In June, French magazine Challenges reported that Clarins management had informed employee representatives of interest from PPR, its luxury goods rival LVMH and beauty specialist L'Oreal.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Targeted advertising, which directly compares the quality of a branded product with a private-label rival, is also a short-term solution for consumer-goods companies, which are keen to remind their customers why paying more is a good idea.

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Now, worryingly, something similar may threaten Haier, China's leading white-goods maker, which recently failed with a bid for Maytag, an American rival.

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Egypt had blocked the transfer of goods into Gaza since Hamas came to power after winning elections in 2006 and ousting the rival Fatah faction from Gaza the following year.

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The developers make money through advertising and by offering users a way to pay for virtual goods in their games that could, for example, help them manage a virtual farm or defeat rival mobsters.

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