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Category: E-Tailing

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest E-Commerce & Etail news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Alibaba sales soar 40%

    Alibaba sales soar 40%

    Chinese eCommerce giant Alibabahas reported a 40 per cent increase in sales in the quarter to December.

    But its net profit for the period plunged 28 per cent to $US964 million impacted by a one off charge and higher taxes.

    Based in Hangzhou, Alibaba owns China’s most popular online trading platform, Taobao.

    Alibaba Group’s total sales for the quarter reached $US4.219 billion, and earnings per share rose 13 per cent to 81 US cents.

    The company executed the world’s biggest IPO when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange last September.

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  • Shanghai Tang flagship launches 360 tour

    Shanghai Tang flagship launches 360 tour

    Two years ago, Richemont-owned luxury fashion brand Shanghai Tang relocated its flagship from the historic Pedder Building into a new location off the usually beaten path of die-hard shoppers.

    The decision was purely financial – the building’s owners ramped up the rental so much, the brand could not justify the overhead; apparently Abercrombie & Fitch considered the investment more palatable.

    The new flagship is located on 1 Duddell St, not far from Pedder St as the crow flies, but a location arguably so obscure most foreigners, as opposed to locals, struggle to find it.

    This week, Shanghai Tang has solved that problem, creating a 360 panoramic online journey through the flagship, accessible online from anywhere in the word.

    The high resolution view  is hosted by Google. Users can use their mouse or trackpad to zoom in on various displays and turn a full circle on each of the store’s three floors.

    “Whether or not you have had the chance to visit us in central Hong Kong, we are proud to introduce our first 360 online virtual tour of our Shanghai Tang Mansion,” the band said in an email to its fan base this week.

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  • Alibaba invests in AdChina

    Alibaba invests in AdChina

    Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba will take a majority stake in AdChina, which calls itself China’s leading digital marketing platform, to develop online and mobile marketing, the internet powerhouse says.

    Alibaba had made a strategic investment in AdChina, it said in a statement, without giving the amount.

    An Alibaba spokeswoman said financial details were not disclosed.

    Alibaba, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange last year, said the deal would allow the company to grow its online and mobile marketing “ecosystem”.

    The two companies will also develop online marketing services and data marketing products for businesses, media clients and third party service providers, the statement said.

    Alibaba is often described as the Chinese version of eBay, and like the US company has its own payments system.

    It has no product stocks itself, instead connecting buyers and sellers.

    The company’s consumer to consumer platform, Taobao, is estimated to hold more than 90 per cent of the Chinese market with more than 800 million product listings and around 500 million registered users.

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  • Shop Tesco with Google Glasses

    Shop Tesco with Google Glasses

    Tesco has become the first retailer to launch a Google Glass enabled service with a basic version of its shopping app now available for users of the wearable device.

    The Glassware has been developed by Tesco Labs, which experiments with disruptive technologies that have the potential to change the way customers shop. The Tesco Grocery Glassware lets customers browse goods, view nutritional information and add items to their shopping basket hands-free.

    Initially the service is only available in the UK, but it is likely to be rolled out in Thailand, Malaysia or Korea if there is demand, especially given Tesco’s use of its Asian divisions to test new technology, (for example its virtual stores in South Korea subway stations).

    In this, its first foray into providing services for those using wearable technology, Tesco has intentionally kept the functionality of the app simple as it evaluates the consumer response to wearables and the likelihood of increased demand.

    Pablo Coberly, innovation engineer at Tesco Labs commented: “At Tesco we want to ensure we have the means in place to allow customers to shop whenever, however they want which is why we’re testing the possibilities of customers topping up their online basket with Glass”

    The Tesco Grocery Glassware works alongside customers Tesco.com grocery accounts, automatically adding products to the customer’s online basket for them to then review and order by computer, tablet or mobile.”

    Coberly said Tesco does not envisage Glass becoming the new platform for shopping as its functionality is different, and more immediate.

