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Erie area residents and tourists soon won't have to hunt for a Cabela's retail store.
Cabela's, the outdoor outfitter, plans to open a store in Millcreek Township near the Millcreek Mall.
The retailer will build just southeast of the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in the Millcreek Marketplace on Interchange Road, south of the mall complex.
Cabela's plans a 42,392-square-foot store, which is smaller than some of its supersized stores, Millcreek Supervisor Joseph Kujawa said Monday.
It is part of the retailer's plan announced a year ago to open smaller stores -- called Cabela's Outpost -- in markets of about 250,000 people. They feature a gun library, bargain cave and fudge shop. Two weeks ago, the company opened one such store to enormous crowds in Columbus, Ohio.
The Millcreek store will employ 100 to 120 people, with Kujawa calling the projected employment great news for the area.
Cabela's is eager to start building soon after it gets approvals from Millcreek, Kujawa said.
The Millcreek Township Planning Commission will make a recommendation on the store's land-development plan at its April 9 meeting. Supervisors will vote two weeks later, he said.
Cabela's, headquartered in Sidney, Neb., is an outfitter of fishing, hunting, camping and other outdoor gear. A company spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.
Cabela's officials told Millcreek they expect the store to draw local customers as well as shoppers from Canada, Buffalo, Ohio and other places, Kujawa said.
Cabela's likes to build in high-visibility areas near a major interstate, and Interstate 79 will be just west of the store, Millcreek Township Engineer Rick Morris said. The store will have 252 parking spaces, he said.
Joe Bell, a spokesman for the Cafaro Co., said the Cabela's store is "just a continuing effort on our part to provide as many retail options (as possible) in the vicinity of the Millcreek Mall complex.''
"There's a huge demand for that name. A lot of outdoors people like it and we're happy to bring it to the greater Erie marketplace there," Bell said.
Cafaro owns the mall complex and entered into a joint venture with Erie developer Baldwin Brothers Inc., on the Millcreek Marketplace development.
The addition of Cabela's will give outdoors enthusiasts plenty of options. The 31,080-square-foot Gander Mountain and the 54,790-foot Dick's Sporting Goods are in the Millcreek Pavilion, part of the mall complex, Bell said. The Erie Sport Store is just a short drive south on Peach Street.
Cabela's operates at least 35 stores in the United States and three in Canada, with more plans for expansion.
Cabela's Inc. stock rose 28 cents Monday on the New York Stock Exchange to close at $60.11.
JOHN GUERRIERO can be reached at 870-1690 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNguerriero.


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Ola confirmed to expand its EV range with more e-scooters, e-bikes and e-cars. The company is slowly moving forward its planning, so that more products can be seen in the future.
Ola is also going to bring a car in the future
Ola Electric has many big plans and the innings in the electric mobility world has started with the welcome of Ola Electric S1 battery powered scooter. The company registered sales of 1,100 crores in two days of the online shopping window for the S1 and S1 Pro trims. Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola Electric said that, the beginning here is very good, but now his company is considering to enter the electric bike and electric car sector.
Agarwal shared a blog post on his Twitter handle on Thursday morning in which he highlighted the potential for personal mobility that is about to catch on in India. Highlighting how vehicular penetration among Indians is low, he confirmed the entry into the electric bike and electric car segment.
How do we bring mobility to a billion people? Change the vehicle form factor, change energy source, change sales & distribution, change usage modes. So basically change everything! It’s happening already. Read our vision for New Mobility: https://t.co/UcRUo9F5rl #NewMobility pic.twitter.com/fl1TeqpM4u
— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) September 23, 2021
He added, “We have already grown here with our FutureFactory, the largest 2W factory in the world, manufacturing the first in our range of scooters. Ola S1 is the best scooter ever. We will be expanding our EV range with more scooters, bikes and cars in the coming quarters.”
In the blog post, he wrote, “Our EVs are smart, connected AI machines and will surpass existing personal vehicles which are dumb mechanical vehicles.” “We will bring this multi-modal mobility to all 1.3 billion people with an Ola-designed EV tailored to their needs.
Aggarwal repeatedly used the words cheap, good and customized in his blog posts. Let us tell you that Ola has fulfilled all its promises. The company opened its biggest factory in Tamil Nadu, made electric scooters there and then also opened its sale window. Ola meanwhile also crossed the record figure. The test ride and deliveries of the Ola S1 electric scooter will start from October and the online shopping window will reopen on November 1.
read this also:
Volkswagen Taigun launched in India, will get great features in the car, know how much is the price
You can buy Maruti Swift for just Rs 2 lakh, 6 months warranty along with three free services

domain: news


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Shanghai port's July throughput sets record-[the world's largest container port;diversified transportation solutions ;business models]
2022.08.03 SOURCE:CHINA DAILY
The Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]
The port of Shanghai, the world's busiest container port, may have set a container throughput record for July, its operator Shanghai International Port Group said on Monday on its official WeChat account.
Last month, the port handled more than 4.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), up 16 percent year-on-year and up 13 percent month-on-month, thanks to its efforts to diversify its business and the strengthened integration between ports across the Yangtze River Delta region, said shipping industry experts.
On average, the port handled 140,000 TEUs per day, said SIPG, adding that the port realized positive growth in the first seven months of this year.
Last year, the port handled more than 47 million TEUs, or about 3.92 million TEUs per month.
Specifically, its subsidiary Shanghai Shengdong International Container Terminal recorded a single-month high of 840,000 TEUs, SIPG said.
Shengdong is responsible for part of the Yangshan Deep Water Port, which is one of the Shanghai port's main units. Its robust growth is mainly supported by exports and imports, said Zhou Dequan, director of the Shanghai International Shipping Institute's domestic shipping research office.
Shanghai port has been rated as the world's largest container port for 12 consecutive years since 2010.
Consistent advancement in new technology, diversified transportation solutions and business models, and collaboration between regional ports are credited for SIPG's steady business performance.
"The digital transformation launched by the group has given us a technological edge in SIPG's development, supporting our pursuit of building a world-class hub and an intelligent, green, safe and resilient port," said Zhou Yong, assistant to the general manager of production division with SIPG.
SIPG consistently diversifies its operations by integrating logistics resources, including waterways and railway networks, which allow transportation across the region with higher efficiency and lower energy consumption, Zhou Yong said.
According to Lin Guolong, director of the Logistics Research Center at Shanghai Maritime University, when work began to build Shanghai into a global shipping center, the government had started to make plans for a highly developed water network across the Yangtze River Delta region.
The water route plays an important role in supporting the supply chains, especially due to its economic and environmentally friendly characteristics, Lin said.
Zhou Yong said SIPG has been keen in exploring new business models to consolidate its position as a global container hub as well as an international shipping center.
"SIPG attached great importance to the integration and collaboration with ports across the Yangtze River Delta region, and the group has been actively implementing the strategy of integrated development of the region."
Zhou Dequan of the Shanghai International Shipping Institute said, "July is also a conventional peak season for global container shipping, as many international retailers prepare for the sales season of the latter half of the year."
The institute's second-quarter report suggested shipping entrepreneurs are confident of the market prospects and are hence expanding their capacity. Freight revenue is growing, businesses are turning profitable, and industrial companies' risk-control capability has improved, the report stated.


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Although there will likely never officially be Nintendo Switch Android support, that hasn’t stopped various modders from making it happen, at least in a bare-bones way.
Now, however, it looks like fully-fledged Android is coming to your (hackable) Nintendo Switch sometime soon.
The team over at XDA Developers got a first look at a new Nintendo Switch Android build.
The build isn’t public yet as the developer is streamlining the install process, but it will be available soon along with instructions on how to use it.
The Nintendo Switch Android mod runs entirely from the system’s microSD card.
This is great news for two reasons.


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Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce giant in China, has released Qwen 1.5, a groundbreaking language model that has been making waves in the AI community. Developed in-house by Alibaba’s AI lab, Qwen 1.5 is the latest in line of innovative models. Back in November Alibaba released version 1 of Qwen 72B. This release includes several models, including their largest open source model, the 72B chat, which has surpassed the performance of other state-of-the-art models such as Claude 2.1 and GPT 3.5 on both MT-Bench and Alpaca-Eval v2. With a total of 6 models, Qwen 1.5 is capable of processing a 32K context length, making it a versatile and powerful tool for a wide range of applications.
Benchmarks & Performance
When it comes to benchmarks and Qwen 1.5 truly shines. In particular, the Qwen 1.5-7B model has shown impressive results in tool-use, outperforming the Mistral-7B model. This achievement highlights the robust capabilities of Qwen 1.5 in tasks requiring specialized knowledge and application.
The largest model in the Qwen 1.5 lineup, the 72B chat, delivers performance that is comparable to that of GPT-4, a highly advanced language model. This demonstrates the immense power and potential of Qwen 1.5 in leveraging artificial intelligence for complex language processing tasks.
With overall strong metrics across its different models, Qwen 1.5 offers users a reliable and efficient solution for a wide range of applications. Its impressive performance in various benchmarks showcases Alibaba’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI technology and delivering cutting-edge solutions to the e-commerce industry and beyond.
In closing, Qwen 1.5 has demonstrated its remarkable capabilities and performance, particularly with its 72B model. This powerful language model exhibits performance that is comparable to, and even surpasses, Mistral-medium. This comparison serves as an encouragement for Mistral to release their proper mistral-medium model instead of relying on leaked Miqu weights. By doing so, it opens up the opportunity for further fine-tuning and improvement.
It’s worth noting that Qwen 1.5 has already paved the way for the development of a flagship LLM series called Quyen. This highlights the immense potential and impact of Qwen 1.5 in driving innovation and progress in the field of AI and language processing.
As we embrace the advancements brought forth by Qwen 1.5, we can anticipate further breakthroughs and discoveries that will shape the future of AI and its applications in various industries. Alibaba’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI technology is evident in the development and release of Qwen 1.5, ultimately driving progress and innovation in the e-commerce industry and beyond.


