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Tag: asia

  • Turner, Snapchat ink content, ad deal

    Turner, Snapchat ink content, ad deal

    Turner and Snap are expanding their partnership by bringing new brands to Snapchat’s Discover platform, extending live coverage of Turner’s premium sports events, and working with several Turner brands to develop Snapchat shows.

    The deal encompasses content, distribution and advertising centered around Turner’s leading portfolio of networks, programming, events and brands.

    “This deal marks the latest strategic move for Turner to innovate within the digital arena and provide complementary viewing experiences for a younger, mobile-centric audience,” said David Levy, president of Turner.

    “Snapchat is a powerful outlet to directly connect with the millennial generation and perfectly aligns with our portfolio-wide strategy to engage with audiences at every touch point,” said Levy.

    As part of this deal, Turner will work with Snap to develop original shows from its series and brands such as TBS, Adult Swim, truTV, Great Big Story and Super Deluxe.

    Turner’s portfolio will create and produce original content from its popular franchises and networks specifically for Snapchat’s mobile-first audience.

    Turner’s Bleacher Report, the digital sports brand for the millennial generation, will launch a Discover Channel in the United States, comprised of videos, images, animations and graphics covering the top stories in sports each day.

    It will join the CNN Discover Channel, which will expand its offering to feature more daily content than ever before, including in-depth, global news stories hand-curated for the Snapchat community.

    The agreement continues to leverage Snapchat’s immersive Live Stories with expanded coverage of Turner’s premium sports content, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and the PGA Championship.

    The exclusive access around these premium sports properties brings Snapchatters closer to the action with behind-the-scenes coverage, videos and photos from on-site correspondents.

    Turner and Snapchat will collaborate on advertising sales, developing exclusive and immersive ad experiences that provide brands the space to connect with millennials in a dynamic mobile environment within original shows and Live Stories.

    The two companies will also provide sponsors with creative advertising opportunities on the Discover Channels, offering brands a full-screen, creative canvas for mobile storytelling.

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  • Vodafone Australia builds cyber security center for enterprise customers

    Vodafone Australia builds cyber security center for enterprise customers

    Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) has contracted Dimension Data and FireEye to build its first Cyber Defence and Response Centre (CDRC) to offer services to enterprise customers.

    The CDRC will provide around-the-clock advanced event monitoring, threat protection and intelligence, and incident response to help protect Vodafone Enterprise and its customers against online security threats, as well as assist with the aftermath of an attack.

    Vodafone signed a five-year contract with FireEye and a three-year contract (with a two-year option for extension) with Dimension Data to help deliver a range of services through the CDRC, including proactive threat hunting, global threat intelligence correlation, vulnerability management, penetration testing, digital forensics and crisis management.

    “Cybercrime is a topic that we take very seriously at Vodafone. We have partnered with the industry’s best providers to help us protect our critical information and infrastructure, as well as intellectual property,” said Vodafone chief technology officer Kevin Millroy.

    “The capabilities, maturity, flexibility, and scalability of Dimension Data and FireEye enables us to be ready and open to exchange threat information and knowledge with the federal government’s Australian Cyber Security Centre, and ultimately contribute to protecting Australia’s national security and economic prosperity from online threats.”

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  • Cebu Pacific receives new Airbus A330-300 aircraft

    Cebu Pacific receives new Airbus A330-300 aircraft

    The Philippines’ leading carrier, Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), has received a new Airbus A330-300 aircraft, creating more available seats in time for the holiday season.

    CEB will be utilising this aircraft for flights between Manila and Hong Kong from Tuesday, a move that will provide more than 9,800 available seats per week on this route.

    In a statement, CEB said this upgrade reflects a 22% increase compared to the number of seats offered in the previous periods, which allows the airline to maintain its position as the largest Philippine carrier operating the Philippines – Hong Kong market.
    “CEB also takes pride as the only Philippine carrier linking Hong Kong to other cities in the Philippines, such as Cebu, Clark and Iloilo,” said JR Mantaring, vice president for corporate affairs, CEB.

    With this easy connectivity to such hubs, CEB aims to strengthen economic trade and tourism from one of Asia’s largest financial centers to the Philippines.

    This new aircraft, configured with 436 all economy-class seats, will join CEB’s existing fleet of six A330s flying on long haul and selected regional and domestic routes.

    CEB continues to modernise its current 58-strong fleet of five Airbus A319, 36 Airbus A320, seven Airbus A330, eight ATR 72-500, and two ATR 72-600 aircraft to further expand its route network and frequencies all over the world.

