Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Revolut Singapore Partners Income to Offer Insurance

    Revolut Singapore Partners Income to Offer Insurance

    Both platforms see customer empowerment and digitally-enabled collaborations as key to supporting customer needs. Snack by NTUC Income (Income) and Revolut Singapore will work together to incorporate lifestyle-based insurance offerings on Revolut’s digital banking app to provide more flexibility and boost customer empowerment in money management.

    Snack, launched in June, is a stackable, micro-insurance offering that embeds the purchase of coverage into daily activities. Its partners include Visa, EZLink, FoodPanda and more.

    The partnership with Snack layers insurance protection over our Revolut’s existing money management features and allows our customers access to micro-insurance products that are underwritten by NTUC Income. Customers will have the ability to purchase insurance products such as Term Life, Critical Illness and Personal Accident, with more products to be launched going forward, the announcement said. As part of the partnership, Revolut Singapore customers will also receive a one-time complimentary insurance coverage of S$500 ($367) when they sign up for an account on the Snack app.

    Snack’s modular approach to bite-sized insurance reimagines how people obtain and consume insurance. This provides tremendous flexibility in tailoring solutions based on the needs of customers and integrating it with partners’ platforms to create a unique experience, Peter Tay, Income chief digital officer, said.

    Revolut has reached over 70,000 signups in the republic since its launch one year ago. It has expanded its footprint this year with launches in the U.S., Australia and Japan. In the coming weeks, Revolut will be introducing fast and free top-ups using bank accounts and a prepaid debit card for children aged 7-17 to teach children to better manage money digitally.

    Lees ook:

  • You might not notice Google’s upcoming change to Gmail

    You might not notice Google’s upcoming change to Gmail

    Google is making a change to Gmail, the company’s extremely popular email service. But this change isn’t adding a new feature or even taking one away. In fact, the effect of this news won’t change the way you use Gmail at all. As it announced, Google is about to change the name of its enterprise-focused G Suite offering. These are apps like Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and many more that soon be under the Google Workspace umbrella. Google said today, “Whether you’re returning to the office, working from home, on the frontlines with your mobile device, or connecting with customers, Google Workspace is the best way to create, communicate, and collaborate.”

    In July, Google integrated its video conferencing service Meet with the Gmail app calling it “your new home for work.” Today, the company introduced a brand new logo for Gmail that will bring it more in line with Google’s branding. Instead of the current logo, which uses red lines to create the letter “M” on the back of a white envelope, Google is removing the envelope and is replacing the colors of the four lines. The four colors used in the revised logo, blue, red, yellow, and green, are the colors used by Google for its icons and corporate logo.

    Besides the new Gmail logo, the company is adding a touch of red to the Drive icon so that all four Google colors are included. Other apps, like Duo and Docs, are also getting an icon makeover. Currently, those two have a blue and white color scheme for their icons. But after undergoing their beauty treatment, the Duo and Docs icons will incorporate Google’s colors only. You can also expect the Google Calendar icon to change from blue, white, and gray to blue, red. yellow and green. The accompanying video will show you the changes.

    Google says, “Google Workspace embodies our vision for a future where work is more flexible, time is more precious, and enabling stronger human connections becomes even more important. It’s a vision we’ve been building toward for more than a decade, and one we’re excited to bring to life together with you.” Keep an eye open for the logo and icon changes on your devices.

  • Twitter begins testing new grouped follow feature on Android

    Twitter begins testing new grouped follow feature on Android

    Twitter is constantly testing out new features across its mobile apps. Most recently it made some changes to its automated cropping feature and started testing a ‘read before sharing’ prompt on iOS.

    Today, the social media platform has announced another test.

    Available to a select number of Twitter for Android users, the latest Twitter feature involves a suggestion to follow a group of relevant accounts on the profile page of someone you’ve just followed.

    The accounts can all be followed at once with a simple tap, or users can choose to remove the ones they aren’t interested in. Twitter’s algorithm presumably generates the list of accounts based on what content each one shares.

    The feature replaces the existing suggestion box which lists three users and provides the option to see more relevant accounts.

