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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.

  • Central Group halts its acquisition spree in Vietnam, gets bridge loan for Big C deal

    Central Group halts its acquisition spree in Vietnam, gets bridge loan for Big C deal

    Thai retailer Central Group said it will put a hold on its acquisition spree in Vietnam, after the recent aggressive expansion in the country, to focus on making profit over the next three years, according to different media reports.

    The recent forays in Vietnam include the establishment of three Robins Department Stores, the acquisition of a 49 per cent stake at Vietnam’s largest electronics retailer Nguyen Kim, the takeover of fashion e-commerce site Zalora Vietnam from German group Rocket Internet, and a $1.1 billion buyout of Big C Vietnam.

    Vietnam was now shaping up as a second home for Central, Prin Chirathivat, deputy group CEO, reportedly said.

    He realised it was time to reap profit from the businesses in the neighbouring country, adding that the depreciation of fixed assets was enough to put pressure on profitability, despite the positive cash flow, according to a report on The Nation.

    However, according to the executive, Central Group will not want to miss any interesting inorganic growth opportunities in Vietnam even as it has decided to slow down the buying pace.

    Its biggest equity investment in Vietnam was the $1.1 billion deal to own over 30 Big C Vietnam supermarkets, which was reported to be accommodated by the sale of Big C Thailand unit to rival TCC Holding and its subsidiary Berli Jucker. But the 50 billion baht realisation from offloading the remaining 25 per cent in Big C Thailand will be used for other purposes, while Central Group secured a bridge loan from Bangkok Bank to finance the Vietnam deal, according to the Bangkok Post.

    Meanwhile, it will use Zalora to strengthen the channels of its local partner Nguyen Kim and Central Marketing Group’s unit in Robins, the media reports said.

    Despite the halt in further acquisitions, the Thai group still considers Vietnam as a very important market, buoyed by a growing economy and high purchasing power.

    “In Indonesia, we don’t have an opportunity to acquire retail businesses because there are no sellers unlike in Vietnam. Our expansion in Indonesia is slower than in Vietnam,” The Nation cited Prin as he compared Vietnam with Southeast Asia’s largest market.

    However, he also revealed the group’s plan to have five more department stores in Jakarta and Surabaya by 2017, as the retailer is currently operating only one store in the capital city.

    In Thailand, Central Group no longer has ownership in Big C Supercentre but has also acquired Zalora business in the country.

     

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  • Anti-hangover ice cream hits stores in South Korea

    Anti-hangover ice cream hits stores in South Korea

    South Korean retail chain Withme FS has started selling ice cream, which it claims can cure your worst hangover.

    The new product is called Gyeondyo, which can be translated as “Tough it out” or “Hang on”. Company officials explained that the message is addressed to Korean office workers who often have to endure a long day at work after a night of heavy drinking.

    In South Korea, it is hard for an employee to excuse himself from drinking in the evening with colleagues, especially superiors. Regular staff parties are a part of the country’s business culture. Workers often feel pressured to drink even if they don’t like alcohol so as not to be frowned upon. The ice cream is supposed to help such workers cope with the consequences of their attempts to fit in.

    A clerk arranges ice cream bars named Gyeondyo-bar, which translates to "hang in there" at a convenience store in Seoul, South Korea, May 20, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

    The grapefruit ice-cream contains oriental raisin tree fruit juice — a popular anti-hangover treatment in South Korea, Reuters reported.

    South Korea tops the Asia-Pacific rating of countries regarding the consumption of alcohol. According to a 2014 World Health Organization report, individual South Koreans drink 12.3 liters of alcohol per year. The total annual sales of anti-hangover medicine in the country is nearly $126 million.

    Alcohol creates a huge industry of other products in South Korea, including special beauty care products for women, aimed at softening skin that gets dry because of drinking.

    On another note, ice cream seems to be getting a lot of attention all over East Asia. In April, a Japanese firm, Akagi Nyugyo Co. Ltd, released a video in which staff apologized for raising prices of the company’s ice cream for the first time since 1991.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_2a_N4WVqg

    The video went viral, collecting millions of views. Akagi Nyugyo produced ice cream has unusual tastes, such as potato, spaghetti or soup.

