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  • New Marriott wing at Resorts World Manila opens Sept

    New Marriott wing at Resorts World Manila opens Sept

    The new west wing of the Marriott hotel at casino resort Resorts World Manila will be in operation by next month, said on Tuesday Genting Hong Kong Ltd.

    Resorts World Manila – located in the Philippines capital Manila, next to the city’s international airport – is owned and operated by Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. The latter is a venture between Philippine-based Alliance Global Group Inc and Genting Hong Kong.

    Resorts World Manila – already featuring three hotels – is currently undergoing a phase three expansion. “Ongoing developments which will introduce three new hotels – Hilton Manila Hotel, Sheraton Hotel Manila and a new Maxims hotel – are expected to be completed by the end of 2017,” Genting Hong Kong stated in its unaudited interim report for the six months to June 30. The document was filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday after trading hours.

    The firm added that the new expansion would “include additional gaming and retail facilities.”

    “Looking ahead, Resorts World Manila’s phase four development will give way to more retail alternatives and another international hotel brand,” Genting Hong Kong stated.

    The new wing at Marriott will add 228 new hotel rooms to Resorts World Manila, according to previous releases. Total room count for the exiting three hotels – Maxims Hotel, Remington Hotel and Marriott Hotel Manila – stood at 1,226 in the second quarter of 2016. Hotel occupancy rate during that period was 87 percent, according to Travellers International.

    Travellers International’s net profit for the second quarter of 2016 amounted to PHP638.2 million (US$13.7 million), an increase of 3.1 percent from a year earlier, the company reported on August 15.

    Genting Hong Kong’s share of profit from Travellers International totalled US$19.1 million in the first half of 2016 compared with US$22.6 million in the prior-year period. Genting Hong Kong said the decline was “primarily due to increase in general marketing and depreciation expense during the period.”

    Cruise business

    Genting Hong Kong – also an operator of casino cruise ships – reported a net loss of US$54.6 million for the six months ended June 30. The loss compared with a net profit of US$2.2 billion for prior-year period.

    The company said the net loss was mainly attributable to the absence of a one-off accounting gain of US$1.57 billion following the reclassification of Genting Hong Kong’s investment in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd and the absence of a gain of US$599.6 million from the disposal of shares in Norwegian Cruise. Both of these operations were completed in the first half of 2015.

    Genting Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd, has accelerated its expansion plans for its cruise business. “The company continues to develop its three-brand cruise portfolio with focus on each of the major cruise market segments – Crystal Cruises for the ultra-luxury segment, Dream Cruises for the premium segment and Star Cruises for the contemporary segment,” Genting Hong Kong stated in its Tuesday interim results report.

    The company last month announced it would invest more than EUR100 million (US$113.1 million) to upgrade the three shipyards in Germany that it acquired in April. The move follows the company’s earlier purchase of the Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven shipyard in Germany last year. Genting Hong Kong plans to build new cruise ships to expand its fleet.

    The firm’s new Asian cruise line, Dream Cruises, is scheduled to start operations in November, according to Tuesday’s report.

  • Allianz secures distribution rights with Malaysia’s Maybank

    Allianz secures distribution rights with Malaysia’s Maybank

    Allianz is hoping the agreement will give access to Maybank’s 4 million customers in Asia. The insurer said it has jointly developed three life insurance products with Maybank which includes a unit-linked life insurance product compliant with Islamic Shariah law, a single-premium investment product and a life policy which combine protect with investment. “This partnership demonstrates Allianz’s continued focus on growing in the Asia region, of which Indonesia is a key priority.

    We’re excited to bring our multi -channel approach, innovative products and digital expertise to serve the protection needs all Maybank customers,” said Allianz’s regional chief executive for Asia Pacific, George Sartorel, in a statement on Tuesday. Under the collaboration, a team of more than 150 insurance advisers will sell the products to Maybank clients via their retail branches. Joachim Wessling, chief exectuive of Allianz Life Indonesia said: “This cooperation between two outstanding companies combines our strengths in providing world-class services and solutions, to deliver insurance protection tailored to our customers’ needs. We look forward to working closely with Maybank to secure a safer future for our customers in Indonesia.”

