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Tag: lifestyle

  • Myntra India taps 9,000 kirana stores to boost last-mile delivery

    Myntra India taps 9,000 kirana stores to boost last-mile delivery

    Flipkart-owned ecommerce platform Myntra that saw 80 percent revenue fall in FY2018 has doubled down on last-mile delivery, tapping into over 9,000 kirana stores across 50 cities to fast deliver packages. Today, nearly 60 percent of all Myntra’s product pick-ups and deliveries happen through its ‘Kirana Delivery Programme’ — helping the company reduce delivery costs, the company said on Tuesday.

    “Myntra’s ‘Kirana Delivery Programme’ is a successful model introduced by the company to accelerate order delivery in the most efficient way possible, while ensuring we provide a good partnership opportunity to our kirana partners,” a company spokesperson said.

    “We will continue to innovate, expand and hope to register more kirana partners in the future as well,” the spokesperson added.

    The ‘Kirana Delivery Programme’ is an ingenious model introduced by the company to accelerate order delivery, while creating a platform for kirana stores to have an additional source of income.

    “A mutually beneficial model, it has helped Myntra achieve greater consumer satisfaction and is enhancing the standard of living of the owners of several ‘mom & pop’ stores across the country,” said the company.

    Several tailors and beauty parlour owners, among others, have also signed up with Myntra for the programme.

    The online fashion retailer narrowed its consolidated losses to Rs 178.7 crore for 2017-18, compared with a loss of Rs 655.8 crore in the previous fiscal.

    According to business intelligence platform Tofler, the company saw its income growing nearly threefold to Rs 427.4 crore in 2017-18 as against Rs 155.6 crore in the previous financial year.

    Ananth Narayanan, Chief Executive of e-tail portals Myntra and Jabong, stepped down from the post on January 14 “to pursue external opportunities”.

    The 11-year-old Flipkart Group, owned by US retail giant Walmart, includes e-tail sites Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong and digital payment platform PhonePe.

    In May last year, Walmart bought a 77 percent equity stake in the company for a whopping US$ 16 billion.

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  • Restaurant company expands into Thailand with local Myanmar cuisine

    Restaurant company expands into Thailand with local Myanmar cuisine

    Myanmar restaurant chain Feel International is set to open in Thailand. Opening in the popular Bangkok tourist area of Pratunam on Thursday (January 24), the group intends to introduce Myanmar cuisine to Thai consumers and foreigners. “At present, many restaurants are attempting to cater to the needs of tourists from China, however there are eight flights to Bangkok from Yangon every day, and there are tens of thousands of Myanmar citizens working and studying there, so there is a potential market for Myanmar cuisine”, said Feel International operations director Ko Johnny.

    “This is the very first Myanmar restaurant opened in a foreign capital city. Bangkok is one of the biggest restaurant markets in the world. It offers a wide variety of cuisine, even something as exotic in Asia as Ethiopian. Bangkok is the first step for Myanmar traditional food to penetrate the international markets”, he said.

    The restaurant intends to serve lunch boxes with Myanmar favourites for Myanmar people working in companies and offices around the area.

    Discussions are being held to open further restaurants in Chiang Mai and Mesauk.

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  • Northern Vietnam casino reports first profit in three years

    Northern Vietnam casino reports first profit in three years

    Royal Casino, the largest in the northern Quang Ninh Province, last year reported a profit for the first time in three years. Royal International Corporation, its operator, said revenues grew by 48 percent from the previous year to VND288 billion ($12.39 million), and profit after tax to VND17 billion ($731,263) in 2018. This is the company’s first profit since 2015.

    The owner of the company is Khai Tiep International Investment Limited, registered in the Cayman Islands.

    The casino accounted for VND178 billion ($7.66 million) with the rest coming from hotel, villas and hospitality-related services.

    The company’s management said in a financial report that the growth in the casino’s revenues was due to the sharp increase in the number of customers after an expressway connecting Quang Ninh’s Ha Long town  with northern Hai Phong City was built last September.