    “Instead, it complements other devices and integrates shopping into everyday life because products can be ordered or added as and when customers realise they need replacing.”

    He says the future of the Tesco Grocery Glassware will be driven by customer needs and demand.

    “We’re keen to see how customers react to shopping with Glassware and welcome feedback or suggestions from customers using Glass.“

    Glass users can install Tesco Grocery Glassware through MyGlass on their mobile device or desktop.

  • SSI launches online store in Philippines

    SSI launches online store in Philippines

    An online store recently launched in the Philippines by Stores Specialists will soon become the nation’s online gateway to global brands.

    Stores Specialists Inc is a member of the SSI Group, the number one lifestyle specialty retailer in the Philippines, a member of the Rustan’s Group of companies. It manages leading fashion, luxury and lifestyle brands like Gucci, Prada, Anne Klein, Ferragamo, Michael Kors, Hamley’s and Pottery Barn.

    The new website, SSI Life offers shoppers the opportunity to purchase a curated array of products from the SSI Group’s roster of brands in a convenient ‘anytime-anywhere’ online platform.

    The site carries a curated array of products from 25 international brands now, with more to be added in the following months. The site currently includes a selection from Marks & Spencer, TWG Tea, Oliviers & Co, Payless Shoe Source, Nine West, Aerosoles, Bass, Superga, Steve Madden, MBT, OkaB, A/X Armani Exchange, Replay, High Sierra, Samsonite, Make Room & More and Beauty Bar.

    Anton Huang, president of SSI Group, Inc, says the website offers shoppers the opportunity to purchase from SSI’s portfolio of international brands while experiencing the same premium service the company is trusted for at store level, on an online platform.

    “We are the only eCommerce participant that is able to implement an Omni-channel approach, where our bricks and mortar stores will complement the online shopping experience of our customers and vice-versa,” he said.

    In time the company will take its growing portfolio of international brands – now numbering 106 – in over 600 store locations, to a 24-seven digital retail platform.

    “We will deliver our commitment of “Bringing the Best of the World to the Philippines” to a poised and ready growing online lifestyle shopping market,” said Huang.

    SSI says it is committed to customer satisfaction not just through its selection of brands, but with a guarantee to deliver a unique digital shopping experience. Through SSI Life, customers are able to tailor their shopping experience with options to browse and purchase online or browse online and purchase offline in stores.

    More brands will be added in the months to come following the site’s soft launch last November with an initial 17.

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  • Voylla.com to open 25 offline retail stores in offline expansion plan

    Voylla.com to open 25 offline retail stores in offline expansion plan

    Voylla.com, a jewellery and accessories shopping website run by Bengaluru-based Voylla Retail Private Limited, is planning to set up exclusive offline stores to consolidate its presence in the Indian fashion imitation jewellery industry, said its founder and chief executive officer Vishwas Shringi.

    The two-year-old company, which currently has three offline stores, including one in Bengaluru, is gearing up to launch 25 shop-in-shops across the country in tie-up with retail chains like Future Group’s Central within the next one-and-a-half year.

    Voylla.com is the latest to join the league of ecommerce players entering the offline retail business. While Flipkart has opened its first brick-and-mortar store “Fliptomania” in Bengaluru and online jewellery store Bluestone.com launched outlets in Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi in 2014, online fashion retailer Myntra.com is gearing up to roll out offline stores in due course.

  • FENDI launches e-commerce globally

    FENDI launches e-commerce globally

    FENDI (LVMH Group) announces the launch of its e-commerce in 28 European countries starting with this year. Japan will be followed by the US in 2016. The strategic retail approach towards e-commerce follows many other top luxury fashion brands, with several to follow suit by the end of this year.

  • Japanese eyes on California

    Japanese eyes on California

    Japan’s largest eyewear retailer Jins is to launch in the US, opening an inaugural flagship store in San Francisco’s Union Square this spring.

    Tokyo-based Jins launched its first store in 2001 and now operates more than 300 retail locations across Japan and China.

