Retail News CRM

Category: Food

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

  • Juice chain Hui Lau Shan served with winding-up order

    Juice chain Hui Lau Shan served with winding-up order

    Juice chain Hui Lau Shan has been served with a winding-up order in Hong Kong’s High Court over unpaid rents for one of its mall locations, dating back to October.

    Hong Kong-headquartered Hui Lau Shan, known for its mango platter and glutinous rice balls in mango juice, has 260 stores around Asia, including in the Philippines, Malaysia and Mainland China.

    According to the South China Morning Post, the winding-up petition was filed by Kuen Kee Trading Company and relates to a store in Kowloon which has been vacated.

    A separate legal action was filed the same day over HK$195,000 (US$25,000) in rent arrears for a store in Lam Tin.

    Since 2012, Hui Lau Shan has been pursuing a regional growth program, but the advent of social unrest in Hong Kong mid last year significantly impacted on sales.

    Founded by Hui family, Hui Lau Shan opened its first outlet in Yuen Long in the 1960s. In 2007, Hui Lau Shan was acquired by private equity firm Navis Capital Partners.

    According to the South China Morning Post, Hui Lau Shan has received at least six legal actions since last November alleging unpaid rent at multiple stores.

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  • Starbucks opening signing store in Tokyo

    Starbucks opening signing store in Tokyo

    Starbucks Japan is to open its first signing store in early Summer 2020 in Kunitachi City, Tokyo.

    Launched for the convenience of the deaf and hard of hearing, the new Starbucks outlet will provide service to customers in Japanese Sign Language. Signing stores have previously opened in Malaysia, Washington DC, and China. The store will be the first of its kind in Japan and the fifth globally.

    Deaf and hard-of-hearing staff will work alongside hearing partners to provide service to customers. The store is located close to a school for the deaf.

    A statement from the firm read “Starbucks aspires to become a people positive company where we uplift each other, our customers, and the communities we serve. Since 2018, Starbucks Japan has taken a ‘no filter’ approach to diversity and inclusion to create a place of belonging where partners can bring their best selves to work, without prejudice, assumption or bias toward race, age, gender, position, employment status, disability, personal values, or any other basis.”

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  • Chinese fast-food companies will recover soon from virus crisis

    Chinese fast-food companies will recover soon from virus crisis

    China’s fast-food sector will recover soon, according to analysts, as life in major mainland cities slowly begins to return to normal, the peak of the coronavirus crisis there now over.

    Anne Ling, an equity analyst at Jeffries, said strong growth in fast-food sales has boosted China’s delivery business during the crisis when many residents stayed at home rather than eat out to reduce the risk of virus transmission.

    “We believe that for fast-food chains like KFC, its business will recover soon. Consumers’ change in behavior is likely to benefit bigger chains like KFC,” said Ling.

    “For casual dining, like Pizza Hut or Haidilao, we believe it will take longer to recover depending on guidance from local governments on consumer safety.”

    Local governments have issued guidelines to restaurant operators, requiring consumers to be spaced out in restaurants.

    Ling says restaurants will need to reassure customers of the safety of eating on their premises. “There is a chance that operators might need to redesign the restaurant layout so there is more space between tables.”

    Major fast-food chains in Mainland China have developed effective contactless-delivery procedures, or consumers have been asking delivery riders to drop food at the front gate of their residential complex, which helps efficiency, she said.

  • Bonchon chicken in Thailand Planning Expansion

    Bonchon chicken in Thailand Planning Expansion

    Thai-headquartered Minor International has bought an effective 70-per-cent stake in the master-franchise rights holder of Bonchon chicken in Thailand.

    The deal sees Minor take controlling interests in Singapore’s Spoonful Pte and Spoonful Thailand, which will drive future expansion of the South Korean fried-chicken chain in Thailand. Minor paid US$79 million for the shares.

    The transaction leaves Mint as the effective operator of Bonchon chicken in Thailand and follows its $66 million purchase of Chicken Time last November, which at the time ran 40 outlets across Thailand. At the time of that deal the company said it was in the process of negotiating with Bonchon’s South Korean owners for the right to expand the network further.

    That pathway has been cleared and Mint says it now owns long-term exclusive territorial rights and the ability to expand and sub-franchise Bonchon chicken in Thailand. It plans to grow the store network to more than 150 restaurants throughout the country by the end of 2024, representing a five-year CAGR of more than 25 percent.

