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.

  • October retail sales tide in Hong Kong turns up

    October retail sales tide in Hong Kong turns up

    October retail sales in Hong Kong rose by 5.9 per cent year on year, more than double the pace of September, which was affected by Typhoon Mangkhut. A government spokesman indicated that growth in retail sales picked up somewhat in October after a deceleration in the preceding month, supported by the faster increase in visitor arrivals and continued income growth.

    The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) estimated the total value of October Hong Kong retail sales at HK$39.7 billion.

    After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of October retail sales in Hong Kong increased by 5.2 per cent.

    C&SD’s revised estimate of the growth in the value of retail sales in September was unchanged at 2.4 per cent, the lowest figure year to date.

    For the first 10 months of this year retail sales rose by 10.6 per cent year on year, while the volume (netting out inflation) rose by 9.1 per cent.

    The spokesman strong inbound tourism and favourable job and income conditions should continue to support the retail sector in the near term.

    “Yet, consumer sentiment could increasingly be affected by the external uncertainties and weaker asset markets.”

    By broad type of retail outlet (in descending order of the category’s impact on the overall figure) sales of jewellery, watches and valuable gifts increased by 3.3 per cent in October. This was followed by electrical goods and other consumer durable goods, not elsewhere classified (up 16.1 per cent); commodities in department stores (up 3.5 per cent); apparel (up 2.3 per cent); medicines and cosmetics (up14.9 per cent); other consumer goods, not elsewhere classified (up 12.7 per cent); motor vehicles and parts (up 13.6 per cent); fuels (up 10.3per cent); footwear and accessories (up 9.3 per cent); books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (up 5.8 per cent); furniture (up 0.8 per cent); Chinese drugs and herbs (up 0.6 per cent); and optical shops (up 3.2per cent).

    The only categories to record a decline in sales were commodities in supermarkets, down 0.9 per cent, and food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco, down 2 per cent.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Restructuring continue benefits 7-Eleven Malaysia

    Restructuring continue benefits 7-Eleven Malaysia

    New store openings are maintaining a modest 7-Eleven Malaysia sales growth rate – but improved margins are driving solid profit improvement. The listed convenience store operator released its third-quarter results on Friday, which showed third-quarter sales growth of 1 per cent and year-to-date growth of 1.3 per cent. But net profit was up 4.1 per cent for the quarter and 13.3 per cent year to date.

    CEO Colin Harvey said net profit grew 27.6 per cent quarter on quarter.

    “However, this is only the first step in the right direction towards where the organisation should be, and there is scope for improvement. I am confident that our strategy roadmap focussed on strengthening the key areas of, assortment, supply chain, operational excellence, store base, and digitally enabling the organisation will bear fruit in terms of financial performance, and overall customer shopping experience.”

    He said the group’s net revenue of RM1.66 billion year to date was driven by growth in new stores and consumer promotion activity.

    Continued store expansion has taken the network to 2259 stores.

    7-Eleven Malaysia expects trading conditions for the next quarter to improve with the anticipated heightened consumer sentiment.

    “We expect to see further improvements in the next quarter by pursuing our core strategy pillars of operations excellence, cost management and commercial innovation,” the company said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • LG Electronics supports Ethiopian entrepreneurs

    LG Electronics supports Ethiopian entrepreneurs

    LG Electronics announced on Thursday that it has opened an entrepreneurship center for young people at an existing technical and vocational education center run jointly by LG and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    The existing job training center, the LG-Koica Hope TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) College, was established in Addis Ababa in 2014 to help Ethiopia achieve economic growth by offering quality education to young Ethiopians and helping them acquire the foundations of financial independence.

    The new center has been named the LG Social Campus Business Incubator Center. It provides graduation candidates of LG-Koica Hope TVET with the opportunity to receive help building a business model and launching their own company. The center will offer office and co-working spaces, as well as training in law, marketing, leadership and business administration.

    “We hope that a socially-recognized company will be born in Ethiopia with the support of the LG Social Campus,” said Yoon Dae-sik, president of the government relations division at LG Electronics.

    “We will keep up with efforts to help Ethiopian youngsters step up their competitive edge and independence.”

    The Korea International Cooperation Agency is a state-run organization devoted to supporting socio-economic development in developing countries.

