Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Grofers eyes $2.5 billion in revenue by 2020

    Grofers eyes $2.5 billion in revenue by 2020

    SoftBank-backed Grofers aims to garner $2.5 billion (approximately Rs 17,500 crore) in revenue by 2020 as it scales up its private label offerings in the country and focusses on expanding repeat purchases in its platform. The company, which has recently completed five years of its operations, has a revenue run rate of $360 million (about Rs 2,500 crore) currently.

    Grofers Co-Founder and CEO Albinder Dhindsa said Grofers has been witnessing over 30 percent month-on-month growth.

    “While we do not sell gourmet products that usually offer higher margins, we have been able to create a set of dedicated customers that usually promote our brand as well… We will continue to ramp up our business and we aim to clock $2.5 billion revenue by 2020,” he said.

    Outlining the expansion strategy, Dhindsa said about 40 percent of the selection on its platform now comprises of private label products.

    “There are a number of local manufacturers, who have great products but can’t compete with the FMCG giants and therefore, their products often don’t find shelf space in retail stores…we continue to grow the number of manufacturers that we work with,” he said.

    He further explained that putting these private labels on its own platform has helped the company provide aspirational products like muesli, peanut butter at more affordable prices.

    These private labelled products are also making their way on retail shelves at Grofers’ over 1,500 partner stores, which the company aims to ramp up to one million in the next two years.

    Asked about competition, especially with Walmart-backed Flipkart and Amazon expanding their presence aggressively in the online grocery segment, Dhindsa said the company is not worried.

    “Grocery is not the same as books and electronics. We may carry a smaller selection but the focus for us is on affordability. Consumers are very conscious when it comes to the grocery buying and that is what we want to ensure for our customers,” he said adding that Grofers is focussing on further enhancing its coverage of the cities it operates in.

    In March 2018, Grofers had announced raising Rs 400 crore in funding led by SoftBank, Tiger Global and Apoletto Asia. It has raised funding of $226.5 million till now. Its average daily order volumes were over 35,000 per day in June this year.

    Grocery segment accounts for a significant portion of the unorganised retail segment in the country. With people becoming comfortable buying even milk and bread online, the online grocery segment is projected to witness a strong growth over the next few years in India.

    As per the estimates, e-tail is just 0.5 percent of the total grocery market in India, which is pegged at $400 billion or 70 percent of all retail.

    In a recent interview, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had said grocery is one of the key focus areas for the company currently and, the segment will play an important role in getting access to the next 200 million customers.

    Amazon India, too, has been aggressively ramping up selection and focussing on speedier delivery to consolidate its position in the segment. In February this year, Grofers’ competitor Bigbasket had raised USD 300 million led by Chinese e-tailer giant Alibaba and others.

  • Western Australia to stop using plastic bags

    Western Australia to stop using plastic bags

    The ban on the use of plastic bags in Western Australia has started as of January 1, 2019, with retailers no longer be able to provide customers with lightweight plastic bags when shopping in their stores. Retailers who fail to comply with the new laws will face substantial fines and disruptions to their business operations. The National Retail Association (NRA), which has partnered with the state government to assist the sector to make a smooth transition ahead of the ban, has issued a statement to consumers earlier reminding them to be prepared for the change when they shop starting the new year.

    David Stout, NRA manager of Industry Policy, said the bag ban applies to all retailers operating in Western Australia regardless of size or type – ranging from newsagents to food outlets, to pharmacies and petrol stations.

    Stout said shoppers need to make sure that they have alternative options in place, like reusable bags, to safeguard against any inconvenience.

    “The NRA has visited thousands of retailers in all parts of the state over the past few months to ensure that retailers are as ready as possible,” Stout said.

    He added that the NRA will continue to assist retailers with any teething issues after the ban comes into effect.

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  • Hyundai sales ups a bit in December

    Hyundai sales ups a bit in December

    Hyundai Motor, Korea’s largest carmaker by sales, said Wednesday its December sales rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier on weak overseas demand. Hyundai sold 410,326 vehicles last month, up from 408,637 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales jumped 22 percent to 64,835 units last month from 53,361 a year ago. Overseas sales fell 2.8 percent to 345,491 from 355,276 during the same period, the carmaker said.

