Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Microsoft Store opens in Lazada Thailand

    Microsoft Store opens in Lazada Thailand

    Microsoft Thailand recently announced the official launch of its Microsoft Online Store on Lazada Thailand.

    The store is envisioned to be a one-stop shop for Microsoft’s products and a destination for exclusive offers and deals, giving Thai consumers access to the full lineup of devices, software, and services, including Surface, Lumia smartphones, Windows 10-powered laptops, tablets, and 2-in-1 devices, various hardware accessories, and the Office productivity suite.

    Following a similar partnership between Microsoft and Lazada in Malaysia last year, Thailand becomes the second country in the region to welcome the Microsoft Online Store on the Lazada platform.

    “The launch of the Microsoft Online Store on Lazada is an important milestone for Microsoft Thailand as the explosion of social and mobile technology has enabled the era of online shopping in Thailand,” said Orapong Thien-Ngern, General Manager, Microsoft Thailand. “Partnering with Lazada gives Microsoft an opportunity to build on our customer-centric approach and deliver our products and services to Thai customers via a platform that is already familiar to them.”

    The Microsoft Online Store opening comes just days before Lazada celebrated its fourth anniversary in Thailand. Lazada has seen rapid growth in the country since its launch in March 2012.

    “We are delighted that Microsoft is launching its online store with Lazada. Together with Microsoft, we are making exciting, aspirational innovative products accessible to more consumers in Thailand,” said Tarin Thaniyavarn, Chief Commercial Officer, Lazada Thailand.

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  • Mobile firms splash the cash in Myanmar

    Mobile firms splash the cash in Myanmar

    Recently, Telenor launched its first nationwide karaoke contest, offering the winner a prize of 200 million kyats (about Bt5.8 million) and a chance to have the album released. Telenor and Ooredoo also distributed affordable handsets, while MPT charges only 3,200 kyats (Bt93) for 4GB night-time Internet data usage.

    All that investment appears to be worth it, as the three strengthen their presence ahead of the expected approval for a 4G rollout later this year. Market shares also matter as Vietnam’s Viettel last week won the fourth telecom licence in partnership with a local consortium.

    To the incumbent, aside from promotion, network expansion is vital, as well as points of sale.

    MPT now covers 92 per cent of the population, and aims to cover 95 per cent by the end of this month.

    Koichi Kawase, chief commercial officer of MPT-KDDI joint operations, which runs a operates 900MHz 3G service, said: “Network expansion has always been a priority in our agenda. There is no doubt that MPT boosts its leadership with over 18 million users and the largest 3G network here. We have updated our quality from 2G to 3G so we can provide clear voice and better Internet services.”

    It now has more than 80,000 points of sale.

    Serving more than 14 million subscribers – 52 per cent of who are active data users – Telenor extends its coverage to 62 per cent of the population.

    Telenor Myanmar CEO Petter Furberg, said: “We have made impressive progress in our first full year of operation with net subscriber growth of 1.9 million in the fourth quarter of last year. And our SIM market share is currently estimated to be around 37 per cent, according to our fourth quarter report,” said.

    Despite currently standing in the third place in terms of the number of subscribers, Qatar’s Ooredoo also foresees a brighter future in the booming market. It invested more than $1.7 billion in the last quarter of 2015 alone, when the number of subscribers increased by 1 million to 6 million. Its network now covers 80 per cent, set to rise to 90 per cent by the end of this year.

    “This has been made possible by our record investment in 3G technology,” said Ooredoo Myanmar’s CEO Rene Meza. He is committed to increase its investment in Myanmar in the years to come.

    Both Telenor and Ooredoo invest hugely in telecom towers as well as fibre optic networks.

    “We are thrilled that 86 per cent of our customers currently use our data services. We are seeing explosive growth in data traffic on the network, which has increased 5 times in the last year, driven by the affordability of Ooredoo Internet tariffs. We also see that data usage per subscriber, which reached an average of 580 megabytes per month in Q4, at par with what customers in Europe are consuming on their mobile phones,” he said.

