eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, today announced the launch of The Inside Source (www.theinsidesource.com), a new digital magazine for inspired shoppers featuring insights and stories based on what more than 89 million active users are searching for, buying and selling on eBay. The Inside Source will offer fresh daily content with original articles, analysis and opinions from journalists as well as eBay community contributors.
“Imagine that every day, every person in the United States tells eBay what they want,” said Alan Marks, Senior Vice President of Global Communications for eBay. “That’s the power of how many searches occur on eBay every day. Now add insights gleaned from almost 200 million live product listings, the stories of more than 25 million sellers and the several million purchases people make each day on eBay, and you get The Inside Source – a perspective on shopping trends, pop culture obsessions and the stuff people love, that only eBay can offer.”
While presented by eBay, The Inside Source editorial content will be directed and managed by an accomplished editorial team, led by Meridith Barnett, previously Director of Digital Media for Lifetime Digital. Editorial content will cover a variety of lifestyle topics, including fashion, technology, automotive, home and garden, pop culture and sustainability.
In addition to original content, The Inside Source will also feature sections that will provide a snapshot of real time eBay Marketplace activity, including most-watched merchandise and most searched terms. Early contributors include writers and editors who have worked at and contributed to Lucky, W, Allure, Daily Candy, and The New Yorker. To discover the latest trends now, visit http://www.theinsidesource.com.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Taiyaki to the rescue
Japan's economy may be stagnating, but sales of a traditional, fishshaped sweet snack are going along swimmingly, thanks to its small price and auspicious name.
Taiyaki, which means baked sea bream, is a baked pancake stuffed with a sweet bean jam and served hot.
"Tai", Japanese for sea bream, sounds similar to the word for happiness and with a price tag of as little as 130 yen (48 baht), the snack, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is making a lot of people, especially the elderly,happy.
"Taiyaki has been around from ancient days but I still want to eat one once in a while," said Masako Kano, a 69 yearold housewife who was queuing for the pancake outside a new store.
"Compared to other cakes, which normally cost around 200 yen to 300 yen, its price is attractive," she added.
Fancy Corporation, which operates a chain of taiyaki stores in Japan, recently opened its 45th outlet in Kawasaki, just south of Tokyo.
Representative Eriko Yano said the snack was as popular as ever, even during the economic downturn, and was core to the Fancy Corporation's business.
"In this economic environment, customers prefer products that are lowpriced, safe and reliable. I think that's why the number of our stores is growing,"Yano said."As people cut back on luxuries, such as dessert, taiyaki has become even more popular."
Japan's snack industry association said that while the popularity of expensive confectionery products was waning, the demand for low-priced snacks such as taiyaki was rising.
Economist Toshihiro Uchida at UFJ Research and Consulting said taiyaki's popularity was especially conspicuous in areas with many export-related manufacturers that were affected by the global financial crisis.
"In times like these, products that achieve a high cost to performance ratio rise in popularity. Taiyaki is not only cheap, it is filling and its sweetness satisfies people who are tired and stressed because people tend to crave sweet flav-ours when times are hard," Uchida said.
Taiyaki stores are also a relatively cheap business to set up, with shops requiring an investment of about 10 million yen, considerably less than a restaurant, which can cost up to five times more, Fancy Corporation's Yano said.
"I think the taiyaki boom has to do a lot with the capability that you can buy one or two pieces at a time. The decrease in our income has been serious," said Michiko Hoshi, a 76 year-old-woman as she queued up to buy the snack.
Taiyaki, which means baked sea bream, is a baked pancake stuffed with a sweet bean jam and served hot.
"Tai", Japanese for sea bream, sounds similar to the word for happiness and with a price tag of as little as 130 yen (48 baht), the snack, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is making a lot of people, especially the elderly,happy.
"Taiyaki has been around from ancient days but I still want to eat one once in a while," said Masako Kano, a 69 yearold housewife who was queuing for the pancake outside a new store.
