Retail News CRM

Tag: asia

  • Sizzlin’ Steak heads to Vietnam

    Sizzlin’ Steak heads to Vietnam

    Filipino corporate restaurateur Max’s Group is to launch its Sizzlin’ Steak concept in Vietnam.

    Max’s Group is the largest casual dining restaurant company in the Philippines. It owns Yellow Cab Pizza, which it recently launched in the UAE.

    Sizzlin’ Steak is an eight year old Japanese steak barbecue concept, serving steak and other meats cooked on hot plates at low price points. Barbecue style dining concepts are popular amongst Vietnamese.

    Max’s is entering Vietnam in partnership with L Concepts, a subsidiary of the Longfort Group, which focuses on developing unique dining concepts and brands in Southeast Asia.

    According to documents filed with the stock exchange in Manila, L Concepts will open a minimum of 10 Sizzlin’ Steak restaurants in Vietnam within five years. Max’s currently has 10 in metro Manila and is considering a pilot store in the US.

    Max’s Group president and CEO Robert Trota says the company plans to add at least 200 stores to its overseas network by 2020.

    “We envision to rollout our key brands outside the Philippines with strategic franchise operators. As new markets are established and momentum builds in the next few years, we expect the international portion of our business to be a significant contributor to system-wide sales and to our bottom line,” he said.

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  • SM Group, Disney seal strategic deal

    SM Group, Disney seal strategic deal

    SM Group is to collaborate with The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia to bring Disney brands closer to Filipinos through mall, retail, entertainment and amusement opportunities.

    The two companies say they aim to bring Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars brands to life through “unique Disney experiences at SM’s many leisure and entertainment properties”.

    Fans can look forward to a host of innovative offerings including Disney branded events, promotions and other unique experiences themed around fan-favorite Disney brands and characters.

    “We are thrilled to be associated with the iconic Walt Disney Company,” said Edgar Tejerero, president of SM Lifestyle Entertainment.

    “Henry Sy Sr envisioned and purposed a second home for Filipinos across the nation where they can create memorable bonding activities with their families through amusement facilities, retail centers, and food establishments, all found in one mall. Sixty-five years later, and with 52 malls across the Philippines, it had just been high time that SM forged an official collaboration with the best family entertainment company in the world,” Tejerero said.

    Rob Gilby, MD of The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia, said Disney makes millions of Filipinos laugh and smile with its stories and characters every day.

    “We have worked with the various arms of SM group over the years and today we are delighted to announce our collaboration on a comprehensive plan to create magical moments and memories that will last a lifetime for fans across the Philippines.”

    SM says it has synergised the efforts of all its subsidiaries – including SM Supermalls, SM Markets, The SM Store, Toy Kingdom, and its lifestyle and entertainment arm, SM Lifestyle Entertainment – to produce a complete and one-of-a-kind Disney experience for its patrons: from the moment they enter the mall to watch a movie, to the time they purchase their favourite snack and Disney merchandise. Patrons can also take their SM Cinema and Disney experience with them home, or wherever they go, through the newly launched Blink app.

    As a precursor to an already successful association, Disney and SM have worked together to bring multiple experiential events to the Filipino families such as the recent Avengers Experience in SM North Edsa, where guests were treated to life-size characters, Avenger-themed games, and a ‘meet and greet’ with Captain America, Thor and Black Widow.

    To officially jump start their partnership, SM and Disney will be launching a “Star Wars Galactic Christmas” to welcome the latest instalment of the movie, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The exhibit will include life-size figurines of characters from the movie, interactive games, and official merchandise from the SM Store and Toy Kingdom.

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  • China Nepstar turns from loss to profit

    China Nepstar turns from loss to profit

    NYSE-listed pharmaceutical retailer China Nepstar Chain Drugstore says increased staff training and promotional activity fuelled a 12.9 per cent rise in sales in the latest quarter.

    In the three months to June 30, China Nepstar achieved US$125 million in sales, with same store sale up 16.7 per cent year on year. The company reported a net income of $1.4 million compared to a net loss of $2.5 million last year.

    CEO Rebecca Zhang said the same-store-sales growth had accelerated during the quarter due to higher store traffic as a result of effective promotions on pharmaceutical products and professional store service training.

