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ASX LISTED MEDICAL CANNABIS COMPANY SCORES $40 MILLION COSMETICS AGREEMENT

MGC PHARMA (ASX: MXC) has finalised a deal with Korean cosmetics manufacturer Varm Cosmo worth $40 million. The deal is set to deliver significant revenues for MGC, expected to be in excess of $3 million of sales per month. The company has executed a binding terms and conditions agreement for a white-label cannabidiol (CBD) cosmetics product with Korean manufacturer Vram Cosmo. The deal will generate a minimum of $40 million in total annual revenue to MGC Derma, MGC Pharmaceutical's...

INFLUENCER PLATFORM DEFIES EXPECTATIONS, BRINGS INTEGRITY BACK IN THE NEWSFEED

WHEN it comes to social media marketing in 2017, there's no question that influencers hold the power. Influencer marketing is so popular these days that brands tapping into the Kim Kardashians and Kylie Jenners of the world shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get a single product seen in the same snapshot. However, this kind of super-fame endorsement not only burns an extremely large hole in the pocket, it often also comes at another cost. Authenticity. ...

ENTREPRENEURS TAKE TOP ACCOLADES AT EXPORT AWARDS

TWO of the Gold Coast's leading entrepreneurs have taken out accolades at the Premier of Queensland's Export Awards, recognising their achievements in a state industry worth an estimated $69 billion. Evolve Skateboards founded by Jeff Anning (pictured) won the top prize, the Premier of Queensland's Exporter of the Year Award, while Megan Ziems' Grace Loves Lace bridal fashion business took out the Tom Burns for Women in International Business award. In 2015, Anning...

ADAIRS PAYS BIG FINE FOR BREACHING DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS

ASX-listed retailer Adairs (ASX: ADH) has paid a $66,000 fine after breaching its disclosure obligations to the ASX. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) fined the company after it failed to comply with continuous disclosure obligations. ASIC found Adairs was in breach of its continuous disclosure obligations between 23 September and 2 November 2016 by failing to inform the ASX that its forecast figures for the 2017 financial year would be materially lower...

VITA GROUP DIVERSIFIES INTO SKIN TREATMENT BUSINESS IN $9.5M DEAL

VITA Group (ASX: VTG) has undertaken a major change in direction with the $9.5 million acquisition of non-surgical cosmetic treatment business Clear Complexions. The purchase marks Vita's entry into the non-invasive medical aesthetics market (NIMA), estimated to be worth $1 billion a year in Australia, as it looks to diversify away from its current core operations as a Telstra retail store operator. Vita Group CEO Maxine Horne says the decision to acquire Clear Complexions was...

PRICELINE EXPANSION HELPS BOOST PHARMA GROUP IN TOUGH RETAIL MARKET

AUSTRALIAN Pharmaceutical Industries (ASX: API) has reported a 5.4 per cent rise in underlying NPAT of $54.2 million as its Priceline Pharmacy network grew by 20 stores. Despite the challenging retail conditions in the Australian market, API says it plans to add a further 20 Priceline stores to its network over the next 12 months. The profit result was slightly ahead of the company's revised full year guidance and for the 12 months to 31 August, API also increased revenue by 5.8%...

DOMINO'S PUSHES FURTHER INTO EUROPE WITH GERMAN PIZZA CHAIN ACQUISITION

AUSTRALIAN pizza chain Domino's (ASX: DMP) continues to push into the European market with the acquisition of German chain Hallo Pizza. The 32 million euro acquisition ($A48.1million) will expand Domino's store count in Germany from 209 to between 300 and 340. The cost to integrate the 170 Hallo Pizza stores into Domino's network will bring the net spend on the deal to between $52.6 million and $63.1 million. Domino's Pizza chief executive Don Meij (pictured)...

BERNARD SALT: ADELAIDE HAS A SELF-CONFIDENCE PROBLEM

AS ADELAIDE shuffles through a period of intense transition, many are left wondering: what's next? This week marks a massive milestone for the South Australian capital; the closure of the last remaining automotive manufacturer in the state. As the General Motors Holden plant shuts its doors in Elizabeth, many will be left without work, and the South Australia will lose a big cog in its economy. Coinciding with the closure of the Holden plant was the release of a report compiled...

CROWN CASINO 'TAMPERED WITH POKIES, IGNORED DRUG USE AND VIOLENCE'

CROWN Resorts (ASX: CWN) has suffered a major share slide after it was alleged Melbourne's Crown Casino deliberately tampered with poker machines and turned a blind eye to drug use and violence. In damning evidence tabled before Federal Parliament, whistleblowers have accused the James Packer-owned casino of "shaving down" the buttons on poker machines to allow for illegal continuous play. This means that people can wedge paper into the 'play' button so...

