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Category: General

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

  • Metro Cash & Carry India to open smaller stores to expand quickly

    Metro Cash & Carry India to open smaller stores to expand quickly

    Metro Cash and Carry India is turning to smaller stores to speed up its network rollout as it tries to reach profitability.

    The German discount wholesaler is about to open its 27th store in the market which will be just 40,000sqft in size, far smaller than the 75,000-100,000sqft format of most existing stores.

    The new compact store in Ghaziabad follows another of similar size in Nasik.

    Arvind Mediratta, CEO and MD of Metro Cash and Carry India, says going forward new stores will be between 40,000sqft  and 50,000 sqft. “We are doing away with bigger stores in the range of 75,000-100,000sqft,” he said.

    The smaller footprint has also been necessitated by a lack of development sites: a 100,000sqft store requires about eight acres of land, an area not easy to find in cities.

    “The store format of 40,000sqft is easy to scale up,” Mediratta said in an interview. “A lot of people think more space means more sales. Customers don’t come to you more often because you have a bigger store.”

    Metro Cash and Carry India is targeting 50 stores by 2020, but given the move to smaller outlets, that number may be surpassed, said Mediratta.

    “[But] we don’t want to get into reckless expansion. In our business, to make money the cost of real estate has to be right. It is not just about the availability of the real estate but it has also to be at the right price,” he said.

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  • Walmart India eyes 10 pc revenue from private labels, 30 stores by 2019

    Walmart India eyes 10 pc revenue from private labels, 30 stores by 2019

    Walmart India, which runs 22 Best Price wholesale stores, is planning to increase the share of its private labels to topline to 10 percent by next year as it plans to tap the Flipkart platform.

    According to a report: The company opened its 22nd store in Ludhiana late last month, which is the sixth in the state, where it began with and the second in the Punjab city.

    The company will have 30 stores by the time it completes a decade of its second coming next year.

    Globally, the retail major which is bigger than Boeing, Coca-Cola, Facebook, and the Google parent Alphabet in total sales–nets around 20 percent of its topline from private labels, which are low-priced but high margin items while from a volume perspective it is around 25 percent, which it has already achieved in the country as well.

    Walmart India closed fiscal 2017 with a topline of Rs 3,609 crore, up around 14 percent, according to government filing.

    The numbers for FY18 is not available for Walmart.

    “Currently, our revenue from private labels is 6-7 per cent from our two brands–Right Buy and Member’s Mark, wherein the first is the cheaper than the other. We hope to take this to 10 per cent by 2019, when we close our first decade,” Krish Iyer, Chief Executive, Walmart India said.

    Internationally, its private labels are a US$ 60 billion business for them under the name of Sams Club, while its total volume is over US$ 500 billion.

    India is the only market where Walmart is only into wholesale.

    Iyer, also said he expects an uptick in private label sales going forward as the company is planning to cross-sell these brands on Flipkart, its online marketplace subsidiary here.

    In the biggest M&A deal, the world’s largest retailed Walmart had bought 77 percent of the homegrown online marketplace Flipkart for over US$ 16 billion in August.

    It can be noted that FDI norms allow only 51 percent in multi-brand retail, whereas in cash & carry 100 percent is permitted.

    Flipkart also has developed private brands like Billion though not exactly in the grocery segment.

    “What can be done is while we can’t sell on Flipkart, our manufactures can do and vice versa, which can be beneficial for both,” Iyer said.

    But he was quick to add that both are independent companies with independent boards and the process can take time.

    “Nothing will happen immediately at least over the next quarter or so. But we do see tremendous scope for synergies as Flipkart is very good at their logistics, deliveries, customer relationship management, artificial intelligence, machine learning and analytics, among others. We too have similar strengths, which can be combined,” he said.

    The company made a reentry in 2009 after exiting its failed jv with Bharati Enterprises, on its own and opened the first wholesale store in Amritsar. The new 56,000 sq.ft. store in Ludhiana is the sixth in the state and the first one since August 2015 in Agra.

    The company has announced plans to open 50 stores by 2025. When asked where it would be by the turn of the first decade (next year), Iyer said, adding they would have 30 stores by December 2019. We will also two fulfilment centres by then, and the next one is coming up in Vishakapattanam by December 2019.

