Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Huawei passes 5G NR field performance tests

    Huawei passes 5G NR field performance tests

    Huawei first to pass China’s 5G NR field performance tests

    Huawei has announced it was first to pass the recent field performance tests of 5G new radio (NR) technology in the 3.5-GHz band as part of the second phase of China’s 5G trials. The field tests commenced late last year within a 5G trial zone established by the IMT-2020 Promotion Group. Huawei demonstrated its 5G NR solution, proving it capable of meeting the ITU’s performance specifications for 5G, including 10Gbps throughput for for over one million simultaneous with an air interface latency of under 1ms.

    Singtel trialing Massive MIMO and Cloud RAN

    Singtel and Ericsson have teamed up to pilot Massive MIMO and Cloud RAN in Singapore on Singtel’s LTE network. Singtel aims to use the technologies to provide Gigabit-level LTE speeds and prepare its network for a smooth eveolution to 5G. The operator plans to use Massive MIMO and Cloud RAN to be able to offer faster speeds over its network by the end of the year. Singtel CEO consumer Singapore Yuen Kuan Moon said the company is investing to ensure its network can meet the exponential growth in demand for data traffic triggered by the rise of services including 4K video streaming, VR, AR and augmented reality.

    Nokia to launch “anyhaul” mobile transport portfolio

    Nokia has introduced a new “anyhaul” end-to-end mobile transport portfolio, combining technology across microwave, IP, optical, mobile and fixed access. The portfolio of solutions are designed and optimized to meet the requirements of the 5G era, employing a carrier SDN configuration for improved programmability and service assurance. The company plans to launch its new portfolio at Mobile World Congress 2017 next week. The portfolio has been optimized for 10Gbps cell site connections with enhanced capabilities including timing, synchronization and OAM.

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  • H&M Vietnam to open first store in Hanoi

    H&M Vietnam to open first store in Hanoi

    H&M Vietnam has revealed it will open its first store in Hanoi, not Ho Chi Minh City, the nation’s largest population base.

    The Swedish-headquartered fast-fashion giant has already commenced recruiting staff.

    According to the recruitment ads, H&M will open its first store on a 2000 sqm in Hanoi with roughly 100 employees.

    The recruited employees will be trained overseas for three to five months before coming back to Vietnam to set up stores.

    The firm also plans to hire employees in Ho Chi Minh City where the second store is said to scheduled to open in Vincom Thao Dien, District 2.

    MILAN ITALY – MARCH 18 2015: On the streets of the city. H&M store.

    H&M currently operates around 4300 stores across 64 markets. Last year, after the other fast-fashion empire Zara opened the first flagship Vietnam, H&M announced it would open a store here as part of its global expansion plan for 2017 which also includes Georgia, Colombia, Iceland and Kazakhstan.

  • Benoy updates Sanya Eyot project designs

    Benoy updates Sanya Eyot project designs

    Designs have been updated by international architectural/design company Benoy for the retail-centred China International Travel Service (CITS) Sanya Eyot scheme on Hainan Island.

    It is the second phase of the wider CITS scheme in the new resort area of Haitang Bay in Sanya. The development is on the reclaimed Hexin Island, surrounded by luxury international hotels and natural attractions. A pedestrian bridge connects the two phases of the scheme.

    “Our vision is to bring a completely new experience and break the mould for retail-led tourism developments in Haitang Bay,” says Benoy director Ferdinand Cheung.

    As a point of difference, the 32,000 sqm mixed-use, retail-led destination introduces a porous and multi-layered environment. The design clusters together distinctive, small-scale buildings to create a series of indoor and outdoor spaces. These will host entertainment and retail activities.

    Elevated walkways and bridges spanning the length of the pedestrian precinct will connect the buildings.

    Canopy structures inspired by seashells firmly root the design into its seaside context. They have been designed in accordance with solar paths and prevailing winds to encourage natural ventilation and open up sightlines across the island.

    “The canopy designs have not only allowed us to fulfil the brief for the project environmentally, helping to encourage air circulation and provide sun shading within this known humid and hot climate, but they also bring a real identity to the scheme. Their form and colour connect back to the coastal and resort quality of the site,” says Benoy senior associate director Janet Chan.

