text:
Bethesda VP and marketing in-charge Pete Hines talks about fans craving for The Elder Scrolls 6.
While many will cry themselves hoarse over the directions Bethesda has taken over the past few years, whether it’s re-releasing The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch or bringing Fallout 4, Skyrim and DOOM into virtual reality, such complaints won’t affect how the company does things.
Bethesda PR and marketing in-charge Pete Hines said that the publisher is aware of its fanbase and all the criticisms and complaints that come with it. However, he asserted to GamesRadar that these wouldn’t define what Bethesda does.
“We’re aware of it, but we’re not going to let it define what we do. Ultimately, we’re going to try and do the things that we think are the best for the games that we’re making, because that’s, honestly, all I can really control.”
Hines recalls speaking to Todd Howard, director of Fallout 4 and Skyrim, several years ago at E3. “I went to Todd a couple of E3s ago and said ‘everybody’s going to ask us about The Elder Scrolls 6. You have to help me, you have to help me come out and say what the studio’s path is, and when The Elder Scrolls 6 is coming, to try and manage expectations’.”
He then stated that even as fans want The Elder Scrolls 6 and don’t like having Skyrim VR or DOOM VFR, the development teams at Bethesda “aren’t just a vending machine where you press for the soda and they just go back and forth – they want to be able to stretch their legs creatively, or try a new idea, or do something different and not just fall into the same pattern.”
Using Guerrilla Games’ Horizon: Zero Dawn as an example, Hines noted that, “I think you see a lot of developers do that, and quite honestly, if we didn’t have folks break from it then you don’t get Horizon Zero Dawn. Like, how unbelievable is that game? And if [Guerrilla] just stayed on that path for what they were known for, you’d never get that game. I think that’s true of a lot of studios, right? You don’t get The Last of Us if [Naughty Dog] just kept churning out Uncharted games.”
Of course, there are various other projects that Bethesda has in the works that we’re not aware of and probably won’t find out about until they’re ready. But given how Fallout 4 launched in 2015 and Skyrim first launched in 2011, it’s obvious that fans will be craving what’s next, especially given the advancements that other open world developers seem to be making.
What are your thoughts on Hines’ views though? Let us know in the comments below.


text:
You need a subscription to view this content.
Forgot Your Password?
May 8, 2019 3 months ago
Facebook is already being hailed as revolutionary for looking to create its own digital coin. But it hardly fits that description.
May 3, 2019 4 months ago
April 24, 2019 4 months ago
Crypto prices are not a reflection of crypto progress. And the smart money knows it.
April 17, 2019 4 months ago
U.S. tax guidance on crypto is absurdly lacking. And rather than clarify its rules, the IRS is cracking down on confused investors.
April 10, 2019 4 months ago
We’ve seen startups tackling all parts of the consumer markets. But what about the enterprise markets?

domain: news


text:
THIS MORNING’S PROGRESSIVE ECONOMIC NEWS
“In an open letter published Thursday, 52 professionals from the financial sector urged the U.S. Congress to pass legislation mandating a tax on financial transactions,” begins a piece in IPS News, out of Rome this morning. “The letter’s signatories, in a notable break from the sector, include seven former executives of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, two of the United States’ largest players in the financial services industry. They also include several hedge-fund operators and four current and former heads of European banks.”
Can it be that there are banksters with a conscience, after having crippled the world’s economy with their trading scams? This tax is sometimes called by progressives a “Robin Hood” tax, because it brings the 1%, who own 80% of the investments, into a share of responsibility for their actions. Congress, on its knees kissing bankster butt for the campaign bribes, needs to hear about this.
In other progressive economic news, the people of Mauritius have moved their economy to a fair trade status, certifying that decent labor and environmental standards are behind the goods they produce. We urge our readers to buy fair trade goods when they can, a wonderful step toward creating a better world, ending slave labor, and contributing to saving our planet.


text:
Apple has reduced the price of iPhone 11 to Rs 54,900 after the launch of the iPhone 12 series.
If you are planning to buy an iPhone 11 during the coming festive season then you may get into a dilemma regarding which offer to opt for. Just days after Amazon announced that the iPhone 11 will be available under Rs 50,000 (around Rs 47,999) during the Amazon Great Indian Festival sale starting October 17, Apple’s newly launched online store in India too has announced an attractive offer.
Apple will be offering free AirPods to iPhone 11
buyers who shop from the online India Apple store or by simply visiting Apple’s India website. The Diwali offer will start from October 17. There may be some fine print which Apple is yet to disclose but this offer will be for a limited time. What buyers will also get are engravings that Apple does exclusively on the AirPods, iPad and Apple Pencil. So, if you buy the iPhone 11, you can get free engraving on the AirPods.
The iPhone 11 is priced at Rs 54,990 for the base variant with 64GB storage on the Apple online store. The AirPods sell at a price of Rs 14,900. So, it brings down the effective price of the iPhone 11 to almost Rs 40,000 with the free AirPods offer.
Meanwhile, Amazon will be offering more discount on the iPhone 11 with the price going down from Rs 68,300 to Rs 47,999 during the festive sale season.
So, you have to choose between buying iPhone 11 for Rs 47,999 from Amazon and buying iPhone 11 with AirPods (worth Rs 14,900) from Apple online store.
For iPhone 11 buyers, another important thing to keep in mind is that deals on iPhones usually doesn't last for long on Amazon. So, you may have to hurry to get the best bang for your buck.


text:
99 Gabriella Erotica Strip Pantyhose Microfibre Opaque Suspender Tights Find Gabriella Suspender Tights.asics shoes release dates q3 This process took about two days and included officers from Community Services, the Professional Support Unit and Financial Services. She has a naughty smile on her face as if she is teasing us to move her arms and take off her clothes.
The lack of necessary timing software delayed its introduction, though a compromise between the new and old formats is set to be run for the Australian Grand Prix though it remains uncertain two weeks away from the season opener.asics shoes release dates q3 ??Though the project is facing legal challenges in Second District Court, the loggers are already removing trees along a 20 mile segment in northwestern Pennsylvania. Crowdfunded arcade bar raises cashGlasgow's first arcade bar, Super Bario will open in March at 7 King Street, following a successful crowd funding project via the website Kickstarter.asics shoes release dates q3
??Her face have light makeup and her finger nails have red nail polish that is perfect for her pale white skin. Artists, writers, social networkers, cultural provocateurs, new young feminists, archivists and more will be unpicking the astonishing cultural legacy of the CCCS. Take a good look at the sort of phrases that people are using when they make a search for the products or services you sell.asics shoes release dates q3


text:
Now that Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are all in our collective rear-view mirrors, welcome to America’s newest shopping holiday — and this one may be the most consumer-friendly of the bunch.
This Saturday will mark the first-ever National Use Your Gift Card Day, a nudge to consumers to “Celebrate the Present” they may have received over the holidays rather than allowing their gift cards to potentially diminish in value and eventually expire. An estimated $1 billion in gift cards go unused each year
The unspent dollars are called breakage. Breakage is when a gift card has reached its 5 year expiration date and all of the funds on the card have not been redeemed by the gift cardholder. In some cases, it may be the full amount of the card.
As most gift cards do not require personal information to purchase, such as name, address, email, etc., the retailer does not know who to return the unused funds back to. Therefore the remaining dollars on the card are split between the retailer/issuer/distributor and state governments that have unclaimed property or escheatment laws. This number reflects approximately 1- 4% of total gift card sales.
“Gift cards have never had their own day,” Tracy Tilson, founder of National Use Your Gift Card Day and of its web site, UseYourGiftCard.com. The founder of Tilson PR public-relations firm in south Florida registered the web site and trademarked the name after finding three expired gift cards stashed away in her wallet.
The National Retail Federation estimated that consumers planned to purchase three or four gift cards with an average credit of $47, for a total of $27.5 billion during the just-completed holiday season. Tilson said her UseYourGiftCard.com web site will help remind consumers to use their gift cards or to consider donating them before they end up in the bottom of drawers and the back of wallets.
“We all do it,” Tilson said in a release “We receive gift cards that were at the top of our wish lists for the holidays with every intention to use them, and then they’re forgotten. National Use Your Gift Card Day is a reminder for consumers to use their gift cards so not a single dollar goes unspent.”
UseYourGiftCard.com has been recognized by the 2020 edition of Chase’s Calendar of Events as well as the Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaiming National Use Your Gift Card Day to be observed on the third Saturday in January, annually.The effort is partnering with merchants and restaurants to help remind their customers.
“They see it as potentially another shopping holiday,” Tilson said. Surveys show that consumers usually spend over and above the value of a gift card when they go shopping with card in hand. Plus, Tilson said, “It’s a great way to build brand loyalty.”
Some retailers are going a step further, creating special incentives around the new Use Your Gift Card holiday. “rue 21,” which has five locations throughout the Miami Valley, is offering 15 percent off purchases made with a gift card from Jan. 18-26. Fellow clothing retailer Life Is Good is offering 10 percent off of purchases made with a gift card.
This is why the “Use Your Gift Card” holiday is a win-win: both the retailer and the cardholder benefit. It is a widely spread myth that retailers really do not want their cardholders to spend the funds. In fact, they prefer the funds are used. Purchasing a digital gift card provides a higher likelihood the card will not fall fate to breakage, as some personal information is captured during the process, enabling the retailer to provide notification of unspent funds.
John North, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Dayton and the Miami Valley, said the large amount of unused gift cards “is no surprise given that they are a popular gift for any occasion. Lost, misplaced and forgotten cards can add up quickly. Some consumers make an initial purchase and then forget and may even leave small amounts of dollars on the card. Those small amounts can add up as well.”And the BBB president’s advice for those who hold gift cards? “Spend the card immediately,” North said. “The most common reason a card goes unused is because it’s lost or misplaced.”
The self-described consumer warrior Clark Howard says the volatile retail landscape, with many retailers shutting down stores and perhaps flirting with bankruptcy, provides even more incentive to use gift cards quickly.
“There’s a real risk to you that a restaurant or retailer will go bust before you get a chance to use their gift card,” Howard wrote on his web site. “In that case, you’re out the money. … If you get a gift card for any occasion, you should treat it like a hot potato: Get it out of your wallet as soon as possible by using it.”
Overview by Sue Brown, Director, Prepaid Advisory service at Mercator Advisory Group