    “This latest investment in the master franchise rights of the Bonchon brand … emphasizes our strategy to enhance our portfolio offerings and further strengthen the restaurant business in Thailand,” said Minor Food CEO Paul Kenny.

    “With almost 10 years of presence in the country, Bonchon brings a highly loyal customer base of Thai millennials and Generation Z, which we will further build on.”

    The expansion strategy will focus on shopping centers and community malls, along with delivery-format stores to capture the fast-growing delivery market. With only two stores outside the nation’s capital of Bangkok currently, key cities in the regions will be targeted as well.

    During the first two months of this year, sales of Bonchon chicken in Thailand have proven resilient amidst the coronavirus crisis, supported by strong delivery sales.

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  • Starbucks sales down in Mainland China

    Starbucks sales down in Mainland China

    Starbucks China has predicted sales will halve in the current quarter due to the coronavirus crisis.

    According to the US parent company’s CEO Kevin Johnson and CFO Patrick Grismer, sales at Starbucks China stores dropped 78 percent year on year because of a sharp decline during the coronavirus outbreak.

    Prior to the outbreak, Starbucks aimed to achieve 3-per-cent sales growth in China at stores open at least 13 months. At the moment, the company predicts a 50 percent drop in sales this quarter and delays store openings in the country.

    “We remain confident in the strength of the Starbucks brand and the long-term profitability and growth potential of our business in China,” the company said in a statement.

    Starbucks China temporarily closed most of its stores in China last month to protect staff and customers from exposure to the virus. Recently, the coffee chain has progressively reopened stores business with limited trading hours. The company aimed to open 95 percent of its stores by the end of the second quarter, said CNN.

    Meanwhile, Ikea China is reopening nine more stores after resuming trade at five stores last week, as it slowly returns to normal business.

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  • Japan Food Town in Isetan Singapore shuttered

    Japan Food Town in Isetan Singapore shuttered

    Isetan’s Japan Food Town restaurants on the Singaporean department store’s fourth floor have been unexpectedly shuttered.

    A Straits Times report said Isetan filed a statement with the Singapore Exchange in late January, saying that notice had been served to the development for non-payment, immediately terminating the tenancy. The food court was a collaboration between the Japan Association of Overseas Promotion for Food & Restaurants and the Cool Japan Fund, backed by the government of Japan.

    Optimistic reports dating from just four years ago spoke of a long term commitment to the success of the project – those sentiments have now given way to an austere notice on Japan Food Town’s website announcing its closure and social-media announcements of promotions that faded out in late February.

    At least one of the tenants has now relaunched in multi-stall restaurant Picnic Food Park down in Wisma Atria, with potentially more to follow.

  • Fruitas to launch grilled chicken, fresh foods concepts

    Fruitas to launch grilled chicken, fresh foods concepts

    Philippine food-and-beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings will soon launch two new concepts in addition to their popular fresh-fruit shakes concept.

    The first is a store concept under Babot’s Farm brand, while the second represents Fruitas Holdings’ new forway into the fast-growing grilled chicken market segment.

    “Babot’s Farm is a collection of fresh products which Fruitas is excited to serve to Filipino consumers. Our mission is to make fresh products easily accessible to Filipinos, thus bringing the farm closer to them,” said FHI president and CEO Lester Yu.

    Babot’s Farm will initially have three verticals of fresh products in its own portfolio,

    including the company’s buko beverage line, a new soy range under Soy & Bean, featuring products from its recent acquisition, The Tofu Store, and fresh dairy.

    Soy & Bean’s soy-based products will initially include fresh soy milk, tofu, taho, and soy-based ice cream.

    Meanwhile, Fruitas’ grilled-chicken business will be offered through its existing kiosk network along with new solus stores to be opened in strategic locations. The firm will leverage off its recently acquired Heat Stroke Grill and Kuxina Ihaw na.

    Yu said the company is excited about its impending entry into the chicken business and confident it can do so in a cost-effective manner and develop a “well-loved product”.

    Fruitas Holdings started in 2002 from a single Fruitas stall. The company ended last year with 1068 stores across the country.

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  • Shopee starts selling fresh foods online in Malaysia

    Shopee starts selling fresh foods online in Malaysia

    Shopee Malaysia has launched a fresh food grocery delivery service, including vegetables, seafood, and poultry.

    Ian Ho, regional MD of Shopee, says Malaysia’s e-commerce market is in a hyper-growth stage. “For us, that means it is not time to slow down. We are identifying more areas to tap into, such as the fresh segment, to create a more dynamic online shopping and selling environment. We aim to empower and drive inclusive economic growth by working directly with fishermen and farmers in rural Malaysia for this project,” he said.

