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Observers of an emerging startup ecosystem look for exits as a sign of maturity. That is because exits in the form of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) or IPOs give VCs a return on their investment. They can then launch new funds to invest in fresh startups. It completes the cycle of venture capital.
Indian tech IPOs are rare. So the approval given in September by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to ecommerce firm Infibeam to raise INR 4,500 million (US$68 million) breaks new ground. Rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal will be watching what kind of reception the public listing by an ecommerce firm receives. So far in India, we’ve only seen sky-high valuations and mega funding rounds, not blockbuster IPOs.
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Before Infibeam, listing and search services firm Justdial had a successful IPO in 2013 and travel firm MakeMyTrip listed on the Nasdaq in 2010. Info Edge, which runs portals like Naukri for jobs, Jeevansathi for matrimonial classifieds, and 99acres for real estate, had an IPO in 2006.
A changing ecosystem
But while an IPO may still be as rare as a comet in India, it’s been raining acquisitions. Industry body Nasscom had counted 65 acquisitions of startups by mid-October. But more than the number of deals, what’s significant is that they’re happening within the country, such as the acquisition of FreeCharge by Snapdeal and TaxiForSure by Ola. Well-funded Indian startups are thus contributing to building the ecosystem.
Most of all, VCs will be encouraged by the size of some of these exits. The FreeCharge acquisition has been pegged at US$400 million while that of TaxiForSure at US$200 million.
Amounts are rarely disclosed in mergers and acquisitions by unlisted companies, but one can get an idea from a startup’s funding and valuation. Here are 11 acquisitions that shook up the startup ecosystem in India last year. Some were made in desperation, while others were a consolidation of forces against big rivals. Either way, it kept the pot boiling and we can expect it to get frothier in 2016.
1. Snapdeal acquires FreeCharge
Ecommerce firm Snapdeal’s buyout of mobile top-up site FreeCharge for an estimated US$400 million in April is the biggest acquisition in India to date. Snapdeal has used acquisitions for what it terms a “string of pearls” strategy. FreeCharge, with its large user base, is the mobile payments pearl. In September, Snapdeal and FreeCharge launched a digital wallet to rival that of Alibaba-backed Paytm.
Snapdeal had a number of other major acquisitions last year, including loans platform RupeePower, mobile tech firm Martmobi, artisanal marketplace Shopo, mobile app designer Letsgomo, sports etailer eSportsbuy, gifts recommender Wishpicker, group-buying platform Grabbon, luxury fashion estore Exclusively, and Doozton, a niche fashion site for special occasions like weddings. Amidst this churn in Indian ecommerce was Chinese giant Alibaba picking up a stake in Snapdeal.
2. Ola acquires TaxiForSure
For a long time Ola and TaxiForSure vied to be India’s answer to Uber. Suddenly times changed. A rape case was lodged against an Uber driver in Delhi; many state governments rushed to ban on-demand taxi services; and all taxi apps landed in one hot soup. Investors got jittery, funding dried up for TaxiForSure, and it could not keep up with the discount war between Ola and Uber. It is in these circumstances that its rival Ola, which had a bigger war chest thanks to a timely funding round by SoftBank, bought out TaxiForSure for US$200 million.
Ola had raised US$210 million from SoftBank in October 2014 on top of the US$41.5 million it had raised earlier that year, taking its total funding in 2014 to over a quarter of a billion dollars.
At the time of acquisition, TaxiForSure, which got rolling a few months after Ola launched in January 2011, had 15,000 vehicles across 47 cities on its platform. Now in India it has become a straight fight between Uber and Ola, which recently entered a global tie up with Didi Kuaidi, GrabTaxi, and Lyft.
3. Twitter acquires ZipDial
A “missed call” is a hack by Indians to save on phone charges. The call is cut off before it’s picked, which acts as a signal – such as telling a friend that you’ve reached a location. Stanford University grad Valerie Wagoner, who was fascinated by this phenomenon when she visited India, made a mobile marketing business out of it.
Customers could send “missed calls” to brands which would respond and engage with the callers. Twitter found the ZipDial platform a perfect fit for its plans to grow its user base and engagement in emerging markets. ZipDial thus became Twitter’s first acquisition in India last January, reinforcing the attraction of India-specific innovations. Weeks after the acquisition, Twitter opened an R&D center in Bangalore in association with ZipDial, adding engineering teams to the sales staff it had in India until then.
4. Practo acquires Qikwell
A US$90 million series C investment round led by Tencent in August made Practo one of the best funded digital health apps in the world. The funding gave a push to Practo’s plans to broaden from a doctor discovery app to a comprehensive healthcare platform, connecting with hospitals, pharmacists, and fitness centers apart from doctors and their clinics. The Indian startup went on an acquisition spree after its big funding round to pursue this agenda quickly. Acquisitions of Fitho, Genii, and Insta Health were followed by the biggest of them, Qikwell, bringing together two ends of the spectrum of healthcare.
5. CarTrade acquires CarWale
The auto trade in India is huge and disorganized, and a number of auto portals have come up to tackle the whole spectrum from new cars to used ones. CarWale was one of the first of these. It launched in 2005 as a consumer-focused site for research, pricing, and marketplace information for car lovers and buyers.
German media conglomerate Axel Springer came in as an investor in 2008. Over the past couple of years, however, better-funded rivals like CarDekho and CarTrade surged ahead. Consolidation in this space was led by CarDekho’s acquisitions of Zigwheels and Gaadi. The acquisition of CarWale by CarTrade followed soon after, giving Axel Springer an exit.
6. PropTiger acquires Makaan
Real estate is another space where consolidation is under way. Just as CarWale got acquired by its younger rival CarTrade, property classifieds site Makaan, founded in 2007, gotswallowed up by Newscorp-backed PropTiger which is four years younger. Controversy-ridden Housing also had a string of acquisitions in the midst of firing its founder-CEO Rahul Yadav and hundreds of employees. Homebuy360, BigBHK, Indian Real Estate Forum, Plat, and Realty Business Intelligence were among the startups Housing acquired.
Late in the year, classifieds portal Quikr created a buzz by moving aggressively into the real estate vertical. Rumors flew on Indian media about Quikr’s acquisition of Housing’s main rival CommonFloor, but those have been unfounded so far. Quikr did announce an acquisition – but that was of another startup RealtyCompass. A downturn in the property market makes further consolidation likely, as weaker players find it harder to keep up.
7. Capillary acquires MartJack
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) saw a lot of action last year both in funding and acquisitions. Capillary Technologies, founded in India but now headquartered in Singapore, is among the best funded in this space with a global clientele for its cloud-based customer engagement software products. A US$45 million series C funding round led to a growth push. Its acquisition of eight-year-old Martjack was announced the same day as the funding. Freshdesk, another well-funded SaaS success story out of India in global markets, had a string of strategic acquisitions of other SaaS startups including Frilp, 1Click, and Konotor.
8. Grofers buys Spoonjoy, Townrush, and My Green Box
After Snapdeal, Ola, Housing, and Oyo Rooms, it was the turn of grocery delivery startup Grofers to pick up big bucks from Japan’s SoftBank. The US$120 million series C funding supported a string of acquisitions for inorganic growth, including Spoonjoy, Townrush, and My Green Box. Its major rival PepperTap had earlier acquired Jiffstore.
Another interesting acquisition in this space late in the year was that of MeraGrocer by the Spencer’s retail chain – interesting because most of the other acquisitions were made by other startups, whereas this one was by a large established retail chain.
9. Shadowfax acquires Pickingo
The broader logistics sector grew hot as well with the boom and spread of ecommerce. There was a ten-fold increase in funding in logistics startups compared to 2014. Inevitably, this led to consolidation as the big fish swallowed the smaller fish to grow faster. Shadowfax’s acquisition of Pickingo was a case in point. This was a distress sale by Pickingo which had been forced to shut shop as the bigger players like Delhivery and Roadrunnr cornered the market. Ecommerce leaders Flipkart and Snapdeal also made major strategic investments into BlackBuck and Gojavas respectively, without actually acquiring them.
10. MakeMyTrip buys MyGola
Last minute travel booking site MyGola, backed by investors like Helion Venture Partners, 500 Partners, and Blumberg Capital, had several pivots before its acquisition by the Nasdaq-listed MakeMyTrip – a pioneer among Indian travel booking sites. Last year, MakeMyTrip launched an “innovation fund” to invest in travel startups. The acquisition came out of this fund. Travel tech saw a three-fold increase in funding to nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in 2015.
11. Mahindra Group acquires Babyoye
Industrial conglomerate Mahindra Group bought four-year-old babycare products marketplace BabyOye, which had raised US$14.5 million in funding from Tiger Global, Accel Partners, and Helion Venture Partners. Mahindra had an offline chain of baby product stores called Mom & Me, which were merged with the online marketplace Babyoye. This acquisition, like Spencer’s retail chain buying MeraGrocer, held out possibilities of publicly listed Indian companies getting more into startup acquisitions to give a boost to their digital innovations.
While the number of acquisitions and their size are both going up in India, investors will be looking for more IPOs of startups and acquisitions by publicly listed companies in the year ahead. So far, they’ve depended mostly on acquisitions of startups by other startups. Returns have also come from late stage investors buying out the stakes of existing investors. It’s still a far cry from the startup investment scene in the US or China; but then Rome wasn’t built in a day. Investors seem gung ho on India, judging by the nearly US$8 billion they poured into Indian startups last year.
Image by Dennis Jarvis via flickr.


