Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Record Numbers Attend 27th Hong Kong Book Fair

    Record Numbers Attend 27th Hong Kong Book Fair

    The 27th Hong Kong Book Fair ended today, after drawing record attendance of close to 1.02 million visitors. The week-long literary and cultural extravaganza, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, featured an extensive selection of literary works, renowned international authors and diverse cultural activities. An on-site survey found that visitors spent an average of HK$902 at the fair, comparable to last year. And, fiction and literature were the most popular categories.

    “This year, the Hong Kong Book Fair continued to enjoy the public’s widespread support, with attendance breaking the one million mark for the third consecutive year. This is a reflection of Hong Kong people’s love of reading and fondness for cultural activities,” said HKTDC Acting Executive Director Benjamin Chau. “Apart from buying a wide selection of books from 640 exhibitors from 35 countries and regions, visitors also had the chance to join seminars hosted by their favourite authors.

    “Many of the seminars saw packed houses, including those by Ye Yong Lie, Cao Wen Xuan, Lung Ying Tai, Sisy Chen, Ma Ka Fai, Woon Swee Oan, Chua Lam and Jasper Tsang, and the English-literature focused Open Public Forum, hosted by Sir David Tang. The exhibitions and performances at the Art Gallery likewise attracted many visitors. All these turned the Book Fair into a true cultural feast.”

    Cultural events attract more than 300,000 attendees

    Some 360 cultural activities were staged during the fair, including seminars, new book parades and readings. At the Art Gallery, visitors were treated to martial arts demonstrations and traditional song and dance from Shaanxi and India. On-site cultural activities and more than 260 citywide events held under month-long “Cultural July” campaign, which aims to promote the joy of reading, culture and art to the Hong Kong public, have drawn more than 300,000 attendees so far. Visitors who missed their favourite seminars at the Book Fair can visit the Hong Kong Book Fair website (https://hkbookfair.hktdc.com/en/Events/Videos.html) to review approximately 90 seminars.

    Survey: 11% of fair visitors planned to spend more this year

    The HKTDC commissioned an independent market research agency to conduct an on-site survey during the Book Fair in order to better understand the interests and purchasing habits of visitors. About 800 visitors were interviewed. The survey found that most respondents were drawn to the Book Fair by new releases, followed by discounted items and cultural activities.

    In terms of genre, fiction topped the list (54%), followed by literature (33%), travel books (28%) and self-improvement books (19%). The survey also found that 11 per cent of visitors had planned to spend more this year, while 84 per cent said their budgets were similar to that of last year’s Book Fair. The average per capita spending at the Book Fair was found to be HK$902.

    As for reading habits, almost all respondents (99%) said they had read a printed book in the past month, spending on average 24 hours reading. Some 60 per cent of respondents reported reading an e-book in the past month, spending on average 14 hours. According to the survey, the average spending on printed books in the past year was HK$1,855, up four per cent year-on-year. The most popular genres were fiction, literature, travel books and self-improvement books. The survey also found that approximately 10 per cent of respondents were overseas visitors.

    Chinese martial arts literature

    The Book Fair adopted an overarching theme “Chinese Martial Arts Literature” for the first time this year. The Chinese Martial Arts Literature exhibition and The Literary Giant – Jin Yong and Louis Cha exhibition, which was jointly organised by the HKTDC and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, were set up at the Art Gallery, featuring manuscripts, first editions and comic books and movies adapted from well-known martial arts literature.

    The exhibitions were well-received and attracted a large number of visitors. Three renowned Chinese martial arts novelists, Woon Swee Oan, Jozev Lau and Zheng Feng, met with readers at the Book Fair and shared the inspiration behind their stories and the development of martial arts literature.

    ‘A Journey to “Silk Road”: Shaanxi and India’ display proved popular with visitors. It showcased an array of precious artefacts that included bronze works dating back to the Western Zhou dynasty, bricks from the Qin dynasty, tiles from the Han dynasty, Tang Sancai and Silk Road coins from Xi’an, as well as paintings, ethnic costumes, agar wood, tea and traditional decorations from India.

