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Category: Living

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

  • Juara Beauty aims to win over Indonesia

    Juara Beauty aims to win over Indonesia

    Though France and the United States continue to lead trends in the beauty industry, the market is opening up for luxury brands from both local and international players.

    Entrepreneur Metta Murdaya aims to be a winner. That, at least, is the basis for her range of beauty products, which the Indonesian-born, US-based entrepreneur aims to transform into market favourite in Indonesia.

    Juara Beauty, the skincare line that took the United States by storm, is coveted by celebrities such as Brooke Shields, Keri Russell and Ashley Greene, and has since 2013 been making inroads in the archipelago.

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  • Malaysian cable TV enters retail JV

    Malaysian cable TV enters retail JV

    Malaysian cable TV operator Astro has entered a joint venture with South Korean multimedia retailer GS Home Shopping.

    And Astro is projecting sales of RM500 million (US$143 million) annually by 2019 after the service has gained critical mass.

    Astro will own 60 per cent of the joint venture, Go Shop, which will operate 24-seven on TV and online. The service was soft launched in a trial last November.

    Datuk Rozalila Abdul Rahman, CEO of the JV, said the key to the concept’s success will be its presence across multiple platforms – Go Shop’s competitive edge was that it was available on various platforms. On Astro’s service it is on Channel 118 and it is also accessible online and on smartphones.

    Astro CEO Datuk Rohana Rozhan said the company reaches 4.3 million homes in Malaysia, with a reach of 17 million consumers. By nature, these will be largely middle class families or individuals with relatively high disposable incomes.

    Since the soft launch, Go Shop has sold more than 110,000 products, the majority household items.

    While just 60 products are available currently, the offer will double within the year.

    “To-date, the new 24-hour shopping service has over 72,000 customers with 800 new customers daily,” Rohana told a media briefing.

    She predicts the Malaysian retail market will grow from RM110 billion now to more than 160 billion by 2020.

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  • New technology can identify fakes

    New technology can identify fakes

    Luxury brands affected by Asia’s burgeoning multi-billion dollar piracy trade will soon have a new weapon.

    NEC has revealed new technology that can distinguish even the most sophisticated counterfeit products.

    The technology can read microscopic patterns on anything from luxury handbags to mechanical component.

    And it can track the origin of mass-produced items like clothing by examining what it describes as “object fingerprints” – three-dimensional patterns or irregularities found on the surface of items.

    Tohihiko Hiroaki, assistant GM at NEC’s Information and Media Processing Laboratories, says a customers officer at an airport terminal could take a photo of a specific part of an item using a smartphone, which can then be matched with a database supplied by the manufacturer.

    NEC claims its technology can tell the time and place a product was manufactured.

    “You can identify offspring that come from the same parental mould,” said Hiroaki. “If you take a close look, you can tell one child from another.”

    Further testing lies ahead before the technology is released commercially next year.

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  • Thailand’s Mangpong turns to attraction of cosmetics

    Thailand’s Mangpong turns to attraction of cosmetics

    Thailand’s Mangpong 1989 Plc (MPG) has diversified into the beauty and cosmetics retail chain in a bid to cash in on opportunities from the country’s THB200-billion (USD6.15b) cosmetics market. The company sells and rents home entertainment products.

    It’s looking for new locations to open Stardust beauty shops. It believes the beauty and cosmetics business will generate healthy sales and a good return on investment as Thai women have a modern lifestyle and prefer to be good looking.

    Mangpong has partnered with more than 100 beauty and cosmetics brands to present over 10,000 units from L’Oreal Paris, Anna Sui, Kenzo, Paul Smith and Calvin Klein. The company also plans to launch its own brand in the third quarter this year.

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  • Good to be old

    Good to be old

    In suburban Ho Chi Minh City, a unique ‘collectibles boutique’ draws stock from all over the world.

    Villa Royale, is now a year old, starting as an antique shop and has since also turned into one of the city’s top 10 cafes.