text:
Hyundai's Ioniq EV gets a bigger battery and more connectivity
A 36 percent storage capacity increase could boost the range to 183 miles.
Hyundai plans 38 EVs as it tries to catch up with rivals
For a company that's taken its time with electric vehicles, that's a lot.
Hyundai chooses efficiency over range with its new Ioniq vehicles
The company is introducing three green cars in 2017.
Hyundai tests a more economical autonomous car system
The automaker wants to democratize the self-driving future.
Here's what Hyundai's first all-electric vehicle looks like
It comes in gasoline-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, too.
Hyundai teases the Ioniq, its first all-electric vehicle
The Ioniq will arrive in gasoline-electric and plug-in hybrid models, too.


text:
Pfizer's launch of the inhaled insulin Exubera is slated for June, Human Health President Karen Katen said during an investor meeting Feb. 10. The company had previously said the timeline for launch was mid-year due to supply chain issues, the need for physician education and reimbursement discussions (1"The Pink Sheet" Feb. 13, 2006, p. 23). Katen noted that Pfizer has not yet announced Exubera's pricing but stated "we will possibly announce it" prior to the June lunch. Exubera was approved Jan. 27 for the treatment of adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes...
You may also be interested in...
Pfizer's mid-year launch timeline for its inhaled insulin therapy Exubera is influenced by the need to educate physicians, complex supply chain issues and reimbursement discussions, Pfizer co-development partner Nektar suggested
Cosmetics Europe Talks Microplastic: ECHA Frustrations, ‘Value Judgments’ And International Trade Uncertainty
The European Chemicals Agency's microplastic restriction proposal received committee backing in 2020 without changes sought by the cosmetics industry, which faces €15bn in projected costs and scarce alternatives at present. It may come down to EU Member States to decide whether the ECHA restriction proposal is proportionate in balancing environmental goals and socio-economic impacts.
Roche/Genentech oncology partnering maintained a robust dealmaking pace through the pandemic, keeping the percentage of partnered R&D programs at about 50% of the cancer drug pipeline.


text:
As video game companies continue to court the music industry, presenting themselves as immersive marketing tools during a largely concertless 2020, Lil Nas X is the latest high-profile act to join the trend: The “Old Town Road” rapper has announced that he will perform a virtual concert on Roblox, one of the most popular kids’ video games on the market. The news comes two days after Lil Nas X teased his new song “Holiday” during Sunday Night Football on NBC, marking his first new music since his 2019 debut EP.
The concert, which will air on Saturday, November 14th at 4 p.m. Eastern time with a pre-show Q&A at 7 p.m. Eastern time the day before, is a collaboration nearly eight months in the making between Roblox, Lil Nas X, and his label, Columbia Records. Roblox met with Sony Music’s corporate team earlier this year looking to develop a major in-game concert; Columbia CEO Ron Perry and senior vice president of experiential marketing and business development Ryan Ruden successfully pitched Lil Nas X, seeing him as the best fit for the game’s younger demographic. Ruden had previously shown interest in the concept by meeting with Roblox in October 2019 as the game was promoting itself as a potential partner to several record labels.
“We’re throwing the biggest virtual concert of 2020, and I hope everybody in the world can come check it out,” Lil Nas X said in a statement. “I feel very lucky to be the first artist to ever do this on Roblox. We had so much fun putting this together for my fans, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
The show reflects significant musical ambitions at Roblox, which has more than 150 million monthly active users, including about half of all Americans under the age of 16, according to the company. Roblox’s user base has slowly been aging up, and its creators are looking to music as a new means of engaging with users and giving them more experiences to keep the game fresh. While Roblox has aired more casual video streams for concerts before, this is the game’s first fully animated virtual concert event. Virtual shows have become a popular means of broadening in-game experiences for games as a whole, with popular games such as Fortnite and Minecraft getting more heavily involved with music as well.
“These music experiences have always been the plan. Ahead of what’s been happening with Covid, music was key going into 2020, and we wanted to find ways to better introduce music to the platform,” Roblox head of music Jon Vlassopulos tells Rolling Stone, citing events like Global Citizen’s One World: Together At Home benefit, which aired on the game this spring. “What we saw right away with those first couple video shows… was that our users enjoyed connecting with the artists and with their friends around music. But what we’re doing with Nas is a true virtual concert: a virtual artist, virtual stage, and virtual audience. This is the first, and we’re planning for more in the future.”
Roblox used motion capturing with Lil Nas X to create a virtual hip-hop cowboy counterpart, and it designed a specially-created, neon-lit old western town in the game as his venue. Roblox will also be selling several digital merchandise items that users can buy with Robux, Roblox’s in-game currency acquired with actual cash; it has created mini-events like a Lil Nas X-themed scavenger hunt to hype up fans before the gig.
Those digital purchases in particular are a promising potential new revenue stream for artists to supplement their current streaming, physical merchandise, and ticket revenue, Vlassopulos says. He declined to give specific details on how the cash from those purchases would be split between Roblox and Columbia.
Experiences like virtual concerts are key to Roblox’s longer-term goal of creating a richer metaverse, which makes for a more fully interactive online world, complete with its own economy and culture for users. “It combines gaming, social media, and entertainment. It’s this fully immersive, vast, diverse universe of experiences,” Vlassopulos says. “We love this notion of human co-experience, and anyone can tell you music’s a big part of that.”
On the music side, gaming has quickly emerged as the trendiest opportunity in the business, both for performances and investment. Superstars including Travis Scott and J Balvin have performed high-profile shows on Fortnite; Balvin, along with the Weeknd and Justin Bieber, recently made up a star-studded investment round for animated concert maker Wave, which also has a partnership in development with Roblox. Rae Sremmurd rapper Swae Lee also recently invested in esports organization XSET.
As the pandemic has accelerated the music business’ timeline for adopting digital platforms like livestreaming and video games, Columbia wants to go further into the gaming space as well.
For the Lil Nas X show in particular, with so many artists taking to Fortnite since the pandemic began, Columbia sees hosting first the Roblox concert as a way to break new ground and help create a distinct moment for one of its biggest superstar acts as they begin to push new music. The label previously invested in a video game streaming studio for artists who may be interested in streaming on Twitch, and Dominic Fike, one of Columbia’s upcoming rappers, played a Fortnite show in October. The label will have more activations on Fortnite in the coming months, Ruden says. Ruden, who’s helping spearhed the label’s gaming push, calls Lil Nas X’s show — easily Columbia’s biggest gaming play to date — a culmination of years of researching and exploring the ecosystem.
“What I realized is that the gaming audience is so savvy, so smart, and it cannot be fooled. Music, like in every sphere, is a universal language and very native to gaming,” Ruden says. “Few people were getting music right in this space. Predating Dom [Fike] and Nas, this investment that we’ve made on the Columbia side has been trying to understand gaming culture and and add value without jamming music into something that didn’t feel authentic.”
Perhaps most promising for Columbia and Lil Nas X, the show is a unique way to market new music in an era where touring isn’t an option. Scott saw great success debuting his single “The Scotts” on Fortnite, helping him to a Number One bow on the RS 100, and several of his tracks and albums resurfaced on the RS 100 and 200 following his show. Lil Nas X’s team is surely hoping for similar results on Roblox.
“Always, but right now especially, we have to find new and innovative ways to reach and find and to create communities around the new music of the artist,” Ruden says.”When we deal with artists at the caliber of Nas, you want to find things that haven’t been done before. Nas touches multiple ages and goes everywhere, but when you can reach 150 million kids in one go, that’s different.”