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As its name suggests, ValidatedID is an identity verification company that specialises in online identity, e-invoice, and online signature. Recently, the Barcelona-based company has generated €2 million in funding with the help of Randstad Innovation Fund and Caixa Capital Risc. In addition, founders, former partners, and Cuatrecasas (a Barcelona-based leading law firm) participated in the funding round.
The Internationalisation of ValidatedID Tools
To start, VIDsigner is an online signature service. Conveniently, users can attach it to their platforms through Representational State Transfer API aka REST API. Companies can use VIDsigner for face-to-face and remote cases. Further, ValidatedID offers various signature methods which complement each other according to the client needs.
Over the years, VIDsigner has built a reputation for safe, down-to-earth online signature services with high licit and security standards. Additionally, according to Validated ID, ‘It is being used by over 100 partners and over 1000 clients… and the company has maintained a steady three-digit growth.’
The Current State of VIDchain
The ValidatedID team integrated online ID services into blockchain to create VIDchain for activities that require ID verification.
Further, public administration, medicine and education industries have immensely accepted the VIDchain. The service is predicted to positively impact IT, personnel, support functions, and operational costs, to mention a few.
Also, VIDchain would reduce fraud and fake products significantly. Strategically, the startup designed the tool to comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) standards, enhancing processes like KYC, customer onboarding, and AML.
What’s next for ValidatedID?
Next, ValidatedID is planning to internationalise VIDsigner services with the newly raised €2 million and establish its influence in the rising blockchain-based digital identity (SSI) industry.
- Validated ID, a Barcelona-based company, has generated €2 million in funding round with the help of Randstad Innovation Fund and a co-investor, Caixa Capital Risc.
- So far, over 100 partners and over 1000 clients use VIDsigner, and the company maintains steady growth.
- VIDchain is getting immense acceptance across various sectors, such as public administration, medicine, and education.


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About one in four U.S. couples opt for a destination wedding—and some industry experts are expecting this number to increase after the pandemic years of postponed parties and travel restrictions.
So, why do couples choose to marry far from home—and what benefits and challenges come with a destination wedding? Newsweek spoke to three brides to find out.
Why Do Couples Choose Destination Weddings?
Julianne Ponan and Matthew Ford from Surrey, southeast England, have been together since they were teenagers and chose to marry on a beach in Antigua in October 2021.
“I began planning [the wedding] a good 18 months in advance,” Ponan told Newsweek. “Because of the pandemic and ever-moving travel rules, we had to constantly check the rules.”
While she and her partner explored other locations for their wedding, Ponan’s severe allergies played a key role in the final decision. “We had to choose a destination and resort that would relish the challenge and not see me as a total liability.”
Newlyweds on a beach. A destination wedding can be cheaper—for one thing, the couple might not need shoes.
Getty Images/Image Source
Daisy Craydon and Wes Souster live in Bedfordshire, but their wedding is taking place on the other side of Europe—Marbella on Spain’s southern coast—in June. Denise and Stephen Bernstein, from London, tied the knot officially last year, but are hosting a celebration this month in Limassol, Cyprus.
Both couples had to scrap their original wedding plans because of the pandemic. Many other brides and grooms have found themselves in the same situation. According to Statista, more than 80 percent of weddings around the world that had been due to take place in April 2020 were postponed. Another 10 percent were cancelled outright.
With or without the pandemic, Craydon knew what she wanted to do. “I’ve always imagined myself getting married abroad. My partner and I discussed this and the decision was made quite simply.”
Benefits and Challenges of a Destination Wedding
Settling on the guest list is one of the most difficult parts of planning a destination wedding—or any wedding. “It’s a big ask for your loved ones to fly abroad,” Craydon told Newsweek.
Two of her grandparents are unable to fly to Marbella, she said, so she and Souster are getting legally married in the UK first.
Ponan also emphasized that couples who plan destination weddings must accept some people will not be able to attend—whether that’s down to cost, timing or another factor. To accommodate family, friends and colleagues who could not travel to Antigua but still wanted to be part of the day, Ponan and Ford set up a live video link.
The Bernsteins’ main reasons for choosing a beach wedding were their distrust of the British weather and desire to take advantage of great travel deals.
There have been unexpected challenges, however. Denise Bernstein is Black and found it difficult to locate Cyprus-based stylists familiar with her needs. She’s bringing her own makeup artist and hairdresser from the U.K.
Even with those additional costs, an overseas wedding can save a couple money. “It’s cheaper abroad compared to the U.K.,” she said. “Also, fewer guests attend, which works in our favor as we prefer a smaller ceremony.”
Ricky Paul, creative director of London floral design studio Ricky Paul Flowers, told Newsweek that the biggest advantage of a destination wedding is the luxury of picking a gorgeous venue anywhere in the world.
“Most hotels offer wedding packages and are on hand to organize every detail, so it can also take a lot of pressure off the bride and groom,” he said. “Most of the guests will be staying at the hotel” so the wedding “can become a full week affair with celebrations before and after the big day.”
What About the Honeymoon?
A bride and groom in Santorini, Greece. If you’re all staying in the same place, you can celebrate with guests before, during and after the big day. Do give yourself some private time too, though.
A week of celebrations sounds lovely, but some couples might not want family and friends accompanying them on their honeymoon.
Craydon and Souster will have more than 30 loved ones staying in the same hotel for the week of their wedding. “We have a 4-year-old daughter, so making sure she is surrounded by her cousins and grandparents is a big factor as to why this wedding is so special to us,” she said.
The couple have organized their own romantic getaway, however. “A week after we get back from Marbella, we will be flying off for our private, child-free honeymoon,” Craydon added.
The Bernsteins’ guests will be staying in the hotel that is hosting the wedding, but the happy couple will stay at a different hotel after the big day. “This ensures we have privacy,” the bride said.
Tips for Planning a Destination Wedding
Wedding planning notebook. Arrive at the location a few days early, so you feel relaxed and happy for the big day.
Craydon offered one key piece of advice to couples who want a destination wedding: “I can’t stress this enough—get a wedding planner,” she said.
She also recommended doing your due diligence when picking a venue. Although she and her partner had initially considered Italy, they settled on Marbella shortly after spotting the location on Pinterest and flying to visit several venues in March 2020, just before travel restrictions hit Europe.
In Marbella, Craydon learned the value of seeing a place in person. “I was quite surprised that the wedding venue I thought we’d go for was my least favorite, and the venue we weren’t even going to bother to view was the one we ended up going for.”
Ponan suggested that you arrive at your chosen location a day or two before the ceremony to get used to your surroundings and relax. “Think holistically so that it feels like a holiday and not like a huge rush in a beautiful location,” she said. “Remember it’s your wedding, it’s your rules, and it’s all about you both.”
Denise Bernstein emphasized the importance of working closely with your partner to plan your dream wedding. “Enjoy the process,” she said. “Do and pick everything together to ensure the day is special.”


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Grumpy Cat, a perpetual frowny feline whose real name is Tardar Sauce, will play herself in a live-action flick about a cat in a pet store and a 12-year-old girl.
Tim Hill of "SpongeBob SquarePants" fame is set to pen the script.
"It brings fun and irreverence that we haven't had at Lifetime," the network vice president Arturo Interian said to THR. "We're so known for our heartfelt sentimentality that it will poke fun at those stereotypes."
Grumpy Cat, who first rose to fame thanks to an Internet meme in 2012, is no stranger to the bright lights. The sour-faced cat already has two books under her belt.


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American Eagle Outfitters is expanding the footprint of its intimates and loungewear brand, Aerie, and the brand’s new spin-off concept.
The apparel retailer and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield have signed leases for seven Aerie stores at the mall operator’s flagship centers in the United States, along with two adjacent standalone stores for Aerie’s activewear sub-wear brand, Offline by Aerie. Introduced last summer, the brand leverages the fast-growing women’s activewear category with an assortment that includes leggings, bike shorts, tops, sports bras, fleece, bottoms and accessories.
American Eagle opened its first stand-alone Offline by Aerie store in the Nashville, Tenn., area in the fall. It plans to open 25 to 30 Offline by Aerie stores this year, including stand-alone, side-by-sides and in-store shops.
As previously reported, American Eagle plans to open about 50 Aerie stores this year, for a total of approximately 400 locations by year end. It expects to have 500 to 600 Aerie stores in 2023.
“At AEO Inc., stores are a powerful tool for our omnichannel business and continue to be important for our brands,” said Andrew McLean, chief commercial officer, AEO. “Our approach to store openings is based on a deep understanding of customer and market potential. Future expansion in the Westfield Portfolio is based on achieving that potential and our core belief in engaging and serving new customers for both Aerie and the Offline by Aerie sub-brand.”
The new Aerie stores will open at the following locations: Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J.; Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda, Md.; Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie, Ill.; Westfield Plaza Bonita in National City, Calif.; Westfield Southcenter in Seattle; , Westfield South Shore in Bay Shore, N.Y.’ and Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose, Calif. The locations at Garden State Plaza and Montgomery will also feature adjacent Offline storefronts.


