Tausi Insider

Shopify president Harley Finkelstein at the the company's headquarters in Ottawa, on Dec. 8. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press When Kim Kardashian unveiled her beauty line SKKN with a Los Angeles mall pop-up in November, the world took note of her minimalist store, where concrete tissue boxes sold for US$89 and spheres of eye cream went for US$105. But 4,500 kilometres away in Ottawa, the buzz around the shop had nothing to do with it being blanketed in muted tones or selling luxurious, vegan wares and everything to do with the Shopify Inc. SHOP-T system Kardashian used to process orders. The tech giant’s president Harley Finkelstein tweeted store photos and video of Kardashian playing cashier, writing, “We aren’t just the ecommerce company – we are the retail everywhere company.” But as the company recently learned, “everywhere” isn’t everything. When the COVID-19 pandemic began and brick-and-mortar stores closed, big-name brands – Remy Cointreau, Crayola and Glossier – and pan...

Environmental, social and governance investing has been engulfed by suspicion and acrimony this year. That could be for the best. If anything, the turmoil in ESG has helped investors and the public better understand what it is, and what it is not, as the world grapples with social inequity and a climate crisis. At its core, ESG is a series of measures used to determine if a company or fund is protected against non-financial and policy-related risks tied to climate change, worker safety, boardroom diversity and other factors. It is slowly becoming more specifically categorized. “I think these are much-overdue growing pains,” said Alexandria Fisher, an Edmonton-based ESG risk-management expert. “It’s a clear signal that the area is maturing from something that is kind of greenwashing into something that is more robust and is creating a better picture for risk management.” As ESG-themed investment chilled in 2022, questions emerged about just how effective it is in transforming the busi...

Sustainable investing has taken its knocks, but that isn’t because the climate crisis has become any less acute. Instead, rising interest rates and a flight to safer short-term opportunities are doing much of the damage, says a top institutional investor. Investments in green technology and sustainable funds took off early in the pandemic as society focused its attentions on environmental vulnerabilities such as climate change. Years of low and stable interest rates helped fuel the boom, said Martin Grosskopf, portfolio manager and director of sustainable investing for AGF Management Ltd. As inflation fears have grown and rates have climbed to two-decade highs, investments in cleantech companies that may not generate cash flow until well into the future have given way to demand for more immediate payouts, Mr. Grosskopf said in an interview. “I would say the most problematic aspect of the last 18 months has simply been interest-rate volatility,” he said. One saving grace for the secto...

Shopify president Harley Finkelstein at the the company's headquarters in Ottawa, on Dec. 8. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press When Kim Kardashian unveiled her beauty line SKKN with a Los Angeles mall pop-up in November, the world took note of her minimalist store, where concrete tissue boxes sold for US$89 and spheres of eye cream went for US$105. But 4,500 kilometres away in Ottawa, the buzz around the shop had nothing to do with it being blanketed in muted tones or selling luxurious, vegan wares and everything to do with the Shopify Inc. SHOP-T system Kardashian used to process orders. The tech giant’s president Harley Finkelstein tweeted store photos and video of Kardashian playing cashier, writing, “We aren’t just the ecommerce company – we are the retail everywhere company.” But as the company recently learned, “everywhere” isn’t everything. When the COVID-19 pandemic began and brick-and-mortar stores closed, big-name brands – Remy Cointreau, Crayola and Glossier – and pan...