text:
NEV registrations hit another record in China over November
In China, sales of new energy cars reached a new high in November: According to estimates by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), around 732,000 new energy cars were sold – about 56,000 more than in the previous record month of October 2022.
While the registration level in September and October was roughly the same at 675,000 and 676,000 new energy vehicles, respectively, it went up again in November, specifically eight per cent more than in October 2022 and about 71 per cent more than in November 2021. However, this time the CPCA does not distinguish between battery-electric passenger cars and plug-in hybrids. It is probably safe to say that far more BEVs than PHEVs were sold in November. This is supported by the trend of the past months. In September and October, for example, around 75 per cent BEVs and 25 per cent PHEVs were sold in China within the New Energy Vehicles category.
Incidentally, the sources for the figures from China are unclear, because the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) also publishes statistics. In these, sales for November actually amount to 786,000 New Energy Vehicles, after 714,000 and 708,000 in the two previous months. The CAAM also distinguishes between battery-electric cars and plug-in hybrids: 615,000 BEVs and 171,000 PHEVs are said to have been sold in November. So the sources differ on absolute sales, but hardly on the relative growth of the market. So the trend in China is definitely upwards. To make our China sales articles from previous months comparable, we are using the CPCA’s more conservative figures.
China’s leading manufacturers such as BYD, Tesla and SAIC-GM-Wuling “maintained good momentum” in November, as the CPCA states. Indeed, BYD posted its third record in a row. The manufacturer sold 229,942 New Energy Vehicles – up from 217,618 in October and 200,973 NEVs in September. Both BEVs (to 113,915 units) and PHEVs (116,027 units) increased. It is not known how many vehicles were exported – as is well known, the brand’s European launch is due in the fourth quarter.
Tesla sold more than 100,000 electric cars produced in China for the first time in November: 100,291 to be exact, of which 62,493 were sold in China and 37,798 exported. The sales figure represents an 89.73 per cent increase over the 52,859 vehicles sold in the same month last year and a 39.87 per cent increase over the 71,704 vehicles sold in October.
The end of the year in China is marked by the expiry of purchase bonuses at the turn of the year. According to the portal “CN EV Post”, Tesla reacted to this by changing the stated delivery time to Chinese customers for the Model 3 and Model Y from “in 1 to 5 weeks” to “December 2022” on 2 December. This is apparently intended to give Chinese consumers who still want to order a Tesla quickly the security of still being able to enjoy the bonuses.
BYD and Tesla are followed by a wide margin by the manufacturers GAC Aion, Neta, Nio and Zeekr – all with five-digit sales figures. GAC Aion recorded 28,765 BEV sales in November, slightly less than in October (30,063). Neta’s curve is also pointing slightly downwards with 15,072 battery-electric sales after the October mark (18,016). The opposite is true for Nio: 14,178 BEVs represent a clear increase over the previous month (10,059). Meanwhile, newcomer Zeekr’s sales reached five figures for the second time: Although the Geely brand has introduced its second model, the 009, the 11,011 BEVs in November are all still accounted for by the first model, the 001. This puts Zeekr ahead of Leapmotor (8,047 BEVs) and Xpeng (5,811 BEVs), which has to cope with a conspicuous decline for the second time after October. We had already reported on Xpeng’s weak second half of the year here.
With reporting by Cora Werwitzke, France.
cnevpost.com (CPCA), cnevpost.com (CAAM), cnevpost.com (BYD), cnevpost.com, cnevpost.com (beide China), cnevpost.com (GAC Aion), cnevpost.com (Neta), nio.com, cnevpost.com (Zeekr), cnevpost.com (Leapmotor), ir.xiaopeng.com


text:
Highlights of event included women's tree climbing workshop
November 1, 2019 By Turf & Rec
October’s GIE+EXPO realized a sixth consecutive record-breaking year, drawing more than 26,500 people to the landscaping conference and trade show in Louisville, Ky. Registration among lawn and landscape attendees increased by 18 per cent.
In addition, the indoor exhibit floor and the outdoor demonstration area were larger than ever, covering 24,000 net square feet more than last year.
GIE+EXPO is the annual gathering place for all segments of the outdoor power equipment and lawn and garden industry. The event is sponsored by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) and National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP).
Show highlights and special features:
• Lawn and landscape attendee categories increased by 18 per cent.
• Servicing dealer registrants increased by eight per cent.
• 34 per cent of dealer/retailer and 42 per cent of lawn and landscape attendees were first-timers.
• Attendees hailed from across the United States and more than 40 countries.
• Indoor booths were spread throughout 675,000 square feet of class A exhibit space.
• The outdoor demo area exceeded 20 acres for the third year in a row.
• More than 80 products were highlighted in the New Products Spotlight.
• Free parking at the Kentucky Exposition Center allowed easy access for all attendees and exhibitors.
• The number of software and technology companies exhibiting increased to more than 80.
While new products and the outdoor demonstration area are huge draws, organizers strive to keep the show fresh year after year by offering something new for visitors each time. Special features this year included:
• Arborist demos by the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop gave attendees the opportunity to learn from a group of experts who demonstrated climbing techniques on a 40-foot tree inside the expo center. The sessions, presented by Davey Tree, were sponsored by STIHL, with support from SHELTER Tree.
• A new social media lounge, sponsored by ECHO Means Business, provided a place for attendees to network and hear insights from live guests and social media influencers right on the trade show floor.
• A free technology seminar, “Avoiding the Temptation of Enabling our Robotic Overlords,” offered an overview of IT trends.
• Organizers partnered with the Kentucky Humane Society for the second annual Mutt Madness, sponsored by TurfMutt. Thursday afternoon in Freedom Hall, attendees interacted with dogs looking for a good home, and 15 dogs were adopted.
• Sessions by high-impact speakers, including Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman, sponsored by John Deere; economic expert Brian Beaulieu, sponsored by Mahindra; and dealership guru Bob Clements were included with trade show registration.
The winner of the Fabulous Friday $20,000 giveaway was Jake Guindon of Lonestar Landscaping & Co., Waterdown, Ont.
GIE+EXPO 2020 is set for Oct. 21-23. Plans are in the works for new features and real-world education on hot industry topics such as how to use drones in your business, and exhibitors are already signing up to showcase their innovations.
“Unlike other events where attendees sit in meeting rooms, GIE+EXPO offers hands-on training with things like the arborist demos, the outdoor demo area, the new social media lounge, engine tech training and live hardscape demos,” Kris Kiser, managing partner of GIE+EXPO and OPEI president, said. “Next year we’re adding indoor drone training in Freedom Hall, an equipment test track and hands-on education with the latest in technology and robotic mowers.”
Print this page


text:
About Art Radar
Did you know that Art Radar is the only editorially independent online news source writing about contemporary art across Asia?
We conduct original research and scan global news sources to bring you the taste-changing, news-making and up-and-coming in Asian contemporary art.
Next City Meet Up: Hong Kong Dec 2013Join us in mid December at the Asia Society Hong Kong for a talk by founder Kate Cary Evans on Appreciating Contemporary Asian Art Sign up here to be alerted
Get published in 2013
The Art Radar Diploma in Art Journalism and Writing is a unique course that guarantees publication.
You'll receive one-on-one personal feedback and build a portfolio of published writing to show future employers, editors and grant distributors.
Free opportunities listings!
We're offering free opportunity listings to all of our readers. Your listing will appear here.
If you would like to advertise your opportunity to 20,000 visitors a month contact the page coordinator on email@example.com.
Tag Archives: Poly Auction
Taking on art giants: Chinese auction houses hit Hong Kong – media round up
Posted on Monday, December 3rd, 2012
China Guardian and Poly Auction hosted their first sales in Hong Kong in late 2012. The moves may mark the first step in a growing international business strategy for mainland auction houses.
The (potential) politics of art: China’s soft power push
Posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
The New York Times ran an article in June 2012 on Chinese museums and their recent push to host exhibitions of international artwork. We take a closer look at China’s soft power push.
China Guardian to host first Hong Kong sales in October 2012
Posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Mainland China’s largest auction house, China Guardian, will conduct sales in Hong Kong for the first time in October 2012. The move is a direct challenge to Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
Chinese art market in free fall – June 2012 ArtTactic report
Posted on Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
Does the plummet in Chinese auction sales bode a return to a 2008 crash market? ArtTactic have released a new report on a Chinese art market that is showing signs of slowdown.
New records for Chinese auction houses despite market slowdown – ArtTactic report
Posted on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
While the Eurozone crisis and rumors of a property bubble burst may have slowed the art market in the fall of 2011, Chinese art auctions still hit record sales for the year past.
How Chinese auction house Poly sold spectacular 83% lots in December 2008 art sale
Posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008
ART AUCTIONS CHINA This weekend marked the end of the auction season on the Chinese mainland and, while spectacular success was had in antiques and antiquity sale categories, contemporary Chinese art shared little of the success…save for Poly Auctions, says Katie … Continue reading


text:
SMiT Congratulates its Important Partner Ziggo on Winning the Cable Europe Innovation Award
April 01, 2014 --
HONG KONG, April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SMiT, a global provider of techniques for safe distribution of paid content, congratulates its important partner Ziggo, the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, on wining the Cable Europe Innovation Award due to CI+ 1.3 VOD CAM (Video-on-Demand Conditional Access Module). "SMiT is very happy to work with Ziggo to offer CI Plus 1.3 VOD CAM, and we are so proud the product is associated with Ziggo's success," said Hongyu Shuai, the president of SMiT.
Cable Europe is the trade association representing the European cable industry, and the Cable Europe Innovation Award is to encourage the companies and individuals who help cable innovate and stay ahead of the customer. According to the previous news released by Cable Europe, The award is voted on by delegates at Cable Congress in early March 2014 "for Ziggo's Interactive Digital Cable with no STB offer, based on a CI Plus 1.3 CAM."
The CI Plus 1.3 CAM allows the subscribers' interactive watching experience without the need for a set-top box (STB), and Ziggo is the first operator in the world to distribute VOD and catch-up TV services to CI Plus 1.3 devices.
SMiT is a global-leading operation platform provider for secure distribution of paid contents. In broadcasting industry, SMiT is a world famous provider for customized Conditional Access Module (CAM). Besides, SMiT is also an end-to-end platform provider for secure distribution of OTT paid contents in internet industry, offering operators and content providers flexible OTT-based solutions.
Copyright 2014 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved


text:
Rich bank executive uses baby stroller to shoplift from Whole FoodsBy Mason White 4:35 PM July 18, 2017
By: William Martin WorldWideWeirdNews.com
An investment banker in New York, has appeared before a judge after he was caught with food that he did not pay for.
42-year-old Jordan Lupu of Manhattan, was shopping at a Whole Foods on Greenwich Street in Tribeca, with his two children.
He was pushing a double stroller and he walked towards the entrance of the store with his groceries without paying for them.
A store security guard stopped him and found $210 worth of items in the basket underneath the stroller.
Lupu, the co-head of global prime brokerage at BMO Capital Markets, lives in a $3 million home just a few blocks from the store.
He was given a desk appearance ticket.
Attorney Andrew Lankler said that his client denied the charges. He called the case a misunderstanding.
Lankler claims that his client was pushing the stroller with his young kids when he wanted to check a price for an item that was located close to the exit.
He said that the only way for his client to reach the item without leaving his children alone was to walk towards the door where the item was placed.
“He never left the store or had any intention of leaving the store without paying for the items,” Lankler said.
When he appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court, the banker accepted a deal of an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.
The father did not have to admit guilt in the alleged thefts. Instead, he was ordered to stay out of trouble. If he complies and does not reoffend within six months, the charges will be dropped and the case sealed.


