US senator: Exploding e-cigarette recalls need to be considered

NEW YORK — US Sen. Charles Schumer is increasing the heat on the federal government to consider recalling e-cigarette batteries and devices that explode and catch fire, injuring users.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, has called e-cigarettes “ticking time bombs” and said they continue to cause injuries including severe burns.

E-cigarette user Katrina Williams, a New York freight manager, said she wanted a safer alternative to smoking regular tobacco cigarettes and thought e-cigarettes were the answer – until one exploded in her pocket in April as she drove home from a beauty salon.

“It was like a firecracker,” she said, as it seared third-degree burns in her leg, blasted through her charred pants and stuck in the dashboard.

As the use of e-cigarettes has increased over the past year, similar painful accidents have been recorded with greater frequency, with faulty lithium-ion batteries seen as the likely culprits. The same types of batteries are used safely in many consumer electronics, but they’ve been behind fires in hover boards and smartphones.

Schumer said he wants the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the US Food and Drug Administration to figure out why so many devices, many from China, are exploding. He said the recent injuries are proof federal action is needed.

Schumer, who planned to hold a press conference on Sunday to address the issue, cited a recent Associated Press story saying the FDA identified about 66 explosions in 2015 and early 2016 after recording 92 explosions from 2009 to September 2015.

The AP story said the numbers kept by the FDA may be an undercount. Just one hospital, the UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said it has seen more than 20 patients with e-cigarette burns since it started tracking them informally in October 2015.

The industry maintains e-cigarettes are safe when used properly. The Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association encourages proper recharging of the batteries as a way to prevent possible injuries.

The FDA has said it’s reviewing e-cigarettes and will evaluate their batteries, including “amperage, voltage, wattage, battery type” and other issues.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Can Samsung bounce back after Note 7 fiasco?

SEOUL, South Korea— The fiasco of Samsung’s fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphones — and Samsung’s stumbling response to the problem — has left consumers from Shanghai to New York reconsidering how they feel about the South Korean tech giant and its products.

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it would stop making the Note 7 for good, after first recalling some devices and then recalling their replacements, too. Now, like the makers of Tylenol, Ford Pintos and other products that faced crises in the past, it must try to restore its relationship with customers as it repairs the damage to its brand.

Samsung shares plunged as much as 8 percent in Seoul, their biggest one-day drop since the 2008 financial crisis, after the company apologized for halting sales of the Note 7.

“I’m in a state of ‘I don’t know,'” said Pamela Gill, a 51-year-old who works at Pratt Institute, a college in New York City, and likes her replacement Note 7.

“You’re thinking, do I have to turn it in? Is it going to blow up?” she said.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FIRE

Samsung, South Korea’s biggest company by far, announced a global recall of the devices last month. It said a subtle manufacturing error in the batteries made the phones prone to catch fire, and offered to replace the devices.

But South Korea’s safety agency says a new, still unidentified problem with the replacement devices makes them also likely to overheat.

Some consumers blame Samsung for not dealing decisively with the issue. Hahm Young-kyu, a 43-year-old South Korean office worker in Seoul whose wife is still using the Galaxy Note 7, exclaims in frustration that the manufacturer tried to “cover up” the Note 7’s failings.

Samsung’s initial recall had a rocky start. After the first reports of overheating devices, it offered replacements, but not refunds. It waited a week before advising consumers to stop using the affected devices. And critics complained that some retailers didn’t have up-to-date information until Samsung made a coordinated announcement with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

“Ultimately they did the right thing, which was to announce a full recall,” said Jan Dawson, a tech industry analyst with Jackdaw Research. But when the replacement devices ran into trouble too, he added: “That all goes out the window. Samsung’s claims about fixing the problem are no longer reliable.

“Now they’ve got to demonstrate why potential buyers shouldn’t worry about future Samsung devices,” Dawson said.

As one of the world’s largest tech conglomerates, Samsung can afford to discontinue the Note 7, which was not its biggest-selling phone. While the cost of recalling devices and halting production could exceed $1 billon, it makes far more than that every quarter on sales of components for smartphones and computers.

But analysts say the new, unexplained Note 7 problems will still inevitably hurt.

MYSTERY DEFECTS

“A company’s brand is their promise to consumers,” said John Jacobs, an expert on reputation and crisis communications at Georgetown University. “If you break that promise, you lose the customers, you lose their loyalty.”

Initially, the Note 7 got glowing reviews for its size, features and big battery capacity. Now the company is struggling to figure out what exactly is wrong.

“They have to comprehensively check everything from the very basics, outside the battery and inside the phone,” said Park Chul Wan. Park, a former director of the next generation battery research center at the state-owned Korea Electronics Technology Institute.

Park has long argued that Note 7’s problems appeared to be more than a simple battery defect. “This is a truly difficult problem. It was Samsung’s mistake to have underestimated it,” he said.

South Korean safety regulators says they are examining components other than the batteries to try to puzzle out why even the replacement phones Samsung made using different batteries are so fire prone.

“The improved product does not have the same defect. That’s why we think there is a new defect,” said Oh Yu-cheon, a senior official at the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards.

BREATHING ROOM

Samsung needs to win back consumers’ trust by the time it launches its next high-end phone, the Galaxy S8, likely in late winter or early spring, Dawson said. “They have that time to come up with a convincing story and a set of actions that will reassure customers that when they buy an S8, it’s going to be safe,” Dawson said.

Kim Young Woo, a tech analyst at SK Securities, believes Samsung could accelerate the launch of the S8 to make up for abandoning the Note 7, but it cannot afford to start from scratch, and it has to find the cause of the overheating.

The Note 7 has cutting-edge features like an electronic stylus and an iris-scanning security feature seemingly suited for a James Bond movie. “Samsung’s best, latest technologies are all in the Note 7,” Park said. “If it releases the next phone, it has to use the technologies in the Note 7.”

The company is the most popular maker of Android phones and the world’s leading smartphone maker, selling over 77 million phones in the second quarter of 2016. But in the prized U.S. market, it lags behind Apple, whose iPhone models are more popular, according to International Data Corp.

CAN SAMSUNG COME BACK?

While the company has suffered a “big setback,” IDC analyst Ryan Reith said, “my guess is it won’t do a lot of damage” to its overall share of the market. But he warned Samsung’s profits may suffer because it will need to offer substantial discounts and other promotions to boost sales of the S7 and other models.