    He said the company has created over 1 million customers since 2009, and each store typically generates around 2,000 jobs of which around 250 are direct jobs.
    Walmart eyes 10 pc revenue from private labels, 30 stores by 2019

    Walmart India, which runs 22 Best Price wholesale stores, is planning to increase the share of its private labels to topline to 10 percent by next year as it plans to tap the Flipkart platform.

    According to a report: The company opened its 22nd store in Ludhiana late last month, which is the sixth in the state, where it began with and the second in the Punjab city.

    The company will have 30 stores by the time it completes a decade of its second coming next year.

    Globally, the retail major which is bigger than Boeing, Coca-Cola, Facebook, and the Google parent Alphabet in total sales–nets around 20 percent of its topline from private labels, which are low-priced but high margin items while from a volume perspective it is around 25 percent, which it has already achieved in the country as well.

    Walmart India closed fiscal 2017 with a topline of Rs 3,609 crore, up around 14 percent, according to government filing.

    The numbers for FY18 is not available for Walmart.

    “Currently, our revenue from private labels is 6-7 per cent from our two brands–Right Buy and Member’s Mark, wherein the first is the cheaper than the other. We hope to take this to 10 per cent by 2019, when we close our first decade,” Krish Iyer, Chief Executive, Walmart India said.

    Internationally, its private labels are a US$ 60 billion business for them under the name of Sams Club, while its total volume is over US$ 500 billion.

    India is the only market where Walmart is only into wholesale.

    Iyer, also said he expects an uptick in private label sales going forward as the company is planning to cross-sell these brands on Flipkart, its online marketplace subsidiary here.

    In the biggest M&A deal, the world’s largest retailed Walmart had bought 77 percent of the homegrown online marketplace Flipkart for over US$ 16 billion in August.

    It can be noted that FDI norms allow only 51 percent in multi-brand retail, whereas in cash & carry 100 percent is permitted.

    Flipkart also has developed private brands like Billion though not exactly in the grocery segment.

    “What can be done is while we can’t sell on Flipkart, our manufactures can do and vice versa, which can be beneficial for both,” Iyer said.

    But he was quick to add that both are independent companies with independent boards and the process can take time.

    “Nothing will happen immediately at least over the next quarter or so. But we do see tremendous scope for synergies as Flipkart is very good at their logistics, deliveries, customer relationship management, artificial intelligence, machine learning and analytics, among others. We too have similar strengths, which can be combined,” he said.

    The company made a reentry in 2009 after exiting its failed jv with Bharati Enterprises, on its own and opened the first wholesale store in Amritsar. The new 56,000 sq.ft. store in Ludhiana is the sixth in the state and the first one since August 2015 in Agra.

    The company has announced plans to open 50 stores by 2025. When asked where it would be by the turn of the first decade (next year), Iyer said, adding they would have 30 stores by December 2019. We will also two fulfilment centres by then, and the next one is coming up in Vishakapattanam by December 2019.

    He said the company has created over 1 million customers since 2009, and each store typically generates around 2,000 jobs of which around 250 are direct jobs.

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  • AEON sells stake in Vietnamese supermarket chain

    AEON sells stake in Vietnamese supermarket chain

    Japanese retail company AEON has closed its cooperation with Vietnamese shopping market chain Fivimart, a source said.

    A senior AEON official, who asked not to be named, said that the company has sold its entire stake in Fivimart to a Vietnamese firm after three years of cooperation.

    The source did not reveal the value of the deal.

    Starting Friday, the AEON logo has been covered in many Fivimart supermarkets. The company’s official Facebook fanpage updated a new profile picture without the AEON logo and its website says “under upgrade and construction.”

    In 2015, AEON acquired a 30 percent stake in Fivimart from its owner Nhat Nam Joint Stock Company. Fivimart outlets have risen from 10 then to 23 now.

    The deal saw Fivimart’s revenue increase, by as much as 20 percent a year for some time.

    But the company has been reporting losses for the last three years, attributing it to high costs. It lost 60 billion ($2.58 million) in 2015, VND96 billion ($4.13 million) in 2016 and VND23 billion ($989,600) last year.

    At the end of last year, Fivimart reported an accumulated loss of almost VND200 billion ($8.6 million), with a debt of VND823 billion ($35.41 million) which is equivalent to the company’s total asset value.

