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Tag: asia

  • Revamp pays off for Times Square

    Revamp pays off for Times Square

    A revamp of Hong Kong’s iconic Times Square shopping centre led to an 11 per cent rise in retail sales to a record HK$10.5 billion (US$1.35 billion) last year.

    Owner, The Wharf Holdings, said its overall revenue from the mall rose 21 per cent to HK$2.544 billion (US$328 million) and operating profit rose 24 per cent to HK$2.276 billion (US$293 million).

    Occupancy maintained at virtually 100 per cent.

    Times Square, prominently located at the heart of the Causeway Bay retail precinct, is among the most successful vertical malls in the world with 17-levels of shopping and a direct connection to the underground Mass Transit rail system.

    It also features one of the few open Piazza squares areas of any mall in Hong Kong.

    “The enhanced Times Square has pushed the bar to new heights and caters to higher levels of service, sophistication and entertainment demands from a broader range of shoppers. This sparked new growth in retail sales and revenue in 2014,” said The Wharf Holdings.

    New anchors and coveted luxury brands added in 2014 included Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior Homme, Fendi and De Beers. Culinary offerings including Yun Yan, Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant and Enmaru, the top-ranked Izakaya style Japanese debut as well as Laduree Tea Room, the renowned French café’s debut, which The Wharf says have met with encouraging responses from customers.

    The state-of-the-art five screen cinema Cine Times spanning the 12th to 14th floors have helped drive foot traffic, boosted sales and created value.

    The trade mix was further enhanced with addition of a diverse range of tenants from leading high-end brands such as Celine, Jimmy Choo and Hugo Boss to popular mass brands such as Topshop and American Eagle Outfitters. Gucci is set to open a vertical duplex store by mid-2015 and some tenants on the atrium floors will relocate with new store designs.

    The creation of a semi-retail zone at the upper floors further strengthened the tenant mix. il Colpo opened a 4800 sqft and Sulwhasoo opened its first 10,000 sqft beauty and Spa centre on Hong Kong Island.

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  • Zara Asia boosts online presence

    Zara Asia boosts online presence

    Spain’s Inditex Group is expanding its online shopping reach in Asia as it builds the profile of its brands in the region.

    Last year, flagship brand Zara added a South Korea store to its existing stores in Japan and China.

    And the company opened online stores for three of its other brands in China: for Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka.

    In the year ahead, the group says it will add online storefronts in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

    Inditex owns the Zara, Zara Home, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Oysho, Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti and Uterque brands.

    Last year the company said online sales growth was positive and that it was committed to progressively rolling out an eCommerce offer in markets where it had a presence.

    Earlier this month, Inditex’s Singapore partner Al-Futtaim Group announced it would open a bricks and mortar store in Changi international airport.

     

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  • Six percent of Apple Pay purchases believed to be fraudulent

    Six percent of Apple Pay purchases believed to be fraudulent

    When Apple introduced its pay-by-smartphone feature last year , the company touted the simplicity of the setup. All shoppers needed to do was wave their iPhones in front of a special scanner at the cash register – no need to fumble through pockets and purses for plastic cards or identification.

    But a sharp rise in reports of fraudulent Apple Pay transactions is now raising questions about the security of the first mobile payment system to find a measure of popular success. One payments analyst, Cherian Abraham, estimated that as many as 6 per cent of Apple Pay purchases are completed with stolen credit cards, or 60 times the rate of the old-fashioned plastic swipe.

    The problem is Apple Pay may be too simple to set up, security analysts said. Fraudsters have been loading stolen cards onto iPhones to buy things in shops. As it turns out, it may have been better if Apple Pay required users to do more to prove their identities when they sign up for the service, these experts said.

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  • Kathmandu slows down Aussie expansion

    Kathmandu slows down Aussie expansion

    Outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu is putting the brakes on its store expansion in Australia after racking up a first half loss.

    Disappointing sales at Christmas and in January as well as heavy discounting on excess winter stock were blamed by the retailer for pushing it into the red with a NZD1.8 million (USD1.4m) loss.

    The gloom looks likely to continue, with sales during the seven weeks to mid-March down 2 percent on a year ago.

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  • Lukfook debuts in Korea

    Hong Kong jeweller Luk Fook has opened its first store in Korea.

    The store is within the Walkerhill Duty Free complex in the downtown Seoul suburb of Gwangjin‐gu and targets tourists.