    Twitter has provided no further information about the test, but if it proves popular among users the feature could eventually makes it way over to iOS through testing before expanding to all users.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • TikTok could be forced to stop operating in the U.S. following a hearing scheduled for next month

    TikTok could be forced to stop operating in the U.S. following a hearing scheduled for next month

    a U.S. judge said today that he will hold a hearing on November 4th-the day after election day-to decide whether the U.S. government can ban transactions with TikTok. The popular short-form video app is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese manufacturer that the Trump administration fears is passing on personal and corporate data to Beijing. An executive order signed by the president in August ordered ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok’s U.S. operations or have it removed from app stores in the states.

    At first, the president gave a thumbs up to a deal that would create a new company called TikTok Global that would be 80% owned by ByteDance and 20% owned by U.S. firms Oracle and Walmart. The plan was for TikTok Global to go public via an IPO. Since the president had earlier mused about the U.S. Treasury getting paid for the country’s participation in a TikTok deal, we wonder how the distribution of the shares would be handled with millions of dollars of possible profits at stake. Talks between all of the parties involved continuing.

    Meanwhile, a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on September 27th prevented the U.S. government from forcing the Apple App Store and Google Play Store from removing their listings for TikTok. The latter is not even close to being out of the woods in the states. First of all, the current injunction is temporary and another Trump-signed executive order against TikTok and ByteDance takes effect on November 12th. This order will shut down TikTok in the U.S. if there is no deal to divest the popular app by then. According to a schedule released by the court, no ruling on any legal matter before the court in relation to TikTok will be issued until late next month at the earliest.

    What’s holding up the deal are questions about majority ownership of the new company; additionally, China needs to approve the transaction and the country now bans the export of Chinese-made algorithms to other countries. TikTok uses such an algorithm to determine what video subscribers can see. This technology reportedly would not be included in any deal between ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart.

    TikTok is beloved by many teens who use the app to create 15-second and 60-second videos of lip-synchs, dances, pranks, and more. During the pandemic, teens stuck inside their homes turned to the app to give them something to do. In the states, TikTok has 50 million active daily users and 100 million active monthly users; the latest data from app analytical firm Sensor Tower reveals that TikTok was the top-grossing app worldwide during the third quarter. It also was the most downloaded app on iOS and Android during the three months that ended in September. Consumer spending on the app rose 800% on an annual basis from July through September.

    As with most Chinese tech firms that operate some sort of business in the states, the U.S. government considers TikTok and it’s parent company to be national security threats because of their perceived close ties with the Communist Chinese government. There never has been any proof that these firms (such as Huawei and ZTE) have backdoors built into their products in order to obtain personal data. In the case of TikTok specifically, the fear is that 100 million Americans could be at risk of having this information sent to a server owned by the Communist Chinese government.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Deliveroo Singapore partners with barePack to curb single-use packaging waste from food deliveries

    Deliveroo Singapore partners with barePack to curb single-use packaging waste from food deliveries

    Leading food delivery service Deliveroo Singapore today announced its new sustainability partnership with Singapore startup barePack to offer customers a returnable container system where customers can elect to use reusable containers for delivery and pick-up orders from over 50 best-loved restaurants across Singapore.

    Deliveroo customers can enjoy their meals in a sustainable way by looking for the “barePack” option in the Deliveroo app. Customers can then select from barePack’s reusable boxes and cups – FlexBox or KindCup – when placing their food orders. To ensure that the containers are safe for food use, barePack’s boxes are made from food-grade silicone and come with BPA-free polypropylene lids, while cups are made from stainless steel. Participating restaurants include large chains and family favourites such as Spizza, SaladStop! and Real Food.

    The new in-app feature will be available for both barePack members and non-members. Existing barePack members can order their food in reusable containers for free on Deliveroo by entering a One-Time Password (OTP) provided in their barePack app. For non-members, the reusable containers are available with a refundable deposit of S$6. Deposits will be refunded when customers return the box to any of the 100 restaurants in the barePack network, half of which are on the Deliveroo platform, across the city.

    barePack’s returnable container system not only leads to less unnecessary waste but also enables a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the most commonly used disposable alternatives. According to barePack, reusable products when used 50 times has a significantly positive impact on global warming potential. With the initiative, Deliveroo hopes to combat rising disposable packaging waste in the city-state as a result of movement restrictions, especially during the circuit breaker period.