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Thanksgiving conjures all sorts of images deeply entwined with the American identity, even if across this vast and diverse country they differ from the holiday's founding lore. But when it comes to the traditional spirit of Thanksgiving, New Orleans is perhaps more in tune than usual this year.
The reason is food — that great cross-cultural medium for holiday celebrations — and in particular our seafood. I suspect New Orleanians will be eating more Gulf seafood this holiday season, and giving thanks that we can.
- Photo by Cheryl Gerber
- Customers buy local shrimp at the Westwego seafood market.
It wasn't long ago that some local cooks frantically crammed their freezers with shrimp or made batches of seafood stock they hoped to stretch from here to evermore, fearing oil from BP's damaged Macondo well could change Gulf seafood as we knew it. No one knows the full impact of the oil disaster yet, and we'll be measuring and monitoring the outcome for years. But seven months after the blowout, there's cause for relief in the simple fact that we can buy local shrimp for mirliton casseroles, make crab cakes with local product and, yes, even though their supply remains tenuous, we can get local oysters for oyster dressings.
Supply is only one part of the equation, however. For our seafood industry to endure, there must be demand for it. Some would-be travelers believed New Orleans remained flooded for years after Hurricane Katrina, despite any measure of logic or tourism marketing efforts. In the same way, it seems inevitable that some will eschew Gulf seafood despite the testing backing up the industry's assurances of safety.
That's why it's important for people who care about local seafood — and its role in our economy and our culture — to support its underpinnings. This means the people who earn their livings bringing it to our plates and projecting its image in the marketplace.
Efforts are underway at both official and grassroots levels to give a boost. The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau and local chefs have been hosting big-name culinary professionals from other cities since the spill, introducing them to local fishermen and seafood suppliers, taking them fishing in the Gulf and cooking their catches together. It's all in the hopes that these restaurant industry heavies will be stirred by the quality and heritage of this bounty and share that excitement back home.
Another campaign underway is called Dine America 2010 (see details in Food News), which invites restaurants across the country to promote Gulf seafood on special menus served on Dec. 1. Susan Nash of the New Orleans marketing firm Culinary Strategies conceived the event as a national night of solidarity for our seafood and a chance for chefs to demonstrate their confidence in its goodness.
Of course, the damage BP caused to our seafood industry can't be repaired overnight. But such efforts will help, and it seems Thanksgiving brings another opportunity to further the cause in our homes. Ensuring that local seafood has a place on the New Orleans holiday table this year is a chance to lend our support and add a fresh layer of meaning to our own holiday observance. After all, those traditional American images of Thanksgiving focus on the harvest, and today we can give thanks to many that there is a Gulf seafood harvest at all.

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MLBA6: December / January 2009
State-of-the-art technology, skilled management key to Betagro's success
In the face of stiff market competition and the ailing world economy, one food industry giant continuous to move forward - Betagro, a recognized industry leader for more than 40 years. The never ending quest for new opportunities, and the employment of technical management skills and new technology in its operations - these help spur the company ahead.
Last year, the dangerous signs of the world economy plunges many businesses into insecurity. But, the Betagro Group proved that it can turn crisis into opportunity. The latest idea shows that TPm (Total Productivity Management) can lay the foundation for a more sustainable business for Betagro. Meanwhile, the company has an investment of around THB2,500 million to open two new factories. Betagro profits are expected to grow by 15 percent or around THB34,500 million this year.
"The competition - globally and locally - remains very stiff," says Nopporn Vayuchote, executive vice president for Group Business Development of Betagro. "With no new support to grow from the world economy, the Betagro Group has to adjust its management direction to make for a strong system and better efficiency. As in the past, we have always brought new technical tools - such as Kaizen (The Process and Efficiency Adjustment Project) etc. - to develop the company."
Nichirei Corp to set up chicken-processing JV in Thailand
Japan's Nichirei Corp will set up a joint venture in Thailand to process chicken to meet rising global poultry meat demand.
The corporation's subsidiary Nichirei Foods Inc. and Thai chicken processor GFPT Public Co. will set up the new company - GFPT Nichirei (Thailand) Co. in December. The new company will have a capital of THB780 million, of which 51 percent will be put up by Nichirei Foods and the remaining 49 percent by GFPT Public.
The company will begin operations in early July 2010, with annual sales forecast at JPY20 billion.
SKOV enters supply agreement with Charoen Pokphand
SKOV A/S has entered into an agreement with Charoen Pokphand Thailand Co. (CP) for the supply of 28 complete broiler house ventilation systems in China.
The 28 complete Combi-Tunnel ventilation systems will be installed from December 2008 at a CP-owned farm. The farm is located near Changchung in the Jilin Province in northeast China and the area has temperature fluctuations ranging from â€“20 degree Celsius in winter season to +35 degree Celsius in summer season.
Combi-Tunnel ventilation is capable of handling such large temperature fluctuations while maintaining high productivity levels, compared to traditional tunnel ventilation systems that cool the chickens too much in cold periods, said Tommy H. Krogh, Asia poultry specialist of SKOV A/S.
Brazil's Marfrig completes OSI Group acquisition
Brazilian meat company Marfrig completed a US$680-million purchase of Europe's OSI Group assets in Brazil and Europe, Marfrig announced.
Marfrig is one of Brazil's top three beef exporters. The company effectively enters into the lucrative poultry markets in both Brazil and Europe with the OSI deal finalized.
"The investment reinforces our strategy â€“ to access international markets directly, and diversify and increase our product portfolio of animal proteins," said Ricardo Florence, investor relations director of Marfrig.
Florence said the deal allows Marfrig to expand into the processed-food markets, as well as open markets for Brazilian meats in Europe.
Tyson to sustain chicken production
Tyson Foods has lost US$118 million in the chicken business over the past year but the company said it would not reduce production.
Tyson chief executive Richard Bond said the demand supply balance is healthy, with fast-food companies expressing supply concerns and retail sales that are recovering. Bond added that the export market will rebound during the winter.
Tyson's losses in the chicken business have been offset by its beef and pork businesses, leading to a US$48-million fiscal fourth-quarter profit.
The above are excerpts, full versions are only available in MEAT & LIVESTOCK Business Asia. For subscriptions enquiries, e-mail email@example.com


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Mac Heads Downloading 1 Billion Apps Per Month, Apple Says
"In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world."
It's also par for the course for Apple, the company which arguably invented the whole app craze, or at least popularized it. Selling mobile electronic devices is no longer primarily about the hardware, but equally important is the downloadable software ecosystem. Content is the name of the game, and it's the reason why Amazon can sell it's Kindle Fire at a loss or break-even pricing, knowing that it will make a profit on music, movies, games, and other online sales tied to its device.
Apple's announcement comes a week after Google's Eric Chu, director of Android Developer Ecosystem, said that the Android Market eclipsed 10 billion app downloads and is growing at a rate of 1 bill app downloads every month.


