoods (Primo), for the emission of offensive odours from its Scone site on 21 January 2016.
EPA Manager Hunter Region, Adam Gilligan, said the EPA issued the penalty notice following ongoing concerns about offensive odours and non-compliance at this site.
“The EPA has received a number of complaints regarding this site in recent months” Gilligan continued.
“On this occasion, the odour was caused by a series of breakdowns and a power failure in the abattoir’s rendering plant. During the breakdown the company stored a large amount of fresh offal in refrigerated containers before transporting the offal to an offsite rendering plant. This led to the emission of offensive odours.
“Odours have a real impact on the comfort of local residents. In this case, residents reported that they stopped outdoor activities and remained inside their homes until the odour dissipated.
“The EPA relies on the community to report environmental issues, such as offensive odours, and we will always act on reports where sensitive receptors are impacted. This includes homes, schools, public space adjacent to a residential area or hospitals, or places where a person’s regular daily life might be affected.”
The EPA is considering further regulatory action should offensive odours continue to be emitted from the premises, which may include varying the licence to add a pollution reduction program aimed at tackling the odour issue.
P & M Quality SmallGoods has indicated improvement works are planned to reduce odour issues on site, in particular upgrades to the company’s waste water treatment process.
The chief of Wesfarmers believes the effects test, introduced by the Government yesterday, is bad policy and has vowed that it will not affect the retail giant’s pricing policy.
As the SMH reports, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday that the test is designed to stop big businesses from behaving in a way that has "the purpose, effect or likely effect of substantially reducing competition".
However, Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder said that it will not affect the price cutting behaviour of its brands such as Coles, Bunnings and Kmart.
Calling his reaction to the news "disappointment, to a degree disillusionment, he said, "We will continue to do what we have always done, which is compete aggressively and provide consumers with great outcomes and if that for some reason gets us in hot water then we will deal with that down the track."
And he even suggested that possible legal action would not change this position.
"We'd be doing the wrong thing by our shareholders to say we'd stop investing and stop reducing our prices and if we end up in court we'll deal with it then,” he said.
Elsewhere the new policy was welcomed.
As the ABC reports, Former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Allan Fels said it will help small businesses compete.
"Small businesses are often stopped from competing by big business just taking actions to crush them and often those small businesses are responsible for innovation and for new ways of doing things,” Fels said.
"Most of the innovation comes from small business, but it is cut down by big business when they discount prices in an often predatory manner, blocking small players from getting into markets by things like exclusivity arrangements.
"This is of huge long-term importance, but tomorrow morning you won't wake up and find you're paying less for goods.
"But in 50 years people will look back and say that's had a big effect over time on preserving competitive small businesses."


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“I think this one’s a lot easier,” whispered 9th Circuit judge Carlos T. Bea to his colleague Andrew D. Hurwitz, comparing the unlicensed family-friendly streaming dispute between Disney and VidAngel to previous items on their calendar while the attorneys were setting up for their oral arguments on Thursday.
It’s unclear whether those in the room could hear, but the statement was plainly audible in a live stream on the court’s website. “I do, too,” responded Hurwitz with a laugh.
The dispute itself is no laughing matter, however, and has potentially wide-ranging implications for the entertainment industry in regard to fair use. It centers on whether VidAngel’s service that allows users to set filters and stream content infringes upon copyrights held by Hollywood studios in those films. Disney, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. argue the service threatens the legitimate streaming market, while VidAngel paints the lawsuit as part of a war on family-friendly content.
The panel, comprised of Bea, Hurwitz and district judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, is currently reviewing whether the district court erred in issuing an injunction that paused VidAngel’s service. “The statute clearly requires that a performance or transmission of filtered content must come from an ‘authorized copy’ of the motion picture,” wrote U.S. District judge Andre Birotte in that decision. “The digital content that VidAngel streams to its customers is not from an authorized copy.”
The appellate arguments were the last on the panel’s Thursday calendar — and the apparent perception that two of the three judges consider this a straightforward case bodes well for the studios.