    “As a socially responsible company, we are committed to helping our restaurant partners become more sustainable. We also want to encourage customers to make environmentally friendly choices. We believe amazing food shouldn’t cost the earth and our partnership with barePack marks the latest efforts in our mission to bring customers amazing food in the most sustainable way. We made plastic cutlery an opt-in in 2018, resulting in over 90% of meals now being delivered without disposable cutlery. We are confident that our customers will welcome this new feature and help us foster a reusable takeaway culture in Singapore,” said Sarah Tan, General Manager, Deliveroo Singapore.

    “barePack’s reusable containers are kinder for the planet, better for your food, and safer for your health. We are committed to replacing the millions of disposables used for F&B consumption every day, and this partnership with Deliveroo will go a long way in helping us reach a wider audience and achieve our goals. Great collaborations such as this are really key to achieving a more circular economy,” said Roxane Uzureau, Co-Founder of barePack.

    To ensure the health and safety of customers in light of COVID-19, Deliveroo and barePack have also implemented stringent safety protocols, ensuring that barePack’s reusable containers are collected away from the serving area and batch processed with used crockery. A new sanitised box or cup will also be issued to customers who purchase any of barePack reusable containers, thereby complying with standard vendor health and safety processes and regulations.

    Deliveroo Singapore’s partnership with barePack is part of the company’s ongoing commitment towards sustainability. Initiatives over the past 12 months include a partnership with BioPak, where Deliveroo offered sustainable packaging options to all restaurant partners with discounts to help them make the easy switch to eco-friendly packaging. Deliveroo has also signed the WWF’s (World Wide Fund for Nature) PACT (Plastic ACTion) pledge, committing to encouraging consumer behaviour change as well as restaurant partners to improve their packaging materials.

     

    Lees ook:

  • AirAsia Said to Stop Funding Indian Venture as Cash Dwindles

    AirAsia Said to Stop Funding Indian Venture as Cash Dwindles

    AirAsia Group Bhd has stopped funding its Indian affiliate as the global travel slump leaves the Malaysian group struggling to support a sprawling empire of no-frills airlines, people familiar with the matter said.

    AirAsia India Ltd’s future may now depend on Indian conglomerate Tata Group, its majority shareholder, which has provided emergency funding but has yet to commit to a full rescue, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter.

    The airline isn’t at any immediate risk of folding, the people said. India’s aviation minister said over the weekend that AirAsia was shutting up shop in the South Asian nation, though his office later suggested the comment was taken out of context.

    AirAsia India declined to comment, as did a representative for Tata Group. AirAsia Group didn’t respond to requests for comment after usual office hours.

    AirAsia said earlier Monday that its Japanese arm will cease flying immediately as the coronavirus outbreak continues to roil the airline industry. Once the poster child of the region’s revolution in low-cost travel, the group is seeking as much as RM2.5 billion to steer its way through the crisis.

    Long-haul arm AirAsia X Bhd has meanwhile said it needs to reach deals with major creditors to restructure debt amid “severe liquidity constraints” that threaten its ability to resume services and continue as a going concern.

    AirAsia India has survived on 3 billion rupees (US$41 million) in funding from Tata, which owns a 51% stake, with another round of financing expected soon, one of the people said.

    Tata is weighing its options and how much it would cost to buy out AirAsia and save the carrier, another person said. The industrial group also has a 51% holding in the Vistara full-service airline venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd.

    AirAsia India predicted it would break even in four months when it began flying in 2014. In reality, it has yet to make money in a market where high fuel taxes and cut-throat fares can make even dominant players unprofitable. The carrier has a market share of 6.8% and employs more than 3,000 people.

    Lees ook:

  • Apple AirPods Pro Lite release date, price, features

    Apple AirPods Pro Lite release date, price, features

    The AirPods Pro Lite are rumored to be an upcoming model of truly wireless headphones by Apple. They are expected to be more capable than the regular AirPods, but slightly cheaper than the premium AirPods Pro.

