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.

  • India needs 10k pilots by 2030 says AirAsia

    India needs 10k pilots by 2030 says AirAsia

    Despite the current slump in the domestic aviation market, India will require up to 10,000 new pilots by 2030. Acknowledging this, AirAsia India on Tuesday launched the country’s first cadet-pilot program, ready to send its first batch of 15 cadets to New Zealand for flight training.

    By passenger volumes, India was ranked second globally among the fastest growing domestic markets for aviation. This would only mean the requirement for pilots will spike in the future, even as the Kingfisher and Jet Airways pilots are being quickly absorbed by other airlines.  To get the cadet-pilot project going, AirAsia India has partnered with New Zealand Academy and Harrison Omniview Consulting. As part of the 18-24 month course, selected candidates will be trained at the currently under-utilized Oamaru airport in New Zealand’s Waitaki district.

    The first batch of the cadets will come out in 2021, informs AirAsia India’s Head of Operations, Capt Manish Uppal. Cadets earn their second officer rank and commercial pilot license after 500 hours of flying before graduating to first officer, senior first officer, and captain, in charge of the entire aircraft and crew.

    The first batch of the cadets will come out in 2021, informs AirAsia India’s Head of Operations, Capt Manish Uppal. Cadets earn their second officer rank and commercial pilot license after 500 hours of flying before graduating to first officer, senior first officer and captain, in charge of the entire aircraft and crew.  Headquartered in Bengaluru, AirAsia India currently has a fleet of 21 Airbus-A320 aircraft covering 19 destinations across the country. The airline had commenced operations in India on June 12th.

    Uppal informs 11% of the airline’s crew are women. Most of the batch passing out from the cadet-pilot program are expected to be absorbed by the airline.

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  • Myer keeps Westfield Belconnen store Open

    Myer keeps Westfield Belconnen store Open

    Myer has announced it will keep its Westfield Belconnen, ACT store open, after stating in 2017 that it would close this year, due to a new lease agreement with Scentre Group.

    The agreement will see the stores’ scope narrowed, dropping from 3 floors to 2, over 12,000sqm of retail space and will be refurbished with the aim of creating a stronger retail experience and attracting a number of new and exclusive brands.

    “This is great news for our loyal customers, team members and, importantly, for the local team members,” Myer chief executive John King said in a statement.

    “This is an example of Myer’s customer-first plan in action, where we are looking to work collaboratively and constructively with landlords to reduce space, improve our stores and, most importantly, to enhance our range and brands for our customers.”

    The customer-first strategy, as put forward by King last year as a way to turn around the department store’s fortunes, involves three key priorities: transforming the in-store experience for customers, expanding the ‘Only at Myer’ range of brands, and improving the business’ online offering.

    The strategy proved to be profitable for the business during the first half of FY19, with Myer unveiling a 3.1 percent growth in net profit despite sales falling 2.8 percent, which King attributed to a move away from discounting and an increased focus on improving store profitability.

    The department store notes that the refurbishment of its Westfield Belconnen store is the first announcement through this new strategy regarding store direction, with more to come, and demonstrates the strong partnership it shares with Scentre Group.

    “Myer offers an important range of products and services that our customers want and expect and refurbishment of the Belconnen store will be welcomed by all,” Scentre Group chief executive Peter Allen said.

    “Myer’s reduced floorspace will allow us to introduce other retail partners to Westfield Belconnen which will further enhance the overall customer experience at the center.”

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  • Cebu Pacific sale offers P299 domestic, P699 international fares

    Cebu Pacific sale offers P299 domestic, P699 international fares

    Cebu Pacific said it was offering domestic and international seats on sale starting Thursday.

    The Philippines’ largest airline said the sale would run until Friday for travel from Nov. 1 to March 31 next year.

    Among the destinations on offer are Boracay, Coron, Puerto Princesa and Siargao at P299 for one-way base fare, Cebu Pacific said.

    Flights to international destinations like Bali, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Beijing, Taipei and Tokyo are also on offer for as low as P699 one-way base fare, the airline said on its website.

