Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Coles partners with Accenture to cut costs

    Coles partners with Accenture to cut costs

    Coles is powering ahead with plans for a more digitally-focused future by signing a long-term agreement with global technology services company Accenture.

    The partnership is part of Coles’ Smarter Selling initiative which is hoped will cut costs to the tune of $1 billion over the next four years through the rollout of new technology.

    As part of the strategy, the supermarket plans to increase automation of manual tasks and use artificial intelligence for quicker and more accurate stock ordering.

    The supermarket giant has amped up its technology since its demerger from Wesfarmers last year, having recently announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to transform its shopping experience and improve productivity.

    Accenture has a global strategic relationship with Microsoft and will work alongside the tech giant to help Coles deliver “simpler, more efficient, and robust operations”.

    Accenture will also support the modernization of Coles’ supply chain with online grocery leader Ocado, which Coles partnered with in March.

    “We have committed to being technology-led in our stores and throughout our supply chain to reduce costs while delivering an even better shopping experience for customers and making life easier for our team members,” Coles chief executive Steven Cain said.

    “The partnership with Accenture will enable us to deliver the efficiencies we need for long-term sustainability, and provide the agility to respond to rapidly-evolving consumer needs. This is a vital part of Coles winning in its second century,” Cain said.

    As part of the expanded relationship with Accenture, the companies will invest in a joint innovation fund set up to explore new technology applications within Coles.

    “The evolution of the relationship with Accenture reflects the company’s strategy to win together through genuine partnerships with suppliers,” Coles chief information and digital officer Roger Sniezek said.

    “Accenture is a global leader in the digital space and in working together over the past years across a wide range of areas of Coles Group, we have each come to understand each other’s businesses, strengths, and ways of working,” he added.

    “By leveraging this enhanced relationship, we will work together to build Coles’ technological capability, so we have the tools we need to inspire our customers and make life easier for our team members.”

    Accenture will also support the implementation of SAP solutions across procurement, human resources, and finance at Coles.

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  • Alibaba targets 30 million US SMEs

    Alibaba targets 30 million US SMEs

    Alibaba has opened its platform to enable US businesses to sell their products to millions of Alibaba.com buyers in the US and around the globe.

    The nearly 30 million small and medium-sized businesses in the US – especially manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors – can now better access the US$23.9 trillion global B2B e-commerce market, an opportunity that is six times larger than the global B2C e-commerce market.

    Alibaba is also co-producing a series of “Build Up” workshops and webinars with local chambers of commerce and B2B organizations across the country – including Score, one of the nation’s largest non-profit networks of volunteer, expert business mentors.

    “Alibaba aims to empower entrepreneurs and help them succeed on their own terms,” said Alibaba Group’s head of North America B2B John Caplan. “With 10 million active business buyers in over 190 countries and regions, we are reshaping B2B commerce by providing the tools and services needed for US SMB companies to compete and succeed in today’s global marketplace.”

    “Alibaba’s announcement to welcome US sellers onto its B2B marketplace shows the Chinese retail giant’s desire to diversify its product offering,” said Emarketer principal analyst Jillian Ryan.

    “Currently, about 90 percent of the goods sold on the marketplace are from factories in China that are often manufacturing custom goods-to-order for buyers across the globe. Buyers on the platform are from developed nations like the US, Canada, India, Australia, Brazil, and the UK, and these buyers want to be able to source goods from the US.”

    As part of its extended services, Alibaba has streamlined the ability to build and manage a single digital store on the global Alibaba.com platform; added valuable transaction capabilities, including online payment; built CRM and communications tools to facilitate the direct ownership of customer relationships; enhanced digital marketing tools to target any appropriate B2B demand; and provided an option to work with Alibaba.com’s US-based Seller Success team.

  • VF Corporation posts first results after Kontoor spinoff

    VF Corporation posts first results after Kontoor spinoff

    Apparel giant VF Corporation has reported a 9 percent increase in same-store sales on a currency-neutral basis in the June quarter, to US$2.3 billion.

    VF Corporation owns a portfolio of outdoor and activity-based lifestyle and workwear brands, including Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies. In May it spun off its denim business, which includes Lee and Wrangler labels, in a new company called Kontoor Brands.

    The company said its gross margin increased by 140 basis points to 54.4 percent, driven by favorable mix and timing of foreign-currency transaction hedge gains.

    Operating income was $133 million.

    “Our first quarter represents a new chapter for VF following the spin-off of Kontoor Brands and our relocation to Denver, Colorado,” said Steve Rendle, chairman, president and CEO.

