Motorists in Australia have celebrated cheaper petrol prices by going shopping.
Pump prices have fallen to the lowest point in four years, giving consumers something to be cheerful about following a run of bad economic news.
The Australian Retailers Association, which represents small businesses and department store Myer, says this has encouraged people to spend, since suburban stores reopened after the Boxing Day sales.
Puma, the global brand known for its lifestyle sports apparel and shoes, is looking to strengthen its position in India. It is eyeing the top slot in the segment via a nationwide network expansion as well as the launch of its global brands pitched at the Indian sports enthusiast. Abhishek Ganguly, the new managing director of PUMA India, is looking to reposition the brand in the country. Puma is currently in the second spot behind Adidas in India’s INR5000-crore (INR50 billion, USD785.3 million) sportswear market, followed by Nike.
“We are in process of creating a strong brand awareness through various marketing and product launch initiative,” Ganguly said. “We are bullish on India and we have seen a major shift to high end products by Indian consumers. Hence, we want to bring our global sports assets to India shortly.”
From its global kitty, Puma has already launched two leading shoe brands, Mobium and Faas, in India. The Mobium Ride, priced at about INR9,000, is built for the more traditional heel striker looking for an everyday running shoe. The company also launched the Nightcat Powered edition under Mobium brand. The Faas 600 S is priced in the INR8,000 range in India.
Smartphone users now account for over half of Japan’s mobile telephone subscribers, a survey of 2,000 adults said on Saturday.
The Dec. 5 to 8 survey, which drew valid responses from 63.7 percent of the pollees, found the ratio had risen to 52.7 percent from 43.7 percent a year ago.
Usage was quite high among young people, with 93.4 percent of subscribers in their 20s and 85.7 percent in their 30s using smartphones, the survey said.
China’s largest e-commerce group Alibaba said on Monday transaction size at its overseas shopping division Tmall International added more than 10 times since its initial launch in February this year.
By the end of November this year, as many as 5,400 overseas brands from 25 countries and regions have opened official marketplace at Tmall. Among them, 30 Tmall stores have recorded transaction of more than CNY10 million (USD1.6 million).
Foreign retailers such as Metro AG are also planning to open their official stores on Tmall early next year.
The Chinese luxury market has gone through changes in 2014 driven by changes in consumer behavior and the government crackdown. What can we expect in 2015?
The recent Ruder Finn and Ipsos’s China Luxury Forecast survey provides a glimpse into what we can expect in luxury consumer trends for 2015 in domestic retail, travel, duty free shopping, and e-commerce.
Ruder Finn and Ipsos surveyed over 1,900 consumers in mainland China and Hong Kong from first, second, and third tier cities, reports Luxury Daily. The average annual household income for those surveyed was $125,000 for those on the mainland and HKD126,900 in Hong Kong.
Singapore-listed Sheng Siong Group has signed a conditional joint-venture (JV) agreement with Kunming LuChen Group Co Ltd to operate supermarkets in China.
Under the conditional agreement, the proposed JV company will be incorporated under the laws of China with a registered capital of USD10 million.
Retailers in Australia were delighted by a strong turnout of shoppers on Boxing Day, giving analysts further reason to suspect a turnaround in consumer sentiment.
Myer executive general manager stores, Tony Sutton, said the crowd through the doors at the Melbourne Bourke Street store at 5am looked like its biggest in a decade.
Accounting firm BDO reported that spending in the week before Christmas was up 13 percent on 2013. BDO national retail lead partner Simon Scalzo said the last few weeks of December had seen a shift in consumer sentiment and now more people were willing to spend.
A majority of staff in Vietnam’s supermarkets and trading centres lack professional training, according to Vu Vinh Phu, chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association.
Retail centres are on the rise, but they’re facing a serious shortage of well-trained staff, he said. Organising training programs for supermarket workers is not an easy task.
Some positions – salespersons, security guards and accountants – required short-term training, but key positions such as managers and deputy directors would take more time and expense, he said.
The franchise holder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) brand in Indonesia, PT Fast Food Indonesia (FAST), plans to open between 60 and 65 new outlets in and outside Java to tap into the country’s growing food retail market.
FAST business development general manager Gandhi Lie said on Tuesday that his firm would spend around IDR240 billion (US$19.2 million) on the expansion, of which about IDR200 billion would be used to open 40 to 45 new “stand alone” outlets, with the remaining IDR40 billion to set up 20 “KFC box” outlets.
“We will use our internal cash as well as partner with landlords to build the new outlets next year,” he said without providing details on the composition of each source of funds.
The Japanese spent more than they saved in the 12 months ended March 2014, the first time that’s happened since the data set began in 1955, with the savings rate at a negative 1.3 percent in the last fiscal year.
“It’s something to keep an eye out for in the medium-term because Japan’s debt has been funded domestically, and very cheaply. But foreign investors would require a more appropriate risk premium,” said Toru Yamamoto, Daiwa’ Securities chief rates strategist.