GUZMAN Y GOMEZ TO START DELIVERING BURRITOS BY DRONES

MEXICAN takeaway chain Guzman Y Gomez has teamed up with Google's parent company Alphabet to begin trialling commercial drone deliveries. Alphabet's innovation lab will partner with Guzman Y Gomez and Chemist Warehouse to trail drone deliveries in rural New South Wales. The initiative, named Project Wing, will facilitate the delivery of Guzman's menu and nearly 100 Chemist Warehouse products to households in Royalla, which is on the border of New South Wales and the...

AFTERPAY BOOKS MASSIVE QUARTERLY SALES RISE

PAYMENT services provider Afterpay Touch Group (ASX: APT) is reporting a massive quarterly increase in sales following some high profile partnerships with major retail players. The company generated $367 million in first quarter sales for 2017-18, up from $271 million in the fourth quarter of FY17. These numbers come off the back of recent partnerships with Target, Luxottica, and Petbarn, who all recently adopted the delayed online payments system. The lay-by service now says...

RIO TINTO EXECS 'TRIED TO SAVE THEIR CAREERS' OVER FAILED AFRICAN VENTURE, SEC SAYS

MINING giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) and two former executives have been charged with fraud in the United States for allegedly trying to cover up multi-billion dollar losses on a failed African investment. Former CEO Tom Albanese (pictured) and former CFO Guy Elliott, along with the company itself, were charged by the powerful US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly failing to follow accounting standards and hiding or delaying disclosure of mounting losses from the...

ANZ SELLS FINANCIAL PLANNING BUSINESS TO IOOF FOR $975 MILLION

IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) has acquired ANZ's (ASX: ANZ) OnePath Pensions and Investments business for $975 million. ANZ will offload its pensions and investments business OnePath along with four aligned dealer groups as part of a 20-year strategic alliance to make IOOF superannuation products available to ANZ customers as it becomes the latest bank to exit wealth management. IOOF says the acquisition will scale the company substantially, with funds under advice up 34...

SOLOMON LEW CALLS ON STRUGGLING MYER TO SHOW PROOF OF 'GREEN SHOOTS'

MYER's largest shareholder Solomon Lew has called on the department store chain to put up its numbers amid its claims that its fortunes are improving. The retail veteran, who bought a 10.77 per cent stake in Myer through his investment vehicle Premier Investments in March, says Myer should reveal its first quarter sales at the company's strategy day on 1 November. "Premier believes Myer needs to fully inform the market of its first quarter sales and profit performance...

THE YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR WHO BEAT THE ODDS TO BECOME A MAJOR PLAYER IN AGRICULTURE

RESILIENCE is one of the most powerful tools in business and young entrepreneur Robert Trenchard is living proof of this. Trenchard, the 35-year-old founder of Hydrox Technologies, bounced back from two major business killers beyond his control to become the major player in the Australian agricultural plastics market. His story began with a family business in the plastics trade where he modified old equipment bought at auctions to be the first in the world to make oxo-biodegradable...

TECH ENTREPRENEURS SHARE THEIR KEY LESSONS ON LISTING ON THE ASX: PART 1

IT is a key question which is asked by scale-up businesses looking to move to the next level - should we list on the ASX, or do we remain private and retain control of our own destiny? The obvious benefit of listing on the ASX is that it puts a business in the enviable positition of being able to access capital through investors in Australia and overseas. This means that if your growth strategy is based on acquisition and/or organic growth, listing on the ASX allows a company...

TECH ENTREPRENEURS SHARE THEIR KEY LESSONS ON LISTING ON THE ASX: PART 2

LISTING on the ASX is a significant milestone in the progression of a company. It means your business is on an internationally recognised stock exchange which tells the market you're open for investment and keen to grow and expand, but of course with that comes the responsibility of complex compliance procedures and being beholden to shareholders. From the first stage of listing, which usually involves the appointment of advisors, to the first day of trade is an arduous procedure...

TECH ENTREPRENEURS SHARE THEIR KEY LESSONS ON LISTING ON THE ASX: PART 3

OVER the past two months, 25 companies have listed on the ASX and the path to getting to this stage is not an easy one, as they will all testify. In theory, the benefits of transitioning from a private company to a pubicly listed one provides an opportunity to scale and access capital through the marketing potential of being listed on the ASX. However, as we discover in part one of our special series, Tech Entrepreneurs Share Their Key Lessons on Listing On the ASX, and in part...