    Linking up with the Hanoi-Hai Phong expressway, it cuts the travel time from the capital to Ha Long by half to just 90 minutes.

    The company also saved VND16 billion ($688,192) last year in sales and management costs.

    At the end of last year the casino had 1,346 employees, 80 fewer than at the beginning of the year.

    On Saturday Corona Resort and Casino in the southern Phu Quoc Island became the first casino in Vietnam to allow Vietnamese to gamble.

    The government has allowed a three-year trial period.

    Vietnamese who gamble here must be over 21, earn a minimum of VND10 million ($430) a month and have no criminal record or objections from family.

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  • The Palace Museum in Beijing promotes beauty products

    The Palace Museum in Beijing promotes beauty products

    For 500 years the Forbidden City in central Beijing was the seat of power in imperial China. Today it is home to the Palace Museum, a tourist magnet that houses some of the country’s most treasured cultural relics from the Ming and Qing dynasties. But this shrine to the past is rapidly becoming a very modern fashion phenomenon thanks to a new range of beauty products that have proved a massive hit with young Chinese women.

    Online buyers snapped up more than 100,000 lipsticks developed by the Palace Museum within four days of their launch earlier this month, helping to turn the historic landmark into a trendy consumer brand.

    What captured their hearts was the lipstick’s elegant packaging inspired by the national treasures on display in the museum – the lipstick tube bears patterns such as royal embroideries, antique furniture and fairy cranes – heavenly birds symbolising longevity.

    Lizzy Wong, a 24-year-old from the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, is one of millions of loyal new fans of the Palace Museum.

    “I bought them mainly for the beautiful cases. Their functionality doesn’t really matter to me,” Wong said. “We girls just can’t resist the charm of pretty designs.”

    For several years, the former imperial palace has attracted something of a cult following by developing and selling its own original products, from Chinese-style paper tapes to modern essentials like phone cases, with designs or branding inspired by the past.

    Before cosmetics, the Palace Museum found success with products which usually added a humorous twist to the serious traditional culture.

    Veronica Wang, associate partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants, which specialises in consumer goods, said the Palace Museum has turned itself into something more than a brand.

    “Young consumers are seeking things that are different and new. The Forbidden City captured this need,” Wang said.

    The success of the make-up range hasn’t been without challenges. The museum has two online outlets, the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Store – which is accessed via WeChat and the Palace Museum’s Taobao store, and this has caused some confusion.

    The Palace Museum’s brand management was chaotic and would benefit from marketing and brand professionals, said Shaun Rein, the managing director of China Market Research Group.

    “When you think of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (in New York), you know that the quality will be pretty good and authentic. But when it comes to the Forbidden City, we really don’t know what the position is,” he added.

    Analysts also worry about whether the Palace Museum can replicate its past successes in the future.

    “The sustainability of this success will depend on their products and capability to continually innovate,” said Wang.

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  • Samsung factories ready to make 5G and foldable phones

    Samsung factories ready to make 5G and foldable phones

    Samsung Electronics is ready to roll out both 5G and foldable phones, two of most highly-anticipated products from the electronics company. While Samsung has already announced a plan to introduce new Galaxy phones at an unpacking event next month in San Francisco, it is confirmed on Tuesday that Samsung’s global production base in Vietnam has completed preparation to mass-produce 5G phones.

    The 5G phone is tentatively called “Galaxy S10 X.” Two Samsung factories, located in the provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, both north of Hanoi, produce 150 million smartphones a year. The 5G-enabled version of Galaxy S10 produced in Vietnam will be exported globally, starting with the United States. The first one million units of Samsung’s first foldable phone will be produced at the company’s production plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang.

    The 5G phone “will roll out three to four weeks after the basic Galaxy S10 model hits the market. However, we have finished all preparations to mass produce a 5G phone,” a source from Samsung Electronics said.

    The phone will likely be introduced during the unpacking event on Feb. 20 along with three other versions of Samsung’s 10th-generation Galaxy family: S10, S10+ and S10 light.

