Malaysian kidswear brand Poney is waxing optimistic about India. But will it and other brands in the space succeed where so many have failed before?

In the past five years there have been a lot of changes in the mentioned segment including preference for branded kids’ apparel.

Concept Group, one of Russia’s leading fashion retailers, creates collections and sells women’s clothing, accessories as well as children’s wear through its own retail stores.

Salon chains and wellness providers look to spur sales and attract new clients.

Aware of the changes in customer preferences, hotels, resorts and online platforms are working to cater to the demand for healthier diets and rejuvenation treatments.

The announcement was made at the L'Oreal Professionnel Indian Hairdressing Awards, held in Bambolim on Wednesday.

Zurich-based Committee International d'Esthtique et de Cosmtologie (CIDESCO) is considered world standard for Beauty and Spa Therapy.

"The consumer goods industry... is in turmoil," new Beiersdorf CEO Stefan De Loecker, who took over on Jan. 1, told a presentation to analysts. "I need to act now."

These products are manufactured in Europe. So this is an imported range which we are bringing in India. But once we build up the volume, then we may further decide on manufacturing it locally.

Khosla’s mandate will be overseeing the firm’s wellness centres, personal care products and its institute of beauty and nutrition, across Middle East, Africa and CIS countries.

Reliance Trends is the fashion and accessories arm of Reliance Retail.

A shopping mall in LA called 'The Grove and Beverly Center' has added more hand sanitizing stations, while Glossier, a cosmetic store, is closing all stores: "We are ready to put public health before our results.".

The company said its plant at Sanand in Gujarat which originally manufactures skincare products for the India market has begun production of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, and it will be shifting part of its production towards the making of sanitisers at the plant.

L'Oreal India's operations team will donate hand sanitisers to public health institutions, police forces and NGOs, who are at the forefront of the fight against the virus, said a statement.

The decision would empower the central government and states/union territories to regulate prices, production, sale, distribution, transport, movement, storage, information of alcohols used in manufacturing hand sanitizers, used as preventive measure to avoid infection from COVID-19, Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement.

"The price cap has been imposed taking into account the sharp increase in prices of raw materials used in making of face masks and hand santizer," Paswan said.

“Now we want distilleries that have their own bottling plants to add a new product line - sanitisers - to their line up of alcoholic beverages. This will put off pressure from hand sanitiser industry which is facing huge challenge to meet the demand,” said a senior food ministry official.

Sanitisers, available in two sizes 50 ml and 500 ml, are marked at a price of Rs. 25 and Rs. 250 respectively, the company said. In addition to pharmacies, general stores, and VLCC wellness centers, customers can also buy VLCC hand sanitisers from e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Nykaa.

“About 45 distilleries and 564 other manufacturers have been granted permission to produce hand sanitisers. More than 55 distilleries are likely to be given permission in one or two days and many more are being motivated to produce sanitisers in this scenario,” consumer affairs ministry said in a release.

“50% of those surveyed said they were not able to buy at all due to no availability while 26% said they had to buy an unknown brand as reputed brands were out of stock. 8% said they were able to buy reputed sanitizers at a general retail store and 15% said they were able to buy reputed brand sanitizers at a chemist,” LocalCircle survey said.

Kylie and Kris Jenner have teamed up with cosmetics company Coty to mass produce the hand sanitisers.

The Mysuru-headquartered brand is using its fragrance stock to make ayurvedic hand sanitisers ever since its product portfolio comprising incense sticks, prayer and wellness products came under the non-essential category.

The value of the market in India is Rs 4,579 crore at present.

The company is looking at a revenue run rate of about USD 50 million by December 2018, from USD 10 million currently. Revenue run rate is a term used to indicate total sales value of merchandise sold through the marketplace over a certain period of time.

Hero Cycles plans to set up a fully owned assembly plant in Poland to cater exclusively to Europe, with special emphasis on the UK and Germany.

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh promoted investment fund YouWeCan Ventures has invested in Mumbai-based brand licensing start-up Black White Orange Brands for an undisclosed amount.

Jim Tees should check his facts before jumping in with both feet and looking foolish.