    Book donations and waste recycling

    Book donation sites were set up on the last day of the Book Fair for exhibitors to donate books they no longer wanted. The books would be collected by non-profit organisations, such as Christian Action and Chu Kong Plan, to be redistributed to individuals or organisations in need. The measure addresses concerns about environmental protection, while also enabling more people in need to enjoy reading. Large recycling bins were also set up at the venue to collect unwanted books and goods for recycling.

    Cultural July – The joy of reading continues

    While the 27th edition of the Book Fair ended today, the “Cultural July” campaign, which is in its fifth year, will continue to run until the end of this month. Cultural activities to look out for include cultural markets, interactive storytelling and education programmes for children and historical seminars and exhibitions. For details, please visit the “Cultural July” website.

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  • SES pilots satellite e-health program in Philippines

    SES pilots satellite e-health program in Philippines

    Satellite operator SES, the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and the non-governmental organization (NGO) German Doctors have launched the satellite-based e-health platform SATMED in the Philippines.

    The solution was deployed at the German Doctors’ hospital in Buda, Marilog District in Davao City.

    SATMED can improve public health in developing countries by integrating medical applications and tools on a single platform over satellite broadband services. The solution was developed by SES Techcom Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of SES, and is funded by the Luxembourg government.

    The new SATMED solution deployed in Central Mindanao will enable German Doctors to use portable devices such as tablets to collect the patients’ data, which will be processed, aggregated and synchronized securely on SATMED’s cloud platform.

    A text messaging functionality will allow doctors to keep tabs on large groups of patients living in remote villages, whose main form of contact with the outside world is through mobile phones.

    SATMED will also enable German Doctors to communicate with doctors and medical experts around the world via video conferencing. Training of local medical professionals via SATMED’s e-learning solutions will be another opportunity.

    “The implementation of SATMED, through satellite connectivity, makes digital imaging, e-learning and consultation, and other e-health solutions, available to the local medical community,” said Glen Tindall, Vice President of Sales, Asia-Pacific at SES.

    Dietmar Schug, Managing Director of German Doctors, said that poor terrestrial connectivity in rural locations poses obstacles in analyzing and monitoring patients’ health problems, accessing their medical records and providing follow-up care.

    “More than 200,000 people are living within the catchment area of the Buda Community Health Care Center – about half of those coming from the indigenous population, who often have no access to medical care and whose lives are below the poverty line,” he said.

    “SATMED and its suite of medical applications opens up healthcare possibilities and boosts our efforts in making accessible, quality healthcare a reality for these remote communities.”

  • Australia’s ACCC tackles broadband advertising

    Australia’s ACCC tackles broadband advertising

    Australian competition regulator ACCC has hinted it could introduce rules requiring ISPs to provide accurate information to customers about broadband speeds.

    The regulator has published a discussion paper seeking views on how consumer information about the speed and performance of broadband plans can be improved.

    ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the agency is concerned about the lack of clear information about performance of broadband services provided in advertising and related material.

    “At the moment, it is difficult for consumers to access accurate information as broadband advertising is not focusing upon speed and performance,” he said.

    “Consumers are being presented with little information or vague claims like ‘boost’ and ‘fast’, or just pictures in advertising of athletes or animals. Consumers need accurate information about broadband speed and performance so that they can understand if what they are being offered will actually meet their needs.”

    He noted that complaints about slow data speeds were the top internet-related complaint issue among reports to Australia’s Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) in the first quarter of 2016, accounting for 2,159 reported issues.

    Given changes in the market and consumer expectations related to broadband performance, “the ACCC believes that it is timely to consider what further steps need to be taken in Australia,” Sims said.

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  • Singtel, Ericsson demonstrate LAA on live 4G network

    Singtel, Ericsson demonstrate LAA on live 4G network

    Singtel and Ericsson announced they have completed a live trial of pre-standard License Assisted Access (LAA) technology on Singtel’s network.

    The trial in an office building at Serangoon North involved a 20 MHz block of licensed 1800-MHz spectrum, augmented with 20 MHz in the unlicensed 5-GHz band.

    A stationary live test achieved an LTE LAA throughput of 275 Mbps, while a second test demonstrated LAA’s ability to co-exist with Wi-Fi signals without degrading the Wi-Fi user experience.