During the oral arguments, VidAngel attorney Peter Stris told the panel that the case boils down to two key questions: “Does the Family Movie Act authorize VidAngel’s copying and streaming and, if so … should the DMCA be interpreted to gut not only the Family Movie Act but also other well-recognized exemptions to copyright infringement?”
DVDs and Blu-rays contain technological measures that prevent unauthorized copying, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act lays out specific situations in which circumventing those measures would be legal. Those exemptions are re-evaluated every three years. In 2015, for example, the exemption that allowed documentary filmmakers to lawfully access DVD content pursuant to fair use was expanded to include Blu-rays for the first time.
The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005, meanwhile, creates a different exemption. It allows “the making imperceptible … limited portions of audio or video content of a motion picture … from an authorized copy of the motion picture.”
So, as Birotte noted, whether VidAngel’s service filters from authorized or unauthorized copies is key here.
“In the absence of the Family Movie Act, you’ve got these works that are encrypted and you use what appears to be illegal software … to decrypt them,” said Hurwitz. “Isn’t that exactly what the DMCA is about?”
Stris said “absolutely not” and argued that, by buying the discs, VidAngel was given permission to access the content and therefore the family movie exemption applies. “You don’t pay $20 for a disc unless you’re going to have the right to watch it,” he said, adding that, in order to watch it, your DVD player has to bypass the access controls. He argues that, after buying a disc, he should be allowed to rip it and filter it without worry of legal consequences. “It’s very dangerous if our interpretation is rejected … I don’t think Mr. Verrilli will be able to explain how, under their interpretation of the Family Movie Act, anyone can ever filter through streaming without the studio’s permission.”
Hurwitz seemed skeptical. “The central issue for me is … you’re not transmitting from the one that you actually bought from them,” he said. “You’re transmitting from a copy that you’ve ripped. … Why is that ‘from an authorized copy’ language not fatal to your claim?”
VidAngel’s interpretation of the statute is that you can make a fixed copy of the original work if it enables filtering, and Stris argued that “Congress didn’t care about the technology and whether it made an intermediate copy as long as it met the other conditions in the provision.”
Donald Verrilli, attorney for the studios, argued that Birotte issued the injunction because he saw the service for what it is. “It’s an unlicensed on-demand streaming service that lacks any legal justification and is totally unfair to us and to licensed streaming services,” Verrilli said. “The only way you gain access lawfully under the DMCA is by using the means that the copyright owner has authorized for gaining access.”
Verrilli argued the 9th Circuit has already “unambiguously” held in MDY v. Blizzard that consumers can’t circumvent access control measures to view a DVD on a competing platform just because they purchased it.
“You cannot invoke the Family Movie Act to excuse conduct that would be a violation of the DMCA on the ground that you’re violating the DMCA so that you can do what the Family Movie Act would otherwise authorize,” said Verrilli, paraphrasing Sen. Orrin Hatch, who sponsored the bill. “What they’re essentially saying is ‘if we filter, we can stream without a license.'”
Further, Verrilli argued that the studios aren’t inherently against filtering, only illegal filtering. “I think it speaks volumes that the filtering company out there that’s trying to do this in a way that’s consistent with the copyright laws and DMCA, ClearPlay, has filed an amicus brief on our side,” he said. “I think that tells you all you need to know about whether we’re trying to kill off filtering or not.”
The full arguments can be viewed below. The 9th Circuit has removed the video which contained the entire morning calendar — including the hot mic moment — and replaced it with separate videos for each case. Looking at the court’s YouTube channel, it appears to be standard practice to separate the cases but it seems to vary as to whether the full calendar video is also removed after the cases are divided.
June 9, 12:30 p.m. Updated with a new video from Thursday’s hearing, after the initial video was removed from the 9th Circuit’s YouTube channel.
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It marks the brand’s fourth boutique in the capital and second in its so-called golden triangle, which also counts a store on the neighboring Avenue George V that Balenciaga said it plans to keep.
The boutique, located at 57 Avenue Montaigne, will sport the same metal-based industrial concept unveiled at the recently revamped Rue Saint-Honoré flagship in March, based on a clothing warehouse, and is to house Balenciaga’s full men’s and women’s collections.