    Last week, it emerged that Allianz and France’s Axa are locked in a bidding war to acquire the 15-year distribution rights to sell insurance products through Standard Chartered’s channels in Asia. Meanwhile, Hanwha Life, South Korea’s second largest life insurer, is set to pump KRW150bn (£102m, €121m, $134m) into its Indonesian arm in a bid to expand its foothold in the country’s booming insurance sector.

  • Entrepreneur Now Awards 2016 nominations now open

    Entrepreneur Now Awards 2016 nominations now open

    Entrepreneur Now has launched the Entrepreneur Now Awards 2016 at a kickoff event at the Work Loft in Silom. This is the second year for the award ceremony which aims to honour and support SMEs in Thailand. The awards are organised with more than 20 community partners including many local chambers of commerce.

    There are eight categories in this year’s awards:

    • Outstanding female entrepreneur
    • Eco-entrepreneur
    • Creative entrepreneur
    • Innovative entrepreneur
    • Social enterprise entrepreneur
    • Most entrepreneurial team
    • SME (50 employees to 100)
    • Best newcomer

    In order to apply, entrepreneurs need to submit an application by October 31st, including uploading a 3-minute video about their company. Nominated startups will attend a networking evening with the judges, a group of seven diverse representatives from local startups, corporates, universities and organisations.

    The awards are open to both Thai and foreign SMEs with under 100 employees, provided they have a registered company in Thailand.

    This year’s awards ceremony will be held on November 23rd and organiser Pacharee Pantoomano promised it will be “bigger and better” than last year, with over 10 million baht worth of prizes available.

    The criteria the judges will use to select Thailand’s best entrepreneur are “uniqueness, eco-sustainability, striking achievements, recognition and traction, overcoming challenges, value in Thailand and ASEAN, vision and personal growth”.

    Judge Jacky Cheng said it was exciting to “mentor real businesses, not just ideas”.

    Duanghamon Kaewphongsri won last year’s Oustanding female entrepreneur award with her startup, Annette I Tim Tuk Tuk, selling artisan ice cream from iconic tuk-tuks. K. Duanghamon announced they are about to open their new 800 sqm factory and create products for export.

    Another of last year’s winners, Jonas Becker from Thinkatorium encouraged as many entrepreneurs as possible to apply: “There’s nothing to lose. It’s a good way to reflect on your company, where you are and where you want to be”.

    Probably the most complex part of the application process for startups is preparing the three minute video. The judges encouraged startups to include facts and figures. Rather than try to cover everything, focus on the criteria which best apply to you. K. Pacharee noted that many startups reuse their video to represent themselves at future events. Entepreneur Now will prepare additional help for preparing the video component in the next few weeks.

    Startups have until October 31 to submit their application via the Entrepreneur Now website.

  • Napster taps Terada for next-gen music streaming products

    Napster taps Terada for next-gen music streaming products

    Napster is upgrading its analytic ecosystem to implement the Teradata Unified Data Architecture (UDA).

    The deployment includes multiple nodes of the Data Warehouse Appliance with Teradata QueryGrid for seamless data and systems integration and, in addition, a Teradata Appliance for Hadoop with Cloudera.

    Digital streaming is one of the most widely accepted methods of distributing musical content. With a catalog of over 40 million songs, Napster delivers a premium music streaming experience to more than three million paying subscribers in 34 countries across the globe.

    “This upgrade establishes Teradata’s UDA technology as the go-forward foundation for analytics to drive Napster’s next-generation music streaming products,” said Brian Ringer, CTO of Napster. “Our newest product offerings such as the Listener Network — which measures music taste overlap among like-minded music fans around the world to help them discover more music they love — demands more advanced big data tools and techniques for understanding and leveraging customer behavior.”

    Ringer said Teradata helps Napster optimize detailed customer level data — including content and application usage, and gives them the ability to more effectively analyze and predict lifetime customer value through customer behavior and usage data.

    “As we leverage big data through our UDA and new Hadoop Appliance with Cloudera, we expect to understand and serve our customers with deeper personal relevance and even greater listening enjoyment,” he said.

    Also, Napster is deploying Teradata QueryGrid, which works to connect a Teradata and Hadoop system to massive scale, with no effort, and at speeds of 10 Gbps.

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  • Analytics shift to predictive, prescriptive

    Analytics shift to predictive, prescriptive

    While the value of historical and descriptive analytics persists, the balance has been tipped towards more predictive and prescriptive analytics, according to a new report from Machina Research.