    Phones that can connect to the 5G network are expected to bring revolutionary changes in media consumption habits. A 5G phone can download a 1.5 gigabyte movie in under a second.

    Samsung’s first 5G phone is likely to come with a 6.7-inch screen, larger than the 6.1-inch screen of S10 or 6.4-inch screen of S10+.

    The 5G-connected S10 will be powered by the Exynos 9820 chipset.

    Though it is designed for 5G connections, the phone will still be able to connect to 4G LTE as 5G infrastructure development is still underway. Even in Korea, where 5G infrastructure is quickly being built, next-generation connectivity is a work in progress.

    Samsung will first supply 5G phones to five telecom companies, including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, all in the United States, and SK Telecom and KT in Korea

    Although the 5G phone will be introduced at the unpacking event, the actual launch of the model will come a bit later than the new S10s.

    While basic versions will be released in early March, the actual 5G-capable models will be available at the end of March.

    Samsung has greatly tightened security at its S10 production sites in Vietnam factories after a picture of the Galaxy S10 was leaked online.

    As for the company’s foldable phone, tentatively dubbed the “Galaxy F,” initial production will take place at the Gumi plant. Industry sources project that Samsung is likely to introduce the foldable phone at the unpacking event as well, but will release the phone April at the earliest.

    Federico Casalegno, head of the Samsung Design Innovation Center in North America, said “the foldable phone is a breakthrough in technology innovation,” during a press briefing last week.

    Industry insiders say the main reason for making foldable phones at the local Gumi plant is to prevent technology leaks and better control the initial production volume of the phone.

    “We are not yet ready to mass-produce foldable phones as well in Vietnam,” a spokesperson from Samsung said. “The first one million units of foldable phones and 5G phones to be sold in the Korean market will be produced at the Gumi plant, which is in charge of producing our premium products.”

  • India’s Reliance to take on Walmart and Amazon online

    India’s Reliance to take on Walmart and Amazon online

    South Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani is establishing an e-commerce platform to compete with Walmart and Amazon in India. The Reliance Industries chairman will roll out services in Gujarat before extending them nationwide. “Jio and Reliance Retail will launch a unique new commerce platform to empower and enrich our 1.2 million small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat,” said Ambani.

    Reliance introduced the 4G Jio network in September 2016, a market disruptor with its free voice calls and cheap data plans. Its move into e-commerce will aggravate an already cut-throat battle between market leader Flipkart, owned by Walmart, and Amazon’s services in the territory.

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  • KT, Hyundai Mobis join to develop connected-car tech

    KT, Hyundai Mobis join to develop connected-car tech

    KT said Thursday that it will collaborate with Hyundai Mobis to develop self-driving and connected-car technology.  The two companies agreed to work on real-time navigation technology and vehicle-to-everything technology, which will allow cars to communicate with connected devices. To enable development, the telecommunications company said it will install 5G infrastructure at the Hyundai Mobis test-drive course in Seosan, South Chungcheong.

    The fast 5G network will allow sensors on a Hyundai Mobis self-driving car to send significant amounts of data to servers immediately to allow for accurate real-time traffic navigation. The process takes minutes in existing 4G networks.

    The cooperation comes as the two prepare for the fast-growing connected car market. Industry researcher IHS Markit predicted connected-car sales to reach 72.5 million units by 2023 from 24 million units in 2015.

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  • J.Crew Chairman Mickey Drexler Steps Down

    J.Crew Chairman Mickey Drexler Steps Down

    J.Crew chairman and former-chief executive Millard “Mickey” Drexler has stepped down from his position to focus on other interests, including the development of investment business Dexler Ventures, LLC. Chad Leat has been elected as chairman effective immediately. Drexler is set to continue to serve as a strategic advisor to the company’s board and CEO.

    Drexler said it had been a privilege to spend 15 years with the business, and he was thankful to have been a part of its evolution throughout the years.