In the Saint-Honoré store, clothes hang on industrial conveyor rails similar to those in the brand’s production headquarters in Italy. Adding to the factory feel of the space, ceilings are covered in aluminum foil, the changing room walls are made of cast concrete and the utilitarian benches are covered in synthetic leather. Other industrial touches include silicone changing-room curtains and long, aluminum tables for displaying accessories.
The Kering-owned brand, which has 115 stores worldwide, under its new chief executive officer Cédric Charbit recently revved up its management team for merchandising and retail development.
As reported, Daphné Cousineau, who has held key international sales roles at Céline, Valentino and Lanvin, was appointed president for Europe — a new position — and charged with overseeing the brand’s performance in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region for retail, wholesale and franchises.
Laura du Rusquec, in the role of director of strategic projects, was brought in to manage initiatives pertaining to the retail performance of the brand as well as oversee the alignment of its strategy across all of the markets and various departments of the house. Previously, the executive spent eight years in the role of director of strategy and commercial development of Kering’s luxury couture and leather goods division.
Alexia de Courcel, meanwhile, was named global merchandising director for Balenciaga’s men’s and women’s lines across all categories. Previously, she was director of ready-to-wear collections at Céline for three years and before that held merchandising roles at various other LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned brands.
The executives will report to Charbit, who was appointed ceo of Balenciaga in November. Charbit, who has a strong merchandising bent, joined the house from Saint Laurent, where he held the roles of vice president of product and marketing, and worldwide communications director. He succeeded longtime Balenciaga ceo Isabelle Guichot, who exited for Kering.
Among other new retail initiatives, Balenciaga in the run-up to the Avenue Montaigne opening will soon take over the first floor of Colette for one month as the first in a series of monthlong takeovers with brands including Saint Laurent and Sacai. Balenciaga’s slot is scheduled to run June 19 to Aug. 5.


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Offbeat “Black Friday”, unconfined traders? The government and professionals on Friday announced a postponement of one week of promotional campaigns “subject to reopening of shops by then”, and all are now waiting for Emmanuel Macron to speak on Tuesday.
“It is the president who will announce the date, our role was to create the most favorable conditions so that the reopening of shops at the end of the week is authorized,” Jacques Creyssel, general delegate of the Federation, told AFP on Friday. trade and distribution (FCD) and participating in the discussions.
“The government clearly told us that it considered that it was not possible, in terms of health, to reopen the stores and at the same time have an important promotional operation” which risked attracting too many consumer flows. , he continued.
Because if the UFC-Que Choisir warned on Friday against “the many scams and false promotions of Black Friday”, this marketing and promotional operation from the United States is experiencing growing enthusiasm every year. The Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) evokes “a phenomenon which has grown, reaching as high as six billion euros in sales, including five in physical stores”.
To allow a reopening from the last weekend of November, ardently desired by traders anxious to be able to sell their stocks as the end of the year holidays approach, supermarkets, small businesses and online commerce have therefore accepted Friday to postpone “Black Friday” by one week.
“This unanimous agreement was reached with a view to allowing an imminent reopening of shops in conditions of maximum health security”, explained the signatories, after a second meeting on these promotions with the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire.
Friday morning, François Momboisse, of the Federation of e-commerce and distance selling (Fevad), had estimated that the arbitration on the subject was the subject of “political battles”. “From the moment the Republicans demanded the reopening on the 27th, the government does not want to reopen the closed businesses on the 27th,” he regretted.
A major player in this big clearance sale, Amazon spoke out on Thursday evening in favor of postponing the operation to December 4. Same date for Fnac-Darty, “in solidarity with this position of consensus”.
– “Reinforced health protocol” –
Prime Minister Jean Castex, however, had made reopening of stores conditional on the adoption of a “reinforced health protocol”, which was also discussed on Friday. Subject to its validation by the health authorities, this protocol should in particular see the maximum reception gauge of a customer for 4m2 of sales area go to one for 8m2 and this, “whatever the size of the business”, according to a participant in the discussions.
It specifies that “for stores of more than 400 m2”, a “reinforcement of the control of the gauge at the entry” is envisaged, “with the obligatory presence of a person who counts the number of customers who enter”.