    Other destinations like Dubai are also on offer for as low as P1,599; Melbourne for as low as P4,599 all in; and Sydney at P5,599 all in.

    The quoted domestic one-way base fares are inclusive of 7 kg hand carry baggage allowance, but exclusive of web admin fee, 12 percent VAT, terminal fees and fuel surcharge, it said.

    Quoted international one-way fares are inclusive of 7 kg hand-carry baggage allowance, but exclusive of web admin fees for short haul and long haul flights, respectively and P550 international terminal fee and fuel surcharge.

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  • AirAsia Deputy CEO Confident That they Will Become the Amazon of Travel

    AirAsia Deputy CEO Confident That they Will Become the Amazon of Travel

    There was no backtracking from AirAsia in its plan to branch out into selling other airlines on its platform, financial services, and more experiences.

    Asked in Singapore  if becoming the Amazon of travel is overly ambitious, Aireen Omar, AirAsia’s deputy CEO, technology and digital said it’s “ambitious, but I think it’s very doable.”

    Another AirAsia executive recently made the declaration that the airline could become the “Amazon of travel.”

    Omar argued that AirAsia’s wealth of data from such things as its bookings systems and passenger management equip it to improve revenue management and personalization and to make its operation more efficient.

    The idea is to provide a seamless journey for passengers and to build new business areas for the airline beyond its core flying.

    Omar said AirAsia has been approaching other airlines about selling tickets, and that most are not afraid of doing that because they can take advantage of AirAsia’s network and data.

    Although AirAsia is interested in offering innovative payment systems, Omar said the airline would not use cryptocurrencies because their value fluctuates greatly, and AirAsia is interested in engendering consumer trust.

    Omar made a pitch for the greater inclusion of women in the airline industry. She said around 6 percent of AirAsia’s engineers are women, and so are about 10 percent of its pilots.

    Schools new to open up their curriculum to encourage women to become data scientists, for example, and to work for airlines.

    Omar is responsible for AirAsia’s digital strategy, promoting innovation throughout the group and encouraging collaboration across AirAsia’s businesses and markets. She oversees large, strategic group-wide initiatives to help transform AirAsia into a global, cloud-driven product and platform company.

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  • AirAsia aims international flights by October

    AirAsia aims international flights by October

    AirAsia India aims to start international operations in by October this year, its chief operating officer said Monday. The joint venture carrier between Tata Sons and Malaysian low fare airline AirAsia Berhad is looking at short haul destinations in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur airline recently received its 21st plane and aims to take the fleet size to 40 in a year, Kumar added. It operates 154 daily flights.

    Earlier this year the airline presented a plan to its board to deploy 40% of its fleet overseas in five years. The government had been investigating the airline for alleged irregular lobbying for international rights. Kumar didn’t comment on the probe but indicated its plans for starting flights by October were firm.

    AirAsia India last month got a boost from its parents by getting a fund infusion of Rs 500 crore for its expansion. That followed an overhaul of its top management, getting IndiGo veteran Kumar as COO and former Tata Steel chief Sunil Bhaskaran as CEO.

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  • Canon opens New Delhi flagship Store

    Canon opens New Delhi flagship Store

    Canon India has launched a flagship Canon Image Square (CIS) store in New Delhi. The flagship CIS store aims to “enrich the consumer experience for all Canon products” across segments ranging from entry-level cameras to high-end professional cameras. In addition to this, the store is also exhibiting Cinema cameras, a few leading Canon printers and a wide range of lenses.

    “Commitment towards the country and dedication of Canon, together has translated into growth over the years,” said Canon India president and CEO Kazutada Kobayashi. “With the launch of first of its kind Canon Image Square flagship store, Canon India marks another milestone to ensure an interactive and informative buying experience for our existing and potential customers.

    “CIS stores have been successful in contributing to Canon’s significant customer outreach and positioning it as a market leader. Having established its presence with more than 250 stores in 100+ cities, we take pride in being total solution providers in the imaging arena. The launch of this flagship CIS stores will certainly raise the benchmark for customer service,” he said.

