Latest news with #Vino
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Fiamma records robust Q1 FY25 performance, driven by trading, property segment gains
KUALA LUMPUR: Fiamma Holdings Bhd recorded revenue of RM98.56 million for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2025 (FY25), a slight increase from RM95.60 million in Q1 of last year. Profit before tax surged by 761% to RM41.09 million from RM4.77 million in Q1 FY24, supported by strong operational performance across all segments and a one-off gain arising from the dilution of equity interests in subsidiaries. The trading and services segment, contributing 79.2% of total revenue, achieved steady growth, increasing to RM78.01 million from RM77.10 million previously, with segment PBT improving to RM10.91 million from RM9.30 million. This reflects sustained demand and efficient operational management. The group's property development segment showed notable improvement, contributing 19.5% of total revenue. Revenue rose to RM19.25 million from RM17.32 million, and the segment returned to profitability, achieving a profit before tax of RM0.80 million compared to a loss of RM1.44 million in the same quarter last year. Commenting on the encouraging quarterly performance, Fiamma group CEO Tan Chee Wee said the company's robust Q1 FY25 performance reflects the continuous efforts to enhance operational efficiency and capitalise on market opportunities. 'The strategic joint venture with Samyou to launch our new Vino brand in the air conditioner segment underscores our commitment to diversifying our product offerings and driving future growth. 'Additionally, we remain dedicated to ongoing investments in brand-building initiatives to strengthen our market presence and competitive edge,' he said in a statement. Fiamma recently entered into a strategic joint venture with Samyou to establish its presence in the air conditioner market through the new Vino brand, expanding its product portfolio and leveraging synergies between both companies. Looking ahead, Fiamma remains optimistic about its growth trajectory despite global economic uncertainties. The group is focused on innovation, operational enhancements, and product portfolio expansion, particularly in smart and energy-efficient solutions. Ongoing and planned property development projects, including those in Johor Bahru, Sungai Besi, and Kuala Lumpur, are expected to positively contribute to future profitability. 'Our strategic focus remains clear: enhancing operational efficiency, expanding our distribution channels, and consistently delivering innovative solutions to ensure sustainable growth and value for our stakeholders,' Tan said. Looking ahead, Tan said Fiamma remains optimistic about its growth trajectory despite global economic uncertainties.
The Hindu
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Indian designer Vino Supraja named Global Sustainable Fashion Trailblazer at the British Parliament
'For somebody who is from the small town of Vandavasi; who did her schooling in a Government school; and had a lot of insecurities about speaking English; to go to the British Parliament and talk about our culture, was a surreal, happy moment,' says designer Vino Supraja. She was recently honoured with the title of Global Sustainable Fashion Trailblazer award at the House of Commons, British Parliament. The 45-year-old designer, now based in Dubai, has had a long, fragmented sojourn in the world of fashion. She says that it is not one single moment that led her here. Instead it is simply a series of things that kept shooting at her. 'I am still observing where it is going to take me,' she says. For a long time, Vino dabbled in media studies. 'I did my architecture degree in Chennai and then I learnt animation, and I joined an electronic media course in Anna University.' After a brief stint in radio, Vino shifted base to China. In China, while scouring websites for possible study or job opportunities, she chanced upon only two sites in English. The rest were all in Chinese. 'One was a business school and the other, a fashion school. I somehow associated numbers with business so I opted for the other option! That's my official entry into the world of fashion,' she recalls, laughing. Vino's graduation collection went on to receive two international awards, and made its appearance in the 2014 Shanghai Fashion Week. Then life moved to Detroit — where her collection was walked in New York Fashion Week, and then Brooklyn Fashion Week where she featured a line that came out of the Chennai floods of 2018. It was only five years in. After moving to Dubai, where she is based now, she realised 'the dark side of the fashion industry', as she calls it. 'It was a moment of realisation. I wanted my brand to adopt a sustainable path. That is when we started working with the Chennimalai weavers. That slowly led me to London Fashion Week.' The ancient Tamil folk art form of Therukoothu has always inspired Vino, especially as she hails from Purisai, one of the main, still-thriving centres of the folk form. 'When London Fashion Week came up, I decided that this is the time I should platform Therukoothu,' says Vino. 'I went to Purisai and there I met someone who I have admired from my childhood days — Purisai Kannappa Thambiran Ayya. They were very happy to collaborate. I learnt how to dress a character and do their makeup. We came to Chennai to record the audio, and showcased a one-minute presentation at the London Fashion Week before the models walked the ramp. The western world was shocked to see so many colours on one person,' recalls Vino. All these collections are available on the website. Her next visit was to Bhavani in Erode district to understand the crafting of the famed jamakkalam fabric. 'I could see that the craft was diminishing and many weaving looms were left unattended. Small businesses were suffering. This made me wonder what I can do with my brand.' Stripes, solid colours, very minimal — the jammakalam's aesthetic was decidedly global. 'The stripes of the Bhavani jamakkalam are at par with the Gucci stripes! This year we launched the J collection, with bags.' With the new, rather heavy moniker of Global Sustainable Fashion Trailblazer, the responsibilities increase. While sustainability has been a buzz word in the fashion industry for the last five years, it is now being overtaken by AI, says Vino. 'Now, the dialogue is around incorporating AI in fashion and the chatter about sustainability is taking a backseat. Ultimately, moving to sustainability should be taken as a responsibility by the big brands first.' Vino is now working on reimagining the Bhavani jamakkalam to make products other than bags. 'I want to give prompts to the world, which anyone can adopt and enhance their creativity with.' With fabrics and techniques that deserve global attention, Vino crusades to bring the world to South India, one jamakkalam at a time.