    The original AirPods (late 2016) were among the first truly wireless earphones. They boosted the interest in this fledgling category of tech products and established themselves as undisputed leaders. In early 2019, Apple followed with an upgraded version which added a number of things such as wireless charging, “Hey Siri” and slightly better battery life. In late 2019, Apple released a higher-tier variant called AirPods Pro. The AirPods Pro have been a runaway success – they came at a significantly higher price but introduced an improved design, dramatically better sound quality and active noise cancellation.

    Now, the word is Apple is working on a product that is supposed to slide between the AirPods and the AirPods Pro. The rumor mill is referring to that product as the AirPods Pro Lite, but that is by no means its official name.

    So, when will AirPods Pro Lite come out? We wish we knew! And sadly, it’s not like we’re drowning in leaks right now.

    But we can take a look at the next probable dates when Apple could announce the mysterious earbuds. Naturally, what comes to mind first is Apple’s September event – the company’s flagship event where it always reveals its big iPhone releases. This isn’t at all unlikely, as the original AirPods were unveiled at precisely such an event. So, this year, we might see the new AirPods Pro Lite launch alongside the iPhone 12 series.

    Alternatively, the AirPods Pro got their own “online” release in November last year, which was after the big iPhone event had long finished. So the possibility of Apple launching the new AirPods Pro Lite at any time later this year is also quite real. No single release window currently has any real backing, though. Hopefully, we get more AirPods Pro Lite leaks soon that would narrow the options a bit.

    Ah, this is the other money question: how much are the AirPods Pro Lite going to cost! The only lead we have in terms of pricing is that the Pro Lite are supposed to be positioned between the AirPods and AirPods Pro.

    The basic AirPods cost $159.The same AirPods but with a wireless charging case come in at $199. The premium AirPods Pro cost $249.

    Now, that obviously doesn’t leave much room for the Pro Lite to slot in, does it? The way things stand right now, we can’t really see how the rumored model could squeeze itself into the line-up. That said, the TWS (true wireless stereo) market is beginning to saturate, and, as usual, Apple is starting to feel some pressure from the more affordable segments. With that in mind, Apple might want to push the price of the regular AirPods a bit lower to fend of the players in the low-$100 space.

    A fairly conservative possibility would be to have the AirPods at $149, and then the AirPods Pro Lite at $199, and the Pro at $249. That would make for a nice, even distribution across the TWS price spectrum. But this, of course, is pure speculation. Regardless, the $200 mark is roughly the area we expect Apple to position the Pro Lite in, if the model ever comes to light.

    At this point, there is absolutely no information with regards to the eventual AirPods Pro Lite specs. There is some debate going on around the tech community what the middle-of-the-road earbuds should be like, and while some see active noise cancellation as a must-have feature, we believe it might as well not be present.

    ANC is fairly taxing and makes for a great premium differentiator. On the other hand, the AirPods Pro also brings a superb audio quality enhancement over the regular AirPods. With this in mind, it wouldn’t surprise us if the mythical AirPods Pro Lite keep the same design as the AirPods Pro, and deliver the same superb audio quality, but lose the active noise cancellation. This doesn’t seem so unthinkable if you consider the rubber-tip design of the Pro (and possibly the Pro Lite), which is among the best when it comes to the rubber material, the fit and the comfort. Thus, Apple could easily market the Pro Lite as having passive noise cancellation, and call it a day.

    Aside from all that, as we said, if we can trust that the nickname Pro Lite describes the rumored model accurately enough, we’d expect it to keep the same physical design and audio quality. Also, there will surely be Hey Siri support, as well as the same degree of water-resistance.

  • Amazon duplicates Transparency program to Japan and Australia

    Amazon duplicates Transparency program to Japan and Australia

    Amazon announced the expansion of Transparency to two new countries – Japan and Australia – making it available in 10 countries where Amazon has a store. Amazon Transparency is also celebrating a milestone of enrolling over 10,000 brands into the program. Transparency, launched in 2018, is a product serialization service that builds on Amazon’s long-standing work and innovative solutions focused on ensuring that customers always receive authentic goods when shopping in Amazon’s stores.

    “Transparency has allowed us to grow consumer confidence in our products and prevent inauthentic products from ending up in the hands of our customers.”

    “Transparency is a powerful technology-driven solution that gives brands the ability to uniquely identify every product unit they manufacture and allows Amazon to use this to prevent counterfeits from reaching customers,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Vice President of Worldwide Customer Trust and Partner Support.

