Retail News CRM

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.

  • Lawson plans massive store rollout in Philippines

    Lawson plans massive store rollout in Philippines

    Lawson Philippines plans to grow its network from just 50 stores to about 500 within five years.

    The planned expansion leans on a new agreement between the firm and local partner Ayala Corp.

    Lawson had previously partnered with another local firm, Puregold Price Club, with an earlier rollout schedule. Plans were stymied when Puregold pulled out of the deal last year.

    Lawson may also collaborate with its new partner’s e-commerce business, including making its store network available as shop-and-drop outlets.

    According to reporting in Nikkei, Lawson oversees 2547 offshore locations as of August, up 30 percent from last year, with the majority being in China.

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  • AirAsia’s inflight WiFi is getting faster

    AirAsia’s inflight WiFi is getting faster

    WiFi on planes is the next-gen convenience, or potential annoyance, depending on your attitude to people being ‘connected’ all around you. But for business people, parents with families or bored flyers, it will be a welcome addition to the low-cost flying experience.

    Now, passengers, onboard AirAsia can look forward to an “enhanced inflight entertainment and connectivity experience” with the low-cost airlines’ recently upgraded WiFi services.

    Six AirAsia Malaysia planes and two aircraft operated by Thai AirAsia have now been equipped with Inmarsat’s high-speed Ka-band platform, GX Aviation. AirAsia Group president (RedBeat Ventures) Aireen Omar said this development is the “next logical step” for the airline.

    AirAsia formerly carried a system called ‘Rokki’ but has phased that out in preference to the newer, faster system.

    “As the pioneer of low coast inflight WiFi in the region, we are always looking for ways to redefine the digital inflight experience for our guests.”

    Guests will be able to stay connected throughout their journey and perform data-intensive activities, including live streaming. Ka-band claims to provide connectivity beyond basic broadband, supporting real-time video, music streaming and more.

    The AirAsia WiFi Internet plans range between 9 Ringgit (65 baht) and 58 Ringgit (420 baht) with the most basic plan capped at 10MB speed. There is also the top of the range 200MB plan which is best for streaming.

    The service will be rolled out to the rest of the Air Asia fleet over the next 12 months.

    The Thaiger tried out the new system on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket on Tuesday. We were only using the 10MB speed internet but was perfectly adequate for our work and saving documents in the ‘cloud’.

  • South Korean convenience-store chain CU to accept cryptocurrency

    South Korean convenience-store chain CU to accept cryptocurrency

    Major South Korean convenience-store chain CU is preparing to accept payments in cryptocurrency.

    The chain, which operates more than 13,000 outlets in the country, will use the Chai payment system to trade in Terra, a won-backed stablecoin that has garnered investment from many large Korean firms.

    CU parent firm BGF Retail partnered with Chai earlier this week to allow buyers to pay by presenting a barcode from the Chai mobile app.

    Terra co-founder Do Kwon told CCN Korea that low-margin businesses struggle to accept volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. In other regions, retailers often deal with exchanges to convert cryptocurrency payments to money on the spot.

    “Moving forward, Chai will continue to lessen the burden on franchisees and increase the merit of consumers through partnerships with various companies like CU convenience store with an on and offline infrastructure,” said Chai Corporation president Han Chang-joon in a statement translated by CCN.

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  • 7-Eleven parent cuts staff an store closings

    7-Eleven parent cuts staff an store closings

    Japanese 7-Eleven parent Seven & I Holdings is preparing to cut 3000 jobs in its 2022 fiscal year.

    The move will be the firm’s largest payroll cut since it opened and reflects increasing competition from e-commerce and shopping malls, as well as chronic shortages in labor.

    The firm is planning a structural reform initiative to rebuild customer support, including the shedding and downsizing of some of its less profitable Sogo, Seibu and Ito-Yokado branded stores.

    “The stores we’re keeping have the ability to attract customers,” Seven & I president Ryuichi Isaka told Nikkei. “We’ll focus our investment there and do more to revitalize them.”

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  • Big C opens first store in Cambodia

    Big C opens first store in Cambodia

    Supermarket chain Big C has opened its first store in Cambodia.