    The slowing global economy and lower vehicle demand from China and the United States, the world’s two biggest auto markets, restricted monthly sales results, it said.

    To boost sales, Hyundai launched the all-new Santa Fe SUV and the face-lifted Tucson SUV in the United States and other markets last year. But the SUV models did not greatly boost overall demand for the carmaker.

    For all of 2018, sales gained 1.8 percent to 4.59 million autos from 4.51 million units a year earlier.

    Kia Motors said its December sales rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier on improved overseas demand for its vehicles.

    Kia sold a total of 241,199 vehicles in December, up from 226,875 units a year ago. Domestic sales fell 13 percent to 42,200 from 46,502 during the same period, while overseas sales rose 10 percent to 198,999 from 180,373, the company said in a statement.

    For all of 2018, sales gained 2.4 percent to 2.81 million units from 2.75 million in the year-ago period, it said.

    GM Korea, the Korean unit of General Motors, said its December sales fell 6.7 percent from a year earlier due to weak demand for its models.

    GM Korea sold 42,424 vehicles in December, down from 45,466 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

    Domestic sales declined 12 percent to 10,428 units last month from 11,852 a year ago. Exports were down 4.8 percent to 31,996 from 33,614 during the same period, it said.

    For all of 2018, sales dropped 12 percent to 462,871 autos from 524,547 a year earlier, the statement said.

    To revive sales, the carmaker plans to introduce 15 vehicles into the local market over the next five years. It launched the U.S.-made Equinox SUV and the upgraded Chevy Spark minicar last year.

    The Traverse SUV will be the next model to be added to its lineup.

    Renault Samsung Motors’ December sales plunged 30 percent from a year earlier on weaker overseas demand for its vehicles.

    Renault Samsung sold 18,462 vehicles in December, down from 26,515 units the previous year, the company said in a statement.

    Domestic sales rose 8.6 percent to 10,805 units last month from 9,953 units a year ago. But exports nosedived 54 percent to 7,657 autos from 16,562 during the same period last year, the statement said.

    For the whole of 2018, sales dropped 18 percent on year to 227,577 from 276,808, it said.

    The company’s current lineup includes the SM3 compact, the all-electric SM3 Z.E. sedan, the QM3 small SUV, and the SM5, SM6 and SM7 sedans.

    France’s Renault S.A. has an 80 percent stake in Renault Samsung

    SsangYong Motor sales fell 0.2 percent last month from a year earlier on weak exports.

    SsangYong Motor sold 14,177 vehicles in December, down from 14,208 units a year earlier, due to weak overseas demand for its vehicles, the company said in a statement.

    Domestic sales edged up 0.1 percent to 10,656 units in December from 10,647 a year earlier. But exports backtracked 1.1 percent to 3,521 units from 3,561 during the same period, it said.

    For the whole of 2018, the maker of the flagship G4 Rexton and compact Tivoli SUVs sold a combined 141,995 vehicles, down 1.2 percent from 143,685 a year earlier, the company said.

    Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra owns a 72.85 percent stake in SsangYong Motor.

  • Apple sales plummet in Greater China

    Apple sales plummet in Greater China

    Plummeting Apple sales in China have prompted the company to warn shareholders of a US$5 billion hole in its first-quarter revenue forecast. “While we anticipated some challenges in key emerging markets, we did not foresee the magnitude of the economic deceleration, particularly in Greater China,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a letter to investors.

    “In fact, most of our revenue shortfall to our guidance, and over 100 per cent of our year-over-year worldwide revenue decline, occurred in Greater China across iPhone, Mac and iPad,” he said.

    The Apple sales decline in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan would most likely exceed $4.3 billion, roughly equal to the company’s overall drop in revenue.

    Previously, Apple had forecast revenue of between $89 billion and $93 billion. Now it expects the figure will be closer to $84 billion, but notes final figures will not be calculated for several weeks.

    Cook said the rising tension between the US and China played a part in the declining sales, with traffic to Apple stores in the region declining as the quarter progressed. This, in turn, led to lower than expected iPhone revenue in the region, which was compounded by the stalling iPhone upgrades seen in other markets.

    “We believe there are other factors broadly impacting our iPhone performance, including consumers adapting to a world with fewer carrier subsidies, US dollar strength-related price increases, and some consumers taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements,” Cook explained.

