Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Cartier unveils complex, wooden-fronted Osaka store

    Cartier unveils complex, wooden-fronted Osaka store

    Cartier has reopened its flagship in Ginza, Tokyo following extensive renovations. The flagship store covers a surface of 10,764-square-feet.

    The Ginza boutique houses the luxury jewelry company’s men’s and women’s watch collections on the first floor, diamonds, including engagement rings, contemporary designs, and special orders, on the second floor, and fashion accessories and leather goods on the lower level. Interior designer Bruno Moinard created unique spaces for each floor, with the first floor featuring brown tones and soft hues of beige, gold, and champagne, and the second floor featuring feminine contrasting hues of ivory and champagne.

    The façade, which was designed by Sylvain Dubuisson, was constructed in two sections with the lower part being a dark brown, orange-toned granite stone façade inspired by the company’s boutique in Paris on Rue de la Paix, and the second section featuring Japanese screens, or Shoji, made from traditional paper and wood cuts arranged to resemble a Japanese cedar, or Sugi, which is Japan’s national tree.

    Cartier first entered the Asia market in 1970 in Hong Kong and later opened in Singapore in 1973. The jewelry company opened a boutique in Ginza in 1991 and opened the flagship in 2003, which introduced Cartier’s interior design concept by Moinard. The boutique was renovated and reopened in 2007, and it reopens again after being renovated for two years.

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  • British Tequila brand Vivir launches in Australia

    British Tequila brand Vivir launches in Australia

    British Tequila brand, Vivir, has launched in Australia as part of its global expansion, making its debut in Coles stores.

    The brand will distribute all three of its version: Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo Tequilas.

    According to its founders, Paul Hayes and Navindh Grewal, Vivr aims to change mainstream perceptions of Tequila through a “distinctive spirit” produced according to long-standing traditions at the Casa Maestri distillery in Jalisco, Mexico.

    Vivir’s is made using 100-per-cent Weber Blue Agave and natural volcanic spring water. Its aged tequilas – Añejo and Reposado – are finished in American Oak ex-bourbon barrels, resulting in a smooth, fresh, and robust drink.

    Australia becomes the ninth country the liquor brand is distributed into with a rollout into the Middle East, Africa, and the US planned later this year.

    Vivir’s Tequila is now available at Coles and its subsidiaries – Vintage Cellars, First Choice Liquor, and Liquorland.

  • Carmakers In Chennai Allowed To Operate At Full Capacity

    Carmakers In Chennai Allowed To Operate At Full Capacity

    Global carmakers such as Renault-Nissan, Hyundai Motor and Ford Motor Co may operate with their full workforces in India’s automaking hub from Sunday, despite worker protests over safety in the pandemic. Tamil Nadu state, one of the country’s worst-hit, allowed industrial units with export commitments to operate at 100% capacity, boosting its flourishing automobile industry.

    New cases in the state have fallen from more than 30,000 a day in May to about 8,000 but still account for one-seventh of all cases in India, which is second only to the United States in total infections.

    Renault-Nissan Fights Court Battle With Indian Workers On Operations During COVID-19 Surge

    “Any company which exports or supplies to export-oriented industries will be allowed to operate at full capacity as cases have come down,” a senior state government official said.

    An Indian court tasked industrial safety officials this month with visiting carmakers in the southern state to draw up uniform safety guidelines.

    The Madras High Court was responding to a case filed last month by workers at the Indian unit of the French-Japanese alliance of Renault SA Nissan Motor.

    They asked for operations to be halted, saying social distancing norms were being flouted and the risk to their lives outweighed the health benefits provided by the company.

    Labour unions for global carmakers have written letters of protest, arguing that hundreds of workers in the automaking hub of Chennai have fallen ill with COVID-19 and dozens have died. Ford and Hyundai also halted work at their plants last month after workers protested and some went on strike

  • Zara joint venture records loss in India

    Zara joint venture records loss in India

    Inditex, the Spanish owner of fashion brand Zara posted its first-ever loss in India as sales dipped by 28% due to Covid lockdowns and related staggered reopening during the financial year 2021 (FY21). The fashion house consistently posted profits in India since entering the country in 2010.

    Zara’s joint venture partner with Tata, Inditex Trent, which runs 21 stores in India saw its revenue decline to Rs 1,126 crore in FY21. The company posted a net loss of Rs 41 crore as per Trent’s annual report released Thursday. It posted a profit of Rs 104 crore in the previous year. It is one of the most profitable apparel retailers in the country.

