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Tag: casio

  • Casio G-Shock Bangkok CentralWorld opens door

    Casio G-Shock Bangkok CentralWorld opens door

    Watch brand Casio G-Shock Thailand has opened a store in CentralWorld Bangkok.

    The opening marks the brand’s 35th anniversary and features innovative technology and interactive zones filled with exclusive rare collaborative pieces. The interactive areas include the Tough Test Zone where you can throw your watch at a wall; 3D hyper-visual movies with videos of shock-resistance testing; a G-Shock bar allowing visitors to touch and try every model; and a fast-view giant digital touchscreen catalogue.

    Senior VP of Casio & Hardline Viroj Sukpitak said: “It’s a concept store built with the user-experience in mind. Exclusively for Thailand, G-Shock has created a space that encompasses everything G-Shock, showcasing an extensive product range and the latest inline watches.”

    ‘Absolute Toughness’ is the concept behind the timepieces and the store, which reflects the latest streetwear fashions.

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  • Hybrid Smartwatches to Make Up Over 50% of Smartwatch Shipments by 2022

    Hybrid Smartwatches to Make Up Over 50% of Smartwatch Shipments by 2022

    Watches that appear to be analogue models but integrate smartwatch features will make up more than half of the smartwatch market by 2022, according to Juniper Research.

    This means that nearly 80 million hybrid smartwatches, such as Fossil Q and Nokia Steel, will be shipped by 2022, up 460 per cent from an estimated 14 million last year. However, for digital-display smartwatches like Apple Watch and Fitbit Ionic, Juniper lowers the rate of growth to 160 per cent.

    This slower growth has caused several manufacturers, including Huawei, Motorola and Sony, to leave the space, says Juniper’s new report, Smartwatches: Trends, Vendor Strategies & Forecasts 2018-2022. Those staying in play are pivoting toward specific uses, mainly fitness, which Apple, Casio, Samsung and others have emphasised in recent releases.

    “The smartwatch market is refining itself into a series of specific-use cases”, says research author James Moar. “This is having an impact on every aspect of smartwatches, from their design for increasingly specialised uses to their sale through specific retailers. While most vendors cannot necessarily hope to reach a broad coverage, the industry as a whole is here to stay.”

    Despite the renewed interest in hybrids, Juniper expects individual players to produce few smartwatches. Hybrid watch manufacturers generally ship fewer than 2 million units annually.

    An exception is Fossil, which has released many display and hybrid smartwatches. It is forecast to ship more than 6 million smartwatches annually by 2020.

    Meanwhile, the report has found that different connectivity technologies are becoming more prevalent for smartwatches, with GPS expected to be an element for nearly half of all smartwatches by 2022. In comparison, growth will be limited for near-field communication NFC technology as this is currently locked into specific ecosystems. Juniper does not foresee any change to this in the foreseeable future.

    Juniper Research provides research and analytical services for the global hi-tech communications sector, and has also just issued a complimentary white paper for vendors, Why Most Smartwatches ‘Fail’.

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  • Jay Mart launches Jaycamera chain

    Jay Mart launches Jaycamera chain

    Thai mobile handset distributor Jay Mart plans to spend THB50 million (US$1.4 million) opening up to 10 Jaycamera shops by the end of this year.

    The outlets are forecast to initially draw in revenue of THB800 million, and within three years the company hopes to claim 40 per cent of the camera market for the lead position in Thailand, with revenue of THB4 billion.

    Chief marketing officer Narathip Wirunechatapant says growth potential in the Thai camera market prompted the company to set up the chain, providing mid- to high-range models and accessories. It will focus mainly on mirrorless and digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras in the THB20,000 to THB200,000 range with young people as the target market.

    The main brands are Canon, Casio, FujiFilm, GoPro, Nikon, Olympus and Sony. In May, the chain will start selling upmarket smartphones such as the Huawei P10.

    Jaycamera launched in the Fashion Island department store, with other outlets to follow in Central and The Mall department stores in and around Bangkok.

    Narathip says that by the end of this year the Thai camera market could reach about THB8 billion and the company hopes to gain about 10 per cent of that.

    By the end of 2019, the company says it will have about 50 Jaycamera shops nationwide, and will also sell camera products at more than 200 Jaymart shops.

