Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Thousands of foreign tourists come to Enliven Togean Festival

    Thousands of foreign tourists come to Enliven Togean Festival

    Thousands of tourists from Italy, France, Germany, Australia, and South Korea, among other things, were present to enliven the Togean Festival, opened by Central Sulawesi Vice Governor Soedarto in Tojo Unouno district on Saturday.

    Held from Augut 27 to 31, 2016, the Togean Marine Festival aims to promote the natural beauty and unique underwater paradise in Tojo Unouno district, according to Central Sulawesi Culture and Tourism Office Chief Siti Norma Mardjanu.

    “Yes, more than one thousand tourists from various countries are now in Tojo Unauna to enliven the marine festival of Togean Islands charm,” Mardjanu affirmed here on Sunday.

    According to her, all cottages accommodations in Tojo Unauna are fully booked by the foreign tourists, and many of them have to stay at the homes of local government officials.

    To enliven the Togean Marine Festival, the foreign tourists also participates in road race hosted by Tojo Unauna District Head Mohammad Lahay, underwater photo contest, boat race, the tug of war on the boats, cultural attraction, traditional martial arts, swimming and fishing contest.

    Increased tourism promotion in Togean, according to her, will continue to be made through the festival by involving the Ministry of Tourism to maximize the dissemination of information about the charm of the area nationally and internationally.

    “Central Sulawesi provincial government took the central government to participate in promoting the Tojo Unouno tourism through the Togean Marine Festival,” Mardjanu explained.

    Togean Marine Festival is being held to promote the regional tourism in the country and abroad in a bid to boost tourist visits to Togean Islands.

    Indonesia is home to some of the worlds most beautiful aquatic areas including the Togian Islands, where diving is one of the best things the visitors can do.

    “Tropical coral reefs filled with an abundance of marine life can be found in many areas around the island,” she said.

  • Indonesia Port Net to be Launched by Year-End

    Indonesia Port Net to be Launched by Year-End

    President Director of state-owned seaport operator PT Pelindo II Elvyn G. Masassya said the implementation of a single Internet-based electronic service or the Indonesia Port Net (Inaportnet) in Pelindo I to Pelindo IV has entered the finalization stage.

    Inaportnet is expected to improve connectivity of the four enterprises.

    Masasya added the Inaportnet application throughout all seaports managed by PT. Pelindo would be gradually done.

    “Our plan is that the Inaportnet in all the seaports managed by PT. Pelindon will be integrated at the end of 2016,” she said in Jakarta on Saturday.

    The Inaportnet will integrate the information system of ports throughout Indonesia and one of the benefits is to monitor domestic commodity and anticipation of complaints about waiting times for vessels.

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  • Jokowi to Open Indonesia Fintech Festival and Conference 2016

    Jokowi to Open Indonesia Fintech Festival and Conference 2016

    President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is scheduled to open the Indonesia Fintech Festival and Conference 2016 at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition, Tangerang, on 29th August 2016. The event is organized by the Financial Service Authority (OJK) and the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

    “President Jokowi will open the event and it will be closed by Queen Maxima of the Netherlands,” said the OJK’s Deputy Commissioners for Non-bank Finance Industry (IKNB) Dumoly F. Pardede on Thursday.

    Dumoly said a startup competition will be held during the event. In addition, an international financial technology conference will also be held. It will also provide assistance to fintech startups. “It will also host meetings between investors.”

    The event is aimed at establishing shared understanding of harmonious development of fintech ecosystem among industrial stakeholders in Indonesia. “There’s a shared commitment among several fintech practitioners to enhancing fintech in Indonesia,” Dumoly explained.

    Dumoly said the festival will be held annually in order to produce the best startups. “It’s a prestigious event, we will create an area of fintech, new trends and cultures in Indonesia,” he said.

    Kadin’s Startup Technology Innovation Department head Patrick Walujo said 72 startups will participate in the festival. “They will exhibit their products. We expect to see more startups next year,” he said.

  • Many foreign banks have not complied with SMEs credit policy

    Many foreign banks have not complied with SMEs credit policy

    Bank Indonesia said many banks mainly branches of foreign banks have not complied with the call for setting aside at least 10 percent of their credits for micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) .

    Head of Bank Indonesias division for development of SMEs Yunita Resmi Sari in Jakarta said despite facility such linkage branches of foreign banks are still in difficulty in extending credits for SMEs as asked by the central bank.