  • Fung Group launches Explorium in Hong Kong

    Fung Group launches Explorium in Hong Kong

    Fung group has opened an innovation hub in Hong Kong for co-creating, learning, experimenting and scaling the ideas, opportunities and business models that will shape the future of supply chains. Explorium Hong Kong – taking its name from an earlier project in Shanghai which tested retail technologies – was opened this week with Dr Victor Fung hosting a housewarming party.  Product recognition system using AI technology and developed by Circle K and JD, one of the first prototypes from the partnership between JD’s AI lab and the Fung Retailing Group, was on show along with other technology innovations.

    Among the highlights of the AI tech showcase were:

    ZhuiYi Technology, one of the top AI companies in China has integrated deep learning and NLP to help enterprises improve customer experience and business efficiency.

    WhatsSquare has produced chatbots and digital workspace tailored for SMEs with advanced Software as a Service (SaaS) technology.

    Zhulke Engineering Hong Kong specialises in the design and development of technology in collaboration with corporate partners.

    Virtual Control is an SaaS company that has developed a digital solution to analog processes in modern global supply chains. Its software will pull together a range of digital tools to maximise the impact on efficiency and automation, such as augmented reality, machine learning, photo recognition, and data analytics.

    Beijing MeShow Digital Technology has taken the lead in 3D virtual-human modelling technology. Using MeShow’s mobile app, users can create their 3D model simulating their own face and body, try out types of makeup looks, enjoy virtual fitting services and realise apparel purchase needs concurrently in a single app.

    WildFaces Technology offers a vision-based AI software system that can recognise and track faces anonymously from moving cameras, including on drones, walking robots, PTZ cameras, mobile phones and wearables such as glasses and body-worn cameras. This world-first “on-the-move” recognition technology requires only one low-resolution camera to be able to recognise hundreds of faces in real-time in large uncontrolled crowds and at far distances, replacing at least 50 more high-resolution but fixed cameras from other traditional facial recognition systems.

    Hampen Technology provides deep learning-based biometric authentication and video analytics solutions for fintech, security and retail applications.

    Find Innovation Lab’s Find Retail Suite uses AI and machine learning to offer retailers products that change the way purchasing departments buy merchandise and how the marketing department sells it.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Big success for Korean retailers during shopping festivals

    Big success for Korean retailers during shopping festivals

    South Korean retailers enjoyed a big sales boost from annual shopping extravaganza they launched in November to join the world’s major shopping events like Black Friday in the U.S. or Single’s Day in China. According to industry sources on December 2, Lotte Department Store, one of the country’s retail majors saw its sales from Nov. 1 to 29 grow 1.1 percent against the same period last year. Sales of its hypermarket affiliate Lotte Mart also gained 1.7 percent over the same period.

    Home appliance sold especially well during the big sales period, recording a 12.5 percent jump in revenue compared to the same period last year. High-end products were also showed sharp growth – sales of expensive hanwoo or Korean beef soared 25.8 percent on year and luxury fashion items up 9 percent.

    E-Mart., another leading big-box store chain also held a mega sales event in November, slashing prices of nearly 2,000 items worth 300 billion won (US$267.4 million). It sold 180 tons of hanwoo in just four days, doubling sales against the same period last year.

    Online retailers enjoyed even bigger growth in sales through major discount events. G Market and Auction hosted Big Smile Day sales event from Nov. 1 to 11 and their sales transaction amount more than doubled compared to the same period a month earlier.

    11st.com that runs its biggest sales event on Nov. 11 every year said its daily transaction amount on this year’s big sales day reached a record high of 102 billion won. Last year, it recorded 64 billion won through the same event.

    WeMakePrice Inc. also held bargain sales from Nov 1 to 11 this year. It said the transaction amount over the period jumped 77 percent to 230 billion won compared to the same period last year. By volume, it was up 15 percent on year. The company estimated transaction amount to hit a record high of 600 billion won in November.

  • LNG Canada investor Petronas signs gas supply deal with Vitol

    LNG Canada investor Petronas signs gas supply deal with Vitol

     LNG Canada, the US$30 billion (RM125.7 billion) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, has bagged another client after project shareholder Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) signed an initial sales deal with trading house Vitol.

    Royal Dutch Shell decided in October to construct the export terminal. It was the first major investment decision in a new North American LNG export project for two years and was expected to launch a new wave of such projects in the region.