Other planned measures: the compulsory provision of hydroalcoholic gel at the entrance, marking on the ground for distance when going through the cash register, or periodic ventilation of shops as well as compulsory wearing of a mask.
In addition, “the opening hours should be widened and opening on Sundays would be considered,” according to another source.
Jacques Creyssel also evokes an “opening on Sundays granted where it did not exist”, as well as “the possibility of widening the range of store opening hours, always with this in mind to avoid have too many people “at the same time in the shops.
The practical modalities still seem thorny: “Black Friday” “is an international commercial operation, it is as if we decided to stop the rising tide, in my opinion it is illusory”, François Asselin, president, commented Thursday. of the CPME (small and medium-sized enterprises).
“Our fear, and we call on the Minister to be vigilant, is that there are many international sites and distributors which operate global e-commerce platforms with a French translation”, also worried Fabien Versavau, CEO of Rakuten France, Thursday evening. And to wonder: “Will they shift only their French countryside”.


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Considered as one of the most efficient chambers in the world, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry stands out from the rest and contributes towards the emirate’s economic growth and diversification. Its recent venture to the African market is a continuation of its success story.
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry perceives the African market as a lucrative investment destination and one of the key trading partners for the UAE. Atiq Juma Nasib, Senior Vice President–Commercial Services, Dubai Chamber, noted that Africa has been a key focus on Dubai Chamber’s expansion radar. Since the Chamber opened its representative office in Nairobi in 2016, it has seen non-oil trade between Kenya and Dubai increase steadily to exceed over $1 billion in the first nine months of 2017. The number of Kenyan companies has grown steadily over the years and now exceeds 300. Nasib spoke with top Kenyan journalists who visited the UAE to understand how the Middle Eastern country has succeeded in driving tourism growth and foreign investment. The journalists representing key media houses in Nairobi were led by UAE-based Kenyan investor, Jalal Balala.
Balala who is also the Executive Director of Al Azizah General Trading commended Dubai Chambers, adding that it is one of the most efficient and investor-centric Chambers in the world. He revealed that he is an active member of Dubai Chamber, having joined almost two decades ago, when he introduced the business of Kenya tea and coffee into the UAE and the Gulf region, under the name Al Azizah General Trading. The journalists conveyed a general message to Dubai Chamber’s top brass that Kenya has plenty of opportunities to offer UAE businessmen and investors, especially in the field of agriculture, logistics, transport,finance, ICT, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. Nasib took the journalists on a tour of the Dubai Chamber headquarters, and explained how effective the Chamber and its international offices have been in providing value added to businesses in the UAE and abroad.
“Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry services over 217,000 members in all areas of Dubai including free zone companies, thus making it one of the world’s largest membership-based chambers of commerce. It is also considered as one of the leading chambers in the world in terms of the number of Certificates of Origin issued with an average of 3000 certificates being isssued daily,” said Nasib.
Nasib noted that the Chamber is aiming to deliver smart services to 80 per cent of its members in the near future. He explained that the Chamber also aims to eventually make its services accessible 24 hours a day and seven days a week. He said that Dubai Chamber also offers ATA Carnet, an international customs document for some goods that do not require payment of customs duty.


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“Jay-Z is a rap mogul worth around $500 million — but his clothing brand Rocawear is in the red, a lawsuit claims.
The apparel group allegedly owes $450,000 to wholesale company iSource NYC for urban-style duds made in Pakistan and shipped to New York last April through June, the Manhattan Supreme Court filing states.
The clothing items “were specially ordered goods . . . [with] the ‘Rocawear’ brand name imprinted on [them],” the Garment District company claims in the suit.
“Defendant never returned the ROC goods to iSource.””
New York Post has the full story.


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Tesco interim earnings improveChristian Fernsby ▼ | October 2, 2019
Tesco said it has delivered its turnaround goals during the first half of its current financial year and said chief executive Dave Lewis will step down.
Tesco Tesco bank
Turning to the grocer's half-year figures, in the six months to August 31, Tesco reported 0.6% year-on-year growth in revenue to GBP31.91 billion from GBP31.73 billion. Pretax profit was up by 6.7% to GBP494 million from GBP463 million.