Japan has quite a bit of debt, with the country’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) at over 220 percent, one of the highest in the world, financed by the domestic savers and Japanese government bond (JGB) investors at some of the lowest interest rates globally.
A recent Visa study found that 26 percent of Singaporeans shop online at least once a week – the highest in Southeast Asia. And analysts say that with mobile phone apps that allow consumers to hunt for bargains anytime in a city that is ranked most expensive in the world, the potential for growth in the online retail sector cannot be underestimated.
Lazada, also known as “Asia’s Amazon” for its online offerings of electronics, toys and other general items was founded almost three years ago and is one online retailer that has made headway in Singapore in recent years. Others include fashion website Zalora and online grocer RedMart.
There is 19 percent year-on-year growth in e-commerce transactions performed by Visa cardholders in the city, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei Ooi Huey Tyng was quoted in the local media last month as saying.
It is a buyers’ market out there in the country’s automart. If you are planning to buy the first dream car or upgrade to the next one, then this is perhaps the best time. Most automotive companies are offering a slew of discounts and freebies through dealers to boost year-end sales in a sagging market. These include direct cash discounts, option of zero payment on insurance for three years with extended service warranty and loyalty bonus.
Vehicle marketplace Carmudi, which has presence in Asia, Africa and Latin America, is expanding in Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines and Indonesia.
The company said the automotive sectors in these countries are thriving. The Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) estimates Indonesia’s car sales to increase by 10 percent this year, possibly hitting a record high sales of 1.3 million vehicles. In the Philippines, the Oxford Business Group reported car sales increasing 43.6 percent from August 2012 to August 2013.
“Indonesians and Filipinos are driving more cars, trucks and motorbikes than ever, which means the demand is there for a high-quality classifieds platform that meets the needs of both buyers and sellers,” said Stefan Haubold, co-founder of Carmudi.
Car buyers can find or sell their car, motorcycle or commercial vehicle online through Camudi. The site offers diverse vehicle listings, with professional photos, detailed descriptions, as well as ranking for vehicles in each market. For dealers and agents, the site offers a business platform that allows them to have personalized web pages.
The site was founded in 2013 and is currently available in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Decathlon, retailer of French sports apparel and equipment, recently signed two new lease agreements with property developer Goodman Group to set up two new warehouses at Goodman Citylink in Hebei Province, China.
The new leases have a combined space 57,200 sqm, which the company expects to enhance its distribution capability in Northern China.
Goodman Citylink is located at the Yanjiao Economic and Technological Development Zone in Langfang and has a total gross floor area of 130,000 sqm. Strategically located in close proximity to the 6th Ring Road which links to downtown Beijing, it is an ideal location for international brands to set up their regional distribution centres for Northern China.
“The retail sector in which Decathlon operates, requires the highest standards in logistics management and warehousing facilities. Goodman has the proven expertise, high quality offering and capability to meet the individual needs of customers operating within this specialized industry sector,” said Philip Pearce, Managing Director Greater China for Goodman.
Decathlon joins BMW Brilliance Automotive, which last year signed an agreement for Goodman to develop a 33,300 sqm built-to-suit facility at Goodman Citylink for its regional distribution centre for car auto parts in Northern China.
Goodman currently has 786,580 sqm of developments underway in key cities including Shanghai, Nanjing, Shenyang Tianjin, Chongqing, Langfang, Changzhou and Hefei, and a 800,000 sqm development target for the next 12 months.
Siam Piwat Co. Ltd., the owner of Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery, recently launched the Siam Gift Card, which will provide shoppers a greater shopping convenience and make it easy to send or receive gifts.
Mayuree Chaipromprasith, Senior Vice President of Siam Piwat, based on their consumer survey on shopping behavior at year end, many customers buy products as New Year gifts.
“Therefore, in late November, Digimedia Marketing Co., Ltd., subsidiary of Siam Piwat Group, introduced the Siam Gift Card, which offers better benefits than other cards in the market so that the customers can use it themselves or give it as a gift,” she said.
The Siam Gift Card serves as cash card that allows the customers to top up the minimum of THB1,000 (USD30.3) to purchase any products from more than 50 leading fashion boutiques, cosmetic flagship stores and many more in Siam Center and Siam Discovery. It integrates the strategy of seasonal marketing, solution marketing, E-payment and CEM (Customer Experience Management).
In addition, the card keeps record of the customer behavior so that the company can come up with the marketing promotion activities that truly meet their needs.
For security purposes, customers must key their own code every time they buy products at the stores. Besides reward points, the shopping history will be recorded in the database so that customers will receive customized news about new arrivals and promotion that fit their own needs in the future.
Mayuree said Digimedia Marketing Co. Ltd. invested more than THB15 million (USD455,843.31) in the Siam Gift Card campaign and expects to sell more than 20,000 cards in the first three months.