    Transparency allows brands to uniquely identify each unit they produce through the application of unique codes on the product or its packaging. These codes allow Amazon to inspect and authenticate every unit enrolled in Transparency proactively, detecting and stopping counterfeits before they ever reach customers. Additionally, customers can use a mobile app to scan the code and verify authenticity regardless of where they purchased the brand’s products. Over 10,000 brands – from Fortune 500 companies and global brands, to startups and small businesses in countries around the world including LG Electronics USA, Spectrum Brands, Cards Against Humanity LLC, Neato, Petrichor, Skullcandy, Salom, Nomader, and Naples Naturals – have already enrolled in Transparency. Across these brands, Transparency has prevented the shipment of over 500K suspected counterfeits in Amazon’s stores.

    LG Electronics USA, a leading innovator in home appliances, said “LG sees Transparency as a great way to ensure that consumers use genuine LG filters while protecting them from counterfeit products.”

    Spectrum Brands, a Fortune 500 company that owns several pet care companies, said: “By having the Transparency seal on our products, we give consumers confidence that the products they are purchasing for their pets are authentic, effective and formulated as labeled.”

    Cards Against Humanity LLC, said: “With Transparency, we’re now more confident than ever that our customers are receiving legitimate products — which is a win for us and for customers.”

    Neato, a maker of robotic vacuum cleaners, said: “Transparency has allowed us to grow consumer confidence in our products and prevent inauthentic products from ending up in the hands of our customers.”

    Sumeet Raj Aggarwal, owner of the small business in India, Petrichor, said: “With Transparency, consumers can buy with confidence knowing that the products are authentic and high quality. This program grows confidence in our brand and prevents counterfeits from being delivered to consumers. It’s a win-win for brands and consumers.”

    In addition to Japan and Australia, Transparency is available in Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To learn more about Transparency and how to enroll, visit: https://www.transparency.com/

    Transparency is one of many innovations that Amazon has introduced to partner with brands to ensure customers receive authentic products and to protect brands’ intellectual property.

    • Most recently, Amazon launched the Amazon Counterfeit Crime Unit (ACCU), a global team that will investigate and bring legal action against bad actors, protecting customers, brands, and Amazon’s selling partners. To learn more: https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-establishes-counterfeit-crimes-unit-bring-counterfeiters
    • Amazon’s Project Zero, which empowers brands to drive counterfeits to zero. Project Zero uses automated protections to proactively and continuously scan more than 5 billion attempted product listing updates daily to look for suspicious listings, provides a self-service tool for brands with an unprecedented ability to directly remove listings from Amazon’s stores, and leverages product serialization as an optional service. To join the more than 10,000 enrolled brands, learn more at: https://www.projectzero.com.
    • Amazon IP Accelerator helps businesses more quickly obtain intellectual property (IP) rights and brand protection in Amazon’s stores. The program was designed specifically with small and medium businesses in mind and is available to entrepreneurs worldwide that are looking to secure intellectual property in the U.S. IP Accelerator connects entrepreneurs with US law firms with expertise in trademark applications. Entrepreneurs also benefit from pre-negotiated rates. To learn more: https://brandservices.amazon.com/ipaccelerator
    • Amazon Brand Registry, a free service that gives brand owners access to a powerful set of tools that help them deliver an accurate and trusted customer experience on Amazon while protecting a brand’s IP. More than 350,000 brands are enrolled. To enroll and learn more: https://brandservices.amazon.com/
    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Berluti opens first Malaysian store in KL

    Berluti opens first Malaysian store in KL

    French men’s fashion house Berluti has opened Malaysia’s first store in Kuala Lumpur in partnership with Indonesian retail firm Time International.

    Located at Suria KLCC, the Berluti store occupies a 105sqm space, offering a selection of men’s shoes, leather goods, ready-to-wear and accessories.

    The store’s facade features a wooden-patterned wall and a display box showing the latest Berluti collection. The interior design uses a warm brown beige palette to highlight the masculinity elements.

    “The ‘full-grain’ club ambiance flawlessly complements the speakeasy reference of the Patina Wall, a genuine ode to Berluti’s savoir-faire,” the company said in a statement.