    AEON joined the Vietnamese market in 2008. In 2011, its member, the Ministop convenience store chain, cooperated with Vietnamese coffee firm Trung Nguyen to launch G7-Ministop convenience stores.

    The deal didn’t work out, and Ministop closed the deal in 2015 and turned to partner with Japanese Sojitz, looking to open 800 stores in the next eight years.

    AEON also partners with local supermarket chain Citimart, which reported a loss of VND91 billion ($3.91 million) in 2015 and VND33 billion ($1.41 million) in 2016.

    Citimart’s accumulated loss by the end of 2016 was VND157 billion ($6.75 million).

    AEON has four shopping malls in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and the southern province of Binh Duong.

    It is constructing another mall in Hanoi and one in the northern Hai Phong city, with a goal to have 20 malls in the country by 2020.

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  • Here are Indonesia’s top 10 retailers according to Euromonitor

    Here are Indonesia’s top 10 retailers according to Euromonitor

    Indomaret convenience store chain leads the rankings of Indonesia’s top 10 retailers.

    The Indomarco Prismatama-owned convenience store chain achieved sales of US$4.89 billion last year, followed by Alfamart with $3.97 billion, according to Euromonitor.

    Speaking at a conference where Indonesia’s top 10 retailers were revealed, Euromonitor’s Dhea Sutanto said Indomaret’s success was likely attributable to the greater number of physical stores it had compared to its competitors, and its promotion strategy.

    “If it is able to reach more consumers and more outlets, automatically it will generate more revenue, especially if it provides more accessibility to consumers that are harder to reach,” she added.

    Indomaret currently operates 15,633 outlets across Indonesia while Alfamart has 13,991.

    Matahari Department Store took third spot on the list with $1.36 billion in sales, followed by Carrefour and Transmart Carrefour by Trans Retail Indonesia, which earned $1.22 billion.

    In fifth place was Dairy Farm International operation which includes Hero Supermarket Group, Guardian, Star Mart and Giant, among others, with $903 million in sales.

    High-end fashion retailer Mitra Adi Perkasa, which owns Kidz Station, Marks & Spencer and Sports Station, came in sixth with $866 million. It was followed by Matahari Putra Prima group (Hypermart, Boston Health), gadget retailer Erajaya Swasembada (Erafone) and middle-to-low-income fashion retailer Ramayana with $781 million, $688 million and $643 million in sales, respectively.

    Books and stationery stores Gramedia, Grazera and Trimedia from Gramedia Asri Media ranked 10th by earning $430 million in sales.

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  • Kathleen Tan to step down as AirAsia China president

    Kathleen Tan to step down as AirAsia China president

    Kathleen Tan, AirAsia’s president of China, is stepping down from her role. She was responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction to the airline. Tan confirmed the move in a statement, and added that she has decided to “take a long break” and her last day is on 8 October 2018.

    Tan was promoted to her current role in June 2017. Prior to that, she was president, North Asia, a role she was appointed to in June 2016. During that period of time, she was responsible for building the China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Korea and Taiwan markets.

    In 2015, Tan left her role as CEO of AAE Travel, previously a joint venture formed by AirAsia and Expedia Group in 2011. The airline disposed of its remaining 25% equity interest in AAE Travel to Expedia Group this August.

    Between 2004 to 2013, Tan helmed the roles of regional head of commercial and senior vice president of China. During the period, she championed marketing campaigns, such as giving away one million discounted seats in 2005. She also spearheaded the airline’s social media strategy and development.

    Tan also worked at FJ Benjamin as divisional head of marketing for Southeast Asia before moving to Warner Music, where she was regional marketing director of Warner Music Asia Pacific and later, managing director of Warner Music Singapore until 2004.

    When asked what prompted her departure, Tan said: “I love the company but the culture has changed, and it is no longer what it used to be. When the company grows bigger, you need to find the perfect structure and ways to integrate the new people into the company,” Tan explained. She added that she also grew tired of travelling nonstop and reached a point where she felt like she was “living out of a suitcase”.

    While Tan has yet to decide on her next move, she is considering various possibilities, including giving motivational talks and mentoring the younger generation and educating them about marketing.

    Working in the China market with AirAsia

    During an interview, Tan said she faced plenty of challenges during her time in China, one of them being the fact that the country is still rather traditional.

