Pier 1 imports is a Texas-based retailer that specializes in home furnishing and decor, seasonal decor particularly table-top items, furniture, and decorative accessories. Following is the timeline of Pier 1 imports that mentions its inception, growth, and current status: Started as a single store in San Mateo in 1962, Pier 1 imports' first customers were post-World War II baby boomers that were looking for beanbag chairs, love beads, and incense. Through the years, they offer merchandise ranging from chocolate-covered ants to clothing lines to Spanish suits of armor. They established their first headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas in the year 1966. By this year, there were 16 store locations that sold a merchandise mix of incense and other popular novelty items of that time. Pier 1 imports went public in the year 1970 and became listed on the American stock exchange at the same time. Two years later, Pier 1 imports joined the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol of PIR. They had opened 123 stores and had 100 percent sales gains for four consecutive years. By this time, they had expanded their international presence to Europe and Australia. They reached the $1 million mark annual sales with their newly opened store in Royal Oak, in the year 1979. There were at about 265 stores by the end of 1985. The management had then launched a plan to double the number of stores by the year 1990. They introduced Pier 1 preferred card in the year 1988. By the year 1989, there were 120,000 customers that were Pier 1 preferred cardholders. Pier 1 imports continued to grow internationally in the 90s as well. 1993 was the year that saw further international expansion, with their stores opening in Puerto Rico and a chain of stores opening in the United Kingdom. In the year 1996, Pier 1 imports introduced design concepts program. The program helped provide designers exclusive product reviews and gorgeous discounts on Pier 1 merchandise. The design concept is accepted at all Pier 1 stores throughout the US and Canada. The advent of millennium ushered the launch of online store, Pier1.com, with a new advertising campaign. They acquired Cargo furniture and Home in the year 2001 and changed the concept to Pier 1 kids. This concept offered value oriented fashionable children's furniture and accessories. They redesigned the e-commerce-enabled website that allowed its customers to shop as per their convenience.

Businesses need to be able to communicate seamlessly, not only with external stakeholders like investors, suppliers, and customers but also with internal stakeholders employees. For employees to be able to communicate with each other, the business has to provide them with reliable technology. This is where business phone systems come in. The role of a business system is to help organizations improve their efficiency and productivity so that they can increase their revenues and profits. A business phone system helps organizations do this by ensuring that communication is seamless. A business phone system is the interconnected network of phones that provides organizations with reliable voice communication. Most businesses use phone systems as they simplify intra-organization and even inter-organization communication, and have increased in reliability since the introduction of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Most business phone systems have centralized control over communications but also allow for the parties communicating to have greater control over the communication than traditional phones do. Features of business telephony that are considered commonplace today such as call forwarding, conference calling, call recording and muting are all products of business phone systems that have developed over the years. Organizations that implement business phone systems can be of any size, and the system's complexity will vary accordingly. Small organizations may prefer solutions that the phone system vendor maintains for a fixed fee, while larger organizations may prefer to have complete control over the system and its security. This flexibility makes it possible for nearly any organization to afford a phone system and lend a simple but important air of professionalism to its operations. And since most modern business phone systems use the internet and not on telephone lines, it allows for better quality of signals which in turn enable a certain level of programming of devices connected to the network, along with the improved call quality. This also means that these systems are a crucial component of the growing application of unified communications' within the organizations, which allows for the integration of all text, audio and visual communication within the organization. When an organization is looking to implement a business phone system to help it improve communications, it is important that they discuss their needs thoroughly with their selected vendors to find the best option. Most vendors offer options to setup up both on-premises and hosted solutions, or even a combination of both. The vendors will often evaluate an organization's needs during the RFP stage and propose the best solution. Whatever the choice, the solution will help the organization provide a reliable communication channel for employees, and increase time saved and reduce costs.

Insurance helps cover unexpected costs and liabilities that may incur in the future. Investing in a decent insurance policy also protects your assets, be it rental or owned. If you are a business owner and own or rent vehicles that transport goods and consumables, you must invest in commercial vehicle insurance for the following reasons. There are several monetary benefits, some that also save tax in the long run.

Some of them are mentioned below:

Get additional cover
Your regular auto insurance may not cover all costs that arise out of accidents or personal injury involving commercial vehicles. Also, most personal auto insurance policies are not valid for liabilities accrued out of vehicles used for business purposes. This is where commercial truck insurance will provide customized, comprehensive insurance suited to your business needs.

Follow regulations
The law in many states requires business owners to get a commercial vehicle insurance policy. The insurance is mandatory if your business transports goods and hauls heavy-duty equipment. Even if your company provides service from a vehicle, your auto insurance policy will not cover the liabilities. Any business, partnership, or corporation that owns vehicles for commercial use must buy this additional cover.

Customized coverage
One of the main advantages of buying commercial insurance is that you get custom cover for specific damage, repairs, or the replacement of certain parts. The insurance provides for anything necessary to protect your business interest from liabilities that arise out of an unforeseen circumstance. The semi-truck insurance quotes are available at competitive prices and can also be modified seasonally to avoid overpaying insurance.

Employee coverage
Some commercial policies also provide cover for employees who drive the vehicle. If any personal injury or liability arises from an accident or mishap involving the employee, commercial vehicle insurance will provide for these unexpected costs. The policies are also valid for businesses that do not own but rent vehicles for managing logistics.

Beneficial for offsetting costs
Lawsuits can be lengthy, tedious, and create a financial burden on the business. Even though basic auto policies provide cover for lawsuits, commercial vehicle insurance provides double this cover to pay for legal fees, court proceedings, and even damages if the liability falls on the business. More importantly, commercial insurance can be written off as a business expense and is tax-deductible.

