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Category: General

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

  • IKEA, A.O. Smith and Moen Reshape China Footprints as Direct Retail Retreats

    IKEA, A.O. Smith and Moen Reshape China Footprints as Direct Retail Retreats

    IKEA China, water-heating brand A.O. Smith, and Fortune Brands, the parent company of Moen, have carried out sweeping operational shifts across China in 2026. IKEA announced in January that it would close seven shopping malls to focus on urban small formats, A.O. Smith agreed in late October to transfer an 81 per cent controlling stake in its local business, and Moen confirmed in early November that it will exit regional commercial operations.

    The moves dismantle traditional consumer-facing retail setups across three distinct home improvement sectors. A.O. Smith’s transaction with private equity firm CPE Yuanfeng carries a 400 million US dollar valuation, while Moen’s parent Fortune Brands is winding down local commercial sales desks through 2027.

    Multinational suppliers are moving away from capital-heavy suburban flagships and company-run showrooms to curb direct commercial overhead. Operators are shifting toward neighborhood boutique stores, long-term brand licensing, or converting mainland production sites entirely into export back offices.

    IKEA Shrinks Store Formats and Accelerates Digital Pilots

    IKEA dismantled part of its traditional suburban destination model in January 2026, closing large retail properties including sites in Baoshan, Shanghai and Panyu, Guangzhou. The Swedish furniture group is replacing them with urban small-format stores ranging between 1,500 and 4,000 square meters.

    The company opened four small-format outlets during the 2026 fiscal year in Dongguan, Changying, Changping, and Tongzhou in Beijing. These downsized urban formats generated roughly 7 million visits, while IKEA’s digital sales reached 29.7 per cent of total China revenue in fiscal 2026.

    Online expansion has supported the network reduction. IKEA established flagship digital channels on Tmall in 2020, opened an official storefront on JD.com in August 2025, and tested an instant retail delivery network through JD.com across nine cities in January 2026. Subsequent rollouts included a Taobao flash shopping trial in July 2026 and a live-commerce storefront on Douyin in October 2026, paired with its proprietary website and WeChat mini-programs.

    Fortune Brands Cuts Asian Sales to Feed North American Supply

    Fortune Brands confirmed an internal directive in early November 2026 to shutter local commercial selling operations for its Moen plumbing and fittings brand across Asia. The group will terminate most of its Asian regional sales and marketing jobs by the end of the second quarter of 2027.

    Remaining commercial cuts will finish by the end of 2027. The brand owner will not close its regional industrial base, choosing instead to retain its manufacturing and logistics facility in Changshu, its research and development centre in Guangzhou, and its regional procurement divisions.

    Those operational assets will shift exclusively to supplying products for Moen’s core North American market. Fortune Brands reported group sales of 1.1137 billion US dollars during the third quarter of 2026, down 3.1 per cent year-on-year, or 2.4 per cent lower when stripping out the Chinese market, prompting headquarters to eliminate low-margin Asian retail overhead.

    A.O. Smith Converts Direct Sales to Private Equity Licensing

    Water-heating and appliance manufacturer A.O. Smith took a separate path to strip out operating risk, agreeing on October 27 to sell 81 per cent of its China business to private equity firm CPE Yuanfeng for 400 million US dollars. Including the net present value of long-term brand licensing, the total valuation tops 500 million US dollars.

    Headquarters retreated after successive sales contractions. Revenue from A.O. Smith’s China operations slid 12.9 per cent year-on-year in 2025 to 690 million US dollars, dropping its contribution to total group turnover down to 18 per cent. Local-currency sales in the Chinese market fell a further 17 per cent in the third quarter of 2026.

    The Shift to Refurbishment and Maintenance Operations

    The simultaneous retreats expose how the end of China’s residential construction boom broke the economics of traditional home retail. Suburban big-box stores and company-owned showroom networks relied on new homeowners buying complete packages of plumbing, water heaters and flat-pack furniture. Today, residential property demand centers on partial renovations, product replacements and aging apartment upgrades.

    Operating single large suburban warehouses carrying high floor-space lease costs makes little financial sense when consumer visits skew toward replacement parts and minor cosmetic changes. Running direct dealership tiers also leaves multinational headquarters exposed to regional receivables and inventory burdens that local buyout funds can manage more aggressively.

    Earlier earnings from global home appliance and fixture suppliers showed steady margin compression in mainland retail channels as domestic competitors captured entry-level and mid-tier renovation budgets. That margin erosion pushed boards to choose between funding complex store overhauls or transferring direct retail execution to domestic distributors.

    The next phase of the transition rests on network execution. IKEA plans to open more than 10 additional small-format urban stores across Beijing and Shenzhen over the next two years, while A.O. Smith and CPE Yuanfeng must resolve distributor terms ahead of their planned mid-2027 closing date.

  • Nvidia Cut Singapore from Revenue Reports After $10.2B Quarter

    Nvidia Cut Singapore from Revenue Reports After $10.2B Quarter

    Nvidia removed Singapore from its primary geographic revenue disclosures following scrutiny into Megaspeed, a local client tied to diverted semiconductor shipments to China.

    The change took effect after the company logged 10.2 billion dollars in Singapore revenue for the fiscal quarter ending July 2025, accounting for 22 percent of total company sales.

    Before that adjustment, Nvidia listed five distinct geographic markets in its quarterly filings: the United States, Singapore, Taiwan, China, and an aggregate category for other territories. Singapore sales had expanded 81 percent year-over-year in the July 2025 quarter. By the three months ending October 2025, Singapore disappeared as a standalone line item. Nvidia reclassified its regional breakdown to cover only the United States, Taiwan, China, and Other, switching its metric from customer billing location to the location of customer headquarters.

    Billing Hubs and Cross-Border Shipments

    Corporate filings previously noted that buyers routinely utilized Singapore entities to centralize billing, while physical hardware shipments bypassed the city-state for destinations elsewhere. Megaspeed operated as one of Nvidia’s primary volume purchasers across Southeast Asia. In June 2025, Nvidia placed Megaspeed on an internal block list to halt further direct equipment deliveries.

    Regulatory filings and regional trade data point to deep supply lines across Southeast Asian corridors. Megaspeed and its Malaysian affiliate, Speedmatric, handled at least 7.5 billion dollars in advanced Nvidia processors destined for China, according to trade reports. The redirection of enterprise processors highlights how corporate re-invoicing networks obscure the ultimate end-user in cross-border tech supply chains.