    The 4900 sqft flagship will be located at 151 Powell St and Jins promises it will stock one of the most expansive collections of eyeglasses in the city.

    In tandem with the store, Jins will launch a US eCommerce site in Spring 2015. Customers nationwide will be able to purchase Jins eyewear online with an existing prescription and San Francisco/Bay Area residents will have the opportunity to purchase their glasses online and pick them up in the store on the same day.

    Jins promises to “reinvent the in-store eyewear shopping experience” in the US, offering “unprecedented simplicity and speed”. At the new store, customers can browse, purchase and receive their prescription eyewear with custom fitting all in the same visit. Customers no longer have to wait weeks to receive their glasses in the mail because all Jins’ aspheric prescription lenses are assembled in-store using its Kanna lens lab.

    The company promises customers can receive their glasses from start to finish in approximately 30 minutes.

    The Jins store will house more than 1200 different styles, priced from US$60-120, including premium lenses.

    “We chose the Bay Area as our first stop in the US because it perfectly reflects Jins’’ progressive spirit and passion for innovation,” said Shinsuke Tomita, president of Jins Eyewear US.

    “With the opening of the San Francisco store, we hope to change the way people think about shopping for glasses in the US. Similar to how we shop for shoes or jewellery, we want our customers to explore countless designs and color options without being limited by the unnecessary complexities and inflated prices that are still the norm in the eyewear industry today.”

    Jins describes itself as “an early innovator in creating high-quality, fashion-forward prescription and nonprescription eyewear at affordable prices”.

    Jins’ point of difference is quality craftsmanship. “Jins pioneered the concept of affordable, high-quality eyewear in Japan, and has always believed that quality should never be delivered with an added surcharge for consumers. Every pair of Jins glasses is created with the passion and spirit of Japanese craftsmanship, using only the best materials, and metal frame parts sourced exclusively from Japan.”

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  • JV ‘revolutionises’ m-commerce

    JV ‘revolutionises’ m-commerce

    Chinese mobile commerce company 99 Wuxian is bringing NFC technology to China.

    99 Wuxian and Australian Near Field Communication (NFC) technology startup Tapit Media have joined to “revolutionise” Chinese m-commerce and offline media by integrating NFC enabled interactive offline marketing campaigns with 99 Wuxian’s platform.

    The JV will utilise Tapit’s contactless communication technology which uses a range of contactless standards including NFC and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to deliver content to smartphones from offline physical media assets.

    Users with NFC-enabled smartphones have the ability to tap NFC-enabled objects to access content and information such as videos, mobile optimised pages and instant app downloads.

    It allows 99 Wuxian to provide a new and unique offering to its business partners in China by allowing smartphone users to interact with NFC-enabled offline media and 99 Wuxian m-commerce platform to complete transactions.

    The consumer engagement opportunity is significant and is expected to include using NFC-enabled smartphones to access information, buy movie tickets, receive food and beverage coupons or buy transport tickets.

    “It’s a very exciting development for 99 Wuxian and our business partners and merchants that we are bringing market leading Australian technology to China and drive direct B2C growth,” said 99 Wuxian CEO and executive director Amalisia Zhang.

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  • Shop with Batman in Macau

    Shop with Batman in Macau

    Casino and resort developer Melco Crown Entertainment has unveiled a US$3.2 billion cinema-themed casino, resort and retail destination in Macau.

    Studio City will “transport the visitor into a stunning cinematic world with awe-inspiring entertainment offerings, delivered by the world’s leading entertainment partners, positioning this new destination resort as Asia’s entertainment capital”, the company said in a statement.

    US-based shopping mall developer Taubman will manage a 300,000 sqft themed retail experience named The Boulevard at Studio City featuring a range of international retail brands.

    “Showcased in a movie-studio environment, seamlessly transporting guests from an upscale arcade to high energy lifelike streetscapes, shoppers will be entertained at every turn,”Melco promises.

    The mall will focus on the “hottest fashion brands”, luxury fashion, timepieces and “chic accessories”.

