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Tag: asia

  • Honda raises forecasts on solid motorbike sales

    Honda raises forecasts on solid motorbike sales

    Japan’s Honda Motor said Tuesday it was raising annual forecasts after first-half profits rose over 19 percent on motorcycles sales in Asia. Japan’s third largest automaker now expects net profit to reach 675 billion yen ($6 billion) for the fiscal year ending March, down from last year but a still an increase from its forecast last quarter.

    It also revised up annual sales to to 15.8 trillion yen.

    The company said it was seeing strong growth in the sales of motorbikes in Indonesia, Vietnam and other Asian countries, and touted cost-cutting efforts.

    It said net profit in the April-September period was up 19.3 percent to 455.1 billion yen while operating profit jumped 21.7 percent to 513.9 billion yen.

    Sales rose 5.0 percent to 7.87 trillion yen.

    “Honda enjoyed strong sales of motorcycles… This offset the negative impact of floods in Mexico on its production,” Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW, a Tokyo-based research and consulting firm said ahead of the results.

    Honda was forced to temporarily halt operations at its largest auto factory in Mexico due to floods in June, and said at the time that it would lose 50 billion yen as a result.

    Japanese automakers remain on edge over talk of U.S. tariffs, though immediate action by Washington has been put off for now.

    “Japanese carmakers are also bracing for the impact of U.S. trade disputes with other major economies,” Takada said.

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  • Dunkin’ to be seen as coffee place in future

    Dunkin’ to be seen as coffee place in future

    Global fast-food chain Dunkin’ plans to reposition itself as a coffee chain – but it will still sell fresh donuts. Just a month after Dunkin’ Donuts unveiled rebranding, including dropping ‘Donuts’ from its name, the company has announced a strategy to put quality coffee at the core of its menu

    Dunkin’ has previously revealed a US$100 million budget to revive its market position in its core US home market. Now it says half of that investment will be spent on espresso machines and other restaurant equipment enabling it to accelerate its beverage-led strategy. The company says Dunkin’ franchisees are also making a substantial investment in the initiative, which is focused on growing its market share of the hot and iced espresso category.

    “Espresso is one of the fastest-growing coffee categories, particularly among younger consumers, and with our coffee credentials we believe we have a tremendous opportunity to improve our awareness and credibility among espresso drinkers,” said Tony Weisman, chief marketing officer at Dunkin’ US.

    The company is promising “an entirely new espresso experience for customers” in its US restaurants by the coming holiday season, featuring new state-of-the-art espresso equipment, a new espresso recipe, extensive restaurant training and new espresso cups.  Dunkin’ will serve “handcrafted hot and iced espresso beverages” – including lattes and cappuccinos – “featuring a rich, smooth, balanced taste that meets the profile preferred by espresso customers, and in particular younger espresso drinkers,” the company said in a statement.

    Dunkin’ will support the launch with a comprehensive marketing campaign. New espresso cups are bright orange and feature an exclamation point, a symbol the company says positions the espresso beverages as bold, new and exciting.

    “Relaunching espresso in our restaurants nationwide has been a tremendous undertaking, from installation of the new espresso machines, to the creation of the new, bolder taste profile, to the extensive employee training,” said Dunkin’ US COO Scott Murphy. “This is a transformative initiative, and it would never have happened without the total alignment and support of our franchisees.”

    All espresso beverages served at Dunkin’ US restaurants will continue to be made with 100-per-cent espresso beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms.

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  • Le Saunda closes stores as profit goes red

    Le Saunda closes stores as profit goes red

    Struggling shoe and accessories retailer Le Saunda has shuttered more than 100 stores on Mainland China in the last year as it tries to reduce overheads and return to profit. Group sales fell 14.4 per cent in the first half of this year, to RMB 460.4 million, (US$66.1 million), gross profit margin slipped 3 per cent and the company recorded a loss of RMB 9.6 million (US$1.4 million), compared with a profit of RMB22.9 million in the same period last year.

    The company blamed a slowing of retail sales in Mainland China for its poor result, with same-store sales down 10.2 per cent, as well as a decline from the closure of unprofitable stores.

    On the mainland, Le Saunda shuttered 96 of its self-run stores, cutting its network back to 549 and a further eight franchised outlets were closed, leaving a total network of 611.

    In Hong Kong and Macau, where sales rose 4.5 per cent, it closed one store leaving 10.