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But now he sees a new force emerging – a payment system created by the Chinese state and known as Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP). It’s really a digital version of China’s official currency, the yuan, and Mr Guo feels DCEP will become the dominant global currency.
What can digital currency be used for?
Like any standard fiat currency, digital currencies can be used to purchase goods as well as to pay for services, though they can also find restricted use among certain online communities, like gaming sites, gambling portals, or social networks.
Which is the safest currency in the world?
The Japanese yen and Swiss franc remain relatively safe bets, Morgan Stanley said Tuesday, but the investment bank picked the U.S. dollar as the best safe-haven currency in what’s left of turbulent 2020.


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Kareem Woodham drove to the basket and slam-dunked the basketball over a defender. For a split second he hung on the rim like an NBA player -- with the logo on his Nikes in plain view.
Kareem, a 14-year-old Bloomfield High School student playing last week on a court outside his school, said he bought his Nikes at Foot Locker in Westfarms mall. "It's what's in style," he said. "It's what looks good."
While Kareem was able to get Nikes in the suburbs, the same shoes are not readily available in many of Hartford's neighborhoods because footwear makers such as Nike, Reebok and Timberland restrict sales of their products in efforts to protect their supplies and prices.
That often means small retailers -- many of them urban -- can't get them.
Ironically, athletic footwear and Timberland hiking boots and clothing is extremely popular in urban areas throughout the nation, and much of the footwear makers' advertising has an urban focus.
Robert Logan, owner of Crescent Sneakers in the heart of the North End of Hartford, is one urban retailer who has been trying to get Nike, Timberland and other hot brand-name merchandise since he opened his store two years ago.
"It's easier for young people in this neighborhood to get drugs than it is to get Nike merchandise," said Logan, who says footwear- makers' practice of restricting sales is unfair to entrepreneurs investing in and supporting inner-city neighborhoods.
The footwear makers say their distribution restrictions are simply sound business decisions. If their products were sold at every retail outlet that wanted them, the market would be saturated, which could lower the price of their merchandise.
Granting lines of credit to national franchises and department stores is less risky than taking a chance on an independent retailer. And for retailers that do carry their products, footwear makers want to offer some protection by restricting nearby competition.
While the policies may be considered unfair by many small retailers, they are legal.
"It's just part of the ever-growing story of the small guy getting squeezed out," said Ken Smikle, publisher of Target Market News, a Chicago-based trade publication that follows black consumer marketing issues.
Billion-dollar business< Nationally, athletic footwear is a billion- dollar business, with U.S. sales totaling $3.4 billion in the first four months of this year alone, according to the Athletic Footwear Association in North Palm Beach, Fla.
Nike and Reebok supply thousands of franchises, chains and department stores throughout the country. A Nike spokesman said that about 12,000 independent retailers carry the company's products. Reebok would not provide figures on the total number of independent retailers with which it does business. Timberland said it has about 2,000 independent dealers nationwide. Neither Nike nor Timberland was able to specify the number of retailers in urban areas nationwide that carry their products.
In Greater Hartford, Nike says it supplies a handful of independent dealers.
"We feel we are very well represented in the Hartford area by Nike accounts," said Keith Peters, a spokesman for Nike Inc. in Beaverton, Ore. "We haven't opened a new account in Hartford in five years. We try to make sure the market isn't saturated."
Recently, however, Dick's Clothing & Sporting Goods, a national retail chain, opened two huge stores, in Manchester and Newington, that carry Nike and other top names.
"Dick's is a Nike account who has, over a long period of time, shown their ability to pick locations where they can succeed," Peters said. "They also, because of the volume of business that they do, are very able to represent our brand the way we want it to be represented."
Asked about Nike's concern about saturating the Hartford market, and whether Dick's would hurt its existing Nike accounts in the area, Peters acknowledged it was possible.
"It's at least a little bit inconsistent, I can't argue with that," Peters said. "We do the best we can do to service Nike accounts. We want to make sure that their efforts don't impact upon other Nike accounts' efforts to succeed."
Timberland Co., in Hampton, N.H., says it considers shelf space, attractive display, and consumer access when deciding which stores may sell its products. And Reebok says it has certain criteria retailers must meet to sell its products, including a minimum sales goal, which it declined to reveal.
Reebok, which carries about 800 styles of athletic footwear, also wants most of the retailers that carry its shoes to stock and display at least 80 to 100 styles.
Terrence Tracey, vice president sales for U.S. operations of Reebok International Ltd., conceded that requirement eliminates many small retailers, but said there can be exceptions.
"It varies. It's based on the size of the community and the number of [Reebok] retailers in the area," Tracey said. "The inner city is extremely important to Reebok, not only at independent stores but with the chains. That consumer is very important."
Slicing up the pie It took Logan of Crescent Sneaker about five months and 700 signatures on petitions to get Reebok to give him a $10,000 line of credit. He's still trying to get Nike, Timberland, Adidas and Fila gear.
Donovan Cooper, owner of All-Star Sportswear, which opened in 1990 on Albany Avenue in Hartford, still has been unable to get merchandise from Reebok. Like Logan, he also is trying to get merchandise from Nike, Fila and Adidas.
"All you have to do is go into any of the black stores and you don't see the merchandise," Cooper said. "It's ironic that Michael Jordan is making millions of dollars promoting sneakers to young black kids.
"These athletes are supplying billions of dollars to these companies [through their endorsements] and none of it is coming back into the community."
But Peters of Nike disagrees: "We do not address our advertising to the inner-city. . . . [Jordan and Lee] are cultural icons. We are very sensitive and do a lot in the minority community all around the country."
Thomas B. Doyle, director of information and research for the National Sporting Goods Association in Mount Prospect, Ill., said the distribution restrictions of footwear makers are not unusual.
Many suppliers go one step further and simply don't open any small accounts, he said.
"If you have one of their accounts, you like the practice," Doyle said. "Many dealers like the practice -- that manufacturers don't sell to everybody. It makes it easier for them to do their job."
A case in point is Andrew Sheintop, owner of Herb's Sport Shop in downtown Hartford, which has been in business for 35 years and has carried Nike brands since the late 1970s.
Sheintop said Nike and other manufacturers' restrictions benefit his store by limiting the competition. Already, there are about half a dozen stores that sell Nikes in the Hartford area, he said.
"All they are doing to slicing up the pie even further," Sheintop said.
Logan and Cooper, however, believe the practice discriminates against some of the few entrepreneurs who are investing in urban neighborhoods.
Logan estimated he did $400,000 worth of renovations in the building on Barbour Street that now houses Crescent Sneakers and Crescent Restaurant, which he also owns.
The attractive, tan building stands out in the neighborhood, where perceptions and realities of crime and povertymake it a difficult place to do business. Inside the brightly colored, carpeted, spotless store is neatly arranged merchandise including sportswear, athletic footwear, children's clothing, hiking boots and apparel.
"I put all of my money into merchandise that wasn't selling," Logan said, because that's all he could get from suppliers.
But Logan, a native Alabaman who worked as a contractor for several years before saving enough to go into business, said owning the building has been one advantage.
"If I was paying rent," he said, "I would have gone out of business by now."


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DadePaper upgrades to $15M-$30M industrial facility
Site work on a new 150,000-square-foot distribution center — the second-largest local new industrial project in the last four years — is set to begin in Orlando Central Park by next month.
The built-to-suit project for Miami-based paper, plastic and janitorial supplier DadePaper Co., estimated at $15 million-$30 million, likely will create up to 300 temporary construction jobs. A general contractor has yet to be selected.
West Palm Beach-based McCraney Property Co. owns the site, the last vacant parcel in the southwest Orlando business park.
DadePaper signed a 10-year lease with two five-year options and plans to move from its current 83,000-square-foot facility in the same park — which is bursting at the seams with about 175 Orlando employees — into the new distribution and warehouse building by next year.
“We’ll be able to get products in and out a lot quicker and enhance our operations,” said Scott Meltz, branch manager for DadePaper’s Orlando facility. The firm plans to have demonstration rooms for products like floor buffers, so it can show clients how the equipment works on various materials. “With more room, we can be more efficient.”
DadePaper — which has distribution centers throughout the eastern U.S., Puerto Rico and the Caribbean — has been in Orlando for about 30 years and has owned its existing building for 20 years. Meltz said the firm elected to shift to a lease so it could focus on business, “not real estate.”
The older property, which has an assessed value of $2.6 million, likely will hit the market after DadePaper moves to its new facility, said David Murphy, senior vice president of CBRE Inc. in Orlando who represented DadePaper in the April 17 lease agreement.
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Last week, President Trump issued a ban on transactions with TikTok parent ByteDance and Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent (TCEHY 2.11%), citing national security concerns regarding the collection of user data. There are many lingering questions about exactly how the ban will be implemented or what types of transactions are actually included, particularly as Tencent holds investments in a broad range of U.S. companies including Tesla, Activision Blizzard, and Snap, among others.
The ban could also potentially have devastating effects on Apple (AAPL -2.63%).
iPhone shipments could decline by 25% to 30%
Tencent's WeChat messaging platform is ubiquitous in China, providing everything from communications to digital payments to local e-commerce to news aggregation. Users can even use the service to pay their monthly utility bills for water or electricity or use customer relationship management (CRM) features for their business. The extensive list has made WeChat indispensable to many Chinese consumers and businesses.
Banning transactions with WeChat could potentially neuter the iPhone in the largest smartphone market in the world, according to a recent note from widely followed TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors). That could result in iPhone unit volumes getting decimated.
"Since WeChat is very critical to Chinese users, integrating communications, payments, e-Commerce, social software, news reading, and productivity functions, we believe that the move will tank iPhone shipments in the Chinese market," Kuo wrote in a research note to investors over the weekend. "We estimate that global iPhone shipments will decline by 25–30%."
Additionally, shipments of other product categories could also take a hit of 15% to 25%, according to Kuo, since Apple gadgets lean heavily on each other to create an ecosystem of products and services. That would include AirPods, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watch.
There are a variety of theoretical outcomes because details of the ban remain unclear. The Secretary of Commerce has until Sept. 20 to define what types of transactions are to be prohibited, according to the executive order, and it's still possible that the order could be rescinded before then. If WeChat is only banned in the U.S. App Store, worldwide iPhone unit volumes might decline by only 3% to 6%, in Kuo's estimation. The impact to other products would be less than 3% in that scenario.
China is one of Apple's most important markets, representing approximately 16% of the Cupertino tech giant's total trailing-12-month (TTM) revenue. Apple is no stranger to being caught in the crossfire of escalating geopolitical tensions with China. Thus far, the Mac maker has done a pretty good job of navigating those challenges, including diversifying its supply chain and scoring tariff exemptions in exchange for agreeing to manufacture the Mac Pro in the U.S.
Can Apple escape relatively unscathed again?


