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The number of passengers and cargo volume for domestic airlines continue to fall, according to news reports.
The number of passengers and cargo volume for domestic airlines continue to fall, according to news reports.
In the last four months, total numbers of passengers tumbled 2.3 percent to 3.81 million compared with the same period last year, according to Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper.
In April alone, passengers dropped by 2.5 percent from March to 924,840 or 6 percent lower than last year’s April figure.
The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, which gets the lion’s share of the domestic aviation market (76 percent), reveals that several important targets have not been achieved.
VNA general director Pham Ngoc Minh said that the number of passengers on domestic routes in April totalled more than 687,000, or 88 percent of the set target.
The figure was down by 2.6 percent compared with the March figure, and by 4.9 percent against the same period last year.
The percentage of seats occupied on domestic flights was only 79.1 percent, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3 percent, which is 2.1 percent lower than the set target.
To cope with the downward trend, especially during the off-peak season, Vietnam Airlines is preparing to cut the number of flights to reduce costs.
The three remaining airlines, Mekong Air, VietJet and Jetstar Pacific, have not released any business results, but statistics show that they also saw drops in passengers and cargo, according to a representative from Vietnam Airlines.
Widening cashew nut export market
Cashew nut export contracts worth US$200 million from now until the third quarter of 2012 were signed at the 7th international customer conference held by the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) in Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province on May 22-23.
In his speech, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said the Prime Minister has approved an overall plan for agricultural development until 2020 with a vision for 2030.
The plan includes research into new high-yield varieties for the purpose of processing different products, Bien noted.
Nguyen Duc Thanh, head of Group 20 Vietnam Leading Cashew Shippers, said Vietnam is now placed third in terms of cashew output, second in cashew processing, and first in the international list of cashew exporters.
In the first four months of 2012, Vietnam’s cashew exports earned US$382 million, up 30 percent in volume and 22 percent in value compared to the same period last year, Thanh noted.
John Waring, Chairman of the Waring Group, agreed to increase domestic cashew consumption by 20-25 percent each year. He also suggested that Vinacas should promote cashew sales and advertising at all hotels in the country to help raise the purchasing power.
Pino Calcagni, Chairman of the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation (INC), told a recent international conference held in Singapore that Vietnam should take advantage of the information to promote cashew exports as cashew consumption spending already hit US$4 billion globally.
From Nha Trang city, international delegates will visit some cashew nut growing areas in Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc provinces to consider long-term business cooperation with Vinacas.
“Re-engineering Advertisement” has been selected as the main theme of the 28th Asian Advertising Congress (AdAsia 2013), which will take place in Hanoi from November 5-8, 2013.
Vietnam is expected to convey the message of “Peace, Friendliness, and Cooperation for Mutual Development” to international friends from the region and beyond, said Tran Hung, General Secretary of the Vietnam Advertising Association (VAA).
During AdAsia 2013, some main activities will include a congress of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA), a series of seminars and conferences on communications and advertisement, a fair on achievements within the sector and art performances by Asian artists.
The event is expected to receive 1,500 delegates from 16 countries and territories in the world, advertising and communications companies, as well as foreign businesses which are keen on investing in Vietnam.
In preparation for AdAsia 2013, the organizing board will co-ordinate with the website www.designs.vn to launch a competition on designing an official logo for the event.
The selected logo will be widely used at ceremonies and meetings, as well as in publications about AdAsia 2013.
Both amateur and professional Vietnamese and foreign designers are encouraged to send entries within two months from June 15 to August 15 to www.designs.vn/logoadasia2013. Final results will be announced on August 25, 2012.
Funds raise concerns over tax rules
Representatives of investment funds raised concerns over the nation's tax regimes in a recent meeting in Ha Noi, saying that income tax regulations were hindering them from promoting investment.
Current tax policy discouraged investors to put money into private equity funds and also limited the accessibility of capital in these funds, they said.
Foreign individual and organisational investors (along with domestic individual investors) are imposed a tax of 0.1 per cent on every fund transaction, while domestic organisations are only required to pay a tax of 25 per cent on actual capital gains and domestic individual investors only 20 per cent.
"These regulations make it difficult for some small- and medium-sized companies to invest," said Dragon Capital Fund managing parter Le Hoang Anh.
In form of double taxation, investment funds also have to pay the 0.1-per-cent levy on securities transfers, as well as the 25-per-cent capital gains tax, noted the director of HSBC's securities services department, Bui Thu Thuy.
"This reduces the allure of domestic investment funds to foreign investors," Thuy said.
"The Ministry of Finance should allow investors to choose between a rate of 25 per cent on capital gains or 0.1 per cent on contract value when they transfer equity capital in unlisted firms," Anh added.
SSI Fund Management deputy director Nguyen Khac Hai said that the State should exempt from taxation income received from open-ended funds.
"To encourage investors to join in open-ended funds, taxes on gains from selling fund certificates should also be reduced by 50 per cent," he said.
The head of the State Securities Commission's fund management division, Nguyen Thanh Long, proposed that investment companies be exempt from capital gains taxes altogether.
"The loss in taxes should be considered a promotion of long-term investment," Long said.
Ministry sets finance management rules for state-owned enterprises
The Finance Ministry has just submitted a draft for regulations on the financial management of state-owned enterprises to the Government, aimed to help better management of the state budget and to closely supervise the financial status of state-owned enterprises.
Cruiser Lotus worth at EUR 60 million can not earn money because of wrong investment by state-owned Vinashin.
The regulations include rules for financial supervision and evaluation of business effects; decrees on budget capital investment in enterprises and its management; decrees on the functions, tasks and mechanics of State Capital Investment Company (SCIC).
Rules on financial supervision and evaluation of business effects will regulate time, process and contents of supervisory reports on state-owned enterprises and those that have received investments from the state budget.
The rules also regulate special financial control over loss making companies and those in debt.
The rules are expected to be issued in May.
Decrees on budget capital investment for state-owned enterprises and financial management of those that have received capital from the state budget have set targets, kinds of companies that the Government can invest capital in, and transfer of state capital in these companies.
In this current time, some state-owned companies have failed to show profits because of loose financial management by the Government, leading to disarray of investments by these companies.
Deals cut to export US$200 mil. worth of cashew nuts
Vietnamese cashew exporters on Tuesday signed contracts worth over US$200 million with foreign partners at the Golden Cashew Rendezvous 2012 in Nha Trang City.
At the event, representatives of Tanimex Long An, Lafooco, Thao Nguyen and Hoang Son 1 signed deals with international traders to export US$200 million worth of cashew nuts in this quarter and early next quarter.
According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), cashew export slowed down from October 2011 to the end of this year’s first quarter. Cashew export prices in the first four months dropped by 5% against the same period last year.
John Waring, president of the Australian Cashew Association, noted Vietnam only focuses on processing and export, yet to pay attention to promotion activities and raising the values of export cashew.
“It is necessary to promote high-quality Vietnamese cashew at the sites crowded with tourists and foreigners,” Waring suggested.
In addition, he informed cashew originated from Vietnam has marketing advantages on the world’s market, thus many cashew exporting countries often label their products with Vietnamese origin.
“You should properly label the origins of cashew nuts and raw cashew. This will bring benefits to exporters,” said Waring.
India, the world’s leading cashew producer, labels products originating from India although the country imports materials from many sources, he said.
The two-day Golden Cashew Rendezvous 2012 held by Vinacas will wrap up on Wednesday.
In the first four months of 2012, Vietnam exported over 55,000 tons of cashew nuts, fetching more than US$380 million, rising 37% in volume and 29% in value year-on-year, according to the General Department of Customs.
VND1.8-tril. beverage plant off ground in Quang Nam
Number One Chu Lai Joint Stock Company under Tan Hiep Phat Group on Tuesday commenced work on a beverage factory in Bac Chu Lai Economic Zone in Quang Nam Province with total investment capital of over VND1.8 trillion, or around US$90 million.
The project will cover an area of 27 hectares in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone with workshops, material and finished product warehouse system, dining rooms and worker houses.
According to the investor, the plant will turn out non-alcohol beverages with natural origins. Its production lines are imported from Europe, meeting international hygiene and management standards of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) and ISO 2001.
The enterprise expects to put the first phase of the factory into operation at the end of 2013.
Between 2012 and 2013, six production lines will be completed with the capacity of 300 million liters each year, creating jobs for over 1,000 local laborers. In the second phase from 2016 to 2020, there will be eight more production lines finished to raise annual output to 600 million liters and give jobs to 2,500 laborers.
The factory is projected to contribute an average VND700 billion to the provincial budget yearly.
According to Tan Hiep Phat Group, construction of the factory in Quang Nam Province aims to serve market demands in the Central and Central Highlands regions instead of transporting products from its factory in Binh Duong Province.
In the coming time, the group also has plans to build another plant in the North with a capacity similar to that in Quang Nam Province. The company is working with Ha Nam Province’s government to construct the plant to serve the northern market.
The production expansion aims to deepen investment in the local market and boost export in the future, the group added.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Nam Hai said the beverage plant goes in line with the nation’s master plan to develop domestic beer and beverage industry to the year 2015 and the vision to 2025. The plan gives priority to soft drinks with natural extract.
At the ground breaking ceremony, leaders of Number One Chu Lai Company suggested local authorities and management board of Chu Lai Open Economic Zone to give land for it to develop a worker dormitory.
