Hermès swept aside uncertainties in the luxury market by announcing sales were up in the fourth quarter of 2022 by an impressive 23 per cent year-on-year at constant exchange rates to €‎3 billion. The Q4 performance, on top of strong full-year results, represents “a very solid beat to consensus”, according to Luca Solca, senior analyst at consultancy Bernstein. Growth in Q4 was driven by the Americas (up 40.8 per cent) and Asia Pacific, excluding Japan (up 24.7 per cent). Hermès has outperformed its competitors. LVMH posted a 10 per cent growth for its fashion and leather goods division in the fourth quarter, while Kering sales in the same period fell by 7 per cent (with Gucci down 14 per cent, citing a sharp drop in China). Pressed by analysts to explain the impressive news from China, compared to other brands in luxury sector, Axel Dumas, Hermès executive chairman, said on Friday in Paris: “I think we sometimes use a little too much catastrophe talk about the health situation in China to explain something else. We saw a wave starting from Beijing, and everyone got sick. What was an issue for us was not the number of customers in stores […]

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gorodenkoff via Getty Images Dive Brief: GitHub Copilot for Business is now publicly available, sporting a more advanced OpenAI model and new capabilities, the company announced Tuesday . GitHub created a waitlist for a business-specific version of the tool in November. The new OpenAI Codex model will improve the quality of code suggestions, GitHub said. The tool includes AI-based security, automatically blocking common insecure code suggestions by targeting hardcoded credentials and SQL and path injections. Currently, GitHub Copilot is responsible for generating an average of 46% of code when using the tool, up from 27% of code in June 2022. Access now➔ Dive Insight: GitHub Copilot was publicly released last June, running on an OpenAI GPT-3 engine, and within the first month, the platform’s AI-powered programming tool added 400,000 subscribers . Despite the success, GitHub Copilot is not always accurate, similar to the OpenAI-owned language model ChatGPT. “Like any other code, code suggested by GitHub Copilot should be carefully tested, reviewed and vetted,” GitHub said in its frequently asked questions. “As the developer, you are always in charge.” While GitHub is among the early entrants to the recent AI-powered tool race, it has been impacted by a wave of […]

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Angie Noll is the Owner of Reconciled Solutions . She is a Certified Profit First Advisor and has an MBA from Loyola (Chicago). getty It pains me to state that in today’s small-business community, about 80% of small businesses in the U.S. fail after one year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data ( via Investopedia ). Such a shockingly high percentage of small businesses have not been able to run a sustainably profitable business. This is quite sad: It means that many business owners are likely living on leftovers and are unable to secure themselves a minimum standard of living. It’s often not their fault. They had the tenacity to start a business in this entrepreneurial world. But many of them likely listened to the age-old formula for success that has been passed down from accountant to accountant for generations. Sales Minus Expenses Equals Profit In 2014, Mike Michalowicz came along and published the book Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine . In the book, Mike clearly explains that it’s not a business owner’s fault if they are not making a profit. He asserts that we need to flip the generally […]

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Ryan Lucia, Founder of Such n Such Media & Aaron Overhead Doors. Ryan is an entrepreneur, speaker, podcast host and consultant. getty Why are so many big brands facing bankruptcy in recent times? Many people view big brands as indestructible in some sense. Even when they do fall, it’s not uncommon for the government to bail them out. There are many ways to fail as a business, but greed is a prevalent one in America these days. Let’s discuss a recent case of catastrophic failure. Crypto exchange company FTX became a largely successful venture. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was even able to become one of the largest fund supporters of the democratic party and was seen advising the U.S. government on how blockchain and crypto work and how helpful they can be to people around the world. But recently, it’s all come crashing down. Where did it go wrong? FTX filed for bankruptcy (subscription required) on November 11, 2022, leaving millions of people out billions of dollars. It’s also come to light recently that Bankman-Fried had created multiple companies and was using customer funds to pay for his donations to the democratic party and condos in the Bahamas . The […]

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Outside of the small circle of federal securities law nerds (we proudly proclaim our membership), the phrase "disclosure controls and procedures" (DCP) rarely garners much attention. However, a recent settled order issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) concerning a purported DCP violation by an issuer based on an alleged failure to collect information tied to one of the company’s risk factor disclosures has brought DCP out from the practitioner shadows and into the spotlight. In this post, we explore the history of DCP, the SEC’s increasingly expansive enforcement of this provision, an overview of the recent order (along with a corresponding dissent to the order by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce) and the significant compliance ramifications for public company issuers. The Captivating History of DCP Section 13a, titled "Reports of Issuers of Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12," is a set of provisions within the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) that contain requirements for entities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act to follow when filing annual or other reports with the SEC. In August 2002, as directed by Section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the SEC enacted rules that the […]

