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  • Prada Hong Kong opens 9th store

    Prada Hong Kong opens 9th store

    Prada Hong Kong has opened its ninth store – inside the prestigious Plaza 2000 in Causeway Bay.

    The space, designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, covers a total area of 1320 sqm and features women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories and footwear collections three floors.

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    A stunning external facade pays tribute to French-Venezuelan artist Carlo Cruz-Diez. The large entrance, light boxes and windows are inserted into the lower part of the facade, which is clad in black marble and crowned by an imposing bronze and steel-coloured aluminium structure backlit to create a unique kinetic effect both day and night.

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    Overall, the facade stands 15 metres tall and stretches 45 metres in length on both sides of the building, located on the corner of Russel St and Canal Rd East.

    The entrance on the ground floor opens up on an area dedicated to the women’s leather goods, accessories and travel collections. The space is characterised by the signature black- and-white marble chequered flooring and green fabric-clad walls with alcoves heroing the product. Ultra-slim polished steel cases and display counters with drawers covered in coloured saffiano leather complete the furnishing.

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    An imposing black elevator leads to the upper floors.

    The second floor houses the women’s ready-to-wear and footwear collections. The area is defined by beige carpeting and green fabric-clad walls with polished steel-framed display niches. Transparent perspex display cases, crystal and steel tables and green velvet sofas enrich the space.

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    An elliptical black Marquinia marble staircase leads to the upper floor, where the men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories and footwear collections are displayed. The space wields masculine materials and finishes: ebony floorboards and walls, and palladium display counters. Ostrich leather sofas and lush pony skin carpeting in the area dedicated to footwear complete the setting and lend an elegant atmosphere to the entire floor.

  • Online shopping on the rise in Vietnam

    Online shopping on the rise in Vietnam

    Online shopping in Vietnam was continuing to increase and was well-positioned to hold the key to success for e-commerce in Vietnam, according to the MasterCard Survey on Online Shopping 2014.

    The MasterCard Survey is commissioned annually and was conducted online from October to December last year in 14 Asia-Pacific countries and 11 Middle Eastern and African countries with a minimum of 500 respondents per country.

    The number of Vietnamese people who shopped online in the last three months increased from 68.4 to 80.2 percent, recording the second highest growth rate (11.8 percent) in the Asia-Pacific region, the survey revealed.

     

  • Gap surpasses Street 4Q forecasts on rising Old Navy sales

    Gap surpasses Street 4Q forecasts on rising Old Navy sales

    Gap Inc. reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Thursday as sales continued to improve for Old Navy, its largest brand.

    Gap reported net income of USD319 million, or 75 cents per share, on USD4.71 billion in revenue. A year earlier the retailer earned USD307 million, or 68 cents per share, on USD4.58 billion in revenue.

    The company said sales at Old Navy stores open at least a year grew 5 percent for the year, including growth of 11 percent in the fourth quarter. Sales at locations open at least a year are considered important measurements of retailer health because they strip out results from stores that recently opened or closed.

  • Samsung to freeze salaries in South Korea

    Samsung to freeze salaries in South Korea

    Samsung Electronics will freeze wages in 2015 for employees in South Korea for the first time in six years, after the world’s biggest smartphone maker saw profits fall in the face of rising competition.

    The cost-cutting move is the latest by Samsung Electronics, which in January reported its first annual profit decline since 2011, as it lost market share to Apple Inc’s new iPhones and cheaper Chinese rivals like Xiaomi Inc.

    The wage freeze also comes as the electronics giant is widely expected to unveil its next Galaxy S smartphone at a March 1 event, hoping to revive sales growth momentum.

  • Kate Middleton’s brush is top-seller on Chinese site

    Kate Middleton’s brush is top-seller on Chinese site

    From high street brand Top Shop to tea retailer Twinings, UK retailers have been flocking to set up virtual shops on Alibaba’s business-to-consumer site Tmall, and the move appears to be paying off handsomely.

    In 2014, sales of British products on Tmall.com surged 94 percent on-year, reflecting both increased supply – as more UK labels opened up sales channels – and growing demand among the country’s burgeoning middle class.

    Tmall, China’s biggest e-commerce site, currently hosts over 130 UK companies, most of them in the apparel, food and baby products categories.