Over 100 travel firms to take tourists to Suoi Tien
More than 100 travel firms have pledged to take tourists to Suoi Tien Cultural Park in HCMC’s District 9 to enjoy the month-long Southern Fruit Festival 2012 beginning on June 1.
With the participation of travel firms, the festival’s organizers expect that the number of visitors this year would increase strongly compared to 1.6 million arrivals recorded last year.
Many foreign travel agencies have also included this fruit festival into their tour programs.
“We have announced the festival program early so that travel firms can add it to their tours. Besides, we have promoted the festival to foreign tourists who are visiting HCMC and attracted a large number of tourists,” said a representative of the organizers at a conference introducing the festival on Tuesday.
Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia will bring their art troupes to perform at the festival.
Huynh Dong Tuan, deputy general director of Suoi Tien Cultural Park, said that some 1,500 tons of fruit was sold out last year. The organizers will ensure an abundant supply of fruits for this year’s festival, and fruits will be sold at 20-40% lower than market prices.
The fruit festival is organized by the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the HCMC Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Suoi Tien Cultural Park. The city government has funded the organizing of this festival with around VND400 million.
Taking place on June 1-23, the Southern Fruit Festival will consist of many activities such as the fruit floating market with 70 booths, the fruit decorating competition, musical performances and traditional games.
Besides, around 700 farmers will introduce local specialties to visitors at the festival.
Quang Ninh halts PetroVietnam’s stagnant projects
The provincial government of Quang Ninh decided to halt two real estate projects by the state-owned Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) for the slow pace of construction.
The withdrawal of the permits was applied to a project to build the Ha Long Trade Centre, an office and hotel complex in Ha Long City’s Bach Dang Ward, and Dao Viet eco-park and trade service complex in Yen Hung District’s Quang Yen Township.
Despite several extensions, construction on these projects continued to lagged behind schedule.
PetroVietnam had pledged to complete construction of the Ha Long Trade Centre by the end of this year.
After receiving two extensions, the group has yet to start construction and has handed over the project to Ocean Group.
PetroVietnam attributed the stagnation to difficulties in site clearance and lack of capital.
According to provincial authorities, PetroVietnam’s handover of the project to Ocean Group was illegal.
US slashes anti-dumping duty on Vietnamese carbon steel pipes
The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has imposed an anti-dumping duty of nearly 28 percent on Vietnamese carbon steel pipes, according to AFP.
Taxes levied on steel producers from Oman and the United Arab Emirates vary from 5.6 to 11.7 percent, but an exporter from India, Zenith Birla Company, has to pay an anti-dumping tax of 48 percent.
DOC says that these taxes will affect exports from four countries, estimated at nearly US$200 million in 2011 alone.
In March, the DOC imposed an anti-subsidy duty of 286 percent on steel pipes imported from India, and 0-8.1 percent on steel pipes imported from three other countries.
New Delhi has lodged a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
6 fuel wholesalers to come under scrutiny
The Ministry of Finance will run an inspection into the price registration and commission allocation of six fuel wholesalers between late May and early July.
The companies to undergo the 45-day inspection include PV Oil, Petec, Petimex, Petrol Marine Trading Co, VINAPCO, and Thalexim.
At the end of 2011, the Ministry of Finance audited the fuel import prices at Petrolimex, PV Oil, SaigonPetro, and Petimex.
Last March, the Ministry of Industry and Trade revoked the business license of Petro Mekong, a subsidiary of PV Oil.
The Vietnam National Shipping Lines, or Vinalines, also had its license canceled for failing to meet the required import quota, newswire VnExpress reported.
The State Audit of Vietnam this year also planned to audit three wholesalers including Petrolimex, Saigon Petro, and MIPECO.
Fuel prices in Vietnam on Wednesday enjoyed the second cut of the year.
Retail price of A92 gasoline dropped by VND600 a liter from VND23,300 to VND22,700 (US$1.08) a liter, while diesel oil price was reduced by VND400 to VND21,200 a liter.
Fuel prices have gained totally VND3,000 a liter after two increases so far this year.
Thailand strengthens investment cooperation with Quang Tri
The Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee has signed an agreement on developing its southeastern economic zone with One ASEAN Development Company (Thailand).
The signing ceremony was held on May 24 during the visit to Thailand from May 20-26 by a delegation of high-ranking officials from Quang Tri province led by Chairman Nguyen Duc Cuong.
Accordingly, One ASEAN Development Company, which is very experienced in industrial development and infrastructure construction in Thailand, will be responsible for carrying out some important projects to build an oil refinery, a petrochemical complex, a natural gas processing plant and a commercial and entertainment area.
As from June 1, the company will conduct a field survey and try to complete its preparatory work in six months.
Quang Tri, located between the northern and southern regions of Vietnam, has huge economic potential, said Bhichit Rattakul, Chairman of the company.
As a number of Thai companies have already invested in the Lao Bao special economic zone, Quang Tri hopes that its southeastern economic zone will become an attractive destination for investors from Thailand and other ASEAN countries.
IFC grants US$25 million to small-and-medium-sized enterprises
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) on May 24 granted a credit package worth US$25 million to Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) to increase capital accessibility for small-and-medium-sized enterprises, especially those managed by women.
The credit includes US$15 million directly sponsored by the IFC and US$10 million assisted by BNP Paribas bank, a foreign strategic partner of OCB.
All sides agreed to spend US$5 million out of the total expanding credit opportunities for businesses owned by women.
Nguyen Dinh Tung, acting general director of OCB, said the credit will target such fields as production, imports, exports, trade, service and agriculture.
Simon Andres, IFC’s Regional Manager of Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, said the credit will help OCB reinforce capital capacity and business growth, create more jobs and increase incomes.
Non-SJC gold prices depressed following new regulation
While some gold shops have refused to buy non-SJC gold bullion from the people, others have tried to get it at lower prices, as the new regulation on gold market management has come into effect.
Previously, the State Bank of Vietnam confirmed that Decree 24 on the management of gold trading activities did not discriminate between SJC (Saigon Jewelry Co), Vietnam’s biggest gold refiner and trader, and non-SJC gold bars.
Even if sold to the original manufacturers, the prices of non-SJC gold have also been lowered below the listed prices.
Dung, the owner of two taels (75 grams) of SBJ gold bars produced by Sacombank Jewelry Co, received her first rejection when trying to sell the gold bars to a shop on Phan Dinh Phung Street in Phu Nhuan District.
The shop owner told her they could not buy the gold since they could not resell it, as customers now choose SJC gold bullion only.
Bringing the gold bullion to a shop on Pham Van Hai Street in Tan Binh District, she got a price VND3.4 million lower than that of SJC.
The owner told her the same thing, adding that non-SJC gold bullions can now be used to make gold jewelry.
For the final showdown, she brought the gold bars to the parent company of the gold bar marker, District 3-based Sacombank, only to find that the price was VND3.48 million lower than its listing price on the electric board outside.
"Non-SJC gold bar customers are at a disadvantage with the slow move of SBV in releasing the plan for gold bar transition,” she told Tuoi Tre.
Not only SBJ gold, but also gold bars from many other brands such as NJC, Rong Thang Long, and AAA, are suffering a similar fate.
Thang Long Dragon gold bars’ bid price was listed at the Hanoi-based Bao Tin Minh Chau Co, the manufacturer, on late Wednesday afternoon was at VND40 million a tael, while that of AAA and SJC gold bars was VND40.2 million a tael VND41.18 million a tael.
KH gold shop owner on Pham Van Hai Street said that compared to the peak in August last year, gold prices have fallen VND6-7 million a tael and have very weak purchasing power.
Previously, gold shops traded tens of taels of gold every day. Currently, the trading volume per day is only 5-7 taels. Nguyen Thi Cuc, deputy general director of PNJ, says the gold transactions of the company declined very sharply.
On the most exciting trading day, gold sales reached less than 500 taels, while the daily volume for normal days is at around 200-300 taels, down 90 percent compared to the past.
"We are waiting for circulars giving the guidelines from SBV to re-register our business functions," Cuc said.
To resolve this situation, gold companies have proposed that SBV announce its conversion plan early in order to ease public concerns.
Currently, since there is no guidance, non SJC gold bars can only be bought, not sold, thus forcing gold firms to lower prices to minimize their buying activities.
Some experts said that SBV should allow banks to organize testing for non-SJC gold bullion to check if they are sufficient in weight and quality to switch to the SJC gold. SBV may collect some fees, about VND60,000 a tael, as the SJC did previously.
Nguyen Van Dung, chairman of the HCM City Association of Fine Arts, Gold, Jewelry and Gemstones, said there are more than 2,000 gold shops, most of which have registered capital just under VND10 billion and make tax payments of a few million dong a month.
Therefore, very few units meet the conditions for trading gold bars under the decree, in which a business must meet the standards of VND100 billion or more in chartered capital, with two years experience in the field and have already paid taxes of VND500 million a year for the past two consecutive years.
Dung said that most gold shops traded gold bars and jewelry in the past, so now they might switch to trading only gold rings and gold jewelry.
VietinBank opens branch in Berlin
Six months after opening a subsidiary in Frankfurt, Germany, the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) has completed all procedures to debut its branch in Berlin in late May 2012.
VietinBank’s four-storey building is located in Lichtenberg borough, home to over 4,000 Overseas Vietnamese (OV) among the total 12,000 OVs in Berlin.
The borough also houses two Vietnamese commercial centres, Dong Xuan and Thai Binh Duong, gathering hundreds of small Vietnamese traders.
On May 7, the branch in Lichtenberg opened its door to guests, but the official inauguration ceremony is due to take place on May 28.
Vo Minh Tuan, deputy general director of VietinBank, said the bank is scheduled to upgrade its branch office in Germany to be its headquarters in Europe and will continue to expand operations to other countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, France and the UK.
Forbes has recently listed VietinBank among the 2,000 biggest public companies globally.
Ministry mulls cutting coal duty to aid Vinacomin
The Ministry of Finance is collecting feedback on relevant ministries and agencies to reduce the export duty on coal, currently standing at 20 percent.
The ministry suggested reducing the tax rate to zero, saying it is because the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group, or Vinacomin, is suffering an unsold inventory of 7.5 million tons of coal, while export prices have fallen sharply.