    The firm has opened on a more-than 2ha site in Poipet, a booming town on the Thai/Cambodian border, with a reported investment of US$6.8 million and offering more than 1200 jobs.

    A statement on the firm’s Facebook page reported by the Khmer Times read: “A soft opening for the Poipet Hypermarket was held under our vision to be the leading Thai retailer with customers at heart.”

    Cambodia is now the fourth country Big C operates in, following Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

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  • Miniso $2 format opens first store, in Singapore

    Miniso $2 format opens first store, in Singapore

    Chinese discount merchandise retailer Miniso has launched a Miniso $2 outlet-store format, with its first shop opening in Singapore.

    The store will offer hundreds of household supplies goods at “affordable” prices and augment the 30 standard Miniso stores already trading in the city state. The range includes electrical appliances, home appliances and toys.

    While Miniso has not expressly said so, it is anticipated that the new Miniso $2 format will be expanded across the region. In Vietnam, for example, it has already announced a target of 400 stores by 2022.

    Located at HarbourFront Centre, the Miniso $2 was opened with a lucky draw event via Facebook where customers were selected to join a priority queue at the opening, and given free gifts.

    Founded in 2013 by the Japanese designer Miyake Junya and the Chinese businessman Ye Guofu, Miniso has now expanded to more than 3600 stores worldwide.

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  • World’s largest FamilyMart opening in Manila

    World’s largest FamilyMart opening in Manila

    The world’s largest FamilyMart is to open in Manila.

    The 400sqm outlet will launch in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, on the ground floor of the Udenna Towers, operated by Philippine FamilyMart CVS. The store will be designed to appeal to “a youthful and vibrant market,” with a food counter as the store’s centrepiece.

    “We are aiming to be more relevant to the market we believe needs to be served,” said Philippine FamilyMart GM Bernard Suiza. “This is the pivot to food that we are embarking on here in the Philippines – going back to the essence of what konbini is, which is hearty, home-cooked meals”.

    The food-focused strategy will see the firm focusing on key, densely populated urban areas in the Philippines, and will be supported by PFM owner Udenna’s F&B holdings and supply chains.

    FamilyMart will also launch its own signature coffee brand with Japanese firm UCC in the near future.

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  • China feels the love in Kiehl’s Hainan promotion

    China feels the love in Kiehl’s Hainan promotion

    New York skincare brand Kiehl’s has held the fifth installment of its global “Kiehl’s Loves Adventure” campaign with a new pop-up in China’s Hainan.

    The immersive Kiehl’s Hainan pop-up store, which remained open in Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex during September, incorporated designs by visual artist Simone Massoni that conveyed the essence of the host city and the hearts of travelers, drawing inspiration from the lush greenery and features defining Sanya.

    The pop-up was launched with appearances by popular Chinese boy band singer Wang Zi Yi and TV sweetheart Song Yan Fei, who tested the brand’s Calendula range on stage with fans. The store featured an Instagrammable motorbike installation set against a tropical backdrop for posing in the saddle, while a colossal Calendula Toner bottle housing a “Calendulab” presented an interactive experience tunnel for all visitors to explore.

    A VR experience at the Kiehl’s Hainan pop up allowed visitors to immerse themselves in a game to hunt down Kiehl’s products in a tropical forest. The traditional Kiehl’s apothecary made an appearance beneath a glider plane.

    In an effort to mitigate the impct on climate change caused by carbon created during travel, Kiehl’s is now collaborating with Pur Project by investing US$1 from every purchase of the brand’s Ultra Facial Cream 125ml bought before October 31 in an agroforestry program.

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  • Hulu update brings offline downloads to iPhone users

    Hulu update brings offline downloads to iPhone users

    After making its mobile app more accessible to users, Hulu announced another important update that brings a much-requested feature: offline downloads. Whether you’re planning to travel or just want to be sure that you have your favorite TV shows with you at all times, you can now watch Hulu whenever you wish with this new feature.

    The bad news is it’s only available for iOS users, but Hulu says that offline downloads will come to Android users “soon,” so we’re confident that it won’t take too long for the company to bring the feature to a larger audience.

    So, available today on iOS for views on Hulu (No Ads), the new feature allows you to download thousands of shows and movies, including past seasons of hits series like Family Guy, Desperate Housewives, and ER, as well as Hulu Originals such as The Handmaid’s Tale.