    According to Meza, Ooredoo products and services are now available in over 100,000 retail outlets, in addition to more than 100 brand stores countrywide. He was pleased that a research by Nielsen shows Ooredoo having a comfortable lead in data experience over mobile Internet competitors.

    “We have made the investment, and it is working. We are connecting more data customers than ever before, who feel a real difference in data speed and overall network quality,” he said.

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  • UnionPay now in Thailand

    UnionPay now in Thailand

    While the company’s success up to now has relied on the huge domestic home market in China – which accounts for 99 per cent of all UP credit cards issued – this could be about to change. UnionPay is setting its sights on global expansion and intriguingly Thailand is the catalyst which will help make this happen. Over the past few years several landmark decisions about ATM/debit cards have been made by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA), and these are beginning to be implemented this year.

    To combat the growing incidence of ATM and debit-card fraud, the BOT decided that all new ATM/debit cards in Thailand must carry secure embedded chips, a mandate which comes into force this May. Significantly, the BOT and TBA adopted UnionPay’s chip technology as the standard for all of Thailand’s debit cards, the first country outside of China to do so.

    This will mean a mass transformation of Thailand’s 50-million strong debit-card market, as currently few debit cards have embedded chips and they are mainly used as ATM cards and not for retail transactions. Most cards will, therefore, need to be replaced and to support this UnionPay has joined with Bangkok Bank to establish the Thai Payment Network (TPN). Other leading Thai banks are also expected to become shareholders in this joint venture company.

    Thai banks and other financial service providers will produce the new cards under the TPN and TPN-UnionPay brands, which will be locally issued and processed in line with BOT policy.

    China UnionPay chairman Ge Huayong said that the launch of TPN in Thailand has great significance and he cited four major reasons for this. It is a new breakthrough in the development of technical standards in China’s financial sector, it represents a model for China’s policy of Going Global, it lays a solid foundation for large-scale acceptance and issuance of UnionPay cards in other local markets, and it will help UnionPay develop a business-expansion model which can be replicated which will accelerate the roll-out of its global business.

    Ge Huayong also added that it ties in with China’s “One Belt, One Road” international expansion strategy as UP plans to develop similar payment infrastructure in other countries along the Belt and Road.

    Meanwhile, in another major development China UnionPay last month signed a memorandum of understanding with Visa to collaborate on payments security, innovation and financial inclusion.

    Visa CEO Charlie Scharf said the two card giants would work together to develop innovations in digital payments and broaden the access of financial services to a wider population.

    All these developments fit well with the Thai government’s digital payments strategy and should ensure that Thailand is at the forefront of using new technology in the payments industry.

    The benefits include helping our businesses keep up-to-date with modern technology while ensuring the public has easy and convenient access to financial services.

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  • Takashimaya Tokyo going duty free

    Takashimaya Tokyo going duty free

    Eyeing the growing tourist market, Japanese department store Takashimaya is going duty free with an airport-style store in Tokyo.

    Not only sales tax, but also alcohol and tobacco duties will be waived under the venture, in which the Takashimaya Tokyo store is partnering with ANA Holdings and South Korea’s Samsung Group.

    Takashimaya will contribute more than half of the capital for the outlet, establishing an oversight company with All Nippon Airways Trading and Hotel Shilla of the Samsung Group. Scheduled to open next spring, the store will probably be on an upper floor of Takashimaya’s Shinjuku branch. Depending on its performance, the partners may roll out further stores.

    Shoppers will be able to buy items in-store to pick up later at Haneda or Narita airport after completing departure procedures.

    Hotel Shilla, which runs hotels and duty-free stores, generated sales of 3.25 trillion won (US$2.73 billion) last year. The company is second only to the Lotte Group for duty-free stores in South Korea, and its international presence includes Singapore’s Changi Airport.

    ANA Trading runs airport souvenir shops.