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Marketing Briefing: ‘In times of uncertainty, we crave familiarity’: Why nostalgia marketing is everywhere right now
Nostalgia marketing is nothing new — brands, movie studios and fast-food chains, to name a few, have focused on the strategy for years — but a fresh wave of ad campaigns are bringing it back this fall. The move is strategic — showing people a time prior to COVID-19 can remind them of when they were potentially happier and thereby help brands to reconnect with them, according to agency execs.
A slew of brands adopted this strategy recently:
- Doja Cat remixed the Grease hit “You’re the One That I Want” for a Pepsi spot at the VMAs
- Tag Team retooled “Whoomp, There It Is” to be “Scoop, There It Is” for the Geico
- Guy Fieri helped bring back Chevy’s former jingle
- Goldfish (the snack brand partnered with popular ‘90s brand JNCO jeans for the launch of a new flavor earlier this month
With the continued pandemic due to the variants, marketers and agency execs expect nostalgia marketing to continue as people want to harken back to simpler times. That being said, agency execs caution overinvesting in this strategy lest a brand get lost in the fray.
“In times of uncertainty, we crave familiarity so this shift towards nostalgia-based marketing simply reflects the psychological needs most of us have right now: comfort and stability,” said Andrew Quay, vp and group strategy director at Deutsch NY. “It’s the same reason why we’ve seen a rise in consumer spending on comfort foods, home improvement supplies, pet adoption, and athleisure apparel over the last year. Brands that are shaping their creative around nostalgic references are injecting us with a dose of serotonin to appeal to that happy place that has been buried inside of us far too long.”
Kari Shimmel, chief strategy officer at Campbell Ewald echoed that sentiment. “The pandemic created the ‘quarantine reflection’ giving us the time to remember and be comforted by familiar things,” said Shimmel, adding that the shop was behind the classic Chevy ad reinvented by Fieri. “For marketers, it’s less about tapping into the simple and more about connecting to the familiar in a new way. For legacy brands, this helps reinforce their stability, while also framing their core values to be relevant for today.”
Finding ways to connect with older — and younger — generations could also be driving the latest wave of nostalgia marketing, according to agency execs. “By-gone pop culture references also resonate with much younger audiences as well thanks to new mediums like TikTok,” noted Martin’s vp and creative director, Justin Harris; the shop is behind the Geico nostalgia spots. “Everyone’s searching for fresh content and sometimes that means looking backwards, as generations past have done as well.”
Brands still have to be genuine, though, which will be easy to spot if they take on nostalgia as a marketing strategy just to fit in.
“Nostalgia works when it strikes a chord in culture and is in service of a good idea,” said Danny Price, associate creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi; the shop is behind the recent nostalgia-infused campaign from Goldfish. “But nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake probably won’t lead to a memorable campaign. People have so much nostalgia coming at them from TV and movie reboots and social media content that tapping into that trend could easily get lost in the mix. But when it feels connected to a product or brand, taps into a cultural trend and is specific enough to stand out from the nostalgia crowd, it can still be a powerful tool.”
3 Questions with Thumbtack’s head of marketing, Amanda Reierson
A lot is being asked of marketing leaders in 2021. As head of marketing, how do you show (or plan to show) the c-suite the importance of marketing strategy?
My goal at Thumbtack is to build a household brand that delivers a delightful customer experience — which will ultimately win homeowners’ loyalty. As the new head marketer, it’s important to show our c-suite the value of investing in the brand, building off of all of the great work that has been done to date, to positively impact the bottom line. I believe in this company, the people, and the mission and can’t wait to tell the world more about it. With that said, in an environment where every dollar counts, senior leaders need to see a strong business case around big initiatives on the marketing roadmap. Transparency and accountability are key with a clear learning agenda around measuring success as well as understanding near and long-term business impact.
With brand purpose becoming front and center again, how do you balance it with business goals?
I look at brand purpose and business goals as two sides of the same coin. When setting business objectives in marketing, you have to be relentless about prioritizing your customer’s needs and preferences as it relates to your larger purpose. If a marketer is successful at building a strong brand and has a product or service that solves a major pain point for customers, business results should naturally follow. Marketing leaders need to be aware of reaching the right customer with the right message at the right time and infusing a brand’s purpose into every touchpoint and interaction.
More than ever before, we now have the technology to experiment with different messaging and experiences at scale — driving correlations that will help us to prioritize the initiatives with the highest return. It’s all about creating that emotional connection that keeps customers coming back for more. We’ve seen brands do it well in digital shopping as well as other categories, and you will be hearing a lot more from Thumbtack — which makes life easier for homeowners and is the fastest-growing company in this space.
As the role of a marketing leader changes, what has become a primary responsibility?
The primary responsibility of a marketing leader — and one of the biggest challenges of marketing — is to really understand the customer mindset so that you can cut through the clutter and create authentic connections. Marketing leaders must balance brand awareness and customer experience with business growth strategy, and wear all of those hats well. Additionally, it’s crucial for a marketing leader to set a clear vision and roadmap for their team, where everyone understands how their contributions ladder up to both marketing goals and broader company objectives. An invested team is one of the most important ingredients to success. — Kimeko McCoy
By the numbers
As more marketers look for authentic ways to engage online shoppers, influencer marketing is becoming a key part of their strategy. As the space continues to grow and digital shopping habits change, studies show that e-commerce sites that leverage not just influencers, but user-generated content from people who actually use the product are more likely to land a sale. A new study from Stackla, a content marketing platform, reveals online shoppers are more likely to purchase after seeing reviews and other content produced by social media users. Find the breakdown below:
- 72% of people say photos and videos from real customers is the content they most want to see on e-commerce sites when making purchasing decisions
- 59% of respondents say content created by other consumers (i.e. UGC) is the most authentic type of content
- Only 10% of consumers say influencer content resonates as authentic — Kimeko McCoy
Quote of the week
“We see a world where publisher data replaces third-party data to a large extent, particularly at the premium end where we would typically operate with other larger publisher brands looking to drive mid to upper-funnel impacts for marketers.”
— Ben Walmsley, commercial director for publishing at News U.K., told news editor Seb Joseph of its effort to retool its approach to data for a world without the third-party cookie.
What we’ve covered
- Here’s how Peloton CMO Dara Treseder is guiding the brand to be more community-focused in its marketing.
- A data rule could change what health apps have access to, but privacy experts say the FTC maybe overreaching.
- Talent wars are changing the way some tech companies are paying employees.
More in Marketing
TikTok has officially launched its new e-commerce platform, TikTok Shop, earlier this month on August 1. Using the new e-commerce platform, brands and creators can sell products directly on the platform, potentially creating new revenue streams, and tap into the short-form video platform’s growing popularity.
‘The influencer industry can be really vile’: Confessions of an influencer marketer on the industry’s unfair hiring practices
While the influencer industry might sound exciting and like it’s full of opportunities, one marketer can vouch for the horrific scenarios that still take place behind the scenes.
After a tumultuous 12 months, marketers are getting a clear picture of how they really did during a time of true uncertainty. And, as it turns out, it wasn’t all that bad.
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Lotus "Project Eagle" confirmed
Lotus has confirmed that the GT (codenamed as the "Project Eagle") is indeed under production and will go on sale in 2009 at a price between £45,000 and £48,000. The Lotus GT will make its world debut next year at the London Motor Show.
The Lotus "Project Eagle" will be powered by a transverse mounted Toyota V6 engine and as an option it will feature a paddle-gearbox. Lotus also confirmed that a convertible version is in the work and will be revealed shortly after the coupe.
Also the company will release the new Esprit in 2010. Based around the same architecture as the GT, the Esprit will be more inline with the current Lotus philosophy of lightweight performance and focused dynamics, but also more spacious and capable of much higher top speeds than either an Elise, an Exige or a Europa.
The 2010 Esprit will have a price tag of £80,000 and will be a serious competition for the Porsche 911.


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Flagship Caddy Bows In New York With Three Engines, RWD Or AWD, And Tons Of Luxury
The Cadillac CT6 is finally making its official debut at the 2015 New York Auto Show as the flagship model in the luxury brand's lineup. The lightweight, aluminum-intensive sedan offers three engines, rear- or all-wheel drive and a host of opulent equipment inside to lure buyers.
Toyota unveils its Toyota Safety System and Lexus Safety System+, both centered around autonomous-braking capability, aimed at bringing advanced driver safety and convenience features way down in price.
Lincoln is making big news in New York this week with the introduction of the Continental Concept. But this is more than just a concept – it previews a new, fullsize sedan that will go into production next year.
Alpina is celebrating its 50th anniversary by giving more power to its customers. It is building limited-edition versions of the B5 Bi-Turbo and B6 Bi-Turbo that can reach 204 miles per hour thanks to a 592-horsepower twin-turbo V8.
We've decided to throw our collective brainpower at what may be the single most difficult question currently confounding the best minds our planet has to offer: What is the best used used luxury car you can buy for the price of a 2015 Nissan Versa?
Mercedes-Benz is recalling over 33,000 examples of the C-Class and CLS-Class for separate issues in the two luxury models. The CLS has a problem with its LED taillights, and there are two possible faults with the fuel delivery module in the C-Class.
Volkswagen says it is planning more aggressive, market-specific designs for the US, since the conservative look that has made the brand a huge seller in Europe and China hasn't had the same results here.


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California’s trailblazing law directing online services like Instagram and TikTok to protect children’s privacy is likely to complicate the path forward for a federal bill safeguarding consumer data. Photo: Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Progress on House lawmakers’ bipartisan federal privacy bill ( H.R. 8152 ) has stalled over concerns about preemption of state laws and enforcement-related issues. When combined, they would be similar in strength to California’s law, Golin said. California’s law is “a huge win and we need more,” kids advocacy group CommonSense founder Jim Steyer said. “This should be a big spur to several of the major federal bills,” he added in reference to committee-approved bills that would require safeguards to control minors’ experience on platforms ( S. 3663 ) and update an existing federal children’s privacy law (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA) to make the handling of kids’ data safer ( S. 1628 ). Markey’s bill would extend the law to children under 17, while California’s new law targets online services likely to be accessed by children under age 18. A spokesperson for Meta Platforms Inc. , which owns Instagram, said the company is still assessing how the law would impact its products and user experiences.
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Walmart Inc. is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter outcomes subsequent Tuesday, and buyers are absolutely questioning whether or not final month’s revenue warning was sufficient to clear the decks, so the low cost retail behemoth can get again to beating expectations.
An necessary query to be answered for buyers is how Walmart’s grocery enterprise, which is often a class that’s proof against adjustments in financial cycles, fared within the present high-inflation surroundings, and the way a lot shopper pockets share it took from different classes. One other is how a lot of a lift back-to-school procuring offered to the outcomes and for the full-year outlook.
grocery enterprise is by far its largest. Grocery income was $56.76 billion within the first quarter ended April 30, or 58.6% of whole income of $96.90 billion. To place that in perspective, that’s greater than grocery chain Kroger Co.’s
whole first-quarter income of $44.60 billion, and greater than double Goal Corp.’s
whole first-quarter income of $25.17 billion.
When the retailer lower its full-year outlook in late July, simply two months after reducing it when reporting first-quarter outcomes, the corporate mentioned the extra money its lower-income prospects had been spending on meals, which has decrease margins, was making them spend much less on larger margin common merchandise.
Consequently, it needed to implement extra markdowns to eliminate extra stock, notably in attire, which additionally damage margins.
Don’t miss: Walmart prospects are spending on meals, and never a lot else, as inflation takes a toll.
Walmart had missed first-quarter earnings-per-share expectations for the primary time in 5 quarters, and for simply the third time in 4 years, in line with FactSet information.
With the newest revenue warning, FactSet EPS consensus for the second-quarter, which ended July, fell to $1.62 from $1.81 on the finish of June, whereas the full-year EPS consensus dropped to $5.69 from $6.39.
There are some who consider the final outlook lower could have cleared the decks, and the worst could also be over, as the newest information confirmed that general shopper inflation paused in July and spending could have improved.
Walmart’s inventory 1.8% to shut Friday at $132.22. It has run up 5.3% amid a six-day win streak, and has climbed 8.4% because the revenue warning.
And as J.P. Morgan analyst Christopher Horvers wrote in a current be aware to shoppers: “Usually, tendencies decelerated in June, coinciding with peak gasoline costs and long-awaited summer time holidays, earlier than enhancing in July as costs got here down and back-to-school procuring began throughout the nation.”
As well as, Walmart Chief Govt Doug McMillon mentioned in July that whereas he was anticipating extra strain on common merchandise within the second half of the 12 months, he was “inspired” by the beginning of back-to-school procuring.
However whereas the Client Worth Index was unchanged in July, and year-over-year inflation price fell to eight.5% from 9.1% in June, grocery inflation accelerated. After rising 1.0% in June, food-at-home (off-premise) prices elevated 1.3% in July to carry the year-over-year inflation price to 13.1%.
Regardless of the enhancing general tendencies on the finish of Walmart’s quarter, inflation information creates some draw back threat for earnings and steering, given the influence of rising meals prices on the pockets share of its lower-income prospects.
J.P. Morgan’s Horvers, who has rated Walmart impartial for a minimum of the previous three years, mentioned there are two areas of administration commentary he’ll give attention to: 1) any broad shopper commentary, together with back-to-school tendencies and a couple of) the “phasing” of the second-half revenue outlook.
“[W]e see threat that [Walmart] will push down 3Q consensus and weight the 12 months extra towards 4Q when its stock is anticipated to be clear,” Horvers wrote.
The FactSet consensus for third-quarter EPS is $1.29, down from $1.55 on the finish of June.
Mainly, Walmart may present a downbeat third-quarter outlook whereas maintaining its full-year steering intact.
Walmart’s inventory has slumped 10.7% over the previous three months and has dropped 8.6% 12 months so far, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Common
has superior 4.9% over the previous three months however misplaced 7.1% this 12 months.
Different Q2 numbers to look at:
- Complete income: $150.99 billion, up 7.1% from a 12 months in the past (full-year income consensus of $597.07 billion implies 4.2% progress).
- Walmart U.S. income $104.42 billion.
- Sam’s Membership income $21.52 billion.
- Worldwide income $23.92 billion.
- General same-store gross sales progress of 6.1%.
- Walmart U.S. same-store gross sales up 5.9%.
- Sam’s Membership same-stores gross sales up 10.1%.