    “Our first-quarter results demonstrate the power of VF’s evolved portfolio and our progress along our journey to become a purpose-led, performance-driven, value-creating enterprise anchored in our commitment to be more consumer-minded and retail-centric in everything we do.”

    VF Corporation recorded an after-tax net loss from discontinued operations was of $48 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, which reflects the operating results of the jeans business, including $59.5 million of separation costs related to the spin-off.

    Figures in the quarterly results above are compared with comparable trading period last year, after the removal of the discontinued (spun-off) business.

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  • Zalora Philippines targets 50-per-cent annual sales growth

    Zalora Philippines targets 50-per-cent annual sales growth

    Fashion e-tailer Zalora Philippines is targeting 50 percent annual growth in sales over the next five-year period.

    The firm’s confidence in its target is based on the number of Filipinos embracing online shopping.

    “We will end the year with more than 50 percent growth year on year,” said Zalora Group CEO Gunjan Soni, “and we expect that trajectory to continue”.

    “We actually see that trend continuing in terms of very high double-digit growth for at least the next five years,” said ZPH president and CEO Paolo L. Campos III. “We don’t see growth tapering, we see it sustaining at the very high double-digit level.”

    Zalora also operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

  • Ford Shuts Down Transmission Plant In France

    Ford Shuts Down Transmission Plant In France

    A Ford plant that produced transmissions in southwestern France shut down for good on Wednesday after the carmaker brushed aside efforts save some operations at the facility that had employed up to 3,600 people. The factory in Blanquefort, outside Bordeaux, was scheduled to close on July 31 but “people arrived this morning and were told to go home, and that there was no point in coming back,” union activist Eric Troyas told AFP.

    “People were crying. They were thrown out like trash,” he said, adding that managers of the plant that opened in 1972 and recently employed around 850 people had taken advantage of a thin union presence during the summer months to shut it down early.

    Ford first said it would close the site in February 2018 but until late February this year, there was some hope it could be sold to the Franco-Belgian equipment manufacturer Punch Powerglide, which had floated a plan to save around half the jobs. On Wednesday, “the assembly lines were empty and Ford did not try to keep people occupied, they emptied their lockers and left,” works committee member Gilles Lambersend said.

    A spokesman for Ford France told that the “production is indeed finished,” before noting that the plant had already been operating at a minimum level.

    The French government had tried to come up with a solution for the site and vowed in February to make the US automaker pay for laid-off staff, a clean-up of the plant, and efforts to implant new industrial activity there.

    Ford had received around 15 million euros ($17 million) in state aid in recent years, but the government acknowledged it could not demand it be reimbursed. Ford announced in June it would slash 12,000 jobs across Europe.

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  • Marley Spoon brings first meal kit service to Tasmania

    Marley Spoon brings first meal kit service to Tasmania

    Marley Spoon launched its meal kit service in Tasmania on Wednesday, making it the first service of its kind available on the Australian island state.

    The delivery service will initially cover the greater Hobart and Launceston areas, but Marley Spoon said it will expand to more locations throughout the state in the near future.

    “Tasmania is known as one of Australia’s premier food destinations, but now locals can benefit from having some of the best products delivered straight to their doors,” Marley Spoon Australia managing director and co-founder Rolf Weber said on Wednesday.

    “We’re excited to bring stress-free, delicious and sustainable cooking to even more Aussie households.”

    Woolworths announced a strategic partnership with the meal kit company last month, along with a $30.05 million investment.

    The meal kit service launched in Australia in 2015 and is available nationally. Customers in Tasmania can pre-order their boxes from today, with the first deliveries to take place on August 5.

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  • Ford Results Dented By Restructuring

    Ford Results Dented By Restructuring

    Ford Motor Co on Wednesday reported a lower-than-expected profit, weighed down by charges to restructure its units in Europe and South America, and the automaker gave a full-year earnings forecast that fell short of analyst expectations.

    Virtually all of Ford’s second-quarter pre-tax profit came from North America, its most lucrative market, where highly-profitable pickup trucks drive margins for the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker and its Detroit rivals General Motors Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.

    The automaker also posted a small profit in Europe and a far smaller loss in China versus the second quarter of 2018 as better pricing and new luxury models helped offset a poor performance in that market.

    Ford’s second-quarter sales in China fell 21.7% in the second quarter after a first-quarter drop of 35.8%.

    In April, Ford said it planned to launch more than 30 new models over the next three years to overhaul its vehicle lineup in China.