    “The new flagship store is fashioned in such a way that it creates a sweeping experience for the customers with the gamut of cameras including cinema cameras, lenses and complete imaging solution in order to make the right choice of the products,” said Canon India VP consumer imaging & information centre Eddie Udagawa. “The store also features some of the leading printers that have been delighting the consumers.

    “New Delhi is one of the key markets for us, not just in terms of the customer base but also for being abreast with the technology trends that influence other markets. We look forward to receiving great feedback from our customers and add value to their imaging experience.”

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  • Google Maps speed camera alerts and speed limit indicators rolling out

    Google Maps speed camera alerts and speed limit indicators rolling out

    One of the important features that differentiate Waze from other navigation apps like Google Maps is the possibility to see in-depth traffic information and get alerts about speed cameras and speed limits indications.

    Surprisingly, the feature didn’t make it to Google Maps yet, even after the search giant acquired Waze. Well, the anomaly is about to be completely dissipated as Google Maps users in a bunch of countries report they are now getting speed camera alerts and can now see speed limit indicators.

    Speed camera alerts should now be available for many users in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the US.

    Furthermore, another new Google Maps feature, the option to see speed limits while driving, is now live in Denmark, Poland, the UK, and US. However, we expect these features to roll out to all Google Maps users worldwide, it’s just that this appears to be a released gradually, so we’ll just have to wait until Google enables it for more people.

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  • Google to shut down YouTube Gaming App

    Google to shut down YouTube Gaming App

    Google announced last year that the YouTube Gaming app will go away at the end of March. However, for reasons that elude us, Google has decided to prolong YouTube Gaming’s life for two more months.

    Today, the Mountain View company announced that it will shut down the YouTube Gaming app on May 30. Since we’re so close to the deadline, we doubt that Google will further delay the closure of the app.

    The YouTube Gaming app will go away on May 30, but you’ll be able to find all of your favorite gaming videos in the YouTube main app at www.youtube.com/gaming.

    If you’re using YouTube Gaming app on a regular basis, then you should know that Google plans to merge it with the standard YouTube platform. After May 30, all YouTube Gaming visitors will be directed to a new channel for games on the may YouTube website.

    Unfortunately, any content that you might have saved or viewed on the YouTube Gaming will be gone after May 30, as Google announced that it’s not possible to transfer games between platforms. According to YouTube, the merger of the two platforms will allow the company “to build a stronger home for the gaming community” on YouTube, not just the YouTube Gaming app. In other words, YouTube is putting all the eggs in one basket to better compete with the likes of Twitch.

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  • Network expansion boosts Berli Jucker Profit

    Network expansion boosts Berli Jucker Profit

    Berli Jucker, the operator of Thailand’s Big C retail stores, has reported revenue of THB30.9 billion (US$979 million) in the first quarter, gaining THB1.6 billion (US$50.5 million) over the same period last year.

    Network expansion was the main driver of the revenue growth, reported IGD, with 27 Mini Big C stores opening during the quarter, more than compensating for the closure of 13 convenience stores.

    The company’s gross-profit margin decreased from 16.3 per cent to 15.9 per cent due to lower business-to-business sales.

    Net profit declined 2.3 per cent due to increased staff costs due to store expansion and yearly bonuses, together with increased store-opening and closing expenses and rising utility prices.

    As at the end of March, the company had 147 hypermarkets, 61 supermarkets, 797 Mini Big C and 140 Pure drugstores trading.

    Like-for-like sales grew 1 per cent year on year while other income including rental increased 4.7 per cent over the same period, reported IGD.

  • Google Chrome on Android is getting a seriously useful new feature

    Google Chrome on Android is getting a seriously useful new feature

    Opening a ton of tabs in Chrome, even the mobile version, is something that many of us are all too familiar with. The current card-style interface of the Chrome app is alright when you have only a few opened tabs, but going over 10 often leads to confusion and excessive scrolling to find what you’re looking for. A new feature headed to Google Chrome on Android aims to resolve this issue by introducing tab grouping and a redesigned tabs screen.