    Leadership Turmoil at the Top

    The accounting revisions now face elevated attention following the sudden departure of Jensen Huang. Huang resigned as chief executive officer on Thursday after disclosure of his personal relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed who was placed under investigation over alleged Chinese intelligence ties.

    Chief financial officer Colette Kress assumed interim chief executive duties immediately following Huang’s exit. Singapore authorities opened an inquiry into Megaspeed and Alice Huang in February 2025. While investigators found insufficient evidence to sustain espionage charges, the Singapore government barred Alice Huang from re-entering the country. United States authorities maintain ongoing investigations into Megaspeed regarding compliance with semiconductor export restrictions.

    “Even if it is not curious, people are going to raise questions given all this information now.”

    Shiva Rajgopal, a professor of accounting and auditing at Columbia Business School, pointed out that while changing reporting criteria remains within standard disclosure rules, the calendar alignment will invite examination from regulatory authorities.

    Scrutiny on Asian Channel Compliance

    For distributors and hardware integrators operating throughout Asia, Nvidia’s reporting shift alters how component flows are monitored. Tech wholesalers frequently establish billing entities in Singapore to take advantage of administrative and tax infrastructure. When vendors switch disclosure metrics from invoice points to customer headquarters, regional exposure vanishes from top-line statements and shifts into broader territorial buckets.

    That opacity presents direct friction for regional enterprise buyers, data centre operators, and logistics partners who rely on clear provenance documentation. Compliance audits run by United States agencies routinely target distribution chains spanning Singapore and Malaysia. Blocked buyer listings force distributors to prove chain of custody down to the physical server rack, raising compliance overhead across independent Asian channels.

    The Trajectory of Channel Controls

    Jensen Huang had consistently asserted that no evidence showed Nvidia processors were illegally funneled into mainland China, while Megaspeed maintained it operated within legal boundaries. Nvidia’s decision to place Megaspeed on its prohibited customer register in June 2025 came right before the quarterly revenue report that eliminated Singapore from the ledger.

    Export compliance inquiries by the United States Department of Commerce and Department of Justice are reviewing customer end-use documentation, distributor certifications, and the internal timeline behind Nvidia’s June 2025 block list.

  • TikTok Launches Standalone Shopping App in Four Southeast Asian Markets

    TikTok Launches Standalone Shopping App in Four Southeast Asian Markets

    TikTok has launched a standalone TikTok Shop application across four Southeast Asian markets this month, separating its retail operations from its primary social media platform in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

    The dedicated software allows the company to compete more directly with established online marketplaces such as Amazon and Temu while encouraging consumers to complete purchases within its proprietary retail ecosystem.

    Available on iOS and Android, the standalone app offers personalised product recommendations, livestream shopping, short-form product videos and exclusive promotions. The platform also incorporates in-app payments, order tracking and customer support, providing a dedicated ecommerce experience. ByteDance rolled out the software without formal fanfare, testing shopper appetite for an unbundled buying channel.

    Splitting Social Feeds From Retail Checkout

    Separating commerce from browsing addresses a mechanical limitation of social retail. In-feed shopping clutters entertainment feeds and irritates casual viewers, while high-intent buyers want catalogue search tools, order histories and swift order reconciliation rather than algorithmic video streams. A dedicated storefront gives merchants persistent shelf space that does not vanish when an algorithm rotates clips out of circulation.

    The engineering shift alters the operating equation for beauty, fashion and fast-moving consumer brands. Merchandisers gain direct promotional pathways and structured storefront displays, but they lose the effortless discovery of an audience that was not explicitly looking to spend money. Driving repeat app downloads demands heavy capital expenditure, forcing TikTok to fund discount incentives and free delivery to build independent utility.

    Rival Pressures Across Regional Marketplaces

    The unbundled app takes direct aim at incumbent marketplace operators Shopee and Lazada, alongside cross-border discount merchants Shein and Temu. While Amazon retains a narrower footprint in the region, established Asian platforms command entrenched logistics pipelines and deep consumer loyalty. These legacy platforms will not surrender search-driven shopping volume without discounting their own commissions.

    Regional merchants now face fragmented channel management. Maintaining inventory, campaign pricing and creator affiliate links across both the main TikTok social platform and an auxiliary shopping app increases operational complexity for suppliers. Investors face elevated customer acquisition costs as ByteDance attempts to build consumer habits around two separate app icons instead of one.

    Earlier Footprint and Regional Expansion

    Southeast Asia provided the operational launchpad for ByteDance’s commercial ambitions long before TikTok Shop expanded into Western territories. The region delivered more than one trillion video views by 2022, creating the engagement base that allowed the company to pilot live commerce and merchant integrations. Subsequent rollouts in the United States and the United Kingdom yielded substantial transaction gains, with TikTok Shop pacing toward $100 billion of gross merchandise value in 2026 led by U.S. Sales.

    Rivals have answered by fortifying their Asian commerce ties, including external partnerships linking video platforms like YouTube with Asian merchant inventories such as AliExpress. Despite those defensive manoeuvres, ByteDance continues to treat Southeast Asia as an experimental sandbox for product architecture before deploying changes worldwide.

    Next Steps for Market Rollout

    ByteDance has not confirmed release timetables for additional territories, leaving an eventual rollout to Western economies including the United States pending. The immediate test sits in download conversion and monthly active user retention across the four Southeast Asian territories through the final quarter of the year.

  • TikTok Launches Standalone Shopping App in Four Southeast Asian Markets

    TikTok Launches Standalone Shopping App in Four Southeast Asian Markets

    TikTok has launched a standalone TikTok Shop application across four Southeast Asian markets this month, separating its retail operations from its primary social media platform in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

    The dedicated software allows the company to compete more directly with established online marketplaces such as Amazon and Temu while encouraging consumers to complete purchases within its proprietary retail ecosystem.

    Available on iOS and Android, the standalone app offers personalised product recommendations, livestream shopping, short-form product videos and exclusive promotions. The platform also incorporates in-app payments, order tracking and customer support, providing a dedicated ecommerce experience. ByteDance rolled out the software without formal fanfare, testing shopper appetite for an unbundled buying channel.