    Wong Wai Sheung, Lufook Group chairman and CEO, said the group will continue to provide quality jewellery products and professional services for Korean and global customers.

    “Adhering to our corporate vision of ‘Brand of Hong Kong, Sparkling the World’, the group has been expanding overseas markets to explore business opportunities. Currently, the group has over 1390 shops in Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Singapore, the US, Canada and Australia.

    “Following the opening of our first retail outlet in Korea, our retail network now covers eight countries and regions, which will broaden the customer base and further build the brand in the international market.”

    According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea reached approximately 5.7 million by the end of November last year, accounting for more than 43 per cent of the total number of travellers visiting Korea, and double the number of five years ago.

    Eyeing the strong purchasing power of Chinese tourists, the group plans to open another outlet in Korea to capture the market potential.

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  • Charlotte Olympia Thailand launches

    Charlotte Olympia Thailand launches

    Exclusive UK footwear designer Charlotte Olympia has opened her first store in Thailand, the second Asia market in its steadily growing international footprint. Charlotte Olympia plans to open four boutiques this year, the others in Las Vegas, South Coast Plaza in southern California and a second in London.

    “I’m so excited to be opening four new Charlotte Olympia stores this year. Our expanding global retail footprint marks a significant milestone in the development and growth of the brand,” said Charlotte Olympia Dellal, CEO and creative director, in a statement.

    “I’m delighted to be able to showcase my collections in environments which distinguish our offering.”

    Charlotte Olympia Bangkok 315

    The Bangkok store is on the ground floor of the Emporium shopping centre on Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Rd.

    The distinctive stores feature a design inspired by Hollywood glamour: leopard print seating, brass panelling and mirrored walls.

    Charlotte Olympia launched her first footwear collection at London Fashion Week in February 2008 and her first boutique store followed on Maddox St, London, two years later. New York followed in 2011 and Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills in 2013. Last year she opened three stores – in Hong Kong, Miami and Dubai.

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  • H&M soars in first quarter

    H&M soars in first quarter

    H&M says global sales in its first quarter – to February 28 – soared 15 per cent year-on-year on a local currency basis.

    CEO Karl-Johan Persson says the increase reflected well-received collections for all brands in the group, which boosted market share.

    Sales excluding VAT totalled US$4.73 billion.

    Gross profit increased by 26 per cent to $2.6 billion, which corresponds to a gross margin of 55.2 per cent, compared with 54.9 per cent the previous year.

    In the first quarter, H&M opened its first store in Taipei, Taiwan, and in the next three months will make its debut in Macau where it has two stores planned, along with entering Peru for the first time. In the second half of the year it will add Africa and India to its global footprint.

    The company said in a statement that sales in the first three weeks of the second quarter rose nine per cent in local currencies.

    “The year has got off to a very good start and we have great faith in our offering. Although the strong US dollar will affect our sourcing costs going forward, we will make sure that we always have the best customer offering in each individual market,” said Persson.

  • Hengdeli shifts focus to mid market

    Hengdeli shifts focus to mid market

    Chinese watch retailer and wholesaler Hengdeli Holdings is to expand into the mid market as it mainland China business grows.

    Hong Kong-listed Hengdeli specialises in high end watch retailing in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and has relationships with major global suppliers including Swatch, both LVMH and Richemont, Rolex and Kering.

    As at December 2014, the company represented more than 50 international brands, including Breguet, Bulgari, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Mido, Omega, Rolex, Scatola del Tempo, TAG Heuer, Tissot, Vacheron-Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels and Zenith.

    Last year Hengdeli added Manufacture Royale, MB&F and Vulcain to its portfolio as it stepped up its efforts to “bring in and align mid-end, mid-to-high end and high-end brands across both Mainland China and Hong Kong”. The company said it believes optimising the brand portfolio will pave the way for long-term business development and increased sales.

    According to recently filed 2014 financials, Hengdeli recorded turnover of RMB 14,764,370,000 (US$2.379 billion); an increase of 10.4 per cent year-on-year. Retail sales amounted to RMB 10,608,804,000 ($1.71 billion), an increase of 6.3 per cent year-on-year. Of this figure, retail sales in mainland China posted a year-on-year increase of 11.6 per cent to reach RMB 6,248,240,000 ($1.007 billion), while Elegant Hong Kong’s retail sales experienced a year-on-year decrease of 17.7 per cent to RMB 2,593,388,000 ($418 million). Excluding the impact of foreign exchange gains and losses, the decrease was 16.6 per cent.

    Group sales remained at the same level as in 2013, indicating a slowing of expansion. “Growth of our total retail sales was mainly generated by domestic retail outlets and mid-end brands. While continuing weak sales of high-end watches had some impact on the total retail sales, the new normality of China’s economy and our strategy of aligning operations with market dynamics has paid off. As a result, the decline in sales of high-end watches in Mainland China began to slowdown.”

    The company says sales of mid-end brands remained favourable, posting a year- on-year growth of 16.1 per cent. Same-store sales of mid-end brands also grew by 2.2 per cent, which was above the group’s average growth for the year.

    The group recorded net profit of RMB 583,427,000 ($94 million); an increase of 24.4 per cent year-on-year.

    As well as focussing expansion on less high end brands, Hengdeli actively expanded into mainland China’s second, third, and fourth-tier cities while building market shares in first-tier cities, and establishing a multi-level sales system across Mainland China and Hong Kong.

    At year end, the Group operated 513 retail outlets in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

    The Group’s retail network covers the Greater China Region, where retail stores mainly includes Prime Time/Hengdeli, Elegant as well as certain other single-brand boutiques. Prime Time/Hengdeli mainly sells mid-end and mid-to-high-end international brands, while Elegant focuses on top-end internationally renowned brands.

    Prime Time is the major retail outlet arm of the Group in Mainland China and mainly sells internationally renowned mid-end and mid-to-high-end branded watches.

    Hengdeli says in 2015, China’s economy looks likely to continue to evolve despite ongoing global economic uncertainties.

    “We believe that the resultant new normality will continue to create exciting fresh opportunities for the group.”

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  • SSI Group plans 130 new stores

    SSI Group plans 130 new stores

    Fresh from announcing record profit growth, Philippines specialty retail operator SSI Group says it plans to open 130 new stores this year.

    The expansion plan will be ramped up even further if current discussions with four international fashion brands not yet launched in the Philippines come to fruition. They could arrive late this year or in early 2016.

    As reported by Inside Retail Asia on Tuesday, SSI Group grew topline sales by 19 per cent last year and achieved a 63 per cent increase in profit.

    It ended the year with 723 specialty stores and 134,000 sqm of retail trading area. The company’s brand portfolio includes Marks and Spencer, Gucci, Burberry, Hermès, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Lacoste, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Gap, Bershka, Aeropostale, Samsonite, Nine West and Payless Shoe Source.

    SSI President Anton T Huang said the company will continue its expansion strategy, with plans to add 21,000 sqm of trading area this year and a further 16,000 sqm in 2016.

    The growth is being spurred by the growing disposable income of middle class Filipinos and rapid development of new shopping malls.

    SSI already has a presence in at least 70 shopping centres across the country.

    The last three years saw SSI add 64,000 sqm of retail space, more than half of that opening last year alone.

    “There really is a very steady supply of new shopping malls coming up, just taking into account the continued growth in consumption expenditure and increasing sophistication of consumers not only in suburban areas within the metropolis but in secondary cities throughout the country,” Huang said.

    “Just looking at 2014, it was a very good year for us… We grew our top line sales by 19 per cent and in terms of fourth quarter alone, we grew our top line sales by 26 per cent,” said Huang.

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  • HK shopping mall partners with Variably to launch automated price negotiation system

    Hong Kong shopping mall The Arcade, Cyeberport has partners with a tech startup Variably to launch a personalised automated price negotiation system accessible via WeChat and QR Code Scan, allowing retailers and customers to negotiate the best possible price that is satisfactory for both.

    By scanning at the QR code of your favourite items with WeChat app, shopper can direct contact the retailer and negotiate the best possible price privately and automatically.

    In retail commerce, prices are fixed and cannot be negotiated. That has often left customers passively waiting for discounts, or skipping purchases altogether. For a seller, this is a tricky situation: set a price too low and they’ll lose profits; set the price too high, and risk losing customers. Finding the right price has proved to be a major challenge.

    The price negotiation platform empowers users to bargain the best possible price privately and automatically, breaking the traditional mold of retail operations and giving buyers and shoppers an innovative and efficient way to negotiate.

    A tenant at Cyberport, Variably is founded by a team of experts in the field of data, statistics, and computing. They are the only non-Chinese team included in Alibaba’s Baichuan developer services, with seed funding of more than USD900,000.

    In a pioneering move, the system will be available from now on to 15 April to give shoppers the chance to experience the future of interactive commerce.

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  • UnionPay joins hands with 80 airport duty free shops to expand cardholder privileges

    UnionPay joins hands with 80 airport duty free shops to expand cardholder privileges

    UnionPay International, a unit of China UnionPay Co Ltd, said on Friday that it launched a new privilege program featuring special discounts at 80 duty free shops in 70 airports by partnering with 16 world-renowned duty free groups. Holders of UnionPay cards (card number starting with 62) are able to enjoy exclusive discounts of at least 5 percent while shopping at the airport.

    “As China becomes the world’s second largest tourism source country, we’re keeping up with the trends that individual and in-depth tours have become more popular to continuously enrich our global cardholder privilege system,” said Dong Li, Chief Branding Officer of UnionPay International.

    “Airport duty free shops are must-visit shopping sites for many during their travel, we wish to provide both domestic and overseas cardholders with better card-using experiences at airports around the world by rolling out the latest privilege program.”

    The program is an upgrade of the one of last year that features exclusive discounts at 60 airport duty free shops with many highlights.

    It covers a wide range including popular destinations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. A total of 17 airports among the top 20 global ones in terms of passenger flow participate in the program.

    Cardholders can enjoy discounts of at least 5 percent. In the meantime, the program covers the Labour Day and the summer vacation during which Chinese tourists prefer to travel. Around 30 percent of the duty free shops, including those in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport and Ngurah Rai International Airport, will extend the offers to the end of 2015.

    A large number of new merchants are involved. International airports in emerging tourist destinations including Russia, Italy, Qatar, South Africa, Finland, Belgium and Fiji participate for the first time. UnionPay International also offers privileges in 5 domestic airport duty free shops in Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Kunming to overseas UnionPay cardholders.

    Currently, the overseas UnionPay acceptance network has expanded to 150 countries and regions. UnionPay cards are accepted by 26 million merchants and 1.8 million ATMs worldwide. UnionPay has become the preferred payment service provider of Chinese outbound tourists. Since last year, UnionPay International has launched privilege programs featuring discounts at airport duty free shops, core business districts and tourist destinations.

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  • Lululemon eyes Asia growth

    Lululemon eyes Asia growth

    Yogawear retailer Lululemon sees a positive future in Asia, despite bad experiences in Japan and Australia.

    Announcing a 13 per cent jump in global revenue in 2014 to US$1.6 billion, the Canadian company reiterated plans to open a new store in Hong Kong this year.

    The company plans 20 new stores in Europe and Asia this year with Hong Kong, Germany and the UK singled out as priorities.

    CEO Laurent Potdevin told analysts in a conference call he believed international revenues could eventually exceed those from North America.

    Lululemon currently has stores in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Australia and New Zealand.

    It once had stores in Japan but withdrew from that market in 2009 after poor sales. It has also trimmed its network in Australia where sales failed to meet expectations.

    Besides Asia, the company is bullish about its prospects in the Middle East.

    It has a partnership with Dubai-based retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim to open stores in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. The first store is scheduled to open in Dubai late this year

    Potdevin described 2014 as “a critical year when we strengthened our leadership team and made important investments in our product pipeline, guest experience, brand, and community engagement”.

    “In 2015, we expect to substantially complete this foundational work and accelerate our investments in innovation to drive sustainable global growth as we continue to lead the market that we created,” he said in an earnings statement.

  • Thai beauty market booms

    Thai beauty market booms

    The Thai beauty industry is growing rapidly, fuelled by increasingly sophisticated consumers, including men.

    Sales in the lucrative luxury segment soared 24 per cent last year, aided by reductions in duty tariffs seen as a government initiative to attract more foreign shoppers.

    With 70 million potential consumers, there are many opportunities for international and domestic companies in what the organisers of ASEANbeauty 2015 trade show next month describe as “a vibrant market, which values new and innovative products”.

    ASEANbeauty 2015 expects to attract over 200 exhibiting brands from different countries and regions including Taiwan, mainland China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand, who will join a host of global businesses focusing on the Asia region. Many of these brands will take the opportunity to launch new products and innovations during the event.

    Held at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Bangkok, Thailand, ASEANbeauty 2015 will run from April 8 to 10.

    On the afternoon of April 8, a panel discussion Thailand is Ready for The ASEAN Beauty Market, with invited speakers from association and government bodies will share thoughts on how Thailand is ready for the ASEAN beauty market and how the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community will impact the ASEAN beauty industry as a whole.

    Consumers and Marketing Focus for The Cosmetics Industry in 2015 will enable industry players to stay ahead with the latest trends, with brand new market data, case studies and insights.

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  • Yelp lands in Taiwan

    Yelp lands in Taiwan

    Business rating app Yelp has opened a portal in Taiwan.

    Yelp allows shoppers and customers of other businesses to share their opinions and experiences in a similar way TripAdvisor allows crowd ratings of restaurants, hotels and holiday destinations.

    From this week, people throughout Taiwan can create accounts on Yelp.com.tw  and use the free iPhone and Android applications as well as its free suite of business owner tools: Yelp for Business Owners.

    “From shopping at street markets for sweet and savory snacks, to getting lost on the many hiking trails, Taiwan is an energetic tropical island full of surprises,” says Miriam Warren, VP of new markets. “Similar to Yelp’s home in Silicon Valley, a bevy of influential technology firms make their home in Taiwan. It’s definitely a natural fit.”

    Yelp is already in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan and The Taiwan debut continues an Asia growth ambition. The company will initially appoint a community manager in Taipei, whose role will be to build a local community of Yelpers in Taipei.

    Yelp is available to everyone in Taiwan with access to the Internet, whether that be via their desktop, smartphone or tablet, and they can do so in any one of the 16 languages that Yelp currently supports, including traditional Chinese.

  • Chinese drive Europe outlet malls

    Chinese drive Europe outlet malls

    Chinese travellers are poised to become the biggest global spenders at McArthurGlen designer outlets in Europe.

    Fashion-conscious travellers from China and across Asia are spending big at McArthurGlen’s  20 Designer Outlet centres located across Europe, with Chinese visitors poised to become the most prolific spenders in 2015.

    The company, a joint venture with US property giant Simon, says total tax-free sales at McArthurGlen Designer Outlets reached a record high in 2014, reflecting a more than quadrupling of sales to international travellers over the past four years.

    “Impressive sales growth was seen from Chinese shoppers, up 36 per cent, and from Korean travellers, whose spending increased 32 per cent” the company said.

    The projections for future Chinese spending overseas are even more impressive. In 2014, 109 million Chinese tourists spent US$164 billion worldwide, while 174 million Chinese tourists are tipped to spend $264 billion annually by 2019, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

    “These upward global spending figures are being reflected in sales at McArthurGlen’s Designer Outlets. In 2014, Chinese shoppers accounted for 25 per cent of total tax-free sales, ranking second overall behind Russian travelers (29 per cent). Korean visitors ranked third, with five per cent of total tax-free sales.

    “In 2015, Chinese visitors will likely overtake Russian tourists as the number one international spender.”

    McArthurGlen Designer Outlets is responding to the burgeoning Chinese interest by increasing its digital engagement with consumers in China. A dedicated page is about to be launched on social media channel WeChat, and McArthurGlen also re-launched its Sino-Weibo page. In addition, the McArthurGlen App and The Guide is available in 12 languages, including Chinese.

    Anthony Rippingale, McArthurGlen’s head of tourism, says the company’s sales to international shopping tourists are increasing twice as fast as for overall tax-free retail sales in Europe.

    “We are noticing particularly impressive growth from Korea and China, whose shoppers rank first and second for average transaction value for international visitors.”

    Across all international shopping markets, the most popular McArthurGlen Designer Outlets in 2014 for tax-free shopping were: Serravalle (near Milan, Italy), Roermond (near Düsseldorf, Germany), Parndorf (Vienna, Austria), Noventa di Piave (Venice, Italy) and Castel Romano (Rome, Italy).

    In June, McArthurGlen will open its first centre outside Europe, in Vancouver, Canada.

    “The latter will be of special interest to Chinese shoppers after the announcement of the new 10-year Canada visa plan for Chinese guests was announced in March,” the company said.

    McArthurGlen Group, Europe’s leading owner, developer and manager of designer outlets, was founded in Europe by Kaempfer Partners in 1993. Since then, the company has developed nearly 600,000 sqm of outlet space, with a current value of more than euro 3 billion, and manages 20 McArthurGlen Designer Outlets across eight countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK.

    In 2013, McArthurGlen became a joint venture between the world’s largest retail developer, Simon Property Group, and Kaempfer Partners.