    Anchoring the development at the north end is a covered market area which will sell produce from fish farms and provide stall areas for imported goods.

    An aquarium with a reflective pool will bookend the market space, providing the backdrop for the al fresco and market-style dining area.

    With the reclamation of Hexin Island complete, construction work on the CITS Sanya Eyot scheme will start this year. The development is targeting a China three-star sustainability rating.

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  • Many ‘Firsts’ at SEA’s Largest Coffee Tea and Bakery Event

    Many ‘Firsts’ at SEA’s Largest Coffee Tea and Bakery Event

    Visitors to the Café Asia 2017, International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo (ICT) 2017 and Sweets & Bakes Asia 2017 will witness several ‘firsts’ at the 5th edition of the international coffee show and 4th edition of the annual gathering of bakers here, including the inaugural Tea Masters Cup Singapore and the first-ever Singapore Coffee in Good Spirits Championship.

    The concurrent shows mark the largest gathering of the tea and coffee industries in Southeast Asia and celebrate the vibrant café scene in Singapore. The organiser will welcome more than 150 exhibitors from 20 countries to the comprehensive one-stop showcase of innovations and technologies in all things coffee, tea and baked goods when the shows open on March 2, 2017 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Some 11,000 baristas, café and coffee purveyors, coffee roasters, tea and baked ingredients suppliers, equipment distributors and members of the public are expected to converge at the region’s largest coffee, tea and baked goods event.

    From the traditional kopi-O to a cup of perfectly-brewed espresso, Singaporeans’ love affair with coffee is undeniable. With rising affluence, appreciation of coffee as an artisanal foodstuff, like wine, has grown in sophistication. It is therefore not surprising to see more cafes serving a variety of cold brews and drip coffees concocted using the latest technology and equipment.

    Similarly, the demand for baked and pastry goods is being driven by changing lifestyles globally, fuelling market expansion and demand for gourmet baked goods.  Bakers are also challenged by the appetite for healthier fortified baked products.

    The Café Asia series has established itself as Southeast Asia’s trade and consumer event dedicated to the café and teahouse communities. It brings together café and teashop owners, managers, importers, exporters, distributors and suppliers of machinery, equipment, and raw materials. It is a dynamic B2B platform for the sourcing and buying needs of key decision makers and for them to explore new opportunities for collaboration and distribution of new products.

    Concurrently, the International Coffee & Tea Expo 2017 serves as a springboard for local and international industry players to tap into Asia’s huge market potential, and for them to gain in-depth insight of the latest market trends and developments. The platform also offers them opportunities to raise brand awareness and to forge strategic business contacts among key suppliers, industry buyers and exhibitors.

    The fourth edition of Sweets & Bakes Asia showcases a range of products and services for the baking and confectionery industries’ supply chain, from machinery to equipment, to ingredients and packaging. It serves as a one-stop hub for baking and confectionery industry professionals to source for suppliers and vendors, to explore business opportunities, as well as to stay up-to-date with the latest innovations and developments in the industry.

    The concurrent events boast of a comprehensive programme for visitors who can look forward to an exciting line-up including live presentations, demonstrations and workshops on every aspect of the coffee, tea and baked goods industries. There is also an extensive range of specialty coffees and teas from around the world to sample. The 3-day exhibition will also be teeming with networking and business opportunities for trade visitors who are looking to elevate their business aspirations.

    The line-up of programme has also been designed to offer insights on the latest trends for the cafe industry. This includes an exploration of exotic coffee and tea from Rwanda, ‘Rwanda Coffee & Tea: Shift from Quantity to Quality’, a demonstration on the art of making gelato in ‘The Craft of Gelato/Ice Cream Making and Demonstration of Fun Flavours’ and a case-study presentation on ‘Starting a Café in a Coffee Producing Country: Example of Laos’.

    Visitors can also embark on a Coffee Education Tour to learn from a panel of experts on the importance of coffee beans selection, how coffee beans are roasted, on what makes a good coffee machine and how the choice of milk can determine the quality and taste of the brew.