    Visitors to Japan increased 47 per cent last year to 19.73 million, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. More people are travelling there multiple times a year and visiting localities outside greater Tokyo via train and bus. A major bus terminal is slated for completion in Shinjuku this spring.

    Takashimaya rival Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings opened a similar duty-free store in Tokyo’s Ginza area in late January.

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  • Lippo Group Launches Web-Based E-Procurement Service Mbiz.co.id

    Lippo Group Launches Web-Based E-Procurement Service Mbiz.co.id

    Mbiz.co.id offers an integrated and web-based e-commerce experience. It offers an electronic catalog of thousands of products in  various categories, ranging from IT products, stationary and industrial tools to groceries, provided by a number of certified vendors in Indonesia.

    “The value of sales from online retail in Indonesia is less than 1 percent of the total [bricks-and-mortar] retail sales,” said Andrew Mawikere, co-founder of Mbiz.co.id, describing the growth potential in the sector.

    Christopher Hartono, head of general services at Bank Nobu, a bank owned by the Lippo Group, said ever since the lender cooperated with Mbiz.co.id since October last year, the company was able to easily acquire any goods it needed.

    “Transactions became more transparent and convenient,” he said.

  • Ecommerce Turns into Mcommerce in China

    Ecommerce Turns into Mcommerce in China

    The shift of ecommerce sales from the desktop to mobile devices has been under way in China for a couple of years. And according to data from the end of 2015, the tilt toward mobile is clear.

    Analysys International Enfodesk reported that nearly two-thirds of retail and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) ecommerce sales in China in Q4 2015 occurred via mobile. That was up from 55.5% the previous quarter—the first time mobile accounted for a majority of ecommerce sales in the country.

    2015 may have been a turning point, but the rise of mobile has been ongoing since early 2013, when 9.0% of retail and C2C ecommerce sales occurred via mobile devices.

    eMarketer estimates that mcommerce sales were just shy of the 50% mark as a share of ecommerce sales for the full year last year.

    This year, eMarketer forecasts retail mcommerce sales in China will grow by 51.4%, to reach 55.5% of retail ecommerce sales in the country this year. That will still amount to just 10.9% of total retail sales, however.

    By 2019, the end of our forecast period, mobile users in China will spend nearly $1.5 trillion on mobile commerce, which will amount to nearly a quarter of the country’s retail market.

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  • Calbee’s famous fried chips & made before your very eyes

    Calbee’s famous fried chips & made before your very eyes

    Japanese snack brand Calbee has joined with Four Seas Mercantile Holdings to open its first overseas concept store “Calbee Plus” in Hong Kong, where customers can buy its famous potato chips straight from the deep fryer.

    Located in Lee Tung Street in Wan Chai, the Okashi Galleria x Calbee Plus store offers customers potato chips and potato sticks that are deep fried on the spot.

    95013884-807a-4b1e-bf24-323225b8f79b calbee3

    For snack lovers, it doesn’t get more indulgent than this: the crisps out of the fryer will be drizzled with chocolate sauce, and served with Japanese fresh milk 3.5 soft serve ice-cream on the side.

    More than 10 different kinds of freshly fried chips and potato sticks are available, including normal and wave-cut chips in four flavours: barbecue, double cheese, chocolate, and Hong Kong’s exclusive flavour: typhoon shelter spicy – which is inspired by the city’s famous typhoon shelter spicy crab.

    Customers can also purchase limited edition Japanese confectioneries in the store.

    On its opening day, it saw long queues snake outside the freshly fried-in-front-of-you potato chips store.

    Peggie Lau, associate director of communications at Four Seas Mercantile Holdings, toldMarketing that Calbee Plus is more than a retail store, and aims to bring a holistic experience to customers.

    “By watching the making of those freshly made products through the glass wall open kitchen, we want to bring fresh and delicious products to customers which also aligns with the brand philosophy: making tasty and joyful snacks,” she said.