    To use the new feature simply head to the Downloads tab at the bottom of the screen and you should be able to access any downloaded content. Make sure to tap the “See What’s Downloadable” tab to browse through all the titles that you can take with you on the go.

    Keep in mind that not all content on Hulu is available for download, so if you’re looking for a specific title, you’ll see a download icon on the details page if it’s available for download.

    Hulu also confirmed that users can download up to 25 titles across 5 different devices. Also, you’ll have up to 30 days to watch the content that you downloaded. Finally, for watched content, the download will expire two days after starting playback, but you’ll be able to renew an expired download when online if the content is still available on Hulu.

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  • Google updates Docs, Sheets, and Slides

    Google updates Docs, Sheets, and Slides

    A new look and feel are now available for Google’s Docs, Sheets and Slides app, the Mountain View company announced. Unfortunately, if you were expecting any new features or improvements, you’ll be disappointed. Google confirmed that there are no functionality changes whatsoever in this update, so the only things we’ll get are the visual improvements.

    The visual improvements mentioned by Google include a restyled document list, highly-legible typefaces, consistent controls, and updated icons all over the place. Google also announced that the redesign has already made its way to the latest versions of Docs and Slides for Android.

    On the other hand, the new design will roll out to Sheets on Android sometime today, so expect the new visual improvements to pop up very soon. The most recent Docs, Sheets and Slides Material redesign update is part of a larger effort to bring consistency to the look and feel of Google’s G Suite apps.

    Although these updates are now being rolled out globally to all Android devices, it will take up to two weeks to appear for everyone, so be patient if the changes aren’t yet available for you.

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  • Instagram update brings dark mode in iOS 13

    Instagram update brings dark mode in iOS 13

    Instagram made many headlines in the last week or so, as the company is bringing new features to its audience and testing others before releasing them to the general public. After introducing a brand new Threads app and removing one of its most controversial features, Instagram is once again in the spotlight, but for a very different reason.

    The social network has just pushed out another update for its iOS app, which brings the highly-anticipated dark mode. The changelog published in the App Store doesn’t mention anything other than bug fixes and performance improvements, but The Verge confirms native dark mode support for iOS 13 is there.

    Still, you will not be able to turn the dark mode on or off within the application. Instead, the iPhone’s system-wide settings are the ones that dictate Instagram’s behavior, so if you choose to use the dark theme on your iPhone, the app will match it with its own.

    We’re not complaining, but it would have been nice to be able to switch it on and off directly from within the app. All in all, it’s great that another popular iOS app is getting important visual improvements like the dark mode.

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  • Social unrest, trade tensions erodes Tse Sui Luen profits

    Social unrest, trade tensions erodes Tse Sui Luen profits

    Weak consumer sentiment based on “social unrest” in Hong Kong and the ongoing Sino-US trade tension has cost Hong Kong-listed jeweler Tse Sui Luen a cut of more than 90 percent in its half-year profit.

    In a profit warning, chairman Annie Lau said a preliminary review of the company’s management accounts for the six months to September 30 show a 14 percent decrease in turnover.

    “The group has recorded the weakest sales in its Hong Kong market in the months of August and September … which is expected to drop by approximately 45 to 55 percent year on year. Given the challenging and uncertain market conditions on our retail business, the group is expected to record a significant decrease in the profit attributable to the owners of the company for the six months … by more than 90 percent as compared with that for the corresponding period last year.”

    She said the company has introduced cost-saving measures and applied “more proactive operating tactics” to weather the current unfavorable economic and business environment.

    “We are negotiating with landlords for rental relief or reduction, in particular for shops situated in the key areas of the social incidents in Hong Kong, and managing our rental and staff expenses as well as general and administration costs at a stable and reasonable level with respect to the business performance. At the same time, we have formulated plans to lower our inventory level to reduce the holding cost, and adjust our product mix and marketing strategies to stimulate sales,” she said

    “We will continue to monitor the relevant economic conditions and the ever-changing retail landscape, including cost pressure and the increasing downward pressure of the domestic economy.”

    Lau reassured shareholders that the company’s financial position remains healthy with sufficient cash on hand to meet its business needs.