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A family run fish and chip shop that has been in business for 60 years has been named as one of the the top ten best chippies in the country. VC Jones of Whitstable has been serving up the nations favourite dish since 1962 from its premises on Harbour Street.
The business started with Viv and Joyce Jones in 1962, and generations later is still serving up freshly cooked fish and chips to the people of Whitstable. At the helm today is Matt Jones, grandson of Viv who is proud to still be using the original method of frying in beef dripping.
Matt said: "It was such a nice surprise to get that recognition in The Times, it was completely unexpected. Someone I know sent the article to me and that was the first I had heard of it. We just do what we have always done, so it is a heart-warming feeling when you get recognised in that way.
"Some people tell us that we should be offering alternatives to beef dripping, but I am not going to do that. We want to keep the traditional ways, and there are plenty of other places offering alternatives.
"It is the same with our interior, we like to keep the traditional feel and some people think that we should update it, but I think most people appreciate the nostalgic feeling they get when they visit us. They appreciate and enjoy that as much as they do our fish and chips.
Chris Haslam, of The Times, said in his story: "The illuminated sign hanging over Harbour Street promises “Fish Luncheons and Suppers”. It’s an invitation that’s been extended since 1962, from a shop pretty much unchanged since then. The same goes for the menu."
The only thing that has changed on the menu since its opening in 1962 is the addition of curry sauce, and more recently pollock, as an alternative to cod.
Matt said: "With the cost of everything increasing at the moment, and especially the price of cod, we wanted to add an alternative to the menu so we added pollock, and it is going really well. If I am honest I think personally I prefer it now."
The family managed to weather the storm throughout the pandemic by introducing home deliveries, and they have continued to offer that service to their customers.
"We thought we would continue the home delivery service as it really helped people out through the pandemic, and also we have some vulnerable customers who cannot always get into the shop so we want to be able to still be accessible to them too.
"We have been here so long now and not really changed a lot, we just keep doing what we do best. And we must be doing something right to have lasted all this long."
For more information you can visit their website HERE.
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The most recent
This increase has given rise to a band of super wealthy individuals, and according to research firm
This being said, the total number of Africans with at least
This 'supersized' increase in wealth accompanied by extravagant lifestyles has subsequently had a direct impact on luxury brands in
In the past, luxury brands have been fairly concentrated on the continent, with the likes of
The need to show
This strong growth can attribute itself back to the primary need of any emerging luxury market and that is the need to show - whether it's a new
It has taken some time, but 2014 will see African bling set to sing. The question to be asked is, which truly African luxury brands will step forward this year?
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EuroMillions players are currently offered a number of supplementary games, with the country in which the ticket holder resides dictating the additional draw they can enter. However, the introduction of a pan-European ‘EuroMillions Raffle’ could see these games shelved in favour of a fresh approach to the biggest lottery in Europe. Whether this new raffle would usher in a new era for EuroMillions fans remains unclear, but whatever the outcome there is almost certain to be excitement and speculation until an official announcement is made.
The new EuroMillions raffle could bring with it a number of changes and offer participants a different way to play. Ticket holders in the UK have seen several changes to how they play the game, from the introduction of Millionaire Maker (then known as Millionaire Raffle) in November 2009 to the launch of Mega Friday in October 2014. Likewise, French and Irish players have seen their chances of winning a prize increase, with the former’s addition of My Million in 2014 and the latter’s introduction of EuroMillions Plus in 2007. In fact, only Spanish players miss out when it comes to supplementary games, with Switzerland offering a Super-Star draw and Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Portugal providing variations of a game called Joker.
However, it’s possible that this latest proposal could spell the end for these popular games, resulting in a radical shake-up to breathe new life into EuroMillions, which is now in its 12th year of operation. Introducing a raffle that incorporates all nine participating nations would bring with it a feeling of uniformity, but some players may feel uneasy at the prospect of having to compete against a greater number of ticket holders for prizes. Nevertheless, such a scheme would certainly simplify matters, limiting the number of additional draws that would have to be made, allowing all players to essentially sing from the same hymn sheet.
It could be that the new raffle will bridge the divide, allowing players from the less successful nations the chance of winning larger prizes than are currently offered in their own supplementary games. It is undeniable that there is an imbalance amongst the participating countries, with fewer prize winners in Ireland and Austria, for example, than are found in France or Portugal. The latest addition could even be played alongside each nation’s supplementary games, offering an additional prize to one or more of the countries.
It’s even possible that this new raffle would follow a similar structure to the current Millionaire Maker and My Million games, producing at least one millionaire in each country in each draw in a move that would no doubt prove very popular. These plans could see ticket holders vying for one prize or a number of rewards with either ticket holders in their own country or from across the continent.
Should this latest venture bring with it an increase in the price of tickets, the new game could even have an effect on how quickly the value of the EuroMillions jackpot itself increases. It would be a bold move, but a number of larger supplementary prizes and a faster-growing jackpot could see a rise in interest in the game as larger jackpots are offered, with the added bonus of more sizable lower prize tiers being offered should the jackpot hit its €190 million cap. The price of a Millionaire Maker ticket is included in the price of a EuroMillions ticket in the UK, with 50p from every ticket sale being allocated for use in the Millionaire Maker game, but this is not the case in Ireland where EuroMillions Plus is optional and comes at an additional charge. A change in the game’s structure would possibly mean increasing the price of tickets across the continent to include the new game or the supplementary game of each individual nation or perhaps even both. The number of possibilities a new EuroMillions Raffle could offer are endless.
While the speculation surrounding a possible new addition to EuroMillions continues to circulate, players still have the chance of winning a sensational estimated jackpot of £11 million (€15 million) in Friday’s draw. To be in with a chance of winning, tickets can be purchased online or from any authorised retailer in participating countries. The very best of luck!


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Although reported fuel economy and quality have improved for medium-duty trucks, the impact on satisfaction with new engines meeting the 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions regulations is negligible even as fuel prices rise, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Medium-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study released Friday, Sept. 21.
The study found that reported fuel economy for medium-duty trucks increased12 percent in 2012 compared with 2011. In addition, problems per 100 trucks (PP100) improved to 123 PP100 this year from 141 PP100 in 2011. Even with these positive improvements, customer satisfaction with medium-duty trucks remained flat at 757 on a 1,000-point scale in 2012, unchanged from 2011.
“Even with advances in fuel economy and quality, the cost to manage truck fleets continues to increase, negatively impacting satisfaction,” said Brent Gruber, director of the commercial vehicle practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Higher fuel and truck prices have impacted satisfaction, pushing principal maintainers to look at other cost savings options. However, they have concerns regarding new alternative fuel technology.”
In addition, about 50 percent of fleet maintainers are familiar with the most popular alternative powertrains, but concerns with expected quality/reliability, availability of fuel/fueling stations and engine performance/acceleration are the primary reasons they are not considering purchasing trucks with these technologies.
Among all electric, hybrid, natural gas and propane autogas powertrain options available, the top reasons for purchase consideration are emissions/environmental impact and future cost savings. However, depending on the specific powertrain technology, between only 3 and 6 percent of fleet maintainers said they “definitely will” consider purchasing such a truck.
“While fleet maintainers realize the potential long-term cost benefits of alternative fuel powertrains, reliability and fueling infrastructure are reasons for concern, resulting in much of the industry waiting to see the technology prove itself before making the investment,” Gruber said. “In order for trucks with alternative powertrains to gain widespread market acceptance, truck manufacturers and energy providers will need to assure customers that they will not be sacrificing durability, payload capacity or ease of fueling with these new technologies.”
The 2012 study measured customer perceptions of 2011 model-year Class 5-7 commercial trucks. Within the product index, six factors were used to determine overall satisfaction: engine, warranty, cost of operation, cab and body, ride/handling/braking and transmission. The study also measured satisfaction with services received from an authorized truck dealer. Six factors comprise the service index: service facility, service quality, service adviser, service initiation, service delivery and service price.
The study – now in its 20th year – also found that Class 5 trucks continued to have the highest quality levels in 2012, averaging 86 PP100. In comparison, Class 6 trucks average 151 PP100 and Class 7 trucks average 141 PP100.
With a score of 820, Hino ranked highest in customer satisfaction within the conventional truck segment for a third consecutive year. In its first year of inclusion in the study, Dodge (Ram) ranked second with a score of 806, while Freightliner (768) followed.
The 2012 U.S. Medium-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study was based on responses from 1,272 primary maintainers of 2011 model-year Class 5-7 conventional cab medium-duty trucks. The study was fielded between June and July.


