CELEBRATING 55 YEARS OF TRAILER EXCELLENCE BWS Manufacturing BUILT TO LAST Lanau Industries THE HEMP INDUSTRY HAS A HEART – AND THIS IS IT The Hemp Industries Association BUSINESSINFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM N O V EMB ER 2 02 2Experience a one-of-a kind destination in Arizona Tirrito Farm located in Willcox, AZ, offers an unforgettable visitor experience in agricultural ecotourism. Sample our lineup of craft brews, artisan cheeses, house-made culinary products and local wines at this demonstration farmstead. We are located in the heart of Arizona wine country — 30 minutes from the Chiricahua National Monument. Microbrewery Farm Tours Dining Wine Tasting Private Events & More Experience a one-of-a kind destination in Arizona Tirrito Farm located in Willcox, AZ, offers an unforgettable visitor experience in agricultural ecotourism. Sample our lineup of craft brews, artisan cheeses, house-made culinary products and local wines at this demonstration farmstead. We are located in the heart of Arizona wine country — 30 minutes from the Chiricahua National Monument. Microbrewery Farm Tours Dining Wine Tasting Private Events & MoreEDITOR’S CORNER Experience a one-of-a kind destination in Arizona Visit www.tirritofarm.com to learn more. Tirrito Farm located in Willcox, AZ, offers an unforgettable visitor experience in agricultural ecotourism. Sample our lineup of craft brews, artisan cheeses, house-made culinary products and local wines at this demonstration farmstead. We are located in the heart of Arizona wine country — 30 minutes from the Chiricahua National Monument. Microbrewery Farm Tours Dining Wine Tasting Private Events & More 3 Whether you love or hate social media, you can’t deny its impact on mar- keting. For Millennials, it was a new thing, and the 2000s were full of ideas and spin-offs for connect- ing with customers in new ways. But many established companies still treated it like a fad that would go out of style. Now, with Gen Z coming into the consumer market, social media is no longer some new thing—it’s pervasive. It has changed the world, or at least the social nature of civilization, and I’ll leave the arguing of “for better or worse” up to the philosophers and psychologists. One aspect that stands out to me, however, is the sheer amount of informa- tion that has become available. Marketing teams can know so much more about their potential customers than ever before, and despite some concerns over privacy of data, most people are happily handing it over. Many are not even aware they’re doing it. In her latest piece, Pauline Müller takes a closer look at the details—influencers and brand ambassadors, views and likes, followers and relationships—and how the business of market- ing has adapted to all of this, in The Economics of Influence – How Social Media has Redefined Marketing. Tim Hocken Editor Suite 300, 7071 Bayers Rd. | Halifax, NS | B3L 2C2 | Canada P: 1-647-479-2163 | E: EDITOR Tim Hocken DEPUTY EDITOR Jaime McKee COPY EDITORS Thora Smith | Allister Havercroft CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Allison Dempsey | Robert Hoshowsky | Pauline Müller Jessica Ferlaino | David Caldwell | Nate Hendley Claire Suttles | William Young DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS James Corbett CONTENT MANAGERS Aaron Ferguson | Louis Susara | Scott Forbes Dean Lucas | Coleman Merry SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Luke Simms SALES TEAM Pamela Taylor | Morgan Culpepper OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Julia MacQueen GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGER Severina Gachparova GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Laura Pratt | Ashley Dowling Ebic Tristary | Yoana Ilcheva CONTROLLER Jen Hamilton PUBLISHER Jeff Hocken “Social media has changed the world, or at least the social nature of civilization.”INSIDE NOVEMBER FOCUS ON: HEMP TRANSPORT, SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS COMMUNICATION & TECHNOLOGY 26 THE HEMP INDUSTRY HAS A HEART – AND THIS IS IT 4 How Social Media has Redefined Marketing The world of social media is like ever-shifting sands. No sooner had the world become almost blasé about the global reach that the internet afforded everyone from local school students busking on YouTube to multinational corporations shipping specialist parts to technicians in Africa than we had to figure out the difference between brand ambassadors and influencers. SERVICES 5 BUSINESS IN FOCUS BRAND & LICENSING INNOVATION SUMMIT 8 – 9 November, New York, NY Themed, ‘Shaping the future of licensing and retail,’ the Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit (B&LIS) brings together brand licensing leaders and delivers thought-provoking content and networking opportunities to help drive the industry forward and deliver business insights to address some of these critical topics. The industry is in a time of transition, all led by an increasingly complex and demanding customer. Topics to include: Retail disruption; Supply chain challenges; SVOD; Metaverse; Inflation; Influencers; NFTs; and