    “I look forward to working with the Office of the CEO and the board as a strategic advisor to help support J.Crew’s long term success,” Drexler said in an announcement to investors.

    Leat is a former vice-chairman of global banking at Citigroup and holds nearly three decades of markets and banking experience, having led numerous successful and profitable businesses at Citigroup.

    “I am honored to serve has the next chairman of J.Crew,” Leat said.

    “As chairman, my priorities will be to ensure that the J.Crew brand moves quickly to capitalise on recent momentum and to support Madewell’s growth towards becoming a one billion dollar brand, while also working with the board to identify strong, permanent leadership to guide the Company in its next chapter.”

    Drexler’s departure follows the exit of chief executive James Brett and chief marketing officer Vanessa Holden in November 2018. Brett had been in the position for 16 months, while Holden had been with J.Crew for one year.Adtech Ad

    Brett’s exit left the brand leaderless at a pivotal moment, according to GlobalRetail Data managing director Neil Saunders, who noted that the suddenness of the exit suggested a disagreement over how to develop the brand moving forward, and that the brand’s management had been an issue since before

    “If the departure of Jim Brett hails the return to these unrealistic attitudes, J.Crew is going to slip back and undo all of the progress made to date. Given the precariousness of its financial position, this is a mistake it cannot afford to make,” Saunders said.

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  • Vietnam’s first casino for locals opens on three-year trial basis

    Vietnam’s first casino for locals opens on three-year trial basis

    The first casino in Vietnam that allows locals to gamble has opened in Phu Quoc Island off the country’s southern coast. The Corona Resort and Casino is part of an ecotourism and amusement complex built by Phu Quoc Tourism Investment and Development JSC at a cost of VND50 trillion ($2.15 billion). The casino will remain open 24 hours a day during a three-year pilot, and Vietnamese who want to gamble must be over 21, earn a minimum of VND10 million ($430) a month and have no criminal record or objections from family.

    The entry fee is VND1 million ($43) for 24 hours or VND25 million ($1,000) a month (with a maximum play time of 720 hours). Three months ago the government approved the three-year trial period allowing Vietnamese to enter the casino.

    Vietnam, which treats gambling as a “social evil”, has hitherto prohibited locals from gambling in the seven casinos around the country. Only foreign passport holders can enter them.

    Vietnam’s per capita income was around $2,500 last year.

    One of Vietnam’s biggest real estate developers Sungroup is currently building another casino in Van Don in northern Quang Ninh Province, home of popular Ha Long Bay.

    Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, is one of the top holiday destinations in the country.

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  • Johnson & Johnson, Apple collaborate for healthcare

    Johnson & Johnson, Apple collaborate for healthcare

    Apple and Johnson & Johnson are teaming up on a study to determine whether the latest Apple Watch, in conjunction with an app from the pharmaceutical company, can accelerate the diagnosis of a leading cause of stroke. Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that causes about 130,000 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations each year in the U.S., Johnson & Johnson said. Up to 30 percent of cases go undiagnosed until life-threatening complications occur. Worldwide, about 33 million people have the condition.

    The controlled, randomized multi-year Johnson & Johnson study will start later this year and be limited to U.S. adults ages 65 years and older who wear the Apple Watch Series 4. Specific details on how to participate will be released later.

    The Apple Watch Series 4, which costs $399 or more, has an irregular heart rhythm notification feature, as well as an FDA-cleared ECG app, both of which are designed to detect AFib.

    “We are receiving thank you letters daily from Apple Watch wearers who are discovering they have AFib,” said Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams. “We want a deeper understanding about outcomes and prevention associated with early detection. We are excited to work with Johnson & Johnson, which has a long history and expertise in cardiovascular disease.”

    Paul Stoffels, Johnson & Johnson’s executive vice president and chief scientific officer, said “the goal is to identify early on AFib and prevent stroke by combining the physical know-how from Apple and what we have from the medical and scientific know-how.”

    Cardiologist Paul Burton, Johnson & Johnson’s vice president of medical affairs for internal medicine, added the watch has a good detection rate for the condition, but there can be false positives.