    The trial also involved coverage testing to validate the technology’s ability to improve link performance, coverage and medium access control compared to Wi-Fi access points.

    Announcing the results, Singtel said the testing showcases the potential for LAA to improve network capacity for mobile customers, in a market where nearly 85% of mobile traffic is generated indoors.

    Due to the success of the trial the operator plans to progressively deploy LAA technology in Singapore over a two-year period starting in the first half of 2017, as part of efforts to evolve its networks in preparation for the introduction of 5G.

    The company said in the future, customers with LAA-capable handsets will be provided with peak download throughput of up to 450 Mbps.

    “To provide our customers with a superior mobile experience when they are indoors, we are continuing to invest in new technologies that will increase indoor 4G speeds,” Singtel managing director of networks consumer Singapore Tay Yeow Lian said.

    “We are pleased to be the first in Singapore to showcase LAA technology live. This is an integral part of the LTE-Advanced evolution and will bring us one step closer to our 5G goals.”

  • Singapore’s StarHub to triple LTE upload speeds

    Singapore’s StarHub to triple LTE upload speeds

    Singapore’s StarHub plans to start rolling out carrier aggregation and 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) technology by the end of the year to triple peak upload speeds to 150Mbps.

    The operator recently completed a trial of the technologies with Nokia, aggregating spectrum in the 1800-MHz and 2600-MHz bands.

    Following the successful tests, StarHub plans to start deploying the technology starting in the Marina Bay and Orchard areas in time for the city’s year-end celebrations. A nationwide rollout is planned for 2017.

    “The ability to upload quickly is fast becoming a necessity for our mobile customers. In fact, we saw a close to 50% increase in upload traffic year-on-year, as customers increasingly share high definition videos and photos instantly with the world,” StarHub CTO Mock Pak Lum said.

    “Collaborating with technology partners such as Nokia, we are driving innovation in 4G for the benefit of our customers amid continued growth in mobile data use.”

    Nokia head of Asia South Nicolas Bouverot added that the vendor is “committed to supporting StarHub in its quest to deliver a world-class service experience to its customers. Our technologies will enable the operator to improve the upload and download speeds of its 4G network even at peak traffic times to enrich the user experience.”

  • Swatch Group profit lowest for seven years

    Swatch Group profit lowest for seven years

    Swatch Group, the maker of Omega and Tissot timepieces, has reported its lowest first-half profit in seven years, with demand tumbling in Hong Kong, France and Switzerland.

    Its first-half operating profit fell 54 per cent to 353 million francs (US$359 million), the company says. This followed an earlier warning that earnings would probably fall 50 to 60 per cent.

    After previously forecasting growth, CEO Nick Hayek says sales for the year may fall as much as 6 per cent. Terrorist attacks in France are keeping tourists at bay, denting sales.

    However, Swatch says its full-year results will be close or equivalent to those of last year.
    Swiss watch exports declined a record 11 per cent in the first half, says the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

    Swatch says the first three weeks of this month showed good growth in China, particularly for its luxury brands Blancpain, Breguet and Omega.

    The company also says the drop in Hong Kong’s retail sales has bottomed out.

  • Uniqlo Thailand launching online store

    Uniqlo Thailand launching online store

    Japan’s global fashion label Uniqlo Thailand is launching an online store, offering its full Thai range.

    The online store will help strengthen the firm’s “made for all” brand promise, says Uniqlo Thailand marketing and PR director/head of eCommerce Chanvit Khieonavavongsa.

    After nearly five years in Thailand, Uniqlo has 32 branches in nine provinces, covering about a third of the population. The eCommerce channel will meet the demand from customers in areas where the brand does not have an outlet.

    Exclusive to the Thai online store, Uniqlo will offer a cash-on-delivery service to cater for consumers who are still not confident about using credit cards for online transactions.

    Chanvit says the online channel will not affect Uniqlo’s expansion in the kingdom.

    “As long as there are good locations and customers, we will open a store,” he says. “There is no intention of reducing the opening of branches.”

    Two branches opened in the first half of this year, with two more to follow in September, at Blu Port in Hua Hin and at the Mall Korat.