    Aspiring baristas, brewers, latte artists and bakers will be fascinated by the competition standards of the seven National Championships hosted by the event. New to this year’s edition are two competitions held to celebrate the art of tea-brewing and the art of mixology. The inaugural Tea Masters Cup Singapore will see local tea specialists demonstrate their skills in different ways of working with tea, with three judging categories namely, Tea Preparation, Tea Pairing and Tea Tasting. The first-ever Singapore Coffee in Good Spirits Championship promotes innovative beverage recipes that showcase barista’s mixology skills and creativity in illustrating the harmony of coffee and alcohol. The winners of these championships will proudly represent Singapore on the world stage at the respective championships to be held later this year.

    Returning to the event this year are the national coffee championships: Singapore National Barista Championships, Singapore Latte Art Championship, Singapore Brewers Cup Championship and Singapore Cup Tasters Championship. Watch some of Singapore’s best baristas, brewers and latte artists contend for the national titles and the opportunities to represent Singapore at the world coffee championships.

    The Singapore Bakery & Confectionery Championship 2017 attracts top bakers and confectioners to showcase their skills to create the most delicious and delightful breads and pastries. Watch these bakers from some of the best hotels and bakeries here in Singapore compete as they knead, bake and work magic with their creations into stunning displays of edible art.

    You and your camera crew are cordially invited to the official opening of Café Asia 2017, International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo 2017 and Sweets & Bakes Asia 2017 and to relish some perked-up moments at an event wholly dedicated to celebrate the vibrant cafe culture in this region. This multi-sensory event will be held at

    Marina Bay Sands

    Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Hall E

    Thursday, 2 March 2017 at 9am

    Media registration begins at 8.15am

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  • Some bright future for Bossini International

    Some bright future for Bossini International

    Overall revenue fell 11 per cent for apparel retailer Bossini International during the first half of its financial year.

    However, its interim results to December 31, showed an improvement in gross margin – by four points to 51 per cent, attributed to more effective sales and marketing strategies. Profit for the period attributable to the owners increased by 20 per cent.

    The Hong Kong and Macau market, the Mainland China market and the Taiwan market showed signs of having bottomed out, says the company, with same-store gross profit level after a period of negative growth for more than a year.

    With a footprint across 28 countries, the group says it is still optimistic in the long run, adding 16 shops during the half-year.

    Its revenue for the six months was HK$1.022 billion (US$131.6 million), down 11 per cent from HK$1.146 billion in the same period a year earlier. Gross profit slipped 4 per cent to HK$519
    million.

    For directly managed stores, same-store sales in Hong Kong and Macau fell 6 per cent, a slight improvement, and Mainland China and Taiwan stores performed similarly, declining by 2 per cent. Same-store sales in Singapore dropped by 8 per cent compared to per cent in the previous first half. The group’s overall same-store sales slipped 6 per cent.

    At December 31, the Group had 952 stores, up five from six months earlier. Directly managed stores grew to 287 from 280, while franchised stores dropped by two to 665.

    The group continued its strategy of working with licensing partners to strengthen brand recognition and boost sales. Three licensing programs were launched in the first half of the financial year, working with Disney and Universal Studios.

  • AirAsia to run Bhubaneswar-Kuala Lumpur flights from April 26

    Malaysia-based low-cost airline AirAsia has added Bhubaneswar to the list of destinations in India with four weekly direct flights from Kuala Lumpur. It will commence operations on April 26, 2017, making AirAsia Group’s 16th route into India.
    On February 17, the low-cost carrier had signed a pact with the Odisha government for running direct international flights from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur.
    This new route is operated exclusively by AirAsiaBerhad (flight code AK) and will offer guests an experience of the rich culture, tantalising food scene and multi-faceted sights of the country’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur, the company said in a statement
    “With Bhubaneswar now added to our extensive network, AirAsia is unlocking the potential of international air travel from Kuala Lumpur to Eastern India and its surrounding areas. We are thrilled to be serving Bhubaneswar direct, a huge market that no other airline is serving directly from Malaysia. Now, everyone from across the region can connect to Bhubaneswar with AirAsia via Kuala Lumpur. At the same time, the people of Odisha can use Bhubaneswar as a gateway to our extensive route network to Asean and beyond, where they will have access to over 120 destinations across our extensive route network”, Aireen Omar, chief executive officer of AirAsiaBerhad said.
    AirAsia Group also connects Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, New Delhi directly to Kuala Lumpur, and from Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi and Kolkata directly to Bangkok in Thailand.
    AirAsia was selected through competitive bidding to start operations from Odisha. The state government had invited an Expression of Interest (EoI) from the scheduled air carriers for running flights to destinations in South East Asia like Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. To woo the air carriers, the state government had agreed to provide reasonable Viability Gap Funding (VGF) in the form of subsidy grant.
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  • Philippines to crack down on spectrum hoarding