    Ford’s ongoing restructuring includes cutting costs and overhauling its product lineup in key global markets like China and Europe.

    Last month, Ford said it would cut 12,000 jobs, close five plants and cut shifts at other factories in Europe by the end of next year in an effort to return that region to profitability.

    In May, the company said it would eliminate about 10% of its global salaried workforce, cutting about 7,000 jobs by the end of August.

    Earlier this month, Ford and Volkswagen AG said they will spend billions of dollars to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles, deepening a global alliance to slash development and manufacturing costs. The size and timing of the payoff from that alliance remain unclear.

    Ford had previously not provided an earnings forecast for this year. The company said on Wednesday it now expects full-year earnings between $1.20 and $1.35 per share. Analysts have estimated the automaker will earn $1.39 per share this year, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

    Speaking to reporters, Chief Financial Officer Tim Stone said the company now expects adjusted 2019 pre-tax profit of up to $7.5 billion, compared with $7 billion in 2018.

    “We have a long way to go … to execute on our redesign,” Stone said. “We have a lot of work to do.”

    For the first half of the year, Ford reported a pre-tax profit of $4.1 billion, meaning that, at best, the automaker will deliver a weaker pre-tax profit of $3.4 billion for the second half of 2019.

    The No. 2 U.S. automaker posted a second-quarter net profit of $148 million, or 4 cents per share, down from $1.1 billion, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.

    Excluding one-time charges, the company earned 28 cents per share. Analysts had expected Ford to earn 31 cents a share.

    Excluding a write-down of its stake in a software company, Ford said it would have earned 32 cents per share.

    Revenue was flat at $38.9 billion, above the $35.07 billion analysts had expected.

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  • Kmart opens New Zealand’s first 24/7 store

    Kmart opens New Zealand’s first 24/7 store

    Kiwis will soon be able to shop at Kmart 24/7 when the retailer’s newly refurbished Sylvia Park store opens on August 15.

    The retailer is billing the store as the first department store in the country to stay open 24 hours a day.

    “For us, it’s about offering better support to New Zealand families who are busy balancing work, family and leisure commitments; and more convenience for shift workers and people working non-traditional business hours,” said Jason Picard, Kmart New Zealand country manager, in a statement about the launch.

    Kmart entered the New Zealand market in 1988 and now has more than 200 stores across Australia and New Zealand. The 5000sqm Sylvia Park store will be the retailer’s seventh location in Auckland when it reopens next month in the space formerly occupied by Countdown Supermarket.

    “At Kmart, we want to make everyday living brighter for our customers, whether that means creating on-trend products at everyday low-prices everyone can enjoy, opening stores in new communities or extending operating hours to make shopping more convenient,” Picard said.

    “We want our customer experience with the brand to be a really positive one, which is why we are proud to offer click and collect services across our entire New Zealand store network; and why we are constantly expanding our online offer.”

    Helen Ronald, Sylvia Park center manager, said the shopping center was “proud to be working with retailers like Kmart that are pushing the boundaries”.

    “This really reinforces Sylvia Park’s standing as New Zealand’s favorite shopping destination.”

    In the last year, the shopping center has added 600 new car parks, ANZ Raranga, and its first office tower. Once the Galleria expansion is complete in 2020, it will have 60 new stores and nearly 5000 car parks.

    Kmart Sylvia Park will open on August 15, celebrating the occasion with a series of family fun activities staggered throughout the day.

    Entertainment will include prize giveaways, face painting from 4 pm, a late-night market, and interactive workshops hosted by the Kmart team.

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  • BMW Doubles Battery Production Capacity

    BMW Doubles Battery Production Capacity

    BMW Group said on Wednesday it would double its production capacity for electric vehicle batteries at its U.S. plant in South Carolina as it ramps up manufacturing of plug-in hybrid vehicles to include the X3 vehicle in addition to the X5. BMW said it was investing $10 million in a new battery assembly line which will be capable of operating in a two-shift system ahead of the introduction of the BMW X3 plug-in hybrid vehicle by the end of the year.

    BMW made 15,000 batteries last year with a one-shift system and currently produces a plug-in hybrid version of the X5 offroader. A new version of the X5 will be produced at the Spartanburg plant from August onwards, the company said. BMW said it planned to employ 120 staff to manufacture different types of batteries, and the additional staff gave it the capacity to double production.

    In the past four years BMW workers assembled 45,000 batteries, the carmaker said.

