State of Fashion Technology Report 2022

May 4, 2022 Audrey

In 2021, fashion companies invested between 1.6 and 1.8 percent of their revenues in technology. By 2030, that figure is expected to rise to between 3.0 and 3.5 percent. Behind the predicted increase is a conviction among many that technology could create a competitive edge—in customer-facing activities, where companies have mostly focused to date, and, more increasingly, in operations. Technologies such as robotics, advanced analytics, and in-store applications may help streamline processes and support sustainability, as well as create an exceptional customer experience (exhibit).

Consumer digital engagement rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of more hours spent online, new shopping habits, and rising interest in gaming and virtual worlds. In 2021, people spent on average just below four hours on their mobile phones, which includes about two and a half hours of scrolling though social media.

Of the fashion customers who made the move to online-shopping channels in 2021, 48 percent said the pandemic was the reason, 27 percent cited convenience, and 11 percent cited product availability and promotions.

The pandemic also boosted digital brand relationships, with 72 percent of customers reporting they interacted with brands online in 2021. In the year ahead, as restrictions ease in some geographic areas, digital interactions will likely stabilize at about 66 percent on average.

Exhibit

Looking ahead, the impact of technology on people’s lives may accelerate. By 2024, AI-generated speech could power more than half of human interactions with computers, McKinsey analysis shows. Soon after, more than 75 percent of enterprise-generated data could be processed by cloud or edge computing.

This offers a more flexible, scaleable foundation on which brands can potentially build their tech offerings. By 2030, more than 80 percent of the global population is expected to have access to 5G networks,

enabling, among other things, faster connectivity and data transfer across Internet of Things devices.

The operational potential of technology is becoming ever more apparent. McKinsey analysis shows that fashion companies that now embed AI into their businesses models could see a 118 percent cumulative increase in cash flow by 2030. Conversely, those that are slower to invest in digital technology will lag behind—and could see a 23 percent relative decline. Over the next three years, potential key areas in which fashion executives could make digital investments are personalization, store technologies, and end-to-end value chain management—areas in which digital can make a real difference to performance.

Fashion’s five key technology themes

As fashion industry

Glenville State College Forest Technology Students Benefit from Weyerhaeuser Donation | Weston Lifestyles

January 24, 2022 Audrey

South Dakota state detective experienced asked for telephone, computer, electronic mail records of T. Denny Sanford

November 22, 2021 Audrey

The Minnehaha County Clerk of Courts unsealed the lookup warrants from 2019 and 2020 for cellphone and e-mail data of billionaire philanthropist Sanford.

When the 85-yr-outdated Sanford has hardly ever been billed with crimes stemming from the investigation, the data — which arrived just in advance of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17 — disclose for the initially time that 2nd Judicial Circuit Decide James A. Powers signed off on 5 warrants, granting a detective permission to seize internet, mobile phone and electronic mail information from Verizon, AOL, Microsoft and Midco.

The information sought by DCI exclusive agent Jeff Kollars hone in on two 2019 dates in distinct, May perhaps 29 and June 27.

In the first subpoena, Kollars filed a ask for on Dec. 9, 2019, to seize “all messages,” together with deleted kinds, from Sanford’s AOL e mail account with Dulles, Virginia-centered Oath Inc., starting in Jan. 1, 2019, as a result of the subpoena ask for.

That exact same working day, Kollars also asked for Powers indication off on a subpoena for securing data for an on the internet account with Microsoft in Brookings County.

Powers signed equally files, as perfectly as late subpoena requests from Kollars that arrived in March, trying to find knowledge hosted by Sioux Falls-centered Midco associated to Sanford’s IP address, as perfectly as “all available connect with records” held by Verizon Wireless, on Might 29 and June 27.

At the time, court paperwork reveal that Kollar was included in “an ongoing investigation involving the possession and distribution of baby pornography by way of the world-wide-web,” a Class 4 felony in South Dakota punishable by up to 10 many years in jail and a great of $20,000.

The documents, which experienced been less than a choose-granted gag buy requested by the same DCI agent, ended up requested introduced by the South Dakota Supreme in a large-profile transparency viewpoint issued at the finish of Oct.

The Division of Criminal Investigation is below the auspices of the state Legal professional General’s Business.

Even though spanning hundreds of web pages, the files expose for the initially time the extent to which Lawyer Normal Jason Ravnsborg participated in the situation, at least by the middle of the summer time of 2020, emailing back and forth with Powers.

On July 20, 2020, however more than a month just before the circumstance would turn out to be community, Ravnsborg wrote Powers, “[T]here are many states and jurisdictions associated in this matter,” which include the Department of Justice.

In an electronic mail to Discussion board News Assistance Wednesday, Sanford’s legal professional Marty Jackley reiterated that his customer has hardly ever been billed with a criminal offense. Court docket documents unsealed by the Unified Judicial Procedure previously in the day affirm what experienced presently been claimed, particularly that the AG’s business office had handed off the little one pornography scenario to DOJ.

Riot backs new studio founded by former World of Warcraft designer who was ‘unhappy with the state of the game’

October 28, 2021 Audrey

Chris Kaleiki, a former game designer on World of Warcraft who said he was “unhappy with the state of the game” after quitting Blizzard entertainment last year, has announced the launch of a new venture called Notorious Studios, backed by a few investors, one of which is League of Legends and Valorant developer Riot Games.

Riot’s investment in Notorious Studios was part of a $5 million injection that also includes venture capital funds Galaxy Interactive and 1Up Ventures, according to VentureBeat. Kaleiki said Riot’s decision to back the studio reflects a shared commitment to their players and communities.

“I think they’re a developer who cares a lot about the player’s experience as well,” he told the site. “They have a franchise that’s beloved by players. We have so many friends and colleagues who work at Riot, who used to work at Blizzard. I’ve always had a good view of them.”

Notorious Studios’ founding team of eight is made up entirely of Blizzard veterans, all but one of whom worked on WoW, and Kaleiki said on Twitter that as he was planning his next move he wanted to ensure he joined a team with “cultural values” similar to those he experienced while at Blizzard.

3/ After evaluating my options, it became apparent that a few of my cherished colleagues at Blizzard who I worked together for years were looking for a similar next step in their own careers. So we set out together to do something crazy: start our own studio together.October 25, 2021

“After evaluating my options, it became apparent that a few of my cherished colleagues at Blizzard who I worked together [with] for years were looking for a similar next step in their own careers,” he tweeted. “So we set out together to do something crazy: start our own studio together.”

Kaleiki specified that the cultural values he was referring to were things like prioritizing “the player experience,” a clarification that makes his statements a little less shocking given the present context, but still dramatically out of touch. As we’ve been learning since July, Blizzard’s “cultural values” allegedly fostered a work environment rife with discrimination and sexual misconduct. A California lawsuit and employee reports have resulted in the dismissal of multiple highly-placed employees including former president J. Allen Brack and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft. Blizzard has also changed multiple NPC and location names in its games to eliminate references to abusers.

Kaleiki said that the “challenges” facing Blizzard have “been really troubling [and] hard to hear about,” and said Notorious will have “no tolerance for harassment and things like that.” The studio aims to avoid similar situations by “aspiring to a flatter structure,” which Kaleiki believes will make it more “transparent and open.”

“None of us are leads or directors,” he said. “Previously in our careers we were all individual contributors. We were the ones who’d just build or code or make art or design things. We aspire to have that