    Calbee

    Besides targeting snack lovers, the snack maker also wants to attract families to the store.

    “We want to take customer loyalty to the next level. In addition to trying the fresh potato chips, we also want them to experience the service, to witness how we make the products in front of them, and more importantly, to get feedback from them for product research and developments.”

    Lau said the store was aiming to attract 1,000 visitors every day, with plans to open four more stores within five years in Hong Kong to become an attraction for food lovers and overseas visitors.

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  • Hong Kong keeps close eye on Singapore’s moves

    Hong Kong keeps close eye on Singapore’s moves

    Faced with a cloudy economic outlook, Hong Kong is casting a keen eye on action taken in Singapore, a fellow open economy buffeted by external forces – and an old rival.

    Thursday offered a good look. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced a Budget that includes government spending of $73.4 billion.

    It comes a month after Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary John Tsang announced its Budget with an expenditure of HK$490 billion (S$87 billion). The reaction here is that, at first glance, the two financial czars – both men coincidentally have a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard – might have been studying the same playbook.

    Given tough times ahead, they announced near-term relief mainly in the form of tax rebates and loan schemes for small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), and handouts for people to help boost consumption. Buzzwords such as innovation, robotics, and research and development also liberally litter the duo’s respective long-term visions.

    Ernst and Young’s Hong Kong tax managing partner Tracy Ho puts it thus: “They (Singapore) watch us, and we are watching them too.”

    Hong Kong is facing headwinds from a mix of political tensions and economic trends. Its retail sales recently suffered the worst decline in 13 years. Tourist numbers are down. The economy will grow between 1 and 2 per cent this year, Mr Tsang has said. But a greater anxiety is over the city’s long-term prospects. One nagging worry is the lack of diversity in its economy, in terms of its dependence on China and in its industry mix. Hong Kong is heavily dominated by the financial, hospitality and other services sectors, with a negligible manufacturing presence.

    It is in this broader vision that Singapore’s Budget on Thursday offers takeaways for Hong Kong, say those interviewed. Businessman David Ting, past president of the Chamber of Small and Medium Business, laments that unlike in Singapore, Hong Kong SMEs “do not have a clear direction on where we should go”. In particular, he lauds the Singapore Budget for being “very focused”. The $4.5 billion Industry Transformation Programme offers targeted industries a road map for how they can grow.

    On why Hong Kong businesses, known for their entrepreneurial spirit, will need such guidance now, Mr Ting says the landscape has changed. With China closed off in the past, it was easier for businesses to suss out opportunities, he adds.

    Lawmaker Charles Mok, an IT entrepreneur, says that while there are superficial similarities between both Budgets, given the emphasis on R&D, there was a distinct difference in how it is to be applied. In Singapore, the focus is on how to reinforce the manufacturing industry by introducing automation, he says.

    “In Hong Kong, we talk of developing R&D. But who is it for? Factories in China? What about our domestic industry – how do we help them get restarted?” says Mr Mok.

    On the flip side, Singapore’s Silver Support Scheme to help the elderly does not go far enough, notes social work expert Nelson Chow. “It helps the bottom 20 per cent. But in Hong Kong, this is something we’re already doing. The next step is to introduce a universal pension.”

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  • Maldives laments HSBC retail banking loss

    Maldives laments HSBC retail banking loss

    Maldives central bank on Thursday lamented the decision by Banking giant Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) to cease retail banking in the Maldives from April.

    Speaking at the parliamentary finance committee governor Azeema Adam insisted that the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) does not wish HSBC to cease retail banking services in the Maldives but said the country still needed the bank’s other services.

    Male branch of HSBC had decided to cease retail banking operations from April 28 and is now informing its customers.

    An official from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) also confirmed the plans by HSBC’s Male branch to shift to corporate-only operations. The official, however, did not give details.

    HSBC was not available for comment.

    HSBC operates in Maldives as a trading desk of the HSBC branch in Sri Lanka.