IT’S a scandal! (South Side residents rage as dirty masks and gloves dumped in street, Glasgow Times online).

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR's education reporter talks about what graduating seniors are going through right now as the colleges are closed due to the pandemic and answers their questions.

NPR's education reporter talks about what graduating seniors are going through right now as the colleges are closed due to the pandemic and answers their questions.

Magician and animal trainer Roy Horn, of the legendary Las Vegas duo Siegfied and Roy, died Friday from complications related to COVID-19. Horn tested positive last week. He was 75. "The world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," Siegfried Fischbacher said of his partner in a statement. "Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roy's life." Roy Horn was born in Germany in 1944. He and Siegfried began their act in Las Vegas in 1967. In 1989 they began a 14-year run at the Mirage Resort performing illusions with exotic animals, making tigers, lions, even elephants vanish and reappear. In October of 2003, Roy Horn was performing with a 400-pound white tiger named Mantecore when the great cat grabbed him by the throat before a stunned audience and dragged him

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to pick up in Alaska, Dr. Anne Zink, the state's chief medical officer, faced a difficult choice. Should she continue in-person meetings and nightly briefings with Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy? Or should she opt for a more socially distant form of engagement? Zink chose the latter, saying she wanted to model the behavior that she has been appealing to residents to follow. She now appears at Dunleavy's briefings by video. And over the past two months, she has become a trusted voice as she urges Alaskans to follow the strict social distancing and other public health guidelines adopted by the state administration — which doctors groups have credited with keeping the state's COVID-19 numbers among the lowest in the country. Zink, who has a Facebook fan club and a #ThinkLikeZink hashtag , isn't the only public health official to acquire a cultlike following during the pandemic: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal infectious disease expert, has inspired a Saturday

Dr. Grace Farris is chief of hospital medicine at Mount Sinai West in Manhattan. She also writes a monthly comics column in the Annals of Internal Medicine called "Dr Mom." You can find her on Instagram @coupdegracefarris . Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Updated at 1:55 p.m. ET Little Richard, the self-described "king and queen" of rock and roll and an outsize influence on everyone from David Bowie to Prince, died Saturday. He was 87 years old. Wayne Chaney, his longtime bandleader and tour manager, tells NPR that Little Richard died at his brother's home in Tullahoma, Tenn., after a battle with cancer. Rolling Stone was the first to report on his death. With his ferocious piano playing, growling and gospel-strong vocals, pancake makeup and outlandish costumes, Little Richard tore down barriers starting in the 1950s. That is no small feat for any artist — let alone a black, openly gay man who grew up in the South. He was a force of nature who outlived many of the musicians he inspired, from Otis Redding to the late Prince and Michael Jackson. His peers James Brown and Otis Redding idolized him. Jimi Hendrix, who once played in Little Richard's band, said he wanted his guitar to sound like Richard's voice. The late David Bowie was 9

When Víkingur Ólafsson was about 5 years old, he already knew what he wanted to be. "It sounds crazy, but I always saw myself as a concert pianist," he says. "Even if I wasn't a good pianist." The Icelandic musician, who turned 36 last month, has become a very good pianist indeed. Whether playing baroque or contemporary music, Ólafsson's technique is formidable, but it's transparency combined with warmth that has defined his singular sound. He is sought after by the world's top orchestras and concert venues and has signed on with the swanky Deutsche Grammophon record label. After well-received albums of Philip Glass and J.S. Bach , his latest album, Debussy – Rameau , was released March 27. The recording unfolds almost like a classical mixtape, with Ólafsson juxtaposing tracks by two French composers, born almost two centuries apart, who both broke new ground in music. The pianist says he tried to create a conversation between Jean-Philippe Rameau , the baroque master who literally

Rockford is getting not just one, but two poets laureate -- an adult and a youth. The adult poet laureate position will be a two-year position, and probably one year long for the youth. Rockford Area Arts Council (RAAC) Executive Director Mary McNamara Bernsten said the committee is still working that out. But, she said, people may start nominating poets next week. To be qualified for the positions, candidates must have lived in Rockford for at least one year. Adult candidates must be at least 18 years old by Oct. 23, 2020. Youth candidates must be aged 13-17 by that same date. McNamara Bernsten said the poets laureate will appear at public functions. She gave examples like Stroll on State, high school and college graduations, and the swearing in of officers in the police and fire departments. "You may be reading poems at ceremonial events," McNamara Bernsten said. "You could at the unveiling of a new building or bridge. You could be at city council meetings or other public meetings."