    Splitting Social Feeds From Retail Checkout

    Separating commerce from browsing addresses a mechanical limitation of social retail. In-feed shopping clutters entertainment feeds and irritates casual viewers, while high-intent buyers want catalogue search tools, order histories and swift order reconciliation rather than algorithmic video streams. A dedicated storefront gives merchants persistent shelf space that does not vanish when an algorithm rotates clips out of circulation.

    The engineering shift alters the operating equation for beauty, fashion and fast-moving consumer brands. Merchandisers gain direct promotional pathways and structured storefront displays, but they lose the effortless discovery of an audience that was not explicitly looking to spend money. Driving repeat app downloads demands heavy capital expenditure, forcing TikTok to fund discount incentives and free delivery to build independent utility.

    Rival Pressures Across Regional Marketplaces

    The unbundled app takes direct aim at incumbent marketplace operators Shopee and Lazada, alongside cross-border discount merchants Shein and Temu. While Amazon retains a narrower footprint in the region, established Asian platforms command entrenched logistics pipelines and deep consumer loyalty. These legacy platforms will not surrender search-driven shopping volume without discounting their own commissions.

    Regional merchants now face fragmented channel management. Maintaining inventory, campaign pricing and creator affiliate links across both the main TikTok social platform and an auxiliary shopping app increases operational complexity for suppliers. Investors face elevated customer acquisition costs as ByteDance attempts to build consumer habits around two separate app icons instead of one.

    Earlier Footprint and Regional Expansion

    Southeast Asia provided the operational launchpad for ByteDance’s commercial ambitions long before TikTok Shop expanded into Western territories. The region delivered more than one trillion video views by 2022, creating the engagement base that allowed the company to pilot live commerce and merchant integrations. Subsequent rollouts in the United States and the United Kingdom yielded substantial transaction gains, with TikTok Shop pacing toward $100 billion of gross merchandise value in 2026 led by U.S. Sales.

    Rivals have answered by fortifying their Asian commerce ties, including external partnerships linking video platforms like YouTube with Asian merchant inventories such as AliExpress. Despite those defensive manoeuvres, ByteDance continues to treat Southeast Asia as an experimental sandbox for product architecture before deploying changes worldwide.

    Next Steps for Market Rollout

    ByteDance has not confirmed release timetables for additional territories, leaving an eventual rollout to Western economies including the United States pending. The immediate test sits in download conversion and monthly active user retention across the four Southeast Asian territories through the final quarter of the year.

  • All 7-Eleven Stores in Malaysia Accept Alipay+ for Cross-Border Payments

    All 7-Eleven Stores in Malaysia Accept Alipay+ for Cross-Border Payments

    All 7-Eleven stores across Malaysia now accept Alipay+ as the retailer pursues what it describes as a ‘smooth, digital in-store experience’ for shoppers.

    Announced on 26 June 2023, the integration equips the convenience chain’s entire nationwide network to process transactions from Asian mobile wallets directly at checkout counters.

    The deployment enables cross-border digital payments across Malaysia just days after payment provider GHL collaborated with Alipay+ to activate 2,600 Thai merchants on 20 June 2023.

    Cashless Terminals in Southeast Asian Convenience

    Convenience operators across Southeast Asia continue to convert checkout counters to multi-currency digital terminals as regional tourism rebounds. Adding regional payment interoperability eliminates physical cash handling costs for store clerks and reduces transaction abandonment during peak shopping hours. 7-Eleven operates the densest retail footprint in Malaysia, making comprehensive platform acceptance an immediate scale test for cross-border transaction volume.

    For payment aggregators and commercial landlords, national coverage by an anchor convenience operator sets a baseline expectation for surrounding retail tenants. Independent merchants in tourist transit zones face pressure to match the payment flexibility offered by standardized chains. The operational risk shifts toward network latency and gateway reliability, where processing delays at the till immediately generate customer queues.

    Merchant Expansion Across the Thai Border

    Payment provider GHL partnered with Alipay+ in Thailand to activate cross-border acceptance across 2,600 local merchants on June 20, 2023. That merchant rollout targeted tourist-heavy retail corridors, giving visitors from Asian markets direct mobile wallet access across small shops, dining venues, and hospitality outlets.

    The parallel deployments in Malaysia and Thailand trace a coordinated effort to consolidate retail acceptance points across major travel corridors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Mobile wallet usage across Asia has outpaced Western adoption rates since 2018, pushing payment infrastructure providers to secure dense store networks ahead of peak travel quarters.

    Processing Targets and Network Integration

    Physical store transactions in Southeast Asia remain split between local domestic QR networks, international card schemes, and proprietary cross-border platforms. Retail operators that standardise software across thousands of company-operated and franchised sites gain transaction data visibility while avoiding fragmented terminal hardware on store counters.

    Retailers across the region are monitoring consumer uptake rates and checkout processing speeds as cross-border visitor traffic flows through transport hubs and border crossings.

  • Prada Group Net Revenues Reach €4,541 Million in First Nine Months

    Prada Group Net Revenues Reach €4,541 Million in First Nine Months

    Prada Group generated net revenues of €4,541 million in the first nine months of 2026, advancing 15 percent at constant exchange rates as recent consolidation masked a sharp deceleration across core retail markets.

    Excluding the newly consolidated Versace business, organic net revenue increased 4 percent year on year, while total retail sales reached €3,934 million across the nine-month period.

    Wholesale sales contributed €428 million, climbing 17 percent organically, while royalties reached €178 million, up 16 percent on an organic basis. Group retail sales across all brands rose 11 percent at constant currencies, but stripped of the Versace acquisition, organic retail growth was held to 2 percent. For the third quarter alone, organic retail revenues showed zero growth year on year.

    The Hong Kong-listed luxury house recorded a split performance across its commercial divisions. The flagship Prada brand generated retail sales of 2,414 million euros, up 2 percent organically across the nine months and 1 percent in the third quarter. Miu Miu booked retail sales of 1,156 million euros, managing a 1 percent organic increase over nine months before slipping 3 percent in the third quarter. Newly integrated Versace added 322 million euros in retail turnover, while Church’s generated 23 million euros, up 3 percent organically.

    Asia Retail Momentum Slows

    Asia Pacific remains Prada’s largest regional market by volume, delivering 1,344 million euros in retail sales during the first nine months. Reported growth hit 12 percent at constant exchange rates, but organic growth came in at 5 percent over nine months and ground to a complete halt at 0 percent during the third quarter.