    “While we focus on productivity at the store level, we also managed to achieve better operational efficiency by reducing our general and administrative expenses and constantly optimising our store management,” she said.

    During the second quarter of 2015, the company opened 38 stores and closed 59. As of June 30, it had 1948 directly operated stores in total.

    China Nepstar had a portfolio of 2155 private label products at the end of June 30, which now account for 14.7 per cent of its revenue and 22 per cent of gross profit.

    “As we gradually achieve recovery in growth on profit, we will focus on accelerating our organic revenue growth by fine-tuning our store management system and improving our store image to customers,” Zhang said of the business’ outlook.

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  • Tiffany China sales soar

    Tiffany China sales soar

    Jeweller Tiffany & Co says its 30 China stores posted record double-digit sales growth in the second quarter.

    China is the world’s second largest luxury market and accounts for 10 per cent of the US company’s global store network.

    And despite the Chinese economy’s much-publicised slowdown, demand remains high for in fashion brands like Tiffany and Apple.

    Tiffany said in its quarterly earnings report it has no plans to adjust its China strategy despite the devaluing currency and stock market decline.

    Tiffany China will open an unspecified number of new stores in the year ahead and has previously said it is looking at tier 2 cities in addition to building its presence in traditional luxury market hubs of Shanghai and Beijing.

    The company says it expects strong growth in the quarter ahead.

  • Tesco Thailand to offer phone services

    Tesco Thailand to offer phone services

    Tesco Lotus Thailand is teaming up with CAT Telecom to offer a mobile virtual network service.

    The deal will see Tesco Thailand selling SIM cards to its 3 million Clubcard loyalty program members and other customers and marketing cellular network services under its own brand.

    CAT has similar partnerships with True and Real Move, among others. Real Move accounts for 80 per cent of its capacity, serving 13.5 million customers.

    The 50-50 joint venture partnership will run until CAT’s current licence expires in 2025, with Tesco Lotus marketing commencing next year. CAT will lease space on its network and Tesco Lotus will develop a marketing plan and distribute SIM cards.

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  • Central Pattana plans four new malls

    Central Pattana plans four new malls

    Thai shopping centre operator Central Pattana has announced plans for another four or five shopping malls to be completed by 2018.

    The company says it has allocated THB30 billion (US$838 million)  for the new properties – which it says are in addition to a raft of previously announced planned properties.

    Central Pattana is the listed property development subsidiary of Central Group which owns shopping centres the length and breadth of Thailand and in Italy, Germany and China.

    The new malls will be built in the capital city of Bangkok and in larger regional cities. It has already announced plans to build centres in Phuket, Nakhon Ratchasima and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

    “CPN still aims for further expansion in major economic cities, as well as locations with potential business both in Thailand and neighbouring countries to demonstrate its sustainable growth,” said CFO Naparat Sriwanvit.

    Besides its Thai plans, the company is proceeding with a Malaysian joint venture to open a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur and it is conducting feasibility studies on entering Vietnam and Indonesia.

    Parent Central already operates a Central Department Store in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and the group has assets including a joint venture electronics chain and a department store in Vietnam.

    CPN runs 26 shopping malls in Bangkok and in major provinces, including Hat Yai.

  • OldTown Coffee suffers as Malaysians spend less

    OldTown Coffee suffers as Malaysians spend less

    Malaysian cafe chain OldTown Coffee has reported falling sales and profits as Malaysians continue to get used to life after the imposition of GST on April 1.

    The company, which operates 210 discount coffee shops and sells packaged coffee through FMCG channels, posted a profit of RM9.49 million ($US2.2 million)  in its first quarter, to June 30, 6.8 per cent less quarter on quarter and an unhealthy 18.9 per cent less year on year. Topline sales slumped 10.5 per cent quarter on quarter and 3.9 per cent year on year to RM94.06 million (US$22.3 million).

    OldTown concentrates on the local Malaysian market serving milky coffees and light snacks – it does not make espresso-style coffee drinks like Starbucks.

    The company says its declining fortunes were driven by a downturn in cafe sales, rather than packaged goods: Same store coffee shop profit fell 46.4 per cent year on year.

    The company plans to open 10 new outlets before the end of the current financial year, next March, representing an expansion of about five per cent.

