Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Carousell raises US$56 million from Naspers

    Carousell raises US$56 million from Naspers

    Singaporean m-commerce platform Carousell has raised US$56 million from Naspers, the parent company of the Philippines’ online marketplace OLX.

    As part of the deal, Carousell will also acquire OLX Philippines, with the transaction due to be completed by the second half of this year.

    OLX Group will own a 10 per cent stake in Carousell, and values the company at “over US$550 million,” the firm says.

    The merger will give Carousell a boost in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia.

    Currently featuring 196 million listings Carousell has sold some 71 million items since it was founded in 2012. The company says it wants to continue improving predictive features like smart listings, personalised browsing, chat experiences and price-suggestion functions.

    The firm has raised approximately $170 million to date, and expects a valuation of $1 billion, in the near future.

    Carousell operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

  • Greater China and South Korea drive Massive Uniqlo sales

    Greater China and South Korea drive Massive Uniqlo sales

    Heavy discounting necessary to offload winter stock has hit Uniqlo sales. Parent Fast Retailing has struggled with a shortage of popular winter items in the past, and overcompensated last winter by ordering too much inventory ahead of what proved to be an unusually warm season.

    As a result, the Japanese retailer’s first-quarter profit took a hit which in turn impacted of first-half results issued yesterday.

    The company reported declines in both revenue and profit in the first half of the current financial year, with revenue totaling ¥491.3 billion, (US$4.397 billion) down 5 per cent from the previous corresponding period, and operating profit totaling ¥67.7 billion ($606 million), down 23.7 per cent from the previous year. Same-store sales fell 9 per cent, however online sales, which now account for 9.9 per cent of Uniqlo sales in Japan and 20 per cent in China, rose 30.3 per cent.

    The weak first quarter for Uniqlo sales was in part compensated for by a double-digit increase in sales and profit in China, which helped the brand turn in a better-than-expected rise in operating profit to ¥68 billion ($609 million) for the three months to February.

    The company said it now expects an operating profit of ¥260 billion for the financial year through August, compared to its previous forecast of  ¥270 billion in January. The revised outlook would still be a record high and represent a 10 per cent year-on-year rise.

    Uniqlo re-stated its medium-term vision of becoming the world’s number one apparel retailer.

    “In pursuit of this aim, we are focusing our efforts on expanding Uniqlo International and our GU casual fashion brand,” said Tadashi Yanai, chairman, president and CEO of Uniqlo. “We continue to increase Uniqlo store numbers in each country in which we operate, and open global flagship stores and large-format stores in major cities around the world to further develop Uniqlo as a global brand.”

    He said that within the company’s international division, Greater China and Southeast Asia are entering “a new stage of growth as key drivers of operational expansion”.

    Uniqlo Greater China generated double-digit growth in both revenue and profit in the first half of the year despite the dampening effect of the mild winter weather.

    “Within that region, our operation in Mainland China continued to report strong growth in revenue and profit of approximately 20 per cent year on year. Uniqlo South Korea also reported increases in both revenue and profit. Uniqlo Southeast Asia & Oceania generated significant rises in both revenue and profit thanks to strong increases in same-store sales in every single one of the region’s markets.

    Meanwhile, the company plans to open more GU stores in Japan, while expanding the brand’s international presence, primarily in Greater China and South Korea.

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  • Home market hurts Sa Sa International sales

    Home market hurts Sa Sa International sales

    Hong Kong beauty products retail Sa Sa International has reported a 7.2 per cent decline in sales for the March quarter.

    The company’s home market and Macau were to blame, with same-store sales falling 10.8 per cent and combined retail and wholesale turnover down 8.4 per cent.

    Sa Sa is one of the bellwethers of the broader Hong Kong market because it serves both local consumers and tourists, appealing to more mainstream clients than the luxury watch and jewellery retailers which often disproportionately affect total Hong Kong retail sales figures.

    In a stock exchange filing, Sa Sa International blamed the sales decline on a 6 per cent fall in total transaction volume, of which the number of transactions of local customers and mainland tourists decreased by 8.8 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.

    “The average sales per transaction of local consumers and mainland tourists decreased by 0.7 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively, which resulted in a 3.5 per cent decline in total,” the company said.

    “The weaker sales performance was mainly due to high base effect. The hot trend of some trendy product categories last year has been weakening while the group’s newly launched products could not fully compensate their sales decline. In addition, a number of new pharmacy stores selling skincare and cosmetic products have opened new stores in tourist hot spots aggressively, resulting in intensified competition and lower-than-expected sales at Sa Sa.”

    The company says it plans to open new stores to enhance its store network and boost its competitiveness “under reasonable rental condition”.

    “The group is adjusting its business strategies to adapt to the changing consumer preferences and competitive landscape. The first action is to change towards a more balanced product mix.”

