Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Frasers Commercial Trust Q1 DPU down 4.4% on lower occupancies

    Frasers Commercial Trust Q1 DPU down 4.4% on lower occupancies

    Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) has posted a first-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.40 Singapore cents, down 4.4 per cent from 2.51 Singapore cents in the same period a year earlier as property income fell while the number of issued units had increased.

    The topline took a hit from lower occupancy rates at Alexandra Technopark, China Square Central, 55 Market Street and Perth’s Central Park.

    Gross revenue for the first quarter ended Dec 31, 2017 dipped 11 per cent to S$35.3 million from the same period a year earlier. China Square Central was impacted by planned vacancies to facilitate asset enhancement works at the retail podium.

    A weaker Australian dollar also dented takings.

    Net property income fell 14.9 per cent to S$24.9 million. Half of this came from FCOT’s three Singapore buildings and half from its three properties in Australia.

    In December, FCOT announced its maiden acquisition in the United Kingdom. It expects to complete its purchase of a 50 per cent stake in Farnborough Business Park by the end of January.

    Meanwhile, the S$45 million makeover of Alexandra Technopark announced a year ago is slated to be completed in the middle of this year.

    China Square Central’s retail podium will also undergo a S$38 million asset enhancement starting in the first quarter of 2018 with completion expected by mid-2019.

    FCOT had a 80.3 per cent average occupancy rate as at Dec 31 and an average committed occupancy rate of 86.6 per cent.

    WeWork Singapore, the co-working space operator, has committed to lease around 28,700 sq ft of space at one of China Square Central’s heritage shophouse blocks, FCOT added in its results filing on Monday.

    WeWork will take up the space in phases starting with 16,800 sq ft in the second half of 2018.

    Jack Lam, chief executive of the Reit manager, said: “We are delighted to welcome WeWork to China Square Central … The take-up by WeWork is a strong testament to the attractiveness of China Square Central as a work and business location. We foresee rising demand for co-working facilities and other non-traditional workplace formats in light of the continuous evolution of work culture and reshaping of the business ecosystem.”

    First-quarter earnings per unit was 1.64 Singapore cents, down from 2.36 Singapore cents in the same period a year earlier.

    Net asset value per share was 1.55 Singapore cents as at Dec 31.

    FCOT had a gearing of 34.8 per cent as at Dec 31, and an interest coverage ratio of 4.3 times.

    The counter added two Singapore cents or 1.31 per cent to close at S$1.55 on Monday.

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  • WeChat launches first pop-up store in Shanghai

    WeChat launches first pop-up store in Shanghai

    Chinese messaging app WeChat has launched its first cashierless pop-up store in Shanghai.

    The Tencent company has teamed with more than 300 merchants, including EasyGo and Elle, as well as shopping mall The Mixc to build up its first “flash retailing” pop-up store.

    By scanning a QR code via WeChat, customers can enter the store. The system verifies the customer’s identification and gains access to their digital wallet WeChat Pay. All products have RFID tags to identify them and their price. Buyers can easily check the bill by scanning codes.

    The Bai Zhenjie company, which applies WeChat Pay to the retail industry, says the concept of flash retailing is constantly being polished. Face-recognition technology and a credit-evaluation system are expected to also be applied to the stores.

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  • TransCo close to deal to bolster third telco bid

    TransCo close to deal to bolster third telco bid

    The Philippines’ state-run National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), the owner of the nation’s power grid, is close to a deal with the private operator of the grid National Grid Corp (NGCP) to use NGCP’s transmission facilities as the backbone for its bid to become the nation’s third operator.

    TransCo has sent a draft memorandum of agreement for a deal involving use of the grid’s inter-plant fiber transmission equipment for telecoms facilities, ABS-CBN News reported.

    TransCo has previously expressed an interest in forming a partnership to apply for the third telco license. The government has meanwhile reportedly approached the Chinese government with an offer for one of China’s state-run operators to play the role, and plans to hold the allocation as a beauty contest.

    But according to the report, while NGCP has stated that it is eager to participate in the government’s plan to improve telecoms services in the nation and break the PLDT-Globe duopoly, it does not agree that TransCo should be party to the deal.

    An NGCP spokesperson told the publication that any deal involving allowing a third party or the government to use NGCP’s available network capacity should be negotiated with NGCP.

    The company also said it is not interested in ownership in a third player and is willing to allow use of the equipment at minimum or even no cost.

