Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • China Orders Year-Long Auto Safety Review as EV Deliveries Fall 12.5 per Cent

    China Orders Year-Long Auto Safety Review as EV Deliveries Fall 12.5 per Cent

    China’s industry ministry has launched a nationwide quality inspection campaign across the auto sector. The decision follows a 12.5 per cent drop in domestic electric vehicle deliveries in the first seven months of 2026.

    Roughly 100 domestic manufacturers fall under the one-year regulatory review. Officials are targeting smart driving features, vehicle design standards and battery hardware. Vice-Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xin Guobin told a Beijing press conference that authorities will bar new auto technologies from the market if they fail stricter verification protocols.

    Stricter rules for driver assistance

    Regulators stepped in following fatal crashes and a rise in complaints over software malfunctions and battery defects. In central China’s Anhui province, three people died when a Xiaomi SU7 crashed into a barrier under driver-assistance software. The system alerted the driver only two seconds before impact. State media also reported an increase in formal battery quality complaints filed with public inspection bodies this year.

    Automakers must now redirect capital toward core manufacturing controls instead of racing to roll out experimental software. For years, domestic brands used rapid updates to autonomous driving and digital cockpits to stand out in crowded showrooms. Stricter approvals will slow product rollouts across the board. That gives established global marques breathing room while putting cash-strapped local startups under immediate strain.

    Price wars and dropping sales

    Showroom traffic is contracting sharply as the checks begin. Data from the China Passenger Car Association showed overall passenger vehicle deliveries fell 20.9 per cent year on year in July to 1.46 million units. Electric vehicle deliveries dropped 3.9 per cent to make up 65.1 per cent of that total. It was the seventh straight month of declining volume.

    Price cuts have failed to revive foot traffic as consumer subsidies taper off. Domestic manufacturers delivered 5.67 million electric vehicles between January and July, down from the same period a year earlier. RetailNews Asia will track whether the ministry’s inspection guidelines, scheduled to take effect within weeks, trigger formal product recalls or delayed model launches in the fourth quarter.

  • Indonesian Retailers Urge Easing of Import Rules to Hit 6% Target

    Indonesian Retailers Urge Easing of Import Rules to Hit 6% Target

    Indonesian store operators are lobbying the government to ease import barriers, arguing regulatory bottlenecks threaten national retail consumption and the state’s 6 per cent economic growth target.

    Household spending drives more than half of Southeast Asia’s largest economy, yet complex technical permits and shifting product approvals continue to choke supply lines for global brands.

    Speaking at the Indonesia Retail Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia Retail and Tenant Association Chairman Budihardjo Iduansjah pushed for administrative relief on compliant merchandise. He argued that businesses paying duties and taxes should not face arbitrary import caps on goods with no domestic substitutes.

    Diverging fortunes across store formats

    The supply friction hits different store models unevenly. While hypermarkets face sliding footfall and operational contraction, convenience stores and minimarkets continue to add locations.

    Demand across food and beverage, cosmetics, and mobile electronics expanded by more than 10 per cent this year. Chains are using warehouse automation and price promotions to protect margins against rising overheads.

    Retailers across Southeast Asia face similar dilemmas when domestic trade protection policies collide with consumer appetite for international product ranges. In Jakarta, the friction has prompted warnings from policymakers that depleted domestic shelves will simply push middle-class shoppers abroad.

    Stemming outbound tourist spending

    Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto acknowledged that thin store inventories push shoppers to spend outside the country. Indonesian citizens spend roughly $6.7 billion annually on overseas travel services.

    Government planners want to retain that cash by developing domestic shopping tourism and expanding inventory depth in major commercial hubs.

    Whether trade regulators shorten import licensing timelines will determine if mall operators can secure sufficient stock ahead of the next fiscal review.

  • South Korea Retail Investor Deposits Drop Below 100 Trillion Won

    South Korea Retail Investor Deposits Drop Below 100 Trillion Won

    South Korean retail investor deposits fell below 100 trillion won ($72.4 billion) as individual stock traders increasingly turned to borrowed money to finance equity purchases in Seoul.

