Retail News CRM

Tag: asia

  • IDX datafeed disruption has no effect on investor confidence

    IDX datafeed disruption has no effect on investor confidence

    The Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX)s Datafeed disruption on Monday morning was claimed to have no effect on investors confidence.

    “We measured our Key Performance Indicator, and the result was still good,” IDX General Director Tito Sulistio stated here on Monday.

    To date, the disruption had been fixed, and IDXs information system has returned to normal; however, Sulistio added that IDX would continue to develop its information technology to upgrade their trade availability system in order to avoid and minimize disruption.

    He explained that the system had a maximum availability of 99.999 percent, and IDX already had 99.975 percent, which will be upgraded to 99.98 percent.

    “Every 0.05 percent hike may need US$20-25 million,” he remarked.

    At the same time, IDX is trying to upgrade its trade infrastructure system from Tier-2 to Tier-3.

    “Hopefully, we will be moving to the new Tier-3 system on August 30,” noted Sulistio.

    Separately interviewed, IDX Director of Information Technology and Risk Management Sulistyo Budi revealed that the disruption was caused by uneven distribution of information from Datafeed application.

    “During investors trading, information for public has to be provided. When it is not available, we have to suspend the trade in order to check the problem. Once it is resolved, activities return to normal,” he stated.

    Despite the IDXs claims, Indosurya Mandiri Securities analyst William Surya Wijaya explained that the bourse could anticipate more technical systems disruption that might affect investments plan from the stakeholders.

    “This could be a lesson for the stock market players, so that they should also anticipate systems disruption,” he explained.

    Wijaya was optimistic that the investors confidence in Indonesian market was still high as the domestic economy remained conducive, despite being overshadowed by some negative sentiment, especially current geopolitical situation.

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  • Japan’s Nitori to open flagship store in Shanghai

    Japan’s Nitori to open flagship store in Shanghai

    Japanese furniture and home decoration brand Nitori will open a flagship store in Xujiahui, Shanghai.

    With an area of 8,000 square meters, this store is the old location of Best Buy. It is reportedly Nitori’s first flagship store in China after its brand re-design.

    Founded in 1967, Nitori is one of the largest home supplies chains in Japan. The company was listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2002 and started fast expansion in the domestic Japanese market after that.

    In 2003, its number of stores was over 100 for the first time. At present, its main businesses include home decoration, house renovation and online shopping.

    Nitori entered China in 2004 by launching a logistics center in Shanghai and the company launched its online shopping business Nitori Net in September 2004. The company’s first Chinese physical store was opened in Wuhan, Hubei province in 2014, marking Nitori’s formal beginning of its Chinese business. So far, Nitori has over ten stores in cities like Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Ningbo.

    In regards to future expansion, Nitori plans to have 100 stores in China by 2020.

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  • Giti Tire Building $560 Million Manufacturing-Distribution Campus

    Giti Tire Building $560 Million Manufacturing-Distribution Campus

    Giti Tire, the 10th largest tire company in the world based in Singapore, is on track to open its first first North American manufacturing facility on a 1,100-acre site, 170 miles northeast of Charleston, in Richburg, South Carolina.

    The company expects to invest $560 million and create 1,700 new jobs over the next decade in Chester County. The new facility, which will be located on the Carolinas I-77 Mega Site, will combine manufacturing and distribution activities, with total building area estimated to be 1.8 million square feet.

    Giti Tire will produce both passenger and light truck tires for the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and replacement markets in the Chester County plant.

    “This significant investment represents our strong commitment to customers in North America. This is a key milestone for Giti Tire and an important part of our growth strategy worldwide. Existing business and strong demand for Giti Tire’s passenger and light truck tires in North America has made this significant investment in South Carolina possible,” Enki Tan, executive chairman of Giti Tire Group said.

    During the first phase of production, the plant’s capacity is expected to be 5 million tires annually. Giti Tire plans to further increase production capacity in response to future market demand and conditions. The Chester County facility represents Giti’s ninth manufacturing plant in its global system.