Group sales, excluding fuel, rose slightly to GBP28.30 billion from GBP28.29 billion.
UK & Ireland sales stayed at GBP22.42 billion, up 0.1% from GBP22.40 billion and in Asia sales grew by 8.1% to GBP2.56 billion from GBP2.37 billion. Central Europe sales, however, lagged by 7.4% to GBP2.76 billion from GBP2.98 billion.
Tesco Bank sales stayed broadly flat at GBP562 million, Tesco added.
On a like-for-like basis, group sales fell 0.4% year-on-year with 0.1% growth in the UK and Ireland being hampered by a 3.1% decline in Central Europe and a 1.3% lag in Asia.
The grocer hiked its interim dividend by 59% to 2.65 pence per share from 1.67p paid the year before. ■


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Bitcoin (BTC) approaches $7000, thanks to Tether (USDT) intervention
August 28, 2018
Bitcoin (BTC) is almost coming close to $7000 as well as it is perhaps because of Secure treatment. It is guessed that the Tether treasury interfered by infusing $50 million ...
Bitcoin investor sues telecom giant AT&T for his $224 million loss in cryptocurrencies
August 16, 2018
Bitcoin investor and also business owner, Michael Terpin has filed a claim against AT&T, a United States based multinational telecommunications firm, for the loss of his $24 million. AT&T was ...
iPhone production will be slashed by 10% in Q1 2019: Report
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Press Release –
Duro Tire must have liked what they saw during the wild and woolly ATV races at last month’s NASMOTO stop in Circleville, Ohio. The 60-year-old Georgia-based company has now committed to supporting the ATV events during this year’s NASMOTO season with both purse money and contingency.
“We see NASMOTO as an ideal grass-roots path to growing our ATV tire business,” said Steve Richardson, Duro’s Regional Manager. “We may not be the biggest name in that category yet, but that’s absolutely our goal.”
Of course, the Duro folks weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the clashes in the ATV classes at Circleville, where Duro-sponsored Zac Willett ultimately came out on top. Anyone who was there will tell you it was some of the most exciting and unpredictable racing they’ve ever seen.
And there’s more of it coming this weekend as NASMOTO follows the pros onto the magnificent track at USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. Duro may be better known for its quality tires for more utilitarian vehicles such as trailers and golf carts.But their R&D guys have been hard at work improving what is already a strong lineup of off-road racing tires, with more products on the horizon.
Currrently the pro riders are running Duro models like the Scorcher, the Power Trail and the Leopard … just a few of the choices they have depending on the track conditions and layout. A comprehensive company history and product lineup – as well as how to find your local distributor – is online at www.DuroTire.com.
“We are thrilled to have a dynamic and progressive company like Duro join our growing sponsor ranks,” commented NASMOTO Vice President Ted Baker. “The Supermoto races this weekend at Shawano will be another great showcase of the ATV riders, plus of course there will be plenty of outstanding action of the 2-wheeled variety.”


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Twitter rolled out its long anticipated ads API program today, after a development process that began in earnest in the middle of last year.
The APIs — one for Promoted Accounts, another for Promoted Tweets – are likely to lower barriers to demand for its paid media products, and to entice third parties to bring their secret sauce to its existing ad tools.
Five partners have been handed preferred access out of the gate: Salesforce.com, Adobe, TBG Digital, Shift, and HootSuite. Each brings its own cocktail of optimization technology, buying interface, strategic focus, customer positioning, and geographic location. And above all, they bring clients. (Twitter blog post)
“We’ve long known that an API is something we wanted to bring to market,” said Doug Williams, who leads business development at Twitter. He said Twitter based its partner decisions on scale, product differentiation, Twitter expertise, and endorsements from advertisers.
Williams said, and agencies agreed, that the API program will deliver three main value propositions: (1) Cross channel management, allowing advertisers to manage campaigns through unified interfaces of their choice; (2) workflow solutions, allowing multiple people to manage campaigns, supporting bulk upload of creative, and relieving other headaches; and (3) analytics, supporting the ability to repurpose analytics to improve campaigns in the future, both on Twitter and cross-platform.