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  • Siam Makro to open 15 stores in India

    Siam Makro to open 15 stores in India

    Thailand conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group plans to invest Rs1000 crore (US$157 million) over the next five years to open Siam Makro wholesale stores in India.

    Siam Makro, the company’s retail arm, will open 15 wholesale cash-and-carry stores in India, starting with Delhi-NCR, over the next three years under a new brand, Lots Wholesale Solutions.

    “India and the US are the two priority markets for us for future growth,” says MD Tanit Chearavanont of CP Wholesale India.

    The company hopes to open its first two stores, each covering more than 50,000sqft (4600sqm) in NCR by the end of the second quarter.

    CP Group has cash-and-carry businesses in Thailand, China, Cambodia and Myanmar. It has 123 Makro cash-and-carry outlets in Thailand, and 60 outlets in China under the brand Lotus.

    “We bring with us 28 years of experience in serving various business-to-business customers, such as hotels, restaurants and cafes, traders and service customers, through different cash-and-carry formats, large and small,” says Chearavanont. Hotels, restaurants and cafes, which account for about 28 per cent of the company’s business in Thailand, are seen as the largest segment in India as well.

    CP Group, which entered India in 2016 through CP Foods, its agro-industrial and food unit, is looking at making India its innovation hub for technology and digitisation, says Chearavanont.

    CP Wholesale India director (development and expansion) Sameer Singh says the company will look at competitive pricing to take on existing wholesalers in India. “We are also working on possible limited-period credit for customers. We are in discussions with banking institutions to finalise a strategy.” added Singh.

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  • Malaysian Automotive Association bullish on NAP 2018

    Malaysian Automotive Association bullish on NAP 2018

    The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) is hoping that the review of the National Automotive Policy (NAP), which will be announced by the government in mid-2018, will improve the automotive industry and help boost vehicle sales.

    MAA president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said the government has not engaged with MAA on the review of the NAP and that the details of the NAP 2018 have not been discussed with the industry.

    “It’s just preliminary announcement that there are some changes in the NAP and we hope whatever announcements they make will be good for the industry and will boost industry sales and assist the industry for us to expand sales and make more money,” she told a press conference on the automotive market review for 2017 and outlook for 2018 today.

    Last week, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said NAP 2018 is still a work-in-progress, with consultations to continue for another four to five months. NAP 2018 will focus on mobility, next-generation vehicles, big data, lifestyle and connectivity.

    With NAP 2018 also focusing on parts and components, Aishah concurred that this is a growth area based on industry figures.

    She said NAP 2014 has helped reduce the prices of energy-efficient vehicles (EEV) slightly as EEV producers enjoyed incentives on local components.

    Meanwhile she said the strengthening ringgit will help industry players, especially those who trade in US dollars and Japanese yen, as they will have better margins.

    MAA is projecting a total industry volume (TIV) of 590,000 units in 2018, a 2.3% growth from 2017. This takes into account of factors like economic growth, rising cost of doing business, rising cost of living, continuation of the strict lending guidelines and ride-hailing services.

    The TIV of new motor vehicles registered in 2017 declined marginally by 0.6% to 576,635 units in 2017 from 580,085 units in 2016.

    Aishah said the local automotive market was subdued for much of last year.

    For the second consecutive year, the TIV contracted, reflecting perhaps a down-cycle of the market that started in 2016.

    “Despite our country’s economic recovery and the aggressive promotional campaigns undertaken by MAA members, sales remained essentially flat in 2017. This can be attributed to the inflationary pressures affecting consumers’ disposable income, which consequently resulted in cautious consumer spending,” said Aishah.

  • Affinity Equity to bid on Stylenanda

    Affinity Equity to bid on Stylenanda

    Hong Kong’s Affinity Equity Partners has joined a bidding scramble for Korean budget fashion and cosmetics brand Stylenanda.

    Also in the race are LVMH-backed L Catterton, L’Oreal and Shiseido, with the bid worth up to KW500 billion (US$467 million), insiders say.

    Parent company Nanda has received letters of intent from potential bidders, including a local department-store chain, to sell a stake of up to 70 per cent.

    Launched in 2005, Stylenanda saw its sales soar to KW170 billion last year. While it started as a fashion brand, it has lately been focusing more on its cosmetics business. Now more than half of its sales come from its budget cosmetics brand 3CE.

    For its fashion business, the firm is focusing more on upscale boutique shops.