    Japan produced 424 million euros in retail revenue, representing 2 percent organic growth over nine months and flat performance in the third quarter, following the reallocation of Hawaiian operations to the Americas division. In Europe, retail sales reached 1,180 million euros, contracting 3 percent organically both over nine months and throughout the third quarter. The Americas proved more resilient, contributing 851 million euros on 13 percent organic growth over nine months and 5 percent in the third quarter. Middle Eastern retail sales dropped 23 percent organically to 136 million euros.

    Chief Executive Officer Andrea Guerra pointed to shifting consumer sentiment across key luxury corridors.

    “The third quarter unfolded against a particularly challenging industry backdrop. In this context, the Group showed good resilience, underpinned by brand desirability and strong retail execution.”

    Cost Pressures Squeeze Half-Year Margins

    The nine-month trading slowdown follows compressed profitability recorded during the first half of the year. In the first half of 2026, net revenues stood at 3,048 million euros, but operating expenses rose to 1,858 million euros, consuming 60.9 percent of turnover compared to 57.5 percent in the prior-year period.

    Selling costs climbed to 1,242 million euros in the first half, while advertising and promotion outlays grew to 307 million euros, or 10.1 percent of revenue. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes dropped to 530 million euros from 619 million euros, lowering the adjusted operating margin from 22.6 percent to 17.4 percent. Group net income for the half contracted to 327 million euros from 386 million euros.

    Chairman Patrizio Bertelli noted that market turbulence is likely to persist across the luxury sector, requiring agility and strict execution.

    Regional Exposure and Strategic Trade-Offs

    For store operators and commercial landlords across Asia, the stalled third-quarter organic retail figures confirm that the spending boom among regional consumers has reached an exhaustion point. Prada avoided outright regional contraction only through the top-line addition of Versace assets, a buffer that independent luxury peers lacking recent acquisitions do not possess.

    The risk now centers on whether promotional spending and real estate commitments in Asian gateway cities can yield sustainable returns as organic demand flattens. With Miu Miu turning negative in the third quarter, Prada cannot rely on secondary labels to offset slower traffic across primary flagship stores. Landlords negotiating lease renewals face a luxury tenant base that is defending operating margins rather than bidding up prime square footage.

    Milestones Across the Timeline

    Prada expanded its retail footprint and physical brand investments during 2026, opening the permanent Pradasphere exhibition inside Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele to anchor an eight-floor complex. Group marketing chief Lorenzo Bertelli projected the Milan space would add 100 million euros in annual revenues by driving visitor conversion.

    The group concluded its 2025 financial year on March 5, 2026, reporting full-year figures before convening its annual general meeting on April 30. First-quarter revenue updates were presented on the same day, followed by half-year financial statements released on July 30.

    Investors now await Prada Group’s full-year 2026 financial report, where balance sheet use tied to the Versace deal and year-end inventory levels across Asia will face direct scrutiny.

  • Oroton Evolves Digital Strategy with Pattern to Support Apparel and Store Network Growth

    Oroton Evolves Digital Strategy with Pattern to Support Apparel and Store Network Growth

    Global ecommerce and marketplace accelerator Pattern has announced that it is working with Australian luxury brand Oroton to evolve its digital marketing strategy and personalise the customer journey across digital channels and its growing store network.

    Best known for its leather handbags, Oroton has extended its offering to ready-to-wear collections, bringing the brand’s longstanding focus on quality and craftsmanship to a broader range of categories.

    To support this expansion, Oroton partnered with Pattern to evolve its marketing strategy and reach new customer groups across the multiple channels they use to discover, browse and shop its collections.

    Oroton’s General Manager of Digital, Natasha Steenkamp, said the partnership supports the brand’s focus on increasing awareness of the breadth of its range.

    “Oroton is incredibly well known for our luxury leather handbags, but there is an opportunity to build greater awareness of our growing apparel offering and the quality, craftsmanship and premium fabrications that extend across our collections,” Steenkamp said.

    “Our customer is at the centre of everything we do. We consider ourselves channel agnostic, so our focus is on being present wherever our customers are in their journey, whether that is through search, social or in store.

    “Pattern is helping us apply that approach across our digital marketing and ensure we are reaching customers in the right places as our offering continues to evolve,” explained Steenkamp.

    To support Oroton’s customer-led approach, Pattern examined how the brand’s digital marketing could better recognise customer intent and connect discovery across online and in-store channels.

    Pattern ANZ Agency Director Bianca Robinson said the new approach allows Oroton to consider more than the search term itself when determining how to engage a potential customer.

    “Google AI gives us a much richer understanding of intent and where someone may be in their shopping journey,” Robinson said. “That allows us to make better decisions about which products and creative to present, helping us capture active searches alongside early consumer intent.”

    Google AI evaluates a wider range of signals, including search context and behavioural intent. Pattern designed the new account structure to draw on these signals and deliver more relevant advertising across Oroton’s products and collections.

    Alongside its work with Google, Pattern is also managing Oroton’s paid social activity across Meta, TikTok and Pinterest.

    “Customers might discover a product on social, then search for it on Google and visit a store to see it for themselves. That’s why brands need to consider the entire customer journey rather than treating each interaction in isolation,” Robinson said.

    The next phase of the partnership will see Pattern expand its work with Oroton into search engine optimisation (SEO) and AI optimisation (AIO), reflecting the emergence of new ways for consumers to search for and discover products.

    “The digital landscape is evolving incredibly fast, particularly with AI changing how people find and research products,” Steenkamp added. “For us, it comes back to evolving with our customers and ensuring Oroton remains visible and relevant however those behaviours change.

    “Having Pattern working across our digital channels gives us the flexibility to adapt, and we’ve been really pleased with the results of the partnership to date,” Steenkamp concluded.

    About Pattern Inc

    Pattern accelerates brands on global ecommerce marketplaces leveraging proprietary technology and AI. Utilising more than 91 trillion data points, sophisticated machine learning and AI models, Pattern optimises and automates all levers of ecommerce growth for global brands, including advertising, content management, logistics and fulfillment, pricing, forecasting and customer service. Hundreds of global brands depend on Pattern’s ecommerce acceleration platform every day to drive profitable revenue growth across 60+ global marketplaces—including Amazon, TikTok Shop, Walmart.com, Target.com, eBay, Tmall, JD, and Mercado Libre.  For more information, visit https://au.pattern.com/

    About Oroton

    Founded in Sydney in 1938, Oroton is one of Australia’s most established luxury fashion and accessories brands. With a heritage spanning more than 85 years, Oroton is recognised for its commitment to quality craftsmanship, innovative design and accessible luxury. The brand offers a range of premium leather goods, handbags, accessories and ready-to-wear collections, combining its rich Australian heritage with a contemporary approach to fashion. Oroton operates retail stores across Australia and New Zealand, alongside its online store.