  • LVMH sales up 15 per cent despite global tensions

    LVMH sales up 15 per cent despite global tensions

    Luxury brand owner LVMH has reported a solid 15 percent increase in sales in the first half of this year, shrugging off gloomy consumer sentiment in many markets.

    The parent of Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Bulgari, Sephora, DFS, Moet and a raft of other brands recorded sales of €25.1 billion. Organic growth was 12 percent ahead of the same period a year earlier.

    Second quarter growth was also up by 15 per cent of the beginning of the year, with the US, Asia and Europe all showing good growth and an obvious rebound in France in the second quarter.

    While the company noted a slowdown in demand in Hong Kong and Macau over the past few months, its DFS department-store subsidiary recorded “good” performance during the first half of the year.

    Profit from recurring operations was €5.295 billion for the first half, up by 14 percent, with an operating margin reaching 21.1 per cent – about the same as last year.

    “These results once again illustrate the effectiveness of our strategy and the exceptional desirability of our Maisons, whose products transcend time,” said chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault.

    “Their constant demand for quality and their consistently refreshed creativity are key to LVMH’s success, always guided by a long-term vision, combining exemplarity and responsibility in all the company’s actions. Despite buoyant demand, we will continue to manage costs and remain vigilant into the second half of the year. We are therefore entering the second half of the year with confidence and count on the talent of our teams and their shared entrepreneurial passion to further increase, once again in 2019, our leadership in the world of high-quality products.”

    The company’s fashion and leather goods business group recorded organic sales growth of 18 percent and profit from recurring operations was up 17 percent. The Louis Vuitton brand business achieved growth in all businesses and regions. Christian Dior had “a remarkable performance during the first half,” the company said, with its new 30 Montaigne line a standout.

    The selective retailing business group achieved organic revenue growth of 8 percent, with profit from recurring operations up 17 percent. Within that group, Sephora recorded strong revenue growth and gained market share in all of its locations, LVMH reported.

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  • Singapore startup Tuzo wants to help retailers hyper-personalise stores

    Singapore startup Tuzo wants to help retailers hyper-personalise stores

    Singaporean tech startup Tuzo is using AI to help retailers hyper personalize stores.

    The firm is focused on harnessing artificial intelligence and machine learning to help retailers tailor shopping experiences to their shoppers’ preferences, using real-time web browsing and shopping data. The hyper-personalized experiences are designed not only to help increase revenues for retailers, but also to generate data and shopper insights to help plan demand.

    “We have seen conversions go up by up to 50 percent, and basket size up by up to 40 percent in a large department store while the customer satisfaction with our BraFit solution was as high as 90 percent,” said Tuzo CEO Mohit Agrawal.

    Tuzo has solutions for apparel, lingerie, beauty, bags, footwear and jewelry – and is targeting department stores, offline fashion retailers and online stores. Tuzo also helps retailers digitize their inventory by tagging the products automatically for catalog creation using computer visuals. It also offers a visual search product, which allows shoppers to search for an item just by taking or uploading a picture, and a style advisor that engages with shoppers at a personal level by advising a complete look based on shopper preferences, retailer inventory and fashion trends.

    “Tuzo leverages algorithms developed using AI and machine learning to bring together the shopper preference, fit and global/regional fashion trends,” said company co-founder Sudhir Jha. “Tuzo solutions drive the omnichannel efforts of retailers. Tuzo will continue to invest in the development of cutting-edge technologies for the retail industry.”

    In its next phase of growth, Tuzo is planning to help hyper personalize stores in other Southeast Asian countries.

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  • Starbucks buys stake in retail-technology startup Brightloom

    Starbucks buys stake in retail-technology startup Brightloom

    Starbucks Coffee Company has announced a deal with Brightloom (formerly Eatsa), a San Francisco and Seattle tech company that is working to create a best-in-class end-to-end digital customer experience platform for the restaurant industry.

    Starbucks is granting Brightloom a software license to select components of Starbucks’ proprietary digital flywheel software. In connection with the licensing agreement, Starbucks will take an equity stake in Brightloom and receive a seat on the company’s board of directors.

    Brightloom will combine its existing technology assets with software licensed from Starbucks’ digital flywheel. The combination will lead to the development of a cloud-based software solution for the restaurant industry that will connect customers to their favorite restaurant brands – particularly valuable given the recent hypergrowth of mobile ordering and third-party delivery platforms.

    Brightloom plans on making the software solutions available to Starbucks’ global license partners and will open this platform up to the entire restaurant industry of merchants. Starbucks will continue to drive software development of the Starbucks digital flywheel for all its company-operated markets.