    “Studio City, along with its sister property, the City of Dreams Macau, represents the next phase in Melco Crown Entertainment’s ongoing strategic mission to aggregate, develop and deliver world-leading, highly innovative entertainment brands catering to the rapidly growing leisure and entertainment demands of enthusiastic leisure destination travelers, both regionally and internationally, seeking unique and ever more exciting travel experiences.”

    The exterior of the new integrated resort complex will feature a Gotham City theme, with a 1600-room twin-tower hotel rising above an Art Deco-inspired casino and retail complex.

    “Studio City will represent Asia’s ‘next generation’ of immersive, world-leading, entertainment-driven gaming and leisure destination experiences, as we work to support Macau’s tourism development and diversification,” said Lawrence Ho, co-chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment.

    “It will take the entertainment-inspired leisure destination concept to new levels, in a cinematic setting developed in partnership with the world’s leading entertainment brands.”

    Melco has partnered with Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment to bring a portfolio of iconic DC Comics’ Super Heroes and Warner Bros’ classic characters to life in the complex.

    This will include Batman Dark Flight, a virtual-reality ride that will allow fans of the Caped Crusader to soar over Gotham City, and the Warner Bros Family Entertainment Center, where families and children can play among many of their favorite characters.

    A space station-themed Cosmos food court dining experience will feature holographic projection technology re-creating space travel with a gigantic viewing window looking out in to deep space.   

    Visitors can “dine like the stars”, with a diverse array of gourmet experiences across a range of exciting restaurants and bars to suit every taste. Studio City will offer a lineup of more than 30 dining outlets including Asian and international fine-dining, together with cafe, lounge and casual eatery options.

    The complex will also be home to a new Pacha Nightclub, one of the world’s biggest names in nightclubs with venues in Ibiza, New York, Dubai, Buenos Aires and Sydney, among other cities.

  • Alibaba, Tencent spend billions in race to be China’s one-stop online shop

    Alibaba, Tencent spend billions in race to be China’s one-stop online shop

    Alibaba and Tencent spent more than USD8 billion last year alone backing often strikingly similar ventures, as the Chinese Internet giants race to create online one-stop-shops to win the digital loyalty of a tenth of the world’s population.

    Before China became the biggest smartphone market, there was little overlap between the businesses of e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, social networking firm Tencent Holdings Ltd and search engine provider Baidu Inc.

    Now, as more and more Chinese use their phones for everything from shopping to booking restaurants, the three companies are increasingly stepping over each other – and investing in the same services – to attract the same users.

  • Tommy Hilfiger launches innovative digital showroom

    Tommy Hilfiger launches innovative digital showroom

    Tommy Hilfiger on Wednesday launched an innovative digital sales showroom at its global headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The interactive system blends collection information, sales tools and brand content in one seamless touchscreen interface.

    “Our digital showroom revolutionizes the buying and selling journey for our retail customers and internal sales teams,” said Daniel Grieder, CEO, Tommy Hilfiger. “We are passionate about providing our clients with the best service, experience and quality.

    Our new digital showroom concept completely reimagines the traditional buying approach and establishes a new fashion industry benchmark for business to business sales. The concept also supports our ongoing focus on efficiency and will significantly streamline and enhance the Tommy Hilfiger sales experience.”

    The centrepiece of the digital showroom is an interactive half-meter by one-meter touchscreen table set in a sleek walnut frame, which connects to a four-meter-high wall-to-wall grid of ultra-high-definition 4K screens. Customers can digitally view every item in the Tommy Hilfiger sportswear and Hilfiger Denim seasonal collections and create custom orders with all product categories laid out across a single screen. They can view head-to-toe key looks, zoom in with incredible detail to see unique design features, and click on a garment for specific information such as colour offerings and size ranges.

    The product selection and ordering experience builds on a traditional sales approach, reimagined through the digitalised system that streamlines and simplifies the process. The interactive interface allows for in-depth discussions on styling, merchandising and deliveries that are tailored to each client. Furthermore, by complementing traditional sales tools with an array of brand information, the digital showroom effectively immerses the customer in the complete Tommy Hilfiger brand experience.