    “We are aware that foreign banks have limited networks of branches and their capacity is not for SMEs,” Yunita said here on Thursday.

    In 2015, the central bank asked banks to increase the portion of their credits for SMEs by 5 percentage points a year to 20 percent in 2018.

    Yunita , the central bank is preparing a policy on SMEs credits from foreign bank branches.

    Until August, this year, more than 100 of the 119 banks in the country already set aside 10 percent of their credits for SMEs.

    Yunita said the SMEs credit market is still wide open , pointing out only 22 percent of 57.8 million units of SMEs have access to bank credits.

    SMEs account only 19.7 percent or Rp827.3 trillion of the total outstanding credits of banks in the country by the end of the second quarter of 2016.

    The SMEs credits grew 8.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2016.

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  • Electricity Prices May Decline

    Electricity Prices May Decline

    The National Energy Board (DEN) is asking state power company PLN to review its suggestion to formulate a new formula for the basic prices of electricity. The DEN believes a new price formula will bring benefits to the public.

    “Concept-wise, it is good. But PLN must first hold a price simulation to figure out how positive a new price scheme would be for the public. The tariffs could be a lot cheaper,” DEN member Abadi Purnomo told.

    He said the opportunity to lower electricity prices arrives from the abundant power supply generated by coal-fueled power plans, which accounted for 52.8 percent of the national energy mix last year. The second largest portion is gas energy use with 24.2 percent.

    PLN suggested a new price formula that will include energy mix component in the calculaton. Today’s tariffs calculations only refer to the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP), whereas the use of oil fuel for power-generation has declined from 11.7 percent in 2015 to just 6.7 percent this year.

    Another DEN member Sonny Keraf also supports PLN’s proposal. He asks the government to evaluate the current electricity price formula as a way to develop new renewable energy sources.

    A new, cheaper price electricity scheme will trigger industry growth, Sonny said. Industry players have always complained about Indonesia’s pricy electricity rates that prevent them from competing with other nations.

    PLN’s planning director Nicke Widyawati promised to bring their proposal to the DPR.

    Meanwhile, Acting Energy Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said his ministry is reviewing the suggestion.

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  • Madiun develops tourism villages to attract tourists

    Madiun develops tourism villages to attract tourists

    Madiun district government in the Indonesian province of East Java is making efforts to develop a number of areas into tourism villages to attract local and foreign tourists, according to an official.

    “Of all 206 villages in Madiun district, 11 have been surveyed to be developed into tourism villages to attract both local and foreign tourists,” said the head of Department of Cooperatives, Industry, Trade and Tourism (Diskoperindagta), Sawung Rehtomo, here.

    He said the 11 villages are Brumbun, Kresek, Segulung, Dolopo, Durenan, Kare, Batok, Tawangrejo, Gunungsari, Pilangrejo, and Mruwak.

    According to him, the concept of the tourism village will highlight the potential that exists in each village for sale to tourists.

    In Brumbun village, for example, tourists will have the opportunity to cruise down the beautiful riven on the slopes of Mount Wilis, or to have the sensation of picking durian fruits in Kare village.

    Rehtomo explained that the development of tourist villages will be carried out as part of efforts to build the tourism industry in Madiun district, both nature and cultural tourism.

  • eOne’s ‘Peppa Pig’ Gains Momentum in China

    eOne’s ‘Peppa Pig’ Gains Momentum in China

    Entertainment One (eOne) has announced details of Peppa Pig’s rapidly growing popularity in China. Since launching on-air in Mainland China in 2015, eOne’s Peppa Pig has surpassed 5.4 billion views on its three on demand platforms, IQIY, Youku and Tudou. It is one of the most popular programs for pre-schoolers on state television broadcaster CCTV, where its repeat was the No. 1 animated show in its 7am timeslot.

    Peppa Pig also launched on VOD portals Tencent and LeEco in May 2016. To date Peppa episodes have already clocked up 1.7 billion views on Tencent and 850 million views on LeEco, making it the No. 1 animation on both platforms since its launch. In addition, Mango TV has recently acquired the rights to Peppa Pig and the VOD platform debuted the series earlier this month in Mandarin.

    Alongside its growing on-air presence, eOne is also nurturing the property’s digital profile through a range of social, online and interactive content. The brand’s official Peppa WeChat account, available on mobile devices, provides followers with regular news updates, tips, and activities for all the family. Peppa’s WeChat account launched in April 2016 and has already generated thousands of sign-ups.

