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Starbucks China convinces suppliers on ethics

Ten years ago when Starbucks China hosted its first suppliers summit there were just 10 people present.

This year, more than 350 supplier representatives were in Shenzhen to hear the coffee giant’s pitch to join its commitment for a sustainable, ethical supply chain.

“We studied the leadership position we were taking to get high-quality coffee,” said Kelly Goodejohn, director, Starbucks ethical sourcing. “We wanted to build something similar for other products that we source.”

Similar to coffee, Starbucks wanted to understand where manufactured goods were sourced, how farmers and workers were being treated and the impact the suppliers were having in local communities. The summit served as a starting point to gain more of this knowledge, no matter what the products being sourced are.

“It was an awareness opportunity,” said Goodejohn. “What we found was that many of our suppliers shared our values, wanted to do more for their employees and communities, but didn’t know how to do it.”

The 10th Annual Supplier Summit this week featured Starbucks leaders, representatives of nonprofits and industry experts. During the event, Starbucks shared key company initiatives, discussed global responsibility goals and provided tools and resources to help suppliers improve business practices.

Building trust

Back in 2006, at that first summit, one of Starbucks goals was to cultivate a stronger rapport with suppliers.

“Building authentic relationships with our suppliers was important as well as working with them to make improvements,” said Goodejohn. “Over time, we have worked with our suppliers in China to improve labor and environmental performance to enable higher overall performance, so they are positioned to grow with Starbucks as our business grows.”

At first, not all suppliers were willing to take Starbucks at face value.

“It was difficult to build trust, but we got there,” said Goodejohn. “While some suppliers moved on, the majority were willing to work with us and are still our suppliers today.”

Starbucks has worked with suppliers to improve worker health and safety, ensure employees get paid a fair wage, provide better living conditions at factory dormitories and confirm that products are made without emitting dangerous chemicals to protect water and air.

Three years ago, Starbucks incorporated community service into the supplier summit to highlight an important aspect of the company’s mission.

On Wednesday, suppliers, Starbucks partners (employees) and customers convened for a beautification and career development service project at the Shiao Community and the Young Dream Center in Shenzhen. The project is one of many that the company will engage in during its Global Month of Service that takes place throughout the month.

Sharing knowledge

As a way to support suppliers on the ground year-round, Starbucks hired two field managers in China to help implement best practices related to social and environmental performance. They teach factory managers and work on continuous improvement with suppliers.

“I’m immensely proud of what we’ve done and the partners who are elevating ethical sourcing with suppliers on a regular basis,” said Goodejohn.

“We have many countries that manufacture goods for us and we can bring the learnings from China to other regions. We have the right momentum and we will keep moving.”

April 23, 2016
Waitrose China launches via Alibaba
Upmarket British grocery chain Waitrose has broken new ground in a deal with online marketplace Alibaba, opening the doors for it to export to China.

Waitrose China will offer products and ranges to buyers across the mainland exclusively through theRoyal Mail Store on Tmall Global, Alibaba Group’s online marketplace. Waitrose arranged the deal through Avenue51, which runs Royal Mail’s store on the platform.

Royal Mail promotes British companies, and Waitrose will be one of its highest-profile brands with a dedicated page on its online store. There will be 30 products initially, including biscuits, cereals, coffee, nuts and tea, plus beauty, baby and organic ranges.

“The potential for Waitrose in China is huge, and though this is a relatively modest start it’s our ambition to see it become our biggest international business in the next three to five years,” says Waitrose commercial director Mark Williamson.
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April 23, 2016
NZ govt teams up with Alibaba to boost Chinese trade
New Zealand has joined the likes of other Southern Hemisphere agricultural nations like Australia, Chile and Peru by forming a strategic alliance with the world’s leading online retailer, Alibaba.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the group and government business development agency New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) was signed yesterday to formalize discussions for strengthening trade between the two countries and to support New Zealand brands in China.

Under the MOU, the parties will explore different collaboration opportunities, including Alibaba providing support for New Zealand companies to enter the Chinese consumer market through its various e-commerce channels, while NZTE will assist local companies to understand and optimize the opportunities Alibaba’s system offers in terms of business growth in China.