    In response to these trends, the business is seeking to make it easier to trade in used iPhones at Apple stores, as well as allow payments to be made over a longer period.

    “This is not only great for the environment, it is great for the customer, as their existing phone acts as a subsidy for their new phone,” Cook said.

    Despite the slowing traffic, Apple’s other categories grew over the period, with the company’s wearables category growing by almost 50 per cent due to the popularity of Apple Watch and AirPods.

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  • Amazon to expand Whole Foods, open more stores

    Amazon to expand Whole Foods, open more stores

    Nearly a year-and-a-half after Amazon acquired Whole Foods for approximately US US $13.5 billion, things are about to start changing. Amazon is planning to expand its Whole Foods Market portfolio by adding more stores to put more customers within its two-hour delivery service range, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. The report says Amazon has been scouting locations for bigger Whole Foods stores in states and regions where they don’t currently have any stores at all–places like Idaho, south­ern Utah and Wyoming, along with many other suburban areas.

    The report goes on to say that these stores will be approximately 45,000 sq. ft. in size and the extra space is intended to accommodate Amazon delivery and pickup from online orders.

    According to WSJ, the world’s largest online retailer also plans to expand its two-hour delivery service, Prime Now, to nearly all of its roughly 475 Whole Foods stores in the United States.

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  • Honey Birdette debuts in US

    Honey Birdette debuts in US

    Australian Lingerie brand Honey Birdette has launched its first US store in Westfield Century City, Los Angeles, focused on a unique design including whisky bar carts and ‘press-for-champagne’ buttons. The store will offer exclusive and limited-edition products, and is fronted by a glass mirrored store front centred by a gold tiled entry arch.

    “We are focusing on unique designs concepts for all of our future boutiques and each footprint will have its own unique element,” Honey Birdette founder and managing director Eloise Monaghan said.

    “Some might have a champagne bar for example, a private salon in one, a peep show in another, a stage or a catwalk.”

    The store opened to more than 500 shoppers who lined up to shop the brand physically for the first time in the US, and featured a DJ, champagne towers and confetti cannons.

    The brand currently trades within 57 locations in Australia, as well as across three locations in the United Kingdom.

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  • Back to the future going trendy in 2019

    Back to the future going trendy in 2019

    In 2019, retro will remain hot, and gender-neutral fashion will become ever more neutral, according to Lee Hyang-eun, a design engineering professor at Sungshin Women’s University, and professional speaker and consultant Kim Yong-sub. Other themes they see are the environment, data and consumers becoming even more demanding than they have been in the past. The JoongAng Ilbo sat down with the two trend analysts to discuss their forecasts for the new year.

    Lee is a co-author of “Trend Korea 2019,” an annual trend report published by Seoul National University’s Consumer Trends Analysis Center. Kim is the author of “Life Trend 2019,” another comprehensive trend report. He has also spoken at over a thousand seminars hosted by large companies, including Samsung Electronics.

    Newtro

    A retro wave has swept over Korea in the past few years, as cafes and restaurants began adopting designs from the 1970s to the ’90s. Many have enjoyed success.

    Lee Hyang-eun expects “newtro,” the term used to describe the return of the retro, to continue winning over fans from all age groups this year.

    “The return of the 1970s-to-’90s style brings back memories for older generations, but offers a whole new culture for young people in their teens and twenties,” said Lee.

    “A new form of retro with a youthful touch will be all the rage in 2019.”

    The key to newtro is not bringing back the past as it was, but polishing it to suit contemporary tastes. Good examples are Dosan Bunsik, a casual restaurant that rose to social media fame last year, as well as Fila’s Disruptor 2, a fresh take on a shoe originally released in the 1990s.

    “The trend is positive for brands, which can target new customers, and for young consumers as well, who can develop a sense of respect for cultures and objects that are older than them,” said Lee.

    Chamelezones 

    Chamelezones, or spaces that transform beyond their intended purpose, is another trend to keep an eye out for in 2019.

    Dongchoon 175 is a warehouse-turned-shopping mall in Yongin, Gyeonggi, that is becoming a huge hit with women in their 30s and 40s. Previously a logistics warehouse, the building now hosts everything from clothing stores to a trampoline park and a Finland-forest inspired lounge.