    Deposits held by individual investors reached 98.92 trillion won on Wednesday, shedding 3.62 trillion won in a single session, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The contraction marks the first drop below the 100 trillion won threshold since Aug. 12, reversing a brief rebound that peaked at 106.58 trillion won on Aug. 19.

    Margin Debt Climbs for Seven Sessions

    While cash balances shrank, margin debt climbed to 33.1 trillion won, adding 254 billion won on the day. The figure crossed the 33 trillion won mark for the first time in nearly a month, following an upward run across seven consecutive trading sessions that started Aug. 18. Outstanding margin balances had dropped to 27.4 trillion won on Aug. 4 before reversing course.

    Retail market participants offloaded a net 2.25 trillion won worth of shares on the benchmark Kospi on Aug. 26. The combination of falling cash deposits and persistent net equity sales indicates that individuals are pulling direct liquidity out of their trading accounts even as debt-financed exposure expands.

    Credit Stress and Index Resistance

    Short-term credit transactions climbed to 1.15 trillion won, an increase of 146.9 billion won from the previous trading day. Forced liquidations triggered by unpaid credit, known as margin selling, reached 12.7 billion won, representing 1.3 per cent of total short-term credit balances outstanding.

    Across regional equity desks, high domestic retail use often amplifies market swings when local indices stall at major technical barriers. Individual retail flows in Seoul remain heavily sensitive to market momentum, and rapid debt accumulation during rangebound periods leaves trading portfolios exposed to sharp forced selling if share prices drop.

    Trading desks in Seoul are now tracking whether the Kospi can break past the 7,000-point level or if margin liquidations will expand beyond the current 12.7 billion won daily threshold.

  • India Telecom Base Hits 1.35 Billion as 5G Fixed Wireless Expands

    India Telecom Base Hits 1.35 Billion as 5G Fixed Wireless Expands

    India’s total telephone subscriber base expanded by 6.20 million connections in July 2026 to reach 1.35 billion, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

    Monthly growth of 0.46 per cent lifted overall wireless subscriptions to 1.31 billion, while wireline connections ticked up 0.39 per cent to 48.01 million. National wireless tele-density crossed a key threshold, rising from 89.71 per cent in June to 90.04 per cent. Urban mobile connections climbed 0.57 per cent during the month, outpacing rural mobile subscriber growth of 0.24 per cent.

    Concentration in broadband access

    Broadband lines reached 1.094 billion at the end of July, up from 1.09 billion in June. Mobile wireless remains the primary access route for consumers, representing 1.03 billion connections after growing 0.59 per cent. Fixed wired lines rose 0.90 per cent to 48.14 million.

    Five operators control 98.59 per cent of the broadband market. Reliance Jio retained the lead with 535.12 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel at 384.23 million. Vodafone Idea held third place with 129.96 million users, while state-run BSNL and Atria Convergence Technologies followed with 27.28 million and 2.47 million connections, respectively.

    Rural adoption of 5G fixed wireless

    Fixed wireless access outpaced traditional connectivity categories, climbing 2.60 per cent month-on-month to 18.84 million lines. Within that segment, 5G-based fixed wireless subscriptions reached 13.21 million, up from 12.94 million in June after adding 272,820 connections.

    Rural households accounted for 50.31 per cent of all 5G fixed wireless connections, slightly ahead of the 49.69 per cent recorded across urban centers. The split indicates that operators are relying on wireless broadband to bypass physical fiber bottlenecks outside major metropolitan areas.

    Subscriber switching remained high across the country, with 15.98 million users submitting mobile number portability requests in July. Uttar Pradesh East generated the highest churn volume with 2.29 million porting requests, followed by Uttar Pradesh West at 1.55 million.