    Sa Sa International says it will also increase its range of high-end products and focus on its own-label products which offer better margins.

    Another step Sa Sa plans to arrest falling sales is speeding up its investment in digitalisation and IT, using big data to formulate better product strategies.

    The new Express Railway Link and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge have so far failed to bring about the expected stimulus to the retail industry, the company said.

    “Looking ahead, the group believes the benefits of the two mega infrastructure projects will gradually emerge under the favourable policy of the Greater Bay Area. The group remains cautiously optimistic about the outlook of Hong Kong and Macau markets in the long run.

  • March delivers biggest month in Winning’s 113-year history

    March delivers biggest month in Winning’s 113-year history

    Winning Group chief executive John Winning credits “good old-fashioned customer service” with delivering what he says was the biggest month in Winning Appliance’s 113-year history.

    According to the CEO, March sales were up 42 per cent on last year’s written sales, and same-store sales were up 32 per cent on the same period last year.

    While the company has acquired Melbourne appliances business Michael’s Appliance Centre and opened a new showroom in Western Australia over the last year, Winning said the sales increase was the result of its customer-centric approach to business, rather than a bigger footprint.

    “At Winning Appliances we focus on providing an exceptional customer experience from the minute someone steps foot in our store or goes onto our website, until well after they have received their appliance,” he told.

    “We provide good old fashioned customer service in a modern context.”

    Customer-centric approach

    The family business operates 15 showrooms across the country, including seven in NSW, two in Queensland, four in WA, one in the ACT and two in Victoria. It is set to open a new flagship in Richmond, Victoria, this year, and also operates an e-commerce business, Appliances Online.

    The retailer recorded $478.26 million in revenue for the financial year ended June 30, 2018, according to documents lodged with Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

    Winning Appliances says it is focused on providing the best customer experience possible. Its parent company Winning Group last year changed the corporate motto to, “we say ‘yes’ in a ‘no’ world”.

    This mentality extends across the in-store experience, where all showrooms have working kitchens and customers can get one-on-one demonstrations of product features, to the delivery of customer service, where the support team is available 24/7 to speak to the manufacturer and arrange service calls on behalf of customers.

    “We don’t work on commissions, so customers know that when they come to Winning Appliances, they receive unbiased advice that is based on their needs and how they like to live in their homes,” Winning said.

    “We have the world’s best appliances available at every budget and our showrooms are designed with a distinct focus on customer interaction, which provides customers with an experience beyond browsing and buying.

    “We have also recently introduced 30-minute training sessions each morning, which allows each of our product experts to learn about the new technologies within the appliances and other features and benefits that can help customers get the best use out of their appliances.”

    While 2019 may be proving challenging for other retailers, Winning said the family business’s old-fashioned approach is delivering results. Sales have been on an upwards trajectory since the beginning of the year, he said, despite some analysts predicting a slowdown in the home furnishing sector due to the property slump.

  • Omnichannel key to AS Watson Group success

    Omnichannel key to AS Watson Group success

    Don’t mention the so-called ‘Retail Apocalypse’ to AS Watson Group MD Dominic Lai.

    An ardent enthusiast in new-generation retail technology, he heads a company that has just celebrated its 15,000th physical store opening. And that network expansion is showing no signs of slowing, with a new store opening on average every seven hours for the foreseeable future.

    “A few years ago, technology arrived and people said: That’s the end days for retail. But no, we never thought that,” Lai tells Inside Retail Asia during an interview outside the 15,000th milestone store, a Watsons health & beauty shop in the new Central I-City mall in suburban Kuala Lumpur.

    AS Watson Group is possibly one of the best examples worldwide of a retailer successfully merging online and offline in a way that is achieving growth in both sales and profit. Revenue was up 10 per cent last year and profit increased 9 per cent. “My shareholders expect even more,” he deadpans.

    Embracing online and developing an O2O (online-to-offline) business model is the key to the company’s success, he says. It keeps his customers happy.

    The company has invested some US$130 million in technology since 2012, to be sure to be competitive in the online era.

    “We anticipated e-commerce. We anticipated big data. But we are not just about e-commerce. We have to connect our customers through digital, social media, mobile, everything. This is what we have done and we will continue to invest in technology. We are ready. Technology-wise, we are up to speed.”

    At the heart of this O2O business model is click and collect, linking 13,000 stores to their localised e-commerce site. Most online retailers only offer click and deliver, but Watsons’ customers can browse its sites online at midnight and pick up in any of the stores the next morning.

    The best part of this model is that the company has the opportunity to sell more goods to customers collecting their online purchases.

    “The traffic comes straight to the store,” adds Malina Ngai, AS Watson Group COO. “So on average, 20 to 30 per cent of the shoppers will buy something else.” In some markets, like Taiwan, that rate grows as high as 52 per cent.