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Xbox Game Studios
Aug, 26 2021
Halo Infinite Confirmed to Release on December 8
After months of making do with a Fall 2021 release tag, we finally have a release date for Halo Infinite. Announced during Gamescom 2021’s Opening Night Live with a cinematic trailer, Halo fans can mark December 8 as the official....
Aug, 24 2021
Weapons, Vehicle and Mast Chief Info Revealed in Halo Infinite Leak
As we get closer to witnessing the launch of Halo Infinite, information leaks are becoming more frequent. The latest one has revealed information about the weapons and vehicles and has also stated that Master Chief will be customizable and part....
Aug, 11 2021
Leaks Suggest that Halo Infinite Might be a 100 GB Title
Halo Infinite is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated titles around the corner in a year that’s seen more delays than releases. Fans got a taste of the game with developer 343 Industries’ recently concluded tech preview, and they are....
Jul, 29 2021
Halo Infinite Gameplay on Xbox One Revealed Before Beta Release
Invites for Halo Infinite’s beta test have begun rolling out, and now we have a first look at how the game performs on an Xbox One. Developer 343 Industries showcased the gameplay yesterday during its Halo Infinite Livestream. [...]
Apr, 30 2021
Halo Infinite to Support Cross-Gen Progression and Ultra Wide Monitors!
Halo Infinite is launching on PC later this year. It's going to have several heavily requested features: cross-play with Xbox consoles, cross-progression, triple keybinds, and support for both ultra-wide and super ultra-wide monitors. [...]


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By McKenzie Konop
A local resale shop in Sister Bay is helping out the elderly in the community. Bargains Unlimited is a place where people can donate their gently used furniture, clothing and household items. The proceeds collected from the sales go towards and benefit the residents of a senior living community in Sister Bay called the Good Samaritan Society. Kristine Kordon, a manager at Bargains Unlimited, says the store proceeds also go towards helping the employees at the senior living center.
Donations for Bargains Unlimited can be dropped off Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their location in Sister Bay.


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Overpriced concert tickets frustrate consumers, government takes action
(CONSUMER REPORTS) — Affordable concert tickets have become difficult to come by. But consumers aren’t just competing against one another for good seats; they are also dealing with ticket brokers who sell tickets at a higher price than they are worth.
Ticket brokers use “bots,” a software that allows brokers to quickly buy tickets from primary sellers, such as Ticketmaster, and resell them for almost triple the face value on platforms like StubHub and TicketsNow.
However, Todd Marks of Consumer Reports said there are ways to avoid buying overpriced tickets.
“One thing you can do is go through the official ticket seller like Ticketmaster, and create an account,” Marks said. “That way, you won’t have to log on and enter payment details during which time a bot can go in and grab your seats.”
Marks also recommends to take advantage of presales through sites like TicketCrusader.com and PreSalePasswordInfo.com, as well as looking out for credit card promotions offering card holders first dibs and discounts.
Although bots are not illegal, they have been outlawed in 13 states and the House of Representatives just passed a bill will make it illegal to sell bot software or to sell tickets bought through bots, according to Consumer Reports.
The bill is now pending in the Senate.


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The announcement of Valentine's Day events for both City of Heroes and World of Warcraft comes hot on
the heels of a debate around
virtual identity sparked off by a LGBT-friendly guild. The creation of in-game events that reflect popular world
holidays is increasingly fashionable; it seems no week goes by without some new festival being celebrated in
WoW's capital cities.
However, by first stamping out discussions of sexuality, and then opening up the floodgates by theming an event around love, what are Blizzard thinking? Will players be able to flirt with same-sex NPCs or will they be instantly banned for even venturing a hug? We hope that there will be some procedures in place to help stop harassment, as it can be difficult to throw off determined admirers at the best of times.
As for those gamers who prefer their MMOs with a dash of escapism, it seems to be a dying trend, especially amongst popular Western games.
[Image from the Alter Ego project]


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HelloWallet and Mint.com have emerged as two of the most popular websites seeking to give consumers financial advice. Upstart HelloWallet recently fired a shot at Mint asserting that Mint does not truly look out for the best interests of their users. The claim is that Mint derives its revenue from advertisers — most of whom are seeking to sell financial services products. This presents for a glaring conflict of interest — is the Mint site featuring a given product or service because they truly believe in it, or because that company is simply an advertiser on the Mint site? Whereas Mint earns its revenue via advertising, HelloWallet accepts no advertisers and instead charges users a modest $5 fee per month for the site’s service.
HelloWallet CEO Matt Fellowes fired this shot at Mint as the war to gain financial advice market share heats up. Interestingly, Mint’s original business model did not include advertisers and involved a subscription fee along the same lines as HelloWallet currently charges. When Mint was bought by Intuit this was changed to the current advertising model after the initial subscription model failed. Nonetheless, this did not discourage the launch of HelloWallet. Industry analysts are closely following this skirmish, and opinion is split concerning which of these business models will win out. In the end, consumers are the winners now with two choices for free — or very inexpensive — personal financial advice.


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Dec. 28, 2017
For two months a team of 150 people harvest the olives at Cortijo Virgen de los Milagros, like their parents and grandparents did. "The mill is only the extractor," says Luis Montabes. "Quality is born in the fields."
Aug. 29, 2016
A Corsican olive oil producer feared for her orchards after the Xylella fastidiosa bacteria was spreading on the island, but for the third consecutive year, Fabienne Maestracci was rewarded for the quality of her work.
Mar. 11, 2015
A U.S. foreign aid program in Lebanon is providing mechanized tools and training for farmers to increase the competitiveness of Lebanese olive oil abroad.
Nov. 17, 2014
Small olive oil farms dot the rolling Roman hills where the love for the craft is the main ingredient in the popular local olive oil.
Feb. 21, 2012
A joint study has analyzed soil loss in some olive groves in Granada planted 250 years ago in sloping areas
Apr. 17, 2011
Cultivation in Cuyo is expected to grow 40 percent, but half of this green gold will never make it to store shelves. There are simply not enough workers to harvest the olives.
Apr. 4, 2011
Representatives from Spain’s Ministry of Rural and Marine Environment (MARM) met in Jaén this week to discuss the many challenges facing the country’s traditional olive oil industry.


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Nearly 60 Percent Of Car Buyers Do Mobile Research While At Home
Just 10 percent of auto intenders turn to their smartphones to find dealerships while at work, while 17 percent conduct mobile research during a dealer visit, says GroundTruth's Stephanie Sollers.
By David Kaplan, Oct 24th
How Inconsistent Online Citations Hurts Auto Dealers’ Business
“There’s a direct line between a successful business and one where the vital information about how to reach them is consistent,” says CDK’s Colleen Harris.
By David Kaplan, Sep 8th
How VR And Mobility Are Influencing Ford’s Marketing
Ford is also exploring how it might use Amazon Alexa and other voice-activated assistants within its connected cars, says Integrated Marketing head Lisa Schoder.
By David Kaplan, Jun 14th
Dealerships’ Latest Option For Drivers: Auto Subscriptions
A joint venture from Cox Automotive and Holman Enterprises are promoting a shared mobility as an alternative to buying or leasing a car with the creation of Flexdrive.
By David Kaplan, May 26th
Thanksgiving Day Insights: How Brands Can Capitalize on Shopping Behaviors
Talk about 'mobile moments' -- Waze's Ana Sofia Reis finds that most Thanksgiving shoppers grocery shoppers wait until the last minute. And they desperately want brands' help.
Ana Sofia Reis
, Nov 3rd
Driving Foot Traffic In A Digital World
Waze's Greg Myrick shows automotive OEMs how to align online and offline advertising metrics.
, Oct 25th
How Brands Can Partner With Google Assistant
By David Kaplan, Oct 2nd
Announcing Our New Venture: CMO On The Go!
By Lauryn Chamberlain, Sep 27th
IBM Watson Unveils Added AI Tools For Marketers, Including Weather-Related Ad Designs
By David Kaplan, Sep 26th