text:
The seemingly ageless singer/actress has announced she’ll be launching her own range of skincare products (Will it give us a body like hers too?).
It’s hard to believe that Jennifer ‘JLo’ Lopez is just shy of 50 years of age – the woman seems to have done a deal with the devil, or found some sort of eternal youth elixir. She doesn’t just look incredible ‘for her age’, she looks incredible full stop.
She’s long been known for her gorgeous skin and now, after years of being asked about it, she’s launching her very own skincare line. At a recent event promoting her new film Second Act, Lopez said that she’s asked a lot about her skincare routine, especially as she’s gotten older.
A notorious perfectionist, Lopez revealed that she’s been working on her own line for ‘a long time' and said:
“I want it to be something that encompasses all the things I've learned and all the secrets I have. And it doesn't have anything to do with needles.
"It's going to be something that works. That's what you can count on when my name is on something."
It won’t be her first foray into the beauty world. She’s launched several fragrances over the years and earlier this year began a collaboration with makeup range, Inglot.
Details on the upcoming skincare range are sketchy at this stage but it’s thought it will launch late next year.


text:
Sustainable eating in Flagstaff
by Christian Booz
What’s for lunch? It is a question that you ask yourself every day. Whether you eat three meals a day or five, food always seems to be on people’s minds. What may not, however, is how much that food actually costs; not just out of pocket money, but environmental costs as well.
Here is an example: you ride your bike to McDonald’s and order yourself a burger. Riding your bike is definitely a great habit to have, because it saves carbon emissions. However, foods such as burgers and fries have plenty of carbon emissions to make up for it.
James Cascio, a writer for OpentheFuture.net, calculated one burger costs roughly six and a half pounds of carbon dioxide. He took this one step further and found in one year the United States’ love for burgers produces the annual carbon output of 7,500 to 15,000 SUVs.
Local restaurants, food providers and brewers are working toward reducing the carbon footprint of their products in order to create a more sustainable food system.
Diablo Burger, located at Heritage Square in downtown Flagstaff, is one of these restaurants.
“All of our burgers are made from 100 percent local, grass-fed, open-range raised beef from the Diablo Trust ranches” says Representative of Diablo Burger Derrick Widmark.
For Diablo Burger, using local food is a way to be sustainable, while bringing the community together and supporting the quality of life for the Flagstaff region.
“For us, it’s about connecting community to the local landscape through food, and supporting local ranchers and farmers who do so much that contributes to the quality of life this region has to offer,” Widmark says.
The emphasis on local food seems to be paying off.
“It’s the best burger and fries I’ve had in Flagstaff by far,” says Chad O’leary, a junior mechanical engineering student.
Sustainable eating practices can also extend to the bars. Motherroad and Lumberyard breweries have both received sustainability awards from Coconino County.
“Drinking locally reduces the carbon footprint because there are less transportation costs associated,” says Micheal Marquess, principle owner of Motherroad Brewery.
Breweries around Flagstaff as well as the country are working towards more sustainable brewing practices. Many give the used hops to local cattle farms for feed, use less and less water per pint and recycle any water they can throughout the brewing process. Drinking locally is drinking sustainably, because it reduces carbon footprint and increases the money going back into local businesses and farms.
“Bike or walk to the bars serving these local beers,” Marquess says. “Lastly, know your limits; don’t waste good beer.”
Northern Arizona University has also shown support for sustainable eating practices. The Green Scene Café, which is located in the Health and Learning Center, shows students the carbon footprint of their foods. The campus also practices composting; and in the Hot Spot the flyers on the tables show NAU is working towards a more sustainable food system.
In Flagstaff, there are plenty of opportunities to eat “green.” The Flagstaff farmer’s market is open every Sunday in the city hall parking lot. All food there is locally grown by people striving to live sustainably.
Jonathan Netzky, owner of the local food based catering service, Local Alternative, suggests that the first step to eating responsibly is being knowledgable about your food.
“Do your research,” Netzky says. ”Find out where your food comes from.”


text:
Shoppers can do their bit to boost a charity’s coffers while having the opportunity to win prizes.
Middleton Grange Shopping Centre in Hartlepool is hosting a dedicated Macmillan Day tomorrow to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Care.
Centre staff have organised a fun-packed day which will feature prize giveaways via a charity tombola and raffle.
The charity tombola will see more than 50 prizes up for grabs, including cuddly toys, baby bundles, perfumes, photo frames, jewellery and handbags.
For a donation of £1, shoppers can also enter the Middleton Grange raffle to be in with a chance of winning a host of prizes including a paddle board session for six, donated by Hartlepool Marina.
Various retailers at the centre have donated prizes, including a Yankee Candle from Bright and Beautiful, an oil burner set from Soap & soul, a £10 gift voucher from CEX, a wine glass from Simply Charming, a wallet from Geek Cave and a purse from Bags Galore.
Mark Rycraft, centre manager at Middleton Grange, said: “Macmillan Cancer Care is a wonderful charity providing care and services to those in need and is close to the hearts of all the team here at Middleton Grange.
“We’d like to thank our retailers for their kind donations.”
“We hope shoppers come along and show their support. There are some brilliant prizes up for grabs and lots to be won!”
A cake sale will also be held to raise funds for the cancer care charity.


text:
Yulin Dog Meat Festival opens with more visitors
Until recently, it appeared that the local government was going to ban the event. Although “subdued” with vendors allowed to put only two dogs on display, this year’s edition is drawing more visitors, thanks to the greater visibility generated by animal rights activists. Some 10-20 million dogs are butchered every year. For one local, “eating dog is just like eating fish and chicken."
Yulin (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The famous Yulin Dog Meat Festival opened today in Guangxi province. Every year, it draws thousands of people, dog breeders, as well as chefs and dog meat aficionados.
For several years, animal rights activists have sought to have the event cancelled, accusing merchants and breeders of mistreating the animals.
Recently, local authorities promised even to ban the Festival, but then reached a compromise with vendors, namely a limit of two dogs on display per stall.
Although there are fewer stalls than last year, everything looks like other years. In fact, according to vendors the number of visitors is up thanks to animal rights activists whose criticism has made dog meat more fashionable and more visitors want to taste it.
Still, according to the Global Times, this year’s festival is more "subdued". Vendors have covered up the Chinese character for dog, some with yellow paper. In most cases, dogs are slaughtered outside the city rather than in the streets.
Dog meat consumption is not illegal in China. According to the Humane Society International, between 10 and 20 million dogs are killed for food annually, and business goes up during the festival about nine-fold.
The meat itself can be cooked in many ways: boiled, sautéed, fried, cooked with vegetables or in broth.
At the festival, people can also taste other sorts of meat, like cow tongues and pork hock and trotters.
"Eating dog meat is a long-standing tradition in Yulin, and to us, eating dog is just like eating fish and chicken. Have you seen chicken lovers trying to stop people from eating chicken?" one local resident is quoted as saying.


text:
The Tesla Model S is not a popular vehicle with car thieves thanks to its always-on advanced GPS tracking feature. It’s something that was beautifully demonstrated when a Model S was briefly stolen in Vancouver last year and the owner gave live-instructions to the police while they were catching up with the thief.
But it doesn’t mean that the vehicle is theft-proof, it just mean that only more sophisticated thieves, and there’s no shortage of those, can get away with it. Now two new Tesla Model S cars were recently stolen in Europe and it’s puzzling the owners.
In the case of the theft in Vancouver, the cause was very simple. The owner had recently purchased a new key fob and forgot it inside the vehicle. The thief simply had to walk up the vehicle, open the door and drive away.
If your Tesla disappears and you still have your keys, that’s when things get more complicated.
It happened to two Model S owners in Germany, one from Essen and one from Dusseldorf, who recently reported their new vehicles stolen. It started a thread of over 300 messages on the German Tesla Motors Club in an attempt to figure out what happened.
The one in Essen, a brand new Tesla Model S 90D in gray, was reported stolen August 2. The owner says that it was stolen right from his driveway and he still has the keys. As of yesterday, he says that neither the police nor Tesla found anything.
Similar situation for a Tesla Model S P90D in Dusseldorf, Germany, reported stolen on June 11, that still hasn’t turned up.
Here are the two vehicles, but I wouldn’t bet on them looking the same right now:
We still don’t know exactly what happened, but after over 300 messages between the owners and the other Tesla forum members, the leading theory is that the thief or thieves might have managed to compromise the Tesla accounts of the owners, one admitted to a weak password, and used the iPhone/Android app to access and drive the vehicles.
They would have also managed to jam the GPS signal or found another way to block the tracking – accessing and removing the sim card, etc. Needless to say, you’d need a sophisticated thief to pull it off, but we are talking about vehicles worth over $100,000 – high risk, high reward.
We reached out to Tesla for comments on the theory, but representatives have not responded to our requests for information.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