    Sales of packaged foods – mainly instant coffee and coffee mixes – rose 29 per cent.

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  • Altelier D’Auchel Hong Kong store opens

    Altelier D’Auchel Hong Kong store opens

    French leather goods brand Altelier D’Auchel has opened its first retail store in the territory.

    Altelier D’Auchel Hong Kong is located on the 14th floor of Lyndhurst Tower, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace in Central.

    The label makes leather goods to order, with price tags ranging from HK$40,000 to $300,000, depending on the materials, style and colours chosen. Once ordered, a bag takes anywher from a fortnight to a month to be created.

    A truly artisan brand, Altelier D’Auchel employs craftsmen who have trained in the traditional techniques at the Compagnons du Devoirs, which is a French apprentice training organisation dating back to the Middle Ages where master craftsmen and artisans train apprentices in a craft. After qualifying, the designers have to spend another 10 years at a name atelier to make the grade.

    Altelier D’Auchel sent master craftsmen from France to Hong Kong to celebrate the exclusive store’s opening and to provide a live demonstration of the art of making fine handbags.

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  • Seed Heritage opens at VivoCity

    Seed Heritage opens at VivoCity

    Australian childrenswear chain Seed Heritage has opened a new store in VivoCity.

    It is Seed heritage’s second store in the city state, following its debut in Parkway Parade.

    Last week’s opening was marked with a 20 per cent off storewide sale across its range of baby, child and teenage girls clothing, which ended on Sunday.

    Seed Heritage is one of Australia’s most popular premium childrenswear brands, providing solutions from top-to-toe for babies, boys, and girls, from the ages of newborn to 10 year olds. It recently expanded its range into a teen collection for girls aged eight to 14 years.

    Seed Heritage is best known in Australia for its quality and detail and distinctive design across apparel, shoes, accessories, and toys.

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  • First Garrett Popcorn Taiwan store planned

    First Garrett Popcorn Taiwan store planned

    Garrett Popcorn, the Chicago-based gourmet popcorn brand, is continuing its Asian expansion with the opening of a store in the landmark Taipei 101 complex.

    The first Garrett Popcorn Taiwan store expands the brands presence in Asia, where it already has stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.
    Garrett says it chose Taipei 101 to set up its first Taiwan store because of its proximity to public transportation and a commercial community and the potential for tourism business.

    “The Taiwan marketplace is exciting and vibrant, with an especially rich food culture. We are happy to commit Taipei 101 as the location of choice for our flagship shop in the heart of Taipei,” said Lance Chody, chairman and CEO of Garrett Popcorn Shops.

    “We are also excited to bring delicious handmade Garrett Popcorn – made fresh with real ingredients every day – to join the landmark Taipei 101 experience,” he said.

    “The launch of Taiwan flagship store in Taipei 101 is essential in our expansion plan in the Asia market,” added Olivia Huynh, VP of Asia-Pacific operations at Garrett Popcorn Shops.

    Taiwan is the 10th overseas market for Garrett Popcorn. Outside Asia it has stores in the UAE and

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  • Logistics firm 21Express to tap Indonesia’s e-commerce boom for higher growth

    Logistics firm 21Express to tap Indonesia’s e-commerce boom for higher growth

    Founder and CEO 21Express Tjia Anastasia told reporters on Wednesday that the company’s plan to enter the retail courier business is driven by the high demand from retail sector for domestic and international shipments.

    “We have seen a fast growth in e-commerce since about 2010.This growth has really impacted the logistics business as companies have to send packages to Indonesia regularly,” Fany Wyadi, managing director of 21Express, said.

    As online shopping becomes increasingly popular in smaller cities, the Jakarta-based company expects to see shipments growth double or even treble in the next year from the current 130,000 packages each month, said Fany. 21Express’ clientele is dominated by corporates who account for 70 per cent of the business while it has already signed up three of the country’s top e-commerce players as clients, Fany said, declining to divulge further.

    According to independent research body IDC, e-commerce market in Indonesia grew by 42 per cent from 2012 to 2015.

    The high growth is encouraging e-commerce businesses to find reliable partners so that the delivery of goods and documents can be done in time. For example, one of the leading retail optical networks of the country Optik Melawai, has partnered with 21Express to send stock glasses and sales tools to hundreds of outlets in Indonesia. Tjia explains that its first partner is serving the retail customers of a communication equipment distributor firm to distribute its high value products.

    “We are the pioneer company behind the successful sales and distribution of mobile phones in Indonesia and one of the companies that is believed to transmit the tools and medical material to the corners of Indonesia,” Fany said.

    Backed by more than 200 units in its fleet, the company currently has 30 official outlets in Indonesia with an additional 50 partners that franchise the service. The company said, it was in the process of adding 200 new outlets by the end of the year.

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  • Indonesia’s eFishery raises undisclosed pre-Series A funding

    Indonesia’s eFishery raises undisclosed pre-Series A funding

    INDONESIA’S eFishery, a smart fish feeder manufacturer, said it has secured pre-Series A funding from Dutch aquaculture investment fund Aqua-spark and Indonesian venture capital (VC) firm Ideosource.

    eFishery did not disclose the investment amount, but said the funds would be used to scale its distribution network nationwide, and also to ramp up manpower.

    “eFishery is a perfect example of a company that is solving real problems in a lucrative market,” said Andrias Ekoyuono, vice president of business development at Ideosource.

    According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, more than 96% of fish farming activities worldwide is concentrated in Asia. In Indonesia alone, the overall market size for aquaculture is US$5.4 billion.

    As an Internet of Things (IoT) startup for fish and shrimp farming, the Indonesian firm said it is tackling one of the largest challenges in commercial aquaculture: Feeding operations.

    Fish feeding traditionally makes up between 50% and 80% of fish farming overhead costs, eFishery said in a statement.

    Overfeeding negatively impacts the environment in many ways, as a great deal of fish food ultimately goes to waste. It also harms the health of a farmer’s stock. Underfeeding means fish may not survive.

    The result of unmeasured and inexact fish feeding methods on a commercial scale inevitably means economic losses for farmers, the company said.

    eFishery offers a transformative, affordable, tech-based solution to solve the problem, in the form of an automatic smart feeder that uses sensors to measure fish appetite and appropriate feed amounts.

    Designed for both small and large-scale farmers, the system can sense appetites, automatically distribute feed, and give real-time reports of consumption on the farmer’s smartphone, the company claimed.

    “The problem we are solving is the inefficiency of feeding in the fish farming business,” said eFishery cofounder and chief executive officer Gibran Chuzaefah Amsi El Farizy.

    “I saw the problem when I was a fish farmer myself. Fish feeding is done inefficiently by labourers, and farmers don’t have any technology to control the feeding yet.

    “We built this product to make the fish and shrimp farming business more efficient, convenient, and accountable,” he added.

    eFishery said it makes makes money from selling smart feeders to farmers and distributors. It also charges a monthly subscription fee for the software used to monitor and analyse fish feeding activities in real-time via tablet or smartphone.

    On average, its smart feeding system reduces the amount of feed used by 21%, the company claimed.

    eFishery said it has sold hundreds of units in the past two years, and currently has over 17,000 fish and shrimp farms in its pipeline, which include orders from Thailand, Singapore, India, China, Brazil, and countries in Africa.

    “We are very excited to solve the global challenge of fish feeding with eFishery,” said Aqua-spark partner Amy Novogratz.

    “Indonesia has about 3.3 million fishponds and 2.7 million fish farms. When brought to scale, it could have a massive impact across a global industry plagued by this challenge.

    “It has the potential to set a new standard for aquaculture and make the industry more transparent, data-driven, and accountable – all factors that will make businesses in this sector more investment-friendly,” she added.

    eFishery said it will use the newly acquired capital for three purposes: To engage distributors, find local partners, and expand its market share aggressively in Indonesia.

    It is also developing a software-side platform, and will create a better dashboard for customers, as well as add more features and fish compatibility for its device.

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  • MatahariMall Sets Its Sights High in Booming E-Commerce Scene

    MatahariMall Sets Its Sights High in Booming E-Commerce Scene

    Since its soft-launch earlier this year, MatahariMall has garnered nearly 200,000 customers with 200,000 different products in its inventory offered by some 1,200 vendors, according to Hadi.

    It has also set up a 10,000-square-meter warehouse located near Halim Perdanakusuma airport in East Jakarta.

    Backed by Lippo, one of the nation’s biggest retail groups, MatahariMall offers an online-to-offline service that would allow customers to order their goods online and collect them at a nearby Matahari department store or Hypermart supermarket.

    Both Matahari and Hypermart are affiliated with the Lippo Group, as is the Jakarta Globe.

    The service will later also be expanded across Lippo’s network, to outlets such as the Books & Beyond bookstore chain, Hadi said.

    “We are very proud of the team,” said the Lippo Group’s John Riady. “The growth numbers are very strong and the team is very focused. Lippo and our other investors are fully committed to doing anything we can to support MatahariMall as it pioneers e-commerce in Indonesia.”

    Undeterred by the current economic slowdown, Emirsyah Satar, the MatahariMall chairman, said the site aimed to capture a 20 percent share of Indonesia’s online retail market over the next five years, banking on the country’s expanding middle-class population.

    “We can see that Indonesia’s e-commerce still lags behind our neighbor countries,” he said. “In fact, we see the economic slowdown as a momentum to boost online retail, because most people are now looking for more affordable products.”

    Lippo’s much-publicized venture has lured in a series of seasoned executives from Indonesia’s tech industry, including Hadi from Zalora, another popular e-commerce site; Emirsyah from Garuda Indonesia; and ex-Google Indonesia head Rudy Ramawy as vice chairman.

    Adrian Suherman, previously the CEO of aCommerce, a Thai e-commerce logistics provider, also recently joined the MatahariMall team as a commissioner.

    The Lippo Group in April appointed Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill-Lynch to lead its $200 million first-round financing, with Britain’s Rothschild as financial advisers.

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  • AirAsia’s Indonesian affiliate plans debt-to-equity conversion

    The Indonesian affiliate of Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia Bhd is planning to convert debt into shares to meet a new government rule on equity.

    The debt will be converted into preference shares which carry no voting rights, Sunu Widyatmoko, President Director of PT Indonesia AirAsia, told Reuters in a text message.

    He declined to disclose the amount to be converted as it is pending approval from the Indonesia investment coordinating board.

    Indonesia AirAsia is among several airlines that have until Sept. 30 to meet Indonesia’s “positive equity” rule after the country’s transport ministry extended the deadline from July 31.

    The ministry previously said 13 airlines had “negative equity” – meaning assets used to secure loans were worth less than the outstanding balance of the loans. It said those airlines risked suspension if they did not turn equity positive.

    AirAsia shares jumped as much as 5.4 percent in early trade, outperforming the benchmark index which was down 0.6 percent.- Reuters

  • Fonterra opens $37m blending and packing plant in Indonesia

    Fonterra opens $37m blending and packing plant in Indonesia

    New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has opened a new $37m blending and packing plant in Indonesia.

    Said to be Fonterra’s first manufacturing facility in the country, the plant uses the company’s manufacturing design standards and technology.

    The plant is capable of packing close to 16,000mt of dairy ingredients annually and it will allow Fonterra to meet growing demand for nutrition in the country.

    The company says that the capacity is equivalent to nearly 87,000 packs of Anlene, Anmum, and Anchor Boneeto per day.

    When fully operational, the plant will employ 160 local people.

    The investment, which is Fonterra’s largest investment in ASEAN in the past 10 years, will boost the growth of Fonterra’s brands including Anmum, Anlene and Anchor Boneeto.

    Construction on the plant at Cikarang in West Java commenced in March 2014.

    Fonterra Asia, Middle-East, Africa managing director Johan Priem said: “The country’s large and increasingly affluent population is looking for highly nutritious foods for all ages.

    “This is fuelling dairy demand growth which is expected to increase by five per cent every year to 2020.

    “The site also utilises Cikarang’s dry port, allowing us to ensure all of our operations are located in one area. This will help us drive logistical efficiencies.”

    New Zealand Minister of Local Government, Social Housing and State Services Paula Bennett said that the new facility reflects the strength of the relationship between New Zealand and Indonesia.

    “Our governments have set a target to grow two-way trade to NZD4 billion by 2024 and dairy continues to be a critical part of this relationship,” added Bennett.

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