    For many decades, enterprises have solidly built their knowledge, strategic insights and processes around well-established approaches to data management and analytics.

    Terms such as ETL (extract-transform-load), data warehouses, data-marts and business intelligence became solid ground on which to build strategic and business approaches and decisions.

    With millions of connected devices providing real-time data about the physical world as it is, data management and analytics processes have been inundated with new requirements and opportunities.

    Machina Research said business and strategic decisions are being augmented with highly operational and predictive/prescriptive analytics, shifting the ground from “look at what happened” to “what may happen” and how best to address those potential scenarios.

    “One of the more significant developments as part of, and in parallel to, developments in IoT, is the approach of two different ‘waves’ in data management—Big Data and Fast Data,” said Emil Berthelsen, principal analyst at Machina Research.

    “Both are characterized by scale and speed, and the combination or aggregation of these two waves have led to significant changes and new requirements on data management technologies,” said Berthelsen.

    He said the landscape of IoT data and analytics is certainly evolving and will include a new age of machine learning, augmented insights and managed autonomy, as well as a new set of enabling technologies and data governance tools.

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  • SAP China teams up with Alibaba Cloud

    SAP China teams up with Alibaba Cloud

    SAP China and Alibaba Cloud have teamed up to launch three cloud-based SAP services to Chinese customers by the end of the year.

    The companies have revealed plans to launch in-memory computing platform SAP HANA Cloud Platform and two other services in 2016.

    The two other services are the cloud-based SaaS CRM solution Hybris Cloud for Customer, as well as SAP Business ByDesign, integrated cloud suite tailored for mid-sized businesses.

    Alibaba Cloud president Simon Hu said the partnership is aimed at addressing the growing ubiquity of cloud services.

    “Cloud computing has become the new infrastructure for businesses around the world,” he said. “Through in-depth collaboration, Alibaba Cloud and SAP will join hands to bring more world-class cloud products with highly reliable and strong capabilities to companies in different industries.”

    SAP Greater China president Mark Gibbs said the company achieved triple-digit growth in the region from its cloud business in the first half of 2016.

    “The cloud business is a key part of SAP’s digital framework and one of the driving forces behind our rapid business growth in China.” he said.

    “The three cloud-based solutions that we are about to launch with Alibaba Cloud will further expand SAP’s cloud footprint in China, and meet the needs of more Chinese enterprises. It will help Chinese companies to effectively embrace the opportunities brought by digital transformation.”

  • Korean department stores trigger restaurant battle

    Korean department stores trigger restaurant battle

    Korean department stores have become the new battleground for Korean restaurant chains.

    Restaurants have long been a lucrative business for department store operators – accommodating hundreds of weary shoppers every day, they have sometimes been referred to as a ‘goose that lays a golden egg’.

    However, until now, opening such a restaurant had been a near-impossible task without deep connections to the store’s higher-ups.

    According to retail industry sources, several new restaurants are set to open next month in the food court section of Lotte’s flagship department store in Myeongdong, which is currently being renovated. Of note, the new owners didn’t have to lobby Lotte management or be a member of a Lotte family to open their establishments.

    Lotte faced significant criticism in June when the media spotlighted Seo Mi-kyung, Lotte founder Shin Kyuk Ho’s third wife, and her company Yuki Co, which operates a bibimbap restaurant (Yukyung),  naengmyeon restaurant (Yuwonjeong) and coffeehouse (Margaret) at the Lotte’s Myeongdong store.

    “We’re in the middle of clearing up our business with Seo’s company,” said the department store official. “We plan to operate our food court based on the popularity of restaurants and their competitive advantage.”

    A high-end sushi restaurant, Sushi Chohi, Chinese restaurant Luii, and European casual restaurant Elbon Grand Cafe operated by chef Choi Hyun-seok are among the new eateries that will open in mid-September.

    Hyundai Department Store, once criticised for giving favors to its subsidiary Hyundai Green Food, is also rearranging the food courts at its stores to accommodate popular restaurants from across Korea. And although it still operates Hyundai Green Food-owned restaurants like Bonga Sushi and Hansol Naengmyeon at its branches, it’s now focusing its efforts on attracting other popular restaurants.

    “Bonga Sushi and Hansol Naengmyeon have made a name for themselves, and their inclusion is not necessarily due to the Hyundai family relationship,” said a Hyundai Department Store official. “We’re concentrating more on attracting well-known restaurants to our food courts, because restaurants with no competitive edge aren’t likely to survive.”