Some people respond to suffering by turning it into art. That's true even with the harrowing experience of a pandemic. In the early 1400s, an Englishman named John Cooke composed Stella celi , a hymn to the Virgin Mary referencing the Black Plague which, according to some sources , wiped out half of Europe. Its text speaks of the "ulcers of a terrible death" but also the assurance that "the star of heaven ... has rooted out the plague." Cooke's hymn is unlikely the first direct musical response to a major pandemic, but it is one of the earliest. Many more composers, over the millennia, have been inspired to write music in times of crisis. YouTube As pandemics resurfaced and new ones cropped up, people centuries ago were, in general, keenly aware of the precarious nature of life. Johann Sebastian Bach was no exception. He was orphaned twice by age 10 and lost half of his 20 children and his first wife. Bach wrote music that could comfort in times of distress and music that directly

April is National Poetry Month. Aurora’s poet laureate Karen Fullett-Christensen and the City’s deputy poet laureates talked about the power of poetry and how this pandemic is influencing their writing. The conversation took place Monday on Facebook live. Fermina Ponce is one of Aurora’s deputy poet laureates. She said she can’t avoid writing about COVID-19. “I’m not unaware and my creation and my muse is not getting detached or free from what we are living,” Ponce said. Anthony Stanford, another poet laureate, isn’t writing much poetry these days. He said the pandemic has inspired him to write short stories about how things will look in 10, 15 or 25 years. “Because this will be with us. If not this, then something else. This has forced us to change in all manner of things,” he said. Quentin Johnson is the third deputy poet laureate. He said even though we are inundated with daily updates about COVID-19, he wants to take a different approach when he writes. “It’s been my mission to

Tronc. Comedian John Oliver once said that was the sound of a stack of newspapers being thrown into a dumpster. Now, the Chicago Tribune reports its parent company, Tronc, is changing its name back to Tribune Publishing. The Chicago-based company made the announcement Thursday. That ends a two-year run for the often-mocked corporate moniker. The name change becomes official next Tuesday. The company didn’t say what was behind the name change, but recently, its second-largest shareholder said he hoped to convince others to change the name back because “Tronc was a silly name.” The Tribune also says the name change comes at a time when there are potential buyers showing interest in the storied media company. “tronc,” by the way, was intended to be written in all lower-case letters and stood for “Tribune Online Content.”

When you think of passenger air travel in northern Illinois, O'Hare often comes to mind. But Rockford's facility, officially known as Chicago Rockford International Airport, is making a greater name for itself, particularly in the realm of cargo. In 1994, officials with United Parcel Service, better known as UPS, made a deal with airport authorities to set up a sorting hub. Since then, it's become the company's second largest air operation in the world. Earlier this month, airport officials presented the president of UPS Airlines with the Rockford Award. It recognizes businesses that contributed to economic development in the area. UPS Rockford Transportation Director Mike Nepaul says the company made several expansions over the years--which increased the number of packages it can sort. "We're putting a new small sort mezzanine in right now, so that will expand our flow-per hour within the building from 89,000 per hour to over 120,000 an hour," he said. "So that's a big expansion for

Every fall, northern Illinois farmers set up roadside shops to get their crops to market, as well as get visitors to check out their farms. You can find several of these along a stretch of Lincoln Highway east of DeKalb. One of the largest is Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park. It has a pumpkin farm and apple orchard, plus a lot of family attractions. These range from train rides and corn mazes to climbing walls and a "bouncing pillow." Co-owner Kimberly Kuipers says these were inspired by taking their own kids to nearby farms. "They were very nice, but there was just a lot of stuff to look at and our kids wanted to climb over everything, and were constantly getting in trouble so we thought, 'Why don't we take what we want to see for our kids, and see if we can duplicate it at our own farm?'" she said. That's what attracted Michelle Barton and her children. "I love it, and we have a great time, so we enjoy running around and doing all the activities." Kuipers says her biggest source of

