After doing USD2 billion gross merchandise value of sales last year, Snapdeal seeks to hit USD3 billion in the next two months; Its seller base has grown to 100,000, from 1,000 in 2012.
Tag: asia
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Tata International to set up outlets for footwear brands
Tata International, the global trading and distribution company of the Tata group, is planning to set up exclusive branded outlets for four new footwear brands. The company will launch these for the domestic market by September this year.
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Slumping sales, store closures hit Australian Esprit
Slumping sales and store closures led to a small loss for the Australian arm of international fashion retailer Esprit, as its parent company’s shares come under attack from short sellers.
Esprit bills itself as the largest international fashion retailer in Australia and New Zealand, and has operated in Australia for more than 30 years.
It employs nearly 400 people and has dozens of stores throughout Australia as well as selling through department store Myer. But in recent years, Australia has become increasingly popular for international fashion retailers, with global giants Uniqlo, Zara, H&M and Topshop setting up more than a dozen stores in the past few years.
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Wendy’s to sell 500 more stores to franchisees in 2015
In pursuit of its goal to reduce company-operated restaurant ownership to approximately 5 percent of the total system by the middle of 2016, Wendy’s recently announced that it is planning to sell 500 additional restaurants to franchisees this year.
The company sold 237 company-operated restaurants to franchisees in 2014, including 29 restaurants under its Canadian system optimisation initiative to sell approximately 130 restaurants by the end of the second quarter of 2015.
“Going forward, we intend to buy and sell restaurants opportunistically to act as a catalyst for growth by further strengthening our franchisee base, driving new restaurant development and accelerating Image Activation adoption,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Emil Brolick in a statement.
Brolick also said that reducing ownership in company-owned restaurants will result in pretax cash proceeds of approximately USD400 to USD475 million and significantly reduce future capital expenditure requirements.
“We can achieve long-term average annual systemwide same-restaurant sales growth of approximately 2.25 to 3 percent beginning in 2016, along with our system goal for average annual unit sales volumes of USD2 million by 2020,” he added.
As part of its brand transformation, the company also recently announced a plan to reinvest its resources to focus on consumer-facing technology, including a Common Systemwide point-of-sale system.
It installed its POS solution in more than 2,600 restaurants and expects to have all its North America restaurants converted to the system by 2016.
Wendy’s is a member of the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), a coalition of approximately 40 merchants representing nearly 80 brands, including a number of top retailers and restaurant companies in the United States, dedicated to building a customer- and merchant-friendly mobile commerce solution. Wendy’s expects to begin a pilot test of the MCX mobile wallet solution, CurrentC, in the coming months.
“Platforms such as mobile payment, mobile ordering and loyalty programs are rapidly growing in the retail marketplace and provide potential benefits such as consumer convenience, increased transactions, higher check, faster speed of service and a seamless brand experience,” Brolick said.
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HK handbag chain buys e-store
Hong Kong listed handbag retailer Milan Station Holdings has acquired online retailer Chaodai.
Milan Station’s parent companies Standpoint and J&C will form a new entity to acquire Chaodai which will then trade under the Milan Station branding. As with their ownership of Milan Station, the two companies will hold 90 per cent equity and 10 per cent respectively.
“The parties… intend that through the acquisition and the proposed increase in capital, Chaodai will become well positioned in terms of financial and human resources and wider business networks to explore the cross-border online business under the brand name and the trademark of “Milan Station” for better return on their investments,” the company said in a regulatory filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Milan Station had already revealed plans to expand its retail points in the Hong Kong’s ‘clubhouses’ due to booming sales.
It plans to expand its store network in Macau from six to 10 to further increase sales.
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Hungry Foodpanda eats up rivals
Online food delivery service Foodpanda.com has gobbled up six rival services across Asia.
The Rocket Internet subsidiary recently secured US$60 million in a capital funding round and his wasted little time investing in rivals to boost its market share.