    The online store is the brand’s 12th worldwide, with similar stores launching in Singapore in 2014 and in Malaysia last year.

    Uniqlo has assigned Singapore Post to handle logistics and deliveries for online orders, with guaranteed nationwide delivery of between one and three days. There is no delivery fee, while the packaging charge is waived for orders of Bt1500 (US43) or more. Customers have 30 days to return their goods to the company if they are not satisfied.

    Scheduled to go live on Friday, the online store will offer exclusive items and collections such as Kaws companion t-shirts and the HeatTech line of thermal wear. The mark the launch, there will also be special prices for popular items.

    Chanvit says the eCommerce expansion is part of Uniqlo’s global target to have 30 per cent of its sales derived from the online channel by 2020. The brand has already built awareness online in Thailand through Line, where it has 12 million subscribers, and Facebook, where it has had more than 1 million likes. Further awareness will be built through an integrated marketing communication plan across offline and online channels nationwide.

  • AEON Brings Exclusive Privileges and Unbeatable Promotions

    AEON Brings Exclusive Privileges and Unbeatable Promotions

    AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Company Limited line up the financial services and exclusive privileges             that cover consumer needs at the 10th Money Expo Korat 2016 including Personal loan, Your Cash, AEON credit cards and membership cards application service. AEON customers who make financial transactions in the expo will get a chance to win a 1-Baht gold necklace and other various premium such as John Lang Ford Bag and                     AEON umbrella. Moreover, AEON consumer who has the financial transaction of every 20,000 baht will receive Big C gift voucher valued at 200 – 2,000 Baht maximum. Additionally, AEON is offering a special interest 0% installment on gold.

    Customers can enjoy other plenty of activities and mini concert featuring a host of popular celebrities including Typhoon – KPN and Tom – Room 39. The 10th Money Expo Korat 2016 will be held on 5th – 7th August 2016                at AEON’s booth A7, The MCC Hall, The Mall Korat. For more information, please visit www.aeon.co.th.

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  • Staff sought for Taiwan Apple Store

    Staff sought for Taiwan Apple Store

    US technology giant Apple has started advertising for staff for a Taiwan Apple Store.

    This follows the US technology giant raising US$1.38 billion in a bond offering last month on the island that is home to many companies in its supply chain.

    While Apple has confirmed plans to open its first store in Taiwan, the California-based company is tight-lipped on details. However, job postings on its website show it is seeking “a leader for personnel training plans for the Taiwan Apple Store” as well as other retail positions.

    Apple’s greater China revenue, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, slumped 26 per cent in its second fiscal quarter, with executives pointing the finger at Hong Kong for slipping sales. This year, its iPhones had their first-ever sales decline in the face of intense competition in the smartphone market.

  • Fresh look for Prada Hong Kong

    Fresh look for Prada Hong Kong

    Fashion brand Prada Hong Kong will renovate and expand its store on Canton Rd.

    Covering more than 1300 sqm over two storeys, the store has a secondary internal access from Harbour City.

    Its facade pays homage to Franco-Venezuelan kinetic artist Carlos Cruz-Diez with a geometric pattern. The Harbour City frontage, in black marble, has display windows and offers view of the store interior.

    prada inside

    The Canton Rd entrance introduces a room defined by signature elements of the brand, such as the black-and-white checkerboard floor and walls of light green encaustic and marble.

    Glass display cases with bottoms in green marble alternate with shelving systems. The beamed ceiling is a contemporary interpretation, in Prada green, of the typical ceilings of historic Italian buildings. Throughout the store, new materials are paired with 1950s design. Seating elements of different forms and colours create intimate salons, arranged with low tables. Classic materials like velvet are juxtaposed with modern materials like acrylic glass and marble.

    On the ground floor, the footwear area has carpet with velvet-covered walls, with exclusive green velvet chairs by Osvaldo Borsani.

    A special display niche inside the store’s mall entrance features black marble and a video screen. Spaces in green encaustic and black marble dedicated to leather and women’s accessories alternate with salons in red and green velvet with geometrically patterned carpets.

    In the clothing area, the beamed ceiling is covered in velvet to match the walls as a counterpoint to a video wall. Green velvet Borsani chairs, acrylic glass furnishings and the polished steel racks complete the decor.

