Traditional Thai retail businesses are expected to stay afloat, but their market share is likely to drop over the next five years as e-commerce proliferates.
Blog
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Victoria Beckham to expand fashion line to Asia
Cheered by her famous family, Victoria Beckham brought a sexy vision of fall/winter to an intimate New York runway show on Sunday and confided plans to open a second store in Asia.
The one-time pop star, mother of four and wife of retired English football superstar David Beckham, has won plaudits in the fashion industry for designing beautiful collections that flatter women’s bodies.
Beckham said that 2015 would see her spend a lot of time in Asia, where she plans to open a second store after the success of her Dover Street boutique in London.
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Dick Smith to have 450 stores by 2017
Dick Smith says Australian retail is starting a sunny period, as seven years of deflation in consumer electronics is replaced by price rises.
Price increases to reflect higher import prices will start to flow through now, said Dick Smith managing director and chief executive, Nick Abboud.
The company aims to have 400 stores open in Australia and New Zealand by the end of June, and 450 stores by 2017. It is also focused on increasing private-label and online sales, and ramming home that its prices are competitive.
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Philippines’ Robinsons to put up 7 new malls
Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), the property development arm of tycoon John Gokongwei, is opening more shopping centers over the next two years as it intends to retain its foothold as among the top mall developers in the country.
RLC said it intends to put up seven new shopping centers and expand three existing malls in the next two years.
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Aeon plans big expansion of MaxValu supermarkets in Thailand
Aeon (Thailand) Co, the operator of MaxValu supermarkets, has announced plans to speed up expansion in Thailand by increasing its number of stores to 500 by 2020.
The company, which now operates 76 outlets in supermarket and mini-supermarket formats, is expected to open 15 more outlets this year.
General manager Keiji Ono said Aeon would spend THB300-400 million (USD9.2m-USD12.3m) to add new stores and modernise some outlets.
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25 new Bangkok malls set for 2015
At least 28 new community malls will be opened in Bangkok and suburban areas in 2015-16 in response to growing urbanisation and changing lifestyles.
Community malls accounted for the biggest growth in the retail sector last year. Over a half or 147,000 square metres, out of the total new retail space of 282,600 square metres, came from community malls.
Surachet Kongcheep, associate director of Colliers International (Thailand) Co, said 25 new community malls with over 320,000 sqm were slated to open this year. Among them, 14 projects are in western Bangkok including Kalapapruek, Ratchapruek and Phetkasem Soi 48
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Mining data with mannequins
Italian mannequin maker Almax caused a stir two years ago with its Eye See mannequins, which use facial recognition technology. In one store, Almax’s mannequins alerted managers to a regular spike in Asian customers coming through a particular entrance after 5pm. When management moved two Asian shop assistants to that location at that time, sales rose 12 percent. This is not just a one-off example.
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Shanghai’s Xintiandi unveils two new shopping centres
Two new shopping centres with a combined gross floor area space of more than 60,000 square metres will open this year at downtown Xintiandi area, as Shanghai’s first large-scale city-core redevelopment project continues to upgrade, according to China Xintiandi, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Shui On Land Ltd which is the developer of the mega project.
Opening of the Hubindao Shopping Centre and The House will be another milestone for the Taipingqiao Redevelopment Project, a mixed-use project that consists of residential, office, retail, entertainment and cultural properties at the heart of the city, said Carrie Liu, general manager, commercial, China Xintiandi-Taipingqiao.
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Circle K opens 100th outlet in Vietnam, to add 50 more by year end
US-owned 24-hour convenience store Circle K has opened its 100th outlet in Vietnam and expects to have 150 by the year’s end.
Vietnam CEO Tony Yan was optimistic about achieving the target, saying Vietnam’s modern retail industry was in the initial development phase.
While modern retail represented only 13 percent of the total market share in the country compared to 50 percent elsewhere in Asia, Vietnam was a promising market of 90 million people with rising incomes, he said.