    Trent’s annual report said FY21 started with significant uncertainty due to the pandemic. It added that operating profit was hit by a drop in sales and restaurants profits due to Covid-related lockdowns and trade restrictions.

    According to an Economic Times report, Trent has yet another association with Inditex group to operate Massimo Dutti stores in India. It saw revenues drop by 50% to Rs 34 crore in FY21 with a net loss of Rs 8 crore.

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  • Google Meet improves Hand Raising features

    Google Meet improves Hand Raising features

    Earlier this year, Google announced a revamp of Google Meet, promising a smoother and easier conference call experience than ever. At the annual Google I/O event, we discovered that Meet is being integrated directly into Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and is also receiving some significant video and audio improvements.

    But Google wasn’t done, as we find out from a recent support note that was published on Google Workspace Updates. Google has just announced that over the course of the next few weeks, one particular Google Meet element is about to become even better: the Hand Raise feature.

    The ability to raise a virtual hand during online Google Meet calls was introduced in November 2020 and has drastically improved the call experience. The small bottom-left notification and hand symbol that pops up once anyone raises their hand gives every single participant in the meeting a voice, without causing any disruptions.

    But in a meeting with many people, the main speaker could easily miss a raised hand, or in the event of many people raising their hands, there was no way of knowing who should be addressed first.

    In order to make sure that anyone raising a hand is noticed, Google will now shift the hand-raising video tile forward, to make it more visible among the other faces in the grid.

    There will also now be an audio notification sounding every time there is a hand raised. If multiple hands are being raised at the same time, don’t worry: the meeting won’t be a complete cacophony. The primary goal of hand-raising is to avoid rude interruption, after all. Instead, only the first hand will trigger the sound, and those following will only see the visual pop-up appear on their tiles.

    And in order to keep track of the order of raised hands, there will be a clickable notification that the main speaker can open to view the queue of people waiting to speak.

    While previously, anyone who raises their hand had to wait for the host to manually “lower” their hand, this will no longer be necessary. Once the participant raising their hand speaks, the visual pop-up will now be automatically lowered.

    Along with these updates, the actual hand-raising animation and visual icon appearing on video tiles will be seeing an improvement as well.

    Once the Google Meet update reaches you, you won’t have to do anything to gain access to these features; they will be automatically available.

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  • Taiwanese footwear maker suspends 18,000 workers over Covid-19 linkage

    Taiwanese footwear maker suspends 18,000 workers over Covid-19 linkage

    Over 18,000 workers of Pou Sung Vietnam were temporarily suspended due to a worker having close contact with a suspected Covid-19 case.

    Health authority found the wife of a suspected Covid-19 case working at the Dong Nai-based firm with 27,000 employees. The worker, who came in close contact with the suspected Covid-19 case, had her sample taken and is awaiting results.

    The company has suspended 18,403 workers starting Saturday morning to disinfect the entire factory, according to Le Nhat Truong, chairman of the labor union of Pou Sung Vietnam.

    It is also tracing those who traveled in the same vehicle carrying the Covid-19 linkage worker. The firm employs 300 vehicles to pick up over 10,000 staff in remote areas across the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Thuan.

    Dong Nai Province has 31 industrial zones and one high-tech zone, with 1,400 enterprises employing more than 620,000 workers.

    The province found two Covid-19 cases Saturday, ending its 45-day streak without new Covid-19 cases.

    Dong Nai has so far recorded three confirmed Covid-19 case since the fourth coronavirus wave hit on April 27.

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  • YouTube users running iOS will soon be able to use PiP to multitask

    YouTube users running iOS will soon be able to use PiP to multitask

    YouTube said today that its Premium subscribers using iOS are currently receiving support for the iOS 14 picture-in-picture mode. All U.S YouTube users running iOS will eventually get this mode regardless if they have a Premium subscription or not. Explaining what picture-in-picture does, YouTube said in a statement that, “Picture-in-Picture (PiP) allows users to watch YouTube videos in a small mini player while simultaneously browsing outside of the YouTube app on their mobile device.”

    YouTube reiterated what we said in the first paragraph. “We’re starting to roll out PiP (picture-in-picture) for YouTube Premium members on iOS and plan to launch PiP for all U.S. iOS users as well.” With this feature, YouTube users will be able to shut the YouTube app and continue viewing the video that they were watching from a small pop-up window.