Amazon is a leader in online shopping. It has warehouses across the country to sort and deliver its products. Recently, Amazon Air announced it will expand its delivery network into Rockford. Chicago Rockford International Airport is already a major hub for UPS. The airport also has maintenance facilities capable of repairing the world's largest aircraft. But Amazon took particular interest due to the airport's cargo operations. Director Sarah Rhoads says it's part of the retailer's "Middle Mile" network for two-day deliveries. "That package would go from a fulfillment center to one of our 21 air gateways that we have throughout the United States for transport to then another air gateway for downstream transit to a sort center where that package would be sorted for final delivery to your location," she explained. Amazon has been operating at Rockford's airport in some capacity since September 2016. Airport executive director Mike Dunn says they operated under a different corporate name

For some people, going to the dentist can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, regular dental treatment keeps teeth healthy. But at the same time, the sights, sounds and smells of a dental office can be unsettling for some. But which dentists you can access, and even afford, often depends on where you live. Dionne Haney is Director of Professional Services for the Illinois State Dental Society, a professional group affiliated with the American Dental Association. Haney says membership records can provide a tally of dental specialists. "We believe there's currently about 11,000 dentists licensed in the state," she said. "Approximately 8,500 of them actually practice. But with regards to membership in ISDS, they can be practicing or retired." That may seem like a lot of dentists, but Haney says they're spread across a state that has more than 12 million residents. About two-thirds of practicing Illinois dentists are based in and around Chicago. This doesn't mean people have no access to

Unemployment can happen to anyone, and state government and colleges have resources to help those who are looking to increase skills while they are between jobs. The state's latest jobs numbers indicate that unemployment was at 4.7% in February. However, this rate was higher in many of the state's metro areas. The highest was Kankakee, at 6.7%, followed by Rockford at 6.4. Illinois Department of Employment Security spokesman Bob Gough says jobless people can sign up for unemployment insurance to stay afloat. "You also have to, of course, be looking for work, available for work, and ready for work during that period," he said. "You have to check in regularly online, call in, in order to ensure that you are indeed out there trying to find work while you're out." This state program provides benefits for up to 26 weeks. Gough says people stay on the program for an average 16 weeks. To link these people with jobs, IDES runs regional employment centers. Here, clients can submit their resumes

Last Thursday during XPN’s Non-COMMvention, the Tupelo, Mississippi brothers and sister trio, the Homemade Jamz Blues Band, performed in concert with Super Chikan for the final Mississippi Blues Porject concert series. The band performed songs from its new album, Mississippi […]

Award winning Blues guitarist and singer Super Chikan and the Fighting Cocks made the trip from his home in Clarksdale, Mississippi to Philadelphia last Thursday, May 16 in a double header Mississippi Blues Project concert as part of WXPN’s Non-COMMvention […]

Listen to this special Mississippi Blues Project session with David Bromberg here. David Bromberg dropped by the studios at WXPN in Philadelphia in April to talk about, and play, Mississippi Blues. Bromberg cited the influences of players such as Muddy […]

With the onset of COVID-19, social media platforms show their virtues and vices once again. Millions are finding connection, entertainment, and solace, a lifeline of virtual community during a truly twisted time. Connection with friends is a blast, until someone begins posting conspiracy theories like big pharma, the World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control are a cabal secretly making the world sick for profits, or opining on highly technical epidemiological research, calling into question both findings and researchers’ assumed unethical motives. COVID-19 is a new phenomenon and it takes time for researchers -- experts -- to understand it, and how to effectively and safely deal with it. Public questioning is important, but when a supermajority of experts form an informed opinion you don’t like, developing conspiracies is not a healthy path. Now, I truly believe in free speech. After all, I’m on radio. I’m just leery of the effect of unfettered, ill-informed