    A walk around the District 2 villa is like a curated tour of the world’s best bazaars and antique markets courtesy of owner David Campbell. A 200-year-old religious European painting shares space with a stunning embroidered Mongolian saddle and a gorgeous hanging Moroccan glass lamp. The inventory for the shop marries two of Campbell’s passions: travel and shopping.

    Before moving to Vietnam, Campbell travelled extensively as global director of sales for the Raffles hotel group, furnishing two homes with things acquired on his journeys. Instead of leaving these finds in storage, he decided to take them with him, keeping some for his own home and opening Villa Royale with the rest.

    “These are pieces I know intimately because I bought them myself,” he says as he fingers a pair of vintage paper mache rhinos from Cambodia.

    “I can explain where it was bought, its provenance, how old it is…”

    It also contributes to the sensible pricing for these fine collectibles.

    “I try and price everything reasonably so the stock moves. I just need enough to be able to pay staff and the rent and for me to travel again to buy more,” he says with a smile. This year alone, Campbell has made shopping trips to Istanbul, Paris, London and Morocco, taking the best finds back to Saigon.

    Popular with interior designers searching for truly one-of-a-kind pieces and furniture stores looking for props with wow factor for photo shoots, Villa Royale has something for everyone.

    “Tourists want to buy things reminiscent of Asia like temple baskets, gongs, Cambodian dancer statues and antique dressing mirrors. Locals get something unique, not from the markets, but something a bit more thoughtful as gifts and for themselves.”

    For the woman in your life, Campbell says trios (tea sets comprised of an individual cup, saucer and plate) are trendy items for hen parties and high teas instead of complete matching sets, as are perennial favourites like silver tea pots, crystal sugar bowls, chandeliers and candelabras.

    Gifts for men also abound in the form of vintage typewriters, antique humidors, old trunks that are amazing stacked into a side table, antique Vietnamese ceremonial drums and impossible-to-find decanters.

    “When you go to a shopping center, just about everything is made in China,” he notes. “Coming here, you have things from Italy, France, Germany, England… and in lots of different styles as far as shapes and designs go. You can tell which era it’s from: art deco, nouveau, retro, from the Empire period. Even if you say you like everything, we’re all drawn towards one era in particular.”

    When everyone else is striving after the latest version of the same cookie cutter product, a unique gift that may literally be the only one of its kind in Saigon or even in Vietnam, speaks of thoughtfulness and care.

    “Even hand-painted vintage Vietnamese teapots with chips and showing signs of wear are fascinating because they’ve been used. They’re not brand new but have been in people’s families for decades. If every piece could talk, they’d have a hundred stories to tell,” says Campbell.

    Part of the shop’s charm is sitting down with Campbell to talk about the pieces over a slice of the shop’s delectable homemade cakes (in a past career, he was also a chef along with having an art background) or over high tea with a gourmet selection of 24 TWG flavours.

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  • Index seals deal for Philippines

    Index seals deal for Philippines

    Thai homewares giant Index Living Mall has signed a Philippines partner as its Asian expansion continues.

    Index will team up with the Philippines largest retail and mall operator SM Group to run the franchise for the concept for at least five years.

    Index managing director Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi told the Bangkok Post newspaper Index chose the Philippines due to its huge market potential.

    “There’s no furniture or furnishings chain like us in the country, just small local and imported furniture stores.”

    Index opened its first store in Vietnam about three years ago and its first in Malaysia last month, in the capital city of Putrajaya. It plans 30 stores across Malaysia over a 15-20 year timeline.

    The company is also eyeing opportunities in Indonesia and hopes to double its foreign sales within five years. It will soon have 25 stores in its home market.

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  • A S Watson snaps up Dutch chain

    A S Watson snaps up Dutch chain

    Hong Kong based A S Watson has bought a 50-strong chain of pharmacies in the Netherlands.

    The deal with Dirx Drugstores will see all 50 stores of the Dirx health and beauty retail network fall under Watson ownership, along with five additional locations currently under development. Most of the stores are in the Randstad region.

    All Dirx employees will join A S Watson, parent of Kruidvat and Trekpleister chains in Holland. The Dirx stores will be converted to either Kruidvat or Trekpleister branding once the transaction is completed.

