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  • Trade Expo Indonesia buying mission generates deals worth US$186.69 million

    Trade Expo Indonesia buying mission generates deals worth US$186.69 million

    Now into its second day, the Trade Expo Indonesia event has generated a total of US$186.69 million worth of transactions in the form of trade contracts.

    “Transactions worth US$178.7 million were signed on the first day while US$7.99 million worth of deals were signed on the second day,” informed the Trade Ministrys Head of National Export Development Arlinda in Jakarta, on Thursday.

    On the second day of the Expo, the buying mission contract signing was dominated by importers of food and beverage products from Australia.

    The signings were witnessed by Suprapto Martosetomo, Indonesias Ambassador to South Africa as well as the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Kingdom of Swaziland and the Republic of Botswana. The deals were signed by six importers from three countries, including Nigeria, Australia and South Africa, and eight local export businesses.

    In the pharmaceutical sector, Nigerias Jeijosh Pharma signed a deal with PT. Phapros, while Sony Trading Pty. Ltd signed a deal with PT. Mayora Indah.

    In the food and beverage products sector, PT. Pondan Pangan Makmur and PT. Sarimunik Mandiri signed a deal with Eastern Cross Trading Pty. Ltd and CV. Intrafood, while Hean Corporation and PT. Dua Kelinci signed a partnership in the same sector.

    Grein Australia Pty Ltd and PT. Sayap Mas Utama signed a deal for food and beverage products as well as consumer goods.

    Lastly, Wemco Investment & Trading Ltd and PT. KMI Wire and cable Tbk. signed a contract for wire products.

    A total of 37 trade contract signings were carried out between 30 importers from 16 countries and 34 local exporter companies based on the buying mission on the Expos second day.

    Essential oils and coconut milk were among the most sought after products and generated the most transactions, along with skilled workforce contracts from the services field.

    Other commodities that were also coveted by foreign importers included coffee, tea, cement, furniture, wires, food and beverage products, seafood, anti-fatigue mats, floor mats, cutting boards and modular tiles.

    Arlinda believes that this event has broadened Indonesias export opportunities in a number of markets, especially non-traditional ones.

    “We continue to work so that the Indonesian trade representatives contribute more overseas, while at the same time encouraging business makers to enhance the quality of their products because export opportunities are now very vast,” Arlinda remarked.

    The Trade Ministry aims for the goods trade transactions to reach US$800 million by the end of this Trade Expo, excluding the investment opportunities and services related transactions.

    It is hoped that overall, the total transactions signed can reach US$1 billion, exceeding the previous year’s figure of US$909 million of deals.

  • Jordanian Investors Buys Gorontalo Tuna

    Jordanian Investors Buys Gorontalo Tuna

    Jordanian investor Iyad Al Shorafa expressed his interest in purchasing class C tuna from Gorontalo, at the amount of 25 tons per day.

    Al Shorafa is a member of the Middle East trade delegation participating in the Indonesian international trade promotional program, which was initiated by the Foreign Affairs Ministry as a part of the 2016 Trade Expo Indonesia.

    Budianto Sidiki, Chief of Gorontalo Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) explained that Al Shorafa is ready to work together with the Gorontalo fishermen union, and to construct a tuna processing factory specifically for export purposes.

    “Production capacity of Gorontalo fishermen for class C fresh tuna is around five tons each day,” Sidiki said.

    To meet the importer demands, the Gorontalo local government will cooperate with city and regency officials in the region.

  • Iran’s first LPG cargo for Pertamina arrives in Indonesia

    Iran’s first LPG cargo for Pertamina arrives in Indonesia

    State-run energy giant Pertamina officially received a cargo of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Iran on Thursday, marking Iran’s first shipment as a new supplier of LPG to Indonesia.

    Pertamina president director Dwi Soetjipto welcomed the 44,000 metric tons of LPG transported from Asaluyeh Port in Iran 13 days ago by its VLGC Pertamina Gas 2 vessel, at Kalbut Port in Situbondo, East Java.

    According to him, the LNG shipment from the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) would open up other business development opportunities between Pertamina and the NIOC, in both the upstream and downstream sectors.

    “It marks a new chapter of cooperation between Pertamina and the NIOC and makes trade cooperation between Indonesia and Iran more significant,” Dwi said in a statement on Thursday.

    Earlier, the NIOC agreed to supply Pertamina with a total volume of 600,000 tons of LPG for 2016 and 2017.

    Following the arrival of the first cargo, the NIOC will immediately send the next cargo, which is expected to arrive on Nov. 20.

    In addition to the LPG purchase, the two state-run companies signed an agreement to conduct a preliminary study of two giant oil fields in Iran, namely Ab-Teymour and Mansouri, which have an oil reserve of more than 5 billion barrels.