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  • Myanmar signs up for Crystal Jade restaurants

    Myanmar signs up for Crystal Jade restaurants

    Crystal Jade restaurants are headed to Myanmar after a franchise agreement signed between Singapore Myanmar Investco (SMI) and Crystal Jade Management Vietnam.

    Crystal Jade Group has more than 100 outlets in 20 cities in the Asia Pacific region and the US.

    Under the terms of the agreement, SMI will have the exclusive right to develop, manage and run the Crystal Jade Kitchen, Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant and Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao restaurants in Myanmar for 10 years, with the option to extend for a further 10 years.

    The first Crystal Jade Kitchen outlet is expected to open in the third quarter of this year at the new Yangon International Airport Terminal 2, while a Crystal Jade Palace restaurant is expected to launch at the Sedona Hotel Yangon later in the year.

    Further ahead, the group expects to open another two Crystal Jade Kitchen restaurants in 2017 and in 2018.

    SMI manages the duty-free retail space in the new Yangon terminal.

  • KFC tests its robot orders

    KFC tests its robot orders

    Customers at a new digital KFC concept store in Shanghai give their orders to a voice-activated robot.

    Dumi the robot is sophisticated enough to handle changes and substitutions in orders.

    Dumi is the result of 10 years of research and development into artificial intelligence by Chinese web services company Baidu, which says the robot will appear soon in other real-world environments.

    Inside Shanghai’s National Exhibition and Convention Center, the KFC store has been designed to be completely digitalised. Called “Original+”, as a reference to the brand’s traditional recipe, it features wireless charging stations where customers can simultaneously stream music. They can also pay for their meals via mobile payment services including Alipay and Baidu Wallet.

    Introduced at last year’s Baidu World Congress 2015, Dumi integrates the company’s AI technologies such as voice recognition and intelligent search. The robot will use KFC’s customer behaviour data to gain a better understanding of users’ needs and improve business efficiency.

    As well as ordering and paying through Dumi, the customers can see how KFC dishes are made through the robot’s holographic imaging technology.

    Baidu VP Wang Haifeng says the robot may become a big part of the company’s application of more AI technology into fields that range from internet financing to driverless cars.

    There is only one problem with Dumi, admits Baidu: it has trouble distinguishing between certain dialects and accents. But then again, so might a human employee.

    Jason Yu, GM of the consumer research firm Kantar Worldpanel China, describes the Shanghai concept store as “a very interesting experiment”.

    “It is expected to generate increased customer experience, and raise efficiency for restaurants. And in turn it is expected to attract more young and middle class customers.”

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  • Paris designs for Starbucks Taiwan

    Paris designs for Starbucks Taiwan

    Starbucks Taiwan is to feature merchandise co-created with Paris fashion designer Sophie Mechaly, the founder of the international brand Paul & Joe.

    “We wanted to give our coffee-related merchandise a unique style and attitude for summer,” says Starbucks Taiwan president John Hsu.

    Starbuck - Paul & joe 4

     

    Starbuck - Paul & joe 3

    Mechaly founded Paul & Joe in 1995, and the label now has several dozen boutiques and hundreds of retail stores around the world. Méchaly designs clothing, shoes and accessories for both men and women.

    Starbuck - Paul & Joe

    Starbuck - Paul & joeSeveral of the Starbucks merchandise designs feature a Chinchilla Persian cat owned by Mechaly. Crabs and fish also feature in the artwork to represent the beaches in the Mediterranean, near her childhood home.

    Starbuck - Paul & joe 1

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  • Fast Food Aid Tokyo seeking for long term house

    Fast Food Aid Tokyo seeking for long term house

    After a short-term trial, a pioneering pill-store pop-up called Fast Food Aid is seeking a longer-term home in Harajuku, Japan.