    The governor however, pointed out that HSBC’s decision was not limited to the Maldives.

    “Every bank has its own standards. Certain services that they offer. Instead of forcing something on them we look to find out how it could prosper as a business. We put in a lot of effort to bring HSBC to the Maldives,” Azeema explained.

    “Even when they [HSBC] first came they had sought to serve high net worth customers and individuals. We had given them the operating license knowing that all those years ago.”

    Azeema also revealed that several challenges had prompted the bank to adopt cost cutting measures.

    “It’s not something we also want. But if we look at the services provided by the banks in Maldives, HSBC is the third largest bank in the country. In terms of deposit size and loan size,” she continued.

    HSBC is the second highest banking profit tax payer in the Maldives, she added.

    An account in HSBC has to be opened with an initial deposit of MVR 50,000; the highest initial deposit required of any bank that operates in Maldives. The bank also pays the lowest deposit interest rate at 1 – 1.75 percent. Deposit interest rate on US Dollar accounts is 0.10 percent.

    As the bank charges a high amount in fees, the bank mainly hosts Maldivian businesses.

    In May 2014, complaints mounted over the bank’s decision to close down accounts held by many small and medium businesses citing administrative reasons. The businesses had complained that the move was made without prior notice.

    The decision by one of the biggest banks in the world comes a week after it was revealed that the Maldives had lost a major international banker.

    President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom told residents of Gaafu Dhaal atoll Gadhdhoo on February 15 that one of the major correspondent banks had dropped Maldives from its client list, while another one is considering a similar move. The reason, according to the president, is false claims made about Maldives, including threats posed by home-grown jihadists.

    “When we make such claims without considering the repercussions, it’s the people of Maldives that has to suffer,” he said, after inaugurating a project to establish a clean water system in the island.

    The president did not identify the bank that had dropped the Maldives. Haveeru, however, understands that US-based JPMorgan Chase had terminated its dealings with Maldivian banks in 2013.

    A correspondent bank is a financial institution that provides services on behalf of another, equal or unequal, financial institution. It can conduct business transactions, accept deposits and gather documents on behalf of the other financial institution.

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  • Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Series Popular in Israel

    Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Series Popular in Israel

    South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday its latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S7 series, posted robust sales in Israel just a week after their launch.

    The Galaxy S7 series officially hit the shelves on March 14, coming out in major markets including South Korea, the United States and Europe.

    Samsung sold over 10,000 units in the first week in Israel as its advanced waterproof function and visual display received positive feedback, according to company officials.

    “Although only 3,000 units were pre-ordered, sales after the official launch jumped over 42 percent compared to that of the previous phone Galaxy S6,” Goh Kwang-hak, the chief of Israel branch, said.

    Samsung Electronics’ latest smartphone line, the Galaxy S7, hit the shelves of major markets on March 14, 2016. (Photo courtesy of Samsung Electronics)

    Samsung’s smartphones account for 45 percent of the market in Israel, which has a population of 7.8 million and a brisk secondhand phone market. It far surpasses U.S. rival Apple’s 30 percent share.

    The retail prices of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge in Israel are US$907 and $1,011, respectively. The edge version comes with a display that curves at both edges.

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  • Whisky Magazine picks DFS’ Changi T3 duplex

    Whisky Magazine picks DFS’ Changi T3 duplex

    DFS Group’s Singapore Changi Airport duplex duty free liquor and tobacco store in Terminal 3 was recently voted Travel Retailer of the Year in the 2016 ‘Icons of Whisky Awards by Whisky Magazine.

    As reported many times, the store was opened last May as part of an airport terminal-wide upgrade of the wines and spirits category, where the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore raised the bar by encouraging contract bidders to push the envelope in terms of shop standards and quality.

    DFS’ May 7 2015 response was the long-anticipated opening of its $64m new terminal wide programme of stores over 85,350sq ft, including its 11,400sq ft dual-floor duplex Changi Airport T3 liquor and tobacco store – the largest single space for liquor and tobacco in any DFS store around the world.