    Moreover, As Watson data shows when its loyalty program members shop online and in store, their spending is on average three to four times higher than those who shop only in stores.

    Ngai says the business model – combining physical stores with mobile, website and social media – sits well with the retailer’s core demographic. In Asia, 60 per cent of AS Watson Group’s customers are aged under 35. In China, that segment jumps to 80 per cent. “So you know you have to offer those digital options.”

    The company’s loyalty program, with 135 million members worldwide, represents one of the largest of any retailer’s anywhere in the world. That provides a treasure chest of data, helping the company recognise and understand trends, assess the performance of different promotions, and personalise offers or other marketing communication. And it is clearly working: the health & beauty store network growth is running at 6 per cent, yet sales are growing at 9 per cent.

    New store sites are chosen based on interpretation of customer spending both on and offline, using big data. They are typically staffed by people in the same age profile as its customers. “We have a lot of Gen Y and Gen Z staff,” says Lai. “Retail is detail and we look at every [way] how to connect with our customers.

    In the years ahead, Lai’s vision for AS Watson Group is succinct: “We will continue to open new stores and at the same time we would like to get more members, more formats and make more investment in technology.”

    He is unafraid of any economic downturn.

    “Look at [our] business model. We sell essential products. We are not selling watches and jewellery, we are selling essentials. That’s why I use the word resilient to describe our business: we are resilient.”

    AS Watson Group this year added Vietnam to its footprint, taking the number of countries and territories it trades in to 25. Lai says the company is always looking for new markets, but for now is more focused on expanding within the ones it is already in.

    “We are international. We plan prudently. So we went into Vietnam because we realise the customers there already know our brand and the demographics – and the market entry strategy was to open the flagship and enable the online. That’s the process by which we look at the international market.”

    Ngai points out that the 25 markets AS Watson Group already trades in represent 32 per cent of the world’s population, “and we only have 15,000 stores”.

    “That is why we can still open one store every seven hours.”

    With a new-store payback time of less than one year, that strategy is clearly working. “We open, the customers really love us and we get enough sales to get payback within one year.”

    AS Watson has 12 retail brands across the globe, of which Watsons is by far the largest, with 7200 stores in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine. Sales last year nudged US$22 billion. Across its banners, the company has some 20 different formats.

    “Going forward we will be seeing more and more different models because it is about specialising the offer for the customer needs,” explains Ngai. “It may be [we serve] the same customer, but when the customer goes to a work area they just want to buy wellbeing products, so we have a Watsons Health; and in an area with a lot of young mothers we have a Watsons Baby store; and when they go back to the residential area and want to pick up personal-care products, we have a more regular Watsons store.”

    Lai says the reason the company has been so successful over the years is its customer connectivity. And because it has embraced technology.

    “We have even been quietly investing and developing our big data and analytical capabilities.

    We have been using technology to identify sites to control our inventory, to connect with our customers, to do the assortment planning and space planning.

    “I would like people to know that AS Watson Group is a very modern company, it is not just a retail company opening physical stores. We know how to reach young customers,” he says.

    “We are one of the longest-standing companies in the world with 178 years of history. To be able to reach yet another critical milestone, this is only possible with the love from our customers, passion and commitment from our 140,000 colleagues around the world, and the unfailing support of our business partners.”

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  • Korean GS25 launches shared-bike charging service

    Korean GS25 launches shared-bike charging service

    Starting June, customers of South Korean GS25 convenience stores will be able to charge shared electric bicycles or kickboards.

    GS25 announced on Wednesday that it will set up an electric bicycle and kickboard charging service facility at its stores in partnership with the shared micro-mobility integrated platform “GoGoSing.”

    Under the terms of the deal, GoGoSing will operate 800 shared electric kickboards and shared electric bikes in Gangnam District in Seoul and Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province, while GS25 will set up charging facilities at stores in nearby areas.

    Customers will be able to use an electric kickboard and return it to a nearby GS25 store, and if they need to charge their device, they will also be able to exchange or charge batteries at the stores.

    GS25 expects that this will help convenience stores to move away from their focus on simply selling products and serve as a hub for charging various shared devices, as well as attracting new customers.

    GS Retail has introduced charging facilities for electric vehicles at 45 locales at present, and will offer delivery services for convenience store products since starting from April, in tandem with the delivery application Yogiyo.

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  • AirAsia becomes Brisbane Broncos Official Airline

    AirAsia becomes Brisbane Broncos Official Airline

    AirAsia has formalised a deal to become the Brisbane Broncos’ official airline, along with promotions held at every Broncos home game and special discounts for fans.

    The deal is centred around the launch of the new ‘The Buck Stops Here’ campaign, to celebrate AirAsia the airline’s new services from Brisbane to Bangkok, which are set to commence on 26 June.

    AirAsia Group Head of Branding, Rudy Khaw, said AirAsia is excited to partner with the Brisbane Broncos.