  • Taiwan Indicts Eight over Smuggling 74 Nvidia AI Servers to China

    Taiwan Indicts Eight over Smuggling 74 Nvidia AI Servers to China

    Prosecutors in Taiwan indicted eight corporate managers on Monday over an illicit scheme that exported 74 advanced Nvidia artificial intelligence servers to Chinese buyers. The transactions generated more than $21.2 million in illegal proceeds through diverted shipments of Supermicro servers powered by Nvidia B300 graphics processing units.

    The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office filed charges of breach of trust and forgery against distribution and sales managers from Taiwan units of Nvidia and Supermicro Computer Inc., as well as executives at distributor Albatron Technology and local server vendor Flying Tiger Technology. Strict manufacturer rules require buyers of advanced B300 hardware to hold whitelist approval, certify end users, and undergo on-site inspections for orders larger than eight units. Flying Tiger secured whitelist status through undisclosed methods in February 2025 before faking facility checks with data center operator Chief Telecom to clear an initial order of 130 servers.

    Routes through third markets

    When the original buyer failed to fund the purchase, conspirators rerouted the hardware across Asia to bypass export barriers. The group moved two servers from the first order and 50 servers from a second batch of 64 units directly to Chinese buyers through Indonesia. A third batch sent eight units through Japan and Hong Kong before Taiwanese customs halted the remaining 56 units on the island.

    Trading firm Long Wins and customs broker Chance See International handled logistics and false documentation to mask the destination of the cargo. In a related transaction, executives routed NT$39.16 million ($1.2 million) in Albatron assets through four bogus invoices issued by Quintai Electronics, triggering additional charges under Taiwan’s Securities and Exchange Act.

    Supply chain crackdowns in Asia

    The case shows how cross-border merchant networks continue to build transit routes through Southeast and East Asian hubs to feed mainland demand for restricted computing power. Washington has barred direct shipments of cutting-edge AI silicon to China since 2022, yet enterprise hardware continues to slip through regional third-party distributors that exploit weak verification loops between system builders and end facilities.

    Taiwan authorities are pursuing the fugitive head of Flying Tiger Technology, who collected the $21.2 million in export revenue, while the eight indicted managers await trial dates in Keelung.

  • Alibaba Opens Brazil Data Centres to Target South American AI Demand

    Alibaba Opens Brazil Data Centres to Target South American AI Demand

    Alibaba Group launched new data centres in Brazil to provide artificial intelligence computing capacity across South America. The facility marks the Chinese tech conglomerate’s latest infrastructure push outside its domestic base.

    The investment brings Alibaba’s cloud division into direct competition with Western infrastructure providers across Latin America. Local enterprises and developers gain direct access to the group’s AI model deployment tools and cloud compute services without routing data through North American server hubs.

    Expanding Cloud Infrastructure Outside Asia

    Alibaba has focused its overseas cloud strategy on emerging markets where digital infrastructure demand outpaces local supply. While the group built its initial international presence across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, South America represents a fresh expansion corridor for its enterprise AI suite.

    Building local data centres cuts latency for enterprise clients in Brazil and neighbouring economies. It also satisfies regional data residency requirements, a critical hurdle for financial institutions, retailers, and public sector clients adopting generative AI software.

    Competition for Global AI Workloads

    For retailers and consumer platforms operating across Latin America, the facility adds capacity for real-time customer analytics, logistics routing, and automated recommendation engines. Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms active in the region also rely on low-latency cloud infrastructure to process transactions and handle merchant inventory.

    The expansion tests whether Chinese cloud architectures can win market share in South America against entrenched US infrastructure operators. The next milestone will be client onboarding across regional enterprise accounts as the new server zones go live.

  • Amazon Expands Quick Commerce Fashion Delivery to 300 Indian Cities

    Amazon Expands Quick Commerce Fashion Delivery to 300 Indian Cities

    Amazon plans to expand its Amazon Now quick delivery service for fashion to 300 cities across India. Orders on the platform doubled every quarter since launch, while Prime members who adopt the rapid option purchase three times more frequently.