  • Shiseido perfume ambition revealed

    Shiseido perfume ambition revealed

    Japanese cosmetics group Shiseido is aiming to become one of the world’s top five perfume makers in five years, up from its current seventh spot.

    New acquisitions will help Shiseido perfume market share grow – along with a step-up in marketing, especially online.

    Shiseido has beaten Spain’s Puig to win Procter & Gamble‘s Dolce & Gabbana perfume (D&G) licence, which generates 400 million euros ($445 million) in annual revenue. It aims to grow this to 1 billion euros in 10 years.
    Shiseido group chief executive for Europe, Middle East and Africa Louis Desazars, who was previously US head of Shiseido’s Nars make-up brand, says there is a new mindset and energy in the group.

    The D&G licence business will compensate for Shiseido’s loss this year of the Jean-Paul Gaultier perfume licence as part of an agreement with Puig when it bought the French brand in 2011.

    Shiseido says the D&G perfume business helped it more than double its market share instantly to 5.8 per cent from 2.2 per cent. It is aiming to reach 9 per cent in five years.

    On top of its own skincare lines, Shiseido makes perfume under licence for fashion brands Azzedine Alaia, Elie Saab, Issey Miyake and Narciso Rodriguez. The group has created a separate branch for niche brands it has acquired such as Serge Lutens last year, and the skincare and cosmetics brands Laura Mercier and ReVive in July.

    The global perfume market grew 2.9 per cent last year, while niche perfume brands saw their sales surge 15 per cent.

    Estee Lauder has also placed niche perfume brands it has bought, such as Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle and Le Labo, in a separate division.
    Including perfume, skincare and makeup, Shiseido ranks fifth globally behind L’Oreal, Coty, LVMH and Chanel, and is bigger than Clarins. In skincare alone, Shiseido says it aims to join the top three globally, up from its current fifth spot.

  • Discovery Japan Mall opens online

    Discovery Japan Mall opens online

    Tokyo-based craft products retailer DigitalStudio has launched Discovery Japan Mall, a cross-border eCommerce venture.

    Specialising in Japanese brands, the mall’s initial catalogue includes mainly toys, fishing gear, cosmetics, food, watches and fashion. About 100 Japanese companies have opened stores on the mall, offering about 15,000 items.

    Shipping is available to more than 120 countries and regions, and as part of the opening campaign free international shipping is offered for orders worth JPY 20,000 (US$190) or more until the end of this month.

    As well as credit cards, the mall supports payment by AliPay, PayPal, UnionPay and WeChat. The website is available in English, simplified and traditional Chinese, Indonesian, Korean and Thai. Purchases can be made by smartphone, and all orders include tracking and shipping insurance, plus delivery from Japan.

    Discovery Japan Mall representative Norio Itabashi says many hidden Japanese products do not reach the overseas market, and the mall is working with craftsmen and manufacturers to sell unique products.

    DigitalStudio was established in 2003 with the aim of “continuing to bring Japan to the world”.

  • Damiani Malaysia opens in Pavilion

    Damiani Malaysia opens in Pavilion

    Italian luxury jewellery group Damiani Malaysia has opened a boutique store in the Pavilion shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur.

    Damiani Pavilion Malaysia

    Precious materials are used in the store’s interior to create a sophisticated environment to enhance the tradition and modernity of Damiani’s jewellery. The interior features taupe satin wallpaper and bronzed brass details.

    Founded in 1924, Damiani designs, manufactures, distributes and sells jewellery and luxury watches. The company manages 55 direct and 20 franchised points of sale internationally.

  • Kenny Rogers Roasters arrives in India

    Kenny Rogers Roasters arrives in India

    Malaysia’s chicken-based restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roasters will open its first outlet in India this month, aiming to expand to up to 50 stores in the next five years.

    Its first restaurant will be in the Gardens Galleria Mall, Noida.

    “We are eyeing a Rs 200-crore [U$30 million] turnover from the Indian market by 2021,” says master franchisee Troika Hospitality India managing partner Rajeev Chawla.

    He says the plan is to open eight to 10 restaurants in north India by the end of next year, after which expansion will cover other parts of India. The stores will be a mix of company-owned and franchises.

    Known for its chicken offerings, Kenny Rogers Roasters will also serve vegetarian food in India, he says.
    Owned by Malaysia’s Berjaya Corporation, there are more than 400 Kenny Rogers Roaster restaurants in 14 countries including China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and the US.

    Kenny Rogers is an American singer/songwriter and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame who is now 78 years old. He teamed with John Y. Brown, the governor of the state of Kentucky, who had also helped develop Kentucky Fried Chicken, to launch the first Kenny Rogers restaurant in Florida in 1991.

    It expanded to Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, with Berjaya acquiring the group from Nathan’s Famous Inc in 2008.

