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  • Burberry Hong Kong blights sales

    Burberry Hong Kong blights sales

    Burberry says its first half sales rose nine per cent – with double digit growth in the US making up for declining sales in Hong Kong.

    “Asia Pacific delivered low single-digit percentage comparable sales growth,” the company said in a statement.

    Within this, China and Korea grew by a mid single-digit percentage, while Burberry Hong Kong, a high margin market, decelerated further during the period, resulting in a mid single-digit percentage decline in comparable sales in the half.

    Hong Kong’s performance was so bad, it dragged the overall Asia market growth (excluding Japan) to a mere four per cent, by far it lowest performing region.

    “Digital again outperformed in all regions.”

    Burberry’s revenue for the six months to March 31 totalled £1.4 billion. Sales growth was in the double digits for North America and the combined Europe, Middle East, India and Africa region.

    Sales by the company’s own retail channels rose by 13 per cent – significantly outperforming total revenue growth.

    CEO and creative director Christopher Bailey described the half year performance as “robust” despite the Burberry Hong Kong disappointment.

    During the second half, Burberry opened seven mainline stores and closed nine. Openings included a flagship in Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles, a store in the Miami Design District, as well as a second dedicated Beauty store globally, in Seoul, Korea.

    Due to the phasing out of the Japan license arrangement, the company’s licensing sales were down by 40 per cent, but sales from directly-operated stores in the nation rose by more than 30 per cent.

    During the six months, Burberry opened a flagship in Osaka, its fifth free-standing store in Japan, relocated the store in Omotesando, Tokyo, and opened three concessions, taking the network 13.

    Concluded Bailey: “We anticipate external challenges will continue in the current year, but remain confident in our long-term strategy to build the Burberry brand and business globally.”

    At the end of March, Burberry had 214 retail stores globally, 213 concessions, 57 outlets and 67 franchised stores.

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  • Giant IFS malls sprout in China

    Giant IFS malls sprout in China

    Listed Hong Kong property developer The Wharf Holdings has two IFS malls under construction in fast-growing Chinese cities.

    The new malls are all located in high profile commercial developments and/or linked to metro lines, ensuring high footfalls.

    Changsha IFS, located in Furong District’s Jiefang Rd, is best-placed to be “the new landmark of the core CBD,” the group believes.

    Modelled on Harbour City in Hong Kong, Changsha IFS boasts a total development area of 1026 million sqm and has retail street frontage exceeding 700 metres. It will be linked underground to a future Wuyi Plaza Station (metro lines 1 and 2) and is in close proximity to one of the busiest pedestrian streets in China (Huang Xing).

    It is flanked by financial institutions including the People’s Bank of China on one side and a traditional shopping cluster on the other.

    “Such dual cluster can be aptly dubbed as a combination of Hong Kong’s Central CBD, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui,” the The Wharf Holdings in a briefing document.

    The development features a 452-metre tower and a 315-metre tower above a mega mall of 230,000 sqm, offering upscale retail, Grade A offices and a premium hotel. Designed by Benoy, the retail mall will offer world-class lifestyle, retail, entertainment, and dining offering under one roof. The development will be completed in phases from 2016.

    Chongqing IFS is strategically located in Jiangbei District, Chongqing’s new CBD, where the Yangtze River meets the Jialing River.

    “Chongqing IFS enjoys a fabulous panoramic river view and convenient connectivity through three nearby bridges,” says The Wharf.

    With light railway lines 6 and 9 set to pass that area with respective stations nearby, the development is adjacent to the Chongqing City Grand Theatre, the Chongqing Science Museum and the Central Park. The 50:50 joint venture development (with China Overseas) features a 300-metre landmark tower and four other towers above a 102,000 sqm retail podium. The boutique-sized Harbour City, providing a wide and dynamic range of offerings, is positioned to be a one-stop shopping and entertainment hub.

    Retail leasing is progressing well with more than 50 per cent of the floor plates under offer. Key anchors and other international retailers across different categories are in negotiations. The office towers are gradually being completed with the entire development scheduled to be open in 2016.

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  • Thailand’s Mandom seeks 15pc yearly sales growth

    Thailand’s Mandom seeks 15pc yearly sales growth

    Despite the economic slowdown, Mandom Corporation (Thailand), the distributor of Gatsby and Bifesta personal care products from Japan, is set to expand aggressively here in a bid to increase annual sales by 15 percent over the next five years.

    President Tetsuaki Matsuda said Mandom will focus on expanding its Bifesta make-up remover business to serve rising demand this year as Thai women become more conscious of good skincare regimes.

