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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.

  • Spotify brings back Google Home Mini freebie

    Spotify brings back Google Home Mini freebie

    Remember when the Google Home Mini was deemed the world’s best-selling smart speaker, despite Amazon dominating the vendor ranks both back then and in pretty much every single market report released over the last 12 months or so? The very reasonable price and robust list of features of the search giant’s diminutive Google Assistant device might not be the only reasons the Home Mini was able to achieve that feat, as the gadget’s shipment numbers were no doubt inflated by various promotions offering people the opportunity to pay nothing for the “bestseller.”

    The latest such deal is actually a revival of a similar offer from last year when select Spotify Premium subscribers were eligible for free Google Home Mini units just for using the world’s most popular music streaming service. This time, it’s even easier to join the giveaway, as both Family account holders and individual subscribers can qualify for a unique promotional code towards a gratis Home Mini smart speaker redeemable on the US Google Store.

    Once again, you’re looking at a US-only promotion, although if history is any indication, there’s a good chance availability will be expanded to other regions in the near future. The terms and conditions are relatively straightforward and not particularly hard to meet, requiring you be a new or existing Spotify Premium Individual or Premium Family subscriber registered directly through the platform (and not a third-party service like a cable or telecommunications provider), as well as pay for your unlimited, ad-free music streaming rights with a recurring method such as PayPal or a credit or debit card.

    Predictably enough, those who claimed a free Google Home Mini last time around are not eligible for an additional complimentary smart speaker, and in case you’re wondering, the offer is not valid on the new Nest Mini, even though the $49 list price has gone unchanged. Finally, while Spotify technically mentions November 15 as the end date of the actual deal and December 31 as the expiration date of the Google Store promo codes, you shouldn’t act shocked if supplies were to run out earlier. After all, Google can’t just give away millions of these voice-controlled bad boys for free.

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  • BP pulls sexualised magazines from stores

    BP pulls sexualised magazines from stores

    Fuel giant BP Australia has joined 7-Eleven and pulled two “M+” rated magazines from its 350 petrol outlets across the country after complaints they sexualized young girls and promoted harassment.

    People and The Picture magazines, published by Bauer, will be pulled from the shelves BP has confirmed.

    “M+ rated magazines will no longer be stocked at our 350 company-owned stores across Australia,” BP tweeted on Monday night.

    Its decision comes after activist group Collective Shout said it alerted BP to recent covers of the Australian magazines, which frequently publish pictures of glamour models and stories with a sexual element.

    Headlines on the covers included “Better Than Viagra” and featured a photograph of a young woman in pigtails with the caption “I have no gag reflex”, Collective Shout said.

    Now the group has set its sights on supermarket giant Coles, which still stocks the publications.

    “The display and sale of pornographic magazines in the public space creates a hostile environment for women and girls,” campaigns manager Melinda Liszewski said in a statement.

    “We urge other retailers selling these magazines – such as Coles Express – to follow the example set by 7-Eleven and BP and cease the sale of ‘unrestricted’ pornographic magazines immediately.”

    7-Eleven recently stopped selling the magazines in its 700 convenience stores.

    Collective Shout campaigns against the objectification of women and the sexualization of girls, according to its website.

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  • Ikea India focuses on tier-2 cities as it targets growth

    Ikea India focuses on tier-2 cities as it targets growth

    Ikea India is set to expand into tier-II cities in the second phase of its development after early success in key markets.

    The Swedish-headquartered furniture-and-homewares giant has established its presence in Hyderabad and Mumbai and is now working on building a large-format outlet in Bengaluru before moving on to Delhi.

    “We want to bring our offering through multi-channel approach,” said Ikea India CEO Peter Betzel. “We want to be present through large format stores, small stores and even on the online platform.”

    The planned stores will be wholly owned by Ikea and will work to ensure half of its workforce are women. They will be smaller in size but otherwise functionally similar to its large-format stores in the territory.

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  • Amazon Music finally arrives on Apple TV

    Amazon Music finally arrives on Apple TV

    Amazon has announced that its music streaming service is finally available on Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD running tvOS 12.0 and later. If you’re an Amazon Music subscriber, you can now download the Amazon Music app from the App Store for Apple TV.

