LOCAL BUSINESS
Bridgestone unit grows
Bridgestone Corp.’s joint tire-making venture in Turkey intends to boost its sales volume by 10 to 15 percent in 2013 as the country makes winter tires compulsory for commercial vehicles. The joint venture known as Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci Lastik Sanayi & Ticaret AS plans to sell 11 million tires next year, said Chief Executive Hakan Bayman. Revenue will grow “faster than the volume,” he said.
Bridgestone Corp., based in Tokyo, has a technical center and research operations in Akron. The unit Brisa Bridgestone has a market share of about 30 percent in Turkey, where it competes with Goodyear, Continental, Michelin and Pirelli.
The company is expected to close 2012 with sales growth of about 10 percent compared with a 1.6 percent expansion in the market, Bayman said. Brisa Bridgestone expects the Turkish tire market to expand as much as 7 percent in 2013.
The company increased winter tire sales by about 50 percent after the Turkish government ordered all commercial vehicles to use winter tires from December to the end of March every year, Bayman said.
Brisa Bridgestone will invest $70 million for expansion in 2013 as part of a plan to spend $200 million by 2015, after completing investment of $117 million for capacity expansion this year, he said.
Allstate buys back stock
Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer with Summit County operations in Hudson, authorized the repurchase of $1 billion in shares after profit rose four consecutive quarters. The buyback will be funded by issuing subordinated debentures, the Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer said.
Durham files appeal
An Indiana financier found guilty of swindling investors out of about $200 million through the former Akron-based Fair Finance Co. is appealing his convictions on fraud and conspiracy charges.
Timothy Durham’s notice of appeal appeared on the electronic docket of U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on Monday.
The Indianapolis Business Journal reported that the 71-page filing does not list an argument for appeal. The case will be heard by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals. The 50-year-old Durham was sentenced to 50 years in prison Nov. 30 after a jury convicted him of securities fraud, conspiracy and 10 counts of wire fraud in the collapse of Fair Finance.
ADVERTISING
New Diet Pepsi campaign
Diet Pepsi is sending a valentine to soda lovers, now that the soft drink’s staying power has been improved with a new sweetener. Starting at the end of January, PepsiCo Inc. will begin TV ads with the tag line “Love Every Sip,” along with the rollout of special edition silver cans featuring the blue-and-red Pepsi logo in a heart shape.
The company is working with designers to introduce other special designs later in the year as well. The push to reinvigorate the brand comes after PepsiCo quietly added another artificial sweetener to Diet Pepsi.
In addition to aspartame, the company says Diet Pepsi will now include a “very small amount” of a sweetener called acesulfame potassium to help the taste maintain its potency over time. The ingredient, also known as ace-K, is often used in conjunction with other artificial sweeteners and can be found in a wide array of food and newer diet sodas.
TELEVISION
Nielsen, Twitter team up
Twitter Inc. and television-ratings provider Nielsen Holdings NV are forming a partnership to measure the amount of online discussion being generated by TV programs, the two companies said. A new measurement, called the “Nielsen Twitter TV Rating,” will be available in the second half of 2013, New York-based Nielsen said. Terms of the partnership, which lasts multiple years, were not disclosed.
ELECTRONICS
HTC cancels smartphone plan
HTC Corp. scrapped plans to produce a large-screen smartphone using Microsoft’s operating system because the screen would have had lower resolution than competing models, according to a person familiar with the project. The Windows software doesn’t support resolutions as high as that on Google’s Android platform.
Chief Executive Officer Peter Chou’s decision to halt the project using Windows Phone 8 software leaves HTC with only Android for phones measuring larger than 5 inches diagonally, dealing a blow to Microsoft in its efforts to win share from Google and Apple.
Taiwan-based HTC had planned to introduce the device next year to claw back share from Samsung Electronics Co., which offers Galaxy Note devices with larger screens using Android.
Compiled from staff and wire reports