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Bittersweet retail holiday in Thailand
The Thai economy may not have fully recovered, but a survey shows locals still plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Saturday, the same as lovebirds scattered around the world.
This year Thais are likely to be more cautious with their spending, said Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
The centre surveyed 1,255 people nationwide recently and found they plan to spend an average of THB1,900 (USD58) a person on Valentine’s Day.
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IKEA to set up more manufacturing facilities in India
Swedish furniture retailer IKEA will set up more manufacturing facilities in India and has plans to increase production in the country, its top official has said.
In a meeting with the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) Secretary, Amitabh Kant, on Wednesday, IKEA India CEO Juvenico Maetzu shared the company’s plans for India.
While IKEA is yet to open its stores in India, it has already announced its plan of investing INR12,500 crore (INR125 billion, USD2b) in the country and set up 25 stores over the next ten years.
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Thailand to relaunch 7-day discount scheme
Thailand plans to reintroduce its initiative to cut consumer prices after the seven-day campaign last 24-30 Dec as part of a New Year gift to the public proved a great success.
The new campaign could be held in May and might be extended to 10 days, Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said on Tuesday after meeting with 35 representatives of modern trade outlets, manufacturers and rice packers.
Under the seven-day campaign, retailers and suppliers agreed to cut their product prices at 12,800 outlets nationwide by 10-70 percent.
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Dominos wants to take a slice out of McDonalds, KFC
After doubling sales and earnings over the last few years, Domino’s Pizza is chasing a bigger share of the AUD11 billion (USD8.5b) fast-food market by taking sales from fried chicken outlets and drive-through outlets like McDonalds and Hungry Jacks.
Not content with his market-leading 25 percent share of the Australian pizza market and a runner-up position in Japan, Domino’s chief executive Don Meij is going after consumers who would rather snack on KFC’s Original Recipe chicken or a McDonalds’ Big Mac than a Cheesy Crust Meat Lovers or Thin ‘n Crispy margherita.
Domino’s has no plans to open drive-through outlets or branch into fried chicken or burgers. Rather, it plans to tap into the consumer attributes that drive consumption of these products, including the desire for instant gratification, by offering faster and easier ordering and delivery, cheaper menus and new toppings and crusts
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Mothercare enters Korea
Babywear retailer Mothercare is to launch in South Korea.
The UK-based company has entered into a franchise agreement with Homeplus, a local supermarket chain owned by Tesco, to open retail stores and an eCommerce site.
South Korea becomes the 17th Asian market for Mothercare.
Four shops will initially open in Seoul, Suwon, Daejeon and Bucheon next month. Products will be sold online in a subsection of the Homeplus online store.
“South Korea is a country we have been looking to serve for some time and we have found a local partner in Homeplus, with extensive knowledge and experience of retailing in South Korea,” said Mothercare CEO Mark Newton-Jones.
Homeplus CEO Do Sung-hwan said Mothercare offered a “one-stop-shop specialist retailer” solution to time-poor parents and those preparing for the arrival of a child.
When the South Korean stores open their doors, Mothercare’s reach will expand to 63 countries and its store network now exceeds 1300.
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New MD for Tumi Asia
Fernando Ciccarelli has been named the new senior VP and MD of Tumi Asia.
Ciccarelli joins the luxury travel luggage retailer after a decade and a half with Coach, Inc.
“I have always admired Tumi’s focus on constant innovation, intelligent design and unparalleled performance,” he said in a statement.
“The opportunity for Tumi in Asia is limitless and I am excited to be leading the next stage of growth for the brand in the region.”
In his new role, he will be responsible for growing the brand in the region, specifically overseeing operations and overall business management in Asia Pacific.
Based in Hong Kong, Ciccarelli will report directly to Jerome Griffith, global CEO and president of Tumi.
“We are delighted to welcome Fernando on board at this exciting time for Tumi in Asia. He is a proven leader who brings with him years of direct retail experience in this region”, said Griffith.