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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.

  • Asians embrace Valentines Day

    Asians embrace Valentines Day

    Indonesians, Taiwanese and Singaporeans are far more likely to splurge on Valentine’s Day than shoppers in Germany or the UK, a survey reveals.

    Japan’s home-grown global online retailer Rakuten has surveyed 7000 people across the globe to gauge attitudes to Valentine’s Day and found that Asians embrace the concept much more than Europeans.

    The Rakuten Shopping Secrets survey found Indonesians (57 per cent), Taiwanese (53 per cent) and Singaporeans (45 per cent) placed top of the multi-national poll for being the most expectant to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, heading off other countries in the poll – the US (where the tradition has been the most commercialised), the UK, Spain and Germany.  According to the survey, love is not in the air for Germans (18 per cent) or the British (36 per cent), who were least likely to celebrate the occasion.

    The survey also revealed that the majority of Singaporeans (59 per cent) do not expect to receive gifts on Valentine’s Day. But for those that are spirited enough to celebrate the occasion – receiving a trip or vacation (41 per cent), fashion accessories (27 per cent), chocolates wine and other food or drink (26 per cent) and jewellery (22 per cent) ranked highest among what they hoped to receive.

    The survey also asked respondents about choosing shopping as “a break-up therapy”. Singaporeans, not surprisingly given their penchant for shopping, were the most likely (39 per cent), followed by neighbours Indonesia (38 per cent). Germans ranked lowest at just 19 per cent.

    For those who hit the stores upon singlehood, fashion and accessories were the items most frequently bought post-breakup.

    More than half of Singaporeans who have gone through a bad breakup or relationship prefer to drown their sorrows by shopping online rather than offline in the one month after a breakup. Not feeling like going out and interacting with people (58 per cent), wanting more privacy (55 per cent) and not wanting to let people see that they look depressed (26 per cent) were the top three reasons cited.

    Launched in Singapore in January 2014, the Rakuten Singapore Marketplace currently carries over 200,000 goods from 300 merchants with a diverse mix of product categories, including fashion apparel and accessories, health and beauty products, consumer electronics, toys and games, food and beverages and home furniture.

    Rakuten is headquartered in Tokyo, with over 10,000 employees and partner staff worldwide.

  • China online ad revenue soars

    China online ad revenue soars

    China’s online advertising revenues rose 40 per cent last year – to a record 154 billion Yuan.

    (US$24.6 billion), according to iResearch Consulting Group.

    The strong rise occurred despite slowing economic growth and subdued consumer spending. But it did come at a time online shopping rose by a similar rate.

    iResearch said in a report that the rise was slightly lower in percentage terms than the previous year, predicting the sector might now be entering a new “maturity age”.

    “Some traditional internet media faced slow growth… while some showed strong momentum driven by new advertising technology and emerging forms of advertising. Moreover, the brand advertisers’ spending flocked {from traditional media} to digital media.”

    According to iResearch, keyword search advertising made up 28.5 per cent of the total spend, the share up two per cent on 2013.

    China online ad revenues

    Next was eCommerce advertising with market share of 26 per cent, a slight fall compared with 2013. Brand graphic advertising occupied 21.2 per cent.

    Advertising on portals and social media increased, mainly due toTencent’s Guangdiantong advertising service and Sina’s Weibo.

    “It reflected that internet enterprises more efficiently match advertising demand with advertising sources via data analysis and technology in order to raise their advertising revenues.”

    In-video advertising revenues also maintained a high growth rate in China in 2014, due to widespread interest the World Cup in Brazil and popular variety shows such as I Am Singer II, Where are we going? Dad II, and Voice China III.

    “Moreover, well-known brand advertisers attached more importance to online video and their increasing online video advertising budget contributed to growth of in-video advertising revenues,” said iResearch.

    The biggest player in China’s online ad market remains Baidu’s, China’s equivalent of Google, which is blocked in the mainland. Baidu’s ad revenues surpassed 49 billion Yuan in 2014, increasing 53.5 per cent from 2013. Taobao gained 37.5 billion Yuan in revenues, ranking second. Together, Baidu and Taobao accounted for 56.2 per cent of the total online advertising market.

    iQiyi & PPS, Qihoo 360 and Tencent all posted good revenue growth. iQiyi & PPS increased their investment in exclusive broadcast of quality content and kept adding more user-generated content. Moreover, it managed to monetise its mobile business and increase its advertising revenue.

    Qihoo 360 raised brand awareness of its search business in 2014, increasing traffic, which boosted its market share. Search became the core contributor of Qihoo 360’s advertising revenue.

    iResearch predicts a broadening of WeChat’s advertising sources and development of Guangdiantong mobile advertising networks will push up Tencent’s ad revenue.