    Media Contact

    Paul Manser

    Mulberry Marketing Communications

    pmanser@mulberrymc.com

  • Pet Circle builds fulfilment foundation for continued ecommerce growth with Manhattan WMS

    Pet Circle builds fulfilment foundation for continued ecommerce growth with Manhattan WMS

    Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH) has partnered with Australia’s largest online pet retailer, Pet Circle, to modernise its national fulfilment network with Manhattan warehouse management system (WMS). This partnership has created a digital foundation for warehouse automation, improved operational efficiency and faster delivery as the online retailer continues its rapid growth.

    As a 100% ecommerce business, Pet Circle had relied on a bespoke WMS for more than 13 years. While the platform had successfully supported the company’s early growth, increasing order volumes and manual warehouse processes were making it more difficult to scale efficiently and support future automation.

    Pet Circle selected Manhattan WMS to support its long-term growth strategy and automation roadmap. A key factor in the decision was Manhattan Associates’ local implementation team, whose close collaboration helped configure the solution around Pet Circle’s operational requirements.

    The implementation began at Pet Circle’s Sydney fulfilment centre before being rolled out across facilities in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, creating consistent warehouse processes across the retailer’s national network. Shortly after the initial go-live, Pet Circle introduced autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated packing systems, and conveyor and sortation technology, with Manhattan WMS serving as the platform connecting these technologies across its fulfilment operation.

    Andrew Haverfield, Head of Innovation Supply Chain at Pet Circle, said the move to Manhattan WMS was driven by the company’s long-term growth strategy.

    “As a fast-growing ecommerce business, we needed a warehouse management platform that could grow with us. Our previous system had served us well for many years, but we’d reached the point where manual processes were making it harder to keep pace with increasing demand and deliver the level of service our customers expect,” Haverfield explained. “Manhattan WMS has given us a modern foundation for our fulfilment network. We’ve been able to standardise processes across our sites, introduce warehouse automation and better manage peak trading periods, while creating a platform that can continue to evolve alongside our business.”

    Since implementing Manhattan, Pet Circle has streamlined previously manual warehouse processes, improved operational consistency across its fulfilment network and strengthened its ability to manage peak trading periods. During the last Black Friday sales event, the retailer maintained same-day and next-day delivery services throughout almost the entire peak period – a significant improvement on previous years, when elevated order volumes could impact fulfilment for one to two weeks afterwards.

    The solution has also delivered greater visibility across warehouse operations, providing richer operational data and audit trails that enable faster issue resolution, continuous optimisation and more informed decision-making. Pet Circle is now using these insights to further optimise its operations while exploring future automation opportunities across its fulfilment network.

    Raghav Sibal, Vice President APAC at Manhattan Associates, said modern fulfilment operations require cloud native technology that can continually evolve alongside the business.

    “To support today’s speed of operations, retailers need a flexible platform that can integrate automation, unlock greater operational visibility and continuously adapt as customer expectations evolve,” said Sibal. “Pet Circle’s transformation demonstrates how the right technology foundation can help businesses improve fulfilment performance today while supporting long-term growth and innovation.”

    Looking ahead, Pet Circle plans to continue optimising warehouse processes across its national fulfilment network while evaluating further automation opportunities to support future growth.

    About Manhattan Associates

    Manhattan Associates is a global technology leader, providing supply chain and omnichannel commerce solutions with unmatched AI capabilities. We design, build and offer best-in-class, AI-powered, cloud-based solutions that drive resilience and efficiency for businesses. We enable enterprises to uniquely unify front-end sales with back-end supply chain execution.

    Our commitment to innovation, cloud-native platform and API-first architecture create simpler experiences and faster paths to value for our customers. We empower them to preempt and react to emerging trends and global disruptions with technical expertise and operational confidence, transforming challenges into competitive advantage. For more information, please visit www.manh.com.au

    Press Contact:

    Paul Manser
    Mulberry Marketing Communications
    Tel: +61 416 740 940
    pmanser@mulberrymc.com

    Daniel Osborne
    Manhattan Associates
    Tel: +61 (02) 9454 5438
    dosborne@manh.com  

  • Only 45% of Retailers Scale AI Despite Threefold Earnings Advantage

    Only 45% of Retailers Scale AI Despite Threefold Earnings Advantage

    Only 45 percent of retailers are scaling artificial intelligence across their operations, even as businesses committing heavily to the technology generate three times higher revenue and earnings growth.

    According to research highlighted this week by Boston Consulting Group managing director and partner Charlie Reid, operators treating artificial intelligence as a core discipline outpace rivals by triple on top-line sales and EBITDAR. Yet widespread experimentation across scattered pilots leaves the majority of commercial operators unable to convert software trials into balance sheet gains.

    Fragmented initiatives and inadequate organisational changes continue to limit companies from translating investments into measurable financial returns, Boston Consulting Group noted in November 2026 findings.

    Where Merchandising Delivers Fast Payback

    Capital is flowing primarily into core store and supply chain operations rather than back-office corporate support. Retailers are largely bypassing enterprise applications across human resources, procurement, and finance because those departments offer lower immediate financial return.

    Merchandising operations are providing the quickest path to measurable payback. Adjusting product assortment, pricing, promotion schedules, and vendor negotiations through artificial intelligence tools generates cash flow that operators use to fund broader technology rollouts. Getting shelf assortment right yields up to a 5 percent increase in like-for-like sales.

    The Friction Behind Operating Models

    Fragmented rollouts and weak internal adoption explain why most deployments stall at the testing phase. Boston Consulting Group measures technology implementation through what it terms a 10-20-70 operating breakdown: algorithms account for 10 percent of the transformation, data and systems represent 20 percent, while people, operating processes, and institutional structure dictate the remaining 70 percent.

    Tools fail when buyers and floor staff lack clear authority or incentive to execute automated guidance. An algorithmic recommendation creates zero value if a category merchandiser overrides the system or if store staff fail to reset physical shelf space. Executive teams routinely hunt for novel software without identifying the exact financial metric they need to alter.