    The Peppa Pig apps eOne has released to date have had tremendous download rates, making China the biggest territory for Peppa app downloads worldwide. Following their entrance on the App Store in late 2015, Peppa’s Paintbox and Peppa’s Actvitiy Maker have been hugely popular in China, with over 400,000 and 195,000 downloads respectively.

    Peppa’s online presence also extends onto e-commerce platforms as major Chinese online retailers Jing Dong and Tmall have launched a wide range of Peppa merchandise on their popular online shopping sites. Products now available to buy include Peppa’s house playset, vehicles, role-play sets, and plush.

    Toys are spearheading the brand’s licensing program in China and a newly launched Peppa Pig Ferris Wheel playset was sold exclusively at Toys “R” Us stores nationwide during the country’s Children’s Day celebrations in June 2016. The publishing category also continues to accelerate. A new series of Peppa Pig storybooks launched at retail in April 2016 and over 75k copies have been distributed nationally both online and in-store. Peppa Pig products will also have a presence in China’s first Hamleys toy store that is set to open its doors on October 10th. eOne’s Hong Kong team is developing bespoke Peppa artwork for a branded bay in the store.

    “We are thrilled to welcome our new broadcast partners for Peppa in China and we’re confident that these additional consumer touchpoints will significantly increase exposure for the brand as it continues to grow in popularity,” commented Olivier Dumont, Managing Director of eOne Family. “Building Peppa Pig’s digital footprint in the territory, through app downloads and social media channels, enables us to engage with audiences beyond the TV show and create the loyal fan base that is key to its longevity.”

     

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  • Japan Home Centre revenue increases

    Japan Home Centre revenue increases

    Japan Home Centre (Macau) posted an increase of 7.6 per cent revenue year-on-year to HK$39.3 million (MOP40.5 million/US$5.7 million) for its fiscal year ended June 30, according to the annual report released yesterday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by the International Houseware Retail Company Limited (IH Retail).

    The comparable store sales growth rate of the stores in Macau is 1.3 per cent, down compared to the 5.9 per cent of the previous fiscal year.

    The total revenue of IH Retail went up to HK$2.04 billion (MOP2.10 billion/US$263 million), indicating a growth of 4.5 per cent year-on-year despite the short-term fluctuation and challenges of the retail market.
    ‘The increase in revenue for the year was mainly due to the opening of new stores and growth in comparable store sales,’ the report noted.

    Eight self-managed stores in Macau are under IH Retail, with 277 stores in Hong Kong.

    IH Retail and its subsidiaries is the largest house ware retail chain in Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau. Stores can also be found in Cambodia, Indonesia, East Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand.

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  • Toyota to Continue to Invest Big in Indonesia

    Toyota to Continue to Invest Big in Indonesia

    Toyota will continue its major investment plan in Indonesia, particularly in manufacturing, up to Rp20 trillion by 2020.

    PT Toyota Motors Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) deputy president director Warih Andang Tjahjono in Tokyo, Japan, said Sunday, August 28, 2016, that Toyota has made Rp10 trillion investment of its planned investment in Indonesia, as promised by Toyota Motor Corp (TMC) president director Akio Toyota.

    “Major projects have been realized, the third plant has been completed,” he said.

    Since 2013, he went on, Toyota’s production capacity in Indonesia continues to increase, from 110,000 units to currently 25,000 units per day.

    According to Warih, the total TMC investment in the past few years have reached roughly Rp10 trillion, in which the biggest investment had been made to develop the production capacity of Kijang Innova and Fortuner at approximately Rp5 trillion, followed by the production of Sienta at around Rp2.5 trillion, and NR engine production with an investment value of roughly Rp2.3 trillion.

    “Investment will continue, although it would not be as big as the current investment,” Warih said.

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  • Airtel to help multinationals enter India

    Airtel to help multinationals enter India

    India’s Bharti Airtel has launched a new suite of end to end networking and connectivity services for global companies looking to set up businesses in the market.

    The new India with Airtel services are aimed at improving the ease of setting up a business in India by offering companies a complete suite of fixed, mobile and added services.

    Besides telephony, India with Airtel combines global and domestic data capacity and connectivity services, VSAT, VPN, data center and cloud cervices, VAS and payment/billing integration, M2M and managed services, among others.

    “Given the impetus from the government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives, India is fast becoming a definite strategic market for multinationals across the globe,” Airtel CEO for global voice and data business Ajay Chitkara said.