    “Chester County is an excellent location for Giti Tire, offering extensive and efficient infrastructure network including interstate highways, rail, close proximity to airports and a major metropolitan area to support the company’s needs and growth for many years to come,” Lei Huai Chin, Managing Director of Giti Tire Group said.

    According to the State Department of Commerce the company’s decision to locate in South Carolina was driven by a number of factors, including the area’s workforce and training opportunities through the technical college system, proximity to major transportation infrastructure and deep-water port facilities in Charleston, market access to the growing Southeast region and the state’s business-friendly environment.

    As an incentive ready SC will be assisting the company with the recruiting and training of its initial workforce.

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  • Stripe strikes global partnerships with China’s Alipay, WeChat Pay

    Stripe strikes global partnerships with China’s Alipay, WeChat Pay

    Silicon Valley startup Stripe has partnered with digital payment providers Alipay and WeChat Pay to enable merchants using its platform globally to accept payments from hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers.

    Starting Sunday, the partnerships will allow online merchants using Stripe to integrate the ability for Chinese users to pay with Alipay and WeChat Pay on their websites, the company said.

    Stripe hopes the integration will help boost its revenues by allowing clients to tap China’s vast consumer market, where credit cards account for only a fraction of online spending, the company said.

    Alipay is the flagship payment service of Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of major Chinese ecommerce company Alibaba Group and has over 520 million users. WeChat Pay has more than 600 million users and is the payment app of entertainment and social network firm Tencent Holdings.

    “If you are an internet business this unlocks a new vast customer base,” John Collison, Stripe’s president and co-founder, said in an interview. In turn, Chinese consumers will have expanded choice as to which international online merchants they can purchase products and services from, he added.

    Founded by brothers John and Patrick Collison in 2010, Stripe provides technology that enables merchants in 25 countries to accept payments online. It charges a fee on each payments transactions processed through its platform.

    “If we can help a business double their sales, then it doubles our revenue from that business,” Collison said.

    The partnership coincides with the company’s launch in Hong Kong.

    One of the most valuable venture-backed financial technology companies globally, Stripe has risen in popularity among software developers and online merchants because of its ease of use.

    It is among the cohort of young fintech companies seeking to reinvent the payments landscape by taking better advantage of digital technologies to offer more user-friendly financial services and products.

    It had previously partnered with Alipay to enable only the U.S. merchants on its platform to integrate the Chinese payment service. The new global partnership builds on that experience.

    “Demand for services from Chinese consumers is at all-time high,” Souheil Badran, president of Alipay for North America, said in an interview. The new partnerships will connect them to hundreds of thousands of Stripe-powered businesses around the world, he added.

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  • Australia, major destination for luxury brands in APAC

    Australia, major destination for luxury brands in APAC

    Luxury international brands are looking to open flagship stores on the east coast of Australia in the coming months, as the nation’s capital cities remain one of the safest investment destinations in the Asia-Pacific region.

    Italian designers Brunello Cucinelli and Roberto Cavalli are looking for space to rent, as are French leather goods house Goyard, shoe empire Hogan and fashion and jewellery brand Marni, according to CBRE.

    Moreover, Venezuelan-American designer Carolina Herrera, known for designing wedding dresses for Caroline Kennedy, is also said to be hunting a space.

    The global brands are looking to bow retail stores in Melbourne and Sydney — starting with whichever offers the first leasing opportunity, CBRE head of Victorian retail leasing Zelman Ainsworth told the Australian.

    “The feedback’s been that Australia’s one of the only markets in Asia-Pacific that’s consistently growing year on year,” Ainsworth told reporters.

    “It’s a politically and economically safe country to do business in. The Chinese tourists coming to Australia, which is the primary luxury customer, has consistently been growing at double digit levels each year.”

    The news comes as the local arm of British clothing chain Topshop went into voluntary administration in May. Topshop has already confirmed five stores will close this year as administrators try to salvage the chain.

    Several Australian fashion chains have also fallen prey to administrators in 2017 including Rhodes & Beckett, Herringbone, Payless Shoes and Pumpkin Patch.

    Adding extra pressure to the local retail scene, especially physical stores, is the impending entry of US-based e-commerce giant Amazon.