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At the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, Catelli Cigar Company launched a new line called Catelli Boxare. For this line, the company shifts direction in a couple of ways.
For starters, while the company has been known to produce its cigars at Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory, the Boxare will use a different factory – Noel Rojas and Brandon Hayes’ New Order of the Ages (NOA) factory. Secondly, Boxare becomes Catelli’s first box-pressed offering.
Boxer features a San Andres Maduro wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. The cigar comes in three sizes: Contender (Robusto), Defender (Toro), and Champ (Gordo). The company noted that temporary bands were used for what was on display at the trade show, and the final bands are still in the works.
In addition to Boxare, the company also is releasing Catelli Cabaletta, a two blend line that will come out of La Zona.
Photo Credit: Cigar Coop


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Micron Technology has begun sampling its first DDR4 DRAM module, with plans to begin volume product in Q4 2012. Codeveloped by Nanya and based on Micron's 30-nm technology, the 4-Gb DDR4 x8 part is the first piece of a portfolio that eventually will include RDIMMs, LRDIMMs, 3DS, SODIMMs, and UDIMMs (standard and ECC). Components in x8, x16, and x32 also will be available, featuring initial speeds up to 2400 megatransfers per second (MT/s) and then increasing to the JEDEC-defined 3200 MT/s.
"With the JEDEC definition for DDR4 very near finalization, we've put significant effort into ensuring that our first DDR4 product is as JEDEC-compatible as it can be at this final stage of its development," said Brian Shirley, vice president for Micron's DRAM Solutions Group. "We've provided samples to key partners in the market place with confidence that the die we give them now is the same die we will take into mass production."
The company expects the enterprise micro-server, ultrathin, and tablet markets to adopt the technology. For more information, visit www.micron.com.


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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Many small businesses are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the number of coronavirus cases surges in Knox County, some business owners are worried about more restrictions being put in place to stop the spread.
A popular restaurant in Knoxville, Gus's Good Times Deli, is asking people to help them stay open by wearing masks when indoors. They posted a message on their Facebook page asking people to wear face masks to avoid spreading COVID-19 and prevent employees from entering quarantine.
"For us, quarantine means closing possibly for good," Aaron Hale, a co-owner of the deli, said in the post on Facebook. "There's a Burger King on every corner but there isn't another Gus's. This isn't political. We just wanna stay open. Please wear a mask."
Hale said that he posted the message because they had a comment on social media about people coming into the restaurant to eat without a mask. None of the workers said anything to them about not wearing a mask, he said.
"We a mask if you're going to be indoors somewhere. Just put on a mask and wear it," he said. "If it's not for you, or if you don't believe that masks work — wear it to make other people feel comfortable or make them feel safer."
All the employees at Gus's Good Times Deli wear a mask, he said. The restaurant also has plastic barriers up and employees use gloves, he said.
Hale said that he thinks it's silly for a business to enforce wearing maks, and wants people to be more considerate of others.


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Costa Luminosa is setting off today on a 106-day around the world cruise!
The parent company of Costa Cruises and Aida Cruises has signed an agreement to prove Shell fuel to the LNG new generation cruise ships coming in 2019
Costa Cruises has announced two brand new itineraries for Summer 2017
It has been announced that a Costa cruise ship will host the first ever David Hasselhoff sailing in November 2017
Kids around Europe and the world can rejoice as the global pre-school phenomenon has arrived on the Costa Diadema! Kids can enjoy new dedicated areas inside and out on the open decks of the largest cruise ship in the fleet.


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Internet advertising is forecasted to take up over 50 percent of ad spending in the next three years, according to Zenith Media
are eating up larger portions of total ad spends as more and more people around the world go online through both desktops and, especially, mobile means. The International Telecommunication Union estimates that about half of the world
will be on the world wide web as of last year. With more of the world online, there are more opportunities for advertisers to reach new audiences and engage existing ones.
Even now internet ad-spending has beat growth expectations. Zenith estimates that in 2019, global spending will push 4.7 percent of growth, going above the 4 percent forecast previously made. Currently, these forecast-beating strides have been helped along by cross channel growth of online video and social media. Additionally, the United States, Russia, and France have bolstered much of this growth.


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PC makers are eager for consumers to jump-start a much-needed refresh cycle. One reason the PC market is declining is that consumers are satisfied with the capabilities of their smartphones and tablets, and put off by the decreased portability of computers.
"Microsoft and its top Windows PC partners, including Intel, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, have officially unveiled the "PC Does What?" ad campaign, first reported yesterday. This marks the first time Microsoft and Intel have rallied PC manufacturers together for a single ad campaign."


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The entire video ecosystem is going to have to work together to solve today’s measurement and targeting obstacles. But not everyone is ready for change.
Collecting first-party viewer data and using it effectively is essential for today’s media companies. Here’s the information companies should collect and the questions they should be asking.
The top streaming TV device wants to help marketers plan campaigns across traditional and online platforms, so it’s offering comparable Nielsen metrics.
The company now serves more videos on mobile than desktop, so it’s creating new tools that let advertisers target mobile viewers and run cross-screen campaigns.
In a world of new digital options, many agency advertisers and brand marketers find the most value in tried-and-true age and gender demographic targeting.
Cross-screen advertising is on the rise, as advertisers increasingly run campaigns on computers, mobile devices, and connected TVs.
The ad industry is in crisis, finds an Accenture multi-country survey. Consumers are so annoyed by ad interruptions that 4 in 10 would pay to avoid them.


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“TomTom NV, the Dutch supplier of navigation applications for Apple Inc.’s iPhone 5, rose the most in eight weeks after an analyst at Rabobank International said the U.S. company may make a takeover bid,” Maaike Noordhuis reports for Bloomberg.
“TomTom closed 5.65 percent higher at 4.06 euros in Amsterdam, the biggest jump since Oct. 15,” Noordhuis reports. “There’s a 30 percent chance that Cupertino, California- based Apple will seek a purchase because the Dutch software maker has the capacity to make speedy changes to correct any mapping errors or create new functions, Hans Slob, an Utrecht, Netherlands-based analyst at Rabobank, said in today in a research report.”
“‘TomTom needs the cash from Apple, and Apple needs the know-how of TomTom,’ said Slob, who estimated Apple would pay a price of as much as 10 euros per share,” Noordhuis reports. “A takeover is also a ‘royal way out’ for the Dutch company’s founders, said Slob, who has a buy recommendation on TomTom and raised his share- price estimate by 38 percent to 5 euros.”
Read more in the full article here.
TomTom more than willing to help Apple fix iOS 6 Map app problems – September 21, 2012
TomTom shares surge on Apple deal – June 12, 2012
Analyst: Apple unlikely to bid on TomTom – June 12, 2009
TomTom shares pop amid talk of Apple buy-in – June 12, 2009


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That is the title of this article, which does a great job of laying out the pitfalls of what Jonathan Zittrain calls generativity in the context of the Droid. Most people can’t take direct advantage of the generativity themselves, and without a legal framework that gives them rights as consumers they are at the mercy of the markets. Here is an excerpt:
The thought of a truly open mobile operating system is very appealing. The problem is that in practice, that’s just simply not the reality of the situation. Maybe if Google had their way, the system would be truly open. But they don’t. Sadly, they have to deal with a very big roadblock: the carriers.
The result of this unfortunate situation is that the so-called open system is quickly revealing itself to be anything but. Further, we’re starting to see that in some cases the carriers may actually be able to exploit this “openness” to create a closed system that may leave you crying for Apple’s closed system — at least theirs looks good and behaves as expected.
Case in point: the last couple of Android phones I’ve gotten as demo units from Google: the EVO 4G and the Droid 2, have been loaded up with crapware installed by the carriers (Sprint and Verizon, respectively). Apple would never let this fly on the iPhone, but the openness of Android means Google has basically no say in the matter. Consumers will get the crapware and they’ll like it. Not only that, plenty of this junk can’t even be uninstalled. How’s that for “open”? …
… Apple gets crap for not supporting phones that are three years old with OS updates — the open Android system can’t even upgrade phones that are only a few months old in some cases — again, all thanks to the carriers.
The excuses for why this is run rampant. They need to tweak their custom skins, they need to test the new software, etc. It’s all a bunch of garbage. This is an open platform and yet you’re more restricted than on Apple’s supposedly closed one.
What happens when Verizon won’t update your phone to the latest greatest Android software — not because they can’t, but because they want you to upgrade to a new piece of hardware and sign the new two-year agreement that comes along with it? The game remains the same.
My point is not to bash Google — what they’ve created is an excellent mobile operating system. My point is that the same “openness” that Android users are touting as a key selling point of the OS could very well end up being its weak point. If you don’t think Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint are going to try to commandeer the OS in an attempt to return to their glory days where we were all slaves to their towers, you’re being naive.
“Open” is great until you have to define it or defend it. I’m not sure Google can continue to do either in this situation.
And before all of you pros storm the comments with how great it is to root your Android phones, consider the average consumers here. They are the ones being screwed by this exploitation of “open.” …
I am not a disinterested observer. I bought a Droid about 8 months ago and it has been a mixed bag. Particularly annoying is the fact that I cannot use Skype to make any domestic calls, or even certain kinds of international calls, even though I pay a lot each month for “3G” Internet access. Verizon allows me only “Skype Mobile” and thwarts every other VOIP possibility I have tried.


