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FWD Chairman Martin Williams has called on the food and drink wholesale sector to work "Fitter, faster, leaner and smarter together” to take advantage of growth opportunities in a changing and challenging trading environment. In his closing address to delegates at FWD’s Winning in Wholesale conference, Williams described the current economic and political climate as "the most dynamic, disruptive and transformational time ever seen,” but concluded that these were conditions in which an adaptable supply chain could thrive through close co-operation.
Referring to challenges such as the expected post-Brexit economic downturn and the imposition of the National Living Wage, Williams said: “It’s incredible what’s happening in our market at the moment and how we survive and prosper is a credit to all of us. Whatever your view of the challenges ahead I’m sure you agree that we have to get fitter, we have to move faster, we’ve got to be leaner, we’ve got to work smarter, but most important of all we have to do it together.”
The areas where the sector could perform better were productivity, customer service and people, he said. "What can we standardise, what can we share, particularly with evolving technology, and how can we measure what we do more effectively?"
"We have got to help our customers like never before,” he added. "Suppliers helping wholesalers, and wholesalers helping retailers and foodservice operators to sell more and provide a better service to consumers."
‘We needs to recruit, train and retain the best people, and help them make better contributions to our business because we will all benefit from that.”
Throughout the conference the 230 delegates learned how FWD is bringing wholesalers and suppliers together to tackle all three of these areas. New research commissioned by FWD and GS1 UK highlighted inefficiencies in the supply chain, and FWD also revealed the results of a survey of foodservice operators’ needs. A new group with FWD’s Supplier Council is exploring ways to recruit bright young talents into the sector and help young suppliers and wholesalers to build careers in the industry.
“We have done a lot together but there is still a lot to do,” Williams said. “ Let’s invest in wholesale, let’s invest in our brands, and let’s invest in our people. If we work together, we can grow together, and the current economic uncertainty can be an opportunity for shared success."


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According to the newer pricing model, Ford has announced that the starting prices of its 2023 F-150 Lightning will increase between $6,000 and $8,500. Orders for the completely electric truck will resume on Thursday after being stopped for over eight months.
The decision to adjust prices comes when competing big name automakers like General Motors and Tesla have already raised prices. Automaker companies have struggled with the rising cost of materials since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The prices have only worsened with a lack of supply and inflation running rampant worldwide.
The starting prices will now start from nearly $47,000 to approximately $97,000, as the 2022 model-year was listed at around $40,000 to $92,000.
Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, said those who place an order on Thursday, August 8, 2022 and after will be affected by the change in price. “Current order holders awaiting delivery are not impacted by these price adjustments. We’ve announced pricing ahead of re-opening order banks so our reservation holders can make an informed decision around ordering a Lightning.”

domain: news


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Nokia Will Use Intel WiMax Chips
Sep 26, 2007, 1:29 PM by (staff)
Nokia has agreed to use WiMax chips from Intel in future mobile device designs, beginning with the N800 Internet tablet. The two companies are testing Intel's Baxter Peak chip set in Nokia WiMax devices and how it interacts with Nokia Siemens Networks' base station equipment. The N800 is expected to be the first Nokia WiMax-enabled device available and will work on the Xohm WiMax network being launched by Sprint later this year. Nokia and Intel did not say if their chip deal will extend to mobile phones.
Intel Debuts 5G Radios
Intel today announced a range of 5G modems for mobile devices that rely on various technologies to handle the transition from 4G to 5G. The XMM 8000 series will handle multi-mode operations on 600 MHz and mmWave band around the globe and will be ideal for PCs, phones, and fixed wireless equipment.
Intel Cancels Several Phone Chips
Intel said it will discontinue a handful of processors meant for smartphones and tablets as it continues to shift its business toward more profitable products. In particular, Intel has cancelled plans to sell three of its SoFIA processor-baseband combination chips.
Intel to Buy Altera for $16.7 Billion
Intel today said it has agreed to purchase Altera Corp. for $16.7 billion.
Sprint Can Commence WiMax Shutdown
A Massachusetts court has given Sprint permission to turn off its WiMax network in stages over the next two months. Sprint will turn WiMax off in 16 cities, including New York, today, with 39 more to follow on February 29, and the remaining 25 cities on March 31.
Nokia's ReefShark Chips to Connect 5G Base Stations
Nokia today announced new 5G chipsets that will triple the throughput of base stations while also drastically slashing power consumption. The ReefShark chipsets pair Nokia's antennas with artificial intelligence in order to push the performance of base stations.
This is cool and all but...
it runs VISTA (though it uses AT&T's egde network) and you can get more work done with with a fully handheld PC than you can with an internet tablet


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Disneyland California Might Not Reopen Until Summer 2021
News - PARKS 21-Oct-2020
Disneyland California has still not reopened, and things are getting heated. Orange County officials set out their rules for when businesses can reopen in the state of California, which states theme parks require a state-wide 2% positivity rate to open (it's currently 3.2%). The state must meet those requirements for 2 weeks before moving down a tier. OC Register reports that this policy is going to keep Disneyland California closed at best until November or December 2020, but more likely until summer 2021. Perhaps not even until a vaccine is distributed.
The mayor of the city of Anaheim has spoken against these regulations, saying they are hurting families and businesses across the state.
Disney, understandably, are sick of these policies being put in place, and has also spoken out saying the park is ready to open safely, just like Walt Disney World has, and holding off the reopening risks even more layoffs.
We have proven that we can responsibly reopen, with science-based health and safety protocols strictly enforced at our theme park properties around the world. Nevertheless, the State of California continues to ignore this fact, instead mandating arbitrary guidelines that it knows are unworkable and that hold us to a standard vasty different from other reopened businesses and state-operated facilities. Together with our labor unions we want to get people back to work, but these State guidelines will keep us shuttered for the foreseeable future, forcing thousands more people out of work, leading to the inevitable closure of small family-owned businesses and irreparably devasting the Anaheim/Southern California community.
Ken Potrock, President, Disneyland Resort.
Book your Disneyland Paris trip today and travel in safety and comfort of your own car and receive FREE crossing with P&O Ferries with your package booking for stays between 1st January 2024 - 27... Read more >
Welcome to a magical world that swings, slides and rocket-rides your mood until you start to feel a little more... you. Welcome to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Welcome back to being you.
... Read more >
Disney has today announced that the gold Walt Disney World 50th statues situated across the Walt Disney World theme parks will be sticking around a little longer! Disney will be removing the 50th... Read more >
In a new SEC filing, The Walt Disney Company disclosed a 10-year plan to "expand and enhance" its domestic and international parks, and cruise line capacity. Nearly double the amount spent in the... Read more >
Disneyland Paris and McDonald's have announced a new location will be constructed to host a new restaurant at Disney Village, Disneyland Paris.
Work on the new restaurant will begin in Septem... Read more >
Disney Parks live-streamed Disney Treasure event showcased the upcoming new ship. During the presentation Disney Cruse Line announced:
The three rotational dining restaurants will be Worlds Of... Read more >
Disneyland Paris has announced that much loved drone show called "Avengers: Power the Night" at Walt Disney Studios will return on select dates from 1st September, 2024, through January 7th, 2024... Read more >
With the 30th celebrations coming to the end, the much loved "Dream... and Shine Brighter" show (a show we highly praised) is coming to an end. Disneyland Paris today has announced that starting ... Read more >
Disneyland Paris has announced "Disney Symphony of Colors" will be coming to Disneyland Paris starting January 8th, 2024. Over the first few weeks of the new year, Disneyland Paris will gradually... Read more >
Disneyland Paris has announced an exclusive new Alice in Wonderland-themed stage show coming to Walt Disney Studios Park next Spring.
In the spring of 2024, guests of Walt Disney Studios Par... Read more >


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Crickhowell store Book-ish in south Wales was forced to close on Monday after flooding in the town from storm Dennis meant bookselling staff could not get to the shop.
Parts of the Powys town were left underwater and residents had to be evacuated on Sunday when the River Usk burst its banks. Roads and a bridge to Llangattock were also flooded, meaning it was difficult to reach the town.
Book-ish and other businesses on the town’s hill were spared the flooding that hit other places. However, owner Emma Corfield-Walters, who visited friends in the Wirral when the storm struck, was unable to return to her home, the shop or help her friends and neighbours until late on Monday.
She told The Bookseller: "It’s just bad timing as we’ve has such a rubbish start to the year because of the weather and we pay rent at the end of this month."
"We’re such a tourist town and we get a lot of traffic through from that," she said. "That’s the concerning thing—even though a lot of places are open, people could just stay away because of the flooding."
Staff at Book-ish have been encouraged by support on social media, including people like Damian Barr who encouraged followers to order books from the store online yesterday.
Corfield-Walters said: "The bookselling community is just so lovely. We’ve had so many messages from people sending their good wishes. It shows people do care."
The shop, named runner-up in Britain's Best Small Shop award last year, was expected to reopen for business today.
Storm Dennis hit the UK a week after Ciara caused similar devastation, including flooding Hebden Bridge store The Book Case.