    The half-year results for Tse Sui Luen Jewellery are expected to be released by the end of November.

  • Vietjet Celebrates Autumn with Hundreds of Thousands of Promotional Tickets

    Vietjet Celebrates Autumn with Hundreds of Thousands of Promotional Tickets

    Vietjet has announced its latest deal with hundreds of thousands of promotional tickets going from S$0 to travel around Asia in the Autumn season.

    Promotional tickets are available for purchase on Vietjet’s official website or on the “Vietjet Air” mobile app from now until 10 October 2019, between the golden hours of 1.00 pm – 3.00 pm (GMT+8). The promotion includes daily return tickets from Singapore to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and all international routes between Vietnam and Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia. All routes operated by Thai Vietjet are also applicable for this promotion.

    Vietjet Vice President Nguyen Thanh Son said, “With an expanding flight network across Asia that includes convenient departure timings with more than 400 flights daily and super-saving tickets priced from just VND0, VND99,000, VND199,000, etc., customers can easily fly anytime and anywhere. Vietjet aims to bring millions of flying opportunities to everyone, meeting air travel demands of passengers, pioneering new direct routes such as Da Nang – Taipei/ Tokyo (Haneda), Ho Chi Minh City – Bali; Ho Chi Minh City/ Hanoi – New Delhi, which helps save transit time for passengers and give them more time to experience the destinations. Besides Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, travelers from other localities like Hai Phong, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, etc. can now easily take direct flights to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.”

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  • Cebu Pacific introduces online chatbot for customer support

    Cebu Pacific introduces online chatbot for customer support

    Philippines-based low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific has launched its online travel assistant, Charlie the Chatbot, to provide 24/7 support for customers.

    Charlie, now available on the airline’s website and official Facebook page, can help answer customers’ frequently asked questions, which include flight bookings, inflight meals, baggage allowance and so on.

    Customers who need help can type in their queries in English one at a time, or choose from a variety of suggested topic options when they open the chatbox.

    Charlie’s capabilities also include assisting passengers with their flight check-in, providing flight itineraries and boarding passes, and sharing details of the airline’s ongoing seat sales and promotions.

    “We’ve always talked about being an enabler of fun and accessible travels, and as part of our thrust to enhance customer experience with the airline, we created Charlie,” said Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and customer experience at Cebu Pacific.

    “As we officially launch our chatbot, we hope to offer convenience and helpful information within our travelers’ fingertips.

    “Charlie still has a long way to go in terms of learning – just like any chatbot. Rest assured, we are continuously working on expanding Charlie’s knowledge in order to provide our passengers with the best customer experience possible.”

    The airline says Charlie has engaged with more than 393,000 passengers since its inception in January this year.

  • AirAsia wins World Travel Awards

    AirAsia wins World Travel Awards

    AirAsia continued its winning streak, taking the top honors at the World Travel Awards Asia and Oceania 2019 for the seventh year in a row.

    AirAsia emerged ahead of regional players such as Scoot, Jetstar, SpiceJet, Nok Air and Firefly to win the top low-cost carrier awards, Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline and Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline Cabin Crew.

    The awards were accepted by AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat in the presence of industry representatives and key figures from across the region at a gala ceremony held at the Vinpearl Convention Centre In Phu Quoc at the weekend.

    AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat and a group of AirAsia’s pioneer cabin crew accepted Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline and Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline Cabin Crew awards from President and Founder of World Travel Awards Graham Cooke.

    AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said: “It is an honor to receive these awards. Being recognized by guests and industry colleagues as Asia’s best is a testament to our ongoing efforts to develop new and innovative guest-obsessed products and services.”

    World Travel Awards founder Graham E Cooke said, “AirAsia continues to set the benchmark for low-cost aviation in Asia and beyond. Its dedication to improving its services remains unrivaled, and I am delighted that it has been acknowledged by both the travel trade and the public having been voted ‘Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline 2019′ and ‘Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline Cabin Crew 2019′.”

    The World Travel Awards are one of the most prestigious, comprehensive and sought after awards programs in the global and tourism industry.

    Established in 1993, they acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across key sectors of travel, tourism and hospitality. The World Travel Awards brand is globally recognized as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence.

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