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Although recent years have seen the demise of a number of famous auto marques—including Pontiac, Plymouth and Mercury, among others—there’s one well-known name that’s on its way back into production: Nissan recently announced that it is reviving the Datsun brand, primarily for affordable vehicles in developing markets.
Nissan, of course, used the “Datsun” name in the U.S. when it first began importing cars to this country in 1958, but the brand can actually trace its roots in Japan all the way back to 1911, and it first appeared on Japanese vehicles in the early 1930s. Nissan acquired Datsun in 1933, then used the moniker for its car lineup for decades; it wasn’t until the 1960s that the “Nissan” badge began showing up on some of the automaker’s cars. Finally, after decades of internal politicking related to Nissan’s role in World War II, the Datsun brand was completely retired in the mid 1980s, but only after developing such notable vehicles as the Datsun 240Z—the original Z car.
It’s unlikely any markets will again see that kind of Datsun anytime soon, but Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn did provide some clues about what could be expected during a recent press conference in Yokohama, Japan:
Q: Is bringing back the Datsun brand in this way a risk?
A: There is no risk. We just see an opportunity. Today, in all the markets we are present, there is a level of price below which we cannot compete, we have no offering. The risk is to do nothing because it means that in India 40% of the market escapes us, in Russia 40% of the market escapes us, and what we think will be 40% of the Indonesian market will escape us. That’s the biggest risk. The risk is to do nothing.
By taking the initiative and introducing the Datsun brand we’re going to compete in a market in which could not compete before and we’re going to compete strongly. We’re not coming with antiquated product. We’re coming with a modern, strong, attractive product under the brand of Datsun. That’s why it’s more of an opportunity than a risk.
Q: Other automakers are coming into these developing markets with ultra-low-cost vehicles. Will that be Datsun’s strategy?
A: Well, the ultra low-cost car will fit with the Datsun brand. You cannot presume the Datsun brand is for that, but the day we come with an ultra low-cost car it will go inside the Datsun brand.
Q: Can you talk specifically about pricing for Datsun?
A: [W]e can tell you that the price range is going to be in a segment of the market where usually we don’t compete. But again, you should not say this is another entry-price point made by a car manufacturer. What we want to do is a modern, affordable, reliable car in this segment of this market.
Our objective is to make sure that the person who today has a motorcycle or a used car and wants to buy a new car is going to consider Datsun. Today, we are not in the game.
Q: Datsun expects to start selling vehicles by 2014, which, obviously, doesn’t leave much time to bring a fresh brand up to speed. How far along in the development process are Datsun’s new products?
A: Two years is a very short time to come with a completely new brand? Not at all. We’ve been working on it. We can work on things without talking about them. We’re not announcing something and then saying, “Tomorrow, we’re going to start work on the Datsun brand.” What we’re announcing today is, “We’ve been working on this.” The cars are already in development. Fortunately, we can still surprise you with what we’re doing. … [We] have already sketches, models, we know exactly what we’re doing. We’re announcing today in the middle of a work-in-progress.
Q: Why not launch an all-new brand instead?
A: Datsun is part of the heritage of the company. Why do I want to do something new if I can use the heritage of Nissan? … This name belongs to us and Datsun was known for a product which was robust, reliable and affordable. These are good attributes, but we’re not going to be limited. We’re going to add to it quality and we’re going to add to it modernity.
Q: Will Datsun ever return to the United States?
A: I don’t think that today we have plans to launch Datsun in … any developed country. Again, we are business people. If we see a demand, why not? But we are not planning for it. This is for high-growth emerging markets. … We should never say never, but it’s not planned.
Q: The Datsun revival is certainly big news, but right now, especially in America, high gas prices are getting most of the headlines. How do you think fuel costs are going to affect Nissan’s future operations?
A: If you think that oil at $100 a barrel is high, you ain’t seen nothing yet. When we launched electric cars, we said clearly that we are preparing for a long period of time when oil prices are going to be very high. We took as a basis for the launch of the LEAF [oil prices at] $80 a barrel. That was in 2007. In 2010 people said that it would go down, that it’s not going to work.
Today we are at $100 and Europe is not growing and the United States is still in recovery mode, still below the level where it was in 2007. So when the U.S. will be in full growth and Europe comes back—because it will—I don’t think the price is going to remain at $100.
So, again, if you consider that oil prices are expensive today, we don’t. We think that they are going to go up, and we are prepared for this.
(Autobytel thanks the Nissan Media Center for providing Mr. Ghosn’s comments.)


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Volvo has agreed to acquire 45 percent of a Donfeng Motor Group (DFG) subsidiary that manufactures medium- and heavy-duty vehicles for RMB 5.6 billion.
DFG had partnered with Nissan Motors on the medium- and heavy-duty operation, Donfeng Commercial Vehicles, before recently purchasing it outright.
The transaction is subject to regulatory oversight, and both parties hope the deal can be consummated by January 2014.
Volvo sold 180,000 trucks in 2011, while DFG sold 186,000 that year. According to a Volvo press release, the deal makes the company the largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks.
Volvo Group Chief Executive Officer Olof Persson said this acquisition helps the company achieve its goal of expanding its reach in Asia. He said China’s market is the size of the European and North American markets combined. Last year, the heavy-duty market in China called for 636,000 vehicles.
“Combining Dongfeng’s strong domestic position and know-how with the Volvo Group’s technological expertise and global presence will offer DFCV excellent potential for growth and profitability in and outside China,” he said in a statement. “In Dongfeng, we have a partner that we know well, having worked together for several years, and with a management team and a product range that we really appreciate.”
Volvo will now be able to nominate four members of Donfeng Commerical Vehicles’ eight-person management team. While Donfeng nominates the managing director, Volvo will be in charge of the chief financial officer. - Jon Ross


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Due to the success of its predecessor, people would want to see more in the upcoming release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. This is also referred to as Call of Duty 4 to some, which may not matter a lot as long as there is another installment released for the public.
An avid fan for instance uploaded a popular trailer on YouTube about the Black Ops 4 shortly after the third installment was just few weeks after the release.
Although it was clearly a parody, many people viewed it and if it will matter, it was a whopping 3 million views. So, the upcoming version should be well in demand, so to speak.
Despite the fact that it will require a number of months before news about its development is working behind the scenes, there are already speculations going on. In fact, according to a reliable source, it was confirmed that the game most awaited by fans is already being developed.
For this reason, it is expected that many people should talk and speculate about this new installment. But for the moment it might be good enough to think about possible new features of the game, which include the following:
- Some people are curious about the game’s developer Treyarch Studios. They are wondering if Treyarch will still develop Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. As one of the most respected studios, there should be a reason why fans want them to work on it.
- Zombie-based gaming genre in Black Ops 4 is also another option that fans would want to see. Well, as long as it will make sense to its storyline, it should be all good to go.
Whatever the game will feature or focus on, it is understandable that fans would love to have a new installment.
If Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is what you are looking out for, then don’t worry because the game is already in the works.


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On request… The decision making problem In my past, as a manager, people came to me for decisions and in a lot of cases this meant spending a lot of […] by Jurgen De Smet Via Co-Learning.be Read the full article here.
Studies show that innovation will lead the way out of the economic crisis. With Innovix, Flanders DC aims at improving the innovation management capabilities of the Flemish entrepreneurs, using an […] by endimi Via Co-Learning.be Read the full article here.
Our next session to be announced for WisP 2014 is the SAFe release planning game. This interactive workshop, based on a simulation game, is designed to give participants insights in how to […] by endimi Via Co-Learning.be Read the full article here.
For our next session we’ve invited one of our most popular speakers from last year: Rutger Slump. After his hugely successful workshop on empowering team purpose and motivation using applied […] by endimi Via Co-Learning.be Read the full article here.


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Finally, a vegan leather.
This fruit leather isn't meant to be packed in lunch bags. It's meant to be the lunch bag.
Food waste is a very serious issue, and while some of that waste can be reduced before it gets to the point of being tossed, there's still bound to be a certain amount of spoiled fruit and vegetables that will have to be disposed of after the fact. Composting the food waste into a valuable soil amendment is one way to deal with it, and feeding livestock with it is another, but one group of designers from the Netherlands has yet another idea - turn it into leather.The Fruit Leather Rotterdam project, which is the brainchild of a collective of designers studying at the Willem de Kooning Academie in Rotterdam, found that about 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) of unsellable fruits and vegetables are thrown away on an average day at the city's largest outdoor market, which vendors must pay to dispose of. According to the project's website, having to pay to get rid of the unusable produce leads some vendors to illegally dump it instead, which causes additional issues.
The team came up with an alternative use for at least some of these spoiled fruits by processing them into a new material, a "fruit leather" that could be used for a variety of applications, including making bags or furniture, and perhaps even clothing.
"By producing this on large scale with the unsellable fruits from the market, a new kind of material is created. This material can be used in many different ways, creating many different products. We ourselves have created a design bag made completely out of the fruitleather material. The bag shows the quality and possibilities that fruitleather has to offer as a material." - Fruitleather Rotterdam
The following video is in Dutch, but shows a little bit of the fruit leather magic happening:
According to Mashable, the exact process used by the team to make the fruit leather is a secret, but it includes removing the seeds from the food waste, cutting and mashing the fruit, then boiling it (thereby killing bacteria that would lead to rotting), and then spreading it out to dry on a "specific surface."
A video posted to the project's Facebook page shows a little bit about the purpose, process, and potential for this food waste project, which isn't meant to fabricate specific objects, but is instead highlighting one possible solution to food waste. The team is said to be working to make the fruit leather more durable, increase its strength, and test its resistance to water and other liquids, and could potentially work with companies or organizations to improve the material and create products from it.


text: A study released last Friday by Hitwise is causing lots of discussion: graphing search engine use against some of their demographic data, they assert that people who use Yahoo tend to buy less stuff online. To which anyone working in search replies, no duh! Client after client, our data shows that while impressions and even clicks from Yahoo might be fairly even with Google, Yahoo pretty much never equals Google in what really matters: conversions. People who use Yahoo just don’t buy stuff like Google users do. Our intuition has always been that these users are younger (and thus less likely to be affluent); data like this backs up that intuition.