Jacobs, the Georgetown reputation expert, says Samsung will need to do more than that. He said Samsung made the right decision to cancel the Note 7 “for the greater good of the Samsung brand.” But he believes Samsung should emphasize quality and rigorous testing when it promotes future models.

“They want to be known, two years from now, as a company that can be trusted,” he said. When potential customers contemplate future Samsung products, he said, “you don’t want them having that worry in the back of their mind.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Samsung halts sale, exchange of Note 7 over safety fears

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung on Tuesday called a worldwide halt to the sale and exchange of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, citing continued safety concerns, and advised all customers to stop using the device immediately.

The dramatic warning came in a written statement issued a little over a month after the world’s largest smartphone maker announced a global recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in 10 markets following complaints that its lithium-ion battery exploded while charging.

The unprecedented recall was a major PR blow for the South Korean conglomerate, which prides itself on innovation and quality, and the situation only worsened when reports emerged a week ago of replacement phones also catching fire.

Tuesday’s statement was the first formal acknowledgement of continued safety concerns and came a day after Samsung Electronics acknowledged it was easing production of the flagship smartphone.

“Because consumers’ safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while an investigation is taking place,” the statement said.

The top-of-the-line Note 7 was crucial to Samsung’s growth plans this year, with the company struggling to boost sales, squeezed by Apple in the high-end sector and Chinese rivals in the low-end market, as profit has stagnated.

Analysts noted that the move came a little late given that a number of major distributors — US telecom firm AT&T and German rival T-Mobile — unilaterally announced a halt to sales and exchanges of the model on Sunday.

Samsung said its investigation of the “recently reported cases” involving the Note 7 was being carried out in cooperation with the relevant regulatory bodies in those markets where the recall was ordered.

In the meantime, the company advised any consumer with an original or replacement Galaxy Note 7 to “power down and stop using the device” immediately.

In the meantime, the company advised any consumer with an original or replacement Galaxy Note 7 to “power down and stop using the device” immediately.

A similar switch-off warning was issued by Elliot Kaye, chairman of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

“No one should have to be concerned their phone will endanger them, their family or their property,” Kaye said in a press release.

Samsung’s decision to halt sales and exchanges was “the right move” Kaye said, adding that his commission was actively investigating reports of phones overheating and burning in multiple US states.

Analysts have suggested that Samsung, battling ever-fiercer competition in the saturated smartphone market, may have rushed production of the Note 7 with bitter rival Apple’s recently released iPhone 7 in mind.

The top-of-the-line Note 7 was crucial to Samsung’s growth plans this year, with the company struggling to boost sales, squeezed by Apple in the high-end sector and Chinese rivals in the low-end market, as profit has stagnated.

Management spotlight

The trouble with the Note 7 and the handling of the recall, which analysts say could cost up to $2.0 billion, has shone a spotlight on Samsung’s management at a time when it is navigating a tricky generational power transfer within its founding Lee family.

Industry experts have criticized the Lee dynasty for controlling the vast group through a complex web of cross-shareholdings, even though they directly own only about five percent of total stocks.

And Samsung is also under pressure from one of its shareholders, the activist US hedge fund Elliott Management run by billionaire Paul Singer.

In a detailed proposal unveiled last week, Elliott laid out a strategy for streamlining Samsung, splitting the company in two, dual-listing the resulting operating company on a US exchange and paying shareholders a special dividend of 30 trillion won ($27 billion).

Elliott argued that Samsung, currently a maze of listed and unlisted companies with a notoriously opaque ownership and management structure, had suffered from a long-term undervaluation in the equity market.

Despite all its problems, Samsung on Friday issued a stronger-than-expected operating profit forecast for the third quarter, thanks largely to strong sales of memory chips and OLED display panels. CBB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Fixing media noche? Check food labels

If you’re doing some last-minute grocery shopping for New Year’s Eve, it pays to check food labels meticulously, ensuring that the packaging and seal of the food items are intact and they were are stored in a clean environment.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday offered these tips to merrymakers to avoid stomach troubles and other health problems caused by feasting on compromised or adulterated food products.

“This Christmas and New Year, there is high demand for food products as Filipino families traditionally celebrate through preparation of meals for festivities,” said FDA officer in charge Director General Maria Lourdes Santiago in an advisory.

Basic consumer tips
“Unwary consumers might succumb to unscrupulous food business operators selling compromised, improperly handled and stored, misbranded and adulterated food products,” she warned.

Santiago said the FDA had prepared basic consumer tips on buying food products for the holidays to avoid eating unsafe food.

Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) said festivities during the holiday season could spawn food poisoning incidents if the food is not handled properly.

The Southeast Asian region, including the Philippines, has the second highest incidence of food-borne illnesses next to Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It registers 150 million cases and 175,000 deaths annually, it said.

Most of these cases are caused by non-typhoidal salmonella, E. coli and pork tapeworm, said the WHO.

Storage condition

In checking food labels, one must pay attention to the following information: brand and product name, net content or weight, list of ingredients, name of manufacturer/repacker/distributor/

importer, expiry date, lot identification code and nutrition information.

One must also check the food item’s storage condition, especially for those needing storage beyond the normal room temperature, food allergen information (such as nuts, milk and crustaceans) and direction for use.

Tampered label details, like scratched out information and a new expiry date pasted over the original one, should be considered red flags, the FDA warned.

To ensure that food items are still safe for eating, the FDA said soft packaging materials like plastic, foil and aluminum wrap must not have tears or perforations.  Metal bottle caps must be rust-free  while glass bottles should be crack-free.

It advised consumers not to buy canned goods that are dented, bulging and rusting.

“Food products must at all times be sold under optimal hygienic conditions [such that] the probability of cross-contamination from biological, chemical and microbial hazards must be reduced, minimized and eliminated,” the FDA said.



Cross-contamination

Frozen and refrigerated products must be kept frozen or stored in a refrigerator while perishable products should be kept away from non-perishables to prevent cross-contamination, it noted.

Consumers were also advised against buying food sold in a dirty environment or in areas infested by rodents, insects and other pests.

“Consumers are advised to be more vigilant and conscious in buying food products in the market to avoid health and safety issues,” the FDA said.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Wal-Mart eyes drone home deliveries

SAN FRANCISCO, United States—Wal-Mart is actively looking at the possibility of using drones to make deliveries to US customers, a spokesman said Monday, following the lead of Amazon and other retailers.