    If you’re not a subscriber, you can still download the app and try out the service for 30 days before deciding whether or not it’s worth a monthly fee. The app allows listeners to browse and search for music from their favorite artists, access all purchased and imported music in their “My Music” library, and follow along with scrolling lyrics to their favorite music within the app.

    To get started say “Amazon Music” into the Apple TV Siri Remote or find the Amazon Music app in the Apple TV app store. The app should then display a 6-letter pairing code, which you must enter at https://amazon.com.code via your mobile browser or computer.

    Once that’s done, you’ll be able to stream millions of songs and thousands of playlists and stations on your Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD. You’ll also get access to a host of global playlists like Pop Culture, which include some of the popular songs across the current pop music landscape.

    Currently, the Amazon Music app for Apple TV is available to customers in the U.S., UK, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Japan, and India.

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  • YouTube TV subscribers can now offer 2 weeks of free service to friends

    YouTube TV subscribers can now offer 2 weeks of free service to friends

    It looks like YouTube TV is running a promotion aimed at its subscribers to bring more people under its umbrella. Many YouTube TV subscribers received a free trial code that they can share with friends and family who’d like to check out the service for the first time.

    The code is sent via email and contains a shareable link or code (or both) to make it easier for potential subscribers to redeem the offer. To offer the two weeks extended free trial code, you’ll have to forward the email to whoever you wish to benefit from the offer, or you could share the link directly.

    We can’t confirm if these 2-week free trial codes are given to all YouTube TV subscribers in the US, but if you get one, make sure to share it with whomever you want fast. The promotion will only last until October 16, so those who are given these codes have five more days to redeem them.

    Currently, YouTube TV offers access to more than 70 TV channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, AMC, CNN, Discovery, and ESPN. A cloud-based DVR service with unlimited storage that saves recordings for nine months is included in the $50 monthly subscription, which can be shared among six accounts.

  • Lululemon partners with local organisations to increase access to yoga

    Lululemon partners with local organisations to increase access to yoga

    Lululemon stores in Australia and New Zealand are teaming up with local nonprofits and charitable organizations to increase access to yoga and meditation.

    Stores this month will distribute grants to nonprofits and charities of their choosing that are working to break down social, physical and economic barriers to yoga and meditation.

    This is part of Lululemon’s global Here to Be program, which aims to spread the health benefits of yoga and meditation to more people around the world.

    The program first launched in 2016 and was brought to Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. Now, local stores are starting to have an impact on their communities.

    Lululemon stores in Mosman, Balmain, Chatswood and Warringah Mall, for instance, are teaming up to provide a grant to The Yoga Impact Charity, which offers yoga classes for refugees and teaches yoga teachers how to teach trauma-informed yoga to refugees.

    “As a company rooted in yoga and committed to personal development, we aim to create real change within our local communities through our social impact program Here To Be,” Paul Tinkler, managing director for Lululemon in Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement.

    “Our purpose is to elevate the world by unleashing the full potential within everyone one of us. We are accelerating our efforts across social impact, as a main agenda point for the year and we’re honored to be working with organizations that are up to big things in this area. We’re excited to see the positive changes across our communities.”

    Here to Be has provided more than US$10 million in grants globally and developed more than 500 grassroots nonprofit partnerships. It also has donated more than 10,000 yoga mats and says it’s just getting started.

    The retailer on Wednesday announced it will donate US$1 million over the next three years to a program that will teach mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing and yoga, to thousands of United Nations staff and aid workers, who report experiencing high rates of burnout.

    The program, called Peace on Purpose, aims to equip UN staff with the tools to care for themselves so they can care for others.

    The funding from Lululemon will help Peace on Purpose to train more than 3000 UN development and humanitarian workers in-person over the next three years, build a hub of digital resources and develop condensed trainings and curriculum translations to reach 30,000 staff.

    “With increasing need for international humanitarian aid and peacekeeping, we want to cultivate the long-lasting benefits of mindfulness tools and sustain support for those whose mission is to serve others,” Calvin McDonald, CEO of Lululemon, said in a statement.

    Research following selected trainings found that over half the participants saw an improvement in overall well-being as seen in key psychological risk factors, such as work-related self-compassion, anxiety and depression, symptoms related to trauma and feelings of distress.

