Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Maybank joins up with Samsung Pay

    Maybank joins up with Samsung Pay

    Singapore’s Maybank has joined the Samsung Pay bandwagon to help meet its goal of strengthening its digital presence across the region.

    Launched in partnership with Samsung Electronics Singapore, the deployment will enable customers to use their Maybank credit and debit cards to perform transactions at most point‐of‐sale (POS) terminals in Singapore.

    This mobile wallet deployment is expected to bring greater payment convenience to Maybank’s Singapore customers.

    In conjunction with the launch, Maybank Singapore will be offering special promotions for its customers including cash rebates, lucky draws and 1‐for‐1 promotions.

    CEO, Maybank Singapore, Datuk Lim Hong Tat said this partnership with Samsung forms part of Maybank’s digital roadmap for its regional operations, with Singapore being the first ASEAN market to launch Samsung Pay.

    Group Chief Strategy Officer of Maybank Michael Foong, said, “Over 40% of our customers in Singapore are now transacting using their Maybank Singapore contactless credit cards, and cardholders here can now use this Samsung Pay facility virtually anywhere in the world 1 where credit or debit cards are accepted.”

    The launch of Samsung Pay in Singapore follows the bank’s introduction of its mobile wallet in Malaysia last month, and will be followed by the progressive roll‐out of other digital initiatives across the region.

    Other past initiatives include the launch of mobile banking apps with augmented reality in some regional markets, biometric authentication, cardless withdrawals, “e‐ang pows” for festive gifts and even hackathon events for the tech community.

  • Brown-Forman set to mark 20 years in global travel retail

    Brown-Forman set to mark 20 years in global travel retail

    Brown-Forman Global Travel Retail marks two decades in the travel retail business with a new stand and new products for next month’s TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes.

    BenRiach, GlenDronach, and Glenglassaugh single malt Scotch whiskies and Slane Irish whiskey join the Brown-Forman portfolio.

    Scotch Master Distiller Billy Walker and Slane Irish Whiskey Founder Alex Conyngham will be at the show, along with Master Distiller and recent Whiskey Hall of Fame inductee Chris Morris.

    Brown-Forman Global Travel Retail Managing Director Marshall Farrer and Old Forester Kentucky Bourbon President Campbell Brown will detail new developments at a joint press conference on 3 October.

    Senior executives at the Brown-Forman corporate headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, decided to formally engage in the global travel retail business in 1996.

    Farrer commented: “By the mid-1990s, Brown-Forman was just beginning to fully appreciate and embrace the business opportunities outside of the USA.”

    GlenDronach_0416_600

    The GlenDronach is one of three single malt Scotch whiskies joining the Brown-Forman portfolio

    He noted that two decades ago the majority of Brown-Forman’s business was in the USA.

    “At the time the company really didn’t have a full appreciation for travel retail and the far-reaching brand-building opportunities the channel presented [apart from] a slight appreciation for the cruise channel in the Caribbean,” Farrer said.

    In 1996 veteran duty free executive Richard Ferne was hired to spearhead the company’s development in global travel retail. Ferne was then based in Hong Kong and relocated to Louisville in early 1997.

    Brown-Forman said travel retail has grown “exponentially” in the past 20 years. Global travel retail is one of the top six revenue-generating regions for the company, with a team of more than 40 duty free staff members working in the channel around the globe.

    Farrer contined: “Over the past two decades, the Brown-Forman Global Travel Retail team has been guided by some remarkably talented and far-sighted leaders. These individuals – Richard Ferne, Patrick Moran and Jim Perry – made a number of key and insightful decisions and retained a remarkably talented staff in countries and regions critical to travel retail.

    “They made Brown-Forman GTR what it is today. It is now our opportunity to take our fine brands even further in travel retail through the excellent partnerships we have developed over these years.”

    The Brown-Forman portfolio includes the Jack Daniel’s family of brands, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester Kentucky bourbons, Collingwood Canadian whiskey, Slane Irish whiskey, BenRiach, The GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh single malt Scotch whiskies, as well as Herradura and El Jimador tequilas, Finlandia vodka and Chambord liqueur.