The retail behemoth has been testing the technology indoors “for several months” and on Monday made a request to US aviation authorities to do likewise outside.

In addition to deliveries, Wal-Mart wants to use the unmanned aircraft to keep a bird’s eye view on its warehouses or other facilities, or to convey purchases in-store to customers’ cars.

“This is part of our continuous efforts to drive efficiencies in our supply chain and to serve customers faster and better,” a spokesman told AFP.

“There is a Wal-Mart within five miles (eight kilometers) of 70 percent of the US population, so that creates interesting possibilities for serving customers with drone technologies.”

In March, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would allow online giant Amazon to carry out testing for its drone program.

The company hopes to develop a delivery system which would dispatch small packages in under 30 minutes.

Google is also keen on the idea and in August last year—a month after Amazon sought permission for drone test flights—said it was also trying out using drones to deliver items bought online.

source: business.inquirer.net

In Japan, women buy sweets for men on Valentine’s Day

TOKYO — Perusing the Valentine’s Day chocolate selection during my lunch break made me stand out in the crowd in Tokyo: I was the only male in the Godiva store.

In Japan, women buy chocolates for men on Valentine’s Day, not vice versa. And not just for their boyfriend or partner, but also for co-workers, friends of both sexes and even themselves these days. It’s a big business: the Godiva store had shelves of specially boxed assortments rising to its high ceiling, while competing chocolate makers went head-to-head at temporary counters set up at a commuter rail station.

Two female co-workers brightened our office Friday by handing out chocolates to everyone else: a handful of Hershey kisses from one, a minibag of M&Ms from the other.

Women get their “desserts” just one month later. Marketers have created “White Day” on March 14, when men are supposed to reciprocate with gifts for women.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Grand Theft Auto pulled out in Australia over ‘violence’

SYDNEY, Australia — Australian retail giants Target and Kmart said Thursday they will stop selling blockbuster video game “Grand Theft Auto V” over concerns that it encourages violence against women.

Target, a popular department store chain, acted after a petition authored by former sex workers, which has so far been signed by more than 40,000 people, called it a “sickening game”.

“Games like this are grooming yet another generation of boys to tolerate violence against women,” the petition said.

“It is fueling the epidemic of violence experienced by so many girls and women in Australia — and globally.”

Target’s general manager for corporate affairs Jim Cooper said the decision was made following extensive community and customer concern.

“We’ve been speaking to many customers over recent days about the game, and there is a significant level of concern about the game’s content,” he said.

“We’ve also had customer feedback in support of us selling the game, and we respect their perspective on the issue.

“However, we feel the decision to stop selling GTA5 is in line with the majority view of our customers,” he added.

Cooper said Target, which has some 300 stores in Australia but is not connected to the US retail giant of the same name, would continue to sell other R-rated games, suitable for over 18s.

“While these products often contain imagery that some customers find offensive, in the vast majority of cases, we believe they are appropriate products for us to sell to adult customers,” he said.

“However, in the case of GTA5, we have listened to the strong feedback from customers that this is not a product they want us to sell.”

Kmart, which like Target is owned by diversified conglomerate Wesfarmers, said it was also pulling the game from the shelves of its stores. The company has 190 outlets in Australia and New Zealand.

“Following a significant review of all content in Grand Theft Auto Games Kmart has taken the decision to remove this product immediately,” spokesperson said.

Grand Theft Auto has won legions of fans around the world, and as many critics, for game play in which winning depends on acts such as carjacking, gambling and killing.

Play in Grand Theft Auto games has included simulated sex with prostitutes and drunken driving.

The fifth installment in the series is set in a fictional city of Los Santos based on real-world Los Angeles and its nearby hills and beaches.

source: technology.inquirer.net

The next wave of marketing

MANILA, Philippines–Anson Dichaves became the first global customer marketing director for Ponds of Unilever.

He then became global head for shopper marketing of Philips’ consumer lifestyle division before joining Nielsen as managing director of shopper research for Asia, Africa and Middle East.

He won the Mansmith Young Market Masters Award (YMMA) in 2006 for his work in customer development. He now does consulting work on shopper marketing.

Question: What is the most often overlooked aspect of shopper marketing?

Answer: Great shopper marketing starts with great shopper insight. Shopper marketing is marketing. Insight drives actions and solutions. Neuroscience proved that 99 percent of what we do are driven by subconscious behavior or what we usually call habit. People more or less buy the same things most of the time.

Shopper marketing is all about influencing buying habits, and you can only do this by understanding what the habit is through shopper insight.

Q: What will consumer companies be missing without a good shopper marketing program?

A: Shaping buying behavior of shoppers in favor of your brand or store.

Without a good shopper marketing program, retailers will miss out on knowing shoppers’ evolving buying behavior and preference. For example, at Nielsen, we were able to pick up that shoppers these days prefer to shop smaller baskets more frequently. Winning retailers are the ones who are able to pick up on this trend, innovate the smaller format that serves everyday needs of shoppers.

For manufacturers, it’s all about locking your shoppers into autopilot mode of picking your brand whenever they visit your category aisle.

Q: Unilever was your first employer. You almost didn’t make the cut, but something made them accept you. Can you share with our readers this story?

A: I’ve been turned down twice and only managed to get an interview on my third attempt. There will be moments in your life that you know clearly what you want, if you felt this, be persistent and never give up.

I thank Pong Ejercito and Perry Villa for giving me the chance as UST was not the usual school for Unilever to hire fresh graduates.

The only opening then was in sales and modern trade. Back then, most sales people wanted to be in general trade. The key is to make the most of what is given to you, give your best, work hard, stay humble.

Luckily, I managed to find excellent mentors like Joy Isla and Carl Cruz. We were able to build modern trade as the place to be, at the same time, were able to hire and mentor some of the most talented people. I am proud to say they are now senior managers and directors in Unilever and other companies.

Q: You were then managing some key accounts for Unilever when you made them proud by being part of the first batch of the Mansmith Young Market Masters Award (YMMA) in 2006. You won because, while most other entries were merely selling products, you created a unique store layout program for your major retailers, improving overall business for your key accounts. How did you conceive this idea?