“We are excited to extend our cooperation with the New Zealand Government by collaborating with NZTE to support local businesses to enter China through Alibaba’s platforms,” said Maggie Zhou, Alibaba’s newly appointed managing director for Australia and New Zealand.

“With our strong networks in China and expertise in e-commerce, we will enable Chinese consumers to benefit from the premium products and fresh foods that New Zealand businesses can offer.

NZTE chief executive Peter Chrisp said the new arrangement offered significant opportunities for New Zealand businesses to reach more consumers as well as advocating the country’s reputation as a place of “open spaces, open hearts and open minds”.

“New Zealand businesses are already using Alibaba’s channels to sell a wide range of products including dairy, meat, seafood, fruit, wine, beverage, cereal, skincare and health supplements,” he said.
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April 23, 2016
Foxconn reportedly to return to China retail channel
Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) reportedly is planning to return to China’s retail channel, but instead of creating a specific department, Foxconn is separating the country into 8-10 areas for each of its sub-business groups to handle one segment, according to industry sources.

The establishment of physical channel has been an important part of its long-term development, and related investment projects have been implemented accordingly, Foxconn said, but declined to elaborate on details.

Foxconn’s latest development echoed company chairman Terry Gou’s recent remarks made after signing an investment pact with Sharp, saying that Foxconn will integrate and optimize its manufacturing strength to enable consumers globally to buy Sharp’s household appliances at affordable prices.

Previously, Foxconn had tried several times to establish its own retail channels in China, but most of them had failed to achieve significant results, said the sources.

Even so, Foxconn has continued its efforts to build its retail channel through the establishment of an online shopping platform, flnet.com, in 2015. The online shopping platform has built a number of experimental shops in China and Taiwan.

One of the group’s subsidiaries has obtained the license from Apple to establish shops to sell Apple’s products in China, the sources noted.

Meanwhile, under the new strategy, each sub-business group will be responsible for implementing its own plans to build up retail channel in the assigned region, as well as for profits and losses, said the sources.
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April 22, 2016
Hong Kong’ s New World carves a retailer niche in Tsuen Wan with D.Park for children
Dwindling footfalls and intense competition in the Hong Kong retail market is prompting developers of shopping malls to tap unexplored areas for growth.

New World Development has gone a step further and is using its revamped D.Park shopping mall in Tsuen Wan to tap the niche children’s market. The group has launched Multiple Intelligence Kids Malls targeting children under the age of 12, eight years after it introduced the K11 art mall concept in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, executive vice chairman of New World, said the D.Park in Tsuen Wan will be the first mall in Hong Kong that will operate under the concept of “playing, learning and retailing” under one roof.

“In Hong Kong, there is not enough spaces for (kids) to play and to learn. We see it as a demand, and therefore, we decided to create the world’s first children’s mall with a theme park and a multiple intelligence mall,” said Cheng.

Although the government has projected that the number of children under the age of 15 will decrease from 11 per cent in 2014 to 9 per cent in 2064, industry experts believe that parents will not cut their spending on kids.

Hong Kong’s population is estimated to reach 7.81 million in 2064, from 7.24 million in mid-2014, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

The 630,000 square feet D.Park has set aside 40,000 square feet for the Multiple Intelligence Zones which will offer a series of ‘experience’ courses for children under the age of 12. In addition, it has also teamed up with 100 educational institutions and international educational groups to offer 1,000 courses for children of various age groups.

“As we are the pioneers, we don’t see any competition,” Cheng said. New World has invested HK$700 million to revamp the mall since 2012. Rental income has increased by more than 30 per cent since the newly renovated mall was opened in January, with visitor footfalls reaching around 3 million per month.

Jeannette Chan, regional director of the retail department at JLL said the decline in the number of children will have a limited impact on the market.

“Parents prefer saving money on themselves, but never for children. They want to give them the best always,” she said.

Such thematic malls will be hard for other landlords to copy as it needs a huge area and other related facilities, she said.

