Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Millions of WhatsApp users join Telegram as Facebook forces them to give up their data

    Millions of WhatsApp users join Telegram as Facebook forces them to give up their data

    Facebook informed WhatsApp users last week that in order to continue to use the app, they will have to agree with the company’s updated privacy policy. That wouldn’t be unusual unless the new policy requires WhatsApp users to allow the company to share their information with Facebook and its associated firms.

    About three years ago, WhatsApp introduced this option with the promise that it will “help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support and market it services and offerings,” but users could opt-out from this trial.

    Unfortunately, this has become mandatory this year, so those who don’t comply won’t be able to use WhatsApp starting February 8. Well, it looks like Facebook’s decision had drastic repercussions for its customer database.

    Telegram, a similar messenger service with a lot less users, has just announced a surge in the number of active users immediately after Facebook’s announcement. First, the founder of the company, Pavel Durov, pointed out that Telegram surpassed 500 million monthly in the first week of January 2021.

    More importantly, soon after WhatsApp announced the new changes, Telegram reported a massive surge in a number of users. No less than 25 million users joined Telegram in the last 72 hours. According to him, most of them are coming from Asia (38%), Europe (27%), and Latin America (21%).

    Apparently, this is an important increase compared to last year, when “just” 1.5 million users signed up every day. Durov went on to say that while Telegram had surges of downloads before, “this time is different.”

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  • Dr. Martens set for London IPO, valuing shoe brand at US$2.7 billion

    Dr. Martens set for London IPO, valuing shoe brand at US$2.7 billion

    The British footwear brand Dr. Martens is planning a £3bn flotation, more than 60 years after its first pair of boots were stitched together in Northamptonshire.

    Best known for its 1460 boot featuring its trademark yellow stitching and chunky soles, the company expects to float at least 25% of the business on the London stock market.

    It comes nearly seven years after Dr Martens was bought for £300m by the private equity group Permira. Sales under its ownership have surged, rising from £160m in 2013 to £672m in the year to March 2020. Sources close to the plans said the shoe company expects to seek a valuation of about £3bn.

    The brand, which sells 11m pairs of shoes and boots a year across more than 60 countries, managed to grow throughout the pandemic, despite lockdowns that forced its 130 high street stores to close. Dr Martens reported an 18% rise in sales to £318m in the six months to September, while profits grew by a third to £86.3m. The majority of sales come from the wholesale business, which sells to third-party retailers.

    The first pair of Dr. Martens made in the UK was in 1960 at its original factory in Northamptonshire, where one of its two main offices is still based. The boots grew in popularity over the following decades, first adopted by skinheads in the 1960s, and later becoming fashion staples among punks, goths, and schoolgirls.

    However, Russ Mould, the investment director at broker AJ Bell, said there were some “red flags”, including consumer complaints about the quality of Dr. Martens footwear.

    “Could it be that the business has suffered under private equity ownership? Many investors are skeptical about backing companies that are being sold by private equity, for fear they might have suffered from underinvestment and subjected to a ‘quantity over quality’ approach for production,” Mould said.

    However, some critics have said the alleged deterioration came after it shifted the bulk of its production from the UK to Asia nearly 20 years ago, he said.

    Dr. Martens said it rejected allegations of declining standards and said Permira had continued to invest in the business since its takeover.

    The footwear firm also said on Monday it had diversified its supply chain, and reduced the proportion of shoes made in China from 46% to 32% between 2019 and 2020, but did not link the changes to quality concerns.

    Mould said Dr Martens’ IPO was coming at an interesting time for UK markets, hot on the heels of a Brexit deal and the best-ever start to a calendar year for the FTSE 100. “If ever there was a good time to market a well-known British name to investors, it is now,” he said.

  • Indonesian retail sales fell 16.3 per cent in November

    Indonesian retail sales fell 16.3 per cent in November

    Retail sales in Indonesia dropped 16.3% year-on-year in November following a 14.9% fall a month earlier, a central bank survey showed on Tuesday.

    Sales of telecommunication types of equipment and other household goods contracted in November, the survey showed.

    The survey also forecasts an even deeper contraction of 20.7% in December.

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  • VF Corp to relocate business operations out of Hong Kong

    VF Corp to relocate business operations out of Hong Kong

    VF Corp. (VFC), a provider of branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, announced a transformation plan for its Asia Pacific operations, with relocations over the next 12 to 18 months with the first moves expected in April 2021.

    VF plans to move the center of its brand operations from Hong Kong to Shanghai where the company currently employs approximately 900 office and retail associates.

    In addition, VF also plans to relocate its Asia Product Supply Hub from Hong Kong to Singapore.

    The company also plans to establish an additional shared services center for the region in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    VF noted that Hong Kong will remain a key retail market for the company and its brands.