    “As chameleons change color based on their surroundings, these spaces transform according to different situations” said Lee.

    Businesses can also use chamelezones to win customers back to brick-and-mortar stores by encouraging interactive experiences and hosting regular exhibitions and concerts.

    “It’s important to breathe new life into spaces and attract people by adopting new concepts and technologies,” said Lee. “The key here is to create experiences and satisfy the five senses.”

    Data intelligence 

    Data intelligence is expected to be a dominant theme this year.

    This technology combines data analysis capabilities with voice and facial recognition tools to personalize a user experience and give businesses a better idea of consumer preferences.

    “When you process data once, it becomes information, and when you process it once more, it becomes intelligence,” said Lee. “Do it once more, and you get wisdom.”

    Data intelligence-powered services are already offered by the world’s biggest companies.

    Amazon’s Echo Look, for example, processes and analyzes a user’s outfits to make style recommendations, while new makeup apps can now apply eye shadows and lipstick on users virtually and recommend foundation shades based on skin tones.

    Gender neutral 

    Gender neutrality, a long-running theme, seems to be evolving and going beyond the simple idea of swapping dominant colors and dressing up.

    “Even with what we call unisex fashion, women just end up wearing men’s clothing,” said consultant Kim Yong-sub. “Gender neutral seeks to erase the distinction between the genders itself, and this trend is quickly expanding across not only fashion and beauty businesses but corporate structures in other sectors.”

    Kim predicts that the movement to look beyond people’s genders will gain traction in 2019, especially after the Me Too campaign and claims of harassment have shaken Korea.

    “There are times where trends stop being limited to a social issue and become economic, and that is happening with gender issues today,” he said.

    Single origin

    People will become more selective about what they eat too, Kim says.

    Starting around 2016, Koreans started pursuing their preferences in consumption instead of simply following the masses. Kim believes 2019 will be the year when people have fully developed preferences and adjust their lifestyles accordingly.

    He calls this preference-based consumption.

    “The tendency to prioritize personal preferences will become especially evident in food consumption, leading people to try to identify the origin, types and the processing methods of whatever they eat,” he said.

    The rise of the single-origin coffee attests to the growing power of personal preferences.

    Single-origin coffee is made with beans grown from a single farm, geographic area or country. Many consumers seek them out as they want to taste the flavors of a certain region instead of blends, which are made of coffee beans from several places.

    Plastic alternatives

    Environment-wise, 2018 was the year of awakening for Korea, especially on matters regarding plastic waste.

    Cafes stopped offering plastic cups in stores last year, while franchises replaced plastic straws with paper straws. Many companies are expected to continue going green this year.

    “In the past, only a small minority demonstrated an interest in environmental issues, but now celebrities and the wealthy also talk about them,” said Kim.

    As popular figures show interest, it will become fashionable to talk about the environment, Kim predicts.

    “Now, corporate interest in the environment is not a matter of choice but also of survival,” he continued. “Only businesses that actively react to environmental issues will attract consumers.”

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  • Amazon sees ‘record breaking’ holiday season

    Amazon sees ‘record breaking’ holiday season

    Global online marketplace Amazon has announced a record-breaking holiday season, with customers shopping en-masse across both the Christmas and Boxing Day sales events on the storefront. “This season was our best yet… we are thrilled that in the U.S. alone, more than one billion items shipped for free this holiday with Prime,” Amazon chief executive of worldwide consumer Jeff Wilke said.

    While the online store didn’t provide sales figures, Australian purchases saw a love of gaming push sales of the Nintendo Switch and New 3DS XL consoles dominate the holiday period, as well as Sandisk memory cards and various video games compatible with the systems themselves.

    Fashion brands Birkenstocks, Bonds, Champion, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Puma were also noted as being “particularly popular” through the period.

    “We were delighted to see so many Australian consumers shopping across all categories on Amazon.com.au in the run up to Christmas [and] during our Boxing Day Sale Event,” Amazon Australia country manager Rocco Braeuniger said.

    “Our first year in Australia saw us increase selection five-fold to over 100 million products and introduce many new products and services for customers to enjoy, [and] we look forward to bringing much more to Australian consumers in 2019.”

    In the lead up to the event, research from PayPal noted that it expected a quarter of Australian shoppers to head online on Boxing Day, with 70 per cent of those surveyed stating that online shopping is less stressful.