    “No matter how modern the country is in terms of technology, their values and cultures are still very traditional. Face time is still very important. When you have meetings with people, you need to be there all the time. Trust, respect and guanxi (relationships) are still valued in China business,” she said. Tan added:

    You need to win and influence people. You cannot just sit around when you are dealing with the government, especially when you are a foreign brand.

    Tan describes herself as someone passionate about marketing and urges more marketers to “take ownership” of customer care. “Building a brand is important and customer care is part of that building block that helps shape consumers’ perception of a brand,” she said.

    “If you don’t handle customer care promptly, it will hurt your brand, especially in today’s social media age. Consumers will slam you and it will go viral,” she said.

    During her tenure, Tan claims AirAsia also adopted the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to manage customer queries in China via WeChat, gradually shifting away from traditional call centres. Tan also claimed that the airline had over 60,000 chats within two weeks of its launch on WeChat. It also made sure the bots knew when to use stickers, which are a hit with Chinese consumers on WeChat, when communicating with them.

    It also made it a point to alleviate the anxiety of travellers when they encounter flight disruptions by offering AirAsia consumers a QR code for crisis management, as part of enhancing customer experience where they can get live flight updates. This was available to consumers during the eruption of Mount Agung in Bali in July.

    She told that during her time at AirAsia, the brand was going through “restructuring” as was undergoing digital transformation. She added that the airline was also increasingly focused on collecting data, building dashboards and looking at algorithms, integrating operations, customers and commercial, all in a bid to position AirAsia as a “digitally smart airline”.

    “As a marketer at AirAsia, I never had much data to look at in the past. It would have been heavenly if I could turn back time and see the number of engagements I had for a post in the early days of social media, so I know if I’m moving in the right direction. It’s a great time right now as companies have data made available to them. Think of the wonders companies can do with data,” Tan said.

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  • AirAsia begins first direct flight between Taipei and Chiang Mai

    AirAsia begins first direct flight between Taipei and Chiang Mai

    Malaysian low-cost airline launched its first direct flight between Taipei and Chiang Mai on September 30th, the only budget airline route available in Taiwan connecting to the city in northern Thailand, reports said Monday.

    As a promotion, individuals will be able to book a ticket for a single trip between Oc.t 2, 2018 and Mar. 30, 2019, at NT$930 (US$30) before tax from midnight Oct. 2 through Oct. 7.

    The Taipei-Chiang Mai route marks the seventh international route operated by the airline in Taiwan, in addition to Taipei/Kaohsiung-Kuala Lumpur, Taipei-Sabah, Taipei-Manila, Taipei-Cebu, and Taipei-Clark.

    According to Al Chen, AirAsia’s sales manager of in Taiwan, Thailand has always been one of the most popular Southeast Asian tourist destinations for people in Taiwan. Chiang Mai, crowned the Best City in Asia 2017 by Travel and Leisure magazine, caters to the various needs of tourists seeking a laid-back, adventurous, cultural, or nature-filled travel.

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  • AirAsia looks to expand Ipoh connectivity

    AirAsia looks to expand Ipoh connectivity

    Low-cost carrier AirAsia is eyeing additional routes here after launching its inaugural direct flight route between Ipoh and Johor Baru today.

    “AirAsia has never shied away from destinations. With help from all the agencies here, depending on the facilities and availability of service, we can look into anything within a four hour (flight) distance, for example,” AirAsia chief operating officer Riad Asmat told the press after the inaugural flight landed at the Sultan Azlan Shah airport here.

    “We can’t confirm anything at the moment because it requires evaluation. But we look at destinations on a daily basis,” he added.

    Riad said the airline’s planes could take 180 passengers each and AirAsia was targeting an 80 per cent take-up.

    He said the airline also launched a Johor Baru-Alor Setar flight today, which will be flown four times weekly.

    “We are confident both Ipoh and Alor Setar will be extremely popular destinations for business and leisure travellers,” he said.

    Perak Mentri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who was present to greet the first 120 passengers on the inaugural flight, said the flight would boost the state’s tourism industry and economy.

    He said the state received 20.1 million domestic tourists last year, up from to 16.8 million in 2016, placing the state second behind Selangor.