    Billed as the “world’s first supplement shop for fast foods”, it offered free tablets to replace nutrients missing from convenience foods like hamburgers, pizza and ramen.

    Fast Food Aid Pop-up Japan 1

    All customers needed to do was trade in the receipt from their latest fast-food purchase. The pills come along with professional advice about the health issues associated with such foods.

    Fast Food Aid Pop-up Japan 8

    With the aim of educating people and discouraging them from choosing non-nutritional meals, the shop was designed by creative director Ikkyu and Junya Sato of design studio Kaibutsu on behalf of Dohtonbori, a restaurant that sells organic, healthy fast food, reports Dezeen.

    Fast Food Aid Pop-up Japan 6

    “This shop doesn’t look like other pharmacies, but the truth is it’s an educational supplement shop,” says Ikkyu. “We opened this shop in Harajuku, where there are a lot of young people who have bad eating habits.

    Fast Food Aid Pop-up Japan 4

    Fast Food Aid Pop-up Japan 3

    “Once they get in, they are surprised with the the supplements they have to intake and understand how bad their eating habit is.”

    The shop’s window featured pill pots lined in rows beneath an illuminated sign reading “For FREE”. Inside, long shelves with more containers are mounted against wire fencing along the side walls.

    Fast Food Aid Pop-up Japan

    The designers aimed to make the space feel as clinical, combining a street fell with a “mad laboratory” atmosphere.

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  • Elections help boost Jollibee sales

    Elections help boost Jollibee sales

    Jollibee sales grew 14.8 per cent year-on-year to P34.4 billion (US$737.7 million) in the first quarter of 2016, with help from election-related spending and low inflation.

    The systemwide sales come from company-owned and franchised stores of Jollibee Foods Corp – the largest foodservice network in the Philippines.

    Jollibee Vietnam sales almost doubled, leading Southeast Asia and the Middle East 32.2 per cent growth in the same period.

    Jollibee China grew at a slower rate of 1.9 per cent as Yonghe King, JFC’s biggest brand in China faced pressure from recovering competing brands.

    JFC attributes the strong same store sales growth to election-related consumer spending and low inflation rate in the country that averaged 1 per cent in the first quarter, which made consumer products more affordable with rising household income.

    JFC says its sales were also boosted by continuous product improvement, new products, marketing campaigns and improved restaurant design.

    Meanwhile, the foreign business reported a 10.5 per cent growth in systemwide sales for the quarter versus the same period a year ago. The US business grew by 17.4 per cent year-on-year.

    As of March 31 2016, JFC was operating 2493 outlets in the country and 650 store abroad.

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  • Mr Pizza follows K-pop into Thailand

    Mr Pizza follows K-pop into Thailand

    South Korean pizza brand Mr Pizza has opened its first store in Thailand, with plans to add four more outlets this year.

    Its debut store is in the commercial and entertainment district of Ratchada Rd in Bangkok, in the first basement floor of the seven-storey The Street mall.

    Mr Pizza owner MPK Group says this is the first foray out of Korea for the franchise, and a second store will open in The Promenade mall in Kannayao, Bangkok, in July.

    “Thailand is one of the biggest markets in Southeast Asia, and food and beverage accounts for 40 per cent of the country’s $7 billion franchise industry,” says Son Dong-hee from MPK. “With the popularity of Korean pop culture, I am sure we will be successful in Thailand.”

    To prepare for the Thailand franchise business, the Korean food company established a joint venture with Thailand food retailer Foodland Supermarket last year. Foodland Supermarket runs 18 retail stores and about 50 restaurants, including dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan and fusion-food restaurant Long Table.

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  • Johnnie Walker House Singapore a first for SE Asia

    Johnnie Walker House Singapore a first for SE Asia

    Johnnie Walker House Singapore joins the international network of by-invitation-only whisky lounges, the first in Southeast Asia.

    It will offer connoisseurs the Diageo-owned brand’s range of rare and collectable Scotch whiskies.