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Depending on budget and imagination, some PC builders will go to great lengths in putting together their rigs. Some take for granted the nuances of cabling, picking their preferred components and overall assembly. In the last decade, RGB has come, and (for better or worse) taken visual aesthetics to the forefront for many. There are builders that go even further beyond this, to the realm of case modding and thus completely customizing nearly every aspect of their rigs. In recent years, we have even seen major console manufacturers join the fray with limited-edition, game-themed consoles.
Back on April 7th, CD PROJEKT RED started a contest called #CyberUpYourPC, challenging builders to create their own Cyberpunk 2077-themed PC. On May 29th, it announced that the final five entries have been selected out of over 1500 submissions. Entries spanned from detailed conceptual artist depictions to those that seemed like actual builds. CD PROJEKT RED is now turning to professional case modders to make these final entries real.
The main prize will be a fully built PC provided by our partner, Alienware including a graphics card provided by our partner NVIDIA. Together with Alienware mouse, keyboard and monitor and SteelSeries wireless headset.
All winners will be chosen by our jury based on the design’s feasibility, creativity, and faithfulness to the Cyberpunk 2077 style.
The contest concluded on May 17th, and the winner will be announced on July 17th. Here are some pictures from their official twitter pages, but there are many more to be seen. Regardless of who wins, everyone can enjoy the massive amount of creativity and imagination used in these endeavors.


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Buybacks have gotten a bad rap from both Republicans and Democrats. But stocks would be trading at a massive discount without them.Marketsread more
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America's favorite Valentine's Day candy won't be available this year.
Sweethearts, the conversation heart candy, is missing from shelves this Valentine's season after its original producer went out of business last year.
Even though consumers might think chocolate when it comes to buying a Valentine's gift for a loved one, Candystore.com reported that conversation hearts were the most popular candy for the holiday in 2018. The popularity of the candy didn't keep its original producer, New England Confectionary Company, also known as Necco, from going out of business in July.
Round Hill Investments bought Necco in an auction but sold its Necco wafer brand and Sweethearts to Spangler Candy Company several months later. Spangler's best-known candy is its Dum Dum lollipops.
The candy company acquired the brands in September and did not have the time to produce the conversation hearts for this Valentine's Day.
"There are a lot of manufacturing challenges and unanswered questions at this point, and we want to make sure these brands meet consumer expectations when they re-enter the market," Spangler Chairman and CEO Kirk Vashaw said in a statement announcing the acquisition.
The company is planning to relaunch Sweethearts in time for next year's Valentine's season. Necco wafers will be re-introduced sometime this year.
In response to a request for comment from CNBC, Spangler sent the following message:


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Amplitude became a $7.1 billion company after popping 9% in its first day of trading. Read the pitch deck that helped its 33-year-old CEO convince investors to get in early.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.
- Data company Amplitude popped 9% on its first day of trading onn Tuesday, valuing it at $7.1 billion.
- Amplitude raised a venture round earlier this year that valued it at $4 billion.
- Back in 2012, Amplitude CEO Spenser Skates struggled to get VCs to invest in his company.
On Tuesday, analytics company Amplitude debut on the Nasdaq through a direct listing. The company popped 9% in its first day of trading to hit a valuation of $7.1 billion, though it’s given up some of those gains on Wednesday with the stock down some 2% at the time of publication.
Amplitude announced in July that it has confidentially filed to go public in a direct listing, just one month after it had raised a $150 million Series F at a $4 billion valuation led by Sequoia Capital.
Amplitude’s S-1 paperwork, released ahead of that listing, showed a company with growing revenues: It posted over $72 million in revenue for the first six months of 2021, up 57% from the same period of 2020. It also shows that while the company isn’t profitable, its losses are narrowing, posting a loss of $0.57 per share over that same period, down from $0.68 in the same period of 2020.
The direct listing meant that Amplitude CEO and cofounder Spenser Skates is the youngest CEO to take a software company public since Box’s Aaron Levie in 2015 — with the S-1 also showing that the 33-year old CEO has an annual compensation package of over $6 million.
The startup has experienced tremendous growth in the past year as companies increasingly want to use data to better engage their customers online. But the firm’s journey hasn’t always been smooth.
Earlier this year, Skates told Insider that he initially struggled to get venture capitalists to understand what his startup was trying to do. While he believed the aim of his company was clear — to help businesses understand how customers are using their products — the VCs just couldn’t seem to get it.
He pitched over 70 firms for his seed round back in 2012 and was met with a lot of skepticism. He felt incredibly frustrated and remembers blowing off steam to a friend by saying he “hates” the investors. It took two years before Amplitude was able to raise a $2 million seed round from SV Angel, Quest Venture Partners, and Data Collective.
Skates eventually realized that his pitch was the problem: He was spending too much time trying to explain the company itself, and not enough time showing how the product would be good for users.
“I realized when I look back in the seed decks and in terms of pitching, I didn’t do a good job talking about customers and the pain they had,” Skates said. He revamped his deck, and managed to raise a $9 million Series A round led by Benchmark Capital in 2015, followed by a $15.9 million Series B led by Battery Ventures in 2017.
You can read Amplitude’s seed deck, as well as the Series A pitch deck that actually got VCs to open their wallets, below, to see how the company’s messaging to investors changed over time.
But Skates really had a pitching epiphany when he met with Sequoia Capital’s Pat Grady, who, after the presentation, pitched the company back to Skates even better than he could explain it himself.
Grady honed in on how Amplitude’s tool helps companies understand their digital products — not just with how mobile apps are being used, but how digital services like apps or websites serve as a “distribution channel” that can drive attention to specific goods, services, or deals.
For example, one of Amplitude’s clients is Burger King and it helps the fast food chain measure what features on its app users use the most: which promotions are most attractive to customers, for example, or which menu items they linger over.
“When Grady made this big point about the product being its own distribution channel, I thought ‘whoa, this guy finally gets it,’ he is able to see the company’s potential,” Skates said.
Below are Amplitude’s pitch decks for its seed round and its later Series A round, which Skates says show how it learned to finally help VCs understand what the company is all about:


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Rising gasoline prices have sent Utah business executives' optimism about the economy plummeting.
A Zions Bank quarterly economic forecast, released Monday, shows that concerns about high gas prices, inflation and the cost of employee health insurance have put high-level executives' optimism about the financial futures of their companies at the lowest point in the past two years.
Only 30 percent of respondents predict their companies' economic health will be better during the upcoming quarter. That figure was as high as 51 percent in both the 2007 first quarter and the 2006 third quarter.
On a scale of 1 to 10, from "very pessimistic" to "very optimistic," optimism received a mean score of 6.45 for the second quarter among the executives who were surveyed June 16 through July 11 by research firm Dan Jones & Associates. The score has drifted steadily downward since a 7.80 score in the 2006 fourth quarter.
"We're seeing quite a shift in the views of our local business leaders, who reported a mean level of optimism at 7.87 when we launched the study two years ago," Pat Jones, co-owner of Dan Jones & Associates, said in a prepared statement. "This substantial decline reflects caution among Utah's business community. Driving the increase in economic pessimism are economic concerns such as gasoline prices and inflation that are at their highest levels in the history of our study."
Also hitting a low point was expected spending on capital expenditures. Thirty-five percent of the executives predicted lower spending, an increase from 19 percent in the 2006 second quarter.
The survey indicated more executives were expecting to increase their work force than decrease it 25 percent to 19 percent, respectively during the third quarter. Two years ago, 51 percent expected to boost their staffs and only 9 percent expected cutbacks.
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ALG Vacations Announces $100,000 Donation to Maui Strong Fund
The Dos and Don'ts of a Successful Road Trip
Puerto Vallarta Blog
Spending the Holidays in Puerto Vallarta
Save Now, Travel Anytime
Greater Miami & Miami Beach Specialist
Travel Suppliers With the Best Commissions for Travel Advisors
Partner With Palladium and Sell as a Specialist
Disney Cruise Line announced its ships Disney Fantasy and Disney Magic will call at Tortola, British Virgin Islands (BVI) on 11 sailings in 2016. Disney is partnering with the British Virgin Islands Ports Authority (BVIPA) on a land-based development that will accompany an already underway expansion of the Tortola cruise ship pier.
The pier is being lengthened, widened and strengthened to accommodate larger cruise ships, according to a British Virgin Islands Tourist Board statement. The five acre, adjacent land-based development will feature commercial, entertainment and green spaces, plus shopping and dining including 50 stores and four restaurants.
"We are excited to begin this partnership with Disney Cruise Line and welcome their passengers to experience our beautiful BVI when they begin stopping in Tortola in early 2016," said Sharon Flax-Mars, BVI's director of tourism. "With our new cruise pier expansion project underway, visitors will have even more shopping and dining experiences on-hand when they arrive in Tortola."
The BVI Tourist Board recently launched a taxi academy in conjunction with the country's Taxi and Livery Commission, the Ports Authority and the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. The academy is designed to "improve the level of service offered by taxi professionals across the territory, providing an enhanced experience for future cruise line passengers and other visitors," according to the Tourist Board statement.
In July, BVIPA secured a $35 million loan from First Caribbean International Bank to help fund the $52 million pier expansion. In addition to the pier renovation and land-based visitor facilities, the expansion will include the development of a boardwalk and enhancement of the excursion dock facility plus additional dredging and land reclamation work.
BVIP had earlier announced cruise passenger traffic agreements with Disney and Norwegian Cruise Line that will bring an additional 425,000 annual visitors to the territory by 2015. The British Virgin Islands hosted 340,000 cruise ship passengers in 2013, down from 571,000 in 2008, a decline officials say is due to an inability to accommodate larger cruise ships.
Brian Major is Managing Editor for Digital Publications & Guides/Caribbean.
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Samsung shares lost 8% after stopping production Note 7
The newspaper reported Yonhap, citing an unnamed source in a "Samsung" partners that the recent decision to halt production of "Galaxy Note 7" temporarily came in cooperation with the authorities in South Korea, China and the United States, also stopped two American companies contacts for switching or new versions of the sale of the phone .
It is believed that the problems that also appeared in a variant of the "Galaxy Note 7 model" will open a new page is likely to be expensive after a global scandal, can damage the reputation of the largest maker of smartphones in the world. Then you can add new risks to consumers.The company did not comment on the stopping production or cause fire broke devices while the source did not say, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media in court to stop the timing of production and whether it has been determined problems
Samsung said to Reuters that it was investigating the problems with "damage caused by hottest" and that it would take action to resolve any problems in accordance with procedures approved by the US Commission for the safety of consumers.
In the second of September Samsung announced a process to call the 2.5 million device model Note 7 around the world because of a problem in the battery caused the fire in some devices.