Representation. For more information BIOMEDEVICE SILICON VALLEY 29 – 30 November, Santa Clara, CA BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley returns this November, bringing together the brightest minds in the industry to demonstrate and discuss emerging trends, innovation, and disruptive tech changing the future of the medical device industry. Experience live demos and uncover the latest technologies, solutions, and medtech products on the show floor, and enhance your onsite experience with direct access to experts and their exclusive presentations. For more information INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND SITUATIONAL MESSAGING 30 November – 1 December, Austin, TX With the theme of, ‘Fostering Community and Leading With Empathy to Drive Employee Engagement and Organizational Commitment,’ this conference will help you fortify your Internal Communications function to build workplace communities with a widespread workforce and delve deeper than ever before into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. This program will provide insight, tools, and strategies to accom- plish these goals and boost employee engagement, organizational commitment, and employee branding. For more information OPEN FINANCE, APIS AND PARTNERSHIPS 1 – 2 February, Boston, MA “Advance your open finance strategy to meet growing customer needs and incorporate it into your corporate frameworks” at this Global Financial Market Institute (GFMI) event. This event will bring together the leading financial institutions in the Open Finance space to discuss the current state of adoption in their institutions and assess how they are keeping on top of the advancements in API technology and FinTech partnerships. For more information BETTER WORKPLACE CONFERENCE 2023 14 – 16 February, online With the theme of ‘Where Evidence and New Ideas Intersect,’ this conference promises a “national discussion on attracting and retaining top talent.” With concerns about remote work, labour shortages, employee engagement, and compensation top of mind for employers, the 26th annual Better Workplace Conference, presented by the Conference Board of Canada, will explore practical solutions and more. For more information INDUSTRY EVENTS 6 Are you planning an event relating to North America’s growing Business Industry? To get your event listed in Business in Focus, please contact us at least six to eight weeks before the event takes place at or call 1-647-479-2163INDUSTRY NEWS MAJOR COMPANIES EXITING CHICAGO Some of the world’s biggest and best-known businesses are leaving or downsizing operations in Chicago, citing the city’s soaring crime rate as a factor. In recent months, it is rare a day goes by without a murder, or murders, in the Windy City. At the current rate, it is likely the city will reach or surpass 600 murders by the end of the year. With a murder rate five times higher than New York City’s and two and a half times greater than Los Angeles, companies are rethink- ing operations in the city. To date, six major businesses have relo- cated to other sites across America. One of the most recent, meat processor Tyson Foods, recently stated it is bringing 500 corporate team members from Chicago, Downers Grove, and Dakota Dunes to its headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, starting in early 2023. Some other companies departing Chicago include construc- tion equipment maker Caterpillar, aircraft giant Boeing, and investment firm Citadel. In late fall, McDonald’s President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski spoke at an Economic Club of Chicago event expressing his concerns about the impact of persistent crime on businesses in Chicago. “While it may wound our civic pride to hear it, there is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis. Truth is, it’s more dif- ficult for me to recruit a new employee to McDonald’s to join us in Chicago than it was in the past.” He then added that he is often approached by other cities, but plans to remain in Chicago. “We have violent crime that's happening in our restaurants… we're seeing homelessness issues in our res- taurants. We're having drug overdoses that are happening in our restaurants,” he said. “So we see in our restaurants, every single day, what's happening in society at large.” Other companies, including coffee giant Starbucks, have expressed similar concerns in their locations. Kempczinski’s words did not sit well with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who said over 100 companies relocated or opened in Chicago over the past year and a half. Some companies, such as Boeing, did not cite crime as a reason for their move from Chicago to Washington, DC. Others, however, were not as reserved, such as Citadel head Ken Griffin. When asked why he was moving to Miami, Florida, he stated, “Chicago is like Afghanistan on a good day.” 7INDUSTRY NEWS TOO MUCH TIKTOK? TSK TSK! Leaving other social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram in the digital dust, the TikTok app allows its over 30 million