    CEO Kim So-hee, who owns the company outright, in 2016 sought to sell a sizeable portion along with management rights. There were negotiations with such candidates as Hyundai Department Store and TPG, but these collapsed.

    Meanwhile, L Catterton has been buying stakes in Korean companies in recent years, including US$80 million in YG Entertainment, $50 million in cosmetics maker Clio, and US$230 million in eyewear brand Gentle Monster.

    Affinity has also been buying into Korean firms. In August it bought plastic container company Lock&Lock for KW629.3 billion.

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  • China leads for L’Occitane International

    China leads for L’Occitane International

    China and Hong Kong, along with Brazil, had the highest sales growth in local currencies for French cosmetics company L’Occitane International for the nine months to the end of December.

    China sales grew 23.4 per cent in local currency, with same-store sales up 17.4 per cent.

    Hong Kong had 9.7 per cent growth at constant exchange rates, thanks to strong travel-retail sales in Asia, particularly Greater China, Korea and Japan.

    The group’s net sales reached €1 billion (US$1.2 billion), or 3 per cent growth at constant rates for the period. Unfavourable foreign-exchange rates knocked down sales at reported rates by 0.6 per cent.

    Same-store sales growth for the nine months further improved to 1.4 per cent from a 0.1 per cent drop for the six months to September 30. The improvement was mainly contributed by holiday offerings in the third quarter that fueled same-store sales growth in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Russia and other key markets.

    Sell-out sales accounted for 74.1 per cent of net sales, amounting to €741.9 million, down 1.4 per cent at reported rates but up 2.5 per cent at constant rates. This growth was primarily from positive same-store growth as well as non-comparable stores and other sales, including new and renovated stores, marketplaces and spa businesses.

    Web sell-out channels (own e-commerce and marketplaces) delivered encouraging growth of 21.2 per cent to reach 14.3 per cent of total sell-out sales.

    Sell-in sales accounted for 25.9 per cent of the group’s total sales, amounting to €259 million and an increase of 4.4 per cent at constant exchange rates. Like-for-like growth was 8.2 per cent.

    The increase was primarily driven by travel retail, distribution, B2B and web-partner channels of the L’Occitane en Provence brand. The emerging brands Erborian and Melvita continued double-digit growth.

    The group opened 16 stores and renovated 118 during the nine months, compared to 56 store openings and 79 renovations for the same period a year earlier.

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  • Amazon Go, a high-tech version of a 7-Eleven, finally opened on Monday

    Amazon Go, a high-tech version of a 7-Eleven, finally opened on Monday

    No cashiers, no lines, no registers – this is how Amazon sees the future of in-store shopping.

    The online retailer opened its Amazon Go concept store to the public on Monday, selling milk, potato chips and other items typically found at a convenience shop. Amazon employees have been testing the store, which is at the bottom floor of the company’s Seattle headquarters, for about a year.

    The public opening is another sign that Amazon is serious about expanding its physical presence. It has opened more than a dozen bookstores, taken over space in some Kohl’s department stores and bought Whole Foods last year, giving it 470 grocery stores.

    But Amazon Go is unlike its other stores. Shoppers enter by scanning the Amazon Go smartphone app at a turnstile. When they pull an item of the shelf, it’s added to their virtual cart. If the item is placed back on the shelf, it is removed from the virtual cart. Shoppers are charged when they leave the store.

    The company says it uses computer vision, machine learning algorithms and sensors to figure out what people are grabbing off its store shelves.

    Amazon says families can shop together with just one phone scanning everyone in. Anything they grab from the shelf will also be added to the tab of the person who signed them in. But don’t help out strangers: Amazon warns that grabbing an item from the shelf for someone else means you’ll be charged for it.

    At about 167 square metres, the store will also sell ready-to-eat breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Items from the Whole Foods 365 brand are also stocked, such as cookies, popcorn and dried fruit.

    The company had announced the Amazon Go store in December 2016 and said it would open by early 2017, but it delayed the debut while it worked on the technology and company employees tested it out.

  • Singapore completes public safety trials with NEC

    Singapore completes public safety trials with NEC

    NEC and NEC Asia Pacific have announced the completion of three safety and security test bed projects, held in and near Singapore’s Jurong Island, under the Safety and Security Industry Program (SSIP) 2020.

    The SSIP 2020 is led by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and is being conducted in collaboration with JTC.