    Ahmad Faizal said the Perak Tourism Action Council (PTAC) would come up with a masterplan to drive and rebrand Perak’s tourism industry,

    “Besides enhancing the branding of our products, we will also re-examine human capital in the tourism sector. We want to provide retraining and skills enhancement programmes for our hospitality operators, hotel staff, tour guides, entrepreneurs and everyone in the tourism ecosystem,” he said,

    “The state government has full confidence that AirAsia will play its part as our strategic partner to further promote Perak as a whole.

    “We are looking at beyond the Johor Bahru-Ipoh route. Our dream is to work together to connect Ipoh to other destinations in AirAsia’s vast network.”

    Ahmad Faizal reiterated that the state was still interested in building a new airport, but noted that it was still being discussed.

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  • Indonesia to Host World’s First Conference on Creative Economy in November

    Indonesia to Host World’s First Conference on Creative Economy in November

    Indonesia is set to host the first World Conference on Creative Economy, which will serve as a forum for government representatives and industry players to exchange ideas establish common ground and resolve challenges in the industry.

    “The speakers will come from different parts of the world and they will present their views on the current state of the creative economy and their vision of the future of this industry,” Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) chairman Triawan Munaf said at a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.

    The inaugural conference will take place in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Nov. 6-8 and will involve around 1,000 participants, including ministers and business leaders, from 50 countries. These include Peter Trillingsgaard, vice president for government and public affairs at the Lego Group; Le Kexi, president of the China Film Corporation, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Bukalapak chief executive Achmad Zaky and Tokopedia chief executive William Tanuwijayia.

    “This conference is part of our effort to increase our capacity as a country, to further strengthen our creativity and competitiveness, and to achieve prosperity for the people,” Deputy Foreign Minister A.M. Fachir said.

    With “Inclusively Creative” as the main theme, participants will discuss key issues in the creative economy, including social cohesion, regulations, marketing, ecosystems and financing.

    The creative economy is a tool to facilitate better communication and understanding across the economic and cultural divide, especially because the industry has the potent to create opportunities for all, regardless of age, gender, background or geographic location, Triawan said.

    Fachir added that the conference forms part of Indonesia’s efforts to realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as decent work and economic growth and reduced inequality.

    “It is both fitting and a duty for Indonesia to become a leader in the creative economy because we have what it takes,” Triawan said, adding that Indonesia plans to hold the event biannually.

    Indonesia’s creative economy has been on the rise over the past few years. It contributed more than Rp 922 trillion ($61.7 billion), or around 7.4 percent of the country’s economy, in 2016.

    Endah Sulistianti, deputy for inter-region and institution relations at Bekraf, said the conference aims to present the potential of creativity for the future of the world.

    “We are proposing to the world this tangible and infinite possibility, from creativity as [one of the solutions] to the limits of our natural resources,” Endah said.

    The conference will coincide with CreatiVillage, an exhibition space for ideas, concepts and products of various countries. Endah said it will feature creative works from South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, and Denmark, among others.

    Business and investment forums, as well as business-matching sessions, will also take place on the sidelines of the event.

    The conference is expected to conclude with a set of recommendations on the creative economy, which will be presented at next year’s session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

    Fachir said Indonesian officials attending the ongoing session of the General Assembly are lobbying UN member countries to support efforts that will boost the role of creative the economy across the globe.

  • Mobile World reports surging sales, expands fresh-food business

    Mobile World reports surging sales, expands fresh-food business

    Mobile World says sales grew by 39 percent in the first eight months of the year to VND58.7 trillion ($2.5 billion).

    Profit after tax was up 36 per cent to VND1.97 trillion ($84.34 million) year-on-year.

    HCMC-based Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG), established in 2004 as a seller of mobile phones, has since diversified into a host of other areas including foods, beverages, meat and seafood, and vegetables.

    Dien May Xanh, its electronics retail arm, accounts for 55 percent of sales followed by mobile phone stores The Gioi Di Dong and then department store chain Bach Hoa Xanh.

    Bach Hoa Xanh, incorporated in 2015, sells vegetables, seafood, meat and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). While with VND2.37 trillion ($102 million) it only accounts for 4 percent of the company’s sales, the business is growing at 251 percent.

    It has 405 outlets, with the two largest being in HCMC’s Thu Duc and Binh Tan districts.

    Bach Hoa Xanh plans to focus on the eastern and southern parts of HCMC and the neighboring provinces of Binh Duong, Long An, Dong Nai, and Ben Tre in future.