    Le Saunda chairman James Ngai said the company’s reduced gross profit margin was a result of lowering prices to meet market demand. The growth rate of fashionable ladies’ footwear sector had “slowed down significantly” on the mainland, Le Saunda’s core market, he said.

    “With a change in customers’ buying behaviour, the e-commerce segment experienced rapid expansion, striking a tremendous hit on the sales of traditional retail stores.

    “To cope with the ever-changing market environment, the group is fully committed to enhancing product quality, promoting a new pricing model, enhancing consumers’ shopping

    experience and thereby improving same-store sales,” said Ngai.

    “Facing the challenges posed by the economic environment, the group is determined to [return] to the basic principles of retailing, which include adjusting the pricing strategy, closing down low-profit stores, and actively exploring its franchise and wholesale businesses.”

    With Hong Kong and Macau sales up, totalling RMB 30.7 million, Ngai said the group would pursue growth there “in a proactive yet prudent manner and establish new stores in desirable locations”.

    Le Saunda designs manufactures and retails shoes and accessories under the Le Saunda,

    Linea Rosa, Pitti Donna and CNE brands.

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  • Cover Story to expand retail presence; open new outlet at Bengaluru

    Cover Story to expand retail presence; open new outlet at Bengaluru

    Cover Story, a fast fashion brand for women by Future Style Lab, will be launching its new store at Forum Mall, Bengaluru in the coming week. This is Cover Story’s 23rd exclusive store with an existing presence across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Surat, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, and many other cities. The store is placed at a prominent location in the mall amidst the most fashionable brands around.

    The sprawling area is an apt location for Cover Story with its state-of-the-art workspaces, retail havens, entertainment zone, F&B options, and signature hospitality services.

    The new store’s stock includes the latest Autumn-Winter’18 collection. The collection, designed at the creative headquarters in London, consists of women’s apparel and accessories, which include bags and shoes. The collection is inspired by the best runway trends seen across the world. This season the brand turned to the high streets of cosmopolitan cities for inspiration. When it comes to style in London, there’s nothing like High Street Fashion which displays the best trends from the runways across the world. Cover Story’s AW18 Collection features ready to wear styles that will give the Cover Story Woman (and her BFF) the confidence to turn the streets into their own personal runway. The collection, spread across 9 stories, has encompassed the key trends emerging this season.

    At present Cover Story has 22 exclusive outlets across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Surat, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Kochi, Chennai, Indore, and Vadodara. Overall, Cover Story is present across more than 80 doors at Central, Kapsons, Iconic & Sohum. Additionally, the brand has its own online store to help cater its customer from anywhere, by simply visiting the website – www.coverstory.co.in Cover Story is retailed through online marketplaces including Myntra, Jabong, Amazon.in and Koovs.

  • 7-Eleven Thailand launches delivery service

    7-Eleven Thailand launches delivery service

    More than 3000 Bangkok 7-Eleven stores are offering a courier service and collection point. The new service, which launched on Monday, promises next-day delivery on parcels or letters dropped off at a participating 7-Eleven store prior to 9pm.

    Customers using the service must present their ID then buy an envelope or box to send their goods in, with fees ranging from THB 35 to THB 119 (US$1.05 to $3.58). A flat rate applies across the city, depending on the size of the box or envelope.

    Customers can send goods any hour of the day or night and senders can use 7-Eleven stores as collections points, rather than sending to a street or office address.

    Called the 24/7 Speed-D express delivery service, it is also available at stores in the neighbouring provinces of greater Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan.

    The service is a joint venture between 7-Eleven’s parent company CP All and delivery company Dynamic Logistics. All deliveries can be tracked by GPS on the Dynamic Logistics website.

    As well as a growing range of banking services, two Bangkok 7-Eleven stores recently introduced a trial food and coffee delivery service based on the Line messaging platform.

  • India’s KOOVS.COM goes offline now exclusively at Central

    India’s KOOVS.COM goes offline now exclusively at Central

    KOOVS.COM, the ultimate fashion destination in India, has announced the launch of its first shop-in-shop presence exclusively at Central M.G Road, Gurugram, India. The launch saw Bollywood celebrity and fashionista, Kiara Advani walk the ramp in the brand’s latest collection marking the celebrations.

    Recognized for bringing latest fashion off international runways for both men and women to the country, KOOVS.COM now gives all fashion lovers an access to the collection offline. Customers can touch and feel the quality of the products, try them on to understand their best fit and buy their products from the store and get it delivered at their doorstep.