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Travelodge, the UK’s fastest growing hotel chain, is today launching a Breakfast on the go bag for guests who do not have time to eat the most important meal of the day.
Travelodge, the UK’s fastest growing hotel chain, reveals in a survey published today that lazy Brits are easily led by trendy attractions and are missing out on a wealth of great days out.
Embargoed until 13th August
10TH August 2004
Today, 9th August 2004, Travelodge became the first low-cost hotel chain to open in Barrow In Furness.
Travelodge, the UK’s No.1 low-cost hotel brand, will open in Barrow In Furness on 9th August 2004. The 40-bedroomed hotel, located on Walney Road, will offer room rates from just £25 per night for either a double or a family room.
Travelodge, the UK’s no.1 low-cost hotel brand, recently conducted a survey that reveals Brits are being trapped into paying a staggering total of £186m a year for goods and services they don’t want and never use in hotels.
Travelodge, the UK’s only low-cost hotel chain, is seeking to raise at least £400m from the sale and leaseback of 136 hotels.
Travelodge, the UK’s leading low-cost hotel group has appointed Guy Parsons as Sales & Marketing Director. Guy joins Travelodge from Whitbread where he was Managing Director of TGI Friday’s.
Travelodge the UK’s number one low-cost hotel group, has just acquired two more central London hotels from Thistle Group.
Today Travelodge, the UK’s No.1 low-cost hotel brand, presented Leatherhead with a special gift to assist in putting the town back onto the map, whilst helping to eliminate all past reference of Leatherhead High Street being the worst high street


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VIZ Media Europe has named Starbright Licensing as licensing agent in Italy for My Hero Academia, the new manga animated series, which includes 3 seasons of 63 episodes x 26 minutes and it is already a great success in Japan.
Starbright will introduce the franchise in the territory and it will build a strong licensing program. The global franchise will include the manga published by Starcomics and a multiplatform Video Game to be launched this October 26th by Bandai Namco Entertainment, targeting a new generation of kids, teens and young adults. In addition, Dynit will be publishing the Home Video from this November. The licensing program will target a new generation of kids, teens and young adults. The series is a promising and it is already a great publishing success with millions of manga sold across Europe. “The success of My Hero Academia is growing daily in Europe and we are convinced that it will conquer the Italian market”, said Aâdil Tayouga, EMEA TV Series / Films & Licensing Executive Manager, “We look forward to partnering with Starbright Licensing to continue to expand this phenomenon”. “We are very excited about this opportunity of collaboration with VIZ Media Europe. My Hero Academia is one of the most interesting projects of the last years and we are confident that Italian consumers reaction will be extremely positive, said Giada Paterlini and Isabella Barone, co-founders of Starbright Licensing.


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Marketing 101: Take a Good Look at Yourself
This morning, Howard Stern did a 20-minute bit on the horrible experiences he has had in the past at Radio Shack, capitalizing on yesterday’s announcement that Radio Shack is closing up to 1,100 stores.
Radio Shack is closing 20% of their stores. In related news: Radio Shack still has open stores.
— Jared Spool (@jmspool) March 4, 2014
A month ago, Radio Shack was being lauded for their Super Bowl commercial, announcing that they were remaking their stores, in an attempt to change the store’s image as a relic of the 80s.
The problem, in my eyes, is not that the store seems dated. It’s that (and I was there to experience this), even in the 80s and 90s, Radio Shack was known for having high prices and crappy service. The only difference now is that people have other options.
The choices that the internet offers has empowered customers to tell poorly run companies like Radio Shack to go pound sand. I would argue that the company put the cart before the horse with the Super Bowl ad. The ad announcing “we’re back and better” followed by a mass bloodletting does not inspire confidence. Bob Garfield disagrees with me, noting:
— Bob Garfield (@Bobosphere) March 4, 2014
Radio Shack, like JC Penney, has not addressed the fundamental problems with their business. All the Super Bowl ads in the world will not change the fact that these are unpleasant places to shop. I think the damage at this point is irreversible, so the 4$ million (not including production costs) that the company spent on the Super Bowl ad will just be another write off in the eventual bankruptcy filing or dissolution of the company.
While Mr. Garfield notes that the Super Bowl ad may be the company’s first step back to respectability and profit, it’s all window dressing without a true reckoning as to what is broken in their business. What happens when someone sees the ad, comes into the store and has the same crappy experience as always?
Until companies get honest with themselves about who they are and why they aren’t appealing to customers, and stop relying on fancy band-aids like Super Bowl ads, they will continue down the long road to obscurity. Make room on the bench, Circuit City, Radio Shack is coming to join you!


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Uber Starts Accepting Credit Card Payments Again in India
Popular cab booking service Uber has again started accepting credit card payment in India. Starting from Monday, customer can pay via Indian and International credit cards for rides. While it has started accepting credit cards, Paytm payment option will be there for users who want to use Paytm.
Uber initially started with Credit Card option, but it was using internation way of payment in which it automatically deduct payment from card. As per RBI regulations, every credit card payment must be with two factor authentication flow. Customer should receive OTP to authorize transaction. Uber was then ask to do changes to follow RBI regulations. So, Uber opted for in-app wallet system with Paytm.
Credit card payments is now available for Android app, but iOS users will have to wait for few days.
Yo offer credit card payments, Uber has partnered with mobile payment processing company MobiKwik. Not just credit card, it also now supports debit cards.


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New Hampshire shooters haven't been skimping when it comes to buying AR-10s. The more expensive models of the .308 were flying off one retailer's shelves to start the year.
Colt's new M.A.R.C. 901 Series aims to take versatility to the next level, giving shooters a platform that simply switches between AR-15 and AR-10.
There's no denying it - the AR-15 is hotter than ever as GunDigest.com readers prove with these top 10 most popular AR-15 reviews and articles of all time!
ArmaLite appears to have come up with a line of AR-style rifles that is the best of both worlds. The Defensive Sporting Rifles boast all the bells and whistles, but are extremely light on the pocketbook.
In this Ruger SR-762 review, see why Ruger's piston-driven .308 is a standout in the crowded AR-10 platform market.
When discussing firearms for self-defense, especially home defense guns, most people think about pistols and shotguns. A better alternative to both of these weapons may be the AR carbine, chambered for the .223/5.56 round.
Today’s battle-tested tactical rifle is more than ready for the woods.
One 2011 study commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation found that just over 18 percent of all gun owners now own an AR-style rifle (probably higher since 2013). Of those, nearly 20 percent say they use their ARs for hunting.
Modern hunters want modern guns and the light-hitting .223 isn’t the only caliber offering for tactical rifles.


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AGEXPORT's goal: one million employments in four years
The Guatemalan Exporters Association, -AGEXPORT- proposes that by promoting three strategic pillars, Guatemala could increase exports, in the next four years, up to US$17,400 million per year, which would result in the duplication of employments, generating two million jobs throughout the country.
AGEXPORT has launched its proposal: Duplicating exports and employments in Guatemala, renewed Strategy 2012-2015, which sets out how the country may obtain a sustainable and economic development by taking advantage of global opportunities.
"A recent study revealed that a higher economic growth is expected for Guatemala, due to the promotion that exports have received this year… This is what we have been looking forward to for almost 3 decades, because exports have created an employment boom or employment growth in textile and land production, operations management, in distribution and marketing, in the supply of raw material sand services, and in additional meters of construction, energy consumption, food, etc,” expressed AGEXPORT´s President of the Board of Directors, Francisco Menendez.
This new proposal of AGEXPORT covers issues from a more direct participation of the President of the Republic of Guatemala in those institutions that are responsible for the promotion of foreign trade, to the inclusion of the rural areas in export related activities, enhancing the Supply Chain Project methodology. This proposal will be presented to the political parties, business associations, donors and research centers.
"The problem is that policies are not focused on linking poverty elimination with job creation, goods and services must be produced in a competitive way in order to reach the major international markets, which for small countries like ours, that have a high dependency on foreign trade in order to overcome challenges such as the reduction of 6.6 million people living in poverty,” explained Menendez.
Therefore, according to the exporters, in order to overcome national challenges, the strategy is based on three pillars: Strengthening of the institutions responsible for foreign trade, a new law to Promote Investment and Employment and the Development of Exportable Offer.
Agexport describes very precisely the immense opportunities that current global trends are making available for small countries with aggressive investment and export policies. The proposals are concrete, such as raising the National Export Council –CONAPEX- to the Presidential lead, with a co chairmanship of the Minister of Economy and the National Commissioner of Competitiveness as Executive Director. The proposal is that the legal document be a Decree of the Congress of the Republic, where there is also a solid legal basis for the National Program of Competitiveness -PRONACOM-, Invest in Guatemala and the Guatemala Trade & Investment-GTI-.
Also, there is a proposal to create a new law that will allow free zones as a key instrument of the state policy to attract investment and employment to Guatemala. This Law would contain tools in accordance with the WTO, which also would encourage resource allocation in special development zones, as well as the promotion of new fields based on information technology and services exports.