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  • Paypal’s retail chief quits ahead of eBay split

    Paypal’s retail chief quits ahead of eBay split

    Paypal executive Don Kingsborough, who helped orchestrate the payments company’s move into physical retail stores, stepped down in January, the company said on Wednesday.

    His departure, which tech blog Re/code first reported, comes as the company competes with the likes of fast-growing startup Square to get its payments system adopted in more retail chains across the United States.

    PayPal, which is slated to split from eBay Inc later this year, will keep testing and investing in various in-store payments systems, eBay spokeswoman Amanda Miller said in a statement.

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  • Thai consumer confidence fell in Jan

    Thai consumer confidence fell in Jan

    Thailand’s consumer confidence index fell to 80.4 points in January from 81.1 last December due to concerns about slow economic recovery, baht appreciation, weak exports and low prices for farm products.

    The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce announced on Thursday that consumer confidence declined as the national economy was expanding more slowly than its real potential, Thai exports did not recover well, the baht appreciated slightly and prices of farm products fell.

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  • Aeon nears Indonesian debut

    Aeon nears Indonesian debut

    Japan’s Aeon is completing construction of its first shopping mall in Indonesia.

    Its Indonesia debut follows success in Malaysia and Thailand where it is building strong networks of hypermarkets, supermarkets and mini-markets, and a more recent foray into Vietnam where it has two shopping centres already trading in the south and a third under construction in Hanoi.

    Aeon Mall Sinarmas Land Indonesia, its local arm, is building Aeon Mall Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) City which will have more than 100,000 sqm of leased area and be one of the largest shopping malls in the city when complete.

    The suburban mall will have have an Aeon general merchandising store as its anchor, and lease space to a broad range of international and local brands, in similar format to its Vietnamese centres.

    It will also feature a food court, cinemas, and an amusement arcade.

    The mall will comprise four stories along with multi-level parking for more than 5000 vehicles.

    This week Aeon contracted NEC Indonesia to provide cashless payment systems for the food court in what will be the first electronic card payment project for NEC in Indonesia.

    The cashless payment system consisting of NEC retail terminals and software will enable cashless transactions for both food court customers and stallholders. Payments for food and beverage will be made via an electronic card, which can be topped up at a central cashier or kiosk.

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  • Snow Miku makes retail debut

    Snow Miku makes retail debut

    A new retail store-cum-museum has opened in Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan – a tribute to Snow Miku, a recently contrived animated character who promotes the region.

    Snow Miku, born in 2010 through a snow sculpture of local ‘virtual singer’ Hatsune Miku, is a character which now exemplifies Hokkaido’s winter culture. The country’s northernmost island is a popular tourist destination for Asian tourists seeking to experience snow and snowsports.

    Since 2012, the costume design for Snow Miku is chosen at an online competition everyone can participate in, and so each year Miku appears in a different wintery costume related to the annual theme. Hokkaido’s winter is brightened up not only through the character Snow Miku, but through the broader community’s creativity.

    Now Snow Miku has evolved into a retail concept, with the new Chitose Airport terminal building featuring her pride of place in a large-scale entertainment complex putting together specialties from all corners of Hokkaido, including nationally known shops and restaurants. The terminal has become a one-stop solution for enjoying the entire cuisine of Hokkaido.

    The newly opened section

    Snow Miku Skytown is located on the fourth floor of the domestic terminal building and operated by Crypton Future Media. It features a theatre space with a 360-degree video showcasing Hokkaido’s landscape, a museum dedicated to various incarnations of Snow Miku, a retail space selling themed goods including unique items available only at the airport, and a cafe.

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  • No 1 Dubai airport eyes retail crown

    No 1 Dubai airport eyes retail crown

    Fresh from capturing the title of busiest international airport from London’s Heathrow, Dubai International Airport has set its sights on becoming the world’s top hub by retail sales this year as a flood of Chinese passengers add to a shopping spree.

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  • Delta to serve Starbucks coffee on all flights

    Delta to serve Starbucks coffee on all flights

    Delta Air Lines officially began serving Starbucks Coffee on all its flights worldwide this month as part if its ongoing in-flight enhancements to its food, beverages, seats and entertainment.

    Mike Henny, Delta’s Director of Customer Experience, said with this enhancement to the airline’s core in-flight service product, it hopes to improve the travel experience for customers.

    “We are delighted to provide Starbucks coffee wherever Delta’s customers are traveling,” said Michelle Burns, vice president Branded Solutions, Starbucks.

    Delta initially partnered with Starbucks in 2013 to offer coffee to customers traveling on select cross-country and West Coast Shuttle flights.

