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.

  • New outlets boost Koufu Sales

    New outlets boost Koufu Sales

    Singaporean food court and coffee shop management firm Koufu has reported 12.3 percent net profit growth for this year’s first quarter to S$7 million (US$5.13 million) on higher contributions across its business segments.

    The growth in net profit outpaced the 4.9 percent growth in Q1 revenue to $57.8 million compared to $55.1 million during the same period last year.

    “We are pleased to have achieved a strong start for the year,” said Koufu’s executive chairman and CEO Pang Lim. “We remain firmly focused on the expansion of our market share in food courts and coffee shops, growing our F&B concept stores, and bringing new food options and varieties to consumers both locally and in the region, leveraging on our distinct portfolio of brands.

    “We are encouraged by the strong reception of our R&B Tea brand and will continue to nurture this fast-growing brand in Singapore and in the region. Overseas, we have opened our second tea-beverage kiosk at Macau University this quarter and are currently negotiating terms with potential partners to operate both the R&B Tea and Elemen brands abroad. In Singapore, we will continue to seek and secure new premises to expand the number of F&B outlets in pursuit of sustainable growth.”

    Koufu’s synergistic business segments – outlet and mall management as well as F&B retail – both registered increased contributions during the period. The outlet and mall management segment, which contributed 51.4 percent of the group’s revenue, achieved a 9.2 per cent rise in segment revenue during the period. F&B Retail, which contributed 48.6 percent of the group’s revenue, saw a 0.7 percent growth to SGD28.1 million. The improved performance from both segments was due to new openings and overall robust revenue growth from all outlets that outweighed store closures during the quarter.

    The group’s islandwide network numbers 49 food courts, 15 coffee shops, a hawker center and a commercial mall under the outlet and mall management segment, while the F&B retail segment constitutes 73 self-operated F&B stalls, 16 F&B kiosks, eight quick-service restaurants, and three full-service restaurants.

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  • Shoppers Stop revamps department store design

    Shoppers Stop revamps department store design

    Indian retail conglomerate calls in German design house to create new concept.

    Indian fashion and lifestyle retailer Shoppers Stop, which operates large-format department stores, home stores and specialty stores across the country, is implementing a new store design concept for its department stores nationwide.

    The new concept is the work of German architecture, design and branding firm Schwitzke, with the first store opening last month in Ambience Mall Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

    “The objective behind this exercise was to upgrade the shopping experience at our stores,” said Shoppers Stop customer care associate, MD and CEO Rajiv Suri. “We engaged Schwitzke to help us conceive this concept that offers a modern shopping experience to our customers in line with what is happening globally. Carrying all our categories and spread across 60,000sqft, the new outlet opened in Delhi reflects the latest aesthetics in-store design.”

    The new design will be applied to all the retailers’ department stores going forward.

    “Every year, we open between five and seven department stores,” said Suri.

    “These will all be rolled out in the new design format. Anywhere between five and seven existing stores will also get renovated annually to upgrade the shopping experience. It will take us some time to renovate all the department stores, but I think there will be continuous evolution on the concept itself. There could be another upgrade to this concept considering frequent and constant changes in digitisation. So there will be small amendments/updates as we go on.”

    The rollout of the new design will be gradual, with touches and visual elements of the concept temporarily added to the existing 83 Shoppers Stop stores across the territory prior to each location’s full fit-out.

    The company has earmarked a third of its profits for upgrade and renovation of its store network, with the remaining funds allocated to setting up new stores and IT systems upgrades. The firm plans to open 25 new stores this year.

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  • Hydro Flask Starts in Hong Kong

    Hydro Flask Starts in Hong Kong

    Hydro Flask, the US brand of high-performance, insulated stainless-steel flasks targeting the outdoors market, has launched in Hong Kong.

    From this month, Hydro Flask products are being sold by Hong Kong retailers through an expansion of the company’s partnership with the Primer Group. Products will be stocked through outdoor and sporting goods retailers, lifestyle stores, travel retailers and gourmet grocers.

    “We’re excited to expand our strong relationship with Primer to bring Hydro Flask to Hong Kong. It’s a key part of our global expansion and influences markets beyond Asia,” said Mike Wallenfels, VP of global sales at Hydro Flask.

    The brand’s launch is timely as growing numbers of Asian consumers are purchasing reusable containers in preference to single-use plastic and paper cups, for environmental reasons.

    The company produces containers suited to cold drinks, coffee, beer, wine and food, along with backpacks, casual clothing and accessories.

    Hydro Flask is a subsidiary of listed company Helen of Troy Limited.

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  • Waze app gains Pandora integration on Android and iOS

    Waze app gains Pandora integration on Android and iOS

    Waze, Google Maps’ rival, and Pandora, the music streaming company have just announced they have teamed up to offer Android and iOS users the option to soundtrack their travel experience on mobile phones.