    Johnnie Walker Houses are stand-alone and airport boutiques dedicated to presenting the brand’s whiskies in a curated lifestyle setting. These include rare blended and single-malt Scotch whiskies from Diageo’s 28 operating and 11 closed malt distilleries.

    Experts can provide guests with advice on whisky cellar curation, and offer direct access to blending rooms, distilleries and craftsmen.

    The expansion complements a venture with Moet Hennessy Diageo (MHD) Singapore and Johnnie Walker’s distributor partner Singbev. MHD will continue to sell and distribute only Johnnie Walker core and standard portfolio products to trade channels, while SingBev will continue to sell and distribute only the single-malt portfolio.

    “With whisky appreciation in Asia significant and growing, there is great opportunity for Diageo,” says Apurvi Sheth, the company’s MD for emerging Southeast Asia and joint ventures.

    “In Asia, there is rapid growth of interest in rare whisky, not only as a collectible asset, but also for investing and gifting. As consumers become more discerning, they are also actively seeking out access and rare experiences.”

    There are six Johnnie Walker Houses in Scotland, with others in such cities as Auckland, Beijing, Chengdu, Melbourne, Seoul and Shanghai, as well as retail units in Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei, and Mumbai International Airport.

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  • Food drives Korean department stores

    Food drives Korean department stores

    Cooking is big in Korea. There are currently more than a dozen cooking shows on Korean television, featuring variety of cuisines, restaurants, and famous chefs, and Korean department stores are benefiting from this food-frenzy phenomenon.

    Major department stores like Shinsegae are hosting well-known restaurant franchises at their outlets, attracting consumers who seek ‘good food’ to their doorsteps.

    Shinsegae’s Yeongdeungpo branch opened a variety of new restaurants from April 25 to May 5, and saw its number of customers increase by 20,000 compared to the same period last year. Samsong Bakery from Daegu, Hop Chou Cream from Osaka and Itaewon’s Bistecca were among the newly opened establishments.

    Shinsegae saw a total increase in sales of food products of 6 per cent, while the Yeongdeungpo branch showed an increase of 26 per cent. With more customer visits, the department store’s total sales also increased by 12.1 per cent, an impressive figure compared to Shinsegae’s total increase of 7 per cent.

    Customers in their 20s and 30s made up the majority of visitors contributing to the store’s growth.

    “The new restaurants helped attract more customers to our store. We’ll be hosting more restaurants and dessert cafes this coming June,” said Nak-hyeon Kim, chief manager of Shinsegae Yeongdeungpo.

  • Vingroup more than triples revenue to $98m

    Vingroup more than triples revenue to $98m

    Retail has proved the shining segment for Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, with revenue jumping 363 per cent year-on-year to VND2.19 trillion (US$98.3 million) for the first quarter.

    Vingroup has been investing in retail properties for more than a decade, and since announcing two years ago that it aims to become Vietnam’s largest retailer has opened 50 supermarkets under the VinMart brand and 750 convenience stores under VinMart+ brand.

    Its other retail businesses include Vincom shopping centres, VinFashion stores, VinPro electronics shops and Adayroi eCommerce platform.

    With interests also in education, health, entertainment and real estate, the group reports an after-tax profit of VND1.04 trillion – three times higher than the same period last year. Its revenues more than doubled to hit VND15.16 trillion.

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  • New stores boost Max’s Group Philippines

    New stores boost Max’s Group Philippines

    Max’s Group Philippines has opened nine stores mainly across star brands Max’s Restaurant, Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza and Krispy Kreme in the first quarter of 2016.

    These expansions include three international outlets – Max’s Restaurant in Qatar, Yellow Cab Pizza in UAE and a Sizzlin’ Steak concept store in California.

    Max’s Group Inc reported a net income of P162.3 million for the first quarter 2016, up 8 per cent compared to P150.6 million for first quarter 2015.

    “The numbers are in line with our estimates. We are now starting to realize the revenue impact of new stores that came onboard in the latter part of 2015. By recalibrating our design and build plan, we expect a leveled and systematic rollout of stores for the entire year,” said Robert Trota, president and CEO of Max’s Group Inc.