The 20 percent duty was slapped on coal export in November 2011, while export turnover in the first four month of this year has dropped by 15 percent year on year to only 3.9 million tons, the ministry said.
Though admitting that the 20 percent rate is in accordance with the government’s policy to restrict raw natural resource exports, the ministry said the duty should be cut as Vinacomin, amid the troubled economy, is also in financial difficulties.
“The duty can be reduced to 10 – 15 percent as a temporary assistance to Vinacomin,” the ministry said.
“In 2013, when Vinacomin’s difficulty is eased, the ministry will consider restoring the tariff to 20 percent.”
Vinacomin has recently come under public criticism as it has exported many types of coal that the country may need to import by 2015 for use in power generation.
In 2010, Vinacomin exported more than 18 million tons of coal, pocketing $1.4 billion.
Meanwhile, 12 million tons out of the 17 million tons the coal giant exported last year is needed for fueling local thermal-power plants.
Vinacomin has been complaining repeatedly of financial troubles, and said exporting coal is intended to fund its operation and investment.
Dealing with anti-dumping, anti-subsidy duties in the US
One effective measure for exporters to protect their legitimate interests is to bring lawsuits to US courts or use the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism.
Tran Huu Huynh, Vice General Secretary of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) made recommendations at a seminar in Hanoi on May 24.
As Vietnamese businesses are facing an increasing number of trade barriers, including anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures, from the US, the seminar helps them learn from the use of the two instruments to deal with drawbacks resulting from US investigations
US lawyer William H. Barringer, who successfully consulted for many Vietnamese businesses on anti-dumping and anti-subsidy lawsuits in the US, shared his experiences in preparing procedures and handling lawsuits.
He talked about procedural conditions and procedures for legal proceedings at the WTO since Vietnam’s first lawsuit, as well as US anti-dumping measures on Vietnam’s shrimp. He also pointed out challenges for the Government and export businesses in the current period, and what businesses expect when bringing lawsuits to US courts and at the WTO.
Seminar discusses US anti-dumping measures
A seminar on US anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings to protect exports from US anti-dumping and countervailing measures was held in Hanoi on May 24.
The seminar was jointly held by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Trade Remedies Council.
According to Tran Huu Huynh, VCCI Deputy General Secretary, one of the effective ways for exporters to protect their legitimate interests is to bring disputed cases to the US Courts or the WTO dispute settlement system.
The seminar helped Vietnamese enterprises, associations and relevant agencies understand and gain experience in using these two tools to cope with disadvantages brought by anti-dumping and countervailing cases in the US market.
Senior US lawyer William Barringer, who successfully advised many Vietnamese enterprises in anti-dumping and countervailing cases in the US, shared experiences in major procedural and substantive issues confronting Vietnamese exporters.
May’s CPI hit 0.18 pct, picking up
Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in May rose 0.18 percent against April, starting to pick up after falling from 1.37 percent in February to 0.16 percent and 0.05 percent in the next two months, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO).
With the new rise, the CPI rate has increased 8.34 percent year on year and 2.78 percent over December, 2011, said GSO. The year-on-year CPI increase rate in the first 5 months of this year was 13.3 percent.
Among 11 groups of commodities and services used for the index calculation, 4 fell in prices, while 7 others saw price hikes, ranging from 0.07 percent to 1.32 percent.
In May, the price of food and food services continued to go down compared to April, with a 0.14 percent reduction.
Of these, food and foodstuffs decreased 0.54 percent and 0.26 respectively, while eating out cost 0.66 percent more.
The prices of housing and construction materials in May decreased by 0.07 percent over April. But the group surged 15.15 percent year on year in January-May 2012.
With pressure increasing, gasoline prices increase went up last month, and the transport group's index rose the most by 1.32 percent.
Notably, the group of other goods and services increased sharply, 3.09 percent, against April. However, the group posted an 11.52 percent rise, lower than the general CPI growth rate, in the first 5 months of this year.
Excluded ing from the price index, gold price index dropped 2.17 percent over the previous month and 5.6 percent against December 2011, while the US dollar price index rose 0.06 percent over April, but slipping slipped 1 percent against December 2011.
Ho Chi Minh City’s CPI in May 2012 inched up by 0.06 percent from the previous month, marking the lowest month-on-month CPI rise in the past 21 months, according to the HCMC Statistics office.
In comparison with December 2011 and May 2011, the city’s CPI rose by 2.49 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.
As many as 9 out of 11 groups of goods and services comprising the index saw price hikes over the previous month, while the remaining groups, housing-electricity- fuel and beverage drink-tobacco, posted 1.64 percent and 0.06 percent decline respectively.
Six groups posted a higher rise against the average rise level, namely other goods and services (1.72 percent), transport (1.22 percent), culture-entertainment-tourism (0.18 percent), apparel-headwear-footwear (0.3 percent) and food-food services (0.1 percent).
Earlier, the Hanoi Statistics Office also announced that the capital city’s CPI in May 2012 edged up 0.16 percent after dropping 0.03 percent last month, bringing the city’s CPI for May to a rise of 7.8 percent year on year and 2.75 percent over December 2011.
The capital city’s CPI rise in May was thanks to a sharp increase of gasoline price on April 20, the increase of minimum wages for state workers and the 4-day national holiday starting April 28.
In the month, as many as 9 out of 11 baskets of commodities comprising the index saw price hikes over the previous month, ranging from 0.06 percent to 1.32 percent.
Regarding the down side, two groups of commodities saw falls in prices including restaurant and catering services (0.24 percent), and housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials (1.03 percent).
The Ministry of Finance has given the green light to the national price control program in 2012-2015.
The action plan for the program consists of 9 major tasks, in order to control prices, avoid taxes losses and create an equal environment for businesses.
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) should no longer be considered a tool to regulate the macro-economy, the Economic Committee stated in its recently submitted petition to the National Assembly.
The tool to regulate and stabilize the macro-economy in the market economy should be monetary and fiscal policies, rather than SOEs, the committee said in the “Vietnamese Economy 2012: a strong start for economic restructuring” petition.
“We have paid high prices for using the SOEs to stabilize prices,” it wrote.
“The SOEs are under no pressure for competition, and thus have been operating with poor effectiveness.
“Prices have resisted rising, then suddenly skyrocketed when the SOEs failed to control them, causing the “pricing shocks,” which increased the macro-economic volatility.”
Regarding the proposal for SOE restructuring, the Economic Committee said that state-run corporations and groups have been over-expanding into sectors that they are not strong in.
They also created a “close scheme,” in which the subsidiaries provide input products for their parent companies, eliminating the chance for businesses from the private sector to join in the economy’s manufacturing network.
The committee thus proposed that the state-run corporations be maintained under a “4 yes and 3 no” policy.
The four sectors in which SOEs are operating that should be maintained include: national defense and security; those creating essential goods for the economy; those that apply new technologies with high risks; and specific sectors such as toxics, cigarettes, and wine.
Meanwhile, the SOEs should not invest in three sectors including those used merely for reaping profits; those merely for reaping land rents; and those that create unequal competition with businesses in other sectors.
The petition also suggested that directors and CEOs of the SOEs resign when the corporations incur unexpected losses or fail to meet targets.
It also urged the privatization and divestment of the SOEs starting as soon as next year.
Nutritious products sold with dubious origins
Advertised as having special benefits for consumer health, many types of bird’s nest, ginseng, and lingzhi mushroom that are rampantly available on the market are of dubious quality and origin.
In some markets around Ho Chi Minh City, such as An Dong or Binh Tay, consumers should be dazzled to see a number of such healthy foods on the same shelves as dried shrimp or fish.
“What kind of bird’s nest are you looking for? I have every kinds of swiftlet,” H., a trader in An Dong market, invites Tuoi Tre reporters to have a look at his booth.
H. says all of his products are authentic, and originate from Khanh Hoa Province, which is renowned for its nutritious and delicious bird’s nest.
He adds that blood nest is the most expensive, which costs VND4.3 million (US$206) per 100g, while other products range between VND2.5 million and VND4 million per 100g, depending on quality.
Your correspondents come to another booth to ask for lingzhi mushroom, and are presented with two plastic packages by a trader.
“Just slice it and stew with water and you can strengthen your health with this delicacy,” she talks of her product.
“It will help the elders recover quickly from sickness, reduce stress, and even cure cancers!”
Despite such miracle use, the product costs only VND500-600,000 a package.
Thai Anh Tu, a resident in Phu Nhuan District, says he once bought a pack of ginseng at VND1.7 million from a store on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street in District 10, only to realize later that the product is of Chinese origin whose real price is only a half of what he paid.
Similarly, Hoa in Tan Binh District says she once bought 10 packs of lingzhi mushroom of the Gold brand, allegedly imported from South Korea at a cheap price of only VND600,000 each.
However, Hoa later found a Chinese label placed on the product.
“The store frankly said that I had carefully examined the product prior to the purchase, and rejected the return of my product,” recalls Hoa.
Tuoi Tre finds out that there are two types of lingzhi mushrooms on sale in An Dong and Binh Tay markets -- the large cap, and the small cap.
Lingzhi mushrooms with large caps are introduced as a Korean import.
However, when asked about these ‘Korean products,’ all traders only reply generally: “we get the products from wholesalers, and don’t know the exact origins.”
Meanwhile, those with smaller caps are packed in plastic bags, and traders say they are picked in … the forest.
Even in some large Korean lingzhi stores on Thang Long Street in Tan Binh District, and Nguyen Tri Phuong Street in District 10, most of the products available do not have Vietnamese labels or information about the importers.
Master Co Duc Trong, director of the Center of Lingzhi Mushroom Research, says most of the lingzhi mushrooms in Vietnam are unofficially imported, and have untested quality.
The products do not have information about the manufacturers or importers, he says.
“The traders themselves have to have knowledge about lingzhi mushrooms to distinguish Chinese and Korean products.
“Some companies are advertising lingzhi mushroom produced in Vietnam, but these are in fact Chinese products,” he says.
Chinese mushrooms cost only VND150,000 a kg, while the respective prices for Vietnamese and Korean products are as high as VND1 million, and VND2.5 million a kg, respectively.


