Peter England and HeiQ, Switzerland Jointly Launch Innovative Antiviral Collection Including Work Wear, Lounge Wear and Face Masks

Peter England, a leading international menswear brand from the house of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd, is set to offer a fashionable and stylish collection with virus and bacteria resistant properties. The brand has collaborated with Switzerland-based HeiQ, a global leader in textile innovation, to bring the unique HeiQ Viroblock® fabric technology to India. Under this collection, Peter England will be launching work wear, lounge wear and face masks to meet complete lifestyle demands of the new-age consumer.

The HeiQ Viroblock® fabric is specially infused with virus resistant properties to ensure safety by inhibiting the persistence and growth of viruses and bacteria on its surface. For masks, the fabric retains these properties up to 30 gentle washes*. For apparel, the fabric retains these properties up to 20 gentle washes*.

Elaborating on the launch, Manish Singhai, COO, Peter England, “Safety and protection has never been more important than it is today, given the current situation which the entire world is facing. Peter England has a rich and strong legacy of introducing innovative products catering to spoken and unspoken needs of today’s consumers. We’re happy to announce our partnership with HeiQ, one of the world’s leading textile innovator from Switzerland, to launch our range of apparel and masks enriched with virus and bacteria resistant properties. We will be launching work wear, face masks and lounge wear in phases to address the country’s need for protection and safety. We believe that this new technology is a breakthrough in the lifestyle category and will bring us closer to the hearts of the consumers.”

In addition to the antiviral technology, Peter England has independently enhanced their mask offering with droplet resistant finish & Smart Straps. The droplet repellent finish makes the fabric hydrophobic. This repels contagious droplets on the masks’ outer surface, making it a perfect shield for the consumer. The smart straps used in the mask have a soft-finish and three-way adjustment to provide comfort, fit and a choice to carry the mask around the neck ,when not in use. Face contour design with chin mask and nose-clip make the mask sit over the consumer’s face comfortably. All these power-packed features come in varied styles and patterns, making this a comprehensive offering for protection, comfort and style in one go.

Co-founder and CEO of HeiQ Group, Carlo Centonze stated, “The team at Peter England undertook a through yet rapid learning about HeiQ Viroblock technology in order to quickly adapt it into their offerings, both in fashion masks and apparels. We worked closely with the teams to ensure that products that they have launched are fully validated in their performance to ensure that our stakeholders in India have the opportunity to add these fashionable article for their day to day protection from the current pandemic.”

Peter England’s new collection is currently available at www.peterengland.com and will shortly be available across the country through the brand’s retail network of outlets and multi-brand counters.

*Disclaimer: The fabric used in these products is treated with HeiQ Viroblock Swiss Technology that is tested to provide resistance against common viruses and bacteria, based on AATCC 100 and ISO18184 global testing methods, up to 30 gentle washes in masks & up to 20 gentle washes in apparel. Resistance to COVID-19 is yet to be assessed.

About Peter England:

Peter England is one of the most loved and largest menswear brands in India. It sells more than 14 million garments every year across 1000+ exclusive stores, 3500+ Multi‐brand outlets and across 800+ towns. The brand also holds a strong e-commerce presence. Peter England has been voted as India's Most Trusted Apparel Brand for 7 consecutive years by the Economic Times Brand Equity Survey. The brand is committed to offering varied styles across categories starting at an attractive price point of Rs. 999. Peter England was first launched in India by Madura Fashion and Lifestyle (previously known as Madura Garments) in the mid‐price segment in 1997; the company acquired the world rights for the brand in 2000. What began as a brand of honest shirts in 1997, in India, is today a complete lifestyle brand with merchandise available for every day and for all special occasions. The brand’s formal wear range of crisp formal shirts, well-tailored suits, jackets & trousers combines high fashion, impeccable fits along with a wide selection of highly curated looks for modern professionals. The casual wear range is a highly eclectic line of washed cotton shirts, denims, cargo bottoms, graphic tees, polos & winter-wear. The ‘Select’ line brings together premium formal wear with emphasis on fine detailing with a hint of color, comfort and panache. While the assorted collection of ties, pocket squares, belts, wallets and footwear assert a distinctive style statement, the finely crafted vests, boxer shorts and briefs from the newly launched innerwear line ensures highest comfort and great fit. While the brand continues to expand across India, they introduced a brand new retail identity called the Peter England Men’s Obsession, which is a large format store housing over 2000+ unique designs at an unmatched value, all the while delivering a young, vibrant shopping experience for all.