    By the end of this year it plans to have another 95 stores. A Mobile Word spokesperson said that stores that do not do well would be shut down.

    Based on the firm’s proclaimed plan of having 550 stores with average monthly revenues of VND790 million ($33,850) each by the end of this year, Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation (HSC) estimated Bach Hoa Xanh sales to reach VND4 trillion ($171 million) this year.

    But MWG found the department store business less attractive than the two other segments, saying at 14 percent the profit margin of Bach Hoa Xanh is lower than the 17 percent for the cellphone business and 16.7 percent for the electronics business.

    A major reason is fresh food is more difficult to manage than the others due to the short shelf life.

    Doan Van Tieu Em recently took over as CEO of MobileWorld Joint Stock Company, the subsidiary that manages the cellphone and electronics businesses.

    His predecessor, Tran Kinh Doanh, is now CEO of the department store business.

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  • Ideas CEO calls for review of policies as Malaysia slips in economic freedom ranking

    Ideas CEO calls for review of policies as Malaysia slips in economic freedom ranking

    Malaysia’s fall to 79th spot from 67th in the 2018 Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report shows that space for the private sector in the country has been squeezed, businesses have been obstructed and the size of the government has increased.

    Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) CEO Ali Salman said the findings based on data from 2016, the most recent year of available comparable data, measure economic freedom, that is, levels of personal choice, ability to enter markets, security of privately owned property, rule of law, etc, by analysing the policies and institutions of 162 countries and territories.

    “This calls for a comprehensive review of economic policies under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, spanning critical areas like GLC reforms, size of the civil service and business regulations – areas on which Ideas has researched and advocated vigorously,” Ali said.

    According to research in top peer-reviewed academic journals, people living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity, more political and civil liberties, and longer lives.

    For example, countries in the top quartile (25%) of economic freedom (such as the UK, Japan and Ireland) had an average per-capita income of US$40,376 in 2016 compared with US$5,649 for the bottom quartile countries (such as Venezuela, Iran and Zimbabwe).

    And life expectancy is 79.5 years in the top quartile of countries compared to 64.4 years in the bottom quartile.

    “Where people are free to pursue their own opportunities and make their own choices, they lead more prosperous, happier and healthier lives,” said Fred McMahon, Dr Michael A. Walker Research Chair in Economic Freedom with the Fraser Institute.

    The report was released by Ideas and produced by Canada’s Fraser Institute.

    The Fraser Institute produces the annual Economic Freedom of the World report in cooperation with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent research and educational institutes in nearly 100 countries and territories.

    It is the world’s premier measurement of economic freedom, measuring and ranking countries in five areas: size of government, legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally and regulation of credit, labour and business.

    Hong Kong and Singapore again topped the index, continuing their streak in first and second place respectively, while New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, the US, Georgia, Mauritius, the UK, Australia and Canada (tied for 10th spot) round out the top 10.

    The 10 lowest-ranked countries are Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Syria, Algeria, Argentina, Libya and Venezuela.

    Countries such as North Korea and Cuba could not be ranked due to lack of data.

    Other notable country rankings include Germany (20th), Japan (41st), France (57th), Russia (87th) and China (108th).

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  • Indomaret tops retailer list with US$4.89b in sales

    Indomaret tops retailer list with US$4.89b in sales

    Convenient store chain Indomaret and Indomaret Point, owned by retail group Indomarco Prismatama, were the top-selling retailers of 2017, racking up a combined US$4.89 billion in sales, according to London-based strategic market research company Euromonitor International

    With the total sales, Indomaret beats its closest competitor Alfamart, owned by Sumber Alfaria Trijaya, which booked US$3.97 billion in sales last year to come in second.

    Euromonitor consultant Dhea Sutanto said Indomaret’s success was likely attributable to the greater number of physical stores it had compared to its competitors. Another factor could be the company’s promotion strategy, she added.

    “If they are able to reach more consumers and more outlets, automatically they will generate more revenue, especially if they provide more accessibility to consumers that are harder to reach,” she said at the sidelines of the Euromonitor International Conference on Tuesday.

    Indomaret currently operates 15,633 outlets across Indonesia while Alfamart has 13,991.

    Number three on the list of Indonesia’s top retailers in 2017 was Matahari Department Store with $1.36 billion in sales, followed by Carrefour and Transmart Carrefour by Trans Retail Indonesia, which earned $1.22 billion. Hero Supermarket Group with Guardian, Star Mart and Giant, among others, was at fifth place with $903 million in sales.