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After nearly two and a half years since Dryden Gallery moved out, 129 Fourth Ave. is getting a new full-time tenant.
The Post reports that the first U.S. outpost of Mi Garba ("I like it" in Italian!) is opening here just south of East 13th Street.
And what will they sell?
The flagship 1,000 square-foot space, at 129 Fourth Ave., will include a restaurant with 10 tables. There will also be Tuscan food and wine for sale along with a boutique offering fashion items, including custom-made shirts and jackets.
The space was previously home to a pop-up gallery last May featuring model-photographer Amber Arbucci's breasts.
A Fresh & Co. is opening next door to the incoming Mi Garba on the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue and 13th Street.

domain: news


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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the Rapidly Firm Innovation Competition in New York on November 7, 2019.
Brad Barket | Getty Pictures for Rapidly Company
Microsoft claimed Thursday it has agreed to get Affirmed Networks, a organization that specializes in program for cell carriers. Precisely, Affirmed supplies a way for carriers to increase networks to meet growing need by drawing on cloud infrastructure.
The Acton, Mass.-based enterprise was started in 2010 and has 552 workforce, according to LinkedIn. Terms of the offer were not disclosed.
The offer could support Microsoft bolster a escalating aspect of the small business, the Azure community cloud, which trails at the rear of Amazon World wide web Solutions, by offering products and solutions that are more acceptable for a precise marketplace. The shift reveals Microsoft on the lookout to capitalize on opportunities to grow as community operators roll out quickly fifth-technology, or 5G, networks.
“Preceding generations of wi-fi networks have been centered on purpose-built components,” Yousef Khalidi, a corporate vice president at Microsoft, wrote in a website submit. “We imagine that with innovation in application and by creating use of broadly accessible cloud computing platforms like Microsoft Azure, operators can deploy and maintain 5G networks and products and services more effectively, extra price efficiently, additional swiftly and much more securely.”
Affirmed customers contain AT&T, Orange, SoftBank, Telus and Vodafone, in accordance to the firm’s web site.
Microsoft and Amazon have both sought to capitalize on 5G. Microsoft introduced a big offer with AT&T very last 12 months.
Buyers include things like Qualcomm Ventures.
Enjoy: Here is why Microsoft could be value getting


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Thriving on consumer demand while appealing to the appetite of investors, Firenza Pizza, one of the latest contenders emerging in the race to dominate the fast-casual pizza industry, strongly closed 2015 and has all of the pieces in place to launch an aggressive national growth initiative in 2016.
Firenza was founded in 2015 by Dave Wood and Dave Baer, two franchise veterans who have over 50 years in the industry combined. Wood owned and operated 17 Dominos franchises throughout Northern Virginia before opting for retirement and selling them in 2012.
Last year, the company opened its first two locations in the city of Fairfax and Alexandria, Virginia. A third corporate store is expected to open in Ashburn, Virginia, in the first quarter of 2016. Company plans call for opening as many as 15–20 new restaurants this year and approximately 20–30 annually thereafter.
“The enthusiasm and momentum we built from a successful first 10 months of business has continued into the new year,” says Firenza cofounder and CEO Dave Wood. “Our growth in this overly populated marketplace is a true testament to the high demand for our products and the excellent leadership of our all-star franchise team and culinary team. We’re confident we have what it takes to become the segment leader.”
Having only launched its franchise opportunity last October, Firenza has already signed its first franchise deal: a 25-unit master development agreement that will bring the brand to Richmond, Virginia, and Eastern North Carolina.
Firenza specializes in truly handcrafted pizzas. Customers can pick and choose from nearly 40 toppings—six signature sauces, seven cheeses, nine meats, and 17 veggies—and watch their customized pies assembled right in front of them. For those customers who don’t want to create their pizzas from scratch, Firenza also offers eight, chef-inspired signature pizzas. Each pizza takes about 3–4 minutes to bake in an open flame stone-hearth oven.
Other menu items include oven-baked wings, meatballs, and custom salads. Beverages include beer and wine, Mexican Coca-Cola, and Coke freestyle fountain drinks.
“We are excited to grow beyond Virginia,” Wood adds. “As we continue to build our footprint, we will remain committed to providing premium quality products and exceptional service, as well as a welcoming atmosphere that can’t be matched.”


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700Credit details integration with DriveCentric for FICO score visibility & more
This week, 700Credit finalized another integration partnership to make available its credit reports as well as compliance and soft-pull solutions.
The latest relationship is with DriveCentric, a robust CRM, artificial intelligence (AI) and conversational engagement platform for automotive retailers. Officials from 700Credit said this new integration can provide dealerships with seamless access to its credit report and compliance platforms that can optimize the sales process.
DriveCentric has also integrated 700Credit’s prescreen solution that can provide dealers visibility to a consumer’s FICO score and current auto-finance information at the start of the sales process.
“The DriveCentric CRM has a strong following in the automotive industry. We are very thrilled to have DriveCentric as a partner and welcome their customer base to our 700Credit family,” 700Credit managing director Ken Hill said in a news release.
“The multiple integration points of our credit, compliance and prescreen solutions will maximize efficiencies for dealerships and expedite the purchase process, as well as help them sell more vehicles,” Hill continued. “Prescreen information enables dealers to make an accurate monthly payment at the beginning of the sales process.”
DriveCentric chief executive officer David Fultz added, “As we continue to innovate and look for ways to improve and streamline our dealership software, 700Credit was an easy choice for integration.
“For dealerships that use DriveCentric and 700Credit, this partnership will significantly impact the sales cycle by providing faster, more accurate quotes and reducing the time it takes to deliver a vehicle,” Fultz went on to say.
For more information about 700Credit, visit www.700credit.com.


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While Seltos is offered at a price range of Rs 9.95 lakh to Rs 18.19 lakh, Sonet is available between Rs 6.95 lakh and Rs 13.69 lakh (ex-sh)
Kia is the latest carmaker to join the bandwagon of auto OEMs increasing prices of their models at the start of a new year. The Korean brand has hiked prices of both its SUVs- Seltos and Sonet as well as of their Carnival luxury MPV.
Seltos and Sonet are based on the same platform which also underpins their cousins from Hyundai- Creta and Venue. While Seltos matches up with Creta in terms of specs and features, Sonet proves a close rival to Venue. Sonet caters to the sub-4 metre SUV space whereas Seltos fights it out in the C-segment compact SUV space.
Kia Price Hike Jan 2022
Kia India’s two best selling models – Seltos and Sonet have received a price hike for Jan 2022. The former has witnessed a hike of up to Rs 11,000 whereas the latter has received a price hike of up to Rs 24,000. Kia Carnival prices Jan 2022 have been increased by flat 50k for all variants, except for base Premium variant, which gets Rs 54k price hike.
For Seltos, the highest price hike of Rs 11,000 was witnessed by the HTK and GTX+ automatic variants. The lowest price increment was recorded by X-Line DCT variants which is dearer by Rs 6,000. Other variants in the lineup have received a price hike of Rs 9,000-10,000.
The mid-size SUV is now available at a price between Rs 9.95 lakh and Rs 18.19 lakh. On the other hand, its smaller sibling Sonet can be bought at prices starting at Rs 6.95 lakh and going up to Rs 13.69 lakh for the top-spec variant. All prices are ex-showroom. The GTX+ variants of the subcompact SUV powered by a diesel engine have witnessed the highest increment of Rs 24,000.
Revised Colour Options
Rest of the lineup has witnessed a hike in prices in the range of Rs 4000-10,000. Apart from an increase in price, Kia has also made other updates to the lineups of both Seltos and Sonet. The Korean carmaker has revised the colour palette in both SUVs by removing some paint schemes. This has been done in accordance with customer demand.
Starting with Seltos, Kia has excluded the single-tone Intelligency Blue from the SUV’s lineup. The compact C-segment SUV is now offered in a total of eight colour options- six monotone and five dual-tone. The mono-tone shades include Red, white, silver, grey, black, and orange.
On the other hand, dual-tone paint schemes on offer include White with black roof, white with orange roof, orange with white roof, red with black roof, and silver with orange roof. Kia has axed two paint options from Sonet- a single-tone Beige Gold and a dual-tone Beige Gold with Aurora Black Pearl. The subcompact crossover is now available in six monotone shades and two dual-tone options.
Buyers can choose from monotone colour schemes of Sonet like Red, silver, grey, black, blue, and white. For dual-tone paint, customers have limited options in the form of Red with black roof and white with black roof. Apart from these, there are no other changes made in either Seltos or Sonet.


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Lyft will now give you a cheaper rate if you’re willing to wait a bit longer for a ride
I’m guessing a lot of people wouldn’t think twice about waiting it out for a cheaper ride. I mean, I wouldn’t.
Venturing out into the world during this whole COVID-19 pandemic isn’t the best of ideas, but hey, we all have to get things like food, water, and of course, toilet paper. And while most of the country’s population is stuck at home without jobs or steady income, paying for a Lyft or Uber isn’t economically viable. Thankfully, Lyft is switching things up and offering riders cheaper fares. The only catch, users have to wait a bit longer for a ride.
This is all in thanks to a new Wait & Save pilot program the company is testing out in the U.S. and Canada. Lyft says the pilot program is available to “most” users, so whenever you book a ride in the app, you should see a cheaper option if you’re willing to wait it out for a ride. Here’s how the company explains it in a recent blog post:
“Riders who choose Wait & Save will always pay less than they would for a standard Lyft ride, and typically the longer they need to wait, the more they will save. This allows for the rider to be matched with the best-located driver.”
Now, just keep in mind, you might not see this option. Wait & Save is a testing pilot program, meaning it’s not available to everyone. But in a recent statement given to Mashable, Lyft spokesperson, Zachary Kizer, said the company is looking to offer this option to as many riders possible across North America.
If you’re one of the lucky users given this option for cheaper fares, don’t hesitate to use it. I mean, you’re already home killing time, might as well use that time to your advantage and save some money in the process. Hopefully, we’ll see this feature rolled out to more users in the coming weeks.
- Your Uber and Lyft trips are bad for the environment, obviously
- Lyft now has a $20 a month plan called Lyft Pink that offers 15% off on all rides
- Uber and Lyft continue to take more money from drivers than expected
- Lyft accidents are on the rise – crucial steps you should probably be taking


