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Gildan board resigns, clearing the way for Glenn Chamandy to retake control of clothing company
The board of Gildan Activewear resigned on Thursday evening, paving the way for former chief executive Glenn Chamandy to retake the helm of one of country’s largest clothing manufacturers with backing from activist fund manager Browning West.
Mr. Chamandy’s return to the Montreal-based company he co-founded in 1984 marks a surprising end to a six-month boardroom battle that began when the board dismissed the CEO in December over succession issues.
US court overturns $40-million USD patent infringement verdict against Shopify
Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify has convinced a Delaware, US court to overturn a 2022 patent-infringement decision.
In August 2022, a US federal jury awarded California-based plaintiff Express Mobile $40 million USD in damages after finding that Shopify’s website-building tools infringed upon some of the American company’s patents.
At the time, Shopify told BetaKit that it planned to contest this verdict.
(BetaKit)
Government sues Ticketmaster owner and asks court to break up company’s monopoly on live events
The Justice Department sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and asking a court to break up the system that squelches competition and drives up prices for fans.
Filed in federal court in Manhattan, the sweeping antitrust lawsuit was brought with 30 state and district attorneys general and seeks to dismantle the monopoly they say is squeezing out smaller promoters, hurting artists and drowning ticket buyers in fees. Ticketmaster and its owner, Live Nation Entertainment, have a long history of clashes with major artists and their fans, including Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen.
Busbud acquires South African revenue management platform Ratality
Montréal-based ground travel booking platform Busbud has acquired Ratality, a South African software provider for ground travel operators, for an undisclosed amount.
Busbud said it is building upon an existing partnership between the companies by acquiring the revenue-management software maker, while also extending Busbud’s reach in Africa. Busbud will add Ratality’s demand forecasting, dynamic pricing, fleet and driver management, and other solutions to its B2B software suite through the acquisition.
(BetaKit)
Bolt CEO Says Shopper Identity Will Redefine Retail
One new CEO who seems to be on the path toward balancing short-term and long-term strategy is Bolt’s Justin Grooms. After spending five years as the eCommerce checkout technology company’s general manager for global sales, Grooms is a little more than 90 days into his role and has already shown a short-term focus on the customer experience.
“I think that the better shopping experience is the edge retailers are searching for,” Grooms told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster. “I think also that focusing on getting people from that initial product page all the way through the entire buying experience as quickly as possible is very important to merchants right now … because they’re still spending as much or more to get that prospective dollar in the door.”
(PYMNTS)
Startupfest shares full schedule for 2024 tech festival
Montréal technology festival Startupfest has released a detailed agenda for its upcoming event, which will take place at the Grand Quay from July 10 until July 12 this summer.
Speakers and mentors at Startupfest will include Shopify president Harley Finkelstein, Indigo CEO Heather Reisman, and BetaKit chair Satish Kanwar.
Like in years past, Startupfest 2024 will feature educational talks, workshops, and networking opportunities for startups, investors, and other players from across Canada’s tech ecosystem.
(BetaKit)
Amazon.com investors reject all 14 outside proposals at meeting
Amazon investors voted against all 14 resolutions that asked the retailer to disclose more about its carbon emissions and its directors’ donations, and to form a committee to oversee artificial-intelligence development, among other issues.
The company had asked shareholders to reject all of the outside proposals. Additional resolutions sought to have Amazon create a committee to address the financial impact of policy positions and produce reports on lobbying expenditures, warehouse working conditions and packaging materials.
(Reuters)
Pesa is banking on Canadians’ sense of duty
Tolu Osho knows first-hand the sense of responsibility that many newcomers to Canada feel when it comes to sending money back home.
“I started thinking about solving this problem on how to ensure that people can transfer or send money back home at a reasonable cost,” said Osho.
In 2021, Oshu worked with software engineers Yusuf Yakubu and Adewale Afolabi to launch Pesa, an app that aims to make sending and receiving funds across borders as hassle-free as transferring money locally.
“There’s a culture shock when it comes to the financial aspects of moving to a new country,” he said. “We want to be able to get people familiarized with this experience, even before you land or just when you land, so that it looks like you never missed a beat.”
(BetaKit)
OneStock raises $72M from Summit Partners to enhance omnichannel retail experience
Today Toulouse headquartered OneStock announced a $72 million investment from global growth equity investor Summit Partners.
OneStock was founded in 2015 by CEO, Romulus Grigoras, and CTO, Benoit Baccot, to help retailers and brands navigate the increasing complexity of the omnichannel landscape and enhance overall customer experience.
This new funding will fuel OneStock’s continued international expansion, particularly into the US market.
(Tech.eu)
Daniel Vranesic of TXIO is on a mission to improve personal finance
You would think that Daniel Vranesic, CEO of Toronto-based TXIO, would be difficult to surprise with numbers.
For years, TXIO has licensed its banking, payments and brokerage platform to a range of global clients. But when the company developed Neontra, an app for managing and planning personal finance, Vranesic decided to test the product’s “non-essential spending” category on himself.
“I knew I made too many non-essential purchases, especially sports-related gear for my kids,” he said. “But when our AI-generated insights told me how my non-essential spending compared to the average Canadian, I was shocked.”
(BetaKit)
Eventbrite Promoted Illegal Opioid Sales to People Searching for Addiction Recovery Help
Eventbrite prohibits listings dedicated to selling illegal substances on its platform. It’s one of the 16 categories of content the company’s policies restrict its users from posting. But a WIRED investigation found more than 7,400 events published on the platform that appeared to violate one or more of these terms.
Among these listings were pages claiming to sell fentanyl powder “without a prescription,” accounts pushing the sale of Social Security numbers, and pages offering a “wild night with independent escorts” in India. Some linked to sites offering such wares as Gmail accounts, Google reviews (positive and negative), and TikTok and Instagram likes and followers, among other services.
(Wired)
Feature image courtesy Gildan via LinkedIn.