    Fresh foods will initially be available in the Klang Valley area of Greater Kuala Lumpur in a pilot program before Shopee Malaysia rolls the service out nationwide.

    The e-commerce company is partnering with local brands including Fresh Tap and Fish Club, the latter of which will sell fish from Pontian fishing village, vacuum-packed and blast frozen immediately after scaling and filleting to maintain freshness.

    Orders from Fresh Tap and Fish Club bought via Shopee Malaysia will be delivered within one to three days.

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  • Taiwan’s Chun Fun How opens new outlet in Singapore

    Taiwan’s Chun Fun How opens new outlet in Singapore

    Taiwanese bubble-tea chain Chun Fun How is preparing to launch a flagship store at the Esplanade in Singapore this month.

    The floral-themed store will offer takeaway drinks only in its new outlet – mostly premium fruit tea blends in attractively designed “Instagrammable” cups – with a heavy emphasis on sanitization as the coronavirus outbreak continues. The brand is expected to be offering new drinks and menu items exclusive to the Singapore market.

    The brand is known for its low profile in Taiwan, with the majority of its stores targeting students and local business people rather than tourists.

    Chu Fun How has 14 outlets within Taiwan, a franchise outlet in both Hong Kong and Canada, and plans to expand in Indonesia as well as Singapore.

  • Minor International’s food division turns a corner while hotels deliver huge profit boost

    Minor International’s food division turns a corner while hotels deliver huge profit boost

    Minor International has boosted its full-year profit by 137 percent, largely due to the consolidation of its recent acquisition, the NH Hotel Group.

    Fourth-quarter profit of US$119.3 million, represented a 569-per-cent increase year on year, but this included a gain on sale of three hotels in the Maldives. Excluding non-recurring items, profit grew 23 percent for the full year and 53 percent for the fourth quarter.

    Minor’s food division, which operates more than 2300 outlets in 26 countries trading under banners including The Pizza Company, The Coffee Club, Thai Express, Bonchon, Swensen’s, Sizzler, Dairy Queen and Burger King, recorded a mild reduction in profit for the quarter, from $8.6 million to $8.2 million.

    “Minor Food continued to invest in its digital capabilities to increase competitiveness and to address the soft market going forward,” the company said in a results release. “Thailand hub’s increased engagement with third-party aggregators (as a complement to its own delivery platform), coupled with continuous new product launches, resulted in much-improved same-store-sales.”

    In Australia, new product launches, a digital loyalty program and a partnership with Uber Eats saw same-store sales turn into positive growth.

    “Improving operations during the quarter, together with the consolidation of Bonchon since mid-November, helped offset softer performance in other parts of the operations. As a result, Minor Food’s performance is showing signs of recovery with a lower decline in its net profit in the fourth quarter compared to other quarters in the year,” the company said.

    After the close of the quarter, Minor International announced a plan to privatize Singapore-based BreadTalk Group, which would see it take a 25.1 percent stake in partnership with founder George Quek and his associates.

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  • South Korean cafe ranks continues to grow

    South Korean cafe ranks continues to grow

    The number of South Korean cafes continues to grow at a brisk pace, according to a government recent study.

    The Korea Fair Trade Commission reported there were 15,036 coffee shops in South Korea as of 2018, an increase of 7.9 percent (1105 shops) over the previous year. The rate of increase was the highest among all types of restaurants.

    The data may be a year out of date, but anecdotal feedback from the industry suggests the trend endured into last year

    As of 2018, average annual sales for South Korean cafes amounted to 231 million won (US$190,000), which was 6.5 percent more than in 2017.

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  • Starbucks Japan to open greenhouse store in theme park

    Starbucks Japan to open greenhouse store in theme park

    Starbucks Japan is to open a greenhouse store in western Tokyo this month, set in a theme park celebrating flora and fauna.

    Located inside the Hana Biyori greenhouse operated by Yomiuriland park, the Starbuck greenhouse cafe occupies a 1500sqm area, featuring colorful flower chandeliers and abundant greenery including begonia, fuchsia, petunia, geranium and bellflower.

    As can be seen from the artist’s impressions, large aquarium tanks will also be a central feature of the store.

    With 20 projectors and 18 speakers, the cafe will present an audio-visual experience filled with digital and real flora several times a day.

    Starbucks Hana Biyori will open its doors to the public on March 14.