    “We are thrilled to partner with Queensland’s number one sports team, and National Rugby League favourites, the Brisbane Broncos.

    “Queensland is an integral part of our Australian network, and since commencing flights to the Gold Coast in November 2007, we’ve flown more than 2 million passengers through the sunshine state,” Mr Khaw said.

    “Our new services from Brisbane will soon become the most affordable and convenient way to travel to Thailand’s capital, and with the help of the Brisbane Broncos, we hope to see demand for these new flights grow even more.”

    As part of the partnership, AirAsia will run events and giveaways at Brisbane Broncos home games over the 2019 NRL season, as well as provide fans advanced notice on AirAsia promotional offers.

    Brisbane Broncos CEO, Paul White, said the partnership reflects a shared culture for both organisations.

    “Our partnership with AirAsia reflects a shared culture of delivering a fantastic experience at exceptional value for fans, whether it’s a night at the footy or choosing your next holiday.

    “The Broncos look forward to seeing how the beloved Buck is made part of this exciting plan to further enhance the fan experience and showcase AirAsia and their exciting destinations,” Mr White said.

    The deal, which was announced during the Broncos home game against the West Tigers at Suncorp Stadium last night, has already seen one fan receive return flights for two to Bangkok, Thailand.

  • Mountain Designs relaunches witch New E-commerce Platform

    Mountain Designs relaunches witch New E-commerce Platform

    Australian adventure brand Mountain Designs has officially relaunched, with a new e-commerce website sporting the brand’s full range.

    Spotlight Group chief executive of leisure brands Chris Lude said the business was committed to maintaining its 45 year heritage.

    “We are dedicated to ensuring the iconic Mountain Designs brand remains Australian owned, operated and designed,” Lude said.

    The relaunched brand also offers a renewed range, with the business having redeveloped 14 of its best sellers, as well as newly designed apparel and gear.

    “Adventure is in the Mountain Designs DNA, and the new range will continue to provide quality, technical, multi-functional gear that people know and love,” Lude said.

    Acquired in early 2018 by Spotlight Retail Group for an undisclosed sum, Mountain Designs confirmed it would offer a selection of goods, including thermals, apparel and equipment, within the Spotlight-owned Anaconda chain.

    Prior to being acquired by Spotlight Retail Group, Mountain Designs had been shuttering its bricks-and-mortar locations to focus on a purely online model to create a more sustainable platform for the business moving forward.

    During this period, the brand’s website was also closed to facilitate this shift, remaining offline until earlier this week.

    Spotlight Retail Group has recently indicated a larger push into the New Zealand market amid a larger revamp of its brands, with craft retail chain Spotlight to open a Christchurch flagship later in the year.

    It remains to be seen if this initiative extends to Anaconda or Mountain Designs – both of which operate solely in Australia.

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  • Airtel contracts Ericsson for VoLTE upgrade

    Airtel contracts Ericsson for VoLTE upgrade

    India’s Bharti Airtel has contracted Ericsson to expand its voice over LTE (VoLTE)services to cater to growing demand.

    Under the agreement, Airtel will deploy Ericsson’s Cloud VoLTE solution, which is used to deliver HD voice enabled VoLTE services onto a customer data center.

    Ericsson Cloud VoLTE includes a virtual IMS and supporting nodes to add VoLTE services onto existing LTE data networks.

    The upgrade forms part of Bharti Airtel’s network transformation program, Project Leap, and is aimed at helping Airtel carve out a larger share of the growing Indian VoLTE market. Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report predicts that there will be 780 million VoLTE subscriptions in India by 2023.

    “We remain committed to building a state-of-the-art future-ready network as part of…Project Leap, and delivering best-in-class digital experiences to our smartphone customers,” Bharti Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon commented.

    “This partnership with Ericsson will allow us to rapidly increase VoLTE capacity to serve our growing traffic, and make our network prepared to easily introduce new communication services today and in 5G.”

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  • Google delivery drones cleared for Australian Airspace

    Google delivery drones cleared for Australian Airspace

    A sister company of Google has been given the green light to launch drone delivery in Australia after years of test flights.

    The drone company Wing, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, was given permission this week to deliver takeaway food and drinks and over-the-counter medicines by drone to about 100 homes in Canberra.

    Wing, which has been trialing deliveries for the last 18 months, began testing its drones in Australia in 2014, but faced initial opposition from residents who complained about the noise.

    Although the drones were below legal noise limits, Wing developed a new, quieter model and said the feedback obtained during its trials had been “valuable” and it hoped to “continue the dialogue”.

    “We will continue to engage with the local community and stakeholders as we expand our service and are hosting community information stalls and delivery demonstrations in the serviceable areas over the next few weeks,” the company said in a statement.

