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Matahari Department Store opened its 130th outlet in Cyberpark, North Lippo Karawaci, last week to tap growing demand of consumers in the Tangerang region, the retailer said in a statement.
Matahari currently operates in 62 cities across the archipelago and the Cyberpark outlet would be its sixth in Tangerang.
“With a shopping area of almost 5,000 square metres, we strive to provide consumers with a fun and unique experience while shopping,” the statement read.
Thai e-commerce operators are urging the government to impose lower rates of taxation in order to encourage them to enter the revenue system and pay proper taxes.
Offering lower rates to small and medium-sized enterprises could also encourage them to go online and promote the development of the digital economy, says Somwang Luangphaiboonsri, secretary of the Thai e-Commerce Association.
E-commerce in Thailand is burgeoning and the government’s policy to move towards a digital economy is expected to paint a rosy picture for the sector, he said.
Consumers in Australia are less anxious than at any time in the past 18 months amid signs of a robust finale to the Christmas shopping season.
The National Australia Bank’s consumer anxiety index, released on Tuesday, has fallen for a second straight quarter to its lowest mark since mid-2013. It also revealed households have increased spending on non-essentials.
New spending data pointed to solid retail spending growth in December, despite the hit to consumer confidence caused by last week’s siege in Martin Place. Commonwealth Bank figures, released on Tuesday, show the volume of debit and credit card transactions made in stores across Australia in the first three weeks of December was 10.7 percent higher than the same period last year. The total value of transactions was five per cent higher in that period.
Australian supermarket giant Coles has been ordered to pay AUD10 million (USD8.1m) in penalties for “serious, deliberate and repeated” misconduct towards suppliers that were in some cases in financial trouble.
The Federal Court ruled in favour of a settlement between the retailer and the consumer watchdog, agreed by the parties last week.
Justice Michelle Gordon said the behaviour by Coles was orchestrated and relentless and involved threatening harm to suppliers by unlawfully withholding funds or demanding payments.
Woolworths buyers have told suppliers their products could be pulled from shelves just days before Christmas if they refuse to fund the supermarket giant’s new Cheap Cheap advertising campaign.
“I was asked for a contribution of almost $1 million, and when I refused to pay I was told a ‘range review’ was under way and I would be informed of the outcome early next week,” said the sales manager of one of Australia’s leading health product companies. “The implied threat is that some of my products will no longer be stocked if I don’t pay up.”
Woolworths staff have also been accused of telling suppliers the payment requests had the “endorsement” of the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission – a claim that the consumer watchdog rejects.