Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • China’s JD beats revenue estimates despite slowing economy

    China’s JD beats revenue estimates despite slowing economy

    Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as its focus on lower-priced products to attract customers amid an economic slowdown paid off.

    JD.com saw increased traffic on the back of purchases ahead of the holiday season and as people attending offices and social functions continued to upgrade their wardrobes.

    Revenue grew 7.6 percent to 287.9 billion yuan (US$39.7 billion), compared with analysts’ average estimate of 278.85 billion yuan, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

    After China abandoned its stringent COVID-19 lockdown policies, consumption failed to rebound immediately amid a slowdown in the country’s overall economy.

    Recent official economic data has also been gloomy, with the consumer price index tipping into deflation in July.

    Retail sales rose just 2.5 percent, slowing from a 3.1 percent increase in June, despite the summer travel season.

    Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 4.5 percent.

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  • Central Retail posts growth in revenue, profit

    Central Retail posts growth in revenue, profit

    Its net profit stood at THB2.31b during the quarter.

    Central Retail Corporation (CRC) reported its net profit grew by more than 75% year-on-year to THB2.31b in the first quarter.

    Over the same period, the company’s total revenue went up by 12% to THB63.2b.

    “The company achieved a 30% sales growth in the fashion category, 9% growth in the food category. Sales in the hardline category in the Thai market also continue to grow at 9% despite the downward trend in the industry,” Yol Phokasub, CEO, Central Retail Corporation (CRC), said.

    “These results are positive signals, which are indicative of Central Retail’s further growth prospect in 2023, reaching its growth targets and driving up revenue by 12-15%.”

    The company noted Central and Robinson Department Stores continued to grow and develop as a result of its mission to deliver next-level shopping experiences to its customers.

    Moreover, Central and Robinson Department Stores continue to grow and develop as a result of its mission.

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  • Gentle Monster to launch in Thailand

    Gentle Monster to launch in Thailand

    Set to open this August 25, the first flagship store in Thailand will occupy a 340 sqm space in Emquartier, marking another milestone for the luxury brand’s success. Drawing inspiration from its signature futuristic and avant-garde aesthetics, the store promises to echo the brand’s experimental approach to design.

    Gentle Monster’s fans can eagerly anticipate an array of exclusive offerings, including the Bold Collection with its galactic motifs and the collaborative collections with the French luxury house, Maison Margiela.

    To commemorate its store launch in Bangkok, the brand is set to release a ‘Bangkok Limited Edition’ collection this coming September.

    Originating from Seoul in 2011, Gentle Monster, founded by Hankook Kim, has consistently captivated audiences with its unconventional beauty and boundary-pushing designs.

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  • Gucci launches flagship store on JD platform

    Gucci launches flagship store on JD platform

    Gucci and JD.com are delighted to announce a digital partnership and the highly anticipated launch of the official Gucci digital flagship store on the e-commerce leader’s platform. This marks the first time the Italian luxury brand will bring its unique fashion authority and 102-year-old legacy of Italian craftsmanship to the JD.com community.

    Users searching for “Gucci” within the JD.com app will be invited to explore the House’s official flagship store and shop for their favorite items. This will also include a full range experience of Gucci brand services, all within a seamless and secure digital ecosystem. An exceptional customer experience is at the heart of this new collaboration, where customers can browse the store’s extensive range of timeless icons and new-season ready-to-wear, handbags, travel, shoes, jewelry, watches, and accessories for men and women. They will also have special access to Gucci’s online client advisor service before ordering their desired products.

    The opening of the new digital flagship store marks a milestone in the partnership between Gucci and JD.com and underscores their commitment to digital innovation. In response to the evolving digital ecosystem, JD.com continuously delivers cutting-edge digital solutions to fulfill diverse needs. This includes the development of diversified models tailored for the luxury industry, leveraging its state-of-the-art supply chain capabilities and open ecosystem. With the launch of its new online environment on JD.com, Gucci will elevate shopping experiences that are tailored to the tastes of JD.com’s customer base and further explore the unique digital landscape of China using both brands’ respective technological strengths to set a new standard in online luxury shopping, expand their market reach, and pioneer original approaches to digital marketing.

    In celebration of the upcoming Chinese Valentine’s Day on August 22, Gucci’s official flagship store on JD.com will offer a selection of gifts that showcase the House’s exquisite craftsmanship and romantic aesthetic. Featuring floral motifs symbolizing the blossoming of love and emotions, the collection will also present a purse designed exclusively for JD.com customers to celebrate this special occasion. To enhance the moment, customers will also be abl

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  • Marimekko drafting SEA expansion, by entering Vietnam and Malaysia

    Marimekko drafting SEA expansion, by entering Vietnam and Malaysia

    Finnish lifestyle brand Marimekko is accelerating its expansion plan in Southeast Asia, eyeing entering Vietnam and Malaysia this year under a franchise partnership with Jaspal Group.