    According to Wing, the delivery service will initially be available to a limited set of eligible homes in the suburbs of Crace, Palmerston and Franklin.

    “We expect to gradually expand to more customers in Harrison and Gungahlin in the coming weeks and months.”

    Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority gave Wing permission to launch a commercial service after examining its safety record and operational plans.

    The drones will only be allowed to fly 11-12 hours a day and must be piloted, rather than fully automated.

    Wing’s initial launch partners include Kickstart Espresso, Capital Chemist, Pure Gelato, Jasper + Myrtle, Bakers Delight, Guzman Y Gomez and Drummond Golf.

    “We’re excited to connect with more local businesses in the Gungahlin area about how we can help them reach more customers faster, safer and more sustainably and encourage any local merchants who are interested in learning more to get in touch with us.”

    Wing had said that drone deliveries reduce traffic and pollution and can deliver goods in six to 10 minutes.

  • YouTube TV’s Subscription Fee is Going Up

    YouTube TV’s Subscription Fee is Going Up

    There are a few different forces fighting each other with YouTube TV right now. First is that the streaming service is still relatively new, especially taking into account how recently it was made widely available in the U.S., and it is likely lagging in terms of subscriber numbers. Second is the content selection available for YouTube TV, which is pretty good and compares well with other services, but depending on what you want, YouTube TV might not have it. And third is the price, which directly impacts, and is impacted by, those first two items.

    For the earliest of adopters, YouTube TV was priced at $35 per month. Then came a small price bump to $40 when YouTube TV added Turner network channels, including TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, NBA TV and the MLB Network. When that price hike happened, as is often the case, original subscribers were grandfathered in to the original price. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with YouTube TV’s newest price hike.

    Google announced that YouTube TV will now cost $50 per month — or $55 per month if you subscribe via an Apple device, in order to offset the Apple tax — and that new price doesn’t just apply to new customers but to all customers. New customers will have to pay the new price starting today, but existing subscribers won’t see the bump until after May 13th. Of course, the price hike is coming with new content, this time from Discovery, including Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, and MotorTrend. Plus OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network will become available later this year.

    It’s still a competitive deal considering the content made available, but a $10 or $15 change can be a lot, especially when the point of cord cutting is to save money.

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  • Trade War Talks May Never Solve China’s Economic Issues

    Trade War Talks May Never Solve China’s Economic Issues

    The “trade war” between the US and China is misguided when it comes to economic fortunes, according to one analyst. As Chinese Premier Li Keqiang gave a speech at the Boao Forum for Asia on March 27, he played down the idea of an economic slowdown. As ongoing disputes with President Donald Trump are still unresolved, fears are that the crisis is starting to bite. However, in addressing the conference, Keqiang said that market expectation had “significantly improved” and major economic indicators have been “steady”.

    The Gold Standard for Economic Analysis May Not Apply

    As it often is, gold has been used as a measuring stick for the state of the global economy and, specifically, national economies. By reviewing gold price movements using XAU/USD charts, as noted by DailyFX, traders can get an insight into the underlying health of a nation. In support of this, we can look back through history and see how the price of gold correlations to major financial slumps.

    As noted by this guide to financial bubbles, gold prices dropped by 64% in 1982. This slump came at the same time the US was in the midst of a recession. With gold prices and economies so closely linked, the precious metal has become a marker of China’s recent economic movements.

    Following a slowdown in China’s GDP at the start of 2019, gold prices took a tumble. Erasing a seven-month high, the price per ounce dropped by $20 to $1,278 in late January. By the end of February, the price had surpassed $1,300, according to CNBC, and was holding firm in light of the latest round of US/China trade negotiations.

    However, while another round of talks will have investors tracking the gold markets, chief economist Daniel Lacalle believes such moves are misguided. Discussing the trade war with Tyler Yell, Lacalle said that economic swings were a product of “general growth issues”, not trade wars. In his opinion, governments and central banks see a financial crisis as a problem with demand. For him, that’s a mistake, and forcing stimulus into the market creates a “sugar rush” effect that doesn’t actually increase demand.

    Put simply, he believes that pumping an economy full of stimulants creates the facade of demand and masks the underlying problem. What’s more, he believes it causes adjustment issues further down the line. Much like a patient on medication doesn’t immediately return to a normal state, economies suffer a similar comedown. Therefore, to focus on the trade wars as the reason for slower rates of economic growth in China is wrong, in Lacalle’s opinion. While he stops short of offering a simple solution, the idea is interesting in the context of retail in Asia.

    Retail Issues May Belie a Bigger Problem

    The consensus is that tensions have harmed retail across the two continents. In November 2018, Bloomberg reported that US Asian supermarkets had seen a drop in sales because Trump’s tariffs forced them to pay more for imported goods. The end result is higher prices for groceries, which has subsequently led to a loss of trade. While this can be directly linked to the trade war, these micro issues can’t be applied on a macro scale if Lacalle’s perspective is correct.