    Delta has commissioned artists from around the world to create three larger-than-life art installations made solely out of Starbucks cups.

    The pieces feature famous landmarks and sites of global destinations where Delta and Starbucks fly together: Big Ben in London, Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple in the historic district of Asakusa, and a Carnaval float in São Paulo, Brazil.

    The cup sculptures are on display in Terminal 4 at New York’s-JFK International Airport.

    Starbucks said it expects to serve 68 million cups of coffee on Delta in 2015.

  • Sephora thrives in Asia

    Sephora thrives in Asia

    Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy says Asia, the Middle East and North America delivered excellent performance for its Sephora, DFS business arm in 2014.

    The world’s largest luxury goods retailer and manufacturer said the business, in its books referred to as its Selective Retailing division, achieved record annual growth revenue of eight per cent.

    Profit from the division’s recurring operations reached €882 million in 2014.

    “Sephora had an exceptional year and continued to gain market share. Performance was excellent especially in North America, the Middle East and Asia. Online sales grew significantly, supported by innovative mobile features,” the company said in its full year announcement.

    “The store network expansion continued: the company established a new presence in Indonesia and Australia while several flagship stores, such as the Champs-Elysées and Dubai Mall, have been renovated. New brands enhanced the product offering, bringing a diversity that never ceases to keep Sephora ahead in beauty innovation.”

    LVMH said that “faced with a complex situation in Asia, particularly relating to currency and geopolitical developments,” its airport retailing business DFS continued to focus on optimising its offer and deploying its loyalty program.

    “Its profitability was equally impacted by the expansion and renovation of several airport concessions.”

    Overall growth

    Despite subdued economies in China, Hong Kong and much of Europe, LVMH achieved a revenue of €30.6 billion in 2014, an increase of six per cent over the previous year. Organic revenue growth was five per cent.

    “Revenue in all business groups increased with the exception of Wines & Spirits which continued to be affected by the destocking of distributors in China.”

    The group maintained strong momentum in the US, while Europe demonstrated good resilience despite the economic environment. Asian countries, it said, displayed mixed trends.

    In the fourth quarter, revenue increased by 10 per cent compared to the same period of 2013, with organic growth five per cent.

    Profit from recurring operations reached €5 715 million, resulting in an operating margin of 19 per cent.

    Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault said the 2014 results confirm the capacity for LVMH to progress despite economic and currency uncertainty.

    He said the company’s achievement reflected a commitment to excellence, a passion for quality and a capacity to innovate.

    “In 2014, all our Maisons demonstrated outstanding flexibility. By adapting their strategies to global changes and by continuing to evolve, they have shown the creativity and entrepreneurship that drive them forward. In an uncertain economic environment, we can rely on the desirability of our brands and the agility of our teams to further strengthen our leadership in the world of high quality products,” Arnault said.

    The luxury retailer said that despite a climate of economic, currency and geopolitical uncertainties, LVMH is well-equipped to continue its growth momentum across all business groups in 2015.

    “The group will maintain a strategy focused on developing its brands by continuing to build on strong innovation and a constant quest for quality in their products and their distribution.

    “Driven by the agility of its teams, the balance of its different businesses and geographic diversity, LVMH enters 2015 with confidence and has, once again, set an objective of increasing its global leadership position in luxury goods,” the company statement concluded.

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  • Singaporean shoppers enthusiastic about Valentine’s Day

    Singaporean shoppers enthusiastic about Valentine’s Day

    Valentine’s Day is a big deal for Indonesians (57 percent), Taiwanese (53 percent) and Singaporeans (45 percent). These three countries top a multi-market poll for being the most expectant to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year.

    In contrast, love is not in the air for Germans (18 percent) and the British (36 percent), who were least likely to celebrate the occasion.

    The Rakuten Shopping Secrets survey was conducted among consumers over seven markets with over 7,000 respondents from United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan.

    The survey also revealed that the majority of Singaporeans (59 percent) do not expect to receive gifts on Valentine’s Day, but for thosecelebrating the occasion, receiving a hug/kiss (41 percent), a trip or vacation (41 percent), fashion accessories (27 percent), chocolates wine and other food or drink (26 percent) and jewellery (22 percent) ranked highest among what respondents wished to receive.

    And when it comes to choosing shopping as a break-up therapy, Singaporeans came in tops (39 percent), followed closely by their regional counterparts in Indonesia (38 percent) and Taiwan (30 percent).

    For those who hit the stores upon singlehood, fashion and accessories were the items most frequently bought post-breakup.