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The College of Innovation & Design and the Center for Entrepreneurship have named Lance Minor as the new director of the Kansas Family Business Forum. With almost 260,000 small businesses in the state of Kansas, a large portion of those are family-owned, and all of them play an important role in driving economic impact, locally and regionally. The KFBF has been supporting and promoting family-owned businesses for more than 27 years. Companies such as Star Lumber and JR Custom Metals are founding members, with three generations of business leaders participating in the KFBF programs. As director, Minor envisions a deliberate growth strategy to increase KFBF’s local presence, expand membership, and deliver valuable and timely programming for the family-led businesses in our community, regardless of the stage of growth they are in. His first day was Jan. 9, and he hit the ground running, welcoming the newest member to KFBF: Don Klausmeyer Construction. Minor is no stranger to campus, before joining the College of Innovation & Design, he was an ecosystem and alliance manager for Deloitte’s Smart Factory @ Wichita on the WSU Innovation Campus. Prior to that, he was a partnership manager for the Shocker Career Accelerator, as well […]

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By Rieva Lesonsky The pandemic-induced surge in online shopping changed how consumers discover the products they want … [+] getty It’s increasingly challenging for small businesses to keep up with consumer demands. Pre- and post-pandemic habits have merged, creating new consumer behaviors. I hesitate to call it “the new normal” because I’m not sure how many of these activities are entrenched since many consumers seem ready to pivot at any point. But small business owners need to pivot as well and stay alert to the changing consumer retail buying patterns. Click-and-collect There’s no question that the retail industry is at the center of the marriage of the new and old. During the pandemic, consumers flocked to online stores, including millions of baby boomers who previously were loyal in-store shoppers. Today, 92% of baby boomers shop online , and according to MIVA are buying everything from health and personal care products to electronics, home, and gardening goods. Fueled by the pandemic— boomers increased their online spending by nearly 50% in 2020 alone, according to NPD Group’s Checkout Tracking. And according to Statista, almost 90% of boomers planned to shop on Amazon this past holiday season. In-store retailers that added “click-and-collect” […]

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() An event to celebrate and promote local Black-owned businesses is scheduled in downtown Fayetteville this month. The Black Owned Northwest Arkansas Business Expo will take place from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Fayetteville Town Center. The annual event is organized by locals Jasmine Hudson, J’Aaron Merchant and Sierra Polk. The group first got the idea to highlight Black-owned businesses after moving to the area and looking for familiar and culturally-relevant health care facilities, hair salons, places of worship and other services. After seeing a need for some type of directory, the group launched an Instagram account called Black-Owned Northwest Arkansas ( @blackownednwa ), which serves as a curated guide to local Black-owned businesses, and has since grown to over 11,000 followers. A website directory is also available at BlackOwnedNWA.org . This year’s expo will include about 60 vendors, showcasing everything from vintage clothing and candles, to baked goods and samosas. Arkansas Federal Credit Union The event is free to attend and open to the public, though registration is requested and donations will be accepted. For more information, visit blackownednwa.org . To register, visit the Eventbrite page.

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News Briefs Missouri Democratic Party Vice Chair Shirley Mata, left, speaks with Chairman MIchael Butler after they were elected Dec. 3. Butler is resigning as party chairman effective Feb. 28. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent) A little over two months after surviving a challenge to his leadership , Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Michael Butler is resigning. In an email to members of the Democratic State Committee on Thursday, Butler said he will step down effective Feb. 28 to devote more time to his business. Butler owns Open Concept, a bar in The Grove in the Forest Park neighborhood of St. Louis. “My company, Open Concept LLC, has recently received a large financial investment, and requires more of my time,” Butler wrote in the email. “I very much appreciate the opportunity to have worked for and with such a great group of leaders, staff and volunteers.” Butler, who is also the St. Louis Recorder of Deeds , is stepping down after a little more than two years as party chairman. His re-election in December marked the first time in almost a decade where the party retained its top leader for a second two-year term. “I have greatly enjoyed working for the party […]

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Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations. Table of Contents Starting a business in Hawaii is relatively simple and similar to getting a business up and running in any other state. You must file formation papers with the state if you are beginning any business that is not a sole proprietorship or general partnership. You’ll need to name your business, choose a type of business entity, register the business online, get tax ID numbers and apply for necessary licenses or permits. Hawaii Business Express , the state’s online business resource, makes it simple to register your business and get any licenses and permits you need. In this guide, we include answers to a few questions you might have along the way, and you might want to consult a business attorney to confirm the right moves for your company. Featured Partners 1. Choose a Business Name You will form your business under a specific name, so start by choosing a name for your business. This could be a brand name you want to use publicly or just a name you’ll use officially for the business entity. […]

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