  • First MOS Burger store opens in Manila

    First MOS Burger store opens in Manila

    The first MOS Burger store in the Philippines opened this week, on the second floor of Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Center.

    MOS Food Services Inc chairman Atsushi Sakurada said the store is just one of many branches planned for Metro Manila this year.

    MOS Burger Philippines was formed last year by MOS Food Services Inc of Japan and Tokyo Coffee Holdings in a joint venture agreement.

    The first MOS Burger store in the Philippines brings the chain’s internationally popular burgers to the local market, including cheeseburgers, Wagyu Burger and Wagyu Rice Burger.

    Founded in 1972, MOS Burger describes itself as fast casual. It is now Japan’s second-largest fast-food chain with 1300 stores domestically and 300 others around the world. In Asia it already has outlets in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and South Korea and it plans to launch in Vietnam later this year.

    Like other fast-food chains targeting rapidly growing Southeast Asian markets, MOS Burger faces a challenge in changing local consumers’ habits of eating cheap street food to trade up to burger meals which are comparatively expensive.

    The chain’s unique selling point is its burger buns, which are made of rice mixed with barley and millet. It positions its meals as healthier than traditional fast-food fare.

    Prior to its Philippines opening, MOS Burger offered the public burgers for two days last month to tease the market and test its operations.

    Alongside burgers, the first MOS Burger store in the Philippines serves fried chicken, coffees, teas and its signature lemonade. Burgers are priced from PHP 189 (US$3.72) to PHP 309 ($6.08) for the upscale Wagu burger, with beverages from PHP 68 ($1.34) to PHP 149 ($2.93).

    MOS stands for Mountain, Ocean and Sun.

  • Jamie’s Italian Restaurants closing in Hong Kong and Taipei

    Jamie’s Italian Restaurants closing in Hong Kong and Taipei

    Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant franchise Jamie’s Italian will close its locations in Hong Kong today, while its restaurant in Taipei was shuttered yesterday.

    After facing significant setbacks to the business following its collapse in the UK last May, the local franchisee Big Cat Group ultimately faced its greatest setback during Hong Kong’s anti-government protests last year – with sales dipping 20–35 percent year on year. The ensuing coronavirus outbreak proved to be the chain’s final stand.

    “I’m deeply saddened that our restaurants in Hong Kong have had to cease trading,” Big Cat’s head William Lyon told the South China Morning Post. “Our absolute priority was to ensure that all affected staff were paid in full. We do not forecast a marked improvement over the next few months and have therefore made the difficult decision to close all three restaurants with immediate effect.

    “Despite the support from our Causeway Bay landlord, our other landlords have not been supportive enough during this period. We’d like to thank our fantastic staff and the thousands of customers we’ve had the pleasure of serving over the past few years.”

    Jamie’s Italian has not exited Asia, however. It operates two restaurants in Singapore and another in Bangkok under different licensees.

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  • Minor International’s food division turns a corner while hotels deliver huge profit boost

    Minor International’s food division turns a corner while hotels deliver huge profit boost

    Minor International has boosted its full-year profit by 137 percent, largely due to the consolidation of its recent acquisition, the NH Hotel Group.

    Fourth-quarter profit of US$119.3 million, represented a 569-per-cent increase year on year, but this included a gain on sale of three hotels in the Maldives. Excluding non-recurring items, profit grew 23 percent for the full year and 53 percent for the fourth quarter.

    Minor’s food division, which operates more than 2300 outlets in 26 countries trading under banners including The Pizza Company, The Coffee Club, Thai Express, Bonchon, Swensen’s, Sizzler, Dairy Queen and Burger King, recorded a mild reduction in profit for the quarter, from $8.6 million to $8.2 million.

    “Minor Food continued to invest in its digital capabilities to increase competitiveness and to address the soft market going forward,” the company said in a results release. “Thailand hub’s increased engagement with third-party aggregators (as a complement to its own delivery platform), coupled with continuous new product launches, resulted in much improved same-store-sales.”

    In Australia, new product launches, a digital loyalty program and a partnership with Uber Eats saw same-store sales turn into positive growth.

    “Improving operations during the quarter, together with the consolidation of Bonchon since mid-November, helped offset softer performance in other parts of the operations. As a result, Minor Food’s performance is showing signs of recovery with a lower decline in its net profit in the fourth quarter compared to other quarters in the year,” the company said.

    After the close of the quarter, Minor International announced a plan to privatize.

    Singapore-based BreadTalk Group, which would see it take a 25.1 percent stake in partnership with founder George Quek and his associates.

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