    “Australians are looking for the best deals, not the stress that’s traditionally associated with heading out to the shops for the Boxing Day sales,” PayPal shopping expert Liz Lefort said.

    “Increasingly those deals, or better deals can be found online, and Aussie shoppers are taking heed of that.”

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  • Startups blooms in Vietnam, liked by youngster

    Startups blooms in Vietnam, liked by youngster

    An increasing number of young Vietnamese are taking the startup route, willing to take risks and wait for rewards. Pham Khanh Linh seemed to be all set on a rewarding career, finding a job at global financial firm Goldman Sachs after graduating from the Cambridge University. But she quit the job in less than a year. Instead of pursuing a corporate employee path, the 25-year-old decided to return to Vietnam and start her own business, which she did last year.

    She said her ambition is to make a difference in her country.

    “I didn’t feel like I could make a difference with a corporate job. I wanted to influence more people,” she said.

    Linh is the founder and CEO of Logivan, a logistics service which optimizes trucks’ routes and reduces their empty load return rates. She came up with the idea after observing that about 60-70 percent of truck drivers in Vietnam go back to their base with empty trunks, because they cannot be connected with potential customers.

    “I saw a big problem for the logistics sector in Vietnam, but also an opportunity to make an impact.”

    Linh is one among an increasing number of aspiring entrepreneurs in Vietnam who are seeking to make a difference with startups in a country that is encouraging young people to start their own businesses.

    Le Anh Tien is another. While many of Tien’s friends at the University of Science and Technology in the central city of Da Nang began a quest for a stable corporate career immediately after graduation, he demurred.

    Tien joined with two other partners to found Chatbot Vietnam last year, a startup which provides solutions for businesses on Facebook Messenger to answer customers’ questions and help them order a product without the need for a customer service officer.

    With 13 employees, the 28-year-old plans to expand the service to Indonesia and the Philippines next year. “There are investors who are interested, but I haven’t said yes to them. I’m waiting for someone who could offer me a million-dollar investment.”

    About 75 percent of fresh graduates in Vietnam are interested in starting their own business, according to a recent survey by Navigos Search, a leading provider of executive search services in Vietnam.

    Fifty-two percent of them have never attempted a startup before but want to in the near future, while 22 percent of them have attempted at least once, said the survey, which polled 1,600 graduates with less than two years working experience.

    Nguyen Phuong Mai, managing director of Navigos Search, said that Vietnam is seeing a young generation of entrepreneurs who are determined to pursue the startup path.

    “These young people have a strong entrepreneurship spirit. We can observe this spirit in large companies, and even in our own,” she said.

    Supporting environment

    What motivates these people to start up is the support from the government and local companies in recent years, Mai added.

    At the Youth Startups Forum 2018 in Hanoi last November, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the Vietnamese government is willing to make changes in regulations to facilitate timely funding for startups.

    “We need a breakthrough innovation in policies from government bodies to help startups succeed with their ideas,” he told the forum, which attracted 300 entrepreneurs from across the country.

    Investment funds are also ready to pour cash and back aspiring young entrepreneurs. In August, Linh’s Logivan, dubbed “Uber for trucks,” received an investment from the Vietnamese fund VinaCapital Ventures, which has set aside $100 million to invest in technology startups.

    Singapore-based Ethos Partners and Singapore-based Insignia Venture Partners have also invested in the startup, bringing the total investment that Logivan has raised in the second round to $1.75 million, after raising $600,000 for the first round in March.

    In early December, Logivan became one of four winners of Pitch@Palace Global 3.0, a platform hosted by the Duke of York to accelerate the work of international entrepreneurs.

    Linh became the only Vietnamese representative to win the Entrepreneur of the Year title in a competition of 23 entrepreneurs from countries like Australia, China, Hungary and Singapore and the U.K.

    Tien’s startup, Chatbot Vietnam, also received financial support of $30,000 last year from Amazon and Facebook in the FbStart program, which is designed to assist mobile startups in their early stage.

    Another reason why more young people, aging from 26 to 35 years old, want to open startups is a desire to make an impact in their own country, said Mai of Navigos Search.

    Although there are a high number of young people who found a startup because they want to be successful and rich, Navigos surveys show that other popular reasons are “wanting to be a boss” and “wanting to have a personal value on the market,” she said.