Developers have already started becoming aggressive in areas like Tsuen Wan, which has a sizable number of malls. The area already has Sino Land’s City Walk and Sun Hung Kai Properties Tsuen Wan Plaza.

Helen Mak, head of retail service at property consultant firm Knight Frank said Tsuen Wan has been gaining ground with retailers as an increasing number of extended families have moved back to the area after the opening of West Tsuen Wan Station.

“The better infrastructure has transformed the area from an old district into an area with more new residential projects and created demand for children facilities,’ she said.

Cheng said the concept would be expanded to mainland China with Wuhan likely to be the first city to have a children’s mall.

“In China, about 13 million couples get married every year and this creates ample potential for future development,” he said.
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April 22, 2016
PRG China expanding in confidence
Despite economic growth cooling, Parkson Retail Group (PRG China) is confident about its shopping mall opening this month in Qingdao.

This confidence is underlined by an Asian Development Bank prediction that the Chinese economy will grow 6.5 per cent this year, with retail sales expanding 10.6 per cent in the first two months of this year.

A unit of Parkson Holdings in Malaysia, PRG has 57 department stores in China, with one already in Qingdao. Its latest store is in the new Lion Mall, which the group has acquired for nearly RM1 billion (US$258 million) from Shanghai Industrial Qingdao Development via its indirect unit Qingdao Lion Plaza Retail Management.

For the financial year ended June 30 last, the group’s China stores contributed about 70 per cent of Parkson Holdings’ revenue and profits.

Parkson’s first store in Qingdao opened in 1998, its brand equity providing the platform for the group to expand its market share and strengthen its foothold in the fast-growing market. Lion Mall will offer a fully integrated shopping experience, with Parkson and Foodpark as anchor tenants. There will be cinemas, fast-fashion brands, international cosmetics and accessories, F&B, entertainment and other amenities.

In the Laoshan district of Qingdao, a new financial and commercial hub, the mall is part of a fully integrated development known as the Beer City Project. It has a total gross floor area of about 230,000 sqm, of which about 130,000 sqm are for retail. There will be parking for 2000 cars.

An exit gate is planned as a direct link to the M2 subway line, which is under construction and will come into service next year.

On the group’s future plans, a spokesperson says a Lion Mall Phnom Penh in Cambodia is being developed, with the foundation works almost complete.

“Another development is Parkson City Centre in Phnom Penh, where Parkson has taken a lease of 36,500 sqm and will open the first Parkson department store in Cambodia with sub-tenants in the fourth quarter of this year.”

Parkson City Centre will include Golden Screen Cinema, making its debut in Cambodia, and Giant Supermarket’s second store.
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April 21, 2016
McDonald’s Asia to sell 2800 restaurants
McDonald’s Asia is preparing to sell some 2800 restaurants across Asia as it introduces a new business model in its fastest growing major market.

And Reuters has named frontrunning investors in what looks to be a spin-off business in much the same nature as Yum! Brands is selling off its Chinese KFC, PIzza Hut and Taco Bell operation.

Early contenders as partners with McDonald’s US include state-backed China Resources and private equity investors Bain Capital, TPG Capital, Baring Private Equity Asia and MBK Partners. China Resources already has street cred in the food sector, operating Pacific Coffee chains in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and China.

McDonald’s is planning to create a new Asian business which would own restaurants as master franchisee, using local market knowledge and capital to expand networks in respective markets.

Operations in China, Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea would be rolled into the new entity, although it is highly likely separate businesses could be created for each market – one for China, one for Hong Kong-Macau and another for Korea.

McDonald’s has a stand-alone, listed business in Tokyo which encountered huge market problems several years ago and last year lost US$310 million after a major cull of its network. The company is trying to sell down its stake in that business from 49.99 per cent to 20 per cent.

Inside Retail Hong Kong expects that McDonald’s Asia would likely be funded by a cashed-up investment partner for about five years before potentially being floated, most likely in Hong Kong.

A fortnight ago, McDonald’s Chicago-based CEO Steve Easterbrook revealed plans to open 1500 new stores across China, Hong Kong and Korea within five years – 1300 of those in Mainland China. Globally, the company plans for 95 per cent of its restaurants to ultimately be franchised.

