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Tag: asia

  • Hyundai Motor bets on new small SUV as China sales skid

    Hyundai Motor bets on new small SUV as China sales skid

    Hyundai Motor unveiled its first subcompact sport utility vehicle Kona for advanced markets, including the United States, Europe and South Korea, as it tries to offset sliding sales in China and catch up with rivals in the segment.

    The South Korean automaker said it would also launch an electric version of the Kona small sport utility vehicle (SUV) next year and a smaller SUV and a large SUV by 2020.

    This comes at a time when Hyundai looks set to miss its sales target for a third straight year due to the unpopularity of its mainstay small sedans and political tensions between Beijing and Seoul that have battered sales in China, the company’s biggest market.

    Hyundai, which together with its affiliate Kia is the world’s No.5 automaker, previously sold subcompact SUVs only in emerging markets, missing out on strong growth in the segment in South Korea, the United States and Europe.

    The subcompact SUV is the top-performing segment globally, growing at an annual average of 46 percent from 2010 to 2016, Hyundai said, citing IHS Automotive data.

    “Even as the global SUV market is nearing saturation, we believe that extra small or small SUVs have more room for growth than large SUVs,” Hyundai Motor Co Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun said during a launch event near Seoul.

    The automaker launched the Kona in South Korea on Tuesday, and said it would roll out the small SUV in Europe in August and the United States in December. It aims to sell over 200,000 of the vehicles globally next year.

    The Kona will compete with Nissan’s Juke and Honda’s CR-V in the United States.

    Hyundai and Kia in January said they aimed to increase global sales by 5 percent this year, but their combined sales fell 7 percent over January to May, hit by slowing Chinese and U.S. sales.

    “Our sales plan has suffered a setback, but we will use this as an opportunity to overhaul our products,” said Chung, the only son of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo.

    He also said Hyundai would beef up cooperation with technology firms like Cisco, Baidu and Uber instead of buying other automakers.

    Kia will join Hyundai in the launch of the former’s subcompact SUV, Stonic, starting next month.

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  • Spark taps Nokia to prepare network for 5G

    Spark taps Nokia to prepare network for 5G

    New Zealand’s Spark has contracted Nokia to upgrade the operator’s core infrastructure in preparation of 5G, ultra-fast broadband and the IoT.

    Spark will expand the capacity of its wireless network, which is primarily based on a Nokia IP/MPLS network, with a new router with terabit capacity.

    The three-year contract will see Nokia providing advanced IP and optical equipment and software for the Spark network. The agreement follows Spark’s recent launch of 200Gbps per wavelength fiber link using Nokia optical transport network technology.

    Spark general manager of partnering, procurement and vendor management Rajesh Singhh said the operator is committed to ensuring New Zealand is one of the first countries globally to be ready to adopt 5G. He said upgrading to 5G will help enable the government’s goal of improving broadband services in rural areas.

    “This strategic partnership is a key step for us to realize our vision of a data-driven future for New Zealand. Nokia is helping us to achieve worldwide leadership in preparing for 5G,” he said.

    “It will allow us to offer our customers the most advanced mobile and fixed broadband services anywhere, efficiently and securely.”

    “We are very pleased to continue our strategic partnership with Spark, which is committed to keeping New Zealanders at the cutting edge of technology,” added Kent Wong, head of Nokia’s Asia-Pacific IP business.

    “Spark’s investment will safely accommodate future growth as they benefit from Nokia’s global reach, expertise and agility. We are excited to help them be among the first customers to begin the move to 5G.”

  • Michael Kors eyes 100 more China stores on new retail strategy

    Michael Kors eyes 100 more China stores on new retail strategy

    Michael Kors plans to open around 100 new stores in China in next three years, as the US brand continues to plan for mass global retail closures, forming part of its recently revealed “Runway 2020” restructuring program to turn dwindling sales around.

    Michael Kors’ initial restructuring announcement came in early June, after the brand posted a double-digit same-store sales percentage decline in the fourth quarter ending April. It was here that Michael Kors said it would shutter 125 stores worldwide.

    “We think that the [accessories market] is down slightly in North America. We think it’s flattish in Europe. We think it’s up slightly in Asia,” John D. Idol, Michael Kors’ chairman and chief executive officer, told WWD in a recent interview.