    Australia is also facing flat retail sales growth and a rather stagnant consumer confidence, as residents grapple with large personal debt and mortgages.

    However, luxury retailers can still profit from being in Australia. CBRE said prices for retail space in Australia look affordable compared to other global cities, another attraction for offshore brands.

  • Ant Financial aims for ‘cashless’ cities in China

    Ant Financial aims for ‘cashless’ cities in China

    Alibaba’s financial arm Ant Financial is looking to create more “cashless” cities across China, with the latest agreement inked with Tianjin municipality in North China.

    The city-wide “cashless” campaign pushed by the e-commerce giant is the fourth installment to hit China, following similar initiatives in Hangzhou — where Alibaba is based — followed by Wuhan and Fuzhou.

    As with the other “cashless” cities, Tianjin residents will soon be able to pay for an array services and goods using their mobiles when paying bus fares and medical bills, as well as school tuition and social security.

    It will be officially rolled out by the end of 2017, as reported by the China Economic Times.

    However, going “cashless” does not mean money will become obsolete. It will simply allow customers to decide on the way of payment, Jing Xiaodong, the company’s CEO, said

    Tianjin was chosen, said Jiang, as it has a good foundation for Internet Plus to make it the first cashless city in the north.

    With a resident population of 155 million, sone 69 million are real-name registered Alipay users, according to China Economic Times. The city ranks 10th nationwide by mobile payment activities.

    Ant Financial was a leading sponsor of a cashless alliance set up in April. The company earlier vowed to make mobile payment accessible in the whole country in the coming five years.

    2017 has proven a busy year for Alibaba. Last week, the world’s largest e-commerce platform operator said it plans to enter Macau with a bevy of products and services. Last month, the group acquired an 18% stake in Lianhua Supermarket. Before that, the Chinese giant said it had invested US$1 billion in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group, increasing its stake to more than 80%.

    Looking ahead, said that in fiscal 2018 sales may increase by up to 49 per cent, 10 percentage points higher than estimates.

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  • Muji plans world flagship and hotel in Tokyo

    Muji plans world flagship and hotel in Tokyo

    The Japanese household goods and apparel company has announced its plans to open a hotel and world flagship in Ginza, Tokyo, in the spring of 2019.

    Developed by the Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo headquarters and Mitsui Fudosan, a retail property developer of the Mitsui group, the 14,219 square metre, 13-floor building will feature eight floors dedicated to the Muji ‘world flagship’ store. Hotel accommodation will be spread across the top five floors of the building, and will be decorated with Muji furniture and products.

    The provisionally named ‘Muji Hotel’ will be developed as part of the “Marronnier x Namiki Yomiuri Ginza Project,” a retail complex in the upmarket area of Ginza, Tokyo, that Mitsui hopes will further revitalise footfall in the area. The building will be located close to the Marronier Gate Ginza, a commercial facility.

    The hotel is to be designed and operated by the UDS company of the Odakyu Group. Construction began in June 2017.

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  • StarHub to pursue analytics to offset mobile squeeze

    StarHub to pursue analytics to offset mobile squeeze

    Singapore’s StarHub plans to lean on providing data analytics based on its customers’ consumption habits to compensate for the increased competition set to be caused by the introduction of a fourth player to the mobile market.

    The operator is already facing intense competition in the mobile sector, and this will intensify with the entry of Australia-based TPG Telecom, the recent winner of Singapore’s fourth mobile license.

    StarHub is preparing for a worst-case scenario involving TPG offering unlimited mobile data services, and bundling its offer with broadband, leading to competition for StarHub on two fronts.

    In an interview with Bloomberg, StarHub CEO Tan Tong Hai said the company is pursuing generating revenue by providing analytics based on consumers’ use of mobile phones, broadband and TV services to corporate clients.

    The enterprise segment is already generating increasing proportions of StarHub’s revenue – earnings from StarHub’s corporate customers now account for around 42% of StartHub’s annual revenue, up by more than double from eight years ago.

    But StarHub is facing competition in the analytics segment from incumbent Singtel. The report also cites an OCBC analyst as expressing skepticism that the extra revenue generated from analytics will be enough to offset the impact of TPG’s entry into the market on StarHub’s bottom line.

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  • Facebook business must pay five per cent revenue tax

    Facebook business must pay five per cent revenue tax

    Small and home-based business owners who use the Facebook platform to sell products and have revenue of more than VND100 million (US$4,500) per year will be taxed at five per cent. The money will be paid through a tax registration, value added tax, personal income tax and other taxes depending on the goods they sell.

    “With revenue of over $4,500 each year, a business on Facebook paying nearly VND2 million ($90) for tax is acceptable,” Nguyen Thai Son, a taxation consultant, said in the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper.

    The tax level for those who have the same revenue in a traditional business is around four times higher, nearly VND8 million ($360), he said.

    In early June, the HCM City and Ha Noi Taxation Departments sent 13,400 notifications to Facebook businesses and over 1,000 businesses contacted with tax officials in HCM City.

    “To reduce tax losses from online business, tax authorities have woked with Facebook, Google and Apple Store to have e-commerce accounts, worked with banks regarding revenue and worked with police to have a list of those who haven’t paid tax,” Le Thi Thu Huong, deputy head of the HCM City Taxation Department said.

    “The taxation department will collect information from different sources and publish names of organisations and individuals who evade taxes, as well as request relevant authorities to close any e-commerce websites if they do not pay tax,” she added.

    Huong also said that individuals who have online business in social media will be provided a taxation registration and code.

    In developed countries, all people and organisations are required to declare income and pay taxes.

    “Collecting taxes on sales through social networks is necessary,” Huong added.

    Bui Quang Tin, a lecturer in business administration at HCM City University of Banking, said that transactions on the Internet are difficult to control and collecting taxes should be done step by step. Initially, there should be requirements that all individuals conducting business via Facebook must register their operations and declare their income.

    He also noted that with millions of Facebook accounts, in the first phase, the tax authority should target large and professional businesses, because many individual dealers operate as side jobs, or even seasonal businesses. If it tried to control all of them, it would use significant resources and probably be inefficient. The difficulty in managing online sellers and collecting taxes is said to be the consequence of the low rate of non-cash transactions in Viet Nam.

    According to an official estimation, e-commerce activity has been booming, with 80,000 active websites in the city, half of which run stable operations, but tax collection in the field was very poor, especially sales activities through Facebook.

    In fact, in 2015, revenue from e-commerce in Viet Nam reached $4.1 billion, an increase of five times compared with 2012. It is expected to reach $10 billion by 2020, accounting for 5 per cent of total retail sales in the country. Therefore, e-commerce will play a significant role in the Vietnamese retail sector in the future.

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  • Bolloré Logistics Singapore launches new hub to support l’Occitane

    Bolloré Logistics Singapore launches new hub to support l’Occitane

    Bolloré Logistics Singapore is expanding its regional footprint in Singapore by launching a new Regional Distribution Center in order to support the development of its longtime partner L’Occitane en Provence.

    Kicked-off on June 1st, 2017, Bolloré Logistics’ new hub is providing L’Occitane en Provence a one-stop-solution covering freight import & export on the Asian markets, warehousing, kitting and labeling operations. As a second phase, L’Occitane en Provence has also entrusted Bolloré Logistics to handle their National Distribution Center in China, with a go-live in August.

    These facilities will allow L’Occitane to cater for the needs of their future growth. The opening of the new regional platform with a capacity of over 10,000-sqm marks the launch of the 8th Hub for Bolloré Logistics Singapore confirming its leading market expertise in logistics and freight management for the cosmetics industry. This state-of the-art facility is set to deliver operations with excellent efficiency.

    The new Regional Distribution Center will provide an agile, productive and cost effective solution enabling L’Occitane en Provence to meet a constantly
    evolving and demanding time to market.

    “Customer satisfaction has always been top priority for L’Occitane en Provence. In an effort to come even closer to our customers in Asia-Pacific, we have launched a Regional Distribution Center to overtake the central distribution model,” says Mr. Lorenzo Giacomoni – VP Group Operations at L’Occitane en Provence.

    “We have been developing this project with L‘Occitane for many years. This Regional Distribution Center – as well as the forthcoming opening of the 5,000-sqm National Distribution Center for the Chinese market in Shanghai – both mark a new era for our long term partnership. We are thrilled and proud to accompany L’Occitane and address their future supply chain requirements,” mentions Mr. Yves Laforgue, Chief Operating Officer at Bolloré Logistics Asia Pacific.

    Mr. Fabien Giordano, Managing Director at Bolloré Logistics Singapore, adds: “We are pleased to have established a reference model in the cosmetics industry thanks to our innovative solutions coupled with our matured – yet continuously improving – operational practices, to make our customers’ supply chains more responsive, agile and cost efficient.”

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  • Renault-Nissan Alliance annual synergies rise 16% to €5bn

    Renault-Nissan Alliance annual synergies rise 16% to €5bn

    The Renault-Nissan Alliance reported a 16 percent increase in synergies for 2016 compared to 2015.

    The Alliance members secured savings, generated incremental revenues and implemented cost-avoidance measures through the world’s leading automotive partnership.

    The value of annualized synergies realized by the Alliance rose to €5 billion last year, up from €4.3 billion in 2015. Converged operations in purchasing, engineering and manufacturing contributed most of the €700 million synergy improvement.

    “The growing cooperation across the Alliance is delivering strong benefits for the members of the Alliance, reflected by the economies of scale, technological breakthroughs and innovations that are being shared between Renault and Nissan,” said Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. “We are on track to realize synergies of €5.5 billion in 2018, even before taking into account the contributions from Mitsubishi Motors, our new Alliance partner.”

    With the addition of Mitsubishi Motors, which became the third full member of the Alliance at the end of 2016, annual sales have reached 10 million units. The addition of Mitsubishi Motors comes two years after Renault and Nissan deepened their partnership by converging four key functions: Engineering, Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management, Purchasing and Human Resources. Each such functions is led by a common Alliance Executive Vice President.

    “We continue seeing tangible results of this major convergence,” added Ghosn. “Our growing synergies are helping Renault, Nissan and now Mitsubishi Motors meet their financial objectives and deliver higher-value vehicles to customers in the new era of mobility.”

    In the current year, the Alliance members are expected to introduce more next-generation technologies in electric vehicles, autonomous driving and connected cars and will increase commonalities in platforms, powertrain and parts to boost competitiveness and identify new synergies.

    In April 2017, the Alliance created a light commercial vehicle business unit that will deliver additional synergies in vans and light trucks. The new unit will maximize shared product development and cross-manufacturing, technology sharing and cost-reduction, while preserving brand differentiation among Alliance members.

  • Topshop Australia closes five stores

    Topshop Australia closes five stores

    Topshop Australia has bid adieu to five of its stores in the past two weeks as administrators start to tie up lose ends, in a bid to save the UK fast-fashion retailer in Australia.

    Topshop stores at Chatswood and Miranda shopping centres in Sydney, Highpoint in Melbourne, and Perth have all closed in recent days. And another store closure is due to happen, this time in South Yarra, on Melbourne’s iconic Chapel Street.

    The Chapel Street store was Topshop’s debut Australia store, but since opening, the flagship has failed to garner traction with locals, due to fierce competition from other shopping strips, the CBD and online.

    Topshop Australia has also ceased its Australian e-commerce store.

    The closures are result of the Australian franchise of Topshop being entered into administration on May 25 With debts totalling A$35 million, Topshop Australia was forced to appointed Ferrier Hodgson as administrators, in a bid to rescue the business.

    Experts have blamed the retailer’s illogical supply chain, poor quality product, and delayed entry into the local e-commerce market, for its Australian demise.

    Talks to try to save the business continue between its Australian owners and the UK owners of the business, including Sir Philip Green.

    With the recent store shutters, Topshop Australia has four stores remaining.

    Topshop was launched in Australia by a company trading as Austradia in 2011.

