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Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Meaning behind ASOS, H&M, B&M and other big name brand's names
There are many high street shops and fast food outlets throughout the UK whose names are actually abbreviations - but what are the hidden meanings behind all of them? It turn's out quite a lot is in a name, especially when it's an acronym. Many of the high street's biggest brands, as well as shops, restaurants and other firms, choose to adopt acronyms because they sound good and gets rid of any unease about saying a long-winded name fully. H&M, KFC and B&M are some of the most memorable - but what do they actually mean? Most people - especially those over 30 - will know that KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken, as it was only changed to its acronym in 1991. But do you know what the letters in ASOS, H&M, B&M and more actually stand for? Let's unravel the mystery.... ASDA The company was established in 1965 when the Asquith family, who owned a supermarket, merged with the Associated Dairies company of Yorkshire. ASquith plus DAiries led to the creation of ASDA on May 3, 1965. It expanded across England during the 1970s and 1980s. Just remember to call it The Asda, alright? ASOS This global fashion brand and online megastore began in 1999 as a supplier of unbranded clothes to celebrities appearing on TV. The concept was that people could find clothes and accessories they had seen celebs wearing. Before long, people started referring to AsSeenOnScreen as ASOS and in late 2000 the domain name was purchased. B&M Bargains and More would really suffice but it actually stands for Billington and Mayman as it was set up by Malcolm Billington but shortened to B&M for Bargain Madness. Established in 1978 - Billington remained the company director until 1996. B&Q Block and Quayle may sound like a deep house duo who would have performed a six-hour set at Cream back in the day. However, Richard Block and David Quayle are actually the founders of B&Q. Their joint business venture began after they purchased and refurbished a former furniture warehouse in a Southampton suburb. The pair soon shortened the brand to B&Q as stock delivery notes and invoices were already unofficially abbreviating the name. C&A This retailer still has many stores in Europe despite there being none left in the UK after the last one closed its doors in 2001. The company was founded by brothers Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer in 1841 as a Dutch textile company before transitioning into clothing in the 1900s. H&M H&M is Swedish and was founded all the way back in 1947, although back then it was just known as Hennes. Originally the store sold exclusively women's clothing, but when hunting apparel retailer Mauritz Widforss was acquired, men's wear was also included and 'H&M' combined the initials. The first UK store opened in London in 1976 - this was also the first store to be built outside of Scandinavia. HSBC Houses, Shoes, Boats and Cars are just some of the things you can buy if you take out a giant loan at HSBC but sadly that's not what it stands for. HSBC was actually founded by a Scotsman named Sir Thomas Sutherland in Hong Kong in 1865. Back then, Hong Kong was still a British colony. HSBC benefited from the start of trading into China. The banking behemoth HSBC took its initial steps across the Channel only at the turn of the millennium, scooping up Credit Commercial de France and bringing a piece of 'Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank', which the acronym stands for, to continental Europe. IKEA Swedish furniture giant IKEA had humble beginnings in 1943 when teen entrepreneur Ingvar Kamprad established it in Almhult as a mail-order business. Following World War II, IKEA expanded its offering to include furniture and launched its first physical shop back in 1958 in Almhurt. The brand's Swedish roots are evident in its name, with 'Elmtaryd' harking back to the farm Kamprad was raised on, while the 'A' signifies his Agunnaryd hometown. By the 70s, IKEA had already begun its conquest of Europe, and by the 80s, it had firmly rooted itself in the UK market. LEGO This household name traces back to Denmark, with its name derived from the local phrase 'leg godt', meaning 'play well'. Ole Kirk Christiansen's passion project in his woodshop during 1932 evolved into The Lego Group by 1934, shifting from wooden toys to plastic ones in 1947. It wasn't much later that the signature Lego brick won its patent in January 1958, paving the way for Brand Finance to crown Lego as the "world's most powerful brand". QVC This moniker mirrors the simplicity of its televised retail service – promising Quality, Value, Convenience. Yet, in today's fast-paced digital landscape, one could debate whether browsing the internet trumps sitting through television broadcasts for that perfect bargain. QVC, based in Knowsley Industrial Park, was established by Joseph Segel in Pennsylvania in 1986 and now broadcasts to over 350 million households in seven countries worldwide.
NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Oklahoma State defeats Virginia, wins 12th men's golf national title
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Eric Lee beat Josh Duangmanee, 2 up, to give Oklahoma State its 12th NCAA men's golf title and first in eight years, with the Cowboys beating Virginia, 4-1, on Wednesday at La Costa. Lee, a sophomore who played at California as a freshman, took the lead with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th, then chipped to 5 feet on the par-5 18th and finished off Duangmanee with a conceded birdie after the Virginia player missed a 15-foot birdie try. Lee scored for the winning point a day after making a 6-foot par putt on the 19th hole to lift fourth-seeded Oklahoma State past Mississippi in the semifinals. The Cowboys beat Bedlam rival Oklahoma in the quarterfinals. On a cloudy afternoon with the temperature in the mid-60s, Swedish freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson, Gaven Lane and Ethan Fang also won matches for Oklahoma State. Fahlberg-Johnsson won the opening match, beating Maxi Puregger, 3 and 1. Lane, in the fourth match, gave the Cowboys their second point with a 4-and-3 victory over Paul Chang. With the championship decided with Lee's victory, Fang's match against Bryan Lee ended after 15 holes with Fang, 1 up. Ben James, the No. 4 player in the amateur world ranking, won the lone match for Virginia, topping Preston Stout, 3 and 2. The Cavaliers were trying to win their first team title.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Oklahoma State wins its 12th NCAA men's golf title, beating Virginia 4-1 at La Costa
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Eric Lee beat Josh Duangmanee 2 up to give Oklahoma State its 12th NCAA men's golf title and first in eight years, with the Cowboys beating Virginia 4-1 on Wednesday at La Costa. Lee, a sophomore who played at California as a freshman, took the lead with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th, then chipped to 5 feet on the par-5 18th and finished off Duangmanee with a conceded birdie after the Virginia player missed a 15-foot birdie try. Lee scored for the winning point a day after making a 6-foot par putt on the 19th hole to lift fourth-seeded Oklahoma State past Mississippi in the semifinals. The Cowboys beat Bedlam rival Oklahoma in the quarterfinals. On a cloudy afternoon with the temperature in the mid-60s, Swedish freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson, Gaven Lane and Ethan Fang also won matches for Oklahoma State. Fahlberg-Johnsson won the opening match, beating Maxi Puregger 3 and 1. Lane, in the fourth match, gave the Cowboys their second point with a 4-and-3 victory over Paul Chang. With the championship decided with Lee's victory, Fang's match against Bryan Lee ended after 15 holes with Fang 1 up. Ben James, the No. 4 player in the amateur world ranking, won the lone match for Virginia, topping Preston Stout 3 and 2. The Cavaliers were trying to win their first team title. ___ AP golf:
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Food truck firm fails in High Court bid over disputed €2m earn-out following multi-milllion euro takeover
Family had sought court's judgment in advance of independent expert's decision A Co Wicklow-based family firm that agreed to sell its food-van business in 2022 for up to €13m to a Swedish company has failed to persuade the High Court to interfere in an accounting dispute over a more than €2m earn-out fee. The Ward family's Reward Catering business, which was owned by them through a vehicle called Sunward, was established in 2018 to construct mobile catering and food trucks. Its business surged during the pandemic, with the company becoming the biggest of its kind in Europe. The High Court said that: 'Sunward has engaged in what the Supreme Court had described as 'wasteful and premature' litigation' in seeking an advance declaration from it. Swedish conglomerate Teqnion agree to buy the Irish business in August 2022 for an initial €5.2m plus a potential earn-out to Sunward, which is controlled by Kevin, Thomas, Anne and John Ward. That earn-out consisted of three potential payments. The two firms had agreed that future disputes would be resolved by independent experts A first such payment, of €3m, was paid by Teqnion to Sunward. However, the Ward family disagreed with Teqnion's proposed second earn-out payment, which covered the period from September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2024. The earn-out was based on the gross profit the Irish catering-van business