    If you’re a Pandora fan, you’ll now be able to listen to your favorite tunes on both iOS and Android devices across all tiers of the music streaming service, as well as personalize your experience directly inside the Waze app via an embedded audio player.

    Thanks to the new Pandora integration, drivers will now be able to navigate and listen to music simultaneously without ever leaving the map. Since the integration goes both ways, if you open Pandora, you’ll be able to use Waze’s navigation features.

    In order to connect Pandora with Waze, simply download the navigation app from the Google Play or App Store if you don’t have it already, tap on the music icon on the top right of the map, and select the Pandora icon. Also, make sure that the sound is turned on so that you can listen to music.

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  • Google Duo group video calling goes live

    Google Duo group video calling goes live

    Google Duo, the video chat mobile app developed by the Mountain View company, received a couple of important updates in the last year or so. Among them, group video calling was added to the app less than a month ago, but it was only made available in a few countries.

    Starting today, Google has expanded the availability of the group video calling feature to more countries, including the United States, Canada, and India. Even Google seems to confirm the new feature is available in “select regions,” but no list of markets is available yet, so we’ll have to rely on reports coming from users.

    With group video calling, Google Duo users will be able to select up to four contacts that they can call simultaneously. Simply swipe down and press the “Create Group” option in order to start adding the contacts you want to call.

    Although the feature only supports four contacts in a group call, Google plans to slowly increase the number of people that you can call simultaneously with Google Duo, although no timeframe is available at the moment.

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  • WhatsApp to end support for Windows Phone

    WhatsApp to end support for Windows Phone

    WhatsApp has just confirmed that it will end support for Windows Phone, as well as some older versions of Android and iOS. Starting from December 31, 2019, WhatsApp for Windows Phone will stop working, while next year the developer will no longer support devices running older versions of Android and iOS.

    In case you’re wondering why WhatsApp has decided to turn off support for Windows Phone ahead of 2020, it’s worth mentioning that this is consistent with Microsoft’s decision to end support for their mobile operating system.

    Concerning the other two operating systems, WhatsApp will stop working on devices running Android version 2.3.7 and older starting February 1, 2020. Also, devices powered by iOS 7 and older will no longer be compatible with WhatsApp effective February 1, 2020.

    However, since WhatsApp won’t be developing for these operating systems anymore, some features that are now available might stop working even before the deadline, so you might want to switch to a newer device if you want to continue to use WhatsApp.

    Moreover, if you’re using a device that runs these older Android and iOS versions, you won’t be able to create new accounts, nor reverify existing accounts, as of right now.

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  • Exabytes Announces Its Annual eCommerce Conference to be Held on 27 June

    Exabytes Announces Its Annual eCommerce Conference to be Held on 27 June

    Exabytes Network Sdn. Bhd. today announced that its annual event of Exabytes eCommerce Conference (EEC) is scheduled to be held on Thursday, June 27th at Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Center (MaGIC) in Cyberjaya. EEC 2019 carries the theme of Grow Global, Grow Fast and it focuses on four main areas – growing ecommerce business, ecommerce trends, marketing for ecommerce, and ecommerce automation. This year, EEC expects to attract at least 800 attendees of startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from various sectors not just from Malaysia but from around the world. The one-day event is going to be packed with presentations and workshops by esteemed speakers from various industry backgrounds. Besides that, there will be at least 20 exhibitors of organizations that will take part in this year’s EEC.

    Registrations are now open online at www.exabytes.my/eec.

    Speaker highlights:

    • Anna Lebereva, Head of Growth Marketing, SEMrush;
    • ZiKang, Founder of FITGEAR & OXWHITE;
    • Lennise Ng, CEO of Dropee;
    • Diego Olivier Fernandez Pons, Scientific Advisor, Tezos Southeast Asia;
    • Roberto Cumaraswamy, CMO-on-Demand, robertocumaraswamy.com;
    • Christopher Lowe, Senior Account Manager, Insider;
    • Xin-Ci, Head of Marketing, StoreHub; and,
    • Nowrid Amin, Digital Marketing Strategist of IQI Global.

    More speakers will be announced from time to time.

    Chan Kee Siak, CEO of Exabytes said, “EEC is back for the sixth time and with a bigger goal to inspire startups and SMEs to grow their business beyond Malaysian borders. Since it started, EEC has been gaining momentum as a platform for startup entrepreneurs, C-level executives and other attendees to share, learn and network. We look forward to hosting them on June 27 in Cyberjaya.”

    “Thriving ecommerce presents opportunities. There is so much to learn about it so we’ve planned to cover a variety of topics such as analytics, big data, elogistics and mobile payment technologies. We are currently offering early-bird promo tickets and those who are interested can purchase them online at www.exabtyes.my/eec,” Chan explained.