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  • Spotify update adds Siri support on iOS 13

    Spotify update adds Siri support on iOS 13

    Spotify quietly released a new update for its iOS app which brings important improvements and new features. The most important is Siri support on iOS 13, which means that you’ll be able to control your Spotify app on iPhone, iPad, Carplay, Airpods, and HomePode via Airplay.

    After applying the latest update, simply say “Play [artist] on Spotify” and your iOS 13-powered device should do the rest. Be sure to mention Spotify though, otherwise, Siri will start Apple Music by default.

    Another important new addition is Apple TV support, which means that you can now download the app via the tvOS App Store or enable “automatically install apps” in tvOS settings to install it.

    Last but not least, Spotify has introduced low data mode on iOS 13. Basically, this means that the app will now turn on Data Saver when your iOS device’s Low Data Mode is turned on.

    All the improvements added in the update should work with all the devices running iOS 13, but 9to5mac discovered that the HomePod does not recognize Siri song requests yet. The issue might be addressed in a future iOS update, so you might want to try again after iOS 13.2 gets released.

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  • Petrol, Diesel Prices Go Down For Two Days In A Row

    Petrol, Diesel Prices Go Down For Two Days In A Row

    Fuel price rates continued a downward trend for the second day on Friday. Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai saw a decline of 18 paisa a litre on petrol and Chennai 19 paisa per litre. Similarly, diesel rates also reduced by 8 paisa a litre in Delhi, Kolata and Mumbai and in Chennai the reduction was by 9 paisa a litre.

    “This festive season has seen the prices of fruit and vegetable soar. The rising fuel prices are one of the major factors for this. Now that the fuel rates are coming down, the consumers may benefit,” said Anuj Gupta, Vice-President of Angel Broking.

    As per the Indian Oil website, the new rates on petrol in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai are Rs 74.33/litre, Rs 76.96/litre, Rs 79.93/litre and Rs 77.21/litre, respectively. The diesel rates after the decline are Rs 67.35/litre, Rs 69.71/litre, Rs 70.61/litre and Rs 71.15/litre, respectively.

    The fuel price has seen a decline for the past two days and in Delhi petrol rates have come down by 28 paisa/litre and diesel by 14 paisa/litre. Gupta said that the fuel rates will come down further as the brent crude oil price is declining.

    The fuel prices have seen a sharp rise after the drone attack on a Saudi oil facility on September 14. The Brent crude oil rates went up by $71.95 /barrel. But, now the rates are gradually coming down and the Brent Crude rates have come down by $14 per barrel.

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  • Alceon opens first certified Lego store in Melbourne

    Alceon opens first certified Lego store in Melbourne

    Melbourne’s Lego community turned out in force for the opening of the first certified Lego store in Victoria, forming a five-hour-long queue outside the new store in Westfield Doncaster shopping centre, which opened to the public at 10am on Thursday.

    Like other Lego stores around the world, the location in Melbourne was designed to be an interactive retail space, with several low play tables and loose bricks for kids to play with and a hand scanner that “identifies” which mini-figure the customer is.

    The store also features a “pick-a-brick” wall that is changed on a regular basis, where customers can fill containers with bricks of their choosing, and a “build your own mini-figure” station, where customers can customise their own mini-figure.

    The store also features an AFL figure made of 27,662 individual bricks and a mural of a Melbourne tram made of 88,470 individual bricks. The figure and the mural took 143 hours and 430 hours, respectively, to build.

    “We’ve worked closely with the LEGO Group to create a retail experience that showcases the creativity, innovation and potential of the brand,” said Richard Facioni, executive director of Alceon Group, which holds the rights to Lego certified stores in Australia and New Zealand.

    The Melbourne store marks Alceon Group’s third certified Lego store in Australia, following the opening of stores in Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney in March and Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast in September.

    The stores have benefited from the recent surge of interest in Lego, driven by Channel 9’s popular Lego Masters reality TV show, and several contestants were on hand for the opening of the Melbourne store.

    Alceon Group plans to capitalise on this interest by opening many more stores across the country over the coming months.

    The Westfield Doncaster store is just the “first of a number of LEGO Certified Stores planned for Melbourne”, according to Facioni.