    The make-up remover market was valued at THB501 million in 2013 and increased by 44 percent to THB720 million (USD22m) in 2014. The market value is expected to hit THB1 billion by the end of this year.

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  • Stuart Weitzman names Alyssa Mishcon President of Global Retail

    Stuart Weitzman names Alyssa Mishcon President of Global Retail

    Luxury shoe brand Stuart Weitzman named Alyssa Mishcon President of Global Retail on Monday. Mishcon will oversee all aspects of the global retail business including customer experience and relationship management, strategic operations development, merchandising and international retail growth. She will report directly to Wayne Kulkin, CEO, and will be based out of international headquarters in New York City.

    Mishcon brings more than 15 years of experience in multi-channel luxury brands, working most recently as President of Thomas Pink Inc., LVMH Fashion Group and then previously as Vice President Strategy, Merchandising & Retail at TAG Heuer, LVHM Watch & Jewelry Division.

    Stuart Weitzman operates 45 retail stores across the US. It also has 75 international stores, 14 international shop-in-shops, and e-commerce sites in the United States, Canada, Europe and Hong Kong. Stuart Weitzman footwear and accessories are sold in more than 70 countries.

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  • Vingroup buys VinatexMart chain

    Vingroup buys VinatexMart chain

    The Vinmart Supermarket Joint Stock Company of Vietnam’s leading property firm Vingroup has signed a contract to buy a 100 percent stake in the VinatexMart supermarket chain.

    VinatexMart, one arm of the State-run Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), has 58 outlets in 26 provinces and cities nationwide.

    Its supermarkets stock 60,000 items from five main categories of goods such as garments and textiles, fresh food, cosmetics and home appliances.

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  • Groupon market value seen as high as USD6b with divestments

    Groupon market value seen as high as USD6b with divestments

    Groupon could divest four businesses in the next two years, netting as much as USD730 million, to raise cash as it expands into an e-commerce marketplace, according to Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos.

    Groupon has a market value of about USD5 billion, though it should be closer to USD6 billion because those businesses are undervalued, Mr Munster said. A majority stake in its Ticket Monster business, which offers daily deals and e-commerce services in South Korea, could fetch about USD500 million, while smaller units might yield between USD30 million and USD100 million each, he said.

    “What is safe to say is that Groupon has several stealth assets that are generally underappreciated by investors as far as overall value,” said Mr Munster, who is based in Minneapolis. Private equity firms are the most likely buyers, he said.

  • Lawson, SG Holdings to offer new delivery service

    Lawson, SG Holdings to offer new delivery service

    Retailer Lawson Inc. and logistics company SG Holdings Co. are to begin a delivery service under a new alliance pitched at time-deprived workers and seniors.

    Lawson, a Tokyo-based convenience store operator, said on Tuesday that it will take a 51 percent stake in the new company to be created in June, with Kyoto-based SG Holdings, which runs Sagawa Express Co., holding the remaining 49 percent.

    They will work together to expand their customer base as demand for home delivery increases with a growing number of elderly people and more women opting to work rather than stay at home.

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  • Malaysia launches consumption tax despite public unease

    Malaysia launches consumption tax despite public unease

    Malaysia last week implemented a six percent consumption tax aimed at plugging a leaky tax-collection system and addressing a widening fiscal deficit, but which has sparked opposition protests over the past year.

    The government and economists say the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will help address an inadequate revenue-collection system under which income tax is currently paid by only an estimated 11 percent of registered companies and 14.8 percent of employees.

    But the GST has prompted demonstrations by opposition parties, who say consumers were being left with the bill for government mismanagement of the economy.

  • Arvind Brands to open 25 Calvin Klein innerwear stores in India in 3yrs

    Arvind Brands to open 25 Calvin Klein innerwear stores in India in 3yrs

    Arvind Brands will open 25 Calvin Klein standalone innerwear outlets in three years as it sees the category growing by 25-30 percent annually.

    Arvind Brands, which bagged rights to market Calvin Klein products in India in March last year, will also launch Calvin Klein’s formal and casual wear by mid-2016.

    “We plan to open 20-25 standalone Calvin Klein underwear outlets in three years. Underwear category in India is pegged at USD1.2 billion and we expect the segment to grow by 25-30 percent for the next few years,” Arvind Lifestyle Brands Managing Director J Suresh told PTI.