The businesses bought, with business descriptions provided by TechInAsia.com, are:
- Just Eat in India – This deal pertains only to the Indian segment of UK-based Just Eat. Along with Foodpanda’s recent TastyKhana buy-up, Foodpanda now claims to cover over 200 Indian cities and 12,000 restaurants. This gives the Rocket company a strong hold of the Indian market.
- EatOye in Pakistan – This startup came into life this time last year. It covers 1,000 partner restaurants in 15 cities.
- Food Runner in Malaysia and Singapore – This is the food delivery subsidiary of Singapore-based DealGuru. The acquisition also includes sister site Room Service.
- City Delivery in the Philippines – This is also a spin-off from DealGuru, so it’s technically the same deal that snapped up the above two sites.
- Koziness in Hong Kong – Foodpanda’s Hong Kong deal means it runs not only Koziness but also the related sites Dial-a-Dinner, SOHO Delivery, and Ring-a-Dinner.
- Food By Phone in Thailand – This started out in 1998 for phone-based orders, but later opened up on the web as well. It covers over 650 restaurants in three of Thailand’s biggest cities.
“With the recent acquisitions Foodpanda becomes the market leader across Southeast Asia,” said Ralf Wenzel, co-founder and CEO of Foodpanda in an announcement this afternoon.
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Paypal’s retail chief quits ahead of eBay split
Paypal executive Don Kingsborough, who helped orchestrate the payments company’s move into physical retail stores, stepped down in January, the company said on Wednesday.
His departure, which tech blog Re/code first reported, comes as the company competes with the likes of fast-growing startup Square to get its payments system adopted in more retail chains across the United States.
PayPal, which is slated to split from eBay Inc later this year, will keep testing and investing in various in-store payments systems, eBay spokeswoman Amanda Miller said in a statement.
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Mall Group budget focuses on media
The Mall Group, Thailand’s second largest retail group, will spend more than THB2 billion (USD61.3 million) to stimulate consumer spending and boost sales to reach THB53 billion (USD1.63b) this year.
Executive vice-president Chamnarn Maytaprechakul said that even though the economic and political outlooks had improved since last year, people remained cautious about spending.
The group will therefore put more focus on its media spending this year, relocating some advertising and promotional budgets to direct media that have an immediate impact on customer spending, and slashing the budget for mass media.
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Alibaba’s drone delivers in 3 Chinese cities
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Wednesday tested its first drone delivery service in China, promising to whisk ginger tea to customers within an hour.
The experience, however, is confined to just three days and covers a few areas of three cities – Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou – with a total of 450 deliveries.
The Chinese e-commerce giant launched the three-day test by partnering Shanghai YTO Express Logistics Co on its flagship consumer-to-consumer Taobao Marketplace, according to a statement filed on microblogging site Sina Weibo.
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Topshop in Japan shock
UK-based fashion group Topshop has shuttered its stores in Japan.
No explanation has been given for the closure – but it appears Topshop’s parent Arcadia Group is in some form of dispute with its Japanese partners.
In a statement issued overnight in response to media enquiries Topshop confirmed the stores were operated by a franchise partner.
“The Japanese market is an important part of Topshop’s business and there are no plans to pull out of this key international territory,” the company said in a statement to Fashionista.
“We are working hard, and exploring all avenues, to ensure that the brand maintains its presence in Japan.”
Topshop launched in Japan in 2006 and later partnered with Mori Building System, a retail real estate specialist which has also worked with Louis Vuitton subsidiaries. However it is not clear who the partner was at the time the stores closed as the association with Mori is reported to have ended last May.
The Nikkei Asian Review has reported that the Topshop Shinjuku flagship appeared to be fully stocked, but city’s other flagship, in the trendy Harajuku district, had been cleared out.
Phone calls to all five stores went unanswered.
The company last posted on its Facebook page on January 7 and its website still lists store locations.
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Aeon nears Indonesian debut
Japan’s Aeon is completing construction of its first shopping mall in Indonesia.
Its Indonesia debut follows success in Malaysia and Thailand where it is building strong networks of hypermarkets, supermarkets and mini-markets, and a more recent foray into Vietnam where it has two shopping centres already trading in the south and a third under construction in Hanoi.
Aeon Mall Sinarmas Land Indonesia, its local arm, is building Aeon Mall Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) City which will have more than 100,000 sqm of leased area and be one of the largest shopping malls in the city when complete.
The suburban mall will have have an Aeon general merchandising store as its anchor, and lease space to a broad range of international and local brands, in similar format to its Vietnamese centres.
It will also feature a food court, cinemas, and an amusement arcade.
The mall will comprise four stories along with multi-level parking for more than 5000 vehicles.
This week Aeon contracted NEC Indonesia to provide cashless payment systems for the food court in what will be the first electronic card payment project for NEC in Indonesia.
The cashless payment system consisting of NEC retail terminals and software will enable cashless transactions for both food court customers and stallholders. Payments for food and beverage will be made via an electronic card, which can be topped up at a central cashier or kiosk.
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Snow Miku makes retail debut
A new retail store-cum-museum has opened in Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan – a tribute to Snow Miku, a recently contrived animated character who promotes the region.
Snow Miku, born in 2010 through a snow sculpture of local ‘virtual singer’ Hatsune Miku, is a character which now exemplifies Hokkaido’s winter culture. The country’s northernmost island is a popular tourist destination for Asian tourists seeking to experience snow and snowsports.
Since 2012, the costume design for Snow Miku is chosen at an online competition everyone can participate in, and so each year Miku appears in a different wintery costume related to the annual theme. Hokkaido’s winter is brightened up not only through the character Snow Miku, but through the broader community’s creativity.
Now Snow Miku has evolved into a retail concept, with the new Chitose Airport terminal building featuring her pride of place in a large-scale entertainment complex putting together specialties from all corners of Hokkaido, including nationally known shops and restaurants. The terminal has become a one-stop solution for enjoying the entire cuisine of Hokkaido.
The newly opened section
Snow Miku Skytown is located on the fourth floor of the domestic terminal building and operated by Crypton Future Media. It features a theatre space with a 360-degree video showcasing Hokkaido’s landscape, a museum dedicated to various incarnations of Snow Miku, a retail space selling themed goods including unique items available only at the airport, and a cafe.
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No 1 Dubai airport eyes retail crown
Fresh from capturing the title of busiest international airport from London’s Heathrow, Dubai International Airport has set its sights on becoming the world’s top hub by retail sales this year as a flood of Chinese passengers add to a shopping spree.
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‘Luxury water’ to hit China stores amid water-safety fears
Nongfu Spring Co., one of China’s biggest bottled-water suppliers, is planning to launch a “luxury” line of mineral-water products amid growing anxiety in China about water and food safety, according to a Securities Daily report Wednesday.
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Delta to serve Starbucks coffee on all flights
Delta Air Lines officially began serving Starbucks Coffee on all its flights worldwide this month as part if its ongoing in-flight enhancements to its food, beverages, seats and entertainment.
Mike Henny, Delta’s Director of Customer Experience, said with this enhancement to the airline’s core in-flight service product, it hopes to improve the travel experience for customers.
“We are delighted to provide Starbucks coffee wherever Delta’s customers are traveling,” said Michelle Burns, vice president Branded Solutions, Starbucks.
Delta initially partnered with Starbucks in 2013 to offer coffee to customers traveling on select cross-country and West Coast Shuttle flights.
Delta has commissioned artists from around the world to create three larger-than-life art installations made solely out of Starbucks cups.
The pieces feature famous landmarks and sites of global destinations where Delta and Starbucks fly together: Big Ben in London, Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple in the historic district of Asakusa, and a Carnaval float in São Paulo, Brazil.
The cup sculptures are on display in Terminal 4 at New York’s-JFK International Airport.
Starbucks said it expects to serve 68 million cups of coffee on Delta in 2015.