    Sheathed in green marble, the stairway leading to the basement floor has as a background a steel and glass display case. The basement is dedicated to the men’s collections, with a special selection of clothing and footwear for women. A black-and-white marble floor, a beamed ceiling and green encaustic walls are the predominant elements.

    The men’s area is distinguished by tall furnishings in black iron and glass, blue ostrich skin chairs and carpet in aviator blue and grey with geometric patterns.

    A special room dedicated to clothing features a dark wood floor of narrow boards, walls covered in aviator-blue velvet and chairs in grey velvet with wooden arms.

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  • ClouDee set to disrupt businesses in Thailand with cutting-edge cloud telephony technology

    ClouDee set to disrupt businesses in Thailand with cutting-edge cloud telephony technology

    ClouDee cloud telephony services is being brought to the country for the first time through Thailand’s leading provider of international voice telephony services, SawasdeeShop, in partnership with Asia’s largest cloud-based communications provider, Knowlarity Communications.

    SawasdeeShop, established since 1999, is licensed by the National Telecommunication Commission of Thailand (NTC). With a registered capital of 150 million Baht, Sawasdeeshop has telecom switches operating in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and New York and is interconnected to over 100 global telecom carriers.

    Cloud telephony provides telephony services on a cloud-based platform, redefining communication and is fast disrupting conventional telephony systems.  Within minutes of subscribing with ClouDee, users will receive a business phone number and have access to a feature-rich, enterprise-level communication system that has primarily been exclusive to Forbes 500 enterprises or large corporations.  ClouDee eliminates the need for hardware, installation and the high costs associated with a traditional PABX business communication system, making getting a 02 number for Thailand-based business, or over 60 international numbers for global businesses as easy as setting up a business email address.

    At a press conference held today, SawasdeeShop Founder and CEO Aswin Phlaphongphanich and Knowlarity Communications’ Founder and CEO Ambarish Gupta introduced SuperReceptionist and Smart IVR, two innovative communication solutions provided by ClouDee for Thailand’s growing business community.

    SuperReceptionist is a virtual receptionist service, or a smart operator, which activates a cloud-communication center with a powerful CRM for SMEs and start-ups. With its flexible API structure (Application program interface), Smart IVR provides customizable solutions for enterprise-grade communication requirements, which are unique to every organization.  Each product helps start-ups, SMEs and corporations to improve their revenues, save costs, generate leads, increase conversion rates, as well as enable greater mobility.

    According to the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), there are around 2.7 million SMEs in Thailand, accounting for 37% of national GDP. ClouDee will initially aim to target 1000 customers across SMEs and enterprises and has invested Thai Baht 10 million in the partnership with Knowlarity Communications.

    Aswin believes that cloud telephony is the first step towards the future of business communications in Thailand.

    “The cloud is changing the way businesses operate and communicate. To simply put it, we are replacing aging PABX systems so that business owners can work smartly and leverage new technologies to their advantage. What ClouDee is doing to business telephony is what Yahoo and Hotmail did to email.

    “ClouDee is user-friendly, highly scalable and extremely affordable, appealing to emerging and established Thai businesses looking to maximize capacity and productivity by integrating SuperReceptionist  and Smart IVR.

    “We want to help SMEs and start-ups in Thailand drive a robust and effective sales and marketing process, and communication is key.  ClouDee can be applied to a wide variety of industries including logistics, healthcare and e-commerce, as well as travel and tourism.  With AEC, there has been rapid growth of businesses within Thailand and in the region. We also plan to roll out ClouDee to the CLMV region which is also experiencing a great rise in business development,” added Aswin.

    With headquarters in Singapore, Knowlarity Communications has a solid reputation for capturing the market share wherever it sets its sights and Ambarish has high expectations of the success of ClouDee in Thailand.

    “We are proud to be part of introducing cloud telephony to Thailand with ClouDee. This is an exciting market to be part of and many businesses are ready to utilize smarter, more streamlined and integrated communication tools,” Ambarish points out.

    Clients using ClouDee in Thailand as their business communication system currently include StockRadars, a Thai stock market management app, and Thailand based money transfer platform, coins.co.th.

