DEVELOPING A YEAR-ROUND DESTINATION CLEANING NORTH AMERICA THE FLOURISHING OF A SMALL TOWN BUSINESSINFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM OC TO BE R 2 02 3 EDITOR’S CORNER 3 For many American and Canadian kids of the ’80s and ’90s, the shopping mall was familiar ground. My first job as a teenager was at a movie theater in a mall, and whether you loved it or hated it, the mall was alive, packed with people of all ages coming and going to big retail anchors or small specialty shops, the food court, the theater, or even just to hang out with friends. The mall was especially lively and festive during the holiday season, and pulled out all the stops when it came to decorations and entertainment. But most of us have now also seen the remnants of a mall or a shopping centre, if not completely abandoned and scrawled with graffiti, at least filled with more “for lease” signs than active storefronts. There is a certain eeriness to these empty spaces, nearly silent or filled with soft music, where your own foot- steps echo. Perhaps the bigger retailers have left for a big box location, and maybe those larger spaces are now rented out by call centres, but most of it is just empty. What changed? Some of the causes seem obvious, such as the increasing popularity of online shopping and the restrictions on indoor spaces during the pandemic, but there is certainly more to the story. And what can be done with these buildings and the prime land they occupy? In this issue of Business in Focus, Jessica Ferlaino looks into some of these questions in her latest piece, The Evolution of Shopping Centres – How the Pandemic Altered the Retail Landscape. 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 Claire Suttles | Jessica Ferlaino | William Young Robert Hoshowsky | Margaret Eaton | Allison Dempsey DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS James Corbett OPERATIONS MANAGER Severina Gachparova CONTENT DEVELOPMENT TEAM LEAD Scott Forbes SENIOR CONTENT DEVELOPER Wendy Hood-Morris CONTENT DEVELOPERS Steve Finn | Erin McWhinney | Lily Mitchell SALES TEAM LEAD Pamela Taylor SALES TEAM Morgan Culpepper | Dean Lucas GRAPHIC DESIGN TEAM LEAD Laura Pratt GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Ashley Dowling | Ebic Tristary Isaac McWhinnie | Yoana Ilcheva SENIOR STAFF ACCOUNTANT Christi Lingard OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Julia MacQueen IT ADMINISTRATOR Rebecca Sanford CONTROLLER Jen Hamilton PUBLISHER Jeff HockenINSIDE OCTOBER FOCUS ON: ATLANTIC MOMENTUM FOCUS ON: ARIZONA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 4 How the Pandemic Altered the Retail Landscape Indoor shopping malls have been the centre of retail activity for more than half a century, and during that time became a social and cultural mecca for countless generations of consumers who have flocked there to find the latest styles, check out the latest trends, indulge in some delicious foods and snacks, catch a movie, or hang out with friends. INDUSTRIAL SERVICES Viking Masek Expand Machinery Cornerstone Amcon Construction 5 BUSINESS IN FOCUS SUPPLYSIDE WEST & FOOD INGREDIENTS NORTH AMERICA 23 – 27 October Las Vegas, NV SupplySide West & Food ingredients North America is so much more than just a show floor. The show and its events have been designed to help you network, discover the latest product innovations, and learn about the hottest trends that are driving the future of the industry. The largest ingredient event in the U.S. focused on food, beverage, and supplement innovation, this event brings together more than 18,000 professionals from the health and nutrition industry. Learn about new trends from over 1,000 exhibitors and well-curated educational content and conference programming. For more information THE FRANCHISE EXPO 28 – 29 October, Montreal, QC Come to Quebec’s largest “Own Your Own Business” event! See the most successful franchises and brand new opportunities from every industry, compare all your full and part-time business ownership options under one roof, and save hundreds of hours of research time. Learn about starting and growing your business with seminar topics including Legal Advice; How To Choose The Business For You; Financing Options; Government Assistance Programs; and many more. For more information BRAND & LICENSING INNOVATION SUMMIT (B&LIS) 2 – 3 November, New York, NY Across two days, the Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit (B&LIS) will bring together brand licensing leaders and deliver thought-provoking content and networking opportunities to help drive the industry forward. The licensing industry is going through a transformation like we’ve never seen before, all led by an increasingly complex and discerning customer. B&LIS will address topics and issues that are sure to impact the business of brand licensing, including the changing retail environment; the capabilities of and applications for AI; the power of collaborations; the next big product categories; and so much more. For more information AGRI-TRADE EQUIPMENT EXPO 8 – 10 November, Red Deer, AB With 500 exhibitors and more than 325,000 square feet of the very best in agriculture equipment, technology, service, and products, Agri-Trade is considered one of the best agricultural equipment shows in Canada, generating an estimated $300,000,000 annually in equipment sales and tourism spending. This is the first show after harvest as well as the first to kick off a new planning season for producers. For more information BIOMEDEVICE SILICON VALLEY 15 – 16 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. BIOMEDevice brings it all, from education to net- working events 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 U.S. AUTOWORKERS LAUNCH SIMULTANEOUS STRIKE Autoworkers at the big three U.S. auto- makers have launched the first simul- taneous strike in history seeking better wages and benefits. A total of 13,000 American autoworkers walked off the job as part of the United Auto Workers union strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis as union leaders and the company were unable to find common ground in contract talks. The union demands of 36 percent wage increases over four years were countered by offers of 20 percent from Ford and GM and 17.5 percent by Stellantis, citing the need to better control labour costs, despite posting solid profits. Union President Shawn Fain has noted that while the union’s demands are auda- cious, given the profits being made by the automakers, they can afford them. On the issue of rising prices to account for the increases in wages, he also noted that labour only accounts for four to