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A leading Indian generics maker is looking to boost its U.S. presence significantly. Sun Pharmaceutical is scouting for a U.S. acquisition, Chairman Dilip Shanghvi told Bloomberg. And he's looking for a big one--the company's largest deal to date, in fact. After all, his company is aiming for the world's biggest drug market--a market where it currently supplies less than 3 percent of the generic meds.
"We are still a very small player in the U.S.," Shanghvi said. "We will have to look at a slightly bigger acquisition rather than to look at very small acquisitions that we have done in the past." Sun already owns controlling interest in Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, but the U.S. generics maker has had its share of FDA woes lately, so Sun can't count on it to pump up growth.
As Bloomberg points out, Sun has made 13 deals in the past 14 years; its most recent was the $454 million, long-drawn-out acquisition of a majority stake in the Israeli drugmaker Taro Pharmaceuticals. Religare Securities analyst Vikas Sonawale told the news service that Sun would need to target a generics maker with more than $300 million in annual sales.
That could cost as much as $1 billion. "It will be a clear-cut shift in strategy," Sonawale said, and might require debt financing. No deal talks are in progress yet, Shanghvi says.
- read the Bloomberg story


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Strategic partnerships with big data and e-commerce platform vendors help Tealium customers solve marketing’s big data challenge at its source
San Diego, CA (August 6, 2013) – Tealium, the leader in enterprise tag management, today announced record growth during the first half of 2013 as the company continues to see strong demand for its products and services worldwide.
Tealium saw a 280 percent increase in revenue during the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year. The company also more than doubled the number of enterprise customers between June 2013 and the same month last year. Select new clients include The Weather Channel, Vodafone, Travelocity, Petco, Lufthansa, McAfee, GameFly, Interstate Batteries, Newegg.com, ProFlowers, and many more.
Tealium CEO Jeff Lunsford attributed the first half results to the company’s continued focus on customer success, as well as the January launch of Tealium DataCloud, a new digital data distribution platform – or “D3P” as Forrester Consulting refers to it in a new survey and report, the “Evolution of Tag Management” – that provides a timely, cost-effective way for organizations to consolidate and correlate customer interaction data across digital touchpoints.
“Tag management is evolving, and marketers now see its greater value as a managed service for collecting and segmenting digital visitor data,” Lunsford said. “Our customers benefit from having a solution that can help solve tagging challenges, as well as advance their customer data integration initiatives. Digital marketers are finding a huge big data challenge in piecing back together the mosaic of data that is created across all of their digital touchpoints by all of the digital marketing vendors they use. Tealium DataCloud allows our customers to completely avoid these issues before they start, by correlating cross-channel, cross-vendor data in real time, at its point of creation. Tags are the source of most of this data. Tealium DataCloud solves marketing’s big data challenge at its source.”
Highlights in the first half of the year, ending June 30, include:
- A 110 percent year-over-year increase in enterprise customers worldwide
- Several new strategic integration partnerships with major digital marketing and big data providers, including Splunk, ExactTarget, Magento, Demandware, and others.
- Winning the Red Herring Top 100 Award, which recognizes the best technology companies in North America
- Receiving $15.6M in Series C financing from Battery Ventures, Tenaya Capital, and Presidio Ventures, some of the most respected venture capital firms in the world
- The release of major new feature updates to Tealium iQ, the company’s market-leading enterprise tag management solution
- The launch of the industry’s first multi-CDN tag delivery platform, which leverages three globally-distributed content delivery networks to serve Tealium’s customers’ tags around the world in optimal fashion
- The hiring of Brian Blond as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to oversee global sales. Blond was the CRO at Vitrue, which was acquired by Oracle, and the Director of Sales at BladeLogic, where his efforts contributed to the company’s successful IPO
- The launch of two major customer success initiatives: Digital Velocity, annual user conferences that were held in the U.S. and Europe; and Tag Management University (TMU), the industry’s first formalized tag management and data-layer design training program, which was held in San Diego, London, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Salt Lake City and Seattle.
- The launch of new events for the Tealium SYNC Partner Program, the industry’s largest and fastest-growing partner ecosystem, including technology vendors, integration partners, and agencies.
Tag management’s evolution into a data distribution platform has been validated by Forrester Consulting in a thought leadership whitepaper entitled “The Evolution of Tag Management.” The 14-page guide on the rapidly changing tag management landscape can be downloaded for free athttp://www.tealium.com/evolution.
To find out more about Tealium, please visit www.tealium.com.


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Preview: edie.net - Latest News
Last Build Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2017 01:11:44 GMT
BAFTA and beer giant announce renewables purchasing plans
Wed, 29 Mar 2017 13:50:00 GMT
As BAFTA forms a partnership to help the television and film sector purchase renewable energy, the world's largest beer maker has announced a new commitment to secure 100% purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
Uber expands London EV plans, despite 'woeful' charging infrastructure
Wed, 29 Mar 2017 12:40:00 GMT
EXCLUSIVE: Uber is taking steps to overcome the "economic disincentive" of using electric vehicles (EVs) in its fleet, by unveiling a new partnership with Nissan and beginning the construction of a network of chargers to combat London's "woefully inadequate" infrastructure.
edie Live exhibitor focus: Flexitricity
Wed, 29 Mar 2017 09:35:00 GMT
Ahead of edie Live at the NEC on 23-24 May, we get up close and personal with some of our exhibitors to find out what visitors can expect to see from them at the show, what's new and how they can help in the drive towards sustainability targets.
UPS to trial electric vehicle 'smart grid' in London
Wed, 29 Mar 2017 07:15:00 GMT
EXCLUSIVE: Delivery firm UPS is moving onto the "next stage" of the electric vehicle (EV) deployment challenge to trial decentralised power generation and onsite storage systems at its London operating base.
Apple triples supplier sites enrolled in energy efficiency programme
Tue, 28 Mar 2017 11:00:00 GMT
Apple has tripled the number of supplier sites listed in its energy efficiency programme aimed at reducing onsite emissions, and has also introduced a "first-of-its-kind" risk assessment tool covering supply chain risks related to material sourcing, environmental impact and health and safety.
Survey: Renewables workforce concerned about future skills shortage
Tue, 28 Mar 2017 06:43:00 GMT
A relatively young workforce in the renewables sector could create a future skills shortage unless mentoring and coaching is improved, while hiring managers across the energy sector are increasingly willing to recruit from other sectors to inspire "a new way of thinking" into companies.
VIDEO: Inside Gatwick's 'world-first' waste management plant
Tue, 28 Mar 2017 13:50:00 GMT
Gatwick's newly opened £3.8m waste processing plant takes the airport to brave new heights for sustainable aviation. Join edie on the ground for an exclusive behind-the-scenes video tour of this state-of-the-art facility, and read the full case study to find out how it works.
The Crown Estate signs up to Circular Economy 100 platform
Mon, 27 Mar 2017 12:29:00 GMT
Property giant The Crown Estate has today (27 March) become the latest corporate member of the Circular Economy 100 (CE100), the innovation platform launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to accelerate circular economy ambitions.
AkzoNobel commits to carbon neutrality by 2050
Mon, 27 Mar 2017 10:58:00 GMT
AkzoNobel has today (27 March) become the first paint and coatings manufacturer to pledge to become carbon neutral and use 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Aviva chief: It's time to make sustainability a competitive sport
Mon, 27 Mar 2017 09:45:00 GMT
Sustainability should be treated as a competitive sport, driven by public league tables on corporate climate performance to incentivise businesses to strive towards industry climate leadership, Aviva's chief executive has said.
Are waste management jobs at threat from automation?
Fri, 24 Mar 2017 16:36:00 GMT
As a new report warns that that waste, water and sewage management teams could be replaced by automated technology by 2030, a UK-based company has agreed to supply fuel cells for drones used for supply chain inventory tracking in the logistics sector.


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Big W has announced it will close three stores in western Sydney next year, roughly three months after revealing it would cull up to 30.
Retail giant Woolworths said it would close its Big W stores in Chullora, Auburn and Fairfield, after having reached an agreement with landlords to shut down operations in six months’ time.
“These are not decisions we take lightly and we regret the impact the closures will have on affected team members,” Big W managing director David Walker said in a statement.
“Over the next six months, we will support our team and explore redeployment opportunities with team members who choose to continue their career at BIG W or with other Woolworths Group brands in the months ahead.”
The Elanor Retail Property Fund made a similar announcement, telling the ASX on Thursday that the Big W in Auburn Central shopping centre would close at the end of January 2020 – describing the closure of the 7159-square-metre store as “a positive catalyst for the transformation of Auburn Central into a Sydney metropolitan, dual supermarket, neighbourhood shopping centre”.
The closures are the first of 30 that Woolworths plans over the next three years, and part of a broader review aimed at building a more sustainable and profitable network of stores.
But according to a senior industry analyst, Woolworths would have to close more than 30 Big W stores if it was serious about boosting its profitability.
“Thirty stores is surprising, because most analysts expected it to be more,” IBISWorld senior industry analyst Kim Do said in the wake of April’s announcement.
“They’ve said they’ll close 30 in the next three years, but IBISWorld predicts that number will grow in the next five years if their profits don’t improve.”
Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said in April that the group’s plans – which also involve closing down a distribution centre in Monarto, South Australia, and one in Warwick, Queensland – would incur a “one-off pre-tax charge of approximately $370 million”.
But he said the group’s plans would better reflect “the rapidly changing retail environment” and “accelerate our turnaround plan through a more profitable store network”.
Woolworths has 183 Big W stores located across Australia. The division lost $110 million in the last financial year.
Woolworths shares were down 0.61 per cent to $34.09 at 1310 AEST on Thursday.