    Started in 2014 with only 100 attendees, EEC has grown to be a popular ecommerce event in Malaysia attracting participants from around the world. In 2019, EEC targets to more than double its attendees from 396 in 2018 to a minimum of 800 this year.

    About Exabytes Network Sdn. Bhd.

    Founded in 2001, Exabytes Network Sdn. Bhd. is a leading web hosting and cloud service provider in Southeast Asia. It specializes in providing services of cloud hosting, shared hosting, email hosting, Virtual Private Server, dedicated servers, domain name registration, digital marketing and others. The Company currently serves over 100,000 small- and medium-sized businesses in 121 countries. Exabytes Network is part of Exabytes Capital Group Sdn. Bhd. It is headquartered in Penang, Malaysia. Website: www.exabytes.my.

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  • Google is still working on an exciting AI feature

    Google is still working on an exciting AI feature

    Tweets sent by Google Photos product lead David Lieb indicate that the company has not given up on the Colorize feature it unveiled at Google I/O last year. The feature uses machine learning tools to add colors to old black and white photos. He said that Google hopes to have Colorize out in beta form soon and said that he’d love to hear feedback from Android users. The Colorize feature, when it does get pushed out, will show up as a filter in the Google Photos app.

    Lieb did say that Colorize needs some more work, and for proof of that, he showed a black and white photo taken during his grandparents’ wedding day (his grandmother is 104!). While Colorize did add color to the image, it also added a pink tinge to his grandfather’s pants. The Googler assures us that his grandfather did not wear pink pants at his wedding.

    Meanwhile, another feature that Google introduced at its 2018 developers conference, Color Pop, was pushed out just a week after the feature was unveiled. Using AI, Color Pop takes the background of a photo shot in Portrait mode and changes it to black and white; the subject matter remains in color. The stark difference between the two makes the subject pop, or stand out. Color Pop appears as a filter option in the Google Photos app after you snap a Portrait.

  • Vietnam Equity Firm buys into Vietnam’s Pharmacity

    Vietnam Equity Firm buys into Vietnam’s Pharmacity

    Vietnam private equity firm Mekong Capital has issued funding to pharmacy chain Pharmacity.

    Pharmacity is now the eighth company to receive funding from Mekong’s latest financing round, following the firm’s investment in mattress producer Vua Nem last year.

    With 186 outlets retailing both traditional Vietnamese and Western medicines, Pharmacity is the country’s most widespread network of pharmaceutical products stores, with 1 million subscribers to its loyalty program. The firm is targeting 1000 outlets in VIetnam within two years.

    “Our partnership with Mekong Capital will empower us to continue improving healthcare for the Vietnamese people,” said Pharmacity founder and CEO Chris Blank, “and help accelerate our growth while better positioning us to execute on our vision and mission to build the most convenient pharmacy chain where customers fully entrust their health and wellness.”

    “The company was the first retailer in this sector to demonstrate that all of Vietnam’s regulations and compliance thresholds can be met and still generate a healthy store level profitability,” added Mekong Capital partner Chad Ovel.

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  • Customs seizes $7 million worth of fake goods

    Customs seizes $7 million worth of fake goods

    Hong Kong Customs has seized 55,000 items of fake goods destined for the US during a three-month campaign to combat cross-border counterfeiting. The haul, some of which is shown in the accompanying photograph, included trainer, apparel, mobile phones and accessories, handbags and Beats-branded headphones.

    Customs officers estimated the value of the haul to be about HK$7 million.

    “Hong Kong Customs has been working closely with the US Customs and Border Protection using intelligence exchanges, and took targeted enforcement action between January and April including stepped-up inspection of suspicious express courier parcels destined for the US,” said a Customs spokesperson.

    “Hong Kong Customs will continue working closely with overseas law enforcement agencies to combat cross-boundary counterfeiting activities through intelligence exchanges and joint enforcement actions.”

    Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who imports or exports any goods to which a forged trademark is applied commits an offense. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

  • SM Retail Achieves Small Profit Boost

    SM Retail Achieves Small Profit Boost

    SM Retail has achieved a first-quarter profit increase of 5 percent to P2.7 billion (US$51.7 million).

    Retail revenues in the first three months rose by 13 percent year-on-year to P79 billion, while sales from specialty retail stores grew by the same percentage to P19.6 billion.

    As at the end of March, SM Retail had 2385 stores, comprising 63 department stores, 1388 specialty retail stores, 57 SM Supermarkets, 53 SM Hypermarkets, 194 Savemore, 52 WalterMart, and 578 Alfamart stores.

    The figures were included in the quarterly report of SM Investments, which boosted its profit by 26 percent to PHP10.7 billion (US$205 million).

    The gains reflected improved sales from the retail business as well as its property and banking activities.

    Consolidated revenues during the period were up 15 percent year-on-year to PHP109 billion ($2.1 billion).