    There had been certain workarounds that YouTube users with an iPhone could use on mobile Safari to get PiP to run. That would include asking the mobile browser to run the desktop version of YouTube. That workaround has been blocked and frankly, based on what the Google unit is saying today, there really is no reason to put together a workaround for YouTube PiP on iOS.

    Android users viewing YouTube for free already have had the ability to view YouTube video using PiP for multitasking. For years, YouTube had constantly tried to get iPhone users to sign up for the Premium service by promoting PiP multitasking. But soon, even YouTube non-subscribers will be able to use PiP to multitask in the U.S.

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  • Vietnam’s credit growth doubles

    Vietnam’s credit growth doubles

    Bank credit growth from January 1 to June 15 was 5.1 percent, double the rate recorded in the same period last year.

    The jump came despite the fourth wave of Covid-19 because the State Bank of Vietnam made monetary policy more flexible and directed banks to focus on funding manufacturing and reduce lending to sectors with high risks, its deputy governor, Dao Minh Tu, said Monday.

    Average loan interests in April fell by 0.3 percentage points from December, he added.

    The central bank has also directed banks to delay debt payment or lower or scrap interests on customers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to help their business recovery.

    Nearly 676,700 customers have seen the interests of their debts removed or reduced with a total outstanding loan of nearly VND1,278 trillion.

    The bank will continue to pursue a flexible monetary policy until the end of the year keep inflation under control and support an economic recovery.

    The pandemic has boosted demand for online payment. In the first four months, internet payment value surged 31 percent year-on-year.

  • Australia to take China to WTO over wine tariffs

    Australia to take China to WTO over wine tariffs

    Australia’s complaint to the World Trade Organisation over China’s anti-dumping duties on wine exports should enable bilateral negotiations, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Sunday.

    The government filed a complaint on Saturday over duties that were applied last year and nearly wiped out exports of Australian wine to the Chinese market.

    “What lodging the dispute enables us to do is begin dispute consultation settlements, which actually is a bilateral discussion with China about the issues,” Payne said in an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corp’s (ABC) ‘Insiders’ program.

    “We’ve seen duties of over 200 percent applied to Australian wine. We don’t believe that that is consistent with China’s obligations under the WTO. So that part of the process enables us to have that direct conversation.”

    The Australian government has complained frequently that China has ignored calls to ease trade tensions.

    It is the second time in six months Australia has appealed to the WTO. In December, Canberra launched a formal appeal seeking a review of China’s decision to impose hefty tariffs on imports of Australian barley.

    Relations with China, already rocky after Australia banned Huawei from its nascent 5G broadband networking in 2018, have worsened since Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, first reported in central China last year.

    China, Australia’s largest trading partner, responded by imposing tariffs on Australian commodities, including wine and barley and limited imports of Australian beef, coal and grapes, moves described by the United States as “economic coercion”.

    Asked about the fresh international push to find answers to the origin of the virus that causes Covid-19, Payne said it was important to maintain the momentum.

    “We are very determined to work with our partners to ensure that (…) investigation is able to access the material that it needs, including within China,” Payne said.

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  • Singapore Reconsiders Economic Reopening

    Singapore Reconsiders Economic Reopening

    A growing cluster of infections threatens to derail Singapore’s economic reopening, while expats in the country are growing restless from being cooped up on the island with no end in sight.

    Singapore’s Multi-Ministry Task Force is closely monitoring the growing number of community cases, particularly the expanding cluster of cases that now number 56, which originated from a neighborhood market.

    Day by day, we are seeing the number of unlinked cases – the cryptic cases in the community – is likely to be rising too. Given these developments, we are evaluating the timing and scope of the next stage of reopening, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in a video recording posted on Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday.

    The country is set for further relaxation of heightened alert restrictions from Monday, following a month of heightened Covid-19 related restrictions, during which community cases fell sharply, and a week-long first stage of reopening.

    Singapore’s borders have been effectively shut for more than a year now, and many expats are getting restless, particularly as the U.S. and Europe return to normalcy.

    According to a report on Thursday, many feel the country is too slow in reopening its borders and may depart in the next six months if vaccinations and travel re-opening do not go as planned. Currently, returning residents face three weeks of quarantine – if they are allowed back into the country.

    Singapore said any ease in travel curbs will depend on the pace of vaccinations, which it has targeted for half of its population by the end of August and 75 percent by October. Currently, about 35 percent of the population is vaccinated, according to «Bloomberg» estimates.