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On demand logistics group Lalamove said on Monday it saw orders tripling since last year due to the increased demand for its delivery services, as businesses tapped the digital forwarding company to boost their sales.
In a statement, Lalamove said the growth trend started in March 2020, when the country was placed under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which forced businesses and individuals to adapt and tap digital solutions for their daily needs. This also boosted the demand for on demand delivery due to limited mobility.
Lalamove issued the statement on the heels of a demonstration staged by its drivers, who called on lower commission rates, the removal of the rental fee for insulated bags, and the increase of the delivery rates.
“Since the ECQ in March 2020 we’ve managed to help over a hundred thousand drivers to earn additional income by taking orders with Lalamove. During this time we’ve seen a more than 200-percent growth in orders, providing our partner drivers a vital source of income during these difficult times due to Covid-19,” the company’s statement read.
Lalamove said it offers small businesses affordable logistics solutions, which then created greater demand for more drivers on the road.
“Our affordable delivery prices have created more demand from at least hundreds of thousands of businesses which in turn has created more opportunities for our partner drivers to earn more than what they did pre-ECQ, and much more than the country’s minimum wage through the industry-standard commission rates.”
As for the insulated bags, Lalamove noted that these are “optional,” but these help ensure the “high standards of service for our customers.”
“Lalamove is committed to working hand in hand with our users and partner drivers to offer the most competitive and reliable service to support our communities. The majority of our partner drivers value the opportunities that are created by working with Lalamove and they are aligned with our values.”
Launched in the Philippines in 2017, Lalamove is an on-demand logistics company that matches drivers with customers and SME businesses to fulfill same-day deliveries. It now operates in 25 markets across Asia, Latin America, and the United States.


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Nintendo has turned over an annual profit for the first time in 4 years.
After a 23 billion yen ($191 million) loss last year, the company’s fortunes have changed with a much more more promising 41 billion yen ($344 million) profit this year.
Nintendo managed to shift 9.3 million 3DS handhelds (including 2DS and new 3DS models) in the last 12 months. This brings the lifetime sales for these handhelds to 52 million units, which is still only about a third of the lifetime sales for the original DS (154 million).
Prior to the launch of the new 3DS and 3DS XL models, sales for the 3DS “did not grow as anticipated”, Nintendo noted in its results briefing today. However, it went on to say that the company’s new handheld models had “a good start and continue to sell well”.
Besides handhelds, Nintendo only managed to shift 3.6 million Wii U consoles last year. This brings the total lifetime sales for the console up to 9.54 million worldwide (less than half the lifetime sales of the GameCube). With Sony confirming last week that the PlayStation 4 has passed the 22 million mark for sales, this puts the Wii U figures into perspective.
Nintendo is hoping to sell another 7.6 million 3DS and 3.4 million Wii U consoles in the coming 12 months, which will go along way to ensuring another year of profit.
On the software side of things, 3DS Pokémon remakes Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire sold 9.94m units combined.
Super Smash Bros. sold 6.75 million copies on 3DS and 3.65 million on the Wii U.
Mario Kart 8 has sold 5.11 million copies since it launched last year. Both Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. will continue to be supported with more DLC.
This coming year will herald the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X and Fire Emblem on 3DS. The Wii U is set to see the release of Splatoon, Yoshi’s Woolly World and Mario Maker.
Card and yarn based Amiibo will also be launched this year, as well as the NFC reader for 3DS and 2DS.
By the end of 2015, Nintendo will have also released their first smartphone apps, developed with new partner DeNa.
All in all, this sounds like a pretty busy year for Nintendo.


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In the case of the new PlayStation, it appears that demand is vastly outweighing supply. According to the company’s CEO, absolutely every PS5 is already sold.
Following the PS5’s worldwide launch, there are still thousands of gamers without the next-gen console. But it appears that there’s going to be a lengthy wait for those without the powerful new device, as the supply has dried up.
In a new interview, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan dashes the hopes of every fan who was hoping for another wave of PS5 consoles to drop. Of course, while stock levels are at an all-time low right now, PlayStation is focussing on production to ensure there are enough consoles to go around.
“Absolutely Everything is Sold” for PS5 – PlayStation CEO
The interview with Russian news outlet TASS is sure to have a lot of PlayStation fans very upset. After all, when asked about PS5 sales now coming up to a week after worldwide launch, Jim Ryan had this to say:
“Everything is sold. Absolutely everything is sold… I’ve spent much of the last year trying to be sure that we can generate enough demand for the product. And now in terms of my executive bandwidth I’m spending a lot more time on trying to increase supply to meet that demand.”
It seems that perhaps the PlayStation CEO was a little too good at generating demand for the PS5, which is now impossible to find anywhere.
Ryan also delves into why the PS5 supply is so low at launch, stating that he wouldn’t recommend a big console launch during a global pandemic. According to the CEO, production was an issue after COVID-19 restricted workers from entering factories.
All manufacturing preparation had to be handled remotely via camera. As Ryan points out, this is no easy feat for a complex console like the PS5.
Reportedly, the team behind the console’s manufacturing has “worked miracles.”
Those still waiting for a PS5 to become available might disagree with that assessment.
But in fact, while no global pandemic may have led to a few more PS5s being ready to sell, the added volume reportedly wouldn’t be too substantial. This claim appears to indicate that this volume of PS5 consoles was roughly what PlayStation was aiming for.
Jim Ryan also indicates that the PS4 will still be the largest PlayStation community until 2022. After all, with 114 million PS4s in homes worldwide, the PS5 has got some catching up to do.
Who Has PS5 Stock?
Of course, while Sony claims that everything is sold, some retailers still have PS5 stock to work with. Some retailers are selling the PS5 on Black Friday, which is fast approaching.
For many, this will be the last opportunity to obtain a next-gen console before the PS5 comes back in stock. The PS5 had one of the worst launches in modern history, however we’re sure Sony doesn’t think so.
PlayStation’s only real concern right now is creating as much PS5 stock as possible. The company is likely financially set for 2021, based solely on the initial console hype.
However, it’s with Sony’s new IPs that the PS5 can really begin to take off. Getting another new IP on the market is essential for keeping PlayStation in the public eye.


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From Marfa Public Radio:
In late March, the Mexican government began routing transmigrantes – Central Americans who make a living towing used cars and secondhand goods across the United States to the Mexican border and on to their home countries – through Presidio.
For some in the rural border town, there’s hope transmigrantes could usher in a new wave of business to an otherwise money-strapped city. But, for others there are concerns that this influx of traffic may cause more headaches than its worth.
Outside the Presidio-Ojinaga port of entry, a slow trickle of cars and trucks moves through the two cities, passing between the U.S. and Mexico.
The kind of cross-border traffic this corner of the state typically sees is commercial and pedestrian — usually people looking to visit family, shop and eat. But now, the rural border town is home to a new kind of traffic headed for Ojinaga: transmigrantes, Central Americans who make a living towing rusty cars and secondhand goods from the U.S. across the Mexican border to their home countries, hoping to resell their wares for a profit.
“They’ll be coming straight down this road,” said Presidio Mayor John Ferguson, gesturing towards U.S. 67, the only highway running through his city.
For nearly two decades, the South Texas city of Los Indios has been the only border crossing where transmigrantes were allowed into Mexico to continue their journey south. But in late March the Mexican government designated Presidio as a second crossing point.
“They’re businessmen, they’re working hard like anybody else,” said Ferguson. “They’re permitted by the Mexican government to travel through Mexico from north to south, reaching the Mexico-Guatemala border .”
Ferguson said Presidio was picked as an additional port for transmigrantes because Mexican officials felt the port in Los Indios was being inundated with traffic. Mexican leaders were also worried about extortion transmigrantes faced from cartels after crossing into Mexico from Los Indios, according to a 2018 briefing to Mexico’s President arguing for this new route.
Since March 23, Presidio has been open to transmigrantes and the loads they carry — household items and junk cars, usually purchased at auction houses across the U.S.
“Once they purchase all these things, they normally will have like a mid-sized Toyota pickup or something, and [are] towing a second vehicle,” said Ferugson. “That’s how you can always spot them.”
Before the pandemic in 2019, at an oil-stained parking lot in Marfa, transmigrante Bener Lopez was looking over the items he was hauling back to Guatemala: a motorbike, washing machine and worn bathroom scale.
“Here we have things we sell over there” in Guatemala, Lopez said in Spanish. “Everything is second-hand.”
Along with the 1985 Toyota he was hauling, there were a few thousand dollars worth of goods in the bed of the truck. He said he’s done this kind of work for a few years, and thanks god for the opportunity to provide for his family.
Transmigrantes like Lopez bring their goods through Mexico, traveling along roads the Mexican government has designated for transmigrante travel to other countries like Guatemala. Some transmigrantes are dual citizens of Guatemala and the U.S.
At one point, there were multiple ports of entry for transmigrantes along the Southwest border for transmigrantes to cross, including El Paso. But beginning in the early 2000s, transmigrantes were allowed only at Los Indios, where such crossings generally reach a few thousand per month.
During the pandemic, those numbers dropped but are now on the rebound, says Jared Hockema, the Los Indios City Administrator.
“There are times that there’s a lot, there are times where there’s very few,” Hockema said in a phone interview. “But they’re all crossing, throughout the year.”
Right now, transmigrantes need to wait in the U.S. up to 72 hours — sometimes longer — while their paperwork to cross is processed. Hockema says during peak seasons, usually in December, the line to cross into Mexico stretches for miles.
“They’ll line up on the highways, they’re in town,” said Hockema. “And so it can become a dangerous situation with people moving in and out of traffic, pedestrians, people parked on the shoulder.”
When Presidio Mayor Ferguson sees the number of transmigrantes that have passed through Los Indios in the past, he thinks about the potential traffic Presidio, a city of about 5,000, could see.
Currently the city’s one port of entry is under construction and will soon expand to four crossing lanes. But the decision to expand to meet Presidio’s and Ojinaga’s needs was made before transmigrantes were allowed to come through the region. That worries Ferguson, who’s also concerned about how transmigrante traffic could impact daily life, and the city’s only major highway, U.S. 6.7.
“It’s a two lane, hilly road, and not many opportunities, not many passing lanes and, you know, just lots of places where people could get in trouble if they don’t drive prudently,” said Ferguson.
But others in Presidio, a city with few industries, see transmigrantes as a potential boon to the local economy.
“There’s going to be a wide range of opportunities for not only the brokers, but for other people,” said Presidio’s Isela Nuñez, an import-export broker, who already works with cross-border goods, like machinery, cattle and vegetables.
She says her business is prepared to fill out the required paperwork for transmigrantes and the loads they carry, but is holding off on hiring any new employees because it’s too early to know what the demand will be like.
“We’re creatures of habit,” said Nuñez, theorizing transmigrantes will likely continue traveling through Los Indios, at least for now, because it’s what they’re familiar with.
“These [transmigrantes] already know how it works, where to go, where to stay, what to do in Los Indios,” said Nuñez. “I think at the beginning, it’s going to be slow.”
There are local businesses in Presidio ramping up ahead of what they hope will be steady traffic. A sign off the highway reads “bienvenidos hermanos transmigrantes,” where one business has set up a paid parking lot near to accommodate transmigrante trucks. Another is bringing in mobile homes where transmigrantes can stay the night.
But Mayor Ferguson isn’t sure what transmigrantes might mean for the local economy.
“The transmigrante traffic will contribute somewhat to our local tax base through fuel sales, food sales, things of that nature,” said Ferguson. “But we’re not putting out our hopes that it’s going to be a goldmine for us.”


