Retail News CRM

Tag: asia

  • Van Heusen to target women

    Van Heusen to target women

    The Indian business of Van Heusen is planning a network of stores targeting solely women.

    Van Heusen, owned by Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, also plans to focus on repositioning its essentially denim-based youth fashion range Vdot.

    Brand head Vinay A Bhopatkar says the company will open up to 25 stores annually exclusively for women. It also plans another 50 stores annually for its menswear collection as it moves to target tier 2 and 3 cities, currently underserved and home to people with growing spending power.

    The company says womenswear accounts for about 10 per cent of its sales now but is the fastest growing segment of its business and projects it to grow by 50 per cent in the next three to four years.

    The Vdot retail network will also be expanded by 15-20 stores annually from the current network of 10. Currently a clubwear brand, the Vdot range will be expanded to provide clothing for more casual occasions as well.

    Van Heusen’s clothing is  sold through about 2000 points of sale, including 250 exclusive stores and 200 department stores.

  • HTC wants to boost retail network

    HTC wants to boost retail network

    HTC will boost its retail store network in its home market of Taiwan this year as it expands its handset range.

    The Taiwanese brand has achieved solid success with its topline smartphone models, but is still trading in the red as its product range is skewed towards the top end and is not perceived as meeting the mass market.

    HTC says it will changes that with North Asia president jack Tong promising a full range of products in 2015: from entry-level, mid-level and top end.

    To support its broader brand positioning the company will boost its solo-brand store network from 72 to more than 100 by Christmas.

    HTC has 19 distribution partners selling only its brand and accessories to match. Tong expects retail sales in Taiwan to double this year due to the expanded range and increased store network.

    Retail stores accounted for just 20 per cent of Taiwan’s mobile phone sales last year, but analysts expect that share to double in 2015 due to shorter product replacement cycles and falling smartphone prices. Consumers in Asia are increasingly preferring to buy their phones from independent retailers rather than phone networks, due to broader choice, sometimes sharper pricing and no commitment to contracts.

    “Our new brand vision is to expand HTC’s reach to everywhere,” Tong told a press conference at an HTC flagship store in Taichung this week.

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  • How Roger Dubuis’ video campaign achieved low cost per view, per action

    How Roger Dubuis’ video campaign achieved low cost per view, per action

    This was the tagline of one of the videos published by Swiss luxury watchmaker Roger Dubuis under its innovative #GoodbyeCuckoo; #HelloExtraordinary marketing campaign.

    At around this time last year, the watch brand unveiled 30 films, each 50 seconds long showing various ways how o destroy 30 cuckoo clocks. The videos were posted on YouTube for over 30 days as a teaser to mark the countdown for Roger Dubuis’ main event for the year.

    The videos, according to Alvaro Maggini, Creative Director, Roger Dubuis, in a YouTube video testimonial, is very important for the brand because it is a means of conveying emotion. “There is a lot of humour, there is a lot of mystery, there are a lot of references that call to mind Fritz Lang, which gives a bit of a surrealist side,” he said in a video testimonial.

    So how do you destroy a cuckoo clock? In the video series, it was axed, set on fire, batted by a golf ball, submerged in water, blasted to smithereens, tied to a tree branch and chainsawed, bulldozed, microwaved.

    Highlighting the concept “undoing the past to create the future,” the taglines for each video were more powerful and aligned to the concept. Take this one: “Crushed to pieces, rebuilt into a masterpiece.”

    Alessandro Marcolin, Head of Media & Event, Roger Dubuis, said in an email interview, that the concept is about ripping apart established codes to better reinterpret them.

    “Ring out the old, ring in the new.” This is the essence of what Roger Dubuis does in Haute-Horlogerie, a contemporary reinterpretation of this secular art, with a total respect of the traditions. It was also to celebrate the rebirth our Hommage collection, and announce our incredible booth at the Salon International de la Haute-Horlogerie (SIHH) fair: a giant cuckoo clock. Everything is linked and makes sense when you see it under this angle,” he explained.

    Video, according to Marcolin, encapsulates a lot of messages and it is an impactful immersive visual medium. “People tend to read less and watch more videos, hence the trend towards video as marketing vehicle,” he said.

    Roger Dubuis has an in-house creative center and the filmography and communication visuals – including the “GoodbyeCuckoo; #HelloExtraordinary” campaign – are created internally.

    “We love to communicate with video, and we strive to be always innovators in this marketing channel,” Marconi said.

    The videos became a YouTube case study because of the record low cost per view and has appeared in the “Limitless Creativity” film showcased at the YouTube Brandcast Paris last September. It was received an award in the “Brand Content” category at the Grand Prix Stratégies /Amaury Médias du Luxe 2014 in France.