    The long-press menu will offer a new option, “Open in new tab group,” that allows you to bunch sites together in groups. Starting a group makes a bottom navigation bar appear where the various tabs in the group are displayed as favicons for easy switching between them. Tapping the “Tab” icon next to the search bar brings you to the new tabs screen. The card stack interface is gone, and in its place is a thumbnail view that shows snapshots of where you left of on different pages in a vertical gallery style.

    Tab groups are displayed like folders, each showing the total number of tabs inside the group, alongside thumbnail previews and favicons for the first four pages. Taping on a group opens an expanded view, which is very similar to the tabs screen. This really helps when you have quite a few tabs opened in Chrome, and you want to group some of them based on topic.

    The new interface is currently a work in progress, so it’s lacking some polish, but should be ironed out in the near future. Like most other features added to Google Chrome, this one is already accessible in the Canary version on Android. As such, it is still in the testing stages and may not perform as it will in the final release. Still, if you’re eager to try it out, you can do so by typing “chrome://flags” in the URL bar in Chrome Canary, and searching for “enable-tab-groups-ui-improvements.” Enable the option, restart the browser twice, and you should be ready to go.

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  • Eight bidders left to Take Over Metro China

    Eight bidders left to Take Over Metro China

    Eight, not four, bidders have until June 10 to lodge a non-binding bid for the cash-and-carry business.

    Yonghui Superstores – part-owned by Dairy Farm Group – is among at least eight bidders shortlisted by Metro AG to tended for its Chinese business.

    The Metro China business is estimated to be worth between US$1.5 and $2 billion, but with eight consortiums in the running, the price is more likely to be at the higher end of the scale.

    Alibaba – in partnership with Taiwanese retailer RT-Mart International – and US retail giant Walmart, which already has 400 hypermarkets in China, are also on the shortlist.

    The other finalists are Suning Holdings, supermarket chain Wumart Stores, private equity group Primavera Capital, a consortium of Boyu Capital and property developer China Vanke and fresh-food delivery group Meicai.

    None of the shortlisted companies commented about the Metro China sale.

    With the sale process shrouded in secrecy, there have been differing reports to date on the progress. Last month, four companies were shortlisted.

    The sale process is expected to be completed in September, with the shortlisted bidders given until June 10 to lodge non-binding offers.

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  • Vietnamese retailers Growing at a Lightning Fast Pace

    Vietnamese retailers Growing at a Lightning Fast Pace

    Local retail firms are expanding quickly while foreign counterparts stagnate or quit due to fierce competition. The number of convenience stores in the country from April last year to April this year had risen by 72 percent year-on-year to over 3,100, according to Ho Chi Minh City market research firm Q&Me. That means 1,300 convenience stores came to the market in just one year.

    Half of them, 660, came from Vinmart+, a convenience store chain of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup. This is a growth of 82 percent. In the same period, supermarket chain Vinmart saw its number of store risen by 82 percent to 120 outlets.

    Bach Hoa Xanh, a retail unit of the country’s major phone seller Mobile World (MWG), now has over 500 department stores after incorporated in 2015. It is seeing strong growth with VND4.3 trillion ($184 million) in revenue last year, three times that of 2017.

    The market has recently seen strong merger and acquisition activities, with Vingroup’s retail arm VinCommerce buying out convenience store chain Shop&Go last month and supermarket chain Fivimart last October.

    Vietnam’s retail market has become increasingly crowded with both local and international players over the last five years. Although experts have said that the market has a lot of growth potential, many foreign businesses have quit or scaling back expansion plans.

    French supermarket group Auchan Retail might be the newest player to withdraw from the market.

    Auchan’s 15 out of 18 supermarkets will stop operating on June 3. Its CEO Edgar Bonte said that their business in Vietnam generated revenues of 45 million euros ($50.4 million) last year, but was making losses. He did not provide figures of the losses.

    A source from the company, who wished not to be named, said the firm is negotiating with a few retailers to sell the outlets and the negotiations “are expected to end before Auchan withdraws from Vietnam early next month.”