"Compared to other cakes, which normally cost around 200 yen to 300 yen, its price is attractive," she added.
Fancy Corporation, which operates a chain of taiyaki stores in Japan, recently opened its 45th outlet in Kawasaki, just south of Tokyo.
Representative Eriko Yano said the snack was as popular as ever, even during the economic downturn, and was core to the Fancy Corporation's business.
"In this economic environment, customers prefer products that are lowpriced, safe and reliable. I think that's why the number of our stores is growing,"Yano said."As people cut back on luxuries, such as dessert, taiyaki has become even more popular."
Japan's snack industry association said that while the popularity of expensive confectionery products was waning, the demand for low-priced snacks such as taiyaki was rising.
Economist Toshihiro Uchida at UFJ Research and Consulting said taiyaki's popularity was especially conspicuous in areas with many export-related manufacturers that were affected by the global financial crisis.
"In times like these, products that achieve a high cost to performance ratio rise in popularity. Taiyaki is not only cheap, it is filling and its sweetness satisfies people who are tired and stressed because people tend to crave sweet flav-ours when times are hard," Uchida said.
Taiyaki stores are also a relatively cheap business to set up, with shops requiring an investment of about 10 million yen, considerably less than a restaurant, which can cost up to five times more, Fancy Corporation's Yano said.
"I think the taiyaki boom has to do a lot with the capability that you can buy one or two pieces at a time. The decrease in our income has been serious," said Michiko Hoshi, a 76 year-old-woman as she queued up to buy the snack.
KRAFT TARGETS CADBURY AGAIN
British confectioner's chief executive dismisses takeover bid as derisory.
US giant Kraft Foods yesterday launched a hostile 9.8-billion pound (Bt543.4 billion) bid for Cadbury, which the British confectioner rejected as "derisory," as new takeover action revitalised the business world.
The cash and stocks offer matches the terms of Kraft's informal bid in September.
However changes to currency and stock market values since then means the formal bid is worth 9.8 bilion pound, compared to the earlier offer of 10.2 billion pound.
"The repetition of a proposal which is now of less value and lower than the current Cadbury share price does not make it any more attractive," Cadbury chairman Roger Carr said in a company statement.
"As a result, the Board has emphatically rejected this derisory offer and has strengthened its resolve to ensure the true value of Cadbury is fully understood by all."
Besides opposition from the Cadbury board, Kraft faces a band of vocal supporters of the British company's long-held independence.
Felicity Loudon, the grand-daughter of former Cadbury Brothers managing director Egbert Cadbury, has also been an outspoken critic of any deal.
She said she was "particularly saddened by the possibility of one of the last remaining British icons disappearing into an American plastic cheese company".
"Kraft probably does need Cadbury more than Cadbury needs Kraft," wrote Jeremy Batstone-Carr, an analyst with Charles Stanley.
Kraft Foods is the world's second-biggest snacks group after Nestle, while Cadbury, led by American chief executive Todd Stitzer, is the second-largest confectionery company behind Mars.
A tie-up between Kraft and Cadbury would merge leading Kraft brands Oreo biscuits and Maxwell House coffee with Cadbury's big sellers such as Dairy Milk chocolate and Trident chewing gum.
Kraft chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld said her company was "convinced of the strategic merits for both companies of combining Kraft Foods and Cadbury".
She added in Kraft's bid statement: "We believe that our proposal offers the best immediate and long-term value for Cadbury's shareholders and for the company itself compared with any other option currently available, including Cadbury remaining independent."
The formal bid is worth 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft Foods shares per Cadbury share. Kraft had until yesterday to launch a formal bid or walk away for six months under British takeover rules.
Cadbury last month stepped up its defence against a takeover by Kraft by upgrading its full-year sales forecast after a third-quarter rise.
In reaction to a 7-per-cent gain in third-quarter sales, Cadbury upgraded its 2009 revenue forecast to the middle of its 4-6-per-cent range from the previous lower-end forecast.