    “Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to investing in our business across the Asia Pacific region, while also supporting VF’s overall transformation plan to become a more consumer-minded, retail-centric, and hyper-digital enterprise,” said Steve Rendle, VF’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

  • Versace Macau boutique reopens at Four Seasons

    Versace Macau boutique reopens at Four Seasons

    Versace announced the re-opening of its boutique in Macau. Situated in the upscale Shoppes at Four Seasons, the store is located at the city’s premier luxury destination. Inspired by Medusa’s hypnotic gaze, the boutique has been renovated following a new concept created by renowned architect Gwenael Nicolas.

    An impressive ceiling embellished with concentric golden louvers surrounding a three- dimensional Medusa dominates the space. Visible from every corner of the store, the mythical woman acts as an anchor, a central figure that incorporates the iconic Versace aesthetic into the interior design.

    The imposing ceiling is contrasted with neutral flooring and walls, crafted from luxurious white marble. Envisioned as exclusive, private salons, showcase areas are enriched with plush carpets and cozy blue velvet armchairs. The muted colors of the space highlight the graphic prints and exceptional fabrication of the latest Versace creations. In a further nod to brand heritage, the golden metal display constructions are enriched with Barocco-infused acanthus leaves

    The 369 square meter boutique features a curated selection of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and accessories.

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  • Staples makes US$2.1 billion bid for rival Office Depot

    Staples makes US$2.1 billion bid for rival Office Depot

    Office supplies retailer Staples has made an offer to buy Office Depot owner ODP Corp for US$2.1 billion in cash, nearly five years after its second takeover effort was rejected.

    The US Federal Trade Commission blocked Staple’s $6.3 billion offer in 2016, saying a merger between the two could reduce competition for nationwide contracts for office supplies.

    At the time, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) gave its tick of the approval of Staples’ proposed acquisition of Office Depot, which trades locally as OfficeMax.

    The two companies agreed to merge in 1996, but the deal was put to rest as a government lawsuit argued the move would have meant higher prices for pens, paper, and other office supplies.

    Staples was a public company when it attempted the acquisition. It went private in 2017.

    Staples said it is prepared to take “all necessary measures” to divest ODP’s B2B Business to a FTC-approved and qualified buyer.

    USR Parent, or Staples, said it would offer $40 per for each ODP share, a premium of 8.2 percent to Friday’s close.

    ODP’s shares rose about 11 percent to $41 before the opening bell.

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  • HSBC Becomes First Foreign Fintech in China

    HSBC Becomes First Foreign Fintech in China

    HSBC furthers its expansion in mainland China with the latest launch of a fintech subsidiary based in Shanghai. The British lender announces the opening of the HSBC Fintech Services (Shanghai) Company Limited, according to a media statement, with an eye to scale up its wealth management business in the mainland.

    We believe technology can help provide better customer services, which can spur the growth of the real economy,» said Mark Wang, president, and chief executive officer for China.

    The opening of HSBC Fintech reflects HSBC’s commitment to investing in mainland China and also our support to developing technology and innovation in the financial world.

    The new entity will initially provide centralized technology and data services to the bank’s mobile financial planning offering in the mainland – HSBC Pinnacle Venture – to target customers outside the branch network. Digital tools introduced will cover financial planning, employee benefits, and wellbeing platforms for through a one-stop platform focused on corporates.

    In the future, HSBC Fintech will gradually expand the scope of its services to cover other HSBC entities.

    Through this corporate platform, we hope to provide dedicated financial services traditionally available only to high net worth customers to corporate employees on a broader basis, creating positive commercial value for companies, and bringing mutual benefits to both companies and employees, added Trista Sun, vice chair of HSBC Insurance Asia Pacific and execute director of HSBC Fintech Company.

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  • How new player joined Vietnam’s food delivery battle

    How new player joined Vietnam’s food delivery battle

    Joining the market later than competitors, Baemin, a food delivery application of South Korean unicorn Woowa Brothers, concentrates on rider training and supporting food stores.

    Tuan, 28, from HCMC, is on his way to the headquarter of Baemin in District 3 to take part in a training course. He said, by the end of the course, he would have had to take an entrance exam before being granted an account as a Baemin rider. Before that, during the online application process, Tuan also had to undergo a pre-qualification exam before attending the intensive training.

    Most riders joining the Baemin network have to pass two entrance exams, a paradox compared to other food delivery businesses today.

    “We want to leave a good first impression on our customers with Baemin’s well-mannered and polite rider team,” said Nguyen Trung Thanh, COO of Baemin Vietnam, Woowa Brothers’ leading online food delivery service.

    Right after taking the lead in South Korea, Woowa Brothers expanded its market to Vietnam, where more than 40 percent of the population is of working age, loves technology and is quite familiar with Korean culture. However, Baemin still joined the Vietnamese market later than many other competitors.