    “We continued to deliver double-digit growth to both our top and bottom line in the first quarter,” said SMIC president Frederic DyBuncio. “Performance was strong across our businesses, particularly for our banks.”

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  • WH Smith expands King Power partnership into Singapore

    WH Smith expands King Power partnership into Singapore

    WH Smith has widened its franchise partnership with King Power Group (Hong Kong) to Singapore.

    Until now, the franchise partnership deal struck last year covered Hong Kong only.

    The new partnership aims to grow WH Smith’s presence in Singapore and explore opportunities in rail and metro stations, ferry terminals and commercial centres. It excludes airport locations which WH Smith will continue to run directly.

    “We believe in the strength of the WH Smith brand and its business expertise as a leading international news, books and convenience operator,” said King Power MD for travel retail and duty free, Sunil Tuli.

    “The King Power Group has more than 25 years’ travel retail business presence in Asia, and we are well placed to develop the WH Smith business in Singapore.”

    “We are pleased to have extended our partnership with King Power Group,” said WH Smith MD international, Phil McNally. “We continue to be ambitious about expanding the WH Smith brand in Asia and, today, we are active and strongly growing in six countries in the region – in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and China.”

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  • Thailand acquisition boosts BreadTalk Turn Over

    Thailand acquisition boosts BreadTalk Turn Over

    Singapore’s BreadTalk Group has reported a year-on-year revenue increase of 6.1 percent to S$157.6 million (US$115.56 million) for its first financial quarter this year.

    The group’s net profit increased by 11.5 percent to $1.3 million over the period. Sales at BreadTalk’s bakery division rose 2.3 percent to $72 million ($52.8 million) during the first quarter with the consolidation of revenue from its Thailand bakery business, following the acquisition of the 50 percent interest in BTM from Minor Food Group. Excluding that, revenue would have been lower by 5.7 percent year on year, due to lower revenue from the directly operated stores in Beijing and the franchise business in China, partly offset by stronger revenue by the directly operated Singapore stores.

    The consolidation of the Thailand business added 47 BreadTalk outlets to the group’s direct operated store count.

    “Last year was a year of milestones for us,” said group CEO Henry Chu. “We expanded into new markets such as London with Din Tai Fung and brought our joint-venture partners Song Fa Holdings and Wu Pao Chun Food into strategic markets such as China and Singapore respectively.“With the new partnerships, we laid the foundations to diversify our business portfolio so as to achieve sustainable growth for the group.

    In addition, we embarked on efforts to increase our central kitchen production facilities in China and Thailand. The 6.1 percent increase in group revenue show that these efforts are starting to pay off,” he said.

    “Looking forward, we will continue to strengthen our presence of existing brands in key markets. We will continue to develop in talent development and the setup of our third regional office in Bangkok as we position ourselves for growth in Thailand and greater Mekong-region markets.”

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  • Takashimaya After Opportunities in South East Asia

    Takashimaya After Opportunities in South East Asia

    Three Southeast Asian countries are on Japanese department store operator’s radar. Takashimaya says it is evaluating opportunities to open department stores in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

    However, in an interview, Takashimaya’s president Yoshio Murata said while new stores in those markets could be an option, the company’s priority now is to focus on “raising the profitability of the four stores” it already has in Southeast Asia and China.

    Takashimaya opened a store in the IconSiam development in Bangkok late last year, adding to stores it already had in Shanghai, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City.

    In May last year, it was reported that just one of its overseas stores was then trading at a profit – the Singapore flagship on Orchard Road. But the company said it believed it could make them all profitable by 2023, including the Bangkok one.

    This week, Murata said the company plans to strengthen its overseas operations and sees an opportunity for growth in Southeast Asia, in particular.

    Additional locations “are entirely possible,” he said, so long as there were good locations available.

    The company is facing problems in its home market where an aging population and declining birth rate are making business growth a challenge.

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  • SM Prime profit rises 16% in first 3 months this Year

    SM Prime profit rises 16% in first 3 months this Year

    Philippine property giant SM Prime Holdings says its net income in the first quarter increased 16 percent based on higher rental income and residential sales.

    Gross earnings increased 14 percent to PHP26.5 billion (US$508.1 million) during the time period, while total outgoing grew 11 percent to PHP13.6 billion ($260.7 million). Net income attributable to shareholders hit PHP8.8 billion ($168.7 million) in the first quarter, in comparison with PHP7.6 billion ($145.7 million) for the same period a year earlier.

    “SM Prime continues to benefit from the overall growth of the Philippine economy that boosts the household income of most families,” said SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim. “We are optimistic that we will sustain this performance this year as we continuously expand our core businesses in developing provincial cities across the country.”

    The firm plans to launch four new malls this year in Pangasinan, Zambales, Caraga and Zamboanga.

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