    A retailer group of high-end fashion goods, Mitra Adi Perkasa (MAP), which includes Kidz Station, Marks and Spencer and Sports Station, came in sixth with $866 million. MAP is followed by Matahari Putra Prima group (Hypermart, Boston Health), gadget retailer Erajaya Swasembada (Erafone) and middle-to-low-income fashion retailer Ramayana with $781 million, $688 million and $643 million, respectively.

    Meanwhile, books and stationery stores Gramedia, Grazera and Trimedia from Gramedia Asri Media ranked 10th by garnering $430 million in sales.

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  • Flights from Da Nang to Osaka for Vietnam Airlines

    Flights from Da Nang to Osaka for Vietnam Airlines

    The first non-stop flights from Da Nang to Japan will begin on 28 October, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has confirmed. The airline will use an Airbus A321 with services meeting 4-star standards to cover the 2,114 miles (3,403 kilometers) from Da Nang to Japan’s Osaka City, with flights taking around four and a half-hour.

    The airline will operate 7 return flights each week. The non-stop flights will depart from Da Nang at 00:20 am, and from Osaka at 09:30 am local time. This will be the 11th air route to Japan operated by the Vietnam Airlines after those from Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang to Japanese cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka.

    Mr. Nguyen Duc Quynh – Executive Vice Chairman of Danang Hotel Association, Deputy General Director of Furama Resort Danang, opined: “The Japan market recently makes up 10% of Danang tourism industry and continue to increase strongly. Thanks to this new direct air-route that we will have more opportunity to attract this potential market, as well as introduces the “fantastic-city” of Danang to Japan. We need to take advantage of this chance by providing more Japan-friendly services, promoting our venue as not only Leisure but also an ideal MICE destination. Danang tourism colleges and Hotels in Danang should provide more Japanese language training to their tour guides and staff to welcome more and more tourists from Japan to the City.”

    As reported, from 2011 – 2017, the number of visitors from Japan had increased 18 times, especially, 2016 – 2017 period eyes a rise of 23,000 tourists. Not only Japan market, overview the snapshot of Danang tourism, air travelers to Da Nang increased 40% over the same period last year. The number of international visitors to Da Nang is concentrated mainly in North East Asia (Korea, China, Japan) through direct flights to Da Nang. The number of international flights this year at Da Nang International Airport is 183, an increase of 76 flights over the same period of 2017.

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  • Suite sounds for Singapore Airlines first class with Bang & Olufsen

    Suite sounds for Singapore Airlines first class with Bang & Olufsen

    Passengers in Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 first class suites will soon enjoy sweeter sounds through a partnership with Bang & Olufsen.

    From October, travellers on Singapore Airlines’ newest A380s – the ones with the spacious room-like first class suites – will find a pair of Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay H9i noise-cancelling headphones tucked away and ready to use with the suites’ massive 32 inch screen and KrisFlyer inflight entertainment system.

    Designed by Jakob Wagner, the Beoplay H9i headphones have a simple touch interface on the aluminium surface of the right ear cup to change the volume, pause the music and skip tracks, and are made from premium materials including genuine leather and adaptive memory foam.

    These will be progressively rolled out to the rest of Singapore Airlines’ A380 suites and Boeing 777 first class cabins from November.

    And, sometime later, selected A380 routes will see the suites upgraded to wireless version of the H9i.

    “Singapore Airlines is excited to embark on this partnership with Bang & Olufsen, an established and highly respected name in audio,” enthused Singapore Airlines’s Acting Senior Vice President for Customer Experience, Mr Yeoh Phee Teik.

    “With Bang & Olufsen’s assurance of high quality, precision sound as well as ergonomic comfort of its headphones, we are confident our customers will benefit greatly from this collaboration.”

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  • King Power Traveler to launch inflight duty free with Vietnam Airlines

    King Power Traveler to launch inflight duty free with Vietnam Airlines

    National carrier Vietnam Airlines is set to officially establish an inflight duty free service from October in cooperation with inflight specialist King Power Traveler, the Rakhita Jayawardena-run subsidiary of Hong Kong-based travel retailer King Power Group.

    Over the next five years, the SkyTeam alliance member will cooperate with King Power Traveler to expand and upgrade its Lotushop services to meet Skytrax four-star service standards.

    Skytrax – the well-known airline and airport rating organisation – has ranked Vietnam Airlines as a four-star airline for three consecutive years.

    Vietnam Airlines Executive Vice President Le Hong Ha, said: “The partnership with King Power Traveler demonstrates our efforts to provide passengers with an enhanced duty free retail service, thereby consistently upgrading our four-star service quality through every aspect of the business. We are taking great strides to reach five-star status.”

    The enhanced duty free offer covers categories such as perfume, cosmetics, watches, suitcases and bags. Passengers will be able to shop from their seats on 30 of Vietnam Airlines’ international routes including to the UK, China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Russia. The airline said that passengers would benefit from average discounts of -5% to -15% compared to domestic retail prices.

    King Power Traveler will also provide extensive training to flight attendants to enhance their sales skills and application of technology.

    Vietnam Airlines operates 90 routes to 20 domestic and 29 international destinations with an average of 400 flights per day.

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  • U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport joins with AIS to develop Smart Terminal Pioneering

    U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport joins with AIS to develop Smart Terminal Pioneering

    U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport has entered into a partnership with AIS to support and develop its air transport system through the introduction of new innovations. AIS will take part in the pre-construction period and the opening of the Passenger Terminal 3, upgrading the airport to become the Bangkok’s third major commercial airport in the future. It will serve passengers connecting to Don Muang International Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport in line with the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Plan, which is one of key strategies of the Thailand 4.0 initiative.
    U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport has entrusted AIS to provide integrated digital solutions for the development of the second passenger terminal into a Smart Terminal. The initial phase is centered on 2 key goals: 1) improve passenger services through the U-Tapao Application that provides all aviation information including flight status, airport transfers from/to the airport, and car parking. In addition, the app will provide a map notifying service spots that complementthe navigation systems within the airport via Augmented Reality (AR) technology. This new service is designed to allow passengers to enjoy maximum convenience for the first time in Thailand; 2) enhance the terminal management system with Video Analytics technology, which is comprised ofa digital closed-circuit camera network and complemented by an AI-based image processing program and Big Data for application in the development of a Face Recognition system to verify persons in the airport. The Face Recognition system will raise the standard of security and allow for the identification of both suspicious persons and objects, as well as VIPs. Moreover, Heat Map Analytics will be adopted to identify the volume of passengers in the airport areas in order to enhance the efficiency of the security system and the airport’s management and services.Rear Admiral Luechai Sri-eamgool, U-Tapao AirportAuthority Director, says: “We are delighted with the public-private partnership to deploy digital technology in upgrading services and management of Passenger Terminal 2 into a Smart Terminal. This is in accordance with the government’s Digital Economy policy to develop U-Tapao Airport as Bangkok’s third commercial airport. In addition, the development project is a part of the EEC framework that serves passengers connecting with Don Muang International Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport. Finally, U-Tapao Airport aims to be the major aviation hub of the region.”

    U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport is thus partnering with Advanced Wireless Network Company Limited (AWN), a subsidiary of AIS – Thailand’s No. 1 mobile network and digital technology provider- to develop a Mobile Application and Video Analytics as well as computerized and IT systems for airport communication services in the second passenger terminal. The goal is to increase the service capability of the airport through the effective deployment of digital technologies. The airport needs to provide convenience and deliver the ideal experiences for users with its integrated services. Moreover, the airport will increase its efficiency in safety and security as well as building management systems.

    Mr. Yongsit Rojsrikul, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, adds: “As a leading digital life service provider, AIS is providing thevery best communications service to Thais. Another key goal of the company is to apply digital technology in its utmost capacity to strengthen all aspects of the country. Through the partnership with U-Tapao Airport, AIS has invested in the development of 2 systems which will be ready for service in the last quarter of this year. AIS expects it will be a model for the development of airport passenger terminals into full-range Smart Terminals in the future. We believe that the EEC is crucial to revolutionizing the country’s economy, and that a partnership between the public and private sectors is required to make concrete developments and drive Thailand’s sustainable economy.

    “Today, AIS is very glad and proud of being entrusted by U-Tapao International Airportand be its partner in adopting digital technology for upgrading the services and management system of the Passenger Terminal 2,” concludes Mr. Yongsit.

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