users to record and upload 15-second videos on any subject. In many cases, online posts are of users themselves, doing dance moves, singing, or talking about literally any subject. Like other social media platforms, TikTok has had its share of criticism for inappropriate content and being addic- tive and dangerous to mental health. Still, it has also become popular with vloggers, who post videos and infor- mation about the businesses they work for… sometimes too much information. Recently, tech industry employees have come under fire for sharing TikTok posts about their work ethic, with some freely admitting their performance is more ‘10 to 2’ than 9 to 5. Because the information being shared on TikTok is public, employers are taking notice, and many are not happy about the workplace revelations. One LinkedIn staffer, for example, posted about making self-care facemasks and other crafts during work hours, filmed at the workplace with comput- ers, desks, and other employees clearly visible in the background. Facebook/Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg—who has posted plenty about boosting productivity over the years—and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc. and subsidiary Google, are commenting about “turning the heat up” on employees who aren’t pulling their weight. During one Zoom meeting earlier this year, a worker asked Zuckerberg if “Meta Days”—addi- tional days off during the COVID crisis— would continue in 2023. Facebook, which recently halted hiring, cut tech staff, and even reduced the number of shuttle bus drivers, was unimpressed by the question. Meanwhile, Meta Days are being can- celled. Facebook/Meta shares are trading at their lowest point since 2019, and layoffs are inevitable as the company is looking to slash costs by at least 10 percent. Considering the state of the economy and threats of a world- wide recession, tech giants are sug- gesting employees spend less time on TikTok and more time working. XanderSt / shutterstock.com 8INDUSTRY NEWS UK FASHION GIANT FACES LOSSES While the world faces the prospect of higher prices and reduced availability of heating products because of reduced supply, few places are feeling the pinch as much as the United Kingdom. At present, some 85 percent of households are heated by gas boilers. Current estimates are that annual household bills will soon soar from £1,000 to £3,500, leaving many with a shortage of cash, as food and warmth take priority over other purchases. One recent industry impacted by reductions in disposable income and the 40-year high in inflation is the fashion industry. Known for its clothing, cosmetics and accessories, major UK-based online retailer ASOS Plc (ASOS) recently disclosed full-year losses of almost £32 million in the 12 months to August. Last year, ASOS realized a profit of £177 million, seeing an 89 percent drop in 2021-2022. To compensate for the downturn, ASOS plans to reduce the amount of product in fulfilment centers, have shorter buying cycles, and take different tactics toward stock clearance items. LEGAL CANNABIS GOING UP IN SMOKE? For many, the arrival of legal cannabis in Canada was welcomed news. For consumers, it signalled the end to a war on drugs and tying up the courts. For investors and produc- ers, it meant an opportunity to fill a need in the market and make a profit. Now, four years later, it appears the dream is going up in smoke. Much like carefully regulated alcohol sales, the sale of legal cannabis is heavily taxed in Canada. In 2015, it was a fierce campaign for the Liberal party. Becoming legal on Oct. 17, 2018, it soon became obvious cannabis is a cash cow, bringing in $186 million in combined taxes provincially and federally in just the first few months. While tax revenues are still pouring in for the government, industry businesses are crying foul over the amount of taxes and the persistence of illegal suppliers. Licensing for legal producers is expensive, and government regulations are strict. Many sellers have more than one location, and are complaining that high taxes are keeping consumers away and pushing them toward purchasing illegal products. Even a lack of consistency and selection in legal cannabis is making buyers look elsewhere. Some legal shops are complaining that the cheapest price per ounce is $100, and the same untaxed quantity and quality can be pur- chased on the black market for $50 to $70. One major producer in Prince Edward Island has laid off dozens of employees, complaining that they must pay the government one dollar—or 10 percent of the price per gram (whichever is higher)—for every gram sold to distributors. The end result is taxes of between 25 and 35 percent, making staying in business extremely challenging. Another issue is retail saturation. In Ontario alone, the country’s biggest market, there are an estimated 1,500 legal outlets and about 400 applications pending. The situation is similar in the United States, with legal cannabis producers and sellers complaining about high taxes and government red tape. Casimiro PT / shutterstock.com 9Next >