    Micro-Fulfilment and Event Demand

    The service uses compact, technology-enabled micro-fulfilment centres placed close to residential clusters. Inventory algorithms position stock according to neighbourhood demand patterns rather than broad regional forecasts.

    Amazon is directing the rapid delivery network toward sudden, occasion-led purchases instead of planned wardrobe restocking. During the T20 World Cup, cricket jersey sales rose 2.5 times before match days and spiked eightfold on match days.

    Demographic Shift Toward Gen Z

    Younger shoppers are driving the platform’s fastest gains. Gen Z consumers now account for more than half of Amazon Fashion’s customer base in India, up from 30 per cent two years ago, with order volumes in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities expanding at double the national pace.

    Premium labels now account for nearly 20 per cent of fashion spending on the platform and are expanding at twice the broader category rate. The company channels this traffic through its Gen Z portal SERVE, an influencer network of over 100,000 creators, and digital sizing tools including virtual try-on and Rufus.

    Across India, quick commerce operators such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart have pushed aggressively into apparel and lifestyle items, forcing traditional e-commerce marketplaces to compress delivery windows from days to hours. Amazon is relying on its micro-hub density and Prime ecosystem to defend fashion market share against those dedicated hyper-local rivals.

    The company has not disclosed the completion schedule for the 300-city rollout, making the pace of micro-hub deployment the key operational figure to track across the country.

  • Singapore Housing Board Faces Pushback over Forest Clearing for New Flats

    Singapore Housing Board Faces Pushback over Forest Clearing for New Flats

    Singapore’s Housing and Development Board will clear 25 hectares of woodland across Maju and Gillman forests to build public housing, triggering public rallies and petition drives.

    State housing launches are oversubscribed more than four times, pushing land planners to clear plots as Singapore’s population reached a record 6.11 million people.

    Land Scarcity Drives Forest Clearance

    The development scheme covers roughly 15 of Maju Forest’s 23 hectares at Sunset Way and at least 10 hectares of Gillman Forest, six kilometres to the south. Official environmental assessments logged 113 animal species at Maju and 178 at Gillman, including the Sunda pangolin and the critically endangered straw-headed bulbul, a bird with an estimated global population between 600 and 1,700.

    Civic resistance expanded rapidly across digital platforms, with public petitions drawing over 60,000 signatures. More than 2,000 people attended a rally at Hong Lim Park’s Speakers’ Corner on August 16, while neighbourhood Telegram networks grew to nearly 800 members to dissect environmental assessment papers and coordinate formal submissions to planning authorities.

    Research published in the journal Sustainability estimated Singapore is on course to clear 7,331 hectares of forest for development, an area 1.2 times larger than all its existing nature reserves and parks combined. The estate clearances run parallel to wider infrastructure expansion, including a project announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to combine southern islands into a single landmass for industrial, energy and defence installations.

    Policy Concessions and Housing Targets

    Singapore maintains a 90 per cent home ownership rate, anchored by state-subsidised flats that house the vast majority of citizens. When public opposition emerged over the rezoning of the 33-hectare Dover Forest site, authorities adjusted master plans to retain a substantial portion as a nature park. A similar dynamic now faces state developers seeking to manage housing supply without sparking protracted resident backlash.

    National Development Minister of State Alvin Tan defended the projects in parliament, stating that limited land forces difficult allocation choices. Initial project master plans designated 35 per cent of Maju Forest and 40 per cent of Gillman Barracks forest for green preservation.

    Ministry officials are now recalculating site layouts to enlarge the conserved forest zones, a move that will cut the final number of residential units delivered on both plots before final development tenders are issued.

  • Southeast Asia Data Centers Secure 11.5 Billion Dollars in Equity as AI Surges

    Southeast Asia Data Centers Secure 11.5 Billion Dollars in Equity as AI Surges

    Southeast Asian data center operators raised 11.5 billion dollars in disclosed equity across 19 deals, with 85 percent of the total arriving since early 2024.

    Five Singapore-headquartered platforms secured roughly 98 percent of that capital, backed by sovereign funds, pension investors, and global private equity firms building capacity for regional artificial intelligence demand.