    Italian restaurants Le Jiu and Signature Lab opened their latest locations at the Samseong-dong branch, while Amorino, an Italian gelato franchise, opened a new eatery at Hyundai’s Apgujeong branch.

    Shinsegae Department Store also introduced new restaurants this year. Youth-driven restaurants from Gangnam and Hongdae, including Chinese cuisine franchise Choma, steakhouse restaurant Fukuoka Hambageu, and premium tteokbokki restaurant Villa de Spicy, according to Shinsegae, were met with high acclaim.

    Shinsegae also said that new restaurants tend to attract more customers to its stores.

    “Department stores are no longer solely a place for shopping. They’re transforming into one integrated living space for consumers to spend their free time,” said a retail industry official. “Given the circumstances, the stores will continue with their efforts to accommodate more popular and competitive restaurants.”

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  • North Korea’s KCTV said to launch streaming service

    North Korea’s KCTV said to launch streaming service

    An unlikely new player has reportedly entered into the video streaming business, according to reports – North Korean state broadcaster KCTV.

    BBC News notes that the broadcaster’s new set-top-box, Manbang, has been called North Korea’s version of Netflix in some reports.

    Manbang is said to connect to the North Korean intranet and allow viewers to watch documentaries on demand and five TV channels.

    While KCTV claims that consumer demand for the price is high, connectivity in North Korea remains at very low levels.

    This is not the first time that North Korea, notorious for keeping a tight grip on the control of information entering into and coming out of the country, has been found been developing its own limited versions of popular internet services.

    In May, researchers found a rudimentary social network, resembling a crude version of Facebook, designed for users of North Korea’s intranet. But this was quickly pulled down after pranksters started creating spoof profiles, including one for Kim Jong-Un.

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  • India won’t relax FDI rules for DoCoMo case

    India won’t relax FDI rules for DoCoMo case

    The Indian government does not intend to relax rules regarding foreign investments to allow Japan’s NTT DoCoMo to exit its Tata DoCoMo joint venture at a pre-determined price.

    The government has taken the view that there is no case for bending the rules for a single company.

    Rules that have been in place since 2007 – almost two years before Tata Group and NTT DoCoMo entered the joint venture – stipulate that no foreign investor is entitled to exit its investment at a pre-determined price or with assured return, the report states.

    But the agreement between NTT DoCoMo and Tata Group stipulated that DoCoMo was entitled to sell its shares at the highest of either the market price or half the initial subscription price.

    An arbitration court recently found Tata Group’s majority shareholders and Tata Teleservices liable for $1.17 billion in damages due to the failure to live up to the shareholder agreement, even though the Reserve Bank of India is prohibiting the company from doing so due to the rules.

    The government is considering amending the regulations for future foreign direct investments, introducing a price band rather than the current fair price stipulation, to make the market more attractive to investors. But the finance ministry has ruled out applying the rules retroactively to cover the DoCoMo transaction.

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  • Uber Japan about to launch UberEats

    Uber Japan about to launch UberEats

    Uber Japan is about to launch UberEats, with advertisements for bicycle and motorcycle delivery positions appearing on its Japan Facebook page last week, as well as a related video.

    An UberEats Japan website is already up, but only with a link for Tokyo restaurants to register.
    Launched in March, UberEats is available in 28 cities internationally.

    Generally, Uber has struggled in Japan, reports Tech in Asia. As regulations prevent drivers from accepting money from passengers in a private vehicle, Uber works more like a taxi. Its trial program in Fukuoka last year was shut down for paying drivers, and protests from taxi companies have prevented similar trials in other regions. There was also backlash from the taxi industry when Toyota invested in Uber this year.

    However, non-professional drivers can accept payments in areas where public transport is not available. Uber took advantage of this by launching a service with a non-profit organisation in Kyotango city.

  • Old Navy Opening Doors At First Store in Malaysia

    Old Navy Opening Doors At First Store in Malaysia

    Global apparel brand Old Navy announced today that it is opening its first store in Malaysia at 1 Utama Shopping Center, the fifth largest mall in the world, which is located in the heart of MSC Malaysia Cybercentre Township Bandar Utama. Old Navy makes current American fashion essentials accessible for every family, with a focus on fashion, family, fun and value. The brand launched in 1994 and quickly became one of the top apparel brands in the United States, making history in 1997 as the first retailer to reach $1 billion in annual sales in less than four years. Old Navy is part of the Gap Inc. portfolio of brands, which also includes Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta and Intermix.