    “So, at BCG, we call it the 10 2070 rule. 10% of the AI transformation is driven by the algorithm. 20% by the data and technology and then 70% by the organization, the processes um and and and and the people in the organization.”

    Competing for Automated Buyers

    Consumer interaction is shifting toward agentic commerce, where automated systems handle product discovery, price comparisons, and digital checkout tasks. Shoppers currently manage friction across physical aisles and mobile applications, frequently abandoning journeys when items show out of stock at checkout.

    Software agents compress that multi-step search into direct prompts, assembling tailored baskets against specific household dietary rules and spending limits. Over extended periods, these systems track household consumption patterns and reorder domestic staples before pantries run empty.

    That shift alters digital distribution outside merchant properties. Consumers searching through external platforms like Google and ChatGPT rely on software agents that scrape product attributes, ingredient registries, and live inventory across competing web domains simultaneously. Retailers must structure open, accurate product catalogues for algorithmic inspection rather than relying solely on visual merchandising to win human attention.

    Pruning Unfocused Software Trials

    Commercial operators face pressure to demonstrate cash returns on software capital expenditures. Treating machine learning as an exploratory technical exercise without strict hurdle rates has tied up working capital across fragmented vendor contracts.

    Survival across competitive consumer markets requires pruning low-yield software trials to protect core operating margins. Retailers that narrow their engineering resources to inventory visibility, predictive replenishment, and machine-readable data feeds will command distribution as autonomous purchasing tools take over routine household spending.

  • Singles’ Day Spending Lifts Asia-Pacific Merchant Volume 16 per Cent

    Singles’ Day Spending Lifts Asia-Pacific Merchant Volume 16 per Cent

    Online spend across Asia-Pacific merchants climbed 16 per cent above daily averages during Singles’ Day 2025, driven by department stores and apparel sales. The spike measured transaction processing volumes on 11 November compared to daily averages over the previous seven days.

    Department store processing volumes across the region surged 70 per cent during the period, while general retail expanded roughly 20 per cent and clothing transactions gained 16 per cent. Combined volume across those three segments rose nearly 25 per cent in Asia-Pacific, outpacing the 4 per cent increase recorded for identical retail categories in markets outside the region.

    Department Stores Drive Regional Gains

    Payment flows processed by Checkout.com demonstrate that retail drove the concentrated activity across Asian seller accounts rather than services or digital subscriptions. The data tracks seller settlement regions, isolating domestic and cross-border merchant accounts established within APAC territories.

    Clothing retailers operating in the region saw steady gains, matching the wider 16 per cent baseline uplift. The figures show spending stayed focused on physical goods categories, reversing soft pre-holiday volumes reported earlier in November across regional merchant accounts.

    European Spillover Widens Promotional Reach

    The China-born shopping event generated secondary transaction gains for sellers outside its primary Asian heartland. British merchants recorded a 31 per cent gain in general retail, a 23 per cent rise in clothing, and a 37 per cent jump in food and drink spend compared with the prior Tuesday.

    Central and Eastern Europe emerged as the fastest-expanding international territory by cardholder volume, generating a 24 per cent spending bump on the day. Individual cardholder transaction volumes advanced 36 per cent in Poland, 30 per cent in Croatia, 26 per cent in the Czech Republic, and 23 per cent each in Slovakia and Lithuania.

    Western European consumer activity presented sharper geographic divergence across card accounts. Italian card spend rose 19 per cent and Norwegian transactions surged 52 per cent, while surrounding major continental markets registered flat payment volumes.

    Singles’ Day is the first real test of the peak season, and last year’s data shows exactly where shoppers are ready to spend: fashion, department stores and general retail. Merchants who get their promotions and their checkout right will be best placed to turn that early demand into lasting growth through Black Friday and beyond.

    Operational Pressures Shift to Fulfillment

    For APAC store operators and e-commerce aggregators, an early seasonal bump concentrates warehouse packing windows ahead of late-November global discounting periods. Regional merchants relying on cross-border logistics face immediate inventory reallocation demands to satisfy delivery commitments before western peak order books open.

    Aggressive promotion schedules pulled forward consumer outlays rather than simply creating incremental fourth-quarter volume. Merchants balancing discounted inventory clear-outs during early November risk margin compression if logistics surcharges rise before peak year-end shipments conclude.

    Payment Networks Expand Enterprise Footprint

    The annual singlehood event, which began as an alternative university observance in mainland China, now anchors the opening phase of fourth-quarter trade ahead of Black Friday. Checkout.com, which handles payment infrastructure for enterprise clients including Samsung, Sony, and ASOS across more than 150 processing currencies, expects its total platform volume to reach $500bn during 2026.

    Merchant operators now watch conversion rates across Asian checkout gateways as Black Friday approaches on 27 November 2026. Retailers across the region are tracking whether the early 16 per cent promotional bump carries into broader end-of-year inventory clearance.

  • Cebu Pacific Deploys New A321neo Aiming to Beat 26.9 Million Passengers

    Cebu Pacific Deploys New A321neo Aiming to Beat 26.9 Million Passengers

    Cebu Pacific put a newly delivered Airbus A321neo aircraft into commercial service on Wednesday, November 11, targeting full-year passenger volume above the 26.9 million travellers it flew in 2025.

    The aircraft, nicknamed the Dreamer Plane, features custom exterior livery designed by Cebu artists Johanna Deutsch and Mark Joseph Deutsch of Happy Garaje to mark the airline’s 30th year of operations. Domestic operations began with routes connecting Manila to General Santos and Cebu.

    The newly inducted single-aisle jet arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, November 8, following a ferry flight from the Airbus manufacturing plant in Hamburg, Germany. The delivery precedes a larger capacity expansion scheduled over the coming months.

    Fleet additions and delivery schedule

    Management confirmed that the carrier expects to receive a widebody aircraft around December or January. A further batch of seven narrowbody aircraft is scheduled for delivery during 2027 to service domestic and regional capacity.

    Branding execution on the A321neo

    The special exterior paint scheme represents the carrier’s first custom livery since the early 2000s, when it operated promotional aircraft wrapped for Manila, Cebu, and Davao. Applying detailed artwork to commercial fuselages requires strict technical compliance, leaving critical sensors, emergency exits, and aerodynamic control surfaces free of non-standard coatings.

    The livery includes a visual tribute to founder John Gokongwei Jr., depicting him on a bicycle to reference the business empire he established across aviation, food production, retail, and commercial property. Gokongwei would have reached 100 years of age in 2026.