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Bacardi adds to its barrel-aged rum collection
Bacardi is launching the latest addition to its collection of barrel-aged rums into the UK, in response to the growing trend for premiumisation across the spirits market.
Bacardi Gran Reserva Diez, which follows the launch of Bacardi Anejo Cuatro last year and Reserva Ocho in 1995, aims to tap into the growth in the premium rum market, which rose 18% in the last year, now representing 14% of the total rum sector, according to the company.
Tine Van Nevel, brand director – Europe, for Bacardi Rum, said: “We’ve observed a big shift in the rum category towards premiumisation so the decision to grow our premium offering was an obvious one. We’re seeing that people are increasingly opting to trade up to more sophisticated drinks and are not willing to sacrifice quality for price.
“We’re excited to bring Bacardi Gran Reserva Diez to the UK where we are confident it will join Bacardi Añejo Cuatro and Bacardi Reserva Ocho as another must-have in any rum fan’s drinks cabinet!”
The newcomer has listings with ten iconic bars across the country from this month. It will then roll out across the on-trade as well as being available to buy from selected premium retailers at £52 per bottle.


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If leisure can rescue retail, then bizarrely leisure’s polar opposite – work – could also be a saviour.
Shopping is so old hat – bricks-and-mortar style shopping, that is. And there’s nothing worse for morale than a shopping centre awash with vacant units. So, shopping centre operators are renaming their venues (forget Norwich’s Castle Mall, it’s now Castle Quarter) and replacing the bust Blockbusters with fun activities. Bowling, anyone?
Newer premises are starting with this premise: signing up experiential brands alongside stores. And this is where co-working comes in. Because in these testing economic times, digital nomads look like good tenants.
At LCR and Lendlease’s International Quarter London (IQL) in Stratford, locals can take a spot at Workable. Designed by Fletcher Priest Architects, the shared workspace offers business mentoring sessions and wellbeing classes. Nice touch having Change Please running the cafe. The social enterprise provides homeless people with jobs, skills and training and access to secure housing.
Andrew Tobin, project director of IQL at Lendlease, lists the benefits of co-working areas to a mixed-use scheme: “They appeal to commercial occupiers looking for overspill space, to local residents looking to work closer to home, and to visitors to the area looking for somewhere to base themselves for a short space of time.
Co-working also brings more diversity to the area by attracting groups of smaller companies, startups and freelancers. The surrounding area is energised by having these different groups of people interacting in the same environment.”
Gosh, it all sounds so very win-win it’s a wonder mall operators haven’t been doing this for years. But there could be a catch for the coworkers themselves. If their working life really is as flexible as the hype suggests, what’s to stop these people skipping away from their desks for an indoor skiing session, or even some oldfashioned window shopping? If that’s the case, then production levels will fall and they might wish they’d stayed working from home where the only distraction is that pile of ironing.
As traditional retail falters, a new breed of commercial development is bringing co-working space on board in a bid to change the way we live, work and buy, says Clare Dowdy


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Earlier, we reported that the RPG Yggdra Union: We’ll Never Fight Alone would be making its way to Switch in Japan. If you’ve been excited to hear more, we finally have a new peek at the upcoming port!
Publisher Sting has released the debut trailer of the game, which confirms the game’s 5 March 2020 release date in Japan. Of course we also get a glimpse of its visuals and gameplay on Switch – which gives the GBA original a small touch-up.
Check it out below:
A listing on the Japanese eShop also teases a new ‘cheats’ function that can mix up the game in some ways. Specifically, these cheats will activate when players enter specific commands in from the in-game manual (from the ‘-‘ button):
- A cheat that lets Milanor fight as a hunter like Cruz
- A cheat that disables enemy and ally critical hits
- A cheat that maxes out your army’s Skill Gauge at the start of battle
- A cheat that reverses the formation types of men and women
For now, there don’t seem to be plans for a western release – and this release will only support Japanese. We’ll report back as we hear more.


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I recently ran across an “Ain’t Laurent Without Yves” sweatshirt by the infamous brand Reason while I was shopping, and of course I had to have it.
The renaming of Yves Saint Laurent‘s iconic name to Saint Laurent Paris has been one of the most talked about controversies in the fashion industry this year. While the shortening of iconic fashion houses’ names has been trending lately, with Christian Dior changing to “Dior” and Coco Chanel as “Chanel,” many think changing the YSL branding is too soon since it is a more recent design house. The name change signifies a new, more modern, look for the brand; however, YSL junkies aren’t quite sold on the new name. Creative director Hedi Slimane promises that the YSL branding will still be used although the name has changed to Saint Laurent Paris. WWD
While that is old news, the name change controversy fueled another controversy regarding the tongue in cheek designer parody slogan “Ain’t Laurent Without Yves.” Creative Director Hedi Slimane cut all business ties with Colette, one of the largest independent retailers in the world, over carrying the parody clothing reading “Ain’t Laurent Without Yves.” The end of their business together was quite a shock to the industry because of their close relationship and the high amount of YSL inventory sold at Collette . Sara Andelman, the creative director and owner of Colette was quoted: NY Times
“We were loyal and for me it was a nice relationship,” she said. “I can’t believe this is just for a stupid T-shirt. ”
Designer parody clothing has been one of the largest street style trends this season, and Saint Laurent Paris wasn’t the only target. Plenty of major design houses were parodied, including Celine, Hermes, Balmain, Kenzo, and Prada just to name a few.
Many of the creative directors from the design houses listed above have embraced the designer parody clothing trend by wearing it themselves. “Ain’t Laurent Without Yves” clothing sold out of the Collette stores and continues to prove just as profitable.
According to WWD, to be dubbed “illegal” two factors are investigated: “whether there is actual consumer confusion between the two brands and whether there is dilution of the original brand’s value.”
In my opinion, all of the designer parody clothing logos are obviously not made from the actual designers that they are parodying. If anything, the clothing is adding extra publicity and buzz for the brand. If a shopper buys designer parody clothing chances are they know who the designer is, and they are not purchasing it because they think they are purchasing a designer’s product.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images used in this post.


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Truett Cathy, founder of the privately owned Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, died early Sept. 8 at the age of 93.
Mark Baldwin, a spokesman for the chain, told the Associated Press that Cathy died at home surrounded by his family. The company said in a statement that plans are unfolding for a public funeral service at 2 p.m. on Sept. 10 at First Baptist Jonesboro church in Jonesboro, Georgia.
The family-owned company reported 46 consecutive years of positive sales growth, translating into a $6 billion fortune for Cathy. Cathy's tremendous wealth earned him a spot in Forbes magazine's list of wealthiest Americans in the country.
Cathy was listed as chairman emeritus on the company website after leaving his post managing day-to-day operations in the hands of younger company executives.
But he wasn't always wealthy. The AP reported that Cathy attributed his hardworking nature to his modest, even impoverished, upbringing. As a little boy, he purportedly made money by selling six Coca-Cola bottles at a time for a quarter.
"I've experienced poverty and plenty, and there's a lesson to be learned when you're brought up in poverty," Cathy said in 2007. "I had to create some good work habits and attitude."
The threshold to Cathy's success manifested in 1946 when he began his career in the restaurant business by opening a diner in Atlanta called Dwarf Grill with his brother.
Cathy continued working well into his 80s, even setting up a contract with his children delegating the prerogative to sell the privately owned chain in the future. However, he strictly forbid making the company public
"Why would I retire from something I enjoy doing?" Cathy said in a 2007 interview. "I can hardly wait to get here."
The prototype for Chick-fil-A was born in 1961 when a company that cooked boneless, skinless chicken for airline meals wanted to sell Cathy the pieces that were too big for customers' needs. Cathy accepted the unwanted chicken and cooked it in a pressure cooker and served it in buttered buns, unwittingly creating Chick-fil-A's first menu item: the trademark chicken sandwich.
Cathy opened his first Chick-fil-A restaurant in an Atlanta shopping mall in 1967.
In the wake of his restaurant's demonstrable success, Cathy even penned a book in 2007 titled "How Did You Do It, Truett?" The book outlined a strategy for success that included setting priorities, being courteous, cautiously expanding a business and avoiding the burden of debt.
"There's really no secret for success," he said. "I hope it will open eyes for people. They don't have to follow my recipe, but this is what works for me."
Cathy is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jeannette McNeil Cathy; sons Dan T. and Don "Bubba" Cathy; daughter Trudy Cathy White; and 19 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren, according to a company statement. Story