    Recently, the airline announced two new domestic routes from Manila to Masbate and Tablas. With these additions, CEB now offers flights to 38 domestic and 30 international destinations, spanning Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and USA.

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  • Croatian Beer Now Available for Purchase in Korea

    Croatian Beer Now Available for Purchase in Korea

    Korean’s can now have a taste of Croatia under the market slogan, “Croatian beer froths up in the Korean market,” as from last week in South Korea, Croatia’s very own Ožujsko beer can be purchased.

    The liquor importer CKB will be pushing out 4 kinds of Ožujsko to the Korean market, of which two will be lagers and two will be the sweet fruit-flavors (Radler lemon and grapefruit). The lager-style Ožujsko has 5% alcohol content and the fruit-flavored types hold only 2%, assures the Korean portal.

    “Ožujsko is the top-selling beer in the European country, with a 40% market share,” said the statement by CKB, the liquor importer of Ožujsko in Korea.

    You can now find the popular Croatian Ožujsko available in all major retail chains in South Korea, and a 330-milliliter bottle will cost 2,300 won (around 14 kuna), while a 550-milliliter can will cost 2,500 won (around 15 kuna) at big malls across the country.

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  • Sandriver cashmere launches in US

    Sandriver cashmere launches in US

    Luxury cashmere brand Sandriver has officially entered the US market, building on its base of 11 stores in Asia and a worldwide eCommerce presence.

    Sandriver cashmere has been active in the international fashion scene since 2007, sourcing directly from the grasslands of the Alashan Plateau in Inner Mongolia, home to 70 per cent of the world’s cashmere.

    Founder and CEO Juliet Guo (Guo Xiuling) is an Inner Mongolian native, and has built the brand’s own sourcing base of 30 local herding families, some of whom operate on Guo family-owned grasslands.

    Setting itself apart from global fashion giants, Sandriver says it hones its niche role in the industry by merging the traditional sophistication of cashmere with the innovation of modern fashion.

    Its creative team comprises a dynamic group of international designers and artists, including world-renowned Japanese designer and multiple fashion award recipient Junko Koshino, French-Columbian artist Francesca Brenda-Mitterrand, and German and Chinese fashion designers Antje Weidner and Qin Wanyu.

    junko-koshino-sandriver-designer

    Sandriver cashmere continues to attract attention on an international scale and has been presented at major fashion shows in both Tokyo and Paris. Its collections suit a variety of budgets and tastes with prices ranging from around US$100 to $3000 for original designs.

    Product lines include, among others, scarves and wraps for every season, full-length coats and blankets, reversible and ready-to-wear garments and comfortable ensembles. Recent additions include kids wear and luxury travel garments and accessories.

    Sandriver products are available online, shipped directly from Shanghai to the US via DHL Express within four days, and include a local US-based return policy.

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  • Arcadia to launch first stores in mainland China

    Arcadia to launch first stores in mainland China

    A deal struck with local retailer ShangPin will see five stores open in the country, with a further 75 in the pipeline if the venture is a success. Topshop opened its first store in Hong Kong in 2013 and Green has been eying further expansion for a number of years.

    The Arcadia Group chairman said the deal would “cement Topshop and Topman’s mission of becoming truly global businesses.”

    He added: “For the first time both brands will deliver high fashion to the shop floor and beyond by opening full scale stores in China – host to the world’s largest growing retail economy.”

    Department store House of Fraser is also poised to open its first Chinese store in Nanjing at the end of this month.

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  • Miniso targets 6000 stores by 2020

    Miniso targets 6000 stores by 2020

    Chinese discount brand Miniso expects to open 6000 stores worldwide by 2020, co-founder Ye Guofu has told a conference in Singapore.

    He was speaking at a three-day investment conference hosted by Miniso and attended by more than 250 agents, potential agents and suppliers from 100-plus countries.

    Following the event, Miniso signed a strategic co-operation agreement with the Mazuli Group from Israel.

    Also from Miniso at the event, named “Hello! World Miniso – Saiman Fund International Conference on Global Investment”, were global co-founder/chief designer Miyake Junya, Asia-Pacific VP Li Minxin and international department director Huang Zheng.
    While established for only three years, Miniso has opened more than 1400 stores in more than 40 countries and regions. Its global revenue reached RMB5 billion (US$719 million) last year and expected to exceed RMB10 billion this year.

    To help conference attendees understand the brand’s rapid development, Junya spoke about the “Miniso model”, using the brand’s development in Singapore as an example. Miniso launched three stores in Singapore simultaneously, and within a year was able to open more than 20 stores. As well as its quick development, its turnover rates repeatedly set sales records and it grew faster than any other retail brands.