    The three trials were conducted over a period of 12 months from September 2016, and were aimed at using data analytics and security insights to address Singapore’s safety and security needs.

    They involved early detection of suspicious behavior, off-site security clearance of authorized personnel and on-the-spot enrollment for first-time visitor access to controlled areas.

    In the first trial, NEC provided and tested a system that utilized its high performance NeoFace Facial Recognition software together with the Intelligent Complex Event Processing engine which correlates audio and video analytics, to detect suspicious behavior and identify Persons of Interest (POIs) in both indoor and outdoor areas.

    The second trial facilitated off-site security clearance for entry of authorized personnel into Jurong Island, thus reducing congestion at checkpoints. NEC provided and tested a Bus Sensors Monitoring Management System using customized tamper-proof security sensors to prevent unauthorized opening of vehicle doors during bus journeys.

    The third trial tested the feasibility of an automated system to provide a more efficient method of enrolling first-time visitors for entry into Jurong Island. The system leveraged NEC’s biometric solution to expedite clearance of such visitors via on-the-spot facial and fingerprint recognition enrollment at car inspection bays.

    For all the three trials, the technologies provided real-time monitoring and alerts to the simulated Command Center, to inform the authorities of activities which may require law enforcement action.

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  • UAE firm in deal to supply naptha to Lotte Chemical Titan

    UAE firm in deal to supply naptha to Lotte Chemical Titan

    Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary Lotte Chemical Titan Sdn Bhd has entered into a three-year sales contract with United Arab Emirates-based Abu Dhabi National Oil Co  for the supply of refined products and paraffinic naphtha.

    The group announced in a stock exchange filing that the contract runs from Jan 1, 2018 to Dec 31, 2020.

    Pricing of the supplies will be based on the market price of the commodity during the loading month. The estimated quantity is between 600,000 tonnes and 1 million tonnes a year.

    ADNOC is a major feedstock supplier of naphtha to Lotte and had previously supplied the commodity in a one-year contract.

    Lotte’s shares gained 0.39% to close at RM5.18 with some 731,300 shares done.

  • WAFL to open 80 stores in India

    WAFL to open 80 stores in India

    Hong Kong-headquartered waffle chain WAFL has opened its first stores in India as it continues an international franchise roll-out program.

    The company now operates 53 stores outside Hong Kong, although the Indian stores are the first in another Asian market, with most trading in Europe.

    WAFL’s first Indian store opened in SDA Market in Delhi and two more followed in the cities of Bangalore and Surat.

    The company says it plans to open about 80 stores across India by the end of this year, mostly smaller outlets of 200-250sqft with a seating capacity ranging from eight to 16 people.

    The WAFL menu includes sweet and savoury waffles meals and waffle-cone soft-serve ice cream – but they’re not all sugar-laden indulgences.

    Rajeev Chawla, executive partner of WAFL India says consumers are more health conscious now and have caught up with the fast-paced life.

    “So through our QSR we want to serve deliciously healthy food, to help them maintain their health-conscious need. We are positive that the Indian market will like our products and we are eyeing pan-India expansion.”

  • John Lobb expands into Philippines market

    John Lobb expands into Philippines market

    Historic British footwear brand John Lobb Bootmaker has stepped into the Philippines with a store beside Hermes at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City, Manila.

    Founded in Basingstoke in 1849 and opening a store on London’s Regent Street in 1866, the brand is known for its bespoke services and patronage from the aristocracy as well as the social, political and business elite.

    John Lobb branched out being solely bespoke to enter the ready-to-wear world in the 1980s.

    “Going into retail was a natural progression for the brand,” says regional director Nicholas Holt. “The stores have grown organically; we have 24 all over the world, targeting key cities such as Manila.

    “We open stores only in strategic locations – it is not all a matter of how many doors we can open.”

    While it makes shoes and boots mainly for men, John Lobb also caters for women. The store also sells leather goods such as wallets and belts.

    John Lobb, now owned by Hermes, has stores in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

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  • Honda Malaysia retains number one spot for non-national brands

    Honda Malaysia retains number one spot for non-national brands

    Honda Malaysia retained its number one spot for non-national brands for the third consecutive year, managing to sell 19% more cars or 109,511 units in 2017, the highest in its history.

    Honda Malaysia also sold the second largest number of cars in total industry volume in 2017, for the second consecutive year, it said in a statement today.