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In a shift in strategy, PETA – along with Stella McCartney – is urging fashionistas to shed not only fur but also leather this Fashion Week with a viral video exposé of the skins trade hosted by McCartney.
“As a designer, I like to work with fabrics that don’t bleed; that’s why I avoid all animal skins,” says McCartney in the video. “Please join me in exploring the huge variety of fashionable shoes, belts, purses, and wallets that aren’t the product of a cow’s violent death.”
As reported in the New York Times, the campaign, set to debut in Manhattan cabs, has had a bumpy start. Because style editors and buyers from around the world scurry between runway shows in taxis during Fashion Week, PETA planned to run a video blitz on taxi video screens—but VeriFone Media, which places the cab ads, refused to allow PETA to buy airtime, saying that the screens run consumer promotions, not cautions. Undeterred, PETA will launch the video on fashion blogs, via tweets from celebrities, and on the Facebook pages of PETA’s million-plus online activists.
McCartney’s video explains that cows killed for their skin are castrated, branded, and dehorned and have their tails cut, all without painkillers. In slaughterhouses, the animals’ throats are cut, and many cows are skinned and dismembered while they are still alive. And the toxic chemicals used to keep the animals’ skin from rotting harm workers’ health and can pollute nearby water supplies and soil, leading to increased rates of cancer among nearby residents.


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Press Room:Information, Press Releases, and Announcements from UpCity.
Latest Press Release
The 2023 Excellence Awards Season is Here!
This spring, we’ll honor the very best B2B service providers in the UpCity community while supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Press Releases by Date
Introducing UpCity’s “Best of” Awards
UpCity’s “Best of” awards celebrate businesses with the highest brand integrity in their business category based on their UpCity Recommendability Rating. For our launch year (2021), UpCity will be awarding “Best of” recognition based on six categories
UpCity Named a 2021 Inc. Best Workplace
We are thrilled to announce that Inc. has named UpCity one of the Best Workplaces for 2021!
UpCity 2021 Excellence Award Winners Are Here!
UpCity is excited to announce the 2021 UpCity Excellence winners at both the National and Local levels in the U.S. and Canada!
UpCity Expands into the UK and Australia
UpCity is proud to announce that we have officially extended our network of B2B service providers to the UK and Australia—expanding our current market outside of the U.S. and Canada.
2021 UpCity Recommendability Rating Algorithm Updates
Each year, we review our current UpCity Recommendability Rating algorithm. As one of the UpCity core values is transparency, we want to proactively share with our partners and businesses seeking their services what will be changing.
Visibility, Credibility, and Insights: Introducing the new UpCity experience
Today we are proud to pull back the curtain on our latest enhancements that provide tools and insights to build credibility for our free partners and drive greater efficiency and visibility for our Certified partners.
Introducing the UpCity Dashboard: How recommendable are you?
UpCity Certified Partners now have access to interactive insights to improve their online reputation. Did you know that 50% of B2B Buyers have already made their selection before contact, according to CSO Insights? Your online reputation matters. Businesses come to UpCity to find service providers they can trust. UpCity measures the online reputation of providers […]
UpCity Announces 2020 National Excellence Award Winners
Chicago, IL—UpCity is excited to announce the winners of the 2020 National Excellence Awards, celebrating the best B2B service providers as measured by their UpCity Recommendability Rating…
The 2020 National Excellence Awards are Happening!
Announcing the 2020 National Excellence Awards! UpCity is proud to announce that we are once again holding our National Excellence Awards for 2020! Year after year the B2B services market becomes increasingly cluttered, making the partner selection process more difficult for business owners. In 2017, the UpCity Marketplace was created with the mission of […]
UpCity CEO Dan Olson Listed as One of Crain’s Notable Entrepreneurs in Chicago
UpCity CEO Dan Olson has been listed as one of Crain’s 40 Notable Entrepreneurs in Chicago. Chicago, IL — UpCity is excited to announce that our CEO and co-founder, Dan Olson, has been nominated and selected as one of Crain’s 40 Notable Entrepreneurs in Chicago! Crain’s list of Notable Entrepreneurs includes 44 men and women […]
Come meet the UpCity team in person at our River North offices.
445 North Wells Street, Suite 401
Chicago, IL 60654
P: +1 (312) 445-9615
(*) all fields are required