    The expansion, which will include the launch of online stores in both markets, comes after the brand disclosed its Singapore debut with the first store scheduled to open at Ion Orchard next month.

    “These fast-growing markets provide interesting opportunities for Marimekko’s international growth and hence support our company’s objective to scale the Marimekko business in the upcoming years,” said Natacha Defrance, Marimekko’s senior VP of Sales, Region East.

    While Marimekko’s first Vietnam stores are set to open in the Lotte Mall Westlake in Hanoi and Takashimaya shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City later this year, the brand’s first stores in Malaysia will be located in Suria KLCC mall at Petronas Twin Towers and in The Exchange TRX mall.

    Marimekko will join Jaspal Group’s portfolio of brands, including Diesel, Melissa and Asics. The Thai retail operator has a presence in four Asian countries.

    “We see a growing interest in Asia towards the Finnish design house renowned for its bold prints and colours, so now is a good time to make Marimekko available to local consumers and tourists alike in Vietnam and Malaysia,” said Yosathep Singhsachathet, deputy CEO at Jaspal Group.

    The Finnish lifestyle brand said Asia, where it has seen growing demand for its products, is its most important geographical area for international growth. The brand has 80 stores and shop-in-shops in Asia Pacific.

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  • Canada probes Ralph Lauren on alleged use of forced labor in China

    Canada probes Ralph Lauren on alleged use of forced labor in China

    Canada’s corporate ethics watchdog said on Tuesday it was investigating Ralph Lauren’s Canada unit to probe allegations the apparel retailer’s supply chain and operations in China used or benefited from the use of Uyghur forced labor.

    The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) said it had published an initial assessment report after complaints filed by a coalition of 28 civil society organizations in June 2022 against the Polo shirts maker.

    CORE said the report published detailed allegations the company had supply relationships with Chinese companies that use or benefit from the use of Uyghur forced labor.

    The watchdog said it was also looking into similar allegations for Canada-based mining and property investment firm GobiMin.

    Ralph Lauren and GobiMin did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

    A similar investigation was launched by CORE into Nike Canada and Dynasty Gold in July over allegations they have or had supply chains or operations in China identified as using or benefiting from the use of Uyghur forced labor.

    In the last couple of years, several large US and Canadian multinational companies have been accused of using Uyghur forced labor either directly or in their supply chains.

    CORE monitors and investigates human rights abuses mainly by Canadian garment, mining and oil and gas companies operating abroad.

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  • Bulgari opens concept store in Tokyo’s Omotesando

    Bulgari opens concept store in Tokyo’s Omotesando

    Luxury jeweller Bulgari has opened its concept store on one of the most bustling shopping streets in Japan’s Tokyo, Omotesando.

    The store is inspired by Rome and has yellow as the dominant colour flowing throughout the store, seeking to deliver the sensation of a vacation to the Italian capital, with sunshine and great architecture.

    The store boasts a saffron-coloured facade with a variety of accessories such as necklaces, watches, and bags.

    Bulgari originally opened its doors in Japan more than 37 years ago, and in 2007, it opened its largest store in Tokyo’s famed Ginza retail district.

    The company now operates in major cities in Japan including Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Matsuyama, and Fukuoka.

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  • DB Schenker unveils plans for RedLion2

    DB Schenker unveils plans for RedLion2

    German logistics firm DB Schenker on Monday announced plans to invest more than €100 million for a new zero-emissions logistics facility in Tampines, which is scheduled to be completed by the first half of 2025.

    Dubbed RedLion2, the 600,000-sqft facility will be the company’s largest investment in Singapore, surpassing the previous investment record for Red Lion, a S$163 million (€101 million ) warehouse opened in 2020 at the free trade zone of the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore.

    DB Schenker said the future facility aims to support the semiconductor and healthcare industries and will be designed to house advanced automation solutions, including intelligent conveyor systems, automated storage and retrieval systems, and autonomous guided vehicles.

    RedLion2 will also be equipped with several sustainable features, including over 4,000 solar panels, to ensure that the facility is carbon-negative. With the addition of RedLion2, DB Schenker’s facilities in Singapore will occupy over four million square feet of land across 17 facilities.