    The New York-based luxury leathergoods and accessories added that its main growth drivers moving forward will be its retail presence in Asia and its surging men’s category — each of which have the potential to become $1 billion segments of the brand.

    Growth in Asia is the main, most achievable goal, according to Idol, with plans for 100 stores to be added in China alone and more elsewhere in the region over the next few years. There are 111 Michael Kors stores in Asia in operation now.

    In addition, some 100 global stores will be renovated to sell better a new Michael Kors luxury collection, and reposition the high-end factor of Michael Kors to a bored clientele. Speciality salons for shoes are another area of planned growth for the brand.

    The company also wishes to minimise wholesale, aiming for a revived Michael Kors brand that is 30 per cent wholesale and 70 per cent retail.

    With the aforementioned retail and product changes in put in place, Michael Kors said it expected revenue of $4.25 billion for fiscal year 2018 and also forecasts a high single-digit drop in same-store sales.

    For the fourth quarter ended April 1, total sales fell 11.2 per cent to $1.06 billion. Analysts had expected $1.05 billion.

  • Philippines, Indonesia agree to open up banking

    Philippines, Indonesia agree to open up banking

    The Philippines and Indonesia are set to ink an agreement this weekend to open up the banking industry aimed at greater financial integration and economic development among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

    Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said a letter of intent (LOI) on the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF) would be signed with Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) in Jakarta over the weekend.

    “The LOI is in line with the ASEAN Banking Integration initiative,” he said.

    Under the ABIF timeline, each ASEAN-5 including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand should conclude at least one bilateral agreement with another ASEAN-5 country by 2018.

    By 2020, ABIF targets the conclusion or near conclusion of at least one bilateral agreement for each of the 10 ASEAN members as part of the integration under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

    The integrated system is defined under the ASEAN Financial Integration Framework (AIFF) that also covers the integration of the banking markets wherein qualified ASEAN banks (QABs).

    To achieve the consolidation of the 10 ASEAN markets into a single economic base with the launch of the AEC in 2015, the BSP chief said there is a need to have an integrated and well-functioning regional financial system.

    “It reflects the mutual interest of the BSP and OJK to begin discussions intended to culminate in a formal bilateral agreement on the entry of QABs between the Philippines and Indonesia,” the outgoing BSP chief said.

    The BSP signed the Declaration of Conclusion of Negotiations (DCN) with Bank Negara Malaysia and the LOI with the Bank of Thailand on the sidelines of the 3rd ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ joint meeting and related meetings in Mactan, Cebu last April 6.

    Tetangco signed the DCN on the entry of Qualified ASEAN Banks between the Philippines and Malaysia with Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Muhammad bin Ibrahim as well as the LOI with Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob.

    The agreement signed by the BSP and Bank Negara Malaysia reflects the specific conditions for QABs from each jurisdiction to enter the other in a manner that is consistent with global banking standards and meets host jurisdiction regulations.

    The ASEAN region has a great potential as savings rate reached 33 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) against the lower rate of 25 percent in other regions.

    For his part, BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said several foreign banks have expressed interest in establishing its presence in the Philippines through several modes of entry.

    Aside from entering as a QAB or as a strategic partner, he said foreign banks could enter the country through Republic Act 10641 signed by former president Benigno Aquino III in July 2014.

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  • Google Settles Tax Matter with Indonesia

    Google Settles Tax Matter with Indonesia

    Alphabet’s Google has made an agreement with Indonesia for 2016 after a long-standing dispute over charges of insufficient annual payments to the government.

    The latest settlement figure has been estimated using a new method which will finally conclude to charges that the tech firm was avoiding the required tax payments in the country.

    The report also corresponds with information that a decision was expected very soon.

    Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday that they already have reached a deal with the group based on prior year but they cannot release the figure yet.

    Google has so far not provided any statement.

    It is a notable progress seeing that both parties have settled for just one collection year. The government had been going after the search giant for tax avoidance and failure to pay the required amount for the past five years.

    Indonesia is doing the same but is coming across complication with tracking the money flow in view of the fact that the revenue of Google’s Indonesian business is managed at its Asia Pacific headquarters located in Singapore.

    The search giant was expected to pay about $376 million in taxes for 2015 but only paid $391,000.

    Google had mentioned that the estimated size of Indonesia’s digital advertising market was at $300 million for the said year.

    If found to have failed with taking care of payments, the five years of back taxes will cost the company a fine of over $400 million for only the year 2015 which could put a slight pressure on Google’s swamp bank account.

    Indonesia is keen on increasing tax collection and is planning to make use of the newly loaded capital to reduce its budget shortage and add fund to their current infrastructure program in the country.

    Other governments around the world are searching as well so as to crack down on what they consider as business tax avoidance.

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    During the Ramadhan, Google Indonesia e-commerce consumer behavior presented data searches on areas associated with the celebration in the country rose up to 28 percent while spending added to 30 percent.

    The country’s e-commerce head Henry Prihatna said that fashion product had the biggest sales gaining 180 percent, home appliances with 100 percent high and cellular phones edged up 80 percent.

    On the other hand, Google’s shares closed its Monday session losing as much as 0.7 percent to $942.90 on the Nasdaq Composite Index as tech stocks declined nearly 75 percent with Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet falling almost 6.5 percent.

    The three companies make up for approximately 30 percent of the index’s weighting.

    However, some experts believed that investors do not have to worry as any decline is likely to be buying opportunity and that the market is overbought from a long-term point of view and estimations are extended.

    With regards to money flows, investors may think about merging the variation between rising and falling matter in the stock market or their preferred index with money flows so as to have a useful perspective.

  • Cebu Pacific deploys bigger planes, opens new domestic routes

    Cebu Pacific deploys bigger planes, opens new domestic routes

    Cebu Pacific said Tuesday it would upgrade some domestic routes to larger aircraft, open new routes and add more flights to meet strong demand.

    The 180-seater Airbus A320 will replace the 78-seater turboprop ATR 72-600 for flights from Manila to Cauyan, Legazpi and Virac, the country’s largest airline said in a statement.

    The freed up ATR aircraft will be deployed to five new routes, which open late next month: Cebu-Masbate; Cagayan de Oro-Zamboanga; Davao-Dumaguete; Davao-Tacloban; and Cotabato-Zamboanga.

    The Gokongwei-owned airline said it would add 10 more flights weekly between Manila and Iloilo, 6 between manila and Bacolod, and 8 between Manila and Cagayan de Oro.

    Cebu Pacific is also shifting to the 436-seater Airbus A330 for its Cebu, Davao and Hong Kong routes by July 4.

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  • SoftBank to trial 5G in Tokyo with ZTE

    SoftBank to trial 5G in Tokyo with ZTE

    Japan’s SoftBank and ZTE have teamed up to trial 5G over 4.5-GHz spectrum in metropolitan areas of Tokyo.

    SoftBank and ZTE will work to verify the performance of ZTE 5G end-to-end network equipment in sub 6-GHz spectrum under real-world conditions in a major, densely populated city.

    The two companies have been conducting joint R&D on foundational 5G technologies including massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output), and plan to further explore using the technology for 5G.

    “We have a long term partnership with SoftBank in key 5G technologies such as massive MIMO, and we are pleased to expand that work to accelerate 5G new radio readiness,” ZTE chief scientist Dr Xiang Jiying commented.

    “As a global leading provider of M-ICT mobile technologies, ZTE is making substantial investments in 5G and cooperating with industry partners to promote the maturity of the 5G ecosystem. We are confident that ZTE will be one of the first vendors to deliver end-to-end 5G solutions for our customers.”

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  • Au Bon Pain bakery bound for Cambodia

    Au Bon Pain bakery bound for Cambodia

    The Au Bon Pain bakery chain is to expand into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam by the end of the year, to serve growing middle classes in the region.

    The expansion was announced by Mudman Plc, the authorised Thai franchisee of the Au Bon Pain bakery chain, and international retail food brands including Baskin Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts. The firm said the development is intended to capitalise on increasing consumer purchasing power and the strong economies in the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) market.

    Nadim Xavier Salhani, chief executive of Mudman, was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying the company recently won rights from ABP Corporation, the owner of Au Bon Pain in the US, to open branches of the bakery in the CLMV market.

    “The company is considering forming a joint venture with local partners or investing on its own in CLMV. The investment model will be finalised by year-end, while the expansion of Au Bon Pain bakery chain into the CLMV market reflects the market’s potential.” said Salhani. “Mudman expects to open the first Au Bon Pain branch in Cambodia or Vietnam by the end of this year or next.”

    Express Food Group general manager Virak Tep told Khmer Times there is plenty of room for coffee and bakery chains to expand into the Cambodian market. He added that many international brands are entering into Cambodia, with the notable exception of McDonald’s. “I think Au Bon Pain is a good brand and with strong potential for a franchiser who wishes to bring it to Cambodia,” said Virak.

    Salhani said purchasing power is increasing due to economic stability and growth in the CLMV, while international brands are popular among younger people.

    Sales volumes in the food and beverage sector in Cambodia is rising at about 10 percent year-on-year, attracting many international franchises, according to Virak.

    “Cambodian consumer trends show increasing preference for international brands from Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and the US. As long as the taste of the food or drink meets their expectations, they will go for those brands,” said Virak. He added his company will open another outlet of the chain restaurant Bar B Q Plaza in Cambodia by the end of this year.

    Hem Samnang, area manager of BreadTalk Cambodia, a franchise brand from Singapore, agreed that coffee and bakery chains have room to grow in Cambodia. He said consumer awareness of international brands has been getting better over the past decade, as peoples’ incomes have gone up.

    “Purchasing power in cafes and bakeries is rising day by day, both among youths, middle-aged people and families,” said Samnang said. “Cambodia still has more opportunities for international brands to enter the market as the country’s GDP is rising. I cannot say Au Bon Pain will be my competitor until I see their products.”

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  • Ted Baker sees e-tail surge, US, Europe and Asia stores also drive growth

    Ted Baker sees e-tail surge, US, Europe and Asia stores also drive growth

    Ted Baker proved once again on Tuesday why it’s one of the most buoyant names in an otherwise-under-pressure UK fashion retail sector. The mid-market women’s and menswear chain detailed a double-digit sales rise, further global expansion, yet another e-commerce spurt and a healthy wholesale business.

    That’s some achievement given the backdrop of increasing consumer caution, a focus on experiences over ‘stuff’ and UK uncertainty about Brexit, the election and inflation. The company is not immune to the effects of these negative pressures and to the slowdown that is hitting the rest of the industry. But it’s most definitely outperforming many of its peers, which can only bode well for the time – if it comes – when sector conditions improve.

    So, what did we learn Tuesday morning? In the 19 weeks to June 10, its group revenue rose 14.2% year-on-year with total retail sales up 14.3% and up 8.4% on a constant currency basis. That was “despite external factors continuing to impact trading conditions across some of our global markets.”

    Its e-commerce business continued to perform well with sales increasing an undeniably impressive 35.9% (or 32.3% in constant currency) “reflecting continued growth across our e-commerce sites as well as the strength of our retail proposition.”  Average retail square footage rose by 4.9% to 398,000 sq ft, which means comparable sales are clearly rising ahead of the chain’s overall space expansion.

    As well as performing well at home, global growth is key and this expansion of the brand continued with successful openings in Los Angeles, Paris, and Shanghai, its first Dutch store in Roermond and further concession openings in premium department stores in France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the Netherlands. It opened new concessions in the UK too and also relocated its Miami Aventura and Tokyo stores.

    Wholesale, which is a lower-margin channel from which many higher-end brands have chosen to retreat, is performing well for Ted Baker, as it is for a number of its most buoyant UK peers (such as the Superdry label).  Sales for the period increased 13.8% (or 8.9% in constant currency) reflecting good performances from both its UK and North American businesses.

    The company said that both its retail and wholesale gross margins were in line with its expectations and that its product and territorial licensees continue to perform well, reflecting the global strength and appeal of the brand with licensed store openings in Dubai, Kuwait and Mexico.

  • Telstra acquires UK’s Company85

    Telstra acquires UK’s Company85

    Telstra has acquired Company85, a UK-based technology services business and provider of data center, workspace, cloud, security and network services.

    Christopher Smith, executive director of Telstra’s business technology services, said the acquisition was aligned to Telstra’s strategy to grow its technology services business internationally and would significantly enhance Telstra’s service offering for UK and European based business and government customers.

    “Company85’s offering is strongly aligned to the existing suite of technology consulting services we offer our Australian customers, and is consistent with the strategic investments we have made in Australia. Importantly, it aligns with our strategy to grow our services business in regions that are key hubs for multinational corporations,” Smith said. “We see the UK as a key market for our growing technology services business and a strong platform to expand into Europe.”

    Smith also said Company85 was highly regarded in the UK for its consulting and technical expertise, including the market-leading approach it has developed for standardizing and automating data center migrations.

    “Company85’s broad set of consulting capabilities will help us to differentiate our offerings in Europe. We will be able to engage in IT transformation conversations with prospective customers early in the proposal stage, which we believe will help to strengthen our position and create demand for our network services in the region,” Smith said.

    Company85 CEO Adrian Spink said the combination of Telstra’s world class network and global reach, with Company85’s technical expertise and strong relationships with CIOS and Chief Information Security Officers at leading organizations, would create exciting growth opportunities.

    “Being part of Telstra we see a tremendous opportunity to reach new customers and accelerate our international expansion,” Spink said.

  • BT unleash newest cloud service

    BT unleash newest cloud service

    BT has announced the launch of “BT Connect Intelligence InfoVista-as-a-Service,” a new application performance management solution delivered from the cloud.

    The company said the new solution adds a scalable “as-a-service” flexible pricing model to BT’s applications performance management portfolio, BT Connect Intelligence.

    It delivers InfoVista’s Ipanema technology via BT’s cloud infrastructure, integrating all the capabilities organizations need to orchestrate the performance of business applications running across their network, BT said.

    BT Connect Intelligence InfoVista-as-a-Service gives enterprises greater flexibility and cost control as they manage the experience of users accessing business-critical applications across the corporate network, regardless of how they connect and how much bandwidth they use. It also gives enterprises a more predictable view of costs as its user-based pricing is not affected by the growth of network bandwidth.

    The new solution is available globally to both BT’s existing network customers and organizations using other network providers.

    The software underpinning the solution is delivered from BT’s cloud infrastructure and its management is now possible over the Internet.

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  • Taxi booking service via Facebook Messenger launched

    Taxi booking service via Facebook Messenger launched

    The service launched by Thanh Cong Taxi on June 13 is the first of its kind in Vietnam, allowing people to hail a cab from the company without having to download and use a taxi-hailing app.

    Nguyen Khuong Duy, representative of Thanh Cong Taxi, said that Thanh Cong Taxi is a pioneer in Vietnam using the latest Chatbot technology of Facebook to develop the service.

    Thanh Cong company takes advantage of the Facebook Messenger application installed in mobile phones of some 40 million Vietnamese people to offer services to customers in the traditional to luxury segments.

    Besides requesting a ride, people can easily leave their comments by chatting via the messenger, Duy said.

  • De Beers Inks Japan Retail Grading Deal

    De Beers Inks Japan Retail Grading Deal

    The International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) has partnered with Japanese bridal-jewelry retailer I-PRIMO to provide it with polished grading reports.

    The De Beers-owned laboratory will grade diamonds showcased at all 68 I-PRIMO stores in Japan, with the aim of boosting consumer confidence, IIDGR said last week. The reports will use De Beers’ “Ideal Optical Symmetry” technology, which provides a magnified image of a stone’s light performance. The companies plan to extend the program eventually to I-PRIMO’s stores in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

    IIDGR has previously entered partnerships with Singapore’s Soo Keep Group, as well as Hong Kong-based retailer Luk Fook, with which it issues co-branded grading reports.

    “Our ability to tailor bespoke solutions for our customers, backed by our innovative proprietary technologies, has been well-received and is supporting our growth in the region,” said IIDGR president Jonathan Kendall.

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  • Apple To Open The First Retail Store Taiwan

    Apple To Open The First Retail Store Taiwan

    Apple has revealed that it will be opening its first store in Taiwan in the near future. The store will be located at the Taipei 101 skycraper and will take up space on both the basement level and the ground floor. The combined floor space will be approximately 1,322 square meters. Taipei 101 is the fourth tallest building in the world and is in the Xinyi District of Taiwan’s capital city.

    “Taiwan’s first Apple Store will soon open in Taipei! Apple Store – Taipei 101 will provide a space for people to experience Apple’s full range of products and services; At the same time, for people to come together to create, share and learn,”

    Authorized resellers

    While the specific opening date has not been set, a Taiwanese publication has speculated that it could happen as soon towards the end of this month. Currently, Apple sells its range of products such as iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch, Mac desktop and laptop computers via third-party resellers. Apple also sells to its Taiwanese customers directly online. Some of the Apple authorized resellers in Taiwan include iStore, Studio A and Youth.

    So far there are about 495 Apple stores spread across 17 countries around the globe. The United States takes the lion’s share of the stores having 270 of them while the remainder is distributed in the rest of the world. In the greater China area, Apple has more than 40 retail stores with five of them located in Hong Kong and about 41 retail stores located in Mainland China. Most of these stores are stationed in MixC and Galaxy shopping malls.

    Recruitment of employees

    Apple’s plans to open a retail store in Taiwan first came to the fore in 2016 when it posted ads for various positions include business leader, store leader, manager, expert and genius. This came at a time after Apple had raised in a bond offering approximately $1.38 billion in Taiwan. The absence of an Apple retail store in Taiwan has been ironic since majority of the key suppliers to Apple such as Foxconn are headquartered on the island.

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  • L&K expanding cosmetics presence in Asia

    L&K expanding cosmetics presence in Asia

    L&K Cosmetic CEO Kwon Yong-soo hopes to turn the company into one of Asia’s leading beauty brands by expanding its private label product lineup.

    Kwon, 50, started his business in 1993 as a Seoul-based cosmetics retailer, going through a series of ups and downs before launching the cosmetics retail and manufacturing brand in 2013.

    “My first online cosmetics site generated more than 15 billion won ($13.33 million) in annual sales back in the early 2000s when the internet shopping industry began to take shape,” he said in an interview at the firm’s Tokyo branch, Friday.

    But he said it was not long before he ended up with mounting debt due to burgeoning rivalry and the lack of private brand products.

    “As a retailer, I could not pile up enough margins by selling products from other companies,” he said. “But I was confident if we develop and manufacture our own products, the quality will be more trustworthy, helping us to generate more revenue.”

    He has experience running some cosmetics retail stores in one of Korea’s largest shopping districts, Myeong-dong in central Seoul.

    “Overseas travelers — mostly from China and Japan — are the major revenue source for most cosmetics stores there. But the Myeong-dong stores always come with risks — such as cross-border political conflict or the spread of infectious diseases,” he said.

    “For example, when the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) hit Korea in 2015, we had to suffer deficits for almost half a year when foreign travelers were reluctant to visit the nation.”

    Such unexpected risks were the key reasons for his decision to tap into the Japanese market.

    L&K Japan was established in 2013 when Kwon turned his eyes on manufacturing private label products.

    The decision came as he has sought to create a stable and profitable source of income for the long term, which he thought would prevent the recurrence of his previous downfalls.

    “We launched our private mask sheet pack brand, Mask Diary, in 2014, with our Japanese subsidiary running three retail stores there,” he said. “Mask Diary will also be available in the Chinese market soon.”

    Other private products of the company include wrinkle essence, regenerative skin cream and UV protection BB cream.

    In a bid to seek new revenue areas, L&K Japan also opened an aesthetic skin massage therapy store in Tokyo’s commercial center of Shinjuku last week.

    “Demand for Korean beauty services and products remains strong in Japan,” he said. “That is why I decided to start the new business here.”

    The company also seeks to continue its winning streak in China. In 2015, L&K opened its online mall at the country’s largest online marketplace, Taobao. The Korean firm has since forged partnerships with such local internet titans as Alibaba and Alipay.

    “Our ultimate goal is to diversify our product lineup and enhance our brand image, so we can set foot in other territories such as North America and Europe,” he said. “Toward that end, L&K will continue to spare no efforts in cosmetics R&D.”