    China’s economy and, in turn, its retail sector may be stagnating because of too much artificial growth. The idea of a trade war is juicy headline fodder for media outlets. However, analysts are by no means in agreement on why growth has slowed. While it may well be because of tensions with the US, there are those that believe the crisis runs much deeper than that.

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  • Thai Airways revamps Royal Orchid Plus frequent flyer program

    Thai Airways revamps Royal Orchid Plus frequent flyer program

    Thai Airways is making significant changes to its Royal Orchid Plus frequent flyer program from October 1 2019, affecting how miles are both earned and redeemed on Thai Airways and Star Alliance flights across the globe.

    On the one hand, business class and first class passengers travelling with Thai Airways stand to earn more miles from the same flights – as do Silver, Gold and Platinum Royal Orchid Plus members – but in turn, the number of miles needed to book a flight or secure an upgrade is increasing dramatically: more than doubled in some cases.

    Here’s an outline of what’s changing, and how it affects you, the traveller.

    Earn extra Royal Orchid Plus miles on first class, business class travel

    Passengers travelling with Thai Airways on all paid first class fares, some business class tickets and the highest-priced flexible economy fares will earn more miles when they fly from October 1.

    Of the fare types that will award more miles, here’s a look at today’s earn rate – given as a percentage of the number of actual miles flown in the sky – compared to the earn rate coming into place for flights taken on and from October 1:

    Class of service
    		 Fare letter
    		 Today’s earn rate
    		 Earn from October 1
    First class
    		 F 150% 250%
    First class
    		 A, P 150% 200%
    Business class
    		 C, D 125% 150%
    Flexible economy
    		 Y, B 100% 110%

    For example, a non-stop flight from Sydney to Bangkok measures up at 4,679 miles, which today would provide first class travellers booked onto an ‘F’ fare approximately 7,018 Royal Orchid Plus miles at the 150% rate, being the distance flown (4,679 miles) multiplied by the 150% earning rate.

    Fast forward to October, and that same one-way journey would instead generate a higher 11,697 miles, when the earning rate climbs from 150% to 250% on the same fares.

    All other fare types, including J- and Z-class business class tickets, will continue earning miles at the same rate as today.

    Silver, Gold and Platinum Royal Orchid Plus status gets easier to earn

    Thai Airways uses ‘qualifying miles’ to determine which travellers have earned Silver, Gold and Platinum status in Royal Orchid Plus: and as travellers earn ‘qualifying miles’ at the same rate as spendable miles above, passengers booked on those higher-end fare types will reach the lofty heights of status faster than before.

    For instance, Royal Orchid Plus Silver status – equivalent to Star Alliance Silver – is awarded after earning 10,000 qualifying miles in a rolling 12-month period, or 15,000 qualifying miles over a rolling 24-month time frame.

    Using the same example above, that would be achievable with a single first class flight from Sydney to Bangkok, while the airline’s Royal Orchid Plus Gold level (Star Alliance Gold) would be unlocked after a single return first class flight from Sydney to London via Bangkok with Thai Airways.

    Royal Orchid Plus Platinum – a level that provides access to Thai Airways’ first class lounge in Bangkok regardless of fare type, complimentary flight upgrades and more – would also be achievable from two return treks between Sydney and London, flying first class (F class) on one trip and business class (C or D class) on the other.

    It’s not that the requirements for reaching Silver, Gold and Platinum status are being lowered, of course: it’s simply that the airline’s highest-priced fare types will earn more qualifying miles from October, being the Thai equivalent to status credits, which brings these memberships within easier reach of passengers booking those premium fare types.

    New ‘tier bonus’ for Royal Orchid Plus members on Thai Airways flights

    From October 1, Silver, Gold and Platinum Royal Orchid Plus cardholders will earn even more miles on Thai Airways flights, through the introduction of a ‘tier status bonus’.

    Silver members will earn 5% more miles, Gold members get 10% more miles and Platinum travellers will pocket 20% more miles, year-round.

    This bonus is calculated upon the full overall earning rate from each Thai Airways flight, making it highly rewarding for first and business class flyers, although the extra points awarded via this ‘tier bonus’ aren’t also counted as qualifying miles: merely, extra miles to be spent on flight bookings and upgrades.

    As an example, a return flight from Sydney to Bangkok clocks in at 9,358 miles flown, which would earn a base-level member 14,037 miles from October 1 when flying on a C or D business class fare, given the 150% earning rate applied to those fares.

    The tier bonus is then added on top, giving top-tier Platinum members a further 20% boost on that initial haul of 14,037 miles, for an all-out gain of 16,844 miles.

    More Royal Orchid Plus miles needed to book Thai Airways flights

    Currently, the number of miles needed to book a Thai Airways flight differs, depending on whether you’re making a one-way reservation or flying return, with return-trip points bookings presenting the best value, requiring fewer points than booking the journey as two one-way flights.