    “This store shows our commitment to build and expand the brand’s presence in Malaysia and celebrate the iconic French brand with our clients,” said Irwan Danny Mussry, president and CEO of Time International.

    The store also houses the Fall/Winter 2020 ready-to-wear and accessories collection and the Maison’s first patterned canvas collection designed by Artistic Director Kris Van Assche.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore retail sales slip further down in August

    Singapore retail sales slip further down in August

    SINGAPORE retail sales dropped 5.7 percent on the year in August, an improvement from the 8.5 percent year-on-year decline recorded in July, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) on Monday.

    Lees ook:

  • Ella takes up role as Singapore’s first robotic barista

    Ella takes up role as Singapore’s first robotic barista

    She is a barista with a very strong arm. And “Ella”, Singapore’s first fully automated robot barista, will be serving customers their caffeine fixes at CityHub mall in Lavender from Saturday (Oct 3).

    Crown Coffee, the food and beverage arm of Crown Group, said the outlet was launched in an effort to push automation and reduce physical interaction in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Ella, named after Crown Group founder and chief executive Keith Tan’s wife, served a range of hot drinks to Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling and members of the media at a launch event on Friday.

    In a speech at the event, Ms Low, who is also Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, emphasized the importance of digitalization and automation in navigating the pandemic and zoomed in on Ella as a solution that creates opportunity from chaos.

    “While Covid-19 has severely impacted our businesses and economy, it has also created the impetus for us to build stronger business capabilities and seek out new growth opportunities,” she said.

    Crown Coffee’s new robot barista is able to make up to 200 cups of coffee an hour. It joins a host of new innovations spurred on by Covid-19 such as cleaning robots.

    Ella brews and serves coffee behind a transparent screen in a contactless set-up. Users will have to download the Crown Coffee mobile app, through which they can order drinks, from $4 each.

    Developed by Crown Group’s technology arm, Crown Digital, Ella is Mr Tan’s response to the cost pressures of training and retaining human workers, and a pre-emptive response to digital disruption.

    “We need to disrupt ourselves, as opposed to waiting for things to change,” said the former wealth manager, who started Crown Group in 2016 to follow his passion for coffee.

    Ella has been in development since 2017, when the first prototype was built.

    Mr Tan, 40, said Ella is part of his company’s aim to serve consistent, barista-quality coffee to more people conveniently.

    He added: “Ella’s main application will be in high-traffic areas like MRT stations or airports. Imagine you’re on your way to work and you order your coffee from the mobile app and when you get to the station your coffee is waiting for you.”

    Crown Group is currently seeking funding to expand Ella across Singapore and beyond, said a spokesman.

    Asked about the costs involved compared to employing human baristas, Mr Tan said that it will take some time for any savings from automation to accrue.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Kenzo founder Kenzo Takada dies from virus

    Kenzo founder Kenzo Takada dies from virus

    Paris-based Japanese designer Kenzo Takada, famous for creating the international luxury fashion house Kenzo, died in Paris on Sunday due to Covid-19 related complications, a spokesperson for Takada’s luxury K-3 brand said in a statement sent to CNN. His death came in the midst of Paris Fashion Week, which, through a hybrid of physical and digital shows, has forged ahead despite rising Covid-19 cases in France.

    It is with immense sadness that the brand K-3 announces the loss of its celebrated artistic director, Kenzo Takada. The world-renowned designer passed away on October 4th, 2020 due to Covid-19 related complications at the age of 81 at the American Hospital, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France,” the statement read.

    In 1970, Takada rocked Paris with the debut of his namesake fashion line. Sold out of his first boutique, called Jungle Jap, his designs were a chaotic mix of loud colors and mismatched prints inspired by his travels.

    The world’s varied cultures would be a constant source of creativity — and everything from folk dresses to kimonos would be boldly reinterpreted for his runways. “There was much more of a cultural gap when you were traveling from one country to the next,” he said in a 2019 interview, reminiscing about trips taken in the 1970s. “So that really drove me and gave me a lot of influence and inspiration to work on different things around my trips.”

    On Paris, Takada would speak of its lasting influence. “A French way of working with fashion definitely influenced me and much later I started to blend other cultures into that specific fashion,” he said.