text:
Full disclosure: The Menzoid hates drive-thrus for numerous reasons, some of which are noted in the Weird Al Yankovic song, Trapped in the Drive Thru.
But if you want to patronize these fast-food lanes, that’ your business.
But alas, Nanny State-ism has come to the Drive-Thru. You see, according to the Chronicle Herald, Bernard Barrett has been told by his local Tim Hortons outlet that he’s no longer welcome to use the drive thru-lane in his scooter.
Why would that be? Well, according to Tim Hortons spokes-thingy David Morelli, it is corporate policy to ban “non-licenced, non-motorized
vehicles” from drive-thrus.
Said Morelli: “We don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
Hurt? It’s a drive-thru not an expressway! How fast do cars go in a drive-through? A fraction of a fraction of a kilometre? And Tim Hortons deems this to be dangerous?
Worse, Barrett has special needs and requires a scooter for mobility. And because it is a large, four-wheeled device, it’s too hard for him to
maneuver it inside the restaurant.
So the question arises: how does Tim Hortons no drive-through policy trump the rights of disabled customers?
In fact, one has to wonder if a disabled customer actually has fewer rights than a dog at Tim Hortons? Check out this Tim Hortons TV ad which
describes how Sammi the wonder dog picks up a donut from the Timmy’s drive-thru every morning:
Sooo … it’s OK for a pooch to use a drive-thru lane at Timmie’s … but it’s not OK for a human being with special needs?
Apparently, the coffee shop that specializes in the double-double also champions the double standard.
Nice to see Tim Hortons, the latest entity to embrace the merits of an uber-safe bubble-wrapped society, has its priorities straight.
Maple Leaf great Tim Horton must be doing Serge Savardian spin-o-ramas in the grave right now…


text:
Tom Zhu, the president of Tesla China, has taken over the company’s sales and service in North America with Tesla Vice President Troy Jones reporting directly to him, according to Electrek.
Troy Jones, a ten-year Tesla veteran, oversees the company’s sales in North America and reported directly to Elon Musk. Him reporting to Zhu now adds gravity to Zhu’s responsibility and potential in the company. Previously, Zhu has also been appointed to oversee Tesla’s factory in Austin, Texas, which started production a year ago.
Tom Zhu, or Xiaotong Zhu, has been in charge of Tesla affairs (such as production, sales, etc.) in China for several years. As PingWest previously reported, Tom Zhu is likely moving on to become the CEO of Tesla Global. Zhu will not replace Elon Musk’s role at the company entirely, unlike the title suggests. The position Zhu will be appointed only covers Tesla’s automotive business, and will exclude its autonomous driving and robotics projects from the start, according to several sources who spoke to PingWest.
Even though Tesla has not officially confirmed the news, signs of Zhu fading out of Tesla China and moving on to a broader position has been emerging. Zhu is no longer the “legal representative” of a car dealership associated with Tesla, as PingWest reported on December 27. (Under China laws, a legal representative is someone who’s name is on the company’s business license. The role itself normally doesn’t come with any authority or management power. )
Ever since joining Tesla China in April 2014, Zhu has played a critical role in the Tesla’s expansion in the country and especially the company’s Gigafactory in Shanghai. It only took less than a year for Zhu to rise to Tesla China’s leadership, and five years for him to be identified as Tesla’s Global Vice President and President of Greater China.
Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory officially began production in October 2019. By 2021, the factory accounted for 51.7% of Tesla’s global deliveries. In November this year, the Shanghai Gigafactory delivered 100,291 vehicles, setting a new record for monthly deliveries, according to Chinese media Xinhua News Agency.
Under Zhu’s leadership, Tesla China’s numbers clearly pleased Musk. Earlier this year, Zhu was appointed to lead Tesla’s businesses in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes Singapore, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
Notably, when the Shanghai plant was largely affected by the COVID outbreak in China earlier this year and had to shutdown temporarily, Zhu spent most of the second half of this year shuttling between Fremont, California, and Austin, Texas, where Tesla headquarters are located, working with Musk on a number of global matters, rather than focusing on the Shanghai Plant, the operation across China, or even Asian-Pacific regional matters.


text:
Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world.
+1 212 318 2000
Europe, Middle East, & Africa
+44 20 7330 7500
+65 6212 1000
Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 21, 2009
More bad news for Lenovo. China’s top PC company today announced it lost $264 million in the quarter ended March 31. The loss was no surprise, given the awful state of the computer industry, although it was worse than many had expected. Eric Savitz, blogging at Barron’s Online, says analysts were looking at a Lenovo loss of $186 million. According to Bloomberg, the median estimate expected by five analysts was a loss of $211 million.
So what’s Lenovo supposed to do next? It already has laid off thousands of workers in a big restructuring effort. After announcing a quarterly loss for the last three months of 2008, the company also pushed through a management shakeup, with Bill Amelio, the Dell exec brought in a few years ago to help the Chinese company go global, leaving. (We wrote about Amelio’s departure in this BW story.) Now the old team is in charge, with founder Liu Chuanzhi back at the helm and trying to boost Lenovo’s fortunes by focusing on the Chinese market. Problem is, that strategy might make sense from a business point of view, but politically it’s a bit of a disaster. One of the most important points of government-backed Lenovo buying the old PC division of IBM back in 2005 was to help promote Beijing’s goal of turning Chinese companies into global champions that could uphold the honor of the motherland against the Americans and the Japanese. “You carry the hopes of China on your shoulders,” Premier Wen Jiabao said once to Yang, as my colleague Steve Hamm wrote in this BW story from 2006. With declining sales in the Americas (minus 24.6%), declining sales in Europe, Middle East and Africa (minus 13%) and declining sales in ex-China Asia (minus 32%), those hopes seem to be fading.
If Liu and Yang want to find a way to get back in the good graces of China’s Communists rulers, they should consider something bold. A few weeks ago, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi Jr. came out with a report suggesting Dell solve some of its problems by merging with Acer. The idea, according to Sacconaghi, makes sense because the industry needs consolidation and Dell and Acer’s businesses are complementary. The same holds true for Lenovo and Acer: The two have been bitter rivals for years, but there’s some logic to the two teaming up. Lenovo is strong in China and weak most everywhere else; Acer is weak in China and strong most everywhere else. While HP and Dell have made some headway in the Chinese market, Acer is still very much an also-ran despite years of effort. In other markets, Lenovo is strong in business sectors where Acer is relatively weak. The Chinese company, thanks to the IBM legacy, is strong in sales to enterprises but is weak with consumers; Acer is weak in enterprise and strong with consumers.
And of course there’s the political symbolism of a Lenovo-Acer partnership. When Chen Shui-bian, an advocate of Taiwan formally declaring itself independent of China, was president of Taiwan, relations between Beijing and Taipei were in the deep freeze and such a deal would have been impossible. Now, though, Taiwan’s president is Ma Ying-jeou, whom Beijing likes much better and whose government is working to improve ties between the two sides. Taiwanese and mainlanders can now fly back and forth across the Taiwan Strait without having to go via Hong Kong, for instance, and the Taiwanese stock market has been soaring amid optimism about Chinese investment in local companies. In this climate, why not consider a Lenovo-Acer deal? If Lenovo were in the driver’s seat, Beijing would probably be thrilled. On the other hand, that’s a big if. The way the two companies are heading now, Acer is the stronger company. A mainland company getting swallowed by a Taiwanese company might be too much for China’s leaders to handle.
BusinessWeek’s team of Asia reporters brings you the latest insights on business, politics, technology and culture from some of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing economies. Eye on Asia’s bloggers include Asia regional editor Bruce Einhorn, Tokyo reporter Ian Rowley, Korea bureau chief Moon Ihlwan, Asia News Editor and China Bureau Chief. Dexter Roberts, and Hong Kong-based Asia correspondent Frederik Balfour.


text:
The announcement to the effects of nuclear bomb. Indeed, yesterday we surprisingly learned of the takeover by Facebook of the company Oculus VR which is at the origin of our dear Oculus Rift, number 1 in virtual reality today. Would that time be over?
Here is the announcement:
Mark Zuckerberg spoke on his Facebook account, saying:
You will understand, Mark Zuckerberg the genius of yesterday becomes the genius of today by getting his hands on Oculus VR for the sum of $ 2 billion. Small sum when we know that Facebook recently bought WhatsApp for 19 billion dollars ...
If everything leads to believe that this buyout is intended for the good future of the Rift, there are many disappointments among fans and owners of this headset ... Indeed, Facebook, the world's leading social network, will he be able to sublimate the Oculus Rift? Or will he just be able to take him to the path that everyone deplores… Mobile games!
The question inevitably arises! Gamers feel stung since they are obviously afraid that the long-awaited headset will end up becoming a simple accessory for “social” games… Should we fear a Candy Crush Saga VR? Or a Criminal Case VR? While it is true that this could be a good immersion experience, the ads will be less so… And yes, Facebook necessarily means advertising!
If this announcement provided the effect of a cold shower, can we still hope for a use based exclusively on “real” gaming? Opinions differ… Note all the same that this takeover could nevertheless give a boost to the Oculus concerning game developers. This can certainly shake things up and create the interest of it with the big development studios.