    Alceon Group is an investment firm that is one of the biggest retail companies in Australia, following its acquisition of Specialty Fashion Group’s Katies, Millers, Autograph, Crossroads and Millers brands, James Packer’s Pretty Girl Fashion group and Pumpkin Patch.

    The company also has a controlling stak

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  • Chinese tourists are embracing ‘themed travel’

    Chinese tourists are embracing ‘themed travel’

    Themed travel is a fast-growing trend among Chinese tourists – with more than two in three from mainland cities prepared to try it as a hobby.

    Themed travel is a relatively new tourism category identified by markers, including concepts such as health and wellness, wedding photography and self-drive tours.

    “Having new experiences is important when it comes to traveling,” explains Saskia Zhao, travel and leisure analyst at Mintel China Reports. “In light of this, companies in China’s travel industry are moving beyond simply offering traditional travel products and are introducing themed travel to the market.

    “There are two ways in which themed travel is commonly defined in China: by travel method, for example, self-drive tours, or travel itinerary, for example, photography or wedding theme. Our research shows that hobbies and in-depth travel experiences are what’s motivating Chinese consumers to try themed travel,” she said.

    “To appeal to these consumers, customization and offering experiences of superior quality are key. The focus of innovation in themed travel can be expanded from new routes and destinations to selling hobby-based experiences like food and outdoor activity tours. This will also allow consumers to meet with like-minded individuals, seeing how socialization is another key driver for the themed travel market.”

    Research by Mintel suggests a desire for new experiences seems to be what’s driving interest in the category.

    Three in five urban Chinese respondents (of 3000 surveyed online aged 20-49) say they are motivated to try themed travel because it would make a suitable hobby (66 percent) and is an in-depth travel experience (64 percent). Opportunities for socializing is another driver with 45 percent of respondents saying the desire to meet people with similar interests is a reason why they would like to try themed travel.

    Popularity of self-drive tours

    While still a relatively new concept, self-drive tours are picking up in China. According to Mintel research, 52 percent of urban Chinese respondents have taken the more common self-organized tour (eg excluding RVs and self-drive tours) for their personal leisure travels in the last 12 months*, while 49 percent say that they have taken self-drive tours. Self-drive tours are especially popular among the post-80s generation with 57 percent of respondents having tried this way of themed traveling. This is followed by 48 percent of post-90s and 41 percent of post-70s consumers.

    Health-and-wellness-themed travel

    Finally, Mintel research reveals an opportunity for travel suppliers with health and wellness-themed travel. As many as 74 percents of Chinese respondents cited enjoying a slower-paced lifestyle as the most important reason to try health and wellness-themed travel; while 67 percent associate health and wellness-themed travel with a nice environment and being beneficial to physical health, respectively.

    For health and wellness-themed travel, the top activities consumers are willing to pay more for include hot springs (67 percent) and body-care services, such as massages or a spa, (63 percent).

    “Healthy lifestyles are trending in China, opening up an opportunity for travel suppliers to explore health and wellness-themed travel,” said Zhao.

    “Consumers say that enjoying a slower-paced lifestyle is important when it comes to health and wellness-themed travel – likely because they long to relieve the stresses of daily life.

    “Companies in the health-and-wellness travel space can also motivate consumers with claims such as improving physical health and living in pure and healthy environments that are free from pollution. When premiumising their health and wellness-themed travel offerings, companies should look at capitalizing on natural elements such as hot springs and forest ‘oxygen zones’, as well as self-indulgent experiences like spas,” Zhao concluded.

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  • Ikea Store Sales in Southeast Asia exceed SG$1 billion

    Ikea Store Sales in Southeast Asia exceed SG$1 billion

    Sales at Ikea stores in Southeast Asia exceeded SG$1 billion (US$723 million) for the first time this year, reflecting healthy growth for a big-box retail business.

    Christian Rojkjaer, MD of Ikea Southeast Asia, says more than 98 million customers passed through the company’s eight full-format stores in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and its associated shopping centers. (Ikea stores in other parts of Asia are run by other franchisees).

    Online, there were 51.7 million visits to Ikea websites – up 16 percent year on year.