In China’s mainland, McDonald’s already operates some 2200 restaurants – its new target is 3500.

Easterbrook says strategic partners could “add value and unlock growth potential in key markets” in Asia.

“This will allow McDonald’s to accelerate our growth and scale faster across diverse markets placing us closer to our customers and the communities we serve,” he said on March 31.

Reuters quotes sources revealing McDonald’s has engaged Morgan Stanley to run the sale of the restaurants in China, Hong Kong and South Korea, with a formal, public sale process to be launched in mid-May.

The final business model is subject to negotiations with potential buyers, but McDonald’s expects a one-time franchise payment and ongoing royalties based on sales – the typical industry rate running between 3 per cent and 5 per cent. Capital investment required to roll out new stores would be the responsibility of the franchisee.

Reuters said McDonald’s declined further comment beyond its March 31 statement from Easterbrook and the private equity companies named, China Resources and Morgan Stanley all also refused to comment.
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April 21, 2016
McKinsey report shines light on online-to-offline services
As world’s largest and fast-growing e-commerce market, China is expecting the potentialgrowth of the online-to-offline services, which are cutting into incumbents’ margins, accordingto the latest McKinsey’s survey of China’s Internet users.

“Online-to-offline services can win consumers and even convince them to spend more thanthey might want to,” said Gong Fang, a partner at McKinsey’s Shanghai office.

China’s online retail market is the world’s largest after 2015 sales grew to approximately $630billion, nearly 80 percent bigger than that of the US. E-commerce in China accounts for 13.5percent of all retail spending.

“In an e-commerce market as large and fast as China’s, retailers and consumers will have noshortage of opportunities, especially in low-tier cities where online and e-commercepenetration remains relatively low,” said Alau Lau, senior partner and head of McKinseyDigital in Asia.
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April 20, 2016
Major gains made in commercial meat export agreements with China
A multimillion dollar deal with a farming corporation in China will see New Zealand’s Alliance Group become one of the largest exporters of meat in that market.

The “grand alliance” between Alliance Group and Beijing Businesman Chen Xibin, who owns Grand Farms, will help to boost large volumes of valued-added sheep meat and venison products into the Chinese market

The deal was signed at an event in Beijing, where Prime Minister John Key is leading a 40-strong trade delegation.

Alliance chief executive David Surveyor said it shifted the relationship from a transactional one, to a value-added one, which included services and expertise training.

But the deal is around the export of frozen meat only. Restrictions on chilled meats meant New Zealand could not export chilled meat to China, although Australia delivered its first shipment of chilled meat this year, under their FTA.

Surveyor said he believed chilled meat exports were inevitable, but could be some time away.

“These are matters for Government obviously to work through, but there’s a great usefulness to New Zealand and to Chinese consumers to see chilled happen.”

Alliance Group is a co-operative owned by 5,000 farmer shareholders, headquartered in Invercargill, with eight plants across the country.

It’s New Zealand’s largest sheepmeat processor, and it’s second largest meat exporter.

Its in-market partner in China is Grand Farms, China’s single largest importer of sheepmeat. The company processes 70 per cent of the lamb supplied by Alliance Group into lamb rolls, kebabs and finished retail ready products.

Volumes of exports to China have already increased by 35 per cent over the past five years.

Alliance general manager marketing Murray Brown said the agreement was built on a 17-year relationship already established with Grand Farms.

“We’re looking at more value in terms of retail packs of lamb and retail packs eventually of venison and beef under the Pure South brand to go to retail.

“But basically [Chen] wants to be the largest importer of sheep meat, to support his investment in processing facilities in the market.

“Largely through us, and it will reach a level at some stage where we won’t be able to service it so then the next stage after that, which is a discussion we’re yet to have, is do we source it on their behalf,” said Brown.

Surveyor said Alliance used to be a much larger company than Grand Farm, but the rapid growth of Grand Farm was a testament to the scale of the Chinese market.

“There is some prospect that at some moment in time, we won’t be able to meet all of their needs, and so I think that creates that opportunity for us to perhaps be able to work with some of the other players in the New Zealand industry.”