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Cancun Uber and taxi drivers have been in the news in recent months due to a battle between Uber drivers and drivers for a certain taxi union that operates in the city. Now Uber is in the news again, but for a different reason, this time one that can have a greater effect on tourists, as a warning has been issued regarding “fake Ubers.” The warning comes after the accounts of some Uber drivers were recently hacked. More specifically, some accounts were cloned by hackers, allowing them to access the Uber platform.
It is actually the WhatsApp accounts of the Uber drivers that are being cloned by these criminals, which ultimately allows them to access the Uber accounts of legitimate Uber drivers. They are then able to offer services through the app, even though the accounts that they are using are someone else’s. For the customer who uses the digital platform, this puts them at risk of getting in an unknown vehicle with an unknown driver that has not been vetted by the Uber company at all.
Since there is no real way to solve the problem yet, warnings are being issued to users of the platform in order to avoid endangering themselves by taking a ride from a fake Uber driver. Individuals who use Uber for rides are also being asked to cancel their ride and report the incident to Uber if they are asked for any additional information about themselves, such as their phone number, for example. The Uber platform provides all of the information about a customer that the driver needs to know, so asking for any additional information is suspicious, to say the least.
The warning about Fake Ubers comes from Eduardo Paniagua, who is the national President of the Mexican Association of Travel Agencies. In his statement, he indicated that anybody who uses the digital service right now could be in danger. In his warning, he stated that “We are in serious danger on the issue of personal safety, because we do not know who or who are the people who can go to present this alleged Uber service and endanger your life and that of your loved ones.”
Taxis are how the majority of the people who visit Cancun get from Cancun International Airport to the Hotel Zone. Others take private or shared hotel shuttles, which are a little bit pricier, but you can save by booking in advance and have the peace of mind that comes from knowing you booked a legitimate driver to transport you. Shared shuttles can start as low as $12.00 each trip when scheduled ahead of time, and private shuttles as low as $16.00 each way. Ubers are not allowed to operate at the airport, but can be used elsewhere in Cancun for transport.
Ubers are not the only type of transportation that tourists have had to worry about being fake. Earlier in the year, warnings were issued to tourists regarding the operation of fake taxis posing as licensed taxi services as well. In this case, criminals would disguise their own vehicles as real, legitimate taxis and offer rides to tourists at the airport or in the hotel zone.
Taxi drivers have also come under scrutiny in the past for allegedly overcharging customers as well. For this reason, officials advise tourists to immediately determine the price of their ride upon entering the vehicle. This way, there is no opportunity for the taxi driver to charge more than what you expected to pay.
Cancun is a safe place to visit, but there is always someone trying to get around doing something the right way, no matter where you go. In this case, it is criminals impersonating Uber drivers, and tourists should be vigilant and watch out for these fake drivers when going from one place to the next in Cancun.
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According to foreign media reports, the global Internet retailing giant Amazon has invited media to attend the company's new product Conference that will be held in Los Angeles on September 6, the industry generally believe that this Conference will publish the latest Amazon Kindle Fire. In view of the success of Google's Nexus series, especially the Nexus 7 Tablet PC challenge, Amazon has no choice, can only launch Kindle Fire compete with Google, Amazon updates their product at a low price, which becomes more meaningful.
It is learned that Amazon is expected to break into the Smartphone market in the industry, this idea seems not absurd. According to the Wall Street Journal reported, earlier this summer, Amazon has worked with Asian phone manufacturer to build Amazon's own Smartphone to "contact."
Analysts on the future of the Amazon market operation, make 5 big expectations:
1, launched a "free" subsidies of Kindle
Newspaper and magazine publishers, through waste ink tank paper beats to make the circulation, wireless carriers are simple digital subscription to gain greater "circulation".
As the eBook and Tablet PCs prices continue to fall, the industry generally believe that the digital number of subscriptions will increase, and will further stimulate the Amazon and other manufacturers are promoting "free" hardware products that users promised two year digital subscription contract, this trend will snowball-like, become increasingly common.
2, discloses the real sales data
Amazon has always been like a huge amount of data. Such as the Harry Potter series of books sales, Amazon gave no detailed sales data. When Amazon sells their product, looks forward to that situation to change. In the era of Amazon's Kindle, Amazon often does not reveal any indicators on Kindle product. This case needs to change, Amazon is expected to follow the example of Apple, as Apple details iPhone, iPads, iPod and Mac product classifications, such as sales, rather than only to abstract data.
3, improved Prime Instant video service
Amazon's "Digital Sweden-buffet" service enables Amazon Prime users to enjoy free services at this point and get different results compared to rival Netflix, get endorsed by the majority of users. Currently, Amazon's applications are increasing, docking with the customer needs also need to improve. Netflix can increase billions of hours per month of streaming media, Amazon has to do better.
4, Amazon Smartphone launched with subsidies that adaptation to the policy
After Amazon launched Smartphone, how to obtain market recognition--the question is inescapable. There are too many manufacturers in the market do better than Amazon Android smartphones this area excellent, Amazon want to rise that are not easy, you need sword side.
United States two major mobile operators will continue to maintain "do not push an unlimited data plan" policy, which opened to gain market recognition of the door for Amazon. Using Amazon of device of user all Internet time will in Amazon shop, more important is to convenient they purchased Amazon video, and audio, and Amazon Cloud and Amazon new of social game products--and these does not needs operators directly face consumers, as long as purchased Amazon of smart phone, by Amazon of content provides commercial provides phase adaptation of subsidies policy, this initiatives will make Amazon more competitiveness in smart phone market.
If Amazon want to hit that Amazon can make money in other ways, and subsidy policy will be a real difference (compared with Apple). Even more important was Amazon subsidization policies adapted to smartphones and will help the Amazon's fledgling digital music and video services more competitive in the market. However, Apple iPhone5 will also be launched on September, which give an big press on Amazon, according to reports, many iphone fans are looking forward to it, even some people have bought all kinds of iphone accessories, such as iphone dustproof plugs, iphone data lines, iphone cases, iphone power packs and so on.
5, start a positive school policy
About the large number of school students, was popular on campus this year "get one iPad". This suggests that Apple's iPad is Amazon's biggest rival, although the price iPad is twice times than Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7, continue to seize the schools market. Apple with its strong market position, became the most influential e-book provider for many schools.
So how does Amazon deal with? Many years ago, the Amazon is a technical lead with Kindle product became a pioneer in the industry, but how to curb the momentum of Apple in this area.


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Check out an official look at the second Air Jordan 5Lab3 release, set to drop this weekend.
This Air Jordan 3 Retro comes in a black and clear colorway. Featuring a full ‘3M’ reflective black upper sitting atop a full translucent outsole, they are the second 5Lab3 release of 2014 and the fourth from the Jordan ‘Element’ Series. A limited release, look out for these at select Jordan Brand accounts worldwide on Saturday, May 17th, 2014. Retail is set at $225.
Keep it locked to our Twitter @KicksDeals as we’ll post links when they go live for purchase on May 17th.


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Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) could pay its former president and chief operating officer Mike Bloom nearly $4.8 million in severance pay, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Matthews-based discount retailer disclosed last week that Bloom had left the company to pursue other interests.
No details about a severance package were released at that time.
But a Dec. 6 SEC filing includes a table of post-employment compensation and benefits that Family Dollar's top employees may be eligible for, based on various scenarios. That includes termination without cause, change in control of the company, medical disability or death.
The document highlights severance pay, stock options and other benefits.
Family Dollar confirmed Thursday that Bloom would be eligible for compensation and benefits.
Those benefits were current as of Aug. 30, the last day of Family Dollar’s fiscal 2013. No updated information on his severance was immediately available.
The retailer did share some insight into Bloom’s departure during its first-quarter earnings call on Jan. 9.
“While we’ve made some progress during Mike’s tenure, we weren’t happy with our financial results,” CEO Howard Levine said during that call.
He noted that he and Bloom were not aligned on Family Dollar’s merchandising strategy. Levine said a change was necessary to stabilize Family Dollar’s operations, improve assortments and find ways to get customers back into its stores.
The company plans to initiate an executive search for Bloom’s replacement. Levine said Family Dollar is looking for a “knowledgeable, experienced retail executive who can fit our team’s culture and who could over time become CEO.”
Bloom joined Family Dollar in September 2011. He replaced R. James Kelly, who retired.
During his career, Bloom spent 32 years working in small-box retail.
In November, Bloom went on the CBS reality series Undercover Boss, saying he wanted to understand Family Dollar’s business from the inside out.
The show provided an opportunity for Bloom to get a behind-the-scenes look at Family Dollar’s operations and look for ways to make employees’ jobs easier. The discount retailer operates more than 8,000 stores in 46 states.
“The easier we make it for (employees), the easier it is for them to get things done and take care of our customers,” Bloom said at the time. You can see images from his appearance on the show in the attached photo gallery.
Family Dollar reported last week that its net income dipped slightly to $78 million, or 68 cents per diluted share, for its first fiscal quarter ended Nov. 30. It also lowered its guidance for the year, citing challenges facing consumers and a difficult operating environment.
The company also named Jason Reiser as chief merchandising officer.
Reiser will have executive responsibility for Family Dollar’s merchandising, global sourcing, marketing, replenishment and financial planning teams.