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SALEM, Ohio - The U.S. Attorneys office says a Salem jewelry store was a victim of an alleged multi state burglary ring involving two Canton men.
A federal indictment says that early on the morning of October 9th of last year, Nicholas Moore broke into Downtown Gems and Jewels in Salem and stole jewelry worth more than $24,000.
The eight count indictment says that Moore and Arsenio Smith stole coins, jewelry, silver bars from several other businesses, and would sell the goods in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Although Cantalamessa has been approved through the Secretary of State with the Board of Elections, Trumbull's Democratic Party must do the vote over, publicly according to the Ohio Democratic Party Chairman.More >>


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India’s rice exports may decline by 20 percent in 2016 due to tight supplies and growing domestic demand, according to the UN body FAO.
India, the world’s biggest rice producer after China, is estimated to export about 10 million tonnes of rice this year, same at last year’s level, as per the industry data.
“All exporters are expected to step up their rice deliveries in 2016, except India, where a tightening of supplies and growing domestic requirements are foreseen to result in a 20 percent contraction in rice shipment,” Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in its latest report on world crop prospects.
Lower exports in India are expected to be offset by increased exports from Thailand and Vietnam. India is expected to harvest 103.5?million tonnes of rice in 2015, it said.
Global rice output is estimated to be lower at 499.3 million tonnes this year, while world trade in rice in 2016 is pegged at 42.1 million tonnes, it added.
FAO also said that global rice prices have been on decline for last ten months and much of the fall has been witnessed in aromatic rice.
Rice prices have softened in India, Vietnam, Thailand as well as in the America. For instance, the export price of Thai rice fell to USD 385 per tonne in June from USD 419 per tonne in the year-ago period, it added.
According to the FAO, world crop prospects look positive this year despite continuing apprehensions over El Nino.
But those global price trends and favourable prospects for world cereal production mask localised hotspots of food insecurity, the report also cautioned.
“Some 34 countries worldwide, including 28 in Africa — many hosting large numbers of refugees — are in need of external assistance for food,” it said.
Global cereal production is pegged at 2,527 million tonnes in 2015, 1.1 percent decline from the record level last year, it added.
(Source – http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/indias-rice-exports-may-drop-by-20-in-2016-fao)


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Bandai Namco Partners with Roadhouse Interactive
Bandai Namco Studios and Vanouver-based Roadhouse Interactive announced mobile game dev. partnership project http://bit.ly/13PZxq7
BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., the development arm of the iconic BANDAI NAMCO Games Inc., and Vancouver-based Roadhouse Interactive Limited, today announced the development of a soon-to-be disclosed game project. The game is a character-based builder-battle RPG set in an entirely new fictional universe, and is being created at one of Roadhouse’s Vancouver studios by a blended team of BANDAI NAMCO and Roadhouse developers. Further details will be forthcoming over the next few months.


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A bulletin from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the body owned by 62 central banks, highlights cash concerns because of the COVID-19 virus. It states that perceived risks, valid or not, brings the potential for digital payments to the fore. And the BIS specifically makes a case for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).
In recent weeks, internet searches have shot up relating to COVID-19 and cash, especially in jurisdictions that use small denomination banknotes.
Additionally, research has shown that viruses can persist on banknotes. That’s based on past research relating to influenza and other viruses as well as more recent COVID-19 research, which show non-porous surfaces are better at transferring the illness.
However, there are no proven cases of transmission through cash, and scientists found the risks are thought to be low compared to other frequently touched objects. The main risk for COVID-19 is thought to be airborne droplets. Plus, using cards at point of sale terminals also carries some risks, particularly PIN pads. In both cases, washing hands is important.
Examples given of central bank actions include the Bank of England statement: “the risk posed by handling a polymer note is no greater than touching any other common surfaces such as handrails, doorknobs or credit cards”. China disinfected cash in some regions, and South Africa has seen scams claiming money is being withdrawn from circulation in order to relieve people of their cash.
One of the most interesting observations is that in a financial crisis, one usually sees a flight to cash. While cash in circulation has increased in the U.S., so far ATM withdrawals in the U.K. have fallen. Although restricted movement is likely to play a major role in that.
Digital payments and digital currencies
In recent weeks several jurisdictions have increased the touchless limit for contactless cards.
But the other option is the potential for Central Bank Digital Currencies. The bulletin states: “Resilient and accessible central bank operated payment infrastructures could quickly become more prominent, including retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).”
While CBDCs and their need may come into focus as a result of the crisis, there’s a requirement for ongoing access to cash for the unbanked and those who are less technically savvy. Any new CBDC would need to target these groups, but also ensure it remains contactless.
Meanwhile, numerous initiatives are exploring retail CBDCs. Sweden’s central bank, Riksbank, recently announced plans for pilots. The Bank of England outlined its CBDC roadmap. And both banks are part of a group of six central banks and the BIS sharing research. An, of course, China is thought to be comparatively close to releasing its digital renminbi.


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Google Pixel 8 series could cost quite a bit more than Pixel 7
Just like the iPhone 15 series.
So, we have exactly a month left for Google’s upcoming event, and now, a recently leaked report reveals the colors and prices of Google’s upcoming smartphone range.
Google Pixel 8 series price leak
According to TheTechOutlook, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will see a significant price hike, at least in Europe. The news outlet and leaker Paras Guglani have reported that the Pixel 8 price starts at €710.77, around $765 for the vanilla variant with 128GB storage.
If we include the 23% Value Added Tax or VAT, the price becomes €874.25 ($942). The same goes for the 256GB variant. The price, including the 23% VAT, is €949.30 ($1,023). The Google Pixel 7 was introduced last year at €650.
While the Google Pixel 8 Pro is rumored to be priced at €1,235 ($1,331) for the 128GB storage, €1,309 ($1,411) for the 256GB, and €1,461 ($1,575) for the 512GB model. All these prices are including 23% VAT.
Considering last year’s Pixel 7 Pro started at €900, this is a significant price hike.
An early rumor indicated a price hike for the Pixel 8 series, so a $50 to $100 increase was expected. But the leak indicates it’s going to be a significantly greater price jump. Of course, the US prices could still be lower.
That said, this leak is a bit questionable. So, take it with a grain of salt.
Google Pixel 8 series colors
The leak has also revealed possible colorways for Google’s upcoming smartphones.
According to the news outlet, the standard Pixel 8 will be available in four colorways: Hazel, Obsidian, Rose, and Mint. At the same time, the Pixel 8 Pro is also expected to appear in four colorways: Bay, Obsidian, Porcelain, and Mint.
- Google jumped the gun and revealed the Pixel 8 Pro
- Google could bring Night Sight to video with the Pixel 8
- Google Pixel 8 series appears in FCC listing
- Google Pixel owners aren’t very loyal to the brand, study finds