    However, that pricing difference is being removed as part of these changes – the cost of a return flight to become twice as many miles as a one-way ticket – with the overall number of miles needed also being amended, for new bookings made from October 1 2019.

    For passengers taking return trips, here’s how that plays out across a range of routes, including flights from Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) to Bangkok and beyond:

    Route, flying return
    		 First class *
    		 Business class
    		 Economy class
    SYD/MEL/BNE-Bangkok (today)
    		 150,000 miles 98,000 miles 55,000 miles
    SYD/MEL/BNE-Bangkok (1/10-)
    		 180,000 miles (+20%) 130,000 miles (+33%) 55,000 miles (no change)
    Perth-Bangkok (today)
    		 N/A 75,000 miles 45,000 miles
    Perth-Bangkok (1/10-)
    		 N/A 130,000 miles (+73%) 55,000 miles (+22%)
    Australia-Bangkok-Europe (today)
    		 230,000 miles 170,000 miles 90,000 miles
    Australia-Bangkok-Europe (1/10-)
    		 450,000 miles (+96%) 350,000 (+105%) 160,000 miles (+78%)
    Bangkok-Europe (today)
    		 185,000 miles 130,000 miles 70,000 miles
    Bangkok-Europe (1/10-)
    		 250,000 miles (+35%) 180,000 miles (+38%) 85,000 miles (+21%)

    * On Australian routes, first class only available to/from Sydney.

    Curiously, Thai’s new Royal Orchid Plus reward pricing makes it more attractive to plan a stopover in Bangkok than to merely connect through the airport, booking the Australia-Bangkok and Bangkok-Europe legs on separate tickets.

    For example, book a return business class trip from Australia to Europe after October 1 and you’d part with 350,000 Royal Orchid Plus miles – but book a return business trip between Australia and Bangkok (130,000 miles), and separately, a return business class trip between Bangkok and Europe (180,000 miles) and you’d pay only 310,000 miles overall: an easy saving of 40,000 miles, by booking your flights across two reservations instead of one.

    This works best when you’re genuinely breaking the journey in Bangkok, and shouldn’t be used for tight flight connections when you don’t plan to leave the airport, as the airline may not be able to check your bags all the way through, and if the first flight of your journey is delayed, you may not be ‘protected’ should you miss an onward flight, as would be the case when all flights are on a single ticket.

    Notably, the number of miles needed to fly solely between Perth and Bangkok also comes into line with the rates from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane as part of these changes.

    Booking Star Alliance flights also requires more miles

    Similarly for passengers using Royal Orchid Plus miles to book flights with Thai Airways’ Star Alliance partners, the number of miles needed is increasing across the board, with some flights requiring more than twice as many miles to book from October 1 as are needed today.

    While the changes impact travel in all classes, here’s how the increases shape up on a range of popular routes for passengers booking business class, based on a return trip for one person:

    From Australia to (return) Business class (today) Business class (1/10-) Increase in miles
    NZ, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Vanuatu
    		 50,000 100,000 50,000 miles (+100%)
    China – Beijing
    		 150,000 210,000 60,000 miles (+40%)
    China – Shanghai 150,000 190,000 40,000 miles (+27%)
    India 127,000 210,000 83,000 miles (+65%)
    Japan, South Korea 150,000 210,000 60,000 miles (+40%)
    Canada, US mainland
    		 150,000 400,000 250,000 miles (+167%)
    Europe + Turkey
    		 170,000 350,000 180,000 miles (+106%)
    Middle East + Egypt
    		 140,000 210,000 70,000 miles (+50%)
    South America 175,000 400,000 225,000 miles (+129%)
    South Africa 180,000 350,000 170,000 miles (+94%)

    Travellers jetting from Australia to the United States and Canada are hardest-hit, requiring an extra 250,000 miles per return business class trip over and above today’s rates, meaning you’ll need a staggering 400,000 frequent flyer points to book a single return business class ticket, even on non-stop flights with the likes of Air Canada and United Airlines direct from Australia.

    Interestingly, the table above also mirrors how many miles will be needed to book Thai Airways international connecting flights from October 1 – 350,000 miles for return business class to Europe, for example – so there’s no difference in price whether you choose to fly with Thai Airways or a Star Alliance airline on these tickets, except when flying Thai Airways through Bangkok and breaking the journey, as previously described.

    Star Alliance round-the-world tickets also hiked

    Currently, you can fly round-the-world with Thai Airways and its Star Alliance partners for 480,000 Royal Orchid Plus miles in first class; 340,000 miles in business class or 220,000 miles in economy: but come October 1, those rates also jump astronomically.