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  • Thai police seize counterfeit items

    Thai police seize counterfeit items

    Police in Bangkok have arrested two drivers who delivered nearly 7000 counterfeit items to Lumpini Park.

    Police chief Sanit Mahathavorn says the two drivers were taken into custody after a routine search of the parked bus.

    Hat Thongbu from Chainat and Niran Damthunghong, from Aranyaprathet, both 47, had hidden the goods in a bus they had driven from the Rong Kleua market in Aranyaprathet, near the border with Cambodia.

    The alleged fake designer goods included bags, watches, clothes, shoes and glasses carrying such labels as Adidas, Casio, Chanel, Chaps and Ekko.

    Mahathavorn says the drivers told officers they had been paid 10,000 baht (US$285) for the delivery and had done this kind of thing many times before over many years.

    Police say the goods were worth around 5 million baht and were set to be delivered to market traders in the capital.

    Some foreigners seemed bemused by the arrests, with one member of Thai Visa Forum saying: “Can’t let Cambodian-made pirated goods compete with Thai-made pirated goods. Excellent police work!”

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  • FJ Benjamin granted Casio Indonesia rights

    FJ Benjamin granted Casio Indonesia rights

    Singapore-listed fashion and lifestyle group FJ Benjamin has had a celebration to mark it gaining the Casio Indonesia rights to retail the full range of the Japanese watch brand’s watches.

    The brands include Baby-G, Edifice and G-Shock.

    While Casio distributes products to retailers in Indonesia already, only FJ Benjamin has the full range as exclusive retailer for all categories, CEO Nash Benjamin said at a Casio media event at a Jakarta nightclub venue attended by more than 1000 guests.

    He expects the watches to be sold at about 60 sales outlets in the first year. Associate Gilang Agung Persada is setting up G-Shock boutiques and stand-alone counters in malls across Indonesia, as well as selling Casio brands in 30 stores under its two multi-label watch chains, Watch Engine and Watch Zone.

    A G-Shock boutique opened at the end of August at the new St Moritz mall complex, which also houses high-end apartments.

    Benjamin says his company contacted Casio as it has an interest in G-Shock. “Casio came to Indonesia, saw our network of retail stores and was satisfied we could do a good job.”

    Casio senior executive managing officers and senior GM Shigenori Itoh says the company has had double-digit growth in Asia for the past three years.

    Meanwhile, Benjamin says his company could have up to 80 “or maybe even 100” stores in Indonesia in the next four to five years.

    FJ Benjamin has also won exclusive distribution rights in Indonesia for US fashion brand Marc Jacobs.

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  • Phantaci makes it real in Singapore

    Phantaci makes it real in Singapore

    Taiwanese streetwear label Phantaci has launched its first overseas boutique, at Orchard Gateway in Singapore.

    Covering 1200 sqft (111 sqm) on the mall’s second floor, the outlet features pink shelving and black-and-white tables echoing a piano keyboard.

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    As well as an in-house collection, Phantaci collaborates on products with such top brands as Casio, Nike and Stussy.

    To mark the opening, Phantaci is offering an exclusive selection of merchandise including a black-and-gold Phantaci shirt and an embroidered cap.

    Phantaci was established in 2006 by MandoPop musician Jay Chou and Ric Chiang.

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  • Casio plans high-end watches for rising middle class

    Casio plans high-end watches for rising middle class

    Casio Computer Co. Ltd., maker of G-Shock watches, is targeting the middle-class market with high-end electronic watches priced at over HK$10,000 each.

    The company has long been in the mass market selling plastic watches for US$100 to US$150 each.

    But Hiroshi Nakamura, Casio head of sales, told the Hong Kong Economic Journal that the swelling ranks of the middle class provide a favorable condition for the company to enter the high-end market segment.

    Casio is poised to expand its presence in mainland China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Its largest G-Shock store opened in Shanghai in June.

    It is also working to enhance product functions and technology to increase consumer interest.

    Nakamura said the company will launch a smart watch model next year with style and user-friendly features that differentiate it from Apple Watch.

    Casio has recently launched its Oceanus series which is equipped with GPS timing system that can be synchronized with a smartphone.