text:
Super Meat Boy was planned to cost a certain amount when it came out, but now it’ll cost less.
In a move that may unfortunately confuse people, Super Meat Boy developer Team Meat has announced that it’s holding a sale for the platformer from the moment it’s released on Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow, October 20. While it was originally going to be priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), it’ll now cost just 800 ($10).
However, this sale won’t last forever. Super Meat Boy‘s price is expected to rise “back” to $15 once the sale expires. With the holiday season so close, Team Meat wanted to do something special, but didn’t want to screw over anyone that had supported the game just a month or two earlier at release.
The idea here was to give a holiday present to Super Meat Boy‘s earliest supporters. Team Meat says the discount will end “in November,” but didn’t give an exact date. This may be one of the first times a game has ever gone on sale at release, aside from pre-order discounts on Steam and whatnot. Team Meat confirmed the sale with Microsoft on friday and it apparently loved the idea.
Super Meat Boy‘s 90s commercial explains what it’s about pretty adequately. It’s a sometimes fast-paced platformer starring a cube of meat that must rescue his girlfriend. Super Meat Boy will have free DLC in its XBLA release but is also coming to the Wii and PC at a later date.
I can see at least a few people becoming confused, or possibly upset over this sale, even though it is a really nice gesture. For those that don’t understand why the game spikes up 50% in price in a couple of weeks, it might be a detriment to buy the game later. On the other hand, it’s just one more reason to read The Escapist every day, where we regularly inform you of these things.
Source: Team Meat


text:
Half of Britain is concerned that the internet is destroying knowledge and that technology is upsetting the pace of their lives.
Government proposals to allow motorists a grace period of 15 minutes when parking on double yellow lines have proved to be controversial, but would they help SMEs”
Flash drives have quickly replaced older methods as the storage of preference for many people across the globe; they have become a vital part of computing for many in business and domestic situations.
To some people ‘sales’ is a four-letter word; it’s not really, but I made you look! Sales can seem scary to some business owners, as many of them don’t come from a sales background, but the continuing existence of your business depends upon it.
Research shows the UK's entrepreneurs are creating new businesses at a slower rate than most of Europe.
Employers are being urged to help staff understand and invest in auto-enrolment to save for their financial futures
Shop vacancies have increased this year but less are being abandoned by businesses going into administration.
What are the three main changes to employment law that business owners need to be aware of
Declan Reddington is founder of media agency adconnection and marketing firm Fetch
Good news for Britain's retail industry, as shop owners see sales rise thanks to the clement weather.
Legitimate new business figures are less than half of the reported numbers, according to new research.
Reality TV shows like "The Apprentice" can actually help your career, writes Scott Simons.


text:
Photo: Courtesy of Kérastase.
Kérastase has officially learned two things: If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and when Kate Moss is involved, it has a lifetime warranty. To that end, the brand has tapped Moss as its muse for the second year in a row. The model will be lending her visage to Kérastase's Couture Styling line, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary.
This time around, the brand is striving to help women tap into the envy-inducing, "perfectly unperfect" look à la Brigitte Bardot in the days of Studio 54. "The Brigitte Bardot 'mussed up' '60s look is both quintessentially French and completely universal," says hairdresser Luigi Murenu, who styled Moss' shoot. "Kate Moss is the Brigitte Bardot of today."
The line contains a handful of new products, including Laque Noir, a finishing spray; V.I.P., a texture spray; and Baume Double Je, a defining balm. It will hit shelves this summer — right around the time that Moss' new campaign drops in the U.S. While we wait for that, we'll just be sitting here with visions of Moss' gorgeous hair dancing through our brains...
Like this post? There's more. Get tons of beauty tips, tutorials, and news on the Refinery29 Beauty Facebook page!


text:
* Merkel pledges to stand by auto sector
* Lower Saxony premier calls VW a “pearl of German industry”
* VW execs yet to face German parliamentary grilling
* Public vow to remain faithful to national motoring icon
By Caroline Copley
BERLIN, Oct 15 (Reuters) - As a diesel emissions scandal grips Volkswagen, German politicians and regulators have handled the nation’s motoring icon with kid gloves in contrast to a crackdown by authorities in the United States.
In a bid to try and limit the damage to the cherished ‘Made in Germany’ brand, Chancellor Angela Merkel used a major speech last week to promise to stand by the auto sector, which provides one in seven German jobs.
Stephan Weil, premier of the state of Lower Saxony, where VW has its headquarters, spoke highly of the car maker on Tuesday, describing it as a “a pearl of German industry” and a company worth fighting for.
Meanwhile, German regulators have made only the briefest of statements on the scandal, preferring to focus on how to fix the problem vehicles.
It follows a pattern of relatively soft regulation in Germany.
While U.S., UK and EU regulators imposed billions of dollars in fines and settlements on banks in the wake of the financial crisis, including on Germany’s largest lender Deutsche Bank, German financial watchdog Bafin has largely stood silent.
In the Volkswagen case, Bafin has opened a “routine probe” into the circumstances around the announcement of the emissions rigging.
This despite questions over why Volkswagen waited more than two weeks to go public with the cheating after formally acknowledging the deception during a conference call with U.S. regulators on Sept. 3.
In Germany, the responsibility for approving new vehicles falls to the KBA motor authority, which also checks that cars meet environmental standards. This contrasts with the United States, where emissions are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a body at arms length from the motor industry.
On Thursday, the KBA said it had ordered Volkswagen to recall 2.4 million vehicles affected by the cheat software. But this action came over one week after the car maker submitted plans to the agency on how to fix the 11 million engines which had the cheat software installed.
KBA Spokesman Stephan Immen said the KBA had no precedent of imposing penalties on car manufacturers for wrongdoing. In contrast, the EPA has said VW could face fines of up to $18 billion.
Germany’s light-touch approach contrasts with more aggressive action in the United States where the EPA’s threat to refuse to approve VW’s 2016 diesel models prompted the car maker to confess to cheating in diesel emissions tests.
Within days, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a criminal probe into the emissions rigging, while New York and other state attorneys general formed a group to investigate.
Last week, the U.S. Congress grilled Volkswagen’s top U.S. executive, while the firm’s UK boss was hauled before a committee of British lawmakers on Monday and Thursday.
But neither former Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn nor new boss Matthias Mueller have so far faced interrogation from lawmakers in Germany.
Prosecutors also waited almost three weeks to raid Volkswagen offices in Germany to secure documents and data devices in connection with the emissions rigging.
The scandal has caused outrage among consumers in the United States where VW faces a slew of lawsuits. But in Germany, the public reaction has been more subdued, with many reluctant to condemn a company often feted as a byword for the nation’s engineering prowess.
Asked to list people or things that they think of in connection with Germany, 63 percent mentioned Volkswagen, according to the book ‘How Germans Tick’ published this year.
A survey last week from market research group Puls found 54 percent of people were still interested in buying a VW against 11 percent who would no longer do so and 35 percent who wanted to wait for the time being.
The U.S. crackdown on a beloved German brand has also stirred up anti-American sentiment, with some drivers seeing the tough U.S. response as a deliberate attempt to weaken Europe’s biggest carmaker.
Suspicion of the United States is already widespread in Germany following reports of U.S. spying. On Saturday 250,000 people marched in Berlin against an EU-U.S. trade deal which they feel will erode European standards for food and safety.
“VW is a thorn in the side of the USA”, Melanie Thurau wrote on Facebook. Another user Marek Misic posted on Oct. 3:
“VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat are and remain very good vehicles. The Yanks, with their rust buckets and gas guzzlers are just jealous of European car makers. Hasta la Vista baby, I’ll be back and even better than ever before!” (Editing by Giles Elgood)


text:
IPOH, April 23 ― After devoting nearly all his life to collecting antiques, retiree Ramli Abu Itam is giving up his collection.
The 65-year-old former Perak Education Department deputy director has decided to sell the collection that has about 6,000 items.
He said it was not an easy decision to make but with age catching up, he wanted to go on a spiritual journey instead.
“I cried for days after deciding to put my collection up for sale,” he said.
Speaking to reporters before the launch of his collection gallery recently, Ramli said by getting new owners for his collection, it would receive the necessary care when he was no longer around.
“I do not want my collections to end up as junk by people who do not appreciate its esthetic value.”
The gallery at Medan Klebang Restu, Chemor was launched by Malaysian famed cartoonist Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid or more popularly known as Lat.
Ramli said he started collecting antiques when he was a boy.
“I began with a wall clock and a ceramic bowl that belonged to my grandmother,” said the father of four girls.
To date, Ramli has items ranging from wall clocks and ceramics to phone cards, watches, brass, classic vinyl records and bottled Coca-Cola.
Ramli was also bestowed the Malaysia Book of Records in 1998 for having the most number of phone cards at 68,000 pieces.
“Some of my collection are bought online, there are also others that are obtained during my visits to various countries,” he said.
He also has one the earliest produced bottled Coca-Cola in 1894 that he bought from Mississippi, United States.
Ramli said he also went to Greenwich in England to visit a shop that sold antiques called The Junk.
“The shop has items such as telephones, historical books and other items from Malaysia.”
He also travelled to Turkey to get his antique gramophone, ceramics and old lamps.
All of Ramli's collections are arranged in specially-made glass cabinets that are placed at an extended area of his house.
Ramli's collection is also used by students and undergraduates as reference material.
“I have been visited by them as they wanted more information on Dr Mahathir and P. Ramlee.”
Those interested to view Ramli's collection can contact him via his email: [email protected].