  • Lego sales boosted by blockbuster movie

    Lego sales boosted by blockbuster movie

    Lego A/S, the world’s second-largest toy maker, said on Wednesday that annual revenue rose by 13 percent, boosted by its blockbuster movie and toys from its Star Wars and Friends ranges.

    Chief executive Joergen Vig Knudstorp danced on stage and sang the theme song from last year’s The Lego Movie, called “Everything is awesome” as he announced the rise in turnover to DKK28.6 billion (USD4.35b).

    The result narrows the gap to American rival and Barbie maker Mattel Inc, which posted a 7 percent drop in annual revenue to USD6.0b.

  • Furla reports 13pc sales increase for 2014

    Furla reports 13pc sales increase for 2014

    Furla reports 13pc sales increase for 2014

    https://www.cpp-luxury.com/furla-reports-13-percent-sales-increase-for-2014/

    Leather-wear maker Furla reports rising sales in 2014 of EUR258 million (USD288.2 million), a +13 percent increase on 2013. “This growth is the result of hard work, both in terms of product distribution. We are growing in all segments and in all regions in which we operate.

  • Consumption in Thailand fall “surprising”

    Consumption in Thailand fall “surprising”

    With tumbling oil prices expected to bolster private consumption, last month’s contraction in consumption came as a surprise, says a senior Bank of Thailand official.

    The high level of household debt and falling farm prices were to blame, said Roong Mallikamas, senior director for macroeconomic and monetary policy. She said the fall in private consumption was unexpected and signified the slow pace of consumption recovery.

    The private consumption index declined by 1.5 percent year-on-year last month, worse than December’s contraction of 0.8 percent.

  • Forever 21 partners with NBA on new exclusive collection

    Forever 21 partners with NBA on new exclusive collection

    Forever 21 has partnered with the National Basketball Association (NBA) for a second time on a new exclusive collection of women’s apparel featuring essential pieces such as fitted tank dresses, shorts, and relaxed tank tops.

    The dresses with the logos of NBA teams including the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks.

    The Forever X NBA Collection is available now in select US stores and on Forever21.com.

    Founded in 1984 in Los Angeles, Forever 21 today has over 600 stores worldwide, including the United States, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Mexico, Philippines and United Kingdom.

  • Samsung Pay to power in-store purchases on Galaxy S6

    Samsung Pay to power in-store purchases on Galaxy S6

    Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has unveiled Samsung Pay, a mobile payment service that will enable MasterCard cardholders to use their Samsung Galaxy S6 for everyday in-store purchases.

    Owners of the new device will be able to use their MasterCard credit and debit cards from participating banks directly through Samsung Pay.

    It will work at both contactless-enabled and most traditional point of sale terminals. This means that every purchase made with a MasterCard using a Samsung Galaxy S6 will offer the enhanced security, benefits and guarantees of a digital MasterCard transaction, including the latest tokenization technology.

    “This is an exciting time for payments,” said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. “As consumers are increasingly relying on their mobile devices in their everyday lives, we are excited to work with an industry leader like Samsung to deliver new payment options to our cardholders around the world.

    Injong Rhee, Executive Vice President at Samsung Electronics, added that Samsung’s KNOX security platform and fingerprint authentication make Samsung Pay transactions highly secure and easy to use.

    Samsung Pay will first be made available for US consumers this summer. MasterCard will be working with Samsung to roll out Samsung Pay to additional global markets, including Korea.

  • New scanners for retailers minimise checkout time

    New scanners for retailers minimise checkout time

    Honeywell launched on Tuesday a suite of new scanners designed to allow retailers connect with customers and minimise checkout time.

    The new Voyager scanners can also speed up loyalty program enrollment and age verification.

    Lynn Huang Freeman, head of marketing and strategy, Honeywell Scanning & Mobility Asia-Pacific, said as mobile commerce continues to shape the retail industry and consumer shopping experience from on-line to off-line drives retailers’ transformation, they need the right tools to enable innovative marketing programs.

    The new Voyager 1202G provides the same aggressive linear barcode scanning performance as a wired scanner but without the long recharge time, maintenance, or environmental disposal issues associated with traditional batteries.

    Meanwhile, the Voyager 1602g pocket 2D Bluetooth scanner packs high performance area-imaging technology into a compact form factor, making it the perfect scanning companion to tablet- based retail POS systems.