    Petronas, the Malaysian state-owned oil and gas company that bought a 25% stake in the project in May, will supply Vitol with 0.8 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of LNG starting from 2024 for 15 years, Vitol said in a statement.

    “The primary supply to Vitol will come from LNG Canada as well as from (Petronas’) other global LNG supply portfolio,“ Vitol said.

    Vitol joins Asian utilities Tokyo Gas, Toho Gas and Korea Gas Corp (Kogas) as buyers, committing to offtake around 2.4 mtpa collectively.

    Such long-term agreements normally underpin project finance and are critical before a final investment decision is taken. But because Shell and partners Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and Kogas are such large players in the LNG market, they can absorb the output into their global portfolios without needing to find significant other buyers.

    Under previously announced deals, Toho Gas will buy 0.3 mtpa, Tokyo Gas 0.6 mtpa and Kogas 0.7 mtpa from LNG Canada.

    Lees ook:

  • Q3 Macau retail sales rise

    Q3 Macau retail sales rise

    Third-quarter Macau retail sales surged 12.8 per cent year on year to 18.19 billion patacas (US$2.26 billion), according to data from the SAR’s Statistic Department. However, possibly reflecting the timing of typhoons last year and this year, sales rose only 1 per cent quarter on quarter. Watches and jewellery accounted for 21 per cent of total spending during the quarter. Department stores accounted for 16.3 per cent of the market and apparel 13 per cent.

    The increase in third-quarter Macau retail sales was driven by department stores, up 23.1 per cent, communications equipment (up 19.8 per cent) and pharmacy goods, up 19.4 per cent.

    For the first nine months of this year, Macau retail sales rose by 20.8 per cent.

    However the Statistics Department’s data suggests retailers have modest expectations for the rest of the year. Just 16 per cent of retailers questioned expect an increase in sales for the three months to December, compared with 38.2 per cent who expect a decline and 45.8 per cent who expect sales to remain steady.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Malaysia projected 4.9% retail sales growth for 2018

    Malaysia projected 4.9% retail sales growth for 2018

    The Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA), which expects retail sales growth to come in at 4.9% for 2018 in line with the country’s gross domestic product growth, has pointed out that some of its members face difficulties in retailing online amid the push for e-commerce.

    MRCA, in releasing its first quarterly retail sales survey for the third quarter (Q3) today, highlighted that online sales make up only 3.9% of its retail revenue.

    The sample of respondents for the survey include 10% of MRCA’s members, representing 59 brands and 2,266 stores across a variety of trade categories, including food & beverage (F&B), fashion, health & beauty, supermarket & department stores, entertainment, optical, education, home improvement and more.

    MRCA president Datuk Seri Garry Chua said the association constantly reminds members to bring their businesses online and be part of the digital ecosystem, adding that MRCA also has digital membership for players like Lazada, Lelong and 11street, which are all its members.

    “We can also work closely with them (digital players) to reinforce and increase the market share for online. We’re confident the (industry) sales from online retail is going to be double-digit growth every year as more brick and mortar retailers go online, as with many start-ups,” Chua said.

    MRCA vice-president Datuk Liew Bin said although all members have an online presence, most of its members rely on the brick and mortar model and “survive happily on brick and mortar”, whereby online sales is regarded as a bonus to them.

    “With so many years in brick and mortar, it’s difficult for our members to turn to online. This is one of the challenges that our retailers face because (the) online (wave) is coming on strongly. This should be an alert to our members, as 3.9% is still a small figure,” Liew said, adding that MRCA expects online sales to grow 5% next year.

    Individually, he said some retailers have seen a 20% growth in their online retail sales.

    MRCA projected retail sales growth to grow 6.1% year-on-year in Q4 this year as year-end school holidays and the festive season are expected to bolster consumer spending; while an increase in the number of outlets is also expected to boost sales growth.

    It said retail sales grew 5.7% year-on-year in Q3 with the tax holiday between June and August that had encouraged consumers to spend.

    In Q2, retail sales grew at a slower rate of 2.1% year-on-year, affected mainly by the general election in May, where consumers held back on spending due to economic uncertainty.

    Retail sales grew 5.7% year-on-year in Q1 due to Chinese New Year sales and promotions.

    F&B, health & beauty and other retailers reported encouraging growth rate of 5.4%, 3.1% and 21.3% year-on-year respectively. However, fashion retailers suffered a negative growth in Q2 and Q3 at -2.2% and -2.8% year-on-year respectively.