    Chief marketing and customer experience officer Candice Iyog indicated the airline plans a second special livery, though she declined to release details or timing for that airframe.

    “Will there be more? There is one more, but we won’t say it,” Iyog said. “We have to give the Dreamer its time in the spotlight.”

    Consumer travel demand across domestic routes

    The expansion arrives as Philippine travel demand demonstrates stability against domestic consumer price pressures and elevated ticket prices. Airline president Xander Lao reported sustained booking velocity through the seasonal Undas holiday period and heading into peak year-end holiday traffic.

    Competitors across Southeast Asia face identical pressures from maintenance backlogs and engine supply shortages. Cebu Pacific’s operational focus relies on locking down aircraft deliveries to retain its domestic market lead against regional rivals who are also chasing tourist volume.

    The Gokongwei family’s conglomerate footprint gives the carrier an integrated ecosystem of retail centres, hotels, and packaged goods distribution that feeds continuous passenger traffic across Philippine secondary cities.

    Pipeline to watch

    The airline’s operational baseline rests on beating the 26.9 million passenger benchmark established in 2025. Attention shifts to the delivery of the scheduled widebody airframe around December 2026 or January 2027, followed by the integration of seven narrowbody aircraft slated for handoff throughout 2027.

  • Jardine Matheson Southeast Asia Posts Mixed Results as S$221 Million Car Exit Refocuses Group

    Jardine Matheson Southeast Asia Posts Mixed Results as S$221 Million Car Exit Refocuses Group

    Singapore-based holding company Jardine Matheson Southeast Asia (JMSEA) delivered a mixed performance for the first nine months of 2026, according to a Singapore bourse filing on Tuesday.

    JMSEA is Jardine Matheson’s intermediate holding company in the region. Its parent, Jardine Matheson (Jardines), is headquartered in Hong Kong.

    The business update marks the holding company’s first operational report since completing the sale of longstanding automotive distributor and retailer Cycle & Carriage to Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Pacific, booking a S$221 million gain in August.

    Across its regional holdings, Indonesian diversified unit Astra reported a 1 per cent decline in net profit, excluding non-recurring items, in the third-quarter statement. Stronger retail appetite helped Astra’s automotive business increase earnings by 8 per cent after higher wholesale car and motorcycle volumes. Financial services profits rose 6 per cent alongside larger loan portfolios, countering a 28 per cent drop in mining and heavy equipment earnings hit by lower coal quotas and gold mining sales.

    Dealership Shifts in Indonesia

    In Indonesia, JMSEA maintains a 50.1 per cent controlling interest in Astra and a 49.9 per cent holding in automotive dealership group Tunas Ridean. Tunas Ridean achieved higher car sales and increased profits over the period, reinforcing the group’s retail distribution footprint across the country.

    Divesting Cycle & Carriage stripped out direct exposure to retail showrooms in Singapore and Malaysia, focusing JMSEA’s automotive capital directly on developing markets. That shifts group risk toward consumer credit cycles in Indonesia and price wars in mainland Southeast Asia.

    Margin Squeeze in Vietnam

    Vietnamese affiliate Truong Hai Group, known as THACO, in which JMSEA owns a 26.7 per cent stake, delivered higher net profit lifted by residential property handovers. Automotive sales volumes rose across THACO’s vehicle dealerships, but operating margins thinned under aggressive retail discounting from competing brands.

    Renewable energy and engineering associate REE, held at 41.7 per cent, posted earnings growth across most operating units during the nine-month period.

    Regional Showroom Pressures

    Auto distributors across Southeast Asia face structural changes as Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers enter regional markets with low retail pricing. Dealership groups that rely on volume incentives are finding gross margins squeezed even when unit deliveries increase, as THACO’s numbers demonstrate.

    JMSEA’s decision to exit mature Singapore and Malaysia retail networks locked in capital while leaving its remaining vehicle exposure tied to high-volume emerging markets. Success now depends on Astra’s financing arm maintaining loan quality while showroom competition intensifies.

    Capital Moves and Outlook

    The August sale of Cycle & Carriage ended decades of direct vehicle distribution under the brand in Singapore and Malaysia. That transaction handed Chandra Asri Pacific control of long-established regional distribution franchises.

    Shares of JMSEA rose 1.6 per cent, or S$0.37, to finish at S$24.08 on Tuesday prior to the release of the interim management statement.

    Attention turns to year-end consumer finance collections at Astra and vehicle margin recovery at THACO as fourth-quarter auto promotions conclude.

  • The Live Barcelona: Next Year Must Deliver More Than Promises

    The Live Barcelona: Next Year Must Deliver More Than Promises

    After a disappointing experience, the next edition needs to rebuild confidence through clearer expectations, stronger organisation and meaningful participation.

    We arrived at The Live Barcelona with high expectations. What we had seen and heard beforehand suggested an event worth attending: an opportunity to connect, exchange ideas and build relationships. Unfortunately, our experience did not match that promise.

    The turnout felt noticeably below what we had anticipated, and the organisation fell short of our expectations. For us, the gap between the event’s promotion and the experience on the ground was difficult to overlook.

    This is our assessment as participants, rather than a claim about official attendance figures. Nevertheless, that distinction does not make the disappointment any less real.

    The Cost of Unmet Expectations

    Attending an event involves more than securing a ticket. It means setting aside time, making travel arrangements and stepping away from day-to-day responsibilities. Participants make that commitment because they expect the experience to justify it.

    A smaller event can still be valuable. A focused audience, relevant conversations and thoughtful organisation can offer more than a crowded exhibition hall. The problem is not size alone: it is the difference between what participants are led to expect and what they encounter.

    In our case, that difference was substantial. We left feeling that the event had not delivered the experience its promotion had encouraged us to anticipate.

    What Needs to Change Next Year

    If The Live Barcelona returns next year, rebuilding confidence should start well before the doors open.

    First, communication needs to be realistic. Prospective participants should be able to understand the event’s intended scale, audience and format. Confirmed participation should be clearly distinguished from ambitions or projections.

    Second, the organisation must support a worthwhile experience throughout the day. A clear programme, timely information and well-coordinated activities are fundamental. Networking should be more than a promotional promise: the format needs to create genuine opportunities for relevant people to meet.

    Third, feedback from this edition should inform visible changes. Asking disappointed participants to return will require more than another campaign. Organisers need to explain what they have learned and what will be different.