text:
Since the rise and decline in the interest of the Cigalike ecig model. The Eonsmoke co founders have branched out, outside of e-cigarettes and vapes. Continuously searching on the next big products to introduce into the world. “Eonsmoke has a great following and we love its customers, and will continue to keep them happy” said Michael Tolmach co founder of Eonsmoke. The FDA ruling that may take effect anywhere between 2017-2020 and as it sits, it looks like they only want brands owned by big tobacco to survive. Since the fate of Eonsmoke will essentially be in the hands of the FDA, the company begun to expand outside into other tech projects.
What other projects are you involved in?
Eonsmoke Co-Founders started a project called Glidecraft. Destined to continue to help bring new technology to market, hoverboards just seemed natural. Glidecraft specializes in bringing safe hoverboards to market for an affordable price. Entering the hover board market around December of 2015, we are now one of the market leaders in the smart balance scooter industry and plan to grow with it. We hope to see a large spike this 4th quarter as well. Since hoverboards are not consumables the are not as steady as ecigs year round but closer to Christmas time sales usually increase significantly.
Anything else we should know about?
The Eonsmoke Co-Founders also started another project called Glidekicks led shoes. The new shoes that double as electronics. They have lights built in but are powered with lithium ion batteries just like your vapes. They are meant for young ones, but they also illuminate your path at night for adults. Similar to the La Gear shoes in ’92 but the new Glidekicks light up shoes stay on as long as the battery is charged. In July of 2016 we introduced these light up shoes to kiosk around the United States and they seem to be making a comeback.
What are your plans for the future and do you guys have any other projects in store for us?
At the moment Eonsmoke and its team is watching the industries and are considering all industries tech or not. We look for any industry that is viable even if its outside of our comfort zone. As Eonsmoke probably will never have a pathway to compete with big tobacco we strive to bring a product to market which will be a #1 product in the industry not only among just our consumers.
If you are an avid lover of Eonsmoke products please check out our additional companies mentioned above! Happy vaping!


text:
CINCINNATI -- Just a decade ago, the Christmas Shopping Season started on the Friday after Thanksgiving. People called it Black Friday because that was the day on which retailers went “into the black,” meaning they sold so much stuff that they turned a profit for the full year.
But Black Friday now starts on Thursday Afternoon at The Latest – when many families are still digesting their Thanksgiving Dinner. In addition, there are lots of retailers who now turn their annual profit on Cyber Monday or Small Business Saturday. Not to mention Giving Tuesday, Manic Monday, Green Monday, Singles’ Day, Free Shipping Day, Super Saturday and Christmas Eve.
So, what’s a shopper to do?
“Consumers need to watch the sales,” said Tori Sunderman, a senior associate for retail services at the commercial real estate firm CBRE. “They need to be willing to make multiple visits and shop those different opportunities.”
We’re not just talking store visits. That’s for amateurs.
“I would advise consumers to download the app of each retailer or the mall or shopping center so they’re aware of pop-up sales, flash sales, what’s going on every day of the month,” Sunderman said.
This is starting to sound like work.
But how else would you receive a 10 percent discount on holiday ornaments at MiCA 12/v gift shop in Over-the-Rhine? It’s one of 45 OTR retailers participating in the Over-the-Rhine Chamber’s Holidays in the Bag promotion. It raises money for charity and steers discount offers to shoppers who buy a $15 tote bag, designed each year by a local artist.
“Last year, I think we sold 75,” said Mike Deininger, who runs the store with his wife, Carolyn. Founded in O’Bryonville, MiCA 12/v moved it to 1201 Vine Street in 2007. Deininger expects a double-digit revenue increase this year, thanks to increased foot traffic from the streetcar and holiday promotions around Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.
Downtown jeweler Matt Bortz has seen “a huge influx” of shoppers to his Seventh Street store this year. He credits Downtown’s resurgence and a gradually improving economy more than any holiday-related promotional days.
“People are just thinking about the holidays earlier,” he said. “Sales will be up five to 10 percent from last year, based on what I know is coming.”
Who invented these days anyway?
The National Retail Federation is predicting a 3.6 percent increase in holiday sales this year to $655.8 billion. At least seven advertised promotional days will be vying for your wallet share:
- Thanksgiving Day – Nov. 24 -- It’s not just for parades and turkey any more. Online researcher ComScore reported more than $1 billion in e-commerce spending in each of the last two Thanksgivings. Adobe Digital Insights calls it “the best day to do your online shopping based on low prices and product availability” for jewelry, appliances, computers, sporting goods, tablets and televisions.
- Black Friday – Nov. 25 -- The trade journal Factory Management and Maintenance first applied this description to the day after Thanksgiving. It was part of a 1951 column about factory workers calling in sick so they could get a four-day weekend. The term spread into the retail industry in the 1970s and ’80s, gradually developing a mythology that this busy shopping day put retailers “into the black.” In other words, people bought so much that stores turned a profit for the full year. The National Retail Federation estimated Black Friday sales at $50.9 billion in 2014, the most recent estimate available.
- Small Business Saturday – Nov. 26 -- American Express got the ball rolling in 2009 with its promotional event aimed at helping small businesses recover from the recession. But hundreds of trade groups and the U.S. Small Business Administration have joined the bandwagon. The National Federation of Independent Business said more than 95 million shoppers took part in events aimed at encouraging consumers to shop local, generating $16.2 billion in 2015 sales.
- Cyber Monday – Nov. 28 – It’s a marketing term to encourage online buying that first appeared in a Shop.org press release in 2005. Within five years, it was a $1 billion thing. Last year, online and mobile sales reached $3.1 billion on Cyber Monday, according to ComScore.
- Giving Tuesday – Nov. 29 -- A social-media movement that’s aimed at designating the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as a day of giving in the U.S. The event raised $116 million from 700,000 people in 70 countries last year, according to the official web site, www.givingtuesday.org. The Cincinnati Ballet, Zoo and Chamber Orchestra are among the organizations listed on the website.
- Green Monday – Dec. 12 – This is a term coined by eBay to describe the second Monday in December, its busiest day of the year. ComScore estimated Green Monday sales at $1.6 billion in 2014. Adobe Digital Insights predicts it will reach $2 billion for the first time this year.
- Super Saturday – Nov. 17 – The last Saturday before Christmas, sometimes called Panic Saturday, often brings a new round of discounts to attract last-minute shoppers. It produced $55 billion in online and in-store revenue last year, according to the private-equity firm, Customer Growth Partners.
One of Cincinnati’s newest CEOs has a unique perspective on the holiday shopping season. Moulay Essakalli, founder of the Brandery startup Zid Zid, grew up in Morocco, attended French schools, married a Toledo native and worked in Boston and Tangiers before relocating to Cincinnati in June.
In his view, no one does Christmas like America.
“Not at this scale, no,” he said. “Europe is pretty good at it. But no country in Europe can measure up.”
While he appreciates the family traditions and economic impact of the holiday shopping season, Essakalli sees a lot of waste in our annual buying binge – with tons of trinkets and packing materials that end up in landfills.
“My wife (Zid Zid co-founder Julie Klear) is very much into Christmas,” Essakalli said. “She’s very traditional that way, so I go along with it. If it were up to me, I’d do a very light version of it.”
But that won’t keep Essakalli from making a special holiday offer, as he approaches a January launch for Zid Zid, an online service that teaches pre-school children languages by engaging kids and their parents in games and activities. Essakalli is hoping to launch by Cyber Monday a 20 percent discount and three free months of service to those who commit to its $19.99 monthly membership.


text:
Netflix users burned so much of time looking at content in 2017, regardless that metrics appear to indicate that users were looking at much less and no more on moderate through the years.
In a year-end weblog publish, the streaming provider introduced that users watched greater than 140 million hours of content per day, or 1 billion hours per week. As of Q3 2017, the corporate has greater than 109 million subscribers, rather less than part of which can be in the USA.
While that is indubitably an excellent feat for the streaming provider, in comparison to previous metrics, it additionally means that users could also be looking at fewer hours content at the provider in comparison to years previous.
Though there weren’t any identical metrics given for 2016, on the finish of 2015, Netflix introduced that its 74.7 million users it had on the time had watched 42.five billion hours of content that 12 months. That suggests about 570 hours per 12 months per account in 2015, regardless that the maths is clearly slightly tough since sign-u.s.happen right through the 12 months. Nevertheless with 109 million users looking at 1 billion hours per week in 2017, the common has moved to round 480 hours per account, suggesting that as the corporate has scaled, its users may now not were logging slightly as many hours of display time.
Competition in the streaming marketplace has clearly picked up in this time as Hulu, HBO Go and Amazon’s Prime video provider have invested in unique content extra closely and grown libraries. Most of Netflix’s subscriber enlargement has additionally taken position in global markets throughout this time as neatly once they made strikes in early 2016 pronouncing the growth to 130 new nations.
On a extra comical observe, in addition to detailing overall hours watched, the website laid out some ordinary factoids, highlighting the bizarre streaming behavior of some of its users, this incorporated one account which streamed Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl every day for 365 days in a row and some other that binged the whole thing of Shameless whilst in Antartica. More sane film lovers have been additionally a lots at the provider — the common person watched 60 motion pictures on Netflix.
Netflix inventory is up about 50 p.c year-over-year.
Featured Image: Ethan Miller/Getty Images


text:
Sean Berndt, Director of Local Sales
Friday, February 13th 2015, 1:41 pm
By: Griffin Media
Sean Berndt is the Director of Local Sales for Griffin Communications and oversees the local sales of News 9, News 9 Now, News9.com, 9 Outdoor and KSBI-TV in Oklahoma City.
The sales team specializes in creating multi-platform advertising and marketing strategies for local advertisers to help grow their business focused on the state of Oklahoma.
Sean has been with Griffin Communications since July 1, 2001 and has served as both Local Sales Manager and National Sales Manager.
You can contact Sean by email, call his office line at 405-841-9924 or reach him on his cell phone at 405-650-3687.