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How many food channels is there room for in the Australian market? Seven announced on Friday it would launch its own food channel, 7Food, in December — following in the footsteps of our cash-poor second national broadcaster, SBS.
Three years ago, SBS partnered with The Food Network cable channel from the US to start SBS Food Network (amid general scepticism from the rest of the industry, despite the popularity of MasterChef on Ten and My Kitchen Rules on Seven). But in September, SBS’ agreement with the Food Network’s owner, Scripps Interactive, expired, and SBS announced it wouldn’t be renewed, and the channel would be renamed SBS Food.
Seven has picked up what SBS dropped, signing a deal with the Food Network to create 7Food. Seven has been enthusiastic about its new channel, which will join Nine’s 9Life as well as SBS Food among the digital channel lifestyle offerings on free to air, not to mention Foxtel.
“With a 24/7 smorgasbord of the world’s most popular food shows, 7food network is set to inspire, entertain, empower and educate Aussie foodies hungry for food, cooking, culture, travel and adventure,” the press release read.
Get Crikey FREE to your inbox every weekday morning with the Crikey Worm.
Media analyst Steve Allen told Crikey that while Seven usually makes sound commercial decisions, he wasn’t sure about the reasoning behind this one. “Seven are usually very commercially astute … but I wouldn’t have thought that there was a lot of fresh food content available, and they’d need to secure extra content that people can’t get elsewhere. I’m truly mystified as to why Seven’s doing this,” he said.
Allen said that while food content was advertiser-friendly, that wasn’t enough to justify a whole channel. “What I’m asking is a ratings question,” he said. “I just can’t see how being the third dedicated channel in the market will deliver, unless they’ve got some compelling content that they haven’t announced yet.”
The US Food Network programs Seven will be showing have been available on SBS Food, along with its own considerable line-up of locally produced programs, for the past three years. There will be new seasons of some of the Food Network programs that will appear on 7Food, but the bulk of the programming will be repeats of local, US and UK series. SBS Food will still have the rights to a string of local and offshore big foodie names — such as Adam Liaw, Poh Ling Yeow, Shane Delia, Peter Kuruvita, Luke Nguyen, Kylie Kwong and for the first time Maeve O’Meara (who has produced a string of food programs for SBS’s main channel).
Global chefs to be featured on the rebranded SBS channel will include the late Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver. These are bigger names than most of the Food Network offerings.
7food’s biggest international name is Gordon Ramsay, while it will have My Kitchen Rules’ Manu Feildel and Pete Evans, and Better Homes and Gardens regulars Fast Ed and Karen Martini. The network has also teased original content plans, to be shared “in due course”.
Seven has had close to enough content for a dedicated food channel for years, with My Kitchen Rules, as well as a string of ITV and other UK food programs that used to screen on its 7TWO channel. But it did nothing about a specialist food channel until the success of the SBS Food Network. Seven says it wants a channel share of about 1% for Seven Food, which is what SBS Food Network has been getting.
Is that why Seven and its CEO Tim Worner, have joined the other commercial networks in whining about the way SBS and ABC have been picking up the rights to programs that Seven, Nine and Ten have wanted?
The SBS Food Network channel didn’t make much money, but covered its costs by attracting ad support from the likes of Harvey Norman for its high-end kitchen appliances, digital products groups and cruise companies (travel and cruising is the fastest growing area of advertising for media companies) so that it doesn’t drain the network’s tight budget. Once again, a national broadcaster has shown a sluggish, debt-laden commercial TV network how to start and build a TV-viewing niche.


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Cosworth has announced it is to extended its supply of electronics hardware to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for a further six years, supporting the series with its latest generation Intelligent Colour Display (ICD) Dash Loggers and Intelligent Power Systems (IPS32) hardware to complement the existing supply of ECUs, complete car looms, sensor packages and aliveDRIVE video data system.
Cosworth’s ICD Dash Logger builds on the group’s Omega platform and features a full colour 6.2″ TFT display, powerful multi-core microprocessor, integrated graphics processor and configurable tri-colour LED arrays.
The IPS32 Power Management System is the foundation of Cosworth’s third generation range of power management products, which has been extended to include an ultra-lightweight, 48 channel variant.
Cosworth’s provision of its ICD and IPS32 to BTCC competitors from 2016 will add the latest in chassis electronics alongside the group’s aliveDRIVE video-capture platform and scrutineering platform. Cosworth’s aliveDRIVE system records high definition in-car video, synchronised with on-car data to produce immersive content that bring fans closer to the action on track and enables championship officials to make informed scrutineering and stewarding decisions.
After each 2016 qualifying session, Cosworth’s aliveDRIVE platform will enable fans to view the pole-setting lap from inside the cockpit, complete with bespoke on-screen data overlays. These videos will be uploaded to BTCC’s social media channels and shared by Cosworth and other media, providing fans with the best insight to date into Britain’s premier motor racing series.
“Cosworth has played an important role in the BTCC over many years, and we are delighted to renew our collaboration in providing the latest hardware and software from our electronics team,” stated Thomas Buckler, commercial director, Cosworth. “The ICD Dash Logger and IPS32 systems have already proved a great success on the international stage but it is satisfying to provide support to a series so close to home, with the latest generations now offering more flexibility and reliability than ever before. This updated agreement is an extension to our existing relationship with BTCC and sees the series brought fully in line with Cosworth’s latest electronics offering. The growth of the BTCC in recent years has been impressive: technical credibility, increased coverage, fantastic racing and more manufacturer involvement.”


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Social media giant Twitter on October 8 said that it “inadvertently” used contacts and email addresses that users provided for security reasons to show advertisements to its users. In a statement, Twitter said that it had recently discovered the breach wherein email addresses and contact numbers were probably used for commercial purposes, especially in their Partner Audiences promoting and Tailored framework.
The company stated that the Tailored framework was a product that allowed the ad-makers to use advertisements and target potential customers based on the lists compiled by the advertisers. The social media giant, however, did not provide any information on how many users were impacted.
Twitter stated it "cannot say with certainty how many people were impacted. "But in an effort to be transparent, we wanted to make everyone aware."
Besides, Twitter mentioned how the Partner Audiences framework used a similar path as that of a Tailored framework but over here third party vendors also had a role to play. Twitter also added that when the list was uploaded, their employees may have used a few email ids and phone numbers to match the users on the list and that was simply a human error they deeply regretted.
"We're very sorry this happened and are taking steps to make sure we don't make a mistake like this again."
Twitter further talked about how they accidentally let makers of different advertisements match respective users according to their own marketing catalog. According to the latest reports, Twitter fixed their mistake and in their defense, they stated that not a single piece of personal information was shared with any of the third-party marketing vendors.
In April 2019, Facebook was being busted for extracting the personal information of its users such as email ids and contact numbers without their knowledge. According to reports, the Mark Zuckerburg-led company took the information of about 1.5 million Facebook users without them knowing whenever people opened a new account. The questionable privacy breach came into question after Facebook was questioned about why it was asking for email passwords of new users whenever they created an account.
In addition to this, if a user did enter his/her password, a message popped up saying that the website was importing their contacts without any prior information and in their defense, Facebook stated that the contacts that were imported were not shared with anyone.


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An excruciating 14-year wait for the incredible family to get back in action ended earlier this year with the release of Incredibles 2 as the quirky superhero family made a resounding return to the big screen. And now, fans can revisit the latest adventures of the ‘Incredibles’ when the movie will be available on Blu-Ray, DVD and for digital download.
Brad Bird’s latest offering did generate an overwhelming frenzy at the time of the release, and that translated into a resounding success at the box-office when the movie went on to garner $1.17 billion in worldwide collections, almost twice as much as it’s prequel accrued in 2005.
Incredibles 2 was all about parenthood, with Bob Parr looking after the kids as Elastigirl aka Mrs.Incredible, goes on a superhero mission to save the world and attains glamorous status for her heroics. However, the family’s youngest member Jack-Jack was the cynosure of most of the proceedings as we come to fathom some of the munchkin’s hidden powers whilst there was a new sinister shadow lurking that eventually brought the family closer.
If you’re still having troubles shaking off the jitters, then you don’t have to anymore. Come 6 November 2018, the shenanigans go digital as the movie would be releasing in multiple formats including Digital 4K Ultra HD, HD and SD. Fans can also choose from 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Copy; a Multi-Screen edition – Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Copy; as well as a single DVD. Additionally, the digital SD/HD Blu-Ray and DVD versions of the films are designed to suffice for photosensitive viewers too.