Grand Farm owns 96 meat shops, operates 260 branded meat counters in selected hypermarkets and supplies to over 1000 hypermarkets in China.

Surveyor would not comment on the value of the deal, but said Alliance put about 20 per cent of its total volume into China.

“We’re about $1.5 billion in turnover, and by far the majority of that is through Grand Farm.”
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April 20, 2016
China first quarter GDP growth slowest since 2009
The pace of China’s economic growth decreased to its lowest since the global financial crisis in the January to March period, official figures show. Gross domestic product expanded 6.7% from the same period a year ago, in line with market expectations but the slowest pace of growth recorded since the first quarter of 2009.

The world’s second largest economy grew 6.9% last year – its weakest expansion in a quarter century – falling short of Beijing’s target of 7%. But the first quarter number falls within the range of Beijing’s growth target of 6.5% to 7% for 2016.

Investors reacted negatively to the data, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index falling 0.3% to 3,074.26 points at mid-day.

Other data for March released by the National Bureau of Statistics suggested that the Chinese economy was stabilising, with industrial output, retail sales and urban fixed-asset investment all beating analyst forecasts.

Industrial production rose 6.8% from a year earlier following a 5.4% increase in January-February, while retail sales jumped 10.5%. Fixed-asset investment expanded 10.7% in the three months to March period compared to the same period a year ago, beating expectations for a 10.5% rise.

‘Robust growth’

The GDP data comes two days after China’s customs agency said exports increased 11.5% from a year earlier in March, the first positive growth in overseas shipments in nine months. Imports were down a less-than-expected 7.6% following a 13.8% drop in the previous month, while the trade surplus came in at $29.9bn (£21bn; €26.3bn).

China’s central bank says it will target stability in the yuan exchange rateReuters

Meanwhile, a Chinese deputy central bank governor said the economy had performed robustly in the first quarter but admitted that it faced several headwinds.

“I’m pretty confident that we are going to have between 6.5% to 7% growth this year,” Yi Gang said. He reiterated that the central bank would target stability in the yuan and not allow the currency to “overshoot” its exchange rate by too much.
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April 20, 2016
Yooya exceeds 4b views

Yooya said it has achieved over four billion lifetime views, with more than 2.75 billion added in the last seven months, driven by a combination of an increasing number of distribution partners and a growing stream of compelling new content.

This development coincides with Yooya securing $3 million at a post-money valuation of $13 million in its Series Seed financing round.

FastForward Innovations led the latest investment round, with previous investor Dream Incubator of Tokyo also joining the round.

Yooya has been instrumental in helping content producers monetize China’s fragmented online video market by providing a single platform for content distribution, rights management, and advertising solutions.

Yooya brings together many key components essential to the equation, including licensing at scale, automated ad sales, consolidated data and analytics, and simplified content distribution.

For advertisers looking to tap into the large-scale engagement online video in China offers, Yooya provides a single point of contact to access distribution across all major video platforms and access to hundreds of channels, covering key advertising demographics and interest categories.

“This growth means that finally there is a viable managed platform on which to build better monetization and more effective video-based advertising,” said Yooya CEO Rick Myers.

Currently with over 200 million network views on average per month, Yooya predicts it will hit more than 800 million video views per month before the end of 2016, representing month-on-month growth of 40%.

April 19, 2016
Uniqlo profit drops

Uniqlo profit has plummeted in the Japanese fast fashion chain’s first half year.

Parent Fast Retailing has revealed a 33.8 per cent decline in year-on-year surplus, despite a 6.5 per cent increase in sales from September 2015 to February 2016.

Consolidated revenue reached JP¥1.0116 trillion (US$9.385 billion) and profit ¥99.3 billion (US$1.535 billion).

While Global Brands reported a rise in both revenue and profit, Uniqlo Japan reported declines in both revenue and profit, and Uniqlo International reported a rise in revenue but a decline in profit.

The company blamed the Japanese decline on poor sales of winter ranges and lower gross margin, with same-store sales down 1.9 per cent.