  • Online Black Friday runs lackluster campaign in Vietnam

    Online Black Friday runs lackluster campaign in Vietnam

    Online Black Friday retailers failed to enthuse customers with usual discounts, while brick and mortar stores saw heavy traffic. E-commerce giant Lazada combined its Black Friday and Cyber Monday into a four-day promotional event, offering discounts of up to 70 percent, mostly on cosmetics and fashion items.

    New items were discounted by 15 percent, and the strongest price reductions were offered on low-value items of unpopular brands.

    Other e-commerce services claimed to offer bigger discounts, of up to 91 percent on Tiki and 99 percent on Shopee, but these were restricted to a particular time frame after which the discounts passed on to other items.

    However, such “flash sales” are familiar to online shoppers as daily offerings made by most e-commerce services.

    Thus, retailers failed to enthuse customers with the discounts.

    Minh Tien, an office worker in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1, said that he regularly checks flash sale items on these websites. “It’s the same method this time, and I’m in no rush as the event will last three to seven days.”

    Market observers said another reason that Black Friday online sales in Vietnam failed to catch fire was the Chinese Singles’ Day promotional event held earlier this month and the upcoming Online Friday hosted by the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA), under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on December 7.

    But in contrast to the online market, the shopping atmosphere was vibrant at brick-and-mortar stores. People started to queue up at large shopping centers in Hanoi and HCMC early Friday.

    A large fashion store on Ba Trieu street in Hanoi offered a discount on all items for five hours, attracting a large number of customers.

    In other stores, customers had to wait for up to two hours to buy household items. Office workers joined the shopping frenzy at lunch time, only to find out they were late because shops stopped letting new customers after 11 a.m.

    As of 10 p.m. Friday night, customers were still queuing up at major shopping malls in Hanoi.

    Lees ook:

  • India’s Spencer’s opens 9 stores in 90 days

    India’s Spencer’s opens 9 stores in 90 days

    Spencer’s Retail, the multi-format retailer from RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group is on an expansion spree. It is presently focussing to expand the store count in existing clusters in east, south and north of India.nIn this effort, Spencer’s essentially opened one store in every 10 days and thereby augmented the retail network of the chain recently by adding 9 new stores in 90 days. With this expansion, the store count of Spencer’s has now reached 146 across 37 cities.

    The strength of Spencer’s lies in its retail network which is constantly growing. It is an endeavour of Spencer’s to become more accessible to the customers and after receiving positive feedback from the clusters it operates in, the chain is poised to explore new territories.

    In this phase, Spencer’s launched stores in existing cities and its adjoining areas like Rajarhat in Kolkata, Maheshtala (South 24 Parganas), City Mall (Gomti Nagar) in Lucknow, Raheja Mall (Sector 47) in Gurugram, Sector 48 in Noida, Madeenaguda in Hyderabad, and at Howrah’s Aurobindo Mall.

    The size of these stores varies between 2,000 sq. ft. to 15,000 sq. ft.. The stores offer a wide range of assortment from different categories including Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Fish & Meat, Staples and Groceries, FMCG, Dairy and Frozen products, Organic Food items, Dry Fruits, Apparels, Electronics and Electricals and Home Essentials. The product range in each of the new store has been meticulously planned to suit the tastes and preferences of the local neighbourhood.

    According to the Spencer’s spokesperson, “To consolidate the business, Spencer’s is dedicatedly selecting 360 degree catchments where the customers are looking for aspirational products in an affordable range. The expansion of Spencer’s currently is focussed at metros as well as in Tier I and II cities. In this FY we are further concentrating at spreading our network in the profitable zones like West Bengal, Delhi NCR, East UP and down south in Hyderabad and Chennai. In terms of product range, with more than 25,000 SKU’s (Stock Keeping Units), Spencer’s is constantly evolving in terms of its offing at each store. It is not only limited to food category but Spencer’s has extended a similar experience in the non-food and general merchandise space.”

    Spencer’s has been redefining the Indian retail landscape since 1863 and with the brand proposition ‘Makes Fine Living Affordable’, it continues to inculcate the same kind of trust and patronage among its millions of consumers across India.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • The Powerful Tycoon You Have Never Heard of Before

    The Powerful Tycoon You Have Never Heard of Before

    Many billionaires have no problem flaunting their wealth, whether through naming skyscrapers after themselves, yacht parties on the other side of the world, fancy ostentatious car collections and private jets, fake rehearsed smiles on camera and lots of media coverage.  But a subset prefers the trappings of obscurity, content to preside over their empires away from the public’s gaze.