About ABFRL:

ABFRL is a part of USD 48.3 billion Aditya Birla Group. With revenue of Rs. 8,743 cr. spanning retail space of 8.1 million sq. ft. (as on March 31, 2020), it is India’s first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats.

Loyal Textile Mills Launches First Reusable PPE with Triple Viral Shield Technology in India

Loyal Textile Mills Limited today launched VIRAL SHIELD a Line of Covid-19 Anti-Viral, Reusable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Masks and Protective Fashion Wear Range. The series has been launched in collaboration with Reliance Industries India and HeiQ from Switzerland. This PPE emerges as the World’s first Reusable PPE that has passed the Viral Penetration Test, Synthetic Blood penetration test and the SBPR test.

Triple shield protection

i) R|Elan™ FeelFresh fabric which is inherently anti-microbial inhibiting bacterial and viral* growth

ii) HeiQ Viroblock anti-viral treatment on the fabric

iii) Viral barrier PU film lamination for the first time in the world.

Loyal has strived hard to innovate a range of products that would meet the current demand for reliable and reusable protective gears during this Covid-19 pandemic. Loyal Textile Mills Limited collaborated with Reliance Industries India and HeiQ from Switzerland to innovate this reusable protective PPE, mask and fashion wear.

R|ElanTM FeelFresh (from Reliance Industries India) fibre used in manufacturing this fabric is inherently anti-microbial that inhibits any viral* or bacterial growth. The fabric is then specially treated with “HeiQ Viroblock” a latest technology innovation from Switzerland, proven to have astounding Anti-Viral efficacy of 99.99% against Coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19).

Loyal Textile Mills limited has engineered the fabric with a Viral Barrier PU film lamination from Taiwan that adds up as another powerful protective later.

Launching the triple viral shield products from Loyal’s signature brand SUPERA SHIELDTM, Mrs. Valli M Ramaswami, Chairperson of Loyal Textile Mills Ltd., said “Loyal Textile Mills Ltd has a heritage of 125 years of continuous existence in Indian Textile Industry. Our R&D Centre recognised by the Government of India and Technical teams have 27 years of experience in Technical Textiles. During Feb/ March 2020, Loyal Management team felt the need to join the war against COVID-19 Pandemic and designed Reusable Masks and PPE Kits and today has reached a stage of offering a range of PPE clothing, masks and a range of fashion wear and casual wear, which have a triple protection technology from viruses and bacteria”.   “This is first of its kind in the world. Guided by the philosophy of our late Chairman Sri Manikam Ramaswami, we will continue to keep abreast of the technology and add several more firsts to our credit, as in the past”, she added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Dhamodaraswamy Devadas, Chief Technology and Business Development Officer of Loyal Textiles Mills Limited said, “This reusable PPE products can be washed ten times and sterilized 10 times for reuse. Heat Sealing PU tapes have been used to seal the seams. All the three  components of the PPE have been tested and passed for Viral Penetration test ASTM F 1671 – 2013, Synthetic Blood penetration test ASTM F 1670/F and the seams have passed SBPR test ASTM 1670-08 (2014). This is the World’s first Reusable PPE that has passed the Viral Penetration Test. ” 

Mr. Dhamodaraswamy Devadas, also added, “SS 95 medical respiratory type Mask launched today is a Reusable N95 type of mask with the same level of protection of 95% Particulate Filtration Efficiency and 99.9% Bacterial Filtration Efficiency. These masks are treated with HeiQ Viroblock and have the inner layers powered by R|Elan™ FeelFresh woven fabric that are inherently antimicrobial. Loyal is also launching an antiviral fashion wear range with an emphasis on safety and style for domestic and export markets.”

Talking about the collaboration to reach out to the Indian consumers, Mr Gunjan Sharma, CMO, Reliance Polyester said, “We are pleased to join hands with Loyal Textile Mills Ltd, a pioneering player in Indian Technical Textile industry to support them launch Masks and PPE kits powered by R|Elan™ FeelFresh fabric. This collaboration underlines the performance that R|Elan™ FeelFresh fabric provides to the consumer in improving wellness and hygiene through its inherent antimicrobial attribute.”