A stronger sales outlook makes a takeover of Cadbury less attractive to its shareholders, who may judge that the company is profitable enough without being merged with a bigger company.
Kraft meanwhile posted poor third-quarter results last week, hitting its share price which in turn has pushed down the value of its offer for Cadbury.
Kraft's formal bid was worth 717 penceper Cadbury share, while the informal offer had stood at 745 pence a share.
"It may be hard to see further upside in Cadbury's share prices with no visible counter offer or rival to Kraft on the horizon and the fact that they have not moved an inch from their initial offer shows that they may be playing the long game with this one," said City Index market strategist Joshua Raymond.
Kraft Foods has said a tie-up would lift its revenues to about US$50 billion (Bt1.7 trillion) a year from $42 billion presently.
US giant Kraft Foods yesterday launched a hostile 9.8-billion pound (Bt543.4 billion) bid for Cadbury, which the British confectioner rejected as "derisory," as new takeover action revitalised the business world.
The cash and stocks offer matches the terms of Kraft's informal bid in September.
However changes to currency and stock market values since then means the formal bid is worth 9.8 bilion pound, compared to the earlier offer of 10.2 billion pound.
"The repetition of a proposal which is now of less value and lower than the current Cadbury share price does not make it any more attractive," Cadbury chairman Roger Carr said in a company statement.
"As a result, the Board has emphatically rejected this derisory offer and has strengthened its resolve to ensure the true value of Cadbury is fully understood by all."
Besides opposition from the Cadbury board, Kraft faces a band of vocal supporters of the British company's long-held independence.
Felicity Loudon, the grand-daughter of former Cadbury Brothers managing director Egbert Cadbury, has also been an outspoken critic of any deal.
She said she was "particularly saddened by the possibility of one of the last remaining British icons disappearing into an American plastic cheese company".
"Kraft probably does need Cadbury more than Cadbury needs Kraft," wrote Jeremy Batstone-Carr, an analyst with Charles Stanley.
Kraft Foods is the world's second-biggest snacks group after Nestle, while Cadbury, led by American chief executive Todd Stitzer, is the second-largest confectionery company behind Mars.
A tie-up between Kraft and Cadbury would merge leading Kraft brands Oreo biscuits and Maxwell House coffee with Cadbury's big sellers such as Dairy Milk chocolate and Trident chewing gum.
Kraft chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld said her company was "convinced of the strategic merits for both companies of combining Kraft Foods and Cadbury".
She added in Kraft's bid statement: "We believe that our proposal offers the best immediate and long-term value for Cadbury's shareholders and for the company itself compared with any other option currently available, including Cadbury remaining independent."
The formal bid is worth 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft Foods shares per Cadbury share. Kraft had until yesterday to launch a formal bid or walk away for six months under British takeover rules.
Cadbury last month stepped up its defence against a takeover by Kraft by upgrading its full-year sales forecast after a third-quarter rise.
In reaction to a 7-per-cent gain in third-quarter sales, Cadbury upgraded its 2009 revenue forecast to the middle of its 4-6-per-cent range from the previous lower-end forecast.
A stronger sales outlook makes a takeover of Cadbury less attractive to its shareholders, who may judge that the company is profitable enough without being merged with a bigger company.
Kraft meanwhile posted poor third-quarter results last week, hitting its share price which in turn has pushed down the value of its offer for Cadbury.
Kraft's formal bid was worth 717 penceper Cadbury share, while the informal offer had stood at 745 pence a share.
"It may be hard to see further upside in Cadbury's share prices with no visible counter offer or rival to Kraft on the horizon and the fact that they have not moved an inch from their initial offer shows that they may be playing the long game with this one," said City Index market strategist Joshua Raymond.
Kraft Foods has said a tie-up would lift its revenues to about US$50 billion (Bt1.7 trillion) a year from $42 billion presently.
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