generated in a specific period. In October 2024, Teqnion delivered a draft earn-out statement to Sunward, in which it assessed the gross profit of the Irish business during the second earn-out period to be just under €2.8m, but reduced to just under €2.5m. The reason for the reduction was due to six invoices that were issued in August 2024. However, Teqnion didn't treat those transactions as income received until September 2024, when the trucks were delivered. ADVERTISEMENT Teqnion therefore argued that the sale of those trucks didn't fall within the second earn-out period, but the third. The High Court heard that as a result of this change, Teqnion claimed that the second earn-out amount due to Sunward is €222,754, rather than the almost €2.2m which Sunward claimed it would be if the six invoices had been treated as part of the revenue for the second earn-out period. The Swedish company pointed out that the required financial statements had to be prepared in accordance with accepted accounting principles and practices generally accepted in Ireland. Sunward claimed that Teqnion 'impermissibly adjusted' the gross profit in Reward Catering's management accounts by excluding the invoices from the calculations. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Teqnion and Sunward had agreed that any future disputes between them would be resolved by an independent expert accountant, rather than resorting to the courts. However, once they had a dispute, and before the expert determination process had commenced, Sunward initiated court proceedings regarding the dispute. It sought a declaration from the court that the expert is not entitled to refer to certain accounting standards in reaching her decision and that she is bound by a definition of gross profit contained in the agreement between the parties. The court rejected that application. 'It is clear therefore that the expert in this case is entitled to apply her interpretation of gross profit to the facts of the dispute and to come up with her adjustments, if any, to the draft earn-out statement, without any interference, in advance, from the courts,' it stated.
Daily Tribune
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Tribune
AI to spur more music creativity, not a threat: Spotify CEO
AFP | Artificial intelligence will encourage more people to create music in the future and is not a threat to the industry, the founder and CEO of streaming giant Spotify said. Artists using machine-learning tools to produce music have given rise to concerns about whether AI-generated music -- even entirely fake artists -- could one day replace human artists. "I'm mostly optimistic and mostly very excited because we're just in the beginning of understanding this future of creativity that we're entering," Daniel Ek told reporters at an Open House at the company's Stockholm headquarters this week. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and a recent book, "Mood Machine", have accused Spotify of tasking a handful of producers to make thousands of songs under fake AI profiles, which the company allegedly pushed onto playlists -- saving Spotify money by elbowing out real artists and their higher royalties. Spotify has denied the claims. "We want real humans to make it as artists and creators, but what is creativity in the future with AI? I don't know. What is music?" Ek said. He recalled that electronic dance music and the DJ culture, and before that, hip hop where people sampled music, were initially not considered "real music". Noting that Mozart had to compose entire symphonies in his head, Ek said that "now, any one of us can probably create a beat in five or 10 minutes". "The tools that we now have in our availability are just staggering." "Of course there are very scary potential applications for AI, but the more interesting thing for me is that the amount of creativity that creative people will have available at their fingertips is going to be insane," he said. "The barriers for creation are becoming lower and lower. More and more people will create," he said. Ek said he saw the development of AI in the music industry "much more as an evolution than a revolution". Spotify had 678 million active users at the end of March, including 268 million paying subscribers. Ek said the company, which turned its first annual profit in 2024, now had 100 million paying subscribers in Europe alone, and hoped to one day see a billion paying users worldwide. "I don't think there's any doubt in my mind that the potential for Spotify at some point is to eventually get to over a billion paying subscribers."