    Sector funding expanded sharply after years of modest activity. Between 2020 and 2023, regional data center operators raised a combined 1.68 billion dollars. Annual totals climbed to 3.2 billion dollars in 2024, 1.9 billion dollars in 2025, and 4.7 billion dollars in 2026 to date, driven by mega-rounds such as DayOne’s 4.5 billion dollar Series C.

    Capital concentrates in Singapore

    All five top-funded platforms, DayOne with 6.4 billion dollars, Princeton Digital Group with 2.2 billion dollars, ST Telemedia GDC with 1.3 billion dollars, Nxera with 806 million dollars, and Digital Edge with 640 million dollars, hold their corporate headquarters in Singapore.

    While holding companies domicile in the city-state, physical construction spreads across neighboring growth corridors. DayOne committed over 28 billion ringgit (7 billion dollars) to Malaysia through 2026 and partners with the Indonesia Investment Authority on a 72-megawatt campus in Batam. Princeton Digital Group operates a 1.1-gigawatt portfolio across six Asian markets, while Digital Edge runs sites in Japan, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

    Mergers and acquisitions accelerated alongside greenfield development. Deal intervals compressed from over four years down to nine months. In the sector’s landmark transaction, buyers followed a June 2024 purchase of an 18.3 percent stake in ST Telemedia GDC by acquiring the remaining 82 percent 20 months later at an enterprise valuation of 13.8 billion Singapore dollars (10.86 billion dollars).

    Debt builds beside equity

    Hyperscale tenant contracts with predictable cash flows have allowed operators to layer large debt packages onto their balance sheets. Digital Edge paired its 640 million dollar equity round with 1 billion dollars in debt. Princeton Digital Group split its 2025 capital raise between 1.3 billion dollars of equity and 1.2 billion dollars of debt, following that with plans outlined in March 2026 to raise up to 5 billion dollars in additional debt facilities.

    Public market debuts remain rare, with Indonesia colocation provider Elitery’s 16 million dollar listing in January 2023 standing as the lone regional listing so far. DayOne filed confidentially for a US initial public offering in August 2026 to raise roughly 5 billion dollars at a 20 billion dollar valuation, while simultaneously seeking to expand an existing 3.4 billion dollar credit line to 7 billion dollars.

  • FamilyMart Relaxes Dress Code to Allow Dyed Hair and Hijabs in Japan

    FamilyMart Relaxes Dress Code to Allow Dyed Hair and Hijabs in Japan

    FamilyMart will allow store staff in Japan to dye their hair and wear hijabs starting next Tuesday, easing strict appearance standards to widen its hiring pool.

    The policy overhaul comes alongside a complete uniform revamp, the chain’s first redesign in 10 years.

    New Uniforms and Digital Hiring

    Store clerks will have the option to choose any hair color, and Muslim female staff can wear hijabs on shift. The updated uniform line-up introduces a T-shirt design, a first for the Japanese convenience sector, alongside a standard long-sleeved alternative.

    Recruitment processes are also shifting to speed up hiring. Store operators will begin using recorded and online video interviews to screen candidates across the network.

    Convenience operators across Japan have faced mounting staffing pressures as demographic declines shrink the domestic labor supply. Rivals Seven-Eleven Japan and Lawson have similarly tested automated checkouts and relaxed employee rules over recent years to attract younger workers and foreign nationals, who make up an increasing share of night and weekend shifts in major metro areas.

    Expanding Private Label Lines

    Beyond workforce changes, FamilyMart is pushing deeper into non-food merchandise. The retailer plans to expand Convenience Wear, its proprietary apparel brand, and roll out pet products including dog leashes and collars.

    The new grooming rules and uniform options take effect on Tuesday across the chain’s nationwide network.

  • Bitcoin Tests $80,000 Level as IREN Beats Sales Targets

    Bitcoin Tests $80,000 Level as IREN Beats Sales Targets

    Bitcoin traded near $80,000 on Thursday as institutional demand and momentum buying pushed the cryptocurrency to fresh highs.

