Mr Abbey, who has written a book about his experiences, Think Like a White Man, says the lack of black people at the top in business is a big part of the problem, and like others he is calling for change.
Ikea, the world’s biggest furniture business, is planning a second-hand furniture venture. The Swedish giant will next month launch a scheme to buy back your unwanted Billy bookcases, and certain other of its furniture items you no longer need or want. Under the plan, it will offer vouchers worth up to 50% of the original price, to be spent at its stores.The “Buy Back” initiative will launch to coincide with Black Friday.”By making sustainable living more simple and accessible, Ikea hopes that the initiative will help its customers take a stand against excessive consumption this Black Friday and in the years to come,” it said in reference to 27 November, when lots of retailers offer discounts on their products.The international scheme will see customers given vouchers to spend at Ikea stores, the value of which will depend on the condition of the items they are returning.Customers with “as new” items, with no scratches, will get 50% of the original price, “very good” items, with minor scratches, will get 40% and “well used”, with several scratches, will get 30%.The offer applies to furniture typically without upholstery, such as the famous Billy bookcases, chairs, stools, desks and dining tables. Ikea said that anything that cannot be resold will be recycled.Ikea plans to have dedicated areas in every store where people can sell back their old furniture and find repaired or refurbished furniture.The company started its first collection in 1948 and some vintage Ikea products have become collectable in recent years.Auction websites carry a number of Ikea designs from previous decades, and some are on sale for thousands of pounds. Rising demandThe company has been testing out furniture reselling in Edinburgh and Glasgow for more than a year.Ikea, which has been taking steps to become more environmentally friendly, says it aims to become “a fully circular and climate positive business by 2030”.A “circular” business is one which reuses or recycles materials and products. Earlier this month the group announced plans to open a record number of stores this year. The Swedish company and its franchisees will open 50 stores worldwide – including in the UK – adding to the 445 stores currently run by the brand. Ikea’s biggest franchisee said demand was rising after lockdown as people seek to do up their homes. Its latest figures showed sales in the year to August were €39.6bn (£36bn).
A new A14 Bionic chip – the first to be built on a five nanometre process – is being used to carry out more advanced enhancements to photos.
Related Topics
The European Union may impose new border taxes on up to $4bn (£3.08bn) in US goods annually as punishment for subsidies provided to Boeing, the World Trade Organization has ruled. The decision is the latest step in a long-running feud between the US and EU over state subsidies for Boeing and EU rival Airbus.Last year, the WTO cleared the US to impose tariffs on $7.5bn in EU items.But the US said the EU should not move forward with tariffs of its own.America’s top trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer said the US had removed the offending subsidies for Boeing, tax breaks granted by the state of Washington, earlier this year.The EU says the same is true of US tariffs imposed against subsidies to the A380 plane which is being taken out of production.”Because Washington State repealed that tax break earlier this year, the EU has no valid basis to retaliate against any US products,” Mr Lighthizer said. “Any imposition of tariffs based on a measure that has been eliminated is plainly contrary to WTO principles and will force a US response.”On Twitter, EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU would “immediately re-engage with the US” and strongly preferred a “negotiated settlement”.European officials have been pushing the US to remove the taxes the US imposed on European goods following the WTO ruling last year.”Otherwise, we will be forced to defend our interests and respond in a proportionate way”, Mr Dombrovskis added.How did the US-EU aircraft fight start?The EU first lodged its complaint with the WTO in 2005, following a similar filing by the US over EU support for Airbus. WTO panels have found both sides at fault and authorised the US to retaliate last year, leading to new US duties of 15%-25% on European items such as aircraft, French cheese and Scotch whiskey. The EU, which drew up a list of potential American targets for tariffs last year that included handbags and ketchup, had been awaiting a final decision from the WTO about how much of a punishment it could impose.It must formally request authorisation from the WTO before moving forward with the duties.The two sides have said they are trying to reach a settlement that would remove the border taxes, which hurt trade by making goods more expensive.Both the EU and US now maintain they are in compliance with WTO rules. In a statement, Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said the firm wanted the two sides to settle the fight and remove tariffs.”Airbus did not start this WTO dispute, and we do not wish to continue the harm to the customers and suppliers of the aviation industry and to all other sectors impacted,” he said. “It is time to find a solution now so that tariffs can be removed on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The Swedish financial services group provides checkout technology for a large number of retailers such as Asos, TopShop and online beauty store Feelunique.
But one industry leader called the comments “outrageous”.
A spokesman added: “We’ve already spent more than $800m on Covid-19 safety measures, with investments in personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning of our facilities, new process paths that allow for effective social distancing, and developing our own Covid-19 testing capabilities.
The world’s second biggest economy saw a sharp decline in the first three months of 2020 amid strict lockdown measures, before bouncing back in July.
The world’s biggest movie chain has warned it could run out of money by the end of the year, citing a plunge in film-going and delayed movie releases amid the coronavirus pandemic.Despite reopening the majority of its theatres, AMC Entertainment Holdings said attendance remained down 85% in the US and 74% elsewhere.AMC says it is looking to raise money.The warning follows rival Cineworld’s recent decision to temporarily close its cinemas in the US and UK. AMC, which has previously said it is spending about $100m a month, told investors that it expected its cash to “be largely depleted by the end of 2020 or early 2021”.The amount of money needed is “material”, the firm added.”There is a significant risk that these potential sources of liquidity will not be realised or that they will be insufficient to generate the material amounts of additional liquidity that would be required until the company is able to achieve more normalised levels of operating revenues,” the firm warned in a filing with US financial regulators. ‘We could lose movie-going forever’AMC, which is controlled by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, operated more than 1,000 cinemas globally prior to the pandemic. While most are in the US, it also has more than 300 international locations via its Odeon and UCI Cinema subsidiaries. In the US, restrictions due to the virus have kept theatre capacity limited to 20%-40%. And in some key markets, such as California and New York, the firm’s cinemas have not yet reopened.The industry has also been rocked by decisions to postpone releases of big-budget films such as Wonder Woman 1984 and James Bond movie No Time To Die, which is now due for release in April 2021.In a recent interview, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins warned that movie-going was facing a real threat of extinction.”If we shut this down, this will not be a reversible process,” she said. “We could lose movie theatre-going forever.”