    The company said it plans to partner with local small and medium-sized enterprises to test new ideas within the logistics industry through an innovation sandbox. It currently has around 1,900 employees based in the city-state, with plans to add 600 staff in the next 7 years.

    Catherine Soo, cluster chief executive for Singapore and Malaysia, told local news why SIngapore was chosen for this expansion project: “We see a lot of companies relocating or expanding to Singapore, and we can complement them by providing a logistics surface for everyone to grow together. This drives us to put Singapore at a higher level of importance than other countries.”

    “Other countries in Asia-Pacific where we have operations are fighting for the same investment from us, but DB Schenker Singapore has been able to deliver a very strong track record,” she noted.

  • DHL promotes new head of global air freight

    DHL promotes new head of global air freight

    DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of DHL Group, has announced changes in its global leadership team with Thomas Mack, current executive vice president for air freight, set to move into a new senior advisor role. 

    Max Sauberschwarz, who currently holds the role of Senior Vice President Global StarBroker, DHL Global Forwarding’s air charter organisation, will assume the role of Head of Global Air Freight on 1 October 2023. 

    Max Sauberschwarz has more than 15 years of experience in logistics and has held several senior management roles in the air freight sector. He joined DHL Global Forwarding in 2019 as Senior Vice President Global StarBroker. 

    The two will report directly to Tim Scharwath, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding, during the transition, after which Mack will leave the company into retirement in October 2024. Thomas Mack joined the company five years ago as Head of Global Air Freight where he was heavily involved in transforming the organization into one of the world’s leading providers of integrated air freight services, working closely with DHL Express to leverage valuable synergies within the group.

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  • Telegram comes to its senses and makes Stories available to everyone

    Telegram comes to its senses and makes Stories available to everyone

    If Telegram is one of the messaging apps you use then you probably already know that a little less than a month ago it finally got a long-awaited feature: Stories. Besides being one of the last messaging apps to adopt Stories, Telegram even made the arguably bad decision of putting them behind a paywall.

    Okay, to be precise, Stories weren’t exactly paywalled. While those with a Premium Telegram subscription could create and upload them, others could only watch. Now if that is not blatantly greedy we don’t know what is. Thankfully, the company has come to its senses and announced that everyone will be able to post Stories on their profile from now on.

    But wait, isn’t this change unfair to those who have already paid for the $4.99 Premium subscription plan? Well, no. The rest of the story-related perks that came with a Premium subscription are still exclusive to it. Among these is the ability to go into stealth mode, which allows you to watch other people’s Stories without them knowing (creepy if you ask us…).

    Other Premium features with Telegram Stories include longer captions, permanent view history (meaning you can see who’s viewed your stories even after they expire), showing up higher on other people’s feeds, and an increased cap of up to 100 stories. Outside of Stories, a Premium membership also gets rid of all ads on the platform, and enables larger file uploads and faster downloads, and transcriptions.

    Uploading a Story on Telegram is quite straightforward and similar to competitors like Instagram. You can tag other people, use photos and videos from your library or directly shoot from the app. Telegram’s twist on the format comes in the form of customizable expiration times. You can choose between 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours.

    If you paid that 5 bucks just to be able to upload Stories on Telegram, now is the time to unsubscribe. Just make sure you have your app updated so you get the feature.

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  • Vietravel Airlines seeks to lease three more aircraft from Cambodian carrier

    Vietravel Airlines seeks to lease three more aircraft from Cambodian carrier

    Vietravel Airlines, which has leased one aircraft from Cambodia Airways, has asked the carrier for three more this year.

    In June, Vietravel Airlines took delivery of an Airbus A319 to increase its fleet to four. It will get an Airbus A320 from the Cambodian carrier next month.

    If it can lease three more planes from Cambodia Airways before the end of this year, it will expand its network to South Korea and Japan, and better serve the travel boom during the Lunar New Year holidays early next year.

    The deal will also help start more services to tourist destinations in Vietnam and Cambodia.

    The carrier, launched in early 2021, hopes to increase its fleet to 25 aircraft by 2025 and to 50 by 2030.

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  • Ola Electric Announces MoveOS 4

    Ola Electric Announces MoveOS 4

    Ola Electric has announced a software upgrade for all Ola scooters. This latest software upgrade packs a lot of features and enhancements to the already existing features and functionalities. The company says the beta release for MoveOS 4 will take place on September 15th, followed by a public rollout somewhere around late October.

    Ola Electric has introduced their in-house developed Ola Maps, while the scooters are currently using ‘MapMyIndia’. Alongside this, some additional new features are Geofencing, Timefencing, Ride Journal, Concert mode and hill descent control system.