    Reading the recent Entrepreneur piece on Calvin Lo, the CEO of R.E. Lee International and Founder of R.E. Lee Capital, one theme emerges: he hates fame.  Even though Forbes estimates Lo’s personal networth at $1.7 billion, he manage to elude any wealth rankings and live his life in what seem like secrecy.


    Life insurance tycoon Calvin Lo, CEO of R.E. Lee International. Photograph: Apple Daily Hong Kong

    The intriguing thing about Lo is not that he’s a billionaire, but a billionaire who managed to slip under the radar for so many years.  Like many wealthy people, he is very private, avoiding public scrutiny of any sort. Hong Kong media describes Lo, known as 盧啟賢 in Asia, as “supremely private” because he doesn’t need a glitzy public persona to help impress anyone, and because he loathes self-promoting egomaniacs.

    That is not uncommon among the upper echelon of the world, where it’s better to be anonymous and rich than loved and famous. That is the hierarchy in the finance culture: the more important you are, the less you need to be seen.

    Garden-variety fame? That is a nasty symptom of being very wealthy that unfairly puts you in the same category as reality TV stars. Those who work at the top of their industry are not that, certainly not in their minds.  That sort of fame is like a skin rash that needs to be treated. And as with all things billionaires, that treatment comes by throwing money at the problem. Not only does Lo never allow his picture be taken in public, there are reports that he has attempted to buy up the rights to photographs of himself, limiting their availability.


    The rarely seen Lo (right) travels with his own security whenever possible. Photograph: Apple Daily Hong Kong

    Many in the financial sector have a similar policy, especially top CEOs.  They flee from cameras, flee from being interviewed, and certainly flee from ever being on Page Six.  Unflattering news, unflattering photos, are either bought with money, or buried via legal action. But even media-shy billionaires will occasionally surface in the public eye.  Earlier this year, Lo was romantically linked to Hong Kong actress Bernice Liu, better known as 廖碧兒, and it piqued the interest of many people across Asia. After all, everyone loves a fairytale story where an unknown billionaire and a famous former beauty pageant can go hand in hand.  With the combination of extreme wealth, good looks and killer work ethics, it’s safe to say Lo and Liu redefined the meaning of “power couple” making them a perfect match. But true to form, Lo never did any interviews or made any statements regarding the matter.

    Hong Kong actress Bernice Liu (left) romantically linked to media-shy billionaire Calvin Lo (right). Photograph: Oriental Daily

    The distaste of fame often morphs into outright secrecy, especially amongst the mega rich.  If fame is a sign of weakness then secrecy is a sign of success. True masters of the markets don’t need anyone else’s help. They can divine the secrets behind the frenzy of blips on the screen, finding the hidden order in randomness, and turning that into gold. If you think you have that secret it’s nonsensical to tell others about it for free. Much better to charge huge fees to share in the benefits of your special knowledge. People on TV giving investment advice? Either they are fools who don’t know anything and pretend to know it all, or they’re fools who know something and are giving it away for free. Either way, fools.

    Every generation or two produces a mysterious, behind-the-scenes tycoon of enormous power and influence, fundamentally different from even the wealthiest corporate titan. Lo is most certainly one of them who is mastering and reshaping entire economic landscape right under all our noses.

    Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on The London Economic

  • Hong Kong’s Most Under-the-Radar Billionaire: Calvin Lo

    Hong Kong’s Most Under-the-Radar Billionaire: Calvin Lo

    While Jack Ma and Li Ka Shing can’t avoid the spotlight, other fantastically rich people do manage to slip under the general public’s radar, often because they built their wealth through privately held companies and keeping it off public records. Take how the extra-secretive Lo family in Hong Kong keep a low profile.

    The largest independent life insurance broker, R.E. Lee International, is still 100% privately owned by the Lo family. Unlike Ma, who must disclose his Alibaba stock holdings in public filings, Los’ under no such obligation.