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  • Kalyan Jewellers to set up 22 stores in India during current fiscal

    Kalyan Jewellers to set up 22 stores in India during current fiscal

    US-based PE fund Warburg Pincus-backed Kalyan Jewellers to invest around INR800 crore (INR8 billion, USD128.3 million) during the current fiscal. The Kerala-based jewellery brand said that it will open 22 showrooms during the current fiscal.

    T S Kalyanaraman, chairman and managing director, Kalyan Jewellers, who was in Chennai to announce Kalyan Jewellers new showroom, which he claims is the world’s largest jewellery showroom, said that with the new showroom in Chennai number of Kalyan Jewellers showroom will be increased to 78 and by end of this fiscal this it will be increased to 100.

    The new showroom, which will spread over in 40,000 sq ft in Chennai, was set up at a cost of around INR200 crore. “This will be the largest investment by us in a single store,” said Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director, Kalyan Jewellers.

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  • Toys “R” Us Australia accumulates USD344m in losses

    Toys “R” Us Australia accumulates USD344m in losses

    Toys “R” Us, the self-described “world’s first toy supermarket”, has racked up accumulated losses of almost AUD450 million (USD343.9m) since arriving in Australia.

    The US-based toy and baby products retailer has operated in Australia for more than two decades. It has more than 30 stores, 11 Babies “R” Us Superstores, online operations and about 1600 employees.

    Researchers IBISWorld said it had lost market power over the past five years, but was the second-biggest player in the AUD850 million toy and game retailing industry.

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  • Indian stores to sell Xiaomi phones

    Indian stores to sell Xiaomi phones

    Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc has decided to sell devices through a leading electronics retail chain in India, part of its effort to move away from online-only sales and boost growth in the world’s third-largest smartphone market.

    Xiaomi launched its India operations with online marketplace Flipkart.com in July, selling its phones through flash sales where availability is limited to short timeframes.

    The company this year decided to sell its Redmi Note 4G handsets through shops of carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd, but that would still need an online registration.

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  • Indonesia plays hardball with smartphone manufacturers

    Indonesia plays hardball with smartphone manufacturers

    When Polytron became the first Indonesian company to produce 4G-capable smartphones last year, it changed the “Manufactured in China” inscription on its handsets to “Made in Kudus”, a town in Central Java.

    Polytron relocated production from China to comply with “local-content” rules introduced in 2012. The regulations have raised concerns about higher manufacturing costs and hung question marks over an industry championed by the Indonesian government.

    The United States has pressed Indonesia to relax the rules, which it says will hamper efforts of tech giants such as Apple to expand into one of the world’s last big markets where use of smartphones has yet to truly take off.

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  • Global Fashion Group names CEO, CFO

    Global Fashion Group names CEO, CFO

    Global Fashion Group, a fashion e-commerce group formed by five emerging market fashion sites Dafiti, Lamoda, Jabong, Zalora and Namshi, on Wednesday named Romain Voog as CEO and Nils Chrestin as CFO.

    Voog and Chrestin will be responsible for the overall strategic and operational development of GFG as well as the various group functions.

    Romain Voog joins GFG with 13 years of online and offline retail experience and a background as a strategy consultant. He spent the last seven years at Amazon, most recently as the company’s President and Managing Director for France. Prior to Amazon, he spent 6 years at Carrefour in various leadership roles and is a former strategy consultant from Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company in Europe and in Asia.

    Nils Chrestin has spent the last two years as Managing Director and CFO of Lamoda in Moscow prior to becoming GFG’s CFO in January 2015. Prior to his role at Lamoda Nils was a private equity investor at Morgan Stanley Private Equity.

    Last month, GFG received an additional EUR32 million investment from existing shareholders Tengelmann Ventures and Verlinvest. The investment, completed at the same valuation as the one used for the merger and creation of GFG, implies a post- money valuation of EUR2.8 billion. Pro forma for the transaction Kinnevik owns 25.4 percent and Rocket Internet owns 23 percent of the company.

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  • Gap’s key sales metric up 2pc in March

    Gap’s key sales metric up 2pc in March

    Gap Inc. reported a 2 percent increase in a key revenue metric for March as surging business at Old Navy offset sales declines at its namesake division and its Banana Republic stores.

    The results, which were released after the regular markets closed on Thursday, beat estimates for a 0.6 percent increase in sales in stores open at least a year, according to Thompson Reuters. But the figure was compared to a 6 percent drop in the same year-ago period. Shares fell in after-hours trading.

    Revenue from stores open at least a year is considered a key indicator of retail performance because it strips away the impact of recently opened or closed stores.

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