    If an AFib reading appears, patients are directed to seek a formal diagnosis from their medical provider. Johnson & Johnson’s goal is to collect aggregate data from study participants, rather than tracking individual patients.

    “When we do clinical trials, we always respect the privacy of patients,” Stoffels says.

    Burton believes “the study has the potential to show that there is a lot more atrial fibrillation out there in the real world in older people than we ever imagined, and if you use a tool like an Apple Watch to detect and funnel people to care, you can really drive down stroke risk in those patients.”

    Apple CEO Tim Cook recently talked about Apple’s ambitions in the health space. “I think you’ll be able to look back at some point in the future and Apple’s greatest contribution will have been to people’s health. I think it’s that big.”

    In November 2017, Apple teamed up with the Stanford University School of Medicine on an Apple Heart Study app that uses the heart rate sensor inside the Apple Watch to collect data on irregular heart rhythms. That study is ongoing.

    Apple also hopes iPhone owners will store medical records inside the Health app.

    Stoffels says wearable technology will continue to take on increased importance in the health field, from monitoring whether patients take medications to measuring sleep. “Digital and data will become part of everything we do.”

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  • Tinder sees Korea as stepping stone to region

    Tinder sees Korea as stepping stone to region

    Korea is the test bed for Tinder services in the rest of Asia, the dating app’s CEO said during his first press conference in the country on Tuesday.  “South Korea is an important market for us because of the market itself, but also because of the cultural influence it has over the broader Asia region,” said Tinder CEO Elie Seidman. Seidman previously served as the CEO of OkCupid, another popular American dating service.

    “Not only do most Koreans have smartphones and use social media, but the country wields a lot of influence in Asia through K-pop and the Korean wave.”

    Korea’s potential to raise the brand awareness of Tinder across Asia has already been demonstrated, according to the app’s regional director.

    “We once worked together with Korean celebrities Kim Jong-kook and Haha to have them use Tinder during a trip in Vietnam” for a reality TV show, said Lyla Seo, regional director, East Asia. “We saw a huge surge in Tinder users in Vietnam following the program.”

    Seo, who is Korean, oversees the dating service’s business in Korea, Japan and Indonesia. Seo worked as a marketing manager for Google Korea before joining Tinder.

    “Tinder has the so-called passport service, which allows people to view and match with users from other countries. The top five countries that used the passport to meet Koreans were Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, reflecting the popularity of Korean culture,” she added.

    In Korea, the dating app first launched in 2015 and has been growing rapidly since. Tinder in Korea reported over 2.5 times more downloads last year compared to 2016. The service is especially popular among women, and over 80 percent of the users here are millennials.

    According to Tinder, the three biggest reasons Koreans use the app are to meet new types of people from different backgrounds, find users with similar hobbies and meet users in the same area.

    Users in Korea are most active on the app around 10 p.m. on Monday after they come back from work or school, Tinder also said.

    Tinder’s plan in Korea this year is to draw in more college-aged students and promote the idea that the app can be used to meet friends under the “Find a friend on Tinder” campaign.

    “In Korea, we are planning to introduce more marketing activities targeting college students and contribute to society by launching a scholarship program,” Seo said.

    Tinder, founded in 2012, has around 4.1 million paying users and generated $800 million in revenue last year worldwide.

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  • The Lipstick Effect drives South Korea cosmetics sales

    The Lipstick Effect drives South Korea cosmetics sales

    The Lipstick Effect has seen a rise in cosmetics sales despite South Korea’s economic downturn of 2018. The term The Lipstick Effect describes the phenomenon whereby colour cosmetics sales surge during a recession as consumers turn to small-ticket luxuries to lighten their mood.

    Major South Korean health and beauty retailer Olive Young saw a 35 per cent jump in colour cosmetics sales last year – the first time this product range has topped its best-selling category list – as the country struggled with sluggish job markets, conservative corporate investment and overall low consumer spending. Health functional food and hair products grew 32 per cent and 22 per cent respectively over the period.