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Seaside resort residents cower from bird poo onslaught as endangered kittiwakes flock to town after offshore wind farm 'hotels' failed to attract them
It is known as the birthplace of Benjamin Britten, the late British composer and avid birdwatcher. But people in the Suffolk coastal town of Lowestoft are struggling to maintain their most famous resident's enthusiasm for the local sea bird population in the face of an aerial onslaught from kittiwakes. Growing numbers of the endangered species have sent locals scurrying for cover as their droppings descend from the sky with increasing frequency, with some people reluctant to leave their homes at all. One local business owner said staff were spending up to two hours daily cleaning the mess left on his shop's windows and canopy. 'It stinks and it's making a big mess,' said Mr Vino of V&A Stores. 'A few customers came into the shop last week and complained about the smell'. The birds have been resident in the resort town since the 1950s, when they began to colonise the entrance to the town's port. Such is the ubiquity of the red-listed species that efforts to prevent them from nesting on local buildings have given way to initiatives designed to accommodate them. Most notable among those has been the construction of kittiwake 'hotels', artificial nesting sites which have been in place for the past two years. Another case in point is the local BT building, where netting intended to keep the gulls at bay was replaced with nesting shelves. Kittiwakes are seen perching on purpose-built ledges on the side of a building in Lowestoft Such measures have helped Lowestoft to buck the trend that has caused a 40 per cent decline in the global kittiwake population since 1975 as fish stocks have been diminished by overfishing and climate change. But not all residents are convinced that is a welcome development. Tony Shreeve, who has lived opposite the BT building for the past decade, points to the havoc the birds have wrought. 'They are a bit hooligan-like - they tear the place apart and go through the bins,' he said. Even tourists like Shirley and Christopher Wyartt, visiting Lowestoft from Ipswich, have noticed the mess made by the birds. 'It is just left on the ground,' said Mrs Wyartt. 'It is an eyesore.' Kittiwakes typically return to where they hatched, and the number of birds flocking to Lowestoft to settle during the spring and summer has risen more than threefold over the past four years. Almost 2,000 kittiwakes have returned to their usual nests in the town, up from about 650 in 2021 - making Lowestoft home to one of the UK's most successful urban colonies. 'They've really come back in force now and it is more noticeable,' said Dick Houghton of the Lowestoft Seagull Action Group. 'If they were hatched in the town, they'd tend to return there. The more birds we have, the more mess.' Houghton is not averse to the birds, but neither is he oblivious to the problems they cause. 'They've increased in numbers by setting up on shop fronts and bedroom windows,' he said. 'They crap over the side of the nest, which generally lands on the pavement. 'They feed entirely on fish and small sea creatures - the stink is the smell of rotting fish. They've become more in your face and in your nose.' Explaining that chicks usually return to where they were hatched after spending the winter months in the North Atlantic, Houghton said the first kittiwake returned to Lowestoft on February 1, with the rest following 'en masse'. 'The hotels were built to provide opportunities for the birds to nest, otherwise the wind turbines could kill them,' said Houghton. 'People have assumed the hotels were there to take birds from the town - which is the ideal eventually. 'It takes one or two brave ones to try it out before the rest follow.' One seagull that has definitely gone, however, is a giant mural painted by the street artist Banksy as part of his Great British Spraycation series. The mural, part of a collection that appeared across Norfolk and Suffolk in 2021, showed a seagull tucking into a refuse skip full of polystyrene chips. It was removed from the side of a local house in the small hours in 2023. For all the controversy surrounding the birds, there are tentative signs that the offshore 'artificial nesting structures' - or kittiwake hotels - are starting to bear fruit. Following efforts by ornithologists to use life-like decoy kittiwakes and recordings of their distinctive calls to coax the birds to the hotels, a kittiwake chick hatched at one of them last year for the first time. It is hoped that more birds will nest and lay eggs in the hotels over time, prompting the birds to return there rather than populating the town. 'Businesses, and people living in Lowestoft, who are host to kittiwakes are playing a vital role in protecting vulnerable seabirds,' a spokesman for East Suffolk Council said. 'However, we do appreciate that there are challenges associated with housing kittiwakes, including mess. 'East Suffolk Council continues to coordinate regular pressure washing of public areas during the nesting season, to support local people by managing the mess from kittiwakes and other birds. 'The Lowestoft Kittiwake Partnership has also been supporting businesses with advice on managing the impact of urban gulls.'