    Philippines to crack down on spectrum hoarding

    The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) plans to crack down on spectrum hoarders, threatening to recall unused frequencies and potentially auction them to a third or even fourth local player.

    A recent audit of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) shows that a number of companies are not using the spectrum that has been assigned to them, and many of these have unpaid spectrum usage fees owing.

    In response, the government plans to ask these companies to explain their lack of use or their non payment of spectrum fees. In cases where it is deemed warranted, the government plans to initiate recall procedures for the spectrum. The report cites DICT undersecretary Jorge Sarmiento as stating that there is enough unused spectrum in the Philippines’ airspace to allocate to a third or even fourth player.

    The NTC is preparing to hold a new entrant spectrum auction by the middle of the year, as part of efforts to attract new competition to break up the Globe-PLDT duopoly.

    The ministry is also under pressure to resolve consumer complaints about the quality of internet services in the Philippines, and recently announced it will hold a “no-holds-barred” summit to address these concerns.

    The audit shows that spectrum has been allocated but is not in use in the 400-MHz, 700-MHz, 800-MHz, 2500-MHz, 3.4-GHz and 10-GHz bands.

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  • Fujitsu enables biometric authentication for IoT

    Fujitsu enables biometric authentication for IoT

    Fujitsu Laboratories says it has developed a technology that enables safe and easy use of cloud services through IoT devices by leveraging the biometric authentication functionality and near-field wireless functionality of modern smartphones.

    In the era of IoT, various devices are connected to cloud services. When using these services such as parcel delivery lockers in apartments or public facilities, or when using car sharing services, user authentication will need to take place each time a service is used.

    With existing ID and password systems, users have to manage multiple IDs and passwords which make the authentication process cumbersome.

    Fujitsu Laboratories has developed technology that enables biometric authentication of a cloud service’s user without extracting biometric information from that user’s smartphone.

    The technology establishes a secure network between a cloud service, an IoT device and a smartphone, and then simultaneously verifies the identity of the user and that the user is in front of the IoT device.

    With the new technology, users can safely and conveniently access cloud services through a variety of IoT devices without inputting an ID and password, using just their smartphone’s biometric authentication.

    In addition, Fujitsu said this technology enables the provision of a strong personal authentication service using biometrics without requiring service providers to manage an individual’s biometric information for each device or service.

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  • DHL eCommerce launches Fulfillment Center in Sydney

    DHL eCommerce launches Fulfillment Center in Sydney

    The Fulfillment Center will provide overseas merchants with fast, flexible shipping that integrates inbound freight, inventory, and last mile delivery in a single consolidated service.

    DHL eCommerce, a division of the world’s leading logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL Group, announced the launch of its Fulfillment Center in Sydney, Australia to support booming demand for overseas goods amongst Australia’s online shoppers. International brands and retailers are now able to reach out to the rapidly growing Australia market.

    “Australian shoppers are the second-most likely in the world to buy online from overseas merchants, and the significance of their purchasing power will only increase as cross-border e-commerce grows at an average of 29 percent per year until 2020,” said Damien Sheehan, managing director Australia, DHL eCommerce. “Online retailers need to overcome the traditional problems associated with overseas expansion – finding new suppliers in each market, delivering shipments within days not weeks, and keeping costs in check – if they want to stay competitive in this borderless future.”