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Walmart to open in Deerfield Beach on Friday
Deerfield Beach's first Walmart Neighborhood Market is set to open this Friday among a gathering of local officials, community organizations and residents.
The 57,000-square-foot grocery store will celebrate the grand opening with a ribbon cutting at 7 a.m. at 1101 S. Military Trail in Deerfield Beach on May 24.
The new location is part of Walmart's (NYSE: WMT) expansion plan for the tri-country region. Last year the company planned to build or expand 14 new stores in South Florida over the next two years. Some are to be supercenters, while others will be the smaller Neighborhood Markets, which only houses the company's grocery section.
Deerfield Beach's Neighborhood Market will employ 90 people, according to a news release.
The new store, which will open immediately after the ribbon cutting, is tailored to the community by offering local favorites, including dry kosher goods, fresh and frozen kosher meat and deli kosher. It also features fresh-baked breads, a self-serve deli and bakery.
Shares of Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart were down 38 cents, or 0.49 percent, to $77.01 in Wednesday afternoon trading.
Shaun Bevan is the digital producer for the South Florida Business Journal.
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Mother 'made $30,000 a month by switching bar codes on children's toys, buying them at cheaper price and selling them on eBay for huge profits'
- Barbara Aqueveque 'hit three to four stores a day for up to 18 months'
- Made '$1,000 a day selling cut-price items through her store on eBay'
- Toys included Star Wars Lego kits normally priced between $100 and $150
- Arrested after she was allegedly caught on CCTV pulling off scam
- Charged with grand theft, organised fraud and dealing in stolen property
Barbara Aqueveque (pictured) has been accused of a label-switching scam which saw her buy expensive children's toys for a fraction of the price and then selling them for huge profits on eBay
A mother has been accused of making up to $30,000 a month in a label-switching scam which enabled her to buy hundreds of children's toys at a fraction of the price.
Barbara Aqueveque allegedly swapped the UPC bar codes of expensive products for cheaper ones so the wrong price would register at the check-out.
She then sold her ill-gotten gains on eBay for huge profits.
Police in Lauderhill, Florida, believe the 34-year-old pulled off the con for up to 18 months, hitting three to four Target or Walmart stores a day.
She would invest about $80 each day to buy the items, but would make around $1,000 selling them online.
Lauderhill Police Detective Alex Iwaskewycz said: 'She had a store on eBay and then the funds would be transferred through PayPal and then directly into her checking account.
'She used the same debit card in every transaction she completed in all the Targets, and as you can see, every item is $6.99.'
Iwaskewycz told 7News there were some months when she had $30,000 entering her account.
was allegedly caught on surveillance camera placing a bar code over the
original label of an item in the Target store at the Sawgrass Mills
Mall in April.
Scroll down for video
'Caught in the act': Police say this surveillance footage shows Aqueveque switching the bar code on an expensive toy for one with a far cheaper price
Prolific: It is alleged that Aqueveque had been running the scam for up to 18 months, targeting three or four stores every day
Duped: When Aqueveque gets to the checkout, the scanner registers the wrong bar code and she is able to walk off with the toy for a fraction of the cost
She was then seen buying the item at the checkout, where the scanner registers the wrong bar code and she is able to walk off with the toy for the reduced price.
In one instance, her son tries to buy something he wanted, but she refuses as it did not have an altered label.
of the toys included original Lego kits, Star Wars Millennium Falcon
Lego kits and Queen Anne's Revenge Lego kits, all of which retail
between $100 to $150 each, Iwaskewycz said.
Police say the 34-year-old mother used the same debit card in almost every transaction she completed
Aqueveque's debit card statement, which shows that some toys cost her just a few pounds
Detectives found dozens of bags filled with toys inside Aqueveque's Sunrise home. 'Greed overcame her lack of common sense,' Iwaskewycz said.
She has been charged with grand theft, organized scheme to defraud and dealing in stolen property and has been released on $9,500 bond.
Question remain over what happened to the money as Aqueveque only had $36,000 in her bank account at the time of her arrest, officers said.
Caught out: Detectives found dozens of bags filled with toys inside Aqueveque's Sunrise home (above)
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GREAT BARRINGTON — Spectrum cable TV service is going 100 percent digital Tuesday in six South County towns.
And that means customers will need a digital receiver for any TV not connected to a cable box.
In a nationwide push to upgrade its network by 2019, Spectrum, a Charter Communications subsidiary, will encrypt its video transmissions starting Tuesday in the switch to a two-way, interactive digital service in Lee, Lenox, Great Barrington, Sheffield, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge.
Spectrum customers in Pittsfield and North Adams will see their service switch in early 2018.
The move has drawn a harsh response from the head of the Five Town Cable Advisory Committee, which represents Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Sheffield and Stockbridge, who said the upgrade is a corporate scheme to increase revenue by using encryption to hold customers hostage.
Chairwoman Linda Miller is focusing on the encryption aspect of the change, saying that cable transmissions already are digital and have been digital since 2009.
"What they are really doing is switching to encrypted digital signals," she wrote. "Though the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has said [Charter] may do this, it didn't say they must. Charter ... has opted to do this, saying the use of encryption is to fight theft of signal."
She added: "The problem is that we here in the Berkshires do not have any signal theft issues. So why should we be forced to combat a problem that we don't have, you may ask?"
The issue comes up for discussion Dec. 12, when, Miller said, Spectrum/Charter officials will be available for public comment at the Five Town Cable Advisory Committee's quarterly open meeting at Great Barrington Town Hall.
The session starts at 6:30 p.m.
Spectrum has been notifying customers of the change and plans to extend hours at its Lee store to help people in South County make the switch.
Charter/Spectrum spokesman Andrew Russell told The Eagle that most customers can get free digital receivers for one, two or five years, depending on the service they purchase. He said customers who want the additional boxes must pay after their free promotional time is up.
The cost is $5.99 per month for a customer with a Spectrum package and $11.75 per month for those on plans through the former Time Warner Cable.
According to Tom Rutledge, chairman and CEO of Charter, the move will improve picture quality, increase internet speeds, and pull in more high-definition and On Demand content.
Russell said the company has boosted internet speeds in the Berkshires this year.
Miller said she believes that the switch violates the five towns' franchise agreements with Charter/Spectrum, since those contracts state that the company "can implement technological developments if they can be done without adding a financial burden to subscribers."
Russell said the company is responding to its customers.
"This is about adding capacity to our network to enable the things our customers tell us they want, like faster internet speeds, more HD and On Demand movies, and shows and new features."
He called encryption "literally the last step of the process."
The FCC website says signal theft affects what a company like Charter can deliver.
"Encryption reduces service theft, which often degrades the quality of cable service received by paying subscribers," the agency said.
The FCC site also says encryption allows the company to remotely activate or deactivate service, and the customer doesn't have to wait for a technician to come.
Heather Bellow can be reached email@example.com, at @BE_hbellow on Twitter and 413-329-6871.


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Store wins Southwold residents' approval
PUBLISHED: 20:45 03 June 2011
SUPERMARKET giant Tesco says the public reaction to its plans for a new store in Southwold is one of the most positive it has ever had.
The company sent 1,100 letters to residents in the town asking for views on its proposal to open a new Tesco Express store at the former Co-op site in Queen Street.
Letters were sent to all homes close to the site, asking people if they would welcome the store. Tesco said that of 155 respondents, 144 (93pc) were in favour.
Tesco spokesman Carol Leslie said: “We are absolutely delighted with the results. I think this is the best response we have ever had from local people. People have really got behind us on our proposals and the feedback has been fantastic.It is evident people really need a food store here.
“Southwold is a lovely town with lots of good quality independent traders. We know from speaking to local people that there is a strong sense of pride and loyalty to these shops. Our aim is to complement existing shops and continue to provide the variety, choice and service the town is renowned for.”
Plans have been submitted to the council for the store, which is smaller than larger Tesco supermarkets and proposes to stock a “broad but carefully selected range of essential products”.
Guy Mitchell, chairman of Southwold’s Chamber of Trade, said: “We are not against having a second supermarket in the town and we are pleased not to be facing the threat of an out-of-town development.
“We believe it is up to the consumer to shop sensibly and continue to support local industry.”


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She states these specific different analysis means allow the woman professionals observe how participants respond to the system-generated cues of online dating website, and whether or not they faith the internet sites’ ideas
Today, inside your, everyone use innovation to help them generate conclusion. Which restaurants to consume at, which shops to look at, and which brand names to purchase. In 2015, the web referral business is thriving and businesses like Yelp and Angie’s List have created a complete field considering some people’s desire to do their unique homework before you make daily personal or financial responsibilities. So it will come as no real surprise more and a lot more individuals are embracing technologies to assist them making intimate choices and.
Dr. Stephanie Tong, associate professor of communication studies at Wayne county, has become learning the organization between passionate relationship and computer-mediated communication for more than a year. She along with her group lately received a three-year give from the nationwide technology Foundation in September to carry on the girl investigation.


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E! News reports that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are officially engaged. Kanye, who just kicked off his Yeezus tour, rented out the AT&T Park in San Francisco to pop the question as a birthday surprise. Awww.
The new parents were recently seen hopping around Paris Fashion Week together. No doubt there was a major ring involved—stay tuned for more details.