A: Listening to your retailers and their shoppers is the key. I am actually from an industrial engineering background without any FMCG experience. My first assignment was Robinsons. They are a very progressive retailer and, back then, they wanted to promote and lead the category management practice in the Philippines. We partnered on a few categories and, along the way, we realized that we can fix the current space which may be over/under allocated to total store space. That’s where the store layout management concept was conceived—it was combining industrial engineering facility design and layout with sales data and how shoppers shop.

The concept further evolved with Carl Cruz (who now heads customer development in Unilever) to develop solution centers, which combines several categories to sell solutions rather than just products.

Creativity is a very interesting phenomenon. I always advise people to squeeze all your ideas in a project. Don’t hold back because, when you give your all, your creativity becomes stronger and next level thinking naturally comes.

Q: Can you share the most memorable shopper marketing project you have initiated for Unilever, Philips and Nielsen?

A: In Nielsen, it’s Shopper Lab, the first in the region. Right shopper research is about decoding behavior rather than basing it on interview. The shopper lab is the epitome of this philosophy. It combines leading edge technology like eye tracker to see what shopper sees, touch screen virtual store to observe what they do, and EEG neuroscience technology for what they ‘feel’. This was co-funded by the Singapore government, and the concept is exported out to developed markets like Australia.

For Philips, it was setting up the global shopper marketing organization. To be able to put shopper marketing on the global CEO’s agenda, I had to learn new skills like collaboration and building supporters across the entire organization globally.

For Unilever, it was the global repositioning of Ponds from mass to “masstige.” To support the dramatic change of the entire product range, we had to change 4,000+ beauty counters, upgrade the look and skills of 5,000 beauty advisers across all priority markets globally within 3 months. We discovered the shopper insight of how to give shoppers a premium experience without intimidating them. We applied this insight across everything we do—hired a French design house to drastically change our counters, worked with a New York-based Thai couture house that designed our beauty advisers’ uniforms, and partnered with Singapore airline trainers to ensure our beauty advisers were giving the best service in the industry.

Although Ponds already evolved after I left in 2008, I can still see the DNA in-store today.

Q: Can you briefly share some best and next practices for shopper marketing?

A: In terms of retailer and manufacturer collaboration, joint shopper project from insight to execution is the big thing. This enabled new kind of activities to the shop floor, retailers are becoming more open to co-branded activities because there is a supporting insight on why we should do things a certain way.

For manufacturers, reverse brand innovation is becoming common. Some new innovations today start from the shop floor—understanding what the issues are with shoppers, how do we change or reinforce certain behavior, and what innovation we can do to make this happen.

What’s next is category shopper marketing. A lot of shopper projects today are brand-based, saturation will happen soon on the retailers’ end. Retailers have to nominate the best category shopper champion to assist them help grow the total category based on their shoppers’ buying behavior.

Q: The store used to be the first moment-of-truth (FMOT) for shoppers while product use is known as the second (SMOT). Nowadays, the Internet has taken over as the early influencer (known as the ZMOT or the Zero moment-of-truth) of consumer’s perception and attitude about a brand. How is shopper marketing expected to change in the light of social media?

A: ZMOT is dependent on category. For some categories like electronics, plane tickets, hotel reservations, online is very big. For some companies, digital shopping is part of the shopper marketing portfolio. It’s just influencing buying behavior on a different channel. The key is all about understanding the search and buy behavior of shoppers in both click and brick channels and how best to influence them.

Q: In the Philippines, we don’t hear shopper marketing much. How do you see the potential of shopper marketing in the future?

A: Shopper marketing works best on developed markets as growth becomes harder. In the Philippines, grocery retailers are still getting a lot of growth by expansion and acquisition. Once they saturate this, shopper marketing is the key to generate the next level of growth phase. In other categories like luxury goods, where store expansions are limited and retailers are more concentrated, shopper marketing is already an inevitability.

The future belongs to those who can shape both consumption and buying habits in favor of their brand.

(The author is chair of marketing training firm Mansmith and Fielders Inc. and co-founder of Young Market Masters Awards [www.youngmarketmasters.com], now on its 10th annual search. For the complete interview, visit www.josiahgo.com.)

source: business.inquirer.net

Forget apps, old-school mobiles ring in a comeback

PARIS – They fit in a pocket, have batteries that last all week and are almost indestructible: old-school Nokias, Ericssons and Motorolas are making a comeback as consumers tired of fragile and overly-wired smartphones go retro.

Forget apps, video calls and smiley faces, handsets like the Nokia 3310 or the Motorola StarTec 130 allows just basic text messaging and phone calls.

But demand for them is growing and some of these second-hand models are fetching prices as high as 1,000 euros a piece.

“Some people don’t blink at the prices, we have models at more than 1,000 euros. The high prices are due to the difficulty in finding those models, which were limited editions in their time,” said Djassem Haddad, who started the site vintagemobile.fr in 2009.

Haddad had been eyeing a niche market, but since last year, sales have taken off, he said.

Over the past two to three years, he has sold some 10,000 handsets, “with a real acceleration from the beginning of 2013.”

“The ageing population is looking for simpler phones, while other consumers want a second cheap phone,” he said.

Among the top-sellers on the website is the Nokia 8210, with a tiny monochrome screen and plastic buttons, at 59.99 euros.

Ironically, the trend is just starting as the telecommunications industry consigns such handsets to the recycling bins, hailing smartphones as the way ahead.

Finnish giant Nokia, which was undisputedly the biggest mobile phone company before the advent of Apple’s iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy, offloaded its handset division to Microsoft this year after failing to catch the smartphone wave.

But it was probably also the supposedly irreversible switch towards smartphone that has given the old school phone an unexpected boost.

 ’Back to basics’

For Damien Douani, an expert on new technologies at FaDa agency, it is simply trendy now to be using the retro phone.

There is “a great sensation of finding an object that we knew during another era — a little like paying for vintage sneakers that we couldn’t afford when we were teenagers,” Douani told AFP.

There is also “a logic of counter-culture in reaction to the over-connectedness of today’s society, with disconnection being the current trend.”

“That includes the need to return to what is essential and a basic telephone that is used only for making phone calls and sending SMSes,” he added.

It is also about “being different. Today, everyone has a smartphone that looks just like another, while ten years ago, brands were much more creative.”

It is a mostly high-end clientele that is shopping at French online shop Lekki, which sells “a range of vintage, revamped mobile phones.”

“Too many online social networks and an excess of email and applications, have made us slaves to technology in our everyday life. But Lekki provides a solution, allowing a return to basic features and entertainments,” it said on its website.