    Adding, “The launch of our Australian Fulfillment Center gives our customers immediate access to one of the world’s most mature and fastest growing e-commerce markets, with the scalability and quality needed to reach Australia’s highly savvy online shoppers.”

    The Fulfillment Center will provide overseas merchants with fast, flexible shipping that integrates inbound freight, inventory, and last mile delivery in a single consolidated service. The center also operates using the same service level agreements, management platforms, and customer support as all other parts of DHL eCommerce’s global Fulfillment network, allowing existing customers to expand their sales into Australia with minimal onboarding time and hassle.

    “E-commerce has gone borderless, and order fulfilment needs to do the same,” says Charles Brewer, CEO DHL eCommerce. “Our Australian facility adds another node to our standardized global network of Fulfillment Centers located in US, Mexico, India, Hong Kong and Central Europe, eliminating the need for e-commerce merchants to hunt for new logistics partners as they look to expand their global reach.”

    The center’s design accommodates front-end integration with a range of popular marketplace and web-shop platforms, as well as multichannel order management and last-mile solutions for immediate and highly-accurate deliveries all across Australia. All of the center’s services operate on a pay-per-use model with no capital spend or fixed costs.

    “The value of Australian e-commerce sales is expected to grow by nearly 50 percent between now and 2020, making cost-effectiveness and scalability the critical issues for online retailers in the country,” said Malcolm Monteiro, CEO Asia Pacific, DHL eCommerce. “Whether it’s extending into new channels, offering more delivery options, or simply increasing inventory and warehouse capacity, global brands need fulfilment solutions that can adapt to their needs without requiring hands-on intervention every time a change occurs.”

    Concluding, “Global e-tailers can access our latest fulfillment center for simplified nationwide inventory and last-mile delivery and also as part of a rapid and painless global expansion.”

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  • Proton Iriz enters Indonesia

    Proton Iriz enters Indonesia

    Proton Holdings, via its Indonesian unit, PT PROTON Edar Indonesia (PEI), has launched its latest hatchback vehicle, the Proton Iriz in several cities in the republic.

    In a statement today, Chief Executive Officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said Indonesia is an important market for the national carmaker.

    “Not only have we maintained strong government-to-government relations being ASEAN founding members, but we also share many similarities in terms of people, language, culture as well as the weather,” he said.

    Ahmad Fuaad said Indonesia is the second country after Brunei to import the vehicle.

    He said two variants have been made available to the Indonesian market, namely the 1.3L MT Standard and 1.3L CVT Standard, priced at IDR 175,250,000 and IDR185,283,000, respectively (RM1=IDR 2996.52).

    The PEI is supported by a total of 25 sales and after sales outlets in Indonesia, and locals can get up close and personal with the Proton Iriz in all the sales outlets from Feb 20.

    Since its debut, the Proton Iriz has received many awards and accolades from the automotive industry in Malaysia. Among them, is a 5-Star rating from the Asean New Car Assessment Programme.

    Interested customers can visit any of the dealers at their showrooms across Indonesia or visit the PEI website at www.proton-edar.co.id.

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  • Online Furniture Retailer Castlery Builds Scalable E-commerce Fulfilment Platform

    Online Furniture Retailer Castlery Builds Scalable E-commerce Fulfilment Platform

    Manhattan Associates today announced that Castlery, the Singapore-based online furniture retailer, has selected Manhattan SCALE as a key component of a business transformation programme to build a world-class order fulfilment capability that will ensure a seamless service experience for customers and drive ongoing business growth.

    Launched in 2013 with a mission to make designer furniture accessible to everyone, Castlery has quickly established itself as a leading furniture and homewares designer in Southeast Asia. In order to meet its target of over 100 percent year-on-year growth, Castlery recognised it needed to invest in an order fulfilment technology that would scale in line with its business growth, ensure service level improvements for customers and drive future sales and margin expansion.