    The deal remains subject to approval from the Netherlands Authority for Consumer and Market. The purchase price has not been revealed.

    Gerard van Breen, CEO of A S Watson Health & Beauty Benelux said the acquisition will expand the company’s national coverage making its stores accessible to even more consumers.

    Rick Groen, director of Dirx Drugstores, said that with only 50 plus stores, the business was too small a player to independently expand in the market.

    “The A S Watson approach and focus of providing the best offers to customers at affordable prices is consistent with our philosophy. We are convinced that A S Watson is an excellent match to successfully move the business forward with our employees.”

    Kruidvat, together with Trekpleister and Prijsmepper, is part of A S Watson Health & Beauty Benelux and a major player in the Dutch and Belgian markets.

    Kruidvat, with almost 900 stores in Holland, ranked among the top three most indispensable brands in the Netherlands in a 2014 study. The chain is also active in Belgium with more than 200 stores. Trekpleister (with more than 140 stores) distinguishes itself as a neighbourhood drugstore, where expert staff plays an important role in addition to a bargain-priced range of products.

    A S Watson Health & Beauty Benelux is part of the A S Watson Group, which has more than 11,000 stores in 25 markets worldwide. It is the world’s largest international health & beauty retailer in Asia and Europe, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa.

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  • Wedgwood plans China expansion

    Wedgwood plans China expansion

    Wedgwood, one of the world’s best known china brands, is now betting big on China.

    As news broke that Wedgwood’s parent company WWRD was being put on the market by its private equity owners, it emerged that the business is planning a “major” retail expansion in Hong Kong.

    WWRD owns Waterford (crystal), Wedgwood and Royal Doulton china brands. It has 35 stores in China including two flagships in Shanghai.

    Subsidiary Waterford Wedgwood Hong Kong is to buy the assets of its distributor Shanghai Balolong International Trade Co and through that process acquire a number of store leases.

    That move alone will expand the store network to 56.

    “The acquisition of a significant number of Waterford and Wedgwood retail stores from Baolong in China positions WWRD perfectly to engage and meet the needs of affluent Chinese consumers,” group VP Jim Harding said in a statement.

    “This announcement comes at the right time with 2015 set to mark a growing vision for our brands as we continue our commitment to developing the business globally as a leader in luxury goods.”

    WWRD, founded in 1759, was rescued by US private equity company KPS Capital back in 2009 when it collapsed beneath a massive € 800 million burden of debts and pension liabilities.

    Investment bank Goldman Sachs has been appointed to undertake an auction of the business which promises a substantial return on the £82 million it spent acquiring the assets. The business achieved annual sales of US$450 million last financial year and it posted a £36 million profit.

    The financial press tips significant interest in the bidding from Asian investors, given 40 per cent of the group’s revenues come from Asia. A significant number of the group’s products are now manufactured in Indonesia, although the company recently commissioned a new plant in the UK.

    In a statement WWRD said: “As a profitable and strongly performing global business under private equity ownership, options for the next phase of growth are constantly under review. KPS Capital Partners remains firmly committed to achieving the brightest possible future for the brands and employees of WWRD.”

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  • Marimekko to open two Asian flagships

    Marimekko to open two Asian flagships

    Finnish homewares specialty retailer Marimekko is to open new flagship stores in Bangkok and Singapore.

    The move marks a continuation of a concerted push into the Asia-Pacific region. Over the last three years Marimekko has expanded into China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

    In the first quarter of this calendar year the brand will open company-owned stores in Singapore’s new Capitol Piazza mall and in CentralWorld, Bangkok, which attracts as many as 150,000 shoppers per day.

    In Singapore, Marimekko already has a shop-in-shop which opened last November 2014 inside the Tangs department store on Orchard Rd.

    The company says it will open more stores in Asia over the next few years.

    “The opportunities afforded by the growing consumer markets of Asia play an important role in Marimekko’s internationalisation,” said president and CEO Mika Ihamuotila.