    The boom in delivery applications has resulted in a shortage of riders and problems with service quality. Therefore, Baemin chose its own path by starting with careful training of its rider team in each market then gradually expanding within the city where the demand for food delivery is up to 90 percent (according to market research company GComm).

    Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are two typical examples of Baemin’s approach. “In Vietnam, FoodTech is still a very new market, so companies in this field have to invest a lot in building their own delivery team and putting them into operation,” Thanh noted.

    Baemin focuses on building professional food delivery services, its professionalism helping it succeed in a short period.

    According to a recent survey, although Baemin only appeared in Vietnam from mid-2019, it quickly caught up with Gojek, another application in food delivery, in its proportion of users (up to 46 percent). Baemin also takes up 16 percent among the most frequently used apps.

    According to the report, GrabFood is said to be popular among the old while Baemin suits younger generations.

    Investing in rider partners is not enough in Baemin’s long-term development strategy in Vietnam.

    “In Korea, where third-party logistics infrastructure is already developed, Woowa Brothers focuses on customer care, advertising and tradition,” said Thanh.

    “However, in Vietnam, it is a completely different story.”

    In addition to delivery resources, Baemin also has to pay attention to connecting with partners participating in its platform by providing flexible payment methods, with the most important being accompanying partners in the transition of the business model into an online format.

    According to Thanh, in new markets like Vietnam, restaurants, and stores, especially traditional ones, are yet to grow accustomed to online sales. Thus, during this period, the most practical thing is generating a revenue stream.

    Baemin’s strategy is to send staff to guide restaurant owners on how to achieve greater profits. At the same time, the company has also developed a department to timely respond and make payments so restaurant owners could continue to operate.

    “These are very basic steps, but they create real value from which the restaurant has the confidence to establish a closer relationship with us,” Thanh emphasized.

    In the coming time, Baemin plans to help restaurant owners create products suited to online business models. According to Thanh, this would allow transformation from a pure traditional restaurant to an online model in order to gradually expand with increasing revenue.

    “More than anyone, Baemin understands that the success or failure of a company depends greatly on its partners. Although Baemin is newly launched in Hanoi, brand awareness of customers here is much higher than in Ho Chi Minh City. It may be a new city, but the market has heard a lot about us,” Thanh said.

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  • Condotel, beachfront villa market slump

    Condotel, beachfront villa market slump

    Resort real estate supply and sales fell to a five-year low last year, according to real estate consulting company DKRA Vietnam.

    Supply of villas fell by 79 percent to 541, and only 239 were sold, an 88 percent decline, it said.

    There were only three new condotel projects with a total of 525 units last year, a 95 percent fall. Sales fell by 96 percent.

    The leading condotel markets like Khanh Hoa, Da Nang, Phu Quoc did not have any new projects.

    Leisure travel fell into the severest crisis in decades. The market is not expected to make a revival in 2021.

    According to some experts, the situation in the resort real estate market in 2020 was partly caused by the changing investor sentiment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    However, even before the pandemic, the level of investor interest in resort real estate remained low because of the incomplete legal status for these types of assets and the dispute that broke out over reneged promises of regular returns on investment.

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  • Vietcombank targets 12 procent profit growth

    Vietcombank targets 12 procent profit growth

    State-owned lender Vietcombank has announced credit growth and pre-tax profit targets of 12 percent and VND25.2 trillion ($1.09 billion) for 2021.

    The 12 percent credit growth target matches the target set for the banking industry as a whole, the lender said.

    In 2020 Vietcombank’s profit was VND23 trillion, the same as the previous year. It also targets keeping non-performing loans at under 1 percent and achieving a net profit margin of 3.1 percent.

    Last year, non-interest income accounted for 50 percent of total income, up 10.7 percentage points from 2019. Income from treasury operations and investment accounted for 21 percent.

    In April 2020, Vietcombank became an exclusive bancassurance partner of FWD, the insurance arm of Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s investment firm Pacific Century.

    Its income from bancassurance was VND1.87 trillion, or 18 percent of non-interest income.

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  • International Driving Permits Can Now Be Renewed While Abroad

    International Driving Permits Can Now Be Renewed While Abroad

    The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) issued a notification about a week ago to the effect that Indian citizens can now renew their International Driving Permit (IDP) while they are abroad, in case their IDP expires. The new amendment allows Indian citizens to apply for renewal of their IDP through Indian embassies and Missions abroad. The said applications will then be moved to the VAHAN portal in India and will be considered for renewal by respective RTOs. After renewal, the IDPs will be couriered by the RTOs to Indian citizens at their respective addresses abroad.

    The amendment also removes the requirement of providing a medical certificate and a valid visa at the time of applying for IDP in India. MoRTH believes that a citizen who has a valid driving license should not have a requirement for another medical certificate. Plus, there are countries that offer a visa on arrival or cases where visas have been issued at the very last moment. Keeping these conditions in mind, the government will now allow IDP applications without a visa.