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After years of sporadic interest, technology startups are embracing the practice of setting aside company stock before initial public offerings to endow new charitable ventures.
Tech entrepreneurs say they hope to place corporate giving, once a personal matter for executives or a peripheral project for shoring up community goodwill, at the heart of budding companies.
Venture-capital firms, once skeptical of mixing business with charity, are also testing the waters by adding philanthropic startups to their portfolios and earmarking their own equity in startups for charitable purposes. Just this month, for example, Fyrfly pledged to start a new foundation — believed to be a first for a venture-capital firm.
The momentum is such that charity set-asides could soon become the new normal, according to some philanthropists, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs in the tech world. What remains unclear is exactly how they will play out for the nonprofit world and the populations they serve.
After all, "if the business doesn’t materialize, the money doesn’t materialize," says Seth Levine, managing director at Foundry Group, a venture-capital firm.
If tech stock prices soar, it could mean a windfall. With $47.2 billion in venture capital invested in the first three quarters of 2015, according to the MoneyTree report, nonprofits could benefit significantly if they capture even a small fraction of those resources.
eBay Blazes a Trail
The equity set-aside movement started in 1998, the year eBay’s founders created the company’s eponymous foundation using stock reserved from before eBay went public.
The concept spread from there, according to Silicon Valley philanthropist Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen. Marc Benioff set aside 1 percent of the equity of his cloud-computing company, Salesforce.com, in 1999 to start the Salesforce foundation. And Mr. Benioff’s move helped guide Google’s 2004 decision to set aside 3 million shares of stock, worth more than $900 million, to support its for-profit charitable arm, Google.org, Ms. Arrillaga-Andreessen says.
Today, nearly 300 companies have pledged equity through Pledge 1%, a movement to encourage business leaders to build charity into the structure of their companies. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation is working with 20 companies that have agreements to donate equity or closely held stock to charitable vehicles.
The idea has caught on outside of Silicon Valley, too — sometimes in a big way.
In 2014, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced a 2 percent set-aside of the company’s pre-IPO shares — an amount worth billions of dollars — to support two charitable trusts that will benefit the environment, education, medicine, and culture in China.
Also last year, Australian software vendor Atlassian, valued at more than $3 billion, set aside 1 percent of its shares to create the Atlassian Foundation. The company, which co-founded Pledge 1%, filed its intent to go public in November.
And in December 2014, Seattle-based software company Tableau used shares it had set aside before going public in May 2013 to establish a donor-advised fund — called the Tableau Foundation — at the Seattle Foundation, worth more than $20 million.
"It is an obvious future to me that in 10 years the majority of startups will adopt a program like this," says John Hering, co-founder and executive chairman of mobile-security firm Lookout.
The company, still privately held and valued at around $1 billion, recently pledged to set aside equity for charity through Pledge 1%.
"Once critical mass has taken hold, this is going to become the default," Mr. Hering says.
Making a Commitment
By setting aside equity to endow new charitable institutions, company leaders hope to signal a long-term commitment to corporate philanthropy. Several have gone the route of opening corporate donor-advised funds at community foundations.
It’s an attractive option for startups, according to Fidelma McGinn, vice president for philanthropic services at Seattle Foundation. It saves time, affords more flexibility, doesn’t have annual payout requirements, and costs less in taxes.
It also allows them to outsource overhead expenses and administrative duties to community-foundation professionals. That’s important in part because startups prefer their own employees, many of whom lack philanthropy experience, to run the new giving vehicles, sometimes as volunteers, says Suzanne DiBianca, co-founder and president of Salesforce's foundation.
It is a calculated move: Startups are betting that engaging employees directly in corporate giving will help them attract and retain talent.
For example, Tableau pays an employee, Neal Myrick, to oversee its donor-advised fund. He works with 15 other employees who volunteer their time to help guide Tableau’s grant making.
Mr. Myrick says staff members seem to appreciate the opportunities they have to determine how the company uses its equity fund. During the presentations he makes to all classes of new hires, "one or more people will raise a hand and say one of the reasons they picked Tableau over other organizations is they feel we’re having a positive impact in the world," he says.
Appealing to Customers
In addition to scoring talent, start-up leaders say building philanthropy into their companies could attract consumers who support businesses they view as agents of positive social change.
For this kind of cause marketing to work, customers must perceive it as authentic, says Deborah Small, a marketing and psychology professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Although that term is difficult to define, she says, it means that consumers look for an alignment between the brand and its charitable giving.
However, there’s a danger for companies if their charitable activities appear to be insincere or, worse, self-serving.
"Consumers quickly become cynical if there’s anything that smells of hypocrisy," Ms. Small says.
Consumers also seem to favor brands that devise creative ways to give back, she adds: "If you’re a copycat, that doesn’t seem very authentic."
That may be an obstacle to the proliferation of IPO set-asides.
"I think it will be a requirement for doing business, but businesses will have to use their creativity to find out ways to make it not just a requirement but to make it competitively advantageous," Ms. Small says.
Persuading Venture Capitalists
There are signs that another obstacle — persuading investors to support the practice — is eroding. Proponents report that attitudes among venture capitalists are beginning to shift as they "recognize there’s actually a return from a business perspective" in setting aside equity for charity, Mr. Levine says. His venture-capital firm, Foundry Group, gives money raised when it exits investments through the Pledge 1% program to the Community Foundation of Boulder County’s general fund.
Still, skepticism endures. Swaying doubting investors will require evidence that IPO set-asides improve company success, and measuring that may prove difficult. Researchers say it’s nearly impossible to prove that an individual start-up that has set aside equity is doing better or worse for having made that decision, although it may be possible to assess the sector as a whole once enough companies have done it.
And movement leaders say they’re still puzzling over how to collect and measure evidence of employee engagement and customer approval. Pledge 1% asks participants to report the effects of their charitable programs.
There’s little experimental evidence about whether people actually prefer to work at philanthropic companies, says John List, economics professor at the University of Chicago. He’s testing the question by running a large-scale field experiment using job ads on Craig’s List; results should arrive in the spring.
Mr. Myrick says Tableau can measure employee engagement by checking how many staff members use the company’s online portal for logging personal volunteer hours. So far, 26 percent do.
But the company is not measuring the level of influence the foundation has over customer purchasing decisions, he says. Although he acknowledged that corporate foundations "have to return value to the company in some way or another," he doesn’t want that mind-set to direct the foundation’s work.
"Our focus on a foundation is on the social impact," Mr. Myrick says. "Any benefits to the company we see as collateral benefits, not part of the primary decision-making process. We don’t want to put them in the driver seat."
Despite the doubters, start-up leaders and their venture-capital allies are forging ahead. Ms. DiBianca says it’s her dream that companies of the future won’t think twice before setting aside equity for charity. She wants the number of companies signing up through Pledge 1% to double.
"People are learning that this is how you build a great company today," she says. "The new normal is our big vision."
And proponents have one more rationale for setting aside equity for corporate giving, Mr. Hering says: "It’s also just the right thing to do."
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Suzanne DiBianca as co-founder and executive director of Salesforce's foundation. She is co-founder and president.