    DFS Group’s flagship wines and spirits store at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 is also the LVMH-owned company’s single biggest contract investment in wines and spirit to date. Prior to the opening, Michael Schriver [the then COO of DFS] described the project as ‘DFS most ambitious airport store ever’. At the same time, Ms. Lim Peck Hoon, EVP, Commercial at the Changi Airport Group described the L&T business as the single biggest commercial concession accounting for around 20% of total sales.

    According to DFS, Whisky Magazine receives nominations for its huge number of awards, which are subsequently shortlisted by its editorial panel and then finalized after a voting process online.

    DFS IS THRILLED…

    “We are absolutely thrilled that our DFS, Singapore Changi Airport store has been awarded Travel Retailer of the Year by Whisky Magazine and look forward to continuing to deliver innovative experiences and exceptional products for our customers in 2016,” said Brooke Supernaw, DFS Group’s Senior Vice President Wines, Spirits and Tobacco.

    “At each of our locations, our aim is to provide our customers with a surprising and delightful shopping experience where they can engage with the brands and products they love. We are particularly proud of DFS, Singapore Changi Airport which over the past year has expanded to become Asia Pacific’s largest assortment of single malts.

    DFS-Changi-L&T-tall-shot

    Click on picture above to enlarge:

    “From the duplex’s design to the interactive tastings held on site, our customers have loved this new approach to travel retail and we’re delighted the industry has fallen in love as well.”

    DFS adds that this is the first year the Icons of Whisky Awards have included a Travel Retail category, which was awarded at both the regional and global level.

    SEVERAL RIVALS COMPETED

    The retailer says it beat competitors from Ireland, England, Germany, the UAE and the Netherlands to receive Whisky Magazine’s Travel Retailer of the Year in the Rest of the World regional category award last in January.

    Following this it adds it is now pleased to have gone  head-to-head with rival entries from America and Scotland to secure the global title at the awards ceremony held in London last week.

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  • Hong Kong textile cos eye Make in India to cut costs

    Hong Kong textile cos eye Make in India to cut costs

    India is rising, not only as a new choice of relocating labour-intensive industries from China, but also as a retail market of good potential, says a research report by The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

    In recent years, the sustained rise in production costs on the Chinese mainland has eroded the profit margins of many Hong Kong companies with labour-intensive factories located on the Chinese mainland, prompting them to seek alternative production bases elsewhere.

    While Southeast Asian countries offer many choices, the HKTDC report says India offers many advantages as an alternative production base, along with the added advantage of having a domestic market of great potential.

    According to the report, the majority of Indian garment producers are focused on the domestic market, as their product quality was generally lower than the standards required by overseas importers.

    Despite this, many big Indian exporters have successfully lined up with international buyers, including department stores, retail chains and brands.

    The paper was written after a recent field trip to India that included factory visits and interviews with garment manufacturers.

    In the four years to 2014, India’s garment exports increased at an average annual rate of 12 per cent, surpassing China’s 9 per cent, in line with Bangladesh’s 13 per cent and eclipsed by Vietnam’s 17 per cent.

    With advantages of raw materials and prospects of vertical integration, India is a strong garment exporting country and a location worth considering for factory relocation in relation to labour-intensive manufacturing, such as garment-making.

    The report pointed out that while China is the undisputed world leader in exporting textiles and garment products, many have overlooked India’s position as the world’s second biggest exporter of textile and garment products in 2014, selling a total of $36 billion, during the year, far behind China’s $399 billion.

    For textile exports alone, India was second after China in 2014, with a share of 5.8 per cent of the global market, compared to China’s enormous 35.6 per cent share.

    HKTDC says it is not surprising that the bulk of garment manufacturing in India is for the domestic market, supported by the country’s huge capacity in textiles production.