    The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has extended the validity of vehicular documents till March 31, 2021. The Ministry decided to take this step to prevent the spread of COVID-19. MoRTH has also issued a directory to the States and Union Territory administrations regarding the extension for the validity of documents. As per the notification, vehicular documents like fitness certificates, permits, driving license, registration certificates, and others will remain valid till the end of March 2021.

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  • Carrefour starts rebranding Wellcome stores in Taiwan

    Carrefour starts rebranding Wellcome stores in Taiwan

    Carrefour SA said Tuesday they have agreed to buy Wellcome Taiwan from Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd. to accelerate its expansion.

    The deal includes 224 proximity stores as well as a warehouse and its overall enterprise value is EUR97 million (US$107.9 million), the supermarket group said.

    The company expects the transaction to close by the end of the year and its plans for the stores include cost-structure optimization and rebranding.

    Wellcome Taiwan had net sales of around EUR390 million in 2019, according to Carrefour.

    The French company said it currently owns 137 stores in Taiwan, where it generated net sales of EUR1.97 billion, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of EUR209 million and recurring operating income of EUR83 million in 2019.

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  • Esprit appoints new leadership in latest attempt to resuscitate the brand

    Esprit appoints new leadership in latest attempt to resuscitate the brand

    Esprit has unveiled a new management team in its latest attempt to resuscitate the brand, with Mark David Daley now installed as chief executive officer.

    Daley, 56, is described by Esprit as a 30-year retail industry veteran and was most recently the ceo at the fashion brand, Billy Reid. He has held the ceo position at a number of premium companies including skin-care label Augustinus Bader, stationery goods maker Symthson of Bond Street, upscale grocer Dean & Deluca, and served as Asia Pacific president of Ralph Lauren.

    Daley cut his teeth at DFS Group where he worked for more than two decades, rising to global president of operations and business development. Daley holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and sociology from Stanford University. Daley’s installment is effective beginning Dec. 24 and he replaces Anders Kristiansen, who had been in the role since mid-2018.

    The brand also announced Wan Yung Ting as chief product development officer. Wan, 40, comes from academia, jumping from her former role as an assistant professor for the college of art and design at Beijing University of Technology. Wan previously worked at Taiwanese Far Eastern Textile Ltd., focusing on the application of functional fabrics and sports brands. Wan obtained a Ph.D. in art theory from Peking University, a master of arts in arts and cultural management from Peking University, and a Bachelor of Engineering in fiber and composite Materials from Feng Chia University. Wan’s official start date was also Dec. 24.

    Over the last decade, Esprit has quickly cycled through a number of ceo’s — including Ronald Van der Vis, Jose Manuel Gutierrez and Kristian Andersen — with each restructuring effort seeing only muted effect.

    For the year to June, the company recorded a loss of 3.9 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $515 million, widening from the 2.1 billion Hong Kong dollars the year before. Germany, its most important market, was put into bankruptcy protection this past summer, and its venture with Mulsanne Group to relaunch Mainland China was abruptly called off.

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  • Don Don Donki confirms Taiwanese introduction date

    Don Don Donki confirms Taiwanese introduction date

    Japanese discount retailer Don Don Donki, known as Donki, looks on course to make its Taiwan debut, with a new 24/7 store rumored to be opening in the popular shopping destination of Ximendeng in Taipei.

    The company is yet to reveal the location or the opening date of the store, however, job advertisements seeking up to 400 employees have all but confirmed the company’s expansion plans.

    Don Don Donki is a discount chain store that carries a wide range of products, from basic groceries to electronics and clothing. It has over 160 branches in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Hawaii (US) and is said to be a popular store for Taiwan residents to visit when traveling.

    The retailer launched a free international shipping promotion on its e-commerce platform last year, which has helped build the brand’s appeal among Taiwanese consumers.

    Meanwhile, Don Don Donki’s fifth Hong Kong outlet of 2020 is expected to open in Central by October. Its owner, the Japanese group Pan Pacific, has been aggressively expanding within the Asian region in the past year.

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  • Bauhaus sales tumble as store network shrinks more and faster

    Bauhaus sales tumble as store network shrinks more and faster

    Bauhaus International (0483) said same-store sales growth of its self-managed offline shops fell by 38 percent year-on-year for the three months ended December last year.

    In Hong Kong and Macau, the same-store sales performance of its self-managed retail business fell by 36 percent year-on-year.

    In non-Hong Kong and Macau, same-store sales of self-managed retail businesses fell 68 percent year-on-year.

    For the nine months ended December 2020, Hong Kong and Macau same-store sales fell by 42 percent, and non-Hong Kong and Macau fell by 40 percent from a year ago.

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