“Subsequent stronger discounting in January and February contributed to a 3.5 per cent fall in the first-half gross margin.

Uniqlo profit was down on weaker sales in Greater China, South Korea and the US in the company’s international division. However sales and profit rose in Southeast Asia, Oceania and Europe.

In the Global Brands division, revenue and profit both rose on strong sales of GU ranges. “GU’s widely advertised campaign items such as knitwear and trendy bottoms such as wide pants and jogger pants all generated strong sales, fueling double-digit growth in same-store sales,” Fast Retailing reported.

The company is predicting a better second half but has revised its earnings forecast to a 7 per cent rise in revenue and a 27 per cent decline in operating profit.

April 19, 2016
China’s Century 2017 to be hosted in Guangzhou

The TFWA China’s Century Conference will take place from 7-9th March 2017 in Guangzhou, at the port city’s Four Seasons Hotel. The official host of the event will be Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co.

Erik Juul-Mortensen, president TFWA said: “TFWA China’s Century Conference is an essential diary date for anyone interested in the considerable commercial opportunities the Chinese market presents, as well as all those who want to gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese traveller both at home and outside China.”

The city of Guangzhou – northwest of Hong Kong on the Pearl River – is the third largest city in China and is said to have played ‘a pivotal role in the country’s economic development.’

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT

Its Central Business District, where the event will be located, underwent a major renovation in preparation for the Asian Games of 2010. The city now boasts a rapidly developing international airport, which is home to China Southern Airlines, and connects Guangzhou to the rest of China, Europe, Asia Pacific and beyond.

A spokesperson from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co said: “Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co is delighted to be the Official Host for next year’s TFWA China’s Century Conference.

“As the premier event for the duty free and travel retail industry in China, the conference brings together all the major companies involved in the market, and we believe Guangzhou is the perfect venue for such a gathering.

“Our city is one of the historic centres of trade in China and is attracting increasing numbers of business and leisure travellers, partly thanks to the efforts we are making to develop Guangzhou Baiyun as an international hub airport. We are confident this conference will be a big success and we look forward to welcoming delegates to our airport and to this vibrant city.”

SHANGHAI CONFERENCE DRAWS ALMOST 400 DELEGATES

The Four Seasons is located in the centre of Guangzhou’s Central Business District, close to the famous landmark Canton Tower. Occupying the top third of the 103-storey Guangzhou International Finance Center, which is one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, it can truly claim to offer visitors ‘a room with a view’.

The first TFWA China’s Century Conference took place in 2013 in Beijing. The second conference, which was held in Shanghai in 2015, welcomed 388 delegates including senior executives from numerous airlines, airports and duty free and travel retail operators.

Over the two days, 120 meetings took place between the industry’s airports, concessionaires and brands. TFWA China’s Century Conferences have featured speakers from leading airports, airlines and retailers, as well as high profile researchers, academics, authors, editors and specialist consultancies.

TFWA’s unique ONE2ONE meeting service has played a key role in the event’s continuing success, while an exciting social programme with a range of glittering events held in the most impressive venues ensures that there is plenty of opportunity for more informal networking.

April 16, 2016
Belgian jewellery firm looks to Thai hub for Asian expansion
Thailand would be a hub to support and facilitate the growth of Roos’s business in Asia.

“We’re originally from Holland. My great-great-grandfather founded the company in 1835, or about 181 years ago. I’m the sixth generation of the family. We [currently operate] more than 200 jewellery shops in Belgium and Holland,” said Rien Rozendaal, founder of and designer for Roos & Nijs.

“We started selling our Roos jewellery ornaments last week in China through Derier’s retail network with 80 stores in major cities, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Ningbo. [By] coincidence, we also started last week in Thailand as well with the appointment of Market Access Co Ltd as our master distributor covering Thailand and all [of the] Asia region,” he said. “We’re from the original Dutch company and we didn’t find any necessity to expand further in my home market as well as in Europe as we’re at the high level already. I believe in Asia as a promising region to grow our jewellery business.”

Rozendaal said starting to do business in China and Thailand arose from coincidences. In China for example, he was introduced by a Chinese friend in New York to the owner of Derier.