    The brand’s entry into Malaysia marks another milestone in Old Navy’s continued global growth strategy. The first store will feature the same great product that the brand has become known for in the United States and will offer apparel and accessories collections for men, women, kids and babies. It will also provide a fun and energizing shopping experience for customers, featuring a spacious 800 square meter layout and Old Navy’s newest store design.

    The store will open its doors on September 30 at 5:00 pm and will be open until 10:30 pm. To celebrate the opening, customers can enjoy fun activities, meet special guests, and receive RM60 back when they spend RM200 and above. Additionally, the first customers in line will receive a free limited edition Old Navy Malaysia tote bag with any purchase, and the first 100 customers will be eligible to win a RM1000 shopping spree.

    This is the seventh franchise market expansion for Old Navy. In March 2014, the brand opened its first franchise-operated stores in the Philippines and has since opened stores in Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and most recently, Indonesia. The brand’s move into Southeast Asia builds on the success that Gap and Banana Republic have experienced since entering the market in 2007.

    Franchise partner RSH Limited has a 39-year history of delivering seamless brand experiences to customers in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South Pacific. Today, RSH Limited’s portfolio includes more than 70 international brands with over 700 stores and shops-in-shop in 11 countries.

  • JCB Introduces Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives

    JCB Introduces Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives

    CB Co., Ltd. (JCB), the only international payments brand based in Japan, today announced the introduction of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

    JCB selected four priority areas to address in response to the expectations of stakeholders and society: education, protection of the environment, international support and disaster recovery support. JCB is focusing its CSR activities especially on the Asia Pacific region in 2016.

    JCB has been conducting a wide variety of CSR activities for over 10 years. In 2011, JCB’s 50th anniversary, it established the JCB Employee Social Contribution Program that enables employee to participate in activities contributing to society, and also started financial support of NPOs working to revitalize areas stricken by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

    Major CSR activities in 2016

    – International support: Honolulu Museum of Art artwork preservation (March 2016)

    JCB is supporting the Honolulu Museum of Art, which has an extensive collection of Japanese traditional art, ukiyo-e, and other Asian artworks.

    – International support and protection of the environment: Indonesia forest conservation (May 2016)

    JCB is supporting the planting of mangrove trees to protect natural resources. Planting these trees also helps to preserve and improve the livelihood in Indonesia’s coastal regions.

    – International support and education: Myanmar school construction (February 2017)

    JCB is supporting the construction of schools in non-urban areas in order to help enhance education in this rapidly developing country. Construction is to be completed in December 2016 and presented to the community in February 2017.

    Hiroshi Terada, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications Department said, “JCB started to enhance our efforts to promote international CSR activities from this year. The areas include the markets where are important for our business or have strong relationships with Japan. JCB will continue cooperating with NPOs and NGOs around the world and actively fulfilling its CSR in the future.”

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  • Grab Selects Adyen as Payment Solution Partner in Southeast Asia

    Grab Selects Adyen as Payment Solution Partner in Southeast Asia

    Adyen, the global payments technology company, today announced that Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform, has selected Adyen to extend the capabilities of its GrabPay platform in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Grab will partner with Adyen to deliver a consistent, frictionless payment experience for customers traveling across markets regardless of their device or payment method.

    “As part of Grab’s drive to make ride-hailing even safer, easier and more accessible to everyone in Southeast Asia, providing trusted, seamless mobile payments is crucial for the overall customer experience. Grab wanted a partner who could support a variety of traditional and alternative payment methods to support our growth across the region. Adyen fits the bill and we are excited at now being able to offer our passengers even more payment options when they pay through GrabPay,” said Joel Yarbrough, Head of Payments & Commerce Product, Grab.

    With Adyen supporting 250 payments methods around the world, Grab customers will be offered both traditional cards and, over time, country-specific payment methods, using Adyen’s expertise and data to expand payment options.

    Business travelers who work within the region can also easily tabulate their business ride spending with Grab through the Grab for Work portal, and companies can automatically pay for their employees’ rides through the use of corporate cards.