A Motorola StarTac 130 — a model launched in 1998 — and repainted bright orange was recently offered for 180 euros, while an Ericsson A2628 with gold colored keys for 80 euros.

“We have two types of profiles: the 25 to 35 year-olds attracted by the retro and offbeat side of a telephone that is a little different, and those who are nostalgic for the phone that they used when they were younger,” said Maxime Chanson, who founded Lekki in 2010.

“Some use it to complement their smartphone, but others are going for the vintage, tired of the technology race between the phone makers.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Amazon to compensate customers for late gifts

NEW YORK – Amazon Thursday said it would give $20 gift cards and pay shipping costs for customers affected by problems at UPS and FedEx that delayed some Christmas package deliveries.




The Amazon pledge came after UPS in particular came under fire for late packages despite vows from retailers to meet a December 25 deadline.

Some customers took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, likening one or both delivery giants to the “Grinch who stole Christmas.”

Amazon pointed the finger squarely at the delivery companies. The online retail giant did not give estimates for the number of affected shoppers.

“Amazon fulfillment centers processed and tendered customer orders to delivery carriers on time for holiday delivery,” said Amazon spokeswoman Mary Osako. “We are reviewing the performance of the delivery carriers.”

Walmart also will provide gift cards to customers who did not receive packages by the promised deadline, the New York Times reported.

Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“UPS experienced heavy holiday volume and is making every effort to get packages to their destination as quickly as possible,” UPS said on its website. “UPS has resumed normally scheduled service on December 26.”

A FedEx spokesperson also reported a “surge” in volume, but said the rise was typical.

“We had minimal service disruptions despite the increase in volumes, and are working directly with customers who may have experienced any delays,” said the FedEx spokesperson.

The delivery woes suggested the retail sector is still adjusting to shifting customer behavior with the rise of online shopping.

Analysts had expected brick and mortar shopping to rise just 3-4 percent in 2013, but online shopping to jump 13-14 percent.

More retailers have promised to execute Christmas-deadline deliveries ordered later and later in the season.

Amazon characterized its overall holiday shopping season as the “best ever” in the company’s history.

Particularly popular was the “Amazon Prime” service, which provides free two-day shipping services and streaming of some television shows and movies for $79 a year.

Amazon said it signed up more than one million customers for its “Prime” service in the third week of December.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Samsung, LG to unveil 105-inch curved TVs

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. said their curved TVs will get bigger and sport the sharpness four times the regular HD television sets.

The world’s two largest TV makers will display ultra-HD TVs with curved screens that measure 105 inches diagonally in Las Vegas next month, they said in separate statements Thursday.

The South Korean TV makers began selling curved TV sets earlier this year made with advanced displays called OLED measuring 55 inches.

The upcoming premium TVs set will be made of LCD panels packing more than 11 million pixels, 5,120 pixels wide and 2,160 pixels high. But not much video content is available for the ultra-HD TV sets.

TV makers hope the launch of the new hardware technology will fuel growth of content. Japan’s Sony Corp., among the industry players betting that the ultra-HD images will become the new standard, is working on both gadgets and movies in ultra-HD, also known in the industry as 4K.

Asian TV makers are trying to excite shoppers with new display technology. But limited video content in ultra-HD resolution and price tags will likely limit appeal. Samsung and LG kept mum on prices.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Amazon unveils futuristic mini-drone delivery plan

WASHINGTON – Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed Sunday that his company is looking to the future with plans to use “octocopter” mini-drones to fly small packages to consumers in just 30 minutes.

The US retail giant’s ambitious project still requires additional safety testing and federal approval, but Bezos estimated that Amazon “Prime Air” would be up and running within four to five years.

A demo video posted on the company’s website showed the tiny robotic devices picking up packages in small yellow buckets from Amazon’s fulfillment centers and then whizzing through the air to deliver the items to customers just 30 minutes after they made their purchase on Amazon.com.

“I know this looks like science fiction. It’s not,” Bezos told CBS television’s “60 Minutes” program.

“We can do half-hour delivery… and we can carry objects, we think, up to five pounds (2.3 kilograms), which covers 86 percent of the items that we deliver.”

The mini-drones are powered by electric motors and could cover areas within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius of fulfillment centers, thus covering a significant portion of the population in urban areas.

They operate autonomously and drop the items at the target locations thanks to GPS coordinates transmitted to them.

“It’s very green, it’s better than driving trucks around,” said Bezos.

Amazon said the octocopters would be “ready to enter commercial operations as soon as the necessary regulations are in place,” noting that the Federal Aviation Administration was actively working on rules for unmanned aerial vehicles.

It projected a more optimistic timeline than Bezos himself for the project to be activated, saying the FAA’s rules could be in place as early as 2015 and that Amazon Prime Air would be ready at that time.

Bezos hinted that part of the motivation behind the mini-drones was to make sure Amazon remains on the cutting edge of the retail industry.

“Companies have short life spans… And Amazon will be disrupted one day,” he said.

“I would love for it to be after I’m dead.”

source: business.inquirer.net

JP Morgan, gov’t settle all issues

WASHINGTON DC, USA- The Justice Department and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have settled all issues and could sign a $13 billion agreement as early as Tuesday that would be the largest settlement ever reached between the government and a corporation, a person familiar with the negotiations says.

The deal is the latest chapter in the bursting of the housing bubble in 2007, when JPMorgan and others among the largest U.S. banks sold low-quality, mortgage-backed securities that collapsed in value. Investors were left with billions of dollars in losses.

In blunt criticism of those banks, the Justice Department’s No. 2 official said Monday that too many financial institutions had failed in their duty to ensure that their businesses were run cleanly.

Recounting the conduct that JPMorgan and other banks engaged in, Deputy Attorney General James Cole told the American Bankers Association that too many supervisors incentivized excessive risk taking, knowing that risky products “could be unloaded down the road, … leaving someone else to deal with the consequences.”

According to the person familiar with the talks between JPMorgan and the Justice Department, the final issue in the settlement revolved around the $4 billion to compensate consumers. Some $1.5 billion will be a write-down to reduce the principal of homeowner loans; $300 million will enable homeowners to pay less now on their mortgages; and the remainder of the $4 billion will go toward reducing mortgage interest rates, originating new loans and helping revive blighted properties in some of the hardest hit areas of the housing crisis, such as Detroit. An independent monitor will be appointed to oversee the assistance to homeowners.