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A new StretchLab franchise is opening in East Northport.
The assisted-stretching studio will open Monday, May 9 at 4097 Jericho Turnpike. It will be the chain’s third Long Island location, following others in New Hyde Park and Woodbury.
The 1,280-square-foot StretchLab in East Northport is owned by franchisee James Immordino.
The studio offers a variety of one-on-one personalized stretching services including a 25-minute stretch that concentrates on the client’s current stretching needs, as well as a 50-minute head-to-toe deep stretch that addresses all major muscle groups, according to a company statement. Monthly memberships are available for four or eight visits per month, including drop-in stretches.
“From the clientele to the flexologists, everyone who walks through the door has a different background and specific goal which makes the studio so unique and diverse,” Immordino said in the statement. “I am excited to introduce the community to all the benefits StretchLab offers from a health and lifestyle perspective that will last a lifetime.”
The all-in cost to own a StretchLab franchise ranges from $157,800 to $297,600.
Founded in 2015, StretchLab now has more than 300 locations in 37 states, according to its website. The concept is one of several under the umbrella of Xponential Fitness, an Irvine, Calif.-based franchisor which has 10 boutique brands in its portfolio, including Stretch Lab, Club Pilates, AKT, Yoga Six, Rumble, Pure Barre, Cyclebar, Row House and others.
Joanne Argenti and Daniel Glazer of RIPCO Real Estate represented StretchLab in the East Northport lease.
The fourth Long Island location of 24 Hour Fitness will open in East Northport later this month.
The San Ramon, Calif.-based fitness company, which has more than 440 locations nationwide, will open a 39,098-square-foot gym at 4000 Jericho Tpke., Suite 1190, adjacent to the AMC Dine-In Huntington Square 12 movie theater that opened in November. The fitness center and the theater share a site formerly occupied by a Sears department store.
With other Long Island locations in Valley Stream, Bay Shore and Massapequa, 24 Hour Fitness lists as a chief selling point its personalized approach to helping members achieve their health and wellness goals. Each member receives a complimentary fit plan, including a fitness assessment with a trained professional, and can use a personalized app that features hundreds of digital workouts.
The gym offers a full spectrum of classes and state-of-the-art equipment, plus a practice basketball court, lap pool, whirlpool and sauna.
A grand opening celebration, which will be held Feb. 29 form 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., will include tours, prizes and group training demonstrations.
Kathryn Gawrych is such a big fan of the American Ninja Warrior television series that she’s invested her life savings into a franchise modeled after the popular NBC sports/entertainment show.
The 26-year-old Massapequa native and former accountant for PwC opens her Real Life Ninja Academy in Freeport this weekend, featuring a guest appearance by three-time American Ninja Warrior champion Drew Drechsel, who is also a co-founder and partner in the Connecticut-based franchise concept.
The athletic Gawrych, who played Division I volleyball for the University of Hartford, where she earned a Masters degree in accounting in 2016, had longed dreamed of having her own business. She shopped several fitness-related franchises before deciding to take the plunge with the fledgling Real Life Ninja Academy, making the choice largely because of her affinity and respect for Drechsel.
“I’ve been a fan of his and a fan of the show,” Gawrych told LIBN. “And he designs the curriculum.”
Former college gymnast Thomas Alberti is Drechsel’s partner in the Real Life Ninja Academy company. Alberti, a gymnastics coach and trainer who owns New Era Gymnastics in Hamden, Conn., has 30 years experience in the gymnastics industry, which is another reason Gawrych has faith in the firm’s leadership.
For those unfamiliar with the American Ninja TV show, the series pits contestants against physical challenges through a grueling obstacle course that demands climbing, jumping and other strength and speed-related skills.
Real Life Ninja Academy coaches its students through similar rigors. Features of the Freeport location include a Spider Climb, where the participant traverses between the widening gaps of two walls; a single 30-foot wide rock wall; a flexible cargo net; and the Warped Wall, fashioned after the final obstacle for contestants in the TV show.
The 9,333-square-foot academy in Freeport is carved out of a 50,000-square-foot, multi-tenant industrial building at 272 Buffalo Ave. It’s the first location on Long Island for the brand that has its three initial academies in Connecticut. Gawrych plans to open several more Long Island locations within the next five years.
Christopher Pesce and Steven Bezmen of Douglas Elliman Commercial brokered the lease for the Freeport space and are currently seeking another for Gawrych in Suffolk County.
The all-in cost to open a Real Life Ninja Academy ranges from $150,000 to $300,000, depending on location and size.
Gawrych, who made some money through savvy investing in the stock market over the last few years, used those savings and a Small Business Administration loan secured with the help of the New York Business Development Corporation, to buy the franchise and build the space.
“I would not be able to do this without the guidance and financial assistance from NYBDC,” she said.
Jim Goldrick, regional president for Long Island and New York City for NYBDC, said his firm considers several factors when weighing a loan application, such as the amount of equity the owner is investing, leverage, cash flow, management ability and industry risks.
“In this particular case, Kathryn had a strong business plan with direct support of the franchisor that helped her create realistic expectations,” Goldrick said via email. “She demonstrated that she understood the market, her competitors and her finances. Additionally, she had already invested a significant amount of her own resources into the project. Kathryn is bringing a unique service to her community and one that she is certainly passionate about. For these reasons we are confident that Real Life Ninja Academy will be a success.”
Children between the ages of 5 and 15 are the target customers for the academy, though it also offers classes for older teens and adults at $30 each. A monthly rate of $75 includes up to four classes.
Real Life Ninja Academy employs coaches that are trained and certified by Drechsel. One coach instructs up to seven kids in each class.
A grand opening for the Freeport academy will be held Sunday, Jan. 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. for children and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for older teens and adults. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 10.
“I can’t wait for people to see it,” Gawrych said. “Everything is brand new.”
Shares of exercise bike company Peloton were under pressure Tuesday from a scathing research report that comes on the heels of blowback from its widely mocked ad.
Andrew Left of Citron Research is well known on Wall Street for targeting companies he thinks have flawed business models and placing bets that their stocks will fall. He’s now taking aim at New York-based Peloton Interactive Inc.
He put a price target of $5 on the stock Tuesday. That would be an 86% drop from where it stood at the close of trading Monday. Peloton went public in September at $29 a share.
The stock was down $2.45, or 7%, at $32.32 in afternoon trading Tuesday.
The shares took a hit last week after Peloton aired an ad in which a husband gifts one of its internet-connected stationary bikes to his wife for the holidays. Critics called the ad sexist and tone deaf.
Peloton did not immediate respond to a request for comment on the Citron Research report.
In his report, Left says Peloton has similarities to GoPro, a company that came in hot with a must-have product but fizzled once competition ramped up.
Among other issues, Peloton hasn’t been able to bring successful new products to market, Left says.
“The only product other than the bike that Peloton has launched, the treadmill, has not lived up to anyone’s expectations and the company has missed the mass movement to mirrored interactive home gyms and digital weight,” he said.
The 10th Long Island location of Blink Fitness is opening Friday, at 450 Main St. in Farmingdale.
The 13,000-square-foot space, formerly occupied by a Waldbaums, is located in a shopping center where Main Street meets Fulton Street/Route 109 and is adjacent to Goldfish Swim School and CVS Pharmacy.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran is expected to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon Friday, and the gym will open to the public at 1 p.m. A grand opening event will be held there on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Blink’s motto is “Mood Above Muscle.” The brand’s gyms are brightly lit and feature colors that the company says are scientifically proven to lift moods, and customers are greeted and encouraged by employees who are trained to be “mood lifters.”
Memberships start at $15 per month.
The Farmingdale Blink is owned by franchisee Allen Pinero, who opened the first-ever franchise location of Blink Fitness in Lindenhurst last year. The no-frills fitness concept, which began in January 2011 with three corporate-owned gyms in Manhattan, Paramus, N.J. and Yonkers, went on to open nearly 70 corporate-owned locations, including eight in Nassau and Suffolk counties, before offering its concept as a franchise.
To introduce Blink to the Farmingdale community, Pinero is donating 30 memberships to local organizations, including the Farmingdale Council of PTAs and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention-Long Island Chapter.
Besides Farmingdale, Blink’s other Long Island locations are in Baldwin, Brentwood, Hicksville, Islandia, Lindenhurst, Melville, Selden, Valley Stream and West Islip.
A record number of fitness centers have opened on Long Island in recent years. With so many treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical machines seeing heavy use, someone has to fix the equipment when it breaks down.
Fitness Machine Technicians, a fitness repair franchise based in Malvern, Penn., recently entered the Long Island market. The Long Island location is owned by David Block, who will operate the franchise out of his Dix Hills home. Block, who had a car wrapped with Fitness Machine Technicians branding, will send technicians to service clients throughout Nassau and Suffolk.
The franchise company, which has locations in 16 states, offers repair and maintenance services on a variety of exercise equipment, on either a contract or non-contract basis, to not only health clubs, but also hotels, condo complexes, corporations, universities and residences.
Block said he saw a need in the local marketplace for equipment servicing.
“As a gym-goer and elliptical owner, working out is a part of my daily routine,” he said in a statement. “When equipment goes down, it can be hard to find a reliable source to fix such specialized machines.”
Block’s background is in advertising and sports marketing. He has worked for Turner Broadcasting, NASCAR and AT&T Wireless, and, most recently, he co-ran a summer camp in Upstate New York with his wife.
Block said he plans to hire “several local technicians” to service the territory over the next two years.
“Long Island’s large population of both residential and commercial areas will keep our technicians busy,” he said.
Employers take note: When it comes to fighting obesity, Long Islanders could do better.
This is despite a recent study of obesity rates that revealed that New York ranked 45th in the nation.
Researchers from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that 25 percent of New York adults are obese, according to its “State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America” report released last week.
That New York State ranking might sound like a positive, especially given that many states, including Iowa and Oklahoma see their rates increasing to above 35 percent. Still, the report shows that in New York, one in four adults are obese.
New York’s obesity rate may be lower than the rest of the nation because of the dense population in the city, where walking is more prevalent.
But as Aurora Pryor, a physician who directs the Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center at Stony Brook Medicine, pointed out, “our population is much more sedentary than you would be in a city.”
The lower activity levels, combined with genetics and a number of influences – medication and diet, for example – contribute to obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Data from the CDC across the United States show that “we are getting heavier as a society,” Pryor said.
And that can prove burdensome for employers. It can mean shouldering increasing insurance rates and a loss of workplace productivity as employees grapple with chronic illnesses associated with obesity.
But the good news is that “businesses today are much more aware of the obesity issue and its implication in chronic diseases than just five years ago,” said Janine Logan, director of the Long Island Health Collaborative, a coalition of hospitals, county health departments, business and organizations that seeks to improve health in the region.
That increasing awareness comes at a time when health experts increasingly recommend customized programs that tend to encourage people to eat healthfully and increase their physical activity.
“At mid-size and large businesses some sort of wellness plan is offered – whether that is reimbursement for gym memberships, discounts for weight loss programs like Weight Watchers, or structured activities such as walking clubs,” Logan said.
These kinds of wellness initiatives can help, said Sam Rosin, a strategic projects manager at Alcott HR, a human-resources outsourcing services provider with offices in Farmingdale. But to achieve lasting results, those initiatives “need to be built into the culture if at all possible,” Rosin warned.
Some programs “tend to be short-term related step challenges for the next month, or weight-loss challenges,” he added. “It’s a nice gesture, but it doesn’t drive health habits.”
Rosin speaks with first hand knowledge about sustainable programs. Rosin, who lost 110 pounds, said tackling obesity can make a difference at the office “When workers are healthier and feel better, it does have an impact on productivity,” he said.
Mobile apps may offer a solution, and some are offered by health insurance providers, Rosin said. These apps can help people track what they eat and whether they are hydrating enough and getting enough exercise and more. They can offer a social aspect in which, for example, an employee on a weekend bike tour can share pictures with co-workers. For those seeking for healthy inspiration, if offers a “let’s work together” component and “brings the community together,” Rosin said. But they can also lead to privacy concerns, including over medical concerns, he said, and for employers can raise the question about how much they should know about employees.
Customized weight management