Built by General Motors, the Chevrolet Traverse is a full-size crossover SUV built on the GM Lambda platform. This is the same platform that has been used on the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and is also the successor to the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Chevrolet Uplander, Saturn Outlook, the Chevrolet HHR, and the Chevrolet Astro that is a passenger van. The Traverse was originally built at General Motors Spring Hill Tennessee assembly plant during the year 2009. However, the production of the Traverse by then had moved to General Motors Delta Township, Michigan assembly plant in the year 2010. By October 2008, the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse had debuted at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, thus bringing the Traverse to every Chevrolet dealer for sale. The brand Chevrolet confirmed its program to expand the SUV lineup in July 2015, thus making the Enclave and Traverse the only large Crossover SUVs available. The sister car Acadia was shortened in size to a midsize SUV, further making the Trax and the Equinox smaller so it could compete with the Ford Flex and Explorer, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Volkswagen Atlas, and the Hyundai Santa Fe LWB. The second generation of Chevy Traverse is to debut in showrooms in the summer of 2017, predicting an increase in the Chevy Traverse lease deals. The Chevy Traverse lease deals talk of a crossover or crossover utility vehicle (CUV), which is a vehicle that is built on a car platform. It further has combined in many variable degrees, mixed features of sport utility vehicles (SUV) with additional features of a passenger vehicle, like those similar to a station wagon or hatchback. Construction typically seen in the passenger vehicles has been seen in the crossover model combining the SUV design features and the uni body construction rather than using the body on frame platform that is employed in original SUVs and light trucks.

In the world of home design and decorating, there are a number of elements that must come together to create a well-rounded and wholesome look. The hardware and building materials are some of the essentials that can render high design values to your space. So, it would be worthwhile to choose these essentials from a store that stocks a range of brands to fit many budgets and homes. Lowe's is a well-known hardware and home improvement store in the USA, with the chain reaching out to service many corners of the country. It is not uncommon to hear terms like DIY and home decor in the same sentence with Lowe's. This super store is a super specialty one that takes care of all your hardware needs from indoor to outdoor. It services many rooms of the home and also deals in all kinds of appliances for your space. So come and have a look at the various things you can avail here at Lowe's in order to give your kitchen a wonderful makeover! • Cabinets: One of the first things that we look for when we speak of a kitchen overhaul is the cabinetry. This is what defines the space and gives it a theme as well. At Lowe's, you can choose from a wide variety of grains and hues to do up your cabinetry. You can also plan the placement and the number of shelves and doors so that you can choose the quantity of the wood or laminate as well as the glass accordingly. Before you hit the store, it would be worthwhile to take measurements and then choose the kind of cabinetry you want. You can find different materials for the shelves and different materials for the doors. From modern to classic, urban to countryside, you can find and avail a world of themes for your kitchen. • Countertops: The countertops, much like the cabinets, will need some amount of planning before you go to the store to buy the material for installation later. Once you have decided on the overall theme and look for your kitchen, and once the cabinetry has been chosen, you can choose the countertops that will match best in terms of look and budget. You can pick from wood, granite, tiles and even steel countertops since a wide variety is available at Lowe's stores. You can also do a contrast between the cabinets and the countertops for an interesting and bold look. • Walls and backsplash: Decide on the color of the walls once you have chosen the cabinet colors and texture. This will also help you decide on the kind of backsplash that you want. For an urban theme, you can go in for a neat yet rugged warehouse look with slate or matte-finished tiles. For a classic look, you can choose tiles that feature a pretty pattern or some monogrammed words on them. This will also help in deciding the kind of lighting that you need to install in this space.

Blanching is a process in which a vegetable or fruit is scalded in boiling hot salt water, after which it is immersed in an ice cold bath to stop the cooking process. Blanching is done to mainly stop the enzymes from causing loss of flavor, texture or color of the said fruit or vegetable. Corn can be frozen in two distinct ways, without blanching and after blanching. How to freeze corn without blanching? There are two ways in which you can preserve corn without compromising the corn cob. Whole corn cob freeze: This process is by far the easiest way to freeze corn which does not require any blanching. Three steps to follow include shucking the corn, stuffing it in a nice freezer bag and just directly plop it in the freezer. While this might be the most time-saving method, simple to follow, there are a few drawbacks of flash freezing corn. It will be difficult to use the kernels which won't separate from the corn cob unless the entire cob is left to thaw at room temperature. Frozen kernels are difficult to extract from the cob which is why this time-saving method might end up costing you more time. Alternatives can be suggested to answer the question how to freeze corn using a technique which does not necessarily include a flash freeze. Unblanched frozen corn kernels: Kernels can be used in a variety of recipes which is why it is a good idea cut off the kernels from the cob, to be then frozen. An easy alternative as opposed to trying to remove frozen kernels from the frozen cob, which is why the process is effective when reversed. This not only retains the flavor but also keeps the texture and color of individual corn kernels intact to be used, whenever needed. How to freeze corn after blanching? The alternative way to freeze and preserve corn would be after it has been blanched. Corn which has not been blanched will taste raw, after being frozen and stored for a while. Cooked corn kernels however will taste fresh even after they have been frozen, which can be then used in salad and salsa recipes. This method will ensure delicious golden yellow kernels with just the right amount of crunch and taste. Both methods are debatable, each depending on the type of recipe. Blanching, cooking, cooling, and freezing might be a more time-consuming process, but the end product will be certainly worth the effort.