    More than half of Singaporeans who have gone through a bad breakup or relationship prefer to drown their sorrows by shopping online rather than offline in the one month after a breakup.

    Not feeling like going out and interacting with people (58 percent), wanting more privacy (55 percent and not wanting to let people see that they look depressed (26 percent) were the top three reasons cited.

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  • Rakuten begins year-round hiring of engineers

    Rakuten begins year-round hiring of engineers

    Rakuten Inc. recently announced that it would discontinue its new-graduate hiring quota, and will begin to hire new-graduates and mid-career engineers throughout the year.

    Since 2010, the company has been accelerating its global expansion, and by making English the official corporate language, has begun attracting talented engineers from all over the world.

    It has also expanded its autumn hiring of new graduates, building an environment that makes it easier for exchange students and students from overseas to apply.

    To hire engineers that have a diverse set of values, the company believes that limits on the language, age, or experience of applicants, as well as on the time of entry when recruiting are unnecessary.

    Thus, Rakuten decided to change to a year-round hiring system that considers applicants regardless of whether they are new graduates or mid-career.

    The company plans to expand its internship program, so that people who aspire to join the company may get a better feeling for its technological strengths and corporate culture. This year, it said the program will offer over 30 positions in the Development Unit of Rakuten for students from within Japan and overseas.

  • Vietnamese consumer confidence rises in last quarter

    Vietnamese consumer confidence rises in last quarter

    Vietnamese consumer confidence continued to see rapid improvement in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index released by Nielsen, a global information and measurement company.

    Nielsen said Vietnam had become the ninth most optimistic country globally, with an index score of 106, an increase of four points compared to the previous quarter.

    Vaughan Ryan, managing director of Nielsen Vietnam, said over the last two quarters there was a significant increase in the confidence of consumers in Vietnam.

  • Consumer confidence climbs in Indonesia

    Consumer confidence climbs in Indonesia

    Indonesian consumers grew more optimistic about their economic prospects in January, thanks to the recent fuel price cuts, according to surveys from the central bank and a state-controlled research institute.

    Bank Indonesia’s Consumer Confidence Index, which is based on a sample of 4,600 households in 18 major cities in Indonesia, increased by 3.7 points to 120.2 point in January.

    A level of more than 100 points generally means consumers are optimistic about the country’s economy.

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  • Alibaba Group sets up HK foundation for young entrepreneurs

    Alibaba Group sets up HK foundation for young entrepreneurs

    The Alibaba Group has established a HKD1-billion (USD128.9 million) not-for-profit Alibaba Hong Kong Young Entrepreneurs Foundation to support young entrepreneurs in Hong Kong.

    The goal is to help young people start and grow businesses on marketplaces and platforms in the Alibaba ecosystem. Entrepreneurs will have access to financial capital, technical assistance and training.

    The selection and funding process will be managed by a team of professional investment managers and operating advisors who will work closely with these young entrepreneurs in their companies’ early stages.

    Profits generated from these venture investments will be returned to the foundation for re-investment.

    “We hope to create life-changing opportunities so that Hong Kong’s young people have an opportunity to build thriving businesses that will serve as a bridge between Hong Kong and mainland China,” said Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group.

    In addition, the foundation will also select 200 young people each year from Hong Kong universities to intern at Alibaba Group and other businesses within the Alibaba ecosystem. This will give an opportunity to university graduates to gain first-hand experience working in mainland China.

     

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  • Tommy Hilfiger to publish memoir

    Tommy Hilfiger to publish memoir

    Tommy Hilfiger announced recently that he will publish a memoir with Ballantine Books, an imprint of which will chronicle personal stories from his early childhood and formative years, his origins in the fashion industry, and the setbacks, triumphs, and sheer determination that drove him to build a multi-billion dollar global lifestyle brand.

    Publication is scheduled for Fall 2015, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Tommy Hilfiger brand.

    Hilfiger, 63, is known for classic, all-American style that melds pop culture and the preppy, East Coast lifestyle. Raised in New York, he opened a small chain of clothing stores in 1969 while still in high school. He launched his namesand fashion label in 1985, and the brand quickly expanded to include womenswear, Hilfiger Denim, kidswear, accessories, fragrance, and home, among other categories.

    In the 1990s, he was one of the first designers to blend fashion and celebrity, sponsoring tours for rock legends like The Rolling Stones and featuring musicians such as Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie and Beyoncé in his iconic advertising campaigns. In 2012, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored him with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.

    “Reflecting on my experiences in the fashion industry over the last 30-plus years has been a wild ride, filled with milestone moments that have defined both my career and personal life,” said Hilfiger. “I always believe the best is yet to come, but so far: it’s been the adventure of a lifetime.”

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