    “In our expansion in the international marketplace, we have focused first and foremost on regions with high growth potential. The Asia-Pacific region is our second-largest market area, and we already have a fairly strong foothold in East Asia. We are now aiming for two new markets in Southeast Asia.

    “Singapore is a modern metropolis and very attractive to us, as it is considered one of the region’s top shopping destinations for tourists. As an aviation gateway it also serves as an access point to many Asian countries and the city receives an enormous number of travellers,” he said.

    “The capital city of Thailand, Bangkok, is in an interesting stage of development from the retail viewpoint. A number of high-class malls have been opened in the city recently, and it is rising to be a noteworthy rival to Singapore and Hong Kong.”

    Half of the new Marimekko stores opened in 2014 were in the Asia-Pacific region: two in Hong Kong, one in Chengdu in mainland China, two in Seoul in South Korea and two in Japan. In Australia, Marimekko opened a company-owned store in Melbourne. One shop-in-shop was opened in New Zealand.

  • Spending on luxury falls on mainland China

    Spending on luxury falls on mainland China

    China remained the world’s largest consumer of luxury products last year even though domestic sales fell for the first time due to the government’s anti-corruption campaign and increased spending overseas.

    Chinese spending on luxury goods increased 9 percent to CNY380 billion (USD61.3 billion) in 2014, accounting for 30 percent of global spending, according to Bain & Company’s 2014 China Luxury Market Study.

    However, sales of such products on the Chinese mainland fell 1 percent from a year earlier to CNY115 billion, the consulting firm said on Tuesday.

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  • Ikea working to polish its reputation in Indonesia

    Ikea working to polish its reputation in Indonesia

    Indonesia and the European Union have been doing business for decades. Over the years, Indonesia has been exporting many products to EU countries, and vice versa. According to Harvey Rouse, head of economic and trade section for the European Union’s mission to Indonesia, the EU encourages European companies that invest in Indonesia to respect local values and cultures, as well as improve the welfare of the people around them through corporate social responsibility programs.

    “By addressing these social responsibilities, companies are actually building long term relationship and trust with employees, customers and citizens,” Rouse said.

    One of the European companies in Indonesia that has a solid commitment to local CSR programs is Ikea. Since its launch in Alam Sutera, Tangerang, last October, Ikea’s first store in Indonesia has been a favourite shopping destination.

  • Wearable devices have bright future in China

    Wearable devices have bright future in China

    A latest survey showed that wearable devices will become more popular in the Chinese market in the next five years.

    For wearable health devices, 39 percent of respondents worldwide plan to buy one by 2020, but 65 percent of Chinese consumers surveyed already have an interest in buying one, according to a survey filed to Xinhua Saturday by Accenture, a consulting and technology services company.

    As many as 67 percent of Chinese consumers are likely to buy wearable fitness monitors and 73 percent wants smart watches in the coming five years, more than doubled 32 percent and 27 percent in the United States.

  • GCH to open 4 more Giant hypermarkerts, supermarkets this year

    GCH to open 4 more Giant hypermarkerts, supermarkets this year

    GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the owner of Giant, Cold Storage, Mercato, Jason’s and G-Express stores, is to open four new Giant hypermarkets and supermarkets in Malaysia this year to add to the 126 it already has.

    They will be in the Klang Valley, Sarawak, Perlis and Trengganu and will further strengthen its position as the country’s largest hypermarket group.

    Its G-Express, a convenience store subsidiary, is also embarking on a similar expansion plan and targets to open 500 nationwide within the next five years.

  • External investors to finance Wanda Plazas

    External investors to finance Wanda Plazas

    China’s Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co said on Wednesday four investors have agreed to contribute CNY24 billion yuan (USD3.9 billion) over the coming two years as the first tranche of funding to build around 20 shopping malls.

  • Coca-Cola to cut 1,600-1,800 jobs globally

    Coca-Cola to cut 1,600-1,800 jobs globally

    Coca-Cola Co. is axing at least 1,600 white-collar jobs globally as part of a cost-cutting push in response to sluggish soda sales.

    To view the full article (note: you must be a Wall Street Journal Online subscriber), visitThe Wall Street Journal Online.

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