  • AirAsia offers more options for corporate travellers

    AirAsia offers more options for corporate travellers

    Business travellers now have more options with the launch of MyCorporate by AirAsia. MyCorporate comprises three bundled options tailored to meet the requirements of the traveller as well as company budget: Fare Only, Corporate Lite and Corporate Full Flex.

    The Fare Only option comprises only the airfare with all add-ons available for a fee.

    Corporate Lite includes airfare, a complimentary meal, standard seat assignment and dedicated check-in counter.

    Passengers may also change their flight once, up to 24 hours before departure, at no charge.

    Those who pick Corporate Full Flex are entitled to airfare, a complimentary meal, Hot Seat assignment, 20kg baggage allowance, dedicated check-in counter, Xpress Immigration, Xpress Baggage, Premium Red Lounge access, priority boarding and travel insurance.

    They will also enjoy full flexibility of unlimited flight changes up to two hours before departure with no fee imposed.

    Corporate Full Flex travellers also get to enjoy GoShow, an exclusive product which allows them to stand by for an earlier flight on the same day to the same destination at no extra charge.

    AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the number of business travellers using AirAsia has been increasing.

    “With the launch of MyCorporate, we believe we have a programme that serves the needs of both the traveller and the company to further capture our share of this important segment,” he said in a statement.

    AirAsia Group corporate sales head Barry Klipp said MyCorporate offers the right product to suit c­o­­rporate clients’ needs and budgets “whether they require just a seat with no add-ons, a Lite product with basic benefits, or wish to take advantage of our fully-loaded pro­duct designed to make business travel more convenient and flexible.”

  • Delhi Duty Free posts record daily and monthly sales

    Delhi Duty Free posts record daily and monthly sales

    Delhi Duty Free posted its highest ever sales in a single month in June, hitting US$ 15.1 million. This compares to US$ 13.9m in the corresponding month last year. June also saw the highest daily sales yet (US$625,000), over +50% growth in Shop & Collect sales, and the highest ever sales in the beauty and liquor categories. In the latter, a record than 53,000 bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label were sold.

    Delhi Duty Free CEO Luke Gorringe said: “Overall it has been a good start to the year, particularly in light of the tough travel retail business environment and ongoing new shop fit-outs. We enjoyed strong growth in June, even though our arrivals trading area was reduced by -50%. I would like to thank our great team, our suppliers and shareholders and of course our loyal customers, who are all key to this success. We have much to look forward to in the coming months with the opening of new shops featuring exclusive brands and concepts that are going to elevate the customer experience in Delhi Duty Free.”

    The company said it was poised to continue its growth momentum, with investment in staff training and skills alongside new product offers and marketing campaigns.

    In 2016, Delhi Duty Free delivered revenues of over US$146 million, from US$140 million a year earlier.

  • Bharti Airtel eyes Tata’s assets

    Bharti Airtel eyes Tata’s assets

    India may see a mega merger this year, if reports out of the region are correct. Tata Group has long been seeking a way to reconfigure its capital structure and relieve the pressure of its debt, and they may have found a way to do it with the help of the rival Bharti Enterprises group.

    The two companies are talking about some sort of merger of Bharti Airtel with Tata Teleservices, Tata Communications, and Tata Sky. Now, this would obviously have huge repercussions in the Indian market itself, and the prospect of Tata Communications and its global network infrastructure, top 6 internet backbone, and wholesale/enterprise customer base changing hands is another matter.

    Tata Communications has been a player global consolidation of telecommunications assets on both sides of the table over the years. They have been fixture in the submarine cable business ever since buying the Tyco Global Network and Teleglobe back in 2005. They also bought BitGravity to enter the CDN space back in 2011.

    More recently, the company has been monetizing assets to help with that debt load. Tata sold its South African unit Neotel to Liquid Telecom after a similar deal to sell to Vodacom collapsed. And they sold a majority stake in the company’s data center business to ST Telemedia last year.

    Should a deal happen and these assets land in the hands of Bharti Airtel, it might be that the winds of consolidation shift further. But in which direction is not that clear.

    That being said, it’s still just talk right now and in all likelihood will never be anything else. Until it is, of course.

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