    “Given Airtel’s integrated product portfolio, we believe that we are uniquely placed to seamlessly serve the connectivity needs of companies looking to set up businesses in India. Also, companies can leverage Airtel’s deep understanding of the Indian market and leverage our vast customers and distribution network.”

    Airtel’s domestic mobile network covers around 95.6% of India’s population, and its global network spans around 225,000 route kilometers of subsea cable capacity, covering 50 countries across 5 continents.

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  • Differentiation can make or break Singapore brands as competition heats up

    Differentiation can make or break Singapore brands as competition heats up

    Consumers are hungry for novelty, innovation.

    Tight competition online and a tough operating environment have pushed many offline retailers—especially in the footwear and apparel sub-sectors—to downsize or flee Singapore.

    However, RHB noted in a report that brands that are able to spin unique selling point will weather the sector headwinds well, as consumers continue to be attracted to novelty and differentiated experience.

    “H&M, for instance, has numerous sub-collections each year to refresh its inventories. It also rolls out special collections each year, which are tie-ups with famous brands’ designers or style icons… Uniqlo, on the other hand, is known for its product innovation including HeatTech and AIRism technologies catered specially for cold and warm weather, respectively,” RHB stated.

    Meanwhile, BreadTalk comes out on top in terms of product innovation and willingness to experiment.

    “BreadTalk launched a new bakery concept every four years to maintain a fresh brand image. It also rolled out 50 new products along with its latest concept launch,” RHB noted.

    “Furthermore, the group is also up to date in using technology to engage customers. It is planning to build a new integrated system that allows the public to view its kitchen baking processes on external screens. The new system will also allow consumers to get alerts when new buns are up on the shelves,” it added.

  • HK privacy commissioner weighs in on e-wallets

    HK privacy commissioner weighs in on e-wallets

    Privacy commissioner for personal data Stephen Kai-yi Wong has urged Hong Kong residents to vigilantly keep control of their personal data in wake of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) decision to grant Stored Value Facilities (SVF) licensesto five mobile e-wallet providers.

    Wong also called on e-wallet operators to win customers’ trust by respecting their privacy rights and safeguarding their personal data.

    While he acknowledged that e-wallet operators may need to collect significant amounts of personal data as part of their operations, he said providers should give consumers control over the types of data e-wallet apps are allowed to access, and the ability to revoke these permissions at any time.

    To keep their personal data safe, Wong recommended that users of e-wallet services find out how e-wallet operators will handle and process personal data collected, understand the apps’ privacy settings and permissions and avoid operating e-wallet apps over public or insecure Wi-Fi connections.

    Users should also use complex, unique passwords, make sure devices with the app installed have appropriate anti-theft features switched on and regulatory monitor transaction records for unauthorized payments.

    Wong said e-wallet operators are required under the new Stored Value Facilities Ordinance to clearly explain to users what personal data is collected and the reasons why.

    Operators planning to use collected data for purposes not directly related to payment should obtain the user’s explicit and voluntary consent, and are legally required to ensure the accuracy and security of personal data collected. Customers are also entitled to access this data and request corrections.

  • Singapore’s services industry business receipts edge up 0.4% in Q2

    Singapore’s services industry business receipts edge up 0.4% in Q2

    Singapore’s services sector saw a mixed performance in the second quarter with overall revenue edging up 0.4 per cent year on year.

    This is according to the latest business receipts index, released on Friday (Aug 26) by the Department of Statistics Singapore, which excludes wholesale & retail trade and accommodation & food services.

    The health & social services industry reported the largest revenue growth of 7.7 per cent in April-June quarter from the same period a year ago.

    Other industries with higher business receipts included education services (5.0 per cent) and information & communications services (1.4 per cent).

    Industries that saw lower turnover included transport & storage services (-2.2 per cent) and recreation & personal services (-1.6 per cent).

  • Lotte forecasts $5bn for 2016 after first-half surge

    Lotte forecasts $5bn for 2016 after first-half surge

    South Korean duty free and travel retailer, Lotte Duty Free Group, is targeting a +20% increase in total duty free revenue to reach just over $5bn in 2016 after first half growth of +25%. Driving the big increase have been high-spending Chinese visitors shopping in its stores.

    First half sales reached almost $3bn, a senior Lotte Duty Free source said on condition of anonymity. The sales boost comes at a time when the company was preparing to close its Lotte World Tower store in June after failing to renew the shop’s licence.

    “Chinese tourist numbers are very strong (and) we are forecasting a +20% increase in total revenue for 2016. Sales have increased a lot (so far) this year because in 2015 we had the MERS epidemic problem,” the source said. “Last year, our total revenue in South Korea was $4.2bn.”