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Archive for the ‘bright house networks’ tag
Verizon may be close to sealing its spectrum deal with major cable companies, say sources close to the company’s negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission.
The DOJ and FCC are currently vetting the purchase, and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division is likely to place some strict conditions on the arrangement, according to three anonymous sources who spoke to Reuters. The department “had significant concerns about the anticompetitive potential of key features of the proposed agreement,” one of the sources said.
Verizon first announced its intention to buy the spectrum in December. The acquisition includes 122 wireless services licenses from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks.
While the extra spectrum would allow Verizon to give its wireless customers faster data service, the matter has stirred up quite a bit of controversy among Verizon’s competitors. T-Mobile, for example, asked the DOJ to kill the deal altogether back in February, arguing that allowing the deal to go through would give Verizon an “excessive concentration” of spectrum, which in turn could stifle competition.
Antitrust regulators have some of the same concerns, especially around Verizon and Comcast cross-marketing each other’s products. In the adjusted deal, FiOS cross-marketing in particular would be prohibited.
The DOJ has been probing the acquisition since it was announced in December 2011. The spectrum Verizon is trying to buy was originally licensed by the government to promote additional competition in the wireless service market.
Filed under: deals
Verizon is currently trying to convince the Federal Communications Commission to approve a deal that would allow the carrier to purchase a section of spectrum currently owned by big cable companies — a move that many smaller carriers, including T-Mobile, claimed would stifle competition.
Now, it seems that T-Mobile has changed its tune.
The two carriers have reached a deal to transfer some of that spectrum should it pass approval by federal regulators, Verizon announced today. T-Mobile is said to be getting the better part of the deal, trading off portions of its spectrum in exchange for Verizon’s as well as purchasing additional spectrum, according to AllThingsD.
T-Mobile said the deal between itself and Verizon will service to strengthen its forthcoming high-speed LTE network and boost its position in 15 of the top U.S. markets, including Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Detroit, Minneapolis, Seattle, Cleveland, Columbus, Milwaukee, and Rochester, N.Y.
Verizon previously agreed to pay cable companies (Comcast, Time Warner Cable Inc., Bright House Networks, and Cox Communications) $3.6?billion to license a portion of wireless spectrum currently not in use. Cable companies also agreed to cross-market Verizon’s home phone, Internet and cell phone services to its customers. T-Mobile previously argued that if the deal was approved it would give Verizon an “excessive concentration” of spectrum, which was echoed by fifth largest U.S. wireless carrier MetroPCS and 10 special interest groups.
T-Mobile said the new Verizon deal will help strengthen the LTE service that it hopes to begin offering next year. It said the deal will boost its position in 15 of the top 25 U.S. markets including cities such as Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Detroit, Minneapolis, Seattle, Cleveland, Columbus, Milwaukee, and Rochester, N.Y.
“This is good for T-Mobile and good for consumers because it will enable T-Mobile to compete even more vigorously with other wireless carriers,” said T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm in a statement. “We anticipate FCC approval later this summer, in time for us to incorporate this new spectrum into our network modernization and the rollout of LTE services next year.”
Additionally, Verizon said it will sell of portions of it 700MHz band if all goes according to plan. That may help take some heat off of Verizon from the smaller carriers, but it may not be enough to convince the FCC to approve to deal.
Imagine for a moment that you are sitting in your front yard in a lawn chair, sipping lemonade while attempting to read the latest news on your WiFi-only iPad. You’re just out of range of your WiFi signal. Your neighbor’s signal is super strong, but that selfish hooligan didn’t leave it wide open for you to leach onto. Wouldn’t you love to be able to use a portion of his spectrum anyway while away from your own?
Well, you still can’t, however…
A consortium of cable companies (Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp., Bright House Networks LLC and Cox Communications Inc) have agreed to enable the sharing of subscriber WiFi hotspots at a grand scale, creating a large region of available signal, in select markets in the U.S.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a single hotspot name and sign on scenario will be used to make it easier for consumers to log in and use available spectrum to surf. It will be a perk for paying broadband account holders in the consortium, but certain providers like Time Warner will let you pay as you go if you like.
Unfortunately, I mis-represented the original article as being for consumer hotspots. This is for subscriber hotspots. Big ups to Josh Ferris for pointing out the error in my ways.
At a senate judiciary committee hearing Wednesday, top executives from Verizon and Comcast reaffirmed their stance that consumers would benefit from the approval of a billion dollar spectrum deal between the largest U.S. carrier and the country’s biggest cable television providers.
Last year Verizon agreed to spend $3.6 billion to obtain a portion of spectrum currently owned by SpectrumCo, a joint venture that consists of Comcast, Time Warner Cable Inc., Bright House Networks, and Cox Communications. That deal is currently under investigation by anti-trust regulators due to concerns that it could stifle competition and impact consumers negatively.
If approved, it would mean that 61 percent of all spectrum in the U.S. (which is used to transmit data via cell phones, GPS devices, radios, broadcast TV stations, and more) would belong to only two companies, Verizon and AT&T. And because this is the only nation-wide portion of the spectrum available for the next several years (if not longer), it also means there likely won’t be many new companies emerging as competitors in the wireless market.
“This deal seems to completely abandon the goals of the Telecom Act,” Senator Al Franken said, in reference to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Telecom Act attempted to make it easier for companies to enter into the business of communication services and expand competition.
Verizon’s argument for why the deal should be approved was pretty weak. During the hearing, Verizon Executive VP Randal Milch said his company would dutifully spend billions of dollars to build out SpectrumCo’s spectrum into a viable wireless network. This in turn would generate more money for Verizon by improving their overall wireless network and charging customers to use it.
But currently, Milch argued, the spectrum is “nothing” because the cable companies aren’t doing anything with it. Seriously, he actually said “right now we have nothing. It’s nothing.”
Franken was quick to respond to Milch’s comments, saying of course its something.. it’s a valuable addition to Verizon’s wireless business. “That’s the reason you want it. Right? OK.”
During the hearing, there were also questions about the cable companies’ intent for purchasing the spectrum six years ago.
“When Comcast and the other cable companies… bought spectrum at the FCC auction in 2006, there was hope that the cable companies would develop competing wireless service,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Herb Kohl. “Instead, these cable companies decided that it would not be economical to spend the resources to deploy this spectrum and enter the wireless market.
Kohl went on to point out that selling this spectrum to the largest wireless company is essentially the opposite of what regulators intended when they agreed to auction it off in 2006.
“Spectrum is government granted public airwaves to be used for the public interest,” Kohl said. “Is it in the public’s (best) interest to sell this spectrum to Verizon, the nation’s biggest wireless company, which will keep it out of the hands of any of the competitors.
“Wouldn’t it have at least been better to have a public auction for this spectrum?” he added.
Kohl also voiced the senate’s “disappointment” over comments made during Comcast shareholder meetings that suggested Comcast never intended to deploy a wireless service. The FCC has regulations against companies that purchase spectrum for its value or allow spectrum to be “warehoused” (intentionally not using purchased allotment of spectrum for strategic advantage over any competitors).
However, Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen said wasn’t at all the case. In fact, Cohen claimed that SpectrumCo met with every single carrier about deploying a wireless network using its spectrum. The company’s original intent was to have an integrated communication service that included cable TV, broadband Internet, home telephone, and wireless, he said.
Despite concerns over an anti-trust investigation, Comcast determined that the best way to use its investment in the spectrum was to partner with Verizon. As the largest wireless company, Verizon could not only offer the most money, but it could also position itself as the best suited to deploy a wireless network using the spectrum.
Screenshot of Senate hearing via Senate.gov
In an ironic turn of events, the fourth largest U.S. carrier T-Mobile is asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to halt Verizon’s pending acquisition of additional wireless spectrum currently licensed by some of the nation’s biggest cable companies.
Verizon previously agreed to pay cable companies (Comcast, Time Warner Cable Inc., Bright House Networks, and Cox Communications) $3.6?billion to license a portion of wireless spectrum currently not in use. In return, the cable companies will cross-market Verizon’s phone, video, Internet and cell phone services to its customers. Additionally, Verizon has also agreed to halt any further build out of its FiOS broadband cable TV and Internet service.
T-Mobile is arguing that allowing the deal to go through would give Verizon an “excessive concentration” of spectrum, which in turn could stifle competition. Verizon, on the other hand, is defending the deal because it will allow the company to boost download speeds and better facilitate the growing number of data-hungry smartphone customers.
The fact that T-Mobile is against allowing any one company to control a vast portion of spectrum is interesting. Just months ago, the company unsuccessfully fought to for federal regulators to approve its $39 billion merger with AT&T. The merger fell through in December 2011, leaving T-Mobile once again as the smallest of the big fish carriers.
T-Mobile isn’t the only one urging the FCC to stop Verizon from obtaining more spectrum. The fifth largest wireless carrier MetroPCS and 10 special interest groups have also filed petitions with the FCC in regards to blocking Verizon’s deal.
by Todd Bailey
Is it better to make nice with competitors (perhaps if it’s financially beneficial)? In some cases, it may be better to damper notions of competition and pickup on financially-sound sentiments regarding partnerships.
However, are such unions good for other brands in the industry? The T-Mobile brand does not appreciate the planned purchase of spectrum from cable companies by competitor, Verizon. Wait. Didn’t T-Mobile attempt to merge with AT&T recently? That didn’t go over well; so, T-Mobile wants to crash Verizon’s merger party, filing a request with the federal government, urging them to pull the cord out of the wall on the incipient deal?
The expected Verizon deal involves Comcast, Time Warner, Bright House Networks, and Cox Communications. T-Mobile is fourth in the cellphone vertical; but, that position is not offering enough security. The brand thinks the Verizon deal would be unfair, placing “excessive concentration” (of wireless spectrum) at the whims of T-Mobile’s competitor.
Purchasing spectrum enhances a wireless carriers’ position to effectively market and advertise products and services. The alignment of forces is not farfetched these days. SimplyMeasured joined forces with Klout recently; the former is not charging users extra for the added statistics offered with the help of the latter. Verizon reached a deal in December to snag the wireless spectrum for $3.6 billion. Verizon made a separate deal, allowing it to market its services (and vice versa). Such a partnership could be incredibly profitable for Verizon. T-Mobile doesn’t like those kinds of projections.
Some politicians don’t like the dynamic of the relationship either, observing Comcast and Verizon were working side by side as if…partners not competitors. Al Franken, Senator of Minnesota, mentions, “These joint-marketing agreements will turn these rival companies into partners, rather than competitors. I fear this will ultimately mean less competition, less choice, and higher prices for consumers.”
What does Verizon have to add to the conversation? At present, Verizon is not ‘accepting calls’ regarding the union. As more brands leverage digital channels of marketing, will such deals become common reruns?
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Both houses of Congress passed a bill today that could put the country on a path to getting access to a greater portion of the wireless spectrum, but it’ll come at the cost of sacrificing some of the freely available broadcast TV stations.
If you search for some kind of appropriately named piece of legislation like the “Open up more wireless spectrum so my iPhone browser will load faster act”, you won’t find it. That’s because the bill congress passed was actually an extension of the payroll tax, which essentially lets people keep more of their paycheck by removing some of the standard taxes. To pay for this extension though, congress needed a new source of income. That’s where the TV spectrum comes in.
The bill is setting up a voluntary auction for the block of spectrum currently reserved for television broadcasts. Many of the owners originally granted a license for their part of the spectrum are getting a pretty good deal because they paid very little money compared to what it’s now worth on the open market. To give you some kind of understanding of the value, the 2008 auction for wireless spectrum ended up bringing $19.6 billion — with over $16 billion of that coming from AT&T and Verizon. Verizon is also poised to pick up a large chunk of wireless spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks for a cool $3.6 billion (pending approval by the DOJ).
So clearly, we’re talking about a lot of money here, which the U.S. government will get a cut of.
Despite the FCC’s countless pleas to make more spectrum available, congress has mostly neglected to address the issue directly. The payroll tax extension is more or less seen as a way to kill two bird with one stone. And that’s both a good and a bad thing.
The good think about this auction is that wireless carriers will be able to speed up their networks, expand coverage area of high-speed internet to rural areas of the country, and (in turn) create more jobs. The bad part about this legislation is that it has the potential to sacrifice some the broadcast TV channels that are only just now starting to get used by tech companies as a valuable public resource. For instance, Boxee just launched a Live TV stick, which feeds the HD TV broadcast signal into the company’s Boxee Box set-top box — thus providing owners with a way to both cut the cord and still get some live content like local news and sports. There’s also recent Barry Diller startup Aereo, which uses tiny HD antennas (one per user) to stream the broadcast TV content thru a variety of connected devices.
While I welcome the additional spectrum availability, part of me wonders whether it would have been better for congress to directly address the issue rather than issuing a voluntary auction to pay an immediate bill like the payroll tax cut extension.
In a bid to shore up its 4G wireless network, Verizon has agreed to buy 122 wireless services licenses from Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, the company announced today.
Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks initially set up a wireless venture called SpectrumCo in 2007. But because the venture didn’t turn into anything substantial, the company’s are cutting their loses and selling the assets to Verizon. The deal stipulates that Comcast will receive $2.3 billion, Time Warner Cable will get $1.1 billion and Bright House Networks will bank $189 million, based on how much ownership each company had in SpectrumCo. The SpectrumCo companies actually bid $2.4 billion for the spectrum in 2006, so Verizon is paying a $1.2 billion premium for it.
If U.S. regulators approve the move, Verizon will own much more spectrum, as the assets cover 259 million Americans. The goal would be to give more Verizon customers across the country its 4G LTE service, which is already the largest next-gen 4G network. The U.S. Government plans to open more its wireless spectrum to mobile operators at an auction, but Verizon is premptively moving ahead of that to secure itself spectrum.
“Americans deserve excellence from a wireless service provider, and innovative wireless companies plan ahead in order to deliver on that expectation,” Dan Mead, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless, said in a statement. “Spectrum is the raw material on which wireless networks are built, and buying the AWS spectrum now solidifies our network leadership into the future, and will enable us to bring even better 4G LTE products and services to our customers.”
The deal, pending approval from a highly regulatory FCC and DOJ, would put a ton of pressure on AT&T, which already is behind Verizon in building out a true 4G network. Verizon offers 4G LTE in more than 150 U.S. markets. AT&T (and T-Mobile) mostly offer up HSPA+ as its version of 4G, which delivers faster speeds on already established 3G networks. That said, AT&T now has LTE live in nine markets in the U.S. and plans on steadily adding more.
AT&T is also struggling right now because it is looking less likely that its proposed buyout of T-Mobile will happen. The FCC has blasted the potential AT&T-T-Mobile merger in a 157-page report that ultimately concluded that the merger would ultimately hurt U.S. consumers. AT&T and T-Mobile-parent Deutsche Telekom have actually withdrawn their FCC application for the merger, so the company’s may also be planning to lose this fight.
Your move, AT&T.
Filed under: mobile