    The rally lifted digital asset equities across global markets, led by data center operator IREN, which topped consensus revenue projections in its latest financial reporting.

    Mining revenue and market momentum

    Data center operator IREN reported sales above analyst estimates, driven by expanded power capacity and improved fleet efficiency across its facilities. Higher realized prices per coin lifted margins across commercial mining operations, offsetting rising global network difficulty.

    Trading desks across Singapore and Hong Kong reported steady buy orders from institutional funds throughout the session. Liquidations of short positions accelerated the advance once the asset broke past key resistance levels.

    Institutional demand in Asian trading hours

    Regional crypto exchanges recorded elevated turnover during Asian morning hours, tracking sustained inflows into exchange-traded spot products. The upward momentum created strong tailwinds for hardware suppliers, hosting providers, and infrastructure businesses linked to digital asset networks.

    Trading volume across major regional venues remains concentrated on spot books, with institutional desks watching whether capital sustains above the $80,000 mark through the weekly close.

  • Tech Mahindra Partners with Rezolve Ai to Scale Agentic Retail Commerce

    Tech Mahindra Partners with Rezolve Ai to Scale Agentic Retail Commerce

    Indian IT services major Tech Mahindra partnered with London-based Rezolve Ai to deploy automated agentic shopping technology across its network of more than 1,100 enterprise clients.

    The agreement gives Rezolve access to 146,000 systems professionals across 90 countries to take retail artificial intelligence beyond conversational chatbots and into live transaction processing.

    Integrating AI Checkout into Enterprise Systems

    Under the alliance, Rezolve Ai will supply its Brain Suite software, which includes Brain Commerce for conversational product discovery and Brain Checkout for autonomous transactions. The system runs on proprietary brainpowa models designed to eliminate hallucinations during commercial transactions, alongside TraceWare audit software that tracks automated agent decisions.

    Tech Mahindra will manage consulting, cloud infrastructure and systems engineering for retail, consumer goods and financial services clients. The combined setup allows AI agents to interpret consumer intent, recommend inventory and execute payments inside existing digital storefronts.

    Daniel M. Wagner, chairman and chief executive of Rezolve Ai, noted that Tech Mahindra’s existing enterprise relationships provide the distribution engine needed to deploy transactional AI at commercial scale.

    Enterprise Push for Transactional AI

    Systems integrators across Asia are racing to shift enterprise clients from experimental chatbots to revenue-generating commerce tools. While basic generative AI handled customer support across Asian retail platforms over the past two years, enterprise rollouts previously stalled at checkout where transaction security and inventory data errors create financial liability.

    Rezolve Ai plans to present its enterprise commerce deployment data during an investor presentation scheduled for October 6, 2026.

  • TikTok Shop Nears €500 Million in European GMV Led by Creator Affiliates

    TikTok Shop Nears €500 Million in European GMV Led by Creator Affiliates

    TikTok Shop generated €498.78 million in gross merchandise value across Germany, France, Spain, and Italy during the second quarter. Independent content creators drove nearly all of that volume.

    Affiliate creators accounted for 69.9 per cent of total sales across the four European markets, according to estimates compiled by Lengow and Kalodata. Direct brand storefronts generated the remainder.

    Shoppable Video Dominates Live Streams

    Short video clips with embedded product links drove 63.8 per cent of all transactions. Live shopping streams generated just 17.2 per cent. The breakdown reveals that European shoppers prefer on-demand video over scheduled shopping broadcasts.

    That pattern contrasts sharply with Southeast Asia, where ByteDance built TikTok Shop through marathon livestreams. Live broadcasts remain the core revenue engine for merchants competing against Shopee and Lazada in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

    European Merchant Model Shifts to Creator Networks

    European sellers are moving marketing budgets out of standalone brand accounts and into creator commissions. Instead of managing internal production studios, merchants rely on third-party influencers to post reviews and tutorials linked directly to checkout.