    A Reason to Return Must Be Earned

    One disappointing edition does not have to define an event’s future. It can become a turning point if the organisers acknowledge the shortcomings and respond constructively.

    For us, however, returning would not be an automatic decision. We would want to see credible evidence of improvement: clearer expectations, stronger preparation and a convincing reason to believe the next edition will offer genuine value.

    The opportunity for next year is therefore straightforward. Spend less effort building expectations that may not be met, and more effort delivering an experience that participants can confidently recommend.

    The Live Barcelona does not need a bigger promise. It needs a better experience.

  • Lawson Deploys First Mobile Trailer Store in Japan

    Lawson Deploys First Mobile Trailer Store in Japan

    Lawson opened its first mobile trailer-style convenience store on August 27 at Ebina Sports Park in Kanagawa Prefecture, deploying a 33.60-square-meter unit designed for underserved sites and disaster zones.

    The pilot operates through March 31 as the retail chain evaluates commercial viability beyond standard brick-and-mortar storefronts.

    Measuring 12.2 meters long, the trailer provides roughly one-fifth the space of a standard Lawson branch and carries about 500 items, including bento, onigiri, fried foods, desserts, drinks, and daily necessities. An attached 6.1-meter kitchen and office module handles hot-food preparation on site.

    Inside the mobile floorplan

    Space constraints forced hardware trade-offs. The trailer operates without standard network fixtures such as automated teller machines, multi-function copy machines, or Lawson’s Loppi ticketing terminals.

    Operating economics without permanent leases

    Deploying standalone retail boxes on wheels lowers fixed property development costs and bypasses commercial leasing friction. Japanese convenience chains face heavy urban real estate competition and rising build-out costs for standard brick-and-mortar storefronts.

    For operators, the mobile setup tests a flexible inventory footprint in public recreation areas, commercial parks, and transport interchanges where permanent buildings face zoning restrictions. The risk lies in unit economics. Stripping out high-margin administrative services like ticketing, bill payments, and cash machines limits the basket to immediate food and drink purchases.

    Disaster deployment and emergency logistics

    Emergency readiness anchors the trial design. Because technicians can hitch and relocate the trailer quickly, Lawson plans to evaluate the structure as a field response unit during disasters such as earthquakes.

    Major convenience chains serve as designated civil infrastructure points in Japan during natural disasters. Mobilising fully equipped prep kitchens into severed distribution corridors creates a direct supply line for municipal authorities and local communities.

    Target dates for the Ebina test

    The Kanagawa experiment builds on sector efforts across Japan to crack micro-footprints and unstaffed satellite retail. Competitors have largely tested autonomous checkout kiosks inside office towers and train platforms to trim labour expenses.

    Lawson is testing physical portability instead. Operating data collected at Ebina Sports Park through March 31 will decide whether Lawson commissions additional trailer units for seasonal deployments and prefecture-level civil protection reserves.

  • Beautyworld Osaka Welcomes Record 37,561 Trade Visitors

    Beautyworld Osaka Welcomes Record 37,561 Trade Visitors

    Beautyworld Osaka drew a record 37,561 trade visitors over its three-day run from 19-21 October 2026 at INTEX Osaka, representing a 7.3 per cent increase from the previous year. The western Japan beauty event brought together buyers, salon operators and trade professionals evaluating commercial supplier agreements.

    A total of 573 exhibitors from Japan and overseas presented products and services across aesthetic, hair, nail, eyelash, wellness and other beauty-related sectors. International participation accounted for 91 exhibitors representing six countries and regions: China, Hong Kong, Ireland, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

    Organiser Messe Frankfurt deployed 12 exhibition zones across the venue floor, introducing a dedicated Sleep + Recovery zone that displayed recovery wear alongside sleep-related goods and services. The Korean Pavilion also returned to the show floor, giving cross-border companies direct access to explore sales channels and prospective Japanese business partners.

    New Retail Zones and Sourcing Floors

    Organisers divided the show floor into 12 dedicated zones, adding a Sleep + Recovery section to target consumer demand for functional sleep aids and recovery apparel. The specialized floor featured wearable recovery products alongside items intended to improve sleep routines for retail shelves.

    Business negotiations took place primarily in the Premier Hall, which housed a Clinic Care zone restricted to medical professionals. Alongside the product booths, the Japan Nailist Association staged the Osaka Nail Forum, drawing salon technicians and store owners sourcing professional inventory.

    Trade education played a central role in driving footfall across the halls. The event ran 31 presentations, technical demonstrations and seminars across seven stages, including dedicated tracks for medical aesthetics, hair and nail care. A series of hands-on workshops in the Premium Seminar program restricted attendee numbers to smaller groups to review practical application techniques.

    Cross-Border Brands Target Japanese Shelves

    The return of the Korean Pavilion gave South Korean beauty manufacturers a concentrated platform to negotiate distribution deals with regional Japanese retail partners. Western Japan remains an essential proving ground for foreign cosmetics labels seeking accounts outside the competitive Greater Tokyo department store and drugstore chains.

    For retail buyers and department store category managers, expanding the show into sleep recovery items reflects a broader shift on pharmacy shelves toward functional wellness. Japanese consumers increasingly treat nighttime recovery as part of daily personal care rather than a medical issue, prompting buyers to secure inventory that pairs topical cosmetics with functional apparel.

    The competition between domestic beauty distributors and incoming regional suppliers now centers on retail shelf allocations for hybrid wellness goods. Retail operators face inventory risk if they commit display space to premium recovery wear before consumer adoption catches up to promotional claims, yet drugstores that ignore sleep merchandise risk ceding foot traffic to specialty lifestyle chains.

    Trade Fair Network Expands

    The Osaka show forms part of a broader commercial network managed by Messe Frankfurt, which operates Beautyworld trade exhibitions across nine cities including Tokyo, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Taipei, Dubai, Riyadh, Tashkent and Grasse. Osaka serves as the company’s anchor commercial gateway for the Kansai regional market.

    The 2026 turnout surpassed the previous year’s gate figures across all three exhibition days, demonstrating steady procurement budgets among salon chains and retail distributors despite broader cost pressures across consumer goods supply chains.

    The next edition of Beautyworld Osaka is scheduled to run from 18 to 20 October 2027, taking over Halls 1, 2, 4, 5, 6A and 6B at INTEX Osaka.