    India stands out to be a substantial exporter in both garments and textiles. In 2014, India imported textiles worth only $3.8 billion, lagging much behind Vietnam’s $12 billion, Bangladesh’s $6.8 billion, and just ahead of Cambodia’s $3 billion, the report said.

  • Gokongwei retires as chair of Robinsons Retail

    Gokongwei retires as chair of Robinsons Retail

    Taipan John Gokongwei Jr., the country’s second richest man according to Forbes,  has stepped down as chairman and CEO of Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI), which is in charge of the family’s retail business which include supermarkets and household brands Toys “R” Us, True Value, and Mini Stop.

    His only son Lance Gokongwei, 49, took his place on March 18, while his brother James Go remains as vice chairman.  Go is the chairman and CEO of JG Summit Holdings as of March 21.

    Gokongwei, who will turn 90 years old on Aug. 11, has promised to retire when he reaches 90 and just focus on his philantrophic work.

    In a rare chat with reporters in December last year, Gokongwei said Lance was doing a good job running the family-owned business empire.

    The elder Gokongwei, however, will remain chairman of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, which was launched in 1992 with his three brothers. It has helped schools such as Ateneo, La Salle and soon the University of the Philippines.

    Gokongwei, who was born in China to Filipino parents,  arrived in Cebu as a one year old toddler. He then built his multi-billion dollar empire in Cebu by trading goods off on a bicycle and on board a small boat off the pier of the province.

    For someone turning 90, Gokongwei said the only thing he could ask for himself is good health.

    RRHI reported a net income of P3.12 billion in the first nine months of 2015, up 18.8 percent year on year as net sales rose 12.7 percent to P63.3 billion.

    As of the end of September last year, RRHI had a total of 1,466 stores with the addition of  208 new stores. This translated to a 10.7 percent increase in gross floor area to approximately 939,00 square meters over a year ago.

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  • Hong Kong airport cuts back on bookshops: Page One out, new mainland-based operator takes over

    Hong Kong airport cuts back on bookshops: Page One out, new mainland-based operator takes over

    Hong Kong International Airport is cutting back sharply on the number of bookshops for departing passengers and replacing all Page One stores with new outlets run by a mainland-based firm.

    The overhaul includes the ­replacement with high-end fashion stores of the airport’s two biggest bookshops in the departure area – once popular with mainland travellers buying books and magazines banned across the border.

    At a time of major controversy over Hong Kong’s banned-book trade, the number of airport bookshops is being reduced from 16 to 10, and four remaining shops moved, mostly to smaller sites positioned near departure gates.

    The two biggest bookshops – the 250 sq m Relay and Page One stores in prime positions near gates 20 and 21 in departures at Terminal One – are being replaced by luxury fashion stores MCM and Hermes respectively.

    Singapore-based chain Page One has lost all six of its airport bookshops while French-owned Relay, which has been doing business at the airport for 11 years, has had its number of outlets cut from 10 to five.

    Five of the 10 remaining bookshops at the airport will be run by a new operator, mainland publisher and bookstore chain Chung Hwa, under the new arrangement which comes into effect in April.

    The cutback in book retail space has triggered concerns that the Airport Authority might have come under pressure to shut down shops selling politically sensitive titles or exercised self-censorship in the wake of the ongoing controversy.

    Five Hong Kong booksellers went missing last year, sparking fears they had been kidnapped by mainland agents operating beyond their jurisdiction, but they later turned up on the other side of the border, saying they had gone there voluntarily in connection with an investigation into the smuggling and sale of banned books.

    However, an Airport Authority spokeswoman said the decision had been taken to reduce bookstore space because of a “change in reading habit and advancement in technology” following regular customer surveys on travellers’ needs.

    Relay and Page One were granted their most recent licences to run 16 bookshops at the airport in 2009. With the leases expiring in April, the Airport Authority invited bids for the relocated spaces in June last year and decided the winners in August.