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  • Azelis announces Strategic Appointments

    Azelis announces Strategic Appointments

    Azelis, a leading global speciality chemicals distributor headquartered in Luxembourg, announces strategic organisational changes, including Asia, and a new appointment to the Board of Directors, to position the Group for further success.

    Laurent Nataf is appointed CEO and President Asia Pacific, effective 1st August, and will be based in Singapore. Nataf was appointed Group Chief Operating Officer in 2012 and has been a member of Azelis’ Executive Committee. He has held key positions during his service with Azelis, including Business Director for Industrial Chemicals and Group Business Development Director.

    Asia represents a significant growth opportunity for Azelis. Following a rapid growth trajectory in China and Japan in particular, the team in the region will be enhanced in order to further exploit the potential and accelerate development, serving better Azelis’ partners.

    Supported by investors APAX and following the acquisition and successful integration of Azelis Americas, the former Koda Distribution Group, Azelis now has a unique global footprint and is geared for the next phase of growth and expansion.

    Azelis currently has operations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

    The second key appointment is Anna Bertona, currently Chief Strategy and Principal Officer, who will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer EMEA, also effective 1st August, to steer Azelis’ market teams in the region and with a particular focus on Azelis principal development activities. Bertona will remain based in Antwerp, Belgium.

    The Board is also pleased to welcome Thijs Bakker as Chief Financial Officer. Bakker will join Azelis in September 2016 following the retirement of Martin Hollenhorst in August. Bringing a wealth of experience in the finance and the chemical industry, Bakker has worked for over 15 years for AkzoNobel in various finance roles in the Netherlands, US and across Asia Pacific. In his most recent assignment Bakker was Finance Director Marine & Protective Coatings at AkzoNobel, based in Singapore. He will be relocating to Antwerp, Belgium for his role.

    Dr. Hans Joachim Muller, Azelis Chief Executive Officer, said: “These are significant developments for Azelis; our new appointment and organisational changes within the Executive Committee in Asia, EMEA and at the HQ level will enable us to maximise our growth opportunities.”

    In parallel, the Azelis Board of Directors will be strengthened with the appointment of Michael J Roney. Roney was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Bunzl, the international distribution and outsourcing group, listed on the London Stock Exchange FTSE 100 index, with operations spanning 29 countries and 4 continents.

    He retired from Bunzl earlier this year, having served as CEO since 2005 and prior to that as non-executive director. Under Roney’s leadership of more than 10 years, Bunzl moved into the FTSE 100, made more than 100 acquisitions and had a compound annual TSR of 17%. The wealth of experience Roney gained at Bunzl and also in other international senior management positions and non-executive directorships, will provide excellent support to Azelis in setting the strategic direction for the business.

    Commenting on the appointment of Michael Roney to the Board of Directors, Dr. Muller added: “We will benefit from Michael’s expertise and proven track record in distribution, drawing upon his extensive experience of expanding into new markets”.

    These positive developments will support Azelis as it looks to create value and expand further upon its leading position in speciality chemicals and innovative ingredients.

  • Alliance Group market-ready lamb packs to hit Chinese shelves

    Alliance Group market-ready lamb packs to hit Chinese shelves

     Alliance Group’s lamb packs for the Chinese retail market.
    Alliance Group’s new lamb range of market-ready retail packs will be launching in China next month.

    The co-branded lamb range will land in China’s retail and food service sectors as the co-operative and its in-market partner Grand Farm strengthen their close ties.

    The initial focus  will be on the upper end of the Chinese market in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Harbin The lamb will be available from eight retail chains boasting 200 selected outlets before being rolled out to other parts of the country.

    Alliance chief executive David Surveyor said the New Zealand-packed lamb was designed for the Chinese market and co-branded Pure South and Grand Farm.

    “It marks a major milestone in our vision to create new product forms and ranges that will be either produced from source or further processed in the market to meet the growing demands of China’s food service sector.”

    The regions were selected based on the higher buying power of their consumers, concentration of foreigners and higher economic activity, he said.

    “This initiative will help us build a deeper understanding of the supply and value chains and eventually secure the added value we are seeking in this market with a ‘packed-at-origin’ offering.”