    For retailers that anticipate the need for area imaging in the future, such as scanning coupons off customers’ smartphone screens, the Voyager 1450g tethered scanner and Voyager 1452g wireless scanner deliver linear barcode scanning out of the box.

    Both scanners are available for upgrade at a competitive price to enable PDF and 2D barcode reading at the initial time of purchase or at any point in the future.

  • Woolworths sells The Warehouse stake, abandons NZ expansion plans

    Woolworths sells The Warehouse stake, abandons NZ expansion plans

    Woolworths has abandoned plans to enter the discount department store sector in New Zealand and has sold its 8.8 percent stake in New Zealand retailer The Warehouse Group for NZD86.9 million (USD65.5m), less than half the price it paid eight years ago.

    Woolworths said on Tuesday it had sold 30.5 million shares in The Warehouse Group for NZD2.85 a share – a slight premium to the market price of NZD2.72 – to one of New Zealand’s largest retailers, the privately held James Pascoe Group.

    Woolworths said The Warehouse investment was no longer required as part of its New Zealand strategy and confirmed that it had given up on its original plan to use the stake as a platform to enter the discount department store sector and replicate its BIG W business.

     

  • Aldi comes to the party as grocery code tabled

    Aldi comes to the party as grocery code tabled

    Australian Small Business Minister Bruce Billson has won support for the grocery industry code of conduct from discounter Aldi but is disappointed that wholesaler Metcash has agreed to adopt elements of the code rather than sign up in full.

    The code, which was tabled in Parliament on Monday and takes effect on Tuesday, prohibits certain types of unfair conduct by retailers and wholesalers in their dealings with suppliers and provides a clearer framework for retailer and supplier negotiations.

    Aldi, which was originally reluctant to sign the code until it was confident it would not increase costs and push up prices for consumers, said on Monday it would sign up to the code as a party.

  • Under Armour turns ambitions to electronic apparel, monitoring apps

    Under Armour turns ambitions to electronic apparel, monitoring apps

    Under Armour Inc. has some out-there ideas for your clothes. The athletic gear company has been spending big to buy developers of apps to monitor personal fitness, aiming in the short term to sell more shirts and shoes.

  • Foreign brands drive Manila malls boom

    Foreign brands drive Manila malls boom

    Manila’s thriving retail sector will lead boost returns for shopping centre developers, says new research from real estate specialist CBRE.

    “With several new malls operational this quarter, supply of retail space has boosted,” concludes CBRE’s The Philippine Real Estate Industry Update and 2015 Outlook.

    “Retail sales remained solid, demonstrating upticks in consumer spending as evidenced by the low inflation rate and an encouraging outlook for real estate and tourism sectors.”

    Nationwide, the Philippines’ retail industry growth is being fuelled by both local and international brands expanding their footprints.

    “The quarter saw the entry and expansion of new and existing global brands in different retail core sites. These international brands have recognised the potential of the Philippine retail market, signified by the country’s strong economic growth.”

    Sweden’s H&M is a prime example: after a successful debut in Manila, the company has aggressively expanded its operations throughout Metro Manila with local major shopping mall operators. The first H&M outlet in Megamall occupies 3000 sqm over three floors and is now considered one of the largest retail stores in the Philippines.

    Estancia Mall in Capitol Commons, which houses several retail outlets and restaurants, opened in the fourth quarter in time for the holiday rush. The building, which has a gross floor area of over 30,000 sqm meters, also incorporates office space.

    Other Manila malls opening during the quarter were Robinson’s Place Las Piñas and City of Dreams Manila.

    “With the holiday season at hand, the retail sector remained active with more international retailers showing interest in entering the domestic market. Consumer sentiment was sustained as major drivers such as the BPO sector and overseas remittances show no signs of slowing down,” said CBRE.

    Diversifying into the retail segment, major developers are taking advantage of the ‘Retail- tainment’ concept wherein office and residential projects are including retail use.

    “The purpose of this is to provide the overall retail experience to Filipino shoppers, giving them the power of choice at their own convenience. This factor is also seen to attract foreign retail players to dive into the Philippine market scene.”

    These factors, says CBRE, will drive “upbeat” demand for, and supply of, retail space in Manila malls in the near future.

    “Overall, the Metro Manila retail market is seen to remain strong and stable for the remainder of the year empowered by the expanding Business Process Outsourcing industry, Overseas Foreign Worker remittances, growing tourism and a growing middle-income market.”