    Inevitable failures

    The number of Vietnamese startups successful in attracting investment has been increasing in recent years, reaching 92 in 2017, a 45 percent increase over 2016, according to the Topica Founder Institute, which organizes an annual program that trains and connects startups with potential investors.

    The total value of the deals was $291 million in 2017, up 42 percent from 2016, the institute said.

    However, challenges are unavoidable for the new companies. Mai said that with a large number of people attempting startups, venture funds can only select a small number, leaving the rest to their own devices.

    The lack of funds is a vital challenge to startups. “80-90 percent of startups fail in the early stages because they don’t have enough funding to move on to the expansion stage,” Phan Hoang Lan, head of the Financial Planning Division under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Market Development Department, said at a forum earlier.

    Mai added that most startups also fail because young leaders, no matter how passionate, lack the skills to manage a new company as well as the capability to create a complete product that is well-received by the market.

    Tien’s knows this struggle too well. His previous startup, a service which connects laborers with potential workplaces, could not continue due to a lack of funds. Other projects have also failed because the team members weren’t on the same page.

    But the failures are not in vain.

    Tien’s goal to pursue his own dream seems to have been partly achieved when Chatbot Vietnam became one of the top five companies in the Startup Viet 2018 competition in November. It also received a prize from Grab Venture, an innovation arm of ride-hailing firm aimed at supporting Southeast Asia’s startups.

    “Every time my startup fails, I learn something which I could never have known without the failures. Starting a business helps me become more versatile and complete.”

    “If this startup fails, I’ll do another. I still have a couple of ideas left,” he said.

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  • Artificial intelligence is $300 billion cost-saving opportunity

    Artificial intelligence is $300 billion cost-saving opportunity

    The use of artificial intelligence in the retail sector is a $300 billion cost-saving opportunity for retailers which are able to scale and expand the technology, though just 1 per cent of retailers have achieved the necessary level of development, according to research from Capgemini Research Institute. The study looked at 400 global retailers, and how they are implementing the burgeoning technology at different stages of maturity, and found that over a quarter of retailers are deploying AI in their businesses – a seven-fold increase from 2016.

    “For global retailers, it appears reality has kicked in regarding AI, both in terms of what the technology can achieve and what they need to do to get there,” Capgemini vice president global consumer products and retail sector Kees Jacobs said.

    “Of course, deploying and scaling will be the next big objective, but retailers should be wary not to chase ROI figures without also considering the customer experience.”

    According to the research, retailers deploying AI systems were eight times more likely to be working on high-complexity projects rather than smaller projects which are easier to scale, and generally lack a focus on customer usability.

    Only 10 per cent of such retailers noted customer experience as a driving factor of these developments, and only 7 per cent noted customer pain points as a priority. Meanwhile, cost (62 per cent) and ROI (59 per cent) are driving most investment into the space.

    Despite this, 98 per cent of retailers surveyed expect customer complaints to decrease, while 99 expect to see an increase in sales, as a result of investment into AI – far ahead of the more contrasted expectations noted in 2017.

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  • Knows more : Rahul Singh, Founder & CEO, The Beer Café India

    Knows more : Rahul Singh, Founder & CEO, The Beer Café India

    With multiple awards like; Images Coca Cola Golden Spoon Award, India Restaurant Congress Award, Times Nightlife Award and ET Now Business and Service Excellence Award, the consumer and industry has recognized this startup as a blockbuster. Singh is the recipient of the TiECON 2010 Entrepreneurial Award for Excellence and holds the position of the Honorary Secretary for the NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India). He was also bestowed with the Prestigious Entrepreneur India 2015 Award in F&B services.

    Before he started The Beer Café, Singh was CEO, Greg Norman Collection India from 2007-09. In that role he spearheaded the brand’s operations involving sales, marketing and manufacturing.

    Prior to 2007, he was the Executive Director at Reebok India for 8 years and was a part of their leadership team, also setup a robust sourcing base for exports from South Asia.

    As a textile engineer, he brings in an analytical approach to each line of enterprise that he gets into. He has undergone training in draught beer technology at Micromatic Institute in Florida, USA.