Mr. Carlo Centonze, CEO and co-founder of HeiQ Viroblock, highlighted the special features of HeiQ Viroblock “HeiQ Viroblock was recently tested at one of the world’s leading virology institutes and showed  99.99% reduction of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in 30 minutes. Its synergistic dual mode of action leaves viruses no chance and can enhance the protection factor of a mask by a factor 100. Tested repeatedly by industry standards such as the ISO 18184 and ISO 20743, it is effective against all enveloped viruses, bacteria and fungi. This novel Swiss technology uses 100% skin proved hypoallergenic cosmetic ingredients and features a 72% bio-based renewable content. HeiQ Viroblock respirator masks have recently been approved by the US FDA under EUA. The technology is registered by the US EPA (FIFRA), EU BPR (REACH) and JP MITI and is homologized with ZDHC, Oekotex and Bluesign.”

Explaining the salient features of the Reusable PPE Gown set Prof. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Vice Chancellor of World University of Design said, “The design features include - Easy donning and quick doffing without any assistance and without any danger of touching the inner garments or skin; a full head cover offering full protection for head, face and neck region; and Shoe covers up to the knee. Special

ergonomic features have been incorporated to assist operations like Thumb loops, Side knots and longer length of the gown. A unique aspect of the design is that they have been sized as per Indian body shapes and so do not face any problem of bulk & overflowing as is faced in imported PPEs.”

Mr. Valerio Cagnoli, Director of Gruppo P&P Loyal S.p.A., Italy, a joint venture company of Loyal Textile said, “We operate mainly in Italy with a focus to European markets. With the help of Loyal Textile we developed many technical fabrics which allowed us to get very important clients. Some of our fabrics are cutting-edge innovations in the fire protection field. We succeed in this field mostly thanks to the wish and will of the former chairman of Loyal Textile Mr. Manikam Ramaswami. Still today I personally follow his philosophy not to be second to anyone in the safety of human workers. We need to highlight the HeiQViroblock and the R|Elan FeelFresh performance along with the opportunity of 10 times washes of the products. We congratulate Loyal’s R&D team for their success in coming out with the Virus penetration Resistant PPE by using a Special Virus PU Barrier film.”

A ramp walk by the staff and workers of Loyal showcasing the antiviral products made by them & a Dance titled ‘Kirumi Nashini’ were the other highlights of the launch event.

Will major clients continue to stay with Satyam?

In a news that could bring cheer to Satyam employees, three of their big clients Nestle, Nissan and CIBA who were on wait and watch mode have assured to continue business with the firm.

"Clients such as Nestle and Nissan has already expressed their confidence in the company and had assured us that they will continue with us," an official privy to the development said. Nestle have also given some additional business to the Satyam last month, the person added further.

One of the multi-million dollar SAP client of Satyam, Nestle, which was earlier keeping a tab on the developments. Analysts had feared that post the acquisition of the firm by Tech Mahindra clients of Satyam who were sitting on the fence would jump to other vendors.

However, post the acquisition some of the companies had expressed confidence in the entity and pledged to continue business with them. Auto major Nissan for whom Satyam provides application management had also said that they would continue business with the firm. The company has also got an endorsement from another SAP client CIBA.

Moreover, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany who have earlier imposed some strict norms on Satyam employees for getting Visa have eased them. Post Satyam crisis, employees of Satyam were asked to be present in person and appear for visa interviews.

However, now they have eased the norms and the employees need not be present for the interview in person. Satyam Computers plunged into crisis after its founder B Ramalinga Raju in January admitted to have cooked the books of the company for year.

In April, information technology firm Tech Mahindra announced to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the beleaguered firm for Rs 2,900 crore. Earlier, the government-appointed chairman of Satyam Kiran Karnik had said that though some clients have left the company but at the same time Satyam have got some new work as well.

Agencies

World Wide Web conference opens in Madrid

A global conference on the World Wide Web got under way in Spain Monday, 20 years after the invention of the global information medium that has changed the daily lives of people around the world.

British software genius Tim Berners-Lee, one of the founders of the system, will give a keynote talk on Wednesday "which will reflect on the last 20 years and look forward to the next 20 years" of the Web.

Spanish Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia are scheduled to attend the talk.

Over the five days of the 18th international World Wide Web conference, 105 research papers will be presented covering topics including interactive television, mobile web applications and the challenge of new media to traditional media.