The person familiar with the negotiations spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized. When it is signed, it will eclipse the record $4 billion levied on oil giant BP in January over the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Another person familiar with the talks, also speaking only on condition of anonymity, said the two sides were “very close” to a final agreement.

Still to come is a decision on whether the Justice Department will file criminal charges against JPMorgan. An investigation is under way by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Sacramento, California.

The nation’s biggest bank will pay more than $6 billion to compensate investors, pay $4 billion to help struggling homeowners and pay the remainder as a fine.

JPMorgan has said most of its mortgage-backed securities came from Bear Stearns Cos. and Washington Mutual Inc., troubled companies that JPMorgan acquired in 2008.

As part of the $6 billion to investors, $4 billion will resolve government claims that JPMorgan misled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about risky mortgage securities the bank sold them before the housing market crashed. That part of the deal was announced Oct. 25. Fannie and Freddie were bailed out by the government during the crisis and are under federal control.

The Justice Department and the banks reached a tentative settlement in mid-October on the $13 billion, but the negotiations hit a stumbling block that has now been resolved. As part of any settlement, JPMorgan wanted to be able to collect money from a receivership involving Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest U.S. savings and loan. The S&L failed and was purchased by JPMorgan. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which maintains stability and public confidence in the banking system, said JPMorgan should be responsible for any liabilities regarding the Washington Mutual acquisition. Under the arrangement, JPMorgan cannot seek reimbursement from the FDIC for any part of the deal, the person close to the talks said Monday night.

The $13 billion JPMorgan settlement amount is only about half of its record 2012 net income of $21.3 billion, or $5.20 a share, which made it one of the most profitable U.S. banks last year.

Mounting legal costs from government proceedings pushed JPMorgan to a rare loss in this year’s third quarter, the first under CEO Jamie Dimon’s leadership. The bank reported Oct. 11 that it set aside $9.2 billion in the July-September quarter to cover the string of legal cases against the bank. JPMorgan said it has placed $23 billion in reserve to cover potential legal costs.

On Friday, the company announced it had reached a $4.5 billion settlement with 21 major institutional investors over mortgage-backed securities issued by JPMorgan and Bear Stearns between 2005 and 2008. The investors, which include Goldman Sachs, said the bank deceived them about the quality of high-risk mortgage securities.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Gift of the Magis

As a manufacturer of modern furniture and accent pieces designed by some of the world’s most famous names such as Philippe Starck, Jasper Morrison and Tom Dixon, Magis has produced around 40 types of chairs that have found their way to more than 80 countries, including the Philippines.

But, as Alberto Perazza said, it wasn’t simply a matter of beefing up Magis’ product line up. Although Magis is Latin for “more,” there must be a story behind every product that comes out from its subcontractors’ factories in and around Treviso, Italy.

“We’re motivated to do a product not because there’s a need to do a new chair,” he said. “Actually, there’s too much of everything available in the market these days. Since we’re a technology-driven company, there should be a story behind every new product.”

He explained the innovation could be a combination of materials done in an unusual way, or the use of an existing technology that has never been employed before in making a chair, table or accent piece.

As partner in charge of sales and marketing, Perazza recently visited the Philippines to renew Magis’ ties with Dimensione, the brand’s exclusive Philippine distributor for over a decade now, and oversee a traveling exhibit dubbed “Made in Magis: Materials and Technologies Behind the Products.”



Composed of three sets of pictures and installations showing a progression of how Chair_One by Konstantin Grcic, Paso Doble by Stefano Giovannoni, and Steelwood by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are made, the exhibit was initially displayed two weeks ago at the basement of Bench Tower in Bonifacio Global City.


Asia first


Over the next three weeks, Dimensione’s flagship store at Bonifacio High Street will be highlighting the technology behind each of this iconic Magis chairs by displaying an installation every week. The exhibit at the Dimensione store is open to the public.

The exhibit debuted in Shanghai, then was staged in Taipei before Manila. Perazza has yet to announce its next destination, but Magis fans in Europe and North America will have to wait. The brand has chosen to prioritize Asia for good reason. Demand for its products in the region has grown dramatically over the years.

“I don’t have the exact number, but I think we now have more than 40 chairs,” he said, “but there’s more to us than chairs. We also do tables, home accessories and even kids’ furniture called Me Too. They’re not just miniature versions of their parents’ pieces. That would have been too lazy. Me Too offers totally new designs aimed at kids.”


But Magis will always be identified with chairs. Apart from tapping some of the world’s most celebrated designers, the brand’s production team has come up with some of the most iconic pieces using cutting-edge technology. It has done this without running a single factory.


Cebu partner

Since its inception in 1976, Magis has been “factory-free.” But “99 percent” of its products, said Perazza, are produced in Italy. The remaining one percent, in the form of the wicker-back Cyborg chair, by Marcel Wanders, comes from a “world-class” factory in Cebu.

“We went to Cebu primarily because of cost,” he said. “There’s a district in Italy not far from where we are that produces wicker pieces. But, apart from the high cost, it has become unsustainable because not enough young people want to continue the craft.”

While Magis was contemplating whether or not to continue producing the wicker-back version of the Cyborg chair two years ago (the plastic and leather versions are still done in Italy), they received good news from their regional sales and promotions manager in Hong Kong, who pointed to a company in Cebu that also supplies furniture pieces to other European brands.

“We went with the manager’s suggestion, and that was the start,” said Perazza. “So far, we’ve been happy with the results. The quality is world-class and they’re able to meet deadlines. We didn’t even consider companies in other countries in the region.”

The possibility of being copied, especially in the case of a product done thousands of miles away from Italy, will always be there. But Magis has had little reason not to trust its Cebu partners.

“We’re lucky to have a dependable and reliable partner in Cebu with a good track record,” said Perazza.


Dangers of outsourcing

Being victimized by Asian copycats is no longer news to Magis. Its adjustable plastic-and-steel Bombo chair also by Giovannoni, continues to suffer from poor sales in Asia and the US due to cheap imitations.



It’s a risk the company has to take since it decided to let others piece together its products. Although Magis still does the molds to manufacture its pieces, production is contracted to a network of various factories and suppliers.

“Since we don’t do things in-house, we coordinate with designers and production people until the product undergoes production,” said Perazza. “We try to practice and grow the relationship with one supplier per technology, or one supplier per material.”