    The media-shy billionaire Calvin Lo. [source: Apple Daily Hong Kong]

    Calvin Lo, the heir of the family, is the CEO of R.E. Lee International, a life insurance brokerage providing estate planning and business succession services for ultra high net-worth individuals and businesses. It’s estimated that his group places $1 billion of premiums annually. Under Lo, the company formed R.E. Lee Capital providing wealth management and advisory services with a few billion dollars under management. He is also a successful investor whose massive, far-reaching business has its fingers in industries as diverse as pulp and paper, real estate and wineries.

    Forbes estimates Lo’s personal net worth to be $1.7 billion, making him one of the wealthiest people in Asia, yet he chooses to lead a private life and has never appeared on any wealth ranking. This can be pretty common. A desire for security and a life free from the pestering of luxury retail companies and philanthropic organizations are motivations for keeping extreme wealth under wraps.

    Despite managing to stay virtually unnoticed by the rest of the world, even media-shy billionaires will occasionally surface in the public eye. It was only when the Hong Kong media uncovered Lo’s visit to Champagne, France, earlier this year that the world start noticing him. It turns out that Lo is Asia’s biggest purchaser and collector of champagne, and his most recent transaction was forking out $230 million for his champagne collection.

    Led by his bodyguard, Lo made an appearance at the VIP area of a French winery. [source: Oriental Daily]

    Other than being in the ultra exclusive billionaire club, Lo and Ma does share something else in common: they both keep a residence in Hong Kong’s most prestigious address. Every city has that neighborhood, an address that signifies wealth. New York City has Fifth Avenue, London has Kensington, and Miami has South Beach. Hong Kong has The Peak, a neighborhood that has been synonymous with prestige, luxury, and exclusivity since the colonial era. It’s the kind of neighborhood that consistently breaks records for the most expensive real estate in the world. Lo’s mansion is estimated to be worth $70 million, not a small amount by any stretch of the imagination.

    Privacy and security are definitely important when you’re this rich and successful.  Unlike entertainment celebrities, billionaires like Lo simply like to keep a low profile and are not recognised in public except by people who either are familiar with their industry or who know them personally.

    While not brokering deals or buying up chateaus, Lo spends his time with the world renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall to promote the wellbeing of animals, the community and environment. Public filings show that Lo sits on the Jane Goodall Institute board.

    Lo have been good friends with Dr. Jane Goodall since 2004 and supports her cause passionately. [source: Apple Daily Hong Kong]

    Lo’s determination to preserve his privacy while simultaneously emblazoning the NGO he supports with his name (and money) is just one of the many contradictions that make this hidden billionaire fascinating.

    Lo is a hypercar collector and owns the rare Pagani Huayra BC. Pictured here in Vancouver. [source: Ming Pao Hong Kong]

    This article originally appeared on www.entrepreneur.com/article/322745

    Lees ook:

  • “Falling Stars Challenge” has striked Asia

    “Falling Stars Challenge” has striked Asia

    The Falling Stars Challenge, a meme that has rocketed through Asia, features people posing as if they’ve fallen out of their luxury cars, with the luxury contents of their luxury bags spilling out on the pavement for all to see. The expensive goods are meticulously arranged so followers can admire the makeup, jewelry, shoes and other items that have oh-so-embarrassingly been laid bare.

    But the meme has become democratized, spreading from its beginnings as a way to take the humble out of humblebragging.

    It now encompasses any number of chosen identities, becoming a way to display the physical items and pursuits most closely associated with oneself.

    It’s popular among beauty and photography bloggers, fitness and food enthusiasts, and artists of all sorts.

    Hospital workers have shown off the tools of their trade, while others, with a touch of self-deprecation, have offered their more accessible collections of yoga mats, junk food and trash. They don’t even need to fall out of cars.

    The challenge originated in Russia and has spread throughout Asia, especially in China, where thousands of people have participated on Weibo, a popular social network.

    Even rigid government departments have joined in.

    The Consular Protection Center of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a photo that showed a worker falling into a pile of paper.

    A police school photographed a fallen officer surrounded by bullets.

    The challenge has spread beyond Russia and China, with tens of thousands of posts from various countries appearing on Instagram.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Malaysia’s Central Bank confident of 4.8% GDP growth in 2018

    Malaysia’s Central Bank confident of 4.8% GDP growth in 2018

    Economists have mixed views on Malaysia’s full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth despite the central bank’s confidence the economy will expand 4.8% this year. Sunway University Business School’s Professor of Economics Dr Yeah Kim Leng expects GDP growth for 2018 to come in at 4.7% to 4.8% while growth in 2019 could be better than this year if there is sustained global demand.