  • Cathay Pacific said to adopt new biz model likened to AirAsia

    Cathay Pacific said to adopt new biz model likened to AirAsia

    Cathay Pacific is planning to rebrand into a new business model that offers a wide range of products apart from just selling air tickets, according to a report. Hong Kong’s flag carrier is planning to reposition itself and adopt an “Amazon concept” that includes many businesses under the brand. Under the new plan, Cathay Pacific will become just one of the brands within the Cathay ecosystem.

    It’s reported that the senior management of the company has likened the plan to that of AirAsia, which offers a wide variety of businesses including food delivery, online groceries as well as health and insurance segments. Previously, the company rolled out an ad that shows multiple lifestyle items via email to its customers. In that email, the company said that it is “always searching for new ways to help you move forward in style – to connect you with people, places and experiences that matter.”

    It concluded with a statement: We’re going to elevate the Cathay experience you know and love into a lifestyle experience that will add to your pleasure and enjoyment. The ad ends with the name “Cathay” with “Pacific”, sparking speculation over an imminent rebrand. 

    The report cited a source familiar with this matter, saying that its executive director Ronald Lam will spearhead the effort. He once said Cathay Pacific is a retail service rather than an airline. The aviation industry has been heavily hit by the pandemic and as Hong Kong is a city with no domestic routes, Cathay’s income dropped drastically by 84% last year, resulting in a HK$21.6 billion loss (US$2.78 billion). It avoided collapse thanks to a government-led bailout worth HK$39 billion and cut thousands of jobs worldwide, including the shut down of its sister airline Cathay Dragon.

    Meanwhile, amidst the pandemic in 2020, AirAsia decided to pivot its business and realize its ASEAN super app ambition under three main pillars – travel, eCommerce, and fintech. Among the list of categories including flights, hotels, SNAP, activities, insurance, Big Rewards, unlimited deals, and wifi. The app also had a “Get it fresh” section offering groceries via its B2C platform AirAsia fresh and “Get Holla”, which allowed consumers to pay to get shout-outs from artists under RedRecords including Jannine Weigel.

    Taking its ambitions across the region, earlier this month AirAsia decided to expand its eCommerce offerings to Singapore, asking for interesting fresh produce and groceries merchants throughout the island to join its growing eCommerce delivery platform.  Merchants were invited to list their fresh produce, groceries, and sundry daily necessities on the AirAsia super app, and will be contacted by the AirAsia team within 48 hours for the next course of action.  Merchants on the AirAsia super app’s eCommerce delivery platforms can also leverage AirAsia’s marketing efforts and periodic campaigns to drive more traffic to their online stores and increase sales.

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  • HSBC Agrees to French Retail Bank Sale

    HSBC Agrees to French Retail Bank Sale

    HSBC has agreed to sell its French retail bank to Cerberus-backed My Money Group, furthering the British lender’s non-Asia retreat.

    HSBC has agreed to sell its French retail bank to the Paris-based banking group in a deal that includes 244 branches, 3,900 staff alongside 21.5 billion euros ($25.5 billion) in customer loans and 18.9 billion euros in deposits, according to a statement.

    If agreed by employees of both firms, as per French law, the deal could be signed off by the second half of this year and completed by 2023.

    According to HSBC, the sale prices will be a nominal 1 euro which will result in a loss of around $2.3 billion. At the time of deal completion, the bank expects net asset value to total $2 billion and it agrees to make up any shortfall should that valuation decline.

    The signing of an [memorandum of understanding] for the potential sale of our French retail banking business represents a significant step in progressing the actions we announced during our strategic update earlier this year, said HSBC group chief executive Noel Quinn.

    It will enable us to dramatically simplify our business in Continental Europe and allow us to accelerate the transformation of our European wholesale banking franchise.

    According to My Money CEO Eric Shehadeh, the firm aims for the newly acquired bank to return to profitability three years after taking control with commitments not to cut jobs until 2024 or 2025.

    The acquisition, if successful, will further add to U.S. private equity firm Cerberus’ portfolio of European banking stakes which includes ownership at Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank.

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  • New Harley-Davidson Electric Motorcycle To Be Called LiveWire One

    New Harley-Davidson Electric Motorcycle To Be Called LiveWire One

    It was a few months ago that ‘LiveWire’ was turned into a standalone electric vehicle sub-brand of Harley-Davidson. Now, VIN filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have revealed that the next electric motorcycle from Harley-Davidson will be called LiveWire One. It is likely to be revealed on July 8, 2021. The documents also reveal that the LiveWire One will have a power output which is equivalent of 101 bhp. The LiveWire One will have an internal code name, which is ‘XB’ while the model code will be LW1. Another fascinating fact is that the first-ever Harley-Davidson motorcycle was called the Model One. So, the reference to ‘One’ could be a throwback to Harley’s century-old legacy.