    The outlook for cosmetics sales looks similarly bright this year as the rest of the South Korean economy is expected to wallow at 2018 levels.

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  • More bubble tea shops open in Vietnam

    More bubble tea shops open in Vietnam

    More and more Vietnamese entrepreneurs are banking confidently on the popularity of bubble tea among the nation’s youth.It was past 10 in the night, but the bubble tea shop was packed. “I opened this milk tea shop just a few months ago, but people have been pouring in every day. My six employees struggle to serve all customers, especially in the weekend,” 33-year-old Nguyen Quang Dung said.

    Located in northern Bac Ninh Province in an industrial area with some 10,000 young workers, Dung’s milk tea shop sells 150-200 cups every day, and he himself has to join his waiters in serving a large crowd.

    “It’s busy, but investing in milk tea shop is one of my best decisions. I have no regrets,” said Dung, who works fulltime as a manager at a nearby power plant.

    Dung is among many Vietnamese entrepreneurs who have been investing in the bubble tea industry in recent years, lured by good profit and high demand among the young population.

    The number of bubble tea stores in Vietnam reached 2,000 last year, with a new store opening every four days, according to the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

    Even though bubble tea entered Vietnam in 2000, the surge in the number of outlets has only happened in recent years, mostly through franchising.

    Vietnamese brand TocoToco opened its first bubble tea outlet in 2013 and now has almost 200 across the country. Taiwanese brand Ding Tea also has around 200 outlets, while local brand Bobapop has over 100.

    About 30 major bubble tea brands are operating in Vietnam. They are all seeking to compete for a slice of the $282 million dollar market, according to British research firm Euromonitor International.

    Hoang Thi Hien, owner of bubble tea chain Pozaa Tea with outlets in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other localities, said that the number of outlets increased last year.

    “Many investors want to partner with us. In 2017 we had only eight shops, but the number has increased to almost 60 by the end of last year,” she said.

    She is confident that this figure will rise to 200 this year.

    Generation Z demand

    Visiting a bubble tea shop is among the most popular leisure activities among generation Z, people born between 1996 and 2015, according to a survey by market research firm Nielsen.

    The survey of 210 Gen Z people in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City last October found 81 percent of respondents saying bubble tea shops were their favorite hangouts.

    Vo Van Quang, a branding strategy consultant and marketing mentor, said: “Most 15-year-old girls don’t drink coffee, but they’ll gladly pay for a cup of bubble tea. Teenagers are a large customer group for tea-based drinks, hence the high demand for bubble tea.”

    High demand and high profits are irresistible lures for entrepreneurs.

    Nguyen Phi Van, a branding expert and board chairwoman of consulting firm Retail & Franchise Asia, said that an investor can earn up to 40 percent in profit on each cup of bubble tea, which sells for VND25,000-60,000 ($1-2.6).

    Therefore, entrepreneurs are willing to make big investments of up to VND1 billion ($43,000) for one store, including furnishing and brand franchising fees.

    “It takes less than a year for an investor to recover his capital, that’s why this business has been attracting so many,” Van said.

    Tran Thi Thuy Nga opened a bubble tea shop last September in the central Quang Ngai Province with an investment of almost VND800 million ($34,430).Many bubble tea entrepreneurs have other full time jobs and are using their savings to make more money. They can create their own brand or partner with a well-known brand.

    Even though Nga’s store is located in a very small town, students have been coming in every day with their friends and family. Nga often has to ask for help from her family members to join her eight employees in serving customers.

    “I haven’t recovered my capital yet, but so far I’m very happy with the revenue and demand,” Nga said, without revealing specific figures.

    She did reveal plans to open another shop soon.

    Dung, the bubble tea investor in Bac Ninh, has revenues of VND180 million a month ($7,760), and his profit is around half the amount. Dung estimates that he will recover his investment of VND700 million ($30,146) in just six months.