Gerry Bavaro is Global Chief Strategy Officer for Omnicom Group’s Resolution Media, which has tested the APIs in beta for the past six to eight weeks. He cited a litany of benefits, including reduced creative labor, lower overhead, better reporting, and performance.
“The first thing we’re excited about is the ability to do bulk editing and creation of campaigns. For our clients there are sometimes hundreds of campaigns we edit. To do that separately campaign by campaign, sometimes for specific tweets, [is burdensome].”
And then there’s real-time reporting. He said, “The reporting has been very manual. You can see that a specific tweet we promoted has gotten engaged with, clicked on, or retweeted — to a degree. But I want to know how it’s performing across different segments.”
Serge Del Grosso, national head of media at SapientNitro, says the APIs make Twitter more relevant to the audience-buying ecosystem, and that marketers with a mindset of media efficiency will take another look at the company. “What you’re talking about is opening up the platform to volume ad buying. And opening up a new way of thinking about adding Twitter to a larger exchange-type ad buy.”
Twitter is following Facebook’s lead in that it is granting velvet API rope access to a handpicked group of partners, with plans for wider availability in the coming weeks. But the Twitter API appears more tightly controlled than Facebook’s, at least in its early rollout. It may want to avoid some of the confusion and mentality of budget scarcity that have plagued the Facebook Ads API badge community.
Among the partners…
Adobe said today it has already run campaigns through the API on behalf of Levi Strauss, Threadless, and its own Adobe account (Read the blog post, with bonus screenshots). On the in-house account it was able to increase followers by 63% at a cost per follow of $2.00. Follower acquisition went from two-dozen per day to approximately 400, before settling at a much higher post-campaign organic baseline of 115 per day.
Salesforce.com, meanwhile brings a sales/marketing/CRM spin, and is also focused on global companies. Michael Peachey, Senior Director of Solutions Marketing, said in an interview, “Social advertising can’t be on an island. Socal marketing needs to be connected with marketing, and with your sales organization and service organization as well.”
TBG Digital offers an agency-like model, often working directly with brands. It’s also based in London, and as such could help funnel European marketing budgets to Twitter’s platform.
SHIFT is focused on marketing collaboration between brands, agencies, and vendor partners. It will integrate the Twitter APIs with its GraphEffect social advertising app.
Hootsuite is the black sheep of the API partner list, bringing a strong focus on managing social media presence but an unclear value proposition when it comes to paid media. The company does have a long-proven understanding of the Twitter platform however.
When asked about timing for the next wave of partners, Williams demurred.
“I couldn’t tell you what the product is going to look like two quarters or a year out. Our philosophy when it comes to monetization, is we’re going to take a thoughtful approach. We’re going to do it right, rather than right now,” he said.
What does “right” look like? Put simply, more and better ads.
“Ultimately the goal is to make it easier for advertisers to work with the platform — getting better ads into the platform so users see more targeted messages. Advertisers and agencies are looking for tools to run across channels and manage campaigns at scale.”


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Huawei Technologies on Monday launched a new chipset for use in servers, at a time when China is pushing to enhance its chip-making capabilities and reduce its heavy reliance on imports, especially from the United States.
Huawei is seeking growth avenues in cloud computing and enterprise services as its equipment business comes under increased scrutiny in the West amid worries about Chinese government influence over the firm.
The chipset - called the Kunpeng 920 and designed by subsidiary HiSilicon - boosts its credentials as a semiconductor designer, although the company said it had no intention of becoming solely a chip firm.
“It is part of our system solution and cloud servicing for clients ... We will never make our chipset business a standalone business,” said Ai Wei, who is in charge of strategic planning for Huawei’s chipsets and hardware technology.
The company already makes the Kirin series of smartphone chips used in its high-end phones, and the Ascend series of chipsets for artificial intelligence computing launched in October.
It said its latest 7 nanometre, 64-core central processing unit (CPU) would provide much higher computing performance for data centers and slash power consumption. It is based on the architecture of ARM, which is seeking to challenge the dominance in server CPUs of U.S. maker Intel.
The Kunpeng 920 packs 64 custom Arm-v8 cores running at 2.6 GHz. It supports eight DDR4 channels running up to 2,933 MT/s, two 100G Ethernet ports and PCIe Gen 4.