The conference is organised each year by the International World Wide Web Conferences Steering Committee (IW3C2), a professional organization registered in Switzerland which promotes Web research and development.

It was held in China last year. The US will hold the next conference in 2010.

With the help of other scientists at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), Berners-Lee set up the system to allow thousands of scientists around the world to stay in touch.

In March 1989, the young Berners-Lee handed his supervisor in Geneva a document entitled 'Information Management: a proposal."

The supervisor described it as "vague, but exciting" and gave it the go-ahead, although it took a good year or two to get off the ground and served nuclear physicists in Europe initially.

The WWW technology -- which simplifies the process of searching for information on the Internet -- was first made more widely available from 1991 after CERN was unable to ensure its development, and the organisation made a landmark decision two years later not to levy royalties.

As recently as 1994 there were only 500 fairly modest Web sites worldwide, according to Microsoft. Now there are millions.

Berners-Lee, now a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States and a computer science professor at Southampton University in Britain, still heads the World Wide Web Consortium (3WC) that coordinates development of the Web.

Agencies

Is UBS cutting 5,000 management jobs?

Switzerland's biggest bank UBS plans to cut up to 5,000 senior and management jobs in the next few weeks, a media report said on Sunday.

The report said that according to its own research up to 2,500 management positions could go in UBS's dominant and profitable wealth management division, which accounts for 50,000 of the bank's total 77,000 staff.

A UBS spokesman declined to comment on the report. UBS said last week that it was restructuring its Swiss business structure into four regions from eight, and trimming its top management. But it said the changes did not mean any more job cuts than the 600 to 800 positions it already planned to cut in Switzerland as part of the thousands of job losses globally it had already announced.

UBS said in February that after a record loss it would cut 2,000 jobs to take staff to about 75,000 by the middle of this year.

UBS is struggling to rebuild its once powerful brand and focus on its core Swiss business after massive investments in risky US assets forced it to make more writedowns than any other European bank and accept government backing.

Agencies

After credit crisis world now rattled by Madoff scandal

European investors face billions of dollars losses in the wake of disclosure of "Ponzi" scheme run by Bernard Madoff, now being investigated by the American authorities.

European banks, including Spain's Grupo Santander SA and France's BNP Paribas, were quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying that their clients and shareholders face billions of euros of losses on investments, underscoring the global reach of the alleged Ponzi scheme run by the veteran New York money manager.

A ponzi scheme is a type of securities fraud where the promoter makes some sort of false or misleading statement about an investment (often including a guaranteed high rate of return) and pays off older investors with newer investors money.

Santander, the eurozone's largest bank by market value, said its clients had an exposure of 2.33 billion euros ($3.1 billion) to Madoff's investment funds, mainly through its Optimal Strategic US Equity fund.

The company, which has been relatively unscathed from global financial crisis, said it had hired Madoff's firm to execute the Optimal fund's investments. Santander vowed to "undertake the legal actions which may be needed to defend the interests of investors."

The Journal reported that BNP, France's largest bank by market value, said it could lose as much as 350 million euros as a result of the alleged fraud.

However, the bank said it has no investment of its own in the hedge funds managed by Bernard Madoff Investment Services. BNP Paribas, however, said it is exposed to these funds through its trading business and lending to hedge funds that had invested in Madoff's funds.

The losses, the Journal said, could prove particularly embarrassing for banks' private-banking businesses, which charge high fees to wealthy investors in return for what is supposed to be superior advice and due diligence.

More than two billion euros belongs to institutional investors and international clients of Santander's private-banking business, which provides services to wealthy individuals, it was quoted as saying. The remaining 320 million euros belongs to private-banking customers in Spain, where the bank is based.

Most of the European banks' exposures were on client investments they managed, rather than on the banks' own balance sheets, it said, adding that it's not yet clear how much, if anything, investors in Madoff's funds may be able to recover.

Exposures to Madoff's funds have also emerged among a growing number of smaller European private banks.

In a letter posted on its website, the Swiss private bank Reichmuth and Co said its clients had an exposure of some 385 million Swiss francs to Madoff funds.

The bank said Reichmuth Matterhorn, a fund that invests in other hedge funds, faced a potential loss of about 8.6 per cent on its exposure to Madoff. That amount represented about 3.5 per cent of the 11 billion Swiss francs Reichmuth & Co. has under management, the bank said, the Journal reported.