    “When our retail sales are combined with rental income generated from our three Ikea- anchored shopping centers in the region, our total revenue reached SG$1.21 billion – 20 percent more than last year,” said Rojkjaer.

    “These results show that our Ikea stores and shopping centers have fantastic potential to grow. We make a difference to many people by making life more comfortable, more beautiful and more sustainable – all at an affordable price.

    “We face increasing competition and changing customer behaviors,” he added, “but our vision to create a better everyday life for many people is perhaps more powerful than ever. We aim to offer the best deal there is in every market and we have a wide price ladder within our range so, even in challenging times, Ikea has something for everyone no matter the size of his or her wallet.”

    In November, Ikea Southeast Asia will open its new Toppen shopping centre in Johor Bahru, which features a rooftop with outdoor play spaces, a sports zone and a community garden.

  • Eslite Bookstore to open outlet in Tokyo

    Eslite Bookstore to open outlet in Tokyo

    Taiwan’s Eslite bookstore chain is set to launch its first outlet in Tokyo this week.

    The store opening marks Eslite Spectrum Corp’s 30th anniversary as well as the first time for the firm to start-up business in a territory where Chinese is not spoken. The 50th Eslite location, it will trade in books and other merchandise sourced from Taiwan and Japan.

    The late Robert C.Y. Wu, who founded the bookstore, is on record as hoping the store would become a “warm venue for people to meet and connect”.

    Eslite has stores in Hong Kong.

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  • Apple Music massive update adds dark mode

    Apple Music massive update adds dark mode

    Apple Music beta experimented with a couple of new features that were made available to testers not long ago. Starting today, all those features added to the beta app are available to everyone who uses the Apple Music app on their Android phones.

    First and foremost, Apple Music now has a brand new dark mode, specially designed for low-light environments. It should be easy on the eyes and save some of your phone’s battery at the same time, so we strongly suggest using it whenever possible.

    The next major improvement is Chromecast support, a new change that lets Apple Music users stream their favorite music to their TV or connected speakers. Two other new features have been implemented in this update: live lyrics and access to live radio stations.

    The first allows Apple Music users to listen to their favorite music with perfectly timed lyrics, while the second new feature listed above will give them access to more than 100,000 broadcast radio stations from around the world.

    All the new features and improvements mentioned above are available in the latest version of Apple Music for Android, which you can download now via Google Play Store.

  • Spotify launches two personalized playlists to satisfy your music obsessions

    Spotify launches two personalized playlists to satisfy your music obsessions

    Spotify has just announced two new personalized playlists are now available for music lovers with obsessions: On Repeat and Repeat Rewind. The new playlists let Spotify users enjoy the songs they played most all over again.

    With On Repeat, Spotify users can keep track of what they’ve been playing most over the past 30 days. The playlist auto-updates, which means you can be sure everything that’s playing is the most up-to-date account of what you’ve been playing most frequently.

    The second new playlist, Repeat Rewind lets you rediscover the songs that you played over a month ago. Just like the On Repeat playlist, songs can span across artists, moods, and genres. Repeat Rewind will update itself every five days, although the tracks won’t appear on both personalized playlists at the same time.

    As mentioned earlier, both personalized playlists are now available globally for Free and Premium users in the Made For You Hub, as well as the “Uniquely Yours” shelf on Home.

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  • Apple TV getting tvOS 13 update

    Apple TV getting tvOS 13 update

    It’s not just iPhone users that are getting something new this week, but Apple TV owners as well. The new tvOS 13 is now rolling out to Apple TVs around the world, so prepare to check out a handful of nifty new features and improvements, especially if you like to play games.

    One of the most important changes included in the update, multi-user support lets Apple TV owners create multiple profiles that can be customized to provide layouts and recommendations that are relevant for each person using these profiles.

    Moreover, a new home screen is now available for Apple TV users, which accommodates full-screen video previews, a picture-in-picture feature, and a Control Center. Now, as far as the gaming improvements go, tvOS 13 brings Apple Arcade support, but it will also allow the use of Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One controllers.

    Also, the Cupertino-based company added Sign in with Apple support, which lets you sign in with your Apple ID rather than requiring to create a username and password. Last but not least, the update adds some under the sea screensavers that were made in partnership with BBC National History Unit.

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