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.

  • Microsoft and FPT develop strategic partnership

    Microsoft and FPT develop strategic partnership

    Microsoft and FPT last week signed an Enterprise Agreement focusing on digital transformations and cloud deployments. The agreement tightens the long-term strategic partnership that has been in place for almost 20 years between the two leading IT corporations.

    Specifically, FPT will be the first and largest business in Việt Nam to put in place Microsoft’s cloud computing for all operations of the corporation, in a bid to optimise operational efficiencies and improve competitiveness. FPT will also promote Microsoft’s advanced cloud services to the corporation’s clients.

    “As two global and local IT corporations, Microsoft and FPT want to continuously strengthen this long-term, sustainable relationship via cooperation in technology. The move to the cloud by Microsoft technology will surely help FPT further develop, complete its mission to adapt technology, and develop the knowledge to enable Việt Nam to reach its potential and partly address socio-economic issues,” stressed Vũ Minh Trí, CEO of Microsoft Việt Nam.

    In the first phase, FPT will adopt Microsoft Office 365 and move its entire system and all data to the cloud, at the same time deploying One Drive for Business and Skype for Business to optimise operating performances. In the next phase, FPT and Microsoft will develop the cloud to digitally transform their clients in Việt Nam.

    Nowadays, most of the world’s large tech companies have adopted cloud computing. However, in Việt Nam the majority of businesses are still reluctant to move their system and data to the cloud, particularly large companies.

    Such a large tech corporation as FPT, as it becomes a pioneer in adopting Microsoft Office 365 advanced cloud services for a large number of users, will contribute to encouraging other businesses to adopt cloud technologies. With the strength of Việt Nam’s leading provider of IT services, FPT and Microsoft will jointly develop the cloud market segment in Việt Nam and other countries.

  • Cebu Pacific and Philippines AirAsia seek rights to India

    Cebu Pacific and Philippines AirAsia seek rights to India

    Cebu Pacific and Philippines AirAsia have applied for rights to serve India. Cebu Pacific has called for the country’s Civil Aeronautics Board to re-allocate Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) entitlements to India.

    Philippines AirAsia, meanwhile, wants to be designated as an official Philippine carrier on services to India. It is seeking to launch daily services on the Manila-Bangkok Don Mueang-New Delhi route.

    PAL launched direct services between Manila and New Delhi in 2010, but stopped after a year of poor performance. It then served New Delhi from Bangkok, but this was also stopped due to poor demand.

    FlightMaps Analytics shows that there are currently no services between Philippines and India.

  • Digital native Gen Z prefers to shop in-store

    Digital native Gen Z prefers to shop in-store

    Despite being the first “digitally native” generation, Generation Z – people born from the late 1990s through 2010 – still prefer to shop in bricks-and-mortar stores, according to a new study released IBM and the National Retail Federation.

    Though this generation grew up not knowing the world before cellular phones, smartphones, and other digital devices, the study found that 67% of Generation Z shop in a bricks-and-mortar store most of the time, with another 31% shopping in-store sometimes, indicating that 98% of Gen Z shop in the store.

    “Just as Millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) overtook Generation X (born from the mid-60s to early ‘80s), there’s another big buying group retailers need to plan for, and it’s even larger: Generation Z,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.

    “They appreciate the hands-on experience of shopping in a store. Technology is constantly evolving but some shopping habits remaining the same, retailers need to be agile enough to serve both needs.”

    The study, conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value is based on findings from more than 15,000 consumers aged 13-21 from 16 countries. It estimates the global Gen Z population to reach 2.6 billion by 2020.

    It said retailers should consider this post-Millennial generation important because it has access to $44 billion in buying power, with 75% saying they spend more than half of the money that is available to them each month.

    This generation is also demanding: 52% of Gen Z consumers will transfer loyalty from one brand to another if the brand’s quality is not up to par. They care the most about retailers getting the basics right, with 66% saying product quality and availability are the most important factors when choosing one brand over another; 65% focus on value.

    “Retailers need to create more interactive engagement around their brands to serve the “always on,” mobile-focused, high-spending demographic,” the study noted.

    The study also found 74% of respondents spend their free time online, with 25% online five hours or more each day. Around 73% of Gen Z use their phones primarily to text and chat socially with family and friends, but members are willing to extend their conversations to brand relationships.

    For example, 36% would create digital content for a brand, 42% would participate in an online game for a campaign and 43% would participate in a product review.

    They also have no patience for hard-to-use technology and demand a seamless mobile/digital experience. Sixty-two percent will not use apps or websites that are difficult to navigate and 60% will not use apps or websites that are slow to load.

  • Philippine Airlines expands operations at Clark

    Philippine Airlines expands operations at Clark

    Philippine Airlines is ramping up its operations at Clark International Airport, north of Manila. The national carrier is aiming to ease pressure at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport by launching new services connecting Clark with Cebu, Davao and Puerto Princesa. Clark is located approximately 80km from the Philippine capital.

    Having launched flights between Clark and Boracay in late 2016, PAL will launch four weekly Clark-Cebu flights and three weekly Clark-Davao services on 30 January 2017. Then on 26 March PAL will start offering three weekly flights between Clark and Puerto Princesa, on the island of Palawan.

    “We aim to cater to the flight needs of northern Metro Manila, central and northern Luzon residents. Now, they will be able to experience the convenience of easy travel from their homes to the Clark Airport. Travellers from abroad and domestic outlying stations may fly to Clark and journey on to popular travel spots in the Luzon area,” stated PAL’s president & chief operating officer, Jaime Bautista.

    PAL will continue to serve Cebu, Davao and Puerto Princesa from Manila’s main airport.

  • Malaysian retailer leaves Hanoi after two stormy years

    Malaysian retailer leaves Hanoi after two stormy years

    After closing some of its department stores in Hanoi within a two-year period, Parkson, a retail giant from Malaysia, has officially decided to leave the capital. Parkson Viet Tower on Thai Ha street will close on December 15. Meanwhile, Vincom, just opened Vincom Pham Ngoc Thach in early November.

    In early 2015, Parkson closed Parkson Keangnam Hanoi Landmark. The closure produced a big stir as the owners of the shops were asked to move at night.

    In May 2016, Parkson shut down Parkson Paragon in Phu My Hung Urban Area in district 7 in HCM City.

    Located outside the central area of the city, Parkson Paragon was prominent in Phu My Hung new urban area, on Nguyen Luong Bang street, the financial heart of the area.
    However, the advantageous position could not help Parkson Paragon, especially when it had to share the pieces of the market cake with many other retailers with similar business models in HCM City.

    Parkson still maintains seven malls in three cities, including five in HCM City: Parkson Saigontourist in district 1, Parkson Hung Vuong Plaza in district 5, Parkson C.T Plaza in Tan Binh district, Parkson Cantavil Premier in district 2 and Parkson The Flemington in district 11. The latter has not had good customer traffic.

    It also has Parkson TD Plaza in Hai Phong City and Parkson Vinh Trung Plaza in Da Nang. Sources said the business in Da Nang has not been satisfactory.

    Parkson is a brand of Lion Group from Malaysia. Analysts believe that the insistence on the ‘department store’ model put Parkson at a disadvantage in comparison with the ‘shopping mall’ model applied by other big brands such as Vincom, Aeon, Mipec and Crescent Mall.

    Parkson has also had to share the branded-goods market with new rivals. And a series of counterfeit goods scandals also contributed to Parkson’s unsatisfactory business results.

    In 2010, when many retail brands appeared in Vietnam and the shopping mall model joined the market, Parkson became entangled in some scandals on counterfeit goods.

    Topics like ‘be cautious when buying goods at Parkson’ or ‘Parkson sells fake goods’ were shared on forums. Many customers also made complaints about the service quality at Parkson centers.

    Parkson admitted that it will face big problems in the last quarter of the 2016 fiscal year. The retailer has not mentioned the opening of more stores in Vietnam in its strategy to expand its network in SE Asia.

  • Vietnam set to send first workers to Australia, Thailand in 2017

    Vietnam set to send first workers to Australia, Thailand in 2017

    The country is focusing more on improving its workers’ skills to meet high demands from developed markets. Vietnam plans to send workers to Australia, Laos and Thailand for the first time this year in a bid to expand and improve its overseas labor force.

    Vietnam sent a record 126,000 workers overseas in 2016.

    Pham Viet Huong, the deputy director of the central Deparment of Overseas Labor, told that the plan is more about improving workers’s skills rather than increasing the number of them.

    The government has set a target of sending 105,000 workers abroad in 2017. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan will continue to be the core markets.

    Huong said the labor ministry is going to implement agreements that have been signed with Australia and Southeast Asian neighbors Laos and Thailand this year.

    The Vietnamese and Australian governments signed an agreement in March 2015 to provide up to 200 multiple entry visas to citizens of both countries per year and allow them to stay for 12 months for travel and work.

    Vietnam and Thailand signed an MoU on labor cooperation and a labor export agreement in July 2015 and a similar agreement was signed with Laos in January that same year.

    Huong said Vietnam has successfully increased the number of workers it sends abroad over the past three years.

    But a bigger goal is to meet the strict demands of overseas markets, especially developed countries where salaries and labor benefits are good, he said.

    He said labor exporters should invest more in training while local workers, notorious for their low productivity compared to others in the region, should also better prepare themselves with skills and language competence.

    “There’s a huge demand in many countries for workers with high professional skills. We should get ready with a good labor pool,” Huong said, as cited in the report.

    He said the ministry has built an action plan to improve local labor skills by 2020.

  • Singapore’s PM Launches Visit ASEAN@50 Campaign

    Singapore’s PM Launches Visit ASEAN@50 Campaign

    The Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, and ASEAN Secretary General, Mr Le Luong Minh, officially launched the VisitASEAN@50 Golden Celebration tourism campaign on 18 January at the opening of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Singapore.

    The campaign promotes the twin objectives of commemorating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, and embracing the ASEAN region as a single and united tourism destination.

    Ahead of its launch, ASEAN tourism ministers agreed that the objectives of the campaign were to raise tourist arrivals to the region to 121 million by end of 2017, up from 108 million in 2015. Tourism officials also hope to boost tourism receipts to USD83 billion and increase average length of stay to 6-7 days by encouraging tourists to travel to at least two ASEAN countries on each visit.

    Fifty special tour packages – carefully selected by the 10 member countries of ASEAN — are the main draw of the tourism campaign, which is supported by globally recognised companies such as Mastercard and AirAsia.

    The VisitASEAN@50 campaign comes at a time when tourism has been a star performer in Southeast Asia, rising from 42 million international arrivals to the region in 2000 to 108 million in 2015, according to numbers provided by the ASEAN Secretariat.

    The proliferation of low cost airlines, rising living standards in the region and the proximity of mass markets such as China have turned tourism into a powerful workhorse, which now commands about 12.4 % of the ASEAN economy according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

    In his speech, Prime Minister Lee called for better connectivity within Southeast Asia and urged fellow member countries not to shy away from “less glamorous” tourism development tasks such as building new infrastructure, enhancing training and reducing red tape. Specifically he said he would like to see ASEAN strengthen air links, boost cruise tourism and develop tourism’s human resource skills.

    During the launch on 18 January, a new hybrid orchid named Papilionanda ASEAN Golden Jubilee was unveiled to commemorate 50 years since the launch of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. The orchid was created from several different strands of genus from various ASEAN countries.

    The Visit ASEAN@50 campaign will run until 31 December this year. Details on the 50 special tour packages are available on the campaign’s official website at www.visitASEAN50.com.

  • GPSengine align with Ulbotech to deliver tracking solutions

    GPSengine align with Ulbotech to deliver tracking solutions

    Ulbotech, long established as a key tracking device supplier in a number of market segments and GPSengine, a leading hosted platform service provider in GNSS, Telematics, IoT and Tracking, announced a new partnership to bring support for the Ulbotech range to GPSengine’s Platform Connect service.

    With a range of devices catering for the vehicle tracking markets, Ulbotech continues to bring new advanced trackers to market. With OBD tracking devices that support a wide range of satellite navigational systems and optional WIFI hotspot models, Ulbotech cater for a wide range of industry uses.

    The combination of Ulbotech’s tracking devices and the high availability and unique IoTs service offering that Platform Connect provides, allows customers to quickly build a product or service in the tracking space. Adding support of the Ulbotech range to the Platform Connect system, provides customers with more choice, and the opportunity to take advantage of the features available in the Ulbotech range.

  • AirAsia X to start direct KL-Wuhan flights

    AirAsia X to start direct KL-Wuhan flights

    AirAsia X plans to fly four times weekly direct to Wuhan, China, from Kuala Lumpur, effective March 22, 2017, and is offering one-way promotional fares from RM199.

    Chief executive officer Benyamin Ismail said the company is the largest foreign carrier into China and the destination is set to receive 32 weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Bangkok and Phuket.

    AirAsia currently operates daily flights to Wuhan from Kota Kinabalu.

    “China is a segment that continues to record encouraging progressive performance annually and remains the focus of AirAsia X’s network expansion strategy.

    “Wuhan will soon be a virtual hub for the AirAsia and AirAsia X Groups. We are committed to maintaining growth, while developing innovative products and services,” he said in a statement on Monday.

    The group currently operates 409 weekly flights from various Asean cities across 45 routes to 17 destinations in China.

    As of 2015, AirAsia carried over five million people in and out of China, making it the largest foreign carrier in the country

  • Vietjet launches its 5th route to Taiwan linking Ho Chi Minh City with Taichung

    Vietjet launches its 5th route to Taiwan linking Ho Chi Minh City with Taichung

    This Month Vietjet has launched its 5th route to Taiwan connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Taichung (Taiwan), becoming the airline with the most routes between Vietnam and Taiwan. The new service is to meet the increasing travel demand of individuals, tourists and businessmen, looking to boost regional trade and integration. It follows last month’s launch of the Hong Kong – Ho Chi Minh City route serving as another important step forward for Vietjet in its on-going move to expand in the Asia Pacific region. 

    The Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) – Taichung route is operated with four round trips per week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with flight time per leg being 3 hours 30 minutes. The HCMC-Taichung flight takes off at 10:25 (local time) and lands at 14:45 (local time). The return flight from Taichung departs at 15:45 (local time) and arrives in HCMC at 18:00 (local time). All passengers onboard the inaugural flight have received lovely gifts from Vietjet.

    Promotional air tickets for this new route are also available for booking from 13:00 to 15:00 every day under Vietjet’s 5th Anniversary “Win a 1-kg gold airplane, Fly to a happy future” campaign from now till February 28. Vietjet offers up to 5 million promotional air tickets from only HKD8. Tickets can be booked at www.vietjetair.com. Payment can be easily made with debit and credit cards of Visa, MasterCard, JCB, KCP and American Express and ATM cards that have been registered with internet banking. All passengers who book tickets successfully can also enter a daily lucky draw for free return air ticket, a weekly lucky draw for 3.75-gram of gold, and a final lucky draw for a 1-kg gold aircraft model.

    Located in the west of central Taiwan, Taichung is Taiwan’s third largest city, widely known as a cultural and educational center with many heritages and historical sites. Thanks to its serene nature, nice weather and famous local cuisines and cultural events, the city is expected to become the tourism paradise. With the new route to Taichung, Vietjet’s flight network to Taiwan has been increased to five routes, helping travelers, tourists and businessmen fly affordably.

    Ho Chi Minh City on the other end is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia with its many cultural and historical attractions. From pagodas and museums to fine restaurants and scenic spots, the city offers travelers a truly memorable experience. 

    With its high-quality services, special low-fare tickets and diverse ticket classes, Vietjet offers its passengers enjoyable flights with dynamic and friendly flight crew, comfy seats, amazing hot meals and special surprises from the airline’s inflight activities. Vietjet’s Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City route which commenced on December 9, 2016, has been very popular with travelers with its daily service departing from Ho Chi Minh City at 14:35 (local time) and arrives at Hong Kong International Airport at 18:20. The return flight takes off at 19:20 (local time) and lands at 21:05. The flight time is 2 hours 45 minutes per leg.  

  • NEC holds Innovative Solutions Fair in Singapore

    NEC holds Innovative Solutions Fair in Singapore

    This year’s theme, ‘Co-creating Cities of Tomorrow’, seeks to showcase NEC’s most innovative and proven suite of “Solutions for Society” and cutting-edge technologies that are being used to transform cities and businesses in the areas of safety, security, efficiency and allowing people to live brighter lives.

    Featuring more than 25 interactive exhibits showcasing NEC’s breakthrough innovative urban and business transformation solutions, the one-day event will feature a keynote speech by Mr. Kiren Kumar, who oversees the Infocomm and Media industry development efforts at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), as well as insights from thought leaders into the latest industry research, and how ICT solutions can help enhance safety and business transformation for cities and society.

    Other highlights include safer and smart cities technologies based on NEC’s portfolio of artificial intelligence technologies, NEC the WISE, such as NEC’s world’s No.1 face recognition and fingerprint technology, cyber security, smart energy, healthcare, transport; business transformation solutions such as enterprise cloud, IoT, smart workplace and collaboration, Software-Defined Networking technology, mixed reality for enterprises and much more.

    Mr. Kiren Kumar, Assistant Managing Director, EDB, said, “NEC is a longstanding partner of Singapore and has worked closely with the government on multiple fronts to test and scale their latest smart city technologies. We are therefore heartened to see that NEC is leveraging Singapore as a platform to showcase their latest technologies and facilitate partnerships between companies and innovators to address opportunities created by digitalisation. This bodes well for Singapore’s efforts to become the Digital Capital of Asia.”

    “NEC Asia Pacific is pleased to hold the NEC Innovative Solutions Fair for the second time in Singapore. Leveraging NEC’s ‘Solutions for Society’ suite of cutting-edge technologies and solutions, we believe in forging strong partnerships with governments and enterprises to co-create impactful, innovative solutions that solve societal challenges and enhance lives. As a result, NEC aims to create a safer, brighter and more sustainable future for society and its communities,” said Lim Kok Quee, Managing Director and Deputy CEO (ASEAN Sub-Region) of NEC Asia Pacific.

  • Vietnam puts $860-million upgrade plan at Saigon airport on the runway

    Vietnam puts $860-million upgrade plan at Saigon airport on the runway

    The plan will allow Tan Son Nhat to handle 45 million passengers annually. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has agreed with a proposal to invest around $860 million to upgrade the congested Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

    In the fifth meeting to discuss the airport upgrade on Friday, Dung asked the Ministry of Transport and other relevant ministries to submit a complete report on the proposal to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for consideration by February 25.

    Under the proposal, two more terminals, capable of handling 10 million passengers each per year, will be constructed to the south of the airport. The new terminals, along with other proposed infrastructure projects, would need total investment of VND19.7 trillion ($860.6 million) and would take three years to complete.

    When complete, the new Tan Son Nhat would be able to handle 43 million-45 million passengers annually, up from its overloaded capacity of 28 million in 2016.

    According to state-owned consultancy firm Airport Design and Construction Consultancy One Member Limited Liability Company (ADCC), the proposed upgrade project will use land currently owned by the airforce, which will help reduce site clearance costs and time.

    Vietnam’s airline market is growing at the third fastest pace in Asia-Pacific, and the country is grappling with an acute dearth of airport capacity.

    Tan Son Nhat is the country’s main airport and is designed to handle 25 million passengers by 2020. But due to a surge in passengers, it was mobbed by 28 million passengers last year.

    Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, VietJet and the newly founded Vietstar are planning to expand their fleets in the next four years.

    The country is working on a design for a massive airport in Dong Nai Province to share some of the heavy load on Tan Son Nhat, but construction could take years.

  • Festive feasts, online deals bring smile to China retailers

    Festive feasts, online deals bring smile to China retailers

    Retail sales hit their year high in December, buoyed by the festive mood in the food and beverage sector and continued surge in online shopping. Still, inflationary pressures are making themselves felt in consumers’ pocketbooks, climbing to their highest in 30 months.

     

    Higher prices on shop stickers nationwide played a major role in the 0.1 percentage uptick last month to 10.9%, with price-adjusted sales growth steady at 9.2%.

    Diners notched up 335.2 billion yuan (US$48.8 million) in bills, up 10.6% from a year earlier and an improvement on November’s 10.1% year-on-year gain — perhaps driven by Chinese homeowners celebrating their good fortunes in the property market.

    Consumer goods sales rose 10.9% in December from a year ago, the same as in November but well ahead of gross domestic product growth of 6.7% for the year.

    Vehicle sales jumped 14.4% from 13.1%, and clothing to 7.1% from 5.1%. Food products, another major component, rose 8.6% from 8.8% in November.

    E-commerce for the full year totalled 5.16 trillion yuan, 26.2% up on 2015, and accounting for 12.6% of overall retail sales in China. The percentage was just 9.7% during the first half of 2015.

    A key indicator of consumer spending, China’s retail sales grew 10.4% in 2016, the same as in the first three quarters. After deducting price changes, retail sales clocked in at 9.6%, according to National Bureau of Statistics. Total retail sales were 33.23 trillion yuan in 2016.

  • Cebu Pacific-Visa tie up for exclusive international seat sale

    Cebu Pacific-Visa tie up for exclusive international seat sale

    Cebu Pacific (CEB) allies with Visa to offer all-inclusive seat sale fares to some of the most popular international destinations within its extensive flight network.

    The seat sale exclusive for Visa cardholders, started last January 16, 2017 and will be available until January 22 (or until seats last). Flights will be for travel from May 1 to September 30, 2017.

    Cardholders who wish to make the most out of this year can still catch the last few days of the sale and book flights from Manila to Hong Kong for as low as P1, 599. Seats from Cebu, Clark, Davao and Iloilo to Hong Kong and Singapore are also available at the same low fare.

    Those who want to visit Busan and Incheon from Manila can avail of flights for as low as P2, 099. Flights to Incheon from Cebu and Kalibo and flights to Singapore, Guangzhou and Xiamen from Manila are also up for grabs at the same all-in fare. Passengers can also fly from Manila to Beijing and Shanghai (P2, 599), Guam (P3, 099) or Sydney (P4, 199).

    All fares quoted are for one-way flights, and are inclusive of country-specific taxes, web admin fee and terminal fee. Baggage allowance, meals, travel insurance and other ancillaries may be added to the fare per the passenger’s preference.

    To avail of this exclusive seat sale, Visa cardholders only need to input the promotional code “VISA” through www.cebupacificair.com. Terms & conditions apply.

    CEB currently offers flights to a total of 37 domestic and 29 international destinations, operating an extensive network across Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and USA. Its 57-strong fleet is comprised of four Airbus A319, 36 Airbus A320, seven Airbus A330, eight ATR 72-500, and two ATR 72-600 aircraft. Between 2017 and 2021, CEB expects delivery of one more brand-new Airbus A330, 32 Airbus A321neo, and 14 ATR 72-600 aircraft.

  • Thailand’s CP All bidding for Polish retail chain

    Thailand’s CP All bidding for Polish retail chain

    Thailand convenience-store chain CP All and three private equity funds are competing to buy Polish retail chain Zabka from Mid Europa Partners in a deal valued at up to €1.5 billion (US$1.59 billion).

    Zabka’s sale comes at a time when some policies of the ruling conservative Law and Justice party in Poland are considered an investment risk, says Deal Street Asia. CP All, which runs 7-Eleven stores, is up against CVC Capital Partners, TPG and Hellman & Friedman. The deadline for binding offers is mid-February.

    London-based private equity firm Mid Europa Partners, which focusses on central and eastern European investments, bought Zabka in 2011 for €400 million. Zabka, with 3400 stores, had sales of 5.75 billion zlotys (US$1.39 billion) in 2015.

    In November, Mid Europa Partners bought Romanian supermarket chain Pro from Polish Enterprise Investors fund for €533 million.