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  • Kathmandu Australia drops expectations after slow holiday sales

    Kathmandu Australia drops expectations after slow holiday sales

    Outdoor retailer Kathmandu has seen sales fall over the first 15 weeks of the 2019 fiscal year after sales during the December Summer Sale failed to reach expectations, deflating the retailer’s projections for 1H2019. Same store sales for the 22 weeks ending 30 December fell 1 per cent year on year, falling 0.2 per cent in Australia and 2.4 per cent in New Zealand.

    “Following strong same store sales growth in Q1, we are disappointed in trading results in Australia and New Zealand over the Christmas and Boxing Day period,” Kathmandu chief executive Xavier Simonet said.

    “Despite sales being below expectation it is pleasing to see the improvement in retail gross margin and continuing strong growth from the recently acquired Oboz business.”

    Gross margin improved to roughly 64 per cent over the period, partially offsetting the lower than expected sales to date for the 2019 year.

    First half sales in US footwear brand Oboz are now projected to grow 35 per cent to approximately $23.5 million (NZ$27.5 million), and see a gross margin of 40 per cent.

    Total group profits are expected to reach approximately 4 – 8 per cent above 1H2018, assuming current trends continue.

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  • China Slowdown, Trade Disputes Weigh on Asia Factory Activity

    China Slowdown, Trade Disputes Weigh on Asia Factory Activity

    Factory activity weakened across Asia in December as the Sino-US trade war and a slowdown in Chinese demand hit production in most economies, strengthening the case for a pause in interest rate hikes in the region in 2019. A series of purchasing managers’ indexes (PMI) for December released on Wednesday mostly showed declines or slowdowns in manufacturing factory activity across the region. In China, the Caixin/Markit PMI slipped into contraction territory for the first time in 19 months, broadly tracking an official survey released on Monday.

    China’s weakness spilled over to other Asian economies, with Malaysia’s manufacturing activity shrinking to its weakest pace of expansion since it launched the survey in 2012 and Taiwan contracting to its lowest since September 2015.

    Meanwhile, official economic data out of Singapore showed its gross domestic product grew more slowly than forecast in the fourth quarter as the city-state’s manufacturing sector contracted on a quarterly basis.

    In other regions, the eurozone was expected to post steady manufacturing activity growth, while US activity was seen a tad slower, but firmly in expansion territory, in a sign that so far China has suffered more bruises from its trade frictions than the United States.

    With growth slowing and inflation below or barely within the target in most countries, Asian central banks are unlikely to continue their tightening cycle this year, barring any shocks in currency markets.

    “We are really seeing a global slowdown into this year, and in Asia, particularly export-oriented countries are hurting,” said Irene Cheung, Asia strategist at ANZ.

    “Our expectation for central banks is that most of them won’t change policy in 2019 and these numbers coming out on the weak side won’t change that outlook.”

    The world’s two largest economies agreed at the start of December to a 90-day truce following tit-for-tat tariffs that have disrupted the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars of goods between the two countries.

    The two sides have pledged to hold frequent talks in the next two months, but uncertainty over whether they can bridge massive differences over commercial practices and intellectual property rights remains very high, despite US President Donald Trump noting “big progress” in a tweet.

    Tariffs are not the only drag on China’s economy. Beijing’s sustained drive to reduce debt risks in the economy has cooled the property market and curbed credit flows to the private sector. Meanwhile, the government’s intensified crackdown on pollution has dented industrial activity.

    In a key annual conference last month, China’s top leaders said they will boost support for the economy in 2019 by cutting taxes and keeping liquidity ample while promising to continue negotiations with Washington.

    “The People’s Bank of China may have to ease further to offset the impact of tariffs,” said Robert Michele, chief investment officer and head of fixed income, J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

    China’s economic growth slowed to 6.5 percent in the third quarter of last year, the weakest since the global financial crisis. As reported, government advisers had recommended a growth target of 6.0-6.5 percent for this year at the annual meeting, though the final figure won’t be made public until the annual parliament meeting in early March.

    Oil Drive

    A sharp drop in the crude price at the end of last year has helped sentiment in Asia’s oil-importing economies, where trade deficits are a key vulnerability.

    Indonesia’s PMI index, although still weak historically, rose to 51.2 from November’s 50.4, a four-month high. India’s declined to 53.2 from 54.0 but capped the strongest quarter for the country’s manufacturing sector since late 2012. Philippines PMI was also 53.2.