  • Philippines’ Shakey’s Pizza plans $113m IPO

    Philippines’ Shakey’s Pizza plans $113m IPO

    Shakey’s Pizza Ventures (Spavi) aims to raise more than P5.5 billion (US$113 million) through an initial public offering (IPO) in the Philippine Stock Exchange this year.

    The restaurant chain has filed a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
    to sell up to 352 million primary and secondary shares, including 46 million shares at P115.58 apiece, to meet excess demand.

    Spavi seeks to finalise the offer price in November, and targets its projected listing in December.

    “We intend to use the offer proceeds to expand our in-house commissary, meet working capital requirements, look at potential acquisitions and repay debt,” the company says.

    The chain has appointed Deutsche Bank as sole global coordinator and bookrunner for the deal, while BDO Capital and Investment Corp, and First Metro Investment Corp will serve as joint lead managers and underwriters. Evercore is the financial adviser.

    Majority owned by the Po family conglomerate Century Pacific Group (CPGI), Spavi owns the rights to the Shakey’s trademark in the Philippines. CPGI is the parent company of Century Pacific Food(CNPF).

    To create Shakey’s trademark thin-crust pizza, Spavi’s in-house commissary supplies the bulk of its proprietary pizza dough and crust. The global pizza franchise originated in the US in 1954, expanding to Canada, Mexico, Japan and, in 1975, the Philippines. It now has more than 170 stores in the Philippines.

  • Kenzo-H&M collaboration revealed

    Kenzo-H&M collaboration revealed

    The first images have been revealed of the extraordinary range of men’s and women’s designs in the Kenzo-H&M collaboration.

    The Kenzo and H&M collection will go on sale in more than 250 selected H&M stores worldwide from November 3. As with previous H&M collaborations, it is likely to attract huge interest as the fast-fashion giant makes available clothing from a luxury brand unaffordable to many core H&M shoppers.

    Kenzo collection 2

    The Kenzo- H&M lookbook features a key selection of looks from the designer collaboration and stars a diverse cast of talented, passionate and creative ambassadors, each of whom expresses their individuality and values with style. Inside Retail has chosen a small selection of the designs below.

    Kenzo collection 1

     

    The ambassadors featured in the lookbook are writer and activist Amy Sall, photographer Youngjun Koo, artist and DJ Juliana Huxtable, musician and performance artist Oko Ebombo, fashion editor Harriet Verney, make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench, artist Ingrid, musician Anna of the North, model and rapper Le1f, as well as models Mae Lapres, Hao Liu, Selena Forrest, Tom Gaskin, Julia Banas and Pierre Painchaud.

    The photographer was Oliver Hadlee Pearch.

    Kenzo collection 5

    Kenzo collection 4

  • Denny’s Manila marks restaurant’s Philippines debut

    Denny’s Manila marks restaurant’s Philippines debut

    American diner Denny’s has arrived in the Philippines, opening at Uptown Parade in Bonifacio Global City (BGC).

    The Denny’s Manila restaurant is the first of several planned for the brand’s newest international market.

    Mall owner Megaworld Corporation founder Kevin Tan says on Instagram that the store is one “one of my favorite restaurants in the world”. He was on hand for the store’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

    Denny’s started out as a coffee and donut stand in 1953. It went public in 1968 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
    At BGC, it is open all day every day serving American breakfasts, pancakes and omelettes.

    Denny’s also has stores in China and Korea.

  • FJ Benjamin granted Casio Indonesia rights

    FJ Benjamin granted Casio Indonesia rights

    Singapore-listed fashion and lifestyle group FJ Benjamin has had a celebration to mark it gaining the Casio Indonesia rights to retail the full range of the Japanese watch brand’s watches.

    The brands include Baby-G, Edifice and G-Shock.

    While Casio distributes products to retailers in Indonesia already, only FJ Benjamin has the full range as exclusive retailer for all categories, CEO Nash Benjamin said at a Casio media event at a Jakarta nightclub venue attended by more than 1000 guests.

    He expects the watches to be sold at about 60 sales outlets in the first year. Associate Gilang Agung Persada is setting up G-Shock boutiques and stand-alone counters in malls across Indonesia, as well as selling Casio brands in 30 stores under its two multi-label watch chains, Watch Engine and Watch Zone.

    A G-Shock boutique opened at the end of August at the new St Moritz mall complex, which also houses high-end apartments.

    Benjamin says his company contacted Casio as it has an interest in G-Shock. “Casio came to Indonesia, saw our network of retail stores and was satisfied we could do a good job.”

    Casio senior executive managing officers and senior GM Shigenori Itoh says the company has had double-digit growth in Asia for the past three years.

    Meanwhile, Benjamin says his company could have up to 80 “or maybe even 100” stores in Indonesia in the next four to five years.

    FJ Benjamin has also won exclusive distribution rights in Indonesia for US fashion brand Marc Jacobs.