    To address the safety concern Ola Electric has introduced a tamper alert system that notifies both owners and bystanders in case any tampering is detected. The other features include personalised proximity settings, auto turn indicator cut-off, new trip metres, and headphone controls for music and calls. “Take-me-home” lights and favourite contacts have also been seamlessly integrated into the scooter’s functionalities.

    Ola has also introduced ‘Garage mode’ that facilitates the centralised control of multiple Ola electric scooters through a single interface. The company will also be offering application widgets and cruise control in Eco Mode. The company introduced the energy insight feature that provides users with deeper insights such as distance travelled, Fuel Saved and CO2 savings. Which will help users to track their energy consumption patterns.

    The company has made a significant change in the overall application itself, featuring a sleek dark mode for improved user experience. Over-the-air (OTA) updates can now be seamlessly implemented. The application will also be updated and will have features, including a hill hold setting, regen setting, and call settings.  The company says the application will now support biometric app lock options, which will use facial recognition or fingerprint authentication to open the app.

    A few enhancements are done to the pre-existing features such as regeneration, hill hold, charging time prediction, riding range etc. Also with MoveOS 4 document syncing, contact syncing, pairing, and touch response is now faster. Hypercharging has also been improved.

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  • Low prices make Thai persimmons popular

    Low prices make Thai persimmons popular

    Crunchy persimmons imported from Thailand sell for VND35,000 (US$1.5) per kilogram at wholesale markets in HCMC, VND5,000-10,000 lower than the Vietnamese variety.

    My Linh, the owner of a fruit stall in Go Vap District, said she had sold out 100 kilograms of Thai persimmons in two days.”It was very cheap, so I switched to selling Thai persimmons instead of the Vietnamese variety.”

    According to Thanh, the owner of a fruit stall at Ba Chieu market in Binh Thanh District, Thai persimmons are eye-catchingly yellow and sweet, and so attracts customers.

    “Every day, I sell three to five boxes (of 10 kg). Its retail price is VND55,000-60,000 per kilogram, while that of Da Lat persimmon is VND70,000-80,000.”

    A shop owner named Mai in Tan Binh District, who sells several tons of Thai persimmons a day, said due to higher harvests this year the fruit was exported to Vietnam at low prices.

    “I am selling three varieties of persimmons to markets: from Thailand, China and Da Lat. Currently the Thai fruit has the lowest price, with color and uniformity (in terms of size and quality) better than the other two.”

    A manager of the Thu Duc Agricultural Product Wholesale Market said Thai persimmons are being sold in the market for the first time, and are popular thanks to their low price.

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  • AirAsia Philippines gears up for holiday season

    AirAsia Philippines gears up for holiday season

    AirAsia Philippines is gearing up for the holiday season and expects a surge in air passenger traffic after the foreign traveler vaccine certificate requirement was lifted.

    The Department of Health Circular 2023-06 applies to all airports and seaports in the country and states that all arriving international travelers will be accepted regardless of their vaccination status. The circular took effect on Aug. 12, 2023, and follows the Transportation Department’s earlier announcement of the scrapping of face masks for public transportation.

    AirAsia spokesperson Steve Dailisan said the latest development is timely with the upcoming “Ber” months (referring to September, October, November and December), which are usually the busiest time for airlines and peak season for travel in the country.

    He said the lifting of the vaccine certificate travel requirement is a significant step towards making travel more seamless and will encourage travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, to experience the Philippines.

    The Department of Tourism aims to achieve 4.8 million international tourist arrivals this year, and AirAsia is committed to helping achieve this target by providing exceptional services and value deals for flights and other travel-related services through its Airasia Superapp.

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  • VinFast becomes 3rd biggest EV maker globally

    VinFast becomes 3rd biggest EV maker globally

    VinFast has become the third most valuable electric vehicle maker behind Tesla and BYD with a market cap of US$85 billion.

    Its shares listed on the U.S.’s Nasdaq stock exchange Tuesday at $22 and closed at over $37 billion.

    VinFast’s market cap is higher than all EV startups in the U.S. combined.

    It also exceeds that of Ford Motor, GM, BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz.

    American company Tesla leads the industry with a market cap of $738 billion followed by China’s BYD with $87 billion.

    VinFast is followed by another Chinese company, Li Auto, with $40 billion.

    But data from Bloomberg shows that shares of EV companies that listed through special-purpose acquisition companies, like VinFast, have plummeted after listing.

    U.S. firms Lordstown Motors lost 99% of its value since its listing in October 2020 and Faraday Future 98% since July 2021.

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