    Topline growth was at 12 per cent to P2.7 billion from P2.4 billion. Restaurant sales increased 13 per cent to P2.3 billion from P2.1 billion driven by steady same store sales growth and new store openings for the period.

  • Vietnam coffee-sales steady; buyers await Indonesia arrivals

    Vietnam coffee-sales steady; buyers await Indonesia arrivals

    Vietnam’s coffee sales may pick up if prices maintain their recent uptrend, but buyers are likely to await the upcoming harvest in Indonesia for better deals on fresh arrivals, traders said on Tuesday.
    Coffee exports this month from the world’s biggest robusta producer are forecast to be in a wide range of 120,000 to 160,000 tonnes (2.0 million and 2.67 million 60-kg bags), versus an estimated 160,000 tonnes in April, traders said.
    The ICE July robusta contract has risen nearly 4 percent so far this month to $1,649 a tonne, and Vietnamese robusta prices also gained 2.4 percent in domestic markets during the same period.
    Robusta prices on Tuesday rose to 35,400-35,500 dong ($1.59) per kg in Daklak, Vietnam’s biggest growing province, from 34,800-34,900 dong a week ago, and 34,600 dong at the end of April.
    Prices eased slightly from 35,600-35,900 dong per kg on Monday, of which 35,900 dong was the highest level since Nov. 12, 2015, according to Reuters data.
    “The trend is that prices are rising and if it stays that way, more selling is expected this month,” said Phan Hung Anh, deputy director of export firm Anh Minh in Daklak.
    Traders said buying demand has been steadily declining, given that Vietnam has supplied a significant volume of coffee to the world so far in the current 2015/2016 season.
    The country exported an estimated 976,200 tonnes between October 2015 and last month, up 27.4 percent from a year ago, based on government statistics.
    “Buyers are waiting to see Indonesia’s crop arrivals, and prices of the fresh beans (there) may become more attractive,” Anh said.
    As futures prices edge up, premiums of Vietnamese robusta grade 2, 5 percent black and broken eased to $30-$40 a tonne to the July contract this week, from premiums of $50-$55 a week ago.
    The coffee crop harvest in Vietnam’s rival – Indonesia – is expected to pick up pace in June, about a month later than usual, due to El Nino-related dry weather.
    Indonesia’s 2016/2017 coffee output is forecast to drop around 9 percent as compared with last year to 9.65 million bags, while Vietnam’s output could edge up 3 percent to 29.14 million bags, BMI Research, a Fitch Group company, said in a report in late April.
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  • Starbucks stores in Taiwan and Hong Kong use a mix of historic and new design elements to …

    Starbucks stores in Taiwan and Hong Kong use a mix of historic and new design elements to …

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  • BreadTalk Myanmar franchise deal sealed

    BreadTalk Myanmar franchise deal sealed

    Singapore bakery giant BreadTalk is moving into Myanmar, signing a master franchise agreement with Myanmar Bakery.

    The first BreadTalk Myanmar outlet is expected to open in Yangon early next year in a shopping centre owned by the Shwe Taung Group. Myanmar Bakery is part of the conglomerate, which has an extensive real estate interests. BreadTalk is the group’s first F&B venture.

    “With a growing middle class and rising retail consumption, there are immense growth opportunities in Myanmar,” says BreadTalk bakery division CEO Tan Aik Peng. “The Singapore team is working closely with the Shwe Taung Group to understand the market.”

    He says the company is confident it will introduce a “new lifestyle of bread appreciation” to Myanmar.

    BreadTalk has nearly 800 outlets across Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

    The Shwe Taung group of companies is involved in real estate, construction and engineering, infrastructure, hotels, entertainment, trading and investment. It also runs the Junction Centre group of shopping centres, which includes malls in Yangon and Naypyitaw.

    The group is also behind the upcoming Junction City, an integrated development in downtown Yangon to comprise a lifestyle shopping mall, an office tower and a five-star hotel, scheduled to open early next year.

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