  • Toyota recalls 340,000 Priuses globally to fix parking brake issue

    Toyota recalls 340,000 Priuses globally to fix parking brake issue

    Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday it was recalling around 340,000 of its latest Prius gasoline hybrid model in Japan and overseas to fix a parking brake issue.

    The recall covers models produced between October 2015 and October 2016, and affects around 210,000 vehicles in Japan and 92,000 in North America, Toyota said, adding that the balance would be recalled in Europe, Australia and other regions.

    No accidents have been reported in Japan in connection with the issue, a Toyota spokeswoman said, while declining to comment on whether any accidents had occurred overseas.

  • Dnata has inaugurated its customer service centre for cargo at Dubai Airport

    Dnata has inaugurated its customer service centre for cargo at Dubai Airport

    According to dnata, the new 5,000m2 facility is located at Freight Gate 5 at the Dubai Airport Free Zone and is expected to handle 25,000 tonnes of export cargo every month.

    “What we see today is the result of meticulous planning, creative thinking and most of all, listening to our customers,” said Gary Chapman, president of dnata and group services. “We are looking to bring about further efficiency, cost-saving and surpass our customers’ expectations.  We take pride in being a leader in cargo handling, and it’s important to constantly raise the bar when it comes to innovation and customer service. I believe this new centre really demonstrates our commitment to providing a secure and efficient environment for our customers’ cargo needs.”

    According to dnata, the service centre features new export counters, government agencies, a special cargo acceptance area, a new office space for airline and freight forwarders, as well as dnata’s new Cargo Integrated Control Centre, which operates 24/7 and simplifies information flow between all stakeholders. The CICC also monitors, troubleshoots and enables quick decision-making to improve efficiency.

    “While we have accomplished a great deal, we are always looking to innovate and offer better service to our customers,” said Chapman. “They have come to expect that of us, and we are constantly looking at ways to improve. We have exciting plans ahead. The evolution of this facility will see the opening of an import customer service centre, as well as additional storage and handling capacity for our export customers.”

  • Public cloud market set to grow 17% in 2016

    Public cloud market set to grow 17% in 2016

    The worldwide public cloud services market is projected to grow 17% in 2016 to $208.6 billion, according to Gartner.

    The highest growth will come from IaaS, which is projected to grow 43% in 2016. SaaS, one of the largest segments in the global cloud services market, is expected to grow 22% in 2016 to reach $38.9 billion.

    “There’s no question there is great appetite within organizations to use cloud services, but there are still challenges for organizations as they make the move to the cloud,” said Sid Nag, research director at Gartner. “Even with the high rate of predicted growth, a large number of organizations still have no current plans to use cloud services.”

    IT modernization is currently the top driver of public cloud adoption, followed by cost savings, innovation, agility and other benefits. The focus on IT modernization indicates a more sophisticated and strategic use of public cloud services.

    Security and/or privacy concerns continue to be the top inhibitors to public cloud adoption, despite the strong security track record and increased transparency of leading cloud providers.

    Most organizations are already using a combination of cloud services from different cloud providers. While public cloud usage will continue to increase, the use of private cloud and hosted private cloud services is also expected to increase at least through 2017.

    The increased use of multiple public cloud providers, plus growth in various types of private cloud services, will create a multi-cloud environment in most enterprises and a need to coordinate cloud usage using hybrid scenarios.

    Although hybrid cloud scenarios will dominate, there are many challenges that inhibit working hybrid cloud implementations. Organizations that are not planning to use hybrid cloud indicated a number of concerns, including integration challenges, application incompatibilities, a lack of management tools, a lack of common APIs and a lack of vendor support.

  • India and Singapore to collaborate on innovation

    India and Singapore to collaborate on innovation

    India and Singapore have signed an agreement to promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement in both markets.

    According to the official statement released, “The MoU will enhance bilateral cooperation activities in the arena of industrial property rights of patents, trademarks and industrial designs. It is intended to give a boost to innovation, creativity and technological advancement in both regions.”

    The agreement covers intellectual property cooperation between DIPP and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. The MoU was signed during the visit of Singapore’s Prime Minister to India last week.

    The key initiatives under the pact will be exchange of best practices, experiences and knowledge on intellectual property awareness among the public, businesses and educational institutions of both countries.

    Both the countries will also exchange experts in the field of intellectual property; dissemination of best practices, experiences and knowledge on IP with the industry and universities.

    The MoU will enable India to find out about best practices in the innovation and IP ecosystems that will substantially benefit entrepreneurs, investors and businesses on both sides.

    “The exchange of best practices between the two countries will lead to improved protection and awareness about India’s range of intellectual creations,” the release mentioned.

    It adds that the collaboration is a step forward in India’s journey towards becoming a major player in global innovation and will further the objectives of the National IPR Policy.