    Castlery selected Manhattan SCALE for its ability to handle the unique logistical challenges associated with furniture retailing and distribution and its proven track record supporting ecommerce and omni-channel operations around the world. With a pressing need to be set up before the peak sales season, Castlery needed the Manhattan fulfilment platform to be live and ready for one of its busiest times of the year. Working closely with the Manhattan team, Castlery successfully completed the solution deployment at its Mapletree Logistics Hub in Toh Guan, Singapore, in under three months, remarkably fast for a first implementation.

    Zhou Zhiwei, Chief Technology Officer at Castlery, commented: “As the leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and with many companies we admire already using SCALE, Manhattan ticked many boxes. Their experience with solving problems like ours, high calibre teams, and flexible solutions made picking Manhattan as our partner an easy decision.”

    Travers Tan, Chief Operating Officer at Castlery, added: “Since the solution has been deployed, process execution has improved across our entire distribution operation. We’ve hit 99.99 percent inventory accuracy and seen a 23 percent month-on-month increase in order transactions. We now have a complete view of inventory across the distribution network whilst our order-to-delivery cycle times are compressed significantly. Also, the solution is fully integrated with our ERP system, giving us a “live” picture of available inventory for sale and enabling accurate lead-times to be reflected on our website. Because the system can support multiple DCs, it is perfectly suited to our future plans for expansion into overseas markets. The Manhattan solution’s capabilities support our vision to become the leading furniture e-retailer globally.”

    Richard Wright, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, at Manhattan Associates, commented, “Manhattan provides the expertise and technology to help clients deliver on their brand promise. We’re delighted to see Manhattan SCALE already driving order volume growth for Castlery and are confident that Castlery will continue reaping the rewards from our constantly evolving solutions for many years to come.”

     

  • Vietjet receives approval to establish Vietjet Aviation Technology Centre

    Vietjet receives approval to establish Vietjet Aviation Technology Centre

    Vietjet on February 18, 2017 received investment approval from the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City – Board of Management of the Saigon Hi-Tech Park for the establishment of its Aviation Technology Centre project. 

    As part of the massive program to the develop the Vietjet Aviation Academy in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, the project will break ground next month and is scheduled to go into operation in December, 2017. The First Phase of the project will be a Full Flight Simulator Centre for pilot training, providing run in operation with aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

    The Vietjet Aviation Technology Center will be built on a 5.54 hectare site at the R&D Training and Incubation Zone (Science Zone) – “the heart” of the Saigon Hi-tech Park. With its detailed planning and comprehensive organization, Vietjet targets to develop the Aviation Technology Center as a professional aviation research and training center of international standards

    In keeping with the airline’s rapid expansion, Vietjet attaches great importance in training. The airline’s training center, which opened in early 2015, has so far trained 8,287 staff and provided 655 training courses for a total of 25,249 training hours with 3,351 certificates issued, all of which guaranteeing the development of Vietjet’s international standard and professional expertise that will oversee the airline’s steady and sustainable growth. 

    In another positive development on the same day, Vietjet today received full membership from the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), affirming the new-age carrier’s role and position in both the Vietnamese and international aviation community.

    Prior to attaining the full membership, Vietjet had been certified by the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). IATA, the most professional, consistent and comprehensive voice of the international aviation industry, actively seeks to support and increase the benefits for all airline members through international recognition, orientation for the industry priorities, encouragement for promotion and innovation in the industry, cost management and cooperation campaigns for communication, training and other services.

    In his congratulatory letter to Vietjet, Antony Tyler, Former Director General & CEO of IATA said: “I am honored to congratulate Vietjet on receiving IATA’s full membership. IATA’s mission is to represent, lead and serve the airline industry and is the collective voice of some 272 airlines from over 117 countries worldwide. Our vision is to be the force for value creation and innovation driving a safe, secure and profitable air transport industry that sustainably connects and enriches our world. I believe in Vietjet and hope the airline will continue to have more fruitful achievements by maximizing the benefits of being an IATA’s member.”

    During its five years of operations, Vietjet has been honored with 32 domestic awards and nine international renowned awards. Besides being named as one of “Top 500 Brands in Asia 2016” by global marketing research company Nielsen, Vietjet was also voted as the “Best Asian Low Cost Carrier” at the TTG Travel Awards 2015 and “Vietnam’s Most Favorite Airline” by The Economic Times of Vietnam. The airline has also been consistently awarded as the “Best Work Place” and “Best Employer Brand” in Asia.