    From that date, a round-the-world first class ticket will set you back a whopping 950,000 miles – almost twice as many miles as are needed today – while business class also climbs to 725,000 miles, more than double today’s rates.

    Booking an economy round-the-world ticket is similarly increased to 350,000 miles.

    To put it another way, with 350,000 Royal Orchid Plus miles in your Thai Airways account today, you could comfortably circle the planet in business class: but make that same booking from October 1 and you’d be stuck back in economy, and paying even more miles for the privilege!

    More miles needed to upgrade Thai Airways, Star Alliance flights

    Passengers flying Thai Airways from Sydney to Bangkok on the most common J, C and D business class airfares can currently secure a coveted first class upgrade for 52,000 Royal Orchid Plus miles, pending availability: but from October 1, that climbs to 81,000 miles for the same one-way upgrade.

    On longer legs such as between Bangkok and London, or most other European cities where Thai Airways’ first class service is available, that same first upgrade increases from 58,000 miles today to 112,500 miles from October 1, being almost twice as many miles needed to upgrade the same one-way flight.

    Using Royal Orchid Plus miles to upgrade Star Alliance partner flights will also require more miles from October, with most business-to-first-class upgrades from Asia to Europe bumped from 80,000 to 115,000 miles, such as from Hong Kong to Frankfurt aboard Star Alliance member Lufthansa.

    Similar increases apply when upgrading from economy and premium economy to business class with Thai Airways, and from economy to business class with Star Alliance partners.

    For further information about these and other Royal Orchid Plus changes, visit the Thai Airways website.

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  • Turkish Airlines redesigns travel comfort with “Flow Sleeping Set”

    Turkish Airlines redesigns travel comfort with “Flow Sleeping Set”

    Bringing various innovations to the sky in order to ensure a perfect travel experience for its guests, Turkish Airlines now offers the new “Flow Sleeping Set” to passengers with its wondrous design. Available since 19th February, the new collection offered in Business Class promises sleep as comfortable as your home, only above the clouds.

    Produced with the successful collaboration between Turkish Airlines and Zorlu Tekstil while carrying the signature of expert designers, the collection aims to offer a healthier and higher quality sleep environment.

    Combining elegant lines with comfort, all of the new set’s pieces are developed considering the expectations of passengers who want to enjoy a relaxing sleep to finish their flights in a happy and fit state. The design of the collection reflects Turkish Airline’s “Flow” philosophy that represents the airlines’ dynamic brand identity and continuous service concept. Opting for contemporary and minimalist designs, the materials of the collection were all chosen for their comfort and ability to help sleep. The patterns of the collection are also visually compatible with the designs of the new cabin uniforms and cabin interiors.

    Chief aspects of the “Flow Sleeping Set” are its blanket, sleeping pad and pillow. The “blanket” of the collection features a two-sided design along with a soft texture. Thanks to its ability to support air flow, the product also helps maintain the ideal temperature during all four seasons. In addition to this, the “sleeping pad” provides an orthopedic surface for sleep and with its dense interior filling, it offers extra comfort and ease. In addition, the ‘pillow’, which can be used when sitting down or sleeping, are designed with an ideal size, classical form, and very comfortable materials.

    Sharing his views on this new sleeping set, Turkish Airlines Catering & Inflight Products SVP, Zeki Çukur stated: “With İstanbul Airport, our new home, we continue to add new innovations to the change we are going through. Our passengers will now experience the quality improvement, brought by these innovations, in their sleep with our ‘Flow Sleeping Set’. We prepared our new products after a lengthy R&D and design period as they offer a unique experience with their design and comfort. We are happy to host our Business Class passengers with the comfort of their homes during their intercontinental travels.”

  • Nok Air to cease flights to Nan

    Nok Air to cease flights to Nan

    Nok Air will end flights between Bangkok and Nan from April 18, leaving the province scrambling to convince another airline to take up the service.

    Nan airport general manager Ruangyuth Nittayanon announced on Thursday the airport had been advised by the budget airline of its decision to stop flying the route from April 18, after more than one year in operation. Nok Air did not explain the reason, he added. A check showed its website no longer allows bookings for Nan flights from April 18. Ticket prices to the province are shown only until April 17.

    The no-frills airline currently has two daily flights between Don Mueang and Nan. Terminating the service  leaves Thai AirAsia the only airline linking the capital and the northern province. Nok Air is operating at a loss and its financial situation is being closely watched by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.
    Mr Ruangyuth said the airport had contacted the Airports Department to approach other airlines to fly to Nan to reduce the impacts on air travellers, tourism and business. He named Bangkok Airways and Thai Vietjet as possible options.

    With Thai AirAsia to be the lone airline on the route, the airport chief was concerned about the possibility of higher fares due to the lack of competition.
    The province and business operators in Nan will hold a meeting to approach other airlines to replace Nok Air when it ends the service, with the last flights on April 17.