text:
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 30 percent of Americans think their cellphone is more helpful than their sweetheart, according to a national survey recently conducted by Asurion, the global leader in technology protection services.
For many, smartphones have become an essential part of life. They are used for almost every task throughout the day, even communicating with significant others. For better or worse, the cellphone can come between relationships in several ways.
In fact, Asurion's survey found that one-third of participants have deleted messages their other half would find inappropriate. Some respondents have even taken secrecy to the next level, with five percent of survey respondents admitting to owning a "burner" phone their significant other doesn't know about.
In some relationships, however, the cellphone acts as more of a means for romance. The survey found that a quarter of all respondents have texted a "risque" photo, an increase of 47 percent from 2012. Out of those respondents, six percent have sent suggestive pictures to the wrong person- talk about awkward!
"We use our phones for so many reasons today—including connecting with our loved ones," said Bettie Colombo, spokesperson for Asurion. "Our data is showing several fascinating trends exposing the ways we use our smartphones to connect to those most important to us. This further emphasizes the need to protect your device against loss, theft and damage so you're never out of touch."
Other surprising survey results include nearly 15 percent of Americans saying they have dumped an ex via text message, a number that rose five percent from 2012.
With the important role smartphones play in maintaining relationships with significant others, friends, family and colleagues, it is essential to keep this lifeline safe and protected. Asurion provides rapid mobile device replacement in the event of loss, theft, damage or post-warranty malfunction, usually receiving a replacement overnight. And as technology continues to evolve and more devices become interconnected, Asurion's Premier Support Solutions technology professionals can answer a wide variety of customers' questions and resolve problems related to wireless products and the devices connected to them.
Using Opinionology's online quantitative survey tool to examine cellphone and texting trends, Asurion surveyed a total of 5,000 wireless subscribers between the ages of 16 and 70 in June 2013. Respondents were required to have a role in cellphone related decision-making within their household. Asurion surveyed an equal mix of males and females. The margin of error is +/- 1.4 percent.
For two decades, Asurion has been the global leader in technology protection. Today, as everyday life becomes increasingly dependent on such technology, Asurion keeps 280 million consumers' lives up and running. The company provides premier support that enables users to fully utilize their digital devices and products; applications to protect privacy and provide security; and rapid replacement of lost, stolen, damaged, or malfunctioning devices. Asurion's global team of over 14,000 employees supports the top wireless companies, retailers and service providers, enabling those companies to focus on their core businesses. When a product is missing or simply doesn't work properly, Asurion solves the problem with a system that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, speaks six languages, and works across any device, platform, or provider. For more information about Asurion, including customer service ratings and reviews, please visit www.asurion.com.


text:
Americans are delaying maintenance at an alarming rate, according to the Auto Care Factbook 2020 and IMR Inc.
There is currently $24.9 billion in delayed auto maintenance, according to the Auto Care Association. What does that mean exactly? A survey of over 100,000 American households (representing more than 170,000 vehicles being driven) revealed they know that repairs or maintenance need to be performed on their car but have chosen to delay the work.
What are consumers delaying the most? Brake pads, tire changes and oil changes rank at the top of the list. Those maintenance jobs really add up: with 278 million cars on America’s highways and byways, there’s more than 5 million delayed brake jobs, nearly 7 million unchanged tires and 11 million cars in need of an oil change.
“We surveyed 100,000 households about how they’ve maintained their vehicles and whether they’ve knowingly delayed any maintenance on those vehicles,” said Bill Thompson, CEO of IMR, Inc. “We found that a surprising amount of households are knowingly delaying vehicle maintenance and that the primary reasons are economic, convenience and a perception that delaying the maintenance isn’t quite effecting vehicle performance. Ultimately, servicing your vehicle at the recommended service intervals can keep money in your pocket by avoiding more unintentional wear, a catastrophic failure or worse case, an accident.”
“We’re all guilty of not repairing our vehicles on a routine schedule, or even when the check engine light comes on,” said Behzad Rassuli, senior vice president of strategic development for Auto Care Association. “But not all repairs are made equal, and not all of them set off a check engine light. That’s why even if you’re not checking your owner’s manual, it’s important to get your car serviced on a regular basis. There are free resources including the Car Care Guide and service schedule at carcare.org. The Auto Care Association and Car Care Council hope to raise the awareness of maintenance amongst all drivers to make sure we’re all traveling safely this summer.”


text:
Call of Duty: Ghosts is apparently "on track" to be the most pre-ordered titled in 2013.
That's according to Bob Puzon, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop, who said the title could top the list of most pre-ordered games this year. "Call of Duty is an entertainment juggernaut and cultural phenomenon," he said in recent PR. "We look forward to celebrating the worldwide November launch of this great game that is on track to be the most pre-ordered title of the year."
This comes after Activision Publishing president Epic Hirshberg said in an earnings call last month that pre-orders for Call of Duty: Ghosts are "well below" that of last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Hirshberg blamed 'hesitation' caused by the looming console transition. While no figures were disclosed, Hirshberg said the company's "quantitative consumer research" indicates that "hesitation amongst past CoD pre-orderers is primarily due to not knowing which platform they'll be playing on, which is natural at this time in the console transition."
Activision has confirmed a Call of Duty: Ghosts release date of November 5 on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and PC. The game will also be a launch title for Xbox One (November 22) and PS4 (November 15).
US pre-orders via GameStop will get customers a discount on a downloadable version of Eminem's new album, The Marshal Mathers LP 2.
Welcome to the DCEmu Homebrew and Gaming Network. This Network of sites is owned and ran by fans of all games consoles, we post news on all the consoles we cover about hardware aspects, gaming and Homebrew. Homebrew and Emulation are software thats made using free and legal tools to play on games consoles. This Network is the only worldwide network of sites where coders can upload and post comments they deserve for all their hardwork. We have a Network that currently supports PSVita, WiiU, Nintendo Wii, Xbox360, PS3, PS2,PS1, Snes, N64, Gameboy, Nes, Xbox, Gamecube, Nintendo DS, PSP, GBA, Dreamcast, Sega Saturn,3DS, DSi, Switch, PS4, Pandora, xboxone, GP2X, iPhone, Windows Phone, iPad, Android and also Mobile Phone Emulation. When new consoles appear we will expand to cover those consoles. We also cover Theme Park News and news and reviews of Beer, cider, lager, wines and spirits.
news of their own releases and get the credit and
Please help DCEmu become stronger by posting on the forums every day and make our community larger.


text:
New research has suggested that Australian SMEs, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s supply chain disruptions, are seeking to replace international suppliers with domestic ones.
According to the latest SME Growth Index by Australian non-bank business lender ScotPac, 28% of Australian SMEs, especially small SMEs (32%), plan to add new domestic suppliers over international suppliers in the next 18 months.
This strategy aims to enhance supply chain resilience and build a stronger domestic network, the index suggested.
In further good news for Australian manufacturers and suppliers, the bi-annual index found 21% of SMEs plan to cut ties with international suppliers in 2023-24 to support local products, services and jobs.
This comes after a ScotPac survey found in December that 100% of Australian SMEs were hit by supply chain disruptions.
ScotPac CEO Jon Sutton (pictured above centre) said the global supply chain challenges of the past three years had sharpened the focus on inventory management for all SMEs and improved the outlook for Australian suppliers.
“Disruptions and challenges caused by events like the COVID pandemic, political conflicts and rising inflation have become the new normal for business owners,” Sutton said.
“It is clear from the well-considered strategies SMEs have outlined in response that a growing proportion view strengthening supply chain resilience as a core business planning priority, rather than a reactive event.”
The benefits for SMEs, lenders, brokers, and suppliers
Commercial brokers Cameron Perry (pictured above left) and Geoff Fox (pictured above right) from Perry Finance said a shift to Australian suppliers “makes sense” and can be “beneficial in many ways” for SMEs and brokers alike.
“From shorter delivery times of domestic supplies, avoiding currency management, lengthy overseas shipping delays and, most importantly, support of other Australian businesses looking to increase their presence in the market,” said Perry, the director of the Melbourne-based credit advisory firm.
“This is an opportunity for domestic suppliers to be competitive in the market against their overseas competitors through innovation and technology driving efficiencies to promote customer engagement locally.”
Fox, Perry Finance’s credit advisor, said brokers can assist in this space as all businesses “should conduct their due diligence on domestic suppliers”.
“They should ensure they have both the capability and capacity to supply now and in the future before shifting their focus domestically,” Fox said.
“Due diligence can include seeking recommendations from other customers, personal engagement by visiting their suppliers together with understanding workforce capability and supply chain management.”
This support is clearly needed by SMEs according to the Index, with 52% saying they want to get closer to key suppliers and customers, while 36% want to focus on key inventory items and remove others.
A need for trade finance
ScotPac said all of this has been reflected in the surge in demand for its trade finance facilities over the past year.
“SMEs have sought greater purchasing power to support their trade needs and opportunities, both domestically and internationally. It highlights the fact that access to fast and flexible finance will always be one of the best tools any SME can have at hand to mitigate supply chain shocks,” said Sutton.
Sutton encouraged business owners to talk with their brokers or advisors to ensure finance is part of their supply chain management strategy.
“Whether it is trade finance to better manage the flow of goods, or asset finance to buy equipment when you need it, ScotPac has the greatest breadth of products to help more businesses in more circumstances than any other lender,” Sutton said.
With over half of SMEs (54%) wanting to secure more flexible trade and supply chain funding arrangements according to the research, the door is open for commercial brokers and lenders.