    “For 2019, GDP (growth) would be closer to 5%. It may exceed that if the global economy holds up, in terms of lessening trade tension and strengthening of China’s economy,” he said.

    However, Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew said this year’s GDP growth is unlikely to hit 4.8%, as the quarterly expansions have been on the decline.

    “We had 5.4%, 4.5% and 4.4% for the first three quarters (respectively) this year. It would require substantially stronger growth than what we saw in Q3 to hit 4.8% full-year growth,” he said.

    The Malaysian economy grew by 4.4% in the third quarter, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced on Friday.

    Pong said the final quarter of the year does not have the tail wind that would boost consumption and expects full-year growth to come in at 4.5% to 4.6%.

    “For 2019, it is quite a challenge to forecast due to global growth slowing. We face headwinds from global growth as we are an export dependent economy. Net exports from goods and services are fluctuating,” he added.

    Pong expects GDP growth in 2019 to be similar to 2018’s, due to the unpredictability of global trade.

    Commenting on the economic performance in Q3, Yeah said it was softer than expected, which weighed down on growth momentum.

    “In the third quarter, services (sector) was good, largely due to private consumption. Growth was largely driven by the services and manufacturing sectors. As long as we can sustain the current growth momentum, a lower oil price will not affect GDP growth,” he said.

    On the supply shocks that affected growth in the first nine months, Yeah said the situation is likely to improve as the unscheduled maintenance shutdowns are over, with less disruption and gradual rebound projected.

    Pong, who expected Q3 GDP growth of 4%, said the 4.4% achieved was better than projected in view of the high base of 6.2% a year ago.

    “In Q3, the challenge was the high base in Q3 last year, when we achieved GDP growth of 6.2%. It is difficult to achieve strong year-on-year growth. Many expected Q3 to be strong due to consumption spending following the removal of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

    Retail numbers were stronger than what I expected. Consumption was stronger, therefore services was stronger,” he said.

    He noted that private consumption was stronger at 9% in Q3 (8% in Q2), which is a rare occurrence, while public consumption was also stronger at 5.2% (3.1% in Q2).

    Both Yeah and Pong cautioned that the softening in the plantation sector, especially palm oil prices, could affect smallholders’ income, which would in turn affect consumer spending.

    “If commodity prices fall, it will hit GDP. If CPO (crude palm oil) continues to be weak, it will have a negative impact on consumption. In particular, CPO and rubber. As it is now, commodity prices are weak and are still falling,” said Pong.

    However, Yeah said the impact on consumer spending would not be that large in view of the government’s spending and policies that remain supportive of consumption.

    At a media briefing last Friday, BNM governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said private consumption expanded strongly during the quarter following the zerorisation of GST.

    “On the supply side, the services and manufacturing sectors supported growth, while the mining sector continued to be affected by production shocks.”

    She said growth could have been 0.5 to 0.7 percentage point higher in the absence of commodity shocks, as 17% of the economy (agriculture, mining and quarrying) contracted by 1.3%.

    Nonetheless, Nor Shamsiah believes the economy is on track to register a growth of 4.8% for 2018, supported by private sector activity with gradual recovery in commodity production lending support to growth.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Walmart sales goes back on track

    Walmart sales goes back on track

    US retailer Walmart has reported a 4.7 per cent increase in operating income in the third quarter to US$4.98 billion, and a 3.4 per cent increase in year-on-year comparable sales. Walmart sales for the period reached US$124.9 billion, an increase of 1.4 per cent.

    “We have momentum in the business as we execute our plan and benefit from a favourable economic environment in the US,” Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement.

    “We’re accelerating innovation and using technology to shape the future of retail [and] making shopping at Walmart faster and easier.”

    The retailer saw a 43 per cent increase in online sales in the quarter, largely thanks to its investment in its e-commerce business, as well as key acquisitions, according to GlobalData Retail’s MD Neil Saunders.

    “Making online work for customers has been a priority for Walmart, but the company is also conscious that online needs to deliver in terms of profitability,” Saunders said.

    “On this front, we are impressed with the experimentation on automation and the testing of various last mile solutions for grocery. We believe that Walmart has the skill, financial muscle, and the physical infrastructure to drive profitable online growth in a way that many other retailers, especially grocery players, will struggle to achieve.”

    Lees ook: