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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.

  • Giant to open six new stores and relaunch 28 existing stores nationwide

    Giant to open six new stores and relaunch 28 existing stores nationwide

    Giant plans to open six new stores and relaunch 28 existing stores nationwide to provide a renewed shopping experience for customers next year.

    Among the six new stores to be opened are in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, ICangar, Kedah; Kota Baru, Kelantan; and Jeneh. Terenggam while the remaining two have yet to be revealed.

    Giant operations director Ernest Potgleter said the company has decided to relaunch its stores after receiving complaints from customers that the stores have started to tool outdated.

    ‘Our customers said we look old. We have to revive the business. The stores have not been refurbished for the past five years and It Is time to give a new look.

    “Giant Malaysia listens to customers and the transformation is tailored with the customer in mind, aiming at providing greater value and customer friendly lay out.

    “We serve 23 million customers a week. You have to give them what they need and customers these days are very demanding. We have to be cheaper than other retailers and provide good service, good products and good environment in Giant stores,” he said at the relaunch of Giant Hypermarket Shah Alam, here, yesterday.

    Potgleter said Giant spent RM2.5 million in capital expenditure to re-furbish the Shah Aim store and the amount would differ according to the size of the stores.

    General merchandising director Lee Slew Mei said the relaunch embraced a change of layout making shopping a one-stop experience for customers.

    “Children-related products are put together and We have a dedicated seasonal promotional area. Now, there is a back-to-school pro-motion running for six weeks and all back-to-school retatect products including stationery, school bags and uniforms are in one place,” she said.

    At the same time, Lee said Giant has brought in many new ranges including those exclusive for Giant.

    We have the O’Fresh range which comes directly from the farms in Cameron Highlands. The vegetables do not go through distribution cen-tres, therefore they are of better quality and the price is also lower,” she said.

    Giant announced a special “Re-launch Promotion”, In conjunction with the relaunch of Giant Shah Alam from December 23 to January 31.

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  • Suzhou selected to host China Retail Trade Fair

    Suzhou selected to host China Retail Trade Fair

    The China Retail Trade Fair, more commonly known as CHINASHOP, the benchmark and barometer of China’s retail industry, announced that following voting by exhibitors and followers, Suzhou International Expo Center, the convention and exhibition venue owned and operated by Suzhou Culture and Expo Center Co., Ltd., has been selected to host 18th edition of the event, CHINASHOP 2016, with 41% of votes.

    CHINASHOP rolled out a voting campaign on December 11, 2015, inviting exhibitors and followers to select the host venue for the 18th CHINASHOP by choosing between five cities: Haikou , Qingdao , Nanjing , Suzhou and Chongqing .

    Suzhou outrivaled other cities with 41 per cent of votes. Following a wide-ranging consultation with exhibitors and on-site investigation of the venue, the organizers announced that the event will be held at Suzhou International Expo Center between the 3rd and the 5th of November 2016.

    With the approval and support of China’s Ministry of Commerce, CHINASHOP is organized by China Chain Store & Franchise Association and Beijing Zhihe Lianchuang Exhibition Co., Ltd. With a 16-year track record under its belt, CHINASHOP has become China’s largest and the world’s second largest retail industry event and is regarded by retailers worldwide as a key annual gathering.

    The city’s unique advantages lend to Suzhou International Expo Center’s popularity

    Suzhou, located in the fast-growing Yangtze River Delta, is in close proximity to major commercial centers including Shanghai , Nanjing and Zhejiang and is, itself, a city which is seeing a rapid expansion in its commercial activities. Recent statistics show that dozens of large shopping malls and supermarkets opened their doors here in 2015 and that the local retail industry has been on the fast growth track.
    At the same time, Suzhou and the nearby cities of Shanghai , Wuxi and Kunshan are all home to China’s leading manufacturers of commercial shelves, logos and signs. CHINASHOP 2016 in Suzhou will not only allow purchasers to visit and inspect suppliers, but also reduce exhibitors’ labor and transportation costs. Jiangsu province is also a very active hub in terms of the development of China’s online businesses, giving exhibitors an opportunity to enter into face-to-face conversations with China’s leading Internet companies and further explore how to best be a part of the transformation of the traditional retail industry in the new consumption environment.

    Suzhou International Expo Center is located in Suzhou Industrial Park. The center has available 60 conference rooms of varying sizes, occupying a combined area of 50,000 square meters, as well as 100,000 square meters of indoor exhibition space and 60,000 square meters of outdoor space. Its 8,000 square meter column-free luxury banquet hall is among the best in Asia . Based in Suzhou, a city with deep historical and cultural roots, the center has a full range of support facilities in immediate proximity including hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and entertainment venues. At the same time, the center is conveniently located in terms of transportation, with proximity to airports and high-speed railway stations in Shanghai and Wuxi, facilitating access for exhibitors and visitors.

    “We are honored to provide the venue for CHINASHOP 2016,” said Yin Weidong , chairman of Suzhou International Expo Center. “We sincerely invite all to the center between November 3 and 5, 2016 , when we will offer exhibitors and visitors all over the world an international expo with the most advanced exhibition facilities, the most comprehensive support services and the most professional exhibition team.”

  • Korean tobacco group fights ‘duty free threat’

    Korean tobacco group fights ‘duty free threat’

    Several media organisations in South Korea and beyond have reported criticism from the 100,000-strong ‘I Love Smoking’ online pro-smoking group towards ‘alleged’ plans by the South Korean government to halt sales of duty free cigarettes at Jeju International Airport’s shops.

    The pro-smoking group has told local media that if duty free cigarettes at Jeju are banned, the government believes these sales will simply migrate to the domestic market, where all cigarettes and tobacco products are subject to normal taxation.

    Customers are currently allowed to buy and import one duty free carton of 200 cigarettes, saving around 60% of the comparative domestic market retail price.

    Hanwha Galleria Timeworld trading as Galleria Duty Free

    At the same time, the I Love Smoking group in South Korea has suggested that if the Finance Ministry does have a public health agenda on this issue then it may have to ban duty free cigarettes altogether in South Korea – a move that would certainly prove hugely unpopular with many Korean and overseas customers, as well as duty free retailers and suppliers.

    Any such ban, local or otherwise, would also be certain to trigger contract renegotiations between affected retailers and airport landlords.

    Jeju International Airport is the biggest airport within the Korean Airports Corporation (KAC) portfolio. Hanwha Galleria Timeworld operates the 410sq m mixed category duty free store, having taken this over from Lotte Duty Free in mid-2014.

    Currently, around 95% of the Jeju duty free shop’s customers are Chinese, compared to an average for all South Korean duty free shops at about 60%, with tobacco sales four times bigger than liquor. Chinese cigarettes also dominate, accounting for more than 80% of all the store’s tobacco sales.

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  • Two Malaysian firms plan agarwood venture in Laos

    Two Malaysian firms plan agarwood venture in Laos

    Two Malaysian companies plan to invest US$18 million (RM79 million) for the inoculation of agarwood in Laos that is expected to generate US$200 million in three years.

    Agriculture transaction company Aseagate (M) Sdn Bhd, forestry management company Richwood Capital Sdn Bhd (RWC), together with non-governmental organisation Global Outstanding Chinese 100 Organisation of Singapore (GOC100) yesterday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project.

    GOC100 inked an MoU with Aseagate that gave the latter sole rights to plantation management for over 2,000ha of land in Bolikhamsai province, Laos, while Aseagate inked an MoU with RWC to spell out their roles in the management, inoculation and supply of agarwood in the Indochinese state.

    The formalisation of the two MoU will be implemented in March.

    RWC CEO Kendrick Ho Qing Tyat said the parties are in the process of raising funds for the project and plan to get institutional investors from China.

    “Given the platform that we have, with GOC100 backing and the Lao government’s support, there’s no reason why people won’t believe and invest with us. This is a good opportunity for them to earn money as well. This market may be new to them but it’s not new in this world,” he told a press conference after signing the MoU yesterday.

    Agarwood is a dark resinous heartwood and is the most expensive wood in the world. Agarwood is pricier than gold with a retail price of between US$5,600 and US$10,000 per kilogramme. A litre of agarwood oil can be sold at US$10,000 to US$14,000. It is valued in many cultures for its distinctive fragrance, and thus is used for incense and perfume. One of the main reasons for the relative rarity and high cost of agarwood is the depletion of the wild resource.

    GOC100 was awarded the exclusive concession by the Lao central government’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to manage the country’s agarwood plantation. GOC100 had in August 2015 signed an exclusive agreement with the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for concession to these trees that are planted within the Lao military base and guarded by military.

    The Aseagate-RWC partnership will see the inoculation of agarwood trees aged from 15-22 years to produce resin on behalf of the government of Laos.

    GOC100 Singapore secretary-general Peter Lee said the Lao venture is significant to tap into the growing demand for agarwood, especially in the Middle East and China markets.

    He said the agarwood project is a safe investment, as it is more resilient to economic fluctuations as compared to stocks and bonds, with insurance purchased for its proven inoculation technique and against natural calamities.

    The parties are confident of the venture as the management and technical team has accumulated over seven years of experience in forestry management and agriculture technology, having provided solutions to plantation owners in Malaysia.

    Ho said it utilises technology from Singapore to artificially induce trees to produce resin.

  • Korean Customs to issue more duty free licenses?

    Korean Customs to issue more duty free licenses?

    Park Geun-Hye’s South Korean government has commissioned a formal review of the domestic duty free industry, its impact on tourism and what it perceives as the dominance of Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free in the sector.

    A private consulting firm has been commissioned to undertake the review, which is expected to forward its findings to government before releasing the results into the public domain.

    We understand that Korea Customs Service officials have informally told duty free industry executives that new Seoul downtown duty free shop licenses could be issued in 2016 – and possibly other key locations – as part of government efforts to reduce Lotte’s and Shilla’s present duty free industry dominance.

    “The government is researching the duty free environment and will announce the results including whether new downtown licenses will be issued and where, and the number of new licenses,” commented a reliable duty free industry source in Seoul.

    “The government has asked a private consulting company to research the duty free market here to boost tourism and reduce the present duty free market duopoly. The government is looking at a different solution to taking away existing licenses; instead they are planning to have more licenses. We hope there will be a positive result from the government’s announcement.”

    Although no decision has been made so far, Korea Customs Service officials are understood to have told duty free industry executives that new downtown licenses may be issued this year. Seoul, the South Korean capital, and Busan are the most likely locations for new downtown shop licenses, along with Jeju Island.

    ‘RUMOURS’ OF MORE LICENSES…

    “KCS is leaking rumours that there will be new duty free licenses around March 2016. There is still a debate in our National Assembly about diluting existing duty free retail monopolies by giving new licenses,” said the source.

    “KCS is thinking to issue more duty free licenses for Seoul and Busan. Tourism in Busan is growing, but not like Seoul. Lotte’s grip already is weaker as they have lost their Lotte World Tower license; also, Shinsegae Duty Free is coming into central Seoul with their new Namdaemun super store, which will take a significant part of Lotte’s Sogong shop’s sales.”

    News of the government’s duty free industry review comes as speculation continues to grow over the future use of Seoul’s Lotte World Tower duty free store and the Walkerhill downtown duty free shop, after both retailers recently lost licenses to successful rival bids from Shinsegae Duty Free and Doosan Duty Free.

    Under KCS regulations, losing duty free license holders may continue to operate their shops for a grace period of six months after license expirations to allow them to sell off stock, find new employment for staff and wind up their businesses.

    Both the Lotte World Tower and Walkerhill downtown stores are continuing to trade while their owners decide future arrangements for their outlets.

    PRESIDENT PARK GEUN-HYE SAID TO BE ‘CONCERNED’

    South Korean President Park Geun-Hye (top right) has only recently voiced concern about the large financial losses that both Lotte and Walkerhill face under KCS’s new non-renewable license arrangements, after investing in multi-million dollar new duty free facilities, only to lose their licenses soon afterwards.

    “There is a rumour that Lotte will try to pass its Lotte COEX duty free shop license in Seoul to Lotte World Tower duty free shop,” the source said. In the Lotte World Tower shopping complex there are already duty paid Louis Vuitton, Chanel and other luxury brand boutiques.

    “Without its Lotte World Tower duty free license there is no reason for Lotte to keep its former duty free boutiques there as well and have double stores in one location. Lotte will have to destroy all its investment in these duty free boutiques. The government does not want to see this happen, so it is thinking of different options.”

    Other possibilities apart from Lotte being permitted to transfer its COEX downtown duty free store license are that it could win a new license if KCS issues a new series in Seoul this year. Alternatively, another company winning a new duty free license might be permitted to operate the Lotte World Tower outlet, though it is unlikely that Lotte would agree to this.

    WALKERHILL RECONFIRMS IT IS LEAVING THE BUSINESS

    While Lotte continues to search for a solution, the SK Group parent of Walkerhill Duty Free has reconfirmed that it is to leave the duty free industry altogether and it will not seek a new duty free license in future.

    The Walkerhill duty free store actually represents only a very small share of the SK Group’s total revenue compared with its major business activities, that include telecommunications, transportation, oil refining and other energy-related interests.

    SK recently invested more than US$30m in upgrading and expanding its Walkerhill duty free store which forms part of the Walkerhill hotel and entertainment complex in eastern Seoul. The retailer’s options now include converting the duty free store back to hotel use, or leasing the shop to another retailer.

    Paradise Casino, which operates the Walkerhill complex casino, is understood to be disappointed at the loss of the duty free license as many high spending Chinese visitors to the duty free store visited the casino after shopping.

    In fact, the Walkerhill duty free shop and casino rely upon each other to attract customers, as many visitors to Paradise Casino also visit the ajoining duty free shop, which has built a strong reputation for its wide range of high-priced watches, along with other luxury goods.

  • Vietnam’s retail sales jump 9.5% last year

    Vietnam’s retail sales jump 9.5% last year

    Viet Nam’s retail sales of goods and services rose 9.5 per cent this year, the largest increase since 2011, as low inflation and strong economic growth bolstered consumer confidence, data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) revealed.

    Sales were estimated at VND3,242 trillion (US$148 billion), GSO said. Vu Manh Ha, domestic trade economist of the GSO, attributed the significant rise in 2015 to the country’s 0.63-per cent CPI year-on-year rise, the lowest increase in the past 14 years.

    Ha said the low CPI increase meant stable prices for several essential products, adding that manufacturers and suppliers could sell their products without raising prices, which encouraged consumption.

    Retail sales growth was also triggered by the increasing number of newly-opened supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the countries, enhancing competition among product suppliers, Ha said.

    The government said on Saturday that Viet Nam’s gross domestic product grew 7 per cent in the forth quarter and 6.7 per cent in 2015, the biggest expansion in five years.

    According to GSO, retail sales of goods, which account for 76 per cent of the total sales, reached VND2,470 trillion ($112 billion), up 11 per cent from last year.

    Revenue in some sectors saw a handsome increase. Food and foodstuffs saw an increase of 15 per cent, household appliances rose 15 per cent, garments and textiles up 13 per cent and transport services are estimated to increase 10 per cent.

    Retail sales of accommodation, restaurant and catering services reached VND372.2 trillion ($17 billion), accounting for 12 per cent of the total revenue, posting a 5.2 per cent year-on-year increase.

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  • Credit Suisse: Tough Days for Retailers Next Year as Weak Rupiah and Spending Linger

    Credit Suisse: Tough Days for Retailers Next Year as Weak Rupiah and Spending Linger

    Indonesian retailers could see tough days persisting next year as they wade through a storm of weak rupiah and waning consumer demands, analysts at Credit Suisse Securities Indonesia says.

    Retailers in the country have grappled with volatility in the rupiah this year — with an 11 percent decline to 13,872 against the US dollar year-to-date — which are hiking costs of imports as well as interest from dollar-denominated debt against the backdrop of a slower economy.

    Credit Suisse Securities Indonesia is now underweight on local retailers next year, especially those with high imported content such as fashion and lifestyle retailer Mitra Adiperkasa and household store operator Ace Hardware. Credit Suisse Securities Indonesia is the the sixth-biggest broker in total value in November taking some 4 percent of the trading, data from the local bourse authority showed.

    “I’m worried about retailers with a lot of imported content because the rupiah has weakened a lot, so their merchandise is becoming more expensive for the local population to buy,” Jahanzeb Naseer, head of research for Indonesia at Credit Suisse Securities Indonesia, told reporters in Jakarta on Monday.

    “The government is also expecting a lot of machinery and infrastructure-related imports next year that they may put pressure on consumption imports.”

    Consumer spending on discretionary items, such as electronic devices and apparel, is also unlikely to improve until the second half of next year due to higher prices, according to Naseer.

    Credit Suisse forecasts the rupiah to weaken by between 6 and 8 percent next year due to pressure from the US Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening as well as a possible rate cut by Bank Indonesia.

    Meanwhile, it sees the economy growing by 5.2 percent next year — roughly in line with the government’s 5.3 percent target — on the back of accelerated government spending as well as a potential rate cut of 75 basis points by Bank Indonesia.

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  • GST, ringgit decline hit retailers causing 40% drop in sales, says employers group

    GST, ringgit decline hit retailers causing 40% drop in sales, says employers group

    Retailers have experienced a major drop in sales with some registering a more than 40% decline over festive periods in the second half of the year, the Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF) said today.

    MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said retailers attribute the decline to the combined impact from the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) in April and the ringgit’s depreciation against the US dollar. He added that consumers became more prudent in their spending after the GST came into effect and this was reflected in Hari Raya and Deepavali shopping in the second half of the year.

    The cost of goods were “seemingly” higher because the tax and the exchange rate had also affected all players in the retail sector, both big and small companies, he added. “The challenges are very high for the retail sector. The sector has very much to do with domestic market outlook, especially when the rakyat is very careful with their spending and choosy with their purchases.

    As such, the retail sector will be affected very much,” he told The Malaysian Insider. Poor consumer sentiment saw retailers grapple with a drop of more the 40% than the usual spending during the last two festive seasons in July and November.

    “You look at Hari Raya and Deepavali. Many retailers are saying that their sales were affected, some by more than 40%. “In this kind of revenue outlook, this sector has no choice but to actually restructure their manpower and, unfortunately, when they talk about restructuring, they are talking about retrenchment.”

    Shamsuddin said many retailers were struggling although MEF had yet to receive any reports on closures or retrenchments. The Edge Financial Daily last week reported that independent retail research firm, Retail Group Malaysia (RGM) has cut its forecast for retail sales this year for the fifth time, attributing it to poor figures in the second and third quarters of the year.

    The firm said the decision to revise its forecast downward was due to the weakening ringgit in the past few months, which led to higher import costs. RGM, however, forecasted that the Q4 (October to December) growth to 3.8% year-on-year is higher than Malaysia Retailers Association’s (MRA) forecast of 1.3% growth for the same period.

    This was because RGM believed that the higher cost of overseas travel would encourage domestic spending. MRA also said it did not expect its businesses to recover strongly for the period as they expected a 2.6% contraction in sales.

  • Bee forces flight delay in Indonesia

    Bee forces flight delay in Indonesia

    An errant bee delayed the takeoff of a flight operated by Indonesia’s Garuda Indonesia, the flag carrier’s spokesman said Wednesday.

    Benny Butarbutar, the company’s vice president of corporate communications, told Kyodo News that the pilot of Flight GA197 decided to delay the flight for four hours Tuesday after finding some problems in one of the aircraft’s engines.

    The plane was scheduled to take off at 10.10am from Kualanamu international airport in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan bound for the capital Jakarta.

    “Based on a thorough investigation, the problem in the aircraft’s electronic engine control was caused by a bee entering the aircraft’s pitot tube located on the outer part of the cockpit, delaying the departure,” Mr Butarbutar said. The pitot tube measures airspeed.

    The incident, he added, “was beyond Garuda’s control and caused more by the airport’s situation and condition.”

    The problem was discovered just as the plane was about to take off, he said.

    “Considering safety aspects, Garuda Indonesia decided to delay the flight, and after a one-hour repair process, the aircraft was declared serviceable and ready to operate,” Mr Butarbutar said, adding that the incident was the first of its kind for Garuda.

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  • Hong Kong Retail to Reshuffle as Sales Remain Lackluster

    Hong Kong Retail to Reshuffle as Sales Remain Lackluster

    Hong Kong retailers are far from optimistic about sales during next month’s Lunar New Year holiday as retail sales fell for nine months in a row, with a 7.8 percent plunge last November compared to a year ago.

    At the same time, the tourism industry and retail sectors have been adjusting their strategies in the hope of finding a way forward.

    The year-end period is the traditional high season for retailers, however, the latest government data shows that in November last year, sales in most categories recorded a significant drop, with jewelry, watches and clocks, as well as high value gifts continuing to be the hardest to hit.

    This is in line with sluggish inbound tourism, which dipped by 10.4 percent over the same period.

    Hong Kong’s wholesale and retail lawmaker Vincent Fang believes it’s bound to affect employment and the retail landscape.

    “For example, is it possible that I just hire three salespersons instead of four? For chain stores, if the lease expires, and I cannot afford to keep five or six shops, maybe I’ll close one down.”

    Hong Kong Retail Management Association chairman Thomson Cheng is estimating a single-digit percentage sales drop during the coming Lunar New Year holiday.

    “If people in Hong Kong ask for two days off, they’ll have a nine-day holiday, I think they’ll travel overseas. So local consumption won’t be ideal. At the same time, The Hong Kong dollar remains strong, which also makes the price unattractive to tourists.”

    A total of 10 million Hong Kong dollars have been allocated to ten local attractions to help promote them to overseas markets during winter period, but according to tourism lawmaker Yiu Si wing, the measure is not proving effective.

    “The Retail sector has been through a hard time. Tourists from the mainland are selective when consuming, they have a smaller appetite for luxury goods, as well as high-end restaurants. The government is hoping to attract tourists with higher spending capability to fill the gap, but it seems that it is failing to achieve the desired results. ”

    But it is not all bad news. Skyrocketing rents in Hong Kong are declining following disappointing retail performance, which is enabling some stores to expand their network. Digital products and home appliance provider Hong Kong Suning Commerce Groups is one of them. Kim Li is the Operations Director of the company.

    “We have entered the retail winter, but property owners also realize that they cannot keep the current rent based on how many customers we receive. So they reduce rents significantly, some drop by 40 percent. We think we still have opportunity to develop and expand our market with lower costs.”

    To better protect tourists’ interest, Hong Kong’s Travel Industry Council has asked operators to take tour groups only to the pre-registered shops, but industry practitioners are not cooperating and some say they’ll boycott the list.

    For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

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  • Hong Kong retail sales figures fall for 12th straight month

    Hong Kong retail sales figures fall for 12th straight month

    Hong Kong retail sales fell 7.8 per cent in November – a drop worse than expected that prompted retailers to draw parallels to 2003, when the city was hit by Sars.

    Thomson Cheng Wai-hung, the chairman of the Retail Management Association, predicted the full-year figure for 2015 would have fallen at least 3 per cent “for sure”.

    When severe acute respiratory syndrome hit in 2003, the city’s full-year retail sales decreased 2.3 per cent. The first 11 months of last year saw a drop of 3.1 per cent year on year.

    And retailers can see no light at the end of the tunnel.

    “We couldn’t see any positive signs that retail would turn around in 2016,” said Cheng. He said most members surveyed by the association expected single-digit declines this year.

    The Hong Kong government also expects a gloomy year ahead. A spokesman said the retail sector would remain weak due to low numbers of inbound tourists.

    Most retail categories saw sales fall in November, with only three areas recording growth.

    Jewellery, watches, clocks and valuable gifts ranked worst, with sales down 20.6 per cent. They were followed by department store goods and clothing, with sales declining 4.8 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively.

    Supermarket sales did better, rising 1.4 per cent – a rise matched by food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco. Motor vehicles and parts saw a rise of 7.8 per cent.

    Cheng said tourists from the mainland were “crucial” to the city’s retail sector, as they spent substantial portions of their travel budgets on shopping.

    While there has been a steady increase in visitor arrivals from overseas in recent months, Cheng said foreign tourists spent more of their budgets on leisure activities such as sightseeing and food, rather than shopping.

    “They wouldn’t help much on retail sales,” said Cheng.

    Retailers at the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo also received disappointing sales results yesterday, with total sales standing at HK$900 million, unchanged from last year’s figure.

    Sales at the popular Macau ­baker Koi Kei Bakery declined 20 to 30 per cent compared to last year, according to the man in charge of its booth, Arthur Lee. He said tourists from the mainland used to contribute one-third of the baker’s sales at the expo, but this year had been responsible for less than 10 per cent.

    Meanwhile, the number of visitors to Hong Kong during the Christmas and new year holidays shrank compared to last year. The Immigration Department said visitor arrivals for December 24-27 and December 31-January 3 dropped to 1.46 million, down 2.53 per cent from last year.

    Tourists from the mainland were down 5.45 per cent and overseas visitors fell 1.28 per cent.

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  • Retail sales slumps 7.8 per cent in HongKong

    Retail sales slumps 7.8 per cent in HongKong

    Hong Kong retail is going on its year-long downturn, with an estimate of total retail deals drooping 7.8 percent to HK$38.1 billion last November contrasted to figures a year before. This is the most noticeable bad month to month execution since January previous year ago, denoting its twelfth consecutive month of turn down.

    The city’s once blasting retail area is on its voyage to record its most exceedingly bad year since 2003 when SARS hit as the value of retail sales in the initial 11 months a year ago fell by 3.1 percent contrasted to the same period in 2014.  Among all the retail classifications, jewellery, watches and clocks and other gifts positioned most exceedingly bad, with deals down 20.6 percent. They were trailed by commodities in retail chains and attire, with deals declining 4.8 percent and 8.6 percent for each.

    Most retail classifications saw sales retreat in November, with just three outlets recording growth: sales of grocery stores; food, mixed beverages and tobacco; and motor vehicles and parts. They extended 1.4 percent, 1.4 percent and 7.8 percent respectively. Alongside the estimation of retail deals, November volumes additionally diminished by six percent contrasted to a year before.  A government representative said the “distinctly” slack retail deals were for the most part tottered by the lull in inbound tourism. Local utilization conclusions were prone to be influenced by a troubling financial viewpoint and late securities exchange remedies, he said.

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  • Thai retailers call for more tax breaks

    Thai retailers call for more tax breaks

    The government should continue endorsing tax breaks for consumers and open more duty-free shops to attract foreign tourists and boost the retail business, according to the Thai Retailers Association (TRA).

    “The tax measure endorsed for the last seven days of last year has helped the whole retail sector to grow by 3.1 per cent in 2015, up from 2.8 per cent in an earlier forecast.

    “It would be great if the government could extend this scheme to cover foreign tourists in order to encourage more spending while they stay in the country,” Jariya Chirathivat, president of the TRA, said yesterday.

    For domestic tourism, the government should continue the tax-deduction measure and implement it twice annually, in the first and second halves of the year. This would increase spending by local people, particularly for tourism, during the low and back-to-school seasons.

    The government should allow more operators to open duty-free shops in major towns and tourist destinations. It is hoped this would reduce the prices of luxury products and other goods, and encourage tourists to spend more.

    “The government should give the green light to more operators to run duty-free shops at major airports and in downtown areas. Currently, there is only one duty-free operator in Thailand.

    “The government should support this by having pick-up counters at major airports for tourists buying duty-free products in downtown shops. This would benefit the tourism industry,” Jariya said.

    The average daily spending per visitor is about Bt5,000, he said. Nearly one-third of that, or about Bt1,400, is for shopping. However, the average tourist shopping expenditure in Thailand is half that in Singapore and a quarter of the outlay in Hong Kong.

    “The problem is tourists don’t come to Thailand mainly for shopping, because most luxury goods here are more expensive than in Singapore or Hong Kong,” she said.

    To strengthen the retail business in 2016, the TRA has offered more proposals to the government for consideration, including speeding up investment in infrastructure projects to create jobs and increase incomes.

    Other ideas are imposing some measures to boost local consumption by focusing on middle-to-high-income earners, restoring shoppers’ confidence, and putting consumers in a shopping mood by running some campaigns during the low season.

    Reducing duties on luxury brand-name imports to attract more shopping from foreign tourists is also needed. According to the Global Blue survey for 2012-13, Thais were ranked sixth in claiming tax refunds on overseas shopping.

    The TRA said the 2015 special tax break was one of the government’s New Year gifts for Thais. All retailers and product makers are registered in the value-added-tax system.

    The measure, which offered tax deductions of up to Bt15,000, augmented consumer purchasing power. Earlier, the government imposed another measure to allow deductions of up to Bt15,000 for individual taxpayers who bought hotel accommodations and other services from tourism operators. Both tax breaks will together allow individual taxpayers to deduct up to Bt30,000 on their personal income tax.

    It was predicted that the shopping spree during the New Year celebrations rose 20 per cent or Bt25 billion and pumped Bt125 billion into the economy in the final month of 2015.

    According to the World Bank, Thailand’s tax collections should reach 21.35 per cent of gross domestic product, but only 16.02 per cent has been collected over the last few years.

    A study of the tax structure found only 327,127 companies and partnerships registered with the corporate-income-tax system, or only 12 per cent of the 2.7 million entities registered with the Commerce Ministry’s Business Development Department.

  • Sari-sari stores in Davao City to thrive vs 7-Eleven

    Sari-sari stores in Davao City to thrive vs 7-Eleven

    Philippines’ corner stores called ‘sari-sari stores’ will be affected by growing competition from convenience stores sprouting in Davao City but they will continue to survive, according to a local government official.

    Ivan C. Cortez, officer-in-charge of Davao City Investment Promotions Center (DCIPC), said, in an interview with Sun Star Davao, that the increasing number of 7-Eleven stores in the city will affect small retailers’ sales especially those of the ‘sari-sari’ stores.

    However, Cortez said that ‘sari-sari’ stores will continue to thrive as their market is different from convenience stores.

    ‘Sari-sari’ stores, considered as neighbourhood stores, sell a variety of products in retail from a cigarette stick, shampoo sachets, to a small pack of peppercorn. They are ubiquitous in residential areas and sometimes offer goods on credit.

    The market of 7-Eleven and other convenience stores, on the other hand, are mainly young professionals.

    “7-Eleven is an upscale sari-sari store with 24 hours service, this will have an effect on local sari-sari store, on the survival rate, because 7/11 is getting the bulk the sales,” added Cortez.

    7-Eleven, the largest convenience store chain in the Philippines and operated by Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), has more than 20 stores in the city.

    PSC aims to open 70 stores in Davao City in June this year and 120 stores by 2018 in the entire region of Mindanao.

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  • Hong Kong retail sales worse than expected in November

    Hong Kong retail sales worse than expected in November

    Hong Kong’s retail sales by value declined for a ninth consecutive month in November, falling by a worse-than-expected 7.8% from a year earlier as inbound tourism slowed further, the Census and Statistics Department said Monday.

    The decline deepened from October’s 3.0% fall, and was more severe than the median forecast of a 6.5% decrease from three economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

    Hong Kong’s 2015 retail sales are expected to suffer their biggest annual decline since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in 2003. Retail sales by value for January-November fell 3.1% from a year earlier, steeper than the 2.3% decline recorded in 2003 when tourists shunned Hong Kong for several months during the SARS outbreak.

    Hong Kong’s retail sales by volume fell 6.0% in November from a year earlier, reversing October’s 1.2% rise, and worse than the survey’s median forecast of a 3.2% contraction.

    A government spokesman said retail sales dropped amid weak tourism. “The increased downside risks to the economic outlook and recent stock market corrections might also have resulted in more cautious local consumption sentiment,” the spokesman added.