    “We’re delighted to partner with Brightloom and drive a broad innovation agenda that extends relevant customer experiences from brick-and-mortar to a digital-mobile customer connection,” said Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.

    “At Starbucks, we have experienced first-hand the power that comes through digital customer connections that are relevant to the customer. The results we’ve seen in customer loyalty and frequency within our digital ecosystem speak for themselves, and we’re excited to apply these innovations toward an industry solution that elevates the customer experience across the restaurant industry.”

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  • Jaguar Confirms J-Pace SUV In The Works

    Jaguar Confirms J-Pace SUV In The Works

    Jaguar has confirmed that the J-Pace SUV is in the works and a select few got a chance to see what the car is like. The J-Pace will be positioned above the F-Pace and it is likely to be underpinned by the MLA platform which will also spawn the next-generation Land Rover and its hardware will be developed with electrification in mind. The company had already announced its electrification plan worldwide. Every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving customers more choice. The company is also set to introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles and that has already started with the I-Pace.

    There are more cars coming through and this includes the replacements for the current XE and F-Type. Of course, there’s also the all-electric version of the flagship sedan, XJ, which is set to make its mark in the market very soon. the model all-electric XJ which will succeed the combustion version which rolled off the production line for the last time on July 5.

    Codenamed Road Rover, the new generation Jaguar XJ will also get cosmetic changes along with the electric motor. Reports suggest that the XJ will be turned in to a five-door sedan instead of the current 4-door body. It is understood that the design layout for the new XJ is ready and the company will soon start working on it. This new design language will also be seen in the future Jaguar models.

    Additionally, considerably less expensive ‘baby Jags’ (possibly badged A-Pace or B-Pace) have not been ruled out. Dr. Ralph Speth, Jaguar CEO also stressed that Jaguar (plus sister manufacturer, Land Rover) are definitely not for sale to Peugeot-Citroen, Fiat-Chrysler, Hyundai-Kia or any other motor manufacturing companies.

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  • Body Shop Malaysia and Vietnam operator to list

    Body Shop Malaysia and Vietnam operator to list

    The retailer and distributor of The Body Shop products in Malaysia since 1984 has yet to fix the issue price and the opening and closing dates of the IPO. But local news reports have suggested the IPO may raise up to MYR200 million (US$48.6 million).

    InNature has indicated plans to use any IPO proceeds for capital expenditure, working capital and new business development.

    The firm has 89 locations in Malaysia and 26 in Vietnam, including online platforms. It plans to enter Cambodia later this year.

  • LVMH sales up despite global tensions

    LVMH sales up despite global tensions

    Luxury brand owner LVMH has reported a solid 15 percent increase in sales in the first half of this year, shrugging off gloomy consumer sentiment in many markets.

    The parent of Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Bulgari, Sephora, DFS, Moet and a raft of other brands recorded sales of €25.1 billion. Organic growth was 12 percent ahead of the same period a year earlier.

    Second-quarter growth was also up by 15 percent of the beginning of the year, with the US, Asia and Europe all showing good growth and an obvious rebound in France in the second quarter.

    While the company noted a slowdown in demand in Hong Kong and Macau over the past few months, its DFS department-store subsidiary recorded “good” performance during the first half of the year.

    Profit from recurring operations was €5.295 billion for the first half, up by 14 percent, with operating margin reaching 21.1 percent – about the same as last year.

    “These results once again illustrate the effectiveness of our strategy and the exceptional desirability of our Maisons, whose products transcend time,” said chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault.

    “Their constant demand for quality and their consistently refreshed creativity are key to LVMH’s success, always guided by a long-term vision, combining exemplarity and responsibility in all the company’s actions. Despite buoyant demand, we will continue to manage costs and remain vigilant into the second half of the year. We are therefore entering the second half of the year with confidence and count on the talent of our teams and their shared entrepreneurial passion to further increase, once again in 2019, our leadership in the world of high-quality products.”

    The company’s fashion and leather goods business group recorded organic sales growth of 18 percent and profit from recurring operations was up 17 percent. The Louis Vuitton brand business achieved growth in all businesses and regions. Christian Dior had “a remarkable performance during the first half,” the company said, with its new 30 Montaigne line a standout.

    The selective retailing business group achieved organic revenue growth of 8 percent, with profit from recurring operations up 17 percent. Within that group, Sephora recorded strong revenue growth and gained market share in all of its locations, LVMH reported.

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