    Alliance’s focus in China was to obtain more market value for its 5000 farmer-shareholders by understanding consumer tastes and improving its matching of products and markets, as well as investing more in new products and packaging, he said.

    In April, the co-operative signed an agreement with Grand Farm at a ceremony in China. The agreement, which signals further strategic co-operation between the pair, sets out a  plan to improve the returns and add value to both businesses.

    Grand Farm is the best known distributor and marketer of top quality red meat in northern China. The company owns 96 meat shops, operates 260 branded meat counters in selected hypermarkets and supplies over 1000 hypermarkets in China.

    Alliance has been working in China since the mid-1990s and is now the country’s largest exporter of New Zealand lamb to the country.

     

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  • Retail, food/beverage sales to rise in July: MOEA

    Retail, food/beverage sales to rise in July: MOEA

    On the back of rising demand for the upcoming Ghost Festival, the local retail sector is expected to see sales growth in July, at a time when many retailers have aggressively launched promotional campaigns, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

    In addition, continued high temperatures have boosted demand for beverages in the local market, the MOEA said, and this trend is expected to give an additional boost to the local retail sector, as well as the food and beverage sector, in July.

    The forecast was made by the ministry after it released data Friday showing that Taiwan’s retail sales for June stood at NT$335.8 billion (US$10.49 billion), up 0.2 percent from a month earlier and up 0.5 percent from a year earlier.

    The statistics indicate that revenue in the local food and beverage sector hit NT$36.3 billion in June, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier but down 3.0 percent from a month earlier.

    The Ghost Festival (中元節), the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, will fall on Aug. 17 this year.

    Local people usually buy foods and other necessities ahead of the festival in preparation for the folkloric rituals.

    In addition, the Taipei Multi-Media Show, which was staged July 1 through July 4, was expected to boost sales of 3C products and eventually raise revenue of the local retail sector, the MOEA said.

    The MOEA said that the hot weather is expected to prompt more and more consumers to buy beverages to keep themselves cool, while the current summer vacation is a peak season for local people to travel, which is expected to boost sales for the local restaurant businesses.

    In June, sales posted by department stores, supermarkets, convenience stores and hypermarkets in the local retain sector gained 3.2 percent, 5.6 percent, 3.0 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, while sales of the auto/motorcycle business rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier, the MOEA data shows.

    However, sales of the information and home appliance business in the local retail sector fell 5.6 percent year-on-year in June, the data indicated.

    During the month, sales of the restaurant and beverage businesses in Taiwan rose 2.2 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, the MOEA said.

    The MOEA said that sales posted by the local wholesale sector for June gained 3.6 percent from a year earlier to NT$805.8 billion.

    In the first six months of this year, sales of the local retail and food/beverage sectors rose 2.0 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, while revenue posted by the wholesale sector fell 5.4 percent year-on-year, the MOEA said.

     

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  • Turner, Globe launch Cartoon Network on mobile

    Turner, Globe launch Cartoon Network on mobile

    Turner Asia Pacific and Globe Telecom in the Philippines are making available to Globe customers two upgraded Cartoon Network apps.

    An authenticated version of the Cartoon Network Watch and Play app unlocks its full functionality, including a live stream of the channel and additional video-on-demand content. Cartoon Network Anything will also be bundled, showcasing the network’s best short-form content on mobile devices.

    “Offered to Globe customers, these products provide a convenient avenue for Filipinos to enjoy the most popular kids’ content wherever they are, and in a safe and flexible way,” said Phil Nelson, Turner’s managing director for Southeast Asia.

    This year, Cartoon Network also ranks as a top-5 channel across all genres, showing the local appetite for cartoons and a brand of entertainment that the whole family enjoys.

    “Globe strives to provide the best service that includes premium entertainment from strong international partnerships like Turner’s Cartoon Network,” said Globe chief commercial officer, Albert De Larrazabal.

    “We look forward to the many possibilities this partnership offers as both companies are committed to provide valued customers with a unique digital entertainment experience,” said de Larrazabal. “Moving forward, customers can also expect more good news from Globe and Cartoon Network.”

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