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  • Singapore flagship leads Uniqlo Asia plan

    Singapore flagship leads Uniqlo Asia plan

    Japanese casual-clothing chain Uniqlo’s new store in Singapore takes up three floors – and marks its biggest gamble in Southeast Asia yet.

    In the Orchard Road shopping precinct, the 2700 sqm Uniqlo Singapore flagship is the brand’s largest store in the region. Its parent, Fast Retailing Co, is opening Uniqlo stores in the US, London and across Asia to help reduce its dependency on its home market where household spending is falling.

    Uniqlo Singapore - Orchard store 1

    Uniqlo has about 130 outlets across Southeast Asia, opening a six-storey China flagship store in Shanghai a year ago. Chairman Tadashi Yanai says he has plans to open 100 stores a year in China on it way to a potential 3000. There are about 30 stores each in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

    Uniqlo Singapore - Orchard store

    Meanwhile, in Japan Uniqlo closed a net six stores in August, as same-store sales decreased by 1 per cent year-on-year. Sales at company-owned stores slipped by 0.5 per cent, but the company’s increasing online business saw overall sales increase by 0.2 per cent.

    Uniqlo cited cooler temperatures in the first half of the month and heavy typhoons from mid-month onward for the store sales decline.

  • Alibaba to take stake in Yum China

    Alibaba to take stake in Yum China

    Yum! Brands has agreed with two partners to invest $460 million into Yum China, following its spinoff from the American fast-food giant.

    Also involved are China-based global private equity firm Primavera Capital Group and online and Alibaba subsidiary, mobile financial services provider Ant Financial Services Group, which runs the Alipay mobile payments platform.

    The spinoff and concurrent finalisation of the investment are expected to occur on October 31, with Yum China to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange the next day as an independent company.

    Under the terms of the agreements, Primavera and Ant Financial will invest $410 million and $50 million respectively in Yum China.

    Primavera founder Dr Fred Hu, former greater China chairman at Goldman Sachs, will be non-executive chairman of the board of Yum China.

    “Yum China is an established leader in the retail and restaurant industry, which we believe is poised for continued strong growth and unit expansion as cities across China invest in new transportation hubs, shopping malls and other physical and electronic infrastructure,” says Dr Hu, describing the Yum China moves as a “new and exciting chapter”.

    Membership services

    “Through this collaboration, we aim to help Yum China provide world-class mobile payment services for tens of millions of customers across its brands,” says Ant Financial Service Group president Eric Jing. “These services include hassle-free Alipay for customers to help shorten queues at the cashier, as well as membership services for Yum China designed to help manage its customer relations and promotions.”

    He says Yum brands KFC and Pizza Hut have seen promising marketing results through promotions on multiple Ant Financial platforms.

    “Primavera and Ant Financial both have deep insights into the rapid urbanisation and digital transformation that is driving the evolution of China’s economy,” says Yum China CEO Micky Pant.

    “The investments from Primavera and Ant Financial in Yum China mark another important milestone in our plans to separate the China business and create a solid foundation for Yum China as it prepares to become an independent restaurant powerhouse,” says Yum! Brands CEO Greg Creed.

    As a licensee of Yum! Brands in China, Yum China Holdings will have exclusive rights to KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, which has yet to expand to China. KFC and Pizza Hut have more than 7200 restaurants in more than 1000 cities in China.

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  • M&S Singapore launches table-service restaurant

    M&S Singapore launches table-service restaurant

    M&S Singapore has opened a table-service restaurant at Wheelock Place.

    As well as the M&S Cafe, the flagship store has introduced M&S chilled food, making it the first Asian outlet outside of Hong Kong to offer the range of more than 600 products.

    With 60 seats, M&S Cafe is near the Food Hall, its menu including drinks, snacks and hot meals plus British classics such as fish and chips and afternoon tea. Global favourites include Indian curries and Italian pasta.