    Germany-headquartered Metro was sold to a Thai investor in 2014 and disappeared from the market ever since, while Malaysia’s Parkson has been closing down its malls since 2015.

    Other convenience store chain has failed or will unlikely meet its initial expansion target. Japanese Ministop had only 115 stores as of April, even though it had planned to have 800 by last year.

    Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart saw its store number dropped by nine to 151 from last April to this April, while its initial plan was to have 1,000 stores by next year.

    Vietnam’s revenue from selling goods last year rose by 11.7 percent from 2017 to $142 billion, up 12.4 percent from 2017.

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  • Spotify finally adds long-requested feature to its Android app

    Spotify finally adds long-requested feature to its Android app

    To fend off increasingly aggressive competition from the likes of Apple, Amazon, Google, and Deezer, the global leader of the music streaming industry is constantly trying new things, going so far as testing in-house hardware that could allow it to control and monitor your in-car listening patterns.

    It’s therefore pretty mind-blowing (and certainly not in a good way) that it’s taken Spotify this long to add an incredibly basic sleep timer feature to its Android app. After all, the platform has been around since 2008, and users haven’t exactly been shy in expressing their impatience and dissatisfaction with the lack of this handy functionality over the years.

    To get a sense of how badly people wanted to go to sleep while streaming their favorite tunes on Spotify, you only need to do a quick Google Play search. It will take you just a few seconds to discover that there are multiple third-party apps available through the search giant’s official Play Store with the sole purpose of enabling sleep timer capabilities for your favorite music streaming service. The aptly titled “Sleep Timer for Spotify, Music, and Video” has over 500,000 installs to its name, while another “Sleep Timer” app that works with YouTube, Google Play Music, TuneIn Radio and “many more” in addition to Spotify has even managed to break the 1 million download barrier.

    At long last, there’s no need to go through that trouble anymore. The native Spotify for Android sleep timer feature is as simple to use, straightforward, and convenient as you would expect.

    You should easily find it by tapping on the three-dot icon in your Now Playing screen (below the “share” option), with settings for different times when your phone can automatically stop your audio (ranging from 5 minutes to an hour), as well as an option to “go to sleep” after streaming a single track. If you can’t find the feature yet, you should just wait for a wider rollout of the latest Spotify version.

    It’s also worth pointing out that the app doesn’t technically support this functionality on iOS yet, but iPhones come with a Clock app pre-installed that can essentially and effortlessly do the same thing already.

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  • AirAsia appoints Kris Taute to global communications role based in Kuala Lumpur

    AirAsia appoints Kris Taute to global communications role based in Kuala Lumpur

    AirAsia Australia PR and communications manager Kris Taute has moved to the airline’s Kuala Lumpur headquarters for a new global communications role.

    Taute had joined Air Asia last year, moving from the New South Wales state government, having worked for both Transport for NSW and for the state tourism body.

    In his new role as group manager communications for editorial, Taute will be responsible for the editorial communications of the airlines and its subsidiaries including  AirAsia and AirAsia X group of airlines, as well as lifestyle brands such as AirAsia Big Loyalty, travel360.com, Vidi, BigPay, RedCargo Logistics, Rokki, and Ourshop.

    In addition, Daphne Cheah is now ASEAN communications manager moving from a previous role as regional head green and sustainability.

    Taute has been replaced by Sarah Quinn who moves from Destination NSW and takes charge as PR and communication manager for AirAsia Australia.

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  • Stosa Cucine opens first Singaporian store

    Stosa Cucine opens first Singaporian store

    Italian kitchen-design studio Stosa Cucine has opened its first store in Singapore.

    Located at the Apex @ Henderson building, the showroom spans 140sqm, displaying four kitchen models: Aliant, Natural, Infinity, and Aleve, for customers to experience.

    Products on display add a hi-tech touch to the kitchen as well as a functional solution for shelves, baskets and drawers.

    Customers can also get personalized options and design their own Stosa Cucine kitchens.

    The brand says it chose Singapore for its first international store because the city is one of the world’s most cosmopolitan, and an important hub for international trade.

    After Singapore, Stosa Cucine plans to expand into other Asian markets.