five percent of vehicle costs. “They could double our raises and not raise car prices and still make millions of dollars in profits,” Fain said. “We’re not the problem. Corporate greed is the problem.” Further to wage increases, the union is advocating for restoration of cost- of-living pay raises, the end of tiers of wages for factory jobs, restoration of defined benefit pensions for new hires and pension increases for retirees which were given up in 2007 during the global financial crisis, and a 32-hour work week for 40 hours of pay, among other issues. The automotive supply chain across the border in Canada is waiting to feel the ripple effects of this strike if it persists, as are dealers, who could run out of supply, once again causing prices to rise. As of now, specific factories are being targeted for labour actions, which will help to preserve the union’s $825 million strike fund. Picketing began at a GM plan in Wentzville, Missouri, a Ford facility in Wayne, Michigan, and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio. Jon Rehg / Shutterstock.com United Auto Workers, UAW, walking picket line outside GM assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri. 7INDUSTRY NEWS COMPETITION BUREAU ORDERED TO PAY ROGERS $13M After a lengthy court battle, the Competition Tribunal has ordered the Competition Bureau to pay $13 million to Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications after a failed attempt to block the $20 billion merger of the two firms. The Competition Tribunal found the approach of the Commissioner of Competition, Matthew Boswell, to be “unrea- sonable,” which significantly increased the costs that each company had to incur. The Bureau is standing by its decision, citing that it acted in the public interest to protect competition, and will challenge the ruling. Rogers’ buyout of Shaw took place in March after undergo- ing significant scrutiny to protect the interests of the public from increasing prices in one of the most expensive wireless markets in the world. The deal was approved on the condition that binding commitments were made to pay financial penal- ties should the company fail to create new jobs and invest in network expansion as promised. CERTAIN U.S. PRODUCTS NO LONGER SUBJECT TO INDIAN DUTIES The business community is welcoming a recent decision by India to remove additional duties on certain U.S. products which were imposed in 2019 as a direct response to increased American tariffs on certain steel and aluminum products. At the time, 28 U.S. products were subject to these duties, but now items like chickpeas, lentils, walnuts in the shell, fresh, dried, and shelled almonds, apples, medical diagnostic reagents, and boric acid are free from additional duties. The announcement was made ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden’s attendance at the G20 Summit in India and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minster Narendra Modi. During the Prime Minister’s state visit in June, both countries agreed to terminate six World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes and remove some of the tariffs on U.S. products, signalling improved economic relations between the two major trade partners. KIMBERLY-CLARK BRANDS PULLED FROM CANADIAN SHELVES The American multinational personal care corporation behind iconic brands like Kleenex will no longer be available on Canadian shelves. Kimberly-Clark made the decision to pull out of the facial tissue market in Canada, citing unique complexi- ties related to a highly constrained supply environment as the reason for doing so. As of August 2023, Canadian consumers will no longer find new shipments of Kleenex tissues, though Kleenex profes- sional facial products, consumer hand towel products, as well as other Kimberly-Clark brands such as Cottonelle, Viva, U by Kotex, Poise, Depend, and Huggies will remain. Aldo_Parrotta / Shutterstock.comINDUSTRY NEWS BLACKBERRY LAUNCHES ‘INTRINSICALLY SAFE’ SOLUTION FOR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRANSPORT Hazardous materials carriers will benefit greatly from a new series of BlackBerry Radar® devices. H2M IS is a new series of enabling BlackBerry Radar technology that can be used as an asset tracking solution in the movement of hazardous materials across highways, railroads, and ocean shipping and is backed by an ‘Intrinsically Safe’ certification designation. The ‘Intrinsically Safe’ technology employs all the Radar H2’s existing capabilities, augmenting them with new features and capabilities while carrying the highest level of safety available for the transport of hazardous materials at a time when it is needed the most. This announcement comes on the heels of several recent safety incidents which have increased regulatory scrutiny when it comes to the transport of hazardous materials. The easy-to-install asset monitoring solution provides real-time information that promises reliable and robust performance even in less-than-ideal condi- tions, which should give carriers (and the public) peace of mind. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) mandated that any telematics device installations on Class 1 railroads after January 1, 2024, must be minimally safe within the recommen- dations of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI). By launching this technology, BlackBerry is positioning itself as a leader in the digital transformation of the transportation and logistics sector. Early access is available to select customers, while a public launch is expected in fall 2023. STRIPE, SHOPIFY, AND H&M DEDICATE $7M TO CARBON REMOVAL A dozen early-stage carbon removal startups have benefit- ted from a $7 million investment by Stripe, Shopify, and H&M Group, initiated by Frontier, a public benefit company which is owned by Stripe. Launched in 2022, Frontier was launched in 2022 and seeks to accelerate the development of carbon removal methods to create demand for, and grow, the emerging sector. Innovative start-ups like Alkali Earth, CarbonBlue, and Mati will benefit from these investments which will support the advancement of technologies like applying alkaline byprod- ucts from industrial processes to gravel as a carbon sink, the use of calcium to mineralize and remove dissolved carbon dioxide from water, or the application of silica rock power to rice paddy farms in India to achieve carbon removal. In addition to helping new companies through this pre-pur- chase agreement, Frontier has also secured over $1 billion via offtake agreements with larger carbon removal companies to back more mature companies to further advance carbon removal activities. 9Next >