Huawei said the chip hits 930 on a SpecInt benchmark. It claimed that puts it 30% ahead in performance and 30% in power efficiency over Arm server rivals such as Marvell’s ThunderX2 and Ampere’s eMAG, recently adopted by Huawei’s server rival Lenovo.
ThunderX2 and eMAG are 16nm CPUs with 32 cores running at similar speeds but using slower DDR4 and Gen 3 PCIe interfaces. The Kunpeng chip still lags Intel’s 14nm Xeon Gold which surpasses 1000 on SpecInt using only 18 cores.
Huawei aims to “drive the development of the ARM ecosystem”, said Chief Marketing Officer William Xu. He said the chip has “unique advantages in performance and power consumption”.
Xu also said Huawei will continue its “long-term strategic partnership” with Intel.
Huawei’s new ARM-based CPU is not a competitor to the U.S. company’s x86 CPUs and servers, but complementary, Xu added.
Intel is pairing its latest Xeon chips with its proprietary Optane DIMMs and adding more machine-learning capabilities to the CPUs. In November, AMD announced a 7nm x86 server processor as a follow on to its 14nm version, soaking up some of the demand for an alternative to Intel.
Huawei was seeing “good momentum for the server business in Europe and Asia Pacific” and expects the contribution from its international business to continue to rise, Qiu added.
Huawei on Monday also released its TaiShan series of servers powered by the new chipset, built for big data, distributed storage and ARM native applications.


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In a note shared with the press, the company said that it designs Bluetooth and GSM enabled smart locks primarily for enterprises. The lock can be opened remotely using OpenApp’s mobile App and an alert is sent out every time it is unlocked or in case of a threat.
“Innovation like smart lock is needed by large industries who store physical things. For centuries and even now, such industries have been using archaic method of safeguarding their assets,” said Bhaskar Majumdar, managing partner, Unicorn India Ventures.
OpenApp is already operational in Asia and Africa and will continue further expansion into these geographies.
“The company is already a market leader in the space and with the extended round and new partners, the company intends to widen its lead. OpenApp is working towards deploying 1 lakh devices with more than half already fulfilled across Asia and Africa,” said Gotama Gowda, CEO, OpenApp.
The company plans to invest on it's core software access platform apart from launching two new smart devices by the end of the year.


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Females who take centre stage due to supreme performances in their respective businesses during a period of unprecedented change
Multi-Unit Franchisee, McDonald’s
The winner of the 2019 Scottish Business Woman of the Year Award, Kate brings a female perspective to the leadership of McDonald’s UK.
When developing new products, promotions and practices, her focus is on nutrition, people practices and sustainability. She always considers every decision through the eyes of the customer, drawing on her own experiences as a mum and her previous life in market research.
As well as being the owner-operator of seven McDonald’s restaurants in and around Glasgow, for six years Kate has been a director of the brand’s marketing cooperative - president for the past two - which plans and approves the marketing funds gathered by all 1,400 McDonald’s restaurants is the UK.
Director, Xtend Barre Northern Beaches
Building on her awards success in 2019, when she was named NSW Franchise Woman of the Year and Australian Franchise Woman of the Year, Liz opened her fourth Xtend Barre studio location on Sydney’s Northern Beaches recently.
She helped turn the entire franchise network from a bricks-and-mortar business into an online one in less than 24 hours after it was given 12 hours’ notice to close by the Australian government following the coronavirus outbreak. Liz negotiated with landlords while dealing with new legislation and government assistance in order to keep her four studios afloat for months before they were able to reopen.
At the same time, she wrote for various media outlets about Xtend Barre’s journey, what she learnt from the experience and the way forward post-pandemic.
Managing Director, Hardcastle Restaurants
McDonald’s master franchisee in West and South India, Smita’s aim is to have 400-500 restaurants established by 2022.
She was one of four Indian entrepreneurs featured in Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswoman List in 2019, where she was described as being part of a group of “accomplished woman who are playing a significant role in shaping Asia’s business landscape in the next few decades.”