    Sequel: The Asian thrillers

    In September last year, the #GoodbyeCuckoo campaign was back. Seven new videos were uploaded on Facebook as part of the countdown to the second edition of Asia’s finest Haute Horlogerie Watches & Wonders Exhibition held in Hong Kong.

    The first video, entitled “Don’t mess with the Ming,” showed two swinging Ming vases crushing the Cuckoo clock. The second video, “Don’t tickle the dragon,” showed a dragon breathing fire to the Cuckoo. The other videos include a chef preparing a dimsum chopping the Cuckoo, while another was set on fire; the ashes used as an ink for calligraphy.

    Marcolin said Facebook was already used during the first campaign. The company used twice the same set-up: Youtube, Facebook and video seeding in blogs (through Ebuzzing and Unruly).

    “The first campaign had a record low cost per view, hence the Youtube case study, and the second campaign had a record low cost per action on Facebook,” he said. “But both campaigns performed extremely well on all three platforms.

    Marcolin disclosed that the two campaigns reached around 1.2 million views among all the platforms and 200,000 actions (clicks, shares) if the the Watches and Wonders and SIHH campaigns were integrated.

    In both campaigns, the target audience was a mix of opinion leaders in the world of fashion, design, creation and luxury/watch lovers. “The main objective was to create buzz around the presence of Roger Dubuis at the SIHH in Geneva and Watches and Wonders in Hong Kong, highlighting the differentiation of Roger Dubuis,” Marconi said. “We are an unconventional fine watchmaking brand and we communicate also in an unconventional manner.

    Following these successes, the company is now broadcasting a new thrilling digital countdown for the SIHH 2015, dubbed “The Astral Gateway”.

    Roger Dubuis has a strong presence in Asia and Marcolin said the company will continue to establish the brand through retail and communication, while it also develops other markets such as Middle-East or the Americas.

    Video marketing on Facebook

    According to Facebook, the number of video posts per person has increased 75 percent globally and 94 percent in the US over the past year. Globally, the amount of video from people and brands in News Feed has increased 3.6 times year-over-year.

    In Hong Kong, more than 50 percent of people who come back to Facebook in Hong Kong watch a video every day. Meanwhile, a TNS survey of Facebook users in Hong Kong revealed that 42 percent have posted videos or links to videos.

    “Facebook today is not just a social media platform. It is a mass media with over 4.5 million Hong Kongers accessing it monthly, and about 89 percent accessing via their mobile devices. Brands today can use Facebook to reach people they want to target anytime, any day,” said Anita Lam, Head of FMCG & Retail, Greater China at Facebook.

    Business used to be personal, Lam added, but then the coming of media made brands less personal though it was wonderful for scaling brands.

    “We are at the beginning of a big marketing shift. We now have the opportunity to do both – Facebook as a platform can help make marketing personal again,” she explained.

    Improved video metrics will help you understand the success of each video, to help guide your content strategy on Facebook.

    Metrics include: video views, unique video views, the average duration of the video view and audience retention. People will be able to see how many views your video on Facebook has received. Views will be shown on all public videos from people and Pages, to help people discover new, popular videos.

    “The Cuckoo is Dead. Long Live the Cuckoo.”

  • Outback Steakhouse aims to double growth in Indonesia

    Outback Steakhouse aims to double growth in Indonesia

    Singapore’s Universal Success Enterprises, the franchise holder of Australian-themed Outback Steakhouse chain in Southeast Asia, aims to double its sales growth this year as new stores opens amid a recovery in customers’ purchasing power.

    Outback Steakhouse opened its fourth restaurant in Indonesian last week inside the Lippo Mall Puri, a shopping centre in West Jakarta.

    The new restaurant is expected to nearly double the Indonesian franchise’s annual sales growth to 40 percent this year, compared to average growth of 20 percent, USE chairman Prasoon Mukherjee told the Jakarta Globe on Monday.

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  • Tommy Hilfiger launches innovative digital showroom

    Tommy Hilfiger launches innovative digital showroom

    Tommy Hilfiger on Wednesday launched an innovative digital sales showroom at its global headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The interactive system blends collection information, sales tools and brand content in one seamless touchscreen interface.

    “Our digital showroom revolutionizes the buying and selling journey for our retail customers and internal sales teams,” said Daniel Grieder, CEO, Tommy Hilfiger. “We are passionate about providing our clients with the best service, experience and quality.

    Our new digital showroom concept completely reimagines the traditional buying approach and establishes a new fashion industry benchmark for business to business sales. The concept also supports our ongoing focus on efficiency and will significantly streamline and enhance the Tommy Hilfiger sales experience.”

    The centrepiece of the digital showroom is an interactive half-meter by one-meter touchscreen table set in a sleek walnut frame, which connects to a four-meter-high wall-to-wall grid of ultra-high-definition 4K screens. Customers can digitally view every item in the Tommy Hilfiger sportswear and Hilfiger Denim seasonal collections and create custom orders with all product categories laid out across a single screen. They can view head-to-toe key looks, zoom in with incredible detail to see unique design features, and click on a garment for specific information such as colour offerings and size ranges.

    The product selection and ordering experience builds on a traditional sales approach, reimagined through the digitalised system that streamlines and simplifies the process. The interactive interface allows for in-depth discussions on styling, merchandising and deliveries that are tailored to each client. Furthermore, by complementing traditional sales tools with an array of brand information, the digital showroom effectively immerses the customer in the complete Tommy Hilfiger brand experience.

    The digital showroom concept also supports Tommy Hilfiger’s ongoing sustainability mission, as it reduces sample production, eliminates the need for printed order forms, and diminishes the ecological impacts of shipping. In turn, the environmental impacts of sample creation are significantly reduced, from the supply chain and manufacturing to packaging and international shipping.

    The fashion retailer is establishing a global roll-out plan to expand the concept into markets worldwide.

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  • Spending on luxury falls on mainland China

    Spending on luxury falls on mainland China

    China remained the world’s largest consumer of luxury products last year even though domestic sales fell for the first time due to the government’s anti-corruption campaign and increased spending overseas.

    Chinese spending on luxury goods increased 9 percent to CNY380 billion (USD61.3 billion) in 2014, accounting for 30 percent of global spending, according to Bain & Company’s 2014 China Luxury Market Study.

    However, sales of such products on the Chinese mainland fell 1 percent from a year earlier to CNY115 billion, the consulting firm said on Tuesday.

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  • Ikea working to polish its reputation in Indonesia

    Ikea working to polish its reputation in Indonesia

    Indonesia and the European Union have been doing business for decades. Over the years, Indonesia has been exporting many products to EU countries, and vice versa. According to Harvey Rouse, head of economic and trade section for the European Union’s mission to Indonesia, the EU encourages European companies that invest in Indonesia to respect local values and cultures, as well as improve the welfare of the people around them through corporate social responsibility programs.

    “By addressing these social responsibilities, companies are actually building long term relationship and trust with employees, customers and citizens,” Rouse said.

    One of the European companies in Indonesia that has a solid commitment to local CSR programs is Ikea. Since its launch in Alam Sutera, Tangerang, last October, Ikea’s first store in Indonesia has been a favourite shopping destination.

  • India set to become a big bakery market

    India set to become a big bakery market

    Fieldfresh Foods, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and California-based Del Monte Pacific, says India is becoming a big bakery market. The company, which sells pastas, sauces, is in the process of increasing its brand penetration both in the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) segments.

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  • JD.com eyes rural areas to tap huge potential

    JD.com eyes rural areas to tap huge potential

    China’s online retailer JD.com said it plans to open more than 500 county-level service centres this year to boost deliveries to lower-tier cities and inland regions as it bids to boost its market presence.

    The centres will hire local staff and delivery men to expand the firm’s delivery network into regions with few third-party courier companies. The firm will also open up to 1,000 service stores targeting home appliance buyers and help vendors provide one-stop service of installation and repairing of household appliances sold to rural consumers.

    It is hoped that the county-level centres and the planned hiring of promotion staff will help rural consumers become better acquainted with JD.com as well as online purchasing and after-sales service by the end of June.

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  • Good, bad, unattractive: retail’s patchy start in Australia

    Good, bad, unattractive: retail’s patchy start in Australia

    A slow but solid festive season for discretionary retailers in Australia has been followed by a spate of downgrades, making sentiment buoyant but patchy.

    Analysts say the key festive season was a good one, albeit at the price of margins. Discounting has been estimated to have added AUD800 million (USD656.9m) to sales, and Citi analyst Craig Woolford has argued cheap-as-chips petrol and big spending on food suggests Australians have the ability to spend when they have the yen.

    Last week, Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey explained a jump in the furniture and homewares company’s share price by reporting a “big surge in sales” during the Christmas and New Year period.

  • Could HK lose its status as a luxury shopping destination to South Korea?

    Could HK lose its status as a luxury shopping destination to South Korea?

    The popularity of South Korean pop culture and products in China shows no signs of abating, as South Korea has seen more Chinese shoppers than ever, but it could come at a cost to Hong Kong. Erwan Rambourg, a consumer goods analyst for HSBC and the author of “The Bling Dynasty,” has seen the surge  in shoppers first hand. He estimated that Chinese shoppers accounted for around 70 percent of South Korea’s duty free sales and accounted for about one third of all luxury purchases in the country, reports The Wall Street Journal.

  • Pizza Hut to sell gluten-free pizza

    Pizza Hut to sell gluten-free pizza

    Beginning Jan. 26, roughly 2,400 of the chain’s 6,300 domestic locations will begin selling gluten-free pizzas. The move comes two years after rival Domino’s rolled out a pizza sold with a gluten-free crust — but not entirely gluten free. Pizza Hut will be the first major pizza chain to sell a pizza that is certified gluten-free.

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  • E-retailer Zalora bets big on Southeast Asia

    E-retailer Zalora bets big on Southeast Asia

    Asian fashion e-commerce start-up Zalora aims to become a multi-billion dollar company, and according to managing director Michele Ferrario, Southeast Asia’s burgeoning market holds the key to achieving that goal.

    “Singapore is well-served in terms of online and offline retail, but when you think about smaller towns in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, people there do not have the same access to fashion as people in developed markets,” he told CNBC’s “Managing Asia.”

    Home to more than 600 million consumers, the region’s internet retail market is at an “inflection point,” according to a UBS report published last June. Analysts estimate online spending across Southeast Asia is poised to hit USD35 billion by 2020, on the back of high internet penetration and widespread smartphone usage.

  • M&S boss Marc Bolland faces mounting pressure following Christmas sales fall

    M&S boss Marc Bolland faces mounting pressure following Christmas sales fall

    Pressure was mounting on the chief executive of Marks & Spencer, Marc Bolland, on Monday night as investors digested the retailer’s decline in sales over the crucial Christmas trading period.

    One of the City’s most influential fund managers said questions should be asked about Bolland, who joined M&S in 2010 and last week announced a 5.8% fall in general merchandise sales and a 0.1% rise in like-for-like sales in its food division.

    David Cumming, head of equities at Standard Life Investments, said: “In terms of Marks & Spencer they had another disappointing set of figures and I suppose Marc Bolland has been there for some time, almost five years, so I think the chairman and the senior independent director are probably asking themselves whether his scorecard is acceptable, and they should be asking M&S shareholders the same question.”

    Cumming was also asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about Dalton Philips, who replaced Bolland as boss of Morrisons. The supermarket chain is due to release its Christmas trading figures on Tuesday, amid speculation about potential boardroom change.

    “We’re not particularly large shareholders in Morrisons or Marks & Spencer. I think some might change CEOs, we saw that with Tesco – it’s going to be a difficult process,” Cumming said.

    Tesco replaced insider Philip Clarke with Dave Lewis after issuing a profits warning in July. Lewis unearthed a string of accounting problems at Britain’s biggest supermarket chain.

    Last week he announced moves to restructure the business. They are expected to lead to thousands of job cuts along with the closure of the head office in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.

    Cumming said profits at M&S had fallen over the five years Bolland had been in charge despite £2.5bn of expenditure. “I think M&S has got a lot of potential but that’s not being demonstrated by results, which is one of the reasons we’re not a major shareholder,” he said.

    M&S declined to comment on the remarks, as did Morrisons – whose trading update is expected to show the continued pressure on the sector as shoppers move to hard discounters such as Lidl and Aldi.

    Analysts at HSBC said that they expected like-for-like sales at Morrisons to be down 4% – which would be a smaller fall than during the same period a year earlier – and that Andrew Higginson, a former Tesco executive, might come in early as chairman, before his planned start dater.

    David McCarthy, an HSBC analyst, said: “He joined the board last year as deputy chairman/chairman-elect and is not due to take over until the summer. But given the state of the industry, changes at Tesco, and Morrison’s sales losses, it might make more sense to see him take the chairman’s role sooner rather than later. 2015 is going to be a year of change for the industry and Morrisons will be part of that.”

    M&S has been meeting its major shareholders since last week’s trading update, which also showed profit margins being maintained despite the fall in sales. This was welcomed by analysts on the day of the trading update.

    Bolland admitted last week that M&S sales had been affected by problems with its online operations, caused by problems at its distribution centre in Castle Donington, Leicestershire. Deliveries of online orders incurred delays in the runup to Christmas.

  • Emu footwear launches localised global websites

    Emu footwear launches localised global websites

    Australian footwear brand Emu has launched a global transactional website to serve key markets including the UK and Europe, New Zealand, China, Canada, the US and Japan.

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