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LOCAL health retailer Wellness Warehouse yesterday dismissed speculation that it had succumbed to pressure from pro-Palestinian lobby groups and had stopped stocking products manufactured by Israel’s Ahava Cosmetics.
Civil rights lobby group Open Shuhada Street claimed at the weekend that the health retailer had made a commitment to stop stocking Ahava products after a "successful" protest by group members and University of Cape Town students.
Earlier this year, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies issued a notice to compel traders not to label products originating from occupied Palestinian territories as "made in Israel", prompting a furious reaction from the Israeli government. The notice, which got the thumbs up from the Cabinet, could hamper Israeli companies wanting to do business in SA and also negatively affect large local retailers that stock merchandise from Israel.
Open Shuhada Street had been calling on the South African government to issue the notice. The main targets of the lobby group’s campaign were SDV Pharmaceuticals and Wellness Warehouse, which distribute Ahava products that carry a "made in Israel" label, when in fact they are produced by Dead Sea Laboratories in an "illegal" Israeli settlement in the West Bank, known as Mitzpe Shalem.
"The manager of Wellness Warehouse has confirmed to us that their store has discontinued and removed all Ahava cosmetic products from their shelves. Open Shuhada Street together with our allies have been engaging with Wellness Warehouse for over two years now to respect the Palestinian call for boycott," group committee member Zackie Achmat said at the weekend.
However, Wellness Warehouse CEO Sean Gomes yesterday dismissed the claim by Open Shuhada Street, saying "it was not the case".
Muhammed Desai, spokesman for pro-Palestinian lobby group Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions in SA, said the lobby groups would continue with their protests in a bid to rid the industry of Ahava products.
"They (Wellness Warehouse) are coming under pressure … for the regional manager to make a commitment then change it says a lot about the company. It is simple, protests will start again," he said.
South African Zionist Federation spokesman Ben Swartz said yesterday that if Wellness Warehouse had stopped stocking Ahava products, it would have alarmed the pro-Israel lobby in SA, "and it would have been a great concern for all other freedom-loving South Africans in that it would seem that the intimidation tactics of pro-Palestinian fringe activist groups have scared a business in the public sector from selling products of Israeli origin".
"Of even greater concern is the fact that retailers of Israeli goods are being singled out for victimisation and intimidation purely based on the fact of them selling Israeli goods — this is outrageous and we condemn it in the strongest terms possible."


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Plantation Rum has unveiled Extreme Collection No. 5, a trio of limited-edition vintage rums from the West Indies Rum Distillery.
This latest lineup in the series visits Barbados with the release of Barbados 2007, Barbados 2000 and Barbados 1986. The latter is particularly relevant, as the first bottling of Plantation Rum was also a Barbados 1986.
Plantation Rum Extreme Collection No. 5 launches this August. The suggested retail price (per 750-ml. bottle) and ABV are as follows: Barbados 2007 — $200, 58% ABV; Barbados 2000 — $300, 47.8% ABV; Barbados 1986 — $1,500.00, 55.1% ABV.
Plantation Rum undergoes a double aging process that dates back to the 18th century, the company says. First, the rums mature in bourbon barrels in the tropics. Then they cross the ocean by boat for 30 to 40 days, meant to optimize the interaction between the cane spirit and the oak wood. The final ageing takes place in cognac barrels in the continental climate of Southwest France.
While traversing the ocean, the rum loses its edge and becomes rounder, the company says, while levels of esters and aromatic compounds increase, bringing forward fruity and spicy notes.


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We're not big on analysing Apple here. Apple is what it is and there are hundreds of sites that make a very good living from scrutinising the Cuppertino company. We don't do in-depth analysis of the mobile phone industry either, unless it's something to do with video. But this piece is about Apple, and even more about Samsung
The NAB exhibition in Las Vegas starts on Monday 8th of April, and the RedShark team is packing its bags ready for a long flight to Nevada on Friday. Stand by for NAB's big and surprising announcements
Dell have announced that their linux based XPS13 ultrabook (codenamed "Sputnik") that was launched in the US last November is being updated and launched in Europe. It's a powerful spec, probably intended for developers - but it could be ideal for Lightworks
The Lightworks team has just released some news about all three versions of Lighworks, including a suggestion that Lightworks for OS X will enter Alpha testing shortly after NAB
Want to try getting raw video from your Canon? It's complicated. But help is at hand...


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To meet the demands of an electric future, new battery technologies will be essential. One option is lithium sulphur batteries, which offer a theoretical energy density roughly five times that of lithium ion batteries.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, recently unveiled a promising breakthrough for this type of battery, using a catholyte with the help of a graphene sponge.
The researchers’ novel idea is a porous, sponge-like aerogel, made of reduced graphene oxide, that acts as a free-standing electrode in the battery cell and allows for better and higher utilisation of sulphur.
A traditional battery consists of four parts. First, there are two supporting electrodes coated with an active substance, which are known as an anode and a cathode. In between them is an electrolyte, generally a liquid, allowing ions to be transferred back and forth. The fourth component is a separator, which acts as a physical barrier, preventing contact between the two electrodes whilst still allowing the transfer of ions.
The researchers previously experimented with combining the cathode and electrolyte into one liquid, a so-called ‘catholyte’. The concept can help save weight in the battery, as well as offer faster charging and better power capabilities. Now, with the development of the graphene aerogel, the concept has proved viable, offering some very promising results.
Taking a standard coin cell battery case, the researchers first insert a thin layer of the porous graphene aerogel.
“You take the aerogel, which is a long thin tube, and then you slice it – almost like a salami. You take that slice, and compress it, to fit into the battery,” says Carmen Cavallo of the Department of Physics at Chalmers, and lead researcher on the study.
Then, a sulphur-rich solution – the catholyte – is added to the battery. The highly porous aerogel acts as the support, soaking up the solution like a sponge.
“The porous structure of the graphene aerogel is key. It soaks up a high amount of the catholyte, giving you high enough sulphur loading to make the catholyte concept worthwhile. This kind of semi-liquid catholyte is really essential here. It allows the sulphur to cycle back and forth without any losses. It is not lost through dissolution – because it is already dissolved into the catholyte solution,” says Carmen Cavallo.
Some of the catholyte solution is applied to the separator as well, in order for it to fulfil its electrolyte role. This also maximises the sulphur content of the battery.
Most batteries currently in use, in everything from mobile phones to electric cars, are lithium-ion batteries. But this type of battery is nearing its limits, so new chemistries are becoming essential for applications with higher power requirements. Lithium sulphur batteries offer several advantages, including much higher energy density. The best lithium ion batteries currently on the market operate at about 300 watt-hours per kg, with a theoretical maximum of around 350. Lithium sulphur batteries meanwhile, have a theoretical energy density of around 1000 to 1500 watt-hours per kg.
“Furthermore, sulphur is cheap, highly abundant, and much more environmentally friendly. Lithium sulphur batteries also have the advantage of not needing to contain any environmentally harmful fluorine, as is commonly found in lithium ion batteries,” says Aleksandar Matic, Professor at Chalmers Department of Physics, who leads the research group behind the paper.
The problem with lithium sulphur batteries so far has been their instability, and consequent low cycle life. Current versions degenerate fast and have a limited life span with an impractically low number of cycles. But in testing of their new prototype, the Chalmers researchers demonstrated an 85% capacity retention after 350 cycles.
The new design avoids the two main problems with degradation of lithium sulphur batteries – one, that the sulphur dissolves into the electrolyte and is lost, and two, a ‘shuttling effect’, whereby sulphur molecules migrate from the cathode to the anode. In this design, these undesirable issues can be drastically reduced.
The researchers note, however, that there is still a long journey to go before the technology can achieve full market potential.
“Since these batteries are produced in an alternative way from most normal batteries, new manufacturing processes will need to be developed to make them commercially viable,” says Aleksandar Matic.
The Latest on: Lithium sulphur batteries
via Google News
The Latest on: Lithium sulphur batteries
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via Bing News


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Moving Brands are lucky enough to have partnered with one of the ‘Top 10 companies to work for in America.’
The Forbes article places Coyote as the 8th best company to work for in America. We experienced first-hand the incredible culture of the Coyote organisation. The traits of their leadership and their entire team shaped their brand story – forming a brand identity based on characteristics like tenacious, loyal, strong and tribal.
MB’s James, the creative lead on the project, said back in 2011 “They’re an amazing company with the best people, unprecedented growth and sure potential.”
Placed alongside such diverse companies as oil corporations and mattress retailers, it’s brilliant to see Coyote recognised for the working environment they have created.


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Dubai-based personal finance application Wally announced that it has raised $400,000 (Dhs1.5 million) in its first phase of funding. The app, launched in March 2013, currently has 100,000 active users across the world.
“Securing our first round of funding is an important milestone for the company, and one which will allow us to scale and expand to meet the demands of our global users,” said Saeid Hejazi, CEO and co-founder, Wally.
“This funding will go towards product development and engineering. Our key aim is to create the right product, bringing it closer to a complete personal financial solution, and achieve our next milestone of one million active users globally,” he said.
Wally, a free iPhone app, essentially helps users anywhere in the world keep track of what they spend and the details, in their own currencies.
The app is now planning an update, which will also allow users to plan and budget their income and spending.
“This update is more than just a new feature, it marks the next level for Wally…The number one requested feature by users is now live, giving them the ability to plan their savings and work towards their personal financial goals,” said Baher al Hakim, co-founder, Wally.
Start-ups in the UAE have been attracting strong investor appetite in recent months: Dubai-based e-commerce website Cobone.com was acquired by US-based investment firm Tiger Global Management for an undisclosed sum in March this year, while UAE-based online retailer Souq.com, received a new round of investment from South African media group Naspers Limited in October last year.
According to Omar Christidis, founder and CEO of ArabNet, which is currently organising a three-day digital forum in Dubai, UAE start-ups are more advanced, have more momentum and more assets.
“They have investors, teams, they are selling and moving – they have stronger fundamentals for success,” he said.