    Lotte-World-Tower-hero-P&C

    Chinese travellers continue to boost sales.

    Sales in the second half of 2016 also got off to a good start with July revenue climbing +45% as the summer peak season got underway, the source noted.

    To cope with the closure of the Lotte World Tower store the company has expanded its Sogong downtown flagship unit in central Seoul. The shop has been expanded to occupy four floors in the Lotte Sogong department store building – adding floor 12 to floors nine to 11.

    The duty free shop took over the 12th floor in February which has been converted to the new perfume and cosmetics space and opening in June. It replaces the food court that was previously there.

    BEAUTY GETS ITS OWN FLOOR

    Moving beauty to the 12th floor from the 9th floor has increased the total duty free beauty area by around +35% to 3,500 sq m. In addition, Lotte will use about one third of its 11th floor retail area to display mid-priced South Korean cosmetics brands which are also popular with Chinese visitors.

    Space for the South Korean cosmetics brands zone on the 11th floor is being created by moving some fashion brands from this level to the ninth floor area where perfume and cosmetics were located previously. The ninth floor area is being developed as an open display fashion floor and Lotte plans to bring in a number of new South Korean and international fashion brands as well for the first time.

    The group has taken over the Seoul Gimpo Airport beauty and general merchandise licence, previously operated by Shilla Duty Free, which was recently retendered by Korea Airports Corporation (KAC).Meanwhile, responding quickly to the loss of its Lotte World Tower store licence, Lotte has recently acquired two new airport duty free licenses, emphasising the company’s intention to retain its leading position in  Korea’s DF&TR market.

    SME operator City Plus was awarded the Gimpo liquor, tobacco and general merchandise licence, that was previously operated by Lotte, after KAC reserved the concession for SME bidders only.

    Elsewhere, Lotte Duty Free has also taken over the Gimhae Airport perfume and cosmetics licence in Busan, after Shinsegae Duty Free decided to give up after losing money and it was retendered.

    FIGHTING ON FOR LOTTE WORLD

    Meanwhile, Lotte is aiming to reopen its Lotte World Tower store and has set its sights on winning one of four new duty free licenses for downtown shops in Seoul that Korea Customs Service is due to tender towards the end of 2016.

    “The 7th floor is being used for the Lotte Internet duty free centre and the customer lounge. As the government recently issued new duty free licenses, we will do our best to acquire a licence to repay the love our customers have shown to us. Thank you.”Following the World Tower closure: Lotte posted the following announcement on its website: “We express our deep thanks to our customers for shopping at Lotte World Tower. Due to the expiry of our duty free shop licence, Lotte World Tower store was closed on 26 June, 2016.

    Of the four new downtown duty free shop licenses that KCS will award, three are for large conglomerates and one for SME operators. In addition to Lotte, Shilla Duty Free and Shinsegae Duty Free may make bids even though both companies have already opened new downtown stores in Seoul this year.

    Newcomer Hyundae Department Store is another likely bidder, as is WalkerHill Duty Free which had to close its newly-rebuilt downtown store after losing its licence. It is keen to re-open its now empty shop.

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  • Globe fast-tracking LTE 700 rollout

    Globe fast-tracking LTE 700 rollout

    The Philippines’ Globe Telecom is fast-tracking the rollout of LTE over its recently-acquired 700-MHz spectrum.

    The operator revealed it has recently rolled out more than 150 700-MHz base stations, mostly in Metro Manila.

    The new sites cover major business districts and populated areas in the country. Globe launched its first 700-MHz base station Quexon City in June, and the company said its LTE 700 sites now cover the majority of the city.

    Globe is planning an initial rollout of 200 compatible LTE 700 base stations, and has committed to deploying around 4,500 multiband, multimode software defined radio base stations covering 95% of municipalities and cities in the country.

    “We are confident that more and more of our customers will experience improved services as adoption of LTE-capable devices increases and as we continue to deploy LTE 700 in more sites,” Globe senior vice president for network technical group program governance Joel Agustin said.

    “This is consistent with our strategy of continuously improving internet services using the previously idle 700 MHz spectrum that the NTC now allowed us to co-use.”

    Globe acquired rights to co-use the 700-MHz spectrum after joining with rival Smart to acquire San Miguel Corporation’s telecoms assets for a combined 69.1 billion pesos ($1.5 billion) earlier this year.