Magis also values its relations with various designers, but none of them is given “carte blanche” access. Magis makes it a point to get involved in the entire process not so much to scrimp on cost or ensure that its investment is well spent. It simply believes that a good product is the result of a combination of many factors.

One factor is open dialogue with designers, said Perazza. “In the end, if the product fails in the market, it’s always the fault of the company, not the designer. The decision is always ours alone whether or not to go ahead with a product.”

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Defense, budget departments get approval for use of credit cards

MANILA, Philippines – The use of credit cards to replace so-called “petty cash” for small purchases at the Department of National Defense has been approved by regulators, in line with the administration’s push to improve transparency in government.

The Department of Budget and Management announced that starting this September, cash will no longer be used to purchase plane tickets, emergency medicine, groceries, and other small items for the various service units of the country’s armed forces.

This follows the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas  Monetary Board’s approval of the use of credit cards for small official transactions of the DND and its staff.

“This is just a baby step…. If this is successful, we can roll this out to other departments,” DBM chief information officer Richard Bon Moya said in an interview.

Moya said the use of credit cards by the DND was one of the first steps toward digitizing all transactions in government. The DND was chosen for the pilot project since the department had a reputation of bad record-keeping when it came to funds.

Apart from the DND, the DBM would also take part in the pilot project, which was done in cooperation with the Better Than Cash Alliance, a multinational non-governmental organization that advocates the use of more efficient electronic payment methods instead of coins and notes.

The Better Than Cash Alliance was founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and is partly funded by American financial giant Citi.

The new credit cards for the government will work like corporate credit cards.  Moya said credit limits would be determined based on past spending patterns of each of the DND’s service units, namely the Army, Vavy, the Air Force and the Marines.

The use of the credit cards will also be limited to certain kinds of establishments to avoid abuse. “If they try to use it in restaurants and bars, the cards will be declined,” Moya said.

He said the cards would not augment the petty cash budgets of the agencies involved. Instead, the cards will replace cash that was previously used as the sole mode of payment.

The switch to more cashless transactions in government, Moya said, was a pet project of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. Moya said because electronic payment methods were more efficient and more transparent, the government stands to save “billions” every year as it minimizes leakages due to corruption and costs related to the handling of cash.

Moya said the project would have been implemented last year, but the DBM had to secure the Monetary Board’s approval because the use of credit cards by government agencies was essentially a loan by the state.

A recent survey by the Better Than Cash Alliance showed that 98 percent of all transactions in the country were still done using cash.

source: business.inquirer.net

Star of Tod’s collection is Sella purse

Tod’s is one of the most successful leather goods brands because it never veers far away from its roots, and thus does not alienate its core customers. The coming Fall-Winter season is no different; it is a collection that is a nod to “the quality and craftsmanship of Made in Italy.”

Tod’s has been masterfully reinventing its classic wheel. Apart from new iterations of its signature Gommini driving shoes—in polka dot suede, and zebra stripes and mottled calf pony for women this season—some of its Fall bags are reinterpretations of its classic styles, including the iconic D-bag.

The D-bag has five limited-edition couture styles, one of which is fully hand-embroidered with crystals. It weighs more than a supermodel.

Star

The star of Tod’s 2013 Fall-Winter collection, however, is the Sella purse, inspired by saddlemaking but interpreted in a minimalist, feminine, curved shape. It comes in three sizes: a full-size shopper in dark purple or brown calfskin; a small satchel in several colorways; and a stunning mini version with a detachable shoulder strap—in yellow, orange, hot pink, turquoise, nude and black.

The mini Sella also comes in zebra-striped and leopard-print calf pony. The bigger sizes have variants in crocodile and python.

The Italian company, one of the last brands to still craft all its products in Italy, incorporates an often-used signature element—the Gommini pebbles—on the dressier women’s footwear, on the heels of its calf pony booties and metallic pumps. Tod’s fans will also find saddle straps on its other booties and boots styles, done in either plain calf or calf pony.

Two loafers get the metallic treatment, with the vamp embossed with the Tod’s emblem.

At the recent presentation at Tod’s Greenbelt 4 in Makati City, the Stores Specialists Inc. (SSI) team highlighted Tod’s’ made-to-order men’s footwear business, offered only at the Italian flagship store in Milan. It’s a luxury space called Sartorial Touch, akin to an English men’s club, and includes a bar and a lounge. (SSI is Tod’s’ exclusive distributor here.)

The iPad presentation underscored each step of the handcrafted process, from the choice of leather to the painstaking hand-dyeing, all the way to the finished product.

Tod’s also offers made-to-order luggage, bags and small leather goods.

But if a trip to the Milan flagship isn’t an option, men can choose from the new season’s in-store collection that includes boots with elastic bands on the uppers, classic calf loafers, and suede or calf pony Gomminis, as well as sturdy-looking lace-ups with boot-lacing details reminiscent of trekking shoes.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Clean, but not minimalist

A bookcase with different-size compartments positioned at different heights —the Random by Neuland Industriedesign. Xavier Lust’s deceptively simple “Le Grande” table made of one sheet of aluminum. Numerous variations of the Flow armchair by Jean Marie Massaud.

The new MDF Italia showroom at Bonifacio Global City may not be for everyone, not so much because of its price points as the fact that you need a certain eye and informed taste to appreciate the furniture designs.

It’s for people who already know what they want, and are willing to spend for it. You won’t find flashy objets d’art or gold-plated whatever here. Instead, on display are their most popular items, a veritable “Best of the Best.”




With their clean lines, right angles and subtle color combinations, there is the tendency to describe the mix at MDF Italia as minimalist, but that would be oversimplifying things.

“What we have achieved is a purity, a simplicity aided by technology,” said Frederik Billiau, the brand’s general sales director. “Clean is a good word to describe it. The look is clean but not minimalist,” added Umberto Cassina, MDF Italia’s vice president.

Aiming for the essence of things is a guiding force in the company. To accomplish this, designers remove the superfluous to emphasize what is really important.

“Our customers pay attention to details, quality. They look for the essence of beauty and luxury,” Billiau said. “They are not looking for flashy, gold-plated things. They are not out to impress other people.”

This way of thinking is shared by the company. For example, MDF Italia will not stop at making a two-meter-long aluminum table. They will make a four-meter-long table, but only if they can maintain their quality standards.