    He is also planning to open a second bubble tea store four kilometers away from the first one, which has been operating for only four months.

    “I’m confident that both stores will do very well.”

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  • Google was fined for $57 million under the GDPR

    Google was fined for $57 million under the GDPR

    The CNIL, the French data protection watchdog, has issued its first GDPR fine of $57 million (€50 million). The regulatory body claims that Google has failed to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when new Android users set up a new phone and follow Android’s onboarding process. Two nonprofit organizations called ‘None Of Your Business’ (noyb) and La Quadrature du Net had originally filed a complaint back in May 2018 — noyb originally filed a complaint against Google and Facebook, so let’s see what happens to Facebook next. Under the GDPR, complaints are transferred to local data protection watchdogs.

    While Google’s European HQ is in Dublin, the CNIL first concluded that the team in Dublin doesn’t have the final say when it comes to data processing for new Android users — that decision probably happens in Mountain View. That’s why the investigation continued in Paris.

    The CNIL then concluded that Google fails to comply with the GDPR when it comes to transparency and consent.

    Let’s start with the alleged lack of transparency. “Essential information, such as the data processing purposes, the data storage periods or the categories of personal data used for the ads personalization, are excessively disseminated across several documents, with buttons and links on which it is required to click to access complementary information,” the regulator writes.

    For instance, if a user wants to know how their data is processed to personalize ads, it takes 5 or 6 taps. The CNIL also says that it’s often too hard to understand how your data is being used — Google’s wording is broad and obscure on purpose.

    Second, Google’s consent flow doesn’t comply with the GDPR according to the CNIL. By default, Google really pushes you to sign in or sign up to a Google account. The company tells you that your experience will be worse if you don’t have a Google account. According to the CNIL, Google should separate the action of creating an account from the action of setting up a device — consent bundling is illegal under the GDPR.

    If you choose to sign up to an account, when the company asks you to tick or untick some settings, Google doesn’t explain what it means. For instance, when Google asks you if you want personalized ads, the company doesn’t tell you that it is talking about many different services, from YouTube to Google Maps and Google Photos — this isn’t just about your Android phone.

    In addition to that, Google doesn’t ask for specific and unambiguous consent when you create an account — the option to opt out of personalized ads is hidden behind a “More options” link. That option is pre-ticked by default (it shouldn’t).

    Finally, by default, Google ticks a box that says “I agree to the processing of my information as described above and further explained in the Privacy Policy” when you create your account. Broad consent like this is also forbidden under the GDPR.

    The CNIL also reminds Google that nothing has changed since its investigation in September 2018.

  • Samsung spent $3.12M lobbying in U.S. last year

    Samsung spent $3.12M lobbying in U.S. last year

    The American subsidiary of Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics spent $3.12 million on lobbying U.S. politicians and officials last year, the second-largest amount following 2017, data from a Washington-based research group showed Monday. Samsung Electronics’ lobbying expense was the ninth largest among electronics companies operating in the United States, moving up two notches from a year earlier, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP).

    Microsoft spent the most with $7.18 million, followed by Qualcomm with $6 million, Oracle with $5.47 million and Apple with $5.09 million, said the nonprofit research group, which tracks the effects of money and lobbying on elections and public policy.

    Among foreign companies, Samsung Electronics was the second-biggest lobbying spender after German engineering group Siemens.

    The Korean tech conglomerate has been intensifying its lobbying efforts in its key market since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in 2017 and advocated more protectionist trade policies.

    Samsung’s lobbying expenses over the past two years amounted to $6.62 million, far surpassing $6.04 million spent during former President Barack Obama’s second term from 2013-16, data showed.

    Trade-related issues were Samsung’s main lobbying target in the United States last year, with 13 cases out of 81 total in this area.

    The company also made extensive lobbying efforts for the telecommunication sector as it has been exploring ways to expand its foothold in the 5G network equipment market.

    Last month, Samsung and American telecommunication company Verizon announced their plan to launch 5G-compatible smartphones in the U.S. market in the first half of 2019.

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