Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 06, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A12 A 12 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2013 WORLD winnipegfreepress. com WE FIX BROKEN SMARTPHONES ALL MAKES, ALL MODELS FROM $ 99 CRACKED SCREEN? 204.788.0900 620 KING EDWARD cdccomputer. com 90 FREE WARRANTY DAY CALL FOR DETAILS AIR CONDITIONERS . DISHWASHERS . STOVES . FREEZERS . FRIDGES . MICROWAVES . WASHERS/ DRYERS . HUMIDIFIERS USED APPLIANCES WPG LARGEST SELECTION PROVENCHER APPLIANCE 316 DES MEURONS ST CALL 237- 6868 All Appliances are REFURBISHED .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 0 1 3 M O D E L Y E A R CL E A R A N C E O N N O W SAVE UP TO $ 20,000 ON SELECT MODELS! FINANCING UP TO 84 MO. ZERO PERCENT L U C K Y ' 1 3 SA L E S E V E N T VISIT BIRCHWOOD. CA TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN SAVE! 233 Henderson Hwy . 204- 669- 5590 www. bikesandbeyond. ca Hours: Monday to Friday 10- 9, Saturday 10- 6, Sunday 1- 5 BACK TO SCHOOL SUPPLIES NEW BIKE! RACKS LIGHTS HELMET LOCK PANNIERS L PANN A C KS L ONDON - It took 45 seconds, but it was enough. Newborn Prince George, carried from the hospital to the royal car, appeared in a cotton swaddle with the tiny birds on it. Mums- to- be around the world wanted to know: Who are you wearing? The answer shows what it is like when a small company gets swept into the maelstrom of attention that comes from touching the golden hem of the House of Windsor. Once the photos of the swaddle hit the Internet, style bloggers and fashion writers identified the would- be king's new clothes as being from New York- based aden + anais. Within four hours of George's appearance, the website crashed. The next day, the site crashed again. In nine days, the company had 7,000 orders - a 600 per cent increase in sales on that item. The company never even issued a press release. Anyone who wanted to know the manufacturer simply had to type " royal swaddle" into Google, and up it came. Raegan Moya- Jones, the chief executive of aden + anais, was about to start a meeting when a colleague brought in the picture. She couldn't believe it. " I thought it was photo- shopped," she said. The company is still digging out from under a pile of orders for the swaddle, part of the Jungle Jam pack of four that in Britain costs 44.95 pounds ($ 68). The average daily visits to its site were off the charts: In Britain, they were up 1,960 per cent; in Australia, up 892 per cent; in Japan 791 per cent and in the U. S., up 458 per cent. So just be prepared to wait if you want to similarly swaddle your little prince or princess. Jungle Jam is sold out for now in Britain and the United States. Desperate swaddle searchers can find them on the company's Australian site if they hurry. Shipping fees are extra. And there's a factory run from China of 10,000. So hold on. People just want to be a part of things, says Cele Otnes, a professor of marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and co- author of the upcoming book Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture . She said the rush to buy whatever the royals wear gives admirers a chance to participate in a big, happy event. " This is history," she said. " If you can't be there, if you can't have a royal baby yourself, you can buy the swaddle." The royals do grant warrants - a mark of recognition of those who supply goods or services to the Royal Household. Fortnum & Mason has one for example, for being a " Grocer & Provision Merchant" to the monarch. But there are no royal adverts. Nonetheless, the royals remain marketing gold. They have always been trendsetters. Even Queen Victoria once promoted a ball to help the Spitalfields silk industry, Otnes said. More recently, Princess Diana's every ruffled collar or bow- lined stocking could set off the cash registers. But Prince George is the first heir to the throne born in the Internet age. New moms and dads can see what Kate and Wills and - now baby George - are wearing and buy it instantly. This goes way beyond commemorative china, tea towels and other trinkets - the traditional sort of souvenir that shoppers can pick up at the Buckingham Palace gift store. There's even a name for it: the Kate Effect. It started with the sapphire blue wrap dress designed by Daniella Helayel the then- Kate Middleton wore to announce her engagement - and just kept going. And now there's George, who isn't even wearing clothes yet but has managed to get blankets out the door. And it isn't just the ones from aden + anais. Little George first appeared in a white crocheted blanket from G. H. Hurt & Son of Nottingham, England. They are swamped with orders, too, after photographers zeroed in on the firm's label, blew it up and posted it on the net. - The Associated Press By George: We want that swaddle New York company swamped with orders for royal blanket By Danica Kirka COTABATO CITY, Philippines - A powerful bomb apparently rigged to a vehicle exploded Monday during rush hour along a main road in a volatile southern Philippine city, killing at least six people and wounding more than 30 others, officials said. Troops and police closed off the area along Sinsuat Avenue in Cotabato city as firefighters and ambulances arrived at the chaotic scene, where witnesses saw at least four people bloodied on the pavement as cars and buildings burned after the explosion. The fire damaged power and telephone cables, causing power outages in nearby communities, police said. Senior superintendent Rolen Balquin, who heads the city police, said the dead included a police officer aboard a passing van. Another police officer on board that van was wounded by shrapnel and was in critical condition in a hospital. At least 33 people were wounded by bomb shrapnel and flying debris from cars and motorcycles damaged by the explosion, he said. Cotabato, a bustling trading hub 880 kilometres south of Manila, has been hit previously by bombings blamed on Muslim rebels and extortion gangs. The bomb exploded Monday afternoon as a bulletproof SUV, carrying city administrator Cynthia Guiani- Sayadi, was passing by. Sayadi was not hurt but one of her police bodyguards in a security van was killed, officials said. Balquin said they were looking at the possibility the attack could have targeted Guiani- Sayadi. He said the city administrator " had been receiving threats for the past few days." National Police chief Alan Purisima ordered regional and provincial police offices in the southern Philippines to step up intelligence and security, particularly for soft targets such as commercial areas and other places where people converge, said police spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac. - The Associated Press Rush- hour bomb kills at least six in Philippines ALASTAIR GRANT / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES Orders for a cotton swaddle like the one worn by the new prince took the U. S. manufacturer by surprise. A_ 12_ Aug- 06- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A12 8/ 5/ 13 9: 01: 55 PM ;