“It’s harder to make a longer table because there is a tendency for it to lose stability the longer it is. Fortunately, we have patented a panel that is able to support the table,” Cassina said.

The select merchandise at the showroom features various colors, styles or materials. For instance, the Flow armchair can have different legs or even use casters. A sales staff cited one customer who bought a dozen Flow armchairs with spider leg-like casters, and which sells for P138,000 each.

Best-selling tables

Despite the apparent popularity of the chairs, tables represent 25 percent of the company’s volume sales worldwide. Billiau credited this to the flexibility and unique dimensions of their tables. “We manage to produce in an industrial way a table which is basically customized with competitive pricing and a reasonable delivery time,” he said.



Businessman Ben Chan is responsible for bringing in the brand and, this early, the partnership looks promising. In addition to finding the right local partner, MDF Italia is upbeat about opening in Asia because Asian clients are very loyal. “They invest in partnerships. They are not only looking for the right product or a good price, but a real partnership,” Billiau said. “If you go to the US, the transactions are much more superficial.”

While volume sales are important, Billiau and Cassina agreed that since they are a relatively young company, they were in it for the long haul. “This is why we tend to want to invest more in Asian countries. We believe that here, we can find and build much stronger relationships,” Cassina said.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Oil near $94 on heels of US consumer data

BANGKOK — The price of oil rose slightly Friday after data showed U.S. consumer spending on the rise, a sign of confidence in prospects for the world’s biggest economy.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was up 15 cents to $93.76 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 48 cents to close at $93.61 per barrel on Friday.

The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2.4 percent annual rate from January through March, slightly slower than initially estimated. But consumer spending was stronger than first thought, roaring ahead at a 3.4 percent annual rate. That’s the fastest spending growth in more than two years and even stronger than the 3.2 percent rate estimated last month.

Caroline Bain, commodities analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said in a commentary that “the modest upward revision to already-strong private consumption should be a positive for the oil price as it suggests buoyant consumer demand.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said the nation’s supply of oil rose last week by 3 million barrels to 397.6 million barrels, the highest level since the government started collecting the data in 1978. Separately, the American Petroleum Institute said crude oil stocks rose by 4.4 million barrels to 395.1 million barrels.

Brent crude, a benchmark for many international oil varieties, was up 4 cents to $102.23 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

— Wholesale gasoline rose 0.7 cents to $2.815 a gallon.

— Heating oil was little changed at $2.844 per gallon.

— Natural gas shed 1.1 cents to $4.012 per 1,000 cubic feet.

source: business.inquirer.net

Scented underpants for men, a ‘Made in France’ special

PARIS — A company that specializes in “Made in France” underwear has raised nearly 19,000 euros ($25,000) from enthusiastic investors banking on its next titillating creation — sweet-smelling underpants for men.

The so-called “Indomitable” briefs will be manufactured by “Le Slip Francais,” a company set up in 2011 by 27-year-old Guillaume Gibault, who decided to bank on a trend for all things made in France to sell underwear.

“You want to change the world, you want to change things, start by changing your underpants!” the firm writes on crowdfunding website www.mymajorcompany.com, where it has already raised close to 19,000 euros.

 

 

The idea behind crowdfunding is that anyone on the Internet can contribute money to a project, in some cases in exchange for shares in a company or other rewards.

Gibault told AFP the briefs will be scented thanks to micro-capsules full of homemade perfume that will be incorporated into the cotton used to make the underpants in the Lille region of northern France.

As soon as the lucky owner of the briefs moves around, the capsules will release the perfume and the scent will last up to 30 washes, he says.

“It’s quite a masculine perfume, not very strong, based on musk and pears,” he said.

“Le Slip Francais” has become something of a success story in France, which is suffering badly from lack of competitiveness and a general perception of hostility towards business owners and entrepreneurs.

It employs five people in its Paris headquarters, and outsources the manufacture of the underwear to factories in different parts of France, including Lille and the southwestern Dordogne region.

The firm has so far sold some 20,000 of its red, white, blue and black briefs, and plans to develop its presence abroad, with Japanese people proving to be particularly enthusiastic clients.

Gibault says the company is already profitable, adding that the whole project shows “that we are capable of innovating in France.”


“Le Slip Francais” had originally intended to raise 10,000 euros for the scented briefs, but has surpassed that amount by far and could still get a lot more before a June 3 deadline it set on its crowdfunding page – http://www.mymajorcompany.com/projects/sentez-bon-du-slip#home


Supporters will get a range of rewards for their donations, ranging from a key ring to becoming the face — or body of — the new underpants when the firm’s advertising drive begins.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Consumers feared tough budget

The federal government's persistent warnings of tough measures in the run-up to the May budget may have spooked consumers into saving their cash, rather than spending at the shops, retailers say.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures published on Wednesday showed retail spending dropped by 0.2 per cent in April to a seasonally adjusted $21.2 billion - in defiance of financial market expectations.

The monthly result was a sharp reversal from the 1.1 per cent increase in March.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said it was disappointing because the sector was hoping for a boost after the April Easter holidays and the relaxation of trading hours in some states.

'The monthly decline shows consumers might have had more time up their sleeves in April but sadly no cash in their pockets,' he said in a statement.

Spending was particularly weak in household goods and department stores retailing, while there was a marginal rise increase in food and cafe and restaurant sales.

Australian National Retailers Association chief executive Margy Osmond said consumers had heeded government warning of a tough 2012/13 budget and 'shied away from making major purchases'.

Retailers are now hoping May sales will be better after the central bank cut interest rates this month and the budget turned out not as bad as expected.

'We will again be looking for further cash rate cuts so consumers feel safe enough to shop,' Ms Osmond said.

Financial markets are fully expect a 25 basis point cut in the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cash rate to 3.5 per cent when the central bank board meets next Tuesday.

The retail figures coincided with the release of new construction figures for the March quarter, which highlighted the effects of the two-speed economy.

Construction grew by 5.5 per cent to $48.3 billion in the first three months of the year, and were 15 per cent higher from a year ago.

The strength was largely due to a booming engineering sector, which is benefiting from mining related projects.

Engineering work jumped 13.3 per cent in the quarter and a staggering 35.6 per cent over the year.

TD Securities head of Asia-Pacific research Annette Beacher said the strong engineering result increased the likelihood that next week's national economic growth report would be better than expected.

source: skynews.com.au