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Three empowering summer campaigns from Billie, Estée Lauder and Urban Decay—plus the feud between Jameela Jamil and Kim Kardashian West rages on
Billie Just Released a New Summer Campaign—And It’s All About Body Hair Positivity
It may seem counterintuitive for a razor brand to feature body hair in all its glory in a shoot but that’s exactly what Billie has done with their summer campaign, and it has accomplished what every campaign aims to do—that is, get everyone talking. Titled “Red, White, and You Do You“, the video sends a clear message that all bodies of all sizes and grooming preferences are beach-ready. “Every summer, the media pressures female-identifying individuals to achieve that ‘beach body,’” Ashley Armitage, the campaign’s director, told Refinery29 in an interview. “Everywhere we look, we see ads telling us that the only way to look good in a swimsuit is to be thin, fit, and hairless. In this film, we wanted to normalize body hair and show that we have options.” Last year, the brand also released Project Body Hair, which aimed to do the ironically disruptive thing of being the first razor brand to feature body hair in a shaving ad. “For the past 100 years, women’s razor brands haven’t acknowledged female body hair…Everyone has short stubble, long strands, or something in between. What you do with yours is up to you—grow it, get rid of it, or comb it. It’s your hair, after all.” We’re here for it all.
Estée Lauder Launches #ShadesOfCanada Campaign in Time for Canada Day
To help celebrate Canada’s birthday while promoting their Double Wear Stay-in-Place foundation, Estée Lauder is launching a Shades of Canada campaign to both shine the spotlight on diversity—age and race, specifically—as well as a foundation available in 56 shades. “We are proud to launch a campaign that celebrates Canadian diversity. Like our country, #ShadesofCanada is a cultural mosaic and a tribute to individuality, empowering Canadians to feel confident in their own skin,” Estée Lauder brand manager Julie Sutherland said in a statement. “Our goal was to ensure that Estée Lauder customers, and those discovering the brand, are able to see themselves reflected in this localized campaign.” The launch of the campaign will be timed to coincide with Canada Day on July 1 and will feature both in-store and online components.
Urban Decay Defines Pretty Differently With New Campaign
In other campaign news, makeup brand Urban Decay has tapped a host of bright young stars to populate their latest marketing effort. “Pretty Different” features the likes of Lizzo, Joey King, Ezra Miller—whose many faces you cannot have missed on this year’s Met Gala red carpet—South Korean pop star CL and Colombian reggaeton artist Karol G. The campaign launched this week with an empowering message of self-love and inclusive beauty. The video portrays a futuristic Stepford-like world in which sameness reigns, and shows Urban Decay’s five “global citizens” breaking the mold to be “pretty untamed, pretty bold, pretty fierce, pretty wild, pretty dangerous, pretty ugly” and, of course, “pretty different”. All in all, it’s pretty compelling.
Jameela Jamil Is Coming for Kim Kardashian’s Body Foundation
Jameela Jamil has made a name for herself calling into question the often harmful narratives that dominate our social cosciousness—with a particular focus on those perpetuated by arch-rival Kim Kardashian-West, who shared a post on Instagram earlier this month illustrating how she conceals patches of psoriasis on her legs. Jamil, who stars on—The Good Place and first criticized Kardashian-West for endorsing appetite-suppressant lollipops—spoke out on Twitter this week, saying, “I have such severe eczema all over that my legs are covered in huge patches of pigment loss from scratching. I have a tonne of stretch marks, and because I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, *every* time I cut, I scar. I *refuse* to have these normal human marks weaponised against me.” Twitter users rang in with a host of messages expressing shared experiences, but some also chimed in with a counter-argument: that there’s nothing wrong with using makeup to cover up scars either. “I get what you’re saying, but it’s also important not to discard the validity of using body makeup to hide scars from trauma or abuse for example,” one user tweeted. “This is going to help some people.”


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Payment Methods: Online vs. Offline - Ireland - July 2016
“Compared to less than a decade ago when cash was the preferred method of payment among Irish consumers, the Irish payments industry has changed dramatically. Non-cash methods of payment have become increasingly popular - most notably debit cards, which have now far surpassed credit cards as consumers' favourite form of plastic payment card. While cheques are not nearly as significant as they once were, they remain an important (albeit niche) method of payment".
– Brian O’Connor, Senior Consumer Analyst
This report discusses the following key topics:
Need to provide consumers with alternative budgeting tools
Evolution rather than revolution best suits the payment industry
Security remains a fundamental issue for consumers


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BMW has announced plans to feature the all-electric BMW i3 in a 60-second spot during Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1, 2015. After a 4-year hiatus, BMW will be returning to the big game with a commercial during the first quarter.
“As one in three Americans will tune in to watch the Super Bowl, we’re thrilled to use this platform to educate viewers on the importance of electric mobility,” said Trudy Hardy, Vice President of Marketing, BMW of North America. “Big ideas like the BMW i3 take a little getting used to, and the creative idea surrounding our spot will play on this analogy.”
BMW i is BMW’s forward-looking and sustainable brand dedicated to solving many of the mobility challenges faced by the world’s most densely populated cities. The BMW i3 is the first of the BMW i vehicles constructed from the ground up primarily of carbon fiber. Currently available in the U.S., the BMW i3 has a starting MSRP of $43,350, and the range-extender model has a starting MSRP of $47,200.


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TopCashback is a site which allows you to earn a small amount of cashback from your day to day shopping by clicking through to participating online shops from its site. It is very similar to Quidco if you are a member of that site. British Airways and Virgin […]
British Airways and BA Executive Club
British Airways Executive Club is the main reason that Head for Points exists!
As well as reading the articles below, make sure that you read our Avios Redemption University series to learn how to maximise your Avios points.
News in brief: Share your Heathrow Express upgrade codes Heathrow Express emailed its database on Wednesday with a free First Class upgrade code. These are valid for one person on a ticket (one-way or return) booked in advance via the Heathrow Express website or app. […]
British Airways, or their selected third party, lounges in Europe are generally unexciting and I wasn’t expecting to find anything to write about in Vienna. However, it turned out that I had access to a number of different and decent lounges and so I thought it […]
Wealth management group Nutmeg has brought back its generous Avios offer. You will receive up to 10,000 Avios points when you open a Stocks & Shares ISA or a pension with Nutmeg before 9th October. Full details can be found on the Nutmeg website here. […]
Some good news from British Airways for a change. Yesterday, the company officially announced the new First Class, Gold Executive Club and oneworld Emerald access route at Heathrow Terminal 5. Click to enlarge the images. ‘The First Wing’ is being built in the area behind […]
Avios is gearing up for the launch of a new feature on 1st October – a new restaurant-booking portal called Restaurant Circle which will give you 250 Avios points with every table booked. The system is being run by ResDiary which handles bookings for 5,900 […]
Following on from my story on Saturday that British Airways is training cabin crew to sell ‘buy on board’ food on short haul – but only after they sign a confidentiality agreement – the Daily Mail reported on Sunday that British Airways has signed a deal with […]
(EDIT: Etihad codes now fixed!) News in brief: British Airways believed to be launching buy-on-board catering in 2017 There are a steady stream of rumours at the moment that British Airways is poised to announce the launch of buy-on-board short-haul catering from early 2017. My […]
I wrote about this deal back in July but, as it is still running for another six weeks, I thought it was worth a reminder. British Airways is currently running a bigger and better version of the ‘Kids Fly Free’ offer which it has run in the […]
It is now just over four months until the big terminal switch at Gatwick. On 25th January 2017, British Airways will move overnight from the North Terminal to the South Terminal. easyJet will move across to the North Terminal, consolidating their entire operation under one […]
Yes, a cheery subject for a Friday morning. However, this is something that rarely comes up but does impact quite a few people, especially those who were hoarding Avios during their career to spend during retirement. I last focused on this two years ago. I […]


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3 Tips To Stay Strong In New Vehicles As Sales Volumes Slow
You can already see signs that 2016 won’t be the same as the past few years in new vehicles:
- Incentives are on the rise. An Automotive News article notes that incentives are climbing as a percentage of new vehicle transaction prices. Overall, incentives ran nearly 9 percent last month, slightly less than December, but up from a year ago. Despite the incentives, most dealers saw little net gain in sales volumes.
- Fleet sales are on the rise. The article also reports that while new vehicle sales were essentially flat in January, they would have declined by nearly 4 percent if fleet sales hadn’t buoyed overall industry volumes.
- Analysts predict a “sales plateau.” Industry observers say the industry may see some growth in the coming year, but it won’t be anything like the consecutive year-over-year increases of 1 million or more new vehicle sales.
- Margins remain challenged. Public dealer groups essentially all reported that new vehicle margins in December were lower than the prior year, in some cases by double-digit percentages. Unfortunately, I’m unaware of any reason to think margin compression will abate.
Such signs indicate that dealers will be challenged to do as well as, if not better, in new vehicles in the coming year. This reality shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially dealers who have been around long enough to remember that ours is a highly cyclical business, and we’ve had a really good run the past few years.
The key question, though, is what can dealers do to increase sales and profitability in this more challenged environment?
I see three areas where dealers have an opportunity for improvement, despite the prospect of fewer sales.
Inventory management. Simply put, dealers need to be more scientific and strategic as they manage their new vehicle inventories. Vehicle orders should be driven by current market supply and demand insights, not best guesses. When it comes to color and equipment configurations, close enough won’t be good enough in an environment with fewer buyers bring ever-more exact purchase preferences. I recognize that factory “below the line” programs can incentivize dealers to order and take new vehicles they’d prefer not to carry. As 2016 unfolds, I suspect dealers will face more factory pressure to take cars. The dealers who push back with objective market insights will stand a better chance to avoid carrying the factory’s water.
Dealers could also do a much better job of managing the average age of their new vehicle inventories. It’s not uncommon for dealers to have 40 percent or more of their new vehicle inventories above 90 days of age. In the past, this slow-moving inventory hasn’t been a big problem as sales kept climbing. Looking ahead, it’ll be important for dealers to focus their attention on retailing the older cars faster, if not first.
Market-focused pricing. As dealers become accustomed to using new vehicle pricing technology and tools, they typically find two problems with the way they’d previously priced their new vehicles: They had vehicles priced too far above the competitive market average to attract buyers, and they had vehicles unnecessarily priced below the average. Each scenario indicates an opportunity that, if addressed, would help dealers drive sales and improve front-end margins. Top-performing dealers also recognize that including available incentives and discounts in their new vehicle pricing has shifted from being “nice” to “necessary” as they aim to align their new vehicle prices to buyer expectations and differentiate themselves from competitors.
Transaction times. A growing number of dealers are working to bring vehicle transaction times down to 60 minutes or less. They are doing this for good reason. They understand that buyers will pay more for the increased convenience and fast purchase experience they really prefer. A Midwest General Motors dealer puts it this way: “When buyers see my new vehicle prices and my promise to get them in and out of the dealership in an hour or less, they pay attention. When they’re here, they’re more comfortable and at ease. Best of all, they tell their friends when they discover that buying a car from us is easier than they expected.”
Some dealers are going even further, using technology and tools to allow new vehicle buyers to initiate and, in some cases, complete a new vehicle deal (including financing and trade-in) online. Dealers say they’re seeing the percentage of customers who take advantage of these online deal-making options steadily increase, they’re not just younger buyers.
As I share these recommendations with dealers, some ask which one I’d make a top priority. I typically respond that while they are all important, you’re always better off when you have the exactly right mix of the right new cars your market wants.