Source: Agencies

Billionth mark for Logitech mouse

Even as the discussions are on whether the technology called 'mouse', which is celebrating its birthday on next Wednesday (December 10), would soon be an extinct species in another couple of years, leading mouse manufacturer Logitech announced that it has shipped its billionth mouse.

"We've just done something that makes us all very proud at Logitech – we've shipped our one billionth mouse. How cool is that!?," read a blog posting by Rory Dooley, senior vice president, Control Devices, Logitech. "When all of this started for Logitech back in the early '80s, the mouse was primarily a tool for CAD (computer-aided design applications). Since then, the mouse has become something much more – it is truly the key to the kingdom – the device that unlocked the power of the computer."

He said the mouse opened up computing to the average person by providing a simple, intuitive way to interact with the computer.

Logitech has enthusiastically driven nearly every major innovation in mouse technology – persistently refining this ubiquitous interface between people and their digital experiences, said a press release.

With more than a billion people currently using computers worldwide and another billion expected to begin using computers by 2014, according to a report by analyst firm Gartner, Logitech continues to pursue compelling innovation to delight users of the next billion mice and input devices of the future, it said.

Founded in a farmhouse in Apples, Switzerland in 1981 and shortly thereafter establishing strong ties in Silicon Valley, Logitech introduced its first retail mouse in 1985 and reached the 100 millionth mouse mark in 1996, the company said.

"Since the first click of the Logitech P4 mouse in 1982, Logitech mice have played an indispensable role in the evolution of the personal computer," said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer.

"During the last few decades, the way people use computers has changed dramatically – what was once strictly a business tool has become highly integrated into our personal lives," he added.
Quindlen said Logitech has continually pursued innovations to meet those changing conditions, introducing – in the last five years alone – the world's first laser mouse, hyper-fast scrolling and the nano-receiver.
In celebration of its billionth mouse, Logitech is launching a worldwide contest that invites people to follow the travels of this notable mouse – from the manufacturing line to its final destination – and to try to figure out where in the world it will end up.

Logitech also said that the mouse's journey will be chronicled on Logitech's blog, Blogitech (blog.logitech.com).

Credit Suisse, HSBC to axe 1,150 jobs

Switzerland’s Credit Suisse AG Britain’s HSBC Holdings are axing hundreds of banking jobs as the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression continues to bite.

The cuts are the latest in a wave of job losses in which around 90,000 jobs have been axed at major global banks since September. Of these, more than 50,000 were at US bank Citigroup.
Credit Suisse said on Tuesday the bank was cutting 650 jobs, equivalent to roughly 3% of its investment banking workforce of about 21,300. “The cuts will be made mainly in investment banking,” a spokesman for the Swiss bank said.

The bank, which employed around 50,000 people globally at the end of September, has already slashed 1,800 jobs this year.

HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, said it was cutting 500 jobs at its UK banking business following a review of the business. The bank employs 58,000 people in Britain.

“We deeply regret taking this step, but we consider it essential to ensure our business is operating as efficiently as possible and that we are best placed to deal with the economic downturn and maintain our levels of customer service,” HSBC UK Managing Director Paul Thurston said.

JP Morgan Chase & Co has said it will cut a total of 9,200 jobs at Washington Mutual, which it acquired September 25 after Washington Mutual became the largest US bank to fail amid the ongoing credit crisis.

Of the 9,200 jobs being eliminated as JP Morgan integrates Washington Mutual, 4,000 will be cut by the end of January. The remaining 5,200 employees will remain with JP Morgan through a transition period, but will lose their positions by the end of 2009. ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, also plans to cut 1,400 support jobs at its French operations. The job cuts will take the form of voluntary redundancies, Daniel Soury-Lavergne, head of the steelmaker’s French business, said in an e-mailed statement.

European steel maker Corus, which was acquired by the Tatas, has said it will cut 146 jobs at one of its units. Corus in a statement said as part of the reorganisation process, the decision has been taken to reduce employment levels at Corus Tubes, a business division of the company, 146 jobs would be at risk.

Citi cuts package
American behemoth Citigroup, which is axing over 75,000 jobs this year to help cut costs and fight financial crisis, is now slashing the severance package, that too for staff having put 10 or more years with the bank.

Source: Agencies