    The digital showroom concept also supports Tommy Hilfiger’s ongoing sustainability mission, as it reduces sample production, eliminates the need for printed order forms, and diminishes the ecological impacts of shipping. In turn, the environmental impacts of sample creation are significantly reduced, from the supply chain and manufacturing to packaging and international shipping.

    The fashion retailer is establishing a global roll-out plan to expand the concept into markets worldwide.

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  • Domestic online giants to overtake MNC rivals as China’s favourite retailers

    Domestic online giants to overtake MNC rivals as China’s favourite retailers

    New consumer research shows that domestic online retailers are becoming as popular as multi-national brands amongst shoppers in China. eCommerce brands such as TMall (Alibaba Group) and JD.com (invested by Tencent) are now increasingly trusted businesses, offering far more than just cheap prices and convenience. At their current rate, one of them will likely take the top spot in the next two years, according to OC&C Strategy Consultants Greater China.

    Although sportswear brands, Adidas and Nike, once again topped the latest rankings in Second Mover Advantage – The OC&C Retail Proposition Index China 2014 (The Index), Tmall now appears in the top three for the first time. In total, four of the top ten places are now occupied by Chinese online-only retailers – TMall, JD.com, YHD.com and Taobao. The rankings are based on the views of over 2,000 consumers across China who rated retailers against criteria including, trust, value for money and product suitability.

    The growth in popularity of eCommerce retailers means that the Chinese retail landscape is starting to become more like other global markets where generalist, online-only players such as Amazon, tend to be dominant.

    “As retail execution and consumer expectations increasingly mirror what we see in Western markets, it may only be a matter of time before a pure online-only player becomes the most popular retail brand in China,” said Jack Chuang, Associate Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants Greater China. “Chinese consumers are becoming more confident and independent in their shopping habits and exercising greater choice between retail brands, particularly online.”

    “This means that foreign retailers are losing their inherent advantage over their Chinese counterparts as the high-profile, trusted brands of choice with shoppers. The era of relying on their brand strength and its implied trust is coming to an end. Retailers will need to respond by tailoring their products specifically to the local target market.” he added.

    The growth of eCommerce in China will continue over the next few years. The evidence from The Index highlights that the key challenge for traditional bricks and mortar retailers will be developing an attractive multi-channel offering (online as well as offline) to consumers. Some retailers in western markets are starting to fight back against the competition from online-only retailers and, in the long-term, this will likely also be a feature of the Chinese market.

  • JD.com eyes rural areas to tap huge potential

    JD.com eyes rural areas to tap huge potential

    China’s online retailer JD.com said it plans to open more than 500 county-level service centres this year to boost deliveries to lower-tier cities and inland regions as it bids to boost its market presence.

    The centres will hire local staff and delivery men to expand the firm’s delivery network into regions with few third-party courier companies. The firm will also open up to 1,000 service stores targeting home appliance buyers and help vendors provide one-stop service of installation and repairing of household appliances sold to rural consumers.

    It is hoped that the county-level centres and the planned hiring of promotion staff will help rural consumers become better acquainted with JD.com as well as online purchasing and after-sales service by the end of June.

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  • Stranded online parcels claim ‘partly untrue’

    Stranded online parcels claim ‘partly untrue’

    China Post has said reports that thousands of parcels from overseas have been languishing at a Shanghai port for months because it owes millions of yuan in port fees are “partly untrue.” This follows online claims that 200 containers mostly containing haitao — goods bought online from overseas — brought by ship to the city are piled up at a Shanghai port. Items transported by air are unaffected. They are mainly said to be items bought from Japan between October and November — including diapers and other infant products ordered by parents. It has been claimed online that the delay is because the China Post Express Mail Service owes some 5 million yuan (US$817,730) to Shanghai International Port Group and has refused to pay.