    While Harley-Davidson did not update the LiveWire for 2021 in USA, it did so for the model sold in Australia and the power output dropped from 103.5 bhp to 101 bhp, which is similar to the data found in the NHTSA VIN filings. So, in all probability, we will see a slightly updated/restyled version of the original LiveWire electric motorcycle, which was launched in 2019. The documents also reveal that the new Livewire One will be considered a 2021 model, despite being introduced in the middle of 2021.

    The original LiveWire gets Harley-Davidson’s full-electric Revelation powertrain which used to put out 103.5 bhp of power and 116 Nm of instant torque. The LiveWire had claimed acceleration from 0 to 100 kmph in just 3 seconds and roll-on acceleration from 100 kmph to 129 kmph in 1.9 seconds. The LiveWire is loaded with electronics, which includes cornering ABS, cornering enhanced traction control, rear-wheel lift mitigation, as well as a drag-torque slip control system that manages rear wheel slip and prevents rear-wheel lock due to the regenerative braking.

    A 4.3-inch full-color TFT touchscreen panel offers the rider controls to seven riding modes, including four pre-programmed modes – Road, Rain, Sport and Range. Additionally, there are three more fully customizable modes, where the power (maximum rate of acceleration), regeneration (braking effect when off-throttle), throttle response, and traction control settings can be fully customized.

    While we would love to see the new LiveWire One being launched in India, Harley is likely to consider the same next year.

  • Google opens its first NYC store

    Google opens its first NYC store

    Five years ago, Google started making its own smartphones and voice-assisted speakers. Now, Google has a store to sell them in.

    The company is set to open its first-ever physical store on Thursday on the ground floor of its Manhattan headquarters in the Chelsea neighborhood. The store will carry a full array of Google’s gadgets, including Pixel smartphones, Nest home devices and Fitbit’s wearable fitness products, the company said.

    Inside, shoppers can try out devices and subscription services, while existing customers can get on-site repairs of broken products. The 5,000-square-foot store will include rooms where customers can experience “real-life scenarios” in which Google products can be useful, the company said.

    Some non-Google products and Google-branded gear, such as T-shirts, hats and dog toys, will also be sold.

    The store is Google’s latest attempt to give its fledgling hardware division a shot in the arm and an extension of pop-up stores that the company opened in the last few years.

    Since Google started selling Google-branded smartphones in 2016, it has expanded the kinds of devices it sells. It has also acquired Fitbit and integrated Nest, a maker of devices like thermostats. Nest had been a separate subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

    Although Google has invested heavily in the hardware division, it is still an afterthought to the company’s main advertising arm and its fast-growing cloud-computing unit. Google would not comment on whether it had plans to open more stores.

    The track record of technology companies that have opened retail stores is mixed. Apple’s stores stand out as a major success, elevating the brand and offering a showcase for new products. Microsoft, on the other hand, said it was shuttering all of its stores last year, more than a decade after it started opening retail outlets to augment its own push into hardware.

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  • OCBC Appoints Group COO

    OCBC Appoints Group COO

    OCBC has appointed a new group chief operating officer in an effort to drive and accelerate transformation at the Singapore-based bank.

    Lim Khiang Tong has been named group COO – a newly created role – according to a statement, effective June 21 this year. Lim will report to recently appointed group chief executive Helen Wong.

    Lim has 30 years of management experience in strategic tech development, information technology, process reengineering, project management, and banking operations. He joined OCBC’s IT management team in 2000 before being appointed to lead the unit in 2002. In 2007, he was named head of group IT and in 2010, he assumed the role of head of group operations and technology.

    Lim will take on the expanded role in an effort to «optimize and intensify» investments across tech, product processes, and people.

    Lim has been instrumental in building our operational and technology capabilities and in driving our digital transformation efforts, Wong said. He is highly regarded by colleagues, business partners and industry peers. It is only fitting that he assumes this new role.

    Lim has already made various efforts to bolster the bank’s tech capabilities including the development of the first technology command center monitoring and managing both cybersecurity and daily operations – the OCBC Regional Data Center.

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