    But Malaysia, which relies heavily on oil revenues, saw its weakest reading ever at 46.8.

    Taiwan and South Korea, which are heavily focused on tech production, also saw their activity shrink. The US-China trade war affects chip orders and coincides with a slowdown in demand for smartphones globally.

    The contraction in South Korean manufacturing activity continued last month albeit at a slower pace, its PMI showed, with new export orders declining for a fifth consecutive month. Taiwan’s PMI, meanwhile, fell to its lowest since September 2015. Japan publishes PMIs on Jan. 4.

    Vietnam’s PMI fell to 53.8 from November’s 56.5, but the index’s 2018 average was the highest since the survey’s debut in 2011.

    The Southeast Asian economy is widely seen as benefiting from the US-China trade war as companies look to establish operations in the country to avoid the tariff crossfire.

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  • Korea e-commerce hits high of 10.62 trillion won in November

    Korea e-commerce hits high of 10.62 trillion won in November

    The total value of online shopping in Korea reached a record high in November, government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign that a growing number of Koreans are using computers or mobile devices to buy things ranging from clothes to electronic goods. Total online transactions reached 10.62 trillion won ($9.5 billion) in November, up 22.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

    The reading marked the highest amount since January 2001 when the statistics office started collecting data on online shopping.

    Sales of electronic goods and computers rose 22.7 percent on year to 1.68 trillion won, and demand for clothes jumped 10.4 percent to 1.45 trillion won in November, while online sales of food and beverages surged 32.3 percent to 911.4 billion won.

    Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets soared 28 percent on year to a record 6.59 trillion won, accounting for 62.1 percent of all online sales in November.

    Korea is one of the most wired countries in the world, with one of the highest smartphone penetration rates.

    The number of smartphones in Korea came to 50.5 million as of October, compared with 48.3 million a year earlier, according to separate government data.

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  • Yum! appointed new leader for Pizza Hut Asia Pacific

    Yum! appointed new leader for Pizza Hut Asia Pacific

    Pizza Hut International on Tuesday announced that Unnat Varma, Managing Director, Pizza Hut India Subcontinent has been elevated to the position of Managing Director, Pizza Hut Asia Pacific effective 1 January 2019. In his new role, he will be responsible for steering Pizza Hut to the next phase of growth across the Asia Pacific region. Varma will be based in Pizza Hut APAC headquarters at Singapore and will report to Vipul Chawla, President, Pizza Hut International. As part of the APAC growth strategy, Pizza Hut India-Subcontinent will now be inducted under the Asia Pacific Business Unit. In total, Varma will oversee over 5500 stores across 22 countries.

    With Varma at the helm since 2015, Pizza Hut India-subcontinent has achieved strong business results with 10 successive quarters of positive Same Store Sales Growth. The brand has also expanded its physical store footprint – having recently launched its 500th physical store in the Indian Subcontinent.

    Under his stewardship, Pizza Hut has also pioneered the Fast-Casual Delco (FCD) concept in India, which offers a seamless integration of dine-in, takeaway and delivery channels, all under one roof and also upgraded all its digi-tech assets including the website, m-site and mobile app.

    These initiatives have enabled Pizza Hut to deliver on the promise of providing the Easiest, Fastest and the Tastiest pizza experience to consumers in India. As a result, Pizza Hut has been voted the most trusted brand in India for the 12th time in a row (as per a reputed media house) and was awarded the prestigious EFFIE Gold in the Foods and Confectionery category in 2018 for its outstanding consumer-centric performance.

    Varma is a respected and credible leader with over 24 years of industry experience. He joined Yum! in February 2006 and was elevated to Director Marketing, KFC, India Subcontinent in 2008. In February 2011, he took over the role of General Manager – Taco Bell and was responsible for launching the brand as the next growth engine for Yum! in India.

    After successfully establishing a strong foundation for KFC and Taco Bell, Varma was appointed as General Manager – Pizza Hut, India Subcontinent in December 2015and thereafter promoted as Managing Director – Pizza Hut, India Subcontinent in February 2016.

    Varma is also the Chairman of FICCI Task Force on Food Service Retail. Prior to joining Yum!, he worked with Gillette in India for 12 years across sales and marketing functions.