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September 24: TU-Automotive Europe Conference & Exhibition 2015 (2-3 Nov, Stuttgart) has been endorsed by the German and British governments as the automotive industry’s go-to conference for learning and networking in the connected car and auto mobility domain.
TU-Automotive has just confirmed 2 brand-new keynote presentations from -
Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (DE) Iain Forbes, Head of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Department for Transport (UK)
Both presentations will allow delegates to understand the initiatives each government is putting in place to support the continued rise of the connected and automated car. See the full agenda for TU-Automotive Europe Conference & Exhibition 2015 (2-3 Nov, Stuttgart) here: http://www.tu-auto.com/europe/
Project director, Jack Palmer, said “The presence of the German and British Governments reinforces that TU-Automotive Europe is a must-attend event for anyone working in the connected car market right now. Tickets are selling quickly and there is no doubt that there will be a surge in bookings after this recent announcement.”
TU-Automotive Europe attracts 1,100 of the most senior automotive tech players in Europe. A sample list of delegates that have already signed up, including Volvo, Toyota, BMW and Kia, is available on the website: http://www.tu-auto.com/europe/attendees.php
Limited tickets now remain. TU-Automotive advises that those looking to attend should book as a matter of urgency to secure their seat.
The 2 day conference will cover telematics, connected car data, ADAS to Autonomous, the connected car & IoT, mobility, and security. Delegates will leave with the knowledge and contacts crucial to their success in the connected car and mobility arena.
About Us: TU-Automotive is the reference point and communications hub for the evolving automotive technology segment as it converges with consumer electronics, mobile and IoT to re-define connectivity, mobility and autonomous use-cases. TU-Automotive provides the world’s biggest B2B connected car conferences and exhibitions, as well as industry analysis. www.tu-auto.com


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Humble Bundle has kicked off a new publishing and funding initiative that aims to leverage the company’s existing services to help developers “generate buzz” and get their games into the hands of more players.
Several developers have already partnered with the company to release their games under the “Presented by Humble Bundle” label, but Humble is still actively seeking to work with new games and developers.
Those interested in publishing their own games through Humble’s new initiative can fill out a quick questionnaire to have their game evaluated by the publishing team at GDC and PAX East.
So far, seven games are slated to be released under Humble’s new publishing wing including A Hat in Time, HackyZack, Ikenfell, Keyboard Sports, No Truce with the Furies, Scorn, and Staxel. Though most of these games are headed to PC, Mac, or Linux, Humble's publishing efforts will also cover games created for console and mobile.
John Polson, Humble’s publishing lead, says that the company aims to be adaptable to the needs of different developers. Those working with Humble will be able to pick and choose from different services offered by the publisher to find what best works for them.
"Since Humble's launch in 2010, we have earned the trust of over 10 million customers across our products,” said Polson. “In a time when it's harder than ever for games to find their audience, publishing feels like the next logical step in the services that we can offer to our developer partners.”


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Young workers account for almost 30% of pandemic-related job losses in the Houston region
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated several challenges related to securing economic and physical safety in many of Houston communities. Although the stay-at-home order in mid-March has helped control the spread of the virus (view COVID-19 cases here), it has brought the local economy to a halt. Initial jobless claims, e.g. claims for unemployment benefits filed by unemployed individuals with state unemployment agencies, have reached levels never before seen — both in Texas and across the nation.
In early May, many businesses in Texas were able to reopen in three phases. However, data suggests that nearly a quarter of all small businesses remain closed nationwide. Small businesses in the leisure and hospitality sectors have been hit the hardest. In Houston, about one-third of small businesses remain closed, and 58% of small businesses in the leisure and hospitality sectors report no transaction data.
Since the onset of the pandemic, job losses for 16- to 29-year-old workers in the Houston region have been concentrated in industries such as accommodation, food services and retail trade. Virtually 40% of those young claimants worked in the accommodation, food services and retail trade sectors before the pandemic. More than 8% of them worked for arts, entertainment or recreation businesses. Another 7% were employed in administrative and waste management services.


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Waste management plans in place for Expo2020
Up to 85 per cent of the waste from Expo 2020 Dubai will be diverted away from landfills.
That’s all thanks to the latest technologies that will be used by the Expo to reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose what gets thrown away from the event.
Organisers expect 49 per cent of the waste to be organic material that they will use for compost, 39 per cent is expected to be recyclable materials that will be turned into mouldable products like paper cup holders or boxes to be used at the Expo gift shop.
Official waste management partner, Dulsco also plan to upcycle glass into Expo memorabilia, while plastic will be converted into a number of products like bags and souvenirs.


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Royal Liver, the Liverpool-based assurance society has swapped a triple badge deal with three manufacturers for a Vauxhall sole-badge contract worth around £12 million at showroom prices.
Royal Liver has an 800-strong fleet of cars which were previously supplied by Toyota, Nissan and Rover.
However, following a competitive tender process that involved nine motor manufacturers, the ffriendly ssociety opted for the solus supply of Vauxhall cars.
Royal Liver’s UK direct retail operations director Colin Nugent fleet consultant Steve Cox, formerly commercial director at Dial Contracts, said one factor in the decision was that Vauxhall produced cars at Ellesmere Port nearby – "and we wanted to work together and support a local employer if possible."
"And we gave our sales staff the chance to evaluate three cars – the Toyota Corolla, the Nissan Almera, and the Vauxhall Astra, and while they thought all were good vehicles, their preference was for Astra."
Royal Liver will operate around 350 Astras and 400 Vectras and will also consider taking a number of Saab models.
All of the vehicles will be supplied on a contract purchase arrangement with leading contract hire supplier Interleasing.
This is a 16-year+ news article, from our Vauxhall archive, which dates back to the year 2000.
If in doubt check with your local Vauxhall dealer as car prices and technical data will have changed since 2004.
Although our car news is published in good faith, we cannot guarantee it to be error free or complete or up-to-date.
Vauxhall Astra Images may not be UK specification cars. Colours and exterior and/or interior elements may differ from actual models.
The car news and images remain the copyright of the rights holder and may not be used without their consent.


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The world's largest household products manufacturer Procter & Gamble plans to move its skin care, cosmetics and personal-care units from its company headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Singapore over the next two years, with the goal of capturing business in emerging markets.
P&G is the latest in a number of European and American companies relocating to Asia to take advantage of the growing Asia-Pacific market. According to Euromonitor International, Asia-Pacific holds nearly half of the skin care market’s global value, which is at close to $97 billion.
The move will begin August 1 and will affect a few top executives, with no job cuts expected. “While only affecting fewer than 20 roles, this move will bring these businesses to the center of the greatest growth opportunity for these categories," P&G said in a statement.
By the end of 2012, P&G expects 37% of sales will come from emerging markets. The company’s Asian skin care brand, SK-II, currently has sales topping $1 billion.
The move is part of a restructuring plan P&G announced earlier this year that is aimed at saving $10 billion by 2017. The plan also includes cutting 5,700 jobs and expanding into other emerging markets.
President of the beauty units Virginia Drosos will retire at the start of September instead of uprooting her family, and will be replaced by Deborah Henretta, who is the current group president of the Asia division, in August. Henretta will be replaced by the current vice president of the Japan division Hasunori Kiriyama, who will become the first Asian to head the Asia division, which represents all of Asia expect for China.
P&G is best known for its Cover Girl makeup line, Olay skin cream and Secret deodorant brand.
Key Statistics - Personal Care Market in Singapore (source: MarketLine)
- In 2010, the personal hygiene market in Singapore generated revenue totaling nearly $112 million. For the time period 2006-2010, this represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 4%.
- In 2010, in Singapore, the most lucrative segment of the personal hygiene market is bath and shower products. Sales totaled over $56 million, which is equivalent to 50% of the overall market value.
- For the five-year period 2010-2015, the market is predicted to decelerate. A CAGR of 3% is anticipated and by the end of 2015, when the market should be valued at $129 million.


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Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) shareholders are desperate. They are grasping for any possible shred of hope after watching a business empire fall for all the reasons every empire falls.
Now, Bloomberg is out with some absurd story about how Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) should gallop to RIMM’s rescue. Please. Microsoft is already linking up with also-ran Nokia (NYSE:NOK). Why would they buy a hardware maker when they are a software and media company? Not smart.
What would be smart, however, is Research in Motion teaming up with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) to run the Android OS. That’s a low risk, insanely low cost proposition for both companies. RIMM could also launch a few Windows based phones to test the market.
Other than that, Microsoft should be heads down focusing on winning brands like Facebook, Xbox and Bing (See “Here’s Why Microsoft MUST Rebrand as Bing Now“). They should be competing hard to be a long term player in the cloud with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). But whatever happens, if Microsoft bought RIMM it would be the business equivalent of walking to the end of a pier, putting on lead boots, and jumping in.


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We all know Victoria’s Secret models are some of the most attractive women on the planet; which is why we're so proud of Skokie native Erin Heatherton.
The hometown hottie's already landed on the covers of various magazines in the past few years and has been featured in high-society runway shows like Diane von Furstenberg, but now she’s modeling with the big girls. (well, not big physically, but big as in big-time….you get the drift.)
Victoria’s Secret recently debuted a new line of lingerie called Body by Victoria
, (which you can find now at their Michigan Avenue store), and Heatherton
scored a coveted spot in the feature video.
Sure, it's not the first time she’s gotten the spotlight with VS -- she walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2008 and 2009 and was a featured model in the 2010 Victoria's Secret SWIM catalog -- but the girl keeps moving on up in the rankings.
Let’s hear it for our Midwestern-bred hotties.