    Since 2003 and in the span of 14 years, Honda Malaysia has sold more than 730,000 units of vehicles.

    The company managed to capture a 19% market share, the highest ever achieved in Honda Malaysia history, with six new model launches, namely BR-V, City, Jazz and Jazz Hybrid, City Hybrid, CR-V and All-New Civic Type R.

    The City emerged as Honda’s best-selling model in 2017, contributing 27% of total sales, followed by HR-V at 17%, BR-V at 16% and Civic at 14% respectively.

    In the Hybrid segment, the Jazz Hybrid and City Hybrid contributed 2% to the total sales of Honda Malaysia despite being on sale for only 4 months. The two models are leading the overall Hybrid segment.

    Throughout 2017, Honda Malaysia expanded its presence and penetration in Sabah and Sarawak, which contributed more than 7,500 units to the total sales achieved. Sales for East Malaysia in 2017 increased by 33% compared to 2016. BR-V was the best-selling model in Sabah and Sarawak.

    Not losing sight of its after sales service segment, Honda Malaysia introduced Honda Pride with 12 specially designed benefits such as five years warranty with unlimited mileage, genuine parts and comfortable dealer showroom.

    In terms of service intake, Honda Malaysia recorded more than 1.15 million vehicles serviced in 2017, up 13% from the 1.0 million vehicles serviced in 2016.

    Managing director and CEO Toichi Ishiyama said, “Reflectively, we are pleased to note that with the maturing Malaysian market, customers responded well to the various Next Generation Advanced Technologies we introduced such as Honda SENSING, Turbo and Sport Hybrid i-DCD. The Sport Hybrid i-DCD made history during their introductions, as Malaysia is the only country outside of Japan to introduce the technology. It was also the most affordable Hybrid to be introduced in the market. Honda was also the first brand to introduce the SENSING technology into mass models such as the CR-V and New Accord.”

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  • Lat Phrao to have newest Le Tao cafe

    Lat Phrao to have newest Le Tao cafe

    Thailand’s latest Le Tao cafe has officially opened at Central Plaza Lat Phrao, with celebrities cooking for charity at its launch event.

    The Japanese cheesecake and bakery concept arrived in Thailand two years ago, courtesy of DB Group managing directors Dolnapa Tumwattana and Kwanchai Ongkamongkol.

    Actors Varodom “Kimmon” Khemmonta and Suradet “Bas” Piniwat from Deun Kiaw Deun helped make pancakes at the store’s launch. A strawberry pancake by Kimmon and chocolate pancake by Bas were auctioned, raising THB50,000 (US$1570) for Siriraj Hospital.

    From Otaru city on Hokkaido Island, Le Tao spread throughout Japan with its combination of the culture of Japanese dessert-making with Western baking. Pancakes take up to 15 minutes to bake, and are topped with maple syrup, chocolate or strawberry sauce plus fruit on request, and served with fresh cream and vanilla ice cream. The Le Tao Pancake offers a cheese flavour.

    Other popular desserts include cheesecake, milk roll, cheese served in a cup, and cookies stuffed with cheese.

    Le Tao also has branches at Siam Paragon, The EmQuartier and Central Bang Na in Bangkok.

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  • Korean duty-free store sales record in December

    Sales to foreigners at South Korean duty-free stores reached a record high in December, industry data shows.

    But that comes despite a sharp drop in the number of tourists, following a diplomatic spat between Seoul and Beijing over a US anti-missile system.

    Sales to foreigners at local duty-free shops came to US$939 million last month, up 28 per cent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. The figure is up 0.1 per cent from the previous high of $983 million, set in November.

    However the number of foreign visitors to local duty-free shops plunged 11.3 per cent on-year to 1.42 million last month, mainly due to Beijing’s ban on selling Korea-bound package tours in apparent retaliation over the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea.

    The number of Chinese nationals who visited South Korea last year stood at 4.16 million, down 48.3 per cent from the 8 million of the previous year, according to separate government data. Chinese nationals accounted for nearly half of the 17 million foreigners who visited South Korea in 2016.

    After months of dispute, the two countries agreed in October to normalise their bilateral relations, although Chinese tourists are yet to come back in volumes.

    Industry watchers say the latest increase in duty-free sales is attributable to small-scale Chinese traders.

    According to customs data, sales at South Korean duty-free stores reached a historic high of 14.5 trillion won last year, up 17.9 per cent from the previous year.

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