    Junya believes its success is because of its powerful brand, its “high quality, creativity and low price”, the special experience if offers shoppers, and its efficient and reliable supply chain.
    Guests were invited to visit five major Miniso stores in Singapore and one warehouse.
    As a fast-to-market brand, Miniso launches new products every three days and completes goods circulation through retail outlets every 21 days.
    Ye Guofu spoke about the essence of a brand with competitiveness, saying he believes there is no essential difference between online and offline.

    He says the traditional retail industry must undergo transformation, not only because of the impact from eCommerce, but most importantly because of consumers’ ever-growing cleverness.

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  • The rupiah may soon have three fewer zeros

    The rupiah may soon have three fewer zeros

    Indonesia’s central bank governor said yesterday that the bank is seeking to slash three zeros off the face value of rupiah notes to simplify its currency system.

    Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said he has asked President Joko Widodo to revive a previously shelved plan to redenominate the rupiah to make it “more efficient and simpler”.

    A draft law backing redenomination was submitted to parliament in 2013, but it was put aside due to instability in Indonesia’s financial markets then

    If approved, the central bank would need two years to prepare new notes and another seven years of transition, Mr Martowardojo s.aid.

    “Prices of goods and services have to also be simplified. Because of the transition period, in which people can use both the old and new rupiah denominations, we are sure it wouldn’t affect inflation,” he said at the launch of a new series of new currency designs.

    The largest rupiah denomination is currently 100,000 and the smallest is 1,000.

    Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she would discuss the proposal with parliament. However, it is not on the list of current legislative priorities for next year.

    “A redenomination would strengthen assurance in Indonesia’s currency, but it does not affect anything nominally,” she told reporters.

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  • Apparel recovery evident in US retail sales

    Apparel recovery evident in US retail sales

    Apparel was  stand-out category in a mixed month of fortunes for US retailers in November.

    According to official government data, US retail sales rose by just 0.1 per cent month-on-month, or 3.8 per cent year-on-year, including motor vehicles and petrol.

    Within core retail categories, apparel sales grew by 1.9 per cent year-on-year.

    “This may sound fairly subdued, but it is much better than the year-to-date growth rates which have seen volumes and prices slip,” observes Neil Saunders, CEO of retail consultancy Conlumino.

    “That said, most of this is down to weather that is much more conducive to sales compared to last year’s most unseasonal temperatures which left much winter wear hanging on the rails.”

    Saunders says that while at headline level November data suggested a good month for retail with strong overall growth across most parts of the sector, “in reality, it was a very choppy month with a great deal of variation between the weeks”.

    It was also a month affected by the election, the uncertainty from which hurt sales during October and the first week of November.

    “Fortunately, once the election was over some of the latent demand produced a much better growth figure in week 3. During this week furniture retailers and home improvement retailers put in a particularly good performance, the latter being aided by the onset of colder weather. “Early discounting in the period before Black Friday also helped to stimulate demand during this week. The run-up to Thanksgiving also saw a solid performance from grocery stores which, despite some ongoing deflation, notched up some reasonable volume uplifts,” said Saunders.

    As the month moved into Thanksgiving and Black Friday week, growth moderated to more subdued levels. “The Black Friday weekend was a fairly lackluster affair, partly because many shoppers had snagged bargains well before the event. The performance from physical retailers was poor over this period, with some anemic numbers coming from department stores.”

    Saunders said rising gas prices were starting to show in the US retail sales figures.

    “This has the potential to act as a brake on retail consumer spending as we enter the Christmas period. Overall, however, Conlumino maintains its view that it will be a reasonable, though not spectacular, holiday period.”

  • OneWeb secures $1.2b from Softbank-led investment

    OneWeb secures $1.2b from Softbank-led investment

    OneWeb has raised $1.2 billion in a new funding round led by Japan’s Softbank, bringing in fresh capital for the US satellite startup to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

    Softbank is investing $1 billion of the total $1.2 billion and has become a strategic partner, with one of its directors, Ronald Fisher, joining OneWeb’s board of directors.

    The remaining $200 million will be funded by its current investors, which include Airbus Group, Bharti Enterprises, Intelsat-owned Hughes Network Systems, Qualcomm, and Virgin Group. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

    OneWeb said the money will be used to build a high-volume satellite production plant in Florida, which is expected to create almost 3,000 new engineering, manufacturing and supporting jobs in US over the next four years.

    “With this new round of funding and based on our rapid technical progress over the past year, we also announce a much larger goal: to fully bridge the digital divide by 2027, making internet access available and affordable for everyone,” said OneWeb founder Greg Wyler.

    The new facility, which will begin production in 2018, aims to produce 15 satellites each week “at a fraction of the cost of what any satellite manufacturing facility in the world can produce today,” the company said.

    For Softbank, the $1 billion investment in OneWeb is the first tranche of a $50 billion US investment the Japanese conglomerate’s founder and CEO Masayoshi Son pledged to President-elect Donald Trump.

    “Earlier this month I met with President-Elect Trump and shared my commitment to investing and creating jobs in US,” Son said in a media release. “This is the first step in that commitment.”

    It is also Softbank’s latest attempts to strengthen the company’s foothold in the burgeoning IoT sector. In July, Softbank, which also owns US mobile carrier Sprint, acquired UK chipmaker Arm for a whopping $31 billion to pursue business opportunities in the emerging IoT sector.

    “SoftBank has a long history of investing in disruptive, foundational technologies that promise to help us realize the future sooner. OneWeb is a tremendously exciting company poised to transform internet access around the world from their manufacturing facility in Florida,” Son noted.

    Founded in 2012, OneWeb aims to build a communication network with a constellation starting with 720 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites to deliver affordable, high-speed, low latency internet access to rural areas across the United States and emerging markets.

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  • BHG department stores posting solid growth

    BHG department stores posting solid growth

    Singapore’s BHG department store group has opened its seventh outlet as it trumpets sold sales growth across its network.

    Photo: Straitstimes

    Apparently defying the city state’s widely publicised retail downturn, BHG is achieving solid growth through a focus on refreshing its merchandise mix every six months, running regular in-store promotions and other activities designed to stay “fresh and relevant”, MD Katsuharu Inamoto told the Straits Times in an interview.

    “If we maintain the same merchandise for three years, we will die. Shoppers here are concerned about quality and price. They have the eye to judge and they know what’s in trend.”

    He says BHG has maintained a “low single-digit” sales growth since last year.

    In line with its merchandise focus, the retailer has just introduced two new brands to its line-up: Korea’s Ladykin beauty products and US backpack maker Mi-Pac.

    The new Jurong East store which opened at the weekend, comprises 49,000 sqft over three levels. Two of those floors were previously occupied by rival department store John Little, which had traded in Jurong for 20 years, the third by electronics and furniture retailer Harvey Norman.

    Inamoto said his company had been seeking a suitable space in the city’s west for a long time and was quick to take the opportunity provided by John Little’s departure.

    “The mall has a unique tenant mix and lots of families go there.”

    BHG’s history dates back to 1995 when it opened as Seiyu Wing On, a joint venture between Hong Kong’s Wing On and Japan’s Seiyu department store group. Seiyu later bought out its partner and the business was sold to China’s Beijing Hualian Group in 1995 and renamed.

  • Dsptch Japan opens store in Tokyo

    Dsptch Japan opens store in Tokyo

    US label Dsptch Japan has opened a store in Tokyo, at Crest Omotesando in Shibuya-ku.

    Dsptch is a San Francisco design company that specialises in backpacks, tech cases and camera straps. It focuses on combining practicality with sleek, stylish design. Each piece is fabricated in the US.

    The new store will carry the brand’s full line, as well as complementary clothing and footwear by Descent Allterrain, Isaora and Reigning Champ.

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  • The world’s largest ‘hands-on’ interactive product launch

    The world’s largest ‘hands-on’ interactive product launch

    Ksubaka today revealed the results of the world’s largest hands-on experiential product launch for Milka chocolate brand. In just one month more than 12.4 million consumers had a physical interaction with Milka, learning about the product, its ethos and forming an emotional connection.

    As part of its launch Mondelez China appointed Ksubaka to devise, create and execute a campaign that would get noticed on a scale never seen before. Ksubaka’s media network of 7000+ touch screen playSpots located in over 130 cities across China were used to deliver an in store interactive branded mini game. Consumers were encouraged to learn about the key attributes and history of Milka chocolate through the power of play. To complete the experience shoppers were invited to interlock fingers with a friend (or stranger) to make a Milka chocolate bar, this created a special moment of ‘Tenderness’. Consumers were then encouraged to take a picture and share their moment of tenderness through social channels (and 5,700 did on Weibo) for a chance to visit the origin of Milka – The Alps.

    In just 30 days (October 1st 2016 – October 31st 2016), the campaign has delivered astonishing results;

    • 12.4 Million Shoppers Engaged with the game
    • 299 Million Milka Brand Exposures
    • 81,309 WeChat/Weibo codes scans and shares

    “Ksubaka’s unique experiential campaign, at massive scale, has delivered amazing brand emotion and physical interaction, perfectly fitting with Milka’s brand ethos, that Tenderness is Inside,” said, Stephen Maher, President of Mondelez, China.

    “Brands have always struggled to engage with consumers at the point of purchase, combine that with the pressure online advertising faces to justify its self administered metrics and the opportunity for a new platform that addresses these issues is vast. Our rapidly growing media network is the first to deliver real-time results at the point of purchase at massive scale. Working with Mondelez we have significantly moved the bar to what is expected from a consumer experiential engagement campaign – in just one month millions of consumers have had a physical interaction with Milka, this is the benchmark!” said Julian Corbett, CEO and founder, Ksubaka.

    As one of the billion dollar brands of the Mondelēz International family, Milka chocolate, which originated in the European Alpine area in 1901, is widely popular among customers in more than 30 countries. It is Milka’s insistence on using pure milk sourced from the Alpine areas that has enabled Milka chocolate’s tender taste to last for over a hundred years. Mondelēz China has attached great importance to Milka chocolate as a brand new category in the China market.

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  • Titan Launches Thai Commemorative EDGE Wristwatch

    Titan Launches Thai Commemorative EDGE Wristwatch

    Titan Company Limited, the world’s fifth largest watchmaker and part of the Indian conglomerate giant TATA Group, is releasing a limited edition timepiece in Thailand created especially for the Thai market.

    Titan selected its Red Dot award-winning EDGE, the world’s slimmest wristwatch in the universe, to create the exclusive wristwatch, commemorating the timeless respect and honor for His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

    The royal emblem marking the 70th Anniversary Celebrations of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Accession to the Throne is placed at 12 o’clock and the Thai numeral for nine at 9 o’clock. 

    The Titan Thai Commemorative EDGE wristwatch is available with a black, blue and brown dial and color-matched leather strap. The blue and brown dial watches are set in rose gold plated case while the black dial watch is set in a gold plated case, both of which gives this exclusive wristwatch an extra-special elegance and sophisticated quality. 

    With a total slimness of just 3.6 mm and a wafer-thin movement of 1.15mm, the Titan EDGE is a technological marvel. It is water resistant up to a depth of 30 meters. The classic hallmarks of the EDGE design include a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass front, stainless steel case and specially designed slim battery. 

    The inscription, “In Honor of His Majesty the King”, is engraved on the watch back as a tribute to the King, creating a wonderful memento for owners to treasure for years to come.

     “The intricate craftsmanship of the Titan EDGE, its timeless design and incredible innovation resonate with the Thai market,” said Sonia Yamdagni, Managing Director of Omni Co., Ltd., the sole distributor of Titan watches in Thailand. 

    “A sense of  tradition and appreciation for quality are valued and passed along from one generation to the next whilst moving toward a future of hope and success for the country and the Thai people; a symbol of the importance of finding time to give back to the nation and to others,” added Sonia.

    Titan watches are retailed in 32 countries worldwide. The Titan Thai Commemorative EDGE wristwatch, presented in an attractive velvet-lined wooden box, retails at THB 8,900 and is currently available at Central, Robinson and The Mall Group department stores nationwide, including Siam Paragon and Emporium in Bangkok.

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  • Express, Uber team up to tap opportunities in Indonesian market

    Express, Uber team up to tap opportunities in Indonesian market

    Despite its roller coaster relationship with new competitors, publicly listed taxi operator Express Transindo Utama announced on Monday it would team up with ride-hailing application Uber for a ride-sharing integration in hope to improve services and increase revenue.

    Under the collaboration, Express drivers will be able to use Uber’s application to take uberX orders apart from running conventional services.

    “Through collaboration with Uber, we expect to improve the utilization of our fleet,” Express Group chief operating officer Benny Setiawan said in a statement.

    Express, Benny went on, was also developing a scheme that would allow Uber partner drivers to purchase cars from Express through an installment scheme.

    Uber also shared enthusiasm about its partnership with Express.

    “We are enthusiastic that Express Group, a prominent taxi operator in Indonesia, now uses ride-sharing and technology to expand its market,” Uber Asia Pacific head of business Eric Alexander said.

    On March 22, over 10,000 conventional transportation drivers—mostly Express and Blue Bird taxi drivers, as well as drivers of angkot (public minivans), buses and bajaj (three-wheeled vehicles)—took to several thoroughfares in Jakarta to stage a protest.

    The protesters accused the government of failing to regulate increasingly popular app-based transportation services, such as Grab, Uber and Go-Jek, which they say were eroding their incomes.

    During the protest, conventional taxi drivers initially targeted Go-Jek and Grab drivers, though groups of ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers later retaliated, smashing cab windows.

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