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  • Hudson Travel bookstores launch at Chengdu Airport

    Hudson Travel bookstores launch at Chengdu Airport

    Swiss travel retailer Dufry has launched the Hudson Travel Essentials Convenience Bookstore brand with eight outlets at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

    The Hudson Travel bookstores are being run by Hudson Bright Power Beijing, a JV between Dufry and bookstore company Bright Power Beijing.

    Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport handled more than 44 million passengers last year, and is ranked as the fourth-busiest airport in China behind Beijing Capital International, Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun International airports.

    The new Hudson Travel Essentials Convenience Bookstores offer travellers “one-stop shopping with an international ambiance”, says Dufry. As well as magazines and books, the shops offer international snacks and soft drinks, Chinese cultural and destination souvenir items, travel convenience products, and digital and electronics accessories.
    Dufry plans to roll out the Hudson brand across China and expand the retail concept globally.
    China is poised for significant growth in passenger numbers both at airports and railway stations, says the company.

    The Civil Aviation Administration of China says there were about 500 million air passengers in China last year, 13 per cent more than in the previous year.

    “With its remarkable number of passengers, Chengdu is the ideal starting point to further grow in China, which is a very attractive market for us,” says Dufry Asia/Middle East/Australia division CEO Andrea Belardini.

    “Besides the Hudson convenience stores, we are also able to offer our landlords a complete range of retail formats and solutions, from typical core categories to multi-brand formats such as sunglasses, fashion watches, electronics and leisurewear.”

    Bright Power was founded in 2005 as a book-publishing company, and has evolved from book wholesaling to magazine and book retailing. It has bookstores in four out of the 10 major Chinese airports and at six of China’s top 10 high-speed railway stations.

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  • Hard Rock Hotel tuning up for China

    Hard Rock Hotel tuning up for China

    Mainland China’s first Hard Rock Hotel will open in Shenzhen this year.

    It will feature a rooftop restaurant and pool, and offer about 1021 sqm of meetings space.

    As a point of difference, the 258-room Hard Rock Hotel Shenzhen will offer complimentary in-room Fender electric guitars. There will also be a kids’ club.

    The hotel is part of the Mission Hills Centreville resort district that opened last year and includes an 18-hole golf course and a retail mall.

    Hard Rock opened a 322-room hotel in Macau in 2009.

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  • Online retail uploads into rapidly expanding Vietnamese market

    Online retail uploads into rapidly expanding Vietnamese market

    E-commerce is forecast to hit $10 billion by 2020, accounting for 5 percent of the country’s retail market. Vietnam’s e-commerce market climbed to about $4 billion in 2016 as one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide.

    Revenue from online retail in Vietnam is forecast to hit $10 billion by 2020, accounting for 5 percent of the country’s retail market.

    “The growth rate of Vietnam’s e-commerce market is estimated at about 35 percent, which is 2.5 times higher than Japan,” said industry expert Duc Tam at the recently-held Vietnam Online Business Forum 2017.

    Online sales in Vietnam have expanded rapidly in recent years, currently accounting for 3.39 percent of the country’s retail market. The total retail market grew 10.2 percent last year to $118 billion, mainly fuelled by a growing middle-class with expanding disposable incomes and an increasing number of internet users.

    The World Bank forecasts that Vietnam’s $200 billion economy is likely to grow to a trillion dollars by 2035. More than half of its population, compared with only 11 percent today, is expected to join the ranks of the global middle class with consumption of $15 a day or more.

    According to one estimate, about 30 percent of the population will be buying goods and services over the internet in 2020, with each shopper spending an average of $350 per year.

    Just three years ago Vietnam was ranked the smallest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia in terms of sales. Now its online retail is gaining momentum with more than half of the country’s 92 million people increasingly turning to online shopping.

    According to Internet World Stats, Vietnam is currently ranked 18th in the world in terms of the number of internet users, with mobile subscription rates as high as 4 out of 10 people.

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