    “Of course now, fashion is everywhere; in New York, Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo, everywhere. But I think Paris stays very important.”

    The designer inaugurated his flagship store in the city’s Place des Victoires by 1976, and over the next three decades, he racked up numerous accolades and accomplishments — including a slew of magazine covers, the launch of a perfume empire and, in 1993, his brand’s purchase by luxury conglomerate LVMH — before retiring to pursue other creative projects in 1999.

    “Kenzo Takada was incredibly creative; with a stroke of genius, he imagined a new artistic and colorful story combining East and West — his native Japan and his life in Paris,” Jonathan Bouchet Manheim, CEO of Takada’s K-3 brand, launched in January of this year, said in a statement.

    “I had the chance to work alongside him for many years, always in awe, admiring his curiosity and his open-mindedness. He seemed quiet and shy at first, but he was full of humor. He was generous and always knew how to look after the people close to his heart. He had a zest for life… Kenzo Takada was the epitome of the art of living,” he added.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Spotify’s newest feature finally puts it on par with Apple Music

    Spotify’s newest feature finally puts it on par with Apple Music

    Spotify is the leading music streaming service and the company is continuously trying to improve its platform. Today, it has rolled out a useful new feature to Android and iOS users around the world.

    The feature hasn’t been given an official name but it essentially upgrades in-app search with support for lyrics. Once enabled, Spotify users can search for a song by typing in some of the lyrics.

    That comes in handy when you don’t know the name of the song or artist. It should also reduce the dependence on third-party apps such as SoundHound and Shazam, the latter of which is owned by Apple.

    Speaking of the Tim Cook-led company, this new search feature finally puts Spotify on par with arch-rival Apple Music, which has supported the in-app lyric search for a couple of years now.

    The news comes less than a week after Spotify updated its Collaborative Playlists feature to make it easier to add friends and family members while also introducing user avatars in the playlist header and alongside each song of the episode.
    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • UBS Poaches Tech Executive From Credit Suisse

    UBS Poaches Tech Executive From Credit Suisse

    UBS is nabbing a prominent technology executive from crosstown rival Credit Suisse. It is the second such hire in short order.

    The Swiss bank is poaching David Tobin from Credit Suisse as its head of risk technology, a source familiar with the hire said. A spokesman for UBS confirmed the hire.

    Tobin relocates to Zurich for the job, effective October 19 and reports to Julie Shapiro, the Swiss bank’s head of risk and financial technology. He is currently the head of Credit Suisse’s investment bank credit risk as well as technology chief in Poland.

    The hire marks is the second high-ranking technologist UBS has poached from Credit Suisse in recent months: the larger bank also poached Jason Shane, a ten-year Credit Suisse veteran, as its new head of compliance, regulatory, and governance technology earlier this year.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 will be unveiled in December

    Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 will be unveiled in December

    Qualcomm has started sending out invites for a two-day digital event that will kick off on December 1 and although the chipmaker hasn’t confirmed this, it’s a given that the Snapdragon 875 will be unveiled during the Tech Summit.

    Per rumors, the Snapdragon 875 will be Qualcomm’s first SoC to employ the 5nm manufacturing process. It is expected to have one Cortex-X1 core, three Cortex-A78 cores, and four Cortex-A55 cores. The chip will reportedly be manufactured by Samsung.

    We can expect it to be around 20 percent more power-efficient than the Snapdragon 865. Performance could get a 10 percent boost.

    The Snapdragon X60 5G modem will apparently be integrated within the chip.

    It is not clear at the moment if Qualcomm also plans to announce other chips during the event. The company is apparently working on its first 6nm chip dubbed Snapdragon 775G which will succeed the Snapdragon 765G. Another 5nm silicon and an entry-level chip are also in the pipeline reportedly.

    A couple of reports suggest that Snapdragon 875 powered phones will be faster than the iPhone 12. While Android users may rejoice at the prospect, the alleged high price of the chip could prevent some Android manufacturers from equipping their 2021 phones with the SoC.

    For instance, the grapevine has it that only the highest-end Samsung Galaxy S21 model will be powered by the Snapdragon 875, and the rest will either employ an in-house chip or settle for the Snapdragon 865.

    Lees ook: