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Tag: asia

  • Online fashion brand Zalora to exit Philippines; Indonesia next

    Online fashion brand Zalora to exit Philippines; Indonesia next

    Southeast Asian fashion ecommerce company, Zalora, has been in the process of shutting shop in a few Asian countries. The company had retreated from Thailand and Vietnam last year, and is pulling out from Philippines and Indonesia.

    Launched in 2012, the Rocket Internet backed online shopping company was functioning in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand, managed by Global Fashion Group, which was developed by Rocket Internet to handle all its online fashion businesses across the world.

    In Philippines, 49% of Zalora’s parent company, BF Jade E-Services was bought by one of the oldest real-estate companies, Ayala Group, and the remaining stays with Rocket Internet. BF Jade E-Services owned and operated Zalora in Philippines and the deal is currently subjected to approval from the Philippine Competition Commission.

    e27 also states that the fashion ecommerce company is in talks with retail giant MAP Group for a similar acquisition or investment in Indonesia. MAP group operates more than 1,900 retail outlets in Indonesia and has been experimenting with e-commerce as it launched its MAP e-Mall last year. A merger or acquisition with Zalora could mean that it gets access to the online fashion giant’s ecommerce expertise, as per media speculations.

    Romain Voog, CEO, Global Fashion Group said in a statement, “We are proud of how Zalora Philippines contributed to the development of e-commerce and fashion in the Philippines. This partnership with Ayala will allow us to further strengthen the leadership position of Zalora Philippines, as we invest more into delivering the best online fashion shopping experience for Filipino consumers.”

    In April last year Zalora sold its Thailand and Vietnam businesses to fashion retailer Central Group which also had been wanting to foray into the online ecommerce business. As reported by Forbes, the move was made to streamline its services in light of slowing output and the high cost of customer acquisition in Southeast Asia.

    Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO, Ayala Corporation also added, “We see the potential of e-commerce in the country and believe that the Ayala group can benefit and add tremendous value to Zalora. With resources in banking, real estate and telecommunications, the investment presents new opportunities for Ayala to generate synergies throughout the e-commerce value chain.”

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  • Citilink’s first new Airbus A320neo arrives in Indonesia

    Citilink’s first new Airbus A320neo arrives in Indonesia

    Garuda Indonesia’s low-cost subsidiary, Citilink, has begun welcoming a new fleet of Airbus A320 new engine option (neo) aircraft from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France.

    Citilink has ordered 35 aircraft from the European manufacturer since it developed the new version in 2012. The 180-passenger capacity A320neo will join 45 aircraft of the previous model, the A320 current engine option (ceo), which Citilink already owns.

    The delivery will be completed by 2021. This year, Citilink will receive five aircraft.

    “We will use them for medium-length routes like to Eastern Indonesia, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to Shanghai,” Citilink acting president director and finance director Mega Satria said during the welcome ceremony at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia Workshop in Cengkareng, Banten, on Friday.

    According to Airbus data, the A320neo features two engine options, Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM and CFM International’s LEAP-1A. Citilink’s aircraft use the latter. Along with improvements to airframe and winglets, fuel efficiency has been increased by 15 percent compared to the A320ceo.

    As of January, Airbus had received 5,069 orders of the new aircraft since it began production in January 2016. German airline Lufthansa was the first to receive one on Jan. 20 last year.

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  • Indonesian president arrives in Australia

    Indonesian president arrives in Australia

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo has touched down in Sydney ahead of bilateral talks with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Australian business leaders.

    The president and First Lady Iriana Widodo arrived on Saturday morning in rainy conditions and clutching umbrellas as they greeted Australian officials on the airport tarmac.

    Improving trade and investment ties is expected to be a key focus of Mr Widodo’s two-day state visit to Australia.

    The Indonesian president will meet with business leaders including representatives from Blackmores, Macquarie Bank and BlueScope Steel in the afternoon.

    He will also hold talks with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian before a private dinner at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Point Piper mansion, overlooking Sydney Harbour.

    The pair will discuss progress on an Indonesian-Australian free trade deal set to be finalised by the end of the year, perhaps as early as August.

    Indonesian trade officials were in Canberra last week for the fourth round of free trade negotiations since March last year.

    ‘Our relationship with Indonesia is growing deeper by the day but it has not yet reached its full potential,’ Mr Turnbull said in an opinion piece in Sydney Morning Herald, pointing out that Australia trades more with Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand compared to Indonesia.

    AAP understands there are no insurmountable sticking points, unlike Australia’s negotiations with the European Union, where agriculture tariffs cuts are proving tricky.

    Australia Institute research director Rod Campbell hopes the two leaders discuss climate change and coal.

    Indonesia is seeking to dramatically boost coal-fired power generation in coming years despite its pledge to cut carbon emissions to 29 per cent from business- as-usual levels by 2030.

    Mr Widodo was due to visit Australia last year but this was postponed after violent protests erupted in Jakarta over comments its Christian governor made about the Koran.

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  • Standard Chartered Looks at Strategic Options for its Indonesia Business

    Standard Chartered Looks at Strategic Options for its Indonesia Business

    Standard Chartered said its troubled principal finance unit toted up a $650 million loss last year, weighing on the bank’s efforts to improve returns. Standard Chartered’s net loss for 2016 narrowed to $478 million from $2.36 billion in 2015, but revenue and profit figures fell short of analysts’ expectations and the stock fell 5%.

    The emerging-markets focused bank said it sharply marked down its private equity stakes in companies in Africa, Asia and India, as it prepares to exit from the principal finance business in the next couple of years. It said its risk committee reviewed processes and controls in the unit last year, amid the losses and probes by U.S. and other authorities into alleged bribery at a portfolio company, power plant builder Maxpower Group Pte. Ltd.

    Standard Chartered said the unit will be stripped out of its underlying results going forward, with any gains or losses treated as restructuring costs. The principal finance unit manages around $5 billion for Standard Chartered and external investors. The bank’s exposure is around $2 billion.

    Standard Chartered’s smaller full-year loss was the result of a near-halving in bad loans across its businesses. But revenue dropped by 11% to $13.8 billion from $15.4 billion. Standard Chartered blamed the fall on a range of factors including negative revenue in principal finance, dollar strength against emerging market currencies and lower client activity.

    Fourth-quarter revenue was $3.53 billion, up from $3.26 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015. The bank said significant further improvement is needed.

    Chief Executive Bill Winters said the bank is on a stronger foundation after cutting costs and selling around a dozen businesses since he started as CEO in June 2015. He said the bank will look at strategic options this year for its Indonesia business, currently run through two banks.

    Standard Chartered operates under its own name in the country and holds a 44.6% stake in PT Bank Permata. Mr. Winters said the bank is fully committed to Indonesia but wants to operate through a single entity there.

    He said shifts in global trade and potential U.S. protectionist policies posed a threat to the bank, but also opportunity as trade flows realign. “If the U.S. for whatever reasons or through whatever political process makes itself a less desirable trading partner, there are other countries that will want to fill that gap,” Mr. Winters told reporters.

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  • DHL, Huawei enter ambitious automation partnership

    DHL, Huawei enter ambitious automation partnership

    Deutsche Post DHL Group and Chinese technology conglomerate Huawei Technologies are collaborating on a range of supply chain services for customers using “industrial-grade internet-of-things hardware and infrastructure.”

    The internet of things (IoT) refers to physical devices, such as vehicles, buildings and other items, that are embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators and network connectivity that can communicate with each other. That shared information is then utilized to automate and streamline processes. For example, sensors in refrigerators can read bar codes of products and make sure the milk is fresh and the beer is adequately stocked.

    Deutsche Post DHL estimates that the IoT could generate up to US$1.9 trillion in additional value for the global logistics industry by 2025. The logistics company sees the new technology as a way for operators to “better monitor and optimize their supply chain processes with low-cost networked sensors and devices.”

    Under the MOU, Huawei and Deutsche Post DHL Group will collaborate on developing cellular-based IoT technology. The projects will tackle ways to connect numerous devices across long distances with minimal power consumption. Connected devices will share data and to increase visibility in warehousing operations, freight transportation, and last-mile delivery.

    The agreement assigns Huawei’s connectivity experts and network infrastructure accessible to Deutsche Post DHL Group’s automation projects in warehousing, freight and last-mile delivery services.

    “Spending on connected logistics solutions is expected to more than double between now and 2020, and many logistics providers, including Deutsche Post DHL Group, have already begun to explore internet of things applications in their supply chains, including everything from enhanced asset tracking to driverless delivery vehicles,” said Markus Voss, COO and CIO of DHL Supply Chain.

    DHL has already opened its €90 million Advanced Regional Center in Singapore in 2016, featuring almost-entirely automated picking and storing infrastructure that the company says is 20 percent more efficiently than its human equivalent.

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  • Free trade agreements fuel cosmetics market in Vietnam

    Free trade agreements fuel cosmetics market in Vietnam

    The assessment was released at an event to introduce the Mekong Beauty Show 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City on February 23.

    Statistics show that Vietnam’s cosmetics market is potential with revenue of 26 trillion VND (1.14 billion USD) in 2015 and has maintained a double-digit growth rate for several years.

    While Vietnamese consumers’ spending on cosmetics is still four-five times lower than other regional countries, the middle class, which has high demand for beauty products, is growing strongly and forecast to double its current size to 33 million people in 2020.

    Ly Nguyen Lan Phuong, a representative of the Saigon Cosmetics Corporation, said despite such huge potential, domestic businesses’ technological capacity and financial strength remain modest. As a result, the local market is still dominated by foreign brands.

    Claudia Bonfiglioli, International Director of Informa Beauty, said to compete in the domestic market, aside from improving quality, cosmetics producers of Vietnam should keep innovating.

    Nguyen Van Minh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Oils, Aroma and Cosmetics, said to help promote the industry’s development, the association has carried trade and investment promotion activities.

    Among those efforts, the Mekong Beauty Show 2017 is aimed to connect Vietnamese enterprises with other domestic and foreign partners to seek cooperation opportunities. It is also expected to become a leading trade forum on cosmetics and beauty products in the region.

    The show is slated for June 15-17 with the participation of more than 200 companies from the EU, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

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  • India debuts interoperable QR code payment system

    India debuts interoperable QR code payment system

    The Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks Association have launched Bharat QR, the world’s first interoperable QR code acceptance solution.

    The solution was developed by Mastercard in collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Visa. American Express will also adopt these payment standards.

    Bharat QR aims to provide both merchants and consumers with seamless and secure method for payment transactions.

    For consumers, Bharat QR eliminates the need to use multiple QR codes from different payment networks when transacting with any merchant. Similarly merchants need only display one single QR code at the storefront or through their respective acquiring bank’s mobile application.

    The Bharat QR solution will be rolled out across the nation in phases by banks, with the aim to foster adoption by 57 million small and micro businesses due to the purported low cost of deployment.

    A number of banks in India stand ready to deploy BharatQR, including Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Citi Union Bank, Development Credit Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, RBL Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Vijaya Bank and Yes Bank.

    Several other banks are also at various stages of implementation.

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  • New regulations legalise betting services

    New regulations legalise betting services

    Previously, casinos were only open to foreign passport holders and gambling was illegal in Vietnam. The prime minister recently signed Decree 6 that allows eligible firms to sell tickets and provide betting services on horse and dog racing and betting on foreign football matches.

    However, firms are not allowed to determine the time to start and end the betting and only Vietnamese dongs are allowed to use in betting. The decree also states that the government does not encourage the development of these services. The project is still in the pilot stages, and customers would be able to participate in legal football betting from March 31.

    According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), there are many illegal betting services and the authorities don’t have enough personnel to manage and control these services. The MoF said those services could cause negative effects on social order and lead to the illegal transfer of money abroad.

    The new regulations are expected to help the authorities better manage betting services. A new decree on casinos was also issued in January to attract investors into resorts projects and boost local tourism. The 3-year pilot programme allows Vietnamese to gamble in casinos.

    The MoF said legal betting would satisfy ‘entertainment demand’, reduce illegal gambling sites and stop people spending money abroad.

  • Tariffs are cut, import prices fall, but cars are still pricey

    Tariffs are cut, import prices fall, but cars are still pricey

    According to GDC, in January 2017 alone, Vietnam imported 1,000 cars from India, worth $3.7 million in total. The average import price was $3,700 only, or VND85 million, the price level described as ‘surprisingly low’ and ‘dirt cheap’. The imports from India are mostly Hyundai i10 and i20.

    However, Vietnamese cannot buy imports at VND85 million. The amount of money they have to pay will be four or five times higher.

    As explained by a car dealer, imports from India are taxed 70 percent. Besides, they are also subject to other kinds of tax, including luxury tax (35 percent for 1.0-1.5L cars) and VAT (10 percent).

    Imports also bear many other different kinds of fees, such as ownership registration fee (10-12 percent, or VND233-237 million), the number plate granting fee (VND20 million in Hanoi), registration fees (VND340,000 for the first time), and road maintenance fee (VND130,000 a month).

    At present, a Hyundai i10 is sold at VND350-450 million in the market, or five times higher than the factory price.As such, every import product from India would cost VND260 million on average after taxes and fees. Meanwhile, the selling prices will be defined after adding up distribution expenses, profits for distributors, storage fees, and marketing & advertisement costs.

    The same is occurring with imports from ASEAN. Though the import tariffs have been cut from 40 percent 30 percent since early 2017, the selling prices are still many times higher than the import prices.

    Nguyen Tuan, director of Thien An Phuc, a distributor, said a Toyota Fortuner from Indonesia has the CIF price of $27,500, or VND700 million. However, the selling price could be as high as VND1.3 billion.

    “Because of high taxes, Vietnamese have to pay high to own cars,” he explained, adding that the selling price in Vietnam is 2-3 times higher than in other regional countries.

    By 2018, when the import tariff goes down to zero percent, the price of one Fortuner would fall by VND290 million thanks to the tariff cut. Many people don’t buy cars at this moment, because they don’t want to waste hundreds of millions of dong on car tax.

    Ngo Tri Long, a renowned economist, said people hope the car prices would be decreasing once the tariffs are cut. However, sharp price decreases may not occur, because the car prices not only depend on import tariffs, but also on luxury taxes, fees and pricing strategies followed by car distributors.

    “In Vietnam, you’d better not dream of cheap cars,” he said.

  • Vietnamese spend big on foreign high-street clothes

    Vietnamese spend big on foreign high-street clothes

    Huong, an office worker in Hoang Mai district in Hanoi, said she reserves a budget of VND2-3 million for buying new clothes every month. But she does not want products bearing Vietnamese brands, but preferably orders Zara and Mango products from overseas shops online.

    Huong said that the foreign high-street products are now affordable for office workers like her.

    “Why don’t you choose foreign brands if they have diverse design, good materials and reasonable prices?” she said.“Manufacturers and distributors often launch sale promotion campaigns with big discount rates. I can buy many products at the prices just equal to or even cheaper than Vietnam’s export products,” she explained.

    Oanh, an account executive in Hanoi, said she looks for Zara, H&M, Mango and Uniqlo products regularly, which allows her to buy high-quality products at reasonable prices.

    Sometimes she can buy products at just VND1 million or lower in sales campaigns.

    “I never buy Vietnamese goods during sale promotion campaigns because I am not sure about the actual value of the goods,” she said. “Meanwhile, no need to worry about this when you buy products from these brands. And the prices are very good”.

    Huong and Oanh order the products online and pay fees to have the products shipped to Vietnam. There are many shipping agents in Hanoi, who are in charge of receiving products, carrying to Vietnam and delivering to clients.

    Thuy Linh, one of the agents, commented that Vietnamese clients mostly order clothes and footwear, and 80 percent of ordered products bear high-street brands such as Zara, Mango, and Forever 21, while the remaining 20 percent are luxury brands.

    Linh said she is always busy so Vietnamese tend to favor foreign high-street brands. A T-shirt with Zara or Mango brand can be bought at VND180,000 only, including fees, which is cheaper than Chinese products.

    Understanding the Vietnamese taste and realizing the rapid increase of middle-income earners in Vietnam, a lot of high-street brands have been conquering the local market. Zara, the fashion brand from Spain, has been present in Vietnam since mid-2016. Mango, which targets customers aged 18-40, has been present in Vietnam since 2004 through a franchise contract signed with Maison JSC.

    In the latest news, H&M has begun employing workers to prepare for its landing in Vietnam. The Swedish brand’s first shop would be in Hanoi, cover an area of 2,000 square meters and employ 100 workers. The recruitment will also be implemented in HCMC.

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  • Infinera to interconnect Yahoo Japan’s Osaka DCs

    Infinera to interconnect Yahoo Japan’s Osaka DCs

    Yahoo Japan has selected Infinera Cloud Xpress to interconnect its data centers in Osaka. The Cloud Xpress enables Yahoo Japan to interconnect data centers with hyper-scale density, operational simplicity and low power consumption.

    Working closely with Infinera partner Itochu Techno-Solutions, Yahoo Japan deployed the Infinera Cloud Xpress to address the need for more capacity. Itochu Techno-Solutions provides Yahoo Japan with IT and data center maintenance services. Yahoo Japan has now deployed the Cloud Xpress and Infinera XTM Series in its metro networks.

    With the Cloud Xpress, Yahoo Japan benefits from Infinera’s photonic integrated circuit technology which delivers a 500 Gbps super-channel over 150 kilometers without additional multiplexers and amplifiers.

    The Cloud Xpress incorporates Infinera’s Instant Bandwidth technology to allow customers to software-activate line-side bandwidth in 100 Gbps increments as and when needed.

    In addition, the Cloud Xpress is designed for plug-and-play installation with simplified provisioning and support for data center automation using open SDN APIs.

    “The compact design, ease of use and scalability of Cloud Xpress and the XTM Series stand out in metro data center interconnect applications where data center operators need to grow capacity rapidly while minimizing the cost of space and power,” Infinera VP of regional sales for APAC Andrew Bond-Webster said.

    The Infinera Cloud Xpress Family is designed to deliver cloud-optimized wavelength division multiplexing solutions to cloud service providers, internet content providers, Internet Exchange service providers, enterprises and other large-scale data center operators.

    The Cloud Xpress Family offers customers the choice of 10 GbE, 40 GbE and 100 GbE client interfaces to meet their specific requirements. Infinera recently introduced the Cloud Xpress 2 based on the Infinite Capacity Engine, scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2017.

  • AirAsia launches new routes from Cebu, Davao

    AirAsia launches new routes from Cebu, Davao

    AirAsia said on Friday it will mount new routes from Cebu and Davao starting April as it continues to expand its network outside Metro Manila.

    New flights will be launched from Cebu to Davao, Palawan, and Boracay/Caticlan and from Davao to Clark, Cebu, Palawan, and Boracay/Caticlan in April 22, 2017, the airline said.

    The Cebu to Boracay and Palawan flights will operate daily while flights to Davao are scheduled twice daily, it added.

    The Davao to Boracay flights will operate daily; Davao to Palawan at three times weekly; and Davao to Clark at four times weekly.

    “We feel strongly about supporting the growth and development of cities outside Metro Manila by providing more options and added convenience for travelers to fly to their desired destinations without going to the main airport in Manila,” said Philippines AirAsia chief executive Capt. Dexter Comendador.

    The airline said it is offering promo one-way fares for the new routes starting at P399. The travel period for the promo fares is between April 22, 2017 and August 31, 2017.

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  • Victoria’s Secret opens first flagship store in China

    Victoria’s Secret opens first flagship store in China

    US brand Victoria’s Secret has opened its first flagship store in China as it taps into the growing appetites of mainland women for high-end lingerie.

    Fronted by an iconic pink glass facade, the four-storey, 2,500 square meter Victoria’s Secret store opened its doors on Thursday in Huaihai Road, one of Shanghai’s most upscale shopping streets.

    The new shop, which is the first to sell the brand’s full range of products attracted thousands of visitors on the opening day. Previously, Victoria’s Secret had only operated concept stores in China, selling accessories.

    “Chinese women are now ready for more sophisticated bras,” said Pascal Martin, a partner with OC&C Strategy Consultants.

    As Chinese women have increasingly adopted western fashion trends and brands, many locally-owned bra offerings at the cheaper end of the spectrum and paying little heed to design and brand appeal have popped up.

    The US lingerie giant, which entered China in 2015, has unveiled an aggressive expansion plan in the fast-growing Chinese market.

    Besides launching another flagship store in Chengdu in southwest Sichuan Province soon, Victoria’s Secret will move its high-profile annual fashion show to Shanghai at the end of this year.

    The retailer will charge mainland customers between 300 and 600 yuan (US$44 -87) for a bra, a little higher than in the US.

    Joey Chio, senior associate director of Savills Shanghai Retail, which helped Victoria’s Secret select the location for its new store, said the opening of the flagship shop would satisfy Chinese women’s “desire to keep up with the forefront of international fashion”.

    Luxury lingerie and high quality functional products are becoming increasingly popular among Chinese women, and a more frequent topic of discussion on social media.

    The female underwear market in China is expected to have a retail value of US$25 billion by 2017 – double that of the United States – and will grow to US$33 billion by 2020, according to Euromonitor.

    Top Italian luxury lingerie maker La Perla, which has eight stores in China, said it planned additional outlets in Chengdu and Chongqing and aims to open a men’s store in Beijing.

    Canadian yoga brand Lululemon entered the Chinese market by opening its first shop in Shanghai last December.

    The penetration rate of the bra sector in China is still under 10 per cent, compared with around 40 per cent in the US and 20 per cent in Japan, Martin said. Most of the bra brands currently in China are still focusing on the traditional department store channel rather than malls, indicating opportunities for brands like Victoria’s Secret, he added.

  • MSC cruises prepares ‘ambitious retail project’

    MSC cruises prepares ‘ambitious retail project’

    Swiss-based MSC Cruises, part of the MSC Group, is preparing its MSC Splendida ship for an ‘exciting and ambitious retail project’ later this year after which it will set sail on routes to South Korea and Japan from Shanghai in April 2018.

    Adrian Pittaway, Head of Corporate Retail for MSC Cruises tells that following the successful launch of the company’s first ship in China– the MSC Lirica – it plans to offer an equally ‘elevated retail offer with top luxury brands’ onboard the Splendida.

    MSC Splendida – targeting the Chinese market – will start sailing from Shanghai to destinations in Korea and Japan from April 2018 after being refurbished in November 2017.

    There will be nine shops onboard MSC Splendida offering perfumes, cosmetics, Korean products (especially Korean cosmetics), luxury watches & jewellery, fashion accessories, liquor, tobacco and confectionery alongside some MSC exclusive ranges.

    PASSENGER CAPACITY OF 4,000

    The total retail footprint, the cost of building the new shops and the selection of luxury brands on offer are all still to be confirmed.

    MSC-Lirica-watches

    Adrian Pittaway, Head of Corporate Retail for MSC Cruises tells TRBusiness that following the successful launch of the company’s first ship in China– the MSC Lirica – it plans to offer an equally ‘elevated retail offer with top luxury brands’ onboard the Splendida.

    MSC Lirica has a passenger capacity of 2000, but the MSC Splendida has double that at 4,000.

    The ‘No 1 cruise line in Europe, South America and South Africa’ commenced a 10-year $10bn investment programme last year, which includes 11 news ships, four extended ships and a private resort island in the Caribbean.

    Founded in 2003, the company currently operates 12 ships carrying 1.6m passengers a year, from 45 different countries.

    IN-HOUSE RETAIL OPERATION

    “From a retail perspective we are really unique in cruise-ship travel retailing,” Pittaway tells TRBusiness. “Unlike most other cruise lines who operate with third party concessions we operate all of the retailing on-board ourselves as an in-house operation.

    Gucci-MSC-Lirica

    Gucci boutique onboard the MSC Lirica.

    “We currently operate 110 boutiques across our 12 ships selling watches, jewellery, liquor, tobacco & confections, P&C as well as own brand and luxury goods.”

    MSC started operating in the Chinese cruise market in Tianjin, China from May 2016 with the MSC Lirica, which currently sails to South Korea and Japan.

    “It has been a really positive first 10 months for us from a retail perspective with a unique and adapted offering…[It is run by] an entirely Chinese team and offers unique product ranges only requested by Chinese passengers, such as Korean cosmetics and Japanese Rice Cookers.

    Bulgari-MS-Lirica

    Watches and jewellery brands on display onboard the MSC Lirica.

    “Alongside the many firsts we have seen we were also the first cruise line to offer Bally accessories and Tudor watches onboard. Alongside these unique elements we have over 150 brands such as Omega, Salvatore Ferragamo, Chopard, Lacoste, Coccinelle, Furla, Swarovski, Bvlgari and Longines.”

    Pittaway says the company was awarded the ‘Best Cruise Ship Shopping Environment’ and the China Cruise Awards in winter 2016 presented by the CCYIA.

  • SmarTone deploying smart robots at retail stores

    SmarTone deploying smart robots at retail stores

    Hong Kong’s SmarTone is deploying “smart robots” at its psychical retail stores to help enhance the customer experience. The initiative, launched last week on Valentine’s day, involves the leading mobile network operator in Hong Kong deploying the NAO robot at its stores.

    It marks the first time SmarTone is using actual robots for enhancing the customer experience. The idea is to streamline the customer experience while adding fun and improving engagement.

    At the launch ceremony at SmarTone’s apm store, NAO joined local Web-celebrity Lilian Kan to sing, dance and play games with customers while uttering words of love.

    Not to be outdone, Pepper, another smart robot, joined in the festivities as well. It was the first time both robots were pictured together.

    “SmarTone has always been pushing the frontiers of innovation, committed to innovating customer experience in the industry,” SmarTone head of marketing and sales Josephine Lam said.

    “The introduction of NAO will enable a fun and interactive experience, deepening in-store engagement with customers.”

    NAO can perform detailed actions and is multi-lingual. It offered details about the latest service plan offerings while providing recommendations on phone accessories.

    “Robotics is one of the hottest technologies and we know they will have a significant impact on our lives in the future,” SmarTone head of products and services Alex Kun said.

    “We will continue to seek ways to introduce the latest robotics technologies into our business as well as provide opportunities for local enterprises, organizations, and individuals to experience the technology.”

    SmarTone is not just looking to robotics to improve customer services and operational efficiency.

    The company is looking to improve overall robotics appreciation as a territory-wide effort. For example, it will include the introduction robot rental services and the organization of coding workshops to spur interest in robotics among the youth.

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