    This model allows ByteDance to scale product listings without holding inventory or funding local customer acquisition campaigns. Brands fulfill orders directly. Creators collect automatic commissions on every item sold through their feeds.

    ByteDance now faces the challenge of sustaining creator-led conversion rates as it expands TikTok Shop into more European Union markets and navigates tighter regulatory scrutiny over platform e-commerce.

  • Fossil India Bets on Analogue Revival as Young Buyers Build Watch Wardrobes

    Fossil India Bets on Analogue Revival as Young Buyers Build Watch Wardrobes

    Fossil India is repositioning its product lineup toward premium analogue timepieces as younger domestic consumers buy multiple watches for different occasions rather than relying on a single device.

    The shift follows a rebound in traditional watch demand across India, aided by the proliferation of secondary wearables like smart rings that free up wrist space previously dominated by connected screens.

    Freeing wrist space for premium mechanicals

    Speaking at the ETRetail ShopFWD Summit in Bengaluru, Fossil India managing director Johnson Verghese said younger shoppers are researching models independently, entering the category earlier and curating separate watches for work, sports and evening social events. Fossil manages its own label alongside licensed fashion brands including Michael Kors, Emporio Armani and Diesel in the Indian market.

    To capture higher spending, the group introduced higher-priced mechanical models such as the racing-inspired X1 automatic watch, pricing it well above Fossil’s historic average in India. Verghese noted that buyers willingly paid the premium because of upgraded materials like ceramic and titanium, automatic movements and distinct visual design.

    Across Asia-Pacific markets, watchmakers face a dividing consumer base: entry-level connected fitness monitors on one side and design-led mechanical timepieces on the other. For accessible fashion watch brands, category growth depends on positioning the traditional watch as a personal accessory rather than a functional clock.

    Expanding retail footprint beyond metropolitan centres

    In-store services, particularly caseback engraving, have become central to conversion rates by turning purchases into personalised gifts and commemorative items. Verghese stressed that modern buyers research specifications online before testing weight and wrist fit in physical stores, making consistent pricing and stock data essential across both channels.

    Fossil India plans to direct its next store rollouts toward tier-II and tier-III cities, where quality retail space remains limited despite rising disposable incomes among first-time corporate workers.

  • Lotte GRS to Re-Enter Indonesia with 10 Angel-in-Us Coffee Outlets

    Lotte GRS to Re-Enter Indonesia with 10 Angel-in-Us Coffee Outlets

    South Korean restaurant operator Lotte GRS will reintroduce its Angel-in-Us coffee brand to Indonesia through a master franchise agreement with Surabaya-based Bogajaya Group.

    Bogajaya plans to open 10 outlets across Indonesia over the next five years, starting with a debut location before the end of 2026.

    The agreement brings Angel-in-Us back to Southeast Asia’s largest economy after Lotte pulled its direct operations in 2020. Bogajaya Group, an Indonesian food and retail operator with nearly 50 years of operating history, specializes in travel retail and runs concessions across the country’s major airports.

    Airport operator takes the master franchise

    Lotte GRS operates several consumer foodservice brands across Asia and the United States, including burger chain Lotteria, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Villa de Charlotte, and food hall concept Plating. Outside its home market in South Korea, the group runs locations in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and the US.

    Securing a local franchisee with established airport concessions allows foreign food groups to avoid the heavy capital commitments and real estate bottlenecks that often hamper direct store operations in Indonesia. South Korean food operators have increasingly favored asset-light franchise partnerships across Southeast Asia, shifting operational risk to domestic companies with existing commercial lease networks.

    Southeast Asian expansion targets

    The Indonesian rollout follows Lotte GRS’s push into neighboring markets earlier this year. The company introduced its Lotteria fast-food chain to Singapore in February with an opening at Jewel Changi Airport.

    Bogajaya will begin store buildouts immediately, targeting its first Angel-in-Us site launch before January 2027 as it starts the 10-unit rollout schedule.