    Mary Turner, CEO KOOVS.COM, said “The brand is taking a step to get closer to our customer, by providing them the diverse range of the fresh fashion collection for both men and women. We are excited to see the response at the store and take customer interaction to the next level.”

    The venue was turned into mini London representing brand’s aesthetics and inspiration, resonating European fashion history and impressions of uber chic design philosophy.

    The brand is bringing alive the new trends in style through an aesthetic portrayal for the new age Indian consumers who have a global outlook and admire fashion in their everyday life.

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  • Heytea Singapore now opens in Ion Orchard

    Heytea Singapore now opens in Ion Orchard

    Chinese tea franchise Heytea is launching its first overseas store in Singapore. The six-year-old chain is one of China’s most popular in its category, with each outlet selling 2000-3000 cups per day. It claims to be the franchise responsible for inventing cheese tea, serving drinks with New Zealand cheese.

    The Heytea Singapore store will feature a uniform minimalist white interior design with wooden accents, with some outlets featuring themed retail spaces.

    The new Singapore location is launching at Ion Orchard.

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  • Vietnamese banks register more than robust profit growth

    Vietnamese banks register more than robust profit growth

    Commercial banks in Vietnam have posted impressive growth, with profits doubling or even tripling over last year’s first nine months. The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) has announced profit before tax (PBT) of VND 11.68 trillion ($502.16 million) in the first nine months, a 47 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

    In the private banking sector, the current profit leader is Techcombank, which reported a 9 month PBT of VND7.77 trillion ($334.2 million), an increase of 61 percent over the same period last year. Nearly all business lines at Techcombank saw positive growth.

    Pre-tax profit of lender ACB hit a record VND4.8 trillion ($206.3 million) in the 9-month period, 2.4 times higher than the same period last year.

    The highest growth rate of the period went to Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), with its profit before tax of VND1.72 trillion ($73.9 million), marking an increase of 176 percent over the same period last year.

    Banks relied heavily on interest income to achieve these profits. For example, VPBank granted loans worth VND 211.09 trillion ($9.08 billion), up by 17 percent over the same period last year, and corresponding figures for Vietcombank were up 15 percent to VND 616.41 trillion ($26.5 billion).

    In addition, the banks have also gained positive results from the fee-for-services approach.

    According to banking experts, with strong credit growth at the beginning of the year and the economy forecast to remain stable, bank profitability is set to continue rising sharply towards the end of the year.

    In the last months of the year, many banks’ credit facilities have been running low, but this is balanced by rising interest rates that boost their net income.

    HSBC Vietnam CEO Pham Hong Hai said that profitability of the sector will peak in 2018 and gradually fall later. The central bank may not want to maintain such high credit growth in the near future, and could work to bring it down, he explained.

    The country’s banking sector posted an estimated 18.17 percent loan growth in 2017, according to the Ministry of Finance. It has targeted growth of 17 percent this year.

    Hai said that from 2019 onwards, bad debt may re-emerge as a problem for banks after the recent credit growth and the instability of the global financial markets. Therefore, banking profits will most likely see a downward trend next year.

    State Bank of Vietnam Governor Le Minh Hung said recently that bad debts and potential bad debts amounted to 8.61 percent of total credit by the end of September.

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  • The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands enjoys sales rise

    The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands enjoys sales rise

    Revenue from The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands rose 4.5 per cent during the third quarter, reaching US$44 million, according to the integrated resort’s latest results announcement. Sheldon Adelson, CEO of parent Las Vegas Sands Corp, said retail tenant sales per square foot at the shopping complex rose by 22.2 per cent during the past year.

    That, together with rising food and beverage sales (up 15.2 per cent to $53 million) and improved hotel revenues helped offset a decline in gaming takings, said to be affected by a decline in VIP playing. Third-quarter earnings were down 52 per cent to $419 million for the quarter.

    Las Vegas Sands’ regional third-quarter earnings were up by 6 per cent to US$1.28 billion, thanks to the strengthening Macau business.

    Hotel occupancy at Marina Bay was 97.5 per cent during the third quarter with an average daily rate of $466.

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  • EU trade pact can reduce Vietnam’s reliance on China, US

    EU trade pact can reduce Vietnam’s reliance on China, US

    The Vietnam-EU trade pact can diversify export markets and help reduce reliance on China and the U.S., experts say. On October 17, the European Commission submitted the EVFTA for signature and conclusion to the European Council. Once authorized by the Council, the agreement will be signed and presented by the end of this year to the European Parliament for ratification. The European Parliament is set to ratify the EVFTA early next year.

    The trade pact, which has been negotiated since June 2012, is considered a game changer as it would eliminate almost all trade tariffs between the two sides.

    Luu Bich Ho, former head of the Vietnam Institute for Development Strategies under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that the deal would play a major role in reducing Vietnam’s reliance on the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies.

    “This is obviously an opportunity for Vietnam to increase export [to the EU] to avoid being affected should the U.S. seek to limit imports from Vietnam,” Ho said.

    It’s also a chance for Vietnam to diversify its markets as it is still heavily dependent on China in trade, he added.

    In the first nine months this year, the U.S. was Vietnam’s largest export market, accounting for 19.5 percent of Vietnam’s total exports, a growth of 13.2 percent year-on-year, according to Vietnam Customs.

    Although the EU came second and accounted for 17.4 percent, this market has the smallest growth rate among Vietnam’s top six export markets at 10.5 percent.

    China was the third largest export market, had the highest growth rate of 29.9 percent. It was also Vietnam’s largest import market, accounting for 27.3 percent of Vietnam’s total imports.

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  • Malaysia to reach 700 malls by end of the year

    Malaysia to reach 700 malls by end of the year

    Malaysia can expect to have close to 700 shopping malls trading by the end of next year, according to Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) president Datuk Seri Garry Chua. The malls will represent a net lettable area of 170 million sqft in total, potentially higher than current market demand.

    In an report, Chua said: “Currently we have about 560 Malaysian malls operating nationwide with total net lettable area of about 135 million sqft. The occupancy for majority of the malls in Klang Valley is between 85 and 87 per cent and that is considered okay if compared with neighbouring countries like Singapore.

    “One way to fill the malls, both new and existing, is tourism. The government has to do a lot more in getting tourists from around the world to come here, especially from China.

    “Chinese tourist spend about US$260 billion globally. They are the biggest spenders.”

    Chua added that tourism is likely to be the largest contributor of GDP worldwide by the 2030s. Its impact on Malaysian retail could contribute to industry growth from the current 10 per cent of GDP to 15 per cent within the next five years.

    The MRCA is estimating an average growth of 6.1 per cent during the third quarter of this year compared to the same time last year.

    “There is huge potential in the local retail industry, despite concerns of a glut in retail space,” said Chua.

    “For future retail, it will have to encompass a lot of digital and concept stores. The malls must be interactive. It must have things like artificial intelligence where you have robots moving around and interacting with people.

    “There should be new dynamics in shopping. Mall owners must keep abreast with latest trends. Pricing and design must be right, especially for fashion brands.

    “Malls are also adding more and more food and beverage (F&B) outlets. Previously, tenant mix comprised 20 per cent of F&B but today, it is 30 per cent,” he said.

  • Amorepacific profits slump

    Amorepacific profits slump

    Amorepacific Group announced lower-than-expected results for the third quarter on Monday with operating profits dropping 36 percent year on year. The fall comes as a stark contrast to rival LG Household & Health Care, which saw operating profits in its beauty business soar 30 percent during the same period.

    Amorepacific Group’s operating profit between July and September was 84.7 billion won ($74.2 million), down 36 percent compared to the same period last year. Its revenue rose 3.1 percent year on year to 1.46 trillion won. This was lower than the three-month analyst consensus of 1.56 trillion won in quarterly revenue and 166.9 billion won in operating profits, compiled by stock information provider FnGuide.

    The company explained in a statement that the main reason for the low profitability was the increase of costs in human resources and marketing expenditure.

    “Despite growing competition in the beauty market in and outside the country, Amorepacific continued investments to enforce brand competence and secure future growth engines,” the company said in a statement.

    The group’s main affiliate, also called Amorepacific, saw sales increase 6 percent year on year to 1.28 trillion won in the third quarter. Amorepacific’s sales success was thanks to the popularity of its brands, including Sulwhasoo, Hera, Iope and Laneige, with tourists and duty-free shoppers. However, the sales increase was nullified by a rise in costs, resulting in a sharp 24 percent fall in operating profit to 76.5 billion won.

    The results were grim for the smaller single-brand stores under the group as well: Etude House remained in the red while revenue dropped 23 percent year on year. Innisfree sales slightly increased by 3 percent, but operating profit steeply dropped 29 percent year on year. Espoir saw operating losses once again while revenue slightly rose by 1 percent.

    The good news for Amorepacific was the 36 percent year-on-year rise in revenue in the United States, thanks to strong performances from Laneige and Innisfree. Although its foothold there is still small compared to Asia, the company has been making efforts to diversify its global business, which used to heavily rely on China.

    LG Household & Health Care, on the other hand, recorded its highest-ever profit for the 54th quarter in a row. Between July and September, revenue generated from its three business sectors – beauty, daily necessities and beverages – was 1.73 trillion won, up 10.6 percent from the same period last year, while operating profit was up 9.8 percent to 277.5 billion won.

    The year-on-year jump was even higher in its beauty business: operating profit soared 30.6 percent to 184 billion won while revenue increased 23.5 percent to 954.2 billion won in the year’s third quarter. Its high-priced luxury brands, which were relatively unaffected by the Thaad row, were once again huge contributors.

    “With its high brand loyalty, The History of Whoo hit a quarterly sales record once again,” the company said.

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  • Nestle Malaysia earnings up 15.7% in Q3, declares 70 sen dividend

    Nestle Malaysia earnings up 15.7% in Q3, declares 70 sen dividend

    Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018 rose 15.7% to RM137.69 million from RM119.01 million a year ago, underpinned by higher sales on the back of strong marketing and promotional activities.

    Revenue for the quarter under review increased 8.3% to RM1.43 billion from RM1.32 billion in the same quarter last year, driven by stronger domestic and export sales as well as the zero-rating of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which boosted consumer spending.

    Nestle has proposed to declare an interim dividend of 70 sen per share for the quarter under review.

    For the cumulative period of nine months, the group’s net profit grew 4.7% to RM535.06 million from RM511.14 million, while revenue expanded 4.8% to RM4.17 billion from RM3.98 billion.

    “Against the backdrop of a more encouraging year for the Malaysian economy, we remain committed to our long-term strategy to ‘Fuel the Growth’ via our innovative drive and enhancing our strong brand portfolio,” Nestle said on its prospects.

    “We are confident that our investments, including the new Nestlé distribution centre, will enable us to maintain our solid growth momentum. In line with this commitment, the group has recently announced the RM100 million investment in Milo manufacturing making the Chembong factory the largest Milo manufacturing centre of excellence in the world. The company strives to improve efficiencies across our supply chain and reinvest savings to achieve sustainable and profitable growth,” it added.

    Nestle’s shares dipped RM1.50 or 1% to close at RM143.50 on 111,600 shares traded.

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  • Beccos plans expansion in India with 50 new stores

    Beccos plans expansion in India with 50 new stores

    Chinese-owned ‘South Korean designer brand’ Beccos says it plans to launch 50 stores in India. Scheduled to be opened by the middle of next year, the stores will require an investment of ₹100 crore (US$13.67 million) and are expected to return a revenue of around ₹200-250 crore ($27.35–34.18 million) in the next financial year based on the potential of the market.

    Like rival chain Mumuso, the store is positioned as Korean and using Korean design influence in its products, but is actually Chinese.

    The Hong Kong-based firm will also be investigating the potential of online sales in the region next year.

    Beccos global CEO Dabin Wang said: “We see tremendous potential in the Indian market… The company would have stores on company-owned-company-operated and franchise patterns. We would have a mix of both franchised and company-operated stores.”

    Beccos has started the expansion by opening its first few stores in Kamala Nagar.

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  • Estee Wonderland Christmas campaign uses AI technology

    Estee Wonderland Christmas campaign uses AI technology

    International skincare and beauty firm Estee Lauder has featured AI technology in its Estee Wonderland Christmas campaign in Hong Kong.

    The Quantum Human technology is an automated AI scan-to-avatar system that makes the customer the hero or heroine in their own virtual fairy tale.

    The carousel-themed Estee Wonderland promotion also features pop-up counters, where visitors can take a “magical carousel ride” into a favourite childhood fairytale as their avatars travel through time in a 22-second virtual reality movie.

    The technology is the brainchild of eight years of research and development. It uses expertise previously reserved for Hollywood productions to create virtual characters. The avatar automation process takes only a second.

    Unlike 3D scanning, where data cannot be used in media other than 3D printing, the Quantum Human technology enables true automation of the virtual identity creation en masse in full detail. As opposed to the month-long manual process, Quantum Human brings 3D avatars to life in minutes – 10,000 times faster than the manual process – making it viable for a broad spectrum of uses.

    The promotion has finished at Estee’s Langham Place store before moving to New Town Plaza, Sha Tin from November 10-18 and Ocean Terminal at Harbour City from November 26 to December 4.

    More pictures from the events (5 images) :

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