Many medical experts offer customized treatments, and the Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center at Stony Brook Medicine even offers a seminar online, which includes new procedures and technologies. Pryor said some organizations bring in the center for business seminars on weight-loss programs available, and private education, including classes led by a dietician.
And Northwell Health’s Center for Weight Management in Syosset, for instance, individualizes programs to fit patients’ needs, and hosts groups that are run by expert psychologists and nutritionists. And because Northwell’s program is medically supervised, those with multiple medical issues can count on further customized care.
NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola offers a medically supervised weight management program created by HMR Weight Management Services, which is a part of a Merck & Co. subsidiary. The program has a line of shakes, entrées and other items that people supplement as they learn to eat more fruits and vegetables and to make healthy food choices while increasing physical exercise. There’s support of a personal coach and medical supervision and if needed, medication is adjusted as those in the program lose weight.
“Successful weight loss is about creating changes around eating and physical activity that can be sustained over the long term,” Raymond Lau, an endocrinologist and medical director of the NYU Winthrop program, said in a statement.
Fruits and veggies
Diet, of course, plays a role. And Long Islanders may want to take note that as a whole, they are eating fewer fruits and vegetables compared with others in the state, according to a Long Island Health Collaborative analysis released last week. The study points out that for a healthy diet based on 2,000 calories a day, adults should eat two-and-half cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit daily.
High protein, low carb diets tend to bring about the best results, Pryor said. And people should avoid highly processed foods, she added.
Employers may want to stock vending machines with healthy options, and incorporate healthy menus in their cafeterias.
Still, employers should take care not to incorporate a “negative” environment. For example, Rosin said, swapping bagel Fridays with kale smoothies may not be well received.
Meanwhile, employees can plan to bring sneakers and get some steps in during lunch as way to incorporate exercise, with their doctor’s approval.
“Exercise is a critical component, even with [bariatric] surgery,” Pryor said. “It brings the best long-term results.”
Former Yankee Alex Rodriguez is part of a group opening a pop-up fitness center in the Hamptons for the summer.
TruFusion Hamptons, which expects to be open from May 25 through Labor Day weekend, will be located at 5 Windmill Lane, Suite 4 in Southampton.
TruFusion launched in 2013 in Las Vegas, where Rodriguez was a regular customer last year. In June, he became a major investor, equity partner and board member of the fitness company, which offers more than 65 workout varieties, including yoga, barre, Pilates, bootcamp, boxing, cycling, aerial, kettlebell and battle ropes, with heated and non-heated options.
TruFusion has 14 locations, mostly in the West, but is expanding to the East Coast. Rodriguez was instrumental in the opening of a TruFusion location in his hometown of Coral Gables, Fla. in March. The fitness company also announced plans to open a location in the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo in the fall.
“I’m so excited to be bringing the TruFusion experience out to the Hamptons this summer where my friends and New Yorkers can have the best quality classes right there in Southampton,” Rodriguez said in a statement, noting part of the strategy is to “give people a taste of what to expect before we launch in SoHo later this year.”
All classes are $30 and can be pre-booked online.
“Alex will be visiting and taking classes at the Hamptons location whenever he is in town,” a TruFusion spokesperson told LIBN.
Can exercising on an elliptical with your boss make you a better worker? How about doing pull-ups with one of your subordinates; will that make you a better manager?
These questions were asked, and answered, by the members of Local 97 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers with their management team at Nine Mile Nuclear Plants in upstate Oswego.
I recently got back from a business trip servicing these union nuclear professionals. While there, I had an opportunity to witness what they called a “wellness center.” A few years back, labor and management came up with this grand idea to create a committee comprised of three representatives from the union and three representatives from the company. The committee was charged with creating a fitness and recreation center for active employees, their dependents and retirees, on company property. The location was key; it must be convenient for the employees at this high-security, barbed-wired, armed-guard facility.
The company used some of its capital funds to build the facility but only if the union did some fundraising to purchase the equipment. Nine Mile agreed to match any funds the workforce raised. The results were outstanding. This wellness center is located directly across from one of New York’s most efficient nuclear power plants. It houses state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a steam room and televisions. It even has Zumba classes.
Most employees, both labor and management, use this facility either on their way to work or at the end of their shift. While getting their much needed exercise, bonds are made. Not just between union members but between labor and management. Wellness center users are able to talk about best practices, working conditions and job safety.
Getting workers and managers together in a sweaty gym is not as contentious as one would imagine. Jim Yeardon, a business representative with the union, said he has seen an improvement in labor-management relations since the creation of the center.
With contentious labor-management examples all around us, like those at Verizon, Cablevision, Wal-Mart and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, you can’t help but hear the horror stories of employees just absolutely hating their bosses. The workforce, both union and non, at this nuclear power plant has taught us that, with a little bit of faith, some capital funds and some community-building fundraising, working on exercising a healthy heart can lead to labor peace.
LaGrange is the head of UCOMM Communications, a labor-focused communications firm. He can be reached at [email protected]
Increasingly a staple in strip malls across Long Island, gyms and health clubs are taking space once the domain of retail stores. And, just as fitness continues to be a strong category in the retail arena, tenants are seeking – at times, even demanding – onsite fitness facilities in their office space, as well.
Last year, U.S. health club membership rose 5.3 percent to 52.9 million members, according to IHRSA, a nonprofit trade association representing more than 10,000 health and fitness facilities nationwide. More than 18 percent of Americans ages 6 and older belong to a health club, up 16 percent since 2008. In turn, the number of health clubs has been rising, as well. The United States had 32,150 fitness centers last year, up from 30,500 the previous year, according to the IHRSA report.
The surge in demand for fitness centers has been attributed to many factors, from greater awareness about health and obesity to the improving economy and a declining unemployment rate. Employers report reduced healthcare costs for employees who utilize the gym, as well as improved morale, more focus and decreased use of sick time.
From a corporate perspective, health and fitness are major topics, both nationally and locally, according to Richard Karson, an executive vice president in the Melville office of commercial real estate firm CBRE.
“Corporations are now, more than ever, looking at the rising healthcare costs and the issues with obesity as they relates to their employees,” he said. “As a result, this is now playing a renewed role in their real estate requirements.”
While location will always be the most important factor in the decision-making process, Karson said, “we are seeing fitness and health playing a bigger role” in the process.
Of T. Weiss Realty Corp.’s four Melville properties, two feature onsite health clubs, according to Lauren Rachel Flanagan, director of marketing and public relations. Since 2011, membership at T. Weiss’ health clubs has increased 300 percent. Forty percent of companies in T. Weiss’ portfolio report at least one employee who attends a gym or health club, either onsite or offsite, she said.
“There are definitely some companies, particularly larger, national firms, that won’t consider buildings unless they have a health club inside or in close proximity to the building,” Flanagan said. In fact, many employees may belong to the onsite health club as well as another gym closer to their home, she said.
“They like the convenience [offered by an onsite health club] of being able to squeeze in a workout during lunch or immediately after work, if necessary,” Flanagan said.
Long Island is one of the strongest markets in the country for LA Fitness, according to Greg Carlin, senior vice president of CBRE’s Long Island retail services. Six months ago, a 55,000-square-foot LA Fitness opened in Garden City. Additionally, a new 130,000-square-foot, multi-level fitness center is currently under construction at 750 Zeckendorf Blvd. in Garden City and is set to open in the fall of 2015, Carlin said.
On Long Island, and nationwide, as commercial landlords have struggled to fill empty stores, they’ve increasingly embraced gyms as tenants. Traditionally, many landlords steered clear of gyms, in part due to the number of parking spaces they required. Today, however, landlords view gyms as traffic generators, Carlin said. For instance, Syosset’s Lifetime Fitness recently reached its maximum capacity and temporarily ceased accepting new members, he said. The average stay for a gym user is 45 minutes to an hour, three or four days a week, and the high turnover is seen as positive, he said.
“If you’re a grocery store owner, you totally want a hungry shopper,” Carlin said.
New York Sports Club in the village of Huntington abuts a municipal parking lot, which helps to alleviate parking concerns, Carlin said, adding, “It’s always interesting that people want to take as few steps as possible to get into the gym, even though they will run five miles on the treadmill once they’re inside.”
Gyms and health facilities generally seek high-traffic areas, such as downtowns or areas off major thoroughfares. In fact, “they generally look for the same things as grocery stores,” Carlin said.
Wayne Edwards, a partner at Uniondale-based Sahn Ward Coschignano & Baker, handles many leasing and zoning deals. Recently, he said he’s been inundated with work from food-oriented establishments, including delis, Chinese takeout restaurants, pizzerias, yogurt stores and donut shops, as well as service providers, like gyms, waxing and nail salons.
“That’s all I’m seeing right now,” he said. “People want to eat a donut and then go to the gym.”
Jennifer Ellwood, fitness director for HotRyde in Roslyn, leads classes in vigorous bike rides every day.
The routes are never the same twice, but every day Ellwood urges her fellow cyclists to turn right and turn left and warns them when a steep hill is approaching. She keeps a close eye as her followers tilt and roll along the curvy courses.
It’s all fairly standard as far as bike-riding goes, except for one thing: The cyclists never leave HotRyde’s Lumber Road facility.
Ellwood leads indoor cycling classes on what’s known as the RealRyder, a stationary bike that tilts from side to side, working more muscles by more accurately simulating a traditional ride.
“It’s the latest variation on indoor cycling,” Ellwood noted. “The movement on the bike gives you a more challenging ride. Your entire body’s engaged, not just your lower body, so it’s a harder, more effective workout.
“The biggest benefit is cardiovascular,” she added. “It does build muscle, but you’re not going to bulk up. Women won’t get huge legs from indoor cycling, but they’ll tone and strengthen muscles.”
Although stationary bikes have been standard fare at fitness centers for decades, the RealRyde represents an indoor cycling revolution. HotRyde, which is moving this summer to a higher-profile location in Greenvale’s Wheatley Plaza, is one of several Long Island fitness firms capitalizing on the better bike.
Facilities offering the RealRyders say the bike is not only better for exercise, but more entertaining, because if frees indoor cyclists from the tyranny of the truly stationary cycle.
“Because the bike moves, it takes stress and strain off the joints,” noted Michael Mannarino, co-owner of Dynamix Cycle & Pilates in Garden City. “With the RealRyder bikes, it’s ergonomically correct. The platform underneath you moves. It’s like you’re riding a real bike.”
There are now about 6,000 RealRyder cycles in homes and commercial facilities in 50 countries, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, which includes the high-tech bikes as part of its training regimen. The notion of adding motion to stationary bikes makes perfect sense, noted Jackie Mendes, spokeswoman for Santa Monica, Calif.-based RealRyder International, since “our bodies are meant to move.”
“Bikes are meant to move,” Mendes said. “The right movement has a lot of benefits. We burn more calories, challenge balance and coordination and incorporate the core musculature more than the traditional stationary bike.”
The RealRyder is part of a new generation of indoor bikes designed not to be entirely stationary. The ProForm, a stationary bike produced by Utah-based ICON Health & Fitness, lets cyclists pedal backward and forward and rise and lower as if riding up and down hills; California-based Relay Fitness Group’s Evo bike is specifically designed to feel unstable, wobbling as if the rider was pedaling along an actual road; Wisconsin-based Matrix Fitness created the MyRide indoor bike series using screens projecting images of outdoor scenery.
Earlier versions of the RealRyder also included screens with canned scenery, but “we found that the movement of the bike in conjunction with the screen was a lot of fun for some people, but too much all at once for others,” Ellwood noted.
The experience of riding a moving stationary bike may change from facility to facility and from machine to machine, but there’s at least one constant: Instructors like Ellwood are critical to breathing life into the fitness trend.
“It’s the music and the personality of the instructor – a motivating, personable instructor,” Ellwood noted. “We only hire people who interact with clients and are good coaches.”
One other constant: Don’t call indoor cycling “spinning,” a workout term trademarked by Venice, Calif.-based athletic equipment company Mad Dogg Athletics.
“Mad Dogg is very proactive at making sure only people that use their brand bike use that name,” Mannarino said. “If you don’t use a spinner bike, the ones they make, and they catch you using the name ‘spin’ in what you do, it’s a major headache.”
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