    In the Food Hall, the chilled food range offers soups, salads, cheeses, dips, salmon, fruit, vegetables, cheesecakes, yoghurts and puddings such as Apple Crumble.

    M&S has nine stores across Singapore run by long-standing franchise partner Al-Futtaim Group.

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  • Kantar unveils a new corporate identity across its operating brands

    Kantar unveils a new corporate identity across its operating brands

    Kantar today launches a new corporate identity, for the parent brand and its 12-strong family of operating brands, designed to create a much more unified look and feel across the whole business.

    The new identity, developed in close collaboration with WPP branding specialists The Partners, will be rolled out across all external and internal communications channels in the coming months.

    Operating brands not previously Kantar-branded will now take a Kantar prefix and a new, common typeface. For example: TNS and Millward Brown now become Kantar TNS and Kantar Millward Brown just like Kantar Worldpanel. The only exception is Lightspeed GMI, which now rebrands as Lightspeed.

    Along with the rebranding, Kantar is introducing a new tagline, “Inspiration for an extraordinary world”, drawn from its new corporate purpose statement, “To inspire our clients, our people and society to create and flourish in an extraordinary world.”

    Kantar’s new identity reflects and externalises an on-going change programme that started in January. The programme includes the fostering and rewarding of much greater collaboration between operating brands and the creation of a new insights group through much closer alignment of the company’s custom brands. In addition, global operations capabilities have been brought together into a single entity and the company is moving towards more aligned shared services in HR, finance and IT. We will shortly be adding to our portfolio of expert brands with the launch of Kantar Public, uniting our global expertise in governmental and public policy work; and Kantar Consulting, which will draw expertise from several of our brands to provide a full and broader range of marketing and sales consulting solutions and capabilities to our clients.

    Kantar CEO Eric Salama commented: “The rebranding is a tangible, visible expression of our desire to present clients with more easily-navigable and connected solutions that bring together the best of Kantar’s expertise.

    “We believe our clients and partners have started to experience the benefit of this approach – in more rounded, detailed and holistic research and recommendations. And it is helpful that for the first time we really look like a single family of brands serving a common purpose.”

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  • E-Land Group sells clothing brand to China

    E-Land Group sells clothing brand to China

    To raise funds to cut debt, South Korean apparel retailer E-Land Group is selling a youth clothing brand to China’s V-Grass Fashion Co for nearly US$900 million.

    South Korea’s largest apparel retailer, E-Land Group says it expects to close the sale of its Teenie Weenie business for around 1 trillion won by year-end. It says the sale will help cut its debt-to-capital ratio by about a third.

    Led by the success of cosmetics firms, demand in China is surging for Korean products, as well as Korean TV dramas and K-pop music.

    origin_0e7d699c9db0be3878895dcc837751c1

    Teenie Weenie has the strength of both being a Korean firm with a Chinese partner, says VP Lee Gyu-Jin. Launched in China in 2004, it already has a strong profile for its casual clothing. It has 1400 department store and other outlets in China with annual revenue of 420 billion won.

    V-Grass is a Shanghai-listed women’s apparel company with a market value of about $685
    million and is little known outside China. Earlier this year it said it planned to raise up to 1.35 billion yuan ($202 million) in a private share placement “to fund projects”.

    Earlier, E-Land Group dropped a plan to sell its Kim’s Club hypermarket chain to US private equity fund KKR, citing differences over price.

  • DHL and UN Development Programme Hold Airport Disaster Workshops

    DHL and UN Development Programme Hold Airport Disaster Workshops

    Germany’s Deutsche Post DHL Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are once again conducting their joint preventative training, known as Get Airports Ready for Disaster (GARD), from September 5 to 9 at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport, Lombok International Airport and Selaparang Airport in Lombok. Indonesia was the pilot country when the program was implemented globally in 2009 – in Makassar and Palu.

    Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire where several continental plates collide. As a result, the chain of islands is at frequent risk of earthquakes, tsunamis and active volcanoes. Additionally, Bali and Lombok are categorized as high risk areas in the Indonesian Disaster Risk Index (2013). Airports in both provinces experienced operations shutdown due to volcanic eruptions from nearby Mount Rinjani.

    The multi-day workshop involves over 50 participants – including representatives from the airport operating company, aviation safety experts, national and regional Disaster Management Planning Agencies, Indonesian Red Cross, immigration authorities, the military and the police force – who will be trained to handle the high volume of incoming relief goods and increasing number of passengers during the aftermath of natural disasters.

    “Following natural disasters, airports become vital hubs for the processing of incoming relief supplies,” says Christof Ehrhart, Head of Corporate Communications and Responsibility at Deutsche Post DHL Group. “With sound processes in place at the airport and with the relevant agencies, relief goods and aid can be channeled through airports to reach the affected communities quickly and efficiently. This program continues to help improve disaster management in this geologically high-risk region.”

    “Often airports are unprepared to manage large disasters or humanitarian crisis and as a result, assistance gets slower in getting to those most affected. GARD is working specifically with all partners on the ground to solve any potential bottlenecks that could impede fast response to save lives. I praise the Indonesian government for its commitment to preparedness and the airport authorities for their risk informed management.” says United Nations Resident Coordinator in Indonesia, Douglas Broderick.

    The training includes evaluation of the airports’ capacities for processing high volumes of passengers and cargo and warehousing relief supplies. Location-specific disaster plans are drawn up as well.

    Since 2009, GARD trainings have been held in eight airports in Indonesia, namely Sultan Hassanuddin Airport in Makassar (2009), Mutiara Airport in Palu (2009), Ngurah Rai Airport (old airport) in Denpasar (2011), El Tari Airport in Kupang (2011), Polonia Airport in Medan (2012), Sultan Iskandarsyah Airport in Banda Aceh (2012), Fatmawati Airport in Bengkulu (2012) and Minangkabau Airport in Padang (2013).

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  • Singtel extends free WiFi offer to fiber subscribers

    Singtel extends free WiFi offer to fiber subscribers

    Singtel has revealed plans to extend its free unlimited out-of-home WiFi offer to new and existing fiber broadband customers.

    The operator has been providing Singtel WiFi services for free for the operator’s mobile customers, and has decided to expand access to the service based on its popularity with mobile subscribers.

    Fiber broadband subscribers will be eligible for unlimited data usage at Singtel’s more than 900 WiFi hotspots island-wide. The company said the unlimited usage offer will last until the end of September 2017.

    Customers will be able to access the network on any WiFi-enabled device. After a one-time activation the service offers seamless logins at all WiFi hotspots.

    Singtel asserts that its WiFi network offers five times faster speeds compared to conventional WiFi services. Hotspots have been deployed across the island, including in MRT public transport stations and McDonald’s restaurants.

    “We are pleased to offer our fiber broadband customers extra value on their plans and affordable options to stay connected,” Singtel managing director of home consumer Singapore Goh Seow Eng said.

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  • Japan strongest market for Furla Asia

    Japan strongest market for Furla Asia

    Italian luxury leathergoods brand Furla has reported a 38 per cent increase in travel-retail sales for its first half, with Japan being its strongest market.

    Furla has 223 travel-retail points of sales in 52 countries, the latest openings for Furla Asia including Singapore’s Changi Airport with Lagardere Travel Retail.

    Following record results last year in terms of sales and profitability, the Furla Group overall has continued growth in its latest first half with sales of €194 million (US$217 million) up 28 per cent from the figures for the same half last year.

    The group has 425 mono-brand stores, up from 415 at the end of last year. Counting multi-brands and department stores, the group is present in more than 1200 other locations worldwide, and has its products in more than 100 countries.

    Furla Group’s latest mono-brand store openings include Citic Mall in Shanghai and Mira Mall in Hong Kong.