    “Southeast Asia is a diverse and highly fragmented region and there is no one preferred method of payment. However, mobile penetration in the region remains high and drives several key trends including the rise of mobile payments and platforms as a service. Partnering with a fellow innovator and disruptor such as Grab, we are eager to empower commuters in Southeast Asia with the same convenience of hailing a ride seamlessly as paying for their Grab ride with equal ease,” said Warren Hayashi, President, APAC, Adyen.

    This partnership announcement is in conjunction with Adyen’s growth momentum in the region as it expands its presence in Singapore with a new, bigger office. Adyen began operations from its new office in August 2016.

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  • US Mart opens second HCMC store

    US Mart opens second HCMC store

    Quality imported grocery retail pioneer US Mart has opened its second store in HCMC – and is ready, preparing for its third.

    After three successful years in the city, US Mart has opened a second store in District 7.

    The new store is located at 169 Nguyen Huu Canh St, in what is a residential enclave popular with Asian expats and and high-income locals. The company hopes this positioning strategy will bring growth to the chain, reflecting its success in downtown Saigon, District 1.

    Kim Ngan, US Mart director of communications, said the store is selling around 10,000 items, 70-80 per cent of which are imported directly from the US, including food and beverage products. The other 20-30 per cent are Vietnamese high-quality products, including specialties from Southern provinces.

    All US products are imported as a part of the Taste of America program, a joint effort with the US Department of Agriculture. According to Gerald H Smith, senior attache for Agricultural Affairs at the US consulate, Vietnam is the 11th largest market for US food and agricultural products. Statistics showed the trade in food and agricultural products reached US$5.9 billion last year.

    US Mart was founded in 2013 by businessman Nguyen Manh Tien, who recognised local customers’ need of imported goods after returning from studying in the US. Despite the high competition in Vietnam retail market, US Mart has successfully built its customer base thanks to high quality goods, food sanity, frequent promotions, and a five-day goods return policy.

    After D7 store, US Mart will open its third store in Tan Binh district this Sunday.

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  • China to fuel VF Corporation brands

    China to fuel VF Corporation brands

    Multibrand fashion group VF Corporation sees Asia – and especially China – as the primary driver of growth in the years ahead.

    VF Corporation brands include Vans, Kipling, Lee and The North Face.

    The US-headquartered company says it is focused on expanding geographically to take advantage of its scale in markets around the world.

    “The Asia Pacific (APAC) market, and in particular China, represent robust growth opportunities for VF, according to the company’s business lead,” the company revealed in an online newsletter.

    “Asia Pacific is an important region for business development and remains a priority focus for the company,” said Aidan O’Meara, VF’s Asia Pacific president. “Our plan is to continue to focus on locally relevant innovation, further invest in demand creation and leverage our scale and capabilities as ‘One VF’ to fully capitalise on the growth opportunities and take market share.”

    VF’s APAC business continues to expand. In 2015, currency neutral revenues in the region were up 10 per cent reaching US$1.2 billion.

    China, which accounts for roughly half of APAC revenue, has seen consistent, strong growth from the country’s three largest brands: The North Face, Lee and Vans. In particular, Lee in China has experienced consistently strong growth over the years for the company, with product innovations driving recent success.

    Denim leads the charge in China

    VF brands currently maintain presences in more than 170 Chinese cities. And, that number is expected to increase in coming years.

    “We see growth potential in a market with increasing affluence, a burgeoning middle class and increasing sophistication and demand for quality jeanswear,” O’Meara said.

    The company sees a competitive edge in the market, particularly at Lee. VF launched Lee as the company’s first owned business in China in 1995.

    “Statistics show that while jeans ownership is about eight pairs per person in North America,” O’Meara said. “In China, it is less than one pair per person, and if you look at India, there is still a lot of room as jeans ownership averages about three pairs per person.”

    O’Meara noted there was a time when many jeans manufacturers rested on their laurels. However, as competition intensified, many consumers lost excitement with the products available on the market, opening a door for an innovative new product.

    Lee saw this opportunity and put its research and development to the test. The resulting JadeFusion Denim has been a resounding success and garnered a Bronze Innovation Edison Award in the Materials Science category.

    JadeFusion immediately accounted for 13 per cent of China’s denim sales in its first season on the market in the spring and summer of 2015.

    “Lee exemplifies VF’s continuous innovation as one of the key strategies which differentiate us from our competitors,” O’Meara said.

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