Quick to react during the coronavirus crisis, Smita’s franchise network introduced the ‘On The Go’ delivery service, which allowed customers to have their orders delivered to their cars without having to set foot in a McDonald’s restaurant.
Co-Owner, PuroClean North Metro Atlanta
A high achieving franchisee with a 100 per cent debt-free business, Carrie’s franchise location has increased 18 per cent in both sales and number of claims completed this year, all while maintaining her entire crew and even adding four new employees to support increased demand.
Her franchise was able to accept every claim that came in and help three other PuroClean locations with their claims while other locations had quarantined employees.
Steve White, president and COO of PuroClean, says: “Carrie is an exemplary PuroClean franchise owner. Thanks to her relentless customer service and servant leadership, Carrie’s franchise has landed within the top 10 per cent across our national network for eight of the past 10 years.”
Manager Director & Master Franchisee, Snap Fitness Turkey
In the past year, Zeynep opened the second Snap Fitness Turkey location. During the COVID-19 crisis, she built customer loyalty and emotional commitment to the brand by contacting every member, asking how they were and encouraging them to use Snap Fitness’ free FitnessOnDemand workout video library.
She also launched the Snap Fitness MOVE Challenge app, which gave members a way to stay active while bricks-and-mortar gyms were closed.
Laurel Peabody, global senior marketing strategist at Lift Brands, says: “She’s assisted in bringing Snap Fitness to Turkey and has successfully opened two Snap Fitness clubs there. Snap Fitness Turkey wouldn’t be what it is today without the support of Zeynep.”
Multi-Unit Operator, Taco John’s
Tamra earned her franchising stripes while working as a secretary for a franchisee of Burger King and Taco John’s. While she only earned $4.05 during her time in the role, she learnt a lot, especially when it came to working with numbers and data.
17 years of learning - not to mention working night shifts in order to gain experience working in the operations side of the job - has paid dividends, with Tamra going on to build a portfolio comprising nine Taco John’s locations.
Since then, she has gone on to build a Taco John’s empire, primarily in rural areas across Minnesota and Iowa.
Master Franchisee, High-Care
President of the Hungarian Franchise Association (HFA) for several years, Ildikó currently serves as the vice president. She has been the master franchisee of the High- Care brand for 27 years and has developed the largest beauty salon franchise network in the whole of Hungary.
“Ildikó a key figure in the Hungarian franchise society,” explains Katalin Mandel, CEO of the Hungarian Franchise Association. “Her work is essential to the functioning of the association.”
According to the HFA, 20 per cent of all franchise companies in the country are members of the association.
Franchisee, Right at Home
Previously an optometrist, Amy decided to invest in her own at-home care franchise with her accountant husband Kev while at a franchise exhibition, with the pair’s main incentive being to start their own business which was in an unfamiliar industry in order to offer them some variety.
It’s fair to say that they haven’t looked back since. They’ve now grown their Right at Home Solent branch into a million-pound-turnover business, scooping a prestigious Franchisee of the Year 2019 at the British Franchise Association awards along the way.
“Being able to help our clients remain at home, safely, while adding a huge amount of value to their lives is the most rewarding job in the world,” the pair has stated.
Franchisee, Pizza Inn & Pie Five Pizza
CaraBeth Moore owns and operates three Pizza Inn locations in New Mexico and Pie Five Pizza in Lubbock, Texas, along with her husband Michael.
The team was named Pizza Inn’s franchisee of the year for innovative thought leadership and for the creation of a SmartCar delivery program, increasing sales by 24 per cent.
CaraBeth is known for being a very active owner, involved in daily operations, as well as heading up social media and local store marketing.
Franchisee, Mail Boxes Etc.
Beatrice Corradini runs five Mail Boxes Etc. centres in Italy, managing a team of around 40 people, many of whom are women. Before owning her own businesses, Beatrice worked in the transportation and logistics sector, but the pull of being an entrepreneur and business owner proved too strong, and she eventually invested in her own Mail Boxes Etc. franchise.
“Beatrice is a great entrepreneur with natural leadership, and she has an extraordinary ability to motivate staff - she is a born leader,” explains Barbara Maccarrone from Mail Boxes Etc. “She transmits a great passion to everyone.”
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