“It is not that I’m looking for distributors. Finding the right people who will be my partners is not easy. We have to share the same way of thinking, the same vision and passion, and common interests,” he said.

“They [distributors] should understand the European way of distributing the brand. In my way, doing business is not the first thing. My first thing is to get the same vision of how to market the brand.”

Rozendaal said his business approach was quite different from setting up business targets and growth.

“I like to design nice and beautiful jewellery. I have my target group in designing, that is my wife, not for the market. I design jewellery for the one I love, and appreciate that many women love this design too,” he said.

Chanokphol Chaisuparakul, co-founder and director of Market Access, said Roos was not something people saw every day, because of its unique designs and long heritage of 181 years. The brand is also high-end jewellery that people can wear every day.

“In five years, we think Roos could be a brand for sophisticated people who seek perfection in luxury jewellery. We aim to expand in Southeast Asia starting from Thailand, especially in Bangkok and big cities such as Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Phuket,” he said.

He added that in the first year, the company would open one flagship store for Roos jewellery as well as one dealership in Bangkok.

“We will start expanding Roos jewellery to some parts of CLMV next year,” said Chanokphol, referring to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

He added that the CLMV markets had a lot of potential, with people who are highly into networking, are well educated and have high spending power, and are fashion-oriented.

Somkiat Chaisuparakul, chief executive officer of Market Access, said Thailand’s gem and jewellery market had high growth potential. The market value in 2015, especially diamonds, was about Bt78 billion, with imports accounting for Bt19 billion and domestic production the remaining Bt59 billion. With the economic situation getting better, entrepreneurs are more confident that the market will rebound.

“This is a great opportunity for us to join forces with Roos in expanding their market from Europe to Asia,” he said.

“Using Thailand as a hub to support the liberalisation of the AEC [Asean Economic Community] market, we will market Roos diamond jewellery to customers in Thailand and [elsewhere in] Asia. We aim to become the top jewellery brand in Thailand by 2017 with annual sales of Bt200 million.

“We will expand Roos diamond jewellery to cover all potential markets in Asia, starting from CLMV, in the future,” he said.
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April 16, 2016
Septwolves flagship merges art and fashion

The new Chinese menswear brand Septwolves flagship in Xiamen was designed by Prospace Asia to offer a “stereoscopic fashion experience”.

The idea was to merge the sales area with a fashion lounge/art gallery space for the Xiamen store, the same city where the design company is based.

Septwolves was founded in 1990, positioning itself as a premium menswear designer and retailer with more than 3000 stores throughout China. It wanted its new flagship store to be transformed into an integrated space.

As customers walk through the store they come across themed displays as multi-sensory experiences involving both arts and fashion as events. The store also includes a tailor zone, books, cafe and designer boutique. At its centre is a circular stage, with the other elements of the store becoming part of an open fluid whole, rather than having separated spaces for each category.

The central round void creates a main hall that connects both floors, and it can be transformed for temporary events. There is a mirrored ceiling over the central glass walkway, lit from beneath, with low glass sidewalls and a living green feature wall on one side.

Most of the store features dark brown hues to create a warm, intimate atmosphere. There are such features as suspended shelving and island display units for small pieces, like shoes and bags.

One area, with low-level lighting, has sumptuous leather furniture that lends the air of a gentlemen’s club. In contrast, there is a brightly lit area with more casual seating and a glass-top coffee table, with garden walls in the background.

The shop is over two levels, with a timber spiral staircase as a feature. The arched windows on the second floor are an extension of the ground-level windows.

RFID technology is integrated with the physical environment, supporting a fluid O2O platform to evokes a multi-sensory journey. O2O, or online-to-offline, platforms involve technology that allows brands to take advantage of the convergence of internet/mobile technologies and product-inventory data for increasing in-store sales.

Prospace was established in New Zealand in 1989 as a specialist retail design and interior fitout company that has worked on projects in Australia, the South Pacific, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Indonesia and Europe. Its sister agencies are Prospace China and, in Sydney, Prospace Design.

April 15, 2016