    A spokesperson for the marketing department of Page One Hong Kong declined to say if the chain lodged a bid but said: “The proposed units’ allocation for the latest tender offered by the Airport Authority [was] not appropriate for us to continue our presence.”

    Because of that and the tourism downturn and sluggish economic conditions, Page One had decided to re-evaluate and restructure plans for retail stores to “match the current retail downturn”.

    Lisa Leung Yuk-ming, associate professor from the department of cultural studies at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University, said Chung Hwa had “quite a strong mainland Chinese background” and people might surmise political reasons for the changes.

    “Airport book shops became a haven for all these controversial books about Beijing government officials and their sex lives and how they made their way [to power] through corruption,” she said.

    “They were a haven not only for books but for magazines publishing gossip tabloid stories about the mainland Chinese government.

    “This might be a reprisal for bookshops selling these kind of things or it might be self-censorship by the airport themselves to try to weed out these problematic bookshop labels.

    “It might be a more proactive strategy to let more pro-Beijing commercial presses have space at the airport as a way to toe the official line – [and say] these are the books you should be reading rather than these problem [ones].”

    The Airport Authority spokeswoman repeatedly declined to address concerns over a possible political motive for the reduction in bookshop space.

    “The selection of books to be offered in the shops is decided by bookstore operators,” she said.

    The decision to cut back on book shops contrasts with the authority’s comments in 2009 when the previous contracts were awarded. Then, the authority said its surveys found books, magazines and newspapers were among the best-selling categories for departing passengers.

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  • MasterCard launches Contactless Card in Myanmar

    MasterCard launches Contactless Card in Myanmar

    The latest of MasterCard’s efforts to better serve the people of Myanmar, the CB EasiTravel Prepaid MasterCard Contactless card provides consumers with a more convenient way to pay when travelling abroad without compromising security.

    U Kyaw Lynn, CEO and Vice Chairman, CB Bank said, “More Myanmar citizens are making trips to neighbouring countries than ever before, buoyed by the recent relaxing of entry visa restrictions. This trend will continue as the economy grows and gains traction. CB Bank is always looking for ways that will bring convenience to Myanmar travellers. CB Banks’s newly issued MasterCard Contactless card will give added convenience when making payments internationally.”

    Latest projections by the International Monetary Fund put Myanmar’s economic growth at around eight per cent for 2016. As well as seeing a growth in outbound tourists, inbound tourism is set to significantly contribute to Myanmar’s growth in the coming years.

    According to the inaugural MasterCard Asia Pacific Destination Cities Index launched earlier this year, Myanmar’s former capital Yangon is expected to see very strong growth in inbound tourism. Of the 167 cities ranked, Yangon has the third highest compound annual growth rate of 45.7 per cent for total inbound tourist expenditure over the period 2009-2015, just behind Kandy of Sri Lanka (47.3 per cent) and Okinawa of Japan (49 per cent).

    Antonio Corro, Country Manager, Thailand and Myanmar, MasterCard said, “Earlier this month, it was announced that four foreign banks were issued preliminary approval to operate in Myanmar. It is great to see the government taking further steps toward opening up Myanmar’s economy and we are optimistic that this will provide an excellent foundation for commerce to thrive. The people of Myanmar are also optimistic about the future of their country. MasterCard’s latest MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence recently revealed that people in Myanmar have the most positive outlook on the future of any Asia Pacific market. With the launch of the first MasterCard contactless card in the country, we are continuing to develop the local payment landscape and look forward to more partnership opportunities that allow us to further financially empower the people of Myanmar.”

    Currently, more than 2,800 restaurants, retail outlets and hotels in Myanmar accept payment card

    According to MasterCard’s latest research, 61 per cent of people in Myanmar (also known as Burma) are seeking to travel abroad more in the next 12 months, a stark increase from just 25 per cent two years ago. To meet this growing demand for travel and cross-border spending, MasterCard together with Co-operative Bank Ltd (CB Bank) have launched the CB EasiTravel Prepaid MasterCard Contactless card.

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