    Japan remains its strongest market, representing 26 per cent of total sales in the half, with a 30 per cent increase. Furla Asia/Pacific sales rose 22 per cent, equal to almost 20 per cent of the total sales for the group.

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  • JCB to offer Apple Pay in Japan

    JCB to offer Apple Pay in Japan

    JCB, the only international payments brand based in Japan, today announced that it brings its customers Apple Pay when it launches in October, an easy, fast and secure way to make mobile payments that is private and convenient with iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, Apple Watch Series 2 throughout their day, including in stores, within apps and on the web.

    Since its establishment in 1961, JCB has been a pioneer in the Japanese payment industry, providing attractive products and services to meet the emerging needs and expectations of Japanese consumers. As part of this initiative, JCB introduced the contactless payment solution QUICPay in 2005, playing a leading role for mobile payments in Japan.

    The QUICPay acceptance network can now be used for Apple Pay transactions, enabling everyday use at places such as convenience stores, supermarkets and drug stores. By supporting Apple Pay, we will be bringing a convenient and secure customer experience to an even broader range of consumers.

    The newly released JCB Token Platform (JTP) will play an important role in the technology for secure mobile payments by replacing the original card number with a unique device specific number for Apple Pay users.

    Apple Pay is easy to set up and you will continue to receive rewards and benefits offered by your credit cards. Customers can also use JCB Card to pay for Suica on Apple Pay including recharging Suica balance.

    In stores, you can pay with Apple Pay with iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2 anywhere QUICPay is accepted. Just tell the cashier you would like to pay with QUICPay, then simply place your iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus near the contactless reader, and with the touch of a finger on Touch ID, the payment is complete. When paying with your Apple Watch Series 2, double-click the side button before holding it near the reader.

    For JCB cardholders, online shopping in apps and on websites accepting Apple Pay is as simple as the touch of a finger on Touch ID, so there’s no need to manually fill out lengthy account forms or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. When paying for goods and services on the go in apps or Safari, Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 and later, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3 and later. You can also use Apple Pay in Safari on any Mac introduced in or after 2012 running macOS Sierra, and confirm the payment with iPhone 6 or later or Apple Watch.

    “The payment industry is rapidly evolving with diversifying consumer needs and technological advancements. The simple and intuitive user experience that Apple Pay provides, together with JCB’s unique position in Japan as an issuer, acquirer and payment system, will help create a new payment lifestyle that is both secure and convenient for everyday use,” said Ichiro Hamakawa, President and CEO, JCB Co., Ltd. “Apple Pay represents another giant step towards the realization of a cashless society. As a global brand and a pioneer in the payment industry, we are committed to supporting this trend in both Japan and abroad through our network.”

    Security and privacy is at the core of Apple Pay. If your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch is ever lost, you can use Find My iPhone to put your device in Lost Mode to suspend Apple Pay, or you can wipe your device clean completely. You can also stop the ability to make payments with Apple Pay on iCloud.com.

    When you use a credit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device. When you use Apple Pay, your credit card number will not be shared with the merchant.

  • Thai cellcos must register SIMs or lose licenses

    Thai cellcos must register SIMs or lose licenses

    Thailand’s telecoms regulator NBTC has warned operators that they will have their operating licenses immediately revoked if they fail to register prepaid SIMs sold from now on.

    The regulator has also warned that operators may be fined if phones with an unregistered SIM are sued for illegal activity.

    According to the NBTC, the regulator still gets new entries to its online customer information registration system that state “not registered,” despite introducing mandatory SIM registration more than a year ago.

    NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith has stated that there will be “no more warning messages from now on,” and that operators allowing prepaid customers to use services without registering their details will have their licenses revoked immediately.

    The warning comes in the wake of a spate of recent bombing attacks in the south of the nation, and follows a meeting between the NBTC and more than 20 mobile operators and MVNOs to discuss the issue.

    According to a source quoted for the report, there were 36 mobile numbers involved in the recent bombing, and three of these had not been registered.

    Regulators are also proposing introducing special tracking SIMs for foreigners as part of Thailand’s SIM registration policy.

  • Dsquared2 Vietnam makes debut

    Dsquared2 Vietnam makes debut

    Canadian fashion brand Dsquared2 has opened its first Vietnam boutique at the newly-revamped Saigon Center.

    Dsquared2 Vietnam is located at unit 11-12 on level 1 with the front spreading out over 18 meters onto Le Loi Street – one of main thoroughfares of the city center.

    The store’s interior is decorated with marble stones, ash gray and brown silk wool carpets. For the Vietnam store, Dsquared2 introduces its collections including Italian classics for men and a capsule line of cocktail and evening gowns for women. Also available in the store are underwear and accessories.

    Dsquared2 Vietnam 1

    Dsquared2 was founded by Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten, who are its creative directors. The two worked together on the interior design of the Vietnam store in order to maintain the brand’s DNA.

    Dsquared2 Vietnam 2

    Dsquared2 Vietnam is the third Southeast Asian store after Singapore and Hong Kong. Talking about the opening of the store, Dean and Dan said, “We are proud to have a retail presence here, in a market where consumers that care about international fashion are constantly increasing and we believe this store represents a new chapter and an energetic retail future in Asia for our brand!”

    The brand was brought into Vietnam through Maison, a fashion distributor launched in 2012 and home to more than 17 international brands including Coach, Dorothy Perkins, Karen Miller, Mango and Topshop.

    dsquared2-vietnam

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  • Convenience stores tapping into overseas market with PB products

    Convenience stores tapping into overseas market with PB products

    Amid a stagnant domestic economy, Korea’s convenience store chains are tapping into markets abroad to sell private brand products, industry sources said Tuesday.

    Major convenience store chain CU is exporting its self-branded cheese-flavored and red pepper-flavored instant noodles to Jumei, a Chinese online retailer.

    GS25, meanwhile, has been selling its own Chinese-style instant noodle product Gonghwachun in Australia and New Zealand. The product was made in partnership with a Chinese cuisine franchise.

    Last year, 7-Eleven Korea was the first Korean retailer to sell dried laver and low-price, self-branded snacks produced in cooperation with small and medium-sized manufacturers.

    Shinsegae’s convenience store unit With Me began selling hangover-cure ice cream Gyeondyeo Bar in Russia in May, according to a company source.

    “Private brand goods’ sales abroad will not just find a way out for retail giants. This will be an opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises to develop inroads into overseas markets,” a source said.

     

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  • Singapore’s ViewQwest expands to Malaysia

    Singapore’s ViewQwest expands to Malaysia

    Singapore ISP ViewQwest has expanded into the Malaysian market, entering a high-speed fiber broadband joint venture with Malaysian telecoms engineering services company Televenture.

    ViewQwest has launched fiber and managed services for enterprises within Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle commercial hub, Bangsar South and Cyberjaya.

    The joint venture will also offer ViewQwest’s suite of enterprise networking and managed services, including the Direct Cloud Connect Service to allow Malaysian enterprises to access cloud services including AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud which are regionally hosted in Singapore.

    By the end of the year the company plans to launch a 1Gbps fiber service for residences in the same locations, which ViewQwest expects will be the fastest residential broadband service in the nation.

    The company will also offer value-added services including Freedom DNS, which is designed to allow customers to access geoblocked media content such as Amazon Prime, Hulu and BBC iPlayer.

    “We hope to enable businesses in Malaysia to adopt more cloud services by bringing down the cost of bandwidth and to empower consumers to enjoy gigabit-speed internet from their homes. There is also a huge market to tap for businesses who want to have improved connectivity between the two closely-linked nations,” ViewQwest CEO Vignesa Moorthy commented.

    “[Singapore’s] NG-NBN lets any ISP deliver services to 1.4 million homes without the debilitating cost of building its own fibre network infrastructure. Now we have the confidence to export our expertise and experiences from running a nationwide ISP service with uber high speeds of up to 10Gbps to other parts of the world.”

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